On Monday, the Vatican promulgated decrees concerning (among other things) "34 martyrs of the religious persecution that took place in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War." The folks at The Hagiography Circle have already added them to their list:
the martyrdom of the Servants of God VICTOR CHUMILLAS FERNÁNDEZ, professed priest, Franciscan Friars Minor; born on 28 July 1902 in Olmeda del Rey, Cuenca (Spain), and killed in odium fidei on 16 August 1936 in Boca de Balondillo, Fuente el Fresno, Ciudad Real (Spain); and 21 COMPANIONS from the Franciscan Friars Minor of the archdiocese of Toledo, priests and religious, who were killed in odium fidei in 1936 during the religious persecution in the Spanish Civil War
the martyrdom of the Servants of God ANTERO MATEO GARCÍA, layperson of the archdiocese of Barcelona, married; member, Lay Dominicans; born on 04 March 1875 in Valdevimbre, León (Spain), and killed in odium fidei on 08 August 1936 in Sant Andreu de Palomar, Barcelona (Spain); and 11 COMPANIONS from the Dominican Second and Third Orders of the archdiocese Barcelona, who were killed in odium fidei in 1936 during the religious persecution in the Spanish Civil War;
On Tuesday, The Scotsman published news of Joseph Stalin's plans to breed a race of super-warriors from men and apes. Technorati takes us on a tour of the blogosphere's reaction: Clayton Cramer describes the story as typical of communism and goes on to draw parallels with the modern Left. Tim Riley observes that it's interesting Stalin used volunteers. Secondhand Smoke compares Stalin's effort to Joseph Fletcher's suggestions.
Posted by Ben Brumfield at December 21, 2005 11:17 AM
If I see one more person saying "The left believes in gay rights, so why NOT do X", I am probably going to vomit.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at December 21, 2005 04:58 PMSo some blatherer wants to accuse "the left" of bestiality and Stalinism? So what? Why is this worth anyone's attention or interest?
Posted by: Martha Bridegam at December 21, 2005 06:50 PMIf you're referring to Clayton Cramer, there's a long story about his gaining some credibility by being the first person to have pointed to serious flaws in Michael Bellesiles's Arming America. It's his only claim to fame and he regularly overhypes it. Briefly, Eugene Volokh allowed Cramer to join The Volokh Conspiracy, but he was finally ejected, as I recall, for his rather virulent homophobia and has subsequently been voted the "worst ever" member of The Volokh Conspiracy. His blog, alas, has a considerable following in the knuckle-dragging Right.
Posted by: Ralph Luker at December 21, 2005 09:04 PMWell yes. To be honest, I never found anybody commenting on the Stalin's Ape-Men story outside the (far-ish) right, despite hoping for a post that would be a more broad-based survey. I did, however, omit the Technorati search result from the "Birch Blog."
I question your assertion about Cramer's "considerable following", though. I skim over his blog on a weekly basis, but have never seen him cited anywhere outside the Bellesiles scandal, on which his work stands on its own. None of the center-right to far-right blogs I've read have cited him in entries I recall. I am aware, however, that outside of David Horowitz, Clayton Cramer is the Obscure Net Personality (TM) most likely to get you descending to low-blows in your Cliopatria posts. More than a few deserved, likely, but still a bit unseemly.
I read the Volokhs more regularly (and once worked with Sasha Volokh's bride), but don't remember a poll. Please post a link and I'll widen Cramer's lead.
Posted by: Ben Brumfield at December 21, 2005 09:54 PMBen, I just came across this and I'm hurt, frankly, that you'd think me capable of a low blow. If you check Clayton's stats, he gets a lot of readers, mostly of the knuckle-dragging sort, I assume. You will, alas, still see him cited occasionally on The Volokh Conspiracy.
Posted by: Ralph Luker at December 26, 2005 09:32 PM