Fr. Hesburgh and Health Care

I've been so busy recently, I've barely had the chance to even read articles that could make their way to this weblog. Today, though, I saw a headline that was too provocative to pass up: Pelosi Invoked Fr. Hesburgh to Turn 'No' Health Bill Vote to 'Yes'.

This saddens, but doesn't surprise me. Though it is worse than I thought. The headline made me think she said something like "what would Fr. Hesburgh do?" but, it turns out, he actually was asked to make a phone call

Hesburgh was called in to persuade U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) to vote for the health care bill despite the vast expansion of abortion funding embedded in it. Donnelly had been a member of the group of Democrats led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who opposed the bill without Hyde-amendment restrictions on abortion funding.
...

Elizabeth Shappell, Donnelly's press secretary, claims Hesburgh did not tell Donnelly how to vote but only advised him to "vote your conscience."

A well formed conscience should have been able to see clearly what the issues at hand were. In fact, it really would be the role of the episcopate and presbyteriate to help form the consciences of those considering this bill. There was no pressing need to pass this bill now, on that day, as it stood. After all, people weren't dying in the streets; the current system works, though perhaps imperfectly, and we thus should have done such a massive reform correctly, even if it took a little more time.

If only Fr. Hesburgh had forgotten all about the Land O' Lakes statement, and just told Congressman Donnelly to listen to the Bishops.

Works in progress

The faithful reader(s) of this weblog have surely noticed that in recent months, the frequency with which I have been making posts has greatly diminished. Fear not, for I am thinking no less than before; the world of graduate school work presently demands more time of me.

Rather than leave this simply apologetic in nature, I will enlighten you to the areas which have been drawing my interest recently. These interests, very often, manifest themselves as and/or culminate in essays, which could become weblog posts, or the like. This is a recent snapshot of what I have been working on and thinking about.

Working titles:
The theology of grading
On the gnostic nature of Linux
The internet these days (a look at how the internet has so changed everything)
The Scout Oath and Law as a rule for life
Adversus Matrimonii Mixiti (a critique of the practice of mixed-faith relationships)

In addition, I have started to work some more on my Way of the Cross reflections. I have also been tossing around the idea of writing a Rule.

I suppose if any of these interested anyone, I could "fast track" them, as it were. Otherwise, you may see these, or something else that strikes my fancy, right here on some day in the future.