On this blessed day, I thought it best to search the archives for some of our contributors' finer reflections on Our Lord's birth. Perhaps they will bring you some spiritual succor. Enjoy:

Sine Metu's "'It's a Wonderful Life': Capracorn?" (December 2005)

Ryder's "Divine Law and the Incarnation" (December 2005)

Advocatus Militaris's "Merry Christmas!" (December 2006)

AveWatch is reporting that the trial judge in the Ave Maria College whistleblower suit has denied Monaghan's motion to dismiss the case based on AMC's "ecclesiastical abstention." The trial judge also apparently ruled that Ave Maria University is a successor institution to AMC, and so the plaintiff can pursue damages against AMU.
That's good news.

It has long been established that we here at Fumare continue to be distrustful of Mr. Monaghan and the administration & board of our alma mater. We are on the record as opposing their abuse of power, their oppressive and vindictive tactics against those who disagreed with them, and we will ever be suspicious of them.

So noted. OK, now what? Some of you have written us off as perpetually discontented “anti-alumni” who can’t be reasoned with. You’ve asked us to “just get over it already” and move on to uniting behind our alma mater and her important mission. Let's talk a little bit about this.

I had a chance to travel in November and had lunch with a fellow Fumarist – one who has been one of the more vehement bloggers here over the years. We talked about our families, mutual friends, living our Catholic faith in the world, and the practice of law. This may come as a surprise to some of you, but precious little of our 90 minutes was spent discussing AMSOL and its problems. However, the little conversation we did have on that topic came as a welcome surprise to me. We both agree in principle that at some point, if the school prospers and does well in Florida, it will be time to stop waving the bloody shirt, and support AMSOL again.

When exactly will that time come? I don’t know. We’re not there yet. But as those responsible for the betrayal of our alma mater continue to move on and are replaced with new blood, the specific reasons for our anger disappear one by one. More importantly, if our alma mater remains true to her stated mission and graduates quality lawyers who are committed to the Natural Law and the promotion of sound Catholic principles in our society to achieve the common good, then perhas we all should consider supporting AMSOL in some capacity.
One way that comes to mind immediately is to stop blaming AMSOL grads for the actions of the BoG and administration. I have seen some commenters here who have said they would not assist their fellow AMSOL grads (from later years). Pardon me, but it sure seems like these people are letting their antipathy for the malefactors (however justified this antipathy may be) cause them to reject good people who deserve whatever help we can give them.

So maybe we can start thinking about this. What would it take for YOU to move on from the strife and start showing appropriate support for AMSOL? This doesn’t mean forgetting what has already occurred, and despite my tentative olive branch, there are some people I will never trust again. But as a classmate and good friend once told me, “only the amateurs stay angry”. Maybe it’s time to look for constructive ways to cautiously assist a mission that, on its face, is worthy of our support? Is there a way to advance the good without rewarding the bad behavior?

Benedict, John of Salisbury, and Natural Law. A must read from today's General Audience.

AveWatch is reporting that Monaghan is trying to make the same "ministerial exception" argument in the still-pending Ave Maria College whistleblower suit as he made in the Ave Maria School of Law wrongful termination suit. (The issue was never ruled on by the court in the AMSL suit because the parties settled the case.) Briefly, Monaghan's argument is that AMC is a religious institution, and under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, the court has no jurisdiction over any employment action or decision that AMC takes.

To learn why this is a silly thing for Monaghan to say, see what was said back in June by canon lawyer extraordinaire Ed Peters and Fumare's own Casimir Pulaski.

AveWatch is not convinced by Golisano's statement that he is and has always been pro-life, and AveWatch thinks the Cardinal Newman Society is missing the boat by now giving Golisano a pass. In support, AveWatch lists the variety of questionable practices and donations that Golisano has been involved with. It's a compelling position, considering the fact that Golisano has remained conspicuously silent about these past problems and considering the "smoking gun" AMU memo which recommends ignoring these past problems.

Maybe I was too easy on Golisano myself (at least Boko and Miklos Molnar think so). At the very least, the whole thing has been mismanaged badly by Monaghan (unsurprisingly).

(h/t American Papist)

If you recall, there was some concern (best expressed by the Cardinal Newman Society) as to whether AMU had honored a pro-choice public figure when it announced that it would be naming its athletic center after New York businessman Tom Golisano.

Golisano has issued a public letter in which he states: "I am pro-life now and have been always pro-life. I believe a woman's 'right to choose' ends when sexual activity results in pregnancy. From that moment, a woman has a fiduciary responsibility to the child in her womb. Hence, I do not believe that a woman should have a right to an abortion."

In his letter, Golisano also clarifies that when he was running for NY Governor in 1994, he was misquoted on his abortion stance. He says that his position at the time was that if elected, he would enforce the law of New York (including abortion) whether he agreed with it or not. On this point, I can't fault Golisano, as he had the correct stance: since he was running for an executive office, it is correct to say that one will enforce the law as it is, even if there are certain portions of the law one disagrees with. (If he was running for legislative office, that would be a different story.)

The Cardinal Newman Society President Patrick J. Reilly has responded to the Golisano letter: "Having great hope for the future of Ave Maria University and sharing its commitment to faithful Catholic education, I am relieved and grateful that Mr. Golisano has publicly opposed legalized abortion. This is the best possible outcome of a situation that helps demonstrate the importance of Catholic institutions refusing honors for public opponents of fundamental Catholic teachings and avoiding even the appearance of compromising Catholic identity."

I also applaud Mr. Golisano for explicitly stating his current position on pro-life matters. Unfortunately, his statement would have been even better if he had addressed his past donations to candidates and organizations with questionable positions on abortion.

See a cameo of Casimir Pulaski at 1:09 and Thales as a Beefeater.

The orthodox sisters across America are organizing.

Recogizing that their voices are not being heard and the feminist nuns are dominating the media regarding the Apostolic Visitation, the orthodox nuns have created a Yahoo Group to coordinate and share information about their support for the Visitation.

The untold story of faithful women religious of the last 40+ years is that they have been persecuted by the feminist disenters in their community who have mauvered into power.

Why is the Vatican pursuing an apostolic Visitation? Because these faithful nuns have been clamoring for it for years.

Please let your networks know about this new network that has been formed.

http://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2009/12/a-different-voice-regarding-the-apostolic-visitation.html

The groups site:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SistersSupportingApostolicVisitation/

Spread the word.

Another multi-million dollar donation, another AMU building named in someone's honor. Thankfully, there appears to be no skeletons in the closet, unlike last time. I wonder how many other buildings or items are up for naming rights at AMU? I like the sound of "The Thales Memorial Waffle Iron."

Thank God for YouTube, or I'd never believe people who tell me that Monaghan is growing idiots in giant pods plugged into the tomato vines of the Immokalee swamp. It's even worse that these are motivated Ave Maria University Students. Quote: "Fox 4 News shows there[sic] inability to objectively portray Ave Maria, taking most comments out of context."

It now makes sense to me why so many AMU students can't seem to grasp abstract concepts. Take a look at the real drama queens in the FOX 4 NOW coverage. Self-styled "real journalists" AMUForums has posted the entire interview segments, along with the names of the students appearing in the FOX 4 video.

One video, titled "Patrick Simmons and John Masek Talk To Fox 4 News" is hilariously sad that the person posting it thinks it proves something other than the low intelligence of the speakers. Patrick Simmons, who spells it "amature[sic] drama queen," appears to be modeling his speech after Clinton. Although admitting he created the page, he then denies having written any of the insults appearing on the page he created. He goes so far as to say that he doesn't know anyone personally who would say those things, but he doesn't deny that people out there exist who would. I also like the spin where he tries to say that his own family has harsh humor. Let's see the links his family created about him. I also like how he avoids calling himself fat, but rather calls himself "big." "Husky" is the nicer word, but he demonstrates that words and language aren't his forte.

Watch the rest of the videos for a laugh. You couldn't write this stuff if you wanted to. I've seen trial video of felons who appear far more credible and other deposition video of uneducated people who speak with less pauses, less "umms" and far less "you knows." It's scary that this is Ave's finest.

Likewise, the atrocious spelling found throughout the facebook page and even the YouTube page for AMUForums and video descriptions is priceless. These are short bus riders all the way.

Watch the videos yourself and you'll see that the FOX 4 Now coverage was very kind to these students. Simmons presented no better context for the clip FOX used, and frankly, if FUMARE had edited the FOX 4 clips, we'd have included all his Clintonisms so you could see how well that self-professed beacon of Catholic morality teaches our youngins to ignore any duty to speak the truth or measure one's words. What's funnier is that another student accuses Hemminger of lying.

Sadisvan must have a remnant of a conscience because he doesn't say lying, but rather talks about unknown people who speak "untruth" about his university irritating him. I like how their own rhetoric denies what they try to say.

These kids were stooged. Commenter Ivan Kasimirovich might be right after all, that these kids were plugged with talking points.

You can't make this stuff up. From far away it's hilarious. For Mr. Hemminger, it's not.

Chin up, Hemminger! The retards can't even spell their insults well, and if all they can muster is to call you fat, then you've already kicked their asses from the start. They claim to have the high moral ground, but they ignore even Healy's misdirected advice to "Let charity reign!" Apparently, it's all good if charity means destroying enemies with the retarded goon squad. Priceless.

I want more videos! Network TV writers can't get this good!

Dear Santa,
you know I've been a good boy this year, and well, except for that one thing, which I hope your elf delivered the thing I sent you about, we should be square, right? If not, have that elf see my elf and we'll make it square.

In consideration of the mutual promises expressed herein and in other collateral agreements, incorporated herein by operation of the Master Partnership and Mutual Understanding Agreement, dated on that fateful day when I caught you kissing someone other than Mrs. Claus in the shopping mall, please amend the following to the 2009 inventory sheet:


This should help AM and I continue to do such good work.

In the December 3, 2009 edition, The Wanderer ran the statement of the Cardinal Newman Society on the Golisano donation to AMU. A.J. Matt, Editor and Publisher, also ran an "Editor's Note" after the Newman statement. I offer it now for your consumption:

Editor's Note: We are somewhat heartened concerning the Newman Society's somewhat weak "shot across the bow" of AMU following the publicity surrounding the Golisano scandal. Our reporter, Marielena de Stuart continues to be banned from the AMU campus, because of her attempt to find out why she suddenly had been prevented from attending the Golisano press conference after earlier attaining official clearance from AMU representatives.

Thanks to an express order to AMU authorities from Venice Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Mrs. Stuart must be allowed access at any time to the AMU church (which is on AMU property). The Wanderer intends to issue shortly a formal request to AMU's president, and to its chancellor, to lift its un-Christian and unprofessional ban against Mrs. Stuart.

Meanwhile, the Monaghan money vacuum continues to be turned on at full power. Hundreds of parents of children in Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis received a "begging" letter from Monaghan.

Written on November 2 (All Souls Day) only days before AMU's public honoring of 4 million dollar donor Tom Golisano, Mr. Monaghan closes his appeal letter as follows:

"Yes, we have made great progress in building Ave Maria University, but we need to make more progress now. Your gift today will help in several ways--it will allow us to keep up the pace, it will show the broad base of support for Ave Maria which is so important to any national institution, and it will encourage others to support us too because they will see that they can be part of a great awakening in our culture--the new evangelization in our country that will so dramatically shape the future of the Church.

"Please, I ask you to pray, fast, and contribute today. You won't regret it. In fact, I have great hope that you and I will have an eternity to rejoice in the action we take today."

As the ancient warning declares: "Let the buyer beware!"

A.J. Matt Jr.
Editor Publisher
The Wanderer