Did You Know? The “Texas Tower Sniper” incident occurred Aug. 1, 1966, when the deranged gunman Charles J. Whitman opened fire at the University of Texas in Austin, killing 16 and wounding 32. I was there, though I was a baby, with my mother in student housing (if I have my family stories correct). My father was closer, in another building, and when the gunfire rang out, people in the room where he was rushed to the window to see what was happening. My father instead stepped back. LEARN MORE.
Month: July 2012
Final Solution Ordered
Did You Know? Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to “submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question.” The date was July 31, 1941. LEARN MORE.
And So, It Begins . . .
Did You Know? U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid, on July 30 1965, as part of his “Great Society” push toward unsustainable entitlements. LEARN MORE.
Dude, Your Made-Up God Has a Measuring Cup on His Head
Did You Know? When the Greeks gained control of ancient Egypt, Pharaoh Ptolemy I (who was Greek) invented a Greek-style Egyptian god to try and unite the two peoples. Unlike the animal-headed gods of Egypt, Serapis was depicted as a man, but his head wasn’t entirely normal. He was depicted with a basket used for measuring grain on his head. Go figure. LEARN MORE.
Future Pope’s Family Struck By Nazi Eugenics
Did You Know? Pope Benedict had a cousin who suffered from Down’s Syndrome. He was carted off by the Nazis for “treatment” and fell victim to their eugenics program. LEARN MORE.
I Guess We Know the Last Part of His History
Did You Know? Joseph Smith is reported to have said “No man knows my history,” but we do know some of it. On June 27, 1844 he died in a gunbattle after shooting and wounding three members of a lynch mob while incarcerated in the Carthage, Illinois jail. He was in jail because he had previously ordered the destruction of a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois after its first (and only) edition was critical of him. Despite the circumstances of his death, he is often portrayed as a martyr by Mormons. LEARN MORE.
Cool! New Secret Club Endorsement!
Awesome!
I just received a new endorsement for the Secret Information Club from Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers (“the Dynamic Deacon”), who writes:
I joined Jimmy Akin’s Secret Information Club a while back, and I thought you might like it.
It’s fun and informative. Jimmy sends out information about the Catholic faith and makes it easier to understand.
Tell him the deacon sent you!
Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
www.DeaconHarold.com
I’m always delighted when fellow Catholic professionals recognize the effort I’m putting into the Secret Information Club and trying to make it fun and informative for everyone.
Thank you, Deacon Harold!
If you’d like to see what “the Dynamic Deacon” is talking about, be sure to check out www.SecretInfoClub.com or just sign up using this handy signup form:
Last Pagan Emperor Dies
Did You Know? The Roman Emperor Julian–also known as “Julian the Apostate”–died on July 26, A.D. 363. He was the last pagan Roman Emperor, and he worked to undermine the Church. Good riddance. LEARN MORE.
Are You a Hater or a Bigot? Or Are You Just Intolerant?
A reader writes:
I had a question that I needed to ask you. I just found out that the owner of Chick-Fil-A stated that he was against Gay Marriage. Personally, I agree with him, yet when I told someone on the Chick-Fil-A Facebook page that being against Gay Marriage isn’t the same as being “Anti-Gay”, they ended up calling me a “Hateful bigot”.
Does being against Gay Marriage automatically make me a hateful person or oppressive person?
I don’t try to hate anyone and I don’t want to be seen as hateful by others. I just feel conflicted. If you can help me understand how to resolve this conflicted feeling that I’m currently having, I would be very thankful!
It is difficult to know what to say the first time one encounters this type of claim, which is regrettably common.
Hatred and bigotry are real phenomena. They really exist. And they are evil.
It is natural to want to avoid them and to want to avoid being perceived as committing them. That is true in everywhere, but it is particularly true in our own culture, which highly prizes tolerance, understanding, and letting people “do their own thing.”
Precisely because there is such a strong aversion to these things in our culture, there is a perverse phenomenon that also occurs in which charges of hatred, bigotry, and intolerance are used to perversely express and create intolerance.
This occurs when accusing someone of these faults is done as a way of shutting down rational discussion, of stifling disagreement, and of wounding (emotionally or socially) the one against whom the charges are made.
People who make blanket charges of hatred, bigotry, and intolerance are themselves being intolerant, displaying bigotry, and may even be hateful.
Why do I say this?
What’s Up, Doc?
Did You Know? The animated short A Wild Hare was released July 25, 1940, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny. LEARN MORE.
