THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Those were the days, my friend
We'd thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance
Forever and a day

We'd live the life we'd choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young
And sure to have our way

La La La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La La La
Those were the days, my friend those were the days



Up there is Soldier Boy Tom, who won the Battle of Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, in just six months. As a reward, the powers let him go home with only the stipulation that he check in once a month for the weekend and for two weeks in the summer for the next 5 1/2 years.

When Tom finished boot camp, the sergeant told him, "I know you hated every minute of boot camp, but, in the end, you turned out to be a damned fine soldier."

The next picture is moi, before wrinkles, multiple chins, and weight gain, prim in my Peter Pan collar. Both pictures were taken circa 1960-61, before we were married.

I've been looking through old photo albums, and you know how addictive that activity can be.

MAXINE FRIDAY

 

 

 

Cruel!

Don't blame me. Blame Ann and Doug.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - POLITICS

"Politics is like driving a car - D for forward, R for reverse."

From somewhere in the Columbia Free Times.

Thanks to Lapin.

GOOD NEWS FROM THE GULF - FINALLY!

From NOLA:

There was no oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon after BP crews managed to shut in the leaking Macondo well.

Good news! But we can't relax yet.

The company is now conducting a "well integrity test" to determine if the well can remain closed until it can be permanently shut with cement next month.

The test will last anywhere from 6 to 48 hours, during which time scientists will measure pressure inside the well. If pressure rises and holds at 8,000 to 9,000 pounds per square inch, the well could remain closed. If it is lower than that level, however, if will be reopened and oil will be sucked, again, to vessels on the surface.

Low pressures would indicate that oil is escaping through one or more fissures in the well.

BP Vice President Kent Wells said he was "encouraged" by the development, but also trying to remain reserved until the test is complete.

"I'm very pleased that there's no oil going in the Gulf of Mexico, in fact I'm excited that there's no oil going in the Gulf of Mexico," Wells said. "Where I'm holding back my emotion is we're just starting the test. I don't want to create a false sense of excitement."

I remain "encouraged" but "reserved", too, and I'm not "excited", yet.

Still, we face the daunting task of getting all the oil that has gushed for more than 84 days cleaned up from the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes and beaches of the coastline.

ARGENTINA FIRST LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRY TO LET GAY COUPLES MARRY AND ADOPT CHILDREN

From Reuters:

Argentina's Senate passed a gay marriage law early on Thursday following more than 14 hours of charged debate, as hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside the Congress in near-freezing temperatures. Senators voted 33-27 for the proposal, with three abstentions.

"We're now a fairer, more democratic society. This is something we should all celebrate," Maria Rachid, a leading gay rights activist, said as supporters of the law hugged each other and jumped up and down after the vote.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez supports gay marriage on human rights grounds and is expected to sign the law after her return from a state visit to China. The proposal cleared Argentina's lower house in May.
....

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, had raised particular concern about the adoption clause of the bill, saying it was important to ensure that children had as role models "both a father and a mother."

Good news, indeed!

The need for children to have male and female role models argument against same sex couples having adoption rights is unpersuasive and insulting, not only to same sex couples, but to single parents, who often, through no fault of their own, do not have a partner to help in caring for their children. That children have parents or caregivers who love them and attend to them properly should be the greatest concern of anyone who cares about the welfare of children. And what about friends and family members as role models? Children don't grow up in isolation booths.

It's way past time for the Roman Catholic Church, or any church for that matter, to be allowed to dictate what laws should be passed in a country or other political entity.

Thanks to David@Montreal.

GOOD-BYE TO A GOOD DOG

Jonathan (aka MadPriest) and his wife Jane lost their good friend Callum, a noble companion.

Callum was Jane's "once in a lifetime" dog. He was a gentle and loving giant of a border collie, always willing to please and always at Jane's side.

Please extend your sympathy to them at Jonathan's blog.

TAKE CARE

If you cannot decipher anything, then try pulling gently on the outer corner of your eyes.

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

BASTILLE DAY IN NEW ORLEANS

From NOLA:

They were assigned to different locations in France 65 years ago, but today, five Louisiana veterans will be together at the New Orleans Museum of Art to receive France's highest distinction for their service during World War II.

Ivan J. Breaux of Kaplan, John Copes of Baton Rouge, William Haar of Metairie, Richard Whaley of Lafayette and Frank H. Walk of New Orleans will receive the Legion of Honor, a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Olivier Brochenin, the consul general of France in New Orleans, will bestow the honor at a ceremony preceding a reception for Bastille Day, the French national holiday. Two other veterans, Voorhies Dewailly and Warren Butcher, also will receive the award but cannot attend the ceremony.
....

Brochenin said the significance of their efforts becomes more impressive as time goes on and fewer people have firsthand memories of the war.

“The sacrifice of these soldiers is unbelievable,” Brochenin said.

The National Order of the Legion of Honor was founded by Napoleon in 1802 to pay tribute to military officials who had served France. Today, French citizens can receive the honor for military or civil work. But it has been extended to noncitizens for outstanding work, including World War II veterans.

“There will be no other, better way for the French republic to show how much we appreciate (them),” Brochenin said.

And there is no better day, Brochenin said, than the French national holiday.

“The national day of France, which is the most important day for the French people...I think that day is the best to pay tribute,” he said.

Merçi, Monsieur le Consul. Although our own government sometimes seems not to care much for the people of south Louisiana, the French still love us. After the neglect following Katrina and the federal flood, we were only half-joking when we pled with France to buy us back.

HOLY FAMILY ADOPTION AGENCY ADOPTED

From The Huffington Post:

Community-based nonprofit organizations are struggling for their organizational lives these days. The oppressive economic downturn has made it hard to keep their doors open to provide services while fundraising from private individuals and foundations has become downright Darwinian. Maintaining one's donor base is supremely critical for any struggling nonprofit group.

Which is exactly why the recent story of a tiny organization named Holy Family Adoption Services in Los Angeles is pretty courageous.

Holy Family Adoption Services provides adoption, foster care, and family support services for infants and toddlers who are often born into very high-risk situations and require placement into a loving home. Since 1949, they have been helping these children whose mothers have been victimized themselves by family violence, or who suffer from addiction, or who are just ill-prepared for motherhood.

For most of its organizational life, Holy Family Adoption Services operated in partnership with the Catholic Archdiocese in Los Angeles. It had the financial and in-kind support from the church as well as the support of many generous Catholic individuals and foundations - until it became known that the Holy Family Adoption Services staff placed a handful of the thousands of children it cared for with same-sex couples. The State of California prohibits discriminating against same-sex couples in adoption placement and Holy Family Adoption Services was abiding by that state law.

In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles made it clear that Holy Family would have to stop placing children with same-sex couples. Instead of giving in, the Holy Family Adoption Services board of directors ultimately decided that nothing was more important than providing loving and supportive homes for at-risk infants and children and that no otherwise qualified home should be closed to these children simply because of the gender and sexual orientation of the family members within it.

The Catholic Archdiocese withdrew their support, as did most Catholic donors. Holy Family Adoption Services was forced to lay off staff, reduce services, and seek new sources of support in the midst of an economic recession.

Enter Bishop Jon Bruno of the Episcopal Diocese. When Bishop Bruno learned of Holy Family's courage and fate, he invited the organization to be housed under the auspices of his church. This kept the organization alive.

But Holy Family Adoption Services valiantly limps on, and the organization requires new sources of support to continue on with their mission. Last month, our foundation provided a $50,000 grant to the organization, but much more is needed.

While civic and public discourse these days seems to be dominated by scapegoating, intolerance, and even hate - Arizona's anti-immigration legislation and California's Prop. 8 battle embody such activity - we want to take a quiet moment to acknowledge the moral courage of the board of directors of Holy Family Adoption Services and Bishop Jon Bruno. They are standing up for the infants who need them most. We hope you'll find it in your heart to do the same.

Robert K. Ross, MD
President & CEO, The California Endowment

If you are interested in supporting Holy Family Adoption Services, please contact www.hfs.org or telephone 213 - 202-3900.

What a profile in courage! The board put the welfare of the children first - not to mention that they chose to follow the law.

Bravo Bishop Jon Bruno of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles! You are a mensch.

I know that we are told not to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing, but I'm telling. I'm headed right now to the website to make a donation.

Pictures from the Holy Family Services website.

H/T to Ann Fontaine at The Lead, and thanks to Tom Sramek in the comments there for the (slightly edited) title of the post.

WE HAVE THEM TOO

From The Lead:

The Episcopal bishop of the Erie-based Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania is reaching out to women who may have been sexually abused in their childhoods by one of his deceased predecessors, asking them to contact him confidentially as part of his effort to “seek healing and reconciliation for those who have been harmed.”

In a pastoral letter read today after services in the diocese’s 34 churches, the Rt. Rev, Sean Rowe, 35, said he has learned of four credible allegations of sexual abuse committed by Donald Davis, who was bishop of the diocese from 1974 to 1991. The four cases occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rowe said one of the victims contacted him in late March, and that he immediately began an investigation that unearthed information on three previous cases.

“Sexual abuse in any form is abhorrent in any community, and as your bishop, I feel particular pain that one of my predecessors betrayed the trust and innocence of children,” Rowe said. “On behalf of the church, I offer an abject apology to Bishop Davis’ victims, their families, and everyone whose trust in the church has been violated, and I ask for your forgiveness.”

Some of the cases had been known to some national church authorities, but had never been made public.

Sad news, indeed, of the cases of abuse by a bishop (no less!) of the Episcopal Church. And that the abuse was made not public must be called what it is - a cover-up.

Read the text of Bishop Rowe's pastoral letter at The Lead. Here is an excerpt:

I cannot undo the grievous wrongs that Bishop Davis has done, nor take away the pain of his victims, but I can do my best to ensure that, from now on, this diocese will tell the truth and seek healing and reconciliation for those who have been harmed. That is why I am making this situation public and asking anyone else who may have been abused by Bishop Davis to come forward, publicly or confidentially, to me. The existence of four victims makes it possible that there are others, and we are bound as Christians to seek their healing. We are working closely with the Office of the Presiding Bishop to do so. I have talked directly with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and she supports my decision to speak with you about these matters.

Bishop Rowe does the right thing to bring the matter into the light and to offer healing and reconciliation to those who were abused.