Happy Birthday, Prince Charles!

From the Guardian:

For many men, a 60th birthday is a time for reflection; a winding down of activities, handing over to the kids (passing on the family firm, perhaps), looking forward to retirement.

Not so for the Prince of Wales, whose birthday it is today. All his life, since the age of three, he has been readied for the day when he will succeed his mother. It could happen maybe next week, maybe next year, maybe not for another 20 years. The Queen is fitter than her mother was at the same age, and she lived on to be 101.

Abdication is not written into the royal DNA and so, barring accidents or long-term, incapacitating illness to the Queen, Charles also serves by only standing and waiting. He is already the oldest Prince of Wales and third-longest serving heir-apparent and, in another five years, he would be the oldest person to become king.

Imagine spending one's whole life "only standing and waiting". Retirement before he's ever had a job and may never have a job? I meant to do a serious post on Charles' birthday for my friends from England and the countries of the Commonwealth, but as I saw the official picture and read the article, I began to laugh. The end result is mainly satirical. I blame the Guardian and extend apologies to all his admirers.

Look at the official portrait. It's a flattering picture, showing him at his best, but - really! Isn't the Gilbert and Sullivan uniform a bit over the top? I know it is a real uniform, but still....

And his life. Waiting since he was three years old to be king. The once and future king - not! He could be doddering by the time he takes the throne, or it may never happen.

He seems more settled since his marriage to Camilla, although, it is reported that they quarrel a good bit. However, they get over the arguments and are friends again soon enough.

He has practiced and promoted organic gardening for many years now. His charity work includes sponsoring a trust for educating disadvantaged children, and he speaks out for preserving the environment - all good things, surely.

Charles does not use computers. He prefers long hand-written notes or communicating by phone. His life is presently more peaceful than in tumultuous times past. As the article says:

But now the turmoil is over: he has married the woman he loved all along, his sons are grown and tucked away in the armed services, his charities flourish and, mention it gently, some of his pet causes - the environment, organic farming, human-scale architecture, improving interfaith relations - no longer seem quite so wacky after all.

Happy Birthday, Prince Charles! And many more to you - standing and waiting.

“God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.”

John Milton

UPDATE: If you think I'm bad, watch the video at the site on the Guardian's cartoonist, Steve Bell and how he was able to capture Charles in his drawings.

A Gathering For Peace

From the Global Peace Initiative of Women on their recent gathering in Aspen, CO:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

-- Jesus, according to the Gospel of St. Matthew

"If you want peace, work for justice."

-- H.L. Mencken and/or Pope Paul VI (depending on whom you ask)

The setting was perfect for the task at hand -- the pristine, alpine grounds of the Aspen Institute, freshly dusted with a coating of snow, in the offseason quiet of Aspen, Colo.

More than 150 religious leaders from diverse traditions -- monastic Christian, Sufi Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Native American and others -- gathered last week in the Colorado ski town to try to figure out how best to speak with one voice on the issue of peace (and justice), and how to encourage President-elect Barack Obama to make compassionate decisions in his new administration.
....

Obama's election was, for many of the leaders present, an indication not only of a shift in political power, but of spiritual power as well. Among the issues the leaders agreed were most pressing -- the economy, the environment, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, global poverty -- as the president-elect looks toward setting his agenda for the all-important first 100 days of his administration, was helping the nation heal from what many said was eight years of fear-mongering.

Some called Obama a prophet. Others spoke of him almost as a savior. But as the conference wore on, cooler heads prevailed. "This transformation is not about Barack Obama, it's about us," Brown Campbell said on the last day of the five-day conference. "We make heroes of people too quickly and . . . rest the responsibility on his shoulders [alone]. He's always said 'us.' Every time it's pointed to him he's said, 'No. It's all of us.' "
....

On Sunday afternoon, before they scattered to the four winds, the spiritual leaders held hands in three concentric circles for a Sufi zikr -- a prayer ritual. They chanted praise to God, asked for blessings of peace, and concluded by singing the Christian hymn "Amazing Grace" over and over again while dancing a simple side step.

"I once was lost, but now am found," they sang, "was blind but now I see."

It was both a prayer and a declaration of faith.

And it was also a hope, that we all -- including our elected leaders -- might work for peace and act with compassion and grace.

Read the vision statement of the group here.

With thanks to Holy Foolishness.

The Priest Understands...

Version I:

A new priest, born and raised in Texas, is nervous about hearing confessions, so he asks an older priest to sit in on his sessions. The new priest hears a couple of confessions and then the old priest asks him to step out of the confessional for a few suggestions.

The old priest says, "Cross your arms over your chest, and rub your chin with one hand and try saying things like 'yes, I see,' and 'yes, go on,' and 'I understand.'

The new priest crosses his arms, rubs his chin with his hand and repeats all the suggested remarks to the old priest.

The old priest says, "Now, don't you think that's a little better than slapping your knee and saying, 'No way. What happened next'?"

Version II:

The last quote is "No shit. What happened next?"

I posts 'em the way I gets 'em.

From my friend in Houston.

Sex Challenge

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

DALLAS — The pastor of a megachurch says he will challenge married congregants during his sermon Sunday to have sex for seven straight days — and he plans to practice what he preaches.

“We’re going to give it a try,” said the Rev. Ed Young, who has four children with his wife of 26 years.

Young, 47, said he believes society promotes promiscuity and he wants to reclaim sex for married couples. Sex should be a nurturing, spiritual act that strengthens marriages, he said.

“God says sex should be between a married man and a woman,” Young said. “I think it’s one of the greatest things you can do for your kids because so goes the marriage, so goes the family.”

Young said he will deliver his seven-day sex challenge while sitting on a bed in front of his Dallas-area church campus.

Although it may be "one of the greatest things you can do for your kids", one hopes he will not "give it a try" on the bed in front of the church.

Actually, since there's only a limited amount of sex available, he's probably right to "reclaim sex for married couples" before the supply runs out.

Lulu and Lola

From the Daily Mail:

A woman has forked out a staggering £40,000 on tiaras and tutus for her pampered dogs.

Louise Harris, 29, was a self-confessed dog hater until four years ago when her sister took her to look at some Yorkshire Terrier puppies called Lulu and Lola.

She fell in love with the pair and has not looked back since.

The correspondent who sent this in and who shall be nameless, asked, "Next stop breast enhancement?"

So Are You Ready For The...

Thanks to Susan S.

Gun Sales On The Rise

From the Advocate:

Baton Rouge gun stores are seeing the same spike in weapons sales as their national counterparts.

They attribute the increase to president-elect Obama’s position on gun control issues and the questions opponents raised about his motives and his fitness to be president.

Jim McClain, of Jim’s Firearms, on Siegen Lane, said business is up 30 percent from people buying the semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity clips subject to the federal assault weapons ban, which was in effect from 1994 to 2004.

McClain said Obama is on record supporting reinstating the ban, and that a number of semiautomatic weapons popular with law-abiding gun enthusiasts were included in the ban, particularly the AR-15.

“People have a legitimate concern for the next four years of losing our Second Amendment rights for certain types of firearms,” McClain said.

Thank you, John McCain. I thank God every day that you were not elected to the presidency. Although you were not elected, you will leave behind an ugly legacy. I hope that you're pleased with yourself. Honestly, I don't know how you sleep nights.

Obama, along with a large number of police officials and of ordinary citizens, want the ban on semiautomatic weapons reinstated. Who needs to own a semiautomatic weapon? The US is awash in guns. May we redraw the line at semiautomatic weapons?

Even if the ban is reinstated, those who have the weapons, will very likely be permitted to keep them.

The KKK Lives On

From the Times-Picayune:

A Tulsa, Okla., woman who traveled to Louisiana to join the Ku Klux Klan was shot to death by the leader of the group's Bogalusa chapter Sunday after she tried to back out of initiation rites at a remote, sandbar camp in northeastern St. Tammany Parish, authorities said Tuesday.
....

The woman apparently learned about Foster's group, the Sons of Dixie, through the Internet and applied so she could recruit others in Oklahoma, Strain said. Investigators have recovered the woman's application to join the Klan and noted that she had requested that the organization waive its typical membership fee.

The woman came to Louisiana by bus on Friday to begin her initiation into the group, Strain said. After several rites, including a head-shaving, she was taken to a camp on a sandbar, accessible only by boat, in the Pearl River Canal near Sun.

The initiation continued at the campsite, with rituals that consisted mainly of lighting torches and "running around in the woods," Strain said.

Sunday night, the woman decided she wanted to leave the camp, sparking an argument with Foster that soon turned violent, Strain said. Foster pushed the woman down and, as the argument continued, he shot her with a .40-caliber handgun, the sheriff said.

--- Belongings set ablaze ---

Foster immediately moved to cover up the crime, Strain said. He quickly flipped the woman's body over and tried to dig out the bullet with a knife before ordering his followers to destroy evidence, Strain said.

During the night, Klan members set fire to the woman's belongings as well as the campsite and dumped her body near Lock No. 3 Road, about a half-mile from the shooting site, Strain said.

Read the rest of the article on the whole vicious and bloody affair. This is sickening, but hardly surprising. At the moment, I have no words to express my horror.

Obama's election showed the best of us, but it will, at the same time, bring into the light the worst of some of us, not just in Louisiana, but around the country.

This should serve as a warning to anyone thinking about joining the Klan. If you say you want in and then reconsider, you could be dead.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Oh, No!

President-elect Obama Meets With a Dangerous World Leader Without Preconditions!

Thanks to Matt.

SpongeBob - November 5, 2008 - Best Day Ever

For the 1 week anniversary.

With thanks to Ann.