Another cross post, this one from Adam Piggott. I listened to the audio from the LifeSite board meeting. Some serious charges, but also much pearl clutching, particularly from Patrick the Comptroller. While hurling charge after charge against JHW, he repeatedly states “I take no pleasure in this,” whilst he is clearly getting off on it. -nvp
Why does Lifesite News have a CEO?
The public ping pong at Lifesite News continues. Westen is now back in, there is leaked audio of the board meeting, and a lot of people on that audio come off as self serving assholes.
I have little sympathy for Westen. Why exactly does a website need a board of directors? It smacks of someone wanting to be seen as very important indeed, or wanting their business to seem very important indeed. Well, if you decide you want a board then you’ll have to fill it. And 90% of people are idiots, and that’s without the self serving or asshole parts.
I have some small experience in these matters. If you set something up and you want to retain control when it gets bigger, keep it simple stupid. You don’t need a board and you certainly do not need a CEO. The CEO is the epitome of business modernism. How ironic that a website designed to fight the scourge of modernism put in place a CEO. That’s like the Orthodox Church electing a pope.
If Westen wants to hang on and return Lifesite to its original ethos of directly pointing out heresy and modernism in the Catholic Church then he has only one option; fire the entire board, fire the CEO, fire and fire and fire some more. Clean house with ruthless and brutal efficiency. He could probably burn some public effigies while he’s at it. I’d also get a real exorcist in and do some serious spiritual cleansing.
Then hire some real firebrand Catholic writers that don’t use big words, that are not academics, that don’t rely on smoking cigars or drinking pints of fruity IPA as some sort of Trad Inc members club, but who have some balls and are willing to point out the hypocrites when they see them.
This stuff isn’t complicated. The Bible is not complicated. Jesus was not complicated. He was very clear, very direct, and His message was fearfully simple. Our enemies embedded on our side love to make things complicated. They love to use esoteric terms and teachings to muddy the waters, like the clown described here by Chris Jackson.
Can Westen do it? I don’t know, but if he doesn’t then Lifesite is doomed which was the goal of his enemies from the beginning.
https://pushingrubberdownhill.com/2025/07/19/why-did-lifesite-news-have-a-ceo/
Anyone who has even minor experience with a non-profit knows that a Board is named because they bring MONEY, or can influence people with MONEY to drop some in the till.
JHW can fire anyone he wants, of course.
Certainly true for boards of big orgs. For little orgs, as the saying goes, “there are board members that pay, and there are board members that do”.
Since we are asserting that everything that Jesus said is clear, what did Jesus mean by the parable of the Good Samaritan? My plain understanding of this does not comport with what I daily observe in the Catholic Media, amongst the best, most faithful Catholics of all times, so I occasionally think I am too simple in my understanding.
“Pearl-clutching” – yes – or also the virtue-signaling of what great servants of the Lord they are.
Such protestations should be taken as 1) given for everybody present at a LifeSiteNews board meeting; 2) unnecessary.
That they put it in, smells of, photo op / We know we’re being recorded.
But I stand by my earlier point: They do *feel* they’re onto something important and righteous, which means they’re not done. “It’s not over”.
As to the overall point here: LifeSite probably has a CEO & board just because Canada makes them, or would suppress them even hard without it.
In other words, sorry Adam but it is not some deep point.
You can go guerilla with your message, be an independent from your own blog or X account. Or you can try to have the rest of the world view you as a media organization, which means you run as an incorporated nonprofit under a ton of laws. Yes. ‘Twas ever thus. Pick one.
Jeff, agreed.
“Why is this organization that manages millions of dollars and has dozens of employees a damned corporation, with these horrible modernist inventions like a board of directors and CEO?!”
What a silly question.
Well after reading an article from Adam’s site called, “How to spot a good time gal”, I know I don’t need to read anything from him again.
He does have listed some great points on spotting deterrents in ladies.
Sadly, he uses foul and crude language when he doesn’t have to.
Ironically, in his list of negative things to spot, he mentions if a lady uses profanities it is a clear sign she is not a desirable lady for a relationship.
It is so sad that Catholic men speak this way and it seems lately it is more frequently, too.
Anyway, when we were kids, if we descended into vulgar speech (not profanities) my mom would let us know how disappointed she was that we didn’t have the intellectual ability to articulate and express our thoughts into intelligent and uplifting words.
Basically, we knew by Mom’s disappointment we were less than simpletons who had sunk pretty low.
I’m not bashing Adam, just thought I’d point out it is wearying and doesn’t help anyone especially our young men when they read “catholic” men bloggers or listen to “catholic” podcasters who sink into using profanities.
We are always an example to everyone out there, not just our children.
It is time to be a good one, or at least just start striving to be a good example always and in all things.
YES!! Thank you, Katie. Once a Catholic writer debases himself by using a profanity, I am done with the article.
Catholics who use vulgarities are not real Catholics. Something is wrong with them. They want to be accepted by the world by using bad words, and they lack dignity. Not to mention it is really childish. They need to try to be more articulate.
Sadly, we also seeing a lot of Catholic “men” and priests sporting ridiculous beards. It is really embarrassing. I still remember my Catholic grandmother saying, “Never trust anyone with a beard. He is trying to hide something about himself.” In other words, he is insecure. And tattoos. My guess is that they want one foot in the world and one foot in the Church.
How about those sporting handlebar moustaches – trustworthy or not?
HAHAHAHA! I had to google what a handlebar mustache was. You should see the images that came up. They look funnier than Kennedy Hall. Not trustworthy.
What’s with the beard hate?
St. Augustine: “The beard signifies the courageous; the beard distinguishes the grown men, the earnest, the active, the vigorous. So that when we describe such, we say, he is a bearded man.” (Exposition on Psalm 133, 6)
Clement of Alexandria: “It is therefore impious to desecrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness. But the embellishment of smoothing (for I am warned by the Word), if it is to attract men, is the act of an effeminate person,— if to attract women, is the act of an adulterer; and both must be driven as far as possible from our society.” (The Instructor, Book 3, Chapters 3, 11)
stolen from https://catholicgentleman.com/2015/08/an-ode-to-the-glories-of-the-beard/
HA, HA!. Add me to your “non-trustworthy list.” :~{
Hard to believe you never heard of a handlebar mustache….long live Sam Elliott!