January 21, 2005
Arlen Specter bites the hand that feeds . . . again
Perhaps the most frustrating event in the 2004 elections occurred when President Bush stumped for Arlen Specter over a pro-life Republican he was running against in the primaries. When Specter won, he was poised to take over the Judiciary Committee - obviously a very important piece of Bush's plans to get "strict constitutionalists" (read: pro-lifers) on the bench. When the public went nuts (Specter loves abortion as much as any Democrat), Specter made a series of promises in order to get the seat. Now, just a few months later he's already breaking them.
This is bad, bad news for pro-lifers. In perhaps our one chance to really make a difference, we now have to contend with a rabid abortionist wearing the colors of what should be the good team. I blogged on this before, and wrote/called/etc. everyone on the Judiciary committee and my Senators. Obviously it had no effect, which really ticks me off (I did receive some nice form letters that were entirely weightless, so to speak).
I think perhaps the only solution is to wage war on Senator Specter, perhaps raising the specter of a recall vote (couldn't resist). Any suggestions? I do think we need to stay on our Senators and the other Senators on the Judiciary Committee, especially over this upcoming year. Perhaps a little public pressure can keep Arlen in line? Who knows - but I do think Bush is getting what he deserves.
God bless,
Jay
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The most profound spiritual disappointment for me in Lord of the Rings concerns the scene involving Faramir, Sam, and Frodo.
When tempers flare, Sam reveals Boromir's failure to Faramir. In the book, the fall of Boromir, his genuine contrition, his heroic attempt to rescue the Merry and Pippin in reparation for his attempt to seize the ring from Frodo, his confession to "the King", and the longstanding maintenance of confidence on the part of Frodo and Aragorn bore all the marks of the most beautiful sacrament of Reconciliation. It was all there: confession, contrition, repentance, reparation, and secrecy. Frodo chose not to broadcast Boromir's failure, Aragorn kept the secret to himself - that is the seal of confession. Watching Sam break the seal in the movie left me horrified.
I'm sure Jackson did not intend such a travesty. I'm sure in all honesty he missed the parallel between the private nature of Boromir's failure and the solemn obligation not to betray the seal of confession for any reason. But only a non-Catholic could have missed that.
The first movie was by far the best and most true to both the original story-line and the original (Catholic) flavor of spirituality and morality.
Posted by: Broken Record at January 24, 2005 12:11 PM
