The Old Knickerbocker

Getting scolded and shamed for daring to criticize or question clergy and clerical behavior is one of things that led to 40 years of secret sexual abuse. It is *okay* to be a devout Catholic and critique the institution and the people who run it. It doesn't make you a bad Catholic. Being Catholic doesn't mean you must relinquish your brain or your tongue. Francis shut down TLM parishes and told a journalist he "hates conservative American Catholics" - an actual quote. We are free to say what we like and remain in good standing, barring blasphemy or calumny.

Two weeks ago I was hitch-hiking at Donner Summit after a failed backcountry ski trip. Nathan’s CHP cruiser rolled up and I thought, here we go, I’m about to get harassed by the cops. Nathan rolled down the window and asked if I was all right. I leaned in and told him I was ok, and gave him my story. He asked if I wanted a ride, and I gladly accepted. In the next 45 minutes we talked, laughed and shared stories. He told me about his wife and kids, his time working in San Jose, and how he loved working up in the mountains away from the city. When he dropped me off, he gave me his personal phone number and told me to call him at 6:30 if I hadn’t gotten a ride - he would pick me up after he got off work and drive me to family in Sacramento. I texted him later in the day to tell him that I had been picked up and thank him. He texted back: All's well that ends well. Glad you made it. I have found myself thinking about how I could repay his kindness in the last couple of weeks. About bringing him a 6 pack of beer, or writing the CHP to commend him. I thought about looking him up when I was in the area and offering to buy him dinner. I thought about becoming his friend. And then I read in the newspaper today that he had been killed on duty this weekend - hit by a car while investigating another accident. And I was, I am, crushed. Buying him a 6 pack or dinner seems so small in scope now. I am sharing this in an effort to broaden that scope. To repay him by inspiring others to be good. Be a good person. Be kind to strangers. Go out of your way to help them when you can. The time for this is now, not later. Later may never come. The measure of your life is your impact on other people. Make it count. Nathan Taylor was a good man. He was kind, and giving, and he wanted to help. He challenged my prejudice against the police. He inspired me to be a better man. You made a difference, Nathan. Thank you. Credit : Paxton Brewer edited for clarity

Swalwell’s crime wasn’t getting played by a Chinese spy. It wasn’t tipping her off to an investigation so she could leave the country to avoid arrest. Swalwell’s crime wasn’t human trafficking of prostitutes or abusing women. Eric Swalwell’s crime was threatening the political prospects of a billionaire California Democrat and of Democrat control of California. That’s it. That’s what got him in trouble. Pretty craven and insane when you think about it.

“The seething racial resentment in the Third World against the West — decades after independence and trillions in foreign aid — should cause second thoughts about opening our borders to mass immigration from that world.” Pat Buchanan

Jean Reno "La France se meurt à petit feu. Chirac, Sarkozy, Hollande.. tous ont leur] part de responsabilité. Mais Macron ? Une catastrophe absolue. Incompétence, arrogance, mépris. Le pire président de la Ve République."

@MedievalScholar If Henry VIII's older brother doesn't die prematurely, England probably stays Catholic.

Catholicism in England was doomed the very moment King Richard III’s blood spilled on the grass of Bosworth and the Tudor dynasty began If Henry was killed in Richard’s charge, the dynasty never happens and Henry 8 isn’t born

@slayermayne @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball You don't have a lot of friends, do you?

@Dexpectations12 @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball It’s blatant cheating having a massive edge with steroids don’t use that bullshit take as something legit

One makes it into the Hall of Fame, the others never does Are you electing Barry Bonds or Pete Rose?

As I have said, I don't think either of them should ever get in the Hall of Fame. But if I'm forced to choose between them, yes I'd choose Bonds. You can argue PEDs were kind of of a gray area. Gambling on baseball is NOT a gray area. It's an automatic ban. Rose knew this. If you want to argue Pete is a better player, cool. Good for you. I don't care. That's not the issue before us.

@Dexpectations12 @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball Someone who literally cheated and gave himself and edge over the competition in a non natural way, you just have strong bias against Pete

@slayermayne @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball Feel free to take any position you like buddy. I honestly don't care.

@Dexpectations12 @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball Kind of a mind blowing take that you would pick someone who literally cheated while playing over a guy who got caught gambling as a coach for his team to win

@slayermayne @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball You realize the bullpen doesn't?

@Dexpectations12 @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball You realize pitchers take 4-5 days off in-between starts?

@slayermayne @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball The accusation is that he was doing that on games he had money on. When he didn't he would rest his best pitchers.

@Dexpectations12 @South_Sider2k5 @OleTimeHardball he was using the pitching staff to give himself the best chance of winning the game

The media themselves had an affinity for portraying Barack Obama as a messianic/angelic figure. Zero outrage from Democrats or the left. ✅ The New Republic (Jan 2008) ✅ Newsweek (May 2012)

@malcolmkenyatta Maybe you should lower our taxes.

In America, you shouldn’t have to work two and three jobs just to barely get by.

True. Not from women.

@TheJFreakinC We never said we were only deporting the criminals. We're deporting every single one. If you're an illegal, you have to leave.

🚨TWO Venezuelan doctors… Dr. Ezequiel Veliz and Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar… were detained by ICE agents, in South Texas this month. So yeah, let’s drop the “worst of the worst” narrative.

@RTSG_Main Are you kidding? The last 150 years are a debunking of Marx.

Nobody has ever been able to debunk Karl Marx.

When did the Pope lecture Canada about rampant euthanasia and organ harvesting? I must have missed that.

I lived in Hungary for several years under the Orbán dictatorship. The funny thing was, people could and did say whatever came into their heads, protests were held in front of the parliament, there was a gay cruise bar down the road and Orbán held elections. And yet, the country was a dictatorship. Whereas in the UK, people tend to be distinctly guarded and if they do say the wrong thing very publicly, they get locked up. And yet, it's a free country. Once you understand that words can mean whatever we want them to mean, it begins to make sense.

@24_70xu Are you joking?

Iran has deployed its Ghadir-class midget submarines in the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz. A large number of these submarines have been deployed and given clear instructions that if any enemy ship crosses into Iran’s waters, they should immediately destroy it. These submarines are specifically designed to operate in shallow waters, and the United States has no counter to them.

@ggbackpackers @Johnny_Joey Martin Luther would like a word.

@Johnny_Joey The Pope has authority whether you like it or not. He is Christ's vicar on Earth.

-Jews don’t believe that Jesus is the son of God or our messiah. -Mormons believe Joseph Smith re-established Jesus’ church here in America -Catholics believe the Pope is an earthly representative of Christ. I dont agree with any of that, nor am I “against” them. I share my country with them, and I share parts of my faith with them. However, I don’t want the leaders of any of those religions or the institutions they lead to have any sort of moral authority over my President.