Recent Comments

1. about 7 years ago on Frazz

   The snakes were a metaphor for paganism. Considering Caufield’s penchant for literature, you’d think he’d be familiar with the concept of metaphor.

2. about 7 years ago on Frazz

   Formal papal canonization is a relatively late development. The early Church acclaimed holy people as saints (canonized) on a local level. St. Patrick was already considered a saint before the formal papal process even existed. We occasionally hear this claim that this or that saint was never canonized, but that claim is based on a misunderstanding of the nature and history of sainthood and canonization in the Catholic Church. That Patrick’s sainthood is formally recognized by the whole Catholic Church is pretty clear since he has a feast day on the liturgical calendar. That is more recognition than a formal papal canonization.

3. about 7 years ago on Frazz

   Formal papal canonization is a relatively late development. The early Church acclaimed holy people as saints (canonized) on a local level. St. Patrick was already considered a saint before the formal papal process even existed. We occasionally hear this claim that this or that saint was never canonized, but that claim is based on a misunderstanding of the nature and history of sainthood and canonization in the Catholic Church. That Patrick’s sainthood is formally recognized by the whole Catholic Church is pretty clear since he has a feast day on the liturgical calendar. That is more recognition than a formal papal canonization.

4. about 7 years ago on Frazz

   “The US spends more per capita than any other nation on education.”

   I doubt it. But either way, how much we spend on education and how much we pay teachers are very different things. Unfortunately, we have forced our education system to take on a lot of roles beyond just education. Our schools feed our children, counsel our children, parent our children. Right or wrong, we spend a lot of money in schools on doing things other than teaching our children because parents and society are failing to fulfill their roles and obligations. But if it weren’t for the fact that so many parents are remiss in their obligations to actually parent their children, the schools wouldn’t have reason or excuse for the mission creep we see.

   And “teachers vs football” is not a facile argument. I went to a newly built high school. They spent more on pads for the football team than they did on the entire English department. The football team had equipment and uniforms provided by the school, but teachers were buying their own classroom supplies. We have a set of very misplaced priorities in our schools systems.

   So, even if we spend a lot on schools, we still pay teachers peanuts. And that is a major problem.