University of Illinois Robert McKim - The Gay Agenda's Grand Inquisitor

Dr. Robert McKim of University of Illinois A face that would drive rats from a barn
Robert McKim is Head of the Department of Religion and Professor of Religious Studies and of Philosophy. He has a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Yale University and has been a member of the UIUC faculty since 1982. His major research interests include philosophy of religion, the history of early modern philosophy (especially Berkeley), and applied ethics. He has recently taught courses in philosophy of religion and in environmental ethics. He is currently writing a book on the implications of religious diversity.

Diversity! One Must Love Diversity! How could one not! Diversity . . .Embraced by people who will never live near or engage socially with any residents of Chinatown, Pilsen, Englewood, Gresham, Roseland, Mount Greenwood, or Canarywille!

Our Orwellian Euphemism for Cow Pies! The U of I Big Chief Medicine Man ( religion head) Robert McKim is writing about religious diversity having fired a Catholic colleague! Witness the McKim Canon!!!!

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span style="font-weight:bold;">Some Recent Publications by Robert McKim

Review of Problems of Religious Diversity by Paul Griffiths (Routledge, 2002) in Faith and Philosophy, October 2003, 496-500.

"The Goodness of the Real" in Sophia Volume 42, Number 2, October 2003, 172-78.

"Berkeley" in Encyclopedia of Ireland (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), 89. (The Encyclopedia of Ireland has also been published in Ireland by Gill and MacMillan.)

"The Hiddenness of God" (an excerpt from Religious Ambiguity and Religious Diversity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)) in Ten Essential Texts in the Philosophy of Religion: Classics and Contemporary Issues, edited by Steven M. Cahn (Oxford University Press, 2004), 494-499; in Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, Second Edition, edited by Steven M. Cahn (Oxford University Press, 2004) and in the Third Edition, 2009; also in Steven M. Cahn, Exploring the Philosophy of Religion: An Introductory Anthology (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).

"Berkeley's Notebooks" in The Cambridge Companion to Berkeley, edited by Kenneth P. Winkler (Cambridge University Press, 2005), 63-93.

"George Berkeley [Addendum]". The Encyclopedia of Philosophy Edited by Donald M. Borchert. 2nd ed. 10 vols. (New York: Thomson Gale, 2006) Volume 1, 584-588.

Review of The Land We Share by Eric Freyfogle (Washington: Island Press/Shearwater Books, 2003) in The Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, Volume 20 Number 2, February 2007.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/t1486703p4450484/fulltext.pdf

“Christianity and Religious Pluralism” in Theology for Today, Volume 1 (Dublin: The Priory Institute, 2007) (prepared for BA distance learning programme, accredited University of Wales, Lampeter), 53-106.

“A Path to (and beyond) Tolerance” in Religious Tolerance through Humility: Thinking with Philip Quinn co-edited by David Basinger and James Kraft (Ashgate, 2008), 75-84.

“On Religious Ambiguity” Religious Studies Volume 44, Number 4, 373-392, December 2008.

“Responding to Religious Diversity: Some Possible Directions for the Interfaith Youth Core” Journal of College and Character, 11(1), Art. 9. DOI: 10.2202/1940-1639.1012 February, 2010. Available at: http://journals.naspa.org/jcc/vol11/iss1/9

On Religious Diversity Monograph forthcoming (in cloth and in paper) from Oxford University Press, 2011.

Quotes on God and Religion by McKim -

“We seem to have a remarkable capacity to find arguments that support positions which we antecedently hold. Reason is, to a great extent, the slave of prior commitments.” (p. ix). This is exactly what I said elsewhere.

“The majority of people get their religious beliefs from their upbringing, and they grow up to inhabit a religious world that feels as real and solid, or almost as real and solid, as the physical world.” (p. ix),

“The fact that god is hidden (if God exists) suggests that one ought to be wary of the claims that the theistic traditions make about God: they probably are claims that exceed what may be reasonably be said with confidence.” (p. 123).

“The implication is that theists ought to be skeptical of many of the claims about God that are made by the dominant theistic traditions, including their own tradition.” (p. 124).

“We should look with skepticism on the claims of those who believe that they have a clear account of God’s nature—who carry on, in short, as if God were not hidden.” (p. 124).

“A main project in this book is to present a case for tentativeness in beliefs about religious matters.” (p. 124)

“Responsible religious belief should involve dialogue, openness, exchange, open-ended exploration, and conversation with various other bodies of discourse. Anything less is parochial and unsatisfactory.” (p. viii).

Religious Ambiguity and Religious Diversity (Oxford, 2001). This is a book for every Progressive secularist as it debunks faith.

Here is the real Robert McKim -Departmen Cahir of Religion at University of Illinois

A complaint was later made on behalf of a student in Dr. Howell's class objecting to the exposition of Catholic moral teaching contained in the professor's e-mail on the grounds that it constituted "hate speech". The complaint was circulated among university administrators and presented to Dr. Robert McKim, the head of UI's religion department, who met with Dr. Howell and informed him that he would not be asked back to teach future courses.

Dr. Howell offered to compromise by electing to refrain from discussed the subject of homosexuality in all future classes; an offer summarily rebuffed by McKim. Howell then appealed to his first amendment rights and the principles of academic freedom, pointing out that he had done nothing more than his university-approved job of presenting his students with the unembellished facts of Catholic moral doctrine. This plea was also ignored, and Howell was informed that McKim's decision not to renew his employment was final.

Dr. Howell has since related his dismissal to a number of fundamental religious disagreements between himself and Dr. McKim.

Another Distinguished Professor - Like Billy Ayers, Y'all! - of the University of Illinois

AmadaunMcKim!
1. You're as thick as manure but only half as useful

2. A face that would drive rats from a barn

3. You are seed, breed and spawn of an English whore

4. I never forget an Irish face but in your case I'll make an exception

5. May you melt off the earth like snow off the ditch.

6. May your pipe never smoke, may your teapot be broke

7. May your spade never dig may your sow never pig

8. May the cat eat you and the devil eat the cat

9.When you were born you were so ugly the nurse slapped your mother

10. You're as sharp as a beachball

U of I Anti-Catholic Bigotry - The Fatal E-Mail and the Compliant Coward McKim

NOW, That's Progressive Americans!


This is a Full Text Reprint of both e-mails from the News Gazette

Professor Howell's E-Mail and subsequent Comments

E-mail that prompted complaint over UI religion class instructor

Other Related Content

Instructor of Catholicism at UI claims loss of job violates academic freedom
E-mail complaint from student about UI religion instructor
Fri, 07/09/2010 - 7:00am | Jodi Heckel
From: Kenneth J. Howell

Date: Tue, May 4, 2010 at 9:45 PM

Subject: Utilitarianism and Sexuality (for those in 447 FYI)

Dear Students:

Since there is a question on the final exam about utilitarianism (see the review sheet), I thought I would help with an example. I realized after my lectures on moral theory that even though I talked about the substance of utilitarianism, I did not identify it as such and so you may not have been able to see it.

It turns out that our discussion of homosexuality brings up the issue of utilitarianism. In class, our discussion of the morality of homosexual acts was very incomplete because any moral issue about which people disagree ALWAYS raises a more fundamental issue about criteria. In other words, by what criteria should we judge whether a given act is right or wrong?

Before looking at the issue of criteria, however, we have to remind ourselves of the ever-present tendency in all of us to judge morality by emotion. The most frequent reason I hear people supporting same-sex marriage is that they know some gay couples or individuals. Empathy is a noble human quality but right or wrong does not depend on who is doing the action or on how I feel about those people, just as judging an action wrong should not depend on disliking someone. This might seem obvious to a right thinking person but I have encountered many well-educated people who do not (or cannot?) make the distinction between persons and acts when engaging moral reasoning. I encourage you to read the final essay editorial I sent earlier to reflect on this. In short, to judge an action wrong is not to condemn a person. A person and his/her acts can be distinguished for the purposes of morality.

So, then, by what criterion should we judge whether sexual acts are right or wrong? This is where utilitarianism comes in. Utilitarianism in the popular sense is fundamentally a moral theory that judges right or wrong by its practical outcomes. It is somewhat akin to a cost/benefit analysis. So, when a woman is deciding whether it's right to have an abortion, the utilitarian says it's right or wrong based on what the best outcome is. Similarly, a man who is trying to decide whether he should cheat on his wife, if he is a utilitarian, will weigh the various consequences. If the cheating side of the ledger is better, he will conclude that it's okay to cheat. If the faithful side is better, he will refrain from cheating.

I think it's fair to say that many, maybe most Americans employ some type of utilitarianism in their moral decision making. But there are at least two problems. One is that to judge the best outcome can be very subjective. What may be judged good for the pregnant woman may not be good for the baby. What may be judged good for the about-to-cheat-husband may not good for his wife or his children. This problem of subjectivity is inherent in utilitarianism for a second reason. Utilitarianism counsels that moral decisions should NOT be based on the inherent meaning of acts. Acts are only good or bad relative to outcomes. The natural law theory that I expounded in class assumes that human acts have an inherent meaning (remember my fist vs. extended hand of friendship example).

One of the most common applications of utilitarianism to sexual morality is the criterion of mutual consent. It is said that any sexual act is okay if the two or more people involved agree. Now no one can (or should) deny that for a sexual act to be moral there must be consent. Certainly, this is one reason why rape is morally wrong. But the question is whether this is enough.

If two men consent to engage in sexual acts, according to utilitarianism, such an act would be morally okay. But notice too that if a ten year old agrees to a sexual act with a 40 year old, such an act would also be moral if even it is illegal under the current law. Notice too that our concern is with morality, not law. So by the consent criterion, we would have to admit certain cases as moral which we presently would not approve of. The case of the 10 and 40 year olds might be excluded by adding a modification like "informed consent." Then as long as both parties agree with sufficient knowledge, the act would be morally okay. A little reflection would show, I think, that "informed consent" might be more difficult to apply in practice than in theory. But another problem would be where to draw the line between moral and immoral acts using only informed consent. For example, if a dog consents to engage in a sexual act with its human master, such an act would also be moral according to the consent criterion. If this impresses you as far-fetched, the point is not whether it might occur but by what criterion we could say that it is wrong. I don't think that it would be wrong according to the consent criterion.

But the more significant problem has to do with the fact that the consent criterion is not related in any way to the NATURE of the act itself. This is where Natural Moral Law (NML) objects. NML says that Morality must be a response to REALITY. In other words, sexual acts are only appropriate for people who are complementary, not the same. How do we know this? By looking at REALITY. Men and women are complementary in their anatomy, physiology, and psychology. Men and women are not interchangeable. So, a moral sexual act has to be between persons that are fitted for that act. Consent is important but there is more than consent needed.

One example applicable to homosexual acts illustrates the problem. To the best of my knowledge, in a sexual relationship between two men, one of them tends to act as the "woman" while the other acts as the "man." In this scenario, homosexual men have been known to engage in certain types of actions for which their bodies are not fitted. I don't want to be too graphic so I won't go into details but a physician has told me that these acts are deleterious to the health of one or possibly both of the men. Yet, if the morality of the act is judged only by mutual consent, then there are clearly homosexual acts which are injurious to their health but which are consented to. Why are they injurious? Because they violate the meaning, structure, and (sometimes) health of the human body.

Now recall that I mentioned in class the importance of gaining wisdom from the past. One part of wisdom we gain from such knowledge is how people today came to think of their bodies. I won't go into details here but a survey of the last few centuries reveals that we have gradually been separating our sexual natures (reality) from our moral decisions. Thus, people tend to think that we can use our bodies sexually in whatever ways we choose without regard to their actual structure and meaning. This is also what lies behind the idea of sex change operations. We can manipulate our bodies to be whatever we want them to be.

If what I just said is true, then this disassociation of morality and sexual reality did not begin with homosexuality. It began long ago. But it took a huge leap forward in the wide spread use of artificial contraceptives. What this use allowed was for people to disassociate procreation and children from sexual activity. So, for people who have grown up only in a time when there is no inherent connection between procreation and sex –- notice not natural but manipulated by humans –- it follows "logically" that sex can mean anything we want it to mean.

Natural Moral Theory says that if we are to have healthy sexual lives, we must return to a connection between procreation and sex. Why? Because that is what is REAL. It is based on human sexual anatomy and physiology. Human sexuality is inherently unitive and procreative. If we encourage sexual relations that violate this basic meaning, we will end up denying something essential about our humanity, about our feminine and masculine nature.

I know this doesn't answer all the questions in many of your minds. All I ask as your teacher is that you approach these questions as a thinking adult. That implies questioning what you have heard around you. Unless you have done extensive research into homosexuality and are cognizant of the history of moral thought, you are not ready to make judgments about moral truth in this matter. All I encourage is to make informed decisions. As a final note, a perceptive reader will have noticed that none of what I have said here or in class depends upon religion. Catholics don't arrive at their moral conclusions based on their religion. They do so based on a thorough understanding of natural reality.

–

Kenneth J. Howell Ph.D.

Director, St. John's Institute of Catholic Thought

Adjunct Associate Professor of Religion, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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#1Judy Olson wrote 1 hour 36 min ago
It's obvious this guy has issues. The message purports in the beginning to be *about* utilitarianism, with homosexuality supposedly an example--not the point of the message. But he never mentions what i learned, at least, was the distinguishing feature of utilitarianism: the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number. More strikingly, he *drops* utilitarianism part way through, never to return, and turns instead to "Natural Law"--making it clear that his purpose is not after all to explain utilitarianism but to make an argument about homosexuality grabbing at any philosophical structure that seems useful. And note that he's doing this on his off time in an overly--one might say obsessively--detailed message. Supplementing by his own admission an inadequacy in his lecture. I've known a few other religious closet cases in my life . . . I'm deeply alarmed by the absence of academic freedom for faculty members off the tenure track--but this guy's agenda alarms me too. Academic freedom is supposed to protect people whose arguments are *within* disciplinary norms.
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#2kheff wrote 1 hour 11 min ago
No, the email doesn't say it's about utilitarianism. It's clarifying a class discussion about homosexuality that brought up two views on the subject -- utilitarianism vs. natural law. The students receiving the email were IN the class, so probably grasped that, even if you didn't. And the professor did it in his "off time" because he was preparing the students for a final, and professors tend to send emails outside of class. His "agenda" is to teach the topic of the class -- Catholicism -- and his email explains what they ran out of class time to cover. His argument is within his discipline because it's about the religion he is teaching. Where is the problem?
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#3Stephen wrote 1 day 17 hours ago
I utterly disagree with the concepts that Professor Howell explains in this email (...that is to say, homosexuality is morally okay by me), but his dismissal is totally unjustified and a real educational loss. I am rapidly losing respect for U of I Champaign.
Let's review the purpose of a focused college religion class such as this (I have taken one). You take it to learn about a given religion. Not just that -- you want to try to understand the religion from the inside out, as if you were a follower of that religion. Of course you'll never fully understand a religion unless you join it, but the fact that Professor Howell is a practicing Catholic who shares his views with his students means that his students are privy to another level of understanding. They have a human example of Catholicism right there in the classroom! It's really sad that a university that thinks so highly of itself doesn't know an educational opportunity when it stares them in the face. Does U of I believe in REAL education or watered-down, politically correct education?
What has this professor done wrong? Since when has it been unacceptable for professors to profess their views, GIVEN that they allow their students to disagree with them and to express their disagreement? Professor Howell allowed for disagreement; he claims that he always made that clear to his students. All he asked of them is that they would learn the Catholic arguments and suspend their biases long enough to assess them objectively.
College courses SHOULD be controversial. A liberal arts education is about being exposed to ideas, contemplating them, accepting or rejecting them, and hopefully changing or solidifying your own position. The students in this class could have come away from it with much more self-checked, sound arguments for their beliefs, but it seems that they wasted their time bickering and being offended, instead.
This professor didn't coerce them to accept his views, but merely challenged them to hold their preexisting beliefs up against Catholic reasoning. What a perfect opportunity to strengthen one's pro-homosexuality stance!
That being said, I have a suspicion that this professor has his flaws as a teacher. Particularly, he seems to be poorly educated in the realm of human sexuality, which is unacceptable given that his subject and the subject of human sexuality clearly intersect. (Professors are supposed to be EXPERTS!) It seems that his squeamishness has held him back from really investigating the nature of homosexual relationships, which has seriously diminished the quality of his argument. See how he attempts an unconvincing and irrelevant argument about how anal sex (which he cannot muster the courage to type) is "sometimes" damaging to health. It's this unwillingness to learn about things he is not comfortable with that signifies that his arguments have not received adequately rigorous testing. What a good opportunity for students to see the value of testing arguments -- what a good opportunity to become better critical thinkers!
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#4NickfromPange wrote 1 day 21 hours ago
Even if you agree or disagree with his morals, I believe this email to be nothing but poorly researched crap that lacks actual scientific facts and truths. If anything he should have been fired for being a bad teacher.
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#5Tony wrote 1 day 21 hours ago
For some reason he happens to believe, as the Catholic Church says, that certain things are wrong. Regardless of his personal beliefs, he should still be allowed to clarify the Church's position on the issues.
Why is it that anti-Bush sentiments and such are the ones that go uncensored?
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#6David in Houston wrote 1 day 22 hours ago
Whenever someone uses obvious "slippery slope" arguments regarding man/child and man/dog sex, they lose all credibility. It really is beneath someone with a Ph.D. to grasp at such inane concepts to prove their point. There is a term "age of consent" that applies to all morally accepted sexual behavior. Children are intellectually, emotionally and physically incapable of consenting to adult sex. Does that really need to be explained?
There is an immense amount of scientific evidence that demonstrates that sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic that people are born with: identical twin studies, male birth order studies, gay/straight brain scan studies. To ignore this research does a disservice to the students, who might be struggling with their own sexual orientation issues.
The teacher also fails to acknowledge that some heterosexual couples participate in sodomy. Look up the word... they do. Based on his "theories", heterosexual sex is just as immoral as the homosexual version. Also, his reasonings behind why people get sex change operations is laughable. They do so because they feel they were born as the wrong gender. Not because they want to experience new ways to have kinky sex. This is just common sense and common knowledge.
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#7Karamazov wrote 10 hours 30 min ago
Dr. Howell was not using a "slippery slope" argument. He set up a logical syllogism and then replaced the terms to illustrate an example of the logic of utilitarianism, which is a valid logical move. It seems that he did this in order to show how such examples would hold true in a utilitarian structure. I may be wrong, but it seemed that Dr. Howell wanted nothing more than his reader to understand what they accept if they accept this utilitarian definition. He, probably being intelligent, wouldn't intentionally use a logical fallacy nor is it likely that he would accidentally slip into such an obvious one as the "slippery slope" argument. Read more cautiously next time when you begin reading an article that you know you are going to disagree with the author. To give anything less than the benefit of the doubt to the author, whom you may suspect but haven't confirmed has a sharp intellect, is intellectual dishonesty. A benefit you seem to have denied Dr. Howell when reading his section on sex changes, since he does not insinuate a specific reason for people's desiring sex changes other than that they have made a distinction between sexuality/the body and who they are as individuals in that we can "manipulate our bodies to be whatever we want them to be."
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#8mspontiac wrote 1 day 23 hours ago
Good grief...I would hate to be in this class. The email alone put me to sleep halfway through.
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#9Becky08 wrote 1 day 23 hours ago
I agree that there was nothing wrong with this email. I even found it interesting to ponder the points made. Whether or not you agree or disagree with the idea of NMT, the man was not imposing his beliefs on the class or anyone else who may be reading this email now. I'm guessing had people not known he was Catholic, or had it been a protestant or atheist teaching the course, people would not have been so riled up. It is only because this man believes what he is teaching. And I would much rather take a course on Catholicism from a Catholic, just like I would rather take a class on Islam from a Muslim or Luther and the Reformation from a Lutheran, or a Queer Studies class from a homosexual. These people who believe in what is being taught in a class on that topic and experience it in their daily lives are (in general) more knowledgeable in the area.
And as for what you said Tony, I also agree that much worse has been said and nothing has happened. I was in a class where I was constantly belittled and openly harassed to the point of tears by the Professor for what seemed to be no good reason. Her derogatory treatment of me was actually detrimental to my grade as well. The entire class noticed it and commented on it and tried to come to my defense. At the end of the semester, after I received my grade, I brought it to the attention of the department and NOTHING was done about it. At all. I was waved off.
It seems to me, the University is off to persecute this poor man for doing what he was hired to do, and doing it well. Shame on you UofI. Shame on you.
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#10WRITETORIGHT wrote 2 days 9 min ago
No comment should be removed because the leftist socialist Democrats are engaged in deception and propaganda to promote only views that support so-called "acceptance" of homosexual sodomy. There was nothing hateful in the professor's e-mail. This smacks of totalitarian fascism in that the immoral homosexual-lesbian minority wish to silence all religious, scientific and philosophical viewpoints that object to their agenda. Homosexuality is immoral - that is not so-called "hate speech." Unfounded accusations like that are based upon shame and guilt on the part of homosexuals which they fantasize will disappear if they sanitize the universe of discourse and stiffle public debate. Our inalienable rights to freedoms of thought, speech, religion, expression, press, peaceable assembly and petitition cannot be abrogated simply because of a mere self-serving baseless accusation intended to silence legitimate opposing views. It is true: anal sex is unnatural; the anus is for excretion of wastematter. The vagina is a female sex organ created for the male penis. That is not so-called "hate speech." This is the stark truth, this is reality, this is science, this is biology. Homosexuals-lesbians wish to contrive a world of fantasy whereby everybody toes the line in using sanitized and sterile words like "gay," "alternative lifestyle," "same sex marriages," etc... instead of bringing "truth to power" as they so hypocritically proclaim regarding other subjects like apartheid. Homosexual sodomy is not only unnatural, but it is as immoral as it is anti-life, anti-science, anti-women, anti-biology, anti-logic and anti-good sense. This fascism must stop. My God, this is the United States of America, the original birthplace of spiritual liberty, religious freedom, and freedom of conscience! Homosexuality is immoral, wrong and unnatural. That is not so-called "hate speech." That is reality, truth, and real scientific, common sense. We pray all of you come to your senses and repent, instead of taking pride in an abomination that spreads disease and death!
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#11bgrave1 wrote 1 day 23 hours ago
<<<<<< Homosexuality is immoral, wrong and unnatural. That is not so-called "hate speech." That is reality, truth, and real scientific, common sense. We pray all of you come to your senses and repent, instead of taking pride in an abomination that spreads disease and death! >>>>>>>
What part of that was not "Hate Speech"?
So, would you say "Because God wants it that way" or "Because Nature wants it that way"?
There is always the "This is my opinion and I can't speak for others" comment..... I imagine you won't go that way though.....
My next 2 pennies....
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#12WRITETORIGHT wrote 1 day 23 hours ago
We are human beings who know right from wrong, truth from falsehood, and good from evil. For example, theft is wrong, immoral, unlawful, and illegal, and we have laws, courts and jails to prove it. Consequently, the real question is: As every specific organ is created for its own respective biological function in processing the laws of thermodynamics for affirming and sustaining natural life and morally right living that must go hand-in-hand, then, for breakfast, do you drink water, milk or juice, or do you drink sulfuric acid from your battery? You can't drink sulfuric acid for breakfast, thus, in this context, it is not a matter of opinion. Likewise, you will run from carbon monoxide once you know it's there, and will rush to oxygen in order to live. Thus, there are absolute standards of right and wrong sustained by natural law for life-affirming moral liberty and political freedom. We are not monkeys, we are Human beings created in the image and unto the likeness of God, from whom, as the Declaration of Independence firmly states, our inalienable rights originate. Thus, there are willful choices such as anal sex that are both immoral and unnatural, as practiced in homosexuality and lesbianism.
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#13Stephen wrote 1 day 16 hours ago
WRITETORIGHT:
I would argue that right and wrong are either taught to a person or derived from natural empathy. (That is, even if a person isn't taught that torturing an animal is wrong, they might refrain from doing so because they can feel the animal's pain empathetically.) Anyone who has a healthy relationship with their natural empathy would be overjoyed that people who are not meant to be with people of the opposite sex can still find fulfillment with people in the same condition.
I think your heart is really, really hardened.
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#14NickfromPange wrote 1 day 21 hours ago
Honestly if this isn't hateful then what is?
But you are right, we are human beings, and we have god given rights. So why are you trying to deny the rights of some of god's children to express the sexual orientation they were born with?
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#15bgrave1 wrote 2 days 18 min ago
There are many great points to this email. For the class that this email was generated, you are lucky to have a progressive minded instructor. The point was the same but in such a fresh description.... Now on to the point that I have a concern about.... For as long as I can remember, when sexuality discussions reach a fever pitch, one side inevitably goes to the olde "It's because GOD wants it that way" comment. The down side of course to this comment is that the discussion is over. Now it seems that like minded individuals that usually resort to said comment will now feel poised to use the new catchy one, "Because NATURE wants it that way." It nevers fails to amaze and impress me how such a circular issue gets so much attention. My 2 pennies.......
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#16Tony wrote 2 days 40 min ago
You have every right to hold your views as Dr. Howell does to hold his. For a professor that welcomes all kinds of viewpoints like him and is forthcoming in his view that he personally believes in certain things but not requiring anyone else to do the same- I think he has every right to let people know about where he stands on the issues
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#17freethot wrote 2 days 17 hours ago
"Unless you have done extensive research into homosexuality and are cognizant of the history of moral thought, you are not ready to make judgments about moral truth in this matter. All I encourage is to make informed decisions. As a final note, a perceptive reader will have noticed that none of what I have said here or in class depends upon religion. Catholics don't arrive at their moral conclusions based on their religion. They do so based on a thorough understanding of natural reality."
Sorry, but I disagree. "Natural reality" in this context is religious belief or dogma. Natural moral law is based in religion. True natural reality would state that there is no evidence for the existence of a supreme being. If two consenting adults want to have sex, same gender, that is their moral decision, not yours. There is evidence of same sex activity in other animals, so wouldn't that be "natural reality". Catholic thought is just that.
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#18kheff wrote 2 days 12 hours ago
"Natural law" is based upon nature. Natural law regards how our bodies are designed to operate. Social realities might not follow natural law, but it is still "natural reality" that our bodies are designed for heterosexual sex and that homosexual sex does not follow natural law. You don't have to agree with the professor's conclusion that homosexual sex is wrong, but you can't argue with natural law. He's right. Whether you view homosexual acts as morally right or wrong depends, just as the professor stated, on whether your views are in line with natural law or utilitarianism. And he doesn't specify that you have to choose one path or the other.
In a course based upon Catholic thought, it sort of makes sense that he would teach the basics of Catholic morality, don't you think?
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#19mellamoandres wrote 2 days 9 hours ago
Tell me, what does natural moral law say when nature itself supports homosexuality? Now, I know that this source is from Wikipedia, but bear with me.
The average Wikipedia article contains, on average, one fourth as many errors as the average Encyclopedia Britannica article. -Anyone- can edit it, which means that articles are usually kept current. It also takes the patent of information away from people with Ph.D.s, which is good, because a title does not necessarily indicate actual expertise. To Wikipedia, all users are created equal, so if people with doctorates are worried about losing their status as experts, they should stay on their toes.
Even if you want to discredit Wiki-knowledge, the information in the article came from actual sources. It doesn't take a lot of digging to discover that the scientific community has discovered real homosexual occurrences in the animal kingdom, and not just in a few isolated cases. It has even been suggested that extra-heterosexual behavior is universal in the animal kingdom. Complementary or not, same-sex pairings exist in--no--throughout nature.
So we are left with a small problem:
1. Natural law (according to homophobic people--in this example, Catholic doctrine) claims that sex should only occur between two complementary organisms. The author of this e-mail makes a special point to say that complementary means different-but-compatible, with an emphasis on different. Never mind all of the loopholes that this leaves for the likes of pedophilia, cross-species relations, etc. (none of which should be compared to homosexuality).
2. Nature (according to hundreds, possibly thousands of independent individuals and organizations studying animal behavior) demonstrates homosexual behavior in virtually all observably cognizant, sexually-reproducing species. In other words, homosexual sex is a universal part of nature.
3. Animals, lacking free will, must follow natural law, without exception.
One of these must be wrong. We'll solve this problem with an analysis of the world as it would be if we assume that these three options are wrong, starting with option one.
1. Natural law does not oppose homosexuality. Indeed, since homosexual sex may be seen in every member of the animal kingdom, homosexual sex is just as much in communion with the law of nature as heterosexual sex.
2. Nothing ever happened. It's not true that between 30 and 75 percent of all sexual interactions between giraffes are male-to-male. That's just an optical illusion. ... They're shaking hands! That's it. They must be shaking hands. ... ... ... Of course, it would be very difficult to prove this hypothesis, because in trying to prove it, you might disprove yourself. Virtually everyone in animal husbandry knows that sometimes, your bull is just gay.
3. Natural law says that homosexuality is wrong, and homosexuality in animals is proof that they actually have free will. Animals, like humans, have the ability to choose between right and wrong. Extending this into the metaphysical universe (We're still talking about Catholicism, too.), this means that animals are entitled to an eternity in Heaven, should they choose good, and an eternity in Hell, should they choose evil. In that case, animals should be given full rights of any Christian, including full inclusion in the seven sacraments.
Obviously, options 2 and 3 are ridiculous. Natural law does not say that homosexuality is wrong. Instead of deciding what natural moral law says, perhaps you should ask your resident biologist to make sure that these things don't actually occur in nature, before you make this assumption.
= = =
Disclaimer: I am currently converting to Catholicism, but this particular element I do not agree with. I think that this is another example of human fallibility, such as the arrest of Galileo, the Inquisition, the crusades, or the Holy Wars. The Catholic Church is not perfect, but it is very good. They are horribly misguided when it comes to sexuality, but even the most promiscuous of us only spend a fraction of our lifetimes having sex. I figure that all of the things the Church has done right more than make up for the few things it's doing wrong. I pray for the enlightenment of the clergy every day.
As for biology, it has always been a small passion of mine. It's a shame that people don't really understand it very well, though. See, science is the study of the physical world as it exists. If you believe that God created the world, then God created the world as it exists. Science tells us that that includes the Big Bang Theory*, evolution, and homosexuality among animals. If your religious view of the world is not in communion with the actual world, then you cannot possibly be in communion with the God who made the world as it exists. God made the universe with the Big Bang Theory. He populated the Earth with speciation. (Genesis is not a history lesson.) God made homosexual animals and homosexual humans. Making them deny their sexuality and replace it with another sexuality is morally wrong, and I would even say that it's offensive to God.
= = =
Footnotes:
* Do not confuse the scientific word theory, i.e. an explanation of how something in nature happens using rigid standards and thousands of peers forming a crucible of reason in order to find actual truth, with a semantic theory, i.e. a conjecture or a stab in the dark. Scientific theories are explanations of how things happen. Scientific laws are statements of things that happen. For example, a scientific law would be worded thus: "Evolution occurs." A scientific theory would explain how evolution happens. Scientific theories are not lower than scientific laws. They do not become scientific laws. In many cases, they are more important than scientific laws, because we use scientific theories in our practical application of science.
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#20kheff wrote 2 days 9 hours ago
You seem to be confusing "nature" and "natural law." If you are actually interested in the difference, you could do some research and understand it. Natural law is a fascinating topic. An email comment won't do it justice. Or, even better, ask the professor, who has spent much of his life researching it and is, moreso than the rest of us, an expert on the topic.
On a side note, unrelated to the content of this article and specific to the previous post, I wouldn't recommend becoming Catholic if you disagree with the Church, especially on issues so important as sexual ethics. The Catholic Church isn't really a cafeteria style religion. It's more take it or leave it, IMHO. You either believe in the authority of the Church or you don't.
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#21kheff wrote 2 days 1 hour ago
Also note, natural law is based upon nature, but is not the same as nature. Finding an example of something in nature does not make it permissible for human beings. Many animals in nature eat their young. Many animals consume what they defecate. Many animals destroy the handicapped among them. Finding it in nature does not make it a correct action for human beings. And human beings are not the same as all other organisms in makeup or in actions. Thus nature is not natural law, but natural law has its roots in nature. Perhaps that will give you a start on the topic.
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#22increvable wrote 1 day 23 hours ago
Also note, natural law is based upon nature, but is not the same as nature. Finding an example of something in nature does not make it permissible for human beings.
Now you're introducing another set of unexamined standards to allow you to pick and choose from the examples available in nature. This rhetorical strategy is called "moving the goalposts".
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#23kheff wrote 1 day 22 hours ago
Saying natural law is not the same as nature isn't exactly "moving the goalposts." It's stating the fact that they are not the same thing. I never stated examples from nature as evidence, just said that they are not necessarily evidence of natural law. As I stated before, if you are interested in natural law, you research more about it. You aren't going to have a very thorough understanding of it through reading comments on an article, nor can the concept be thoroughly explained here.
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#24bgrave1 wrote 1 day 23 hours ago
So is this natural?
http://purinaanimalallstars.yahoo.com/?v=7481621
Lets at least all take a moment to laugh..... Then back to discussion....

E-mail complaint from student about UI religion instructor

Other Related Content

Instructor of Catholicism at UI claims loss of job violates academic freedom
E-mail that prompted complaint over UI religion class instructor
Fri, 07/09/2010 - 7:00am | The News-Gazette
Prof. McKim,

This past semester, a friend of mine took RLST 127: Introduction to Catholicism. Throughout the semester, he would consistently tell me how the teacher, who I believe is a priest at the Newman Center, would preach (not teach) his ideology to the class. Many times, my friend (whom I wish to remain anonymous) said the instructor would say things that were inflammatory and downright insensitive to those who were not of the Catholic faith–it should be noted that my friend and I were both brought up Catholic. Anyways, my friend informed me that things got especially provocative when discussing homosexuality. He sent me the following e-mail, which I believe you will agree is downright absurd once you read it.

I am in no way a gay rights activist, but allowing this hate speech at a public university is entirely unacceptable. It sickens me to know that hard-working Illinoisans are funding the salary of a man who does nothing but try to indoctrinate students and perpetuate stereotypes. Once again, this is a public university and should thus have no religious affiliation. Teaching a student about the tenets of a religion is one thing. Declaring that homosexual acts violate the natural laws of man is another. The courses at this institution should be geared to contribute to the public discourse and promote independent thought; not limit one's worldview and ostracize people of a certain sexual orientation.

I can only imagine how ashamed and uncomfortable a gay student would feel if he/she were to take this course. I am a heterosexual male and I found this completely appalling. Also, my friend also told me that the teacher allowed little room for any opposition to Catholic dogma. Once again, he is guilty of limiting the marketplace of ideas and acting out of accord with this institution's mission and principles.

I have Cc'd Leslie Morrow, director of the LGBT Resource Center, on this e-mail as well as (name redacted), former features editor at the Daily Illini (I'm sure they'd like to hear about this), and Siobhan Somerville, a former teacher of mine and the founder of the queer studies major.

I didn't go to Notre Dame for a reason,

(name redacted)

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#1skiparoo wrote 5 hours 26 min ago
time to start a new search and hire this professor back, asap!
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#2SuzyCCC wrote 1 day 16 hours ago
By the time students reach college, they are considered adults in most states. Reading the emails, it is impossible for all but the most myopically sensitive readers to see anything but a statement of Catholic teaching from Howell, and nothing but overstating from the student. I think an adult making an accusation like this should stand up and make himself known. The accusation is 3rd hand, and the evidence does not support it. If I were an attorney, I'd beg Howell to let me have his case.
And the first thing I would prove in court through testimony would be that these two students who were "raised Catholic" and "didn't go to Notre Dame for a reason" knew exactly what they were signing up for, expected an easy A, didn't get it, and are now shooting the messenger.
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#3Falcor wrote 2 days 1 hour ago
If you are not a gay rights activist why did you copy the email to the media, the director of the LGBT Resource Center, and the founder of the queer studies major? Furthermore, did you confront the professor that sent the email that offended your friend? It seems like your actions are meant to cause a commotion, but what are your reasons?
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#4kheff wrote 2 days 13 hours ago
The student writes, "Teaching a student about the tenets of a religion is one thing. Declaring that homosexual acts violate the natural laws of man is another." How do you figure? It might offend you that the professor does not approve of homosexual acts, but you can't argue that homosexual acts are in line with natural law. Homosexual acts DO violate natural laws. Arguing to the contrary indicates a lack of understanding of what natural law means, not an error on the part of the party you argue against. You don't have to like the fact, and you may argue that homosexuality is not against social laws, but it is a fact that it's against natural law, like it or not. This student comes across sounding ridiculous.
Professor Howell is neither "insensitive" nor being "inflammatory" by stating the facts of the Catholic Church's beliefs, which is the purpose of the class. Having a course in Catholicism does not mean the University advocates that religion any more than having courses in Islam and other religions means it advocates those religions. Does the writer of the email not understand the purpose of religion courses is to educate, not to give everyone warm fuzzies? Apparently not -- and apparently, the Department of Religious Studies doesn't think so anymore either.
The student clearly isn't interested in promoting independent thought if it's offensive to him. Let's try to find him a class that makes him feel better.
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#5CrazyIvan wrote 2 days 15 hours ago
The student's email brings to mind the following assessment:
"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
The scary thing is that there is nothing even remotely nuanced about this situation.
1. Professor writes email to students encouraging them to think critically about the positions they espouse. In it, he dares to call into question the basis for modern sexual morality, esp. the morality of homosexual behavior.
2. Student gets offended because the Professor would dare to question something he practices.
3. Student's friend, via hearsay from the student, writes an email and accuses the professor of hate speech on said hearsay.
4. Professor is sacked.
What is it that we are missing here?
You know, for someone who is "in no way a gay rights activist", he sure seems to know a lot of people who are. Oh wait, it's his big in! Put a Catholic scalp on that belt, brutha!!!
Way to have a backbone, Professor McKim! And way to avoid a lawsuit, or the loss of funding, UI!
Perhaps a more appropriate name for the Newman Center would be The St. Thomas More Center. A lot of parallels here with his story.
Toodles!
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#6Tony wrote 2 days 22 hours ago
This email is absurd and misrepresents the facts. I can't believe the religious studies department would cave into people who obviously don't respect the true 'marketplace of ideas' the university should represent!
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#7lhamil948 wrote on July 09, 2010 at 10:07 am
"it should be noted that my friend and I were both brought up Catholic." Call me confused, but if you were raised Catholic, how can the statements made by Prof. Howell be such a shock to you that it prompts you to write this email? If you were raised Catholic, you should be fully aware of what the Church does condone and what it does not. Your friend made the choice to take an Introduction to Catholicism class. No one forced him to enroll and sit through the lectures.
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#8mclark486 wrote on July 09, 2010 at 8:07 am
I'm sorry, but geesh! You go to a class about Introduction to Cathoicism and you get offended when you hear something you dont' like? It would be like me, a person of faith, getting offended when I hear something in a class about Introduction to homosexuality. I would EXPECT to hear things I probably didn't like to, but I expect that as part of the class. We are all adults and make our own decisions and I don't always like what I hear. I work at a University as well, and at least once a week, I hear adversisments about LBGA. Do I get out on a soapbox or send e-mails to 10 people that express my irritaion about what I saw/heard? NO, I suck it up and realize I work at a University and will hear ALL TYPES of viewpoints.

University of Illinois is a Disgrace - Anti-Catholic Bigots Top to Bottom!

"Natural Moral Law says that Morality must be a response to REALITY," he wrote in the e-mail. "In other words, sexual acts are only appropriate for people who are complementary, not the same." Ken Howell* -Professor University of Illinois responding to an e-mail ambush question from a student and the student's friend was offended.

Hate speech according to the fine folks at University of Illinois.

A Professor, a practicing Roman Catholic,teaches a course about Catholicism and Modern Culture. A student asks a question via e-mail. The student's friend sees the e-mail, though he was not involved in the exchange. A University of Illinois colleague intercepts the ambush question and gets Ken Howell fired for promoting hate speech.

Hate Speech is a Progressive parlor game. It is bullied into law and is used to drive wedges between neighbors. Hate Speech is only important when Progressives determine for whom the Bell Shall Toll. It tolls for Catholics, it tolls for devout religious Jews, it tolls for any person who finds abortion a Prime Offence and it tolls for anyone who disagrees that marriage should be between "Non-Complementary" Human Beings.

Catholics, bishops down to little girls in First Communion dresses must shut up, or fully agree that gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia, and redistribution of wealth are just wonderful.

Professor Ken Howell is getting pay back for John "Progressive Educational Icon" Scopes. Monkey Time!

The ACLU will not aid Ken Howell - it will take the cause of the anonymous e-mail punks.

Keep Professor Howell in our prayers folks - he is going to become the Jon Burge of Gay Advocacy politics. They have more money than the Vatican to destroy this poor man.

Robert McKim, the religion department head and the louse who helped ambush Kenneth Howell, is Darwinian Champ - a lower life form pretending to be a bi-ped.

The University of Illinois is a disgrace.


*

Kenneth J. Howell, Ph.D. , Director & Senior Fellow, Institute of Catholic Thought
kenneth.howell@sjcnc.org


In addition to being the Director and a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Catholic Thought, Dr. Howell is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Program for the Study of Religion in the University of Illinois. Dr. Howell studied theology at Westminster Theological Seminary where he concentrated in biblical languages and systematic theology.

In 1978, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister and served parishes in Florida and Indiana. After completing his Ph.D. in linguistics at Indiana University, he taught Greek, Hebrew, and Latin at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. His teaching duties involved theological research which led to his conversion to Catholicism in 1996. During this time, he obtained another Ph.D. in the history of Christianity and Science from the University of Lancaster (U.K).

Dr. Howell is the author of four books and numerous articles. God's Two Books: Copernican Cosmology and Biblical Interpretation in Early Modern Science (University of Notre Dame Press, 2002), Mary of Nazareth: Sign and Instrument of Christian Unity (Queenship Press, 1998) is a scriptural study of Marian doctrine. Meeting Mary Our Mother in Faith (Catholic Answers Press, 2003), Questions College Students Ask…about God, Faith, and the Church (co-authored with Christine Pinheiro) (Champaign, IL: The St. John Institute of Catholic Thought, St. John’s Catholic Newman Center, 2006), The Eucharist for Beginners: Sacrament, Sacrifice, and Communion (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2006).

G. Flint Taylor 17 At-Bats Against Jon Burge, No Runs, No Hits, 17 Errors

Jon Burge was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice by Federal Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.

That, to my knowledge, is only time that Jon Burge was convicted of anything and that trial, in my opinion, was scripted over the last thirty years by G. Flint Taylor.

With Full orchestra and chorus of Chicago's Academics, Cadillac Commie lawyers, political race hustlers like Ed Smith and Danny 'Any Lane' Davis, 501(c) 3 radical leftist and our very lazy and complacent Chicago Editorial Boards and columnists, playing flat-out and G. Flint Taylor needed the Feds and full and sober majesty of Justice Department squeezing every person within twenty zip-codes near Jon Burge ever. G. Flint Taylor did not even use the T-Ball Gizmo in his quiver -settling out of court, because in-court he whiffs up a storm.

The city has paid $10.1 million in outside counsel fees for Mr. Burge’s legal defense in civil cases. Mr. Burge’s accusers and their advocates are questioning why the city is continuing to pick up the costly tab for his defense after he was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice on June 28. Mr. Burge, 62, has been a defendant in 17 civil rights lawsuits filed in federal court.

17 at-bats for G. Flint. Not one hit. Fitzy pinch-hit and sailed one over the ivy.

G. Flint Taylor is a making millions of dollars. He sends convicted murdering thugs wanting to get on the Lawsuit Lotto bus to other attorneys demanding that the lawyers forego fees -Pron Bono Work-while G. Flint Taylor pockets large.

Goofs like Ald. Ed Smith are now on the Burge bus as well.

I would love to see one (1) Chicago journalist connect a few of the dots in the G. Flint Taylor Great Chain of Being All About Burge. I would love to see one (1) article. I would love to see Le Bron James decide to give up basketball and go Law School.

Who Is My Neighbor? Not Necessarily the Folks at the Block Party

The great Trevor Jensen, obituary editor of the Chicago Tribune wrote a sweet piece about the death of Herman Mills, a Leo Boxing Coach, last October.

Herman Mills, a quick-footed 138-pounder who fought on the undercard of a Joe Louis exhibition bout during boxing's golden era, worked with young fighters in Chicago gyms for more than 50 years.

Mr. Mills, 85, died of colon cancer Friday, Oct. 9, in Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, said Mike Joyce, who runs the boxing program at Leo High School.

Mr. Mills had been a volunteer coach at Leo for 12 years, and since his wife died four years ago had been living with Joyce. The former resident of the city's Bronzeville neighborhood had been spry until only recently, working with the boxers at Leo during the day and playing bingo in various Catholic churches at night.

Click my post title for the story. What goes unsaid in the story is the fact that Mike Joyce, an attorney and former pro boxer, had taken in Herman Mills, paid his bills, bought his clothes, his food, and made certain the the old gentleman was safe and happy and needed.

Mr. Mills had fallen on very hard times and much younger Irish American single man gave him a home.

That fact has always humbled me and jarred me today when I listened to Today's Gospel at Sacred Heart Church. Father Gallagher read:

Luke 10: 25 - 37
. . . ."And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,
and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"
He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
. . .

He explained that our neighbors just might not be the folks we enjoy at our block parties.

I pray that someday I might be a much better person than I seem to continue to be - I'll do the easy ones twice; let's see how I do when my neighbor needs me.

Officer Thor Soderberg, 43 -RIP & Prayer of St. Michael Archangel

St. Michael Archangel -St. Michael's Catholic Parish,Old Town

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Fighting Violence - Cops Get Killed and Sued and Abused

A Young Chicago Police Officer was murdered by a savage with his own service weapon. Yesterday we learned that the 'wrongfully accused' youth in the Ryan Harris murder is going away for attempted murder. Tionda and Diamond Bradley, for whom prayers have been offered at Sacred Heart Catholic Church every Sunday since the little girls went missing, are yet unaccounted for - two very good former Homicide Detectives still believe that the little girls were murdered. Officially they jsut went missing. Now a young CPD hero is the victim of the violence in Chicago's Thug Comfort Zone. Outlaw some savages, City Council. You can bet that this murdering louse, recuperating in Advocate Christ Hospital, will in a very few years remeber that he was tortured and disrespected yesterday and G. Flint Taylor an League of Cadillac Commie Lawyers will take up his wrong-imprisonment.

This is heart-breaking and all too common.

A Chicago police officer working a detail dedicated to addressing youth violence was shot and killed when a man grabbed the officer's gun and shot him outside a police building in the Englewood neighborhood.

Thor Soderberg, 43, was leaving the facility at 61st Street and Racine Avenue after work about 3:45 p.m. and was walking to a parking lot when he got into a struggle with a 24-year-old man who disarmed the officer and shot him, Assistant Supt. James Jackson said.

The man then tried to rob someone at gunpoint a short distance away, Jackson said. Officers from the facility heard shots and exchanged gunfire with the suspect and shot him, Jackson saidPreliminary reports say Soderberg, who was in uniform, was shot in the head..

Officer, Christ Welcomes You!

Hey, J'eat?" "Naw, J'ew?" - When Barry Met Bibi -Obama and Netanyahu Parlay Games

March 25, 2010 "Benjamin Netanyahu was left to stew in a White House meeting room for over an hour after President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of tense talks to have supper with his family, it emerged on Thursday."


July, 6, 2010

On the White House Steps circa 11:55 CST -


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - "Hey, let me know this time , J'eat?'

President Barack H. Obama - " Naw, J'ew?"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - " Touching on immigration which it seems is a mutual problem of sorts what with borders, boycotts and such . . .now stop me if you heard this . . .Sid and Al were sitting in a Mexican restaurant. "Sid," asked Al, "are
there any Jews in Mexico?"

I don't know," Sid replied. "Why don't we ask the waiter?"

When the waiter came by, Al asked him, "Are there any Mexican Jews?"

"I don't know sir, let me ask," the waiter replied, and he went into
the kitchen. He returned in a few minutes and said, "No, sir. No
Mexican Jews."

"Are you sure?" Al asked.

"I will check again, sir." the waiter replied and went back to the kitchen.

While he was still gone, Sid said, "I cannot believe there are no Jews
in Mexico. Our people are scattered everywhere."

When the waiter returned he said, "Sir, no Mexican Jews."

"Are you really sure?" Al asked again. "I cannot believe there are no
Mexican Jews."

"Sir, I ask everyone," the waiter replied exasperated. "We have orange
Jews, prune Jews, tomato Jews and grape Jews, but no one ever hear of
Mexican Jews!"

President Barcak H. Obama - " So, there are no Mexican Jews."


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - " I Gaza go!"


Yep.

With an assist from Max Weismann -Center for the Study of Great Ideas

Bob Kozlowski Leo '45 Co-Captain of 1944 City Championship Team - At Peace in Christ

"Koz" #7 in action against Marshall in the 1944 City Championship. Click on Photo and then zoom in for the story and also a history lesson from the great Leo A;umni Association site developed by Tom Lynch '73.


This past April, Robert A. Kozlowski ( Leo '45) was inducted to the Leo Hall of Fame.

After leading the Leo Lions to the 1944 City of Chicago Lightwight ( 5'8" and under) Basketball Championship Bob Kozlowski entered the U.S. Army. The son of Jennie and Benjamin Kozlowki, Bob retired as a clerk for the Railroad Retirement Board of Chicago in 1982. His friends and family gathered at Heeney-Laughlin Funeral Directors and celebrated Mr. Kozlowki's life at St. Terrence Catholic Church in Alsip, IL.

Mr. Kozlowski always stayed in support of Leo High School and always gave the fullest measure of devotion to his country, family and friends.

God Bless You, Sir!

Holder's Justice Department to Sue Israel After Obama Goes All Jan Brewer on Bibi? Gotta Wonder

Netanyahu will bring a detailed list of goods Israel will not allow into the Gaza Strip. The "negative" list, defines what is prohibited rather than what is permitted, thus allowing more goods in. In reaction to the list's unveiling on Monday, the US called it an "important step."

President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are meeting today. A couple of weeks ago President Obama met with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer* and assured her that she would be hearing from the Federal Government. Eric Holder followed Mexico's lead and sued Arizona today.

Watch out Bibi! That screwing feeling is real. Ask any American.

The White House Insane Clown Posse Rides Again!

*

PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's tough new law targeting illegal immigrants.

The planned lawsuit was confirmed to The Associated Press by a Justice Department official with knowledge of the plans. The official didn't want to be identified before a public announcement planned for later Tuesday.

The lawsuit will argue that Arizona's new measure requiring state and local police to question and possibly arrest illegal immigrants during the enforcement of other laws, like traffic stops, usurps federal authority.


Tuesday's action has been expected for weeks. President Barack Obama has called the state law misguided. Supporters say it is a reasonable reaction to federal inaction on immigration.

Our Disgracefully Debonair Hack in Chief.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=180618

Muslim Right Stuff from NASA Imams Bolden & Chuck Yeager!

“When I became the NASA administrator, [Obama] charged me with three things,” NASA head Charles Bolden told al-Jazeera. “One, he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.”
NASA Imam Bolden!

The Obama Adminsitration Insane Clown Posse gets bigger with each passing moment! Endless, like Space itself, this parade of idiots.

The Right Stuff, Allah be Merciful Imam Chuck Yeager's Koran for Islamist Hero Space Voyagers:

I was always afraid of dying. Always. It was my fear that made me learn everything I could about my airplane and my emergency equipment, and kept me flying respectful of my machine and always alert in the cockpit and then I read the Prophet. Rock the Casbah!
Chuck Yeager

If you want to grow old as a pilot, you've got to know when to push it, and when to back off. Like when then President screws the Pooch! Good Indicator!
Chuck Yeager

Later, I realized that the mission had to end in a let-down because the real barrier wasn't in the sky but in our knowledge and experience of supersonic flight. It was Crusader hatred of the One!
Chuck Yeager

Most pilots learn, when they pin on their wings and go out and get in a fighter, especially, that one thing you don't do, you don't believe anything anybody tells you about an airplane. Because it is Written!~
Chuck Yeager

Never wait for trouble. Wait for Seconds.
Chuck Yeager

Rules are made for people who aren't willing to make up their own, Like CAIR!
Chuck Yeager

There's no such thing as a natural-born pilot. Only God Can Make A Tree! Chuck Yeager

You do what you can for as long as you can, and when you finally can't, you do the next best thing. You back up but you don't give up. You strap on C-4 and walk into a market full of Jews and Crusaders
Chuck Yeager

You don't concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done. Except of course the Lap Dance of the 1,000 Virgins, Chevas Regal and Marloboro Light 100s by the carton!!!!! Allah be Good to me!
Chuck Yeager

The Starving Youth of Chicago's Dignity Deserts! Taste of Chicago Beatings Parsed in Media.

Dignity - Dignity is generally proscriptive and cautionary: in politics it is usually synonymous to 'human dignity', and is used to critique the treatment of oppressed and vulnerable groups and peoples, though in some case has been extended to apply to cultures and sub-cultures, religious beliefs and ideals, animals used for food or research, and even plants. In more colloquial settings it is used to suggest that someone is not receiving a proper degree of respect, or even that they are failing to treat themselves with proper self-respect.


Chicago's Dignity Deserts often spawn violence. We hear about the recently coined Food Deserts, a term developed by Lefties to boo-hoo without explanation concerning the supposed absence of available food in black neighborhoods - hell, I pass Pete's Produce, Moo & Oinks and several other food venues within easy walking distance of folks in Gresham on 87th Street, Racine, Halsted and 79th Street. There is no Food Desert but there are Chicago Dignity Deserts in black, white and Latino neighborhoods.

Three youths starving from a lack of Dignity beat an entire family -man, woman and infants at Chicago's Taste of Violence this weekend. Here in Gresham, Leo High School provides an Oasis in the Dignity Desert - Chicago Public Schools are powerless to develop Dignity as religion and civic values are often curtailed in curriculum development. Leo High School and other Catholic High Schools begin with the consideration for others as a core value. Christ died for all of us.

The secularist and Godless approach to life, as well as permanacy of victimhood help Dignity Deserts bloom. Here is the further watering of the Dignity Desert - Mom lends spice to the narrative -compelling.

A fight that broke out at the Taste of Chicago and resulted in injuries to a group of festivalgoers -- including a 4-month-old -- allegedly was triggered when one of those arrested accidentally pushed someone at the crowded event, a relative said.

Police have released few details about a possible motive in the incident, which occurred Thursday night in the 300 block of East Jackson Drive. Moments before the alleged attack, the defendants apparently believed the victims were in their way, police said. Investigators said the baby and a 13-year-old girl were among the four victims, who were all treated and later released from Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Some members of the victims' group were from out of town, police said.

. . .Rose Densmore, mother of William and Isaiah, proclaimed her sons' innocence Monday, saying they have never been in trouble before. She said her sons were at the Taste with their cousin, Dante Densmore, when one of them accidentally pushed someone.

"Then some guy that was with the person who was pushed got to arguing with my nephew [Dante]," Densmore said. One thing led to another, and a fight ensued. "I do know one thing . . . They're not bad kids."

From what Rose Densmore heard, her son William was not even involved in the fight. "I don't know why he was arrested," she said.

William, 35, is a CTA bus driver, she said. Her other son, Isaiah, 18, is on track to graduate from high school, she said.

Yeah, that was great to hear Mom's perspective! Dignity Deserts are a family affair.

Chicago's Dignity Deserts are identifiable by a complete lack of personal responsibilty, impatience with societal norms, bizare and often threatening dress and deportment, and an absence of communication skills. People Law Office is found deep within the Chicago Dignity Desert.

More than Homelessness and Gun Violence Chicago's Dignity Deserts bloom with waters of victimhood advocacy politics and journalism. Dignity Desters beget Homelessness and Gun Violence, as well as assaults with planks, knives, scalding water, acid, or Englewood Napalm (an aggrergate of bacon fat and boiling water).
A shove, a misplayed hand of cards, being shut-off from further drink by a tiny Polish barmaid, waiting too long for Colonel Sanders treats, a glance, and impagined slight, a shift in the wind are but a few of the catalysts for viol;ence in Chicago's Dignity Desert.

Sun Times TIF Tip - Location, Location, Location! Affordable Housing

Allison Davis* is an old timey radical and lawyer who makes millions of dollars from government funded real estate opportunities, by dint of his earnest GOO-Goo associations. Several years ago, a little boy was crushed to death by a rusted gate in a property that the hand-wringers made available to his son Cullen. That was an affordable housing moment. It has been pretty quiet on that rusted gate story of late - news embargo, the Progressive Memory Hole.

Allison Davis, of the Judson Miner connection to the halcyon days of good government when Clarence McClain shooed folks in to the Mayor Harold Washington's beefy presence and Forrest Claypool was knocking the cow pies off of his Timberlands and Slim Coleman was ducking Eddie Vrdolyak, has been larding his jeans with bucks in high-minded but essentially filthy real estate deals. Another Faulknerian sentence!

Progressives seem to steal with jolly impugnity and have a compliant news media ready to parse their coin scoopings followed by news embargoes. Editorial Boards are composed of people who believe that the Easter Bunny, Ralph Martire and Spending Dollars I Don't Have are Economic First Principles - Here is Your Sun Times Editorial Board not asking Candidate Obama anything back in 2007-2008.




Section 8 Housing is made available for poor folks in neighborhoods where tax-payers ( black, white, Latino) attempt to eke out a living and send their children to Catholic, Lutheran, Dutch or Charter Schools. Wrightwood, a black working class neighborhood, formerly known as St. Thomas More Parish, was until very recently indistinguishable from white Beverly, Mount Greenwood and Morgan Park in terms of quality of life - good schools and no crime. The empirical fact known to all, but the people who occupy editorial boards and who could care less about the realities facing the shrinking Middle Class, is that Section 8 Housing brings a spike in crime (violent and property).

There is also a Federal Agency dedicated to Housing America's poor - Housing and Urban Development - that makes foreclosures available and hosts sites that make affordable housing a warm and welcoming experience! Click my post title.

TIFs has been a political strawdog for Progressives. TIFs are meant to spur economic development in areas where the poor are underserved.

Save the hand-wringing.

Until Section 8 Housing is featured in areas where diversity is embraced and never realized - areas where people actually watch WTTW.

July 6, 2010

For years, just a fraction of Chicago's fat TIF funds has gone toward affordable housing -- despite widespread demand and need.

And when you drill deeper into that nebulous term "affordable," only a fraction of that fraction has been spent on housing for the city's poorest, according to an analysis of TIF spending from 1995 to 2007 by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

An ordinance to help chip away at that imbalance will go before a City Council committee Wednesday for a possible vote.

It deserves the City Council's full support, though some adjustments are needed to make it more workable.

We heartily endorse the broad goals of this ordinance, which would dedicate 20 percent of annual TIF funds toward affordable housing, because it targets scarce public dollars where they are needed most. Less than 10 percent of TIF dollars now go to affordable housing, according to the coalition's analysis.

The ordinance also could help boost confidence in the city's maligned Tax Increment Financing program, one of Mayor Daley's main economic development tools. In the city's 159 TIF districts, the amount of property tax dollars that goes to schools, parks and other services is frozen. Then, as property values rise, the extra tax revenue collected is set aside in a separate account to finance other public and private ventures in the name of economic development.

TIFs frequently are criticized for siphoning money from schools and the like to subsidize questionable investments that get little oversight. With this ordinance, the public would at least know how a portion of TIF funds each year would be spent.

Still, some reporting requirements in the ordinance are too weak. Verifying family income for affordable housing eligibility -- crucial to the program's integrity -- shouldn't be left solely up to developers.

Under the proposed ordinance, 20 percent of TIF dollars would be dedicated to building or preserving affordable housing, including converting foreclosed properties into affordable housing. The annual requirement would be citywide, not 20 percent per TIF district.

For rental housing, half the apartments in each development would be for families earning 50 percent or less of the area median income, which is $38,000 a year for a family of four. Citywide, 40 percent of all affordable apartments would go for families earning even less, $23,000 a year.

While well intended, we fear requiring half the rental units to be affordable might discourage development. In the end, because of market forces, most of these projects will end up 100 percent affordable, rather than including a mix of incomes. This makes the projects more expensive, harder to finance and could produce projects that don't enhance property values in a TIF district, affordable housing developers tell us.

Targeting 30 percent of units for families making $38,000 makes more business sense. We'd also lower slightly the 40 percent target for the poorest families.

We strongly recommend changing the homeownership rules. Under the proposed ordinance, 50 percent of for-sale units in a development would be for families making less than $60,000 a year. Developers tell us few families in that income range can afford to buy and maintain a home. Plus, the restriction could make the entire development prohibitively expensive.

To improve the ordinance, we'd like to see the city commit not to overly concentrate affordable developments in challenged neighborhoods. Many TIF districts are no longer blighted and are in need of affordable housing to shelter families that would otherwise be priced out.

The ordinance, pushed by a coalition of housing advocates, community groups and labor, and backed by at least 19 aldermen, is on the right track. As swaths of the city have been devastated by foreclosure and other housing subsidies are stretched thin, Chicago needs a firm commitment to produce more affordable housing.

But it must be done carefully, so it enhances development rather than hampers it.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2467316,CST-EDT-edit06.article
Save the hand-wringing, this sounds like prelude to a public screwing, by Allison Davis and other Cadillac Commies. Just saying.

*

Nota Bene! Sun Times Investigative Reporter - Tim Novak covered Allison Davis and Cullen Davis like quality wallpaper. In fact, this helot lamented the long absence of Tim Novak's powerful work over the last summer and fall. Here is a link to my references to Mr. Novak's great work ( amended 8:53 AM 6/17/2009). I apologize for this inadvertent slight of Chicago's most tenacious news pitbull.

The Law's Majesty

The Law is an Ass? Well, Eric Holder and a few other beauts ( G.Flint Taylor, Locke Bowman, Jon Loevy, Judge Dick Posner, the ACLU) diminish the Law's Majesty.

UPS - New Airport Luggage Box Alternatives - This is What Makes America Great!

Okay, There is a problem. Some people toss up their hands and whine. Americans fix the problem.

United Parcel Services (UPS) watched as airlines ratcheted up the costs of luggage for air travelers - Problem.

Some folks at UPS, Americans All, tackled the problem.

Only days after federal officials announced that the nation's airlines had collected 33% more revenue this year from checked luggage fees, UPS offered its alternative to the hassle and expense of lugging a suitcase through an airport.

The world's largest package delivery service announced last week that it was selling specially designed boxes that resemble suitcases. Passengers can ship the "luggage boxes" to their final destination to avoid the airlines' check-in lines and luggage fees.

The new UPS boxes include carrying handles and come in two sizes. The UPS announcement came a few days after the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that the nation's 10 largest airlines collected nearly $770 million in checked baggage fees in the first three months of the year, a 33% increase over the same period last year.

The new luggage boxes are also hitting the market as demand for airline seats begins to rebound from a two-year slump.

The International Air Transport Assn. announced that international airline traffic jumped nearly 12% in May from a year earlier, raising airline traffic numbers 1% above pre-recession levels.

UPS officials say they created the new boxes simply to make life easier for frustrated travelers.

"It's meant to be a convenience," said UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg.

She conceded that airlines can usually deliver luggage faster than UPS but said luggage shipped by UPS can cost $30 to $80 less per package, depending on the route and the weight of the box.

Rosenberg noted another advantage to the UPS luggage box: A tracking number lets passengers know its exact location.

That's something airlines don't offer.

Chicago Tribune


President Obama might want to get UPS on the horn ASAP - they seem to know how to fix a problem - and President Obama has more problems( Gulf Oil, Sky-Rocketing American Debt, Eric Holder, Jan Napolitano, Lady KaGa and the balance of the WH Insane Clown Posse) than Lindsey Lohan.

Well done

One Hundred Mother McAuley Students Named United States of America President's Award for Educational Excellence Scholars

Way to go Mighty Mac's! One Hundred (100) Mother McAuley High School students were named as Presidential Scholars this July 4th! School Choice is the Right Choice! Well done, Ladies!

July 4, 2010
Nearly 100 students at Mother McAuley High School in Chicago recently received the United States of America President's Award for Educational Excellence.
The President's Education Awards program recognizes academic success in the classroom. Since 1983, the President's Education Awards program has provided individual recognition from the President and the U.S. Secretary of Education to those students whose outstanding efforts have enabled them to meet challenging standards of excellence.
Local students who won the award include Katherine Murnane, Kaylie Adams, Mary Baker, Hanna Bowen, Sheila Burns, Jacqueline Capron, Katherine Cronin, Jamie Gronkowski, Ferran Harston, Kimberly Healy, Jacqueline Kleist, Meaghan McArdle, Killian McIlvain, Kerry Morris, Raquel Pappas, Melanie Patton, Kelsey Philippi, Molly Racky, Courtney Reed, Mary Claire Reynolds, Maura Sullivan, Paige Travis and Ellen Webb, all of Chicago's Beverly community.
Other honored students include Giselle Martinez, of Blue Island; Armi Cortes, of Bridgeview; Meghan Stewart and Amanda Terry, both of Burbank; Angelina Finn, Tara McQuillan, Meaghan Moran, Gina Sanchez and Margaret Shea, all of Evergreen Park; Kathleen Katsikeas and Sarah Oskielunas, both of Lemont; and Mary O'Donnell, of Midlothian.
Other students who received the United States of America President's Award for Educational Excellence include Ashley Bonnett, Meredith Brongiel, Shannon Coleman, Georgiana Fessett, Margaret Gannon, Natalie Gurgone, Molly Hodul, Sarah Mahoney, Anne Marie Kouba, April McMahon, Stephanie Quinn, Emily Rohan and Caileen Seguin, all of Mt. Greenwood.
Other honored students include Elizabeth Burbatt, Andrea DeMoss, Angelina Dennis, Ann Flanagan, Kara Fleherty, Carol Frigo, Natalie Gannon, Katelyn Hayes, Mary Kate Knightly, Colleen Krasich, Margaret I. Malone, Michelle Maslanka, Kimberly Murray, Emily Myren, Kirsten O'Brien, Margaret Omastiak, Ashling Pembroke, Lauren Polcyn, Jessica Rubio, Bridget Sheehy, Catherine Smith, Amanda Sorice and Colleen Sullivan, all of Oak Lawn.
Other local students honored include Bridget Balsam, Jamie Heavey, Erin Holland, Christine Johnson, Fiona Lane and Sarah Peiss, all of Orland Park; Christine Jakes and Helen Sweiss, both of Palos Heights; Christina Karczewski, Alicia Karczewski and Kelsey Vlamis, all of Palos Park; and Michelle Madaras, of Tinley Park.