December 21, 2010 | 8:17 pm

Pope links clergy sex abuse to moral relativism

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Pope Benedict XVI has spent a lot of time apologizing for the Catholic Church’s dark past few decades of (not) handling clergy sex abuse. But I really don’t follow these comments, from RNS:

Pope Benedict XVI deplored the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and linked it to other vices, including child pornography, sexual tourism and drug abuse, which he said were all promoted by an ideology of social moral relativism.

The pope made his remarks on Monday (Dec. 20), in his annual Christmas address to leaders of the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s central bureaucracy.

Certainly, he must realize that the proponents of these heinous acts were, in fact, not moral relativists but representatives of the Catholic Church. Obviously, sexual abuse, despite what is suggested in this “South Park” episode, is not a part of Catholic theology. But it’s also not a product of a moral relativism.

December 21, 2010 | 2:26 pm

Julian Assange’s anti-Semite in Russia

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I think WikiLeaks is a good thing. But I don’t think anti-Semites like Israel Shamir are good guys. How are the two related? Well, Reason reports that Shamir—no, that is not his real name—actually works for Wikileaks in an official capacity as “the group’s content aggregator in Russia, the man who “selects and distributes” the cables to Russian news organizations.”

Here’s what Shamir thinks about Jews:

So let us quickly recap the foulness of Shamir’s political views. As I noted last week, he has called the Auschwitz concentration camp “an internment facility, attended by the Red Cross (as opposed to the US internment centre in Guantanamo),” not a place of extermination. He told a Swedish journalist (and fellow Holocaust denier) that “it’s every Muslim and Christian’s duty to deny the Holocaust.” The Jews, he says, are a “virus in human form” and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is real.

There is a lot more here, including links detailing Shamir’s WikiLeaks’ creds.

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December 21, 2010 | 1:11 pm

What Jews make of Eric Cantor

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor is set to become the House Majority Leader, and, not surprisingly, Jewish have “mixed feelings.” From RNS:

In the new Republican-controlled House, Cantor, 47, will be second in line only to Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner. But while no Jewish lobby questions Cantor’s commitment to Israel, they generally share little of his domestic policies.

“His conservatism simply doesn’t appeal to mainstream Jewish voters,” said Tom Dine, the former head of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the influential pro-Israel lobby. “Poll after poll shows that the American Jewish community is progressive, and a smaller percentage is concerned about only Israel.”

Where most Jewish groups in Washington lobby for a strong social safety net, abortion rights and a strict separation of church and state, Cantor is most often on the opposing side. And even on Israel, some Jewish political leaders say, Cantor’s approach is too aggressive for Israel’s good.

To be sure, you can always find “some Jewish political leaders” who thinks a politician’s stance on Israel is either too far-right or too left-wing—and often multiple Jewish leaders who think both about the same politician. The insights about social issues, thought, have a broader appeal.

Read the rest here.

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December 20, 2010 | 8:53 pm

What Californians think about Jews

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

This video opens strong but is otherwise pretty ... meh. However, be sure not to miss the Israeli at the 3:30 mark.

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December 20, 2010 | 1:21 pm

Joe Biden’s war on Christmas

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I’m not sure what being a senator has to do with understanding Christmas. But here’s a funny video from Reason.

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December 20, 2010 | 12:09 am

Maybe it’s time to forgive Michael Vick

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I’ve been stingy in offering forgiveness to Michael Vick. I was skeptical when the former Atlanta Falcons star said he’d found Jesus. And the dog lover in me just hasn’t wanted to appreciate the possibility that prison really did set Vick straight. In the above video, Vick does some of the campaigning against animal cruelty that, ethically but not legally, he is more than obliged to do.

Today the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback orchestrated one of the greatest comebacks the league has ever seen—28 points in 7 minutes and 30 seconds—and he’s not only a lock for the NFL’s comeback player of the year but also a frontrunner for MVP. I’m still pulling for Philip Rivers, but I can’t claim Vick isn’t as worthy a candidate.

Eighteen months ago I mentioned an On Faith column from The Washington Post suggesting that Vick deserves redemption. Maybe now it’s truly time to forgive Michael Vick.

My wife, who is better with the grace and mercy than I, told me as much. Not forget the wicked acts he did, but give Vick the fresh start he likely has earned. ESPN’s Rick Reilly agrees:

The man is contrite. He is humbled. He is chastened. He has already given 24 speeches for the Humane Society. He has dismissed his old friends, has even run from them when they show up. What else is he supposed to do? Move into a dog kennel himself?

Wednesday, the L.A. Times ran yet another front-page story about how some of the 47 rescued pit bulls from the Vick kennels are doing. You know the answer because you saw the story the first 100 times: not well. Some of them still shake, cower and won’t bark.

I love dogs, too, but how long does Vick have to star in “The Unforgiven”? He has faced it. Admitted it. Apologized deeply for it. Went to federal prison for it. Got cut for it. Suspended for it. And now campaigns against it. How long must he carry this cross?

You can read the rest here. The reality, of course, is that Vick doesn’t need our forgiveness. But he may well have earned it anyway.

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December 17, 2010 | 3:39 pm

Another Festivus miracle!

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Pretty funny story from the OC Register about an Orange County prison inmate, Malcolm Alarmo King, who got a better diet than the other inmates by claiming he practiced the religion of “Festivism.”

King’s quest for a healthier eating option while behind bars ended with a county lawyer forced to research the origin of Festivus and its traditions and a Superior Court judge recognizing the holiday – which lodged its place in pop culture on an episode of Seinfeld – as a legitimate religion.

The menu selection at Theo Lacy apparently didn’t please King, 38, when he was booked into the jail on drug charges in April. They serve salami there. And that didn’t quite fit in with the fitness buff/ gym clothes model’s lifestyle. So King, who is also suspected of being in the country illegally from Liberia, asked for kosher meals.

That was not because of his religion, but because they were healthier – and the 5′8″ 180 lb King wanted double portions to maintain his physique, said his attorney, Fred Thiagarajah.

Inmates creating their own religion in hopes of a better diet is not unheard of. When I was writing years ago about RLUIPA, I heard of someone claiming they were of a religion that only permitted them to eat red wine and red meat. My understanding, though, was that judges and wardens could see through such insincere requests.

More shocking is that there is still a person in this world for whom Festivus is a new joke.

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December 17, 2010 | 9:46 am

Catholic Church says 1859 Virgin Mary visit authentic

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

From the Los Angeles Times:

Amid a patchwork of Wisconsin farmland half an hour’s drive northeast of Green Bay is a modest shrine with a brick chapel, a school and a flow of pilgrims speaking of profound healing power.

The power is said to come from the Virgin Mary, who appeared to a Belgian immigrant 151 years ago where the shrine now stands. But all believers had to show for it were years of anecdotes—and the canes, wheelchairs and crutches left behind in the chapel’s crypt by those who claimed they had been healed.

Now, the Roman Catholic Church has issued a decree: The apparition in 1859 was authentic.

I’m skeptical, to say this least. I’ve written about enough perceived apparitions—even got called out to one in the curtains of a San Bernardino window—to know that people see what they want to see. Not to say that shadows don’t give the appearance of something being there.

This apparition sounds like it was an actual physical visit from the Virgin Mary, which makes me even more skeptical, and the “investigation,” which amounted to historical research, that the Catholic Church performed is not going to persuade me otherwise.

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December 16, 2010 | 11:29 pm

Quite the work Christmas video

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Not a bad business Christmas video from the Zimmerman Agency, a planning, advertising, digital marketing, social marketing and PR firm. All done in one shot. Not really sure what clients would be interested in watching a five-minute Christmas video, but there are ugly sweaters and some male employees pay homage to Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg.

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December 16, 2010 | 9:09 pm

Obama’s Christian faith back in foreground

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I know I’ve been a little MIA the past few days, but now I’m just one very long seminar paper (on how and why Congress should save the news gatherers) away from being half way done with law school. That loud exhale you just heard? It was me, though, to be sure, the life of a student is not so bad.

In the meantime what did I miss? Well, it looks like President Obama, whose Christian faith was a constant question during his presidential campaign and then again after he moved into the White House but elected against joining a Washington church, has decided to again embrace the Christian label.

This headline from the Religion News Service—“Obama, in shadow of worrisome polls, embraces `Christian’ label”—has just the right balance of skepticism and cynicism. Here’s a snippet of the story:

What changed? For one, three separate polls in the past year have found that one in four Americans think the president is a Muslim, 43 percent don’t know what faith he follows, and four in 10 Protestant pastors don’t consider Obama a Christian.

Stephen Mansfield, author of “The Faith of Barack Obama,” said the polls “had to be a wake-up call to the White House.”

Though Obama has spoken of his faith numerous times, saying he prays daily and talking at Easter about how “as Christians, we believe that redemption can be delivered by faith in Jesus Christ,” his most recent language is even more open, more personal.

“I think he’s just bringing more of himself to the game, so to speak,” said Mansfield. “It’s not as though he’s changed religions or something. He’s just being open about it.”

As I mentioned, Obama’s occasionally Christian tone goes back to his presidential campaign and likely has been resurrected—ahem—by the lingering belief among a fifth of Americans that Obama is actually Muslim.

Obama’s theology, though, hasn’t always lined up with Christian beliefs, such as this statement in September. He also got in trouble twice in about a month for omitting “creator” from the line in the Declaration of Independence about all humans being endowed with inalienable rights. One of those is in the above video.

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December 15, 2010 | 2:02 am

Hefner, his bunnies and the basement of LA’s First Congregational

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Via Wikimedia Commons

Kevin Roderick at LAObserved has an interesting post about Hugh Hefner, who made an appearance tonight in the basement of the First Congregational Church on Commonwealth in LA. Pretty sure that’s a historical building, though it’s hard to imagine it’s as old as ol’ Hugh.

And, no, he wasn’t there to praise the Lord. Hef was there to be praised.

No, not for founding Playboy (though they didn’t hate the playa). He was praised by LA Councilman and regular cheerleader Tom LaBonge for helping save the Hollywood sign and the open space around it. Kevin wrote:

There was some buzz about whether Hefner would appear, since the dinner was held in the basement of the imposing First Congregational Church on Commonwealth Avenue. Well, he did come, accompanied by two blondes, Chrystal & Anna, and he tweeted about it. Hefner received accolades (and a loaf of Monastery of the Angels pumpkin bread) from City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who praised Hefner for recognizing the beauty “of a naked––mountain.”

I should also thank Hef. On clear, cool days, the Hollywood sign is one of the first things when I reach the top of the hill above my apartment some 30 miles away in the South Bay. When it’s visible, it provides a great start to my day.

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December 13, 2010 | 2:30 pm

Douthat: The culture wars they are a-changin

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Ross Douthat, whose NYT mug reminds me a bit of DiCaprio’s in “Inception,” wrote in his weekly column that the United State’s cultural chasm is fading:

This week, the National Marriage Project is releasing a study charting the decline of the two-parent family among what it calls the “moderately educated middle” — the 58 percent of Americans with high school diplomas and often some college education, but no four-year degree.

This decline is depressing, but it isn’t surprising. We’ve known for a while that America has a marriage gap: college graduates divorce infrequently and bear few children out of wedlock, while in the rest of the country unwed parenthood and family breakdown are becoming a new normal. This gap has been one of the paradoxes of the culture war: highly educated Americans live like Ozzie and Harriet despite being cultural liberals, while middle America hews to traditional values but has trouble living up to them.

But the Marriage Project’s data suggest that this paradox is fading. It’s no longer clear that middle America does hold more conservative views on marriage and family, or that educated Americans are still more likely to be secular and socially liberal.

That division held a generation ago, but now it’s diminishing. In the 1970s, for instance, college-educated Americans overwhelmingly supported liberal divorce laws, while the rest of the country was ambivalent. Likewise, college graduates were much less likely than high school graduates to say that premarital sex was “always wrong.” Flash forward to the 2000s, though, and college graduates have grown more socially conservative on both fronts (50 percent now favor making divorces harder to get, up from 34 percent in the age of key parties), while the least educated Americans have become more permissive.

When Douthat says that it’s no longer clear that Middle America holds more conservative views on marriage, I can only assume he is referring to marriage between a man and a woman. Then again, as we saw in California, even liberal parts of the country have opposed same-sex marriage.

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