西儒 ─ The Western Confucian

Ad Orientem

2009-07-11T17:16:00.005+09:00

"GI Korea" posts the above photo of "Chaplain Kenny Lynch conduct[ing] services north of Hwachon, Korea, for men of 31st Regt. August 28, 1951" — Picture of the Day: Christian Church Service During the Korean War. Of course, what we see is a Traditional Latin Mass, which is what all of them would have been at the time.

Stephen Hand's Return

2009-07-11T17:11:00.008+09:00

A venerable Catholic presence on the Internet has announced the welcome news of his intention "to move beyond explicit theological controversy, and return to working for a better spiritual world through the Christic-Franciscan works of mercy and peace, the beatitudes, etc., in a difficult time" — A Note to Readers.

I encourage everyone to read that post, because it contains a very imnportant prayer request and the remarkable story of how he came to his decision, and to visit his new site — Works of Mercy, Works of Life, edited by Stephen Hand.

First Lady in Black

2009-07-11T17:07:00.009+09:00

Contrasting yesterday's unfortunate incident — South Korea's Protestant First Lady Violates Vatican Protocol — is the happy news that "Mrs. Obama followed protocol perfectly and looked very dignified," as reported by Terry Nelson — All rightey then! She's back on the best dressed list.

(The President is seen presenting the stole of Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, a second class relic, to the Pontiff — Obama’s gift to the pope? It’s definitely not an iPod.)

The "Alternative Tradition" Defined

2009-07-11T16:36:00.003+09:00

Patrick Deneen left off reminding us that "the two great traditions of America – liberalism and conservatism – are really one and the same" and hinting at the real alternative by noting that "nothing brings the Left and Right together quicker than a good critique of modernity" — The Alternative Tradition in America.

After making note of the Tocquevillean observation that "not only is liberty good for religion: religion is good for liberty," Mr Deneen describes "specific features of this 'Alternative Tradition' that draw deeply from classical and religious wellsprings, and that are fundamentally distinct from the various waves of modernity" — The Alternative Tradition in America – Part 2.

The Future of South Korea

2009-07-11T16:21:00.003+09:00

There doesn't appear to be much of one:

Clarity from Korea's Bishops

2009-07-11T16:09:00.012+09:00

A reminder of "the strong opposition of Catholics to the introduction of 'mercy killing' in the country" — Korean bishops: "death with dignity" is a euphemism for legalizing euthanasia. Quoted is Msgr. Gabriel Chang Bong-hun, President of the South Korean Bishops Conference:

We are not against the refusal of the patient to remain attached to the respirator, when he/she reaches the last moment of life and want to breathe on their own. However, this refusal [of the respirator] should not be construed as a desire to die. The removal of life support involves the interruption of an artificial prolonging of life in terminal patients. But in any case, the basic medical care should not be interrupted, including the provision of food and water.

The case that prompted the above message has been much reported on on these pages, most recently about three weeks ago — Kim Ok-kyung, Rest in Peace.

The Mogambo Guru on Gold

2009-07-11T16:06:00.008+09:00

"And while this may be a 'new era' for most things, I'm betting that the 'buy gold when your government is acting like spendthrift, corrupt morons' philosophy that has served the 'old era' of the last 4,500 years of human history so well will continue to do so now," says Richard Daughty — Double-digit doom.

Thoughts About Sarah Palin

2009-07-10T23:47:00.004+09:00

If I had any, I imagine they might be close to those of "nouspraktikon" — Two Cheers for Sarah Palin! Then again, they might be closer to these from Radley Balko, quoted by Mark Shea via John Schwenkler — Pretty Much Everything I've Tried to Say:

It is possible that Sarah Palin was both unfairly mistreated and personally attacked by the media and many on the left, and that her family was rather ruthlessly and mercilessly run through the ringer . . . and that she’s a not particularly bright, not particularly curious, once libertarian-leaning governor who sadly devolved into a predictable, buzzword spouting culture warrior when she was prematurely picked for national office by John McCain.

Sign of the Day (and of the Times)

2009-07-10T14:42:00.016+09:00

The Marmot's Hole links to a report that an American "community that seemed on the road to becoming a ghost town has taken a turn toward prosperity despite the recession, thanks to.... Korean car manufacturer Kia" — Town hits economic jackpot to become 'Kia-ville'.

I'm happy for the good people of West Point, Georgia, but heartbroken for America. How did America go from the world's manufacturing powerhouse to a source of cheap labor for one of our protectorates, who, we should remember, kept its markets closed to our products for decades, while we guaranteed its defense?

"World Political Authority"

2009-07-10T14:29:00.004+09:00

Lewis McCrary examines the three most troubling words (for a paleoconservative) in the latest papal encyclical — Is the Pope for New World Order?

Rather than try to teach the pope as a certain Mr. Novak has done, Mr. McCrary has the humility to try to learn, and concludes that "a closer reading of Caritas demonstrates that more international solidarity is not necessarily a recipe for global Leviathan, particularly if it is conditioned by the Church’s formulation of subsidiarity."

Neo-Conservative, Neo-Catholic

2009-07-10T13:52:00.010+09:00

"The Catholic tradition—even the wise Pope Benedict—still seems to put too much stress upon caritas, virtue, justice, and good intentions, and not nearly enough on methods for defeating human sin in all its devious and persistent forms," wrote Michael Novak, in his critique of the latest papal encyclical — The Pope of Caritapolis.

Of course, we are free to take issue with this or that non-magisterial statement from a pope (who, after all, is only a pope). The disturbing (but unsurprising) part in the statement, from a man with a history of arguing against popes in defense of American imperial wars, is its advocacy of "methods for defeating human sin in all its devious and persistent forms."

It follows that for Mr. Novak, bombing A-rabs is one of these methods. How eerily similar is Mr. Novak's call to George W. Bush's vow to "eliminate Evil from this world."

Are not "caritas, virtue, [and] justice" (let us ignore the snide and uncharitable allusion to "good intentions") the very "methods for defeating human sin?" And will not "human sin in all its devious and persistent forms" only be defeated with the General Judgment?

I've always been wary of using terms like "Neo-Catholic" or calling into question the faith of my brothers over political questions, but what is an eschaton-immanentizing call for "methods for defeating human sin in all its devious and persistent forms" if not a "new gospel?" Mr. Novak is a loose cannon (quite literally) with the American Church.

[link via Catholic and Enjoying It!]

A Eugenicist on the Supreme Court?

2009-07-10T13:44:00.003+09:00

"Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of," said Justice Ruth Ginsburg — Just Enough of Her, Way Too Many of Them.

Mark Shea calls the interview with the Grey Lady in which the comment was made "this week's 'manufacturing consent' moment," noting "how the reporter simply skips the eugenics remark about eliminating undesirables and re-directs the conversation right back to standard pro-choice boilerplate."

The Fall of Communist China?

2009-07-10T13:10:00.004+09:00

Justin Raimondo says the "old-fashioned full-fledged race riot" last week "goes a long way toward exposing the sheer brittleness of the regime" — China’s Porcelain Empire.

Noting that "the central government in Beijing has a very difficult time exerting dominance over outlying provinces, and the leadership, far from being unified, exhibits several competing centers of power," he suggests that "China is far too big, and its government woefully top-heavy and out-of-touch." He concludes, "Events in Urumqi augur the break-up of the Communist state, just as the Polish upsurge led by Solidarity prefigured the implosion of the Soviet empire."

A Libertarian Defends McCarthyism

2009-07-10T12:22:00.005+09:00

Justin Raimondo debunks "the liberal delusion that McCarthyism was a mean-spirited campaign of lies and smears based entirely on the ambition and alcohol-fueled paranoia of one flawed human being, whose name has become synonymous with witch-hunting" — Seeing Reds.

Mr. Raimondo identifies "the real history and nature of McCarthyism, which pointed to an internal enemy, rather than the alleged external military threat from the Soviet Union, as the main danger to America." This, he explains, is "why liberal anti-Communists, and the intellectual predecessors of today’s neoconservatives, recoiled at the sight of the populist McCarthy rallying millions of Americans against their own government and the elites who controlled it," and also "why the postwar remnants of the old 'isolationist' America First movement were such ardent McCarthyites."

"If the main danger was at home, then we need not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy," summarizes Mr. Raimondo.

Mark Lee Soon-young's 2,624-Page Labor of Love

2009-07-10T12:14:00.003+09:00

"Years of hard work have paid off" — Lay Catholic publishes Korean-Latin dictionary. "I wanted to have a Latin dictionary since the Church uses Latin very frequently," explained the office worker and father, who completed the project in his spare time.

His previous works include a four-volume "Daily History of the Korean Catholic Church" and a "directory of Korean priests" that "covers personal information on a total of 4,382 Catholic priests from Saint Father Andrew Kim Dae-gon, the first Korean priest who died in 1846, to those who were ordained on Sept. 14, 2005." He has also "published the Psalms in five languages: English, Greek, Hebrew, Korean and Latin, in one volume," and his "next project is a multilingual Bible."

Brüno and the Good Doctor

2009-07-10T11:56:00.006+09:00

In one scene, Brüno gets former presidential candidate Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, in a hotel room and tries to seduce him. Paul rushes out of the room horrified and, guess what, it’s not funny: A serious, accomplished man takes time out to do an interview. He’s treated appallingly, reacts with anger … and we’re supposed to think less of him? Don’t think so.

Film critic Mike LaSalle, quoted above by Lew Rockell — Ron Paul vs. Sacha B. Cohen.

In blogging about this before — Queer Attack on Gentleman of the Old Republic — I highlighted the facts that Sacha Baron Cohen was "the youngest of three sons in an Orthodox Jewish family," "first acted in theatrical productions featuring the Socialist-Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror," "spent a year in Israel at Kibbutz Rosh HaNikra and Kibbutz Beit HaEmek as part of the Shnat Habonim Dror," and "keeps kosher and generally observes the Jewish Shabbat, refusing to answer the phone on Shabbat." Make what connections you will; I've made mine.

In that post, it was reported that "the movie is a mix of interviews and stunts targeting... conservatives of various stripes." Why target a libertarian who at the time was a fringe figure? Could it be because Congressman Ron Paul has never "mist[aken] Tel Aviv for the capital of the United States," to borrow Russell Kirk's phrase, as "some eminent Neoconservatives" have done and continue to do?

Is North Korea Behind the Cyberattacks?

2009-07-10T11:47:00.002+09:00

Some folks here in the South are not so sure — North’s role in Internet attack gets questioned. Opposition Democratic Party spokesman Noh Young-min "suggested that the National Intelligence Service may have political motives." From the article:

“Increasingly, the National Intelligence Service seems to be trying to achieve political aims, rather than to collect intelligence,” he said. “I wonder if the agency is seeking to justify the bill that would expand its jurisdiction, or the hard-line North Korean policy of the current administration.”

Noh was referring to the Terrorism Protection Bill, which would allow the National Intelligence Service to establish a national anti-terrorism center and would lay the legal basis for the agency to work with their overseas counterparts in fighting terrorism. The bill was drafted in 2001 but has yet to pass the National Assembly.

Sound familar?

The Mogambo Guru and Dr. Doom Agree

2009-07-10T11:42:00.003+09:00

Richard Daughty announces the end of "the phase where a national idiocy prevailed where everyone 'invests for the long term' by putting all their money into stocks, bonds, houses, bigger government and an orgy of over-consumption, which is proven to be the wrong thing to do, and where people did not put their money in gold, which is the proven right thing to do" — Abandon ship.

"Gold prices are poised for a 'spectacular' and prolonged rally as the recession deepens and investors finally become disillusioned with the U.S. dollar" — Peter Schiff on Gold and Gold Stocks.

South Korea's Protestant First Lady Violates Vatican Protocol

2009-07-10T11:28:00.004+09:00

She "was dressed in white, which is not in keeping with Vatican Protocol since it is allowed only for Catholic queens but not other women, who traditionally dress in black," we learn in this article about her husand's meeting with the Pontiff — Economic crisis and Korean situation at the centre of talks between Pope and President Lee. The article mentions that "white... is the colour of peace in Korea."

I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but one would think that in Confucian Korea, where Li ("'customs', 'etiquette', 'morals', and 'rules of proper behavior'") is all-important, someone from the diplomatic corps would have warned her. The visitor to Korea is often told by his hosts that "when in rome, do as the romans do" ("로마에 가면 로마법을 따라라"); it seems the Korean first lady, when in Rome, did as a Korean would do.

Washington's War on Switzerland

2009-07-09T22:48:00.003+09:00

"Wouldn't it be delicious if Switzerland's resistance proved to be the precipitating event that brought down Washington's wretched empire of debt and deceit?" concludes William N. Grigg, in an article on the attempt "to impose a $780 million fine on the Swiss for their refusal to enforce U.S. tax laws within their own country" — Beware William Tell's Second Arrow.

Resisting the Green Globalists

2009-07-09T22:38:00.005+09:00

Poor countries have been served by their leaders for a change — Leaders of developing nations shun plan to cut greenhouse gases in half.

Nulla est homini causa philosophandi nisi ut beatus sit

2009-07-09T22:13:00.006+09:00

"There is for man no reason for philosophizing other than that he be happy," wrote Saint Augustine of Hippo, quoted by Prof. James V. Schall, S.J., who comments, "Few sentences are more powerful, more consoling, and more accurate" — The Life of the Philosopher. Also quoted is Pope Ratzinger, who wrote:

The figure of Christ is interpreted on the ancient sarcophagi principally by two images: the philosopher and the shepherd. Philosophy at that time was not generally seen as a difficult academic discipline, as it is today. Rather, the philosopher was someone who knew how to teach the essential art: the art of being authentically human—the art of living and dying.

Islamo-Finance

2009-07-09T14:16:00.006+09:00

"Mistrusting bankers has been good for their mutual funds," reports Rod Dreher — Why you should invest with Muslims. Others have said the same — Vatican Says Islamic Finance May Help Western Banks in Crisis. Having lived for a time in Malaysia, I now regret not having taken any of the many opportunities I had to invest in Islamic banking, such as Bank Islam Malaysia.

Liberals, Classical and Social

2009-07-09T13:52:00.005+09:00

"Classical liberals—their adjective a response to the then new ‘social’ liberalism [John Stuart] Mill helped usher in—question the priority Mill gave to ‘individuality’ over other forms of life, and his critique of the role of custom in social life," writes Andrew Norton on the anniversary of Mills' infamous book — On Liberty at 150.

"Though every liberal wants to limit state control over individuals, in On Liberty Mill was as concerned by private as public power," writes Mr. Norton. Later, he continues, "On Liberty marks a turning point in liberalism. To the freedoms all liberals support, it adds an ideal of individuality, complete with experiments in living." Of the wiser, older brand of liberalism, he says:

Classical liberalism is less rationalistic and individualistic, but more pluralistic, than Mill’s liberalism. Classical liberals support the freedom to conduct ‘experiments in living,’ as they support entrepreneurship in business. Innovation is necessary to progress but error-prone; only some social and commercial experiments will prove themselves to be better than the status quo. So classical liberals take a more benign view than Mill of custom and established social practices, which offer template ‘plans of life.’ People’s lives are not second-rate just because they are derivative rather than original. Nor should civil society be attacked by the state for not supporting individuality, as modern left-liberals do in using anti-discrimination law to enforce Millian ideals of personal autonomy on conservative religious institutions. There are diverse ways of living a good life, and governments should not try to reduce their number.

Caritas in Veritate Summer School

2009-07-09T12:54:00.002+09:00

John Schwenkler proposes "reading the new encyclical together, a chapter or two at a time" over period of "about two months" — Up for a “Caritas in Veritate” Reading Group? He suggests "post[ing] some very general talking points – perhaps on Sunday afternoons? – and then let[ting] the discussion unfold in the comments from there." If interested, sign-up on his blog.