The Dean

Even as tropical depression Erin further drenches already drenched southeastern Texas, and even as I extend my sympathy to the one who died and to those who are flooding there, I'm selfishly keeping my eye on Hurricane Dean, which is headed for the Gulf of Mexico.

We've had a quiet, hot summer so far, with no hurricane worries, yet. I don't think about hurricanes unless I must, but with Dean approaching the Gulf, must-think-about-it time has arrived.

We are fortunate to own the small farm where Grandpère grew up, northwest of Baton Rouge, with two small houses in place, where we can squeeze in our extended family, all of whom must evacuate in the event of a storm coming our way. We have two generators, so we can keep a refrigerator and a few other outlets running in each house if we lose power there. Thank God that we don't have to worry about getting reservations for a place to stay.

The main decision is when to leave to beat the worst of the traffic. Last minute departure won't do, or you face the likelihood of being stuck in traffic when the storm arrives. The next decision is what to take with us. I still have not decided that. When we evacuated for Katrina, I took a few pairs of shorts and shirts, my toiletries, some important papers, and little else. Had the storm destroyed our house, we would have had very few of our possessions with us. The decision about what to take seems so huge to me, that I tend to give up, with the result that I throw a few things into the car, willy-nilly, and end up taking very little beyond essentials required for a short trip.

I pray, even as I wonder what to pray for. Do I pray that the hurricane goes somewhere else? Of course not. Do I even believe that God directs the path of hurricanes? Probably not. The prayer has to do with making a connection with God in a time of impending danger. In the end, I believe that the prayer is for me. I pray for God to keep us safe, to guide us to make proper decisions, and to give us strength if we need it.

For now, we watch and wait.

UPDATE: I'm changing the tracking map as a new map becomes available.

Iraq War Casualties

Before the day is over, I'd like to take note of another milestone passed. According to Iraq Casualty Count, the number of military deaths in the Iraq has passed the 3700 mark, now standing at 3702 3706, with wounded and medical evacuations at 28,308, and death from self-inflicted wounds at 118.

The estimates of numbers of Iraqi dead varies widely from a high of 600,000 to a low of 76,236.

For the dead:

O God whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of your servants, and grant them an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. BCP

For the families and friends of the dead and the wounded and their families and friends:

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, pour out your love upon the families and friends of those who have died and upon the wounded and their families and friends. Bring them healing in spirit, mind, and body. Give them strength and courage to go on with their lives, and give them your peace which passes understanding to keep their minds and hearts in Christ Jesus. Amen.

UPDATE: Acccording to The Independent:

American soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a military report.

The suicides are occurring at a time when many soldiers are reporting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including repeated flashbacks of combat experiences and other severe reactions.

Bayou Style Madness

From the Daily Comet:

By Nikki Buskey

HOUMA - There’s water everywhere, but none is safe to swim in, according to the state Department of Health and Hospitals.

As the state Department of Environmental Quality launched its Clean Waters project in Bayou Lafourche Monday, targeting private septic systems that officials fear are leaking human waste into the bayou, the Department of Health and Hospitals raised another red flag about bacterial levels on Grand Isle’s beaches.

Officials said Bayou Lafourche has higher bacteria levels than any body of water in the state. The waterway provides drinking water for most of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.

Chemicals are used to make it safe for drinking, but it’s not safe for swimming.

My question: are the chemicals safe for drinking? Bayou Lafourche is my source for drinking water. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is not known for stringently enforcing regulations, so the condition of the water supply must be seriously bad for them to be paying attention.

With little planning or oversight, folks were allowed to build along Bayou Lafourche. Who knows if the septic tanks do the job of containing sewage from the buildings? Some of the older structures may not even have septic tanks, and their plumbing may go directly into the bayou.

Back to the beach at Grand Isle, which is a barrier island at the mouth of Bayou Lafourche.

But when asked what could be causing high levels of human- and animal-waste bacteria off Louisiana beaches, Johannessen said the agency’s job is to report the findings, not investigate them.

“We don’t have the authority to find out where the bacteria is coming from,” Johannessen said. “There are theories out there, but they’re only theories.”

It boggles the mind. Catch 22-ish, don't you think? One wonders who has the authority to investigate if not the DEQ. Who will put the "theories" to the test?

Moving on to another local story.

Building inspectors in Lafourche Parish have been ordered to stop their work, because THEY DO THEIR JOBS!

Again from the Daily Comet:

By Ben Lundin

THIBODAUX - ...Inspectors with the South Central Planning and Development Commission - hired by the parish to ensure buildings comply with new codes - tagged several homes with “stop work” orders after they discovered violations.

Some of the tagged homes lacked necessary permits and others featured windows that failed to meet maximum wind-resistance requirements, but [parish administrator Cullen] Curole argued that a building official said shutters could be added to comply with the law.

The inspectors are enforcing the rules too harshly, according to the parish administrator. There's a long history around here of allowing exceptions to the rules that later come back to bite - like the septic tanks (or lack thereof) along the bayou.

Feast Day Of St. Mary The Virgin

Assumption of the Virgin by El Greco - Art Institute of Chicago

Luke 1:46-55

Mary’s Song of Praise

And Mary* said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’


In her beautiful prayer of praise to God, The Magnificat, Mary says, "All generations will call me blessed." I carried my habit of honoring the mother of Jesus over from the years spent in the Roman Catholic Church, but I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of my fellow Episcopalians who give honor to Mary. The Roman Catholic Church, celebrates the bodily Assumption of Mary into heaven on August 15.

I love the story of the wedding at Cana. When Mary tells Jesus that the hosts of the wedding feast have run out of wine, he says to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not come." Mary seems to ignore his words and tells the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Jesus, of course, makes more wine for the feast. I find this glimpse into the intimate relationship between Jesus and his mother so very touching. And wouldn't we all do well to heed the final spoken words of Mary in the Bible? "Do whatever he tells you."

The El Greco Assumption is magnificent, so powerful, full of movement, emotion, and glorious color. Although he lived and painted in the 16th and 17 centuries, his painting seems of another age, very much ahead of its time.

PRAYER

O God, who have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary,
mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been
redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your
eternal kingdom; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever.

READINGS:

Isaiah 61:10-11
Psalm 34 or 34:1-9
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 1:46-55

Ignatius J. Reilly's New Orleans

Image from Wiki.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, is a splendid and hilarious novel. I can think of few books that evoke the heart, and soul, and eccentricity, and absolute craziness that is New Orleans. Ignatius J. Reilly is an unforgettable character. I know exactly what he means when he says, as he's traveling to Baton Rouge on a Greyhound bus, "Leaving New Orleans also frightened me considerably. Outside of the city limits the heart of darkness, the true wasteland begins." I have been living in the wasteland for close to 50 years, and I have never grown accustomed to the place. It's true. I can't help it.

Don't misunderstand me. I've had a good life, a privileged life. I love my family and friends. I have not been sad for the close to 50 years I've lived away, but dammit, I have missed New Orleans. You see, for me, there really isn't any other place to live. Unlike Reilly, I love traveling to other places, but New Orleans is home.

Toole, the author of "Confederacy", committed suicide at the age of 31. His distress over not being able to get his novel published led to despondency over that and perhaps other things, and he took his own life.

After he died, his mother, Thelma Toole worked tirelessly to get the book published. In the end, she was able to convince the novelist, Walker Percy, to read the manuscript. Percy recognized the genius of the work and convinced Louisiana State University Press to publish it. I believe this was the first publication by LSU Press to make the best seller list. They raked in a load of money on the book.

En passant, a friend of mine went out with Toole a few times. She said he was very quiet and introverted. I met him a couple of times, but he went by the name of Ken Toole, and I did not make the connection between him and the author of the book until many years after the book was published, long after I read it.

If you haven't read the book, you could think about giving it a look.

UPDATE: Here is a link to Walker Percy's Foreword to A Confederacy of Dunces.

Fats Gets The Gold

Image from More Things.

From the Associated Press via NOLA.com:

By STACEY PLAISANCE
The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Twenty of Fats Domino's gold records lost or destroyed during Hurricane Katrina have been reproduced and were presented to the 79-year-old Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer at a French Quarter nightclub Monday.

Domino was all smiles, saying repeatedly "thank you, thank you" to a crowd of about 100 friends and family. Also present were some of the city's most noted musicians, including Irma Thomas, Charmaine Neville and guitarist and singer Deacon John.

Among the gold-plated records Domino lost when Katrina flooded his 9th Ward home on Aug. 29, 2005 were "Going to the River," "Blue Monday," "Valley of Tears," "Blueberry Hill," "Whole Lotta Loving" and "I Want to Walk You Home."

....

Domino also was recognized Monday by the Recording Industry Association of America with its "American Music Legend" award, making him only the second artist to receive the honor — the first being Johnny Cash about a decade ago.

"It's not an annual award," said RIAA spokeswoman Laura Doud. "It's to award those elite artists whose imprint on American music is undeniable and invaluable."

Yo, Fats! I nearly wore out my feet dancing to Fats' songs in the fifties.

He lost everything in Katrina, including his beloved piano. Click on the picture and check out his cool sofa.

Al Barger at MoreThings.com says this about using pictures from his site:

It's usually considered bad form to "steal bandwidth" by using images from other people's server on your own pages. It's best all round to copy them to your own server, though I'm not sweating it. But if you use something directly off my server, I'd DEFINITELY appreciate a courtesy link.

That's nice.

Of the many songs of Fats' that I like, this one is special to me - especially since Katrina:

From "Walkin' to New Orleans"

It's time I'm walkin' to New Orleans
I'm walkin' to New Orleans
I'm going to need two pair of shoes
When I get through walkin' to you
When I get back to New Orleans

Luiz From Rio

In the center of the picture is Luiz, with a priest and a young girl from the parish of Cristo Rei (Christ the King) in Rio de Janeiro. Luiz is an aspiring priest in the Anglican/Episcopal Church of Brazil, now serving as an intern in the church, which is in one of the most dangerous slums in Rio.

The name of the slum is Cidade de Deus (City of God). I have no doubt that God makes his dwelling amongst the poor people of the slum.

May God bless Luiz and all those in the parish who serve God's beloved in the City of God.

Luiz's blog is The Wandering Christian.

In Memoriam - Hunter Horgan

From the Daily Comet, August 10. 2007:

By RAYMOND LEGENDRE -- THIBODAUX -- The Rev. Hunter Horgan spent a considerable amount of his three years as pastor of St. John’s Episcopal Church providing counsel to both parishioners and strangers when life dealt them hard blows.

Ironically, those who knew him best believe his love for helping others through difficult times may have opened the door for his death and a mystery that has lingered since.

Horgan’s beaten body was discovered Aug. 13, 1992, inside St. John’s church hall. It’s been 15 years since life dealt Horgan the cruelest of blows. Those he once comforted have found only emptiness from the situation as the years have passed, and his murder remains unsolved.

Though police say they have come close to finding his killer, no arrests have been made. With the anniversary of Horgan’s death nearing, Thibodaux Police Chief Craig Melancon said he considers the case one of his department’s highest priorities.

Still, Horgan’s family remains uninspired by the results yielded by Thibodaux Police.

"They have a 15-year track record of losing seasons," Horgan’s brother, Porter, said.
....

Horgan, a native of Meridian, Miss., who grew up in Hammond, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from LSU in 1968 and earned a master of divinity, four years later, from the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va.

He arrived at St. John’s in 1989 as a supply pastor. Soon after arriving, he became the church’s full-time minister.

"He was easy to talk to and his door was always open to anyone who wanted to talk," said Murray Dennis, a church member since 1980.

"I admired him very much," parishioner Katherine Bourgeois added. "I thought he was a fine man."

Horgan and his wife, Marda, had a son and a daughter and three step-children. The pastor lived in an apartment in Thibodaux, while his wife stayed in Metairie. Their plan was for her to move to Thibodaux after their final child finished high school. She never got the chance.
....

Recently, the Thibodaux Police Department began conducting fresh interviews. It is also reevaluating forensic evidence taken from the scene using modern DNA technologies, Melancon noted.

"We feel like we’re moving in the right direction, but we’ve felt like that before," the police chief said.

"I believe we’ve come very close in the past," he continued. "For us to take the case to court, it has to be more than a hunch."

Porter Horgan argues that Thibodaux Police missed their opportunity to make an arrest long ago by failing to interview the proper individuals and evaluate the right evidence. One year after the crime occurred, the family hired a private investigator from Baton Rouge.

"We were amazed they didn’t interview certain people of interest," the minister’s brother said, declining to elaborate.
....

The Thibodaux Police Department’s use of psychic Sylvia Browne, best known for her appearances on TV’s "The Montel Williams Show," also drew Porter Horgan’s ire. The California-based psychic was paid $400 for one half-hour reading in 1997, Martin said, noting that most of the department supported the idea, as did then-Mayor Warren Harang.

"The Thibodaux Police Department is lost," the minister’s brother said. "I don’t think they could track an elephant in fresh snow."
....

This Sunday, St. John’s Episcopal Church won’t have a big ceremony to honor Horgan. To do so, church pastor the Rev. Ed Robertson said, would be too painful. Instead, Horgan’s name will be mentioned when church members say a prayer remembering their departed loved ones.

"The fact that it’s a case that’s never been solved leaves it as an open wound," Robertson said.

Have you guessed that this is my church? I was not a member when the murder occurred, but since mine is a small town, everyone in the vicinity was shocked and grieved. I can only imagine what it was like for the church members and for the family of Hunter Horgan.

I have the sense that something was amiss with the police investigation from the beginning. With the body being moved by the killer from one area of the parish hall to another and the car taken and parked elsewhere, it would seem that there would have been evidence left at the scene or in the car.

A few years after this tragedy, I made my decision to leave the Roman Catholic Church. Within a few months, I had visited St. John on several Sundays. I liked the rector, I loved the liturgy, and I already knew many of the church members. I had tentatively decided to make the church my home, but the murder was a hurdle that I had to get past. For a while, I was a little spooked each time I went into the parish hall. I never asked in which area of the parish hall the priest was murdered, because I did not want to know. This newspaper account gives more details than I ever knew before.

I'm over all that now. I hardly ever think about it, until the anniversary comes round. The congregation came through the ordeal wonderfully well. The church could have fallen apart. They were a close-knit group, and when trouble struck, they stuck together. God was surely with them. The authorities in the diocese stepped in quickly with help and support.

I admire the priest who answered the call to be rector after the murder. It could not have been easy to keep the thoughts of the tragedy out of his mind. He helped the congregation through a tough time, stayed for eight years, and broke the curse, you might say.

Fr. Horgan's family is not pleased that the crime remains unsolved nor with the actions of the police department, and I don't blame them. What can you say of using psychics to solve crimes? That both the mayor and the police chief promoted a scheme like this is incredible.

I had met Fr. Horgan a few times, and he seemed like a kindly man. The unsolved crime does leave an open wound.

May God grant healing and peace to Fr. Horgan's family, to our church family, and to all who knew him and loved him.

Why Did We Vote For Democrats?

From E. J. Dionne's, column, Why The Democrats Caved in the Washington Post:

Shortly before noon last Saturday, about 20 House Democrats huddled in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office to decide what to do about a surveillance bill that had been dumped on them by the Senate before it left town.

Many of the Democrats were furious. They believed they had negotiated in good faith with Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence. They sought to give the Bush administration the authority it needed to intercept communications involving foreign nationals in terrorism investigations while preserving some oversight.
....

At one point, according to participants in the Pelosi meeting, the passionate discussion veered toward the idea of standing up to the administration -- even at the risk of handing President Bush a chance to bash Democrats on "national security," as is his wont.

Several members from swing districts -- including Reps. Heath Shuler of North Carolina and Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania -- expressed openness to having Congress stay in town to fight if important constitutional issues were at stake.

But that did not happen. The Democrats voted to give Bush the bill that he wanted, and then left for a month-long recess.

According to this article, also in the WP, by Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick:

The bill would give the National Security Agency the right to collect such communications in the future without a warrant. But it goes further than that: It also would allow the monitoring, under certain conditions, of electronic communications between people on U.S. soil, including U.S. citizens, and people "reasonably believed to be outside the United States," without a court's order or oversight.

That means that the Bush administration is allowed to spy on its own citizens without oversight. The secret FISA court is, in itself, constitutionally questionable, but even that supervision is gone with the bill that passed.

The administration said that its bill is aimed at bringing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 into step with advances in technology, primarily by restoring the government's power to gather without a warrant foreign intelligence on targets located overseas.

Because the law has not kept up with advances in telecommunications, McConnell said in congressional testimony, the government "is significantly burdened in capturing overseas communications of foreign terrorists planning to conduct attacks inside the United States."

One would think that the same advances in telecommunications available to potential terrorists would make it easier and faster to communicate with the FISA court judges to quickly obtain a warrant whenever necessary.

Civil liberties and privacy advocates and a majority of Democrats said the bill could allow the monitoring of virtually any calls, e-mails or other communications going overseas that originate in the United States, without a court order, if the government deems the recipient to be the target of a U.S. probe.
....

In place of a court's approval -- which intelligence officials worried might come too slowly -- the NSA would institute a system of internal bureaucratic controls.

Yes, of course, bureaucratic controls. That's the answer. The technology won't allow quick action by FISA court judges, but that same technology will allow rapid flow of information through the bureaucracy. Tell me another one.

Here's how the bill will work:

Under the administration's version of the bill, the director of national intelligence and the attorney general could authorize the surveillance of all communications involving foreign targets. Oversight by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, composed of federal judges whose deliberations are secret, would be limited to examining whether the government's guidelines for targeting overseas suspects are appropriate. The court would not authorize the surveillance.

The surveillance will be authorized by that sterling example of probity, Alberto Gonzales, and Mike McConnell, who seems to take orders directly from the White House.

The bill's six-month sunset clause did not assuage some critics.

"I'm not comfortable suspending the Constitution even temporarily," said Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.), a member of the House intelligence committee. "The countries we detest around the world are the ones that spy on their own people. Usually they say they do it for the sake of public safety and security."

The six-month sunset clause doesn't assuage this critic either.

Back to E. J. Dionne:

The entire display was disgraceful because an issue of such import should not be debated in a political pressure cooker. It's not even clear that new legislation was required; [Rep.] Holt, for one, believes many of the problems with handling interceptions involving foreign nationals are administrative in nature and that beefing up and reorganizing the staff around the FISA court might solve the outstanding problems.

Tough Broad Don't Like "Yellow"

From the AP via Yahoo News:

SEATTLE - A woman attacked a karaoke singer belting out Coldplay on Thursday night, telling him he "sucked" before she pushed and punched him to get him to stop singing, bar staff said. The man was singing "Yellow" when it happened.

"It took three or four of us to hold her down," bartender Robert Willmette said.
....

Patrol officers and detectives then arrived at the neighborhood bar and blocked off the street, which inflamed the woman's rage even more, a police report said. Before police could handcuff the woman, she headbutted the off-duty officer at least twice.

I thought Seattle folks were nice people. I guess the rain and lack of sunlight gets to them sometimes.