Why don't Catholic bishops oppose the recruiting of soldiers for unjust wars on Catholic school campuses? Why don't Catholic bishops rule out the recruiting of CIA torturers on campuses, too? Why are they so vigilant about "religious freedom" for Catholic institutions and employers in some areas and not in others?

Why don't Catholic bishops oppose the recruiting of soldiers for unjust wars on Catholic school campuses? Why don't Catholic bishops rule out the recruiting of CIA torturers on campuses, too? Why are they so vigilant about "religious freedom" for Catholic institutions and employers in some areas and not in others?

The other night I watched with an older brother and sister the film The Kite Runner, based on the bestselling novel by Afghan immigrant Khaled Hosseini. As we watched the final credits roll, my sister said, "Boy, those Taliban sure are good at all the holy talk without living the holy life!" All of us had been disturbed by the images of children being used as sex slaves in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

How stupid of me. I thought Massachusetts voters kept re-electing Senator Ted Kennedy time and time again because they believed in his life's mission--quality health care for all. But yesterday's election of Scott Brown to the US Senate has made me re-think yet another of my assumptions.

However, I still believe in my admittedly controversial theory that independents are unprincipled--otherwise they'd join a party. Wichita's KAKE News reports today that more Bay Staters are Independents than either Democrats or Republicans, and Independents probably decided yesterday's election. That same voting demographic went for Obama in the last presidential election. All together now, all you registered Independents, can you say "schizophrenic"?

At the end of the year, lots of magazines are printing their own "Ten Best Movies of the Year" lists. As a dedicated film watcher, I thought I'd take a little time to list some of my own favorites of the year. But reader beware: my tastes are quite eclectic, and I don't care if a movie is in color or black-and-white.

On the first list are movies I saw in theaters. On the second list are DVDs I rented.

Dear reader, I know it has been awhile since I last visited these pages. I do have an excuse, which I will save for my next entry. For now, however, let me plunge in with what's currently on my mind.

I bet I'm not alone in this. The more I know, the more I want to know. Lately when I've been catching up with current events, numerous findings and statistics have caught my eye, but in the end they have only left me wanting more. With that in mind, I here and now present a short list of new studies I'd like to see. Most are related to health care, but a couple of them concern the environment.

I knew "The Patriot" couldn't possibly be anything good the first time I saw its name on a local marquee. Early last summer my small Kansas town's one and only "adult store" sported a sign saying something like, "Welcome to The Patriot." I mean, come on--if a store that trivializes and demeans human sexuality thinks "The Patriot" is something good, then it has to be something bad.

And it is. "The Patriot" is what a new local talk radio station calls itself. I chanced upon KRMR 105.7 FM when I was searching for the after-midnight BBC news broadcast that HPPR usually airs. "Pooooor Juan Diego," the male voice on 105.7 FM suddenly oozed all over the pillow where my transistor lay. "Now that the American economy is in the tank, poor Juan Diego has to move back to Mexico and make an honest living. Poor, pooooor Juan Diego."

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope…” (1 Peter 3:15)

I once worked in a school where the assistant principal took her job way too seriously. After she returned from a professional seminar that kept her out of town for a few days, I welcomed her back, then led her to a place near the school where she could see the entire building from end to end. “I want to show you something,” I said. “Take a good look.” Puzzled, she asked me what she was supposed to be noticing. “Well,” I said, “you were gone for three whole days and the school is still standing!” I meant it as a joke, but she did not laugh. Later, someone told me it had been a cruel joke. Maybe—but, then again, maybe not. The power of truth to inflict pain usually has more to do with the receiver than with the giver of the message.

I really have to respect Hays Daily News editor Patrick Lowry for having written an editorial endorsing Barack Obama for President in my town.

Since Obama's election, I have heard the craziest things said: that now we should replace the eagle on the presidential seal with a chicken, that now there will be inner city riots everywhere because "they know they can get away with it," that now taxes will be raised for everyone across the board because Obama is, you know, one of "those" whose word can't be trusted. I bet that if McCain had been elected, any tax increases he were to implement would be excused on the grounds of this country's changed economic picture since the time he started running for office. Certainly his moral integrity would not be questioned.

Any time you study the religions of the world, you end up finding things to admire in churches that are not your own. Let me tell you a little about the social teachings of one church I really admire.