Scientists who didn’t predict quake are indicted

When I saw this headline, I thought it was a joke – perhaps something from the Onion. Apparently, the story is a few days old, but I just saw it a few minutes ago: Seven scientists and other experts were indicted on manslaughter charges yesterday for allegedly failing to sufficiently warn residents before a devastating earthquake that killed more than 300 people in central Italy in 2009. …. Judge Giuseppe Romano Gargarella ordered the members of the national government’s Great Risks commission, which evaluates potential for natural disasters, to go...

The only treasure that the Church really has to offer

Quote of the Day for Tuesday, January 4th. 2011: Rev. Thomas G. Guarino, of Seton Hall University, in an article at FirstThings.com entitled The Priesthood and Justice, reflecting on the U.S. bishops’ handling of priests accused of sexual misconduct, in the wake of the dismissal from the priesthood of a 73 year-old monsignor in the Archdiocese of New York at the end of last year: Various actions taken against accused priests suggest that current policies are straining the theology of the priesthood. This may have the short-term advantage of preventing li...

What’s the Going Price for the Rule of Law?

Bostonians were entertained this past week by a bizarre news story about a prominent, wealthy  – and married – businessman in his sixties out for a “last hurrah” (his words), who had spent a year and a half engaging the services of a young prostitute, and who had then begun paying hush money to the woman when she threatened to go public with the details of their relationship. This charming fellow had had quite enough by the time the woman made her third demand for cash, and so he hired a high-powered lawyer to secure the assistance of th...

Discrimination Could Maybe Use a Little Discrimination

Is there any end in sight to the inanity of Homosex discrimination claims? I have watched, befuddled, as my society has lurched like a drunken monkey along the road to recognizing the legal validity of the inherently absurd and self-contradictory notion of “gay marriage” (having had a front-row seat for one of the opening acts of the circus here in Massachusetts), and today Reuters is reporting that the online dating service eHarmony.com has been forced, via lawsuit, to offer dating services that meet the particular aims of homosexuals. Accor...