Why the Catholic Church is making things worse

And worse, and it's worse than you are probably thinking.

To be even more pointed, these priests, bishops, and cardinals are the chief agents of devangelization, de-Christianization, repaganization. There is nothing, nothing, that undermines the moral and theological authority of the magisterium more quickly and thoroughly than the devilish marriage of scandal and hypocrisy. It destroys the ability to evangelize. 

And note that I say both moral and theological. Why should anyone now take anything the magisterium has to say seriously, whether it’s the Church’s teachings about pedophilia and homosexuality, or its teachings on the Most Holy Trinity?

It's not just that the Lavender Mafia has spend decades sexually assaulting boys, young men, and seminarians.  It's that now that all the dirt has come out, the people responsible are now claiming that there's no real problem, and that we shouldn't believe our lying eyes.  It's just a bunch of conservative nutcases "pouncing" on the bad news, they say.  Ignore the blatant problems in the Church because they're not really real.  So say the people who have turned the Vatican into a bath-house.  Ignore the fact that Bergolio's boyfriend ran a male child prostitution ring in Argentina.

The people who are destroying the Church from the inside out are the same people trying to tell you that nothing is going on.  Do not believe them.  Hold them accountable.  Hold your diocese accountable, and demand that they in turn demand answers from higher.

The Church can survive this, but only if we demand that the perverts, pedophiles, and sexual deviants currently in charge get booted out.  Sometimes you have to cut off a limb in order to save the body.  Let's get to cutting.

2.3% my ass

Supposedly, inflation has hit a six-year high of 2.3%.

I'm reminded of Peter Grant's "burrito index".

Long-time readers may recall the Burrito Index, my real-world measure of inflation. The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160% Since 2001 (August 1, 2016). The Burrito Index tracks the cost of a regular burrito since 2001. Since we keep detailed records of expenses (a necessity if you’re a self-employed free-lance writer), I can track the cost of a regular burrito at our favorite taco truck with great accuracy: the cost of a regular burrito has gone up from $2.50 in 2001 to $5 in 2010 to $6.50 in 2016. 

It's time for an update: the cost of a regular burrito has now reached $7.50, triple the 2001 cost. That's a 200% increase in 17 years. According to the federal government, inflation since 2001 has risen about 40%: what $1 bought in 2001 now costs $1.43, according to theBLS Inflation calculator.

The Burrito Index is five times the official inflation rate ... Lest you reckon only burritos have tripled in cost since 2001--have you checked out college tuition or rents lately?

In case you haven't guessed it yet, the Mrs. and I are on holiday with some friends.  We stopped in at Ye Oldde Bulke Shoppe in order to purchase some provisions so that we could provide meals for the entire gang that is currently in the house.  We did not get steaks.  We didn't buy crab or lobster.  We got the cheapest cuts of meat we could find, because included in this mess is two teenage boys and possibly some of their friends, and I understand very well what kind of empty stomach a teenage boy can have.  So the rack of lamb is out.  The pork roast that we can cut apart and put in a crock pot to make carnitas is in.

We got protein for six people to eat six meals.  It was over $100.  And that didn't include the veggies (green beans, because again, cheap and nutritious) or starches.

One of the people in my office is married to a German woman.  Her family came to visit.  They were stunned at how much food costs in the USA.

The official inflation rate might only be 2.3%, but that relates to your cost of living the way the price of tea in china relates to my coffee from Ethiopia.  In short, it doesn't.

Out today

At a graduation ceremony for a family member.  Lots of shouting and "PLATOON!  A-tenSHUN!" being shouted.  With that being said, let me leave you with this:

Two-thirds of all Alzheimer’s patients are female; 

Seventy-five percent of people with autoimmune disorders are female; 

Females are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease; 

Adult females have twice the rate of depression as adult males; 

Females have outbreaks of genital herpes at higher rates than males; 

Male and female brains respond differently to early childhood neglect, with males losing gray matter in areas governing impulse control and females losing gray matter in areas governing emotion; 

Women are more likely to abuse alcohol after trauma; 

Males and females smoke for different reasons and have correspondingly different success rates with the nicotine patch; 

The X and Y sex chromosomes, whose pairing determines a person’s sex, influence how the other 23 chromosomes in each cell read the genetic instructions contained in DNA.  

This is what we in reality like to call "basic biological differences between the sexes".  Anyone who has spent time around actual human beings know that men and women are different.  We react differently to stimuli; we act differently to various circumstances, and we have different interests in the world around us.  But when arguing with a Leftist, you cannot simply point up and say "Look, the sky is blue."  You need a researched paper explaining why the sky is blue before they'll believe it. 

It's one thing to know

That driving skills have gone downhill recently.  It's another thing to have it in your face reminding you every ten minutes that the average driver in America today needs instruction on how to tie their shoes.  And if you get them to put on their shoes, their ability to count drops by half.

Holy hell, people.  Put down your phones.  Pay attention to what is going on around you.  GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE IF YOU ARE NOT PASSING!  And no, doing 60 in a 70 DOES NOT COUNT AS PASSING!

As the Ragin' Mrs put it to me - "The advancement of self-driving cars is a testament to the fact that people today could not actually drive if their lives depended on it."

Yes, modern pop music sucks

More than you will ever know.

This one's for you, Pigpen.

This is just flat out good music

From start to finish.



90% of the crap being put out today doesn't have one-tenth the talent this band had.