Anti-HHS Mandate Rallies

H/T We Can End Abortion

Also, great podcast by two lawyers from the Institute of Justice on the mandates, and how they go against contract law. George Will wrote on this too, mentioning IJ and one of the above lawyers, Elizabeth Price Foley.

Stairway to Sacrilege

Ok Go, an alternative rock band known for catchy beats and viral YouTube videos, recently released a video in a Chevy commercial. The band drove a Chevy car through a two mile track of instruments, releasing their latest song, "Needing/Getting."

Their opening is, "I've been waiting for months, waiting for years, waiting for you to change./ Aw, but there ain't much that's dumber, there ain't much that's dumber/ Than pinning your hopes on a change in another./ And I, yeah, I still need you; but what good's that gonna do?/ Needing is one thing, and getting: getting's another."

This song, though about a girl, plays nicely into a recent NYT op-ed by psychologist Jonathan Haidt entitled, "Forget the Money, Follow the Sacredness." He writes to show the Right and Left's cultural narratives and their amazing ability to talk past each other on issues.

Continue reading at The Imaginative Conservative >>>>>>>>

Good Thoughts on Ron Paul

I read this in the comment section of Fr. Z.'s GOP nominee poll, and I like it:

Neither a libertarian nor a classical liberal. I do not believe that individual sovereignty is the principle of all governance. I do not have an undying faith in the free market. I think that government has a positive role to promote the common good and virtue among its citizenry. 

Yet I have supported Ron Paul since 2007. I trust him significantly more than any other candidate. I trust his judgment. I think he is a reasonable man and an honest man. I like his pro-life credentials. I also like that he permit the liberty of the Church and of Catholics by promoting the American vision of freedom of religion. I like that he will return the non-ennumerated powers to the states and help individuals and families regain their rights and duties. I like that he intends to help us stop policing the world and desires us to have an humble foreign policy. I approve of attempts to restore real currency. I like the elimination of executive departments and the limiting of presidential power. 

I am a subsidiarist philosophically. I hold that different levels of society have their proper duties, and that it is always wrong for a higher level of society to unjustly take over the duties and prerogatives of lower levels of society. The role of higher levels is to help the lower levels more efficiently and fruitfully achieve their ends. 

I think Dr. Paul, as a practical matter, will be very good for promoting subsidiarity in the United States. I am not afraid of him going to far, because the power of the executive branch is and should be limited by the congress and that the 50 sovereign states that form the Union. 

I’m voting for Ron Paul. I think he’s good for America. I think he’s good for Catholics.

Well said!

Polls Are For Strippers!

Eighteen:

one

My friend Matt works for NewsBusters, which introduced me to this delightful non-profit that keeps tabs on the media. He's on the CNN beat, but here's a gem from another Matt covering MSNBC. 

A transcript of the segment, which aired on March 30 at 10:17 a.m. EDT, is as follows:

[Anchor] CHRIS JANSING: President Obama's approval rating is now at an all-time low in a new Quinnipiac poll. Libya, the economy, and the budget deficit apparently have a lot to do with it. His approval rating has dropped to 42 percent. 48 percent disapprove. By a large majority, 58 to 29 percent say the President has not clearly stated the U.S. goals in Libya.

(...)

Let me throw a couple of other numbers out there. 50 percent say the President does not deserve to be re-elected, but maybe this is the most crucial number of all – his approval among independent voters, Karen, just 39 percent. What's your take on that?

KAREN HUNTER, MSNBC contributor: Polls are for strippers, Chris.

CHRIS JANSING: Oh, my. How long did you work on that line?

HUNTER: We should not – I've been thinking about this all morning. Well we should not be governed by what people think in a slice of time, in a moment in time. I mean, we have to take collectively what this President has done over the last two years, and if people do their homework, they'll find out that Barack Obama has done more than any president since FDR to help –

JANSING: Come on, you know how we are. We're all ADD --

HUNTER: We're fair-weather.

JANSING: And we're "what have you done for me lately?"

HUNTER: Exactly! And that's why I think that this has got to be a long-term approach to looking at the President. We can't stick our finger in our mouths and check the wind to see which way he should go. And thank goodness he's not governing based on the polls. He's governing based on what's best for America, and making decisions that are right for us.

Wow. Not only is that response uncouth and, really, incongruous to the original question about the President's decreasing support among independent voters (which, I suppose, maybe strippers would align themselves thus politically), but her continued stream of consciousness from the mouth in unapologetically bad history.

Obama has done more than any President to help what? Democrats and Republicans should be insulted of all the presidents that were left out: Kennedy created the Peace Corp and managed not to get into a fight with Cuba; Johnson created most of the government programs which a large portion of the country is still trying to keep suckling, 40 years later; Reagan helped end communism in Europe. Just wanted to throw out a few more examples.

Also, since when is the mark of a good President just by what they have done in office? How is "doing something" enough? And, because I'm unhappy with the way the President is running our country, I'm fair-weathered and have ADD? No, no, no!

Here's an article by Victor Davis Hanson, "Obama's Amazing Achievements" to make everyone feel better.

two

Now, for someone who actually knows U.S. history. Preach it, Sen. Rand Paul!



No war in Libya! No arming the rebels! I ditto the need for more debate on this issue, and especially like the part where he mentions President Obama has had time to talk to the UN and other international councils, but not Congress. I think if you're going to get your country involved in a 3rd war in 10 years, you should discuss it with your country first. Or is that too old-fashioned of me?

three

Earlier this week, I was doing a little bit of research on papal infallibility when I ran across a lovely piece by Cardinal Newman, only to discover the website it was being hosted on says that evolution is false.

My first thought: Egads!

My second thought: AHHHHHHHHHH! No, no, no....

My third thought: Bleh. Le nincompoops.

Few things irk me more than Christians who deny possibility under God and put him into their own, small-minded box. I do not understand how one can believe all is possible with God, then deny evolution (not even taking the time to differentiate between micro and macro, just full-out denying), or limit the scope of God's mercy, or make ridiculous statements that contradict scientific knowledge while holding the hard-line on Scripture.

Here's a nice article from The Telegraph on how the Vatican says evolution and Christianity are compatible.

Fr. Robert Barron being awesome and talking about misreading Genesis:

"Genesis is not bad science. It's not science at all. Rather, it is exquisite theology."

On the upside, I found out that when the Pope makes an infallible statement ex cathedra when he has the entire council of Cardinals behind him, i.e. about the Assumption of Mary. He still has to make it, which is why the Chair of Peter has to be infallible, but it's a nice seeing the little system of checks and balances within the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. To date, since the dogma was put into place in at the First Vatican Council in 1870, there have been two.

four

This week = lots of editing/ work and class. I've gone to confession and adoration this week, but deadlines pushed my clock off, and I keep missing daily Mass, which has definitely left a little hole. On the plus side, I get to listen to (slash be in close proximity to) Peter Kreeft tonight! Oh yes. Stoked, to say the least.

five

My friend Scott and two other adventurers are going to Japan to collectively ride their bike 10,000 km (North to South) to help raise money for Japan. They are covering their own expenses, so 100 percent of the proceeds goes to those in need. Here's more info and a little video of Scott talking about it:



Even $10 would be a great donation! I know I'm making one today, as well as buying my plane tickets to South Korea to visit April!

six

Just because I bet y'all need some good stuff to read: 

"Beyond the Welfare State" by Yuval Levin, National Affairs 

"The divine will and human freedom: A Thomistic analysis" by Dr. Kevin G. Rickert, Homiletic and Pastoral Review 

"Vatican launches public dialogue with atheists" by Tom Heneghan, Reuters 

"You're not alone, doctor tells pro-life med students on national tour" by Nancy Frazier O'Brien, Catholic News Service

"Vatican Tells United Nations Human Sexuality Not an 'Identity', Defends Moral Truth" by Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic.org 

"Jordan battles to regain 'priceless' Christian relics" by Robert Pigott, BBC

seven

This week's Bright Maiden posts on patron saints gathered some great conversation. It's an interesting concept to think that saints choose us!

This week: my post, "Saint Who"
"Budding Hope" by Trista
"Less is More" by Elizabeth

My dear friend Brad was kind enough to plug me on CatholicVote.org - hello to all visitors from there!

After this Lenten season is over, we were thinking about inviting people to share their corresponding posts on our Bright Maidens Facebook page. We've already been asked if we accept guest posts; we're going to figure out protocol and then get back to y'all. Any thoughts on this and/ or interest in joining us?

Next week: Our issue(s) with the Church.

Happy April's Fool Day! Did y'all pull any awesome pranks?! Take it easy, and check out Conversion Diary for more!

Atlas Shrugged?

I don't normally share personal correspondence on my blog, but this e-mail is so well-written that I immediately texted D. to see if I could. The writer is a dear friend; a goodly Protestant with a wise mind. I am not going to supplement this with anything, because I haven't the time and I don't want to distract from his fine words. Without further adieu, my friend:

early morning
11 January, 2011
Wisconsin

Dear Julie,

Regarding your comment today (yesterday?) about individuals and uniformity I have two thoughts. I think the question was something along the lines of "why are people so caught up with being idividuals while demanding uniformity?" (actually, I know--thanks, chat logs!). Somewhere--and I cannot for the life of me remember where--I have heard a fairly good argument on this. Essentially the idea is that our modern idea of individuality is so touted and built up, but ultimately and more likely early on lacking for any individual who pursues it. But think about this a minute longer--where do the standards or credentials of 'individuality' come from? For almost every American schoolboy they come from his culture and peers or particular group. "I gotta be me" is actually a twisted form of "I gotta be cool...like him" in most cases.

What is Real? asked the Rabbit

I've been reading a lot of children's literature lately, in addition to my Big Kid books. I'm peeking into my Little House on the Prairie series; I just bought a book on the adventures of King Arthur and I am so excited to read it. I've decided it will be a present to myself when I finish this big, important paper I am currently working on at my day job.

Market research is not for the creative. It is straight up fact, analytical and constant diligence. I talk to people on the phone who are interested in money and time, as any good business person should be if they intend to stay in business. I re-write more for structure than style. I keep a running list of article ideas completely unrelated to work; I find it takes tremendous will power not to spend my days developing ideas instead of focusing on clamouring topics like exchanging assets. (And yes, I obviously still write on my blog, but the time I spend on a blog post and the time I spend on an article is night and day.)

Remaining creative is important to me. Not only because of freelancing, but because I need it for my real job-job. Creativity keeps me innovative about "boring" topics that should interest more people, especially in this economy. I like to think creativity gives me perspective, helps me say, "If we don't like this marketing idea, if it's not working for us, that's okay! Let's think of another one. Let's roll." Too many people get caught on one good idea and then stick with it, till it dies, bleating for want of effectiveness.  

For example, I heard on NPR this morning that the Baby Boomers will be able to start filing for Medicare soon, but how many are not even thinking about it because it is an "old person" program, and many people do not consider themselves old at 65. Medicare takes up TWELVE PERCENT of our entire country's budget. Lack of fiscal responsibility aside, I think there have to be a lot more creative, effective and efficient ways to provide health care to the masses without the government micromanaging and then taking a slice of the profit.

The problem with the government and its workers is that they lack creativity. They cannot see anything happening without government intervention. They want to help we the common people, but not trust us to take care of ourselves. They are like the mom who sits outside the grade school all day, waiting for her children to hop in the car and go home. There is no room for boo-boos, no room for scrapped knees. And they are so serious!

In "My Fair Lady" (the musical starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, based off Shaw's play 'Pygmilion'), there is a great song Eliza sings to Professor Higgins called "Without You." She is essentially telling him off, saying if England will be there without him, if there will be crumpets and tea without him, if Spring will come without him, then so she too can do without him. Of course, Prof. Higgins gets insulted and then takes complete credit for her magnificence. It is a very funny scene:

The thing about the government is that there is a reason they give themselves airs and elite importance: they need people to pay attention to them. They, like all humans, want purpose. This does not justify their government programs or excuse higher taxes and their fiddling around with definitions of society's core foundations, but it does give one pause. They, like the Rabbit, want to be Real, wanted, needed.

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

(from Margery Williams' 'The Velveteen Rabbit')

Alas! You cannot hold the government, or hug it. A government agency cannot provide happiness or contentedness or change. These all come from a conversion of the heart, which comes from God and is encouraged by one's relationships with other people. I had a nice conversation last night with a friend about joy: where it comes from, what causes it, and what holds it there. There is no better way to find joy than through the eyes of children; their delight in the world is a wondrous thing to behold. All the analysis and data proving such-and-such is nothing to surprise snow flurries, butterflies, hugs, coloring and vroom-vrooming a car around the room. 

There is a lot to take truly seriously in this world, but the government is not included on that list. I like to treat the government in the same vein as St. Thomas More's attitude toward Satan: "The devil... that proud spirit... cannot endure to be mocked." Life is serious in the sense that it matters; people matter. But what better way to thumb one's nose at being an adult than to pay one's taxes and then earnestly avoid interaction with those false prophets, who claim salvation through their legislation and executive orders? Now children's literature, on the other hand, is worth seriously reading and considering. Because if Winnie the Pooh can't help respecting anyone who can spell "Tuesday," imagine what other possibilities the world holds!

Happy first of December! May your day be cozy and your view full of snow, like mine is in the North country.

Don't Forget to Vote Today!!

This morning, all five registered voters in my immediate family voted. My vote was definitely influenced by all the propoganda being output by the DNC, namely slogans like this: "Vote tomorrow and support President Obama's agenda. Together we can keep America moving forward." No thank you! I think he's done and spent enough. 

Voting together as a family was epic, kind of like this video:



Today is also All Souls' Day, so please pray for those dear departed ones and all those who need your prayers I'll keep y'alls intentions in my prayers too.

Recently a Kappa sister e-mailed me, replying to an article I wrote for the Forum a year ago (which she asked me to send her because A) she is a teacher and B) she was also an American Studies major). She apologized for her tardiness, but really, I am just impressed she replied at all! I usually have to answer e-mails right away, lest I move on and they never, ever, ever get answered.

So, for kicks and giggles, I posted the article here:

We Don’t Need No Education
Julie Robison
Editor in Chief


If there is one consistency at Hillsdale College, it is that dedication to the cause and the search of the Good, the True and the Beautiful. Dr. Pestritto, the featured speaker at Fall Convocation, juxtaposed the college’s mission to truly educate its students with the academic philosophy of Woodrow Wilson. Wilson, our country’s 28th president, may have impacted America more domestically than any other president as an strong advocate of progressivism in the American public education system.

In true populist sentiment, Wilson wished to make education less elitist by advocating diversity of individuals, not minds, and a development of the mind for civic and practical purposes, not cultivation of true breadth of intellect. This type of “liberality” has become the standard in many schools nation-wide, resulting in less education where students no longer have to think, but answer, the pinnacle of the system’s failings coming together in the creation of the Department of Education.

Today in America, more problems loom on the horizon. The public school system currently faces the predicament of cutting teachers, even with over-full classrooms. With state and local revenue down, the national government has, naturally, stepped in to provide an over $100 billion dollar stimulus package to hire back more teachers. While this is good in theory, the problem lies in which teachers are staying on payroll. Many teachers are being cut without a proper evaluation, the jobs going to tenured or unionized teachers instead of the most effective ones.

This money was not given pro bono publico, for the public good. This administration is very transparent through their actions that they have a more vested interest in paying homage to the Unions than in the future of their country by actually educating the youth with effective and well-qualified teachers. The stimulus money represents not only a continuation of progressive education, but an expansion.

The country’s mediocre high school graduation rates hovers around 69%; only 51% of Black Americans even finish high school. These number should disturb the public and President Barack Obama, motivating him to use his leverage as president and a Black man to be a role model for youth, an example of a good education and hard work. His grassroots website, “Organizing for America,” correctly diagnosed the problem, saying “We need to stop paying lip service to public education, and start holding communities, administrators, teachers, parents and students accountable.”

The three solutions offered, however, suggest the opposite. Firstly, the administration wants the government to invest in early childhood education. If responsibility really is to fall on the communities, then the local community needs to rise to the occasion, not the national government.

Secondly, their way to “improve K-12 schooling” is to recruit new teachers and “develop innovative ways to reward teachers who doing a great job.” While a fruit basket is always a classy gift, it is not the government’s role to be rewarding teachers for doing their job. If teachers are not doing a great job, they should not be holding that job.

The final suggestion that “after graduating high school, all Americans should be prepared to attend at least one year of job training or higher education to better equip our workforce for the 21st century economy” is to say that only jobs which require a higher degree than high school can contribute to the economy. This is a fallacy. Gas station clerks, for instance, do not need one year of job training to know how to do their job and they still contribute to the economy through having a job and thus, paying taxes.

Not only is higher education not for everyone, but it is not necessary for everyone. The unintended consequence of this may have Americans thinking their college education renders them “above” certain jobs. If this becomes the case, it shouldn’t be a surprise when more American jobs go to immigrants because they’re willing to work lower-skilled and thus lower-paid jobs.

Progressive education is combated by a rise in the home-schooling and classical education movement in recent years, but even those are being attacked as not sufficient, meaning not compliant to progressive education. Obama is attempting to pass legislation which will cement his name in history as an advocate of change, but if he wanted to make a true difference in this country, he would focus on education, from which all things come. He would pull the government away from dictating in the classroom and give it back to local school boards, who have a personal relationship with the actual school, its faculty and students.

With the actual school in control, the school board and parents can have more of a say in their child’s education. Ineffective teachers will ideally be shuffled out, leading towards real learning in the classroom and focus on the child’s development. That type of change would lead towards a diversity of minds and an intellectual curiosity, propelling the nation towards real change because of the country’s citizens, not government.

Oh happy election day!

Like painted kites, those days and nights/ They went flying by

Julie's Top 5 favorite things about work this week:

5. The Batcave, obviously.
--It has a big windows and I share my office with the only other reporter in the office, Laura, who takes care of the technology aspects of the job and likes to makes fun of me. Then again, everyone in the office mocks each other, so rest assure that I dish it out just as much as I take it. Pictures of our funny little office to come.

4. When Laura and I "borrowed" Tim the intern and had him help us, i.e. served as a practice prop before our interviews with members of the legislature (which is pretty awesome meeting and talking to them; I'll post my favorites when we start to get the videos up). Also, the nickname MB and Emmy came up with for him: Tim-tern!

3. Making friends, specifically with
-- the homeless man whom I buy "Street Speech: The Voice from the Streets of Columbus" from every week. The paper is hopelessly Left and the writing is okay, but it supports a good, capitalistic cause and chatting with him gives me perspective and ideas.
--the House Minority Leader! I passed him on the street on Tuesday walking back from mass and when he saw me, he smiled big and waved at me. I, of course, happily returned the sentiment. He loves Hillsdale and Russell Kirk too.

2. Calling sources and milking information and pull quotes out of them. The result is freakin' sweet articles.

1. the black 5.0 Bic ballpoint pen I write/ jot/ fiddle with while thinking and/ or reading.
--I used to not care about the kind of pen I used since my mom gets tons of pens, etc. from drug reps and pharmaceutical companies (she's a cancer nurse specialist), but since writing with this pen... I've been ruined.

Dislikes: incompetent people (in the public and private sector), sources who take their dandy time to get back to me and having to be in the office early in the morning after working late into the night.

Such is the life of a journalist! Currently working on an article about 3 million dollars the Stark County Treasurer embezzled, as revealed today by the state auditor's office. Today at mass a couple got blessed for being married for 55 years and they held hands going up to the alter. It was so cute. My parents will celebrate their 25th at the end of the month; I can't wait for them to double that. Going home tonight for my little sister's Shakespeare production and big party on Saturday for my brother, parents and me.

Oh, and where did June go?

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot; I know of no reason, why the gunpowder treason, should ever be forgot!

'V for Vendetta' is one of my family's favorite films, which perhaps is not surprising for those of you who have met my father or siblings and discussed politics with them. Their libertarian-style of conservatism is not my mother's Republican cup-of-tea, but we can all agree the necessity to uphold the Constitution and will always demand the government stay out of the people's business, personally and publicly. I am a little sad not to be at home today, if only because I shall not be partaking in the watching of this film with the rest of the clan.



Favorite part: "There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission."

So happy Fifth of November! May you never listen to Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" the same way again!

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof." -V

a word of caution: if your roommate is an art history person like mine is, they may get minorly upset watching an historical building being blown-up :)

Summarization of my political views

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."
-Thomas Jefferson

The Ohio Republican party sent me a census to take so, I did, even though I feel like the possible answers to the questions were not sufficient and could be ill-used as a statistic. I got caught on the first question because they wanted to know what type of Republican I am. Now, I am registered as a Republican but I do not believe myself to be one (at least not the type of Republican which propagates itself today) so no, I am not a 'Conservative Republican,' a 'Moderate Republican,' a 'Liberal Republican' (what exactly is this? It seems like an oxymoron), or an 'Independent who votes Republican.' I was unsatisfied with the choices.

What I am politically bothers me because I above all consider myself a Conservative. What shade, though, is the tricky part. My friend Sean calls me a "damn libertarian" but while I share many of the same beliefs with them (my computer even sports a Libertarian Party sticker! compliments of CPAC 2007), I can't bring myself to wholly commit to the party. I do love Rothbard and von Mises, though.

I'll have more thoughts on this later. I'm still deciding my stance on things and I'm a smorgasbord of Conservative - Libertarian - Agrarian (I blame a pure love of Wendell Berry). The one thing I can say definitely: I believe in the United States Constitution as the supreme law of the land. I believe in the Bill of Rights, particularly the 10th amendment. States' rights is the only true way to have a democracy. I love the Federalist papers and my favorite presidents are Grover Cleveland and Calvin Coolidge.

Everything besides that is just details the government shouldn't be minding itself with. They need to pay attention to national security and taxes; the rest should depend on the efforts of the people to better their lives and their situations.