CathCon Saturday - 7/30/2016

The Hillary Recession - Larry Kudlow, NRO

Presidential Abuse of the Pardon Power - Hans von Spakovsky, Daily Signal

Everyday Life in France, AD 2016 - Robert de St. Jacques, The Catholic Thing

Body-Shamed a Plus-Size Model for Losing Weight - Katherine Timpf, NRO

Gary Johnson Is Still Terrible On Religious Liberty - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

How Democrats View the Transgender Bathroom Debate - Kelsey Harkness, Daily Signal

Critics Don't Hate Hillary Because She's a Woman - Charles C.W. Cooke, NRO

Popular Narrative About Financial Deregulation Is Wrong - Norbert Michel, Daily Signal

Fantasy Epics and Real-World Politics - Ilya Somin, Learn Liberty

Student Suing Columbia for Allowing Sexual Assault Investigation - Eugene Volokh, Volokh

Divine Rights and Human Rights - Marc DeGirolami, Liberty Law Blog

Democracy: How Does it Work? - Jason Brennan, Bleeding Heart Libertarians

The False Promise of a “Conversation” About Race - Jeremy Willinger, Heterodox Academy

CathCon Daily - 7/29/2016

Liberalism and the Five Natural Inclinations - Edward Feser

When Assisted Suicide Becomes Coercive - Hans Von Spakovsky, Daily Signal

Clinton's Qualifications - Ramesh Ponnuru, NRO

Democratic Convention Helping and Hurting Hillary - Jim Geraghty, NRO

Against Cosmopolitanism - Brad Miner, The Catholic Thing

Abortion and Arrogance - Ramesh Ponnuru, NRO

When Voting Your Conscience Became a Political Liability - Timothy J. Gordon, Crisis

What They Didn't Tell Me in Sex Ed - Leah Libresco, First Things

What Can Discrimination Explain? - Walter Williams, Human Events

"How, When, and Why Procreation May Be Permissible" - Melissa Moschella, Public Discourse

Obama’s Claim That It’s Easier to Buy a Gun Than a Book - Fred Lucas, Daily Signal

What We Can Learn From Tocqueville’s Insights Into Crime - Craig DeRoche, The Federalist

Calling All the Young Fogies - James Baresal, Imaginative Conservative

U.S. History As Told By Young Democrats - Katrina Trinko, Daily Signal

Conservative Professor Takes On Boulder, CO - Brian Domitrovic, Pope Center

The Politics of Solidarity - David McPherson, First Things

Historic Night Marred By Contradiction And Dissent - John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist

Logical Fallacies, Facebook Style

Every day, I notice logical fallacies on Facebook. In fact, if you combined Facebook and Twitter feeds, and you had only a moderate amount of friends (let's say....400 - 600 each), I think you would have a decent chance of illustrating every major logical fallacy within 60 minutes...perhaps within 30. I use examples from my feed below, and definitions from: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

Let's see - looking at my Facebook feed for the past hour, we have:

What do we have here? How about the following possibilities:

1. Genetic fallacy - "Judging something good or bad on the basis of where it comes from, or from whom it comes." Christianity's religious laws include: "Thou shalt not kill," and "Thou shalt not steal" and so on. But, because those are religious laws, and Christians believe they should be included in the laws of the land, apparently, that places them in the same camp as ISIS.

2. Appeal to emotion - "Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument." ISIS is bad - they want their beliefs to be law. You also want your beliefs to be laws, therefore you are as bad as ISIS.

3. Or, Reducto ad Hitlerum, updated.

Note how none of these deal with careful arguments, presenting evidence, etc. Returning to the Facebook feed, we find:

Strawman - "You misrepresented someone's argument to make it easier to attack." The Church does not argue that being a lesbian is a sin. Sin is all about action - sex with someone of the same sex, and to whom you are not married, is sinful, provided it meets other criteria.

And from the feed:

       
        "Report: Trump to create super-PACs to attack Cruz, Kasich"

        Comment: If this is true, this man is beyond a doubt filled with the impulses of a tyrant

1. See aforementioned "appeal to emotion."

2. Genetic Fallacy - Since lots of politicians form PACs to accomplish the tasks of attacking their competition, this cannot uniquely shows Trump to be a tyrant. Unless, of course, many politicians are tyrants...in which case this is not genetic fallacy.

These are but a few of the examples I have encountered today....

CathCon Daily - 7/28/2016

Clinton...Admits Her E-mails Are A ‘National Security Issue’ - Sean Davis, The Federalist

What Explains Demographic Gaps? Simpson’s Paradox - Lee Jussim, Heterodox Academy

The Welfare State’s War of All Against All - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

Liberals Don’t Care About Russia. They Care About...Hillary - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

The Myth of Rational Legislation - Greg Weiner, Liberty Law Blog

Hip-Hop Hamilton - Barbara J. Eliot, Imaginative Conservative

Welfare and Marriage in Fishtown - Wilcox, ElHage & Lapp, NRO

Common Core or 1984? - Jordan Hill, Heterodox Academy

The Gnosticism of Barack Obama - Fr. Daniel Pattee, Crisis

A Call for Partisan Consistency - Andrew Bramsen, Public Discourse

Modernity as Metaphysical Collapse - Matthew Hanley, The Catholic Thing

America Meets the Bland, Forgettable Tim Kaine - Jim Geraghty, NRO

Strangers in a Strange Land - Arch. Charles J. Chaput, First Things

Lessons Learned from Long-Term Privatizations - Aaron Renn, New Geography

Democrats Get Mad at the Russians - Kurt Schlichter, Townhall

Another Unbalanced View of Campus Sex Hearings - KC Johnson, Minding the Campus

CathCon Daily - 7/27/2016

One Big Happy Riot - Matthew Hennessey, City Journal

The Problem of a “Conservative” Lincoln - Miles Smith, Imaginative Conservative

Je Suis Jacques Hamel - Jean Duchesne, First Things

Black Votes Matter - Thomas Sowell, Human Events

The Siberian Candidate - Myron Magnet, City Journal

George Washington’s Constitutional Morality - Samuel Gregg, Public Discourse

Religious Blindness – and its Consequences – for Europe - Fr. Mark Pilon, The Catholic Thing

Fanaticism: Distorting Humanity? - Mitchell Kalpakgian, Imaginative Conservative

A Wasted Opportunity - Jonah Goldberg, NRO

A Black Cop In The Age Of ‘Black Lives Matter’ - Edward Johnson, The Federalist

Democrats Euphemize Abortion as Convention Opens - Alexandra DeSanctis, NRO

CathCon Daily - 7/26/2016

Cal State Cancels Conservative Speaker? - Jonathan Turley

Corrupt, Cartelized, and Anti-Competition - David Goldman, First Things

Trump and the Powers of the American Presidency, Part III - Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare

The Return of “Enemies of the Permanent Things” - Bradley Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

How to Fix the GOP - S. Adam Seagrave, Public Discourse

Tim Kaine: An Explosion Waiting to Happen? - Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing

How Democrats Came to Embrace Taxpayer-Funded Abortions - Fred Lucas, Daily Signal

Dear Colleague’s Letter of the Law - Mark Pulliam, Liberty Law Blog

How Our Individualism Has Trapped Us In A Welfare State - Heather Judd, The Federalist

Toobin on Justice Thomas’s Alleged Arrogance - Mike Rappaport, Liberty Law Blog

Donald Trump, the Greater Evil - Carl Eric Scott, NRO

Ghostbusters and Star Trek Today - Peter Augustine Lawler, NRO

CathCon Daily - 7/25/2016

Dietrich von Hildebrand’s Battle Against Hitler - Samantha Schroeder, Public Discourse

Donald Trump’s Culture War - Joy Pullman, The Federalist

Last Scholastic Standing - Ryan Shinkel, University Bookman

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Will Resign From DNC - Bre Payton, The Federalist

The Political Relevance of St. Augustine - John P. East, Imaginative Conservative

Is “Pro-life and Gay” Possible? - Timothy J. Williams, Crisis

God Doesn’t Think Moms Are Better...Outside The Home - Emily Olson, The Federalist

A Return to the Thought-Murders - Eve Tushnet, University Bookman

Tribune Of Poor White People - J.D. Vance, American Conservative

How Colleges Indoctrinate Our Kids - Bruce Frohnen, Imaginative Conservative

How to Write Like Antonin Scalia - Kyle Peterson, WSJ

Chart The Racial Grievance Industry Won’t Talk About - Helen Raleigh, The Federalist

‘Angie Tribeca’ Will Meet Your Comedy Needs - Brian Willett, The Federalist

DNC Bars Two Candidates Because of Sex? - Jonathan Turley

When Gay Rights and Religious Rights Clash - Daffey Thoughts

Revising Gladwell’s “Revisionist History” - Rachel Reese, Cato

Will Pliable Pence Amend His Convictions? - George Will, Human Events

Trump Is Right about Crime - Heather Mac Donald, City Journal

Paul Krugman’s Bubble - Aaron Renn, City Journal

DNC Emails: Common Core A ‘Third Rail’ To Ignore - Joy Pullman, The Federalist

CathCon Weekend - 7/24/2016

Does Philosophy Have a Woman Problem? - Jonathan Haidt, Heterodox Academy

Rotting-Flesh Reaganism - R.R. Reno, First Things

Fishing for an Indictment - Ron Capshaw, Liberty Law Blog

Government Rules Could Land Star Wars Drone Pilots in Prison - Jason Snead, Daily Signal

Just How 'Responsible' a Choice Is Tim Kaine? - Peter Beinart, The Atlantic

Star Trek: Discovery - Matthew Bowman, Catholic Geeks

Was There Something Unique to the Southerner? - Virginia Arbery, Imaginative Conservative

Identity Politics and the Perils of Zero-Sum Thinking - Ilya Somin, Volokh

CathCon Daily - 7/22/2016

Free Inquiry vs. Social Justice at Brown University - John Tomasi, Heterodox Academy

Trump’s Acceptance Speech Was A Eulogy For The GOP - John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist

Why King Richard Did Not March on Jerusalem - Andrew Latham, Crisis

‘A Student’s Guide to the Meanings of “Equity” - Eugene Volokh, Volokh

Religious and Pro-Life Conscience Unwelcome in Healthcare - Wesley Smith, First Things

A Vote’s Consequences and a Voter’s Conscience - Matthew J. Franck, Public Discourse

What a Cooling Antarctica Means for Climate Science - American Interest

Privacy Rights in Abortion and Same-Sex Locker Rooms Cases - Jeremy Tedesco, Daily Signal

Why Are the Classics Necessary? - Louise Cowan, Imaginative Conservative

We Still Love Arranged Marriages - Gracy Olmstead, The Federalist

Cruz and the Trump Trap - Ian Tuttle, NRO

‘Law And Order’ Won’t Save The Republican Party - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

CathCon Daily - 7/21/2016

Bernie Sanders and the Atomized Republic - Pete Spiliakos, First Things

Romance Porn: More Women are Addicted Than You Think - Lea Z. Singh, Crisis

Religious Liberty and the Fracturing of Civil Society - Andrew T. Walker, Public Discourse

The Godlessness of Cultural Uniformity - Matthew Sewell, Crisis

How Ted Cruz — Ted Cruz! — Saved His Honor - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Violinists, Samaritans, and Love - Francis J. Beckwith, The Catholic Thing

Virginia School Board Pauses New Transgender Policy - Kelsey Harkness, Daily Signal

5 Money Myths Keeping Millennials Poor - Georgi Boorman, The Federalist

Antonin Scalia, Teaching About the Law - Marc DeGirolami, Liberty Law Blog

In A Party Full Of Cowards, Cruz Stood Apart - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

More on The Ferguson Effect - Heather Mac Donald, Volokh

The Morning After, Ted Cruz Isn’t Backing Down - John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist

I Choose Ted - Jonah Goldberg, NRO

Lion Ted - Jeremy Carl, NRO

CathCon Update - 7/20/2016

Academic Research on Police Shootings and Race - Heather Mac Donald, Volokh

Playing With Fire - Carl R. Trueman, First Things

Touchstone and Women - S.M. Hutchens, Touchstone

On Baltimore’s Economic Plunge - Steve Hanke, Cato

Solutions for Black Americans - Walter Williams, Daily Signal

Redefining Conservatism (II) - Peter Augustine Lawler, NRO

Behind the Rise of Public School Costs - Lindsey Burke, Daily Signal

We Lack the Will to Restrain Democracy - David French, NRO

The Artist

The Artist

An artist begins, with faltering steps,

A hesitant touch, a fearful approach

No love for the thing, perhaps

At first.

At first,

The artists approach is in love for another

To parent, to teacher, to master, to other

To obey and to work,

Faltering steps on a path

Dimly lit.

Dimly lit the path,

But soon growing brighter

A path of her own,

Still trod by others

In love of the thing,

For itself.

For itself, for the thing

For the art, she can sing

Creator with others,

A master, a teacher, a parent herself,

A guide to others,

From then to the end.

CathCon Daily - 7/20/2016

Ostpolitik Failed. Get Over It. - George Weigel, First Things

With Courage, But Without Hatred - Remi Brague, First Things

In Defense of ‘White Trash' - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

Regulators, Hands Off the Autopilot! - John O. McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

When Should We Ignore Tradition? - James Kalb, Crisis

Adam Smith, Economic Nationalism, and the Case for Free Trade - Samuel Gregg, Public Discourse

Thomas Jefferson’s Guide to Fiction - John Miltimore, Imaginative Conservative

What Taxpayers Should Know About College Students’ Time Use - Burke, Hall &, Reim, Heritage

When Theory is Disguised as History - Nathan Coleman, Imaginative Conservative

How Transgender Activists Perpetuate Rape Culture - Alicen Gray, The Federalist

The Ferguson Effect - Heather Mac Donald, Volokh

Paul Ryan is a Divider - Peter Spiliakos, NRO

CathCon Daily - 7/19/2016

Denunciation Overload - R.R. Reno, First Things

Religious Liberty Under Siege in Mississippi - Richard Epstein, Hoover

Who's Afraid of Ad Orientem? - Christopher Ruddy, First Things

Better Food, Worse Low-Income Aid - Jane Shaw, NRO

Why Do Academics Despise Biography? - Bradley J. Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

The ‘Deep State’ Will Run Things - James Poulos, The Federalist

The Problem with Gender Studies - Matthew Tuininga, Public Discourse

The Virgin and the Donald - Matthew Milliner, First Things

Scientific Education as a Cause of Political Stupidity - Archdruid Report

Make-Believe Supreme Court and the...Constitutional Crisis - Jason Willick, American Interest

On "Completely Tabulating the Universe" - James V. Schall, S.J., The Catholic Thing

How Instagram And Celebrities Sell Us Homogenous Lifestyles - Gracy Olmstead, The Federalist

The Dumbest Idea - Thomas Sowell, Human Events

The Party Of Trump Shuts Down Dissent - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

Feds Try to Illegally Regulate State Education Standards - Alexandra DeSanctis, NRO

Police, Blacks, and Crime - John Stossel, Human Events

Blind Spots of a Ruling Class - Peter Spiliakos, Liberty Law Blog

Death, Disenchantment, & “Mrs. Dalloway” - George Panichas, Imaginative Conservative

Resisting the Revisionists - Charles Krauthammer, Human Events

Encouraged by the Pence Pick - David Limbaugh, Human Events

CathCon Update - 7/18/2016

Redefining Conservatism - Peter Augustine Lawler, NRO

‘1984’ Was Supposed To Be A Warning, Not A DIY Manual - Mark Signorelli, The Federalist

Grammar Bender - Molly Flynn, Liberty Law Blog

Donald Trump's Catholic Problem - Michael J. New, NRO

Cleveland Is The End Of The GOP As We Know It - John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist

Student Loans - Mike LaBossiere, Talking Philosophy

Police Shootings and Race - Heather Mac Donald, Volokh

Why the Church Cannot Reverse Past Teaching on Capital Punishment - Feser & Bessette, CWR

CathCon Daily - 7/18/2016

NeverTrump and Humility - Peter Spiliakos, NRO

Progressivism is a Long-Term Threat to the Rule of Law - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

Is Liberalism Dead? - S. Adam Seagrave, Public Discourse

Conversion: How far does it go? - Bevil Bramwell, The Catholic Thing

Conservatism Means Conservation - Roger Scruton, Imaginative Conservative

The Fire Spreads - Heather Mac Donald, City Journal

CathCon Update - 7/15/2016

Why Are Progressives On An Anti-Christian Witch Hunt? - Rachel Lu, The Federalist

Hold Parents Responsible for School Attendance - Robinson & Scafidi, AEI

Something That Should Be Heard - S.M. Hutchens, Touchstone

The Glory of a Warrior - Matthew Hennessey, City Journal

ObamaCare Didn’t Work, So Let’s Completely Socialize Medicine - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

CathCon Daily - 7/15/2016

The Human Need for Sacred Community - David Carlin, The Catholic Thing

Raises for Teachers Create Perverse Incentives in Graduate Education - Erik Gilbert, Pope Center

The Gnosticism of Abraham Lincoln - M.E. Bradford, Imaginative Conservative

Ginsberg No Impartial Judge - Elizabeth Slattery, Daily Signal

Top 10 Progressive Bumper Stickers from History - Patrick Fletchall, The Federalist

God and Man in Hollywood - Mark Judge, Liberty Law Blog

You Have No Rights Without Natural Law - Jim DeMint, The Federalist

Wang Yangming on the Unity of Knowing and Acting - Eric Schwitzgebel, Splintered Mind

The Complete Student Debt Story - Jason Delisle, AEI

Donald Trump is Right About Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg - NYT Editors

William Shakespeare and the Socratic-Christian Heritage - L. Joseph Hebert, Public Discourse

On the France Terror Attack - Robin Simcox, Daily Signal

On Sharia Law

Recently, in an interview, Newt Gingrich had this to say:

Let me be as blunt and direct as I can be. Western civilization is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported.

A Facebook friend stated the following in reply:

If a political leader, in an effort to reduce violence against the LGBT community, suggests that American Christians should be "tested" to make sure they don't believe that homosexual acts are sinful, we should be outraged. If a political leader, out of concern for violence by radical Islamists, suggests that American Muslims should be "tested" to make sure they don't believe in Sharia, we should be outraged. Please take the time to learn about Sharia before you let fear tempt you to abandon our nation's commitment to religious liberty.

This is a very good point by my Facebook friend. A number of years ago, I read a bit about Sharia Law, and it is a great deal more complex than Gingrich's statement might lead one to believe. If Wikipedia may be used, regarding source, interpretation, etc. of Sharia:

There are two primary sources of sharia: the Quran and the Hadiths (opinions and life example of Muhammad). For topics and issues not directly addressed in these primary sources, sharia is derived. The derivation differs between the various sects of Islam (Sunni and Shia are the majority), and various jurisprudence schools such as Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali and Jafari. The sharia in these schools is derived hierarchically using one or more of the following guidelines: Ijma (usually the consensus of Muhammad's companions), Qiyas (analogy derived from the primary sources), Istihsan (ruling that serves the interest of Islam in the discretion of Islamic jurists) and Urf (customs).

Even if not perfect, this is obviously a fairly complex system which would require greater study. However, I think that, in many ways, Sharia law would be offensive to the average Western mindset, particularly the modern one, steeped in egalitarianism. Many states, being of this mindset, have passed laws limiting what is permitted of Sharia law to be considered by courts. Some commentators, such as Rob Vischer, here, note that this could be an error and problematic, when considered as part of a broader anti-religious freedom agenda by moderns. Prof. Vischer concludes, therefore:

When the state encroaches on the venues in which people live out their core beliefs including the legal venues in which those core beliefs are given real-world efficacy the cause of conscience suffers. An ascendant secularist vision of the public marketplace already excludes traditional Christians, or at least requires, as the price of admission, that they defy their own commitments. It would be a sad irony for Christians to be complicit in the effort to do the same to American Muslims. 

However, with this said, at least one commentator has indicated that Sharia law is only really possible in a society in which Islam was the official religion of the state, so to speak. What seems to be happening in other countries is that Sharia is being implemented at a contractual level. The linked contract contains provisions designed to govern the couple in marriage and divorce. One of the more interesting provisions, that Westerners may find odd or repugnant, is the following, regarding divorce:

If the divorce is initiated by husband he has to pay the woman any Mahr (consideration for the marriage contract) that remains unpaid. 

If the divorce is initiated by the wife, and the husband is found to be at fault by the arbiters she does not lose her Mahr.  But if she cannot prove his fault, she has to return to her husband whatever Mahr amount she has already received.  

If the wife initiates the divorce without any grounds, this is called ‘khula’ and she must return whatever the husband has given her in consideration for the marriage.

So, on the one hand, the husband need not prove fault or grounds if he initiates the divorce, but must pay to the wife any promised amounts under the marriage contract. If she initiates the divorce for no "fault" reason, or cannot prove fault, then she must return any amounts received. The modern Western mind would find the differences in proof and treatment to be quite different than our "no-fault" laws.

In a more extensive discussion here, the authors note that there are wide-ranging interpretations of how Sharia handles marital conflict. This should be noted carefully by all individuals considering Sharia and implementation of any part of it contractually or culturally in the United States. For instance, in the event that a wife has engaged in nushuz (itself susceptible to a variety of interpretations, from adultery to "the wife disobeying her husband elevating herself above what Allah has obliged upon her and her raising herself above fulfilling her obligatory duties"):

First the couple is instructed to discuss the issue, but if they cannot come to an understanding they should sleep separately. If the issue is still not resolved, the husband can employ the act of “daraba,” and as a final resort the husband and wife are each instructed to select a family member to assist in arbitration (Qur’an 4:35). The word daraba has been translated and interpreted in many different ways. All of the five primary schools of traditional Islamic jurisprudence are in agreement that daraba should be interpreted as “hit” or “beat”; yet there is a wide range of opinion on the form the hitting should take (Wadud 1999). Most commonly, traditional legal scholars agree that hitting should not leave any physical bruising or marks, and thus should be done with something small and weightless such as a toothbrush or handkerchief. Other scholars hold that as the verse was meant to limit wife abuse, it should be understood within the context of forbidding domestic violence (al-Hibri 2003; Alwani 2007; Barazangi 2004; Wadud 1999). Some contemporary exegetes and scholars, however, believe that daraba should be translated and interpreted as “leave,” as daraba is used in 17 other places in the Qur’an with many other meanings (AbuSulayman 2003). These scholars believe such an interpretation to be a more rational step between sleeping separately and arbitration, as having time apart provides time to reflect, while hitting would escalate the situation and make arbitration more difficult.

There is matter for concern here, I would hope, to any Western scholar. Surely, the more modern interpretations of "daraba" and of "nushuz" would be preferable, but at least five schools of Sharia interpretations permit physical retaliation in the event of marital discord. There is no obvious discussion as to whether a husband can similarly commit nishuz, and what a wife may do in retort.

In short, Sharia contains many interpretations (such as the prohibition of abortion) that would be attractive to Christians. It also contains many that would be repugnant or disturbing to a Western mind, Christian or otherwise. While we might avoid blanket "anti-Sharia" legislation, we might reaffirm Western norms against physical violence within marriage, as well as commitment to equality before law and in contract between the sexes, and strive to understand what version, if possible, of Sharia with which we are faced in any given situation,

CathCon Daily - 7/14/2016

Disney Accused of Cultural Insensitivity - Katherine Timpf, NRO

Should We Trust James Madison? - Kevin Gutzman, Imaginative Conservative

Final Advice for the Untenured Humanist - Mark Bauerlein, First Things

Democrats Want to Force MD Participation in Abortion - Wesley Smith, NRO

Oldsters vs. Youngsters - Chris Edwards, Cato

Psychiatrist Looks at Personal Identity... - Richard Conradi, Public Discourse

Philistine Grave Discovery - Kristin Romey, National Geographic

Whether Immigrants Hurt American Workers - Helen Raleigh, The Federalist

A Glorious Mess and a Tangled Web - Bradley Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

If Black Lives Matter, Repeal Minimum Wage - Thomas A. Firey, Cato

Secularism as Religious Indoctrination - Kenneth Crowther, Crisis

In Virginia, Trans Lobby Shuts Down Parents... - Stella Morabito, The Federalist

A (Scholastic) Sonnett from the Portuguese - Luis Pino de Sa, First Things

Creationism and Structural Relations between Sciences - Daniel Halverson, PEL

Trump Needs to Read Out to Pro-Lifers - Michael J. New, First Things

The Jurisprudence of Civil Asset Forfeiture - Mark Pulliam, Liberty Law Blog

Ticking The Gay Sulu Box Is Unworthy Of Star Trek - Robert Tracinski, The Federalist

CathCon Update - 7/13/2016

Challenges For Black People - Walter Williams, Human Events

The Shell Game of “Tiers of Scrutiny” - Hadley Arkes, Liberty Law Blog

Is the Taboo Against Adultery Breaking Down? - American Interest

Why Gender-Neutral Child-Raising Is A Terrible Idea - Rachel Lu, The Federalist

Why Religious Believers May Suppport an Irreligious Man - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

How To Drop Trump - Mike Garner, The Federalist

Dumping Trump Would Be Undemocratic... - Joshua Clayborne, The Federalist

Our Crisis of Legitimacy - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

FBI Agents Believe An ‘Inside Deal’ Protected Hillary Clinton - Editors, The Federalist

Music of the Mass

As a Roman Catholic, and with somewhat traditional leanings, I almost always enjoy listening and / or learning about musical settings of the Mass. (For that matter, I also love listening to Divine Liturgies, but that's a tradition of a different provenance.) My purpose herein, therefore, is to explain the different parts of the Mass, and to provide links to different settings of the Mass, as well as discuss some interesting traditions in music related to the Mass.

The Mass itself is defined, rather simply, in the original Catholic Encyclopedia, as follows:

The Mass is the complex of prayers and ceremonies that make up the service of the Eucharist in the Latin rites.

However, usually, when we speak of a "Mass Setting" or a Mass set to music, we are speaking of parts of the aforedefined Mass, which may be divided as follows:

These texts comprise those which are sung...by the celebrant and the sacred ministers (who will be referred to as priest, deacon, and sub-deacon) and which are styled "Accentus"; and those which are assigned to the choir and which are styled "Concentus".

The Concentus is further divided as follows:

First, those which are found in the section of the Roman Missal under the heading "Ordinarium Missae" (namely, the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei) and which will be briefly referred to as the Ordinary; 

Second, those texts which are found under the headings "Proprium de Tempore", "Proprium Sanctorum", "Commune Sanctorum" (namely, Introit, Gradual, Alleluia Verse, Sequence, Tract, Offertory, Communion) and which will be referred to briefly as the Proper....

For much of the time, when one sees a discussion or use of a "Mass," musically speaking, the discussion is referring to a musical setting of the "Ordinary." As stated in the Catholic Encyclopedia regarding the Ordinarium: "The texts are those of the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, the Benedictus, the Agnus Dei. A collection of these, or a portion of them, is styled simply a 'Mass.'"

To borrow from the Choral Public Domain Library, which provides some history and context:

The Ordinary is usually understood to consist of the first five of the following texts, of which the Kyrie, introduced to the west by Pope Sergius in the 8c., is in Greek rather than Latin:

1. Kyrie eleison
2. Gloria in excelsis Deo – sometimes called the Great Doxology
3. Credo in unum Deum – Symbolum Nicenum, i.e. the Nicene Creed.
4. Sanctus – Benedictus
5. Agnus Dei
6. Ite missa est

Separate musical settings of these movements were regularly composed as stand-alone movements, or as linked pairs (e.g. a pair of Kyrie–Gloria or Sanctus–Agnus Dei). The first composer to compose an entire cyclic mass setting, was the great Burgundian composer Guillaume de Machaut, writing in the middle 1300s. Machaut's Messe de Notre Dame (Mass of Our Lady) includes all six movements listed above, including a setting of Ite missa est.

Also as may be seen in the CPDL, the importance of the Mass form may be witnessed by the fact that they have 400+ Mass settings available for download, by a large number of composers.

While first known to be set by Machaut, James McKinnin in the "Grove Music Online" resource notes that " All but the Credo were in place in the Roman Mass of the early 8th century." A specific discussion of each of these sections is beyond the scope of this post, but more information on each may be found here.

One of the more interesting occurrences, at least to my mind, has been the separation of the Mass from the liturgical setting, and into strict performance venues, as well as the modern advent of Chant recordings which (while some containing actual recordings by monks) have leapt into bestseller lists in being used as "calming, relaxing" spiritual music. I must surmise that the majority of listeners to these recorded works have no idea what the Latin words mean, generally.

I posted a great deal of sacred music on my last post on the topic. My plan here is to introduce a number of recorded masses for you to enjoy. I will note that it is rare to hear the Mass sung in this form in Latin, and while it is often sung in English, the English music is all too often lacking in beauty.

Guillame de Machaut - Mass of Notre Dame (Our Lady): prior to 1365

Josquin des Prez - Missa Hercules: circa 1484 - 1486

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585) - Mass for Four Voices

William Byrd (1539 - 1623) - Mass for Four Voices

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Missa Papa Marcelli: 1562

Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) - Missa Alma Redemptoris

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Great Mass: 1782

Franz Josef Haydn - Nelson Mass / Missa in Angustiis: 1798

Ludwig van Beethoven - Mass in C Major: 1807

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Mass in G Minor: 1921

Arvo Part - Missa Syllabica: 1977

CathCon Daily - 7/13/2016

The Left’s Climate Change Hysteria - Nicholas Loris, Daily Signal

News from the Berlantiverse - Declan Finn, Catholic Geeks

How the Federal Government Can Get Its Spending Under Control - Bogie & Boccia, Daily Signal

At the Meritocracy's Vatican - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Congress Should Protect Consciences Like Mine - Ana Maria Dumitru, Public Discourse

How Does Your Child Grow? - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Challenging Nordic Myths -  Nima Sanandaji, Public Discourse

Bush Comments a Welcome Change - Kemberlee Kaye, Legal Insurrection

Six Myths About FADA - Severino & Wolfe, Daily Signal

The Church Needs Artists - Duncan Stroik, Crisis

CathCon Daily - 7/12/2016

Sins of their Fathers - Alexi Sargent, First Things

Stump Speech for a New Candidate - Stephen J. Heaney, Public Discourse

On the Alchemy of Party - Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing

What Brexit Teaches Us about Democracy - Alexander Salter, Imaginative Conservative

Direct Democracy Produces Neither Wisdom... - Theodore Dalrymple, Liberty Law Blog

Most Of All We Hate The Experts Because They’re Always Wrong - Greg Scandlen, The Federalist

America's Worst President - Myron Magnet, City Journal

The Federal Government Is Ignoring Pro-Life Consciences - Ramona Tausz, The Federalist

Pro-Black, Pro-Police Reform - Shamed Dogan, NRO

Pathetic That It Takes ‘Pokémon Go’ To Get Us Outside - Bethany Mandel, The Federalist

As Trump Won, Media Coverage Turned Negative - Byron York, Human Events

The War on Cops - Thomas Sowell, Human Events

The Perils of Moral Narcissism - Peter Berkowitz, Real Clear Politics

CathCon Daily - 7/11/2016

Is Belief In the Moral Parity Thesis Dangerous? - Jason Brennan, BHL

Trans Bathrooms Are An Assault On Reality And Freedom - Mitch Hall, The Federalist

The Collapse of the Rule of Law - John Paul Meenan, Crisis

The Clinton Contamination - Maureen Dowd, NYT

Criminalizing Politics - Bradley Smith, Liberty Law Blog

Tradition, Interests, and Principle in the Game of Thrones - John O. McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

Yes, It's Irresponsible to Link Dallas to a Larger Cause - Mike Hashimoto, Dallas News

A Partial Introduction to Black Conservatism - Chidike Okeem, University Bookman

How Obama’s College Turned Me Into A Conservative - Ryan Hammill, The Federalist

Students Benefit from Privatization - Stephanie Keaveney, NRO

How Conservatives Turned Against Mass Incarceration - The Federalist Staff

Radicals Using Moderates to Help Tear America Apart - David French, NRO

CathCon Weekend - 7/9/2016

Dealing with One’s Own Anger - Greg Sadler, Stoicism Today

Sacralizing Violence - David Warren, The Catholic Thing

Burke on Healthy & Unhealthy Constitutions - Russell Kirk, Imaginative Conservative

Conservative Instincts vs. the Living Constitution II - Peter Augustine Lawler, NRO

Religion Promote Human Sacrifice and Other Moralistic Violence? - Darwinian Conservatism

What Divides Dallas Isn’t the Thin Blue Line - John Zmirak, The Stream

The Democrats’ Self-Serving Distractions - Kevin D. Williamson, NRO

Why We Should Read the Anti-Federalist Papers - Annie Holmquist, Imaginative Conservative

The Conversion of John Randolph - Miles Smith, Imaginative Conservative

CathCon Update - 7/8/2016

Custody Order Barring Speech Lifted - Eugene Volokh, Volokh

America is Driving Toward the Abyss - David French, NRO

The Noise Behind the New Jobs Report - James Sherk, Daily Signal

We Awaken in a Different, Worse, Country - Jim Geraghty, NRO

Congressional Black Caucus Blames Republicans For Dallas Massacre - Bre Payton, The Federalist

An Act of Terror Against the Men and Women of Law Enforcement - Scott Erickson, Daily Signal

Turn Countering Violent Extremism Into Combating Islamist Terrorism - David Inserra, Daily Signal

CathCon Daily - 7/8/2016

St. John the Wonderworker - Wesley Smith, First Things

The Permanent Revolt of the Republican Elites - Peter Spiliakos, NRO

The One Preferred Viewpoint of Teachers Colleges - Jordan Hill, Heterodox Academy

Donald Trump Was Not Wrong About Muslim Immigration - Greg Scandlen, The Federalist

The Irrelevance of Hillary's Peccadilloes - R.R. Reno, First Things

“Boss” Aldrich and the Founding of the Fed - George Selgin, Cato

The Language of Lincoln - M.E. Bradford, Imaginative Conservative

One Prof Does His Best to Save the Humanities - George Leef, NRO

Supreme Court Says Pharmacists Must Dispense Abortifacients - Zack Pruitt, The Federalist

The Meaning of the Baby Bust - Joel Kotkin, New Geography

An Open Letter to Lauren Pearson - Janna Darnelle, Public Discourse

Alice in Wonderland - Randall Smith, The Catholic Thing

Director Of The FBI Wants Us To Believe Hillary Is A Moron - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

The Transgen Tip of the Iceberg - Jake Curtis, NRO

‘The Girls’ Depicts Our Manson Family Values - Alice B. Loyd, The Federalist

Things to Remember as We Contemplate Dallas - Ilya Somin, Volokh

CathCon Daily - 7/7/2016

Metropolitan Kallistos Reflects on Council - Michael R. Heinlein, OSV

What Do We Know about Education? - David Boaz, Cato

Elevated CO2 Stimulates the Growth of Papaya - Craig D. Idso, Cato

Human Rights and the Pan-Orthodox Council - Mark Movsesian, First Things

Lasting Imprint of Family - George Will, Human Events

How We Can Avert the Coming Debt Crisis - Paul Winfree, Daily Signal

The Transgender Suicide Rate Isn’t Due To Discrimination - Daniel Payne, The Federalist

You Don’t Have To Be Black Lives Matter To Support...Accountability - Rachel Lu, The Federalist

Surprised (and Saddened) by Joy - Bradley Birzer, Imaginative Conservative

The Shooting of Philando Castile - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Texas Lawmen and the Lawless Court - Adam MacLeod, Public Discourse

A Civics Lesson from a Zulu King - John Horvat II, Crisis

What We Know About Fatal Tesla Accident - Randal O'Toole, Cato

The Blue Shift of the New England Professoriate - Sam Abrams, Heterodox Academy

Has Physics Gotten Something Really Important Really Wrong? - Adam Frank, NPR

Why Teleology Isn't Dead - John Farrell, Forbes

Mindfulness - George Scialabba, Intent

The Uses of Disgust - Anthony Esolen, Crisis

The Deconversion of a Social Justice Warrior - Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Fisking Mr. Ham - A "Lazy, Spoiled, Entitled Narcissist"

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods. - Edmund Burke

Now and again, I check into my LinkedIn feed to see if anyone has pinged me for any reason which requires I respond. I leave the occasional "Congratulations!" to people with new jobs or anniversaries. In doing so, I run across links that others post (not unlike Facebook), which occasionally attract my interest. Today, I happened across (another) Millennial post, complaining about various things related to perception of Millennials.

I am not often motivated to respond to such things, but occasionally (when the mood strikes me), I like to write a response. I do not write such responses in the hope of changing minds - it's more to keep up my own rhetorical skills, as well as (dare I say it) engaging in an enjoyable bit of mental fencing.

So, today's post is by Shane Ham, a self-described "lazy, spoiled, entitled narcissist," though I think the title is intended to be ironic, rather than truly descriptive. Mr. Ham has a bone to pick - well, make that several bones to pick. His main point seems to be that "We Millennials have been dealt a raw hand, and so don't blame us if we are as we are." With that said, on a first-read, I would have to say that Mr. Ham is ignorant of history, makes no attempt to understand views other than his own, and expects others to do things for him. 

Dear Mr. Ham:

You are obviously capable of writing, and also intelligent enough to seek out other readers. After all, your essay was edited by "LinkedIn Campus Editor Amanda Proença Santos" and he thanks "Grace Moon, Waleed Khan, Emily Ji, Professor Hanssen, and Professor Holt for reading...and giving...feedback." However, you appear to be sadly typical of many Millennials in several ways. First, you are ignorant of both history and political science. You state:

All we saw for the past eight years was a president with a vision for real change have to fight against a political party that was dedicated to do the opposite of whatever came out of his mouth. 

I suppose it would be too much to ask you to either (1) pay attention in political science class (presuming you took one), or (2) engage in some basic internet research. With this statement, does you even wonder, given how deeply unpopular the PPACA was within the Republican party, how it got passed with that party opposing the President's every desire? With the appropriate disclaimers concerning accuracy, here is what Wikipedia has to say:

The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The apportionment of seats in the House was based on the 2000 U.S. Census. In the November 4, 2008 elections, the Democratic Party increased its majorities in both chambers, giving President Obama a Democratic majority in the legislature for the first two years of his presidency. 

So, for two of those eight years (during which PPACA, a major effort, was passed), the President was not opposed by a Republican majority.

But, even leaving obvious history aside, do you even know that it's not the President who passes laws? He's supposed to enforce them, or veto them. Those are his limits when it comes to lawmaking. (Well, that is, except for the massive administrative state. The current President has passed a massive number of administrative rules, and has chosen not to enforce other laws with which he disagrees.) Congress has the job of lawmaking, not the President. How many laws have been passed by Congress, yet vetoed by the President? How many more has he threatened to veto? Who is being obstructionist when it comes to legislation passed by Congress, but vetoed by the President? Do you want a president, or do you want a monarch?

Continuing on....

We are fighting wars we don’t understand how we got into. When we had the opportunity to help suffering refugees and fulfill some of those ideas we learned about, we shut our doors.

We got into some of them during President Obama's time in office. In some, he was opposed by Congress. In others, he went without asking, in a "...kinetic military action." Whence the President's vision for real change?

We are not inspired by the current state of politics. A part of us genuinely believes that things really don’t have a chance to improve whether we do something or not. Leaders are supposed to spark a longing for something greater, but all we see is a deeply divided political landscape.

Why do you automatically take the President or members of Congress or governors or...etc...for your leaders, instead of governors? There are inspirational leaders at every level of civil society - they are in the police, the fire, the schools, the military, the churches. Improvement almost never happens because government takes some drastic step - the great changes happen among the charities, at the local level. Who told you that government was the answer to all of your ills?

You go on:

Millennials are holding off on plans to marry, buy a home, and have children because they won’t be able to afford them.

Do you think it is easier to buy a home and have children if you are married? While an older statistic, at least one set of statistics shows that married people, with both spouses in the workforce, have much higher earnings than others, particularly single men and single women. If you are holding off marriage because of lack of money, it's based on perception, not reality.

Our society has progressed so that each generation expects a better standard of living than the one before it. However, for the first time in American history, it is very likely that this may not be the case....

So lower your expectations. Rent an apartment for awhile, rather than buying a home. Buy a used car, or no car and live in a city.

In fact, lower ALL of your expectations. Stop going to colleges that cost small fortunes to attend because you want all the amenities at those colleges. Want to afford education? Go to a local branch of a state college - the one near me has yearly full-time tuition, room, and board at an estimated $8,478 per year. It has very few amenities, but it has good professors and a quality education. Work during the summer instead of traveling, hanging out with friends, sitting on social media, or complaining. Typically, colleges end at the end of May and go through Labor Day. That's roughly three months of earning time - 13 weeks, 40 hour weeks, at $7.25 an hour - that's $3,770 before taxes (which refund you can save in the Spring to add to next year's expenses). So, $5,500 a year for college. If that's ALL loans, you could graduate with less than $30,000 in debt - with low interest rates and generous payoff, you can pay off that debt like any other.

I think I could write virtual reams about your post. But, I am tired of it. You engage in so many assumptions, sweeping generalizations, and biased reasoning (and have other rhetorical issues which I am not sure how to name...), that it would take a book to answer them.

CathCon Daily - 7/6/2016

Targeting of Muslims is a Religious Freedom Problem - Thomas Berg, Mirror of Justice

Conservative Instincts vs. the Living Constitution - Peter Augustine Lawler, NRO

A Pledge Betrayed - Richard M. Doerflinger, Public Discourse

How to Save the Post-Industrial Town - Gracy Olmstead, American Conservative

Pascal's Fire - Robert Royal, The Catholic Thing

A Guide to Western Literature  - Michael Platt, Imaginative Conservative

No Fly, No Buy - Mike LaBossiere, Talking Philosophy

Iowa Bureaucrats Force Trans Bathrooms On Churches - Joy Pullmann, The Federalist

Another Study on Same-Sex Parenting - D.C. McAllister, The Federalist

Patriotism and Its Limits - Bruce Frohnen, Nomocracy in Politics

Make Congress Responsible Again - Senator Mike Lee, Daily Signal

Iovi Et Bovi: The Teflon Hillary Standard - Michelle Malkin, Human Events

Looking at it from James Comey's Perspective - Robert George, Mirror of Justice

A Brief History of Socialist Support for Gun Rights - Ron Capshaw, Liberty Law Blog

It’s Our Duty as Women to Celebrate That Hillary Won’t Be Charged - Katherine Timpf, NRO

Libertarianism for Beginners - John Stoddel, Human Events

The Court’s Last Shreds of Legitimacy - Ralph Rossum, Liberty Law Blog

CathCon Update - 7/5/2016

A Triumph for Disinterested Justice - Heather Mac Donald, City Journal

I Don't Get It - Jonah Goldberg, NRO

Vive La Permanent Revolution - Guy Sorman, City Journal

Jim Comey's Statement on the Clinton Emails - Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare

Bastards of Privilege - Theodore Dalrymple, City Journal

Hillary Clinton is Above the Law - David Harsanyi, The Federalist

CathCon Daily - 7/5/2016

Remembering More than Elie Wiesel - Danielle Pletka, AEI

Archbishop Carroll's Prayers for Government - Fr. Z's Blog

Fourth of July Reflections - Mary G. Leary, Mirror of Justice

For the Restoration of Reason and Reality - James Kalb, Crisis

Reforming Criminal Justice - Kennedy, Robinson, English, AEI

An American Brexit? - Donald Devine, American Conservative

Educating the Moral Imagination - Benjamin Lockerd, Imaginative Conservative

Apostasy in England and Europe - Regis Martin, Crisis

George Will, Burkean - Greg Weiner, Liberty Law Blog

Europe’s Free Speech Problem: A Cautionary Tale - Paul Coleman, Public Discourse

The Moral Collapse Of The Republican Party - Paul David Miller, The Federalist

Why the World is Rebelling Against "Experts" - Joel Kotkin, New Geography

What Doesn't Work Against Terrorism - Kevin D. Williamson, NRO

CathCon Daily - 7/4/2016

A Tale of Two Georges - Fr. George W. Rutler, Crisis

Happy Independence Day 2016 - Michael Avramovich, Touchstone

What Would a Reform Agenda Look Like? - Robert George, Mirror of Justice

What the Declaration of Independence Really Claimed - Randy Barnett, Volokh

The Drafting of the Declaration of Independence - Randy Barnett, Volokh

A Revolution Not Made But Prevented - Russell Kirk, Imaginative Conservative

Algernon Sidney: A father of the Declaration of Independence - Dave Kopel, Volokh

The Myth of Cosmopolitanism - Ross Douthat, NYT

Britain’s EU Problem is a London Problem - Peter Mandler, Dissent

To Protect and Defend - American Interest

Democrats and Republicans Clash Over Gun Control - Josh Siegel, Daily Signal

Jefferson & the Declaration of Independence - Ross Lence, Imaginative Conservative

Dark Times, the Declaration, and the Despotic Executive - Paul Seaton, Liberty Law Blog

American's Founding Changed Human History - Charles C.W. Cooke, NRO

CathCon Sunday - 7/3/2016

George Washington's Standard - Kevin D. Williamson, NRO

A Republic We are in Danger of Losing - John McGinnis, Liberty Law Blog

Elie Wiesel: "A Messenger to Mankind" - Jay Nordlinger, NRO

10-Year-Old Did Not School Sarah Palin With A Question About Sexism - M.K. Ham, The Federalist

What They're Screaming in Boulder - Jay Nordlinger, NRO

Beauty or Bloodshed? - Dwight Longenecker, Imaginative Conservative

The Corrupting Crusade Against Corruption - George Will, NRO

What Manner of Men are Conservatives? - Stephen Tonsor, Imaginative Conservative

CathCon Weekend - 7/2/2016

Mental Illness and Possession - Richard Gallagher, WaPo

Marriage, Validity, and Invalidity - Howard Kainz, The Catholic Thing

Spinoza & the Stoics on Suicide - Christopher Morrissey, Imaginative Conservative

Trump Will Not Protect You from Gay Rights - Maggie Gallagher, NRO

NM Supremes Declare No Right to Assisted Suicide - Wesley J. Smith, NRO