tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post8384084689456261475..comments2023-05-16T12:26:09.102+01:00Comments on The Historical House: On Writing for the Church 2Mrs McLeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-70528494970820085102016-09-10T22:31:57.239+01:002016-09-10T22:31:57.239+01:00Simcha was talking about food stamps which are sup...Simcha was talking about food stamps which are supposed to help poor people buy food. You give them to the cashier as payment.<br />Catholic Bibliophagisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10697706672495544901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-6265905083535420222016-08-25T14:51:16.613+01:002016-08-25T14:51:16.613+01:00If you were an American, Aussie Girl, the chances ...If you were an American, Aussie Girl, the chances are your child's care would be covered in the United States, either through your workplace insurance, or your husband's, or, if you were very poor, through medicaid. If you were for some reason not eligible for medicaid, all hospitals in the United States are legally obligated to provide care to anyone who shows up and requests it. The trouble with the American 'system', or lack of it, is not that many people are absolutely deprived of medical care, but that theirs is a very inefficient and expensive way of providing it. Incidentally, people most likely to be deprived of good care are those who live in communities that are far from good hospitals and doctors - poor rural MIssissippians (for example), the inhabitants of Indian reservations, and so forth. <br /><br />But in any case, your answer did not address my point. Hard cases make poor law and are not especially helpful in determining political principles. <br /><br />Alias ClioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-16883341555601384402016-08-25T10:54:15.663+01:002016-08-25T10:54:15.663+01:00Well, you don't live in a republic! Comparing ...Well, you don't live in a republic! Comparing the USA to New Zealand or Australia or Canada or the UK (there's a pattern) is like comparing apples to oak trees. People in different countries have different ways at looking at government. The unofficial motto of Canada, for example, is "Peace, order and good government". <br /><br />Alias Clio and I are both Canadians. We probably feel the same way you do. I know that I never felt the slightest twinge of guilt for visiting my Canadian doctor "for free." Why would I? It wasn't free--my parents and then I paid for it through taxes. <br /><br />I must check and see if it is still true that Americans are way ahead of Canadians (per capita) in voluntary, charitable giving. The problem with "the government/council will sort it out" is that people are less likely to take responsibility for such things as--well, picking up their trash from the beach!Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-48112282293107740062016-08-25T05:38:32.161+01:002016-08-25T05:38:32.161+01:00That is all well and good but as the mother of a v...That is all well and good but as the mother of a very sick child who will need medical care for the rest of his life, I am very glad I live in NZ and not the USA. All my son's medical expenses are paid for by the government until he is 6 as is the case for all children here. Even after 6 a fair amount will be covered. We have a therapist who comes to our house, special equipment provided to us and all his medications (there are many) are paid for. i have never had government assistance and neither has my husband. We have both paid taxes for a long time and now that we need medical care for our son we have no shame in accessing it. And I don't believe we are clients of the state. <br /><br />Aussie Girl in NZAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-62261300683695390302016-08-24T08:35:32.377+01:002016-08-24T08:35:32.377+01:00Yes, I'm very glad of that! I wonder what else...Yes, I'm very glad of that! I wonder what else you all have in common?Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-32530810403108015272016-08-23T23:36:53.493+01:002016-08-23T23:36:53.493+01:00The United States is (or began as) a republic, to ...The United States is (or began as) a republic, to a degree that is true of few other nations in the world. Its citizens are expected to be independent of government assistance in order to ensure that they are able to make independent choices about what decisions the government should make. In republican terms, people who depend for their survival on government patronage are clients, not true citizens, because not truly independent. They tend to vote for the person or party that supports them. <br /><br />There are a number of arguments to be made against this political philosophy, but it is not without merit. <br /><br />Alias ClioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-51801741762677462082016-08-23T22:20:43.099+01:002016-08-23T22:20:43.099+01:00Some groups of readers might have left you, Auntie...Some groups of readers might have left you, Auntie, but there are still readers from all over the globe that meet in this comment box! :D Magdalenanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-12079000423318772112016-08-23T21:48:28.938+01:002016-08-23T21:48:28.938+01:00I love reading Simcha's stuff and I thought he...I love reading Simcha's stuff and I thought her book on NFP was very helpful. I too got the impression that it was her comments about Trump and Trump supporting Catnolics that rubbed certain people the wrong way. I really don't think she was in Mark Shea's class as far as attacking her opponents is concerned though. I really thought she was very reasonable. Her swearing didn't bother me but then, I am Australian...... I don't swear much myself but I'm not overly offended when others do. <br /><br />She isn't a convert herself btw, her parents were converts. I only mention this because my parents converted when I was a very little girl and people used to call me a convert all the time. I clearly wasn't and it did bother me as I had witnessed people being very patronising to my parents over their convert status. <br />As a pro life Australian I have always struggled with how American pro lifers can support the death penalty and be anti government help for the poor or universal medical care. I found Simcha rather refreshing in this regard. She makes sense to me. <br /><br />Aussie Girl in NZ<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-534531440201350392016-08-23T20:48:24.866+01:002016-08-23T20:48:24.866+01:00I think her Facebook page will prove to have been ...I think her Facebook page will prove to have been the problem. American and Catholic Catholics are very sensitive about swear words and sexual imagery. B.A.will occasionally exchange salty puns with this closest pals, which I attribute in equal measures to his Britishness and his being a chap. Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-55562069949811813602016-08-23T20:20:11.107+01:002016-08-23T20:20:11.107+01:00Maybe it is because I am German, but I really neve...Maybe it is because I am German, but I really never thought Simcha's tone was too coarse. I like it that she does not mince matters, although I do not always agree with her. Everyone has their right to express their opinion, and if I don't like it, it is up to me to stop reading and move on.<br /><br />Sorry all those readers left. It is so nice to have a place that brings together people with such different ways of thinking. I have followed you on your various blogs for many years now, and I always enjoy what you write. You don't mince matters, too, but in your own way, always well-informed and charitable.Magdalenanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-10231335379593705482016-08-23T18:59:42.483+01:002016-08-23T18:59:42.483+01:00As always, your comment is well-informed and sheds...As always, your comment is well-informed and sheds light on the discussion! <br /><br />I go to trad Mass, and I write about going to trad Mass in heritage Catholic newspapers, so I am very aware of myself as someone likely to attract negative attention. (I was also fired from one heritage Catholic newspaper.) However, I think I know where the line is for the majority of readers. Using coarse language is one of those lines. The wrong tone about Pope Francis is another. <br /><br />I lost a gazillion online readers when I closed "Seraphic Singles" and again when I started writing about European nationalism. I'm sorry to have lost my broad readership--I was very pleased to have "progressives", Calvinists, and sedevacantists all reading and chiming in the combox. That is very rare and precious in a faith-based blog, I think. Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-8361649637424779572016-08-23T18:37:36.817+01:002016-08-23T18:37:36.817+01:00I doubt that it was Simcha Fisher's columns on...I doubt that it was Simcha Fisher's columns on food stamps, or even her vulgarity, as such, that got her dropped by the NCR. Like Mark Shea, she tended to indulge in some rather strong invective against religio-political opponents. More aggravating than that was their shared tendency to assume that anyone who disagreed with them politically must also be in error religiously, and vice versa. Both liked to point out that this mistake was common among conservative Catholics, but they did not seem aware that they were often guilty of it themselves. They are both decent people, but I do think they need to learn to curb their tongues and tempers. <br /><br />If this comment is too disputatious, no need to post it. <br /><br />Alias ClioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-87593305039812497922016-08-23T18:10:06.528+01:002016-08-23T18:10:06.528+01:00Writing about that was really very brave. This was...Writing about that was really very brave. This was brave not only because of American individualism (and fear of poverty) but because she is a convert with a whole lot of children, which could have played into one of the oldest surviving anti-Catholic memes. <br /><br />Poverty is a cold country is really very, very frightening. The anti-Simcha comments making me angriest right now are the ones mocking her for having been on welfare. Sneering at poverty is not Catholic. And sneering at mothers is simply Not Done in majority-Catholic countries. Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-83960482010242290862016-08-23T17:23:57.445+01:002016-08-23T17:23:57.445+01:00Food stamps are issued by the govt. to people maki...Food stamps are issued by the govt. to people making under a certain income, and based on family size. There are lots of rules attached (only used for food, not toiletries, etc). They used to be paper stamps, but now the money comes on an "EBT card" that works like a debit card. <br /><br />The green stamps were basically coupons that anyone could get and use, although they were kind of complicated. They were discontinued in the late 80s, which is why I remember seeing them but don't know the details of how they were used. <br /><br />Simcha used food stamps for her family for a period of time. I remember that column -- she made a few people very angry. She also said it wasn't that helpful for well-meaning people to dump bagfuls of castoff clothing in her yard, and that anyone who wants to help a poor family or person should ask how to help. Both of those columns contradicted a belief that private charity works better than government assistance -- but in her case, the food stamps really helped, and the extra large men's clothing did not.<br /><br />sciencegirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-10046928481129292752016-08-23T17:19:36.409+01:002016-08-23T17:19:36.409+01:00This can't be what Simcha was talking about th...This can't be what Simcha was talking about then. It seems to be something you get from the government. Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-2976108121804589912016-08-23T16:45:51.186+01:002016-08-23T16:45:51.186+01:00I'd rather read her than Ross Douthat or Rod D...I'd rather read her than Ross Douthat or Rod Dreher, both of whom write for paying, secular publications. If I could see a Simcha column become a NYTimes regular contributor, I'd be so happy!!! Because she's maybe the least NYTimes-y of anyone on the Internet. <br /><br />I have the vaguest memories of my grandpa cutting up sheets of green stamps and coupons. They were a kind of loyalty rewards program. You would get them from cashiers at stores and then put them in a book and then send the book somewhere to get prizes. Grandpa loved coupons. Part of having survived the Depression, I think.sciencegirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-29854075327455626992016-08-23T16:08:10.017+01:002016-08-23T16:08:10.017+01:00One that has money. You're American, aren'...One that has money. You're American, aren't you? What are green stamps? Are they coupons? Do you have to give them to a cashier?Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524471174570445036.post-89920122970446341272016-08-23T15:58:14.270+01:002016-08-23T15:58:14.270+01:00I read everything Simcha writes. Hope she gets ano...I read everything Simcha writes. Hope she gets another paying venue soon. Actually, I hope she could get a job writing for a secular publication, one that will let her indulge her sense of humor a little more.sciencegirlnoreply@blogger.com