Best wishes to SAM as he leaves for the People's Republic.

The disclosure of the not-so-secret mission is here. I think I know what this is about, and why he's being cryptic. No, I'm not going to tell you.

No, nothing sinister or anything like that, but prayers are still appropriate.

In the meantime, his meticulous defense of Our Finned Sub-Species is well-worth reading.

Catholic Explanation Corner.

I uncorked the term "apostasized" during a discussion of a buddy's rather ill-advised decision to start rooting for the Michigan State Spartans today.

In my house, no less. I had the last laugh. Silly Sparty. Heh, heh, heh....

Still, the term drew a "what the-?" response from the non-Catholics in the room. I deserved that.

Well, here's the explanation of the term, based as it is on the word "apostasy."

I now return you to your regularly scheduled sporting event.

Sanctimonious Crapweasel Watch.

Andrew Sullivan's full-on and inaccuracy-laced hissy fit against Amy Welborn was answered by the latter in a series of thoughtful and well-supported posts starting here (scroll down, too).

To date, Sullivan has not responded. I'll give you 2-5 odds that he either won't, or will issue a short dishonest dodge, characteristic of his thinking on the subject.

Any takers?

I've been thinking about composing a "Devil's Dictionary" for Catholics.

Using such anxiety-inducing words as "liturgy," "participation," "music ministry," and the like.

Another one that should send shudders of horror up your back is "ecumenism."

"Ecumenism, ek-you'-men-izm. Noun. A process by which Catholic functionaries hold lengthy discussions with "dialogue partners" who are non-Catholic Christians or members of other religions, and reach agreements by which the Catholic side agrees to concede important doctrines in return for promises by the dialogue partners to (1) accept the concession, and (2) be good winners."

Scroll down to the "Recommendations" section for the by-now-obligatory Compiègne rail car moment:

Aware of its limitations, our Consultation nonetheless makes the following theological and practical recommen­dations to the members and the bishops of our own Churches:
* * *
that the Catholic Church, as a consequence of the normative and irrevocable dogmatic value of the Creed of 381, use the original Greek text alone in making translations of that Creed for catechetical and liturgical use.

In return, the Orthodox agree not to call us names. Well, that's fair.

I'd love to buy a new house from the Catholic "dialogue partners." My mortgage would be so much more manageable.

None of this is a shriek at the Orthodox. Obviously, there's not a thing wrong with the Creed of 381. Nor, generally (but see lex orandi, lex credendi) do I object to the liturgical application. After all, I'm a confirmed Byzantophile, and the Eastern Catholics do not use the filioque in the Divine Liturgy. Still, there was a reason it appeared in the Western liturgy--not that such was particularly important in light of the greater goal of facilitated surrender, apparently.

Moreover, the Orthodox complaints about how the filioque was added have a great deal of force behind them.

But removing it from creeds used to teach Catholicism? Which leaves what, precisely?
Printing it on holy cards? Private devotions, once a month if nobody's listening? Otherwise, scrub it from existence.

An interesting argument in favor of removal is that it doesn't prevent the filioque from being taught as part of the faith, in the same way that the immaculate conception of Mary is taught even though that's not in the Creed. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work. First, it underestimates the progressive hold on catechesis, which will use this to not only drop any teaching of the filioque ("Yay--one less thing to teach. Well, if you were teaching it in the first place...."), but also use it as some kind of proof text for reversal of dogmatic determinations.

"See--the church admits it's wrong. Next stop--priestesses! And condoms for everyone--especially the priestesses!"

Second, it would require flying in the face of two ecumenical councils--Florence and Lyons II. This talk about "demoting" II Lyons is...interesting, I suppose. But it doesn't get past Florence, which did offer the carefully-reached compromise of "through the Son" instead.

Of course, if this had half a chance of leading to reunification in the first place, it would be at least worth a look. But we aren't remotely close. It isn't the filioque that's repelling the East--it's the unrestrained goofiness rampaging through the Western Church. Starting with the liturgy, which the Orthodox commendably haven't screwed with. If I were Orthodox, I'd be a lot more worried about the reign of stupidity than the Latins holding fast to the filioque. After all, if reunification were miraculously achieved tomorrow, you'd have the Archbishop Emeritus of Milwaukee knocking on your Church doors Monday, with the Albany Iconoclast in tow, both brimming with "suggestions" for "aggiornamento" and "celebration of the community." And it wouldn't stop there, either.

Nope, this is not a signpost on the path to reunification. This is simply a further "Thank you sir--may I have another?" moment in Catholic religious dialogue. As usually seems to be the case with such things.

Blogging Gap.

I've had a busy week at work, and have felt like crap for most of it. Plus, I'd rather spend my time off doing things like, oh, hunting for jack-o-lantern material with my daughter, carving said jack-o-lantern, mowing the lawn (well, maybe not enthusiastically) and going trick-or-treating with the kids.

Thanks for your visits, and rest assured blogging will follow.

This is "clear and convincing" evidence. The highest burden of proof in civil law. Okey-dokey.

In the Weekly Standard, Wesley Smith offers up a survey of the evidence supporting the claim Terri Schiavo wanted her food and water yanked.

ONE EVENING, during the second term of President Ronald Reagan, Terri Schiavo and her husband Michael decided to watch a television movie about Karen Ann Quinlan. Quinlan, as most readers know, had a tragic life. After overdosing on a combination of drugs and alcohol, she fell into unconsciousness and never awakened. Her parents won a lawsuit in the New Jersey Supreme Court allowing them to disconnect her ventilator. Karen didn't die immediately--she lived on for 10 more years before finally expiring from pneumonia.

While discussing the movie, Michael claims that Terri stated she would not want to live hooked up to a "machine" (she's not), or be a "burden" (her parents don't consider her a burden and want to care for her). Michael's brother, Scott, backs up his claim, while his sister-in-law, Joan, told the court that Terri had approved of pulling the life support from the dying baby of a mutual friend and said that if she ever wrote a "will" she would say that she didn't want "tubes."

Little did Terri know that these purported statements, uttered under very casual circumstances, would become the justification used by her husband in his six-year drive to remove her feeding tube and end her life. Indeed, based on these casual statements, Judge George Greer of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Clearwater, Florida ruled that Michael had established "by clear and convincing evidence"--the highest evidentiary standard in civil law--that Terri would rather dehydrate to death over a period of 10-14 days than live on food and water supplied by a feeding tube.

Maybe you should do something like this. Otherwise, you might want to review all your conversations on end-of-life issues since, oh, you turned 18, and start correcting any potential misunderstandings. Right now.

Sleep tight.

Something about consistency and hobgoblins.

In his devastating review of Debt of Honor by Tom Clancy, Christopher Buckley gave the technothriller author "credit" for managing to find the sheep-hunting metaphor in retinal surgery.

Likewise, I have to give Andrew Sullivan similar credit--only he could find the pro-gay marriage argument in the Terri Schiavo battle.

George Felos and Jack Kevorkian--Separated at Birth?

You decide!

The Spiritual Attorney:

Felos' spiritual and professional lives intersected in a public way 12 years ago, in the case of Estelle Browning. The case gained him a reputation as the person to see when you want to let someone die.

Browning, of Dunedin, had written a living will in 1985, saying she did not want to be kept alive by artificial means if she ever became ill. A year later, she had a stroke. But the nursing home refused to stop feeding her because she was not technically brain dead. Her cousin and former roommate, Doris Herbert, asked Felos to take the case.

He wanted to see Browning for himself. She could not speak, but Felos says his spiritual side picked up on something. He says her soul cried out to his soul and asked, "Why am I still here?"

* * *

Felos does not mention Schiavo in Law as Spiritual Practice, but says he wants to start a second book when the case is over. He may talk about his spiritual journey with Schiavo then. For now, he is preparing for a hearing before the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland on June 25. He thinks the court will agree that her feeding tube should be removed.

That is what is necessary, he says, "to accomplish what I believe are Terri's wishes."

Does Felos believe Terri Schiavo's soul has spoken to his?

Felos declines to answer, showing his lawyerly side. "It's a pending case," he says.

The Incarcerated Pathologist:

Five times the young resident had gotten his ophthalmoscope to a patient's bedside minutes after death. This time, as he wheeled in the bulky mounted camera, he was elated to find the patient still alive. Finally, he could get shots of a cornea before, during and after death. He taped open the sick woman's eyelids and focused his lens.

He had asked to work nights at Detroit Receiving Hospital because more patients died then. His mission was to discover how eyes changed at the moment of death. Jokingly, he called his quest the Death Rounds. For added effect, he sometimes would wear a black arm band. Co-workers called him Doctor Death. He accepted the nickname.

"I was sort of the laughingstock of the hospital," the doctor admitted later in life.

This night, Doctor Death got what he wanted. As the woman went into convulsions and died, the blood vessels in her cornea quickly faded from view. Jack Kevorkian got it all on film.

For the American Journal of Pathology, Kevorkian wrote up his research in "The Fundus Oculi and the Determination of Death." It was a fine feather in the cap of a 28-year-old pathologist.

Hmmm. Tough to say. We need a tie-breaker. Does the Attorney paint?

This is unsettling.

I usually don't go for this "paranormal" crap, but this one is odd.

This is a series of linked stills or whatnot taken at an allegedly "haunted" house. About 30 seconds in, you see something that's more than a little strange, and, frankly, I found it creepy.

Make of it what you will.

Personal notes.

I drove over 500 work-related miles today. Puts a crimp in the blogging.

Not that I've felt much like it since I got the word late yesterday:

My little brother Doug's heading to the front lines. As in Baghdad. His new Guard unit's getting the mobilization order shortly. He'll be on the ground by February. Nothing quite like a conversation with your flesh and blood where you discuss executing a will--and I've got three years on him. For all the turmoil (he'll be called up for 18 months), he's fine. My sister-in-law, much less so, and my mom--not. He's got three kids as well, so prayers for his family are in order. Thanks.

We're not all like this, I assure you.

From the Everyone Needs A Hobby Dep't., a Michigan man became the first person to ever survive a trip over Niagara (Canada) Falls without a life raft, barrel, etc.

Kirk Jones is a quiet man, keeps to himself....

His family said he probably was feeling stuck in a rut -- laid off from the family business and bothered by his parents' retirement move to Oregon last week.

"He's not a coward. But an Evel Knievel, he never was," said Raymond Jones, his father.

"I don't know . . . if life became so boring, he wanted to change his life," said Raymond Jones. "I guess he has. I don't know whether he has for the better."

Killing Buckwheat was all he ever talked about:

"He did it because he wanted to be in the Guinness Book of Records. He talked about it for a month," his brother, Keith Jones, said Tuesday from the Canton home he shares with Kirk.

Keith Jones said his brother wasn't mentally ill or trying to kill himself by flinging himself into the falls.

"After this, I would have to say that he's insane," said Keith Jones. "He was quite calm and rational when he talked to me. He just had it in his head to do it, and I guess he did it."

Interesting factoid about Falls jumping: No one has ever survived a jump over the American Falls--too narrow and too many rocks. Someone will probably try to make hay out of that one.

"Canada: Even our waterfalls are kinder and gentler."

Still, Canadian authorities are planning on charging Mr. Jones. That strikes me as the wrong thing to do. He survived a trip over the Falls without a life jacket! Hire him as a mascot/spokesman and have people rub his stomach for luck instead. Suggested first stop: Comerica Park.