I have had in my heart the Catholics and others that knew Daniel Phillips just 30 minutes north of me in the Diocese of Little Rock and by extension the family and their "extended family " of a young 19 year old Seminarian that died in a tragic car accident.
How does a Bishop just days before Christmas explain the death of this young man. Our Faith tell us he is more likely to be in a better place. Still that does not exempt us from asking the questions of why and in the end we find God's time is not our time. Anyway I thought this was a wonderful homily by the Bishop that uplifted me after I read it.
According to this young man that attended the funeral all of the Diocese of Little Rock Seminarians were in attendance as well as most from his seminary from Dallas. Let us keep his family this Christmas in our prayers as well as the young man that devoted to all to Christ . Here is the Bishop of Little Rock's homily.
Homily for the funeral of Daniel Phillips, a seminarian of the Diocese of Little Rock
12-21-12--Wis 4:7-14; PS 27; 2 Cor 5:1,6-10; Lk 12:35-40
Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. But you and I feel the darkness of this day for another reason: the wreck that took Daniel's life and the loss we have suffered as a consequence. But our faith in Jesus, to who...m Daniel gave himself so fully, invites us to view this tragedy through the prism of faith. That's what Daniel would want! Let me share with you some thoughts that help me embrace God's will, despite the bitter loss I feel.
1. Daniel was following Jesus fully and faithfully. In the Gospel you just heard, Jesus said: "The Son of Man will come when you least expect him" and "it will go well for those servants whom the master finds wide-awake on his return." I had my last serious conversation with Daniel 3 weeks ago when I visited him at Holy Trinity seminary and I can attest that Daniel was wide-awake spiritually. At that time I was impressed by how happy he was to be a seminarian and how certain he was that God was calling him to open his heart to the possibility of becoming a priest. Daniel was a man of prayer and very considerate of others. He had a very big heart and did such thoughtful things. For example, he knew that I would be leaving Holy Trinity at 5:00 am the next day to catch an early flight, and there he was the next morning waiting outside my door at 5:00 am to walk me to my car and see me off. I know I wouldn't have been that thoughtful at his age, or for that matter, probably even now! Yesterday I recalled that, you know, we speak of baptism "by desire" in the case of people who have already decided to be baptized but die before actually completing RCIA. Well, if there were such a thing, we could say that--by analogy--Daniel had already received, in a certain sense, the sacrament of priesthood "by desire" and so I'd like to think that our Lord will arrange things so that this great and holy desire of Daniel's will become a reality in the great liturgy of heaven, Daniel concelebrating with Jesus our High Priest.
2. As we heard in our Second Reading, believers walk by faith, not by sight. Daniel was at my house Sunday for a Mass and seminarian Christmas party, and in my homily I spoke about fear and adversity. And isn't fear of death our greatest fear? And the loss of loved ones our greatest adversity? On Sunday I reminded Daniel and the others that when we pray the Lord's Prayer, we praise God and his kingdom in the first half of the prayer, and then in the second half we ask him to provide for us, forgive us and protect us from the Evil One, freeing us from fear of all that could do us harm, which is not the same thing as exempting us from having to face adversity, indeed quite the opposite. We are to take up our cross and follow Jesus--walking by faith and not by sight--on the path of sacrificial love that leads us to our own personal Calvary. And notice: this is not just resigning ourselves to enduring unavoidable adversities, but rather embracing the cross with love, modeled on the love with which Jesus embraced his own cross for our salvation. When we ask God in the Lord's Prayer to "Deliver us from evil" we affirm that God has broken the power of the Evil One and therefore can bring good out of evil--even the school shooting in Connecticut, and all other bad things that happen--like Daniel's accident. This is verified for us today in Daniel whom God has used, to some degree, to break the power of evil --how many 19 year olds do you know who spend their weekends on the Adoration Team at a Search retreat, as Daniel did last weekend? And verified also in the ways God is already bringing good out of this bitter loss, though we can't see it quite yet. Today God is inviting us to see more clearly what really is important in this life...and I'll bet he's calling some of you to step forward to take Daniel's place in the seminary and eventually in the priesthood. Maybe some of you for whom he spent some of his last hours in this life in prayer, in Adoration last weekend?
3. Believers grieve differently. We actually may grieve more intensely because the deeper the relationship--and spiritual relationships are the deepest of all--the deeper the relationship, the more intimately our lives become intertwined, and thus the more wrenching it is when one is pulled away. The loss feels like something is being ripped out of our very self...because it is. Indeed, it would be really sad if we did not feel this intense grief, because that would mean there wasn't much to our relationship. And yet our grief is a grief full of hope, confident that God will continue to provide for us and for Daniel as only he knows how.
4. God measures time differently than we do. Our First Reading speaks of the just man who dies early and says that while we generally think of wisdom as the accomplishment of old age, the young man who lives a blameless life can already attain that wisdom normally associated with the elderly. And since the reason God made us was "to know him, love him and serve him in this life, so as to live happily with him in the next," Daniel suffers no loss--we're the ones who have suffered a loss! But Daniel enjoys a great gain in being able to return to the Lord, even though at an age that seems to us way too early. In this we are like children watching a parade through a knothole in a fence: we can't see the entire parade, nor can we see its final destination; we see only what happens to be passing right in front of us at that moment. But God sees the entire parade and it is his direction that the parade is headed.
On December 25 we celebrate Jesus' birth, a date chosen because it was just a few days after the Solstice. No one knows Jesus' real birthday, so the Church picked a day in which God's creation expresses in its own way the true meaning of Jesus' birth: that in Jesus the light is more powerful than the darkness. The Solstice is on the 21st but it's not until the 25th that we can really tell that the darkness is receding and the days are getting longer and brighter once again. And the light is more powerful than the darkness also for us. Daniel is in a good place, so let's support each other with words of faith and reach out to each other with love and compassion, confident in the great hope we have in Jesus our Savior, who rose victorious from the grave.
31 Aralık 2012 Pazartesi
At Christmas Diocese of Little Rock Buries A Very Young Seminarian - Bishop Taylor's Homily ( Full Text )
Does U.S.Catholic Editor Need Some Empathy For Those That Claim Religious Liberty Concerns ?
That is the feeling I got just after the reading the title of his blog post Religious liberty for businesses: Protected freedom or excuse to discriminate? . I will return to that blog title later on.
Scott Alessi looks at the Hobby Lobby case ( where he thinks the CEO 's wealth is important for some reason to point out ) , and a group of people that are having religious libertyobjections to providing some type of services as to same sex marriage ceremonies. In particular he talks about a certain Trolley company woes.
Let me note before proceeding further that the New Mexico photographer case he cites in passing has other major First Amendment concerns that stand apart from the religious liberty claim, For that see
Amicus Brief in Elane Photography v. Willock (the New Mexico Wedding Photography Case) whose signers all support the right of same-sex marriage rights by the way.
It seems he is a tad more open to the Hobby Lobby problem though he states both " illustrate just how easily fighting for a company's "religious freedom" can cross the line".
In the article he puts "religious freedom" and "religious liberty" in scare quotes but note he does not put the word "rights" in scare quotes in that last paragraph. He also declares that these folks would not be " supporting or condoning same-sex marriage by extending the same service he already provides to same-sex couples ".
Well it appears they disagree. Let me add there is a also sort of odd belief in the Separation of Church / Faith and work that we see from time to timel urking around here.
He ends his piece :
Religious liberty is undoubtedly a valued freedom that should be protected. Just how far it extends into the business world is an issue best left for the courts to determine. But when it comes to denying rights to employees or customers, lets drop the "religious liberty" argument and call it what it really is: discrimination.
Well that is fair to a certain point. There is a facet of religious liberty that allows discrimination. There unprotected discrimination and protected discrimination. There is just discrimination and unjust discrimination.
However today the word discrimination is used sadly in a much one sided way. In fact at the recent controversy at Tufts University the fight against discrimination was being used to discriminate against other and to try impose a new required Orthodoxy. See Can Tufts Handle Religious Pluralism? from F.I.R.E. .
A good place to perhaps gets some need empathy or understanding is Prof Rick Garnett article Confusion About Discrimination at Public Discourse. I recommend that piece. In fact I recommend his full Law Review on the subject here .
After discussing just and unjust discrimination Prof Garnett states:
The near-universal, if sometimes unreflective, conviction that “discrimination” is wrong means that assertions of religious freedom are sometimes heard as requests that political authorities tolerate a wrong—i.e., “discrimination”—which they would otherwise prohibit, penalize, or discourage. Such requests then raise the question of whether it is “worth it” for the authorities to do so—that is, whether doing so would complicate too much the government’s own projects, or conflict too glaringly with its values. And so, when they are granted, accommodations are regarded all around as concessions. Sometimes, to be sure, we do and probably should think about honoring rights in terms of protecting, or simply tolerating, a liberty to do even the wrong thing (so long as the wrong thing is not too wrong). Our free-speech decisions and doctrines provide many examples, including the Supreme Court’s recent rulings protecting depictions of animal cruelty, hateful funeral protests, and over-the-top-violent video games.
We should not forget, though, that one dimension of the freedom of religion is, sometimes, precisely the freedom to “discriminate,” and that this freedom should be protected not simply because such discrimination is an all-things-considered tolerable wrong—sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t—but because it is inextricably tied to something good—a human right—and is, sometimes, beyond political authorities’ legitimate reach.
I noted at the beginning I was not thrilled with the blog title that the Editor at U.S. Catholic used.
I am not sure that most people that have religious liberty concerns are looking for an " excuse " to discriminate against gay people. They serve gay people all the time in the course of many parts of their normal operation of business.
However they still think there is a difference in serving a person of same sex attraction lunch versus participating and using their talents to enhance the celebration of a same sex union.
I do not suspect bakers are foregoing selling birthday cakes to people that have same sex attraction. Though some might again have problems participating in enhancing the rites of a same sex union with a wedding cake.
In other words I don't think the assumption should be from the start that people are looking for an "excuse" to pile on a certain group of people , but that they have a real life moral quandary in the VOCATION they are in.
I think a path toward respecting everyone rights and human dignity plus association rights is a distinction between belief versus status or immutable characteristics . As per previous example it would be indeed be unjust to discriminate against a person because they have same sex attraction. An example being again the restaurant refusing to serve people they think are gay would be unjust. The choice not to participate in a public rite of belief such as same sex marriage that also implies some sort of attempted sexual union one views as illicit would be a different matter.
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CBS Sports Writer Dayn Perry Unleashs the Shellfish Argument on Angels Baseball Player
Baseball sports writer Dayn Perry over at a CBS sports blog commented on an article that dealt with the state of gay athletes in pro sports.
Like in the New England Patriots' locker room. Earlier this season linebacker Brandon Spikes sent out a tweet claiming to be homophobic "just like I'm arachnophobic. I have nothing against homosexuals or spiders but I'd still scream if I found one in my bathtub."
Spikes later said he was joking. But former Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, among baseball's most thoughtful and intelligent players, isn't kidding when he says an "out" teammate could divide a team.
"For me, as a Christian … I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it's not right," he says. "It will be difficult and uncomfortable."
Hunter is of course entitled to his personal beliefs (although one wonders whether he is similarly affronted by, say, shellfish and neatly maintained beards, which are also forbidden by the holiness code of Leviticus), and when he talks about potential problems within the clubhouse, he may well be correct .......
This is rather unfortunate and a person that writes for Washington Monthly, ESPN the Magazine, The Miami Herald, The Montreal Gazette, Reason, and The New York Sun, and many others should be held to a higher standard. The shellfish arguemnt is often presented as a grand gotcha .
However Christians of all Faith traditions have actually thought about those verses . For instance see here , here , and here all of which is easily available to find within minutes on the internet. It should be noted of course that the Angel baseball player did not even cite what portions of the Bible he was referencing by this seemed of little importance to Mr Perry.
Pro athletes of Faith I suspect in the future will note that Mr Perry might not exactly take the time to take their Faith seriously
SKC Fans Keep Afroman's Legacy Alive Through Kei Kamara Worship
Remember Afroman's "Because I Got High"? Much like Alanis Morrisette's "You Outta Know" it was one of those rare late 90s/early 2000s pop songs that managed to sneak a blatant oral sex reference onto America's most mom-approved radio stations. Subsequently, many of us experienced that awkward moment where you are in a small confined space (i.e. a car) with one of your parents and you are both forced into uncomfortable silence by the knowledge that you are both thinking about sexual activity at the same time.
All that potentially scarring, therapy-worthy stuff aside, Sporting KC fans have found another use for Afroman's 2001 weed-rap anthem: flipping it into an ode to Kei Kamara. Witness the grandeur for yourself, recorded at last night's playoff rally in downtown KCMO. Nice work guys.
H/T to @JweavKC and @Eighmee.
Marsch's Montreal Have Anelka on the Brain
How’s your French? Merde? Better ask for Rosetta Stone for Christmas then because if you really want to know what’s what with the Impact you’re going to need to read and listen to a lot of it. But if you are like me and only speak French after a bottle & a half of Bordeaux (and poorly even then) you can check out the latest episode of the SoccerPlus podcast because it features an English-language interview with Montreal coach Jessie Marsch.
The headline here is that he says the club are still batting around the idea of making a play for Nicolas Anelka. I repeat, Nicolas “Not Claude” Anelka. Marsch says “it’s still a possibility” and they “haven’t closed the door on it.” It would be one hell of a get, much better than that raft of aged Italians that’s been bandied about as possible DPs. Plus with him being French he could actually understand what the local socceratti are writing about him.
On second thought maybe that’s not the best move for a player as, erm, emotional as Nico.
27 Aralık 2012 Perşembe
Pro Life Implications of St Ambrose 's Commentary On The Visitation In Today's Office of Readings ( DEC 21 )
I was struck today by today's Office of Readings that had Church Father St Ambrose 's commentary on the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary found the Gopsel of Luke.
There are among many things some very pro life overtones that should out to us today,
From a commentary on Luke by Saint Ambrose, bishop
Mary visits Elizabeth
When the angel revealed his message to the Virgin Mary he gave her a sign to win her trust. He told her of the motherhood of an old and barren woman to show that God is able to do all that he wills.
When she hears this Mary sets out for the hill country. She does not disbelieve God’s word; she feels no uncertainty over the message or doubt about the sign. She goes eager in purpose, dutiful in conscience, hastening for joy.
Filled with God, where would she hasten but to the heights? The Holy Spirit does not proceed by slow, laborious efforts. Quickly, too, the blessings of her coming and the Lord’s presence are made clear: as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the child leapt in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Notice the contrast and the choice of words. Elizabeth is the first to hear Mary’s voice, but John is the first to be aware of grace. She hears with the ears of the body, but he leaps for joy at the meaning of the mystery. She is aware of Mary’s presence, but he is aware of the Lord’s: a woman aware of a woman’s presence, the forerunner aware of the pledge of our salvation. The women speak of the grace they have received while the children are active in secret, unfolding the mystery of love with the help of their mothers, who prophesy by the spirit of their sons.
The child leaps in the womb; the mother is filled with the Holy Spirit, he fills his mother with the same Spirit. John leaps for you, and the spirit of Mary rejoices in her turn. When John leaps for joy Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, but we know that though Mary’s spirit rejoices she does not need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Her son, who is beyond our understanding, is active in his mother in a way beyond our understanding. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit after conceiving John, while Mary is filled with the Holy Spirit before conceiving the Lord. Elizabeth says: Blessed are you because you have believed.
You also are blessed because you have heard and believed. A soul that believes both conceives and brings forth the Word of God and acknowledges his works.
Let Mary’s soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ in faith. Every soul receives the Word of God if only it keeps chaste, remaining pure and free from sin, its modesty undefiled. The soul that succeeds in this proclaims the greatness of the Lord, just as Mary’s soul magnified the Lord and her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior. In another place we read: Magnify the Lord with me. The Lord is magnified, not because the human voice can add anything to God but because he is magnified within us. Christ is the image of God, and if the soul does what is right and holy, it magnifies that image of God, in whose likeness it was created and, in magnifying the image of God, the soul has a share in its greatness and is exalted.
White House 's Nightmare Headline - U.S. Justice Department vs. The Little Sisters of the Poor
The editor of Get Religion , Terry Mattingly , makes an interesting observation of a story that is in the Catholic and conservative alternative media but strangely not the mainstream. See Got news? White House vs. Little Sisters of the Poor which deals with the real world consequences of the HHS Contraception mandate.
This is all strange since the media just it seems weeks ago was all nuns on the bus . What happen ?
Church Of England Archbishop Tweets Concern Over Drastic Cuts To Military
I almost did a double take when I saw this. Good for one Church of England Archbishop in what appears to be a consistent appreciation of the military and certain real life issues. . However some were not pleased . See Archbishop of York warns defence cuts 'risk the safety of the nation' .
Let me add as an American I appreciate the Archbishop's concern and related that the U.S. does not have shoulder more and more responsibility in these affairs alone. THe U.K. and it's military is a vital component in keeping the peace in many places.
After Baby Jesus Is Gay Billboard Some New Zealand Anglicans Tired Of One Parish's Christmas Message Monopoly
2009 Oh How Can I compete with God in Bed Christmas Billboard 
OMG I am pregnant Christmas billboard
And DRUMROLL Please .......... For Christmas 2012 
Some New Zealand Anglicans are getting tired of one city church's Christmas message hijacking the Church's message as a whole it appears. See Anglican Down Under post ACANZP's Christmas Message to NZ: Was Jesus Gay?
After Baby Jesus Is Gay Billboard Some New Zealand Anglicans Tired One Parish's Christmas Message Monopoly
At Christmas Diocese of Little Rock Buries A Very Young Seminarian - Bishop Taylor's Homily ( Full Text )
I have had in my heart the Catholics and others that knew Daniel Phillips just 30 minutes north of me in the Diocese of Little Rock and by extension the family and their "extended family " of a young 19 year old Seminarian that died in a tragic car accident.
How does a Bishop just days before Christmas explain the death of this young man. Our Faith tell us he is more likely to be in a better place. Still that does not exempt us from asking the questions of why and in the end we find God's time is not our time. Anyway I thought this was a wonderful homily by the Bishop that uplifted me after I read it.
According to this young man that attended the funeral all of the Diocese of Little Rock Seminarians were in attendance as well as most from his seminary from Dallas. Let us keep his family this Christmas in our prayers as well as the young man that devoted to all to Christ . Here is the Bishop of Little Rock's homily.
Homily for the funeral of Daniel Phillips, a seminarian of the Diocese of Little Rock
12-21-12--Wis 4:7-14; PS 27; 2 Cor 5:1,6-10; Lk 12:35-40
Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. But you and I feel the darkness of this day for another reason: the wreck that took Daniel's life and the loss we have suffered as a consequence. But our faith in Jesus, to who...m Daniel gave himself so fully, invites us to view this tragedy through the prism of faith. That's what Daniel would want! Let me share with you some thoughts that help me embrace God's will, despite the bitter loss I feel.
1. Daniel was following Jesus fully and faithfully. In the Gospel you just heard, Jesus said: "The Son of Man will come when you least expect him" and "it will go well for those servants whom the master finds wide-awake on his return." I had my last serious conversation with Daniel 3 weeks ago when I visited him at Holy Trinity seminary and I can attest that Daniel was wide-awake spiritually. At that time I was impressed by how happy he was to be a seminarian and how certain he was that God was calling him to open his heart to the possibility of becoming a priest. Daniel was a man of prayer and very considerate of others. He had a very big heart and did such thoughtful things. For example, he knew that I would be leaving Holy Trinity at 5:00 am the next day to catch an early flight, and there he was the next morning waiting outside my door at 5:00 am to walk me to my car and see me off. I know I wouldn't have been that thoughtful at his age, or for that matter, probably even now! Yesterday I recalled that, you know, we speak of baptism "by desire" in the case of people who have already decided to be baptized but die before actually completing RCIA. Well, if there were such a thing, we could say that--by analogy--Daniel had already received, in a certain sense, the sacrament of priesthood "by desire" and so I'd like to think that our Lord will arrange things so that this great and holy desire of Daniel's will become a reality in the great liturgy of heaven, Daniel concelebrating with Jesus our High Priest.
2. As we heard in our Second Reading, believers walk by faith, not by sight. Daniel was at my house Sunday for a Mass and seminarian Christmas party, and in my homily I spoke about fear and adversity. And isn't fear of death our greatest fear? And the loss of loved ones our greatest adversity? On Sunday I reminded Daniel and the others that when we pray the Lord's Prayer, we praise God and his kingdom in the first half of the prayer, and then in the second half we ask him to provide for us, forgive us and protect us from the Evil One, freeing us from fear of all that could do us harm, which is not the same thing as exempting us from having to face adversity, indeed quite the opposite. We are to take up our cross and follow Jesus--walking by faith and not by sight--on the path of sacrificial love that leads us to our own personal Calvary. And notice: this is not just resigning ourselves to enduring unavoidable adversities, but rather embracing the cross with love, modeled on the love with which Jesus embraced his own cross for our salvation. When we ask God in the Lord's Prayer to "Deliver us from evil" we affirm that God has broken the power of the Evil One and therefore can bring good out of evil--even the school shooting in Connecticut, and all other bad things that happen--like Daniel's accident. This is verified for us today in Daniel whom God has used, to some degree, to break the power of evil --how many 19 year olds do you know who spend their weekends on the Adoration Team at a Search retreat, as Daniel did last weekend? And verified also in the ways God is already bringing good out of this bitter loss, though we can't see it quite yet. Today God is inviting us to see more clearly what really is important in this life...and I'll bet he's calling some of you to step forward to take Daniel's place in the seminary and eventually in the priesthood. Maybe some of you for whom he spent some of his last hours in this life in prayer, in Adoration last weekend?
3. Believers grieve differently. We actually may grieve more intensely because the deeper the relationship--and spiritual relationships are the deepest of all--the deeper the relationship, the more intimately our lives become intertwined, and thus the more wrenching it is when one is pulled away. The loss feels like something is being ripped out of our very self...because it is. Indeed, it would be really sad if we did not feel this intense grief, because that would mean there wasn't much to our relationship. And yet our grief is a grief full of hope, confident that God will continue to provide for us and for Daniel as only he knows how.
4. God measures time differently than we do. Our First Reading speaks of the just man who dies early and says that while we generally think of wisdom as the accomplishment of old age, the young man who lives a blameless life can already attain that wisdom normally associated with the elderly. And since the reason God made us was "to know him, love him and serve him in this life, so as to live happily with him in the next," Daniel suffers no loss--we're the ones who have suffered a loss! But Daniel enjoys a great gain in being able to return to the Lord, even though at an age that seems to us way too early. In this we are like children watching a parade through a knothole in a fence: we can't see the entire parade, nor can we see its final destination; we see only what happens to be passing right in front of us at that moment. But God sees the entire parade and it is his direction that the parade is headed.
On December 25 we celebrate Jesus' birth, a date chosen because it was just a few days after the Solstice. No one knows Jesus' real birthday, so the Church picked a day in which God's creation expresses in its own way the true meaning of Jesus' birth: that in Jesus the light is more powerful than the darkness. The Solstice is on the 21st but it's not until the 25th that we can really tell that the darkness is receding and the days are getting longer and brighter once again. And the light is more powerful than the darkness also for us. Daniel is in a good place, so let's support each other with words of faith and reach out to each other with love and compassion, confident in the great hope we have in Jesus our Savior, who rose victorious from the grave.
20 Aralık 2012 Perşembe
Howard Kurtz Reminds Us Again In Gun Control Fight Why Citizens United Is Needed Counterweight to Media
This past year we have seen the media put " religious liberty " in scare quotes and frame the HHS contraception mandate as fight over birth control or even a war on contraception. We saw how Andrea Mitchell of NBC took it upon herself to go after the Komen CHARITY because they would not fund her buddies in Planned Parenthood.
Now we have this from Howard Kurtz himself !! :
There was certainly a media agenda during the battle for civil rights in the late 1950s and 1960s. Television helped shine a spotlight on Alabama Gov. George Wallace and other Southern politicians who were fighting to preserve a segregationist society. News organizations were accused of being liberal, but they were on the right side of history in exposing practices that were fundamentally wrong. Rosa Parks’s refusal to move to the back of the bus would have been for naught had the media not made her a symbol of racial injustice.
In more subtle fashion, the media have led a national conversation about gay marriage, which as recently as 2004 was deemed politically unthinkable. Now it is legal in nine states, the last three of which adopted new laws in popular referenda last month. Again the press was accused of taking the liberal side, but sometimes that consisted of interviewing newly married gay and lesbian couples, who didn’t seem threatening to anyone. Whether the media changed the culture or lagged it, they were not missing in action.
Read the whole link.
No matter what your views are on gun control what Kurtz is saying should perhaps raise some alarm bells. It might be different if the United States had a real advocacy media like we see in Europe perhaps. That is various media outlets in the print world take and present the news through a certain viewpoint. However in the United States we don't have that. In fact there are few cities left that have more than one newspaper nowadays.
Events like this remind me more and more why I supported the Citizens United Supreme Court opinion. It's a necessary counterweight to the media folks that because of their First amendment rights are able to to basically lobby ( as Kurtz admits they are doing ) while other are handicapped.
Another Pew Research Survey
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| Oh Brazil...ohhhhh Brazil. |
Brazil looks pretty awesome with just over 15 million *unaffiliated*.
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| I wonder what religion this person practices. She's probably Mormon or something. |
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| G'day...Roo. |
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| Sorry CR...lookin' kinda super lame. |
* Article Slate
* Pew Survey Home Global Religious Landscape
* Page with hella data here
* I'm not kidding...this is an event that claims to have 1010 hot babes on an Australia beach...and I believe them.
I Wish I Had Me Some Vatican Austerity
It seems that everyone is tightening the belt right now (I wanna say a good Catholic type joke right now, but I don't know what a Catholic would tighten)...even the Vatican. Somehow the private-secret-and super rich-n-powerful Vatican had a negative balance of (just) 19 million dough-lair-ooo's. You see they had an increase in spending of 37 million..thus austerity.
The poor Vatican-ites can only spend $160,000 for some xmas nativity scene that they put up somewhere but the *really sad part* is that in 2009 the Prefecture for Economic Affairs (the budget office) OK'd $730,000 (1) for the same event. I know what you guys are sayin' right now...
...poor Vatican-ites, must be ruff.
* Article Vatican Austerity RNS
(1) I know. I know peeps. Which Jesus is going to be in the manger. I vote for the one that looks like the guy on zig-zag rolling papers...wink wink.
The Great Billboard Wars Of 2012
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| Isn't invading other countries worse than this. |
We might now be third in the world membership rankings (right behind Team Jesus and Team Mo or Team Mu) and all but we are still the most hated (we're number one, we're number one). This has been a great year for that new atheist tradition...putting up billboards and getting people pissed at us (my theory is that they were pissed before we even got there). Don't believe me...ask Bill "I always got my panties in a bunch" Donohue.
This is what B.Iagmpiab.D. said concerning this years installment in Times square that says Keep the Merry, Dump the Myth, "This is vile. We as Christians never harass, intimidate or insult atheist. But they can't seem to say "We simply disagree with you." They have to insult us."
I'm almost at a loss for words...
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| Quite a handsome sigh I would say. |
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| Nothing says God loves you like vandalism. |
- In March, a Harrisburg, Pa., billboard featuring a chained slave and a Bible verse, “Slaves, obey your masters,” angered local African-Americans, who called for it to be pulled down. The billboard was paid for by a local chapter of American Atheists in response to lawmakers’ designation of 2012 as “the year of the Bible.”
- In October, a Freedom From Religion Foundation billboard in Portland, Ore., had a pair of devil horns drawn on the head of a smiling Mark Hecate, a local atheist.
- In 2011, a billboard purchased in Moscow, Idaho, by the American Humanist Association that showed a woman’s face and the words, “Think before you believe” was amended by vandals with the caption, “I evolved from an amoeba?” (RNS)
So it's OK to destroy someone else's property. That promotes an all loving and all powerful God. The damages to the Chico billboard are unknown right now, but it did cost $3,800 to put up. That's a good chunk o' change.Look at the millions of gazillions of billboards that they put up and compare that to the number that weeeee put up. Now factor in how many times they vandalize our billboards and how many times we vandalize their billboards and you get...
...super unfairness. But what do you expect atheists...we're dealing with religion here, right.
* The always good...RNS Article.
My Asian Minority Thoughts On "Cornball"
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| Think cornrows and everyone thinks Bo. This movie should be remade and in the part of short dude that gets to do it with an Amazon hottie...c'est moi. |
Recently Rob Parker of ESPN showed that he is still in, like, the 1950's or something. He was talking about the rookie quarterback Robert Griffen the third (aka RGIII), and asked outloud to a national audience (sit down this is so stupid)...(clear my throat)...if RGIII is black enuff. No shit. He didn't say those words, what he said was "...is RGIII a cornball brother?" Lemmie take a sip of my breakfast beer right now, otherwise my head might explode.
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| This dude was on the Kings...when they were good. |
I have seen first hand what it is to be black here in the states. Growing up in the 70's grandma would tell us "..and when you get there, don't act ghetto." That wasn't really about us, it was about how people perceived us. Sometimes I take things so personally that one would think that I-iiiiii think that I'm black. Besides that, the battle for equality and civil rights (as well as LGBT rights) is the very same battle as the battle for secular society.
Just like when I hate it when Team Atheist fights within our community, I equally hate it when my beautiful black brothers and sisters are infighting. Both communities need more and better unity, not stupid infighting and name calling. There should be no senseless calling out of your/our teammates. Unity unity unity.
So why did Parker ask if RGIII is indeed a "cornball brother?" Oh gee, just the *important* and *valid* reasons like he has a white girlfriend and he is republican. I'm serious. That's what Parker said. So according to Parker, RGIII is not black enuff. RGIII is not down with the cause (I think he did say that, but I'm not going to look for it.). I'm going to try and keep this relatively short, but I want y'all to know that this topic gets me Filipino-angry (1).
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By making a ridiculous statement like that what Parker is implying is that in order to be black in America one needs to tow the line by being, gee I dunno, incarcerated, a thug, a gangster, being uneducated, only date within race/color and vote democrat (I can go on but I will not). A pathetic side note, Parker did give RGIII props...for having cornrows. Did I say pathetic.
Look man, I'll admit that when Clarence Thomas was being vetted for the Supreme Court and even when Colin Powell bust out onto the political scene...I called them "house niggers." The difference between Parker and I is this: I was wayyyyyyy younger than he and I eventually changed my mind. When I went to the Philippines I was chastised for not knowing my language, Tagalog. Wanna get me totally pissed, tell me I'm not Filipino enuff because I (like many many other first generation-ers) don't speak *island*. You can fight city hall, but you can't fight or deny...DNA.
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There has been too great an effort from the civil rights crowd to let this pass without reflection and education. We have come to far to go back to thinking like this.
(1) That's my attempt at a joke because that is a stereotype.
* F.O.B. means fresh off the boat. As far as insults go I think this one is rather weak...it's still an insult tho.
* I also say teh crazy like honky and/or cracker. I usually don't say redneck...because I'm a redneck. Don't forget, I grew up in the country.
* Name calling is only cool if I do it. I don't make the rules, I just acknowledge them.
* These white people are not white. They are not towing the line. They have cornrows.
(2) One of my arch enemies is the *traditional* first generation Filipino totally straight conservative bad haircut sexist macho probably pretty good looking in fact so good looking that he is often times perceived to be teh gay super clean cut and the worst part...blindly loves his harsh mean...mommy. I'm the opposite of all that. Fuck everybody other than that...have a nice day and stay warm.
16 Aralık 2012 Pazar
Belgium Teenager That Battles Cancer Get Wish to Be U.S. Soldier For a Day ( Great Story )
This is just a wonderful story of a Belgium teenager that has battled cancer getting his wish to be a U.S. Solider for day via the the Make the Wish Foundation and U.S. Army. It appears his grandfather's stories of the American soldiers from that Greatest Generation liberating Belgium had a huge effect.
Nice write up, great video , nice photo gallery via the Courier - Journal at Belgian boy's wish: Be an American Soldier .
Catholics Need To Get More Invested In First Amendment Values Fight At Tufts University
Because as recent events at Vanderbilt University not only is our ox going to be likely gored it always HAS BEEN.
F.I.R.E , one of the leading advocates for rights of speech and association on colleges campuses ( both private and public ), has a great overview of the situation at Tufts University that has escalated somewhat the past few days. See Can Tufts Handle Religious Pluralism? .
It could be Tufts today and places like Tulane tomorrow and that is just the private University threats.
Catholic Owners of Drury Hotel Chain Will Fight HHS Contraception Mandate
This is a very good story about the family behind the Drury hotel chain and their Catholic Faith. See Drury Hotel founder says faith, family shape business decisions
At the very end of the article the HHS Contraception mandate :
Although he is pro-life and objects to the mandate, his company is subject to it because it is considered “secular” by the government, despite the fact that it is a private family company.
Drury said that he has sent out notices that the company – which is self-insured – will not comply with the mandate and is in the process of pursuing a legal challenge to it.
“We will not participate in payments of any kind” that oppose Church teaching, he said.
As you can see their hotel holdings and properties are pretty vast.
May I suggest people stay at Drury when traveling
Did Sister Simone Campbell , Network and Nuns On The Bus Help Make Michigan Right To Work Happen ?
While most attention to Nuns on the Bus was focused on their opposition to certain Paul Ryan budget proposals , I saw in the final days they were involved in other matters that was not getting the same national attention. See their media release here , and 'Nuns on the Bus' tour rolls into Grand Rapids to support 'Protect Our Jobs' proposal.
I thought about that today when I read this CNBC piece How Republicans Engineered a Blow to Michigan's Powerful Unions and saw this :
Battle Over Ballot Measure
Republicans said a key factor in passage of right-to-work was what they consider an "overreach" by unions in Michigan.
On March 6 of this year, a union group including United Auto Workers union president Bob King announced that they would seek a November ballot initiative to enshrine in the Michigan constitution the right to collective bargaining.
"It was a power grab. In retrospect it was a huge mistake," said Scott Hagerstrom, Michigan state director of Americans For Prosperity, a conservative non-profit partially funded by the Koch brothers.
At a public meeting of labor and corporate officers last summer, Snyder said he deliberately pleaded with union leaders not to go forward with the ballot initiative.
"If you do this, you should anticipate you're going to create a divisive discussion on right-to-work also," Snyder told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday, recalling his remarks.
Unions pressed forward and some Republicans say that this essentially blew up a "gentlemen's agreement" between the unions and Republicans that neither would rock the boat on labor legislation in Michigan.
UAW President Bob King told Reuters that labor leaders pursued Proposal 2 because they expected a Republican push on right-to-work regardless.
The battle over Proposal 2 was nasty. Protecting Michigan Taxpayers, a group backed by DeVos, spent $22.7 million to oppose it, according to campaign finance disclosures filed with the state. DeVos family members alone provided $1.75 million of its funding, the records show.
Protect Working Families, a group backed by a union coalition that included the UAW, spent $22.9 million supporting Proposal 2, according to reports filed with the state. The UAW contributed about $5.6 million to that committee.
The proposition went down to defeat by 57 percent to 43 percent. Republicans interpreted this as suggesting that the public would support right-to-work, Colbeck said
Portrait Artist For Pope Does Delightful Children's Book On Benedict's Real Life Love For His Fish ( Forward by Mons. Georg Gaenswein )
I was not aware that the official portrait artist for the Pope ( shown above and who has a wonderful story herself ) had written a charming children's book that is centers around Pope Benedict's real love for his garden and his fish. The UK Telegraph had a story on the book that was released the same day the Pope did his first tweet. The book is currently available only in Italian.
Mons. Georg Gaenswein wrote the forward for the book which was published in the Vatican newspaper . This site has a English translation of that foreword which I reproduce below.
The mystery of a little pond
A tale created and illustrated
by Natalia Tsarkova, painter
Foreword by Mons. Georg Gaenswein
Translated from the 10/10/12 issue of L'Osservatore Romano
It is not a secret that Benedict XVI loves the Vatican Gardens, but he especially loves the Gardens of the Pontifical Villas in Castel Gandolfo.
Whenever he is in residence at the 'Castello' during the summer months, he takes a walk through the gardens every day, praying the Rosary amidst the beauty of creation: the trees, the plants, the flowers, the birds, the farm animals, the great orchard, the olives, the centuries-old oaks, the majestic cedars and so many other beauties of nature are an invitation to enjoy and meditate on creation.
They are like a symphony of extraordinary forms and colors, of amazing sounds which do good for the heart and soul. All nature, all creation, is a tangible testimonial to the greatness and beauty of the Creator, who made it all for us.
Among the places most loved by the Holy Father at the Castello is the Giardino della Madonnina, which was made for his predecessor Pius XI in 1933, and since him, four more Pontiffs before Benedict XVI would find it a pleasant place to pray - Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II. 
Before the image of the Virgin Mary in the garden named for her, there is a little pond with red fish and two large carp. Every time the Pope finishes his prayers before the Madonna, the fish seem to gather at the edge of the pond, awaiting a generous treat from the Holy Father.
In fact, an anonymous and generous hand daily prepares a small bag with bread crumbs for the Pope to feed the fish. There is great 'joy' and lively activity in the pond when the 'largesse' comes.
This is the routine that gave birth to the story told by the author of this engaging little book, The mystery of the little pond , which is the story of two goldfish.
Natalia Tsarkova composed a dialog between Father Goldfish and his son, and has enhanced her story with marvelous illustrations and designs. And in the end, she could not do without a cat..
Behind the story is, of course, the Pope's love of creation, of animals, especially the small ones. Thus, to look at all creatures, including the small ones - who often escape an inattentive look - with the eyes of love, is the message of this engaging book. 
12 Aralık 2012 Çarşamba
Sheeee's Baaaaaack...
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| What it could have been, what it was and what it now is. |
Now Cece has a painting for sale on eBay and the latest bid is (aprox) $800. Now now peeps that think the wost of other peeps automatically, she is not cashing in on her recent popularity. Just like all good Christians, Cece is gonna give all proceeds to her local church for their annual Christmas fund raising drive. Awhhhh, that is so nice.
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| Thanks Popular Mechanics. |
Oh wait...there is that lawsuit thing.
The local church in the town called Borja (and the painting at eBay is a scene from Borja) has been charging the monzizies to see Cece's "botched" previous effort and dagnabit, this 80 y/o wants a cut of that money. If you ask me, she deserves it. The lawsuit so far is unresolved.
God's love everyone...even you awesome atheists.
* Article La Times
* Maybe she was trying to be historically accurate. The Popular Mechanics interpretation of what Jesus supposedly really looks like sorta looks like Cece's interpretation. I mean c'mon...really. Back in Jesus' day and town people were running around with blue eyes and fair hair and complextions, or.....what.
This blog's mission
When I first started this blog, I was feeling cornered by the TSA and I wanted to protest in some way. It was a great outlet for me to feel that I was making an impact. Since then, many other venues have popped up - from Becky Akers' new blogging position at lewrockwell.com to Boycott Flying on Facebook, to the many viral stories of TSA injustices. While this hasn't reduced my passion, it has reduced my feeling of responsibility to get any and all TSA-related news out there.
I have reason to believe that this summer may allow me more time to post on this blog - but no promises! In the meantime, I will continue to reflect on what this blog's purpose is now - only a year and a half after I started it up - and how I can meet that mission while keeping the content interesting. Although I feel that I've shirked some responsibility for the last half year plus, I have been so hopeful by the ever increasing backlash against the federal agency that has significantly changed my life. I don't know what is in store for this blog, but, the dissolution of the TSA and all of its shenanigans remains a fervant wish of mine.
Alkon: Don't go quietly
I wholeheartedly agree with her final remarks:
I will at least make a spectacle of myself and in turn of what they are doing.If you are having trouble finding a place to publish your story, please send it to me using the contact form on this blog.
Don't go quietly, please. And name names of those who violate you -- post their name (THEDALA MAGEE!) and a picture of them if you can find or take it. (To avoid a libel suit, be absolutely sure it's the right person -- there were a number of Tiffany Applewhites, and most of them are regular people who don't appear to grope people's genitals for a living.)
If more people screamed and yelled and protested in some way, we might be able to make some change. In so many ways lately, our constitutional rights are being eroded. Keeping quiet will not end well for any of us.
Economy class aboard ANA's Dreamliner
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| ANA 787 Dreamliner arrives in Seattle |
Coming home, I once again found myself facing a flight inwhat I only semi-jokingly refer to as “steerage.” Others, like cartoonist Donna Barstow who drew a scathing cartoon forThe New Yorker magazine, have been even less charitable. In her cartoon, aflight attendant asks a boarding passenger, “First class or livestock?”
Perhaps because theJapanese take better care of their livestock than Americans (or Uniteds orDeltas, for that matter), ANA’s economy class was surprisingly pleasant,especially considering the length of the flight. In fact, the hour-long busride from Haneda airport to Narita airport was far less comfortable.
While lessluxurious than its business class, ANA’s economy class is probably the besteconomy classes I’ve flown. The seatsare 18.5” wide, among the widest economy seats in the industry.
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| Economy seating |
Another smart touch is the configuration of the seats, whichare placed in such a manner that there is no “middle seat.”
Upon first impression, seating looks like a two-four-twoconfiguration. However, the four seats between the aircraft’s two aisles areactually two sets of two with a few extra inches between the two sets of seats,meaning that no seat has more than one shared arm rest. On a long flight, thosefew extra inches are a small detail that yields big benefits.
As in businessclass, each seat has a personal entertainment center with on-demand videos,movies, in-flight maps, and other features. Headphones are provided, thoughthey are not noise canceling like the Sony® headphones in business class. Infact, I found them too uncomfortable to wear for even the length of one movie,so I switched to the ear buds I carry when traveling.
All entertainmentcenters provide the ability to send text messages to fellow passengers, a veryuseful feature for families or business associates who aren’t seated together.
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| Economy class meal service |
Service wasexcellent, with flight attendants (F/As) constantly up and down the aisles,checking on whether passengers had everything they needed.
With regard to theF/As, those tending economy class on my flight were far less fluent in Englishthan their counterparts in business class, who were quite happy to carry onconversations with their passengers. However, the F/As in economy were every bit as gracious, and were veryadept at working around this hiccup.
For example, Ianswered the question, “Would you like something to drink?” by saying, “Yes.Scotch, please,” because I had spotted Chivas Regal on the menu. Though apparently puzzled by my response,the F/A remedied the situation deftly. She turned to the beverage page on themenu and indicated that I should point to what I wanted. When I looked more closely, I realized that,like the British, the Japanese refer to scotch as simply “whisky,” so it couldhave been my reference to “scotch” that confused the issue.
Lavatories ineconomy class are standard sized as opposed to the larger “Dream Lavs” inbusiness class, but also feature the TOTO toilets with built-in bidet functionthat are very popular in Japan.
Surprisingly, myeconomy seat allowed my to snooze comfortably when the flight crew darkened theelectrically controlled windows, indicating it was time to nap. And stowing mycarry-ons in the ample overhead storage meant there was plenty of room for mylong legs under the seat in front of me whether I used the foldable footrest ornot.
Finally – and ittook me several days to realize this – the higher air pressure in the cabin ofthe Dreamliner, along with advanced air treatment, dramatically reduced thetime it took me to recover from the trip. In fact, the difference was sopronounced that I hesitate to call it “jet lag”; more accurately put, it wasjust adjusting to the change in the time zones.
And that’s abenefit everyone who flies on the 787 Dreamliner will enjoy, whether they ridein business or economy class.
ANA provided mewith round-trip transportation and lodging in Tokyo as part of a mediafamiliarization trip so that several reporters and bloggers could experienceits service and the 787 first-hand.
Photos by Carl Dombek
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