What the Rich Do With Their Money -- Help the Poor and All Society

Over the past year I've been kept awake by the false claim by politicians, commentators, and pundits that society's ills have been perpetuated by the rich. From my perspective it is the rich that allows American society to function and prosper.

In fact, there are many Bible verses that assail the rich for their greed; although greed is not reserved for the rich if the millions of people that play the lottery is any indication. Also, things were different thousands of years ago when the Bible was written under harsh dictatorial rule where legal acquisition of land and wealth was considered a threat to the autocrat running the locality. I can't help but wonder if the same things would be written today about the rich in America. I doubt it, as I will attempt to show shortly.

American society can be subdivided society into three segments: The Rich, the Middle, and the Poor. You can decide where the dividing lines are between those groups, but suffice it to say that the Poor include both those with low incomes and low net worth, as well as those that have no income and no net worth. For the sake of the examples that follow, my Rich category includes those that have annual revenues above $100,000 to those that have net worth in the billions.  To some, $100,000 may not seem like a lot when taxes take 40%-60% of that money. But taxes herein play a role about what the rich do with their money that helps the poor.

And yes, there will be exceptions in all this, but generally here is what the rich do with their money that helps the poor. In no particular order, but numerated for the sake of the com box.

What the Rich Do with Their Money:

1. The rich pay more than 90% of federal and state taxes, (see footnotes for references.) The poorest of the poor actually pay no taxes and, in fact, get checks from the government. Thus it is the rich that provide for  90% of all government services including federal and state construction and maintenance, defense, politician's salaries, welfare benefits, and those checks to the poorest that pay no taxes. To the extent that the rich are motivated to spend on investment opportunities, the resulting economic activity will be taxed. To the extend that regulations inhibit the Rich's ability to expand their enterprise and expenditures, their money will not be spent, but hidden in tax shelters thus depriving government and society of tax revenue. In every historical instance, lower taxes has always increased government tax revenue. And if the goal is for government to give money to the poor, then you want the government to encourage  the rich to earn more money. If you think it works another way, look to socialism and the tyranny of business that socialism requires. During the height of the cold war compare Western (capitalist) Germany, to Easter (socialistic) Germany; or the USSR to England—full color verses drab grays and blacks.
2. The rich business owners that employ nearly 100% of the private U.S. labor force (including the Rich, the Middle and the Poor). (Remember the public work force is paid for with the taxes from the rich.)  Within the free enterprise system of America business owners are more than willing to pay salaries or remunerate contracts commensurate with experience, skill and education.  I have been the owner of several businesses that have hired dozens, and I've been in corporate management responsible for the hiring and firing of many more. The problem in hiring workers has always been finding qualified workers or workers who are honestly willing to work. I have always been willing to pay significantly more for quality workmanship well done. But my businesses would fail with poor workmanship or workers who failed to show up. In America, workers are free to improve their experience, skills, and education and shop for a job that pays more.
3. The rich (through direct gifts or indirectly through non-profit organizations, religious, and the government) fund 100% of all grants to benevolent organizations that service society as a whole and the poor in particular.
4. The rich are the source of the anchor gifts the build the wings of hospitals,  museums,  educational institutions and the salaries of specialty "chairs" at universities. The names on the side of buildings at such places are oftentimes the names of the rich that provided the keystone funds to get that building made or pay professor salaries. 
5. The rich fund scholarships for the poor and those with merit to attend school. (And remember that all government dollars come from the rich who pay taxes. )
6. The rich hire workers and companies to build, service and maintain their large and small physical assets (homes, businesses, boats) and recreational activities. In fact, every dollar the rich spend pays someone for work to be performed... and by the way, is taxed in the process.
7. The money that the rich deposit in their banks, or stocks and bonds is all put to use by those receiving the money (whether a business or a trader) to fund other enterprises, all which require employment and expenditures and all which eventually generate taxes. 

Citations:
(1) Wall Street Journal; U.S. Government Info; Wikipedia

WISDOM FROM ABOVE Main Production Complete

Last night we completed the recording of all 13 Bible Lessons on St. James with Deacon Alex Jones. It was satisfying work for all of us on the crew and the 25 or so in the audience. Alex's teachings were terrific and we are excited about the spiritual success of the series.

I want to thank all of the associate producers and executive producers that contributed funds to make the production possible. The associate producer's names are HERE, and our co-executive producers are Cheryl Evans, and Abundant Graces Books (Laura Smith and Terri O'Connell, owners).

The hot weather made production a challenge in a church without air conditioning. But we had a wonderful crew, many volunteers and although we recorded nearly six hours of content, our shooting schedule was 25 minutes ahead one night, and about 30 minutes long the last night. I want to call out my wonderful staff and crew most of whom were volunteer.

Wisdom From Above Crew (Photo by Christopher Swedorske)

BACK ROW (L to R): Michael Sroka (hiding behind camera: data manager, camera operator), Jeff Carter (technical director, camera operator), John Kruse (camera operator),  Pam Williams (co-producer, reader and craft services), St. James the Lesser (but big in our hearts), Diane Korzeniewski (makeup and wardrobe), Rick Stringer (facility manager), Christopher Swedorske (camera operator and production assistant).

GROUP STANDING AT LEFT (L to R):Jan Swedorske (Assistant Producer), Donna Kutylowski (assistant director) Jennifer Wilson (reader), Gloria Yarber (reader), Eric Boone (Security).

FRONT ROW (L to R): Louisa Zachmann (PA to Stan Williams), Deacon Alex Jones, Stan Williams (Producer-Director), Anna Jones (PA to Jan Swedorske), Stephanie Boyd (PA to Pam Williams and Donna Kutylowski).

NOT PICTURED: Fr. Jerry Pilus (parish priest), Carol Fox (parish secretary), Lawrence Kowalski (coordinating secretary and marketing), Jackie Donofrio (PA), Mark Jones (PA), and Mike Allie (still photography).

The set all aglow during recording in the back of St. Suzanne/OLGH

LOCATION: St. Suzanne/Our Lady Gate of Heaven Catholic Parish, Detroit.

SUPPLIERS: Communicore Visual Communications (Jeff Carter's company that supplied one camera, wireless microphone, camera support, and other gear), Detroit Power and Light (lights and grip equipment), Cleveland Camera Rental (three of the four cameras), Video Equipment Rental (Camera Support), Reinforcement, Inc (intercom, drappery, stands, and light trusses), Hyacineth House (plants), and John Kruse and Michael Sroka (miscellaneous gear and cable), Audio Graphics (microphone), and our own company, Fast Sign of Northville (floor poster of St. James), Fr. Gene Plaisted, OSC/The Crosiers (photography of St. James from St. John's in Milwaukee), SWC Films (everything else and inbetween).

We are currently transcoding the camera files. The AVCHD files (from the four Panasonic AF-100s (HD 1080P24) cameras) will take days for the computer system to convert them to files for editing, (film would have been faster.)

In the next few weeks we'll get together with Alex and we'll record intros and outtros for each lesson. Then begins the long task of editing, made somewhat easier by our editing software's (Final Cut Pro) capability to sync up all four camera streams and switch between them "live" so-to-speak.

Continue to pray for us. We still have financial hurdles to overcome — we need "Wisdom From Above."  St. James, pray for us.

Alex Jones Bible Study Television Recording UPDATE

Pre-production planning for the network television recording of Deacon Alex Jones' Bible Study on the Epistle of James is going very well. Equipment, crew and location are all secured with a few loose ends to tie up next week. With God's blessings we'll be ready.

We will be creating a "set" in (the rear-left of of the image below) of Detroit's St. Suzanne's Catholic Church in Detroit. Setup is on Monday, July 9, and recording the entire 13-part series on the following three evenings (Tues. through Thurs) July 10-12, 2012. We have a lot to accomplish in those four days. (See number 2 below for audience need.) So...    

St. Suzanne's located corner of Westwood and Chicago Streets, Detroit, Michigan

IMPORTANT REQUESTS

 1. PLEASE PRAY for the production's success. I've been reading "The Soul of the Apostolate" and am thoroughly reminded of the importance of prayer and the right ordering of our internal being in the undertaking of any work on behalf of Christ and His Church. In your daily prayers and in your adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, PLEASE ask for God's blessings on these aspects of this work. We are at a total loss without our YOUR prayers and GOD'S blessing for:

    •    Deacon Alex's health of body, mind, and spirit. May he be at his best.
    •    Our crew's preparation, that we forget nothing and do all well.
    •    The equipment's proper working to record the best sound and image.
    •    The audience's full engagement, and that we have a full audience.
    •    Funding to complete post-production, mastering and distribution.
    •    An affective and effective completed work for Christ and the Church.

2. WE'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU IN THE AUDIENCE  

But, if you all come at once, we'll run out of chairs... and probably walls. So, RSVP (below.) But, seriously, we do need 40-50 people in Alex's small group study each night of our production. You do not have to commit for every night, although you may find it inspiring and of benefit to do so, like a mini-retreat.
Here is what we ask:

• RSVP your attendance for which evenings. Write sales@ninevehscrossing.com with your plans. We will confirm.
• Dates: July 10, 11, and 12, 2012 (Tues, Wed, and Thurs)
• Time: 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM. (We'll end a little later on Thursday.) 
Please be on time.  Eat before you come.
•  Location: St. Suzanne's Catholic Church, Westwood and Chicago. GPS address is: 9357 Westood St., Detroit, MI.  Park in the lot South (behind) the church and enter the doors that face Westwood (East side of church).
• Dress: Casual with SOLID color shirts or blouses. Either pastels or deep colors are fine. Avoid blacks and whites. No vertical stripes. Slacks or dresses are fine. No shorts or hats, please. We may touch up your hair. If you have a facial powder you like, bring the compact. We'll touch you up if needed as the evening proceeds.
• Bring: A BIBLE! Bring a study Bible and a note pad. Take notes. No recording devices, please.
• No Children. Teens are okay if they can sit still for 2 hours with a break.  
• What to Expect: Fabulous lessons on the book of St. James from the internationally acclaimed Bible teacher, Deacon Alex Jones.
• What You'll Get: Knowledge, inspiration, and every participant will get a free copy of the DVD series when it is done in the fall.
• Release: You'll be asked to sign a release so we can use your image on TV.
• Security will be present in the parking lot.
• Refreshments provided. Eat something before you come.

There is much to accomplish, and production like this is never easy. But, it's interesting, and you will enjoy your time.

3. WE MAY DISCONTINUE OUR EMAIL SERVICE.  
In our effort to control our costs and maximize our communication effectiveness, we may discontinue our email service that we subscribe to through Constant Contact. Our tracking of the emails we send reveals a very low number of opens and click-throughs, indicating that we can do better with the little money we have. So, for you to follow this project and others, please subscribe to our production Blog at SWC Films and our comment Blog at Crossing Nineveh. These blogs are free for us to use, and subscribing to them through your email  will get you all the news we have fit to print. You'll find the "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" block (pictured) at the top-right of both blog pages. When we post news or information about our work, it will come to your email inbox.


4. CONSIDER A CONTRIBUTION or PURCHASE for POST-PRODUCTION.
Forty individuals and companies generously made production possible through their financial gifts, and another group are volunteering their time and donating services and materials. But we had counted on Nineveh's Crossing sales to be fairly robust through this time, out of which we were planning on paying 60% of the overall cost, especially post-production, mastering and duplication. Sales, however, have been slow. And we need to continue our fund raising. If you have not already  contributed, would you consider purchasing some Nineveh's Crossing products (perhaps for future gifts), or read about the perks and ways you can be an Associate Producer or Executive Producer at our Crowd Funding Page. You'll find a short video there that explains more about the origins and plans for the project.

Thank you for your consideration. You will participate directly in an important worldwide ministry. There are rewards both in this life and the next. 

Stan & Pam Williams

SWC Films and Nineveh's Crossing, LLC

PO Box 29

Novi, MI  48376

877-606-1370

Church: Teaching Rules vs. Teaching Love

A friend wrote me:

I've been talking to someone who is interested in what the Church teaches but has a BIG problem with the Church hierarchy.

Basic argument:  If we love God we keep His commandments. Keeping His commandments out of love is BETTER than keeping them out of fear. And following God's rules are better than following rules made up by men.

Why doesn't the Church simply teach people to LOVE God - rather than focusing on the rules?"

Stan, do you have any knowledge of books or tapes?   Or, if you have thoughts on the subject they would be warmly welcomed!

My response:

I don't, off hand, have any books I'm aware of on that particular position.

But, I am very familiar with the argument and have a response that fits with my understanding of church history and teaching.

The difference between the motivations of love and fear is insignificant compared to the difference between obeying or not. It's like the decision to run a red light or not. We can NOT run the red light out of love for the government (a stupid concept) or we can NOT run the red light out of fear of being killed if we do. The goal of the red light is to protect us. (It's kind of a glass half-empty vs. half-full argument. In the end it doesn't matter. Are you an optimist or a pessimist by nature? Do you have a choleric or a sanguine personality?)

God's love is unconditional whether you obey him or not. But his reward of blessing and eternal life is very conditional on our obedience. It doesn't matter if we obey out of love of him or fear of him. The fear comes from the dastardly physical consequences. And so we come to love the law, because they keep us (if we obey them) from the consequences.  Thus, it might be a maturity thing. When we're a child we fear touching the stove, but as we grow older we love the fact that we were warned against touching it.

Love and Reward are not the same thing. People confuse the two concepts and wishfully but fatefully believe wrongly that if God loves me he will give me blessing. But that's failed logic. A loving father disciplines his children. Why? Because he knows that love must be consistent with right judgement and coincide with what is good, true and beautiful, -- that is natural law. True love is always cooperative with how nature works. Love is the same thing as truth. You can't separate them. Do I wear sunscreen because I fear getting a sunburn, or do I love sunscreen because it prevents the pain of a sunburn. I don't really see any difference. Use the sunscreen, enjoy being outside.

So, consequently LOVE and FEAR are the SAME THING, or they are on the SAME scale of values and motivation. They are the same coin, but different sides. (Any number of metaphors can come close to describing the relationship between LOVE and FEAR. It is a mistake (in theology) to believe they are different.

Society also has a problem with feelings of "guilt." But guilt is good when it keeps you from doing stupid things in the future. 

So, in the end it really does not matter if you obey out of Love, or obey out of Fear. The fact is that you are obeying. Just like you want to obey the laws of the land (or most of them). Do you love the laws of your state because they bring order, or do you obey the laws because you fear jail? Is there a difference?

One explanation is that different personalities are motivated by different stimuli or emphasis. Each of the four basic types of personalities (c.f. Brain Mapping) has it's own motivations.

Another explanation is that based on what kind of life we live, or what kind of day we're having we're going to be motivated some days by love and others by fear.

Human Beings tend to want to simplify everything and blame all effects on one casue. But nature tells us that physical effects have multiple causes. (c.f. The Butterfly Effect.) And so in this argument of Love vs. Hate, many people will want to say it's one or the other. This is known as the EITHER-OR fallacy. The answer—as is in most things—is not EITHER love OR hate, but AND-BOTH. It's a combination that saves us, and gives us life.

King David said he "loved" God's law. I love that. David is saying, "I love the fact that disobeying the law scares the hell out of me. I love what is right. I hate what is wrong. I love life, so I obey the rules. I hate death so I obey the rules." The rules don't change, but my motivations might. They are built into nature. Gravity cannot be loved or hated. It is a fact. Do you want to love the fact that you can stand up and not fall down (due to gravity and your body's ability to discern it and control your muscles), or do you fear gravity and are therefore careful about where you walk—not too close to the cliff of a canyon? In your day-to-day life, you'll use both of those motivations to stay alive and be happy. Thus, Love and Fear are on the same continuum.

My take on Church praxis (what it does in practice) is that the Church focuses too much on God's love with very little emphasis on the rules. I criticize bishops and priests for not teaching more on the fear of hell and condemnation for sin. (I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd benefit from a little fear preached into me about the consequences of sin.) Thus, we have cafeteria Catholics who ignore the Church's rules, and they will consequently pay God's penalty. Note, it is not the Church's self-imposed penalty. The church is simply telling you about God's penalty. I'd listen.

But many folks, like your friend, don't see that. Why?

People that dislike the Church's rules and claim the church focuses on the rules too much are doing one, if not all, of these things:

 A. They want to do what they want to do and not have anyone tell them what to do. (You probably know someone like that. Perhaps  you see them every morning when you brush your hair. I know I do.) It's easier to attack the Church and claim the rules are the rules of men when in fact this is God's Boat we're in, not the church's. People can't argue with God, so they pick something fallible and pretend the Boat belongs to man. Sorry folks. Man did not invent, create, nor does he control nature.

 B. They are listening more to social commentary that biasly reports what the Church teaches, rather than directly studying what the Church teaches. So much of what is in the news is interrupted by news writers based on their negative bias against the Church rather than on an accurate understanding of the Church. The recent flap about the Vatican correcting the women religious in the U.S. is a perfect example. Or the news media's interpretation of the bishops' condemnation of Obama's health care rules is another. In general, the news is wrong about what the Church believes and does.

C. Their pride does not allow them to accept that God has rules of natural law that require things of them. God loves us so much that he gave us gravity, and a whole bunch of other mechanisms that give us life. But if you whine about it and ignore it, you'll kill yourself.  You are free to make any choice you want, but you can't choose the consequence, God does that. Pride goes before a fall. Shakespeare intoned, "He who runs stumbles." The edge of the cliff is always there waiting, just waiting for the fool who says either (a) there is no God, or (b) there is a God and he's just like me.  Right. Hey, Jacko, can you fly?

D. They are not listening to the church's message of God's love that came through Jesus Christ, but only remember the rules (that God establishes, not man) and  they mistakenly claim the rules are made by man. Not so. (more on this below)

E. They generally do not believe that rules of any kind, really matter. Of course, they may be the first to point out that your grammar in a sentence is wrong, because the rules are not followed. Do you follow the rules of grammar because you love being understood, or do you follow the rules of grammar because you fear being misunderstood? I say, there's no difference. But having the rules are absolutely necessary to communicate and live in an ordered community.

The Church's job is to discern the immutable laws of the universe and compile a guide for living that can lead to happiness. That is where the Catechism and the rules it contains come from. They are anything but arbitrary, but they are arrived at BY USING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD, which by the way the Church originally came up with. For over 6,000 years of human history Church leaders (if you go back to the Jewish fathers) observed nature, tried to figure it out and write down rules for behavior that would lead to happiness. (Have you read Proverbs or Sirach lately?)

Centuries ago the study of philosophy and physics WERE THE SAME thing. Then as we gained more understanding we saw the differences between metaphysics and physics. Then, mankind tried to answer the question WHY... which introduced the realm of religion. They all overlap—religion, philosophy and physics. Physics describes how something works mechanically (the body), philosophy tries to explain how the intellect intersects with all disciplines (the mind), and religion tries to explain WHY in terms of morality (the spirit).   All of these disciplines try to describe how to LOVE life and HATE death. Physics deals with atoms, Philosophy deals with thoughts, and Religion deals with origins, purposes and final disposition. ALL THREE, interestingly enough, deal with the dimensions of space and time we cannot perceive (there are more than ten all total). 

So, today, the Church (being historically involved heavily in all three disciplines) tries to focus on the religious and moral side by asking: What kind of rules do we need to follow IN ORDER TO LOVE GOD?   And in this case LOVING God, FEARING God, and LIVING HAPPILY are all the SAME THING.

BTW: Proverbs 9;10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Again, ALL THE RULES existed before the Church came around just like gravity existed before Newton came on the scene.  The Church just wrote them down like Isaac Newton wrote down the laws of Gravity. And by the way, when Isaac did that, he did it as part of the Church's system.  None of the rules are arbitrary by any measure. Only people that like to spit into the wind will think so.

So, in the end...if you want to find your way to the end of the maze successfully follow the rules. And rememer...

-- A person with no faith in God but who obeys God's rules of order will be blessed here on Earth and may or may not be blessed eternally based on God's omniscient judgment of how well that person followed their conscience (an individual's understanding of the rules).

-- A person with faith in God who does not obey God's rules of order will NOT find blessing on earth and may spend a lot of time in purgatory before getting to heaven. (Again the Church's job is to help maximize temporal blessing and speed our entry to heaven.)

The church's job, therefore, is to discover what is true and promote it for mankind's temporal and eternal benefit.  End of story.  Nothing is arbitrary. All is natural.

Alex Jones' Bible Study on St. James

 PRODUCTION REPORT

This blog-post will be updated to keep our contributors and others up-to-date on the project's progress. For background on this project please visit the Alex Jones Bible Study Crowd Funding Page.

Major Sponsors:
•  CHERYL EVANS
•  ABUNDANT GRACES BOOKSTORE 

June 3, 2012 - Art Direction Needed. Lesson Themes Announced.

We are in need of set elements that have something to do with St. James and Alex's lesson themes that are listed here; all citations are from the Epistle of James. 

1. Trial and Temptation (1;1, 1:2-8; 12-18)

2. Poverty and Riches (1:9-11; 5:1-6)
3. Wisdom from Above (1:5-8)
4. Wisdom from Below (3:13-18)
5. Hearing and Doing the Word (1:19-27)
6. Warning Against Partiality (2:1-13)
7. Faith and Words (2:14-26)
8. The Tongue (3:1-12)
9. Friendship with the World (4:1-10)
10. Judging/Correcting a Brother (4:11-12; 5:19-20)
11. Warning Against Boasting (4:13-17; 5:12)
12. Patience (5:7-11)
13. Prayer (5:13-20)

June 1, 2012 - Production Days Set.  Met with Fr. Jerry and Alex at St. Suzanne and confirmed production dates:

Setup: Mon. July 9, 2012 (10 AM - 6 PM)

Shoot: Tu, Wed, Th. - July 10-12, 2012 (5 PM - 10 PM)

Tearout: Fri. July 13, 2012 (10 AM to Noon)

Booked Reinforcement, Inc.  (a staging company in Livonia) to provide black drape and light trusses for the setup. 

We need volunteers to help with setup and production. I'll not clutter this blog with that list. If you can help any of those days, please call Stan 248-344-4423 x-5.


May 28, 2012 - DVD Cover Design, List of Contributors Uploaded, DVD Placeholder Web Page.  It's memorial day, time to remember the U.S. Military and the protection they sacrificially afford us, plant flowers, watch a parade, and catch up on work. Today we (1) created a preliminary design with dummy text of the DVD jacket, (above), (2) established a COMING SOON placeholder on Alex and Donna's Library page at Nineveh's Crossing that now lists all of Our Contributors (THANK YOU!), and (3) heard from Alex giving a mission on St. Lucia in the Caribbean. He sent this picture of the Church where he's teaching. He says they had 4 days of torrential down pours, but today it's post card weather. 

As part of recognizing our contributors, I need to highlight two in particular. One is Cheryl Evans of Livonia, MI and the other is Laura Smith and Terri O'Connell of Abundant Graces Bookstore in Bethlehem, PA. Both made sponsorship level contributions to this effort.If you know Chery, please thank her for us, and please visit Laura and Terri's store and website.



May 24, 2012 - Production Funding Raised. Project gets GREENLIGHT. We're in contact with technical crew, the parish, and Alex to set up dates and arrange for equipment. Alex is currently on a mission in St. Lucia (Caribbean) and in June he'll be in Jamaica. So earliest production looks like July 10, 11, and 12. But a lot of coordination to do before we settle on those dates.

Bashing Hollywood a Rite of Christian Passage

I'm in Hollywood for a little more than two weeks doing what I can to promote the principles in my book The Moral Premise: Harnessing Virtue and Vice for Box Office Success within the Hollywood community and get several scripts produced. I helped co-produce a film conference, am taking meetings with producers and industry friends, and will make several appearances (including presentation of an all-day workshop) promoting the proper structure of story telling (in films and television) that elevate what is good, true and beautiful. Yesterday I had lunch with a Sony Entertainment Executive, pitched a couple stories and left behind a script and a treatment.  When I get back to Michigan we will hopefully start production on a television series for EWTN if our crowd funding effort for the Alex Jones Bible series is successful.

While here. I'm meeting with other Christians who are applied full-time the movie and television industry. With them, I lament the bashing that Christians elsewhere seem to take pleasure in dumping on Hollywood, as if there is some evil conspiracy out here to destroy Christianity.  But Hollywood is only at the top of the list for these Christian critics because of the publicity that natural is part of a movie's promotion. THERE IS NO EVIL CONSPIRACY in Hollywood. The conspiracy is promulgated by Satan within the hearts and minds of an ill-informed Christians. And because of the ill-informed bashing done by Christians, the Christian bashing Christians at times receive, is well-deserved. Here's an example.

Today, a friend sent me a review of a "movie" titled THE PERFECT FAMILY (IMDB link) on the Catholic News Service's website. Here's the log line:.

A devoutly Catholic wife and mother has been nominated for one of the church's top awards. She then goes about trying to prove she has the "perfect" family, refusing to accept them for who they are. 

The film was panned for its anti-Catholic bias. (I have not seen it). But the review upset me for a different kind of reason.  The review bashes Hollywood  in general as if THE PERFECT FAMILY was a perfect example of how the entertainment industry as a whole treats Christianity; or as if this "film" (I keep putting that term in quotes for a reason) was part of the Hollywood system and representative of most Hollywood producers. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially in the case of this film. Here's what I wrote the Catholic News Service.

"THE PERFECT FAMILY" is no more "Hollywood" than the defunct P.O. Box of its production company's address. No studio was involved. It was as independent an effort as one can get.  It grossed all of $14,300 [this was an error, it grossed $107,721 domestically, and never saw more than 25 screens]. The distributor is/was in NY, with 2 films in its roster. The Catholic News Service should be criticized for pandering to Hollywood-phobia on a slow news day. For anyone to watch this (assumed) drivel and think it is newsworthy to report on, demonstrates how lazy Catholic media writers are, claiming to be victimized by Hollywood, but then doing nothing good, true or beautiful to counter it. Essentially "no one" saw this "movie" so why report on it? The review assumes that criticizing drivel is a virtuous activity. It's garbage (the review) of a garbage "film", and reminds me that Christians have abdicated their responsibility to promote what is good and are very much to blame for culture's downfall. Christians should get out of the Church basement (where mold and sloth doth corrupt) and be a witness for the light. Until they do that, Catholics have no business, right, or justification to criticize what they have allowed. In the meantime I have a couple of pro-Catholic films that need funding. Where are the Catholic film investors?

Bashing Hollywood by Catholics who are too lazy to do anything else seems to be a rite of passage.  I'm not bitter, but I am spending my life savings traveling to Hollywood trying to get mainstream movies made that elevate Catholicism. While here I meet many, many Catholics and other Christians that are sacrificing their lives doing a lot of good, and working with a lot of pagans who are also trying to do good but are just uninformed. And yet these Christians in the entertainment industry get very little support from the flyovers who throw out the baby with the bathwater. There is no evil conspiracy in Hollywood. But there is a great deal of nobility seeking of the truth (by Christians and non-Christians alike) and there are way too few Christians out here to help in the process.

 (Some months later 3-8-13.) I just read a blog interview with the producers of THE PERFECT FAMILY and how they got the funding for the movie. It's a typical strategy and makes good sense: Attach name actors to key roles so you can attract public attention and get the movie into theaters and into distribution. The "names" will attract viewers and "success." In this case the attachments, in part, were Emily Deschanel, Kathleen Turner, Jason Ritter, Richard Chamberlain and others. It's essentially an all star cast for a movie made for under $1MM. That is an amazing feat and the script must be very clever. It is now on my "to see" list. I will report back. But one thing is clear. In spite of the all star cast, there may be something terribly wrong with the movie. It appears the public shunned it.Or, maybe, they just never got distribution.

March 8, 2013. Pam and I just watched THE PERFECT FAMILY. It is a terrific Catholic movie that tells the truth about imperfect people and how they strive against all sorts of moral relativism to be true to Jesus Christ. Katheen Turner was not only the lead but also one of the Executive Producers. Anne Renton's frosh directorial debut was near perfect.  When Catholic film reviewers trash this film they are being nothing less than sanctimonious. The film tells the truth of an imperfect person trying her best to be be loving, kind, and true to the faith.

Here Comes The Catholic Church - Fr. John Hollowell

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Stan & Pam Williams'
Favorite Litanies
RELIEVE ANXIETY • PRAY • MEDITATE • PEACE • SOLITUDE • WORSHIP

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Some years back, one of our adult daughters was going through a particularly difficult time. To help her go to sleep one of us would sit by her bed and read litany prayers to her. Doing so helped her relax, trust God, and sleep well. We put them to tape and later to CD, and she used them whenever she needed to rid herself of anxiety. Today, we use them ourselves as we walk, drive, or try to go to sleep. When I have a busy day writing that takes me into the night it will always be difficult for me to get to sleep. So, I plug in my iPhone earplugs, start the Litanies, turn down the volume, and pray with them until I'm asleep. Works every time to calm me and focus on what's really important -- the things of God.

We used to sell these as a CD or MP3 downloads, but it was too much trouble bookkeeping the sales. So, we're not offering them permanently for free. If you like these, or have suggestions for others, please email us and share your thoughts.  

There is no music, just Pam and my voice, praying the verse and response. We hope you will use these, share them with your friends, and send them to our site to get other useful resources to strengthen your faith.

The five MP3 litanies you'll find at the bottom right of our home page are: 

-- Most Holy Name of Jesus  (5:06) 
-- Most Holy Trinity (5:09) 
-- Most Precious Blood of Jesus (2:58)
-- Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (3:38)
-- Resignation to the Will of God (4:14)  

Blessings,

Stan Williams 

The Bishops' Abdication of Responsibility

I've promised myself that I would not spend much time on this, as I have another calling that demands my time in this same moral fight. I've been going back and forth with a popular Catholic radio show host and long-time friend about the HHS Contraception Mandate and Healthcare. He disagrees with Paul Rahe and Rush Limbaugh (who passionately read on-air most of Paul Rahe's essay "American Catholicism's Pact with the Devil"), who claim that the bishops have brought this troubling infringement of the government on themselves by being so supportive of government sponsored and mandated healthcare... as long as it didn't include abortion, contraception, et al.

The following blurb confirms that the bishops have long been a supporter of universal healthcare INITIATED AND CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT (with a few moral limits). Let's first put that stake in the ground, and then examine the consequences of the bishop's actions.

This came last night from dailynews@calcatholic.com

====== QUOTE======
The following came from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on February 14

WASHINGTON—The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said in a press briefing at the White House on February 13, “...I would simply note with regard to the bishops that they never supported health care reform to begin with...”
“This is not the case,” said Bishop Stephen Blaire, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.


“Since 1919, the United States Catholic bishops have supported decent health care for all and government and private action to advance this essential goal,” Bishop Blaire said.“Long before the current battles, the Catholic Church was persistently and consistently advocating for this overdue national priority.”

In the recent health care debate the bishops called universal and affordable health care “an urgent national priority and moral imperative.” The U.S. Conference’s criteria insisted reform should be truly universal, protect human life and conscience and not discriminate against immigrants. “The [conference] opposed the final legislation because it failed this test, a judgment sadly but clearly borne out by the failure of the law and the recent regulation to protect conscience and religious liberty,” explained Bishop Blaire.

“I hope those who made or repeated this false statement will correct the record and report the bishops’ long and consistent record of  support for health care which protects the life, dignity and consciences of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.”

====== END QUOTE======


My radio friend points out that the bishops' support of Obamacare (sans the morally repugnant coverages for things like contraception and abortion) is consistent with the Church's teachings that seek the solidarity of humanity, the distribution of the earth's goods from those who have abundance to those in need, and the principle of subsidiarity.

I too agree with what the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches us in regards to these principles, without hesitation. I understand how they are in accordance with Natural Law. I don't believe them blindly, but know I can defend them easily.

But I believe that the bishops err when they transfer responsibility for the fulfillment of those concepts from the venue of the individual, the family, and small organizations controlled by individuals (all with the oversight of the Church), into the hands of a government that is not prepared to be the moral arbiter of all things human, which healthcare nearly encompasses.

And my reading of the CCC backs up that view. Nowhere does the Church remove itself or the family from the responsibility of these things, and nowhere does the CCC give that responsibility into the hands of the civil authorities

My friend asks me if I think I know more about the teachings of the Church that the bishops? Of course not. But I'm not arguing "knowledge" but rather "practice" and the wisdom and discernment that accompany the implementing of that knowledge. Many lay persons were slow to hold the bishops accountable for their wisdom and discernment of how they dealt with sexually abusive priests.  Knowledge in that scandal was not the issue. Wisdom was. I have a letter from one particular bishop that declares to me that protecting the collegiality of the bishops is more important than publicly taking a pro life stance. Cardinal Ratzinger declares that shepherds who let poison spread in order to avoid conflict are like "mute dogs" and he finds their actions "repulsive. " So, I'm not real quick to embrace the bishops individual or collective actions without some common sense comparisons to Church doctrine and principles. You don't need to be a theologian to realize that a government that legalizes abortion, contraception, and fosters all sort of other immoral practices is not prepared to legislate and rule the morally delicate territory of healthcare. And in such an environment the bishop's embrace of government mandated healthcare is mind-boggling. Indeed it goes beyond mind-boggling. It's irrational.

So, why then are the bishops so anxious for the government to do such a thing? I think it's because they have inadvertently given up their God given responsibility to be moral leaders. They see themselves as impotent and unable to persuade their sheep to follow them. Their laxness in publicly excommunicating various politicians like Nancy Pelosi is an example of their avoidance of conflict, hoping to foster respect by tolerating evil.  They believe that government coercion will work better than Christ's love as exampled in the Church. (Admittedly, with recent scandals, which the bishops have been partly responsible for furthering, they are right that people do not universally see the Church as a great example of Christ's love.)

But the solution isn't to abdicate their responsibility to the government, which is what they have done, and why Rush Limbaugh and Paul Rahe say the bishops have sold their souls to the devil. The solution is for the bishop's to humbly re-embrace their leadership role as society's moral leaders and actively and publicly guide the work of solidarity and the distribution of goods. How should that be done? Certainly not through government taxation and coercion, which violates the principles of true charity and marginalizes an individual's accountability to live out the Golden Rule. But rather the bishops should lobby vigorously for laws that encourage individual responsibility, and that facilitate individual generosity and accountability. And then the bishops need to motivate the laity to live out the beauty of Christ's teachings to care for those in need around us. I think many people do this naturally. Certainly, many of the very rich in this country actively give away more of their wealth than they keep. It is the individual generosity of those who have abundance that builds educational institutions, and funds non-profits that do, literally, a world of good. Exempting such generosity from taxation (both of the giver and the receiver) is just one way that government fulfills the Church's request for human solidarity and distribution of goods. It is the individual, and small organizations led by individuals where bureaucracy is at a minimum, that the Church's principles that bring dignity to the human endeavor are most efficient and effective.

American Catholic Leadership Has Sold Its Soul to the State

Paul A. Rahe

Perhaps the most important half-hour in media, in some years, occurred this afternoon from about 1:45 PM to 2:15 PM (ET) on Rush Limbaugh's show. He read with gusto and salient comment, significant portions of an essay by Hillsdale College professor Paul R. Rahe titled "American Catholicism' Pact with the Devil". You can read the entire essay in all its brilliance at the link in the last sentence. Rahe (a Catholic) says with historical and current depth what I've been fond of saying: Abortion is a problem that is at the foot of the American bishops. Had they been doing their job as moral leaders and not being mute dogs, abortion would not be the law of the land and it would be rare.

Rahe points out that the current contraception debate is what the American Catholic Church leadership has fostered and it's come home to bite. Here are a few paragraphs from Rahe's piece that appears on the conservative website RICOCHET.

==== QUOTE ====

Cardinal Bernadin

In my lifetime, to my increasing regret, the Roman Catholic Church in the United States has lost much of its moral authority. It has done so largely because it has subordinated its teaching of Catholic moral doctrine to its ambitions regarding an expansion of the administrative entitlements state. In 1973, when the Supreme Court made its decision in Roe v. Wade, had the bishops, priests, and nuns screamed bloody murder and declared war, as they have recently done, the decision would have been reversed. Instead, under the leadership of Joseph Bernadin, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Chicago, they asserted that the social teaching of the Church was a “seamless garment,” and they treated abortion as one concern among many. Here is what Cardinal Bernadin said in the Gannon Lecture at Fordham University that he delivered in 1983:

Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker.

Consistency means that we cannot have it both ways. We cannot urge a compassionate society and vigorous public policy to protect the rights of the unborn and then argue that compassion and significant public programs on behalf of the needy undermine the moral fiber of the society or are beyond the proper scope of governmental responsibility.

This statement, which came to be taken as authoritative throughout the American Church, proved, as Joseph Sobran observed seven years ago, “to be nothing but a loophole for hypocritical Catholic politicians. If anything,” he added, "it has actually made it easier for them than for non-Catholics to give their effective support to legalized abortion – that is, it has allowed them to be inconsistent and unprincipled about the very issues that Cardinal Bernardin said demand consistency and principle.” In practice, this meant that, insofar as anyone pressed the case against Roe v. Wade, it was the laity.

I was reared a Catholic, wandered out of the Church, and stumbled back in more than thirteen years ago. I have been a regular attendee at mass since that time. I travel a great deal and frequently find myself in a diocese not my own. In these years, I have heard sermons articulating the case against abortion thrice – once in Louisiana at a mass said by the retired Archbishop there; once at the cathedral in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and two weeks ago in our parish in Hillsdale, Michigan. The truth is that the priests in the United States are far more likely to push the “social justice” agenda of the Church from the pulpit than to instruct the faithful in the evils of abortion.
====== END QUOTE =====


Post Script: Later in the day, after perusing the turmoil in the Catholic and public radio and blog-s-sphere) about Rahe's article, I listened to one Catholic radio show host attempt to tear down Rahe's essay with arguments that are best described as ad hominem, strawman, and equivocation/. This host criticize Rahe for being a blogger from nowhere, bitter, and inaccurate, and fallacious.  I carefully studied Rahe's essay, reading each paragraph 2-3 times, looking for fallacies (which I know something about), and concluded that Rahe's perspective was credible and accurate, objective, and redemptive in tone, to say nothing of his credentials as an historian. You'll notice the essay takes us back to the Magna Charta and moves forward through time, building a logical case for the bishop's failure to lead in recent memory, and giving over responsibility to the state, with advice and lessons for today and the future. Rahe also acknowledges that the bishops are doing a good job today. If  you want, however, to "read" Rahe with some biased emotion, subscribe to Rush Limbaugh and listen to today's program from about 1:45 to 2:15 PM ET. It was a rush.