Politics: July 2003 Archives

Civil liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate reviews the Massachusetts Attorney General's report on the sex-abuse scandal. According to him, Reilly's demands are unreasonable and unconstitutional.

A friend who works in radio sent this over: "Here's my vote for the best line in Blair's speech today!"

Deacon (and attorney) Keith Fournier, together with the founders of "Catholic Online", Michael and Sandy Galloway, is announcing a movement to foster "a new Catholic Action" in the US, or rather, a pair of movements: one educational in nature, the other activist. It looks like they're good people doing a good work.

I'm not sure they've picked the right man to head the political side of the movement, though. Ex-Boston mayor and ex-Ambassador to the Vatican Ray Flynn's an OK guy in my book (we crossed paths one day outside a confessional), but I don't see any evidence that he's been effective in his US political work since coming home from Rome.

I don't think he's ever really recovered his standing among pro-lifers since he gave his support to the sleazy Bill Clinton, and his image tends toward adjectives like "peevish", "whiny", and "self-promoting", in addition to local papers' portrayal of him as a habitual imbiber. But there are plenty of second acts in American life, and maybe this is Ray's.

Thanks guys for wishing me a happy Canada Day yesterday, but with same-sex marriage and everything, the only good thing about our Canada Day yesterday is that I got to spend it in the United States. (Oh yeah, and my Wanderer arrived with the editorial in it that I had posted to Catholic Light a couple weeks ago.) Anyway, I flew my Canadian flag at half-mast since never before have I been more ashamed of being Canadian. Any hint of homesickness I may have felt was extinguished when a conservative website from back home posted a link to the following disgusting pics of this past weekend's [WARNING -- (PORNO)GRAPHIC CONTENT -- DO NOT VIEW WITH CHILDREN AROUND] Toronto Gay Pride Parade. Yes, this is what our Charter of Rights and Freedoms now protects. Please notice this is not taking place in a bath-house somewhere, but in public during broad daylight on one of the busiest streets in Canada's most populous city. As my buddy Steve Martinovich over at Enter Stage Right asked, "Anybody want to sponsor me for US citizenship?"