We harvested the garlic this week, opening up a bed for other things! It’s my granddaughter (age almost 7) who pulled it all out and arranged it on the old shelf that I use for various purposes in the garden.
She chose to spend hours carefully stripping any messy leaves and placing them just so… and thinking her thoughts!
The shelf is across the sides of my compost bins, if you can’t quite figure out what you’re looking at here!
This week some men in our parish got together to formulate a plan for protecting the physical church and grounds. They also discussed what to say to the bishop if he considers shutting the church down again (although he was one of the better ones — our doors never closed and the other sacraments were available in a limited way).
This morning’s news of arson at a cathedral in France prompted me to plant the idea in your heads, if you haven’t already thought of it, of encouraging the men in your parish to think and talk about possible violence directed at the church.
bits & pieces
- The Hagia Sophia is about to become a mosque again, after decades as a museum. Here’s a virtual tour. Here’s why you should care.
- An important article in the Wall Street Journal (sorry for the paywall — I will quote some here) on The Ideological Corruption of Science, by Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist, is president of the Origins Project Foundation and author of “The Physics of Climate Change,” forthcoming in January.
In recent years, and especially since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, academic science leaders have adopted wholesale the language of dominance and oppression previously restricted to “cultural studies” journals to guide their disciplines, to censor dissenting views, to remove faculty from leadership positions if their research is claimed by opponents to support systemic oppression.
*************
When scientific and academic leaders give official imprimatur to unverified claims, or issue blanket condemnations of peer-reviewed research or whole fields that may be unpopular, it has ripple effects throughout the field. It can shut down discussion and result in self-censorship.
*************
Actual censorship is also occurring. A distinguished chemist in Canada argued in favor of merit-based science and against hiring practices that aim at equality of outcome if they result “in discrimination against the most meritorious candidates.” For that he was censured by his university provost, his published review article on research and education in organic synthesis was removed from the journal website, and two editors involved in accepting it were suspended.
*************
Whenever science has been corrupted by falling prey to ideology, scientific progress suffers. This was the case in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union—and in the U.S. in the 19th century when racist views dominated biology, and during the McCarthy era, when prominent scientists like Robert Oppenheimer were ostracized for their political views. To stem the slide, scientific leaders, scientific societies and senior academic administrators must publicly stand up not only for free speech in science, but for quality, independent of political doctrine and divorced from the demands of political factions.
- David Clayton (my co-author, The Little Oratory — affiliate link), on Marxist Iconoclasm:
What began over 100 years ago as an intellectual exercise in our art departments, in which traditional representational art as an idea was discredited in favor of abstract art, has turned into all-out iconoclasm which aims to destroy all images that symbolize or uphold Western values as part of the mission of destroying Western civilization itself. By this, there is a clear logic to the destruction not only of the statues of Junipero Serra, Washington, and Jefferson, but also of statues of Abraham Lincoln, and even Frederick Douglass.
*******
[Opposing this logic] means building up the natural institutions of Western civilization, and especially the Church, the nation, and the family in a cultural war (and which includes as a vital part of this the erection statues in the town square). Images are a vital part in this cultural war….
*******
The domestic church is the starting point for our radical transformation of society.
Interested in Charlotte Mason homeschooling? Follow Celeste Cruz on Instagram for some visual inspiration from a mom of many.
from the archives
Wondering about staying home but feeling guilty about the impact on your finances? I answered a question about that!
Thinking about homeschooling? Here are my education archives — take a stroll!
I’ve written in general about homeschooling and have lots of reading suggestions for you in those posts. Don’t miss this one with answers from Auntie Therese.
liturgical year
follow us everywhere!
Stay abreast of the posts when they happen:
I just share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram.
If you want politics, rants, and takes on what is going on in the Church:
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow — my posts are public — sometimes I share articles here that don’t make it into {bits & pieces})
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest. Bridget’s Pinterest.
And the others on IG: Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.Habou’s Instagram.
The post {bits & pieces} appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.