Massachusetts Soap Opera

An old article on the tragedy of Chappaquiddick reprinted from The National Review:

The immediate reaction of the audience was predictable. That is not our present concern. Never mind what the spontaneous emotion-ridden response of the unguided masses is. What we want to know is the judgment rendered by the leaders and formers of opinion, who are usually so quick and voluble in their moral pronouncements about everything on Earth from apartheid to space programs. The archaic medium of print has made a considerably better showing than the electronic medium. Coverage has been full, more than full, and has in many cases been reasonably objective concerning facts and non-facts. But the reportage has tended to get lost in the mass of detail, and the commentaries have mostly swung this way and that and drowned clear judgment in a flood of portentous rhetoric. (Read more.)

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Frying with Olive Oil

From Tree Hugger:

There is no need to compromise flavor for health! A new study out of the University of Granada, Spain, has found that frying vegetables in extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) can be healthier than boiling. Since olive oil is used so extensively in Mediterranean cuisine, the researchers decided to take a closer look at what really happens when vegetables are cooked. There is a common assumption that less oil is better when cooking, and that vegetables are healthiest when raw (or closest to a raw state). From the press release:

"It is often thought that when we cook raw vegetables in certain ways and using certain cooking techniques, their antioxidant properties, such as the phenolic compounds, are to some degree lost or destroyed."

The researchers took four popular vegetables -- eggplant, tomato, potato, and pumpkin -- and cooked them three ways. One method was frying in extra-virgin olive oil, another was boiling in water, and a third was boiling in a mixture of water and olive oil.

"The vegetables were also kept in optimum conditions in order to accurately measure their moisture, fat, dry matter, and phenol contents, along with their antioxidant capacity, before and after each cooking method was employed."

What they found was surprising. The fried vegetables had higher level of natural phenols, which are antioxidants that have been linked to the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes and macular degeneration. The reason for this was that the olive oil essentially transferred its phenols to the vegetables, enriching their nutritional value. (Read more.)

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An Iraqi Catholic Speaks

 "Witness-Catholic Lives Special Edition" from journalist Deborah Mariel Piroch on Vimeo. According to Miss Piroch: "This interview was taped [about a year ago] at an unknown location, kept secret for the safety of our guest, Catholic Iraqi Franko Paulus. He was forced to twice flee Iraq due to persecution by Muslims of Christians, once with ISIS at his heels." Share

The Nazi History of Dr. Asperger

From The New York Times:

The official diagnosis of Asperger disorder has recently been dropped from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders because clinicians largely agreed it wasn’t a separate condition from autism. But Asperger syndrome is still included in the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases, which is used around the globe. Moreover, the name remains in common usage. It is an archetype in popular culture, a term we apply to loved ones and an identity many people with autism adopt for themselves. Most of us never think about the man behind the name. But we should.

Asperger was long seen as a resister of the Third Reich, yet his work was, in fact, inextricably linked with the rise of Nazism and its deadly programs. He first encountered Nazi child psychiatry when he traveled from Vienna to Germany in 1934, at age 28. His senior colleagues there were developing diagnoses of social shortcomings for children who they said lacked connection to the community, uneager to join in collective Reich activities such as the Hitler Youth. Asperger at first warned against classifying children, writing in 1937 that “it is impossible to establish a rigid set of criteria for a diagnosis.” But right after the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938 — and the purge of his Jewish and liberal associates from the University of Vienna — Asperger introduced his own diagnosis of social detachment: “autistic psychopathy.” (Read more.)

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"King Cholera"

Charles X died in the cholera epidemic, as mentioned in the novel Madame Royale. From Geri Walton:

The first cholera pandemic began in 1816 in India and eventually reached China before receding in 1826. In 1829, a second cholera pandemic occurred in Russia. This time it marched slowly towards Poland before hitting hard in London where it became known as “King Cholera.” Parisians thought they might avoid the cholera pandemic altogether, but, unfortunately, it took its first victim when it reached Paris on 26 March 1832.

Three days later, on 29 March, a mid-Lent masked ball was held at the Opera House in Paris. Some of the attendees at the ball decided to make light of the disease and appeared dressed as cholera. Later that same evening, around midnight, “suddenly … one dancer after the other fell to the ground with shrieks,” and, shortly thereafter, 50 victims were carried to Paris’s Hôtel Dieu Hospital, where a few hours later, many of those victims “were buried in their masquerade clothes.” (Read more.)

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Lily of France

From the British Museum:

Portrait of Madame Royale, daughter of Louis XVI and Duchess of Angoulême, in bust, head turned to the left, wearing a white veil embellished with lilies, a fleur-de-lys earring and an pink Empire dress with belt bearing a medallion of Louis XVI. 1816

The colors of the Duchesse d'Angoulême after her marriage were green and gold for the House of Artois, since her husband was the son of the Comte d'Artois. The Princess was dedicated the Christian education of girls, which had suffered under the Revolution. Via the Antiquariaat Forum in The Netherlands:

Very rare first and only edition of a compendious educational work intended for girls, dedicated (in the newly restored Bourbon monarchy) to Marie Thérèse de France (1778-1851), Duchesse d'Angoulême and daughter of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, the only heir directly descended from Louis XVI to survive the Revolution. The dedication itself appears in volume 1 (1817), but is noted on all three title-pages (so also 1816). The present copy is in a beautiful armorial morocco binding clearly intended as a dedication copy for Marie Thérèse, with her arms on both boards of each volume. She had married her first cousin Louis Antoine d'Artois (1775-1844), Duc d'Angoulême in 1799 (he was to be King of France for 20 minutes in 1830 when his father and he abdicated, then pretender to the throne, calling himself Louis XIX). She was nearly forty and childless when the book appeared, soon after the 1814/15 restoration of the Bourbon monarchy with her uncle as King Louis XVIII. Rather than impale the husband's and father's arms as the English did, French ladies displayed them side by side: courtoisie.

The book contains lessons in all subjects girls of good family should be taught. The first volume covers French grammar and syntax, with separate courses for younger and older girls, followed by a basic course in rhetoric. The second volume covers arithmetic and geography in single, extensive courses. The third and last volume covers history and mythology, again with separate courses for the younger and older girls, both presented like a catechism. with questions and answers for the children to learn by heart. (Read more.)

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The Wall Must Be Built

The first duty of the federal government is to protect its citizens by maintaining a border, with guards and a wall, if necessary. And it has become necessary. From The Washington Times:

Border Patrol agents say they can’t be much clearer: They want more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. In a survey conducted by the National Border Patrol Council, the agents’ union, they overwhelmingly supported adding a “wall system” in strategic locations, embracing President Trump’s argument that it will boost their ability to nab or deter would-be illegal immigrants. Agents also said they need the government to change the “catch and release” policy. They often have to immediately release illegal border crossers they arrest, giving them the chance to disappear into the shadows with the 11 million other illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The findings, shared with The Washington Times, appear to undercut the argument of congressional Democrats, who released a report last month concluding that line agents didn’t support Mr. Trump’s plans for a wall. The report was based on an internal tool used by Homeland Security to evaluate security gaps. The NBPC’s survey, of more than 600 agents in two of the Border Patrol’s busiest sectors, found just the opposite: A stunning 89 percent of line agents say a “wall system in strategic locations is necessary to securing the border.” Just 7 percent disagreed. (Read more.)

From Yahoo:

Hundreds of sheriffs from 40 states have called on Congress to fund President Donald Trump's initiative to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. “Without border security and immigration reform, more Americans will continue to be victims of crime. Now is the time to act,” a letter signed by 380 sheriffs said. "Further delay and inaction on immigration reform will cost more innocent lives, more financial hardships, and an even greater decline in the public trust that is essential to the preservation of our Republic," the letter added. (Read more.)

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What Young Catholics Want

From First Things:

This document does not speak for young Catholics. It fails to represent either the Catholic faith or the young people who profess it. It conjures and condemns a Church that is too institutional, too hierarchical, too focused on the sacred at the expense of the world. This image of the Church is a holdover from the 1950s, when the men who now lead the Church were young rebels. They wanted what Michael Novak called an “open church”—and they got it. All the structures against which they inveigh today were dynamited decades ago. The churches they fear to enter have long since been sold. This document is an obvious counterfeit, an old man’s idea of what the young must want. He thinks they want what he did.

In fact, they want something different. That cassock-wearing priest is the vanguard of a generational change. If current trends hold, there will be more French priests in traditionalist orders in 2040 than in dioceses and other orders combined. As Fr. René Dinklo, head of the Dutch Dominican province, has said: “We are on the brink of far-reaching changes,” because the young want to “re-discover a number of religious practices, rituals, forms of singing and prayer ... which the older generation has set aside.” This liturgical revival is merely the visible expression of a broader embrace of tradition and dogma. Young people want the saving words of Christ, which are found in sound doctrine and by solemn worship. When they ask for bread, do not give them a stone.

But never mind what the young really want. No youthful assembly, however representative, or pious, could help a church that has to consult a focus group before it is able to preach. It should be easy to see now, after so many decades of failure, that “reading the signs of the times” means navel-gazing, while “dialogue and encounter” is a lone man’s voice echoing in empty churches. We need once again to put theology before anthropology, asking what our Lord wants before polling public opinion. Our encounter, our dialogue, is with Him. (Read more.)

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Easter Sale, 2018

From the Trianon Health and Beauty Blog:

Happy Easter! From now until the Feast of the Ascension on May 10, there will be free shipping on all Trianon Bouquet Beauty Creams and Cleanser! What a great way to begin a new season of beauty and joy, with a new health and beauty regimen! As the weather gets warmer, many of us will be outside gardening, exercising, picnicking and watching sports. Remember that it is important to always protect your skin from the heat, sun and wind. (Read more.)

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