Today on Kresta - October 21, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Oct. 21

4:00 – An Economic Crash: One Year Later. What Have We Learned?
October 2008 was an extraordinary month for the stock market and an exhausting one for investors and traders, who had to stomach extreme market volatility nearly every day during the month. As a matter of fact, six of the Dow’s top ten point changes in 2008 were in October alone. One year after Wall Street teetered on the brink of collapse, seven out of 10 Americans lack confidence the federal government has taken safeguards to prevent another financial industry meltdown, according to a new Associated Press poll. Even more — 80 percent — rate the condition of the economy as poor and a majority worry about their own ability to make ends meet. George Schwartz has the analysis.

4:20 – Discerning the Will of God: An Ignatian Guide to Christian Decision Making
Drawing from the timeless methods of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Fr. Timothy Gallagher offers a thoughtful meditation enriched with examples and stories that offer practical and profound wisdom for aligning personal desires and goals with God’s will. With guidance on recognizing God’s infinite love, opening the heart to what God wants, making use of silence, the Eucharist, scripture, spiritual direction, finding clarity, and understanding discernment as part of the overall spiritual life in Christ, this discussion addresses questions asked by many Christians throughout life, such as What does God want for my life? Is it time to change jobs? And Should I marry? Focusing on major life decisions such as marriage and career, these insights can be adapted to any of life's decisions, helping the thoughtful Christian find a spiritually inspired mission.

4:45 – Exploring the Ministry of Life
The Guadalupe Partners for Life invite you to an evening of dinner, prayer and reflection. Since the work of the Partners is trans-diocesan, the dinner will be graced by the presence of two bishops: Bishop Earl Boyea of the Lansing diocese, and Bishop Daniel Flores, auxiliary bishop of Detroit. The purpose of the evening is to simply show the pro-life movement a quiet yet near-miraculous method of rescue and transformation. Should the pro-life movement be more present to the poor? Should it be more active on the sidewalks? Is the struggle political or spiritual? These questions will be tackled and more. We hope you will be able to join us and perhaps help open a new window of possibility for the pro-life movement. Co-founders Edmund Miller and Alecia Wong join us.

5:00 – A Catholic View of Literary Classics – Part 5 of 10: King Lear
We continue our 10-week series examining Classic Literature from a Catholic perspective. Acclaimed literary biographer Joseph Pearce is the editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions and will be our guide. We will ensure that traditional moral readings of the works are given prominence, instead of the feminist or deconstructionist readings that often proliferate in other series of 'critical editions'. As such, they represent a genuine extension of consumer choice, enabling educators, students, and lovers of good literature to buy editions of classic literary works without having to 'buy into' the ideologies of secular fundamentalism. Today, we examine Shakespeare’s King Lear.

5:20 – Mary, Mother of the Son (Part 3 of 3)
Mary, Mother of the Son takes the reader on a tour de force exploration of the Marian dimension of Catholic thought, life, prayer, and practice. In Volume One: Modern Myths and Ancient Truth, we discover the fascinating way in which Mary emerges with profundity, beauty, and love from the pages of Scripture in the light of apostolic teaching. We probe how the gospel of Christ crowns and perfects, not only the Old Testament, but the deepest insights of the great non-Christian philosophies, religions, and myths. We learn how to read the Bible as the earliest Christians did and find out how Mary safeguards the deepest truths about Christ and his Church. Mark Shea, author of the trilogy is here for part three in our three-day series on Mary, Mother of the Son.

5:40 – The Vatican’s Investigation of Women Religious in America
In recent weeks, a number of angry voices have been raised to protest the Vatican’s initiative to investigate communities of American nuns. To give just one example, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin strongly critiqued the move, arguing that it represents just another example of an out of touch, patriarchal church persecuting those who refuse to cooperate with it. “These investigations,” Marin argues, “are about dissent in the Catholic church and how to stop it.” Now, one could certainly argue that this represents only one person’s opinion. Perhaps, but Fr. Robert Barron thinks that’s precisely what the Vatican quite rightly wants to determine. He join s us.

Outrageous Statement of the Day

Tucker Carlson claims Obama advisers "lie for a living". Now we all know that politicians tell a lot of lies and half-truths, but to say that all Obama advisers "lie for a living" is outrageous, un-Christian, and counter-productive.

Today on Kresta - Oct. 20, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Oct. 20

4:00 – Health Care Debate Hits 5th Gear – Will Babies and Consciences Be Protected?
The intricate process of turning two very different health care bills into one will continue tonight, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hosts Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Max Baucus (D-MT), and a number of high-level White House officials in his offices tonight. What does the process of unifying these bills entail, and why is the process so secretive? US Rep. Thaddeus McCotter is here to answer these questions, as well as whether babies and consciences will be protected.

4:20 – Pontiff to permit Anglican communities to join Catholic Church
Pope Benedict is promulgating an apostolic constitution that will permit Anglican communities whose members wish to be received into the Catholic Church to do so as communities. The papal document allows for the creation of "personal ordinariates" to be headed by formerly Anglican priests, providing a structure within the Catholic hierarchy to supervise the pastoral care of Anglicans who have become Catholics. These "personal ordinariates" would be integrated into national episcopal conferences, but encouraged to preserve the distinctive aspects of the Anglican tradition. We talk with Damian Thompson of the London Daily Telegraph and Editor-in-chief of London’s Catholic Herald.

4:40 – The Marriage Index: A Proposal to Establish Leading Marriage Indicators
Family scholars from six major universities and four leading research institutes have launched a U.S. Marriage Index, the first attempt to track, with a clear, accessible measure, the health of marriage in America. The 2009 Index, based on five indicators—shows a dramatic decline in the health of marriage in recent decades, especially. We talk with David Lapp of the Institute for American Values.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:20 – Mary, Mother of the Son (Part 2 of 3)
Mary, Mother of the Son takes the reader on a tour de force exploration of the Marian dimension of Catholic thought, life, prayer, and practice. In Volume One: Modern Myths and Ancient Truth, we discover the fascinating way in which Mary emerges with profundity, beauty, and love from the pages of Scripture in the light of apostolic teaching. We probe how the gospel of Christ crowns and perfects, not only the Old Testament, but the deepest insights of the great non-Christian philosophies, religions, and myths. We learn how to read the Bible as the earliest Christians did and find out how Mary safeguards the deepest truths about Christ and his Church. Mark Shea, author of the trilogy is here for part two in our three-day series on Mary, Mother of the Son.

5:40 – Healthcare and Catholics: True and False Arguments
Healthcare reform – it’s one of those causes almost everyone favors, but which almost automatically produces sharp arguments when we ask what it means and how it might be realized. You would have had to be living in a cave for the past eight months to be unaware that Americans are deeply divided on this matter, and that the division runs clean through the middle of many communities. That includes Catholic America. Sam Gregg looks at healthcare and Catholics: true and false arguments.

Outrageous Statement of the Day

In a sign of just how much the debate over Rush Limbaugh's NFL bid is roiling the racial landscape, after Juan Williams explained that Rush's "Barack the Magic Negro" parody was based on a column by an African-American author, a black radio talk show host told Williams to "go back to the porch."




The following day, after he was the recipient of the above racial slur on Thursday night, Juan Williams was the guest host of The "O'Reilly Factor" and delved further into the incredible statement made the night before.

Pro-Lifers Assaulted Outside CA Abortion Mill

On October 15th, Day 23 of the 40 Days for Life campaign, a pro-choice woman shouted obscenities at 40 Days volunteers in Fresno, CA, before attempting to break the event security camera and assaulting Victor Fierro, director of Latinos4Life. The attacker cut Fierro’s arm with an unknown object, drawing blood, and then stormed back to her car and fled the scene. Much of the encounter took place right behind the camera, but the audio was all captured, as well as her face and license plate number. Read more here. Watch the video below or here.

Today on Kresta - Oct. 19, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Oct. 19

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – Beyond the Final Score: There's More to Life Than the Game
From the vast farmlands of Nebraska to the halls of Congress to the Green Zone in Iraq, Tom Osborne has become a legend by serving those around him and by always putting his God first. Perhaps no college football program in history has seen as much success as Osborne's did under his watch (255 wins in 25 seasons). But there is much more to Tom Osborne. Beyond the Final Score chronicles his years as a congressman, educator, family man, mentor and now athletic director. It reveals the character, values and faith that have grounded him throughout his incredible journey.

4:40 – Orientalism and Islam: European Thinkers on Oriental Despotism in the Middle East and India
Through an historical analysis of the theme of Oriental despotism, Michael Curtis reveals the complex positive and negative interaction between Europe and the Orient. The book also criticizes the misconception that the Orient was the constant victim of Western imperialism and the view that Westerners cannot comment objectively on Eastern and Muslim societies. The book views the European concept of Oriental despotism as based not on arbitrary prejudicial observation, but rather on perceptions of real processes and behavior in Eastern systems of government.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:20 – Mary, Mother of the Son (Part 1 of 3)
Mary, Mother of the Son takes the reader on a tour de force exploration of the Marian dimension of Catholic thought, life, prayer, and practice. In Volume One: Modern Myths and Ancient Truth, we discover the fascinating way in which Mary emerges with profundity, beauty, and love from the pages of Scripture in the light of apostolic teaching. We probe how the gospel of Christ crowns and perfects, not only the Old Testament, but the deepest insights of the great non-Christian philosophies, religions, and myths. We learn how to read the Bible as the earliest Christians did and find out how Mary safeguards the deepest truths about Christ and his Church. Mark Shea, author of the trilogy is here for part one in our three-day series on Mary, Mother of the Son.

5:40 – Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are is one of those truly rare books that can be enjoyed equally by a child and a grown-up. If you disagree, then it's been too long since you've attended a wild rumpus. Max dons his wolf suit in pursuit of some mischief and gets sent to bed without supper. Fortuitously, a forest grows in his room, allowing his wild rampage to continue unimpaired. The classis children’s book has been adapted for the big screen and it opened #1 at the box office over the weekend. Steven Greydanus has the review.

Rifqa Bary: The Latest

A Florida judge on Tuesday said Rifqa Bary, 17, will be returned to Ohio once her parents meet two conditions. First, the Barys must they are in the U.S. legally. The judge said he asked the couple for their immigration papers three months ago and has only seen a partial VISA and an incomplete passport. The judge said a contempt of court charge is a possibility if he doesn't get the paperwork.

Watch this report for more...

Today on Kresta - Oct. 14, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Oct. 14
Best of “Kresta in the Afternoon”

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College: 2nd Edition
When Pope John Paul II issued Ex Corde Ecclesiae in 1990, he called for Catholic colleges and universities to renew their commitments to the doctrinal teachings and intellectual traditions of the Church. The response has been slow, leaving many Catholic families bewildered as to where to find the best of Catholic education. There are in fact a number of fine Catholic institutions of higher education in America—if one knows where, and how, to look for them. The recently updated Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College: What to Look For and Where to Find It is the first college guide to show students where they can learn and grow in a genuine Catholic environment without the nonsense that has overtaken even some of the most well-known Catholic universities. We discuss it. Patrick Reilly joins us.

4:40 – The Danger of Turning Religion into a “Toy”
Fr. Robert Barron is convinced that a very serious enemy to the Church is a current creeping take-it-or-leave-it indifference to religion. Not so much a hostility to religion as the weary, even bored, bracketing of those questions that, for centuries, have captivated the greatest minds and spirits of the human race. Where did the universe come from? What is the deepest purpose of my life? Where is reality ultimately tending? Is there a meaning inherent in the events of history and the movements of nature? We look at the danger of turning religion into a “toy”.

5:00 – Kresta Comments – Barak, the Bible, and the Nobel Prize
U.S. President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for offering the world hope and striving for nuclear disarmament in a surprise award that drew both warm praise and sharp criticism. The bestowal of one of the world's top accolades on a president less than nine months in office, who has yet to score a major foreign policy success, was greeted with gasps of astonishment from journalists at the announcement in Oslo. Al has a perspective as well.

5:20 – Can Catholics Solve the Middle East Conflict?
Morning headlines announce renewed violence and fresh calls for peace negotiations, while pundits on talk radio and cable TV shout conflicting opinions at anyone who will listen. Between perplexing contradictions and inflammatory rhetoric, it is often difficult to find out what’s really going on in the Middle East. Former TIME magazine Jerusalem bureau chief David Aikman, who has spent decades reporting on Mid-East issues, takes a sober, balanced look at a region aflame. He brings a journalist’s mind and a believer’s heart to his exploration of the political and religious factors in play, and goes beyond the media’s chronic over-simplification to carefully examine recent history and the leaders who have made that history. Discover the truth behind the headlines: God’s restoring hand is at work in a region of the world torn apart by centuries of strife.

5:40 – UNDER GOD: George Washington and the Question of Church and State
Candidate Barack Obama drew little attention during last year's presidential campaign when he ventured into the thorny territory of church and state. While President George W. Bush had expanded government contracts to faith-based groups, Obama promised to end that arrangement if the groups proselytized to the needy they served, or hired only members of that faith. According to our next guest, this perversion of the First Amendment would appall George Washington. Joseph Smith is the co-author of a ground-breaking book on Washington’s views on church and state show that the greatest Founding Father not only sanctioned the tax-payer support of religion, but he even permitted the federal funding of missionary efforts to Native Americans—what would the ACLU say to that!?

Homosexualist Play To Be Performed at Four SF Catholic High Schools

Thanks to Larry at "Acts of the Apostasy" for this story. San Francisco Loses 4 Catholic High Schools. Should you find them, please return them to The Faith.

Four Catholic High Schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are
scheduled to host a performance of the condom-endorsing sex-education play
Secrets. The play was written by openly lesbian playwright Patricia Loughrey.
Secrets will be performed on October 14, 2009 at Sacred Heart Cathedral
Preparatory High School in San Francisco; on November 5, 2009 at Sacred Heart
High School in Atherton; on January 19, 2010 at Mercy High School in Burlingame,
and on February 9, 2010 at St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School in San
Francisco.

The play depicts a teenager who is HIV positive. Some content in Secrets
was considered, by the Fremont, California Unified School District, to be
sufficiently graphic to require that a permission slip be signed by parents
before their child would be allowed to see it. The Fremont Unified School
District also posts an online flyer (in English and Chinese) for parents,
informing them of the performance, and inviting them to watch a video of Secrets
before giving their permission. The flyer also describes two of the scenes: “A
character dumps dozens of brightly wrapped condoms on the floor with a
discussion about which type of condoms are the best to use and how to use them
effectively.” Another scene is a “Discussion about contraceptives and a visual
display of them.” The production of Secrets in the San Francisco Archdiocese is
sponsored by the Educational Theater Programs division of the Kaiser Permanente
HMO.

Read
more here...

Church “on the ball” with preparations for World Cup 2010

As South Africa prepares for one of the biggest sports events of its history, the Church, too, is having a hand in the preparations for next year’s World Cup.

It’s called “Church on the Ball,” and it’s the Catholic church’s way of getting involved in next year’s games by welcoming thousands of people to the historic event.

Watch Below...

Notre Dame Pays Student Expenses to D.C. March for Gay "Marriage"

The University of Notre Dame gave financial assistance to five students to participate in Sunday’s national gay rights demonstration, which was organized in part to advocate homosexual “marriage,” a campus newspaper has reported.

The “National Equality March” on Sunday, October 11, in Washington, D.C., was sponsored by Equality Across America, which aims to build a national grassroots network asserting homosexual couples’ “right to marry” as well as other demands. The Catholic Church believes that marriage is possible only between a man and a woman.

“Faithful Catholics will ask whether Notre Dame has learned its lesson from the scandalous commencement ceremony last spring,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. “What university seeking to reassure families of its Catholic identity would pay for students to attack the family and oppose Catholic teachings on marriage?”

Students from Notre Dame’s Progressive Student Alliance (PSA) petitioned the Student Activities Office ad were granted funding to travel to and participate in the demonstration. The Notre Dame students marched two miles across D.C. and then joined gay rights activists for a Capitol Hill rally.

The president of the Progressive Students Alliance told The Observer, “The fact that we were University-approved was surprising but it was a wonderful surprise. The University hasn't always been entirely receptive in the past.”

Read The Observer’s article here.

"Catholic" Gay-Marriage Ad Running in Maine

Homosexual advocates have released a shameless new ad featuring a grandmother and two gay men urging Maine voters this November to approve same-sex "marriage." The grandmother in the new commercial speaks about her Catholic faith and the importance of the institution of marriage, but then urges voters to support same-sex "marriage."

CatholicVoteAction.org President Brian Burch said, “For decades gay and lesbian groups have attacked the Catholic Church for refusing to accept their skewed views on human sexuality and marriage. Having lost that battle, they have now launched this desperate and despicable attempt to curry favor with Catholics by pretending that the Catholic faith supports their radical agenda.”
Burch continued, “Gay marriage groups have lost virtually every ballot question put before the people for a vote, including a major defeat in California last November. They are no longer content to defend their radical beliefs on their own, and instead have stooped to lying about the Catholic Church and its teachings, proof that gay activists will stop at nothing to promote their agenda.”

“Everybody knows the Catholic Church is opposed to counterfeit marriages. The Church believes marriage is a natural institution, vindicated by common reason that serves both men and women, and the needs of children. The Church defends marriage as a civic institution believing marriage and family to be the fundamental unit of society,” explained Burch.

“For homosexual groups to suggest that the Catholic Church believes otherwise is disingenuous, dishonest, and an insult to the intelligence of Catholic voters in Maine,” said Burch.

“We call on Protect Maine Equality to stop lying about our faith and to immediately pull this ad from the airwaves and from YouTube,” said Burch

The ad, produced by Protect Maine Equality, can be viewed below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKBkVF6aexA

Today on Kresta - Oct. 13, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Oct. 13

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – A Theology of Relics
The hosting of a relic of St. Damien of Molokai (1840-1889) in the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit, Oct. 13-14 provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the meaning and purpose of relics within the Catholic faith. Relics, it seems, are still very much in the news. Recently, a thief stole a relic of the true cross from a monastery in Spain. In England, thousands of people - many of them unbelievers - turned out for a public tour of the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux . Why so much concern about the remains of the dead? Dr. Robert Fastiggi is here to explain.

4:40 – A Catholic View of Literary Classics – Part 4 of 10: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
We continue our 10-week series examining Classic Literature from a Catholic perspective. Acclaimed literary biographer Mary Reichardt is one of the editors of the Ignatius Critical Editions and will be our guide this week. We will ensure that traditional moral readings of the works are given prominence, instead of the feminist or deconstructionist readings that often proliferate in other series of 'critical editions'. As such, they represent a genuine extension of consumer choice, enabling educators, students, and lovers of good literature to buy editions of classic literary works without having to 'buy into' the ideologies of secular fundamentalism. Today, we examine The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

5:00 – The Abbess of Andalusia: Flannery O'Connor’s Spiritual Journey
Flannery O'Connor has been studied and lauded under many labels: the Southern author whose pen captured the soul of a proud region struggling to emerge out of racism and poverty, the female writer whose independent spirit and tragically short life inspired a generation of women, the Catholic artist whose fiction evokes themes of sin and damnation, mercy and redemption. Now, and for the first time, The Abbess of Andalusia affords us an in-depth look at Flannery O'Connor the believer. You will come to know Flannery O'Connor not only as a writer and an icon, but as a theologian and apologist; as a spiritual director and a student of prayer; as a suffering soul who learned obedience and merited grace through infirmity; and truly, as the Abbess of her own small, but significant, spiritual house. Lorraine Murray guides us.

5:40 – Kresta Comments

Today on Kresta - Oct. 12, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Oct. 12

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:20 – Columbus Day: Christopher Columbus the Franciscan
He led four expeditions to the New World, but never accomplished his original goal--to find a western ocean route to Asia. Instead, Christopher Columbus ushered in a new era in world history by opening up the Americas to exploration. On this Columbus Day, we find out more about Christopher Columbus the Franciscan. Kay Brigham is our guide.

4:40 – Mother of Columbine Shooter Speaks
After the Columbine school massacre – the 1999 shooting that left more than a dozen students dead in their Colorado high school – we heard nothing from the parents of the shooters. Neither the Klebod nor Harris families wanted to speak about what their sons had done. Now, all these years later, the mother of Dylan Klebold, Susan Klebold, has written an essay for Oprah’s O Magazine. We talk with Columbine expert Dave Cullen.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:20 – Graphic Images of Abortion: A History and an Argument
Most abortion advocates decry the use of graphic abortion photos as unfair and manipulative. "Shock value" has no place in the abortion debate, they might argue. In reality, abortion images are no more shocking than the act of abortion itself. The pictures, in fact, are far less shocking than seeing an abortion take place in person. This topic got front page coverage in the New York Times over the weekend and the centerpiece of the interview, Dr. Monica Miller, is with us.

Saturday Night Live on Obama Nobel

Link to the video.

Heckuva Job, Barack

Commentary below by ROSS DOUTHAT of the New York Times on Obama's Nobel win.

This was Barack Obama’s chance.

Here was an opportunity to cut himself free, in a stroke, from the baggage that’s weighed his presidency down — the implausible expectations, the utopian dreams, the messianic hoo-ha.
Here was a place to draw a clean line between himself and all the overzealous Obamaphiles, at home and abroad, who poured their post-Christian, post-Marxist yearnings into the vessel of his 2008 campaign.

Here was a chance to establish himself, definitively, as an American president — too self-confident to accept an unearned accolade, and too instinctively democratic to go along with European humbug.

He didn’t take it. Instead, he took the Nobel Peace Prize.

Big mistake.

People have argued that you can’t turn down a Nobel. Please. Of course you can. Obama is a gifted rhetorician with world-class speechwriters. All he would have needed was a simple, graceful statement emphasizing the impossibility of accepting such an honor during his first year in office, with America’s armed forces still deep in two unfinished wars.

Would the world have been offended? Well, to start with, the prize isn’t given out by an imaginary “world community.” It’s voted on and handed out by a committee of five obscure Norwegians. So turning it down would have been a slap in the face, yes, to Thorbjorn Jagland, Kaci Kullmann Five, Sissel Marie Ronbeck, Inger-Marie Ytterhorn and Agot Valle. But it wouldn’t have been a slap in the face to the Europeans or the Africans, to Moscow or Beijing, or to any other population or great power that an American president should fret about offending.

In any case, it will be far more offensive when Obama takes the stage in Oslo this November instead of Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s heroic opposition leader; or Thich Quang Do, the Buddhist monk and critic of Vietnam’s authoritarian regime; or Rebiya Kadeer, exiled from China for her labors on behalf of the oppressed Uighur minority; or anyone who has courted death this year protesting for democracy in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

True, Obama didn’t ask for this. It was obvious, from his halting delivery and slightly shamefaced air last Friday, that he wishes the Nobel committee hadn’t put him in this spot.
But he still wasn’t brave enough to tell it no.

Obama gains nothing from the prize. No domestic constituency will become more favorably disposed to him because five Norwegians think he’s already changed the world — and the Republicans were just handed the punch line for an easy recession-era attack ad. (To quote the Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, anticipating the 30-second spots to come: “He got a Nobel Prize. What did you get? A pink slip.”)

Overseas, there was nobody, from Paris to Peshawar, who woke up Friday more disposed to work with the United States because of the Nobel committee’s decision — and plenty of more seasoned statesman who woke up laughing. (Vladimir Putin probably hasn’t snickered this much since John McCain tried to persuade Americans that “we are all Georgians” during last year’s weeklong war.)

Meanwhile, the prize makes every foreign-policy problem Obama faces seem ever so slightly more burdensome. Now he’s the Nobel laureate who has to choose between escalating a counterinsurgency in Afghanistan or ceding ground to a theocratic mafia. He’s the Nobel laureate who’ll either have to authorize military strikes against Iran or construct an effective, cold-war-style deterrence system for the Middle East. He’s the Nobel laureate who’ll probably fail, like every U.S. president before him, to prod Israelis and Palestinians toward a comprehensive settlement.

At the same time, the prize leaves Obama more open to ridicule. It confirms, as a defining narrative of his presidency, the gap between his supporters’ cloud-cuckoo-land expectations and the inevitable disappointments of reality. It dovetails perfectly with the recent “Saturday Night Live” sketch in which he was depicted boasting about a year’s worth of nonaccomplishments. And it revives and ratifies John McCain’s only successful campaign gambit — his portrayal of Obama as “the world’s biggest celebrity,” famous more for being famous than for any concrete political accomplishment.

Great achievements may still await our Nobel president. If Obama goes from strength to strength, then this travesty will be remembered as a footnote to his administration, rather than a defining moment.

But by accepting the prize, he’s made failure, if and when it comes, that much more embarrassing and difficult to bear. What’s more, he’s etched in stone the phrase with which critics will dismiss his presidency.

Slick Willie. Tricky Dick. Jimmy “Malaise” Carter. Dubya the Incompetent.

And now Barack Obama, Nobel laureate.

Family values at Princeton?

Very encouraging commentary by Marcia Segelstein at the World Magazine Blog:

There may be hope yet. Students at Princeton University have formed an organization called The Anscombe Society, which, according to the mission statement on its website, is “dedicated to affirming the importance of the family, marriage, and a proper understanding for the role of sex and
sexuality.”

Its goal is to foster an environment that values traditional marriage and a “chaste lifestyle.” Yes, you read that correctly. Students at a secular Ivy League university have formed, of their own free will, a group promoting chastity!

The Anscrombe Society offers support for students who share those values, as well as opportunities for the wider university community to engage in discussions with them. Just a few days ago, The Anscrombe Society hosted an event called “Ask Anscrombe Anything.” People were encouraged to attend no matter what their views, as the website made clear: “If you find some of our positions reprehensible, then come and challenge us.”

How refreshing that such a group exists in the first place, and seems willing and eager to engage in difficult discussions with those who disagree.

The group’s website also includes a link to the Love and Fidelity Network for students on other campuses interested in forming similar organizations.

Princeton is already a bright spot when it comes to offering students a change from the leftist ideologies that dominate so many of America’s institutions of higher education. In 2000, Professor Robert George founded (and still directs) the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, renowned for its traditional curriculum.

And next month, Princeton will play host to the second annual intercollegiate conference on “Sexuality, Integrity and the University,” designed to educate students in arguments that uphold traditional views of marriage, sex, and family. Professor George will be a featured speaker.

Marvin Olasky: The Nobel Farce

President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize for giving speeches? Former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri seemed rightly exasperated: “What has he done? It’s a joke.” I hope Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live don’t chicken out on this one. Lech Walesa, the brave leader of Solidarity in Poland, who won the prize in 1983, said it well: Obama “has no contribution so far.”

Theodore Roosevelt won the prize in 1906 for some action: mediating talks that ended the 1905 Russo-Japanese War. Woodrow Wilson’s post-World War I efforts contributed to the advent of World War II, but at least he won the prize in 1919 for some action, starting the League of Nations. One joke I heard: Obama will win the Heisman Trophy because he’s talked about setting up a college football playoff system.

The awards to Jimmy Carter in 2002, Al Gore in 2007, and Obama now have cheapened the Prize and exposed it for what it represents: the views of several left-wing Norwegian politicians. In any event, it will be interesting to see what Obama does with the $1 million award: With the hyperinflation his spending policies may bring, the award could be $1 trillion in 10 years.

Gasps as Obama awarded Nobel Peace Prize

The announcement drew gasps of surprise and cries of too much, too soon. Yet President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday because the judges found his promise of disarmament and diplomacy too good to ignore.

The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee - four of whom spoke to The Associated Press, said awarding Obama the peace prize could be seen as an early vote of confidence intended to build global support for the policies of his young administration.

They lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease U.S. conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen its role in combating climate change.

"Some people say - and I understand it - 'Isn't it premature? Too early?' Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now," Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, told the AP. "It is now that we have the opportunity to respond - all of us."

Jagland said the committee whittled down a record pool of 205 nominations and had "several candidates until the last minute," but it became more obvious that "we couldn't get around these deep changes that are taking place" under Obama.

Obama said he was surprised and deeply humbled by the honor, and planned to travel to Oslo in December to accept the prize.

"Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations," he said at the White House. "To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize."

Many were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in a presidency that began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline for the prize and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.

"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is only beginning to act," said former Polish President Lech Walesa, who won the peace prize in 1983.

Aagot Valle, a lawmaker for the Socialist Left party who joined the Nobel committee this year, said she hoped the selection would be viewed as "support and a commitment for Obama."

"And I hope it will be an inspiration for all those that work with nuclear disarmament and disarmament," she told AP in a rare interview. Members of the committee usually speak only through its chairman.

The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts, but Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than those of past winners, and the committee acknowledged they may not bear fruit at all.

Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele said Obama won because of his "star power" rather than meaningful accomplishments.

"The real question Americans are asking is, 'What has President Obama actually accomplished?'" Steele said.

Drawing criticism from some on the left, Obama has been slow to bring troops home from Iraq and the real end of the U.S. military presence there won't come until at least 2012.

The Nobel committee said it paid special attention to Obama's vision of a nuclear-free world, laid out in a speech in Prague and in April and at the United Nations last month.

Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded by Swedish institutions, the peace prize is given out by the five-member committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament. Like the Parliament, the panel has a leftist slant, with three members elected by left-of-center parties and two right-of-center members. Jagland said the decision to honor Obama was unanimous.

The secretive committee declined to say who nominated Obama. In Nobel tradition, nominations are kept secret for 50 years, unless those making the submissions go public about their picks.

This year's nominations included Colombian activist Piedad Cordoba, Afghan woman's rights activist Simi Samar and Denis Mukwege, a physician in war-torn Congo who opened a clinic to help rape victims.

Nominators for the prize are broad and include former laureates; current and former members of the committee and their staff; members of national governments and legislatures; university professors of law, theology, social sciences, history and philosophy; leaders of peace research and foreign affairs institutes; and members of international courts of law.

In his 1895 will, Alfred Nobel stipulated that the peace prize should go "to the person who shall have done (my emphasis) the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses."

Today on Kresta - Oct. 9, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Oct. 9

4:00 – Kresta Comments – Barak, the Bible, and the Nobel Prize
U.S. President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today for offering the world hope and striving for nuclear disarmament in a surprise award that drew both warm praise and sharp criticism. The bestowal of one of the world's top accolades on a president less than nine months in office, who has yet to score a major foreign policy success, was greeted with gasps of astonishment from journalists at the announcement in Oslo. Al has a perspective as well.

4:20 – Can Catholics Solve the Middle East Conflict?
Morning headlines announce renewed violence and fresh calls for peace negotiations, while pundits on talk radio and cable TV shout conflicting opinions at anyone who will listen. Between perplexing contradictions and inflammatory rhetoric, it is often difficult to find out what’s really going on in the Middle East. Former TIME magazine Jerusalem bureau chief David Aikman, who has spent decades reporting on Mid-East issues, takes a sober, balanced look at a region aflame. He brings a journalist’s mind and a believer’s heart to his exploration of the political and religious factors in play, and goes beyond the media’s chronic over-simplification to carefully examine recent history and the leaders who have made that history. Discover the truth behind the headlines: God’s restoring hand is at work in a region of the world torn apart by centuries of strife.

4:40 – UNDER GOD: George Washington and the Question of Church and State
Candidate Barack Obama drew little attention during last year's presidential campaign when he ventured into the thorny territory of church and state. While President George W. Bush had expanded government contracts to faith-based groups, Obama promised to end that arrangement if the groups proselytized to the needy they served, or hired only members of that faith. According to our next guest, this perversion of the First Amendment would appall George Washington. Joseph Smith is the co-author of a ground-breaking book on Washington’s views on church and state show that the greatest Founding Father not only sanctioned the tax-payer support of religion, but he even permitted the federal funding of missionary efforts to Native Americans—what would the ACLU say to that!?

5:00 – Kresta Comments – Barak, the Bible, and the Nobel Prize
U.S. President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today for offering the world hope and striving for nuclear disarmament in a surprise award that drew both warm praise and sharp criticism. The bestowal of one of the world's top accolades on a president less than nine months in office, who has yet to score a major foreign policy success, was greeted with gasps of astonishment from journalists at the announcement in Oslo. Al has a perspective as well.

5:20 – Has Evolution Been Turned on its Ear?
A new fossil find out of Ethiopia threatens to “turn evolution on its head” and disproves the “missing link” in the evolution of humans. Another in China claims to be another link in the evolutionary chain of the inner ear. But the real question is where did the information come from to build these creatures? Fossils are nice, but ultimately they do nothing to tell us how we got here. Need someone to help answer those questions? Dr. Stephen Meyer, author, scientist and Discovery Institute fellow, is available. Dr. Meyer is the author of Signature in a Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design.

5:40 – A Catholic View of Literary Classics – Part 3 of 10: Wuthering Heights
We continue our 10-week series examining Classic Literature from a Catholic perspective. Acclaimed literary biographer Joseph Pearce is the editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions and will be our guide. We will ensure that traditional moral readings of the works are given prominence, instead of the feminist or deconstructionist readings that often proliferate in other series of 'critical editions'. As such, they represent a genuine extension of consumer choice, enabling educators, students, and lovers of good literature to buy editions of classic literary works without having to 'buy into' the ideologies of secular fundamentalism. Today, we examine Shakespeare’s Wuthering Heights