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
Insomniac quick hits II

Insomniac quick hits II

Last updated on: March 16, 2017 at 7:20 pm by Elizabeth Scalia

Insomniac quick hits II 2017-03-16T19:20:02+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.

George W. Obama: Jim Geraghty identifies what would be an Obama Bushism, if such things were being observed and tallied:

“You know, it’s always a bad practice to say ‘always’ or ‘never.'” — Obama, speaking in Amman

I know another:

“Only a Sith speaks in absolutes.”

But I never could stay awake through that movie. Hot Air finds another.

The verbal gaffes must be because Obama is tired. I can accept that; traveling knocks the crap out of me, and Obama really is “only human”. But I can’t help noticing that Bush, of course, was never tired when he misspoke, or human. He was and is – always – just stoopit, right?

A Premature Inaugurator: That would be Obama, again, with James Lewis thinking about Berlin, which some think will make or break Obama’s world tour. I predict the press will make it glorious for him.

Has Obama an Air of Inevitability?: Hillary used to have one of those, too. He’s not president yet.

I can’t help all the Obama stuff; when it seems like he is 70% of all the news coverage out there, it’s what you get, sorry.

For all that coverage: you’d think he’d be doing better in the polls, especially when one measly reporter showed up for McCain in New Hampsire. But July polls don’t say much, anyway.

More Important: Is Turkey in the throes of an Islamic revolution? Something to keep watch of.

Good read: The Complex Success of the Surge.

Good Discussion: Althouse and her commenters look at another battle regarding the dispensing of birth control and whether faith – and the freedom to practice and express it under the Bill of Rights – should be considered. The conversation is always good over there.

Bad headline: I don’t like it, anyway it sounds too much like old FOX network programming.

“Bad Robot”: That’s actually not fair, because I’ve always thought Lanny Davis to be a straight-shooter and not-at-all robotic, but I like the kids voice saying “bad robot” at the end of “Lost”, and since it follows the “Bad Headline” and it’s about Davis’ daring to break with narrative orthodoxy to consider that Bush may have done some good in Iraq, it sort of works. Okay, it’s a bad headline, too. But those kids are cute. And Davis is provocative and moving in his piece.

“Bad Anchoress”: My second radio interview…the first one I’ve heard. I sound like Minnie Mouse on helium. I did an interview with Ed Driscoll at PJM, for their XM radio thingie, POTUS ’08. There is NOTHING more hideous than hearing your own voice for the very first time. I do not have Julie’s dulcet tones. Sadly, I say “you know” more than Hillary, and I need to slow down…I sound like SUCH a New Yorker! Also, I kept saying “NY Times” instead of “New Yorker.” Argh. Also, probably, I shouldn’t drink coffee while I do those things. I think I need a better sounding phone, too. So…if you’re interested…I shriek and stumble through the last 15 minutes.

“Bad Tax-Players”: Only the little people like you and me have to pay those gasoline taxes.

“Bad Couric”: She’s causing grumblings by some on the left and chortles by some on the right for not fawning over the Barack. I suspect she’s a little peeved that he beat Hillary and that played into her interview. Kind of odd, though, to look at this rich man (he’s only a little rich; worth just a few million) being put through the paces by this much richer woman (15 million a year, I think?).

I don’t have any conclusions to draw on it; it just struck me that these past few years have felt like the playing out of rather sick sort of soap opera/psychodrama, where all the players – from Bush, to Clinton, to McCain to Obama, to Huffington to Limbaugh, to Cronkite and Couric to Nancy Pelosi – are super-wealthy and privileged breathers of the rarefied air; they’re all spinning in their little orbits plotting revenge, positioning for power, trying to trip each other up and serving themselves before they even think of serving us.

Sometimes I wonder…how can they possibly know what’s “good” for us? They’ve never had the muffler fall out of their car while driving with two little kids squabbling in the back seat. They haven’t planted their own gardens with a little one “helping” and then weeded it, and watered it and shared the harvest with neighbors. Have any of them ever rolled coin to get a haircut? Do any of them know the price of a gallon of milk? How can they possibly relate to those of us who are dreading winter because the heating oil prices will be through the roof?

The rest of us sit around watching them, reacting to them, allowing them to hold sway over our lives and our imaginations…electing them and re-electing them, so they never go away. We give them too much. Of everything. The return is unequal and unsatisfying.

Thoughts like those are why I’m really glad I’m going to host this online retreat next month. It will be good to turn them off – turn all of it off – for a few days.

In the end, life is not about accumulation. It is much more than success. To be truly alive is to be transformed from within, open to the energy of God’s love. In accepting the power of the Holy Spirit you too can transform your families, communities and nations. Set free the gifts! Let wisdom, courage, awe and reverence be the marks of greatness! –Benedict XVI – Homily for Vigil of Closing Mass – World Youth Day 2008 (H/T)

Be open and be free

Culture of Life/Death

The Perpetual Adolescents

TV/Pop Culture/Music

Previous Post

July 22, 2008

Obama vs McCain = Mac vs PC

Next Post

July 23, 2008 Two favorites from the '90's

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

How old was Abraham when Sarah died?

Select your answer to see how you score.

117 years 147 years 127 years 137 years