HOW CRUEL!

Remember Constance McMillen, who wanted to take her girl friend to the prom at Itawamba High School in Fulton, Mississippi? Box Turtle Bulletin has the latest word on the story, which has an unbelievably cruel ending.

McMillen tells The Advocate that a parent-organized prom happened behind her back — she and her date were sent to a Friday night event at a country club in Fulton, Miss., that attracted only five other students. Her school principal and teachers served as chaperones, but clearly there wasn’t much to keep an eye on.

“They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them,” McMillen says. “The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to.”

Last week McMillen asked one of the students organizing the prom for details about the event, and was directed to the country club. “It hurts my feelings,” McMillen says.

To add more cruelty to the situation, the fake prom was apparently meant to be the “freak” prom. In addition to Constance and her girlfriend, two others with learning disabilities, were among the five others who were there. Meanwhile, the rest of the class attended the real prom which was held at a secret location.

How can the students and parents who participated in this cruel hoax live with themselves? I wonder how many are church-going "Christians".

UPDATE: See Oyster's post at Your Right Hand Thief. Oh yeah!

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

A famous industrial efficiency expert concluded his lecture with a note of caution: "You don't want to try these techniques at home."

"Why not?" asked somebody from the audience.

"For years I watched my wife's routine at breakfast," the expert explained. "She made lots of trips between the refrigerator, stove, table, and cabinets, more often than not carrying only a single item at a time. One day I asked her, 'Hon, why don't you try carrying several things at once?'"

"Did it save time?" the person in the audience asked.

"Actually, yes," replied the expert. "Previously, it would take her twenty minutes to make breakfast. Now I do it in seven."


Thanks to Paul (A.), who is still despondent because I didn't use his April Fool's Day joke. I hope that my use of his joke here cheers him up.

NEW ORLEANS TO BE INVADED BY GOP

From TPM:

Conservative activists, presidential hopefuls and Republican officials descend on New Orleans Thursday for the 3-day Southern Republican Leadership Conference -- the first big test of 2012 mettle since President Obama scored his health care victory. It's also the first major GOP event in a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which contributed to the end of Republican rule in Washington.

From Sarah Palin to Mike Pence the Republicans who may challenge Obama two years from now will attempt to win over conservatives at one of the premiere events for the GOP. Just about everyone considering a bid will appear, except former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is finishing out his book tour. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will address the conference via video. Pawlenty is opting to attend a welcome-home ceremony for soldiers returning from Iraq instead.

Below is the list of Republican hopefuls who will grace New Orleans with their awesome presences.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR)
Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)
Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK)

Ta-dah! A star-studded event, surely. Shall I make my reservations? Ah, but they're coming Thursday, so it's probably too late to reserve one of the best rooms.

I say bring it on, guys. Bring your money with you, and spend, spend, spend like there's no tomorrow. Lots of - ah - interesting entertainment, you know. New Orleans needs your bucks.

Another potential candidate, Liz Cheney, will appear.

The conference opens Thursday morning and the first big speaking events will be that night when Mary Matalin, Cheney, Newt Gingrich and JC Watts address the crowd. Friday kicks off the big show, with Palin, Jindal and Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaking in the afternoon. Saturday afternoon will feature Pawlenty's video address, Paul, Pence, Santorum, RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

And our governor, Bobby Jindal, will not simply have a night with the stars, he will BE one of the stars.

THREE NEW BLOGS

1. Joshua at Sic Deus Lixet Mundum. Joshua is not only a new blogger but a new Episcopalian. He was received into the Episcopal Church on Ash Wednesday. Welcome into the fold, Joshua.

2. Laurie and Mary at Dirty Sexy Ministry. What to say about Laurie and Mary? The two young women are Episcopal priests, from Louisiana, of all places!!! and they are quite naughty, as you would never guess by the name of their blog.

3. Episcopal Bear at - well, um - Episcopal Bear. EB left the following comment at Wounded Bird:

Psst! Grandmère Mimi?

Off topic, but wanted to let you know that I've shamelessly swiped your "Windsor Compliance" statement. Crediting you as the source, of course!

Check out Episcopal Bear, my new blog & contribution to Teh Librul Wing of Teh Episcopal Blogosphere.

New Bloggers, hear me. Now that I've linked to your blogs, you'd best keep writing, so I won't need to do a retraction of my recommendations. I hate it when I have to do that.

I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!

From the AP via the Times-Picayune:

It was the Catholic calendar's holiest moment — the Mass celebrating the resurrection of Christ. But with Pope Benedict XVI accused of failing to protect children from abusive priests, Easter Sunday also was a high-profile opportunity to play defense.

"Holy Father, on your side are the people of God," Cardinal Angelo Sodano told the pontiff, whom victims of clergy sexual abuse accuse of helping to shape and perpetuate a climate of cover-up. Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, dismissed those claims as "petty gossip."

The ringing tribute at the start of a Mass attended by tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square marked an unusual departure from the Vatican's Easter rituals, infusing the tradition-steeped religious ceremony with an air of a papal pep rally.

Dressed in gold robes and shielded from a cool drizzle by a canopy, Benedict looked weary during much of the Mass, the highlight of a heavy Holy Week schedule. But as he listened intently to Sodano's paean, a smile broke across the pope's face, and when the cardinal finished speaking, Benedict rose from his chair in front of the altar to embrace him.

"[A]n air of a pep rally"? I suppose the characterization will be labeled as more persecution by the media.

Jewish leaders, and even some top Catholic churchmen, were angered after Benedict's personal preacher, in a Good Friday sermon, likened the growing accusations against the pope to the campaign of anti-Semitic violence that culminated in the Holocaust.

The preacher, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, told Corriere della Sera daily in an interview Sunday that he had no intention "of hurting the sensibilities of the Jews and of the victims of pedophilia," expressed regret and asked for forgiveness.

He was quoted as saying that the pope wasn't aware of what the sermon would say beforehand, and that no Vatican officials read the text before the Good Friday service.

The apology satisfied one Jewish leader, Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants.

"Now that he has apologized and the Vatican has distanced itself from those remarks, the matter is closed," Steinberg said in a statement.

Since Fr Cantalamessa apologized, I won't say more about the matter, either.

Meanwhile back in Anglicanland comes another apology.

From the BBC:

The Archbishop of Canterbury has expressed his "deep sorrow" for any difficulties caused by his comments about the Catholic Church in Ireland.

His claim that the Church had lost all credibility because of its handling of child abuse by priests was criticised by both Catholic and Anglican clergy.

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, said he was "stunned".

Dr Rowan Williams later telephoned Archbishop Martin to insist he meant no offence to the Irish Catholic Church.

BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said Dr Williams' words represented unusually damning criticism from the leader of another Church.

Did Archbishop Williams speak anything but the truth? It seems to me that he had nothing for which to apologize. Once again, the ABC waffles and ends up pleasing no one.

STORY OF THE DAY - NO MORE SECRET

I will always remember the day the sun
shone dark on your hair & I forgot
where we were & kissed you lightly on
the nose & suddenly there was no more
secret.


THOSE WERE THE DAYS!




Not the best quality picture or sound, but the best I could find of the original performance of the song by Mary Hopkin. There's another with sound quality that's a bit better, but the video is so terribly out of sync that it makes me crazy.

From StoryPeople.

I KNOW IT'S STILL EASTER, BUT...

GLOBAL FACTS ABOUT SEX


AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT:


FACT:

79,000,000 people are engaged in sex - right now.


FACT:

58,000,000 are kissing.


FACT:

37,000,000 are relaxing after having sex.


FACT:

1 odd person is reading this blog.


YOU HANG IN THERE SUNSHINE......


Doug strikes again!

CHRIST IS RISEN! ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA!

 

GRECO, El - "The Resurrection" - 1577-79
Church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, Toledo

EASTER COLLECT

Almighty God,
through your Son Jesus Christ
You overcame death and opened to us
the gate of everlasting life;
grant us so to die daily to sin,
that we may evermore live with him
in the joy of his resurrection:
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.

(New Zealand Prayer Book, p.593)

Painting from the Web Gallery of Art.

HAPPY EASTER!

 

 

 

From Doug and me to all of you.

TENEBRAE RESPONSORIES

 

MadPriest at Of Course, I Could Be Wrong posted a Hipcast of a lovely version of the Holy Saturday Victoria: Tenebrae Responsories. You may want to have a listen. I liked the music so that I bought the album from eMusic.