Archdiocese of Milwaukee loses battle for insurance coverage in abuse cases

Joe Forward reported at the State Bar of Wisconsin on a decision issued yesterday by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

Fraser writes loving ode to Pinter

"She also catches a wonderful dialogue between Pinter and his friend and literary hero, Samuel Beckett, that ought to resonate with anyone who has seen their plays. After Pinter had gone on some time with a political harangue, he said to Beckett: 'I'm sorry, Sam, if I sound very gloomy.'

"Beckett replied, 'Oh, you can't be more gloomy than I am, Harold.'" --Jim Higgins

(See Pinter in my recommended reading.)

First among equals

"The Founding Fathers—Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin—have enjoyed a quasi-religious reverence in the United States to which there are few parallels in any other society. Floating above that circle of demigods is Washington, his name revered in a manner that almost transcends the limitations of a properly republican apotheosis." --The Economist

(See Washington in my recommended reading.)

Declaration sends different message

I was working on this letter to the editor when I came across my pastor's discussed in the previous post.

A will be done

Our pastor had a letter to the editor published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week. Noting an earlier article about a married Episcopal priest being ordained a deacon, he wrote, "At a time when our church is in serious need of priests, it is my hope and prayer that the Holy Spirit will inspire a change in the current law and permit baptized married Catholics to serve as priests." (The reference to law presumably is meant to eliminate any potential ambiguity that might otherwise leave the impression he's advocating women's ordination while avoiding saying so explicitly.)

His letter, though, brings to mind something that suggests another cause for a need for more priests. When the Milwaukee Archdiocese Priest Alliance, the local priests' union, was formed earlier in this decade, its members suggested the issues of most concern to them. One was vocations. The next step was to form committees to address these issues. The minutes of the March 24, 2004 meeting of MAPA's Convening Board [executive committee] say, in the review of the previous (February 25, 2004) meeting's minutes, that "Alan Jurkus said that he had no interest in heading up the committee to work on vocations issues." That is, for him and many other priests, vocations may be an issue of concern in some sense, but do not come across as a priority in the use of their time.

Double-Fault

"The evil-doers are bankers, gangsters and money launderers, not the K.G.B.

"But there is a filter of nostalgia that gives the narrative a jaunty midcentury feel.

"Characters go on tennis holiday. Spies sing from “La Traviata” while cooking. Everyone speaks French. And Britain is a major player in a global conspiracy." --Chelsea Cain

(See le Carre in my recommended reading.)

IMAX takes 'Journey to Mecca'

"the film tells the story of Battuta, considered one of the greatest travelers of the medieval world, who is virtually unknown by Western audiences. It recounts his epic 3,000-mile trek from his native Tangier to Mecca -- the start of a 29-year journey that would take him around the world, three times the distance that Marco Polo traveled ... . --Annysa Johnson

(See Ibn Buttata in my recommended reading.)

Sad prophet

"He wrote Journal of an Ordinary Grief in 1973 but this is its first translation into English. ... it recounts the poet’s house arrest, his run-ins with Israeli interrogators and various spells in jail." --The Economist

(See Darwish in my recommended reading.)

The bunk

A reader notes this word-origin post at Throw Grammar from the Train, Buncombe, bunkum, or both? Jan Freeman says John Russell Bartlett had included the word in his 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms, Bartlett's source saying,

A tedious speaker in Congress being interrupted and told it was no use to go on, for the members were all leaving the house, replied, "Never mind; I'm talking to Buncombe." Buncombe, in North Carolina, was the place he represented.

The verbal equivalent of earmarks?

Hitler reacts to the Hitler parodies being removed from YouTube

Posted by "Plankhead" at YouTube ... for now.

(See Hitler in my recommended reading.)

Why Liberals Don't Get the Tea Party Movement

"Neither professors of political science nor of history have made a priority of instructing students in the founding principles of American constitutional government. Nor have they taught about the contest between the progressive vision and the conservative vision that has characterized American politics since Woodrow Wilson (then a political scientist at Princeton) helped launch the progressive movement in the late 19th century by arguing that the Constitution had become obsolete and hindered democratic reform." --Peter Berkowitz

(See The Constitution in my recommended reading.)

At 100 years, Forster novel proves timeless

"Why bother reading a novel set in Edwardian England and written in a style recalling the vanished world of the Victorians?

"It's a fair question, particularly if one's experience with Howards End is restricted to the Merchant-Ivory film, a melodrama featuring a great cast and gorgeous costumes that conscientiously ticks off plot points while ignoring the larger questions behind them. It's a fussy period piece, and it has nothing to say to us.

"But Forster's novel does, and it bears directly on our increasing intolerance for anyone outside our designated camp of true believers." --Mike Fischer

(See Forster in my recommended reading.)

The book of kings

"Ferdowsi went to great lengths to avoid any words drawn from Arabic, a stark political statement after the turmoil of the Arab conquest of Persia in the seventh century. Small wonder then that so many Iranians regard him as the saviour of the Persian language." --The Economist

(See Firdausi in my recommended reading.)

Sunday School at St. Pangloss

Jennifer Christ fielded a question in the Parenting Section of last week's Milwaukee Catholic Herald.

I am a catechist who is involved in first Eucharist preparation. I am appalled that so few of the children know their basic prayers, yet they are going to receive the Body of Christ. Our faith formation director says there’s nothing we can do about it. What do you think?

The question is headlined Why do so few children know their prayers? as opposed to Why do so many people on pastoral staffs say nothing can be done?

My foursome, vanguard party of the working class

After his re-election six years ago, Senator Russ Feingold took a golfing vacation in Alabama which he wrote about in Salon.

I'm tired of seeing the power-hungry persuade the hardworking people of this country that the only way to preserve important values is to vote against their own families' basic interests.

His claim to know people's interests better than they do was not well-received then, and it appears the voters have now concluded he had not actually learned anything from the experience.

Whom will Democrats blame for their midterm defeats?

Christopher Beam withPrecriminations Monday at Slate.

The complete list of scapegoats will not be available until after the election. But it never hurts to get a head start.

Scott Rasmussen's polling analysis, summarized by Althouse.

The theory is, the Republicans will win big because people want to say "no" to the Democrats. If so, the Democrats should be kicking themselves — stomping themselves — for going all-out defining the GOP as "the party of 'no.'" These days, no is what people are for.

Sign shop of the times

Call to Action returns to Milwaukee November 5th through 7th for its annual national meeting.

This year’s conference, Faithful Prophets: God Alive in Every Generation, recognizes that God works and speaks through all persons of every age in each generation.

It's like a vintage Dr. Pepper commercial; I'm a prophet, you're a prophet, etc.. Let's see if you can prophesy one of the keynote speakers.