Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
|
|
| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
|
|
Friday, January 07, 2005 Hmmm From CNN: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and his wife, Court TV legal analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, are filing for divorce after three years of marriage. I wouldn't call this poetic justice, but it curious that folks that do not think that marriage is disturbed by homosexuals coopting it should have so little respect for their own. "It is with great sadness that we announce today that we have decided to end our marriage. Unfortunately, the demands of our respective careers have made it too difficult for us to continue as a married couple," they wrote. Well, careers are more important, after all. posted by Mark Butterworth | 4:24 PM | Thursday, January 06, 2005 Speaking of movies I screened (heh, heh) the new movie, Beyond the Sea, a fantasy biopic of Bobby Darin by Kevin Spacey. Spacey wrote, directed, produced, and stars in this tour de force of Spacey finding a way at his age to present the life of someone he clearly admires in the highest degree. I liked it very much. There is a strange tension I felt between the image of Spacey and my memory of Darin, but the musical numbers are outstanding. The movie worked in a way that was quirky but valid. It slowed down and lost energy when Darin enters the mid 60's and goes hippie with pinhead political views, but I give credit at the end when Spacey doesn't go for the lump in the throat and three hanky finish of o how sad he died so young. Instead, Spacey ends it on a high note of celebration in song. And Spacey's vocals are simply amazing. Ebert said he sang better than Darin did. I can't agree with that. Darin created his own style and manner, and Spacey's singing makes you want to go home and listen to Darin all over again and compare the two, but as I said, it's a tour de force in every respect. It's hard to judge a movie on a single viewing, but I kept thinking of how much my nineteen year old daughter will love this movie (except for the politics part). This may be one of the best biopics ever made. It certainly took an original stance in presenting that life, and dealing with Spacey's age and circumstances. You forget his age after awhile and simply accept him as Darin. Yet, if you never saw the movie, Captain Newman, M.D., for which he was nominated for an Academy award or heard his orginal singing on Mack the Knife, I wonder if this film would inform us about Darin that much. I also kept expecting to see Darin as the great showman, the way he'd play a dozen instruments, and just keep things revved up. We only get a single song at a time from scene to scene when he's onstage performing and don't see the versatility and extended energy. Fine movie. Go see it. A few unnecessary vulgarities (F bombs) here and there, but generally quickly forgotten or excused. Would still have preferred them not being there, but what can you do? Every movie with any adult substance always has a some unneeded words. They just don't get it. posted by Mark Butterworth | 5:24 PM | A Contest. Whoo Hoo! There is a trailer to the movie, In Good Company, here that the nice people at Grace Hill Media would like you to watch so that I can qualify for their contest for a fully private screening for as many people as I want. That doesn't really matter to me. I don't know that many people to fill a theater (but I could invite my church I suppose, just hope it's not a vulgar film). But I want to play along for the heck of it. I will write a blog review of the movie after I screen it, though. Hope it's positive. posted by Mark Butterworth | 5:14 PM | FREE STUFF! FREE STUFF! Hugh Hewitt reported (scroll down) on his show that a new movie about to come out, In Good Company, is giving out two free passes to bloggers to screen their movie and write about it on their blogs. Hugh's point is that this company gets it, that blogs are a new way of marketing and a worthwhile way to advertise goods and services. If you want to screen this movie, email to info@gracehillmedia.com. I did, but I haven't heard anything yet. posted by Mark Butterworth | 10:03 AM | Tuesday, January 04, 2005 They are bogglers all Some days my mind reels when I consider how driven some folks are who are my age or thereabouts. Hugh Hewitt, Dennis Prager, and Michael Medved are just a few who amaze me. I would think that simply having a 3 hour radio show every day, and then maybe a hobby would satisfy a normal person, but these guys are always on the go. Hewitt teaches, practices law, and writes his blog (with hundreds of links every day), and writes books, makes promo tours, run marathons (or half of them), and must read everything out there in print journalism and the blogosphere. I'm exhausted simply typing all that. When I was young I was a driven man. Even in my early forties, I had ambition, energy and drive (until I started to get easily tired and later had a heart attack since my circulation wasn't so great), yet I don't think that even on my best day I was as driven as any of the men I mentioned. I mean, they must have an auto-pilot switch and a turbo booster to shuttle through the days they must keep. Prager seems the most relaxed of the bunch and the most introspective (which takes more solitude and ease). I have never liked being especially busy because I enjoyed thinking so much. And thinking takes slow, quiet time. When people are very busy, I always wonder how much of the world and others they actually experience. But on the other hand, I hardly experience the world and others since I am so much a hermit. I don;t much like the world that much and I like to keep the traffic with others to a minimum since nearly everyone is crazy as a loon. We're all so many worms, that the more businesslike we are, the better off we are. posted by Mark Butterworth | 11:34 PM | Jesus Knew Squat about Economics Almost every Sunday at Mass we are called on to pray for the Poor. Sometimes we are called to "exercise a preferential option for the poor" (whatever that means), and other times we are called to share what we have with the poor. Every time this happens I growl a bit, because nothing the Church says about poverty makes any sense. And frankly, Jesus made no sense about what he said about the poor (except that we'll always have them). Ancient peoples (and many fools today) see economics as a zero sum game. Some have more because some has less. This is understandable in ancient times when land equaled wealth and was limited. Those with much land were vastly richer than those without land even though manufacturing was important. Even in Revolutionary America there were ten people on farms for every one person in a city or town. People are poor in America for a number of reasons, and none of them have to do with not owning land. 1) Young people are poor because they are just starting out. 2) Single mothers tend toward poverty. 3) Immigrants legal or illegal are generally poor, but legal ones won’t always remain so. 4) Criminals, addicts, and crazy people are poor. 5) People raised without decent fathers and mothers, who are abused, molested, or uneducated will tend to remain poor. As some once said, there are only three things anyone has to do to not be poor in America; 1) finish high school; 2) get a job (any job) and keep it (until you get a better job); and 3) if you get married, stay married. That's it. I would add 4) get some religion and practice it (preferrably Christianity). No one except crazy people have to remain poor. Around the world the story is a bit different. Lack of political freedom, rule of law, and free market systems added to the above make multitudes poor. But the poor don’t remain poor because affluent people don’t give them enough money out of their pockets which seems to be the only way the Church and looney liberals can think about it. It seems counterintuitive to many that not giving five dollars to a beggar in America, and not feeding the so-called homeless will do them more good than in giving and thinking you’re helpful for doing so. One of our local churches (St. Francis you know who you are) allows bums to camp on their steps and offers bathroom facilities. The neighborhood complains, the police don’t like it, but St. Francis folks think they’re angels of mercy when all they are is weak minded abettors of filth and disease, and enablers of criminals, bums, drunks, and the lost. It is a false compassion which encourages the weak to remain so and subsidizes them. I do not believe that Jesus would countenance it today. He called on everyone to repent, to change their ways and their thinking - the poor as much as the rich - and condemned those who wouldn’t to Hell. If someone tells a story of loss, grief, and woe which has befallen them, you can sympathize and understand their circumstances. But then you must point them in the direction of hope, healing, peace, and responsibility. If they will not accept such guidance then they are like the man on the road to Jericho whom the Samaritan has rescued -- that is, the man awakens in the inn he had been left at and immediately flies away to become a bandit and waylay others. Most people don’t give a darn about their salvation. It is not up to Christians to make them, and certainly not to support them. Update. From this blog, The Fire Ant Gazette,, a look at a WSJ article on what free markets do and the US falling out of the top ten of the world's freest markets. Concluding graph from the WSJ story: Policy makers who pay lip service to fighting poverty would do well to grasp the link between economic freedom and prosperity. This year the Index finds that the freest economies have a per-capita income of $29,219, more than twice that of the "mostly free" at $12,839, and more than four times that of the "mostly unfree." Put simply, misery has a cure and its name is economic freedom. posted by Mark Butterworth | 9:09 AM | Monday, January 03, 2005 Chary of Charity Like so many, I contributed to the tsunami victims (World Vision), but I have this great fear as The Belmont Club illustrates that the rescue effort is going to become a UN shell game of enriching the aiders and ignoring the people. This blog at Winds of Change will give some idea of the UN and NGO escapades on your dime. posted by Mark Butterworth | 11:24 PM | O Tannenbaum Lileks often surprises me (which is why I read him). This brief bit he tossed off is perfect. Then I finished taking down the Christmas decorations. It’s a bittersweet and necessary thing; it feels like you’re taking down the bunting from a victory party for a candidate who lost. That’s the odd thing about Christmas; it always wins and immediately concedes. That's it exactly. My wife took down our decorations (no 12 days of Christmas for us) four or five days after Christmas. I had gotten used to the tree (I usually wait until the last week or so to get one), and wanted it to last a bit longer. But my workaholic wife couldn't stand to be unbusy for the holiday vacation, and so boom -- it's gone. Too soon. It was like having a wonderful birthday party and then just as you're having the most fun, your mother sends everyone home. Lileks nailed it for me. posted by Mark Butterworth | 11:07 PM | A Personal Moment of Terror I put my wife and daughter (19) on a plane to England last Saturday. They'll be in Great Britain for two weeks to sightsee. My daughter had been out the night before (New Year's Eve) with friends, and before she left I warned her to be careful on the road coming home since there will be people who have been drinking at the wheel. After she left I had a moment of terror and panic when I considered her sudden death. I saw a man unconsolable in grief for the loss of this beautiful and darling child should something terrible happen. The loss of a future so bright and joyful, accomplished and wonderful. I knew I would endure and even smile again someday, but the terror of the immediate loss gripped my stomach like a vise. Each death in Iraq of one of our soldiers is like that for someone. Each death in South Asia is like that or perhaps, often for no one because all are dead. I had forgotten how dearly I love my child. We are such a tender hearted and supportive family that our love for each other has become a kind of ordinary air we breathe, but this Christmas my daughter took her own money and bought us gifts that showed much forethought and care (and not extravagance), and it made Christmas a whole new experience and special again. She is my pride and joy, and the fact that she has come to appreciate her parents is just that much more gratifying. William Wordsworthposted by Mark Butterworth | 7:21 PM | A little brief authority Politicians have come to believe (especially Democrats) that the people exist to provide them money and offices of power. We see this in California on the local level now. For example, the city council in Sacramento wants to change the way the city collects yard and garden refuse. For many decades people have been free to leave piles of leaves, branches, and grass clippings in the street near the sidewalks. When I first moved here, I found it obnoxious the way some of these piles took up so much of the street so as to force drivers far into the opposite car lane. I'm used to it now, and the people love this custom, and keep passing Measures to keep it that way. Yet, the city council is bound and determined to do away with it. Why? Well, it costs a bit of money to repair the streets from the "Claw" that scrapes up the refuse, and to pay the folks to do the work. We used to recycle the waste and sell it, but they decided that wasn't worthwhile, either. It is a clear case where the council members believe that they shouldn't do what the people want. Why not? They just don't seem to like the practice. There's no harm in it, and the people say they're willing to pay the cost, but our betters seem to know so much more, and they will one day get their way. It's the same with freeways. The people want more of them, the politicians force them to endure traffic jams because they won't build them. They hate cars, you see, and want to punish the people for loving their vehicles. Of course, the pols don't cut their spending. In forty years, my city has tripled in population while the city bureaucracy has multiplied ten times the size it was. Can you explain to me how we are getting more for our money with over three times the city workers we really need? Oh, yes, most folks would say city life was much better forty years ago -- schools, crime, parks, libraries, and so forth. If you ask most politicians why they want office these days they'll generally say they want to "affect policy" and make the world a better place. You will never hear them say, "I want to represent the people and improve their lives in the way that they want them improved. Otherwise, I want to keep all the grabbers off their backs so they can live their lives more freely." posted by Mark Butterworth | 7:09 PM | Policy Mutiny The Israeli army is facing an interesting dilemma. This is the first time I can think of a modern army of a democracy rebelling in large enough numbers regarding a government policy. In some respects, I find the prospect reassuring. Orthodox officers lead military revolt against Israeli withdrawal TEL AVIV — The planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in 2005 will have to overcome mass disobedience from within the military, including the General Staff. Update: Soldier fires shots in outpost scuffle The incident began at approximately 4 p.m. when a teenage girl was spotted trying to puncture the tires of an IDF jeep. A soldier inside the car saw her and jumped out to stop her. The girl, an activist of the radical Kahana Chai movement, ran towards a group of settlers and hid behind them. I have no dog in this fight, but I find it a marvel that citizen soldiers in enough numbers can affect policy in this way. Imagine if a third of the police force in New York City, for example (about 16,000 people, I believe) suddenly decided not to enforce some particular law. I believe that it is better for a democratic nation to suffer the will of a great many people from time to time who will not go along with bureaucrats and politicians. After awhile, any government and its minions assume a kind of passivity in the population which encourages them to act as they please rather than as to how the people want it. posted by Mark Butterworth | 3:41 PM | From the Gospel of John Mark A number of articles have been written about God's impassiveness in the face of suffering and evil, which apparently means that God is an evil being if he exists. I don't much find most arguments on theodicy convincing to skeptics. Free will as a reason falls apart when it isn't man harming man but nature destroying multitudes. The further argument that the Fall of Man caused us to have a fallen world of suffering, death, and accidents cannot account for death existing before humans ever arrived on the planet. The problem is that we cannot see the world through God's eyes. His impassivity is not indifference, and he often acts miraculously (which thus tends to make him appear capricious), but God does not regret creating life anymore he can regret existing as himself. This is how he makes souls and it is all good to him, while at the same time he is entirely sympathetic to the suffering and tears of his children. So here is my homily on the matter. Jesus and the Skeptical Greek Jesus was teaching one afternoon in Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. A Greek merchant from Sepphoris who was there to buy dried fish, listened to Jesus as he spoke of the Kingdom of God and the goodness of his Father in Heaven. “How can you say God is good?” said the Greek. “Last year when I was in Lydia there was an earthquake. Many people died. Life is not good. The God who kills people like this cannot be good.” A Jew who was listening and looking for a way to trap Jesus spoke out, “Rabbi, the Greek is right. Even Isaiah says God said to him, ‘Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?’ God is the author of good and ill. Moses says God said, ‘I bless whom I bless and I curse whom I curse.’ But what did a little child do that God should crush his body. Why should God curse a nursing babe? If you know God as you say you do, tell us why he curses so many?” Jesus listened carefully to what those men said, and replied, “You do not know God. His ways are not your ways, but I will ask you a few questions. Tell me, when a child falls down and scrapes his knee and cries, does his father beat his breast and cry out - Oh what a terrible man I am, for I have given life to this son of mine, and how he suffers for it! Because I have made this child who is born to grief and death, I am not good and I hate myself. Does a father do this? Of course not. He rushes to his child and comforts him, binds his wounds, and encourages him to endure what cannot be helped.” “It is true that a man may despair and wish he was never born, but does his father or mother who loves him, do they wish their son was never born, and that they are evil for having made him?” “Nor does the farther whose son has skinned his knee or broken an arm tell his son, ‘better I had not made you’. No, he says, ‘these pains will pass and you will have days of goodness and joy, but you cannot yet see them before you. Have faith and you shall see them.’” “You Father is Good and he shall redeem you, for he does not hate that he made you, nor repent that you suffer, but shall console you. Who else may you turn to? There is only your Father in heaven and his spirit on earth, and the Messiah who can help you. Have faith, and your reward shall be great.” posted by Mark Butterworth | 1:39 PM | |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
 |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
