May Take Away the First Constitutional Right.
I confess- I don't get it. I am getting fed up. It's maddening.
Even for those who think gayness is an aberation or intrinsically disordered (which means not some state someone is born with out of their control- and that is not conclusively proven by anyone but theologians who declare it so) I say- and so-
you are not intrinsically a bit disordered? Having an intrinsic disorder does not warrant deprivation of a constitutional right. We don't calibrate sins and base constitutional rights on degree of sin (unless the behavior is criminal.)
We don't do it for any other disorders. We don't say- all those who have adulterous fantasies (intrinsically disordered) or those who ever committed adultery can never join the military or ever get married again. Equal employment rights are enshrined in our Equal Protection constitutional guarantees as is the penumbral Right to Marriage.
We don't say- you gamble too much- therefore you cannot join the military or get married.
You watch x rated movies obsessively- no job for you. No marriage for you. You eat too many cheetos (well actually for the military....) We don't say, mean selfish people cannot join the military or get married (they may not stay married long, but they have a right to get married.) Think of any sin you know- reckless drivers- they may not get married. People who refuse to put the toothpaste top back on the toothpaste- no marriage for you. What else is disordered-
anyone who at any time in their life stuck their finger in a socket? (maybe too stupid to find someone to marry but they are still allowed.)
Marriage is much more than just sexual connection- it is emotional empathetic commitment and connection. It is a profound bonding. It is shared financial responsibilities- shared child rearing responsibilities often, etc. Anyone who has been married for any length of time will tell you that the sex is just a part of it --and in 'sickness' and in health means that if the sex goes the marriage doesn't. Sometimes older guys with diabetic neuropathy need viagra- if they don't' take it, they don't get divorced. And what of people who find true love in their 60s?
So why do we do an evaluation about 'military readiness?' - Because in the area of discrimination law, we do not permit unequal treatment of persons based on a particular classification if it is a 'protected' classification (race, gender, age, and in some states including DC, sexual orientation) - unless there is a specific job requirement that makes it necessary to so discriminate. For example- if there is a job at a loading dock- and it requires that someone be above six foot tall and able to lift 50 pounds repetitively over one's head to land boxes on a high
platform, this might be a basis to statistically have far fewer females at the job if the only ones that applied were under 5'5". That statistically might look like gender discrimination, but it would not support a claim for it likely because there was a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for the job bias.
That is why they look at factors of 'military readiness.'-- Is there something specifically about the need for readiness that is compromised by gayness. Some people say no, some say yes. Depends on who you ask. Under the law it is a totally legitimate question.
And so why do we persecute gays who want to get into committed relationships based upon our perception of the gravity of their sins? A civil marriage is not a religious endorsement of the practice of gay sex. It is an endorsement of our constitution.
The church is free to call consecrated heterosexual marriage covenental consecrated marriage or anything else it wants to signify that Jesus or the church is in the middle of the relationship in a way they give a stamp of approval of. No one has ever forced a religious body to endorse a gay marriage.
So what do you care? Should we now start finding all the mean things you said and did to justify positions you should never be allowed to hold and inventory all your family members to see what sins they have that should preclude their ever marrying?
The point about GRACE is that we ALL need it, because we ALL are sinners fallen short of God's holiness. We all are in desperate need of a savior because we ALL ARE INTRINSICALLY DISORDERED a bit. Your bit may or may not be a bigger bit than a gay person. Your sins of different color and stripe may far outweigh the sin of gayness in God's balance. It is only sheer hubris that has you pointing fingers at someone else's 'disorder' to deprive them of anything. Anything as serious as a job- or a marriage. I think it is a bit 'disordered' to not have the natural talent to know how to balance family life with a wife and clerical duties-like all the protestant world has figured out. A Bit Disordered I say. Which constitutional rights should celibate clergy then not get for being too selfish?
I know gay people who are far more loving, committed, monogamous emotionally than some clergy. And I know gay people raising children- where they have all the familial stresses of educating, providing for, feeding, clothing and caring for the health and well -being of their own children. I find it obscenely appalling that childless clergy would deprive them of any constitutional guarantee. I am not alone. Let it go. .It's ridiculous. I am starting to get sick.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Gold Star
Best Places to Get unique Christmas GIFTS, Ornaments and Stocking Stuffers
Get them in time to decorate your tree. There are two very worthy organizations that sell on line and at select church bazaars and coffee hours the most unique and best Christmas gifts- ornaments, nativity scenes, beautiful gifts. They get the Gold Stars of the year for best presents:
The People of Hope Crafts from Project Salvador. http://www.peopleofhopecrafts.org/ http://www.projectsalvador.org/
Holy Trinity Catholic Church in DC has a sister church in El Salvador and they have a group of people who hand make the most beautiful things- hand painted, hand woven, hand embroidered crafts from El Salvador -very bright colored unique one of a kind gifts.
Their crafts support very poor local communities of El Salvadorans and funds a number of meaningful programs such as the Micro-Lending enterprise development, scholarships for destitute children, a center for Arts and Peace to promote non-violence, proyecto los Ninos which provides comprehensive nutritional and health care for children.
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, http://www.hcef.org/ supports the Christian community of all denominations living in the Holy Land. These are descendants of the original church -those who directly heard Jesus and the Apostles and they worship in the land of Jesus' birth. They are the 'Living Stones' of the church. It is important to support them as they are the bridge to Peace and witnesses to and of the Prince of Peace. They have beautiful hand made olive wood gifts that you can order on line- made by local Christians living in modern day Israel.
Please support these very worthy organizations. I can personally attest that these are very high quality gifts that people absolutely love to get.
Get them in time to decorate your tree. There are two very worthy organizations that sell on line and at select church bazaars and coffee hours the most unique and best Christmas gifts- ornaments, nativity scenes, beautiful gifts. They get the Gold Stars of the year for best presents:
The People of Hope Crafts from Project Salvador. http://www.peopleofhopecrafts.org/ http://www.projectsalvador.org/
Holy Trinity Catholic Church in DC has a sister church in El Salvador and they have a group of people who hand make the most beautiful things- hand painted, hand woven, hand embroidered crafts from El Salvador -very bright colored unique one of a kind gifts.
Their crafts support very poor local communities of El Salvadorans and funds a number of meaningful programs such as the Micro-Lending enterprise development, scholarships for destitute children, a center for Arts and Peace to promote non-violence, proyecto los Ninos which provides comprehensive nutritional and health care for children.
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, http://www.hcef.org/ supports the Christian community of all denominations living in the Holy Land. These are descendants of the original church -those who directly heard Jesus and the Apostles and they worship in the land of Jesus' birth. They are the 'Living Stones' of the church. It is important to support them as they are the bridge to Peace and witnesses to and of the Prince of Peace. They have beautiful hand made olive wood gifts that you can order on line- made by local Christians living in modern day Israel.
Please support these very worthy organizations. I can personally attest that these are very high quality gifts that people absolutely love to get.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Don't you wish you were here!
The Spanish Steps Christmas Shopping
... and all of a sudden as if with a fright, a bemusing spectacle popped through the night
shopping district all glittered, everyone stared-it was a sight
go dancer, go prancer, go something, go nixen, and take me to the top of the fixins
way at the tippy top of the column so high,
to put a crown on top of the Lady's hair
in the middle of the Spanish Steps Plaza Square
in the glittering Christmas night air.
http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/EN2/Articolo.asp?c=445388
... and all of a sudden as if with a fright, a bemusing spectacle popped through the night
shopping district all glittered, everyone stared-it was a sight
go dancer, go prancer, go something, go nixen, and take me to the top of the fixins
way at the tippy top of the column so high,
to put a crown on top of the Lady's hair
in the middle of the Spanish Steps Plaza Square
in the glittering Christmas night air.
http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/EN2/Articolo.asp?c=445388
Friday, December 10, 2010
Protecting Their Own
Professional Courtesy For Mass Murderers?
This Administration in its refusal to prosecute the misdeeds of the previous administration deeply betrayed it's base and the country. More than that- they betrayed the American ideals on which the country was founded and by not prosecuting torture has arguably violated the Geneva Convention.
Look-there is no disagreement that we were going around the country torturing people- lots of them- eliciting false confessions. We destroyed lives. Millions of them.
This Administration was voted in, and everyone working on this administration's campaign to correct the horrendous evil of the previous administration and people worked to elect this Administration thinking that they would be an abrupt about face from the unbelievably satanic misdeeds of the previous administration. But what did we do- as a country- we rewarded some of the worst culprits- Condi Rice, who refused to even testify at the 9-11 Commission was given a prestigious appointment as a chief of a major US University who should be ashamed to have her on faculty. Bybee is sitting on the Ninth Circuit (an author of the 'torture memos')-and Bush who should be tried like Milosovich is sitting on talk shows promoting his book glibly defending his right to Torture.
This is disgusting and outrageous.
This is reason enough to run someone else as a Democratic contender for Obamas seat and I hope he goes heavily contested for the primary. Someone with backbone needs to run against him unless he starts getting really serious really quickly about what we are going to do to address all the unbelievable EVIL that preceded him.
This Administration in its refusal to prosecute the misdeeds of the previous administration deeply betrayed it's base and the country. More than that- they betrayed the American ideals on which the country was founded and by not prosecuting torture has arguably violated the Geneva Convention.
Look-there is no disagreement that we were going around the country torturing people- lots of them- eliciting false confessions. We destroyed lives. Millions of them.
This Administration was voted in, and everyone working on this administration's campaign to correct the horrendous evil of the previous administration and people worked to elect this Administration thinking that they would be an abrupt about face from the unbelievably satanic misdeeds of the previous administration. But what did we do- as a country- we rewarded some of the worst culprits- Condi Rice, who refused to even testify at the 9-11 Commission was given a prestigious appointment as a chief of a major US University who should be ashamed to have her on faculty. Bybee is sitting on the Ninth Circuit (an author of the 'torture memos')-and Bush who should be tried like Milosovich is sitting on talk shows promoting his book glibly defending his right to Torture.
This is disgusting and outrageous.
This is reason enough to run someone else as a Democratic contender for Obamas seat and I hope he goes heavily contested for the primary. Someone with backbone needs to run against him unless he starts getting really serious really quickly about what we are going to do to address all the unbelievable EVIL that preceded him.
the American Bubble
of Delusion
What the Bush-Cheney administration did was criminal. Because we unrepentantly refuse to address it the rest of the world is calling us out on it.
Without one shred of evidence, not one piece, not a scintilla, not a shred, not an ounce of evidence we blamed an entire country that had ZERO to do with 911 misleading an entire country and the world with false photo-shopped trumped images (before photshopping was something available on software for everyone to do on their home computer they had all the equipment at Langley)- and we went to war KILLING in MASS MURDER MILLIONS of innocent Iraqis- displaced, as refugees MILLIONS of people, orphaned people, innocent lives lost, for what. For obscene oil profit motives that greased the pockets of people directly that engaged in the decision- one that was planned since the mid 1990s. One that enscripted moral legitimacy deceptively of well meaning people looking to protect Israeli security interests, and well meaning pro-lifers whose emotions were so inflamed they even could overlook an illegitimate trumped up oil war and ignore the burned faces of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
What is appauling is that no one in America has taken any responsibility- no one has been tried for torturing innocent people at the highest levels it was authorized- secret renditions to more torture- and a totally illegal war that has nearly bankrupted the country based on pure deception.
It is not surprising that a Julian Assange has surfaced. It is not surprising that Osama Bin Laden hasn't- because he is possibly a western creation in hologram fashion with a slew of doubles to pop up a video just when we need to pump up the war legitimacy to fight the extremists.
What is surprising is that NO ONE has been called to account in America- and that American Foreign Policy goes around the world bribing foreign governments to leave us alone. That is appauling.
Julian Assange is a patsy- he will take this fall- and it will end nothing- because the world will still be waiting for us to clean house-- with Clorox to disinfect the deep deception.
What the Bush-Cheney administration did was criminal. Because we unrepentantly refuse to address it the rest of the world is calling us out on it.
Without one shred of evidence, not one piece, not a scintilla, not a shred, not an ounce of evidence we blamed an entire country that had ZERO to do with 911 misleading an entire country and the world with false photo-shopped trumped images (before photshopping was something available on software for everyone to do on their home computer they had all the equipment at Langley)- and we went to war KILLING in MASS MURDER MILLIONS of innocent Iraqis- displaced, as refugees MILLIONS of people, orphaned people, innocent lives lost, for what. For obscene oil profit motives that greased the pockets of people directly that engaged in the decision- one that was planned since the mid 1990s. One that enscripted moral legitimacy deceptively of well meaning people looking to protect Israeli security interests, and well meaning pro-lifers whose emotions were so inflamed they even could overlook an illegitimate trumped up oil war and ignore the burned faces of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
What is appauling is that no one in America has taken any responsibility- no one has been tried for torturing innocent people at the highest levels it was authorized- secret renditions to more torture- and a totally illegal war that has nearly bankrupted the country based on pure deception.
It is not surprising that a Julian Assange has surfaced. It is not surprising that Osama Bin Laden hasn't- because he is possibly a western creation in hologram fashion with a slew of doubles to pop up a video just when we need to pump up the war legitimacy to fight the extremists.
What is surprising is that NO ONE has been called to account in America- and that American Foreign Policy goes around the world bribing foreign governments to leave us alone. That is appauling.
Julian Assange is a patsy- he will take this fall- and it will end nothing- because the world will still be waiting for us to clean house-- with Clorox to disinfect the deep deception.
Who Really IS
Julian Assange?
The BatCave : This was designed by a leading Swedish architect carved in granite cave around Stockholm. Who is this guy- who is financing him? He isn't operating alone obviously-he is just the front face- Someone serious is working with him obviously--someone who is really ticked off at America's lack of foreign policy transparency and truthiness in this counter-CIA sort of
cover blowing enterprise. --Because a lot of the world hates us for mass murdering innocent life by the millions without compunction to feed the fat greed of Texas style oil barons and their Cheneyish henchmen.
This is far more serious than anyone is taking seriously- this is not a rogue Aussie dressed up with too much computer science hacking background and nowhere to go. This is deeper.
This is a mission- they probably think --from God.
To stop the madness and hold accountable the evildoers if you will.
They are not asking for cash to shut it down are they. They are asking for the world to wake up and look at what is really going on. It is going to get us nowhere if we just lock up Julian Assange. He likely isn't even the mastermind- he is just posing as the evil genius. There is someone with much deeper pockets behind all this.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like
CHRISTMAS
This blog will go on vacation for Christ-Mas holidays on December 22 through the 25th with little to no appreciation for current events during that time. Please don't let the Iranians attack us then. If you are in or around Greenwich, Connecticut during then feel free to pop in on the round the clock festivities mostly directed toward entertaining a four year old and his buddies by calling 202-241-3558. Must call first or my sister will think you are another stalker. I'm in charge of the Bakery so we promise you won't leave hungry.
This blog will go on vacation for Christ-Mas holidays on December 22 through the 25th with little to no appreciation for current events during that time. Please don't let the Iranians attack us then. If you are in or around Greenwich, Connecticut during then feel free to pop in on the round the clock festivities mostly directed toward entertaining a four year old and his buddies by calling 202-241-3558. Must call first or my sister will think you are another stalker. I'm in charge of the Bakery so we promise you won't leave hungry.
Someone is pure genius
Don't you wish you thought of this!
I want one!
New line of underwear shows off on TSA screens as a recitation of their 4th Amendment rights to not be searched without a warrant!!
(thanks AOL for that story)
Keep DREAMING
DREAM ACT PASSES HOUSE- SENATE NOT SO SURE
http://mail.aol.com/32992-211/aol-1/en-us/Suite.aspx
I need to make a correction: if you are deemed "illegal" you cannot even serve in the military.
After competing admirably with your high school classmates- you may be a straight A student and fluent in five languages- but if you are 'illegal' then you may not ever get to college in America, get college loans or be eligible for the higher paid positions that education often brings.
Obviously the country would benefit from the larger pool of military eligible people- and obviously the tax revenue of people working at higher wage levels benefits the deficit reduction.
We don't penalize people for the sins of their fathers (and mothers)- If these kids were dragged here by their parents to survive we should not penalize them for their parents trying to feed them.
To those who think that this is a sort of 'amnesty' that only encourages sneaking across the border more, I say- yes, it is an amnesty that allows kids to be recognized as full citizens when they have acted like full citizens and met all the requirements- and that does not necessarily incentivize further sneakery because the incentives and motivations for sneakery over the border already exist abundantly in the form of violence and poverty where they came from .You think someone is sitting in their barrio in Hondorus or El Salvador thinking...gee, if I can only get to the US the Congress is going to years later make my children citizens of the US? No, they are thinking- if I can only get to the US my child will eat next week. I don't care if I have to hide out in a dumpster if I can get my child enough money to eat so they don't starve or so the state does not put them in a state run orphanage. They are not reading the Congressional register and doing projection analysis people.
http://mail.aol.com/32992-211/aol-1/en-us/Suite.aspx
I need to make a correction: if you are deemed "illegal" you cannot even serve in the military.
After competing admirably with your high school classmates- you may be a straight A student and fluent in five languages- but if you are 'illegal' then you may not ever get to college in America, get college loans or be eligible for the higher paid positions that education often brings.
Obviously the country would benefit from the larger pool of military eligible people- and obviously the tax revenue of people working at higher wage levels benefits the deficit reduction.
We don't penalize people for the sins of their fathers (and mothers)- If these kids were dragged here by their parents to survive we should not penalize them for their parents trying to feed them.
To those who think that this is a sort of 'amnesty' that only encourages sneaking across the border more, I say- yes, it is an amnesty that allows kids to be recognized as full citizens when they have acted like full citizens and met all the requirements- and that does not necessarily incentivize further sneakery because the incentives and motivations for sneakery over the border already exist abundantly in the form of violence and poverty where they came from .You think someone is sitting in their barrio in Hondorus or El Salvador thinking...gee, if I can only get to the US the Congress is going to years later make my children citizens of the US? No, they are thinking- if I can only get to the US my child will eat next week. I don't care if I have to hide out in a dumpster if I can get my child enough money to eat so they don't starve or so the state does not put them in a state run orphanage. They are not reading the Congressional register and doing projection analysis people.
Powerful Women
And The Men Whose Egos Are So Busted They Can't Stand It.
Here is the latest- now OPRAH has to defend that she is not Gay. http://www.popeater.com/2010/12/08/oprah-winfrey-gayle-relationship/?ncid=webmail
Remember when Hillary had to do it. It happens to powerful women over a certain age if they have any authority over men and are highly accomplished,
powerful and professional and more to single women. She must be gay. Not that she had her
heart broken so much she gave up and devoted herself to other things, or met so many Mr. Wrongs she backburnered the quest for Mr. Right, or devoted herself to career and other needy family.Just---- She must be gay.
Here is the latest- now OPRAH has to defend that she is not Gay. http://www.popeater.com/2010/12/08/oprah-winfrey-gayle-relationship/?ncid=webmail
Remember when Hillary had to do it. It happens to powerful women over a certain age if they have any authority over men and are highly accomplished,
powerful and professional and more to single women. She must be gay. Not that she had her
heart broken so much she gave up and devoted herself to other things, or met so many Mr. Wrongs she backburnered the quest for Mr. Right, or devoted herself to career and other needy family.Just---- She must be gay.
Oprah might have profound trust issues dealing with men from a childhood rape. Psyches are vey delicate- men can be -that word I called John Edwards (see below)
I am nowhere in Oprah's league (yet) of building an industry but get it too. Especially since I
have gay male friends I love to hang out with. I am not even remotely 'butch' looking but I get it just for being a single female lawyer (who would rather write a brief than pick up male socks sometimes.) Supreme Court nominee Kagan got it (well, she might be but no one had real facts and couldn't stop saying so.)
I am nowhere in Oprah's league (yet) of building an industry but get it too. Especially since I
have gay male friends I love to hang out with. I am not even remotely 'butch' looking but I get it just for being a single female lawyer (who would rather write a brief than pick up male socks sometimes.) Supreme Court nominee Kagan got it (well, she might be but no one had real facts and couldn't stop saying so.)
When the male ego is busted and they cannot stand a woman making more money than them, in more power and authority (especially if over them) they sometimes resort to this name-calling- Dyke, *itch, Lesbo, etc...This isn't hateful so much as a reflection of their own insecurities.
But this is still widely socially acceptable- and that is outrageous.
Here is where it becomes ridiculous- Men over a certain age are called "the most eligible batchelors" while women at the same age are "over the hill" or 'Gay.' Why don't we get to be classified as fine wines better with time-look at Sophia Loren- for example. or any hollywood over 50 georgeous woman- Diane Keaton.
Lets change the Lexicon. Lets call single professional women over 50 "The Bloomed Bombshells" or the "Mature Maidens" or the "Svelte Seniors." But please, don't call me Gay. Not that I think there is anything wrong with it for some-just not me. Like Oprah, I'm not even a little bit....
In Today's Kvetch Corner
The Equal Opportunity Commission that Wasn't.
Of all the probable "sell out" points that the Progressives are ticked off at Obama at caving into in the name of compromise one of them should never be the EEOC. There is no reason for it and you would think he would be very concerned about systemic discrimination of any kind.
There is no reason that "investigations" should take YEARS--there is no reason that the federal government cannot impose monetary sanctions on people who do not respond to discovery requests in rebuttal to EEOC charges. Where else do Federal Agencies get shined on like this without penalty- you get a subpoena from the EEOC you don't respond or ask for some open ended extension they do nothing. There is no reason that statistically huge numbers get tossed out of the EEOC with a 'Right to Sue' letter in Federal Court with the standard "we don't have enough time to investigate and can't figure it-you go sue them." Some are easy- figure it out- issue a 'cause' finding. Wouldn't take an idiot. They clearly need to be then about five times larger an agency with five times the staff if they are so overworked nothing gets done. Bush did that-he gutted the EEOC on purpose to protect corporate interests. It completely demoralized plaintiffs and their counsel in many cases.
The EEOC needs a major audit. Start with the DC Field Office. How many charges come through the door. How many are not really properly investigated but just given the cursory- we can't figure it out -you go sue letter. How many ever get "good cause" findings (good reason to believe there was some discrimination.)
As an attorney I personally go to the EEOC with my clients to file charges. They can be done in writing without appearing by attorneys but I feel it important to get a timely charge number the day we walk in and I also feel it important that the intake person actually put a face to the charge and meet the plaintiff and hear their story. Their story compelled me to take the case in the first place, so their credibility is something that the EEOC investigator should take note of.
I have had the most obstructive experiences- people being told to go to Baltimore instead of DC when they should properly be in DC, people told that they should go to the DC Human Rights office because they didn't want to investigate the Title VII facts and thought the DC Human Rights office should do it under their sharing contract (do they get money for kicking off responsibilities to the DC Human Rights Office?)- I am about this close to concluding that the EEOC is a perfunctory administrative joke.
It seems one way that Obama's "base" could be made more in his corner if he investigated the investigators at the EEOC and their so called attorneys (who display shocking ignorance of recent Title VII precedent) to see if we need about five times more better qualified administrative hurdles.
Call me if you want names. I am ready to name names and tell you who should be fired over there-for non-discriminatory reasons. 202-241-3558.
Of all the probable "sell out" points that the Progressives are ticked off at Obama at caving into in the name of compromise one of them should never be the EEOC. There is no reason for it and you would think he would be very concerned about systemic discrimination of any kind.
There is no reason that "investigations" should take YEARS--there is no reason that the federal government cannot impose monetary sanctions on people who do not respond to discovery requests in rebuttal to EEOC charges. Where else do Federal Agencies get shined on like this without penalty- you get a subpoena from the EEOC you don't respond or ask for some open ended extension they do nothing. There is no reason that statistically huge numbers get tossed out of the EEOC with a 'Right to Sue' letter in Federal Court with the standard "we don't have enough time to investigate and can't figure it-you go sue them." Some are easy- figure it out- issue a 'cause' finding. Wouldn't take an idiot. They clearly need to be then about five times larger an agency with five times the staff if they are so overworked nothing gets done. Bush did that-he gutted the EEOC on purpose to protect corporate interests. It completely demoralized plaintiffs and their counsel in many cases.
The EEOC needs a major audit. Start with the DC Field Office. How many charges come through the door. How many are not really properly investigated but just given the cursory- we can't figure it out -you go sue letter. How many ever get "good cause" findings (good reason to believe there was some discrimination.)
As an attorney I personally go to the EEOC with my clients to file charges. They can be done in writing without appearing by attorneys but I feel it important to get a timely charge number the day we walk in and I also feel it important that the intake person actually put a face to the charge and meet the plaintiff and hear their story. Their story compelled me to take the case in the first place, so their credibility is something that the EEOC investigator should take note of.
I have had the most obstructive experiences- people being told to go to Baltimore instead of DC when they should properly be in DC, people told that they should go to the DC Human Rights office because they didn't want to investigate the Title VII facts and thought the DC Human Rights office should do it under their sharing contract (do they get money for kicking off responsibilities to the DC Human Rights Office?)- I am about this close to concluding that the EEOC is a perfunctory administrative joke.
It seems one way that Obama's "base" could be made more in his corner if he investigated the investigators at the EEOC and their so called attorneys (who display shocking ignorance of recent Title VII precedent) to see if we need about five times more better qualified administrative hurdles.
Call me if you want names. I am ready to name names and tell you who should be fired over there-for non-discriminatory reasons. 202-241-3558.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
They may have lost Russ Feingold
But They Gained the Blessed Virgin Mary- Wisconsin Back On The Map
With First American apparition site authorized by the Church in Champion Wisconsin.
Wild. http://www.gbdioc.org/newsevents/news/857-worthy-of-belief.html
With First American apparition site authorized by the Church in Champion Wisconsin.
Wild. http://www.gbdioc.org/newsevents/news/857-worthy-of-belief.html
Google It
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good is a non-partisan organization, dedicated to finding ways to transcend contemporary partisan divides by advocating for the consistent social teaching of the Catholic Church. In this week’s Common Good Forum, we are delighted to feature one of our nation’s most prominent Catholic public servants, Thomas Melady, who served as ambassador to the Holy See for President George H.W. Bush, who speaks on the need for civility in our public discourse.
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good 1612 K Street NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC---------------------------------------------------------
Civility or Not-- John Edwards still is on my skumbucket of the century list; what an idiot. The girl is now reportedly running around on him- don't even try passing this one off as the next great white hope. I will wretch.
Let me be more emphatic. He is political toast. DONE.
Don't get me started on secret sex tape litigation, setting up a mistress in a multimillion dollar beach house while your dying of cancer wife is a fellow at the Center for American Progress lobbying health care reform, and while you champion 'poverty' injustice issues. Don't get me started on why he was so ineffectual he didn't pay for a recount of the 2004 Ohio election when his election was just as on the line as Kerry's. Don't get me started about lying to your wife, the press and your staff and making staff cover for your adultery. SCUM. POND SCUM. D-O-N-E. DONE. Go home and build a memorial to your wife who had ten times the character you do.
Here is what Jesus called the Pharisees:
Those highly hailed most prestigious religious (and civil) leaders of the day:
White Washed TOMBS full of dead men's bones.
Vipers- (e.g. snakes)
Hypocrites
(and that is only the sanitized reported stuff)
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good is a non-partisan organization, dedicated to finding ways to transcend contemporary partisan divides by advocating for the consistent social teaching of the Catholic Church. In this week’s Common Good Forum, we are delighted to feature one of our nation’s most prominent Catholic public servants, Thomas Melady, who served as ambassador to the Holy See for President George H.W. Bush, who speaks on the need for civility in our public discourse.
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good 1612 K Street NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC---------------------------------------------------------
Civility or Not-- John Edwards still is on my skumbucket of the century list; what an idiot. The girl is now reportedly running around on him- don't even try passing this one off as the next great white hope. I will wretch.
Let me be more emphatic. He is political toast. DONE.
Don't get me started on secret sex tape litigation, setting up a mistress in a multimillion dollar beach house while your dying of cancer wife is a fellow at the Center for American Progress lobbying health care reform, and while you champion 'poverty' injustice issues. Don't get me started on why he was so ineffectual he didn't pay for a recount of the 2004 Ohio election when his election was just as on the line as Kerry's. Don't get me started about lying to your wife, the press and your staff and making staff cover for your adultery. SCUM. POND SCUM. D-O-N-E. DONE. Go home and build a memorial to your wife who had ten times the character you do.
Here is what Jesus called the Pharisees:
Those highly hailed most prestigious religious (and civil) leaders of the day:
White Washed TOMBS full of dead men's bones.
Vipers- (e.g. snakes)
Hypocrites
(and that is only the sanitized reported stuff)
The Great American
DREAM
The DREAM ACT.
Pass it.
What if you were five years old and your mother brought you here so she could have a job to feed you. All you did was exist as a child needing to be fed. You stayed here, you went to school (she might have worked two jobs cleaning house after house then baby sitting other kids or working a night shift washing dishes at a taquerita) You went to high school. You got good grades. You want to go to college like everyone else in your high school. There's a problem. You are 'illegal' they say.
The people who came here as refugees from the civil wars in El Salvador, Guatemala and the drug wars in Mexico, etc. seeking a basic subsistence level job to keep their children fed are not by far in the majority of instances 'criminals' but are the hard working backbone of a lot of industries and trades now as twenty percent of all Americans have Spanish as their first language (like it or not Pennsylvania.) These people should be just as blessed as the rest of us, their tax revenues would assist our deficit greatly, they have in some cases already served the country in uniform, and they need full recognition as full citizens.
I don't get who could oppose the DREAM Act. What stinginess of heart. These kids did not ask to be brought here-their parents did not have any choice in some cases if they wanted to keep them alive. Anyone who votes against this should be made to go to the poorest village in Honduras or Guatemala and see if they can eek out a living in any trade- to get empathy regarding why someone might move here to escape the poverty and violence.
We are the country of the Huddled Masses. We should want more not less people experiencing the Great American Dream. These people are in some cases bigger patiots than people whose families have been here for generations because they know what a great blessing it is to be on American Soil. Would that we return the gratitude now.
The DREAM ACT.
Pass it.
What if you were five years old and your mother brought you here so she could have a job to feed you. All you did was exist as a child needing to be fed. You stayed here, you went to school (she might have worked two jobs cleaning house after house then baby sitting other kids or working a night shift washing dishes at a taquerita) You went to high school. You got good grades. You want to go to college like everyone else in your high school. There's a problem. You are 'illegal' they say.
The people who came here as refugees from the civil wars in El Salvador, Guatemala and the drug wars in Mexico, etc. seeking a basic subsistence level job to keep their children fed are not by far in the majority of instances 'criminals' but are the hard working backbone of a lot of industries and trades now as twenty percent of all Americans have Spanish as their first language (like it or not Pennsylvania.) These people should be just as blessed as the rest of us, their tax revenues would assist our deficit greatly, they have in some cases already served the country in uniform, and they need full recognition as full citizens.
I don't get who could oppose the DREAM Act. What stinginess of heart. These kids did not ask to be brought here-their parents did not have any choice in some cases if they wanted to keep them alive. Anyone who votes against this should be made to go to the poorest village in Honduras or Guatemala and see if they can eek out a living in any trade- to get empathy regarding why someone might move here to escape the poverty and violence.
We are the country of the Huddled Masses. We should want more not less people experiencing the Great American Dream. These people are in some cases bigger patiots than people whose families have been here for generations because they know what a great blessing it is to be on American Soil. Would that we return the gratitude now.
Still Christmas Shopping?
Add this to your basket:
the authentic Chant CD from the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos in Spain. Get it directly from the Franciscan Friars at Saint John the Baptist in the Heart of New York City, by going here: http://www.padrepio.us/ or paying them a visit next you are in New York right behind Penn Station/Madison Sq .Garden.
the authentic Chant CD from the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos in Spain. Get it directly from the Franciscan Friars at Saint John the Baptist in the Heart of New York City, by going here: http://www.padrepio.us/ or paying them a visit next you are in New York right behind Penn Station/Madison Sq .Garden.
Why buy it there? Because those Franciscan Friars in the heart of Times Square FEED many many a hungry New Yorker over the holidays with their pantry. So if you buy a CD you feed a New Yorker. Because the world is full of hungry people, and some live right under your nose.
Favorite Random Website of the Month
Just For Chuckles
Because we need a break from Washington wierdness.
It's holiday season. Don't you love the smell of mom or grandma in the kitchen whipping up those classic holiday creations this time of year wafting through the house? Don't you love getting surprised by Christmas cookies, banana walnut nut breads, anise christmas cupcakes, and all those goodies that put poundage on your stressed frame that you have to lose by Ash Wednesday again?
Here is my favorite holiday website of the moment (I am sure I will find another one tomorrow with Christmas music in it- anything Andrea Boccelli or Sting please.)
Enter your culinary disasters here on this site-
where the best intentions have gone, shall we say, a bit awry.
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/
Because we need a break from Washington wierdness.
It's holiday season. Don't you love the smell of mom or grandma in the kitchen whipping up those classic holiday creations this time of year wafting through the house? Don't you love getting surprised by Christmas cookies, banana walnut nut breads, anise christmas cupcakes, and all those goodies that put poundage on your stressed frame that you have to lose by Ash Wednesday again?
Here is my favorite holiday website of the moment (I am sure I will find another one tomorrow with Christmas music in it- anything Andrea Boccelli or Sting please.)
Enter your culinary disasters here on this site-
where the best intentions have gone, shall we say, a bit awry.
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/
Let my People Go-The crime of being overly literate???
In the YouGottaBeKiddinMe Category of the Week:
Girl in Texas survives an apartment fire and 7 years later they arrest her for not returning
the library books destroyed in the fire.
http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/texas-woman-jessekah-few-jailed-for-overdue-library-books/19749685?icid=maing%7Cmain5%7C1%7Clink6%7C29831
I once did not return a library book. I took it from a Seminary that was miles away from where I lived, later moved -and could not find it. I got a notice saying it was overdue and I had to pay an overdue fine or- had the option of purchasing it's replacement. I purchased the replacement. End of story. Then I found it after two later moves- years later as unpacked boxes were disassembled. --and gave it to another Seminary for good Karma.
Perhaps Texas should instead just adopt a "you lost it- you bought it" policy like they do in stores if you break something. Who wants to start a legal defense fund for the "library bandit"- or is she really funding a stall at the local swap meet with overdue library books everywhere!
Get a Kindle Kiddies.
...If only we could get the Federal Judiciary to take Corporate Spoliation of Evidence that seriously......our computer crashed, then an internal drive overheated and melted down all the email traffic.....and the dog ate it, and we fired our IT systems manager.
Girl in Texas survives an apartment fire and 7 years later they arrest her for not returning
the library books destroyed in the fire.
http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/texas-woman-jessekah-few-jailed-for-overdue-library-books/19749685?icid=maing%7Cmain5%7C1%7Clink6%7C29831
I once did not return a library book. I took it from a Seminary that was miles away from where I lived, later moved -and could not find it. I got a notice saying it was overdue and I had to pay an overdue fine or- had the option of purchasing it's replacement. I purchased the replacement. End of story. Then I found it after two later moves- years later as unpacked boxes were disassembled. --and gave it to another Seminary for good Karma.
Perhaps Texas should instead just adopt a "you lost it- you bought it" policy like they do in stores if you break something. Who wants to start a legal defense fund for the "library bandit"- or is she really funding a stall at the local swap meet with overdue library books everywhere!
Get a Kindle Kiddies.
...If only we could get the Federal Judiciary to take Corporate Spoliation of Evidence that seriously......our computer crashed, then an internal drive overheated and melted down all the email traffic.....and the dog ate it, and we fired our IT systems manager.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
IN HIGH PRAISE OF
ELIZABETH EDWARDS
Grace under Fire doesn't come close to describing this woman.
Here is what I have to say about a husband who runs around on a wife with cancer- Rat Ass Bastard. Normally, I would use the polite *** to bleep out the full profanity-but not here.
Rat Ass Bastard. Emblematic of the scumbucketry that the whoreish Democratic male leadership has swum in since Clinton propositioned dog-faced what's her name in the Governor's mansion humiliating Hillary. Emblematic of the political male ego that gets away with everything oblivious to the deeply pained scarred heart-ache they create in their women. Sickening.
But this is not just Democratic party politics at its finest- do you hear me NEWT?
Elizabeth, a person of depth and substance with a law degree and a federal clerkship could herself have been a federal judge. Instead she devoted her entire life to this man, raised two children then at age 50 after losing one son, pumped herself up with hormones (that may or may not have contributed to the later cancer) to IVF conceive two more children that she raised and is raising with and/or for her husband - only to have him take up with someone flattering his substantial vanity who followed his sorry tail around the campaign trail with a video camera. PAALLEEEZZEE.
Imagine having to go through Thanksgiving with an 'estranged' husband who has a political groupie Ho with another child somewhere. Imagine what she looks forward to for Christmas Day. Yes, you are a homewrecking HO. So sue me.
John Edwards better NEVER NEVER NEVER show his face on a political campaign again or I personally guarantee to defeat him.
Grace under Fire doesn't come close to describing this woman.
Here is what I have to say about a husband who runs around on a wife with cancer- Rat Ass Bastard. Normally, I would use the polite *** to bleep out the full profanity-but not here.
Rat Ass Bastard. Emblematic of the scumbucketry that the whoreish Democratic male leadership has swum in since Clinton propositioned dog-faced what's her name in the Governor's mansion humiliating Hillary. Emblematic of the political male ego that gets away with everything oblivious to the deeply pained scarred heart-ache they create in their women. Sickening.
But this is not just Democratic party politics at its finest- do you hear me NEWT?
Elizabeth, a person of depth and substance with a law degree and a federal clerkship could herself have been a federal judge. Instead she devoted her entire life to this man, raised two children then at age 50 after losing one son, pumped herself up with hormones (that may or may not have contributed to the later cancer) to IVF conceive two more children that she raised and is raising with and/or for her husband - only to have him take up with someone flattering his substantial vanity who followed his sorry tail around the campaign trail with a video camera. PAALLEEEZZEE.
Imagine having to go through Thanksgiving with an 'estranged' husband who has a political groupie Ho with another child somewhere. Imagine what she looks forward to for Christmas Day. Yes, you are a homewrecking HO. So sue me.
John Edwards better NEVER NEVER NEVER show his face on a political campaign again or I personally guarantee to defeat him.
Monday, December 06, 2010
Humility
and the Common Ass.
Donkey I mean. Remember that God hates the proud-really thinks conceit stinks. Jesus could
have rode into Jerusalem with a calvary on a great white horse of the finest breed or on a Camel as signified royalty in some parts in the North of Africa. He rode in on a common Donkey. Mary rode in on a donkey to deliver him in Bethlehem. A Burrow if you will-something that trods along slowly carrying a heavy load-like a pregnant woman. That is why you will sometimes see Saint Nicholas in ikons or images with a Donkey-that in northern parts has been translated as a Reindeer (far more common in the Northern Woods of Northern Europe than Donkeys.)
That's why the pride that has the confessors not confessing their messes is a mess. Prevarications and obfiscations like the one we got from Bishop Knestow in an archdiocene letter hoping to do damage control pre-empting the Washington Post article that said the child protection codes and policies have been in place for twenty years looked a little ineffective against the litany of offenders who were ordained after that or whose abuse occurred after that (and that was only 30-some of the 5,600 noted by the Bishops conference nationally.) That, ladies and gentlemen, is a scandal. Something that I wouldn't be surprised featured somewhere in Fatima secrets.
It doesn't help anyone, especially the priests, to not get real about this. Get Real Already.
It does not help anyone to deny that the Saint Lukes Institute treats people who have a hard time with the imposed from afar demands of celibacy which morph into all kinds of personality aberations and worse. It doesn't help the church, it doesn't help the clergy and it certainly doesn't help the parishioners. There ABSOLUTELY should be a marriage option to allow men to properly fall in love, be in love and consecrate and consumate their love to ONE WOMAN as God designed it from the beginning. You won't have to raise all those millions for the Saint Luke Institute.
For the Feast of the Immaculate Conception there will be an abundance of emphasis on the virginity of Mary-although that is not what Immaculate conception means- it means SHE was conceived without sin herself. The Virginity of Mary is supposed to somehow translate as a requirement that priests should be chaste celibates. All of them. Because Mary Was. Because they say so.
Humility and Pride are difficult to grasp for some- some are so proud of their humility.
Some don't have a clue how much pride they are really carting around like a tumor.
A Mercedes Popemobile even if greened or electric is hardly a donkey. Maybe a golf cart would work better. Maybe DC Metro should be tried out by the guys with red cone-head hats.
Someone who is humble knows his (or her) need and can express it regardless of what the consequences might be. Children are like this. When they need their apple juice they let you know: "I need more apple juice please." Because they trust that their mother is not going to say- "So What! No More Apple Juice For You Ever!!" They are bold in asking. Because they know their mother loves them so much.
Now you try.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/1207/1224284924422.html?digest=1
Donkey I mean. Remember that God hates the proud-really thinks conceit stinks. Jesus could
have rode into Jerusalem with a calvary on a great white horse of the finest breed or on a Camel as signified royalty in some parts in the North of Africa. He rode in on a common Donkey. Mary rode in on a donkey to deliver him in Bethlehem. A Burrow if you will-something that trods along slowly carrying a heavy load-like a pregnant woman. That is why you will sometimes see Saint Nicholas in ikons or images with a Donkey-that in northern parts has been translated as a Reindeer (far more common in the Northern Woods of Northern Europe than Donkeys.)
That's why the pride that has the confessors not confessing their messes is a mess. Prevarications and obfiscations like the one we got from Bishop Knestow in an archdiocene letter hoping to do damage control pre-empting the Washington Post article that said the child protection codes and policies have been in place for twenty years looked a little ineffective against the litany of offenders who were ordained after that or whose abuse occurred after that (and that was only 30-some of the 5,600 noted by the Bishops conference nationally.) That, ladies and gentlemen, is a scandal. Something that I wouldn't be surprised featured somewhere in Fatima secrets.
It doesn't help anyone, especially the priests, to not get real about this. Get Real Already.
It does not help anyone to deny that the Saint Lukes Institute treats people who have a hard time with the imposed from afar demands of celibacy which morph into all kinds of personality aberations and worse. It doesn't help the church, it doesn't help the clergy and it certainly doesn't help the parishioners. There ABSOLUTELY should be a marriage option to allow men to properly fall in love, be in love and consecrate and consumate their love to ONE WOMAN as God designed it from the beginning. You won't have to raise all those millions for the Saint Luke Institute.
For the Feast of the Immaculate Conception there will be an abundance of emphasis on the virginity of Mary-although that is not what Immaculate conception means- it means SHE was conceived without sin herself. The Virginity of Mary is supposed to somehow translate as a requirement that priests should be chaste celibates. All of them. Because Mary Was. Because they say so.
Humility and Pride are difficult to grasp for some- some are so proud of their humility.
Some don't have a clue how much pride they are really carting around like a tumor.
A Mercedes Popemobile even if greened or electric is hardly a donkey. Maybe a golf cart would work better. Maybe DC Metro should be tried out by the guys with red cone-head hats.
Someone who is humble knows his (or her) need and can express it regardless of what the consequences might be. Children are like this. When they need their apple juice they let you know: "I need more apple juice please." Because they trust that their mother is not going to say- "So What! No More Apple Juice For You Ever!!" They are bold in asking. Because they know their mother loves them so much.
Now you try.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/1207/1224284924422.html?digest=1
Myre or Myrna?
Statue in Turkey of Saint Nicolas de Myre.
The original name of the Town was Mrye which has been modernized and anglicized to be Myrna. Currently it is Demre in Turkey. His remains were later removed to Bari Italy as secreted by Italian sailors. His original tomb is still in Turkey.
So you will sometimes hear him called Saint Nicolas of Bari. Same guy.
Also the same guy who resides somewhere north of The North Pole. Would that make the Dominicans elves? (See, the Good Bishop entry below.)
The original name of the Town was Mrye which has been modernized and anglicized to be Myrna. Currently it is Demre in Turkey. His remains were later removed to Bari Italy as secreted by Italian sailors. His original tomb is still in Turkey.
So you will sometimes hear him called Saint Nicolas of Bari. Same guy.
Also the same guy who resides somewhere north of The North Pole. Would that make the Dominicans elves? (See, the Good Bishop entry below.)
Looking at Other Profit Centers
So You Don't Turn Your Military Hospitals into Abortion Mills.
There is a simple solution to raising the money you think you are going to get by making 'reproductive rights' e.g. abortions available on military bases. Look at your PXs. First, are they
profit centers or subsidized. Px commissaries on military bases offer goods at half the prices or substantial discounts to regular stores and sell supermarket name brands just like you would find anywhere. Are they too cheap? Are they losing money ?
And what is the rationale that supports the policy that not everyone on a base can use them-the civilian non-military don't get Px cards and can't access them . Why? If they are profit centers even with the discounts (because the market in retail is so huge) why don't you want more not less customers using them? You have GS nothing civilian forces not buying in your PX commissaries and spending federal dollars at wholefoods and giant. Why? Do the math on that one- and let me know if you don't make more money by opening up the commissaries, charging maybe a penny or two more, than you would for starting an abortion mill.
I don't even want to know if the reason you want to do this is financial because I would find that sickening. No, No, No- the federal government should not be in the abortion business. It's INSANE. Sorry ACLU- not with you on that one.
There is a simple solution to raising the money you think you are going to get by making 'reproductive rights' e.g. abortions available on military bases. Look at your PXs. First, are they
profit centers or subsidized. Px commissaries on military bases offer goods at half the prices or substantial discounts to regular stores and sell supermarket name brands just like you would find anywhere. Are they too cheap? Are they losing money ?
And what is the rationale that supports the policy that not everyone on a base can use them-the civilian non-military don't get Px cards and can't access them . Why? If they are profit centers even with the discounts (because the market in retail is so huge) why don't you want more not less customers using them? You have GS nothing civilian forces not buying in your PX commissaries and spending federal dollars at wholefoods and giant. Why? Do the math on that one- and let me know if you don't make more money by opening up the commissaries, charging maybe a penny or two more, than you would for starting an abortion mill.
I don't even want to know if the reason you want to do this is financial because I would find that sickening. No, No, No- the federal government should not be in the abortion business. It's INSANE. Sorry ACLU- not with you on that one.
My Father Taught Me
Anything a Man Can Do In the Work World So Can You
Apparently, Sheilah Schuller Coleman got the same lesson from her Dad, the famous Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral inspired by the even more famous Marble Collegiate Presbyterian Pastor Normal Vincent Peale in New York City.
Here is a recent sermon of hers-one of the best you will hear from anyone- male or female. Woman Preacher:
http://www.hourofpower.org/messages/detail.php?contentid=5270
Apparently, Sheilah Schuller Coleman got the same lesson from her Dad, the famous Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral inspired by the even more famous Marble Collegiate Presbyterian Pastor Normal Vincent Peale in New York City.
Here is a recent sermon of hers-one of the best you will hear from anyone- male or female. Woman Preacher:
http://www.hourofpower.org/messages/detail.php?contentid=5270
The Sleeker Sex
And Basic Points of Agreement.
Conservatives and Liberals (self-described) if they disagree on 'choice' can at least agree
that the Hyde Amendment restricts federal funding such that everyone (the public) pays for other people's abortions. Even if you think they should be permitted, you think that you should not have to pay for someone else's abortion-nor should anyone. Like there is not anything better this heavily indebted government should be doing with the money. Common Ground there.
In the Title VII arena there should not be any disagreement between conservatives and liberals on the basic principle that males and females, if they do exactly the same job for the same numbers of hours should get the same pay. This is not always what operates in the minds of some unfair chauvinists- because they want to factor into the equation things like-hey, the guy is supporting a wife who is at home with three toddlers so he should get more. The fallacy in this sort of 'needs based' reasoning is that -Hey (dude) you have no idea what the women is supporting with her meager salary- She may be supporting an elderly widowed mother if she isn't divorced herself with kids (half the marriages end in divorce), or an entire parish load of priests, or her nieces and nephews whose father just ran off with the secretary, medical bills for relatives or themselves, etc....You have no idea. No one has to append their 'needs criteria" an itemized list of everything that they spend their money on in salary increase evaluations. Yet, this unstated bias operates in awarding males more money -by the traditionalists who view family as a guy supporting a stay at home woman with kids- to males for the exact same job. It is still widely statistically true that women get short changed by an enormous amount.
Wall Mart was sued in the largest gender discrimination class action to hit the Supreme Court-and it will be up to three women and six men how to decide this. Alito, you will recall thought that working at Goodyear Tires was psychic wage enough apparently in ruling in a matter that resulted in an entire statute being written and signed by Obama to correct it. So count him on the side of Wall Mart without even asking. Depending on the facts, it isn't an automatic gimme that all the women are going to be sympathetic to the Wall Mart ladies and women sometimes are the hardest on other women- but my guess is that they will want to set the record straight to make a significant point for all corporations regarding their practices to put an end once and for all to the double standards.
There are six Roman Catholic Judges and five (Scalia, Roberts, Thomas, Alito and Kennedy) of them are men. With the exception of Kennedy they tend to veer toward conservative republican catholic values (the understatement of all the centuries since the Renaissance.) But Chief Justice Roberts has a working professional wife who is a Georgetown Law graduate and a partner in a major DC law firm who is not a typical stay at home mom. I give the family a lot of credit because as a 'pro-life' leader, she walked the talk by adopting children- something that should be encouraged highly by people who want people to deliver babies rather than abort them.
If the Court thinks it wise to grant more ability to adopt children they should want more single women to be able to do it (having a faithful loving husband being outside many of their control)- and so it should become even more obvious to the Court that a policy that strengthens the rights of women and equalizes their pay status, hiring, retention and promotion status is something that encourages stable families, single mother adoptions and is generally good for society at large. The current judgment against Wall Mart may or may not cause such a significant bottom line bruising that it puts them out of business-I don't know-didn't crunch any numbers there but it seems crushing to margins of profitability. So it might be sent back for a modification to a lower court for other findings- But on principle, yes, women should get the exact same opportunities as men in comparable positions- and it is none of Wall Mart's business what they do with their money. It would be wonderful if the Court could put their collective foot down on the historic undervaluation of women's work in the world. We should all be able to agree on that.
CLARIFICATION
The issue has to do with not a standard question of whether the court is going to affirm or turn over a monetary judgment but it is a class certification question involving whether all those women can be lumped together in one suit to begin with. If they lose they can be individual plainitffs or in a multiplaintiff suit- class actions are a different beast and certification criteria have to be met-like numerosity (in this case easy), commonality and typicality of claims. That is where it is more difficult to process in an employment context, because people don't get promoted for a variety of different reasons and they get terminated for a variety of reasons-so the initial certification issue, which comes after a lot of discovery to find supporting facts, seeks to find a main point of commonality rendering all those in the purported class typical of the experience. Like some corporate policy or practice -either systemically provable or overtly stated somewhere (not likely because they are not idiots, while candid emails can slip reams of sexist comments supporting this.)--
Punitive damages or multipliers cannot be so extreme that they completely bankrupt a company or it defeats the social purpose and utility of punishment in punitive damages. It is not
meant to be a corporate death penalty for punishment. In the corporate world there is a stated policy against financial death penalties.
So to clarify/correct the above-there is no 'judgment ' they are yet dealing with-but a certification granting would be immediate settlement time, or posture a trial that is reported to be in the billion range. What's a billion or two for Walmart?
Conservatives and Liberals (self-described) if they disagree on 'choice' can at least agree
that the Hyde Amendment restricts federal funding such that everyone (the public) pays for other people's abortions. Even if you think they should be permitted, you think that you should not have to pay for someone else's abortion-nor should anyone. Like there is not anything better this heavily indebted government should be doing with the money. Common Ground there.
In the Title VII arena there should not be any disagreement between conservatives and liberals on the basic principle that males and females, if they do exactly the same job for the same numbers of hours should get the same pay. This is not always what operates in the minds of some unfair chauvinists- because they want to factor into the equation things like-hey, the guy is supporting a wife who is at home with three toddlers so he should get more. The fallacy in this sort of 'needs based' reasoning is that -Hey (dude) you have no idea what the women is supporting with her meager salary- She may be supporting an elderly widowed mother if she isn't divorced herself with kids (half the marriages end in divorce), or an entire parish load of priests, or her nieces and nephews whose father just ran off with the secretary, medical bills for relatives or themselves, etc....You have no idea. No one has to append their 'needs criteria" an itemized list of everything that they spend their money on in salary increase evaluations. Yet, this unstated bias operates in awarding males more money -by the traditionalists who view family as a guy supporting a stay at home woman with kids- to males for the exact same job. It is still widely statistically true that women get short changed by an enormous amount.
Wall Mart was sued in the largest gender discrimination class action to hit the Supreme Court-and it will be up to three women and six men how to decide this. Alito, you will recall thought that working at Goodyear Tires was psychic wage enough apparently in ruling in a matter that resulted in an entire statute being written and signed by Obama to correct it. So count him on the side of Wall Mart without even asking. Depending on the facts, it isn't an automatic gimme that all the women are going to be sympathetic to the Wall Mart ladies and women sometimes are the hardest on other women- but my guess is that they will want to set the record straight to make a significant point for all corporations regarding their practices to put an end once and for all to the double standards.
There are six Roman Catholic Judges and five (Scalia, Roberts, Thomas, Alito and Kennedy) of them are men. With the exception of Kennedy they tend to veer toward conservative republican catholic values (the understatement of all the centuries since the Renaissance.) But Chief Justice Roberts has a working professional wife who is a Georgetown Law graduate and a partner in a major DC law firm who is not a typical stay at home mom. I give the family a lot of credit because as a 'pro-life' leader, she walked the talk by adopting children- something that should be encouraged highly by people who want people to deliver babies rather than abort them.
If the Court thinks it wise to grant more ability to adopt children they should want more single women to be able to do it (having a faithful loving husband being outside many of their control)- and so it should become even more obvious to the Court that a policy that strengthens the rights of women and equalizes their pay status, hiring, retention and promotion status is something that encourages stable families, single mother adoptions and is generally good for society at large. The current judgment against Wall Mart may or may not cause such a significant bottom line bruising that it puts them out of business-I don't know-didn't crunch any numbers there but it seems crushing to margins of profitability. So it might be sent back for a modification to a lower court for other findings- But on principle, yes, women should get the exact same opportunities as men in comparable positions- and it is none of Wall Mart's business what they do with their money. It would be wonderful if the Court could put their collective foot down on the historic undervaluation of women's work in the world. We should all be able to agree on that.
CLARIFICATION
The issue has to do with not a standard question of whether the court is going to affirm or turn over a monetary judgment but it is a class certification question involving whether all those women can be lumped together in one suit to begin with. If they lose they can be individual plainitffs or in a multiplaintiff suit- class actions are a different beast and certification criteria have to be met-like numerosity (in this case easy), commonality and typicality of claims. That is where it is more difficult to process in an employment context, because people don't get promoted for a variety of different reasons and they get terminated for a variety of reasons-so the initial certification issue, which comes after a lot of discovery to find supporting facts, seeks to find a main point of commonality rendering all those in the purported class typical of the experience. Like some corporate policy or practice -either systemically provable or overtly stated somewhere (not likely because they are not idiots, while candid emails can slip reams of sexist comments supporting this.)--
Punitive damages or multipliers cannot be so extreme that they completely bankrupt a company or it defeats the social purpose and utility of punishment in punitive damages. It is not
meant to be a corporate death penalty for punishment. In the corporate world there is a stated policy against financial death penalties.
So to clarify/correct the above-there is no 'judgment ' they are yet dealing with-but a certification granting would be immediate settlement time, or posture a trial that is reported to be in the billion range. What's a billion or two for Walmart?
Get a Move On It!
Are American Kids Too Fat?
Yes, and some American Adults are too. The recent child bill on school lunches and the like is expensive but highly laudable for all the healthy choices now available.
Why is this a national issue as Michele O has declared in her war against Twinkies. Obesity means that by 2020 something like a third of all Americans will be diabetic and pre-diabetic. If you think that is an over-exaggeration-google it yourself and you will see even more frightening statistics because some have said one in two people are at high risk for this. This is not a fun disease- it can result in blindness, amputations, severe circulatory distress issues and it is no fun pricking yourself for the blood sugar readings and injecting yourself with insulin.
Diabetic neuropathy is about the most painful thing out there-and there is no effective cure. It is just managed with horrendously addictive pain medications. Not a fun disease.
Sedentariness is a major factor and increases the more kids are glued to their Nintendo type electronic games as everything is more computerized. I tried taking the remote away from my four year old nephew who was using it to navigate the maze at the start of the Little Einstein kids video and he screamed so loud you would have thought (and the neighbors might have) that I took a bat to his little head. He was glued to the remote.
This is why I agree that Courts are empowered to and should be vigilant about enforcing in public schools the exercise requirements established by state legislatures. Kids need exercise. When they don't get it they can even be disciplinary problems as elevated blood sugar makes them figety and unfocused and then prime targets for ritalin overprescription for ADD-like symptoms. Kids need exercise and lots of it. See what the California Court of appeals is dealing with here:
http://www.parentdish.com/2010/12/02/parents-can-sue-schools-for-skipping-gym-class-court-rules/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-sb-n%7Cdl5%7Csec4_lnk1%7C188051
When we were kids.....(didn't it annoy you when your folks said this when you were little...)
When we were kids we played outside all the time in nice weather-and even in snowy weather all bundled up. We didn't sit in front of TV ten hours a day. We played kick the can with the neighbors, walked to swim club, walked to the neighbors, got pick up basketball and tennis games going, and in cold weather skiied on back yard bunny hills until we could drive to the real slopes. We had junior high bowling nights, we had track events, we had gynastics practice. Something every day of the week. It builds muscle coordination and community bonding. Sitting in front of computer games all day is isolating, lethargic and might stimulate a brain-but a brain on an immovable object body is not half as effective unless you are Steven King.
Get your kids moving. They will thank you for it.
Yes, and some American Adults are too. The recent child bill on school lunches and the like is expensive but highly laudable for all the healthy choices now available.
Why is this a national issue as Michele O has declared in her war against Twinkies. Obesity means that by 2020 something like a third of all Americans will be diabetic and pre-diabetic. If you think that is an over-exaggeration-google it yourself and you will see even more frightening statistics because some have said one in two people are at high risk for this. This is not a fun disease- it can result in blindness, amputations, severe circulatory distress issues and it is no fun pricking yourself for the blood sugar readings and injecting yourself with insulin.
Diabetic neuropathy is about the most painful thing out there-and there is no effective cure. It is just managed with horrendously addictive pain medications. Not a fun disease.
Sedentariness is a major factor and increases the more kids are glued to their Nintendo type electronic games as everything is more computerized. I tried taking the remote away from my four year old nephew who was using it to navigate the maze at the start of the Little Einstein kids video and he screamed so loud you would have thought (and the neighbors might have) that I took a bat to his little head. He was glued to the remote.
This is why I agree that Courts are empowered to and should be vigilant about enforcing in public schools the exercise requirements established by state legislatures. Kids need exercise. When they don't get it they can even be disciplinary problems as elevated blood sugar makes them figety and unfocused and then prime targets for ritalin overprescription for ADD-like symptoms. Kids need exercise and lots of it. See what the California Court of appeals is dealing with here:
http://www.parentdish.com/2010/12/02/parents-can-sue-schools-for-skipping-gym-class-court-rules/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-sb-n%7Cdl5%7Csec4_lnk1%7C188051
When we were kids.....(didn't it annoy you when your folks said this when you were little...)
When we were kids we played outside all the time in nice weather-and even in snowy weather all bundled up. We didn't sit in front of TV ten hours a day. We played kick the can with the neighbors, walked to swim club, walked to the neighbors, got pick up basketball and tennis games going, and in cold weather skiied on back yard bunny hills until we could drive to the real slopes. We had junior high bowling nights, we had track events, we had gynastics practice. Something every day of the week. It builds muscle coordination and community bonding. Sitting in front of computer games all day is isolating, lethargic and might stimulate a brain-but a brain on an immovable object body is not half as effective unless you are Steven King.
Get your kids moving. They will thank you for it.
Fine Tuning the Trade of
Keeping the State From Frying People (innocent or guilty).
Here is Robert D. Blasier, DNA expert with Robert Shapiro and O.J. Simpson after the civil victory of his famous trial. Bob Blasier, http://www.blasier.com/, a Harvard Law Graduate and BS from Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh is a noted specialist in using DNA in expert testimony, and has widely lectured and briefly taught at a California Law School. DNA has to be used in expert testimony in a very precise way with precise controls to establish probability of reliability- and sometimes it is misused and does not represent what the prosecution would want it to. Thank God there are people like My Uncle Bob. (really, he is my real uncle.) He has also sued civilly various cults in Northern California and became an expert in kidnapping cases involving cults-we called him 'cult-buster Bob"-his father was a Presbyterian Deacon, what d'ya expect. One Northern California cult that was kidnapping children ran a frame shop as a business and sold prints -as they were judgment proof he attached the print shop and won a mini gallery of frame supplies and tacky velvet paintings (and some other nicer ones) to satisfy the judgment. I remember helping clean the display cabinets. He prefers sticking to the law business.
Here is Robert D. Blasier, DNA expert with Robert Shapiro and O.J. Simpson after the civil victory of his famous trial. Bob Blasier, http://www.blasier.com/, a Harvard Law Graduate and BS from Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh is a noted specialist in using DNA in expert testimony, and has widely lectured and briefly taught at a California Law School. DNA has to be used in expert testimony in a very precise way with precise controls to establish probability of reliability- and sometimes it is misused and does not represent what the prosecution would want it to. Thank God there are people like My Uncle Bob. (really, he is my real uncle.) He has also sued civilly various cults in Northern California and became an expert in kidnapping cases involving cults-we called him 'cult-buster Bob"-his father was a Presbyterian Deacon, what d'ya expect. One Northern California cult that was kidnapping children ran a frame shop as a business and sold prints -as they were judgment proof he attached the print shop and won a mini gallery of frame supplies and tacky velvet paintings (and some other nicer ones) to satisfy the judgment. I remember helping clean the display cabinets. He prefers sticking to the law business.
Cruel and Unusual Per Se
Presumptively Unconstitutional; the killing of guilty people by the State.
What is going on in this court? Feel free to chime in and write the Judge a letter (so long as you are not a party in violation of any ex parte rules)They should want concerned citizen mail.
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/harris-county-death-penalty-hearing-starts-in-houston-court/19747690
What is going on in this court? Feel free to chime in and write the Judge a letter (so long as you are not a party in violation of any ex parte rules)They should want concerned citizen mail.
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/harris-county-death-penalty-hearing-starts-in-houston-court/19747690
Big Breaking News
Council of Europe upholds Conscientious Objector Rights for Medical Personnel
Imagine having spent years training to be a doctor at substantial financial sacrifice for your whole family and being told that you had to commit an abortion or get fired-by the government. Well, because of public health arrangements/laws in various European countries fortunately the cost of a medical education is much less than it is here and highly subsidized. But the trade off is that there is much more governmental oversight (read intrusion) into medical policies.
Read this Zenit article. The Europeans at the Council of Europe now agree- you cannot require a physician to commit an abortion if he has a moral objection to it. http://www.zenit.org/article-30583?l=english This means that if a medical institution takes any action against any such physician they can expect legal action.
Imagine having spent years training to be a doctor at substantial financial sacrifice for your whole family and being told that you had to commit an abortion or get fired-by the government. Well, because of public health arrangements/laws in various European countries fortunately the cost of a medical education is much less than it is here and highly subsidized. But the trade off is that there is much more governmental oversight (read intrusion) into medical policies.
Read this Zenit article. The Europeans at the Council of Europe now agree- you cannot require a physician to commit an abortion if he has a moral objection to it. http://www.zenit.org/article-30583?l=english This means that if a medical institution takes any action against any such physician they can expect legal action.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Signers of the Declaration of Dependence
On the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: depicted are the Bishops who attended the first ecumenical conference the Council of Nicaea in which it was first made official that the Trinitarian doctrine was established. Santa Claus was at the convention (not kidding)- see blog entry below on "The Good Bishop."
A Season Of
GIVING
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Luke, 6:38
This karmic concept works in the forgiveness realm also- the more you forgive the more God Forgives you. The more you praise, the more you are praised. The more you love, the more you are loved. The more you give, the more you get.
Do for others what you would have done to you. Because that is how it works. If you want a car, help someone else find one or finance one. You want a house, save someone else from foreclosure. You want a bigger paycheck-give someone else a job.
Things happen in the spiritual world manifested as a boomerang reflection of what we do in the material world.
We all know people who can't stop complaining about what they don't have and what they cannot do as a result. Aside from being incredibly annoying to any and everyone who has to hear it all the time, this is self-defeating trash-talk that imprisons them in their own lack. Because if they instead praised God for the unbelievable generosity, greatness and magnitude of his goodness he would give them far more abundantly over and beyond what they could dream or imagine. Because he is GOD. The earth and everything in it is His.
You cannot outgive God. You cannot be more generous than the One who sent his only son to die on a cross to save humanity from their own sin. You cannot do anything to defeat his generosity because it is his nature. And even when we are not faithful- He Is. It's the Ontological nature of God that you cannot change- so why trash talk down his creations? Could there be anything more self-defeating?
Give and it will be given to you. You cannot pour anything in a clenched fist.
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Luke, 6:38
This karmic concept works in the forgiveness realm also- the more you forgive the more God Forgives you. The more you praise, the more you are praised. The more you love, the more you are loved. The more you give, the more you get.
Do for others what you would have done to you. Because that is how it works. If you want a car, help someone else find one or finance one. You want a house, save someone else from foreclosure. You want a bigger paycheck-give someone else a job.
Things happen in the spiritual world manifested as a boomerang reflection of what we do in the material world.
We all know people who can't stop complaining about what they don't have and what they cannot do as a result. Aside from being incredibly annoying to any and everyone who has to hear it all the time, this is self-defeating trash-talk that imprisons them in their own lack. Because if they instead praised God for the unbelievable generosity, greatness and magnitude of his goodness he would give them far more abundantly over and beyond what they could dream or imagine. Because he is GOD. The earth and everything in it is His.
You cannot outgive God. You cannot be more generous than the One who sent his only son to die on a cross to save humanity from their own sin. You cannot do anything to defeat his generosity because it is his nature. And even when we are not faithful- He Is. It's the Ontological nature of God that you cannot change- so why trash talk down his creations? Could there be anything more self-defeating?
Give and it will be given to you. You cannot pour anything in a clenched fist.
The Good Bishop
Saint Nicholas of Myre, Constantinople (now Demre, Turkey)
Say it five times Fast-Saint Nicholas- do you hear Santa Claus? That is who it is. This French postcard shows a popular conception of this Bishop from the fourth century in Constantinople, whose Feast day in the church is actually December 6th. In more modern times people have conflated the Christmas Santa Claus with Saint Nicholas Day so Santa Claus visits giving gifts like the Magi on Christmas for many Western believers. The Orthodox Christian world often separated this day from the day of visitation of the Magi (Wise Men) and thus Celebrate the birth of Christ in January near or on what others call Epiphany.
The fact that 'Santa Claus' was actually a real Bishop in the early fourth century church, living in and around year 333 AD is a little known fact to many. Why did his fame spread so far and wide that when after Constantinople fell, italian sailors secreted his remains to Bari, Italy whereafter a Basillica was erected to protect his relics? [Yes, you can really personally visit the real Santa Claus' remains in a Basillica on the Adriatic side in Italy.]
If you look at the Bishop's attire from the postcard above you will note a few interesting features that have been translated into modern lore in cartoonish fashion. The red Bishop's Mitre (cone head hat) has been translated as the triangle red Santa hat that we are all familiar with- people in Northern European and nordic countries no doubt appended the white snow ball on top because it is very snowy there! After enough statues of Saint Nicholas' with his red mitre were left out in the snow someone permanently affixed a snow ball, and later cockishly tipped the hat over into a fold. You get the picture. The Shepherd's staff is something that symbolizes Christ the Good Shepherd and is carried ceremonially by Bishops even to this day, and has been translated as a candy cane which you might find decorating Christmas trees in abundance or in the mouth of your three year old even if you tell him no candy until after dinner!!
The Gold Balls are a little different to explain- but have been translated as gold round ornaments on Christmas trees and sometimes as oranges or apples (any round reddish fruit-mangos) found in Christmas stockings. The Gold Balls and the Stockings go together.
Here's why: This real guy- let's call him little Nicky- lost his parents when he was rather young and came from wealthy parentage. He decided to become a priest and was determined to give away his inheritance out of the extreme generosity of his heart after Christ who gave everything-even his earthly life-to save others. He found a family of three sisters whose father was unable to pay their dowry for marriage. That meant horrendous heart ache for any family then because it meant that these girls would be sold into prostitution or 'slavery' as history has retold it. Sexual slavery- childhood sexual slavery in our modern day terms. Nicholas- being so appalled at that in the middle of the night went to their house and found as usual their washed stockings stuck hung under the window to dry as was the washing custom of the day. He threw solid gold balls and/or coins of such value in the stockings for each of them such that they had sufficient dowries to marry.
If he isn't already he should be the Patron Saint of Marriage. We think of him now as the patron saint of tacky toy sales. He is the Marriage Saint.
Now you know why there are Christmas trees decorated with gold ball ornaments.
And why people put up stockings that 'santa' stuffs with goodies on the mantle. And why Christmas Day is the best day to get engaged!
He is not just known to those in the know however, as the mysterious robin hoodish night prowler. He should also be the Patron Saint of the Hungry. At that time in Constantinople there was a major famine. Think of it as a stockmarket melt down recession of unheard of magnitude.
He convinced a ship that if they unloaded a huge amount of cargo in his town when it arrived at it's destination it would be as though none disappeared and they would meet their shipping manifold obligations. This occurred apparently-and he was able to feed far and wide for two years with what the ship left him. He was also able to stop a fiendish butcher from filling in the sparsity of the butcher's meat cabinet with the flesh and blood of a few kiddies he planned on boiling alive. This fiendish butcher assaulted three children, and threw them in a pot, heavily salted them unconscious apparently and was ready to boil them down to meat he could sell. The brave Bishop of Myre found them, prayed to God for their breath back, they came back to life and lived to tell about him far and wide.
He is the patron saint of Children for that reason. He is the Patron Saint of all those working against Child Abuse, Childhood exploitation and Childhood sexual slavery everywhere. If he isn't already, I just made him so. Like Jesus- he loves kids.
The Bishop of Myre, Saint Nicholas is apparently the gift that keeps on giving. His remains after he passed exuded some liquified form so regularly and strongly that it was termed "Saint Nicholas Manna" and was heavily sought after as a cure for diseases. When his remains were translated to Italy it kept on doing this. To this day I believe they are able to extract whatever this liquid is. To this day, it is said to cure diseases.
His remains are guarded by the Dominican order. The Dominicans guard Santa Claus.
Perhaps reason enough to rethink all the dogging of Dominicans so easy and popular to do these days. Perhaps after all they may be for Marriage. I shall say a prayer to Santa Claus. Perhaps I ought to write a letter to the North Pole care of Citta Vaticani.
Postscript afterthought:
More on Good Saint Nick: He should also be considered the Patron Saint of all political prisoners
of conscience because he was one and the patron saint of those who believe in Separation of Church and State-thus Patron Saint of American Constitutionalists, Particularly First Amendment scholars and proponents. This gets into a bit of doctrinal church history that may bore you, but here it is. During the first four centuries of the church there was a disagreement regarding the ontological nature of Jesus Christ, with a school of thought from Alexandria, Egypt and elsewhere which maintained that Jesus was not on any equal par with God the Father in any respect, while the Trinitarians, of which Saint Nick was a champion believed that Jesus was and is "one in being with the father" following the gospel of John in which it is stated that all things were created with him and through him from the very beginning. Ultimately it was decided as by a convention in Nicea that the Trinitarian view is the right one. the Nicene Creed said by christians everywhere affirms it. This battle was not an easily won battle and like all doctrinal purists, where religious doctrine becomes a matter of state importance when political power plays into it- there are people who want to throw the 'heretics' in jail. For his beliefs Saint Nicholas was thrown in prison over espousal of this Trinitarian Doctrine against the powerful interests of those who sought to diminish the ontological significance of Jesus. He did jail time, chained and bound, for nothing but his religious convictions.
Think about it. Google It. Because I think we need a statue of the good Bishop of Myre in the middle of the front steps of Saint Matthews- and elsewhere.
Friday, December 03, 2010
The Commandment
To Love One Another
has been so 'sanitized' as to dilute it's meaning by some celibate clerics that it is clear they have only a vague foggy notion of what it actually means. If you love someone as yourself, you can barely tell the boundaries between their and your soul such that you would die for them easily. That is what Jesus knew when he died for his friends- his followers were 'children of God' heir to the promise, off-spring of the Source, the Great All Mighty- He could die for them. It is the secret of sainthood- they can die for the salvation of other souls readily.
A real biological parent has this kind of Love- they would throw themselves in front of a bus to save their child from getting hit. God is a parent of his children.
This love in human form can take on a holy and sexual expression in a committed marriage where the 'TWO BECOME ONE" in a soul meld-merge. This is something completely alien to a lot of celibate clergy who simply don't get it. They never experienced it-so they don't know what it means any more than they know what changing your tampax means experientially.
As a result they make cracked whack-o allusions to all sexual expression metaphorically as 'robbing a bank', and, with a condum, with an unloaded gun. Only someone who has never experienced real sexual love could ever say something so stupid.
This is another reason- for street cred, for authenticity of real understanding- part of the catholic clergy should be allowed to be married. That is why people find much more wisdom in some protestant clerical circles than in the hood with the white dresses and red shoes.
has been so 'sanitized' as to dilute it's meaning by some celibate clerics that it is clear they have only a vague foggy notion of what it actually means. If you love someone as yourself, you can barely tell the boundaries between their and your soul such that you would die for them easily. That is what Jesus knew when he died for his friends- his followers were 'children of God' heir to the promise, off-spring of the Source, the Great All Mighty- He could die for them. It is the secret of sainthood- they can die for the salvation of other souls readily.
A real biological parent has this kind of Love- they would throw themselves in front of a bus to save their child from getting hit. God is a parent of his children.
This love in human form can take on a holy and sexual expression in a committed marriage where the 'TWO BECOME ONE" in a soul meld-merge. This is something completely alien to a lot of celibate clergy who simply don't get it. They never experienced it-so they don't know what it means any more than they know what changing your tampax means experientially.
As a result they make cracked whack-o allusions to all sexual expression metaphorically as 'robbing a bank', and, with a condum, with an unloaded gun. Only someone who has never experienced real sexual love could ever say something so stupid.
This is another reason- for street cred, for authenticity of real understanding- part of the catholic clergy should be allowed to be married. That is why people find much more wisdom in some protestant clerical circles than in the hood with the white dresses and red shoes.
Growing Up
Is Hard to Do
When people are 'momma's boys' or pampered silly, and adulated and fawned over, they sometimes lack 'capacity' to self-evaluate in the socratesian 'examined life' way that allows for
solid personal growth. They go through life defending their silliness in a self-justified manner to convince the world. A hallmark of maturity is that one acknowledges their mistakes, admits them (everyone has failings-some call it 'sin') apologize, makes amends and move on. Only the most immature self-deluded sit there and try to justify what the world knows is off its rocker.
The Republican party seems to be stuck there- for 8 years pampered with bloated defense contract deals where everything was excused- starting a war that we will pay for both monetarily and in fear and loathing of us for generations. You think it was nothing to do with us that the World Cup went to Quatar! It is easy to see that while some in this country want to hang Assuange, the wikipedia leaker for his exposing our inner workings, many in the world want to canonize him for exposing the gore in our guts.
This cheering against us is in part due to the fact that we have not grown up as a country to a point where we deeply analyze our mistakes, stop blaming the rest of the world, and fess up, make amends, and apologize.
We should be standing before the UN saying we deeply apologize for the errant actions of the predecessor administration that falsified intelligence and ran us into the eternal wars against islam without distinction as to which muslims were the good guys, which ones were the bad guys.
Further, we intend to prosecute those who violated international human rights laws by committing unspeakable torture of in some cases innocent people.
This would mark us as a more mature country- one that can instead of bribing foreign governments to stop accusing us, let us examine ourselves where we went wrong and fix it.
We need a mature Foreign Policy, not a self-deluding one.
When people are 'momma's boys' or pampered silly, and adulated and fawned over, they sometimes lack 'capacity' to self-evaluate in the socratesian 'examined life' way that allows for
solid personal growth. They go through life defending their silliness in a self-justified manner to convince the world. A hallmark of maturity is that one acknowledges their mistakes, admits them (everyone has failings-some call it 'sin') apologize, makes amends and move on. Only the most immature self-deluded sit there and try to justify what the world knows is off its rocker.
The Republican party seems to be stuck there- for 8 years pampered with bloated defense contract deals where everything was excused- starting a war that we will pay for both monetarily and in fear and loathing of us for generations. You think it was nothing to do with us that the World Cup went to Quatar! It is easy to see that while some in this country want to hang Assuange, the wikipedia leaker for his exposing our inner workings, many in the world want to canonize him for exposing the gore in our guts.
This cheering against us is in part due to the fact that we have not grown up as a country to a point where we deeply analyze our mistakes, stop blaming the rest of the world, and fess up, make amends, and apologize.
We should be standing before the UN saying we deeply apologize for the errant actions of the predecessor administration that falsified intelligence and ran us into the eternal wars against islam without distinction as to which muslims were the good guys, which ones were the bad guys.
Further, we intend to prosecute those who violated international human rights laws by committing unspeakable torture of in some cases innocent people.
This would mark us as a more mature country- one that can instead of bribing foreign governments to stop accusing us, let us examine ourselves where we went wrong and fix it.
We need a mature Foreign Policy, not a self-deluding one.
Weigel Wiggle Room
And the Things People Do To Avoid Admitting THEY WERE WRONG
The Pope was misunderstood in past apparently. Some people misread him. Now there is a funny and ferocious spin-battle between the Jesuits and the literalists (I say charitably) apparently on how to cast what clearly is, if nothing else, illucidation, of a prior Papal point which had been misinterpreted to a point of madness.
The Literalists want to tell us -because they think we are stupid and don't already know-that the best way to avoid HIV/AIDS is to not have sex at all. Well, DUH, you don't say. We all agree on that. But the point is that the majority of people in the world compelled by the commandment to be fruitful and multiply of all religions are and do have sex, both in marriage and, sadly, as they try to figure out their right spousal arrangement, out of marriage.
The Literalists want to tell us that because of the reference to male prostitutes in the Pope's statement, inferentially you must be a male prostitute if you need to use a condom. Wrong. So dumb I can't believe I even have to retort. They use an analogy like, if you must rob a bank with a gun use an unloaded one. As if all sexual activity (marriage included) is an evil like robbing a bank. Sexual activity in marriage is of course sacred and not evil. But don't tell that to the wing-nuts or people who idolize chastity over Love and have no interest in pro-creating.
Here is why the Literalists are wrong - they insisted in past FEROCIOUSLY that NO CONDOM USE WHATSOEVER was papally permitted. When the Pope appeared in Africa and made comments that were misconstrued or badly or partially translated, the literalists (including some clergy) insisted with all the force of clerical discipline that the Pope absolutely refuses any exception whatsoever regarding this as a basic non-negotiable tenet of faith. They adhered to a blind Black Letter Law WITHOUT EXCEPTION. They even cited a rather rogue Harvard Professor's random remarks to support it-look a guy at Harvard says x,y,z, it must be so (against the weight of the entire medical community that it is a basic effective preventative measure.) They offered the reason: to allow ANY condom use statistically would increase sexual promiscuity thus more not less HIV. They insisted on it. They wrote about it. They kicked people out of churches or tried to because of disagreement.
Here is why it is scary:
Conservative Republicans stick together doctrinally even when they are wrong- and when they are shown to be wrong, they rewrite what they really meant retrospectively, and say-see, we told you all along. It is an age old political ploy older than Machievelli's grandmother.
Listen boys- you were wrong. Admit it and move on. We are all sick of the self-delusional justifications for pig-headed stubborness. Yes, read the Pope himself, and then revisit your earlier rantings- YOU WERE WRONG. Fess up and grow up.
The Pope was misunderstood in past apparently. Some people misread him. Now there is a funny and ferocious spin-battle between the Jesuits and the literalists (I say charitably) apparently on how to cast what clearly is, if nothing else, illucidation, of a prior Papal point which had been misinterpreted to a point of madness.
The Literalists want to tell us -because they think we are stupid and don't already know-that the best way to avoid HIV/AIDS is to not have sex at all. Well, DUH, you don't say. We all agree on that. But the point is that the majority of people in the world compelled by the commandment to be fruitful and multiply of all religions are and do have sex, both in marriage and, sadly, as they try to figure out their right spousal arrangement, out of marriage.
The Literalists want to tell us that because of the reference to male prostitutes in the Pope's statement, inferentially you must be a male prostitute if you need to use a condom. Wrong. So dumb I can't believe I even have to retort. They use an analogy like, if you must rob a bank with a gun use an unloaded one. As if all sexual activity (marriage included) is an evil like robbing a bank. Sexual activity in marriage is of course sacred and not evil. But don't tell that to the wing-nuts or people who idolize chastity over Love and have no interest in pro-creating.
Here is why the Literalists are wrong - they insisted in past FEROCIOUSLY that NO CONDOM USE WHATSOEVER was papally permitted. When the Pope appeared in Africa and made comments that were misconstrued or badly or partially translated, the literalists (including some clergy) insisted with all the force of clerical discipline that the Pope absolutely refuses any exception whatsoever regarding this as a basic non-negotiable tenet of faith. They adhered to a blind Black Letter Law WITHOUT EXCEPTION. They even cited a rather rogue Harvard Professor's random remarks to support it-look a guy at Harvard says x,y,z, it must be so (against the weight of the entire medical community that it is a basic effective preventative measure.) They offered the reason: to allow ANY condom use statistically would increase sexual promiscuity thus more not less HIV. They insisted on it. They wrote about it. They kicked people out of churches or tried to because of disagreement.
Here is why it is scary:
Conservative Republicans stick together doctrinally even when they are wrong- and when they are shown to be wrong, they rewrite what they really meant retrospectively, and say-see, we told you all along. It is an age old political ploy older than Machievelli's grandmother.
Listen boys- you were wrong. Admit it and move on. We are all sick of the self-delusional justifications for pig-headed stubborness. Yes, read the Pope himself, and then revisit your earlier rantings- YOU WERE WRONG. Fess up and grow up.
I rise in support of
Congressman Peter King, Republican, New York
Peter King has backbone. He has a sense of fair play. The House of Representatives does not have any appellate process on a 'censure' resolution, and clearly this one would be appealed if it
did. It would not be a frivolous appeal. To borrow a phrase or two, this was a " 'Cluster-F' high -tech lynching."
Peter King was only one of two Republican reps who argued for the lesser penalty for Rangel of 'reprimand' rather than the rather unusual 'censure' measure that has been reserved and used so rarely it applied in the past to things like armed insurrection against the United States for Civil War Confederate backers and sexual abuse of minors during the Senate Page Scandal.
The 'reprimand' amendment, where they would have substituted for the vote the lesser penalty of 'reprimand' was actually very close.
The report against Rangel bore none of the above gravity. There were no findings of criminal behavior, no findings of any 'mens rae' intent to do anything against the laws, no finding of his self-dealing or profiting personally off any of it. No finding that he did not have a right to rely on advice of accountants who might have folded, as King suggested his Dominican Republic rental income into a mortgage deduction (he had a mortgage on the property he is accused of not declaring enough rental income on) . What is he accused of really? Trying to get a lot of underprivileged kids in New York educated. Please.
What was inferred with the charge that he used Congressional letterhead while he was on the Ways and Means Committee to solicit contributions was that he was strongarming contributors in sort of kick-back fashion who gave millions of dollars to a worthy charity-that bore his name in part. Here is where it is -to borrow a Boehner phrase that I cannot believe he actually used "chicken crap."
1. These well financed lobbyists who gave to a CHARITABLE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION were able to get no doubt tax write offs for this, and this thus benefited also the corporations.
2. There was no suggestion or statement that any of these lobbyists or corporations felt strong-armed or that they did not want to contribute to this.
3. There is nothing in the record suggesting that this is not the way that Chairs of the Ways and Means Committee people always did business in the past. Was Rangel being selectively singled out- and what is wrong with offering to give a corporation a place to put charitable dollars when corporations often have Foundations attached to them for precisely this reason- they look to enhance their community service profile by giving charitable contributions to worthy endeavors- and what could be more worthy than educating people who normally could not afford it.
Do you remember Bud Shuster? There is an enormous four or six lane highway in Central Pennsylvania named after him. Didn't he sit on the Ways and Means Committee? Do you mean to tell me that NO OTHER Ways and Means Chair had pet projects that they promoted while
Chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Of course that is a load of "chicken crap."
There was so much misinformation out there to inflame the public that it was irresponsible and dishonest on the part of the Republicans who will use this in every commercial to unseat Obama in 2012. You could tell from the callers on C-Span that they were fed a load of manure (chicken crap) to incite them to call their congresspersons. They were saying things like "he did not pay his taxes for 17 years!" This is false. He filed returns, he paid taxes, he relied on accountants to configure the deductions and they were apparently wrong-and when he found out they were wrong, he paid the difference to the IRS.
There were disturbing procedural deficiencies in this prosecution. They denied him the use of Pro Bono Counsel after his own lawyers billed him close to 2 Million and dumped him. Nice. I know firsthand that to be true because I offered to be his Pro Bono Counsel. Secondly, they refused him an extension or delay to raise more funds in a legal defense fund to defend a trial.
One Congressman who is a former Superior Court judge was disturbed by that. I know also first-hand that it is standard protocol to give someone more time for trial preparation if they lose counsel. This former Superior Court judge was appalled by that and I agree.
This was unprecedented. Peter King noted that his religious and ethical orientation relies on 'tradition ' in part, and his training as a lawyer makes him respect Precedent. The Censure of Rangel violated both tradition and precedent. It was a smear job. It was not fair, it was not
balanced, it was a sad display of trying to pass blame off on someone for the collective failings of an entire Institution which has been so negligent in doing things that are really serious ethical breaches, like institute a Leahy-requested 9-11 Truth Commission, prosecute Torture, prosecute mis-statements to the CIA leading to War, prosecute people who lie in Senate Confirmation hearings and the like.
Rangel did none of that. He 'zealously' raised money for kids in New York to go to college.
He used Congressional letterhead thinking it was a legitimate constituent service and it is. It isn't a public highway named after him, it is a college. Anyone who contributed got a tax write off.
There was zero evidence of strong-arming . There was zero evidence of personal enrichment.
I am actually appalled that the Congress wasted TWO years and MILLIONS of dollars on this -as though there are not bigger scandals to hit their desks- like Halliburton No Bid Iraqi oil deals, like secret torture renditions, like boiling people literally in oil and/or threatening to in Uzbekistan to compel false confessions of alleged 'terrorists' that we fly in from Afghanistan.
Charles Rangel will go down in history as the biggest diversionary scape-goat for Congressional ineptitude that ever was. And he will go down in history as the Korean War decorated Purple Heart Hero who saved the lives of many many New Yorkers by giving them an education.
Zoe is pretty much done.
Peter King has backbone. He has a sense of fair play. The House of Representatives does not have any appellate process on a 'censure' resolution, and clearly this one would be appealed if it
did. It would not be a frivolous appeal. To borrow a phrase or two, this was a " 'Cluster-F' high -tech lynching."
Peter King was only one of two Republican reps who argued for the lesser penalty for Rangel of 'reprimand' rather than the rather unusual 'censure' measure that has been reserved and used so rarely it applied in the past to things like armed insurrection against the United States for Civil War Confederate backers and sexual abuse of minors during the Senate Page Scandal.
The 'reprimand' amendment, where they would have substituted for the vote the lesser penalty of 'reprimand' was actually very close.
The report against Rangel bore none of the above gravity. There were no findings of criminal behavior, no findings of any 'mens rae' intent to do anything against the laws, no finding of his self-dealing or profiting personally off any of it. No finding that he did not have a right to rely on advice of accountants who might have folded, as King suggested his Dominican Republic rental income into a mortgage deduction (he had a mortgage on the property he is accused of not declaring enough rental income on) . What is he accused of really? Trying to get a lot of underprivileged kids in New York educated. Please.
What was inferred with the charge that he used Congressional letterhead while he was on the Ways and Means Committee to solicit contributions was that he was strongarming contributors in sort of kick-back fashion who gave millions of dollars to a worthy charity-that bore his name in part. Here is where it is -to borrow a Boehner phrase that I cannot believe he actually used "chicken crap."
1. These well financed lobbyists who gave to a CHARITABLE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION were able to get no doubt tax write offs for this, and this thus benefited also the corporations.
2. There was no suggestion or statement that any of these lobbyists or corporations felt strong-armed or that they did not want to contribute to this.
3. There is nothing in the record suggesting that this is not the way that Chairs of the Ways and Means Committee people always did business in the past. Was Rangel being selectively singled out- and what is wrong with offering to give a corporation a place to put charitable dollars when corporations often have Foundations attached to them for precisely this reason- they look to enhance their community service profile by giving charitable contributions to worthy endeavors- and what could be more worthy than educating people who normally could not afford it.
Do you remember Bud Shuster? There is an enormous four or six lane highway in Central Pennsylvania named after him. Didn't he sit on the Ways and Means Committee? Do you mean to tell me that NO OTHER Ways and Means Chair had pet projects that they promoted while
Chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Of course that is a load of "chicken crap."
There was so much misinformation out there to inflame the public that it was irresponsible and dishonest on the part of the Republicans who will use this in every commercial to unseat Obama in 2012. You could tell from the callers on C-Span that they were fed a load of manure (chicken crap) to incite them to call their congresspersons. They were saying things like "he did not pay his taxes for 17 years!" This is false. He filed returns, he paid taxes, he relied on accountants to configure the deductions and they were apparently wrong-and when he found out they were wrong, he paid the difference to the IRS.
There were disturbing procedural deficiencies in this prosecution. They denied him the use of Pro Bono Counsel after his own lawyers billed him close to 2 Million and dumped him. Nice. I know firsthand that to be true because I offered to be his Pro Bono Counsel. Secondly, they refused him an extension or delay to raise more funds in a legal defense fund to defend a trial.
One Congressman who is a former Superior Court judge was disturbed by that. I know also first-hand that it is standard protocol to give someone more time for trial preparation if they lose counsel. This former Superior Court judge was appalled by that and I agree.
This was unprecedented. Peter King noted that his religious and ethical orientation relies on 'tradition ' in part, and his training as a lawyer makes him respect Precedent. The Censure of Rangel violated both tradition and precedent. It was a smear job. It was not fair, it was not
balanced, it was a sad display of trying to pass blame off on someone for the collective failings of an entire Institution which has been so negligent in doing things that are really serious ethical breaches, like institute a Leahy-requested 9-11 Truth Commission, prosecute Torture, prosecute mis-statements to the CIA leading to War, prosecute people who lie in Senate Confirmation hearings and the like.
Rangel did none of that. He 'zealously' raised money for kids in New York to go to college.
He used Congressional letterhead thinking it was a legitimate constituent service and it is. It isn't a public highway named after him, it is a college. Anyone who contributed got a tax write off.
There was zero evidence of strong-arming . There was zero evidence of personal enrichment.
I am actually appalled that the Congress wasted TWO years and MILLIONS of dollars on this -as though there are not bigger scandals to hit their desks- like Halliburton No Bid Iraqi oil deals, like secret torture renditions, like boiling people literally in oil and/or threatening to in Uzbekistan to compel false confessions of alleged 'terrorists' that we fly in from Afghanistan.
Charles Rangel will go down in history as the biggest diversionary scape-goat for Congressional ineptitude that ever was. And he will go down in history as the Korean War decorated Purple Heart Hero who saved the lives of many many New Yorkers by giving them an education.
Zoe is pretty much done.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
If I'm Nancy Pelosi
and the Ethics Committee Hands me a Censure Bill for Rangel
and requires me to read it to his face-here is what I would say:
Charles Rangel is 80 years old. He is a distinguished most senior member of our august body.
He has served his constituents and this institution faithfully, humbly, earnestly and devotedly for 40 years as a
dedicated public servant for the love of the people in his city and country.
He is 80 years old- I should be so lucky to live that long and serve that well.
Now, lets have lunch. You are all dismissed. Zoe- see me in chambers.
and requires me to read it to his face-here is what I would say:
Charles Rangel is 80 years old. He is a distinguished most senior member of our august body.
He has served his constituents and this institution faithfully, humbly, earnestly and devotedly for 40 years as a
dedicated public servant for the love of the people in his city and country.
He is 80 years old- I should be so lucky to live that long and serve that well.
Now, lets have lunch. You are all dismissed. Zoe- see me in chambers.
Papal Nuance
And this is the last definitive article on the condom rhetoric I want to see.
Jesuits, doctors, and both, speak authoritatively on what the Vatican really means and meant all along. http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2281
Some people out there think they are holier than God on this subject and put words into his mouth- I find the Pope openly rational here on this point, which is what you want don't you?
Jesuits, doctors, and both, speak authoritatively on what the Vatican really means and meant all along. http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2281
Some people out there think they are holier than God on this subject and put words into his mouth- I find the Pope openly rational here on this point, which is what you want don't you?
Congressional Double-Speak
and Double Standards
If Charlie Rangel gets rebuked for working out of his home; a rent controlled spot and trusting his accountants more than his accusers on some rental income, what are you going to do if it is learned that Hillary diplomatically pressured the Spanish government to put the kabash on Spanish torture prosecutions thereby compromising the independence of the Spanish Judicial System (if we can't call it outright Bribery?) What are you going to do to people who actually gave a pass and did not pursue the torturers, who let Jay Bybee get away with lying to the Senate in confirmation hearings by omission if nothing else-What sort of open rebuke should we give to people who cover for and hide behind and get paid off by master torturers? How about the people who falsified CIA information to launch a campaign of mass murder on an unsuspecting country whose leader got in the way of oil deals? What should we do with mass murderers? And Charlie Rangel helped constituents by raising money for a college on congressional letterhead. GOOD FOR YOU CHARLIE RANGEL.
If Charlie Rangel gets rebuked for working out of his home; a rent controlled spot and trusting his accountants more than his accusers on some rental income, what are you going to do if it is learned that Hillary diplomatically pressured the Spanish government to put the kabash on Spanish torture prosecutions thereby compromising the independence of the Spanish Judicial System (if we can't call it outright Bribery?) What are you going to do to people who actually gave a pass and did not pursue the torturers, who let Jay Bybee get away with lying to the Senate in confirmation hearings by omission if nothing else-What sort of open rebuke should we give to people who cover for and hide behind and get paid off by master torturers? How about the people who falsified CIA information to launch a campaign of mass murder on an unsuspecting country whose leader got in the way of oil deals? What should we do with mass murderers? And Charlie Rangel helped constituents by raising money for a college on congressional letterhead. GOOD FOR YOU CHARLIE RANGEL.
Popped Corn
And Crack Investigative Journalists everywhere.
I nominate them for the Alliance for Justice "Nice List" this Christmas. David Corn had a clue that there were people at the US State Dept. who sought actively to quash torture prosecutions and lobbied the Spaniards to quash it.
Now those wikileaked cables confirm it.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/obama-spain-bush-torture-prosecution/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=78822afbf7-Dec212_2_2010&utm_medium=email
I didn't want to listen to the cries for Hillary to retire to teach at Columbia and write her book early, but now I want some answers. Like- did you think of this on your own or did Obama tell you to do it?
Remember that nice trip Michele took to resort Malaga or Majorca to meet the King and Queen of Spain on a boondoggle some thought was too extravagant for a country facing a foreclosure crisis with a hotel floor full of their closest friends and security detail?
What did Spain get in return for dropping torture prosecution?-just tourist dollars or something more???
I nominate them for the Alliance for Justice "Nice List" this Christmas. David Corn had a clue that there were people at the US State Dept. who sought actively to quash torture prosecutions and lobbied the Spaniards to quash it.
Now those wikileaked cables confirm it.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/obama-spain-bush-torture-prosecution/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=78822afbf7-Dec212_2_2010&utm_medium=email
I didn't want to listen to the cries for Hillary to retire to teach at Columbia and write her book early, but now I want some answers. Like- did you think of this on your own or did Obama tell you to do it?
Remember that nice trip Michele took to resort Malaga or Majorca to meet the King and Queen of Spain on a boondoggle some thought was too extravagant for a country facing a foreclosure crisis with a hotel floor full of their closest friends and security detail?
What did Spain get in return for dropping torture prosecution?-just tourist dollars or something more???
The Next Shoe to Drop
What Didn't Cheney do Wrong?
Apparently the Nigerians want to arrest him. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/nigeria-issue-arrest-warrant-dick-cheney-bribery-case/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=78822afbf7-Dec212_2_2010&utm_medium=email
Every Republican FCPA attorney and immunity specialist will get a piece of it.
When do you think that they will piece together that the guys at the Halliburton operations in Nigeria were working with the Nigerian scamsters to actually target Democratic activists fighting to get us out of Iraq where Halliburton had tons of 'no bid' contract business that made Cheney a gazillionaire.
Note to Liz: S-H-U-T U-P!! I can hear you already in defense of your greasy father.
Apparently the Nigerians want to arrest him. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/nigeria-issue-arrest-warrant-dick-cheney-bribery-case/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=78822afbf7-Dec212_2_2010&utm_medium=email
Every Republican FCPA attorney and immunity specialist will get a piece of it.
When do you think that they will piece together that the guys at the Halliburton operations in Nigeria were working with the Nigerian scamsters to actually target Democratic activists fighting to get us out of Iraq where Halliburton had tons of 'no bid' contract business that made Cheney a gazillionaire.
Note to Liz: S-H-U-T U-P!! I can hear you already in defense of your greasy father.
Unity
So Long As You All Agree With Meeeeeeeeeeee.
The Christian "unity" call of, inter alia, that American Papist crier who believes that he is qualified by virtue of his doctrinal training to label people as fake or 'astroturf' Catholics, even going so far as to rename them Catholyks (like Catholic lite or something) over the Gay equality issue could not have been more insensitively misplaced on World Aids Day. Many of us, straight and gay, know real people who actually died from AIDS. One in NINE people in DC has HIV. That puts more than a tenth of the entire DC population in a potentially fatally medically vulnerable position. There was a Vigil at Saint Matthews last night where candles were lit on the steps and prayers said for lost friends. Could there be any more obnoxious a day to start a Facebook group to oppose the Georgetown Gay Equality lecture or conference?
Could there be any more glaring and obvious reason why the Republicans are not viewed warmly when it comes to their social issues? Where does he keep his metal tongue tongs for heretics (ripping out of...)
If only that American Papist kid put as much time into finding a heterosexual mate as he did blasting people who disagree with him, he might have any street cred whatsoever on any of these 'marriage' and 'life' issues. Might I suggest e-harmony. Because by the looks of him I must say, he doth protest too much. The day he actually has a baby instead of berating 'choice' people (who disagree really only on strategy for reducing abortions given women have total control over their bodies anyway) I will pop champaign and may even get to retire this blog. It's hard keeping up with the dominican inquisition. Bunch of single guys living in a castle using proxies to spout generic hatred and loathing of anything not self-flagulatingly floating in a white dress. Have a Baby and Shut the Mother Up.
The Christian "unity" call of, inter alia, that American Papist crier who believes that he is qualified by virtue of his doctrinal training to label people as fake or 'astroturf' Catholics, even going so far as to rename them Catholyks (like Catholic lite or something) over the Gay equality issue could not have been more insensitively misplaced on World Aids Day. Many of us, straight and gay, know real people who actually died from AIDS. One in NINE people in DC has HIV. That puts more than a tenth of the entire DC population in a potentially fatally medically vulnerable position. There was a Vigil at Saint Matthews last night where candles were lit on the steps and prayers said for lost friends. Could there be any more obnoxious a day to start a Facebook group to oppose the Georgetown Gay Equality lecture or conference?
Could there be any more glaring and obvious reason why the Republicans are not viewed warmly when it comes to their social issues? Where does he keep his metal tongue tongs for heretics (ripping out of...)
If only that American Papist kid put as much time into finding a heterosexual mate as he did blasting people who disagree with him, he might have any street cred whatsoever on any of these 'marriage' and 'life' issues. Might I suggest e-harmony. Because by the looks of him I must say, he doth protest too much. The day he actually has a baby instead of berating 'choice' people (who disagree really only on strategy for reducing abortions given women have total control over their bodies anyway) I will pop champaign and may even get to retire this blog. It's hard keeping up with the dominican inquisition. Bunch of single guys living in a castle using proxies to spout generic hatred and loathing of anything not self-flagulatingly floating in a white dress. Have a Baby and Shut the Mother Up.
Rangel Rebukes
and the Chill Factor
Today is Meet your Leader Day for Charlie Rangel where the ethics committee is scheduled to give him a dressing down for his alleged infractions of congressional good behavior. Here is what he did wrong that really has them stringing him by his toenails: He got to be Chair of the Ways and Means Committee and he got to be Black. Those two combined are a disaster now.
So pile on pile on pile on-what did he really do wrong? Wrote on Congressional letterhead to a New York College for their fundraising purposes -and they named a program or school building after him. Was he buying influence or was he lending his name and garnering support so to enhance an educational institution with the gravitas of congressional leadership so more New Yorkers would be inspired to and have the resources to go to college from places normally undereducated? For that we want to scold him????
What else did he do? Not declare a few thousand dollars of rental income in the DR ? He has a defense apparently-and also apparently, even though the statute of limitations is already expired on prosecution of any such charges, he PAID it to the IRS already (and it's under 10k-not like he is a multigazillionaire hiding millions in the Camens)-
The third thing as far as I can tell is that he worked out of his home. He lives in NYC and has rent controlled apartments or maybe just one. He worked out of it even though it was against the lease to have an office there or against some NY City law. Who does not work at home these days? Doesn't telecommuting save gas, and reduce one's carbon footprint ?
The Congressional Rebukers are a Satire of themselves in this. They have not convinced the public that this is stuff for which you are supposed to lock a distinguished member in the stockades for public humiliation. It is a joke-and I should think that they all have much much better things to waste the public resources on than the MILLIONS that have been spent on this witch hunt to down Rangel. Which republicans are foaming at the mouth for his Chair and seat now?
When Charlie Rangel goes to the hereafter there will be streets named after him in New York. There will be monuments, museums, archives with his letters, tribute after tribute, and a Naval Ship with his name on it. Charlie Rangel is a national treasure. How dare they. Really. What a joke.
Today is Meet your Leader Day for Charlie Rangel where the ethics committee is scheduled to give him a dressing down for his alleged infractions of congressional good behavior. Here is what he did wrong that really has them stringing him by his toenails: He got to be Chair of the Ways and Means Committee and he got to be Black. Those two combined are a disaster now.
So pile on pile on pile on-what did he really do wrong? Wrote on Congressional letterhead to a New York College for their fundraising purposes -and they named a program or school building after him. Was he buying influence or was he lending his name and garnering support so to enhance an educational institution with the gravitas of congressional leadership so more New Yorkers would be inspired to and have the resources to go to college from places normally undereducated? For that we want to scold him????
What else did he do? Not declare a few thousand dollars of rental income in the DR ? He has a defense apparently-and also apparently, even though the statute of limitations is already expired on prosecution of any such charges, he PAID it to the IRS already (and it's under 10k-not like he is a multigazillionaire hiding millions in the Camens)-
The third thing as far as I can tell is that he worked out of his home. He lives in NYC and has rent controlled apartments or maybe just one. He worked out of it even though it was against the lease to have an office there or against some NY City law. Who does not work at home these days? Doesn't telecommuting save gas, and reduce one's carbon footprint ?
The Congressional Rebukers are a Satire of themselves in this. They have not convinced the public that this is stuff for which you are supposed to lock a distinguished member in the stockades for public humiliation. It is a joke-and I should think that they all have much much better things to waste the public resources on than the MILLIONS that have been spent on this witch hunt to down Rangel. Which republicans are foaming at the mouth for his Chair and seat now?
When Charlie Rangel goes to the hereafter there will be streets named after him in New York. There will be monuments, museums, archives with his letters, tribute after tribute, and a Naval Ship with his name on it. Charlie Rangel is a national treasure. How dare they. Really. What a joke.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Sneaky Sneaky Sneaky!
How do you get a Hyde Amendment violation through Congress:
Attach it to a Defense Appropriation Bill for abortions on Military Bases. WHAT!!
Those republicans never want to be seen voting against a defense appropriations bill- maybe they won't notice there is a provision (like fine hidden print or way at the end so you are too tired to read the whole thing??) That is what is going on according to the folks at Susan B. Anthony- the Feminists for Life who watch out for such sneakery disguised as patriotism- Like Mom, Flag and Apple Pie without the Mom, these stunts. Where is Brother Bob Casey when you need him? (Brother in the biblical sense, we aren't related, while we are both a bit irish and hail from the fine state of Pennsyltucky.) C'mon- Isn't there a Presidential Executive Order stating NO FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ABORTIONS. So who pays for the military base abortions? It couldn't come out of a soldier's federal salary could it? It couldn't be done by a doctor paid whose salary is federal is it? It couldn't be done with federal acquisition procurement no. what tricepts would it? ARE THEY KIDDING!!! No, No, No, No, No. Back to the drawing board on the defense appropriation bill.
Ftnt to those who think an abortion is a 'civil right.' YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME'
PAAAALEEEEEEZZEE. Civil Right to nuke your offspring? On which planet? Civil Right to nuke him or her just as hard at the white guys- are you out of your minds?
Here is where it becomes painfully obvious that those fighting for the abortion rights are motivated BY AN INDUSTRY. Because what Soldier do you know is saying "please, kill my in utero baby so I can go slaughter a few Afghanis--i would hate to have to take leave to play with a baby when I can be lobbing grenades at weddings." Find me one. Are maternity benefits for the military more expensive than abortions at $300 .a pop-is this part of the military austerity budget down plan?
BACK TO THE ETCH-A-SKETCH BOARD KIDDIES.
More Metro Madness
Time for Federal Receivership?
The DC Metro is still a mess. Since I started blogging about it before Fenty lost the primary in DC there have been a slew of investigative journalist reports exposing the dark side of DC Metro- and during the latest Rally with John Stewart a heavily used metro turned into a pyramid dump site as riders tumbled on top of each other as the brakes failed on one of those cavernous plummets. Several riders were hospitalized and serious injuries occurred- not to mention a little litigation I imagine.
If the DC Metro is in such bad shape in the nation's capital perhaps it needs a federal oversight commitee or takeover or a huge windfall cash infusion such as happened to AIG.
It is one of those things that the entire nation profits from. When people come to DC for conventions, vacations, tourist sightseeing, inaugurals, etc...they don't need to rent cars (and parking fees in garages downtown are horrendous-ticketing at meters pathologically overvigilant and there's nowhere to park anyway.) The public transport in DC should be state of the art and in good working condition at all times.
Here is what happened to me yesterday- because the knucklehead operator didn't realize I write a blog read in over 30 countries. They stopped the escalators at the Woodley Park Metro last night as people, including me were standing on it in the middle of the ride. This wasn't just an easy slide to slow down, this was an abrupt jarring toss-your-purse-in-the-air all of a sudden stop in your tracks in the middle of a ride to the center of the earth. If a woman had a stroller in front of her or was carrying a baby it would have gone flying head over heels. SCARY.
REALLY REALLY SCARY. Unbelievably reckless.
Fortunately I wasn't in my usual high heels having changed into the trot-about-town sneakers after the event for the ride home. But OMG, OMG holy help us people. THAT CANNOT HAPPEN ANYMORE!!!
I cannot recite here the string of profanities that flooded out of the normally docile work-a-day pink and white collars stuck mid-level at the abrupt shut down. I thought
I might just pass out before making it to the bottom.
Should the Feds take over now? If they are taking over the banks and AIG and car companies can DC METRO be far down the list? For that one I would cheer heartily.
The DC Metro is still a mess. Since I started blogging about it before Fenty lost the primary in DC there have been a slew of investigative journalist reports exposing the dark side of DC Metro- and during the latest Rally with John Stewart a heavily used metro turned into a pyramid dump site as riders tumbled on top of each other as the brakes failed on one of those cavernous plummets. Several riders were hospitalized and serious injuries occurred- not to mention a little litigation I imagine.
If the DC Metro is in such bad shape in the nation's capital perhaps it needs a federal oversight commitee or takeover or a huge windfall cash infusion such as happened to AIG.
It is one of those things that the entire nation profits from. When people come to DC for conventions, vacations, tourist sightseeing, inaugurals, etc...they don't need to rent cars (and parking fees in garages downtown are horrendous-ticketing at meters pathologically overvigilant and there's nowhere to park anyway.) The public transport in DC should be state of the art and in good working condition at all times.
Here is what happened to me yesterday- because the knucklehead operator didn't realize I write a blog read in over 30 countries. They stopped the escalators at the Woodley Park Metro last night as people, including me were standing on it in the middle of the ride. This wasn't just an easy slide to slow down, this was an abrupt jarring toss-your-purse-in-the-air all of a sudden stop in your tracks in the middle of a ride to the center of the earth. If a woman had a stroller in front of her or was carrying a baby it would have gone flying head over heels. SCARY.
REALLY REALLY SCARY. Unbelievably reckless.
Fortunately I wasn't in my usual high heels having changed into the trot-about-town sneakers after the event for the ride home. But OMG, OMG holy help us people. THAT CANNOT HAPPEN ANYMORE!!!
I cannot recite here the string of profanities that flooded out of the normally docile work-a-day pink and white collars stuck mid-level at the abrupt shut down. I thought
I might just pass out before making it to the bottom.
Should the Feds take over now? If they are taking over the banks and AIG and car companies can DC METRO be far down the list? For that one I would cheer heartily.
Why Buy Starbucks
When you Can Buy Mystic Monks!
I love this concept. This is a carmelite order who support a monestary in Wyoming by selling coffee. Carmelites are the order that Saint Therese of Lisieux (Normandy, France) was a part of and after which Mother Theresa is named. It comes from Mount Carmel of Elijah fame in the bible.
The concept of 'Benefice' enterprising religious has been around since the middle ages or earlier as old german monks brewed the best beer in the basement. Paul was a tent-maker. Enterprising religious in New York under the direction of an inspiring Priest in the Bronx who originally hailed from Iowa but was on missions in Latin America for a time have created a whole apparel company (reported in their Catholic Standard recently-ask Dolan)-
Commerce has had a bad rap and those 'prosperity preachers' have had their share of slander. If God owns everything in the world, of course he wants his resources directed toward the work of his kingdom so why shouldn't monks engage in commerce and trade and have a website store.
This advert is free- and note to FTC I get nothing but heavenly brownie points for posting (I am also not a 'celebrity' so it's doubtful those FTC rules even apply) but if those Monks wanted to send me some of their Christmas coffee or Rum Coffee Candy I wouldn't complain!! If they wanted to send Father Evelio some free coffee for the Saint Matthews homeless ministry for the hundreds of cold hungry guys in DC I wouldn't complain even louder!!
Deck the City Halls
Great Shout out To The Friends in Philly
here's a brilliant way to get us all in the Christmas Spirit....
http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2010/11/awesome-pop-up-hallelujah-chorus-at.html
RANDOM ACTS OF CULTURE- I LOVE IT!
here's a brilliant way to get us all in the Christmas Spirit....
http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2010/11/awesome-pop-up-hallelujah-chorus-at.html
RANDOM ACTS OF CULTURE- I LOVE IT!
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