The View From The Fainting Couch: Make Popcorn

fishwrapIn the past, even recently, I have brought to the readership’s attention the venom of MS Winters of the Fishwrap (aka National Schismatic Reporter.)

Today (HERE) MS Winters has had a case of the vapors over the Fr. Sirico’s clever riposte.  HERE  MS doesn’t need much more to work him into a spittle-flecked nutty than any opinion offered in public by Fr. Sirico.  MS is obsessed with Acton Institute.

But there’s more!  MS is also enervated by the harsh assessment of Pope Francis leveled by George Will in the WaPo.

MS is so upset, today, that he has slipped back into his default invective image: venom!

Yesterday morning’s Washington Post included an essay by George Will that was as venomous as it was stupid.

Back in the day, Londoners would go to the sad Bedlam hospital in London for their viewing “amusement”.  Crueler days.  I run a risk here, but today you might go over to the digital Bedlam that is Fishwrap. If you have a few idle moments make some popcorn and read Winters’ latest manipulative philippic.   He melts down.  And then he melts down again… and again.

To complete the Bedlam theme, the worst aspect of the Bedlam theme, also check the combox… then take a shower.

Pray for them all over there (sincerely).

For the history of MS Winter’s addiction to venom, go HERE.

I hope he feels better soon.

fainting couch 05

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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19 Comments

  1. benedetta says:

    May not have time to read it all — a quick scroll indicates a personal rant mostly incoherent and attack mode — but LOL as to his tired attempt to once again style himself and fishwrap as centrist and moderate — he calls out “the left and the right” but then he never gets around to the furious indictment of the left, only George Will and Fr. Sirico with personal launches. I saw no concrete support for his ridicule of either of their assessments. At bottom it just appears to be a screed in which Winters objects to the existence of people who study economics, politics, history and impart the knowledge in a critique in mainstream media outlets. His position is essentially that he as a moderate gets to be the arbiter of all truth, and as such he recommends banning George Will and Fr. Sirico from contributing their two cents, making a living, or doing ministry, on anything, because, ridicule and mockery.

    Maybe his equally harsh attack on “the left” as he premises things at the beginning will be issuing tomorrow under part two? One can only hope that he calls out extremists where they are. As totalitarians in a wealthy elitist country who establish civil liberties for a certain landed gentry with cultural and financial backing up the wazoo based on corporate and taxpayer backed greed for ripping apart babies in the womb.

    Still no word from Winters or Fishwrap on PP dismemberment? Hmmm.

  2. Dialogos says:

    MSW was part of a panel yesterday on C-SPAN about the Pope’s views on capitalism. (It was on just after Prime Minister’s questions, something I watch with pleasure.) I did not watch him. Saw just a bit with a fellow (“Free Market Jay”) from the Discovery Institute on the topic, who mentioned that the Pope’s comments are best understood in his overriding concern about the poor.

  3. majuscule says:

    I know it’s tempting to read, but I urge readers to stay away from the combox under that article. It could prove impossible to deny the urge to post a comment in reply to… to… (descriptive words fail me in regards to some of those comments…I haven’t yet seen these, but past experience is my teacher.)

    Once exposed to the combox rants, one will need more than a shower to remove the toxicity.

  4. RAve says:

    New book for those wishing to understand why MS is so dead wrong (bonus: one of the authors regularly attends the traditional latin Mass).

    Social Justice Isn’t What You Think It Is
    Hardcover – November 3, 2015 – by Michael Novak & Paul Adams

    http://www.amazon.com/Social-Justice-Isnt-What-Think/dp/1594038279

  5. RAve says:

    By the way, this past summer author Michael Novak gave a class at Acton with the same name (Social Justice Isn’t What You Think It Is).

  6. The Astronomer says:

    Following the constant admonition of Fr. Z to “GO TO CONFESSION,” my confession this coming Saturday will be along the lines of “Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I accuse myself of the sin of giving in to the temptation of reading psychological pornography…I’ve been reading the Fishwrap combox again….”

  7. Magash says:

    While I love your call outs of Winters nuttys for what they are, I’m afraid that your call out of him is in a way counter productive. After all I would be highly surprised to find out that your very good and informative site doesn’t have orders of magnitude higher readership than a tired old rag like the Fishwrap. And since I can’t even wrap fish in the electronic version I’m afraid I won’t be pushing their stats by clicking through to read what he has written.

  8. AnnTherese says:

    I appreciated the essay by John Cavadini he referenced, adding, “(Cavadini) listens to the pope’s challenges, and sets aside enough of his pride and self-will to actually hear the challenge. He does not bring his own checklist that Francis “has to deal with.” Instead, he offers the prayer that he will have the grace to hear, to be challenged, and to grow in the faith.”

    I pray for this also– for open ears, eyes, minds, hearts, hands, and spirits of ALL Catholics during Pope Francis’ visit.

  9. benedetta says:

    The NCR was founded for the sole purpose of fomenting hatred against the Church, and even more particularly, the office of St Peter in the Pope, any Pope. They invented the so-called “culture wars”, and they regard killing babies for profit by big corporate PP, ripped apart through pain and torture as something on the agenda along the lines of what tv show is every one watching lately, relegate human lives to cocktail hour chat by elites and attempt to place front and center their own special interests, which they would bully forth, not even giving thinking Catholics the respect of an honest, open, forthright discussion in reason and via evidence. This screed is just a case in point. Winters says his opinions represent a centrist Catholic view, therefore, by virtue of his venom spewing, we are to accept this as so. We are not permitted to investigate the Fishwrap’s mission or guiding principles, and we are treated as reactionaries along the chain, that because of their bluster we are to just agree that their elitist and empowered special interests should take political partisan and even precedence in every parish over the slaughter of innocent lives in the womb, on their say so alone.

  10. DonL says:

    I haven’t read Fishwrap in many years now, because it so reminds me of JPII’s wisdom in saying about an obvious evil (forgot which one???) that it would die of it’s own accord.
    I suppose it’s much like realizing that the “Saint Judas Iscariot” wing of the church doesn’t get very much silver tossed into their collection basket for an obvious reason.

  11. robtbrown says:

    majuscule says,

    I know it’s tempting to read, but I urge readers to stay away from the combox under that article.

    Why not urge people decide for themselves?

  12. benedetta says:

    As to the Nat’l antiCatholic Reporter’s combox, why should it be any surprise at all to know that their combox is a place which welcomes anti Catholic hatred and bigotry, irrational anger towards Catholics and political threats and judgements towards Catholics? Not a place of caritas, not reflective of our communion at all. That is another reason why I think “Schismatic Reporter” too optimistic in terms of what they are all about.

  13. Sam Schmitt says:

    Normally I too would urge people to avoid the NCR comboxes (of course they will make their own minds regardless of my or anyone else’s urging) – but this time around there are actually some (gasp!) thoughtful and respectful comments, particularly from one “monicadeangelis.” Worth a look in my opinion – not that I’m trying to keep people from making up their own minds!

  14. benedetta says:

    I don’t think people should avoid. People should see, and note well. We ignore currents such as theirs at our peril.

  15. Pingback: Do You Agree With Abortion Forgiveness? - Big Pulpit

  16. iamlucky13 says:

    Truthfully, the Washington Post piece Winters mentions was just as ridiculous as Winters’ own writings, with many of the subtle tricks of yellow journalism like referencing “fortune cookie” statements made third parties but associating them with the Vatican. Similarly, the author implies that Pope Francis condemned using electricity as a sin, which is simply false.

    He didn’t merely imply but outright claimed Pope Francis promotes subsistence farming, yet I can not find any place Pope Francis has referred to subsistence as anything other than the dictionary definition of the bare minimum a person needs to survive, and therefore a minimum, not a maximum that each person has a right to.

    Then again, he stopped well short of elevating fossil fuels to idol status, as Winters claims.

    So we appear to have a case of two fools arguing with each other. It may be entertaining, but it is not productive.

  17. benedetta says:

    iamlucky13, I don’t know, I certainly don’t agree with every word he writes, but, seriously, you’re going to equalize G. Will and MSW as both being “two fools”? I think just a brief glance of George Will’s long career and astute observations as a columnist for all mainstream news organizations way predating the time of 24/7 cable news “entertainment”/reality show biz, his journalistic C.V., if you will, pitted against MSW’s stints as political operative and now political operative for a propaganda publication that is well, political operative on behalf of Catholic haters everywhere, um, yeah.

    But getting back to the antiCatholic Reporter’s com box — I do not think we should pretend that what is going on there is not happening. We should be prepared ,and we should prepare our young people as well, to witness to the Faith with fortitude, and nothing less.

  18. benedetta says:

    As a follow up to Will versus Winters, here is an interesting piece examining Will’s own anti Catholic bias.

    I for one, and I am sure I am in the mainstream here among Catholics interested in the Holy Father’s visitation to America and his pastoral presence with us as shepherd, have little time or interest to spare for the babbling voices even among so styled Catholics which yet again question the right of Catholics to simply exist, who take on the role of the deceiver to set up inhuman and inhumane expectations of ordinary believers, including the partisan and the ideological.

    If I were to accept as all of these in media and politics, in elitist culture and 1%ing pressure groups relentlessly harass us, then all I need do as a believer is show up at the polling place and vote my conscience on one day out of thousands in my life, pay my taxes according to government dictates, shrug at persecution of fellows around the world, and say goodnight. Accepting their narrative for my life as a Catholic believer, there simply is no need to read their words or listen to their babble or waste my time on considering what they have to say in minutiae harassing deconstructing analyses, for profit, ad infinitum and ad nauseum.

    Of course not having to listen to their spew frees me up for doing what is important, most important for me in the eyes of God, and I may that much more dedicate and offer and serve and pray. Whatever Winters Will wants to say, as for me and my house, we will be praying for the Holy Father and supporting Christians in their attempts to walk with dignity and authenticity despite all the culture read media burdens with, and all the politicoes animate hatred towards.

  19. benedetta says:

    link:

    http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/4185/george_wills_lowinformation_war_on_the_church.aspx

    It’s never a bad idea, when a Pope visits the United States, to review our history, which has included a significant anti Catholic movement raising its virulent head to an aggressive degree these last several years. No one should pretend that it isn’t there. The “you must” dictate of one party that says that a politician may not support life, or else, is one such aspect of the tyranny of a Pope shaming and Christian hating culture which includes the media though they attempt to separate themselves from the alleged “culture wars”, the fact is that their animus towards believers created it in the first place, they are part and parcel and self appointed participants and referees to it.

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