Category Archives: American

“THOU SHALT NOT COVET A NEIGHBORS GOODS” – AGAINST REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH

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John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States

1787Works 6:8–9
Suppose a nation, rich and poor, high and low, ten millions in number, all assembled together; not more than one or two millions will have lands, houses, or any personal property; if we take into the account the women and children, or even if we leave them out of the question, a great majority of every nation is wholly destitute of property, except a small quantity of clothes, and a few trifles of other movables. Would Mr. Nedham be responsible that, if all were to be decided by a vote of the majority, the eight or nine millions who have no property, would not think of usurping over the rights of the one or two millions who have? Property is surely a right of mankind as really as liberty. Perhaps, at first, prejudice, habit, shame or fear, principle or religion, would restrain the poor from attacking the rich, and the idle from usurping on the industrious; but the time would not be long before courage and enterprise would come, and pretexts be invented by degrees, to countenance the majority in dividing all the property among them, or at least, in sharing it equally with its present possessors. Debts would be abolished first; taxes laid heavy on the rich, and not at all on the others; and at last a downright equal division of every thing be demanded, and voted. What would be the consequence of this? The idle, the vicious, the intemperate, would rush into the utmost extravagance of debauchery, sell and spend all their share, and then demand a new division of those who purchased from them. The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If “Thou shalt not covet,” and “Thou shalt not steal,” were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.

Surprise Photo Op

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I was taking photos of two young elk at a safe distance, when some kind soul hollered, “Behind you!” This big momma kept coming as I ducked behind a tree. I love Yellowstone.

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The kids

Joann Nelander

On contraception and the coming violence: Interview with Pope’s personal theologian | LifeSiteNews.com

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This is the second report from the 40-minute LifeSiteNews video-recorded interview with Fr. Giertych. The first report and video was Papal theologian: Treating homosexuals with dignity means telling them the truth)

 

VATICAN CITY, July 11, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “I think clearly we can see that the economic crisis which we are observing in the western world is a direct consequence of 1968, of the rejection of Humanae Vitae (the encylical that reiterated the Catholic teaching against contraception), of the rejection of the Church’s teaching, and the approval of the sexual revolution, which has caused a demographic crash.”  Those were the words of Rev. Wojciech Giertych OP, the Theologian of the Papal Household, in a recent interview with LifeSiteNews.com in which the highly-placed prelate related some fascinating history and projections. (See video of this part of the Giertych interview)

Beyond pointing out the reality of people working less and living longer, which creates economic instability, Fr. Giertych discussed “the moral issue of spending money and throwing the debt on the next generation, on a generation which has been partly aborted, which has not met with the generosity of the parents,” and described it as “the preparation of a violent conflict between generations.”

“I am seeing this brewing, certainly in Europe,” added Fr. Giertych. “In America at least you have a public debate about the morality of extending the public debt and throwing the responsibility on the future generation.”

Children living in poverty because their parents experienced a tragedy or war, can live with their circumstances, understanding the calamity that led to their state, he explained.  He contrasted that, however, with “a vast segment of society saying we are poor compared to what the generation of our parents had, not because there was some catastrophe, but because the generation of our parents consumed all the [wealth] and threw the responsibility on us.”

The papal theologian drew attention to the violent youth protests and mass unemployment across Europe.  “They are generally demonstrating saying, ‘We have the right to receive’, because their parents received grants for their studies, they received cheaper housing, and so they have this sense of entitlement which is a consequence of socialism – somebody has to give.”

via On contraception and the coming violence: Interview with Pope’s personal theologian | LifeSiteNews.com.

What’s at stake if Obama goes 0-3 with Egypt | Fox News

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Michael Amerhom Youssef writes:

…”while millions of Egyptians responded to Morsi’s ouster by joyfully dancing in the streets, the Muslim Brotherhood advisers in the White House helped Obama produce a non-descript statement. With his wishy-washy message about those who are democratically elected, Obama confirmed in Egyptian minds that he is in the pocket of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It is downright depressing to see the leader of the free world unable to comprehend the Islamic understanding of democracy. To the Islamist, democracy means “one man, one vote, one time.” Once they have their power, there’s no reason to ever have another election.

Thank God for the wise and courageous Egyptian people who comprehended that plan and stopped it before it was too late.”

(Michael Amerhom Youssef was born in Egypt in 1948. He studied at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia and was later ordained there as a minister. His ancestors, like all Christian ancestors, belonged to the Coptic orthodox church. He is a third generation protestant. Youssef moved to the United States with his wife in 1977.  In 1978, he received a master’s degree in theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in California. In 1984, he became a United States citizen. Youssef founded The Church of the Apostles in Atlanta in 1987 and currently leads a congregation of over 3,000.)

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/07/09/what-egyptians-think-obama-after-morsi-disaster/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2YfMIN9pF

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/07/09/what-egyptians-think-obama-after-morsi-disaster/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2YfLCRGWL

Some in Congress have argued that Morsi’s ouster was a “coup” by the Egyptian military to depose a democratically elected leader, which under U.S. law triggers a suspension of U.S. aid.

Coup, schmoo. If so, President Obama needs to go to Congress and request a waiver.

Morsi might have been democratically elected, but so was Hitler. Once elected, Hitler set about systematically crushing anyone who disagreed with him — in Parliament, in the Courts, in the military, in the media.

Hitler persecuted religious minorities. Morsi was well on his way to doing the same thing in Egypt, sacking opposition leaders, putting his Muslim Brotherhood cronies in power, ignoring Muslim Brotherhood persecution of Christians.

Looking back, the world would have been a better place if the German military had succeeded in ousting Hitler when they had the chance. Thank goodness the Egyptian military was wiser.

Right now, the world is focussed on Egypt’s political machinations — was it a “coup”?

What will the Muslim Brotherhood do next? What will Obama do?

But even in Egypt, “it’s the economy, stupid.” After just one year in office, the Muslim Brotherhood has so mangled things that the Egyptian economy has gone into free fall.

via What’s at stake if Obama goes 0-3 with Egypt | Fox News.

NCRegister | The Christian-Muslim Gulf

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Father John McCloskey writes:

Robert Spencer, perhaps the foremost Catholic expert on Islam in our country, has written a new book entitled Not Peace But a Sword: The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam (Catholic Answers, 2013). Spencer has advised the highest levels of the military on the Islamic threat to the United States, and has authored several books for the general public on the topic of Islam, including Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics and Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World’s Fastest Growing Faith.

This book is his most interesting yet, as it makes the case for the fundamental disagreement between Christianity and Islam. Spencer writes: “One of the oddities of contemporary ‘interfaith dialogue’ is that all too often, out of overzealous irenicism, it glosses over, or ignores altogether, the disagreements between religious traditions, as if pretending that they didn’t exist would make them go away.” He expands on the vast differences between Christianity and Islam on the character of God, Jesus and Divine Revelation; the nature of truth and the moral law; religious freedom and other basic rights; life issues, marriage and sexual morality, including the rights and dignity of women.

An example of this great divide: Converts from Islam to Christianity are often hunted in the Muslim world, where virtually all Islamic authorities agree that such individuals deserve death. In fact, Muhammad himself commanded this: “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him” (Bukhari 84:57). In Egypt, at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious and influential educational institution in the Islamic world, an Islamic manual states that a person who has reached puberty is sane, and if he voluntarily apostatizes from Islam deserves to be killed.

The great Catholic author of the early 20th century Hilaire Belloc was prophetic in predicting: “We shall almost certainly have to reckon with Islam in the near future. Perhaps if we lose our faith it will rise.”

via NCRegister | The Christian-Muslim Gulf.

About Father C. John McCloskey,III STD 

Father C. John McCloskey, III, STD is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei. He currently is Research Fellow of the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington DC. From 1985-1990, he was a chaplain at Princeton University. He is perhaps best known for guiding into the Church such luminaries as Dr. Bernard Nathanson, Lawrence Kudlow, Robert Novak, Judge Robert Bork and Senator Sam Brownback. more »

12 things you need to know about the Court’s homosexual “marriage” decisions |Blogs | NCRegister.com

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12 things you need to know about the Court’s homosexual “marriage” decisions

BY JIMMY AKIN

Here are 12 things you need to know about the homosexual “marriage” decisions just issued by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court has just dealt a pair of blows to the fight to defend the reality of marriage as being between a man and a woman.

There will be time for analysis later.

For now, let’s try to understand the basic facts of what just happened.

Here are 12 things you need to know.

via 12 things you need to know about the Court’s homosexual “marriage” decisions |Blogs | NCRegister.com.