Recycled Thought For The Day

Faith is not certainty so much as it is acting-as-if, in great hope.

Fran at FranIAm posted the picture of the license plate which can be purchased in South Carolina. She seemed a little annoyed by it, bless her heart. I stole the picture from her blog and put it to use. Will "I Don't Believe" plates be next?

Anyway, you see my statement of faith above, which may be a little long for a license plate.

News From The Episcopal Diocese Of Albany

From the Times-Union:

The conservative-led Episcopal Diocese of Albany staked out a firm defense of traditional marriage on Saturday, a move that comes as gay unions have gained new ground in California and New York.

The hundreds of clergy and lay delegates who converged for their annual convention in this lakeside Adirondack community resoundingly approved a resolution that lays down this rule: Only heterosexual marriages can be celebrated in the diocese.
....

In a brief interview after convention business wrapped up, Albany Bishop William Love said the resolutions were "not intended to be divisive."

"The main reasons the resolutions were presented were to provide clarity during a time of great confusion both within the church and society at large," Love said.

"The important thing that everyone needs to know is that God loves all people, regardless of where they might be in their life. That doesn't necessarily mean he approves of all of our behaviors."

You're right about that, Bishop Love. I doubt that God approves of launching unjust wars and killing hundreds of thousands of people, torture, disregard for the poor, despoiling the fragile planet, and other behaviors that do actual harm to others, behaviors that violate Jesus' commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Fr. Brad Jones, rector of Christ Church in Schenectady, said that he was "formerly consumed by homosexual desires", but he is now married and the father of seven children. "If the Episcopal Church had proclaimed to me then that God would bless my lustful passions and desires, I would likely not be standing here alive today," said Jones. "I would certainly be dead in my sins."

But for the saving love-in-action of Jesus, we would all be dead in our sins. And another thing: why is the stereotype of gays "consumed by homosexual desires" so widespread? Where are the studies that show gay men focused on sex more than straight folks or lesbians? I haven't seen any. They go about their business of living their lives, working at their jobs, taking care of their homes, and caring for their children just like the rest of us. That gay men have sex on their minds 24/7 is simply not the reality.

The passing of this resolution really doesn't change anything in the diocese, because only heterosexual marriages are celebrated at the present time. Although Bishop Love says the intention in passing the resolution was not to be divisive, the end result will be just that.

I'd like to see the churches get out of the marriage business altogether. Leave it to the civil authorities. Then, after a period of discernment, the couple may ask for the blessing of their Christian community.

"Purr De Lis"

My Mother's Day present from my daughter was a signed and numbered copy of the print pictured above. Isn't it a wonderful? How much more New Orleans could you cram into one picture? I love it, love it, love it. Here's the link to the web site of The Creole Cat. The titles of the pictures are, you know, like, totally cute and clever, aren't they?

Thank you, daughter, A. The gift is much admired and appreciated.

I may buy another to have a pair to hang side by side. If you visit the website, please recommend which of the others you'd choose.

Jindal's Appointments in Jeopardy

From the Advocate:

Every appointment that Gov. Bobby Jindal has made since he took office in January is in jeopardy because he has not forwarded their names for Senate confirmation.

The appointments by Jindal for 437 jobs — including his top aides — will no longer be valid and they will have to stop working as of June 23, when the legislative session adjourns, according to the state law governing the confirmation process.

That's our Rhodes scholar governor for you. People say he is smart, a whiz. Show me, guvna.

Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman state Sen. Bob Kostelka, R-Monroe, asked Jimmy Faircloth, the governor’s executive counsel, Wednesday to send the official list.

As of 5 p.m. Friday, the list still had not arrived.

The Senate cannot confirm Jindal’s appointees until the list arrives, Kostelka said.
....

The panel conducts background checks on the appointees to make sure there are no criminal, tax or other problems in their personal histories. In addition, the names are circulated among senators to see if the senators have a problem with any of the appointees. Senators can blackball an appointee.

Jindal did not respond to four requests for an interview placed through his press secretary, Melissa Sellers.

Is there a plan here? Does the Jindal administration know something that the chairman of the committee doesn't know? Will he send the whole list at the last minute in the hope that the committee will rush the appointees through? Many questions, few answers. And Melissa Sellers is no help at all. Circle the wagons, and hunker down is the order of the day, every day. It appears that the defensive posture is not only for the press, but for the Senate, too. What if a humble citizen wanted information? One can only imagine the horror with which that would be viewed within the administration.

"A Lesson About Early Church Music"

I love it! Thanks to Susan S. for the link and the title.

Computer Trouble

I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Eric, the 11 year old next door, whose bedroom looks like Mission Control and asked him to come over. Eric clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.

As he was walking away, I called after him, "So, what was wrong?" He replied, "It was an ID ten T error."

I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, "An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again."

Eric grinned.... "Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?"

"No," I replied.

"Write it down," he said, "and I think you'll figure it out."

So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T

I used to like Eric...

I know. I make those errors all the time. Would this joke be better with the last two lines omitted?

Doug again. Is he trying to tell me something?

Sazerac Gets Another Chance

For those of you who have followed the saga of the Sazerac cocktail, here's the latest on the Louisiana Legislature's most recent activity.

From the Times-Picayune:

BATON ROUGE -- The Sazerac, a drink invented in New Orleans in the 1830s, was put back on track Thursday to being designated the state's official cocktail by a legislative panel that also nixed designating an official Cajun Christmas story.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 8-3 for Senate Bill 6 by Sen. Edwin Murray, D-New Orleans, to make the drink the state's official cocktail after it bogged down for weeks in the Senate. To keep the bill alive, Murray amended it to designate the Sazerac as the official cocktail of the city of New Orleans, but the House panel re-instated its statewide designation.

Then the legislators balked, and drew the line in the sand.

Along those lines, the committee unanimously rejected Senate Bill 434 by Sen. Dale Erdey, R-Livingston, that would have made "The Legend of Papa Noel, a Cajun Christmas Story," the state's official Cajun Christmas story.

When the legislators are engaged in this sort of foolishness, they create the least mischief.

If you're interested, the other posts are here and here.

Now You know - Or Do You?

From the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — A top adviser to Senator John McCain says Mr. McCain believes that President Bush’s program of wiretapping without warrants was lawful, a position that appears to bring him into closer alignment with the sweeping theories of executive authority pushed by the Bush administration legal team.
Skip to next paragraph

In a letter posted online by National Review this week, the adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, said Mr. McCain believed that the Constitution gave Mr. Bush the power to authorize the National Security Agency to monitor Americans’ international phone calls and e-mail without warrants, despite a 1978 federal statute that required court oversight of surveillance.

How can the Constitution give the president the power to break the law? Here's McCain six months ago:

Mr. McCain was asked whether he believed that the president had constitutional power to conduct surveillance on American soil for national security purposes without a warrant, regardless of federal statutes.

He replied: “There are some areas where the statutes don’t apply, such as in the surveillance of overseas communications. Where they do apply, however, I think that presidents have the obligation to obey and enforce laws that are passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, no matter what the situation is.”

Following up, the interviewer asked whether Mr. McCain was saying a statute trumped a president’s powers as commander in chief when it came to a surveillance law. “I don’t think the president has the right to disobey any law,” Mr. McCain replied.

Which is it Senator McCain? Why the flip-flop? The Straight-Talk Express is off the rails. Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for McCain's campaign, says the senator's position has not changed.

I report; you decide.

Catholic Parrots

A lady goes to her priest one day and tells him, 'Father, I have a problem. I have two female parrots,


But they only know how to say one thing.'

'What do they say?' the priest inquired.

They say, 'Hi, we're hookers! Do you want to have some fun?'

'That's obscene!' the priest exclaimed. Then he thought for a moment. 'You know,' he said, 'I may have a solution to your problem. I have two male talking parrots, which I have taught to pray and read the Bible. Bring your two parrots over to my house, and we'll put them in the cage with Frank and Peter. My parrots can teach your parrots to praise and worship, And your parrots are sure to stop saying...that phrase...in no time.'

'Thank you,' the woman responded, 'this may very well be the solution.'

The next day, She brought her female parrots to the priest's house. As he ushered her in, she saw that his two male parrots were inside their cage holding rosary beads and praying. Impressed, She walked over and placed her parrots in with them. After a few minutes, the female parrots cried out in unison:

'Hi, we're hookers! Do you want to have some fun?'

There was stunned silence. Shocked, one male parrot looked over at the other male parrot and exclaimed, 'Put the beads away, Frank. Our prayers have been answered!'

From Grandpère's Garden

Missing from the picture are bell peppers and corn. We forgot the bell peppers, and we had eaten all the ripe corn. He picks the tomatoes when they are just short of being fully ripened, because a mocking bird is after them. He tries leaving those she/he has already pecked a hole in on the plants, but she goes after tomatoes she has not touched. It's a battle between them.

Squirrels were taking whole ears of ripened corn off the stalks - and they knew the ripe ones. Grandpère set the squirrel trap (they do not harm the squirrels) and caught two and carried them into the woods near us to release them. No more problems with the corn. I wouldn't have thought the small squirrels could carry off a whole ear of corn.

We feed birds in our yard, but squirrels get their share of the bird food, and sometimes we are overrun with too many of the little critters. The fresh produce is delicious, out of this world. There's nothing like it.