Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Anchoress

Home
Catholic
Random ramblings

Random ramblings

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 8:45 pm by Elizabeth Scalia

Random ramblings 2017-03-17T20:45:10+00:00 Elizabeth Scalia

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The American Death Toll in Iraq has hit a two year low. I know, you saw it in all the headlines.

David Byrne, in the Chicago Tribune is taking the media to task on its Iraq coverage:

Those of us who haven’t been in a war zone criticize the work of war correspondents at our own peril. Yet, for all the assertions that little or no good news is to be found in Iraq, it is simple to find some on the Internet from, for example, the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is helping rebuild Iraq.
[…]
Oddly, some journalists give little credence to such official, attributable reports. In today’s upside-down world, official government reports don’t carry the same weight as whispered, unattributed reports.
[…]
If all this is confusing, it’s nothing compared to the confusion shared by the American public about what actually is happening in Iraq. The media’s credibility has become so strained that partisans on both sides have to admit in good conscience that they’re unsure of what’s real. Obviously, this isn’t good for a democracy.

Indeed. But just to give you a little example of how deeply is the refusal of the press to present any sort of positive story on the war, check out this post by Jack Kelly, wherein a soldier tells New York Times reporter Michael Moss one story and Moss prints something quite different. It’s difficult to excerpt – do yourself a favor and go read it.

Fake news for political expediency: According to Howie Kurtz, the Democrats have set up decoy news websites

They described this means of distribution as far more efficient than the more traditional slip of a document to a newspaper reporter.

“A senior party official, who was granted anonymity in exchange for describing a clandestine effort, said the party created a now-defunct site called D.C. Inside Scoop to, among other things, distribute a document written by Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, discussing the political benefits of the Terri Schiavo case. A second such site, http://capitolbuzz.blogspot.com, spread more mischievous information: the purported sighting of Senator Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican, parking in a spot reserved for the handicapped.”

Writes Howie: So you can’t believe everything you read online. Who’d have thunk it?

Also interesting is that this little bit of info was buried so deeply in an article as to be virtually invisible. Imagine for a moment the sort of blaring headlines we’d be reading if the GOP pulled a similar stunt. Ah, well.

Oh, those 30 Headless Iraqis? Never mind. A rumor. Mudville Gazette finds the almost sort of correction in the NY Times. In the 17th paragraph. You can’t believe everything you read in the NY Times, either. I wonder what Sam Freedman at Columbia J- School would say about that. Gatekeepers!

The Washington Times reports that Hillary is going conservative on immigration, and it oddly does not mention her proclamation – only a few weeks ago – about how it fits into her “understanding of scripture.”

“It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scripture because this bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself,” she said. Whatever.

George Will is a little weary of the Global Warming Hoo-ha, too.

While worrying about Montana’s receding glaciers, Schweitzer, who is 50, should also worry about the fact that when he was 20 he was told to be worried, very worried, about global cooling. Science magazine (Dec. 10, 1976) warned of “extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation.” Science Digest (February 1973) reported that “the world’s climatologists are agreed” that we must “prepare for the next ice age.” The Christian Science Monitor (“Warning: Earth’s Climate is Changing Faster Than Even Experts Expect,” Aug. 27, 1974) reported that glaciers “have begun to advance,” “growing seasons in England and Scandinavia are getting shorter” and “the North Atlantic is cooling down about as fast as an ocean can cool.” Newsweek agreed (“The Cooling World,” April 28, 1975) that meteorologists “are almost unanimous” that catastrophic famines might result from the global cooling that the New York Times (Sept. 14, 1975) said “may mark the return to another ice age.” The Times (May 21, 1975) also said “a major cooling of the climate is widely considered inevitable” now that it is “well established” that the Northern Hemisphere’s climate “has been getting cooler since about 1950.”

But…but…it’s science! It is indisputable!

Ed Driscoll notes that this “concern” is part of the stuck-in-the-70’s politics we cannot escape.

Mark Steyn says, Don’t Deny Some Muslims are Hot for Jihad

Thomas Birdnow writes in American Thinker about birth dearth and immigration.

This fellow thinks liberalism is a mental disorder. I don’t know that I’d go that far, old fellow.

On the blogs, Ed Morrissey is looking at France’s descent into madness. It’s really a shame what is happening to that beautiful country. Socialism doesn’t work. The Kurds in Iraq seem to know that, btw, and so they want to bring freedom to Iran.

Sigmund, Carl and Alfred have a remarkable post up touching on America, Europe, de Tocqueville, the popes… you should go read it, and follow all of his links – because he’s springboarding off of some other very remarkable writing, to whit; neo-neocon’s ruminations on the Guilt of Europe and shrikwrapped’s multi-parter on shame and demographics.

In the beginning was Jeanette and she blogged and she said, “Blogging is good, but I could use some company and in came Newton. And it was good. Then Jeanette said, “let’s just bring a whole gang in here…”. Go check out the new “blogging team” at Oh How I Love Jesus. Newton points out that Abdul Rahman has changed his name. I don’t know what good it does him to change his name if he’s going to tell everyone about it, though! :-)

Speaking of Rahman, here is a look at apostacy in the Koran, Traditions and Islamic Law.

AJ says the WOT is now focused on Pakistan where Moderate Islamists are fighting extremists. That’s hopeful.

Doc Sanity says Muslim cartoonists suffer from cognitive dissonance.

Gerald put upon himself the unenviable task of looking at priestly sex abuse and writing a comprehensive report. Grim but necessary reading. The politically correct won’t like it. Neither will anyone else. There is nothing to like, here, but Gerald did a good job, with charts and graphs, etc.

LGF imparts the info that Bill Clinton says to Hamas, “tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies…”.

On an Ironic note, ABP says Al Gore is being too clever by half in calling George Bush a Neville Chamberlain…on Global Warming. The REAL enemy.

Meanwhile, Baldilocks has some concerns about how deeply things are penetrated.

CBS Public Eye’s Brian Montopoli attended the MRC’s Dishonors Awards and writes about it. He was pretty much not amused. I must say I probably wouldn’t be either, were I a journalist. But to be fair, I wouldn’t enjoy it as a blogger, either. I’ve never enjoyed “slamming for the sake of slamming.” I never thought feminists were smart to “celebrate” women by slamming men, and I don’t much like that vibe no matter the corner of origination.

America

Blogs and Blogging

Serving up hot links

Previous Post

April 3, 2006

Deatheaters and the 90% Solution? UPDATED

Next Post

April 3, 2006 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1...

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Remaking" Ourselves 'Remaking' America 9/10 Mindset 9/11 trials Abortion ACORN Adoration Advent Advent 2008 Advent 2009 Advent 2010 Alternative Energy Alternative Media America American Catholic Church American Church American Genius Ameridolatry ANCHORESS BOOKSHELF Anglican-Roman Reconciliation Answers & Questions Anti_Semitism Archbishop Hilarion Ayn Rand Bad Mass Barack Obama Baseball Benedict Benedict & Islam Benedict in UK Benedict XVI Benedictine Bill Whittle Birth Control Blogs and Blogging Blogs and Blogging Bloodless Coup Bobby Jindal Bookchat Breitbart Bride at every wedding... Bride at every wedding... Buckley Bullies Bush Bad? Bush Good Buster Capitalism Catholic Fiction Catholic Vocations Catholicism Celibacy Chaput Charitable Stuff Chesterton Chile Chris Christie Christians in Exile Christine O' Donnell Christmas Christmas Gift Ideas Church Hates Science? Church hates women Communion of Saints Compline Conclave 2013 Confession Constitutional Stuff Conversion Crisis & Opportunity Critical Thinking Crooks and Liars Crucible of Faith Cuba Culture of Life Culture of Life/Death Culture of Treason? Dancing Death Dialogue re Islam Dick Meyer Divorce and Remarriage DOJ Domestic Terrorism Dominican Order Don't try me too high Dowd Dumb Democrat moves Dumb GOP moves Economic woe Education Egregious Harry Reid Elder Son Elder Son's Sweet Girlfriend Elderly Election '10 Election '12 Election '16 Election 2004 Election 2006 Election 2008 Election 2010 Election 2016 Elena Kagan Elitism Embryonic Stem Cell Research End Times? English language Enhanced Interrogation Erosion of Rights Eucharist Euthanasia Exorcism Extraordinary Synod Facebook Faith Faith and Reason Faith Friday Faith Perspective Faithful Friday Fascism Again Fascism in America Fatima FCC Feminism Film First Things Forgiveness Fr. James Martin Francis and Islam Francis in America Frassati Fred Thompson Free Speech? Freedom of Worship FutureChurch Global Pandemic GOP Congress Haiti Head Covering Health Care Here and Queer Hermits Heroes Hitchens Holy Spirit Holy Week '09 Holy Week '10 Hoo-Hah & BS Hoo-Hah & BS Icons Illegal Immigration In The Arena Interviews Interwebz Iran Uprising Iraqi Christians ISIL ISIS Islamic State Islamification/Islamofascism Islamification/Islamofascism Isra-El It's all about me! Me! ME! James Burke Jerry Lewis Jesus Christ Joblessness John Boehner John McCain John Paul II John XXIII Juan Williams Just Words Katrina/Rita King is a Fink Latin Mass Leadership Lectio Divina Lent Lent '08 Lent '09 Lent 2010 Lent 2011 Limbaugh Listen to Lizzie Litigious Society Liturgy Liturgy of the Hours Mainstream Media Manliness Marriage Mary Media Excess Medical Merton Michelle Obama Mighty John O' Connor Misc. Miss Ella Missionaries Mitt Romney Monasticism My brother S My Irish Aunties Mystic Monks Nanny Statism Nature NEA Neri New Media Newman Noonan Notre Dame NPR Stuff Nun News Obama Bad? Obama Good? Obama White House Oil Spill Online Retreat '08 Online Retreat Days Oratory Orthodoxy Our Hillary! Parenting Passionists Patheos Patheos Book Club Patrons Paul Ryan Penance Penn Jillette Philosophy PJTV Podcasts Poetry Politics-free zone Pop Culture Pope Emeritus Pope Francis Prayer Predictions Priesthood Pro-Life Public Sector Unions Purgatory Questions about Catholicism Quotes of the Day Quoting the News Race in America rants Recipes Remarried Catholics Reposts by request Retreat thoughts Rome Rudy Giuliani Russia Saints Sarah Palin Scandal Scott Brown SCOTUS Scriptural stuff Secularism Send in the clowns Serving up hot links Sexuality Sherrod Shroud of Turin Sisters and Nuns Social Entrepreneurship Social Media Social Security Socialism doesn't work Sports and Faith Stem Cells Strange Gods Suffering Synod Tea Parties Tea Party Terri Schiavo The 9/11 Commission The Catholic Answer The Constitution The Desert The Fourth Estate The Pelosi The Perpetual Adolescents The Rosary Third Party? Timothy Dolan Touch of evil TSA Tsunami TV/Pop Culture/Music TV/Pop Culture/Music Twitter Uncategorized Unemployment Unintended Consequences US Military Vaginal Musings Vatican Vespers video faves Vile Joe Biden Voter Fraud War by Litigation War on Terror War, What it good for? Why can't weeee be ... World Youth Days Year of Faith Year of the Priest

Select a Month August 2016 July 2016 April 2016 March 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What famous cathedral is in Paris, known for its flying buttresses and rose windows?

Select your answer to see how you score.

St. Peter's Canterbury Notre Dame St. Paul's