At the National Catholic Register, which is part of EWTN, this article about a forthcoming 54 day novena for Donald Trump caught my eye. Of course, Fr. Richard Heilman who is organizing the novena did not say it was for Donald Trump, he merely repeated some of Trump's talking points. For example:
“All the signs are there,” said Father Imbarrato. “We have an immoral and corrupt government that is becoming more and more tyrannical. The fact of the matter is: We need a conversion of our culture, but, more specifically, of our elected officials or leadership. This 54-day novena and the Rosary Rally [on Oct. 7] is all part of the effort we need to end preborn child killing and attacks on marriage and the family.”
I ask: In what way is our government properly described as "tyrannical"? It is dysfunctional, yes. But, tyrannical? Fr. Heilman is the state chaplain for the Knights of Columbus, which funds EWTN among other media outlets. Given Carl Anderson's speech last week, I suppose we should not be surprised by a state chapalin taking the political discussion to the next level.
Trump himself was making nice with evangelical leaders yesterday, and as Mark Silk points out, he covered himself in yet more lying, saying that Mitt Romney did not do well among evangelicals when, in fact, Romney did as well or better than McCain or Bush. Of course, while I had many disagreements with Romney, he was a decent and capable human being so of course he is going to appear obnoxious to the Donald.
From Food & Wine, the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the country. Some of these are too fancy for my taste which tend to a simple sliced ham, cheddar, dijon version of the classic, with a dill pickle and potato chips on the side. Nothing fancy but after pizza, probably my favorite meal.
As the temperature and humidity bring the head index up to triple digits here in the imperial city, Vivaldi's more pleasant appreciation of the season: