Federal Judge in Florida Strikes Down Parts of Obamacare as Unconstitutional

A federal judge in Florida says the Obama administration's health overhaul is unconstitutional, siding with 26 states that had sued to block it.

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson on Monday accepted without trial the states' argument that the new law violates people's rights by forcing them to buy health insurance by 2014 or face penalties.

Attorneys for the administration had argued that the states did not have standing to challenge the law and that the case should be dismissed.

The case is likely to go to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two other federal judges have upheld the insurance requirement, but a federal judge in Virginia also ruled the insurance requirement unconstitutional.

While Cairo Burns, Obama Parties

From White House Dossier

By Keith Koffler

The Emperor and His Court

The Washington A-List was out in force Saturday night at the farewell party for senior adviser David Axelrod, with a roster of guests featuring Cabinet secretaries, big shot journos and – President Obama.

As revolution threatened to sweep Egypt and possibly other allies – with the horrifying prospect of Islamism replacing reliable friends – the president was on view partying with the IN crowd.

The skepticism beyond the Beltway about whether Washington is just one big Love-In certainly gets fed by the sight – as conveyed by the press pool report – of reporters like ABC’s Jake Tapper, NBC’s Chuck Todd, National Journal’s Major Garrett, and John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times emerging from a bash with the president that was held to toast his chief political fixer and leading spinmeister.

The Egypt Crisis in a Global Context: A Special Report

From Stratfor Global Intelligence

By George Friedman

It is not at all clear what will happen in the Egyptian revolution. It is not a surprise that this is happening. Hosni Mubarak has been president for more than a quarter of a century, ever since the assassination of Anwar Sadat. He is old and has been ill. No one expected him to live much longer, and his apparent plan, which was that he would be replaced by his son, Gamal, was not going to happen even though it was a possibility a year ago. There was no one, save his closest business associates, who wanted to see Mubarak’s succession plans happen. As his father weakened, Gamal’s succession became even less likely. Mubarak’s failure to design a credible succession plan guaranteed instability on his death. Since everyone knew that there would be instability on his death, there were obviously those who saw little advantage to acting before he died. Who these people were and what they wanted is the issue.

Let’s begin by considering the regime. In 1952, Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser staged a military coup that displaced the Egyptian monarchy, civilian officers in the military, and British influence in Egypt. Nasser created a government based on military power as the major stabilizing and progressive force in Egypt. His revolution was secular and socialist. In short, it was a statist regime dominated by the military. On Nasser’s death, Anwar Sadat replaced him. On Sadat’s assassination, Hosni Mubarak replaced him. Both of these men came from the military as Nasser did. However their foreign policy might have differed from Nasser’s, the regime remained intact.

Mubarak’s Opponents

The demands for Mubarak’s resignation come from many quarters, including from members of the regime — particularly the military — who regard Mubarak’s unwillingness to permit them to dictate the succession as endangering the regime. For some of them, the demonstrations represent both a threat and opportunity. Obviously, the demonstrations might get out of hand and destroy the regime. On the other hand, the demonstrations might be enough to force Mubarak to resign, allow a replacement — for example, Omar Suleiman, the head of intelligence who Mubarak recently appointed vice president — and thereby save the regime. This is not to say that they fomented the demonstrations, but some must have seen the demonstrations as an opportunity.

Institute of Catholic Culture: Forming Disciples in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia

There is, perhaps, no better place to be a Catholic than the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.  Its founding bishop, Thomas J. Welsh, established a solid foundation at its creation in 1974.  He invited contemplative orders to the diocese to pray for the local church, welcomed evangelists of the media age, like the Daughters of St. Paul, assisted in the founding of solidly Catholic Christendom College, and ensured priests of the diocese received an orthodox, fully Catholic formation.  The diocese's reputation for orthodoxy has attracted an abundance of priestly and religious vocations, and many parishes have had to expand rectories to accommodate at least three or four resident priests.  

This blog has featured the homilies and sermons of two of the finest, holy and most knowledgeable priests of the Arlington Diocese, Father Franklyn McAfee and Father Paul Scalia.  

A key to the diocese's success has been a rich array of parish-based adult catechesis programs.  Pastors have recognized that two generations of American Catholics have suffered from poor formation in the faith.  Many Catholics who have moved to the Northern Virginia diocese have discovered a fullness of the faith that they had not even known existed.  

Among many great new cathechetical apostolates in the diocese, forming Catholics more knowledgeable and faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church, is the Institute of Catholic Culture.  Founded by Sabatino Carnazzo, a recent graduate of Christendom College, the Institute sponsors lectures on Catholic history, philosophy, and theology "as a way of healing the wounds in the Body of Christ, and reaching out to those who seek knowledge of the Truth."  The Institute regularly draws hundreds to hear the best teachers and provides "a social setting where the Faith is not only learned, but lived." 

Audio tapes of the Institute's programs are available on its website, and we will be featuring these exceptional lectures on this blog in the weeks ahead.

Mr. Carnazzo was recently interviewed by Father Benedict Groeschel on EWTN's Sunday Night Live program.  It provides a great insight into this needed and extraordinary new apostolate and its founder.

Atlanta Symphony Chamber Chorus - 'The Heavens Are Telling' - Franz Joseph Haydn

From the Pastor - 'Pruning Away Hesitant Christianity'

A Weekly Column by Father George Rutler

The first protocol of any bureaucracy is to delay action. “Someday” is the bureaucrat’s avoidance of “today.” Our Lord is not a bureaucrat. His demands are immediate: “Today if you will hear his voice . . .” (Hebrews 3:15). He told Zacchaeus that they would dine not someday, but “today” (Luke 19:5). As one maxim has it, “someday” is not a day of the week. There is only one way to follow Christ, and that is right now: the apostles followed Christ “immediately” (Matthew 4:20, 22).

As Our Lord passes by, He calls each of us by name. He does not loiter, and if we do, His figure grows fainter and farther away. As “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18), so the peremptory appeal of Christ eliminates the two causes of procrastination: fear of failure and fear of success. If a man fears failure, he may not lose, but neither will he gain, and if he fears success, he may bask in complacency but never change and grow.

The educational establishment is not innocent of bureaucracy and seems increasingly interested in preparing for someday instead of today. A dean at a prominent Catholic university recently said an astonishing thing: “Our job as educators and as priests is not to bring God to people, or even to bring people to God. God’s already there, and the people are already there. Our job, our way of living out our educational vocation is to ask the right questions and to help young people ask those questions.” That seems consoling at first, but then it becomes more like the Wonderland world of the White Queen, where the rule is “jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today.” Christ did ask questions, but always with answers. His cross looks more like an exclamation point than a question mark.

Pope Benedict XVI has said that it is time for pruning away the hesitant Christianity that has forgotten its purpose, fears action and avoids decisions. Cardinal Newman, no bureaucrat, preached: “Our duty lies in risking upon Christ’s word what we have, for what we have not; and doing so in a noble, generous way, not indeed rashly or lightly, still without knowing accurately what we are doing, not knowing either what we give up, nor again what we shall gain; uncertain about our reward, uncertain about our extent of sacrifice, in all respects leaning, waiting upon Him, trusting Him to fulfill His promise . . . in all respects proceeding without carefulness or anxiety about the future.”

The politician and novelist, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, with his prodigious and sometimes mocked gift for turning a phrase, said that punctuality is “the graceful courtesy of princes.” The Prince of Peace is the most gracious of princes, and thus the most punctual. He is always on time for us, and He only asks that we be on time for Him, not someday but today.

Fr. George W. Rutler is the pastor of the Church of our Saviour in New York City. His latest book, Coincidentally: Unserious Reflections on Trivial Connections, is available from Crossroads Publishing.

Vienna Boys' Choir - 'Agnus Dei'

This recording is from a performance in 1998 celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Vienna Boys' Choir.