Clear Channel to Congress:sorry

Radio as a medium has clung to the concept of lowest-common denominator entertainment, but John Hogan's statements are confirmation that he and the Texas corporation think we are stupid enough to believe the b-s he is troweling out.

"We were wrong to air that material," Hogan said. "I accept responsibility for our mistake, and my company will live with the consequences of its actions."

Honestly, all I can sa is "My ass!" In the five years I was employed at Clear Channel, no effort was ever taken to discourage rauchy programming. In fact, a 1999 Human Resources video on sexual harassment - the kind of tape your company makes you watch every year to cover their ass - enlisted Mark Mays himself to drive home the maxim that if you as an employee found certain programming offensive, maybe you shouldn't work there. He used the old heat/kitchen analogy (the lawyer that allowed him to say that should be fired). It doesn't get any more cut and dry than that.

Truth is, te impact of Stern's presence on CC's 6 stations was minimal in the grand scheme of his Infinity stations. These Viacom-owned outlets continue to air his show. Clear is mea culpa-ing because they held on to Bubba the Love Sponge and his dozen years of having female listeners rub their telephone receiver up-and-down over their "ch-chia", among other notorious bits. After 15 years, why now should we believe CC's supposedly humble and contrite heart?

Hte congress, thrown down this gauntlet: if Clear Channel is serious about combating "indecency", they'd be more than willing to purge their playlists of explicit rap music once your investigators started sniffing around. Of course, they won't do that now because the focus is on shock jocks, and not the "music" that takes up the lion's share of the broadcast day. The "problem" is not quarrantined in one daypart.

I can't speak congress but the public is not as dumb as they/we look. Sincerity cannot be faked - we all know what look someone's face has when their nuts are in a vice. Let's tighten it a bit more and see what we can get out of them. WHile you're at it, haul Mel Karmazin and the rest of 'em in front of your joint committes and see what key they squeal in.

Protestants Observing Lent

The thirst for God is insatiable. At times, I am overwhelmed by it, the desire to see God, embrace God, experience God. I have always wondered why some Christians have rejected those things in this world which can bring us close to God such as inspiried paintings, sculptures, worshipping practices. It's so silly, as if Martin Luther's doctrine supecedes everything. Now, we see a resurgence of tradition in Protestant Churches according to this AP article. Great quote:

"The Rev. Gordon Atkinson never heard about the Lenten season from his Baptist seminary professors...Atkinson's congregation is affiliated with the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. He said more Baptist pastors would use the lectionary if they knew its benefits, but admits some conservatives would never use any elements of liturgical worship.

"'I can only speak for Baptists,' Atkinson said. 'The very conservative, traditional Baptist churches have been pretty resistant to those because they still have an anti-Catholic feeling at a lot of those churches.'

"'The so-called moderate Baptist churches are becoming more ecumenical. Our people are tired of this kind of, 'My way or the highway.'"

Just this morning, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported that two baptist churches, one more than 85 years old, have dropped Baptist from their name. According to David Ellis, Pastor at New Life Church - formerly Laurel Lea Baptist Church - the denomination's name inhibits the faith communities.

"'Some words over a period of time acquire baggage,' Ellis said.

'There are just subtle things about the name. Throughout the years, Baptists have become known for their divisiveness. They've been known for their problems, their quarrels, their ultra-conservative stances,' Ellis said.

'And I am concerned, but it's the way people perceive (the Baptist name) that presents an obstacle.'"

He has a right to be concerned. The article reported that his congregation was swindling: "Through the years prior to the name change, the church went from about 200 members to about 80 members." Ouch.

Another article from Catholic World NewsCWS reads:

"Richard Bucher, a pastor with Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, believes this acceptance of the Ash Wednesday ritual and of Lent corresponds to 'a growing hunger for something older and more traditional among many churches.'"

Believe me, I understand.

I sympathize somewhat with the hard-line Southern Baptists. I see these other denominations picking up elements of the Catholic faith and shake my head. I am a bit of a hardliner myself, yet I'm for the oldest and most time-honored tradition in Christianity, which is the Catholic faith. To me, it's great that people are accepting of other Christian faiths because all of it comes from Catholicism at some point. But blending faiths together into some incoherent, moderate, unoffensive pile of blah is the opposite way to go. People of faith are called to embrace those pieces of Catholicism that were edited out of their worship, because nothing any other Protestant church does cannot be found within the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

If you want the ashes and lent, why not embrace the whole tradition?

Rabbi Daniel Lapin on The Passion of the Christ on National Review Online

Jesus was called Rabbi though he was not ordained because he was very wise. The good Rabbi here has the wisdom of the lord in his comments:

"Those Jewish organizations that have squandered both time and money futilely protesting The Passion, ostensibly in order to prevent pogroms in Pittsburgh, can hardly be proud of their performance. They failed at everything they attempted. They were hoping to ruin Gibson rather than enrich him. They were hoping to suppress The Passion rather than promote it. Finally, they were hoping to help Jews rather than harm them.

"In this, they have failed miserably. By selectively unleashing their fury only on wholesome entertainment that depicts Christianity in a positive light, these critics have triggered anger, hurt, and resentment. Hosting the Toward Tradition radio show and speaking before many audiences nationwide, I enjoy extensive communication with Christian America, and what I hear is troubling. Fearful of attracting the ire of Jewish organizations quick to hurl the 'anti-Semite' epithet, some Christians are reluctant to speak out. One can bludgeon resentful people into silence, but behind closed doors, emotions continue to simmer."

...

"Today, a hateful danger threatens all Americans, both Jews and Christians. Many of the men and women fighting that peril on the frontlines find great support in their Christian faith. It is strange that Jewish organizations, purporting to protect Jews, think that insulting allies is the preferred way to carry out that mandate."

Wow.

Ebert and Roeper Give Gibson's Film Thumbs Up

I figured Roeper would give it the up-thumb because of the recent article (referenced on this page) he penned on anti-Catholicism.

The Impact of Gibson's Film on Protestants, Jews and Catholics

For those of us who are not evangelical protestants and who view with slight derision trivial trappings such as nail pendants, WWJD bracelets, and "God is Awesome" bumper stickers, this article asks the question, what are evangelicals getting out of The Passion? What will these people, beaten over the head with a heavy book for hundreds of years - sola scriptura WHAM! - feel when that book comes alive for them like never before? Will they embrace - HORRORS! - greater visual representations of Christ like those statues us "Romans" are accussed of worshipping?

Dig this:

"...the overwhelmingly positive Evangelical reception given to Mel Gibson's film is important. The Passion has demonstrated that the sacramental faith that the Modernists at [Vatican II] sought to replace is one of the things that is truly attractive to non-Catholics."

More along this same line of thought:

"Seventy years ago, Hilaire Belloc argued that traditional Protestantism was a decaying holdover of an earlier conflict, doomed to give way to more potent forces. In a sense this prediction still holds true. Insofar as a vigorous Protestantism has survived in the United States (it is moribund in Europe), it has broken in many respects with old-style Calvinism.

"A side effect of this break is revealed in the significant number of Evangelicals, many of them prominent former ministers, who have converted in recent decades -- documented in the Surprised by Truth books by Patrick Madrid. Putting aside the rather pointless 'inclusiveness' that neo-orthodox Catholics extend toward Protestantism, it is an undeniably positive development. We must credit the good will of converts, who are attracted by the resiliency of basic Catholic truth, rather than interfaith dialogues.

"Meanwhile, the phenomenon of The Passion is compelling for conservative Protestants even if they can't entirely understand why it would focus on 'just the last twelve hours of the life of the Messiah.' But at least they feel bound to see it, just as many liberal and nominal Catholics will find reasons to avoid it. What exactly they will get out of it is hard to tell.
...

"The redemptive drama of Our Lord, as Gibson presents it, is novel and striking to Protestants. One wonders if they will envy our familiarity with it. We pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, we have Passion Week at the end of Lent, and perform the Stations of the Cross (the original, pre-movie version of The Passion). These practices, especially as they are revived and promoted, are a strong draw to the non-Catholic who craves tangible evidence of his faith in a personal God -- the sort of evidence that people raised on frugal forms of worship are starving for."

I said it here first, this film is a form of Catholic evangelism. Too bad our own church is too ornery, too clueless and too liberal to embrace this opportunity in its fullest sense. Reminds me of the story of St. Bernadette - if she can see it, why can't the religious of the town?

From the Donkey's Mouth: Kerry on marriage

"This [the Defense of Marriage Act] is an unconstitutional, unprecedented, unnecessary and mean-spirited bill."

U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
Boston Herald
September 11, 1996

Kerry was one of 14 US Senators to vote against the bill which President Bill Clinton signed. Something for my fellow Catholics to think about when walking into the booth to vote for "one of our own."

Bubba the Love Sponge fired

This was bound to happen. The public isn't fully aware yet of the filth going out over the airwaves (and I oughta know because at one time in my career I was troweling it out.) The next thing that needs to happen is concermed parents actually listening to lyrics on a CHR station. Among the hits these days are "F**k It".