Reflecting on 2011, I began thinking of the 5 events in biotechnology that were the greatest threats to the sanctity of human life. True to my mission though, I couldn’t just talk about what is bad in the biotech arena. I also have to celebrate the 5 ways biotechnology has improved or preserved human life. […]
An address by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on gay rights as a priority of U.S. policy deserves far more attention than it’s gotten up to now. As a statement of the views of the Obama administration, Clinton’s remarks were a remarkably candid—and remarkably chilling—exposition of official determination to make the world safe for LGBT […]
Like a log rolling down an easy hill, I drifted out of bed late one morning in a tired funk. Dragging along at a snail’s pace, my mental fog would sharply clear up when I opened my refrigerator door. Resembling a hungry beast with a wide open mouth, the deep expanse of whiteness and sparsely […]
It’s that time of year. Billboard selects the Best of the Year in Music (I like Adele too). Newsweek determines Epic Wins (Tebow) and Fails (Tiger). And the Most Fascinating People of the year are named by ABC News (Steve Jobs, OK; but I’m afraid Barbara missed the mark with the Kardashians). Here’s my contribution […]
I pulled the car off to the side Got out to see the sky’s ebb-tide. Beheld the best I ever saw, A sunset psalm-like, full of awe. The clouds’ clean lines were all aglow, A crimson scene viewed from below. It ended the trip fittingly, And the year, magnificently. South of Ephrata, on the road, […]
A recent Fox News report tells of how “a rash of attacks on Christian-owned businesses in northern Iraq has raised troubling questions about the future safety of the country’s shrinking Christian community, particularly as U.S. forces withdraw completely from the nation they’ve refereed since 2003.” In fact, “questions about the future safety of the country’s […]
When you stop to count your blessings, do not forget to give God a big thank you to for all the difficult people in your life. Those cranks that cross your path and darken your doorway are just bursting with the potential to bless you. Every person who provokes you is an opportunity, but it […]
Recently, at the invitation of Vatican officials, our Priests for Life team prepared some input for next year’s Synod of Bishops on the topic of the New Evangelization. Every few years, representatives of bishops’ conferences from around the world gather for several weeks of deliberations in Rome concerning one or another aspect of the Church’s […]
Have you heard any good news lately? Bad news abounds. It’s been another tough year. Economic woes continue. Greece and Italy are on the verge of bankruptcy. Unemployment is still high in the United States (around 8.6 percent), and the stock market has taken a beating. With approximately $108 billion in insured catastrophic losses, 2011 […]
The 252 page systematic review “Induced Abortion and Mental Health” published in December 2011 by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is easily dismantled by appealing to its fundamental premise. You don’t have to be a medical doctor to know that if you ask the wrong question, your entire premise is flawed and time spent […]
Once I ran for public office. Actually, it was more like a popularity contest. I was elected the most pessimistic member of the Torrington High School Class of 1989. I won by a large margin. My lone opponent, J.W., was confident he could win, and he campaigned aggressively throughout the halls of THS on a […]
My grandfather was a hardworking man. Growing up in frontier country, he started his career as a carpenter building barns; then travelled the West as an itinerant farm laborer. In World War I, he enlisted in the Marines and fought in Europe, including the Battle of Belleau Wood and the Battle of Chateau Thierry. He […]
Silver Straw Where Africa, Asia And Europe do meet, In the middle of the earth David’s line complete… After Abraham and Sarah In the middle of time, Up until now The Savior sublime… Born in a stable In the middle of the night, In the middle of His creatures Under middle-star bright… Blessed Mother, foster-father […]
