Defending the 12th century since the 14th; blogging since the 21st.

Catholicism, Conservatism, the Middle Ages, Opera, and Historical and Literary Objets d'Art blogged by a suburban dad who teaches law and writes stuff.


"Very fun." -- J. Bottum, Editor, FIRST THINGS

"Too modest" -- Elinor Dashwood

"Perhaps the wisest man on the Web" -- Henry Dieterich

"Hat tip: me (but really Cacciaguida)" -- Diana Feygin, Editor, THE YALE FREE PRESS

"You are my sire. You give me confidence to speak. You raise my heart so high that I am no more I." -- Dante

"Fabulous!"-- Warlock D.J. Prod of Didsbury

Who was Cacciaguida? See Dante's PARADISO, Cantos XV, XVI, & XVII.


E-mail me

 
AP: Netherlands Hospital Euthanizes Babies. But there's no slippery slope when you start euthanizing only the sentient elderly with severe chronic illness who specifically request it and with expert ethics panels in place as a safeguard -- no-o-o-o-o-o.
posted by Cacciaguida at 3:03 PM

 
Another new blog: a Catholic-military one called Domine Non Sum Dignus, by "Tom" (no relation to any 'Guida family member, as far as I know). The title poignantly captures the sentiments of non-military parents giving sons to the Marine Corps (though if the total number of 'Guidi who don the globe-and-anchor exceeds two, Elinor will demand the Mom Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster).

Though Tom's blog is not exclusively Marine, I will file it under "The Few, the Proud, the On-Line."
posted by Cacciaguida at 1:58 PM

 
Feeling unusually foreign-policy-y today -- yet still right-wing? Check out The Diplomad, Transatlantic Intelligencer, and The Daily Demarche.

posted by Cacciaguida at 10:05 PM

 
Jonathan Lee has "Thanksgiving dinner with the American people," and other adventures.

(If any of you can give me an informed opinion about JL being assigned to Ground Radio Repair rather than Amphibious Assault for his MOS -- that's the only bad news he has -- please do so.)

posted by Cacciaguida at 4:55 PM

 
More on Dante translations: re Sayers

In response to Patrick's question in the comment boxes of the Esolen post just below:

Definitely hang on to your Sayers! Her introductions and notes are the best ever. Her erudition in things medieval is considerable, and she views Dante through the prism of a yearning toward Catholicism that only a certain type of Anglo-Catholic (what she called a "Roamin' Catholic) can achieve.

Her translation itself is controversial. I like it. It is one of the very few that replicate Dante's terza rima. (I've been told there's another -- Cary? -- but I'm not sure).

Because English is less rhyme-rich than Italian, writing terza rima in English leads to more stilting and awkwardness than in Italian. This accounts for what strikes some readers as self-consciously "olde" in Sayers' version. It doesn't bother me; it's still much better poetry than the wretched Ciardi version, which does not attempt terza rima.

If someone were to publish the Sayers version, with complete notes and intros, and with the original on facing pages, then you'd have a real competitor to Esolen.

I'd like to put in a good word, as well, for the translation by Mark Musa, available separately or as The Viking Portable Dante (incudes Vita Nuova!). No original-on-facing-pages in this version, and only minimal notes, but the translation itself scores very high both on literal accuracy and on smoothness and euphony as English poetry (more so than Sayers, because Musa is not attempting terza rima).

The real goal, of course, is reading the Italian. No excuses: we live in world full of Spanish speakers, and most of us pick up some Latin, Spanish, or French in the course of ordinary schooling. The Latin-derived ("Romance") languages are not so alien from one another that we have any reason to be afraid of Italian. Being an opera jock helps, but it is not necessary.

"But it's medieval Italian!" Only chronologically. Such was Dante's influence that he acted as a preservative on his own language; his Italian is far less removed from today's than is Chaucer's English from today's. At most there are a few words and spellings that you wouldn't see in the daily Osservatore Romano.
posted by Cacciaguida at 2:24 PM

 
Exciting Dante translation news



Anthony Esolen has just published his translation of Paradiso, completing his Divine Comedy for Modern Library, and beating Robert and Jean Hollander to the punch (they have published their Inferno and Purgatorio but not their Paradiso).

Of translations published since about 1990, these two, Hollander and Esolen, are clearly the best, not least because the Hollanders and Esolen are all in fundamental sympathy with Dante's vision. The Hollander and Esolen versions both give us the original Italian on facing pages, and both have excellent notes. But Esolen's translation is the more powerful poetry by far.

Prof. Esolen, a young man (PhD 1987), teaches at Providence College. In addition to his scholarly work, he is a contributing editor to Touchstone, and he has also published in Crisis and the New Oxford Review. Here is one of his Touchstone articles.

I have sampled Esolen's Paradiso, using XV 139-144 as my test verses. His version is even more moving, and more belligerent, than that of Dorothy Sayers, which I quoted (with one minor emendation) here.

The Conservative Book Club is currently offering its members the entire Esolen Divine Comedy in hardcover. Whether you buy it that way, or whether you get the paperback Inf and Purg and wait for the paperback Par -- either way, run, don't walk, to get this translation.
posted by Cacciaguida at 4:24 PM

 
Two NEW BLOG announcements:

Young and Catholic, by Tim Drake, of the National Catholic Register inter alia (check out his book too)

Basia me, Catholica sum, by Meredith, Christendom College undergraduate


posted by Cacciaguida at 5:48 PM

 
Spence Publishing writes to say it is holding a Christmas book sale now through 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, November 24. All hardcovers will be $10, and all paperbacks $7.50.
posted by Cacciaguida at 5:44 PM

 
The Empire Ricks Back


Warner: "Turn to the Moderate Side! It is your destiny!"
Santorum: "No! I'll never join you!!"

The Hill reports:

Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-Pa.) actions on behalf of his embattled senior GOP home-state colleague, Arlen Specter, have strained relations with some conservative groups that Santorum will need to win reelection in 2006.....

Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) predicted that while conservative voters “may be disappointed with [Santorum] at the moment, when they look at who his opponent is, they’ll recognize that Rick is their guy.”

Maybe. But wait, looky here:

One possible Democratic challenger to Santorum is state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., son of the former governor, who led the state ballot Nov. 2 with 3.3 million votes.

Also to be noted from this Hill article: when block-Specter-for-chairman forces needed a place to meet, space was made available in the office of pro-life leader and stem-cell-research-ban author Sen. Sam Brownback. I totally like you, Sam-I-am!
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:00 AM

 
The Ninomaniac gets confrontational about the Confrontation Clause.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:44 PM

 
What a surprise!
posted by Cacciaguida at 6:11 PM

 

"You don't know what you're talking about!" said Ron, starting to get angry. "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"

"There you are, then," said Hermione in a superior tone. "They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better pop my clogs then!"

-- HP & the P of A

posted by Cacciaguida at 1:57 AM

 
Daily Telegraph: Although Mr Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Mr Bush.

As Urquhart would say: "Think it over. I'll delay the press release until noon." (Caution: House of Cards spoilers at the Urquhart link.)
posted by Cacciaguida at 11:20 AM

 
Read Chester the Marine on why defeat of the intelligence reform bill in its present version is very good news, why further centralization of intelligence is bad, and why the Pentagon must not lose budgetary authority over the intelligence ops of the respective services.
posted by Cacciaguida at 11:04 PM

 
Christian Science Monitor: The white flag may be an international symbol of surrender, but in Fallujah it has become another tool of guerrilla war....

Fake surrenders have been a standard resistance tactic throughout this war; see e.g. page 63 of this book. If violation of the international-law status of surrender is not out of bounds, there is no reason to think abuse of the international-law privileges of wounded prisoners is out of bounds either. This will stand in for a much longer post I was planning about the Marine who killed someone said to have been an unarmed and wounded enemy.

Meanwhile, in The Washington Post:

The U.S. military has found nearly 20 houses where intelligence officers say they believe hostages were killed or tortured in this city, including one containing a cage in which a British contractor who was beheaded last month was probably confined.

U.S. Army intelligence officers said the cage, discovered in a house in southern Fallujah, matched almost identically one shown in a videotape of the contractor, Kenneth Bigley, whose death was confirmed Oct. 10....

Bigley, 62, an engineer, became the first British hostage killed in Iraq. In a videotape aired on an Arab satellite network before his death, Bigley was shown in a metal cage with a chain around his neck, pleading for his life.

"They had a sick, depraved culture of violence in that city," said Lt. Col. Daniel Wilson, an operations officer with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Maj. James West, a Marine intelligence officer, said the houses, which he referred to as "places of atrocities," were scattered across Fallujah. Some had false walls that led to rooms splattered with blood. One house had bloody handprints on the wall. "They chained people to the walls," West said.

Note to the media: Could we have some pictures of these findings, please? Lord knows we were shown pictures of Abu Ghraib. I don't think American misdeeds should be covered up, but I do think that pictorial evidence of the evil we are fighting should be beamed from the housetops, just like pictures of the concentration camps after WWII.


posted by Cacciaguida at 10:16 PM

 
Feast of Christ the King


The encyclical inaugurating this feast is Pius XI's Quas Primas, 1925.

As one who teaches separation of powers to his students, I find it good to be reminded that this is a provisional, human arrangement, and that in Christ, all powers are re-integrated:

14. Let Us explain briefly the nature and meaning of this lordship of Christ. It consists, We need scarcely say, in a threefold power which is essential to lordship. This is sufficiently clear from the scriptural testimony already adduced concerning the universal dominion of our Redeemer, and moreover it is a dogma of faith that Jesus Christ was given to man, not only as our Redeemer, but also as a law-giver, to whom obedience is due. Not only do the gospels tell us that he made laws, but they present him to us in the act of making them. Those who keep them show their love for their Divine Master, and he promises that they shall remain in his love. He claimed judicial power as received from his Father, when the Jews accused him of breaking the Sabbath by the miraculous cure of a sick man. "For neither doth the Father judge any man; but hath given all judgment to the Son."[26] In this power is included the right of rewarding and punishing all men living, for this right is inseparable from that of judging. Executive power, too, belongs to Christ, for all must obey his commands; none may escape them, nor the sanctions he has imposed. [Emphasis added]

Right, then, but inquring minds still want to know: this kingship, is it eventual and apocalyptic, or is it here and now and let's break out the rifles and red berets?

15. This kingdom is spiritual and is concerned with spiritual things. That this is so the above quotations from Scripture amply prove, and Christ by his own action confirms it. On many occasions, when the Jews and even the Apostles wrongly supposed that the Messiah would restore the liberties and the kingdom of Israel, he repelled and denied such a suggestion. When the populace thronged around him in admiration and would have acclaimed him King, he shrank from the honor and sought safety in flight. Before the Roman magistrate he declared that his kingdom was not of this world. The gospels present this kingdom as one which men prepare to enter by penance, and cannot actually enter except by faith and by baptism, which, though an external rite, signifies and produces an interior regeneration.

But:

17. It would be a grave error, on the other hand, to say that Christ has no authority whatever in civil affairs, since, by virtue of the absolute empire over all creatures committed to him by the Father, all things are in his power. Nevertheless, during his life on earth he refrained from the exercise of such authority, and although he himself disdained to possess or to care for earthly goods, he did not, nor does he today, interfere with those who possess them. Non eripit mortalia qui regna dat caelestia.

And yet:

32. Nations will be reminded by the annual celebration of this feast that not only private individuals but also rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ. It will call to their minds the thought of the last judgment, wherein Christ, who has been cast out of public life, despised, neglected and ignored, will most severely avenge these insults; for his kingly dignity demands that the State should take account of the commandments of God and of Christian principles, both in making laws and in administering justice, and also in providing for the young a sound moral education.

But in the end, much responsibility devolves upon us:

33. The faithful, moreover, by meditating upon these truths, will gain much strength and courage, enabling them to form their lives after the true Christian ideal. If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God.[35] If all these truths are presented to the faithful for their consideration, they will prove a powerful incentive to perfection.

St. Josemaria Escriva, always alert to the distinction between wanting Christ to reign and merely pursuing clerical politics, said of this feast: "If we let Christ reign in our soul, we will not become authoritarian....I do not go outside my role as a priest when I say that if anyone saw Christ’s kingdom in terms of a political program he would not have understood the supernatural purpose of the faith, and he would risk burdening consciences with weights which have nothing to do with Jesus, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Let us really love all men; let us love Christ above all; and then we cannot avoid loving the rightful freedom of others, living in harmony with them."
posted by Cacciaguida at 1:10 AM

 
Scarpia's letter openers. Also check out Toscaholic t-shirts, with a checklist to see whether you or someone you know is a Toscaholic.
posted by Cacciaguida at 9:49 PM

 
Available as bumper-sticker, mug, etc., from a right-wing corner of CafePress: What Part of Europe Are You From? The Part Whose A__ We Saved, or the Part Whose A__ we Kicked?
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:17 PM

 
Jonathan Lee has sounded off from Camp Pendleton. See comments to post headed "Bummer."
posted by Cacciaguida at 11:51 AM

 
Please pray for Renata Tebaldi, possibly the greatest soprano who ever lived, now apparently facing her last days.
posted by Cacciaguida at 8:24 PM

 
Specter update: He's virtually sewn it up, in that the presently-incumbent Judiciary Committee Republicans have agreed to support him for chairman. The Republican caucus in January, including the newbies, still have to vote on the committee chairmanships.

The agreement by committee members to support Specter "represents the views of people at this time, on this day," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

That seems to me to imply that it could be different at another time and on another day -- say, in January; Sessions is such a lawyer, he might use words that way.

Anyway, how humiliating is it that in order to get a committee chairmanship that should be yours by right of seniority, you have to submit a written good-conduct bond.

posted by Cacciaguida at 8:07 PM

 
Missal launch

Catholic World News on the coming improved translation:

The first indication that things are to be different will come early in the Mass, with the congregation’s response to “The Lord be with you,” where the faithful are to say: “And with your spirit”—not “And also with you.” ... Another significant change occurs in the Nicene Creed, where Credo is translated accurately as “I believe” rather than the present “We believe.” ... A typical example of the new prose used [in Eucharistic Prayer I, the Roman Canon] is: “Most merciful Father, we therefore humbly pray and implore you through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, to accept and bless these gifts, these offerings, these holy, and undefiled sacrifices.” In the present Missal, this passage reads as: “We come to you Father, with praise and thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ your Son. Through him we ask you to accept and bless these gifts we offer you in sacrifice.”

More
posted by Cacciaguida at 6:59 PM

 
On Arlen "Hannibal" Specter

In case you've been on Mars since the election, Sen. Arlen Specter, RINO-PA, is expected to be chosen for the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress. This committee, you should know, functions as a sort of Theban Sphinx for judicial nominees suspected of conservatism in any form.

Pro-lifers are organizing to persuade Republican Senators to reject him because of his past successful opposition to judicial nominees who question Roe v. Wade, especially Judge Robert Bork in 1987. Specter was, to be fair, a great help in the confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991; but then, he was facing reelection, and a primary challenge from the right, in 1992. Now, he has beaten back an even stronger primary challenge from the right, is unlikely to run again in 2010, so he can do as he likes.

To top it all off, CBS had barely called Ohio for Bush when Specter went before the mikes to issue what sounded to most people like a warning to the President against even trying to send up a Supreme Court nominee who might question Roe. Pro-lifers immediately reminded him that, goyische kopf, he isn't judiciary Committee chairman yet, and now that he's mouthed off like that, he might never be. Currently Specter is lobbying the old-boys' network within the Senate, with some success; but the final decision will be made by the new Senate, which will include at least four more conservative Republicans than the current one: Coburn (OK), DeMint (SC), Martinez (FL), and Thune (SD).

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sen. Specter says:

...they also know that the controversy has arisen as to whether I would block pro-life nominees. And they know that I haven't on the facts. And they know as to Bork it was not a question of pro-life, it was a question of original intent and so when I talked to them it was generally favorable.

So it's not pro-life nominees he'd block, it's the ones who favor a jurisprudence of original intent.

O.I.C! There just happens to be a near-perfect overlap in those categories where eligible judicial candidates are concerned, but never mind. It sure will be good to know Specter will be blocking them because of their original-intent views, not because of their pro-life views.

Just in case you might want them, here are links to relevant Senators, who might benefit from hearing from you, perhaps with a message like "Don't let Specter become Judiciary chairman":

Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-TN (plans to run for President, needs conservative and pro-life support; is staying detached and sceptical about Specter)

Judiciary Committee Republicans:
Orrin Hatch, R-UT (current chairman; already caved, of course: never count your Hatches before they chicken)
Chuck Grassley, R-IA
Jon Kyl, R-IA (presumptively the next chairman if Specter gets the bird)
Mike DeWine, R-OH
Jefferson Sessions, R-AL (himself a "Borked" judicial candidate; has got religion big-time on the judges issue)
Lindsey Graham, R-SC
Larry Craig, R-ID
Saxby Chambliss, R-GA
John Cornyn, R-TX

and also a non-committee-member, but relevant:

Rick Santorum, R-PA. Santorum, a sincere pro-lifer, has become a pitiful victim of conflicting pressures. Like Frist, he wants to run for President and needs pro-life support; unlike Frist, he has to live in terror of Specter, who could seriously mess up Santorum's 2006 reelection. 'Course, if Santorum is serious about his future, maybe he should quit the Senate after '06, as Frist is doing; in one stroke he could buy himself time to run for President full-time, and take away the political gun Specter is holding on him....)


posted by Cacciaguida at 10:31 AM

 
Attention: Morristown fans

Jonathan Lee Morris is now off to Camp Pendleton for his MOS (military occupational specialization); he'll have daily liberty from 16:00 to 05:00, so he may well get chances to blog. So do check from time to time with our favorite of "The Few, The Proud, The On-Line."

This picture...



...shows the Marine Combat Training ground at Camp Geiger, part of Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, North Carolina, where Jonathan Lee has just finished the three-week MCT program. (From what I can gather, "Camp Geigner" is virtually interchangeable with "School of Infantry." For some, infantry becomes their MOS; but all Marines get at least these three weeks of infantry training, because, as they have long said, and as General Gray liked to repeat -- "Every Marine a rifleman!")

As JL is now on his way to Pendleton (he should arrive there about three hours from this posting) without coming home first, Caccia di Gregorio and I went down to Lejeune to attend the MCT graduation and to hand over to JL some necessary items for his stay at Pendleton, such as a recording of LE NOZZE DI FIGARO.

At Pendleton he will be doing his MOS in amphibious assault. This is the MOS he always wanted. For a long time he was slated for an MOS in ground radio repair. All I'll say about the change is that he's happy because it's what he wanted; I'm happy because studying amphibious assault seems to me to have more of the mask of command about it than does fixing radios; and earlier today, during a relaxed moment, a colonel asked him if he was happy about the change, in a tone that suggested anyone would be.

(If you go to this site about the School of Infantry, you'll see that "All students are drug tested upon reporting." Indeed they are. In JL's case they found nothing more decadent than Red Bull, but I'll tell you what: as a result of those tests, some of the guys who back at Parris Island were so heavily promoted and "recognized" you thought butter wouldn't melt in their mouth, well, some of them ain't such golden boys any more, that's all I'm gonna say.)

Onward and upward with the oo-rah.
posted by Cacciaguida at 9:11 PM

 
Click here for a frequently-overlooked, but powerful, argument for keeping it tightly zipped outside of marriage.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:50 AM

 
Clergy shortage? At least we're not this church.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:24 PM

 
While staring at the spine of Michael Zuckert's Launching Liberalism, the mind wanders...

"LUNCHING LIBERALISM"
Robert Nozick: Anisette, Shrimp, and Utopia
John Rawls: quail of ignorance
Bruce Ackerman: The Steakholder Society
David A.J. Richards: porn-on-the-cob
Ronald Dworkin: Taking Dessert Seriously
John Dewey: The Public and its Pudding
Cass Sunstein: The Second Bill of Fare
Mark Tushnet: Taking One's Constitution Away from the Tortes
posted by Cacciaguida at 1:14 PM

 
Deputy Chief Resigns From CIA Agency Is Said to Be in Turmoil Under New Director Goss. Excuse me, but is it unheard of -- in Washington, of all places -- that when a new boss comes in, he brings his guys with him, and the former guy's guys either go with the old guy or line up to xerox their resumes? I've done it (lined up to xerox my resume, that is); I would do it (fire the previous guy's guys, that is); better men than me have done both; surely the Washington Post knows this. But some of its friends at the Company are quitting, so it's "turmoil." For more, see David Brooks on the CIA versus Bush.

posted by Cacciaguida at 1:51 AM

 
James Dobson: The religious right's new kingmaker. OK, what's in the next issue? "Ecklectricity, Muggles' new spell"? Just for the record, tne Dobson-Bauer-FRC alliance began in 1989, not 1983, and it made Dobson a Washington player almost immediately, such that it needed only a little over a decade, plus a teeth-kicking election, for the Michael Crowleys of the world to notice.

And btw -- a little-noticed bonus prize from the voters: John Zogby isn't God any more!
posted by Cacciaguida at 1:42 AM

 
More announcements heard on Southwest Airlines:

Please check to make sure you have taken all personal items with you. Anything you leave behind will be on E-Bay tomorrow.

[Just before take-off, hostess sings a torch riff on the words "cleared for takeoff," passengers applaud, and she adds:] Thank you. My CD is available at Ace Hardware.

posted by Cacciaguida at 1:00 AM

 
Last week I had yet another excellent air travel experience with Southwest. Part of it was their refreshing set of variations on the standard pre-takeoff orations. Heard over the plane's intercom before take-off:

In the unlikely event of a loss of cabin pressure, quit screaming, place the mask over your mouth and nose, and breathe normally.

Disabling a smoke detector may lead to a fine of two thousand dollars, and if you had that kind of money, you’d be flying Delta.

This is a no-complaining, no-whining flight. In the event of dissatisfaction with our service, please take a moment to familiarize yourselves with the location of our emergency exits, keeping in mind that the nearest emergency exit may be behind you.

If you are transferring to another Southwest flight, please consult the schedule screen in the concourse for your departure gate. If you are transferring to another airline, we don’t care!

posted by Cacciaguida at 10:17 PM

 
I'm late with this, b/c of recent travels etc., but -- Congratulations to the Old Oligarch, who passed his comps with distinction, a rare achievement at his university and department!
posted by Cacciaguida at 6:23 PM

 
Today's feast (in addition to the birthday of the Marine Corps, see infra): Pope St. Leo the Great (reigned 440-461), scourge of the Monophysite heresy, unarmed defender of the City against Attila.


posted by Cacciaguida at 5:17 PM

 
MARINE CORPS ORDERS
No. 47 (Series 1921)
HEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS
Washington, November 1, 1921


759. The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November, 1921, and hereafter on the 10th of November of every year. Should the order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it will be read upon receipt.

(1) On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name "Marine". In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.

(2) The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and is the long eras of tranquility at home, generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

(3) In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

(4) This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.


JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General Commandant
75705--21


Happy 229th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!
posted by Cacciaguida at 5:09 PM

 
The Fallujah campaign is being carried out by the U.S. Marine Corps ("Maybe You Can Be One Of Us....") and the U.S. Army (...but if not, "Be All You Can Be")!
posted by Cacciaguida at 3:08 PM

 
Marines begin taking Fallujah (Fox photo)



Later, I rode at Emperor Conrad's side,
Who girded me among his chosen knights,
My service left him so well satisfied;

And in his train I marched to foreign fights
Against those Infidels that, through the sin
Of the Chief Pastors, have usurped your rights.

-- Paradiso XV 139-144 (tr. Sayers)
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:19 PM

 
Conversation near Cacciaguida

Scene: Just gotten into an airport shuttle bus at Salt Lake City, UT.

PASSENGER: Who d'ya think's in that stretch limo over there?

DRIVER: My wives.
posted by Cacciaguida at 2:26 PM

 
I'm not a huge fan of David Brooks, but once in a while he hits an overlooked cultural fact spot-on. He did so back in March of 2003, in a way that anticipated, better than he realized, the 2004 election. I've just found it in my archives. He said in The Atlantic:

Secularism is not the future; it is yesterday's incorrect version of the future.... Western foundations and universities send out squads of researchers to study and explain religious movements. But as the sociologist Peter Berger has pointed out, the phenomenon that really needs explaining is the habits of the American professoriat: religious groups should be sending out researchers to try to understand why there are pockets of people in the world who do not feel the constant presence of God in their lives, who do not fill their days with rituals and prayers and garments that bring them into contact with the divine, and who do not believe that God's will should shape their public lives.

posted by Cacciaguida at 2:17 PM

 
Blog-break for a few days.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:08 PM

 
After the Kerry concession

So I told my students earlier this afternoon: "The theological question for today is, which comes first: the Rapture, or CBS calling Ohio for Bush?" Gosh, I'm witty.

Say, anyone wonder how Al Gore feels today, now that John Kerry has so conspicuously, and so graciously, decided not to follow his example? Yes, Gore was in a stronger PR position, having won the popular vote. Nonetheless, Nixon in '60 and Kerry in '04 will be remembered as instances of class; Gore in '00 will not. (Not that Nixon in '60 and Kerry in '04 are connected by anything other than class: Nixon may well have been the true winner of that race; Kerry certainly did not win yesterday, popularly or electorally.)
posted by Cacciaguida at 4:28 PM

 
Ohio is now 51-49 Bush with 93% reporting; NBC and Fox have called Ohio for Bush. The provisionals won't add anything but delay, if that. Ohio means Bush has 266 EVs. He's a shoo-in in Alaska; that gets him up to 269, enough to send it to the House, where he'll win. In Iowa, which looked secure for Kerry two hours ago, Bush now has a lead. And in New Mexico, it's 52-47 Bush, with 86% counted. That's 5 more EVs, for 274, not counting Iowa. So that's it.

We win!!

Also, Jim Bunning has won after all in KY, Martinez is ahead in FL with 99% reporting, and in SD, Thune is now on the high end of the see-saw, 51-49, with 89% reporting.

I'm gonna bed.

posted by Cacciaguida at 1:08 AM

 
Three-hour blog-break there 'cause I left work for home and our DSL connection was out until Cacciamichele got home and fixed it.

ABC has called PA for Kerry and FL for Bush. That puts the EV at Bush 237, Kerry 188. That 188 includes his big inevitables, NY and CA. OH is still too close to call, but Washingtonpost.com, which doesn't bend over backwards to produce good news for Republicans, shows Bush up in OH 52-48%, with 64% counted.

In the Kentucky Senate race, Jim Bunning seems to have come back from the dead, but he's not home yet.

posted by Cacciaguida at 11:46 PM

 
Eight o'clock round-up

Fox's electoral vote count: Bush 39, Kerry 4. Several east coast states plus Illinois are about to come in for Kerry, but after that the Midwest (minus Illinois, and with Ohio still presumably too close to call) are about to come in for Bush.

Florida? Power Line says: "With 7% of the vote in, President Bush is leading by 57% to 42%. Martinez is leading his Senate race by seven. The Democrats I'm hanging out with here aren't as cocky as they were a few hours ago."

Nationwide popular vote, according to Drudge, with 3% of precincts reporting:

George W. Bush 57% 1,899,722
John Kerry 43% 1,425,81

Drudge's EV count: Bush 66, Kerry 51

Only bad news: Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning is in trouble.

posted by Cacciaguida at 8:00 PM

 
Just gleaned from Power Line:

David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision, e-mails:
At Strategic Vision, we have been reviewing and conducting exit polls and do not know where the media reports came from. We are showing a slight advantage for Bush in Florida by 1 point.

and

There is a ridiculous rumor on the web that Kerry is ahead on exit polls. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF THIS! This untrue rumor was started on the web by two internet gossip columnists and one of them now admits that her source is "not exactly trustworthy."
No one knows who is winning right now---get out and vote!

Please forward this to your email friends and help stop this fraud from being spread around the internet. Please do your duty and vote. Deserve victory!

posted by Cacciaguida at 5:56 PM

 
To put this exit poll stuff in perspective, visit Hugh Hewitt.

posted by Cacciaguida at 4:30 PM

 
Drudge as of 4:14 pm, with my interpolated comments:

National Election Pool -- representing six major news organization -- shows Kerry in striking distance -- with small 1% lead -- in Florida and Ohio, sources tell Drudge. BUT: early 2000 exit polls showed Gore +3 in Florida; showed Gore-Bush even in CO (Bush won by 9), 2000 exits showed Gore +4 in AZ (Bush won by 6).

Exits Senate races: Thune (R-SD)+4 (dramatic R pickup); Castor (D-FL) +3 (D retention, and bad news for Bush unless Martinez gets it in gear or there are a lot of ticket-splitters); Burr (R-NC) +6 (R pickup); Bunning +6 (R retention); Coburn (R-OK) +6 (R retention); DeMint (R-SC) +4 (R pickup); Salazar (D-CO) +4 (D pickup).

posted by Cacciaguida at 4:15 PM

 
A friend wrote last night:

1. Fox News reports that 6th Cir has reversed the injunction against poll watchers.

2. Fox website reports that Ohio Supreme Court has sided with Republicans who want watchers at each individual precinct.

3. Zogby has Bush up 6 in Ohio. This number includes some polling TODAY (11/1), and some over the weekend. Fox has Bush up 3 in Ohio, but only polled through Sunday, when Republicans are less likely to pick up the phone.

4. Forecast for Columbus tomorrow is Thunderstorms in early morning giving way to "few showers" and then "rain" from noon until early evening. High temp, 69. The Demcocrats have filed suit seeking to enjoin the rain in Democrat counties.

5. Ohio Republicans have sued Acorn, etc. for RICO in connection with misleading phone calls made in Republican Counties.

Another friend replies:

I'm here in Columbus, and can confirm several items on the list (save for Zogby)

1) 6th Circuit's decision came in at about 1:15 AM, and followed an earlier decision by the Ohio Supreme Court that granted a writ of mandamus ordering the Secretary of State to permit monitors in the polling places. In some places, including Columbus, reporters have registered as monitors.

2) Also permitted into the polling places are exit pollsters, who claimed that they needed to be within the 100 foot boundary in order to get reliable data. ABC won a suit in the Southern District of Ohio yesterday permitting them into the boundaries. In a related case involving a newspaper, a federal judge in the Northern District reached the opposite conclusion.

3) We're getting reports of voter intimidation by organizations like ACORN, ACT, and Move-On.org from around the state. Stay tuned on this.

4) The weather in both Columbus and Cleveland is truly nasty (cold, blowing rain). As a native Ohioan myself, I can tell you that this is bad even by local standards.

5) We have no confirmation of a RICO suit, but it's a good idea.

posted by Cacciaguida at 1:14 PM

 
* Drudge: Fraud starts early in Philly. Confirms Gerard's observations in comments to previous post. As a Philadelphia lawyer I am shocked, shocked.

* Here is Sen. Daschle's legal complaint filed last night in federal court, where one of his closest pals on the bench found he had to reject most of it. See Paragraph 14 for the worst of the SD-GOP's allegedly federal-law-violating activities.

* Joseph Bottum of The Weekly Standard, a native South Dakotan, says:

Daschle has seriously misunderstood the power of the alternative media, especially radio and the Internet, to get news about this kind of thing out to the voting public. The South Dakota bloggers have been relentless: Jon Lauck live blogged the hearing (and the judge whined about it in open court: is that cool, or what?) Jason Van Beek kept the stream coming through the night, as did Steve Sibson, Ryne McClaren, and others.

The kind of political trick that Daschle's lawyers tried works only if it remains an unverified rumor through Election Day, and things don't remain rumors anymore. The new electronic world welcomes you, Senator Daschle--and it says goodbye to you, as well.

posted by Cacciaguida at 10:22 AM

 
Heavy turn-out in my precinct in Virginia. We're a pretty conservative precinct. OTOH, it seemed there were more black folk in line than usual, and they're supposedly a Democtatic constituency. OTOOH, it's been reported that Kerry has less cred among African-Americans than Gore did, partly because of being an arrogant preppy nerd (as opposed to merely an arrogant nerd), and partly because of gay-rights issues, where many African-Americans decline to play the role assigned them in the white-liberal script.

Also, one of the Afr-Ams in line was an Army officer in uniform.

For (more) good news, visit Power Line and The Horserace Blog. E.g., in SD, Daschle loses his 11th-hour bid to ban GOP pollwatchers. In OH, all we can say is that if those legions of newly-registered Democrats exist, they're not voting early.
posted by Cacciaguida at 7:08 AM

 
Gen. Schwarzkopf denounces fraudulent phone-claims that he has endorsed Kerry; story gets play in Florida.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:31 PM

 
We need a brief break from politics...

Happy 81st birthday to Castilian soprano Victoria de Los Angeles!


posted by Cacciaguida at 6:07 PM

 
Kerry Navy discharge story: Here Comes the (New York) Sun

When this election is over -- assuming the lawyers on both sides ever allow that to happen -- this blog will reverse the drift towards practical politics that has overtaken it in recent weeks. But first, The New York Sun -- which did not wait until November 1 to break this story -- has had a breakthrough on it:

Kerry's Discharge Is Questioned by an Ex-JAG Officer
BY THOMAS LIPSCOMB - Special to the Sun
November 1, 2004

A former officer in the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps Reserve has built a case that Senator Kerry was other than honorably discharged from the Navy by 1975, The New York Sun has learned.

The "honorable discharge" on the Kerry Web site appears to be a Carter administration substitute for an original action expunged from Mr. Kerry's record, according to Mark Sullivan, who retired as a captain in the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps Reserve in 2003 after 33 years of service as a judge advocate. Mr. Sullivan served in the office of the Secretary of the Navy between 1975 and 1977.

On behalf of the Kerry campaign, Michael Meehan and others have repeatedly insisted that all of Mr. Kerry's military records are on his Web site atjohnkerry.com, except for his medical records....

"Mr. Meehan may well be right and all Mr. Kerry's military records are on his Web site," Mr. Sullivan said. "Unlike en listed members, officers do not receive other than honorable, or dishonorable, certificates of discharge. To the contrary, the rule is that no certificate will be awarded to an officer separated wherever the circumstances prompting separation are not deemed consonant with traditional naval concepts of honor. The absence of an honorable discharge certificate for a separated naval officer is, therefore, a harsh and severe sanction and is, in fact, the treatment given officers who are dismissed after a general court-martial."...

Certainly something was wrong as early as 1973 when Mr. Kerry was applying to law school.

Mr. Kerry has said, "I applied to Harvard, Boston University, and Boston College. I was extremely late. Only BC would entertain a late application."

It is hard to see why Mr. Kerry had to file an "extremely late" application since he lost the congressional race in Lowell, Mass., the first week of November 1972 and was basically doing nothing until he entered law school the following September of 1973.A member of the Harvard Law School admissions committee recalled that the real reason Mr. Kerry was not admitted was because the committee was concerned that because Mr. Kerry had received a less than honorable discharge they were not sure he could be admitted to any state bar....

Read the whole thing. Tell your friends.

Just to be clear: I'm not remotely claiming that I would support Kerry if only he could prove that his discharge from the Navy was honorable. But if it wasn't, then this fact, and the campaign's efforts to claim otherwise, add urgency. It's not treasonous to be less-than-honorably discharged, but it is -- well, less than honorable. If he was so discharged, he could have gained much grudging respect by putting that fact in his public bio and arguing that it was somehow a necessary consequence of a principled stand that he took against the Vietnam War. But that would have conflicted with his "Band of Brothers"/"Reporting for duty" campaign theme. So what his "brothers" really thought of him, and how he fulfilled the duty for which he reported, become highly relevant.

Lastly, see this Power Line post for the "internals" of the latest poll.


posted by Cacciaguida at 10:23 AM