After all, the greatest mystery in blogging is, "Why do 361 people comment about a link to a silly piece about 'X-Files," but no one comments on my 4,700-word reflection on the the Council of Chalcedon and the hypostatic union?"

POSTED: October 30, 2009

A Massachusetts man was fired from a national retail corporation because of his traditional beliefs on same-sex marriage.  Peter Vadala was formally dismissed from his job as second deputy manager of the Brookstone store at Boston’s Logan Airport on August 12, 2009, after a supervisor reported him to Human Resources regarding an incident two days earlier.

As Peter described the incident (see video above), he came to work on August 10 and began his day normally. A female manager from another store was in the store and began talking to Peter about her upcoming marriage.  When Peter asked “where is he taking you for the honeymoon,” she corrected him and said she was not getting married to "he" but to another woman.

Peter did not immediately react, but when the manager sensed Peter’s discomfort with the subject of same-sex “marriage”, the woman apparently continued bringing it up to Peter throughout the day, reiterating that she was getting married to another woman. Finally, after the fourth or fifth time she brought it up, Peter remarked that his Christian beliefs did not accept same-sex marriage. At that point the woman became very angry and bluntly told Peter that he needed to “get over it” and said that she would be immediately contacting the Human Resources department.

A few hours later Peter was notified by a Human Resources representative that he was suspended from work without pay, effective immediately. Two days later, on August 12, after some further interaction with the Human Resources department, he was formally notified that he was terminated from the company.

Brookstone’s termination letter to Peter states that “in the State of Massachusetts, same-sex marriage is legal.” It goes on to describe Peter’s actions as constituting “harassment” and that his comments were “inappropriate and unprofessional.” It further accuses him of “imposing” his beliefs upon others.

In addition, the letter curiously quotes another employee who did not witness the incident, but who says Peter told her that he considers homosexual lifestyle to be “deviant”. Peter strongly denies ever having said that to that to the other employee.

          READ: Letter of termination to Peter from Brookstone

It would certainly appear that if there ever was a case of harassment (and retaliation) it is what happened to Peter, not anything Peter did!

"... und you vill LIKE it!

No doubt the politcorrectnicks will jump up with assertions that he's lying, and besides he deserved what didn't happen.

Speaking of the country as a whole, Biden quoted poet William Butler Yeats: “All’s changed. Changed utterly, and a terrible beauty has been born.” He said lawmakers now have to grasp that opportunity for change.

I think a more appropriate citation would be:

"Hurrah for revolution and more cannon-shot!
A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot.
Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again!
The beggars have changed places, but the lash goes on. "

Or perhaps, recalling a better statesman than Biden....

"Parnell came down the road, and said to a cheering man,
"'Ireland shall get her freedom, and you shall still break stone.'"

The Queens Tribune The Queens Tribune cover drew some criticism for a headline, “Democratic Victor vs. Pagan Lord,” about the 19th District City Council race between Kevin D. Kim, the Democrat, and Dan Halloran, the Republican. Mr. Halloran practices Theodism, a neo-pagan faith based on the tribal religions of European Germanic people.

Dan Halloran, the Republican candidate for a City Council seat in northeastern Queens, actively practices Theodism, a neo-pagan faith which attempts to reconstruct the pre-Christian tribal religions of the European Germanic people.

While Theodism, and other strains of paganism, have been recognized by the Army Chaplain Corps and are slowly gaining wider acceptance, Mr. Halloran’s religious beliefs have become a point of contention in the hard-fought race, in which Mr. Halloran is vying against Kevin D. Kim, the Democratic candidate. The 19th Council District is currently represented by Councilman Tony Avella, who did not seek re-election so that he could pursue the Democratic nomination for mayor. (Mr. Avella was unsuccessful.)

Mr. Halloran’s beliefs were the subject of a cover story in The Queens Tribune shortly after the Democratic primary in September. The Village Voice also has examined Mr. Halloran’s Theodist group.

Correction: the Republican-LIBERTARIAN candidate. (And he did not discuss his religion with the c/a/b/a/l/ caucus who nominated him.)

I note, as a member of a "strange church" that "doesn't believe in normal things", according to Missouri Democraps, that this is another case that does not fit the meme of Republicans as fanatical bigots and the "party of hate" who are "dragging religion into politics"... unless Asa-worshipers are considered part of the Religious Right (TM)?

As far as taking to "the ways of our ancestors"'... half of my ancestors would not have spoken to the other half, no matter WHICH way you insists on slicing it... and anyway, why don't our ancestors who were Christians and Jews count?

No to Thomberg politics as usual! Dobrian and Liberty!

UPDATE: Theodish Republican-Libertarian-Conservative-Independence Halloran wins! Yay for us!

Earlier today, the UK Telegraph ran a story “Vatican condemns Hallowe'en as anti-Christian.” You’ve got to drill down 4 paragraphs of sensationalism to get to the source of the claim:

The Vatican issued the warning through its official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, in an article headlined "Hallowe'en's Dangerous Messages".

The paper quoted a liturgical expert, Joan Maria Canals, who said: "Hallowe'en has an undercurrent of occultism and is absolutely anti-Christian."

Now there is a fellow named Fr. Joan Maria Canals, CMF, a liturgy official with the Spanish Bishops’ Conference who has been pushing the idea that as Spain appropriates this U.S. holiday it ought to do so in a life affirming way as opposed to celebrating the occult and death. Catholic News Agency wrote about that effort and similar efforts in France and Chile. I expect L’Osservatore wrote a similar report. I’m certain the Pope didn’t comment in the article. Unfortunately, L’Osservatore does not archive their articles, so the first sensational or misrepresentative press piece about any article in L’Osservatore becomes the source – no other source being available.

Then it descends from there. One Spanish priest is quoted in L’Osservatore and soon enough, The Daily Mail blares the headline:

Halloween is 'dangerous' says the Pope as he slams 'anti-Christian' festival

The Mail’s original article has been significantly altered so as to remove the false references to the Pope it originally contained. If you click through, you’ll notice they also toned down the headline. But too late, the American press has picked up on it and is running. We’ve had press inquiries from local affiliates here wanting explanations as to why the Pope is condemning Halloween and what we’re going to do about it.

I think there are two lessons here:

1. If your going to re-report on what another news organization has reported, you should check their sources.

2. If you’re going to be a news source as significant as the Vatican’s newspaper, your articles shouldn’t disappear after 24 hours.

UPDATE

The Times (U.K) takes the cake, combining the aforementioned sensationalism with the ignorant anti-Catholicism now apparently commonplace in England. I lived and worked in London 97-98 and didn't notice much anti-Catholicism, but things must have changed. The article begins, my emphases:

When Victoria Romero, 6, dressed up as a witch for a Hallowe’en party this week she could hardly have imagined that she was provoking the wrath of God by attending a celebration akin to a Black Mass — at least in the eyes of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church in Spain.

Wearing skeleton suits, dressing up as vampires, witches or goblins or slapping on fake blood is not far removed from communing with the Devil, according to the country’s bishops.

However, the bishops, with Vatican backing, have reserved their venom for the millions of parents who allowed their children to celebrate this “pagan” festival.

Later in the story we find the sole basis for the charge of Vatican venom against millions of parents:

“Children dress as witches, vampires, ghosts, masks, corpses, skeletons, and parents favour this type of festivity which plays with elements of death,” Father Canals said. “But when a relative dies they prevent them from seeing the dead relative.”

So a very mild and probably true cultural observation by a priest in Spain, when quoted by L'Osservatore, translates to Vatican venom against millions of parents.

Again, "the Vatican" is treated as if it was a hive mind.

If some monsignor ordered spaghetti carbonara for his lunch with a journalist, the "reporter" would write "Vatican Endorses Carbonara."

Liberal Episcopalians Unimpressed by Vatican’s Bid

By A. G. Sulzberger

It would have been difficult to mistake New York City as a stronghold for the disaffected Anglicans, upset about the church’s acceptance of women and gays in leadership positions, whom the Vatican announced this week it would be wooing to join the Roman Catholic Church.

But that point was made even more clear when Bishop Lawrence C. Provenzano, who represents the 146 congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens), dashed off a response giving his take on the Tuesday announcement. “At the heart of all of this is the reality that the Roman Church is willing to welcome angry, reactionary, misogynistic, homophobic people,” he wrote.

After this example of Christian charity, I can only ask why the Bishop Provenzanos are so anxious to hold on to such awful, worthless people.
The "liberals" sound like the chorus in IOLANTHE:

Your break our laws, you are our foe.
We cry because we hate you so.
You very wicked trads!
You homophobes!...
Don't go!