“The pope has transcended religion in some sense, transcended Catholicism, just like Donald Trump has transcended politics,” said Jonah Berger, associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. That has only broadened the market for pope gear: “There’s some savvy marketers in South Philly saying, ‘Hey, if I put the pope on top of a Philly building, somebody will buy that.’ ” -- The Wall Street Journal

FRANK REGA writes:

Thanks for posting about Woolverton Mountain. I had a lot of fun listening to it again and enjoyed the article. The story would not be complete without this interview, where song writer Merle Kilgore talks about writing it as a present for his Uncle Clifton Clowers, and he also sings it. (more…)

DON VINCENZO writes:

The recent revelations of the actions of Planned Parenthood are just one example of the demise of conscience, but lurking in the background another moral travesty is gaining ground: euthanasia in the West as a legitimate and moral way of dealing with suffering, both physical and psychological. (more…)

JAMES N. writes:

I don’t know how far out of New Hampshire awareness of the St. Paul rape case has spread, but it contains a number of interesting issues. St. Paul’s is a moderately elite residential high school, and apparently the senior boys compete with each other over how many freshman virgins they can seduce. In this case, the then 15-year old girl accepted an invitation for a “senior salute” from a young man, Owen Labrie, who had been accepted at Harvard and was quite popular. According to her testimony, she expected kissing and “making out” but things went a little too far. She helped by removing some of her clothes and was laughing, but her roommates have testified that she always giggled when she was nervous. See news links here, here and here. (more…)

ALAN writes:

Thank you for your thoughtful essay on mountain hiking and family togetherness.

There is much to be said in favor of the simple act of walking.  (Read the anthology The Magic of Walking, 1967.)  Walking is conducive to thinking, which is one reason why most people don’t like to walk.  Of course Fast Folk hate the very thought.  I have always enjoyed both, which is one reason why I am such a terrible misfit in today’s world.

It is not directly pertinent to what you wrote, but your essay reminded me of a story-song that I am sure is unknown to you and your readers.

On AM radio in the summer of 1962, there was a popular song called “Wolverton Mountain.”  It was sung by Claude King and was the story of a man who wanted to marry the daughter of a gun-toting mountain man.  I had the 45-rpm record on the red Columbia Records label and my boyhood pal Jeff and I often sat on the floor that summer with a record player and sang along with that record. (more…)

To not believe the news is to be a heretic, a traitor to your country, and a downright evil, heartless person.  Who wants to be called that? So someone who wants to get along in the world would believe TV news without question, and so this is how our society works smoothly and non-believers might as well just move someplace else far away…someplace with a nice beach and good surf.  --- Suzanne Broussard

Source.

PAUL A. writes:

Regarding mops, when I had my cleaning business, we would use the basic Swiffer mop head and just put our own rags on it. Buy a dozen bar rags from Costco or wherever, and you can wet ’em down in the sink, soap ’em up, etc. Just tuck a fold of the rag into the four little grab points for the original Swiffer wipe, and it works like a charm. Toss the rag in the laundry when you are done. (more…)

GUILAIN writes from France:

I enjoyed your article on family hiking. I’ve seen a video of Mount Washington in winter. It is very impressive and I wouldn’t climb up there unless someone would promise me tons of candies.

On another note, I think you will find this collection of daguerreotypes in The Atlantic interesting.

(more…)

ACCORDING to the Center for Military Readiness, female soldiers in combat-related exercises have suffered twice as many injuries as their male counterparts. The U. S. Army Medical Command compared male/female injury rates in formerly all-male units such as field and air defense artillery. Previously undisclosed data show that female soldiers suffered injuries averaging double men’s rates in specific MOSs. In the Field Artillery Surveyor Meteorological Crewmember MOS, for example, injuries for women were approximately 112% higher than men’s. In the Bradley fighting vehicle system maintainer MOS, the rate was 133% higher.

IN the seventh undercover video produced by the Center for Medical Progress, a technician from StemExpress describes cutting through the face of an aborted baby at a Planned Parenthood clinic in order to remove his brain intact for use by the biotech company.

DON VINCENZO writes:

The feminist world and its enablers are positively ecstatic about the news that two females, both U.S. Military Academy (West Point) graduates, are soon to receive the Ranger Tab on their uniforms. The Washington Post (First women to graduate from Army’s Ranger School, by Dan Lamothe, August 18), in predictable fashion, referred to this as, “…a major breakthrough for women in the armed services at a time when each of the military branches is required to examine how to integrate women into jobs – such as infantrymen – in which they have never been allowed to serve.” (more…)

HISTORIANS say mountain hiking as a recreational activity did not begin until the 18th century. But it’s hard to believe that human beings weren’t always drawn to mountains for purely aesthetic reasons and didn’t find them appealing places to walk and climb much farther back in history.

The first recreational mountain hiking trail, among those which are still is use, was completed in America in 1819, at Mount Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Today, there are trails throughout the two major ranges, the Appalachians and the Rockies,  and the continuous maintenance of these paths, often by volunteers, attest to how much the mountains are loved by Americans.

Mountain hiking is one of the best activities a family can take up together, in my opinion. I say this fully realizing that hiking is not always a pleasurable activity for children and that it can’t compete in terms of instant thrills or social status with amusement parks.

But hiking has the following advantages: (more…)

A FEMALE READER writes: I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw this headline in my diocesan paper: "Pope's Encyclical Said to Uphold Church Teaching."

JACQUELINE writes:

As I was making bread I heard, “Two women have graduated from Ranger School,” coming from the living room TV. I turned around slowly to see the anchor’s wide smile. It was a face saying, “Isn’t this just swell!”

According to this Army Times article,

“The Army on Monday announced two women and 94 men met the standards of the course’s third and final phase, also known as the Swamp Phase.Two women will graduate from Ranger School on Friday, becoming the first women to earn the Ranger Tab. Their graduation ceremony will take place on Victory Pond at Fort Benning, Georgia. (more…)

ANTI-GLOBALIST EXPATRIATE writes:

Naturally, immigrants to the West from China and other Asian countries import their ingrained senses of ethics (or lack thereof) and sharp business practices along with them. This is a key reason why high levels of Asian immigration are so dangerous to the West; along with the law-abiding, we are importing casual criminality and wholesale corruption, which is far more damaging in the long term than substandard goods sold at loss-making prices in order to drive Western competitors out of business.

From a Washington Post article titled “Chinese Companies Face Culture Shock in Countries that Aren’t Like China:” (more…)