I have returned, back after a long trip to the Midwest.

John Leo penned a thoughtful and balanced essay on Catholic politicians and the Church here. He concludes, in part, The bottom line is that the bishops are stuck with a Catholic governing class uninterested in the tenets of its own religion. Even the language of Catholic moral discussion has mostly disappeared among Catholic pols. They increasingly speak in the language of the abortion-rights movement. There is nothing much the bishops can do quickly about this. It may sound weak, but the bishops probably should raise their voices a bit and just keep trying to persuade Catholic pols, present and future, to take their religion seriously.

Was there actually a place called Troy? Some think so. Call me a stick in the mud, but I always thought Hector the more appealing character.

Good article on the mind-bendingly-dumb American history curriculum in many schools: But the worst offense is a tone of cheerful, sanitized neutrality so overwhelming that it actually renders the prose ahistorical. Thus in a section on “Life Behind the Iron Curtain,” middle-schoolers are taught both that “Communist governments in Eastern Europe granted their people few freedoms,” and that “in some ways, Communist governments did take care of their citizens. Food prices were low. Health care was free,” as if all prices really were low and health care really was free in economic systems that depended upon bribery and connections. Thus in a unit on the Industrial Revolution, students are asked how they would react if forced to become child laborers — “Would you join a union, go to school, or run away?” — as if there actually were unions, universal education and places for children to run to in early-19th century Britain. Thus in a chapter on Africa, the word “tribe” is carefully avoided. Good teachers can and do overcome bad textbooks, but they clearly have an uphill battle.

And I love how Boston.com posts "Odds and Ends" every day, with crazy news stories from around the world. Here is the best from today:

A German man invents a toilet that berates men if they leave the seat down. Yes, it actually yells at them, saying "Hello, what are you up to then? Put the seat back down right away, you are definitely not to pee standing up ... you will make a right mess..."