Jurisprudence, penology, and pro-life

A very good comment was made on yesterday’s blog post about Mexico and a pro-life decision by their Supreme Court. It said in part:

My educational background is partly in criminology. I couldn’t help but notice your juxtaposition between the legal prohibition of abortion and the rampant gang activity in Mexico. As my tribe (Methodists) did [...]


A positive news story from Mexico

Sometimes we become so accustomed to bad news from a particular country that we sometimes fail to note the good news that can also come out. There is some very good news out of Mexico that actually puts that country ahead of the United States in one very important area. What surprises me is that [...]


On denominational claims

Well, I have been gone for a couple of weeks, but I am back. I will simply post the cartoon below for your enjoyment. It comes from the website http://thomasthedoubter.com/.


Feast Day of the Holy Cross 2011

Today is the Eve of the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross. Below are some quotes from the Early Church Fathers on the Cross. The first one is from Saint John Chrysostom.

BUT let us with a clear voice, shouting both loud and high, cry out and say (and should all the heathen be present, [...]


9/11 Tenth anniversary

Yes, I remember 9/11. Like everyone else who was an adult in the USA back then, I remember where I was. I was in Birmingham, AL and I was at home. I was a priest in charge of a Spanish-speaking mission for the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and visitor at a couple of other sites. [...]


Gentleness and Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Saint Seraphim of Sarov is my patron saint. There are various sayings attributed to him which are backed up by the way in which he lived his life. One set of them treats the subject of gentleness:

You cannot be too gentle, too kind.
Shun even to appear harsh in your treatment of each other.
Joy, radiant joy, streams from [...]


Remember the victims of 9/11, a request from Metropolitan Philip

His Eminence Metropolitan Philip asks that every parish of the Antiochian Archdiocese hold a Trisagion service at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy this Sunday, September 11th, 2011 to remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks on this, the 10th anniversary of that horrific occasion in the life of our country. Please also remember the families [...]


Follow-up baby boomers and crime rate

After my recent post on baby boomers and the crime rate, one of the readers made a very good comment:

I’m having a difficult time following the argument leading to the conclusion that Baby Boomers caused the rise in crime indicated on the graph. Brings to mind, “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” We could graph the [...]


Heartstrings and the VA

Working at the VA means that your heartstrings get tugged on a regular basis. Whether it is the sight of a veteran young enough to be your son or daughter, but scarred or missing a limb, or whether it is the sight of an older veteran who is no longer what he or she was, [...]


Baby Boomers and the crime rate

The statistics above are rather interesting statistics. Despite the fact that they come from the Wikipedia, I have gone to the website of the FBI and confirmed some of the figures in order to ensure that they are graphed correctly. Most baby boomers have grown up with a crime rate that increased from the time they [...]