Gertrude Stein On The Pope

From the MadPriest, who took it from Shimmy and added the balloon.

To me, this is one of the funniest cartoons ever on the pope. I burst out laughing when I looked at it. The quote from Stein, in a balloon, with her stolid portrait are just perfect. I can hear her saying the words.

No one commented on it at Of Course I Could Be Wrong, not even me, until a few days ago, so I suppose it's not for everyone, but I felt it was neglected at Shimmy's and MadPriest's sites, and I wanted to post it again and give all of you another chance to show proper appreciation.

Belatedly, I left a comment for Shimmy, too.

Rick, I'm afraid you will think me disrespectful of my former and your present leader, but remember: I did not say this. Gertrude did.

Chacun à son goût.

He Didn't Do It

From CNN:

Well, he didn't do it before he did do it.

(CNN) -- Sen. David Vitter broke a week of silence on Monday and, with his wife by his side, denied allegations he had relationships with New Orleans prostitutes.

"I know this has hurt the relationship of trust I've enjoyed with so many of you," Sen. Vitter said Monday.

Media reports surfaced in the past week linking the Louisiana senator to a well-known prostitution case in New Orleans. Vitter attributed those charges to "long-term political enemies" and people seeking money.

"Those stories are not true," he said.

Vitter admitted he made calls to an alleged prostitution operation in Washington, offered an apology "to all those I have let down" and vowed to resume his work in the Senate.

....

"No matter how long ago it was, I know this has hurt the relationship of trust I've enjoyed with so many of you," he said. "I will work everyday to rebuild that trust."

The family-values Republican also addressed what some critics see as his hypocrisy, saying he's been "trying to live up to the important values we believe" since admitting to his mistakes.

"If continuing to believe in and acknowledge those values causes some to attack me because of my past failure, well, so be it," said Vitter, who does not come up for re-election until 2010.

"I'm not going to answer endless questions about it all over again and again and again and again. That might sell newspapers but it wouldn't serve my family or my constituents well at all," he said.

The end?

Feast Day of William White

Illustration from Wikipedia.


READINGS

Psalm 92:1-4,11-14 or 84:7-12
Jeremiah 1:4-10
John 21:15-17

From Wiki:

The Most Reverend William White (April 4, 1748 N.S. – July 17, 1836) was the first and fourth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA (1789; 1795-1836), the first Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania (1787-1836, and the second United States Senate Chaplain (appointed December 9, 1790).

White was largely responsible for the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. At his suggestion, the system of church government was established more or less as we have it today.

From the Lectionary:

Before the American Revolution, there were no bishops in the colonies (partly because the British government was reluctant to give the colonies the kind of autonomy that this would have implied, and partly because many of the colonists were violently opposed to their presence). After the Revolution, the establishment of an American episcopate became imperative. Samuel Seabury was the first American to be consecrated, in 1784 (see 14 Nov), and in 1787 William White and Samuel Provoost, having been elected to the bishoprics of Pennsylvania and New York respectively, sailed to England and were consecrated bishops on 14 February by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and the Bishop of Peterborough.

....

He served as Chaplain of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1789, and then as Chaplain of the Senate.

White was largely responsible for the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. At his suggestion, the system of church government was established more or less as we have it today.

....

A section follows from White's writings on Church Government.

The power of electing a superior order of ministers ought to be in the clergy and laity together, they being both interested in the choice. In England, the bishops are appointed by the civil authority, which was a usurpation of the crown at the Norman conquest, but since confirmed by acts of parliament. The primitive churches were generally supplied by popular elections; even in the city of Rome, the privilege of electing the bishop continued with the people to the tenth or eleventh century, and near those times there are resolves of councils, that none should be promoted to ecclesiastical dignities, but by election of the clergy and people. It cannot be denied that this right vested in numerous bodies, occasioned great disorders; which it is expected will be avoided, when the people shall exercise the right by representation.


PRAYER

O Lord, who in a time of turmoil and confusion raised up your servant William White, and endowed him with wisdom, patience, and a reconciling temper, that he might lead your Church into ways of stability and peace: Hear our prayer, and give us wise and faithful leaders, that through their ministry your people may be blessed and your will be done; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.


With name changes, this prayer would serve quite well for the leadership in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion today.

On A Lighter Note

My daughter forwarded this to me:

Only great minds can read this

This is weird, but interesting!


fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.


i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it


FORWARD ONLY IF YOU CAN READ IT.

I'm one of the 55 out of a hundred who was able to read it, so I'm forwarding it to "Wounded Bird" readers.

How The Mighty Fall

David Vitter was a Rhodes Scholar. He should have known better. He could have taken a lesson from his own State of Louisiana's recent history from Rep. Bob Livingston, or he could have gone back further to the late 19th century.

From Roger in the comments, here's a link to an article at Huffington Post by Karen Dalton-Beninato, on past shenanigans by one Louisiana politician which led to his untimely death at the hands of a prostitute:

It was 1870, and State Sen. Beares was shot by famed New Orleans Madam Hattie Hamilton. His obituary in the Ouachita Telegraph read:

"State Senator Beares, of Catahoula, died recently in the same city from the effects of a pistol wound received under rather mysterious circumstances. His mistress, Hattie Hamilton, was arrested for complicity in the act, but was released. Catahoula and Winn parishes are without a Senator."

Hattie had a colorful history before she became involved with Senator Beares. She must have been quite a woman because Sen. Beares "fell hard" for her in spite of the fact that Hattie had "a glass eye and other infirmities."

It's a puzzle to me why folks strive to gain high positions and then proceed to risk everything by engaging in activities that can bring them down. I suppose that once they're in positions of power, they begin to see themselves as invulnerable. Those who judge and excoriate others seem to be most prone to this type of behavior.

According to my friend Oyster, conservative Louisiana bloggers are now calling for Vitter's resignation.

Near the end of the HP piece is this quote from Bertrand Russell's "The Conquest of Happiness":

"People who wish to have a high opinion of their own moral excellence have therefore to persuade themselves that they have achieved a degree of unselfishness that it is very unlikely they have achieved, and hence the endeavor after saintliness comes to be connected with self-deception of a kind that easily leads on to persecution mania."

The Daily Office - With Grandchildren

Last night, we had a sleepover with five of our grandchildren and no parents to help mind them, just Grandpère and me. Yes, we are crazy. My three grandsons from New Orleans were staying the night, and my son's children wanted to be with them, so we had them all.

Of course, it was lively. We took them out to eat, because I thought it was better to let them make the mess in someone else's place. I had to take the youngest outside for correction - a stern talk - twice, but we made it through the meal. I believe the folks who ran the restaurant were happy to see us go. The children weren't that bad, just noisy, but, thank heavens, the pizza place was pretty noisy, too.

Later that evening, getting them settled for the night in the two spare bedrooms upstairs was the next challenge. Everyone had a preference that seemed to conflict with someone else's preference, but we finally got them sorted out - we thought. Grandpère and I breathed a sigh of relief and went to bed.

The next morning, when Grandpère went to check on them, he found all five of them sound asleep together in one queen-size bed. It seemed that some heard noises and became frightened, and somehow they all ended up in the same bed, three at the top and two at the bottom. If I had told them that they all had to sleep in the same bed, they would have howled, but there they were five angels sleeping.

I cooked them waffles for breakfast, which pleased them greatly.

Today, I did not make it to church. I had too much compassion for Grandpère to leave him alone with all five, and I did not have the energy to supervise all of them to have them ready to go with me. Since I did not attend church, I read Morning Prayer from The Daily Office in the same room where all five were playing and chattering - sometimes arguing - and, in the midst of the din, I still found much to appreciate.

Hymn

Every morning we will raise
to our God our songs of praise.
Every morning we will raise
to our God our songs of praise.

Antiphon

Alleluia. The earth is the Lord's for he made it: Come let us adore him. Alleluia.

Psalm 148 Laudate Domi

Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all you angels of his;
praise him, all his host.
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, heaven of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the Name of the LORD;
for he commanded, and they were created.

From the Gospel

Matthew 23:37

..."Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"....

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Hymn

God be with you,
God be with you,
God be with you till we meet again.
O---
God be with you,
God be with you,
God be with you till we meet again.

Now they are all gone, and it is very quiet. Thanks be to God.

Thanks be to God for the noise and for the quiet.

Bring The Troops Home Now

From the New York Times:

BAGHDAD, July 14 — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki declared Saturday that Iraqi forces could secure the country on their own “any time” American troops decided to withdraw, his first response to the White House report this week that found his government falling well short of many political reforms and military goals sought by Congress.

....

“We say with confidence that we are capable, God willing, of taking full responsibility for the security file if the international forces withdraw in any time they wish,” Mr. Maliki said.

As our president tells us so often, Iraq is a sovereign country and a democracy. Remember the purple fingers? The US is now an occupying force. If the prime minister of Iraq says about us that we can "withdraw in any time they wish," then the vast majority of the American people wish to begin an orderly withdrawal now. How orderly the withdrawal can be at this point is questionable.

Mr President, Mr. Vice-President, members of the US congress, hear the voices of the American people. Bring the troops home now!

Angelina And Brad Update

By way of the rumor machine, we hear that Angelina, Brad, family, nannies, and other helpers have moved into their house on the bayou. The road was blocked off to allow the unloading of their possessions - not an auspicious beginning to joining the neighborhood.

The word is that they have registered their children in the small Roman Catholic school across the bayou from them. Perhaps Angelina and Brad believe that the paparazzi will not follow them here. If the press do follow, in the summer, it will be quite as much fun for them in the small town near the AB ménage as it is for the White House Press Corpse camped out in Crawford, Texas.

Your Right Hand Thief

I know that I kinda, sorta took the pledge against posting further about David Vitter's present tribulations, but the New Orleans bloggers are on a roll. Does it count if I use only quotes from others?

While I'm waiting for your answers, I give you Oyster again:

We constantly hear "Well, if David Vitter's wife forgave him then so should we".

No we shouldn't.

Wendy Vitter's forgiveness of her husband simply doesn't matter to me. It doesn't! Repeat with me "It just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter...".

Why doesn't it matter? For myriad reasons, of course, but let's just remind everyone that Vitter is our political representative, not our husband. We don't have kids with Vitter, we have our own kids to worry about.

Happy Bastille Day!

Thanks to Ormonde and Dennis for the reminder. Ormonde at Through The Dust has the words for the "La Marseillaise" in French and English on his blog. Go read them. Oy!