Links and Minifeatures 09 18 Monday

Went swimming, probably for the last time this season. Asked Hilda as we were getting in, "Are there any sharks in the pool?" She said no. I asked her if she was sure, and she responded "You go first Daddy!"



So I told my wife Hilda understands test penguins. When I explained, she said, "But if you go first there's always a shark."

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On a slightly different subject, I'm starting to hope that Thing is not necessarily on the downhill slide which ends in a final visit to the vet. I've had a lot of trouble getting him to eat recently, and he's lost a lot of weight. He's almost painfully thin. After talking to the vet, I've taken to cooking up hamburgers simply to get him to eat something, because the high protein low bulk canned food the vet wants him on due to kidney issues is not stuff he enjoys (he's been fed kibble his whole life until now). But I've found some stuff that is almost as good as the vet's most preferred brand that he will eat with small amounts of hamburger mixed in. He has eaten very well his last few meals. I'm giving him more than I normally would, hoping to maybe build his weight back up a little, and he's eating pretty much all of it. Mellon really got her nose out of joint this morning over how little was left, but she doesn't exactly need any extra, being more in the way of a stuffed sausage dog than a wiener dog at present. But Thing being something in the way of wizard's familiar to me, I'm glad he's eating.



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Carnival of Personal Finance



Carnival of Investing



Carnival of Real Estate Recommended: Bloodhound (Dual Agency)



There is a Carnival of Capitalists up that I have a post in, but the host has done such a minimal job that I've decided not to link. If he wants to get his knickers in a twist and pull the link to my post, that's his prerogative.



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All of those who accuse the Catholic church of complicity in the holocaust, and all of those who defend it, now have a huge amount of very significant evidence to go over: Vatican opens 1922-1939 archives. This covers the papacy of Pius XI, where Pius XII is the real figure of scrutiny, but since the man who would become Pius XII was Ambassador to Germany and later Vatican Secretary of State, there is a lot of direct evidence to go through.

Pius XII toed a cautious line during the war to avoid reprisals against Catholics in Germany and Nazi-occupied countries. He was initially praised for speaking out as openly as he could and helping to save Jews in secret.



This view changed radically in 1963, when German playwright Rolf Hochhuth depicted him in "The Deputy" as a cynic who kept silent despite knowing about the Holocaust.

As we are discovering all over again, it is very easy to criticize after the fact, much more difficult to actually be the one responsible for decisions that could get others killed.

Historian have also called on the Vatican to fully open archives for the papacy of Pius XII (1939-1958) but there is no indication when that will happen.

I predict that it will. There are still living priests whose service dates from that time period, but when they have gone, the Vatican will open the records.



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As Mexico vote dispute winds down, Obrador gears up

But Obrador, who quipped upon hearing of his loss, "to hell with the institutions," has not backed down, saying he refuses to ever recognize the victor, Felipe Calderón, as the country's leader.



"[Obrador] is my president," says Victoria Brocca, a writer in Mexico City who jumped excitedly at Saturday's convention, which drew tens of thousands of supporters, when hands shot up in the air to show support for the creation of Obrador's "parallel government. "Obrador will name a cabinet and be "inaugurated" Nov. 20, just days before Mr. Calderón takes office Dec. 1.

Whether by violence or arrogation, this is bad. Actually, what Obrador is doing is technically called subversion, and is a form of treason. For Excellent reason, I might add.



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Worth Reading: Hugh Hewitt has a good FAQ version of the problem we face.