"War Is Kind"

Ann sent me the link to this video with the comment, "Graphic - powerful. I hate this war. Ann"

Oh, Ann, I hate it, too. The video is powerful and graphic, as are the words.

Pray for peace in Iraq.

From the young woman who made the video:

This is a video I did for an English 1020 project. It was an interpretation of 3 poems which are credited at the end of the video. The poems are about war and the effects thereof.

Video remains copyright Meg Michelena, images copyright Corbis, and music copyright Carly Comando.

Embedding is not permitted for this video. Embed link is now available.

Ann's blog is What The Tide Brings In.

The Middle Ground

From Mark Oakley in the Church Times:

THE Revd Rod Thomas wrote to this newspaper that “there are only really two sides to the current controversy over human sexuality . . . there is no room for middle ground” (Letters, 14 March). So far, media commentators have interpreted the division in the Anglican Communion in the same vein — as being between “conservatives” and “liberals”.
....

The division, however, is not really between conservatives and liberals at all. It is much more serious than that. It is a division between, first, those who are willing to say that other Christians, who have different views or lifestyles to themselves, are still, nevertheless, Christian, and have a Christian integrity that must be part of the Church; and, second, those who think that this simply cannot and must not be the case.

Following the first approach, and contrary to much reporting, there are Anglo-Catholics, Evangelicals, conservatives, liberals, radicals, and everything in between — all knowing where they stand, but, in generosity of spirit, acknowledging the different but faithful approaches to the Bible, tradition, and reasoning that there are legitimately other than their own.
....

The second approach, however, challenges this spirit. It argues that there is only one way to interpret scripture or tradition on the issues that are presenting themselves, and that all other views are in error and should not be given any oxygen. Some bishops feel so strongly about this that they cannot even meet in conversation and prayer those fellow bishops with whom they so profoundly disagree. An irony emerges: those who argue so fiercely for family values do not set a good example of how to be a family. Communion needs communication.
....

Those who want a Church of strict uniformity will say that behind all the issues that currently divide us lies the primary topic of how the Bible is interpreted, and that what are often referred to as secondary issues are not.

Again, something of the traditional Anglican spirit is under attack here. The Anglican tradition has sought to be a scholarly, reflective, and intellectually honest one. It has therefore known that reading the Bible as a community and taking it seriously — honouring the many genuine historical and interpretative questions that are simply there — will inevitably lead to more than one conclusion.
....

A little self-reflection might be important. I cannot be the only person who, since my confirmation at the age of 11, has found himself changing thoughts and opinions on almost everything as the years pass. In those years, though, the Church of England has been large enough to be my home — a spiritual compass, not a dictator telling me with whom I cannot meet or pray.
....

This is not about conservatives and liberals. It is about the survival of the Anglican soul. There is middle ground — and it is where we should all be at times, for the sake of one another and the message of reconciliation entrusted to us.

The Ven. Mark Oakley is Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe.

I've quoted nearly the whole commentary, but I can't find other places to cut. What the Ven. Oakley says seems quite reasonable and right to me. I suggest that you go to the Church Times website and read the commentary in its entirety.

Thanks to Susan Russell at An Inch At A Time for the link to this commentary from Mark Oakley.

It's So Good To Have "Friends"

My "friend", that clever old dog Clumber at Barkings of An Old Dog, came up with this PhotoShop. I knew that once I put up a real likeness on my site that it would be ill-used by "friend" and foe alike.

Folks in Louisiana have long known Boudreaux's Butt Paste as the best ointment around for diaper rash for babies. Now its popularity has spread far and wide, and the old dog said, I’m sure Mimi is thinking “If only I really had invented this stuff!”

If only.

Equality

More levity, this time from Lapin, not that he drew the cartoon or anything.

Beware Of Imposters

A little levity from Doug. Click on the picture for the larger view.

Is The US No Longer A Republic?

From Juan Cole:

War turns Republics into dictatorships. The logic is actually quite simple. The Constitution says that the Congress is responsible for declaring war. But in 2002 Congress turned that responsibility over to Bush, gutting the constitution and allowing the American Right to start referring to him not as president but as 'commander in chief' (that is a function of the civilian presidency, not a title.)

Now Bush has now turned over the decision-making about the course of the Iraq War to Gen. David Petraeus.

So Congress abdicated to Bush. Bush has abdicated to the generals in the field.

That is not a Republic. That is a military dictatorship achieved not by coup but by moral laziness.
....

Bush campaigned on being a 'uniter not a divider' in 2000. In fact, he is the ultimate Divider, and leaves burning buildings, millions of refugees, and hundreds of thousands of cadavers in his wake. He is not Iraq's Brownie. He is Iraq's Katrina itself.

Just as New Orleans's Ninth War[d] will still be a moonscape when Bush goes out of office, so will Iraq.

This is just so totally depressing to me that I am nearly paralyzed. I don't know what to write about here, because the present situation with the Iraq War has dragged me down so today. Somehow it seems all that matters.

From the AP via the Orlando Sentinal:

WASHINGTON - The new timeline for U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq? There isn't one.

The American public is tired of the war. Democrats are calling for a U.S. troop exodus from Iraq. But President Bush said Thursday that he told his top commander in Iraq that he can take "all the time he needs" to decide whether more troops can come home after the latest round of cutbacks is completed in July.
....

"The president still doesn't understand that America's limited resources cannot support his limitless war," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Let me be clear: This is not a so-called troop pause. With today's announcement, the president has signaled to the American people that he has no intention of bringing home any more troops.

"Instead he is leaving all the tough decisions to the next administration."

And what about you folks in the Congress, Harry? Why don't you make some tough decisions? DO YOUR JOB!

Department Of Ya Coulda Fooled Me

From the New York Times:

Get real, people. That is not a naked woman reflected in Vice President Dick Cheney's sunglasses.

Click on the picture for the larger view. What do you think?

This is a "laughing on the outside, crying on the inside" post. The Iraq War has me dragged way down today.

Note: New picture added.

"Afghan Trials Unfair"

From the AP via New York Times:

Human Rights First lauded the Afghan government's decision to try the detainees, formerly held in the prisons at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Bagram, Afghanistan, in a court of law. But the New York-based group said in a new report that the legal proceedings are unfairly based on little more than allegations by American officials.

"Where there is evidence of criminal activity, persons should be tried in proceedings that comport with international fair trial standards," Human Rights First said in its report. "In Afghanistan, the trials of former Bagram and Guantanamo detainees being conducted since October 2007 fall far short of this mark."

In trials that last between 30 minutes and an hour, defendants have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 20 years, it said.

Thirty minutes to an hour? What kind of trial can be completed in that period of time, unless the defendant pleads guilty?

Among the group's findings:

-- During the trials, no prosecution witnesses and little or no physical evidence are presented.

-- Defense lawyers are not present when a client is interrogated by the prosecution or when intelligence officials collect evidence, so defendants are unable to challenge the evidence or cross-examine witnesses.

-- Lawyers are appointed to the case after the investigation is concluded and generally have only five days to review the government's evidence prior to trial.

Hmmm.

"Consider your verdict, the King said to the jury.

"Not yet, not yet!" the Rabbit hastily interrupted. "There's a great deal to come before that!"

"Call the first witness," said the King; and the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and called out, "First witness!"
....

Here the Queen put on her spectacles, and began staring at the Hatter, who turned pale and fidgeted.

"Give your evidence," said the King; "and don't be nervous, or I'll have you executed on the spot."
....

"No, no!" said the Queen. "Sentence first--verdict afterwards.'

"Stuff and nonsense!" said Alice loudly. "The idea of having the sentence first!"

"Hold your tongue!" said the Queen, turning purple.

"I won't!" said Alice.

"Off with her head!" the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved.

Yes, yes. That's what the trials remind me of.

They Make Me Laugh

Today, when I picked up my grandchildren from school, they asked for a sno-ball. We went for a sno-ball yesterday. The sno-ball stand is on a narrow residential street, with very little parking, folks driving in and out of the spaces, children crossing the street, resulting in what seems to me a rather hazardous and stressful situation. I did not want to go back again today, so I suggested an icee, which they agreed to. We took a drive to the convenience store that sells the icees, but - lo! - the doors were locked. The registers were down. I said, "Let's go home and see what we can find."

Today is a humid, quite windy day. My hair is curly or wavy, depending on the weather. Very humid weather makes it almost frizzy. As we were leaving the locked convenience store, after my hair had been blown wild, my grandson asked me, "Mimi, why do you have an afro?" My friends, I'm still laughing about that one. Any ideas out there to help me explain to my grandson why I have an afro? Did I say I was still laughing?

Godspeed, My Friend

This week my cleaning lady of 12 years left to take a full-time job. By writing this, I may leave myself open to such thinking as, "Well, so the old bag lost her 'maid'. Am I to shed tears for her?" She was not my "maid", but she was so much more than a cleaning lady to me. She was my friend, my counsellor, and my therapist, and I believe that I returned the favors in some measure. We shared all of the major events of our lives and much of the trivia, too. She knew more about me and my family than all but near relatives.

We worked together. She did the heavy lifting, but I prepared the way for her. You know the old joke about cleaning up ahead of the cleaning lady, well I did that, in a manner of speaking. Our house was cleared and sorted out before she came to work. She had only the cleaning to do with no tidying up required of her. She said I was one of her best clients.

She loved what she did and did her work well and would have wanted to continue, but her husband, who was a butcher for a supermarket chain, was laid off when the chain downsized. He has another job in a privately-owned market, but no benefits come with the job. Their private health insurance premiums increased beyond what they could afford, so she is taking a job that provides health insurance.

I wish her well in her new job, but I will miss her terribly. I'll look for someone to replace her, because our house is too large for me to do on my own, and Grandpère won't move to a smaller house. I know that I will never find another like her. We both shed more than a few tears on her last day. We'll see each other, of course, but it won't be the same. Each Tuesday, I looked forward to her coming, and now she is gone.