"HOW SHALL WE THEN LIVE?" Francis Schaeffer

Sunday, April 24, 2005





Republican joins Bolton hearing monkey biz

April 24, 2005

BY MARK STEYN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST


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the story brought up by the senior Democratic obstructionist Joe Biden. As Sen. Biden put it, ''The USAID worker in Kyrgyzstan alleges that she was harassed -- not sexually harassed -- harassed by Mr. Bolton.''

This was a decade ago, in some hotel. John Bolton allegedly chased this woman down a corridor in a non-sexual manner. It's not clear from Biden whether he would have approved had she been chased down the corridor in a sexual manner, as the 42nd president was wont to do. But the non-sexual harassment was instead about policy matters relating to Kyrgyzstan. Maybe Bolton was in a foul mood or maybe he was in a vowel mood and, this being Kyrgyzstan, they didn't have any. But this is what the pitiful constitutional travesty of the Senate's ''advise and consent'' role has now dwindled down to: a sex scandal with no sex. All talk and no action. Only in America, folks. Or, to be more precise, only in the U.S. Senate.

I'll bet Pope Benedict XVI is glad that his conclave doesn't include either Cardinal Biden or Cardinal Voinovich, or his church would be pontiff-less indefinitely while they ''investigated'' last-minute rumors that he'd been off-hand to some guy in seminary 55 years ago. I had no strong views about the new pope one way or another, but I'd have voted for him just for the pleasure of seeing him drive the U.S. media bananas. Apparently, the New York Times was stunned that their short list of Cardinal Gloria Steinem, Cardinal Rupert Everett and Cardinal Rosie O'Donnell were defeated at the last moment by some guy who came out of left field and isn't even gay or female but instead belongs to the discredited ''Catholic'' faction of the Catholic Church.

Unlike the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the conclave of cardinals takes its job seriously. They understand the demands of the New York Times: women priests, gay sex, condoms for all. But, as befits an ancient institution, they take the long view: They think that radical secularism is weak and that the consequences of its weakness will prove dangerous and possibly fatal for the Western world. Therefore, there's no point accommodating it -- and, after all, those churches that do (the Episcopalians, for example) are already in steep decline. You can disagree with this, particularly if you're as shrill and parochial as Pope Benedict's American critics. But the conclave at least addressed the big issues.

JB here: Two thoughts, first one political. There's actually no good reason to oppose John Bolton other than he's conservative and agrees with GWB. His "sins" are picayune as to be miniscule.
Secondly, the accommodation of radical secularism is certainly advancing the downward spiral that calls itself "western culture." As for churches, if you're dying to become non-existant, then certainly continue to follow the path of the American Episcopalian Church (primarily in the "blue state" area) where all liberal/progressive thoughts about the culture are in vogue. Bishop Gene Robinson ( the individual who deserted his wife and children to live with his boyfriend ) was rewarded by the "blue state" Episcopal Church with his own Bishoporic. (sp?). The only question remaining, how fast can the Episcopal Church die?

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