Counting on Catastrophe

Thanks to Margaret for calling our attention to John Podhoretz's latest at the New York Post, today:

When you heard about the stunning success of the Iraqi elections, were you thrilled? Did you see it as a triumph for democracy and for the armed forces of the United States that have sacrificed and suffered and fought so valiantly over the past 18 months to get Iraq to this moment?

Or did you momentarily feel an onrush of disappointment because you knew, you just knew, that this was going to redound to the credit of George W. Bush? This means you, Michael Moore. I'm talking to you, Teddy Kennedy.

And not just to the two of you, but to all those who follow in your train.

There are literally millions of Americans who are unhappy today because millions of Iraqis went to the polls yesterday. And why? Because this isn't just a success for Bush. It's a huge win. It's a colossal vindication.

It's a big fat gigantic winning vindication of the guy that the Moores and Kennedys and millions of others still can't believe anybody voted for.

And they know it.

And it's killing them....

I'm sure you know by now, Faithful Reader, that Chappaquiddick Fats... er... I mean the old fart senior socialist senator from the great state of Gaymarriagechusetts Massachusetts practically committed treason in a speech last week. I paid it little mind, because I have had more than my fill of that kind of stuff after a year of it.

But it occurred to me today — I wish it had done so last week — that Kennedy's speech was not occasioned merely by the election in Iraq. No, it was occasioned by his expectation of a debacle in the election.

Somehow, that makes its resounding success even sweeter.

And, here's some thinking in the right direction.

P.S. Confer.

[Follow-up: Counting on Catastrophe II.]

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 01/31/05 08:57:38 PM
Categorized as Political.

"The Gang That Won't Shoot Straight" and "The Fool and the Traitor"

Our favorite Screaming Eagle Poet is on a roll.

Russ Vaughn is sending the poems faster than we can put them up. But, of course, we bloggers love it when our readers provide such ready content. :-)

The Gang That Won't Shoot Straight

It began when ol' Dubya gave Al Gore the boot,
Those gun-hating Dems really started to shoot.
Their weapons of choice though leave much to desire
For they're usually off-target and so often misfire.

In his blustering barrages, as everyone knows,
Al Gore is most likely to blow off his own nose.
And in hitting his targets, Teddy's chances are slimmer
He's no better at bombast than he was as a swimmer.

John Kerry took aim at Bush's war in Iraq
But salvoes from Swiftees left him smoking black.
Daschle went to Dakota with all barrels loaded;
When the smoke finally cleared, he had clearly imploded.

They were gunning for George, but without enough practice
And ended up full of holes, their butts full of cactus.
That dimwitted cowboy turned out muy mal
Blew the Libs clean away at their O.K. Corral

Howard Dean, more than most, embodies the phrase,
"Shoot yourself in the foot," yet may see better days.
If DNC chiefs decide the Party needs Deaning,
Shooting yourself in the foot will have Party-wide meaning.

Senator Boxer shot holes in her own reputation,
Taking potshots at Condi before the whole nation.
We can't wait for the chance to see Nancy Pelosi,
Take aim at ol' George: "BAM!" there goes her toesy.

We'll not tolerate lying, fumes Senator Dayton,
A lightweight compared to the lady he's baitin.'
But he shoots from the lip and quite clearly he misses,
While eighty-five colleagues hand out Condi kisses.

This "Gang that won't shoot straight," is really no puzzle,
Did you ever see a Lib knew his butt from his muzzle?
Have you fathomed the lesson that runs through this poem?
All guns should have locks if there are Libs in the home.

The Fool and the Traitor

One came to us sooner, the other came later,
The first is a Fool the second's a Traitor.
The Fool showed his colors in dark murky waters
Giving fathers good cause to lock up their daughters.

Stern Teddy decries we've no plan to get out,
Invoking his own, an unbridled rout.
To him exit strategy has but one purpose,
Get the door open and swim to the surface.

The Traitor, well folks, that's more complicated,
His history's distorted, war records inflated.
He's a hero he claims but his buddies say no,
Leaving him as a hero with no place to go.

When our country was bleeding, he bled us with leeches,
Giving false testimony, which history impeaches.
Then somehow expected that we'd all forget,
And elect him commander, oh sure, John, you bet.

Getting back to the Fool, do we heed this old boozer,
Who constantly tells us that we are a loser?
When facts tell us different, tell us we are a winner,
Despite the nay says of this blowhard 'aginner.

We're on the right side, we're fightin' for freedom,
And those who oppose us, well, we're gonna bleed 'em.
The jihadists we fight end in bloody repose;
And the Fool and the Traitor with a bad bloody nose.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

See also these.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 01/31/05 08:40:17 PM
Categorized as Literary & Political & Social/Cultural.

Salute America's Heroes

Vide.

(Thanks, Michelle.)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 01/31/05 05:52:56 PM
Categorized as WorldWideWeb Stuff.

Marriage (Or Not) Is Everybody's Business

Canonist Edward Peters has an article at Ignatius Insight, Jan. 2005, which originally appeared in Catholic World Report, Dec. 2004:

.... Marriage is a classic example of a public institution. Both Church and state acknowledge this fact, and both require external, verifiable events to occur before granting any marriage legal recognition. The state, for example, requires licensing and the accurate recording of weddings in publicly accessible files. The Church, as part of the "canonical form for marriage," generally requires her members to marry before her own ministers, accompanied by at least two independent witnesses, with records to be preserved in various sacramental registers (see canons 1117, 1121).

These measures assuring the public verification of legal marriage (though perhaps these are redundant in the case of Catholics who have also complied with the requirements of canonical form) make great sense; civil and religious societies need to know who is married to whom — or to put it another way, which "significant relationships" deserve the special respect that is accorded marriage, and which ones do not. Under normal circumstances, the canonical and civil rules promoting marriage-awareness work; we pretty much know (or can easily find out) who is married.

A similar system for public verification of divorce is in place. The state, which recognizes divorce, requires public filing of divorce actions for them to be effective. Thus the basic fact of a divorce is not hard for third parties to establish. Even the Church, which does not accept civil divorce (at least not in so far as it purports to clear the path to subsequent marriage) respects certain civil consequences of divorce and acknowledges it in various contexts. Again, all of this is consistent with the needs for both civil and religious societies to know their members’ marital status.

But because a prior divorce is sufficient to make possible a second marriage, as far as the state is concerned, the state’s system of recording marriages and divorces is sufficient to serve its needs. The same cannot be said for the Church’s system of matrimonial record-keeping.

For the Church (prescinding from a few privileged cases and, obviously, the death of one’s prior spouse) only a declaration of nullity can make possible one’s "second" wedding in the Church. And precisely here is the problem: We know (or can easily and unobtrusively find out) who is married, and we know (or can easily and unobtrusively find out) who is divorced. But we cannot tell with any objective certainty which divorced Catholics have obtained annulments, and which are still considered bound by their earlier attempt at marriage. In other words, in regard to a fundamental fact about two people — their marital status in the eyes of the Church — the faithful have no means of knowing with certainty what that status is, and consequently, how they should relate to the persons in question....

I blogged about this, last year:

.... As to an annulment being a confidential matter — well, I think that's just plain silly. (The grounds for petitioning for a declaration of nullity, and the determination of their veracity, is another question.) Getting married is a public act, with public consequences, and the validity of a marriage is not a matter for the internal forum. Whether a couple that publicly claims to be married is actually married is everybody's business. That's why we issue marriage licenses, and announce banns, and publish notice of civil divorce decrees.

(Thanks, Carl.)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 01/31/05 05:39:26 PM
Categorized as Religious.

Nation Unto Nation Calls, From Generation to Generation

"In Honour of America".

It has been widely reported, whether jubilantly or grudgingly, that the Iraqi people turned out overwhelmingly for the election, and did so with courage, dignity, and rejoicing.

Though many more remain to be hammered in, this is indeed one more nail in the coffin of despots and terrorists everywhere. And, believe you me, they know it.

Against the Grain has a fantastic roundup of commentary. And Power Line has some great photos.

Over the weekend, I came across a poem that seems just right for this day. Celebrating the entrance of America into World War I, it was written by the Catholic poet Alice Meynell. Though the year and the numbers are different now, the spirit is the same, I think.

In Honour of America, 1917

Not that the earth is changing, O my God!
   Not that her brave democracies take heart
   To share, to rule her treasure, to impart
The wine to those who long the wine-press trod;
Not therefore trust we that beneath Thy nod,
   Thy silent benediction, even now
   In gratitude so many nations bow,
So many poor: not therefore, O my God!

But because living men for dying man
   Go to a million deaths, to deal one blow;
   And justice speaks one great compassionate tongue;
And nation unto nation calls "One clan
   We succourers are, one tribe!" By this we know
Our earth holds confident, steadfast, being young.

Alice Meynell

Almost a century intervenes, but America and her fighting men have answered again the call to justice.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 01/31/05 07:41:10 AM
Categorized as International & Literary & Photos.

Ping Me!

Some blog-geek info.

I have enabled TrackBack for new blog entries as of yesterday.

Also, I have changed the individual entry archives so each entry's title, rather than its date/time stamp, will display in the browser's title bar.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 01/31/05 07:21:29 AM
Categorized as Blog Stuff.