extreme Catholic
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Saturday, April 03, 2004
The computing landscape has changed This will be a big story for days and weeks to come. Microsoft and Sun Microsystems make peace In 1968, I went with a letter from my high school math teacher to Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn to see if I could get some access and some tutoring on a computer. At that time no high school could afford its own. As I later found out, the profs at Poly let me have the run of the place out of curiosity to see how well a 14-year-old student could learn what they were teaching to the 18-year-old students. After college I went to work for Digital Equipment where I was for 18 years. The last years there were spent as Microsoft's partner and Sun's competitor. Digital was very late in the game in both the PC and UNIX markets. Five years after I left, it was acquired by Compaq and then four years later, Compaq was acquired by Hewlett Packard. My career moved on and I'm now working for an investment company with a Sun workstation and a PC on my desk. Because I started working in 1975, I can even expect a monthly pension check from Hewlett Packard. I'm about the same age as Bill Gates and Scott McNealy. I think this is the beginning of the end for Sun and the start of McNealy's cash-out. The availability of cheap low-end hardware and the coming of Intel 64-bit chips running Linux in higher-end systems has been, is now, and will continue to squeeze Sun. I can't see any long-term survival for Sun. Later, I'm going to see who still holds out a rosy future for Sun. The only dog I have in this fight is Java and its related technologies. They are far superior to C# and .Net which are Microsoft's offering and I wish Java's influence continues to grow. UPDATE: corrected a typo.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 6:05 PM Permalink
Friday, April 02, 2004
New York Post: Newborn found in Brooklyn Church
April 2, 2004 -- A Brooklyn priest made a shocking discovery yesterday - a newborn abandoned in a church.I note that this happy ending was not in accord with the New York State Safe Haven Law § 260.03 Abandonment of a child; defense. There was no prompt notification -- the child could have died from dehydration perhaps if not discovered by the caretaker.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 5:03 PM Permalink
TV Critics Dept. OpinionJournal.com: The ABC of Holy Week With "Jesus and Paul," Peter Jennings gets it right A positive review. This makes me curious enought to give them a second chance. The last ABC News venture into religion that I saw was the total disaster they did on the Da Vinci Code. posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:19 PM Permalink
Talk Radio Critic Dept. Walter E. Williams, professor of economics at George Mason University, is the guest-host for Rush Limbaugh today. I think he's the weakest of the guest hosts because his format is so very different from Rush's and I think he's pretty monotonous. He always talks about his wife and the ignorance of Americans about economics and brings on the equally monotonous Prof. Thomas Sowell. What about the news of the day? Let's see if my prediction is correct. UPDATE: Yes! The first hour was a drawn-out disussion of outsourcing and the second hour is Sowell on affirmative action. Am I just noticing it more, or does Williams cough or clear his throat at the end of every sentence?
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:09 PM Permalink
Good News for America; Bad News for Democrats New York Times: 308,000 Jobs Created in March; Growth Beats Expectations Wall Street is responding positively. 759,000 jobs in all in the last six months. It will take the greatest spin effort on the part of the Democrat partisans to find a dark cloud in this news. I don't think they are up to it.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:01 PM Permalink
Required Pro-life Reading National Review Corner Kathryn Jean Lopez: Corner From one of the partial-birth-abortion trials going on this week: In the Manhattan courtroom, Casey also questioned Johnson about whether physicians warn women that a fetus is dismembered during an abortion... posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:13 AM Permalink
Thursday, April 01, 2004
WorldNetDaily, Ann Coulter: How 9-11 happened We don't need a "commission" to find out how 9-11 happened. The truth is in the timeline.A excellent summary. I think it confirms a few thoughts that I've had regarding the war:
See Also: Dust in the Light posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:10 PM Permalink
Sean Hannity's April Fool's Joke
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 3:42 PM Permalink
NewsMax: Priests Should Refuse Communion to Kerry, Leading Catholic Says Sen. John Kerry's defiance of his Church's condemnation of abortion and approval of gay marriage is not only a problem for him and Catholic bishops, but for individual Catholics as well, according to a leading Catholic layman and editor.UPDATE: Here is the link to Crisis Magazine website with Hudson's statement. It's interesting to see that Newsmax makes no distinction between the refusal of Holy Communion and the canonical penalty of excommunication.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:47 PM Permalink
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Breeder Intolerance Watch New York Post, Michael Riedel: Mad at Dad March 31, 2004 -- The stork has paid a visit to Elizabeth Parkinson, the sexy Tony-nominated star of "Movin' Out," and her husband, Scott Wise, a cast member who is also the show's assistant director and choreographer. Married people have kids. That's part of life and show business. The whole world is not contracepting itself into oblivion. Does the "Broadway community" or the "dance community" care about Tharp's retaliation? What if it was Scott and Ed and not Scott and Elizabeth -- and Ed had to drop out of the play for a period of treatment for AIDS -- would Tharp dare retaliate against Ed's partner Scott?
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:27 PM Permalink
AP: Priest charged for Rape from 25 Years Ago. Prosecutors used a loophole in Pennsylvania's statute of limitations to charge a priest Wednesday with raping a teenage boy nearly a quarter-century ago.Some versions of this AP story identify the victim only as a "student", while others mention the victim by name since he has agreed to make his identity public. The matter of the statute of limitations here and the lapse of time -- means that this is going to be subject to challenges on procedural grounds and proof the rape "beyond reasonable doubt" is also going to be a tough sell. The allegations were first made in 2002, why the delay in the indictment?
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:35 PM Permalink
Timberjay News (Minnesota): Evangelical Catholics spread the Word in Ely, Babbitt They’re wandering around Ely and Babbitt, seven strangers from other states and foreign countries. They have no known means of support and no fixed address, things that in other circumstances might make law enforcement officers watch closely.Who are they? The neocatechumenal way — or new catechism — was blessed by Pope John Paul II, who in a 1998 meeting with the movements and new communities being formed said: “...behold the answer, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to this dramatic challenge at the end of the millennium. You are this providential response.”They have an official site.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:25 PM Permalink
NY1: Police Recover Stolen Stations Of The Cross Stations of the Cross stolen from a Catholic church in the Bronx were recovered Tuesday, and the alleged thief was arrested.I blogged the theft yesterday.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:19 PM Permalink
Washington Times: Terror and tolerance By Jean-Christophe MounicqThanks to contributor Oengus Moonbones for pointing this out to me. I'm totally in accord with this analysis. This is the key insight: I'm going to pray for Westerners to understand that the war on terrorism is in reality a war against Islamism, and that Islamism is gaining ground among Muslims.There are really
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:28 AM Permalink
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Who's healing whom? I went to a Mass on Saturday where "we" were healing in the words of a hymn. My guess was it was a reference to the Holy Trinity, but I'm not sure. I'm not comfortable in singing in the first person singular or plural of actions that are God's alone. I thought it was some sort of fluke. My home parish has a wonderful music ministry with no nonsense and when I'm out of my parish it's generally for some event connected to doctrinal orthodoxy. I see that I'm not alone in this finding. It was the front page headline in National Catholic Register (no link available).(March 28, 2003 issue) George Weigel wrote about this topic last year.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 3:56 PM Permalink
Rockland NY Journal-News: This horrible tragedy (follow-up: abandoned baby found dead) It is a horror almost beyond comprehension and deeply sad for any Rocklander to learn that a defenseless newborn was placed on the steps of a West Nyack church and then found dead. Linked article has details of the safe-haven law and the investigation.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:51 PM Permalink
NOSTRA AETATE par. 3 on the Moslems (Vatican II) 3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. The passage I refer to in the comment box below.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:43 PM Permalink
AP: Puncture wounds found on Terri Schiavo's arms CLEARWATER, Fla. -- A severely brain-damaged woman in the center of a court battle over her end-of-life wishes was hospitalized briefly after workers at her Clearwater nursing home noticed puncture wounds on her arms, an attorney for the woman's husband said. Many new details in the linked story. Remember to pray for Terri Schiavo.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:45 PM Permalink
Reuters: Terrorists foiled in the UK Police seized a large amount of explosive material and arrested eight men across London and southeast England on Tuesday in Britain's largest anti-terror operation for years.Reuters: Terrorists foiled in the Phillippines Philippine security forces have arrested several militants and seized a large amount of explosives, foiling a plan to bomb civilian targets in the capital Manila, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on Tuesday. "We have pre-empted a Madrid-level attack on the metropolis by capturing an explosive cache of 80 pounds (36 kg) of TNT which was intended to be used for bombing malls and trains in Metro Manila," she said on national television. Two Predictions: The media wing of the Democratic party will bury these stories as it reminds people that the other side in the war on terror has not surrendered. The terrorists will not always be caught before they launch an attack. We are still vulnerable.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:20 PM Permalink
A simple argument I heard on talk radio in opposition to the recognition of homosexual marriage. What makes the situation of two homosexual men or two homosexual women different from any other pair of people in the United States? If there's a set of benefits that can be obtained by asking for them, why should it be limited in any way? Isn't the degree of "commitment" or "love" or whatever criteria are suggested beyond the scope of governmental review?
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:46 AM Permalink
New York Post: Bronx Church Robbed of "Stations" March 30, 2004 -- Members of a Bronx parish were reeling yesterday after the theft of treasured artifacts depicting the last hours of Jesus Christ, the church's pastor said. Frenzy? Is that really the case up in the Bronx?
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:24 AM Permalink
Catholic World News: Fight terror, not Islam, Italian prelate urges (paid subs. reqd.)
Rome, Mar. 29 (CWNews.com) - The Western world should find ways to combat terrorism without provoking a confrontation with the entire Islamic world, said Cardinal Camillo Ruini.This is not a war against a noun, "terrorism" -- just as World War II was not a war against "tanks and submarines". It is a war where the other side has fully engaged religion as a weapon and painted it repeatedly and as recently as Madrid as a "crusade". The language of force is the only language that terrorists heed. Your eminence, survival is a higher priority for me that avoiding confrontation with Islamic "identity". They are either with us or against us. posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:17 AM Permalink
Stations of the Cross Stolen (no link available) The smaller Stations of the Cross were stolen from St. Margaret of Cortona Church in the Bronx on Monday.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:05 AM Permalink
AP: Dead Baby Abandoned In West Nyack In Rockland County (New York), Clarkstown Police are asking the public's help in finding the woman who left a dead baby on the steps of a church over the weekend. Pray for this child and for all mothers who contemplate infanticide.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 1:00 AM Permalink
Monday, March 29, 2004
AP: (St. Louis) Parishioners challenge archbishop over control of Polish church In a stunning show of defiance and solidarity, members of an independent Polish parish fiercely challenged Archbishop Raymond Burke on Sunday over demands that they relinquish control of $9 million in assets and a lay board's leadership. In 1891, Archbishop Peter Kenrick deeded the Church property in perpetuity to a private parish lay corporation. This is interesting, I wonder how many of these anomalies are still in existence in the United States. I think the Archbishop should tolerate the status-quo until there's some action by the lay corporation that contradicts canon law or diocesan policy. Acting now without a cause other than "the law changed in 1917 to make this arrangement invalid" seems suspicious given that Glennon, Ritter, Carberry, May, and Rigali (the Archbishops since 1917) apparently did not attempt to seize the parish.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 2:08 PM Permalink
"I don't tell church officials what to do, and church officials shouldn't tell American politicians what to do in the context of our public life." It's not the Church telling you what to do. It's God, John. New York Daily News: No puppet of Pope, Kerry says John Kerry says he is a proud, churchgoing Catholic, but the former altar boy insists he won't be bossed around by the Pope. "As John Kennedy said very clearly, I will be a President who happens to be Catholic, not a Catholic President," Kerry, whose pro-choice stance violates church teaching against abortion, told Time magazine. Kerry, of course, got the point candidate John F. Kennedy was making totally wrong. Kennedy said "the church does not speak for me". Kerry interprets this as "the church does not speak to me". John Kerry, the separation that you need to concern yourself with now is not "Church from State" but "John Kerry from God".
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:17 AM Permalink
Sunday, March 28, 2004
NRO Jack Fowler: Specter Game-Playing on Abortion With challenger Congressman Pat Toomey breathing down his liberal neck in the Pennsylvania GOP senate primary (April 27), incumbent Arlen Specter continues his political suck-up to pro-lifers and their desperately needed votes. If that enrages you, do what I did and contribute to the Pat Toomey Campaign Not enraged enough? See the Specter's campaign endorsement by Senator Rick Santorum. Rick, what were you thinking?
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:11 AM Permalink
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