What if things are not always as they seem? What if the enormously popular Pope Francis is popular precisely because he is less Catholic than his two immediate predecessors? What if his theory of his stewardship of Catholicism is to broaden the base of the Church by weakening her doctrine so as to attract more people by making it temporally easier to be Catholic? What if the pope really believes that rather than resist modernism — with its here today and gone tomorrow fancies — the Church should give in to it and even become a part of it so … Continue reading →

…on the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia. The pope was… Introduced by Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,”… I almost skipped over this, but it piqued my interest: Fanfare for the Common Man is a musical work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice president Henry A. Wallace proclaimed the dawning of the “Century of the Common Man”. What about the symphony-inspiring speech? Vice President Henry Wallace gave this speech … Continue reading →

Brewers from Maine have celebrated a successful year at a beer festival in the US. The state picked up three medals after its local breweries entered 14 beers at the annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF). At 21 per cent, it had the highest ratio of medals to entries out of all the states. Rhode Island came second after entering 10 beers and winning one medal. Around 60,000 people gathered at the festival in Boulder, Colorado, which lasted until 26 September. Judges handed out 275 medals at the event, which organiser Brewers Association said was the largest beer competition in the world. This year, there were around 6,650 entries from more than … Continue reading →

It can be hard to control your food portion sizes. How could you just say ‘no’ to a second helping of your favorite food? Portion control doesn’t mean going hungry, it just means learning to eat enough to just be satisfied and fueled up for the rest of your day. The differing recommendations as to how much people should eat, and the massive portions restaurants dole out to customers can make trying to eat right and just enough feel like a virtual minefield. The key to finding the right balance for you really is seeing what works for your own body … Continue reading →

Nothing seems to cause one of the neocon talking heads to fall into a rage more than discussing a politician or political candidate who “doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism!!”  Sean Hannity seems especially unhinged under such circumstances.  This is because “American exceptionalism” has long been the ideological underpinning of – and justification for –the American empire and all of its military adventures.  As shills for the American military/industrial complex and the empire that it is forever expanding, Hannity, O’Reilly, Limbaugh, and all the rest are required by their masters to express outrage – outrage! – whenever anyone questions the propriety … Continue reading →

Hey, did you know we spent over $2.7 billion dollars on some blimps the military wanted? No, I’m serious, I’m not making this up. And I haven’t been huffing helium from those blimps, either. I read this in the newspaper the other day. I didn’t know we had blimps! I saw a blimp pass overhead here the other day, but, alas, it was on its way to a football game and not valiantly defending us from the return of the Hindenburg. I was disappointed. I wanted to see what $2.7 billion dollars bought us besides an electronic sign for Sam’s … Continue reading →