Assorted links

1. Simon Sarmiento reflects on the Papal visit.

2. Should they have let the guy's house burn down? (It seems he'd regularly paid in the past, but forgot to pay this year.)

3. Appealing to our better selves. Or something like that. (Related: The me of today recalls the wild man of his youth as a sort of fictional character.)

4. Twin Cities archdiocese says Catholics should expect to be denied communion if they are wearing rainbow buttons.

5. http://rejectiontherapy.com/about/

6. Thrive for a year. Just add water.

7. Power leads us to dehumanise others.

8. Everyone loves her mother.

Posted by John B. Chilton on October 7, 2010 12:50 PM | |
Comments (6)

Link 3 does not work.

Malcolm French+

[Fixed. Thank you. - ed.]

Posted by Malcolm+ [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 7, 2010 1:54 PM

I am stunned by the callousness of the arguments about the fire department that allowed a family's house to burn because they hadn't paid their $75 fee.

I'm really glad that God is not a libertarian....

Paige Baker

Posted by paigeb [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 7, 2010 4:40 PM

In this instance the fire department was a government agency. Thus, this example cannot be used against the libertarian argument that fire fighting services need not or should be a government service, or that we should allow the market forces to determine the price and quantity of fire fighting. If there was a failure here it was a government failure, not a market failure.

The question remains, should they have let his house burn down? Should they have taken him up on his offer to pay anything to put out the fire? Were they lax in not following up with loyal customers with 2nd reminders that their insurance was about to lapse (as private insurers do).

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 7, 2010 5:08 PM

[Re #8]

SCR*W the grammar Nazis who say you can't use plural!

If I don't know the gender of the person (or it's only a rhetorical "someone"), I say THEY/THEIR. Get over it!

[Note: I said the above---more politely ;-/ ---in response to an objection in my doctoral dissertation. They (don't remember if it was a he or she! *LOL*) didn't object again, and that's how it was printed in the final version! :-D]

JC Fisher (for whom, as a GenderQueer, this matters more than most)

Posted by tgflux [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 7, 2010 5:24 PM

Re #4

I'm torn. I simultaneously want to (as TEC) REACH OUT to rainbow-button wearing RCs, in invitation . . . and support them right where they are (their local RC mass).

Thoughts?

JC Fisher

Posted by tgflux [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 7, 2010 5:27 PM

The question remains, should they have let his house burn down?

I really cannot even believe you pose the question. Just as I cannot believe that those "firefighters" stood by and watched a family's home burn to the ground over $75.

Under no circumstance can I see their actions as even human--much less moral.

In my worst moments, I hope that those who stood by and did nothing have to suffer the most extreme consequences of even their trivial mistakes. That is the only way they will learn how evil their inaction was--when they, too, are broken and decimated by the inhumanity of those around them.

I need to go pray for forgiveness now...

Paige Baker

Posted by paigeb [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 7, 2010 11:25 PM

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