Thought For The Day - Richard Rohr

It’s quite clear that in the final analysis it’s the grace of God that liberates us. It’s the experience of divine and unconditional love that really sets us free. No political system can offer us this inner liberty.

Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr. (Adapted from Simplicity, p. 121)

Happy Fourth Of July!

John Trumbull - Oil-on-canvas - commissioned 1817; purchased 1819; placed 1826 in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.


When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Full text of the Declaration of Independence.

Demographics of the signers of the Declaration.



A celebration before even my time. Have a wonderful holiday!

Trumball's painting from Wiki.

Note: As many of you probably noted and were too kind to say, in my original post I made un grand faux pas by posting a quote, a link to the text, and the names of the signers of the US Constitution. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! Publish in haste; repent in leisure.

Sarah Palin Resigns

From The Huffington Post:

After Sarah Palin's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week she has announced she will be stepping down in a few weeks. In a press conference call this morning, Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin has announced she will not run for re-election and is stepping down as governor.

She had a brief statement. She took no questions.

Her commissioners and Lt. Governor were with her at her home. Palin did not relinquish the reigns of the state to the Lt. Governor while running for vice president.

Lt. Governor Sean Parnell will step in as governor at the end of the month. He was defeated by Congressman Don Young in the Republican primary last year.

Rumors of an "iceberg scandal" have been circulating.

What on earth is an iceberg scandal?

Thanks to Göran for the tip.

Wow! More Obama Secrecy On Cheney

From TPM Muckraker:

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised at this point. But the latest example of the Obama administration mimicking the Bushies in opting for secrecy over openness feels like one of the most infuriating yet.

The Justice Department is declining to release Dick Cheney's interview with federal investigators looking into the Valerie Plame leak, arguing -- as it did under President Bush -- that doing so would discourage future high-level officials from cooperating with criminal investigations.

Extremely weak defense. And what about Obama's promise to be open and transparent?

Outing Valerie Plame as a covert CIA officer was a despicable act, all for the sake of discrediting her husband, Joe Wilson, who stated that, despite the Bush maladministration's claims to the contrary, Saddam did not purchase yellowcake from Niger in the 1990s, a statement that was later proved to be true. We need to know the full story of Cheney's machinations in this ugly affair.

"Lebanese Lesbians Take New York"

From Air America:

In the wake of a major gay rights victory in India, members of a Lebanese gay rights group called Meem have arrived in New York to speak out for similar progress in their homeland. They are also promoting their book, Bareed Mista3jil, translated as "Mail in a Hurry." It contains 41 true stories of LGBT life in Lebanon, many of them surprisingly hopeful and humorous. It's also a first-of-its-kind book in the Arab world, and a bestseller at the Virgin Megastore in Beirut.

Today Air America's Jack Rice spoke with Nadine Moawad, a member of Meem and the editor of Bareed Mista3jil.




Dear me! It seems teh gay is contagious after all - or, at least, teh gays wanting to be who they are and out of the closet. It's spreading to the most unlikely places. Think of the children!

Rice's interview with Nadine Moawad is worth a listen. It's nearly 17 minutes long, so save it for when you have time.

Thanks to Georgianne for the link.

"That's Not Bad...."

A golfer playing in Ireland hooked his drive into the woods. Looking for his ball, he found a little Leprechaun flat on his back, a big bump on his head and the golfer's ball beside him. Horrified, the golfer got his water bottle from the cart and poured it over the little guy, reviving him.

'Arrgh! What happened?' the Leprechaun asked.

'I'm afraid I hit you with my golf ball,' the golfer says.

'Oh, I see. Well, ye got me fair and square.. Ye get three wishes, so whaddya want?'

'Thank God, you're all right!' the golfer answers in relief. 'I don't want anything, I'm just glad you're OK, and I apologize.'

And the golfer walks off.

'What a nice guy,' the Leprechaun says to himself. I have to do something for him. I'll give him the three things I would want... a great golf game, all the money he ever needs, and a fantastic sex life.'

A year goes by and the golfer is back. On the same hole, he again hits a bad drive into the woods and the Leprechaun is there waiting for him.

'Twas me that made ye hit the ball here,' the little guy says. 'I just want to ask ye, how's yer golf game?'

'My game is fantastic!' the golfer answers. 'I'm an internationally famous golfer now.' He adds, 'By the way, it's good to see you're all right.'

'Oh, I'm fine now, thank ye. I did that fer yer golf game, you know. And tell me, how's yer money situation?'

'Why, it's just wonderful!' the golfer states. 'When I need cash, I just reach in my pocket and pull out $100 bills I didn't even know were there!'

'I did that fer ye also. And tell me, how's yer sex life?'

The golfer blushes, turns his head away in embarrassment, and says shyly, 'It's OK.'

'C'mon, c'mon now,' urged the Leprechaun. 'I'm wanting to know if I did a good job. How many times a week?'

Blushing even more, the golfer looks around then whispers, 'Once, sometimes twice a week.'

'What?' responds the Leprechaun in shock. 'That's all? Only once or twice a week?'

'Well,' says the golfer, 'I figure that's not bad for a Catholic priest, who doesn't own a car and is in a small parish.'

Posted with fond memories of the good parish priests I have known during my long years in the Roman Catholic Church. A good many of them would share a laugh with me over this one.

Sent by Doug.

Herman Put Down The Gun

From Georgianne Nienaber at The Huffington Post:

A while back I posted a commentary and review on Indie music as a soundtrack and metaphor for troubling financial times. In today's atmosphere of music industry giants swallowing the little Indie guys and the news about Ticketmaster's Echomusic shutting down the websites of 200 mid-level artists with barely a "slam, bam thank you guys and gals," a little band from Atlanta proves that all it takes is heart to produce art and great PR.
....

I came across the "Lonely Street" video on Facebook, and since I am a huge fan, I wrote to front woman Sonia Tetlow and asked how much time and money it cost to put the thing together. Plus, I wanted to write something positive about the music business for a change.Turns out it cost zip. A week ago, instead of having band practice, the band met at Tetlow's house and went for beers in their Atlanta neighborhood while taking turns with an eight year old camera that had not seen much service.

Now the video is going viral on Facebook and elsewhere on the net. I love what the musicians did with no resources but their talent and creativity. Thanks to Georgianne (the woman who made me famous!) for spotlighting them at The Huffington Post.

From SOVO (Southern Voice):

Herman Put Down The Gun with lead singer Sonia Tetlow is making viral waves on the internet thanks to a DIY video for their song “Lonely Street.” Tetlow, a lesbian, was featured in Southern Voice as one of its “next generation of gay Atlanta.”

With no money and using an old video camera in making the just over 3-minute video, the Atlanta-based rock band was written up by the Huffington Post about its use of Facebook and Myspace to spread the video that has now been linked to numerous other sites as well.

That's how to do it, guys.

The woman lying on the ground in the video is Sonia Tetlow, the band's front woman. They were playing in 99° heat in Atlanta, and she suffered a minor heat stroke, but she revived quickly after a dose of Gatorade. By the way, Sonia has the right roots. She is a native of New Orleans.

If You Ever Feel Stupid....

If you ever feel a little bit stupid, just dig this up and read it again; you'll begin to think you're a genius.

(On September 17, 1994, Alabama's Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995.)

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: 'I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever,'
-- Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest .
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff.'
--Mariah Carey
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life.'
-- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body.'
-- Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.'
--Mayor Marion Barry, Washington , DC
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it.'
--A congressional candidate in Texas
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'Half this game is ninety percent mental.'
--Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'I love California . I practically grew up in Phoenix'
-- Dan Quayle while campaigning
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?'
--Lee Iacocca
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'The word 'genius' isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.'
--Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback & sports analyst.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 2009 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.'
--Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'Traditionally, most of Australia's imports come from overseas.'
--Keppel Enderbery
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record.'
--Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Feeling smarter yet?

Send it on to your brilliant friends.

And you, my readers, are my brilliant friends.

Sent by Doug, who obviously thinks I'm brilliant.

"Queer Vs. Christian"

Thanks to SCG for the link. She says:

This video was a big hit at the Mickee Faust Club's "Queer As Faust2" cabaret this summer. If it strikes a chord with you, pass it on!

So I pass it on.

Mary, It's Time To Be A Democrat

From the Huffington Post:

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said on Tuesday that she is opposed to the creation of a public health care plan patients could opt into that would compete with private insurance.

"No, I'm not open to it. I'm not open to a public option," said Landrieu. "However, I will remain open to a compromise, a full compromise. Public option is not something that I support. I don't think it's the right way to go."

As some of you know Mary Landrieu is the senior senator from the State of Louisiana. David Vitter is the junior senator. Neither of them support the inclusion of the public option in the health care plans which are being considered by the Senate. The difference is that David is a Republican, and there's absolutely no hope that he will vote for the public option, no matter that the government provides him and his family with decent health insurance.

However Mary is a Democrat. It's true that she's a Blue Dog Democrat, which means that she often votes with the Republicans. I gave her money during her first run, but not for the second run, because she voted to allow torture. But my donation was only a pittance compared to the donations Mary receives from health care and health insurance industries. She has participated in government sponsored health insurance plans at least since she was a member of the Louisiana State Legilature. Why does she want to deny her constituents what she has benefited from for so many years?

Later in the HP article Mary is quoted as saying:

"I know there are some people really pushing this public option, but I think it really undermines the essence of our efforts to create a real market-based private sector model but with strong, I guess, safeguards for consumers," she said.

And don't we all know how perfectly the market operates? I like her phrasing "...with strong, I guess, safeguards for consumers".... Why safeguards for consumers? The market polices itself so well. I guess. But perhaps she is yet persuadable, if the pressure is great enough.

From Public Campaign Action Fund:

* According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Sen. Landrieu has raised $1,668,693 from health care and insurance interests throughout her federal political career.

* Of the $1,668,693 in health care and insurance money Sen. Landrieu has raised, just 36% came from in state donors, with 64% coming from out of state interests.

* Sen. Landrieu has received substantial contributions throught her career from leading health care industries, including HMOs and pharmaceutical companies:

Health Professionals $600,366
Insurance $376,731
Hospitals/Nursing Homes $266,645
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $228,446
Health Services/HMOs $160,005

* Sen. Landrieu has also received $677,014 from registered lobbyists and their political action committees throughout her career.

* Sen. Landrieu has received large contributions from some of the largest companies and groups in the health care and insurance industries.

There's more at the link.

In addition to the money that she received from the health care and health insurance industries, several of Mary's former staff members now work for health care industries or with firms which lobby for the industries.

Could it be that the donations carry weight in helping her decide how to vote on this issue? No, it couldn't be. But wait! I wonder.

This vote is crucial, as crucial as the vote on Social Security, and it's time Mary paid her dues for calling herself a Democrat. It's time she paid more attention to the needs of her constituents than to her corporate and lobby donors.