For Er...Margaret

You know who you are.

From ASBO Jesus.

Louisiana Congressman Takes "Leap Of Faith"

From the Times-Picayune:

U.S. Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, R-New Orleans, said Wednesday he is likely to vote for the economic stimulus bill when it comes to a vote, probably today or Friday, even if he is the only Republican member of the House to do so.

"I'm voting along what my conscience dictates and the needs of the 2nd Congressional District dictate, even if I were to be the only member of the GOP to vote for the stimulus package," he said.

"Even though it is going to be a humongous bill, even though we will be in debt for years, I believe that more likely than not, I will vote for it because the 2nd Congressional District needs a stimulus package."

Yes! Rep. Cao, the first Vietnamese-American to serve in the House of Representatives, will make the stimulus bill bipartisan. Credit and respect due, Rep. Cao.

It would, the former Jesuit seminarian said, be a "leap of faith, but that's what I have been doing most of my life."

"A lot of the provisions in the bill will be good for the district, because we need almost everything," he said. "You name it, we need it."

Gov. Jindal, see. That's how to do it. When the folks in your territory need help, you break with your your party and take "a leap of faith". But no, you're careful of your image as a true-blue Republican, and you would not have been chosen to rebut President Obama's State of the Union speech (I laugh as I type this), had you shown any signs of being a renegade Republican.

Of course, Rep Cao represents a heavily Democratic-leaning district. Enough folks were sick to death of William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson, of $90,000 in the freezer fame, who will likely be indicted, that they voted for a Republican, rather than have Jefferson shame the citizens of Louisiana any longer.

What pleasure and satisfaction this news gives me. Imagine! The lone Republican vote in favor of the stimulus package in the House is from Louisiana.

UPDATE: Cao caved in to Republican pressure. The US House of representatives passed the stimulus bill with NO Republican votes, 246-183. Now he'll have to face the music back in New Orleans. I guess the Republicans are scarier than the folks back home. Shame on me for taking Cao's word that he would follow his conscience.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2009 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12 You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING at yourself.

Thanks to Ann.

Oof! The Loosiana Guv'na Again

From the Baton Rouge Business Report:

Gov. Bobby Jindal will get another prominent GOP role later this month when he delivers the national Republican response to President Barack Obama's first speech to Congress. Obama plans to speak to a joint session of the House and Senate on Feb. 24 about the problems facing the nation. The speech will be similar to a State of the Union address. Jindal will give the Republican response in a nationally televised address from Baton Rouge immediately after Obama's speech, U.S. House and Senate Republican leaders announced Wednesday.

"I'm looking forward to hearing President Obama's address and I'm honored to be delivering the Republican response after him. Here in Louisiana, we have first-hand experience with reforming government and cutting taxes to stimulate our economy in uncertain times,” Jindal said in a statement. “This is a terrific opportunity to talk about our great state to the nation."

This star is rising too fast. I've heard Jindal speak, and he's no silver-tonged orator. Perhaps they'll prep him well, and he'll be all right. He speaks too quickly and tends to rattle off facts and figures at a fast clip until most listeners shut down. I suppose he'll be scripted, but still, I can't envision him as a match for Obama. Inspirational he is not.

I read in the paper this morning that Jindal is "concerned" about the stimulus bill. I hope that he's "concerned" about the folks here in Louisiana who are losing their houses and their jobs, and the gaping hole in the state budget. He just can't seem to keep his mind on matters on the home front. But, hey! He's a national star.

"French Without Tears"

Je te souhait du temps...

Prends le temps de penser, c'est la source de pouvoir.

Prends le temps de jouer, c'est la secret de la jeunesse.

Prends le temps de lire, c'est le source du savoir.

Prends le temps d'aimer et d'etre aimé c'est une grace de Dieu.

Prends le temps de te faire des amis, c'est la voie du bonheur.

Prends le temps de rire, c'est la musique de l'ame.

Prends le temps de donner, c'est le role de l'adulte.

Prends le temps de travailler, c'est le prix du succès.

Prends le temps de prier, c'est la force de l'homme.

Here it is in English, but not in bold type. It's lovelier in French.

I wish you the gift of Time...

Take time to think, it’s the source of power.

Take time to play, it’s the secret of youth.

Take time to read, it’s the source of knowledge.

Take time to love and be loved, It’s a gift from God.

Take time to make friends, It’s the way to happiness.

Take time to laugh, It’s the soul’s music.

Take time to give, It’s the grown-up thing to do

Take time to work, It’s the price of success.

Take time to pray, It’s personal strength It’s the strength of humanity.

From Bishop Alan's Blog via Ann

UPDATE: Translation correction of the final line from Bishop Alan.

Pray For Roseann

From Roseann at Give Peace A Chance:

Just the way it is.

I really don't like my life right now. I do not make a good invalid. I am cranky, sad, bored, numb, angry, calm, sedate, patient, anxiety-ridden, happy, annoyed and all in the space of maybe 5 minutes.

It is just a tight rope and I am walking it the best I can. Getting the call that they saw something on the mammogram they didn't like just about did it. I did not handle this news with one iota of grace. I talked to 4 family/friends and got the advice to pray and meditate. Sorry but right now I am too busy being royally pissed off at the creator. Smite me o mighty smiter! And I swear to God if another person tells me the God won't give me more than I can handle, I will just never speak to them again. Seriously, lay off telling me to rely on God and pray, okay? The thing is God and I get along just fine. I'm just slouching towards Bethlehem and I do that imperfectly. I have moments when I feel as close as you can and moments when I am just not there with it at all.

I wish I was brave. I wish I was fearless. I wish I was well.

Roseann is on dialysis, waiting for a kidney donor, because her kidneys were diseased and had to be removed. I think Roseann is quite brave. She kept her courage and sense of humor throughout a long period of of illness, and now to have a suspicious spot in a mammogram is just too much. That's what our prayer community is for, to pray for and offer support to our friends through difficult times. Let's get going for Roseann.

Get Your Bras!

Artful Bras Project

Members of Quilters of South Carolina have created one-of-a-kind bras for Breast Cancer Awareness. The exhibit consists of forty-nine original works of art which are unique, entertaining, humorous, and beautiful to make the public aware of breast cancer, to memorialize those lost to the disease, and to honor survivors.



This exhibit will tour SC until Oct '09 at which time individual Artfull Bras will be auctioned and the proceeds donated to the Best Chance Network, a program to provide care and treatment of uninsured women across the state who are diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer.



The bras come prepared for display on their own hangers and are available for exhibit across the state of South Carolina. The exhibit is available until October of 2009. If you are interested in delighting and inspiring your organization membership, contact Sandra Baker, president of QSC at Sandra25@bellsouth.net






The titles of the bras and the names of their creators are listed below:

Mardi Gras (Let the Good Times Roll) - Wilma Black

Tickled Pink , My Sister's Sense of Humor - Linda Vandiver

Lily Padded - Liz Florom

Look at Them Melons - Bev Buchanan

Click the link above to see the rest of the bras. They are wonderful and witty. Also, click on each picture to get the details in the large view.

Thanks to Ann for sending me the link.

The ABC's Address To Church Of England Synod

The experiences of last summer's Lambeth Conference and last week's Primates' Meeting have left me with one or two strong impressions which seem worth sharing with Synod as it prepares for further discussion of some sensitive matters this week. Despite many predictions of doom - and a fair number of subsequent assessments of inefficacy - the Lambeth Conference at least established two things. The first was the significance of a climate in which every participant is guaranteed a hearing....

Indeed, one might say that the ABC's statement is technically correct, but what about the duly elected and consecrated bishop of the Episcopal Church who was not permitted to be a participant? What about Bishop Gene Robinson? Everyone who was included was, indeed, "guaranteed a hearing", but Bishop Gene's voice was never heard, because he was not allowed to be present.

What good does it do to put a good face on the process at Lambeth, while simply ignoring the exclusion of Bishop Gene? I'm tempted to dismiss every word of the ABC's address that follows, because he refuses to acknowledge or address the exclusion, which was his very own doing, but, I won't.

He goes on about mission and the horrific plight of the church in Zimbabwe and of supporting the the church there by prayer and practical help, a good thing, surely. Then on to self-restraint and moratoria for we know whom. The burden of self-restraint and moratoria on the backs of our LGTB brothers, will, I hope, be lifted in the Episcopal Church. As to the incursions into the territory of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada by unauthorized bishops, who believes that these will cease?

Yet last week, all the Primates who had attended GAFCON were present, every one of them took part in daily prayer and Bible study alongside the Primates of North America and every one of them spoke in discussion. In a way that I have come to recognise as very typical of these meetings, when talk of replacing Communion with federation of some kind was heard, nearly everyone reacted by saying that this was not something they could think about choosing.

Well, whoop-de-doo! The GAFCON primates were present, and they all spoke. A federation is not something which can be agreed to now. Excellent.

It appears that Primates are not contaminated by sharing Scripture studies, but sharing the Lord's table is in another category altogether.

No-one wants to rest content with the breach in sacramental fellowship, and everyone acknowledges that this breach means we are less than we are called to be. But the fact that we recognise this and that we still gather around the Word is no small thing; without this, we should not even be able to hope for the full restoration of fellowship at the Eucharist.

Perhaps, there is hope.

And there are those in the Church of England who are adamantly opposed to women bishops, and on the other side, those who believe that it must happen.

This is not the place to elaborate on what that could mean in practice, but it does no harm to hold in mind the vision of a Church in which a difficult plurality of conviction will not simply be done away with by decree. This is not, though, simply a matter of tolerating private views, since it bears on the public life and worship of the church. If I hear correctly what is being said by those opposed to the Code of Practice currently on the table, they are asking what more might be offered to secure some kind of continuity of pastoral care for congregations and clergy unwilling to accept women as bishops, and some measure of organisational (including sacramental) coherence for them, rather than being wholly dependent on ad hoc provision and local chance.

Wholly tongue in cheek, how about a team from ACNA, The Anglican Church in North America, the parallel "province-in-waiting" as Mark Harris calls it, to help the Church of England along with providing pastoral care for all?

Once I quieted down from my "guaranteed a hearing" outrage, I gave the ABC's address far more time and attention than I intended to - a fairly close reading and an admittedly quite personal commentary.

UPDATE: H/T to The Lead for the link to the ABC's address, which I should have acknowledged from the beginning.

"Sin, True Sin Flourishes In Silence."

Sin, true sin flourishes in silence. Perhaps that is why we confess aloud. Not so that God can hear it--God knows. But so that we can hear it, and in speaking it aloud it loses its power.

From Margaret at Leave It Lay Where Jesus Flang It. Her post is part movie review of "The Reader", part meditation, and altogether wonderful. Please read it.

Spicing Up The LA Senate Race In 2010

From Stephen Sabludowsky at Bayou Buzz:

To date, there has been no politico to “belly up to the bar” to take on US Senator David Vitter, so perhaps that is why someone with an admirable belly and other anatomical parts has decide to jump into the US Senate ring.

I had heard about the possibility, but, then, today, I received the email. Perhaps, you might have received it also on the same computer in which you receive the David Vitter updates.

In bold, the email says, “DraftStormy Storms DC Mardi Gras”.

Quoting from the email:

Campaign to draft Baton Rouge native into the 2010 Louisiana Senate Race launches, stresses campaign is about the economy, sexy.

Washington DC—Against the backdrop of the annual Washington Mardis Gras, DraftStormy, a non-partisan grassroots movement to draft Baton Rouge native Stormy Daniels into the 2010 Louisiana Senate race, celebrated its official launch on Thursday.

To commemorate the launch, DC Mardis Gras attendees were greeted Thursday morning with a complimentary string of Mardis Gras beads featuring the soon-to-be iconic DraftStormy logo in metallic pink on a white medallion. Hours before, the official DraftStormy website went live.

Inviting Louisianans and Americans to "Join the Storm" the website features a petition page along with an extensive overview of Stormy Daniels and her qualifications to tackle some of the biggest issues facing both the Pelican State and the nation in general.

For example, a section titled, "It's the Economy, Sexy," examines how the current economic crisis is impacting all sectors of the economy including the adult entertainment industry.

Stormy makes a lot of sense. Why isn't Vitter in jail? The DC madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, committed suicide last May after she was convicted and sentenced to prison. Is it possible that Louisiana could have a senator who would tell the truth?

Rich Sanchez did a pretty good job with the interview yesterday, except that he might have mentioned Deborah Jean Palfrey's death.