TED DEUTCH (D) WINS HOUSE SEAT IN FLORIDA

From the AP:

Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch has handily won the first U.S. House race since Congress passed President Barack Obama's massive health care overhaul.

With 43 percent of precincts reporting, Deutch had 62 percent of the vote compared to 36 percent for Republican Ed Lynch late Tuesday.

The Associated Press called the race about two hours after polls closed.

Yes! A Democrat replaces a Democrat.

WHAT IS EASTER?

Three blondes died and found themselves standing before St. Peter. He told them that before they could enter the Kingdom of Heaven, they had to tell him what Easter was.

The first blonde said, "Easter is the holiday where they have a big feast, give thanks and eat turkey."

St. Peter rolled his eyes, said, "Blondes!" and banished her to Hell.

The second blonde said, "Easter is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and exchange gifts."

St. Peter said, "Wrong," and he banished her to Hell. St. Peter looked at the third blonde and said, "OK ... Tell me."

She said, "Easter is a Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. Jesus was having Passover feast with His disciples when he was betrayed by Judas, and the Romans arrested him. The Romans hung Him on the cross and eventually He died. Then they buried Him in a tomb behind a very large boulder."

St. Peter was surprisingly impressed. "Verrrrry good," he said.

The blonde continued, "Now every year, they roll away the boulder, and Jesus comes out. If he sees his shadow, we have six more weeks of basketball."

St. Peter fainted.

Don't blame me. Blame Ann.

VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS OVER PROPERTY DISPUTE BETWEEN TEC AND CANA

John Chilton was in the courtroom today when the Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the dispute over property between the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and CANA over church property. Read his account at The Lead.

The Loudoun Times reports on the day in court with brief commentary from both sides in the dispute.

NOW FROM SAN ANTONIO

From San Antonio.com:

A Catholic priest from a rural parish west of San Antonio is accused in a lawsuit filed Thursday of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy at gunpoint and during private catechism sessions two years ago.

The suit, which names outgoing Archbishop José Gomez as a defendant and claims he sought to conceal the matter, comes three days after the Vatican named Gomez as the next archbishop in Los Angeles.

He is transferring to California next month. Gomez said recently through a spokesman that his five-year tenure involved no new sex-abuse allegations.

The suit claims that Father John M. Fiala repeatedly assaulted the youth from January to August 2008 while Fiala was working as administrator at Sacred Heart of Mary in Rocksprings.

Archbishop José Gomez takes up his office in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles under a cloud of litigation.

Besides which, he is a member of Opus Dei, which some say is a cult. I'm inclined to agree.

H/T to Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish.

LETTER FROM THE BISHOPS IN CONNECTICUT

The Roman Catholic bishops in Connecticut posted a "legislative alert" letter on the website of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport.

Dear Parishioners and Friends:

As the Bishops of the Catholic family of the State of Connecticut, we are requesting your immediate attention to House Bill 5473, which may be voted on in the General Assembly during the next week or two.

This bill would retroactively eliminate the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits related to allegations of child sexual abuse. Connecticut already has the longest retroactive statute in the United States – 30 years past the age of 18. Over the past several years in states that have even temporarily eliminated the statutes, it has caused the bankruptcy of at least seven dioceses. House Bill 5473 would make Connecticut the only State without a statute of limitations. This bill would put all Church institutions, including your parish, at risk.

The nature of bankruptcy litigation puts all assets at risk, even if your parish has had no past incidents, reports or allegations of child abuse. That is why it is important for you to join other Catholics across Connecticut in opposing this legislation.

If you think I'm persecuting the Roman Catholic Church, you should read Andrew Sullivan.

VATICAN GUIDE FOR HANDLING REPORTS OF CHILD ABUSE

The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith posted an online guide for handling allegations of child abuse.

IT'S BAD

From NOLA.com:

Seven people were shot in New Orleans on Monday, two of them fatally, on the heels of a violent weekend that saw 18 people shot in the New Orleans area, eight in a single high-profile incident on Canal Street as the second night of the French Quarter Festival wrapped up Saturday.

Police responded to a call of shots fired Monday around 1:20 p.m. at Law and Desire streets, where they found Terence Butler, 36, dead. Two other men were taken to the hospital, where one of them, Derrick Jones, 32, died, said John Gagliano, chief investigator for the coroner's office. A third person was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Minutes later, police responded to a separate shooting three blocks away at Clouet Street and Lausat Place and found a man who had been shot several times. He too was transported to a hospital in critical condition, said New Orleans police spokesmen Garry Flot and Jannsen Valencia.

If my count is correct, three people are dead and 15 were wounded, some critically, from gunshots during the weekend and on Monday. What's going on? There's a vacuum at the top. Ray Nagin seems to be MIA. He's pretty much departed from his job as mayor before the next mayor is sworn in, except for his attempts to commit the new mayor to as many contracts as possible before he leaves office. The New Orleans Police Department is demoralized, and Chief Warren Riley seems unable to implement a strategy to stem the violence.

May 3, the date of Mitch Landrieu's swearing into the office of mayor of New Orleans, can't come fast enough for me. I know he's no savior, but he'll be a better mayor than Nagin if he only half tries. He faces the daunting challenge of reducing violence in the city.

Ormonde at Through the Dust keeps count of the murders in New Orleans. He'll have more names to add to the list for his next post in his series, "Murder capital of the US of A".

IN THE BLOOMIN' GARDEN - 2

 

A bridal wreath bush in bloom. It's planted beside the garden shed, which I cropped out of the picture.

 

Another variety of azalea. We have white azaleas, too, but I don't have a picture.

 

My favorite of all the pictures. The rosebush is a transplant from New Roads, where it grows and flourishes with little care. The bush does the same here. Grandpère stopped planting roses, because most rose plants require frequent treatment for black spot because of the humidity. However, we have two varieties here in Thibodaux, both of which came from New Roads, the pink above and a white rosebush, which grow and bloom well here without spraying. I'm guessing the roses are old varieties and not hybrids and are thus hardier and more resistant to disease than hybrids.

 

And last, but not least, the red geraniums in pots near the back door. They're beautiful now but will be less so in the height of the summer heat.

TINA FEY AS SARAH PALIN

H/T to Andrew Sullivan at the Daily Dish.

Thanks to Wade for the link.

BISHOP ALAN - THE COOLEST BISHOP IN ALL ENGLAND?

Possibly. Read his commentary on his night out at 606 titled Soul Food in Chelsea.

Feeding the soul is not just for Lent. The highlight of this post-Easter break has been a visit with an old friend and Stephanie to the 606, one of my loved and inceasingly loved sources of soul food.
....

This is not ego food, but soul food — graceful, passionate stuff.