Augustine of Hippo, A Nation Turns To You A Catholic lawyer has filed charges of heresy against Sen. John Kerry with the Archdiocese of Boston, claiming that when a Catholic holds pro-choice views and accepts holy Communion it "is one of the greatest sins you can commit." (And I, the relapsed Catholic, would have imagined murder, rape, theft, blasphemy or actual abortion to be a greater sin than voting Democratic.) A Devil's advocate would be quick to point out that deciding that Catholic are ineligible for Communion based political views and dividing members of the Church into those "worthy" and "unworthy" of the Sacrament is tantamount to an actual and much more serious heresy called Donatism. Objectively, it's fascinating to see the wide, subconscious influence of Evangelical Protestantism on American Christian churches and how it's polarizing many of them. Personally, it makes me sad to see the Catholic Church myopically fascinated by abortion and gay sex, and drifting far from the spirit of the Catholic Worker movement and a life based on humility and charity. Tag in Consider Arms.
Enter the Ultra-Mega-Phallus In a resounding defeat for grown-ups everywhere, the cornerstone for the Freedom Tower was laid in New York yesterday on the site of the World Trade Center. The childishly named Freedom Tower will be 1776 feet tall (thanks to a pointless 276-foot spire) and is being pimped out as the tallest building in the world. If that building doesn't scream out "terrorist target," I don't know what would.
The First-World Nation With A Third World Democracy When you hear the phrase "observers from the United Nations called in to monitor the election," what countries do you think of? Some strife-torn nation in sub-Saharan Africa? A tiny coup-happy South American republic? How about the United States? Still smarting from the Florida debacle of 2000, several members of the House have written Kofi Annan asking that the UN "ensure free and fair elections in America." And this sober AP story from Alex Jones highlights the frightingly real possibility that elections in the Fall could be cancel in the event of a "terrorist attack."
At Least The Basset Hounds Are Fighting Terror
-The Sikh Geek
