HAGEL CONFIRMED AS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Former Senator Chuck Hagel was finally confirmed as Secretary of Defense, after his confirmation was stalled in the Senate by members of the GOP.  Senate Republicans view Hagel as a traitor to the party ever since he turned against the Iraq war and Bush's conduct of the war when he was in the Senate, which gave them reason enough to oppose his nomination.  Only four Republicans voted to confirm.

Back in late 2011, Senator Lindsey Graham, one of  the most vehement opponents of Hagel's confirmation, suggested the US might have to go to war with Pakistan.

From the AP:

A Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee said Sunday that the U.S. should consider military action against Pakistan if it continues to support terrorist attacks against American troops in Afghanistan.

"The sovereign nation of Pakistan is engaging in hostile acts against the United States and our ally Afghanistan that must cease, Sen. Lindsey Graham told "Fox News Sunday."

He said if experts decided that the U.S. needs to "elevate its response," he was confident there would be strong bipartisan support in Congress for such action.

From Juan Cole:

The GOP Orcs have a further list of countries they’d like to invade and occupy. Senator Lindsey Graham added Pakistan to the list. Does anybody else in the known universe think it is a good idea for the US abruptly to go to war with the world’s sixth-largest country, which is a nuclear power, and which is backed by China? I mean, shouldn’t this man just be declared clinically insane and mercifully put in an institution instead of being allowed to strut the halls of power?

I burst out laughing at Juan Cole's comments about Lindsey Graham's suggestion that we may have to go to war against Pakistan. Then I caught myself and realized that it's not funny at all that people like Graham and others in the Senate, who must always have a war going, operate in the highest halls of power in our country.  We can only hope that the "strong bipartisan support" in Congress for a war with Pakistan has evaporated, if it was ever present.

BLESSINGS AND CONGRATULATIONS, BRYAN

On Monday evening, my grandson Bryan, pictured above in the red gown, was one of the confirmandi at St Matthew the Apostle Church in River Ridge. He stands with his Dad, Mom, and two brothers, William on the left and Andrew on the right. Grandpère was his sponsor. The girls wore white gowns and the boys red. Both Bryan and GP played their parts well. The mass was lovely, with the choir at St Matthew's performing and leading the congregational singing beautifully. Roman Catholic Archbishop Gregory Aymond gave a sermon suitable for all ages. Altogether, it was a lovely evening.



Above is Bryan with his aged (OMG, how aged!) grandparents. At a certain point in one's life the picture-taking should stop, right?

I should mention here my mea culpa for having missed my oldest grandson's confirmation, much to my regret, due to a misunderstanding on my part that Grandpère, also Joey's sponsor, was going to a rehearsal instead of the real thing. I should also mention that miscommunication in my family is not all that unusual.

In the top picture, Bryan's eyes caught the light of the flash and were blank. I shopped in eyes as best I could, but the result is far from perfect. Sorry, Bryan.



Above is the picture my daughter took of Bryan in front of the Resurrection cross. I wish I had caught him in his wicked moment with his arms stretched out. Alas....

GUESS WHERE WE WENT YESTERDAY

To a wedding! Yes, another wedding. A student from Nicholls State University, who kept in touch with Grandpère after they both left the university, married his lovely bride yesterday at St Francis de Sales Cathedral, pictured above. The wedding was lovely, as was the reception, with lots of good food, drink, and music by Louisiana Spice. If you check their website, you will see that the guys in the band dress like 1940s and 1950s gangstas or FBI operatives - take your pick.



The band was hot. GP and I danced a couple of slow dances and one fast dance, and I'm still recovering from the fast dance. Imagine! One lively dance does me in. During one of our slow dances, I kissed GP while we were dancing - twice. I think he liked that. Of course, I'd had a couple of glasses of wine, which is my limit because two glasses make me tipsy.

Anyway, this morning I'm still exhausted and achy. Since I spent a good part of Friday in Westminster Abbey, virtually speaking, and over an hour in St Francis Cathedral yesterday, I'm being an example to no one and not listening to it's margaret and skipping church this morning. Mea culpa!

I was just going to mention the activity below at St John's, which would have me in my church, quite willingly, again tomorrow evening:

Please join us for a Eucharist this Monday, May 2, at 6:00 p.m., along with the Reverends Tom & Beth Papazoglakis, as we dedicate the series of pictures (on the wall in the parish hall) donated to St. John’s by the Papazoglakis family in memory of Katherine Bourgeois. These papyrus, made by the Coptics, come from Egypt and depict many of the major themes in the life of Christ found in the gospel.

Alas, my daughter just now informed me via Facebook that our grandson will be confirmed tomorrow evening, and, since Grandpère is his sponsor, we will be at St Matthew the Apostle Church instead, willingly again, but surprised. The last we heard of this event was in the fall that the Confirmation would be "sometime in the spring". There is nothing like a last-minute, surprise reminder.

St Francis Cathedral is quite lovely. The parish was established in 1847, but the present building was constructed in 1936 in the neo-Gothic style. Other views of the cathedral may be seen at the website New Orleans Churches. I must tell you that the colors in the pictures at the website are not true, and the stained glass windows are much more beautiful than they appear in the photo. I wish I'd had my camera with me, but in honor of the wedding, I changed to my smaller, dressy purse, which does not include the pockets and pouches of my everyday handbag. The rose window above the altar is far prettier than it appears, and, as the pictures rightly show, the organ and the Stations of the Cross are impressive. The Stations remind me of those in the church I attended as a child in New Orleans, St Rose of Lima. St. Rose is no longer an active parish.

Since I didn't attend my church, I'll listen to MadPriest's service at St Laika's. The music included in his services is usually always excellent. I ask you: Where else can you hear "Joy to the World" performed by Three Dog Night on Easter Day? I've already seen Ellie Finlay's posts and pictures at The Anchorhold, and they are wonderful and thought-provoking.

UPDATE: I listened, and the service at St Laika's is very good, indeed. The music, the sermon, all of the service is well-worth a listen. My only further recommendation is that since the Gospel is John's story of Thomas the doubter, MadPriest might have added the wonderfully incarnational painting by Caravaggio, titled "The Incredulity of Saint Thomas", which is below. I like to show the painting at least once during the Easter season.

KATE DIDN'T NEED TO DO IT, BUT SHE DID

From the Guardian:

She probably didn't need to do it, but when one is about to marry a chap who will one day become Defender of the Faith, it is probably just as well to tick all the boxes: Clarence House has announced that Kate Middleton was confirmed last month by the bishop of London into full membership of the Church of England.

Middleton's confirmation at a private service – she had already been christened into the CofE as a child – serves to dot the Is and cross the Ts of her allegiance to an institution in which she will inevitably spend a lot of time in coming years, especially when Prince William eventually becomes its supreme governor.

Alright then. Everything is in order. No chance at all that anyone will harbor doubts that Kate is a closet Roman Catholic, thus making her ineligible to marry an heir to the throne.

Unlike the dead-ender birthers here in the US, including the man with the awful comb over, Donald Trump, who continue to shout loudly that President Obama was not born in the US and is thus ineligible to be president. The Donald now speaks of running for president. Oh joy!