Weekend Round-up

Sigh . . . . . . . . .

As I begin this post, yet anouuuuuuther Republican presidential debate is on.  Whoopie.  Do we expect any big surprises at this point?  There is only one surprise I am hoping for.  If you follow me on Twitter, you likely already know what it is.  If you don't, well, it doesn't involved either front runner.  In a few weeks we'll know if the grassroots-groundswell that appears to be building is real.  If a certain back-in-the-pack candidate doesn't place at least a strong second in the Iowa caucuses come next month, then I won't be watching any more debates, I'll be contemplating whether I can stomach voting for the Republican nominee or casting about for a third party candidate.  The one thing I will not do is ever, ever again cast a vote for any candidate running under the flag of Deathocrats.

The National Catholic Register and First Things are both pondering the fight for religious liberty/rights of conscience in this country and why Catholics so often feel alone.  Are Evangelicals AWOL?  Yes and No.  The problem, as ever with the continually fragmenting Evangelicalism, is that there is no unified voice.  No Evangelical/Protestant equivalent of the USCCB.  So the question is, can we unite behind Chuck Colson or do we need to get behind the already ecumenical Manhattan Declaration group?  I don't know.  But I know we have to take the question seriously.

Ed Driscoll has an interesting piece on, The Closing of the Barackian Mind

Jody Bottum contemplates the End of Canterbury ?  I hate to tell him, but it ended back in 1976 when TEC authorized women's "ordination".  What we are watching now are merely the death-throws which are likely to be accelerated by the early exit of the Druid of Canterbury.


George Clooney keeps on doing the job President Obama and Secretary Clinton should be doing.  This week, he's highlighting Starvation as a weapon of war.  When will the United States, under Clinton and Obama, take effective action against Bashir and his criminal regime in Khartoum?  Don't hold your breath.


This week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius unexpectedly did the right thing in blocking the FDAs plan to make "Plan B" available over-the-counter without a prescription to minors. Yeah, like pimps and sex traffickers were cheering that move.

With the recent news about a less invasive and more accurate prenatal screening test for Down's Syndrome (a mere blood test which is 98% accurate), the threat to the most vulnerable among us, those deemed as "life unworthy of life" is more serious than ever. Would we have missed this treasure?

Speaking of percentages and those with Down's Syndrome: