He who places his hope on thee, O Virgin all-glorious, will prosper in all he does.

Inscription on Byzantine coin during reign of Romanus III



Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Ron Paul's Debt Limit Proposal

John at Ad Orientem posted a link to an article about Ron Paul's debt limit proposal. Sophocles had emailed both of us about it, and I've posted my reply at John's site.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

No Mosques

Herman Cain said he sides with the opponents of the construction of a mosque in Tennessee because he fears the Muslims building the mosque have bad intentions and want to implement Sharia law.

Personal Non Grata

Lo and behold, I've discovered that I'm unwelcome at three papal blogs, Ius Honorarium, Reditus, and Rorate Caeli. The moral of the story: I'm just not cut out for ecumenical work. My "open and frank" conversation style has struck again.

Ius is Gabriel's latest blog, and I was banned for commenting less-than-nicely about the death of the last Habsburg. Oh well. The blog had little information value for me, but was an opportunity to clarify misapprehensions about libertarianism and Austrian economics as well as listen to papalized potshots at Orthodoxy.

Arturo, the host of Reditus, didn't ban me but began censoring my comments a month or two ago. That's a passive-aggressive approach best suited for wanna-be revolutionaries. The second deleted comment confirmed what was happening, and it's been that long since I've visited.

Carlos, the host of Rorate Caeli, wouldn't permit my only comment to be posted. I struck out pretty quickly there.

Feel free to comment at any of the above blogs, and I hope that you have better luck than I did.




Since I'm on the subject, let me clarify this blog's comment policy:




No Comments Shall Be Censored.



I'm an Enlightenment fan, and freewheelin' discussion is desirable.
Anonymity is welcome. Keep your children away, if necessary.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

From Sophocles: Rambo vs. ??





















My readers know that I think they're both clowns, but still....Putin makes a more compelling gainsaying case. As for Obama, there's nothing more to be said.



N.B., Sophocles takes up two of my links to the right--"Sinner", his colorfully creative blog, and "Kyklos Greek Cafe", his restaurant in Henderson, NV.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Whoever Thought That This Was An Orthodox View?

On top of misguided government spending, Mr. Coustas says entrepreneurial activity was denigrated for many years and profit was regarded as 'wrong.' 'Anyone who wanted to make an investment here was considered a kind of bloodsucker.'

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Sadness

This is a little snippet that I posted at another blog in response to Ariston's statement: “When contemplating how Orthodoxy can speak to modernity, I constantly come across in my mind the depressing conclusion that Meyendorff was right, and Byzantine theology died in 1453.”

My reply:

I was thinking the same thing, and it’s equally applicable to Orthodox thinking about secular topics as well. The totality of Orthodox thought has been inescapably shaped by dhimmitude, Old Rome’s triumphalist propaganda, the ubiquity of of the monastic class, and the collapse of the laity’s virtù from conquest.


The laity disappeared as a countervailing force in post-Constantinopolitan Orthodox society, except for brief spurts of murderous sociopathy.

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Chaplains Coming To Russian Army

'The president has ordered to introduce the institution of military priests in the army and fleet before the end of 2011.'

I'm Looking Forward To The Fourth Crusade's Archives

The Vatican has just opened part of its archives for public viewing. I'd rather view the archival booty from the Fourth Crusade against Constantinople.

A possibility? I'm betting against it.

Monday, July 04, 2011

Fourth Of July Kielbasa

I'd better be on the New Calendar.