The marriage bed and the plated head

In today's first reading, we are admonished:

Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers.

-- Hebrews 13:4

Power loathes the speaking of this truth, as is illustrated by today's Gospel concerning the murderous hatred of Herodias for St. John the Baptist.

Bone Thrown

Wonkblog has posted news of a modification to the Obama Administration’s odious contraception mandate. (h/t Mark Shea.) My analysis of the Wonkblog report is below.

Answer to Jake III - Not the 1st, but the 14th

Here is my response to Jake on the constitutionality of anti-SSM legislation.

Answer to Jake

In the comment thread on Catholic blogger Leah Libresco’s important recent blog post in favor of same sex civil marriage, I’ve ended up dialoguing with other commenters there about whether the U.S. Constitution really does mandate what Fr. Neuhaus famously derided as “the naked public square,” in which religious arguments are to be banished as presumptively illegitimate. Since I ended up writing a reply on the issue just now that is as verbose as any blog post, and because it handily encapsulates my position on religious arguments in the public square, I repost it here.

Prohibition has failed

On Monday, we examined Aquinas' view that it does not belong to human law to suppress all vices. Taking narcotics is a vice. Most narcotics are every bit as destructively addictive as Sauron's ring of power. Many ravage the body, even unto death. Even the less serious narcotics often resemble in their effects less the pleasant relaxation of the moderate drinker, and more the stupor of the drunk--although reportedly there are exceptions.

Sin taxes

Yesterday, we looked at Aquinas' view that human law may legitimately school us in virtue, but should not suppress all vices. To be sure, there are many vices that, were they to be made illegal, would continue to metastasize in black markets. However, making vice illegal is not the only way to steer us away from it.

Human law should not suppress all vices

In the calendar of the Church, today is the Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas. With that in mind, today I would like to begin what I hope will be a continuing discussion on this blog of certain Thomistic insights into the nature of law and politics. These insights may lead us to fruitful reflection on controversial topics like narcotics prohibition and same sex civil marriage. Today, though, let's found our thought in Aquinas before attempting to apply it to such issues.

A very old wineskin

In today's Gospel, Our Lord mentions that "new wine is poured into fresh wineskins." This sets me in mind of the fact that, here in the U.S., today happens to be both Martin Luther King Day and the day of the Presidential Inauguration. History's God keeps trying to pour His ever new wine into our hearts. And yet we keep trying to force Him into the old wineskins of our old prejudices, our old fears, our old grudges, and our old smug platitudes. I pray we learn to let all that go. To choose Him instead of our own projects.

Great grocer, unhinged political thinker

Sometimes when shopping at Whole Foods, it irks me that the store is crammed with New Age magazines about Tibetan Buddhism and Yoga instead of also carrying the occasional Christian work. After all, my local Whole Foods here in Texas no doubt has far more Christian customers than shoppers who follow the Dharmic religions, so perhaps we'd be interested in a book about the environmental stewardship of Creation, for example. However, after learning about this smugly delivered slander on NPR today, I think I'll just stick to buying my organic arugula and be very, very grateful that Christianity isn't sullied by association with Whole Foods, the CEO of which has done a lot for the natural environment, but who ought to stop releasing dangerously extremist effluent into the political environment.

Seamless Garment

My wonderfully wise wife just now shared this video with me.

Not every problem is caused by our bêtes noires.

Mark Shea flags an article in the Wall St. Journal about a dearth of children in the Golden State. He attributes this to the libertinism of Californian culture. Mr. Shea gets no argument from me that the libertinism of Californian culture is a disgrace to man and a sorrow to God. But his correlation doesn’t seem to track causation. Consider that in recent years, the birthrate in South Dakota has declined, while that in North Dakota has increased. Are South Dakotans a bunch of SWPL libertines, while North Dakotans still cling to the Lutheran values of their frontier forebears?

New Big Projects

Wonkblogger Evan Soltas recently wrote a helpfully clarifying article entitled "Having Both Won, Left and Right Need New Big Projects" for the Ticker blog at Bloomberg. He notes that with the reelection of President Obama, liberals have secured the perpetuation of the Affordable Care Act, the capstone of the New Deal welfare state. Meanwhile, with the fiscal cliff deal, conservatives have secured the permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts, the capstone of the Reagan-era project to lower income taxes on the middle class. Both parties, then, will need something new to do.

Don't play DADT

DADT, the  "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" pernicious policy against gay people serving in the U.S. military, has been repealed.  That's wonderful news for our country, and for the brave soldiers--gay and straight--who defend it.

Gracchus loquitur!

Meanwhile, ‘‘in da Senate’’:

‘‘His bank was bailed out big time by the taxpayers. But under the legislation the President negotiated with the Republicans [he] will receive $1.1 million in tax breaks. So $1.1 million in tax breaks for a major CEO on Wall Street, who over the last 5 years received $89 million in total compensation.

  ‘‘Meanwhile--just to contrast what is going on here--2 days ago, I brought before the Senate legislation which would provide a $250 one-time check to over 50 million seniors and disabled veterans, who for the last 2 years have not received a COLA [cost of living adjustment] on their Social Security. Many of those seniors and disabled vets are trying to get by on $14,000, $15,000, $18,000 a year . . . .   Because the Republicans filibustered, I needed 60 votes. I could not get 60 votes. I could not get one Republican vote to provide a $250 check to a disabled veteran trying to get by on $15,000 or $16,000 a year.’’