An excerpt from the text of Pope Benedict’s Westminster speech:

If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident – herein lies the real challenge for democracy.

The inadequacy of pragmatic, short-term solutions to complex social and ethical problems has been illustrated all too clearly by the recent global financial crisis.

There is widespread agreement that the lack of a solid ethical foundation for economic activity has contributed to the grave difficulties now being experienced by millions of people throughout the world.

On the BBC site today: Vatican Bank ‘investigated over money-laundering’. The good news for the Institute for Religious Works, the official name of the bank, is that so far no one has been murdered.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Over at Rick Outzen’s place, Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones cuts to the heart of the problem: We need jobs.

Mr. Jones was speaking about a number of issues centered around property taxes in Escambia County, and the reduced revenue that should be expected because of foreclosures, and depreciation cause by the collapse of the housing bubble and BP’s Gulf Gusher.

His main point was that there isn’t going to be a recovery until there are jobs.

Liz at Blonde Sense talks about the same issue, in regards to her son.

He graduated from college three years ago and hasn’t been able to land a decent job. Now he’s back in school working towards a degree in Nursing, hoping that it will give him a future of some kind.

The first rule of history is that it is written by people who can write. While most people can write these days, for a very long time the ability was limited to a special class. That is something people forget when they study ancient history.

Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald is a little put out by people attempting to edit history: Beck, Barbour and the art of rewriting history.

I would make a small refinement to one of Mr. Pitts main points – the Civil War was really about the expansion of slavery, not merely its existence. The real conflict was the destruction of the fertility of the soil by the wasteful agricultural practices of 19th century agribusinesses, the plantation owners. They needed new land, and the small farmers who had been immigrating to the United States also needed land.

If you look at the points of major regional conflict in Congress that finally led to the Civil War, you will notice that they are all about the expansion of slavery to new territories, not over attacks on the practice in existing states. You will also notice that it is the South that intruded on “states rights” by insisting on Federal laws like the Fugitive Slave Act.

Like Mr. Pitts, I am truly offended by these people attempting to rewrite my personal history. I was there and I know what was going on in the South and it was a long, ugly struggle to get to where we are today. A lot of people died in the process, and their sacrifices need to be remembered, not distorted.

Position: 18.2N 31.3W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northeast [040°] near 2 mph [ 4 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Wind Gusts: 55 mph [ 90 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 45 miles [ 70 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1002 mb.

Currently about 505 miles [815 km] West-Northwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

Lisa is drifting while organizing itself into a “proper” storm. The modeling on Lisa is all over the chart. There doesn’t appear to be a steering feature in the immediate vicinity of the storm to give it a real course. Some models are pointing towards the Caribbean and others towards Ireland.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 49.3N 51.7W [ 4 PM CDT 2100 UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [025°] near 39 mph [63 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 80 mph [130 kph].
Wind Gusts: 105 mph [170 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 520 miles [835 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 85 miles [140 km].
Minimum central pressure: 950 mb.

Currently about 125 miles [200 km] North-Northeast of St. Johns, Newfoundland.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the coast of Newfoundland from Stones Cove northward and eastward to Fogo Island

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coast of Newfoundland from Burgeo northward and eastward to Triton, and the islands of St-Pierre and Miquelon

Igor has completed its transition to an extratropical storm. This is the final advisory.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]