I haven't ran anything about William F. Buckley's death, mostly because many others were doing so far better than I could. For some reason, though, I particularly liked John Zmirak's tribute at Taki's Top Drawer. It has an autobiographical/Catholic slant I enjoyed. Excerpt:
Around the old offices of NR--situated, I remember, just down the block from a haunted-looking Swedenborgian church--an entire intellectual sub-culture of (mostly Catholic) activists and authors centered, much of it supported by the lasting heritage of Cardinals Spellman and Cooke. Indeed, one the best things about NYC is that it has never had a really evil archbishop--and consequently, much more than Chicago or Los Angeles, still retains an infrastructure of old-style ethnic Catholicism.
Zmirak, incidentally, is possibly the premier Catholic writer today. I realize I'm on a limb here, given that he is not terribly well-known, but the man brings a stunningly high level of erudition and style to his work. He is the Catholic equivalent of Mark Steyn and Theodore Dalrymple. Ignore the few typos at the piece linked above. When Zmirak brings It (pardon the basketball metaphor), he brings it hard.
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I'm not sure why I'm linking to this: Coco's Variety Store. I guess I'm linking to it because it's different, it screams "authentic LA," and I really got a kick out of it. It's basically a variety store's blog. Blog topics: stuff for sale, Los Angeles, nostalgia. Excerpt (a blog entry advertising a 1980s aqua-colored bicycle):
Now for sale at Coco's for $119.95, please consider this bicycle for once and future high school girlfriends weaving along the sidewalk in a wine cooler haze.
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Obama contrasts discrimination against gays to the Sermon on the Mount, and in the process disses St. Paul. Obama quote:
I will tell you that I don't believe in gay marriage, but I do think that people who are gay and lesbian should be treated with dignity and respect and that the state should not discriminate against them. So, I believe in civil unions that allow a same-sex couple to visit each other in a hospital or transfer property to each other. I don't think it should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state. If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans. That's my view. But we can have a respectful disagreement on that.
Let me focus on that last sentence: "But we can have a respectful disagreement on that." Can we? Is that what the anti-discrimination employment legislation your party support allows? I can disagree with you on whether I want to hire a gay person? I can decide not to have gay advertisers on my blog without getting sued? I thought the whole point of the gay agenda was to cram it down our throats and not allow respectful disagreement, that anyone who disagrees is simply a bigot like Jim Crowites in the 1950s. Where's the respect in that?
I'm not buying it.
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The new issue of Catholic Men's Quarterly is out. It's a good magazine that's making a niche. If possible, please support it.
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Reminder about my link policy: If you're a blogger, I will provide a reciprocal link. You just have to ask. I might delete your link if your blog becomes inactive or objectionable, but other than that, anyone who requests and provides a reciprocal link will be accommodated.
