I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if ending mandatory celibacy is part of the answer or not. The Apostles were not celibate, some had wives and families. Celibacy has more of a political rationale (from when the Church was synonymous with the ruling class) than a religious one. It should be optional, as it in the Eastern rite. No matter what, if it helps attract the well-adjusted, caring, and committed to the priesthood, it’s not something that should be avoided anymore. I think the same for women in the priesthood, though I believe celibacy will be ended before that happens, regardless of how much sense it makes.

The Church needs to be conservative, but it must not be out of touch with its members and itself. What made sense in the Middle Ages doesn’t make sense in the 21st century. And abuse and coverups are wrong, and always have been.

You know what you must do.

Palm’s new phones seem to be pretty good but no one is buying them. At this stage, Palm’s only chance for survival is being purchased. Apple would be a natural fit, given the genesis of the original company, but Microsoft has also been mentioned. But why would either buy Palm? Apple is happy with it’s iPhone and Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 is probably too far along to need much of a technology infusion. The irony is that Palm may have survived too long, had it failed sooner it might have made for a much more attractive package.

It’s not often you see a pallet that looks like this one.

Can you guess what this is?

Fakery of this sort has been going on since the dawn of photography in the 19th century, it’s nothing new. But there’s more to this than just honesty, as important as that is. Many of the animals are mistreated, kept in cramped cages and forced to “behave” for the camera. Although some publishers are labeling captive animal photos as such and even refusing to print them at all, there’s still a significant number who have no such qualms. They might claim to be concerned for animal welfare, but their actions say otherwise.

The patent system was not created to enable the government to create monopolies via legislation.