Hennessy's View

Here are the top Hennessy’s View posts of each month of 2012, scientifically selected by . . . me.

January

The Gabrielle Giffords shooting by lunatic Jerod Lee Loughner was the biggest news event of the month. The cynically attempted to use the tragedy for political gain.  The left failed.

February

The Arab Spring began last winter. When Mubarak was on the ropes in Egypt, some questioned whether or not his fall would be good for the region and the world. Other questioned whether it would be good for Egyptians. Still others blindly rooted for Mubarak’s death.  These last were the American Idiots. I suppose they’re still cheering the de-Christianization of Egypt.

March

If you look at the world as a fixed pie, you begin fighting others for your piece.  If you see the world as a limitlessly growing pie, you join others and get about baking.

April

I went to the Tucson Tea Party with Jim Hoft and Dana Loesch.  I met Larry Schweikart, author o A Patriot’s History of the United States and other great books and movies. 

May

Benjamin Hennessy graduated from high school.  I love all my children, but this was very special accomplishment for Ben. And the school’s approach demonstrated what education could be in the United States, if we have get over the 19th century factory model.

June

Obama made it worse.

July

What’s your FICA score?  For Millennials, your payroll taxes are a sign of things to come. Don’t be fooled by temporary FICA breaks—you’ll pay in the end and the through the teeth.

August

Warren Buffett wrote an ill-advised op-ed calling for higher taxes on the rich.  Months later, he sued the government to avoid paying back taxes on his businesses.  Never take tax advise from a man who stands to make billions if high taxes drive investors toward annuities. (Buffett owns lots of insurance companies.)

September

The St. Louis Tea Party kicked off its After Party program: a 12-month project to repair the fabric of society.  Big goal? You bet.  But we can do it.  After all, we’re Americans.

October

Occupy Wall Street’s celebration of defecation had just begun. 

November

The Republican Establishment begins asserting itself violently against the Tea Party movement. 

December

Finally, I ended 2012 with a 4-part series on what we can learn from Charles Dickens’s classic, A Christmas Carol.

So that’s my list.  You can see my archives here—by Date, Category, or Word Cloud. But I’d really like to see your list to top stories of 2011. Use the comments box below.

Thanks and Happy New Year,

Bill Hennessy

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We just received this heads up from a friend:

Just a quick note that Yahoo has apparently changed their “Spam” firewall rules.  You’re Tea Party updates have been showing up in my spam box for the past couple days.  I can’t prove there is a conspiracy, but all of my e-mails from conservative organizations are showing up as spam while a lot of other crap is flying right through.  Yahoo mail’s spam filter is supposed to be an adaptive process.  In other words, when I mark each e-mail as not spam, it is supposed to add the sender to my white list.  Apparently it is not as smart as I expect.  Just giving you an FYI in case this is happening to many others.

All email providers update their spam algorithms regularly.  Sometimes email you want gets filtered out.

Thanks to John S. for warning us to check our Yahoo filters.

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Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

The English version of the  Roman Catholic Missal changed at the start of Advent. The new translation is truer to the Latin original. 

The response to “The Lord be with you,” change to “And with your spirit” from “and also with you.”  The Latin, et cum spiritu tuo translates exactly into “and with your spirit.”

Another change that thrills conservative Catholics, is the consecration.  For decades, we’ve complained that the Novo Ordo was wrong when it said, “It will be shed for you and for all . . . “  The correct translation from Sumerian would be “It will be shed for you and for many . . .” 

Some Catholics believed that the erroneous translation to “all” instead of “many” prevented transubstantiation—the bread and wine being the body and blood of Christ. This correction brings great relief to many.

My favorite correction, though, won’t be heard until Christmas. 

A song in the mass, the Gloria, goes away during Advent, the time Christian’s prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth.  In the Gloria is a subtle but profound correction that carries meaning to Catholics and to the whole world.

For years we’ve heard that the angel who appeared to the shepherds declared, “Peace on earth and good will to men.”

But that translation lacks accuracy.

“Peace on earth and to men of good will,” is the correct interpretation.

When the Novo Ordo Missal was prepared, church leaders chose openness over accuracy. “All” sounds more inclusive than “many.”  “Peace on earth and good will to men,” covers everyone, not just the good and faithful. The result, though, muddled theology and scripture.

The lesson here is important: words have meaning.

When we use the wrong words in order to soften our message, we usually succeed.  But if we soften our message enough, we lose the meaning of the message intended.

That’s not to say we should put a sharp edge on our speech or treat sensitive subjects callously. Instead, we use language and actions necessary and proper in the most loving way we can.

The angel and Christ used words of exclusion: many, not all, and men of good will.  But the invitation was universal: all may choose to be saved.

Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace to men of good will.

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Co-starring Barack Obama as Himself.

I’m setting my DVR right now.

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Martin Baker, candidate for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, lays it on the line, challenging Tea Party critics Maxine Waters and Frederica Wilson.

Read Martin’s challenge:

Today, I am inviting both of these distinguished ladies to St Louis, Missouri to tell me and my Tea Party compatriots in person why we should go straight to Hell. Congresswoman Waters should know the way here, having been born and raised in our esteemed area and a graduate of Vashon High School, which is in the St Louis Public School District. Unfortunately, that area and district have changed remarkably since her departure. If she comes, she will come home to nearly 17% unemployment in the African-American Community, high crime rates, and diminished hope. I would like to ask her what her comments do to address the needs for real education and healthcare reform, what they do to reduce unemployment, and finally, what they do to stop the out-of-control government spending of our taxpayer dollars both here in St Louis and nationwide.

I love this.  Martin Baker, in one paragraph, summarizes 50 years of the Democrat war on cities.  He nails the Democrats on the massive and anti-human collateral damage to African-Americans.  He politely shows Maxine Waters that her legacy is all “D”:  dependence, despondency, depression, and death.

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