BULLETS

December 2011

• In his September address to the German Parliament, Pope Benedict XVI didn’t mention “Jesus” or “Christ.” We hope this isn’t an example of the “New Evangelization.”



• Tweedledum and Tweedledee. In endorsing the targeted drone killing of al-Qaeda operative and U.S. citizen Anwar Awlaki as “justified,” former V.P. Cheney pointed out the hypocrisy of the Obama White House in approving it despite saying the Bush Administration “had walked away from our ideals, or taken policy contrary to our ideals, when we had enhanced interrogation techniques.”



• This shouldn’t be an either/or proposition. The Acton Institute’s Fr. Robert Sirico told CNS: “You don’t alleviate poverty by redistributing wealth, you alleviate poverty by creating wealth.” So much for many of the Church’s charitable undertakings.

November 2011

• For most of its history, the U.S. disdained a standing army; now it embraces unending war.



• I compiled five of my stories from Gilbert Magazine in a $0.99 e-book for Kindle ($2.99 after January). Impossible Possibilities: five brief stories of people accomplishing the proverbially impossible. Each story stands alone; together they’re also a single narrative. Whimsical yet serious, it’s about family, rootedness, and struggle against big business and government. Inspired by Chesterton’s Tales of the Long Bow. Available on Amazon.



• Reinforcing Stereotypes. Rep. Henry Waxman, a Jewish Democrat, says the Jewish vote’s a concern for Dems: “[T]here’s no question the Jewish community is much more bipartisan than it has been in previous years. There are Jews who are trending toward the Republican Party, some of it because of their misunderstanding of Obama’s policies in the Middle East, and some of it, quite frankly, for economic reasons. They feel they want to protect their wealth, which is why a lot of well-off voters vote for Republicans.”

October 2011

• Cheating Workers; Protecting Bankers. After unsuccessfully asking retired cops and firemen to take reduced benefits, Central Falls, RI, intends to force reductions in bankruptcy. They’ll get smaller pension checks and have to pay health care premiums. But a new state law requires the city to pay its general obligation bonds in bankruptcy. “It’s outrageous,” says J. Michael Downey, head of a union representing city workers. “Wall Street investors are being treated with more dignity than public workers.”



• Mama Mia! Is anyone uncomfortable that Woody Allen and Soon-Yi have two adopted daughters?



• Free Market Success Story. “Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans,” reports huffingtonpost.com. “An increasing number, according to the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills.”

The final page of each monthly issue of Culture Wars consists of short commentary, entitled Bullets, written by James G. Bruen, Jr. This web page is a sampling of Bullets from recent issues.

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