Michael Novak

Since I am Catholic, I decided to do a search on Michael Novak.
I was reading the Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper yesterday and came across the stories of the year. One blurb mentioned how he went to the Vatican and argued that the war in Iraq was justified. So, I decided to read about him. I went into my research with an open mind, except how could a Catholic writer go to the Vatican and tell the Pope he is wrong.
The Church should excommunicate him, but that is a different argument.
I read his website. The guy is no Catholic. He is a right wingnut who, whether on purpose or by accident, confuses right wing ideology with Catholic teaching. Not the same thing.

Anybody else have any thoughts on this wingnut?

His website is www.michaelnovak.net

He works for the American Enterprise Institute, the same people who brought you John Lott and Richard Perle, so that should tell you all you need to know about him.

Michael Novak goes on about how the right wings views are the Catholic views(not the same thing).

And why did you put JFK in this post?
Why didn't you put Sean Hannity or some other faux Catholic who is alive today?

And even Ted Kennedy was anti-abortion. I would have to assume that his Catholic brother was also.

My point is that it seems to me that Novak is no different than the Catholics of years past.

Start a different post, then.

to John F. Kennedy's views. You asked our views on Novak, the 'right wingnut.'

And my point is that if Novak is a right wingnut, so is JFK.

were the same type of men behind 911....iow the 'bfee' (i would bet dr wu's left nut that Oldbush was overseeing the sniper team that did the actual murder)
the goddam fascists have nerve to point out our dear JFK's interest in women as a 'failin' then they dare turn around and evoke his name! ...bastards!
sorry dr wu...i luv the Kennedys, and will consider anyone who tries hurt them my enemy
btw welcome to DU...

like Santorum and O'Reilly. Religion is, well in my opinion, should be ambiguous.

What a Catholic is to you probably is different in the eyes of O'Reilly. Is it right? I don't know. I would disagree with it as a Catholic myself.

In this column he states:

So what are America's 65 million Catholics supposed to do? Theologically, the Pope is on firm ground. Humanistically, he is one of the many Saddam enablers.

I don't know if I would really call the Pope an enabler, but he chose to do so.

I haven't read up on this guy too much or know about him, but do you know what information is there that is shocking?

Santorum actually has a terrible voting record when it comes to the Catholic view on issues.
O'Reilly is an idiot.

the stuff on Novak's site is a crock. Read his piece on Iraq were he attacks liberals for daring to ask G.Bush's plan on Iraq..then goes on to reveal it himself like it's some sort of game.
Like what is the great mystery here ? were do these guys get of writing as though George Bush has any right to have any plan about Iraq??
This guy is no Catholic..he thinks he's God.

All those WMDs gifts.

In the 60s he was connected with Stanford (I'm not sure if lecturer or what). He was associated with Robert McAfee Brown there. Both were extremely anti Viet Nam war.

In the 70s he got into ethnicity and seemed to have become convinced that because he was of central European orgin, the 'liberal establishment' would never take him seriously. He wrote lots about ethnicity in America and how ethnic groups and Catholics have had to fight against the WASPs who rule America.

He spoke about ethnicity in the 70s or 80s at a univ where I lived. I asked him why he had so changed, but he claimed there was no change at all.

My impression is that he wanted acceptance and found it with groups like the Am Ent Inst.

In 99 (?) there was a long discussion in one of the salon table talk threads about Novak and others. There was a poster who had worked with the 'non-establishment' groups in the 70s. She said there was a Nixon policy to pit blacks vs ethnics to distract from real issues. She seemed very knowledgable.

She converted to Catholicism last year. She is just as vicious now as she was before. Perhaps she just wanted to play with the Opus Dei boys. It takes all kinds to make a brand name.

(Since the other thread got locked.)