WOODY GUTHRIE - "JESUS CHRIST"

For Ormonde, who said in the comments to my post on banker Bob Diamond:

In the Great Depression, Woody Guthrie wrote a song called "Jesus Christ." In it he attributed the death of Jesus to "the bankers and the preachers."

HAITI - ONE YEAR AND ONE DAY AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE

From the AP via the Miami Herald:

The air was choked with memory Wednesday in this city where everyone lost a brother, a child, a cousin or a friend. One year after the earthquake, Haitians marched down empty, rubble-lined streets singing hymns and climbed broken buildings to hang wreaths of flowers.

The landscape is much as the quake left it, thanks to a reconstruction effort that has yet to begin addressing the intense need. But the voices were filled with hope for having survived a year that seemed to get worse at every turn.

"We've had an earthquake, hurricane, cholera, but we are still here, and we are still together," said Charlemagne Sintia, 19, who joined other mourners at a soccer stadium that served as an open-air morgue after the quake and later housed a tent camp.

The Haitian government estimates the number of deaths at 316,000. Bodies are still being found in the rubble, so the number will go higher. Approximately one million people remain homeless.

The people of Haiti still need our help. I give through Episcopal Relief and Development, because the organization has low overhead, and the donations go where they are needed, to help those who need help. Also ERD pays local people to do the work of cleaning-up and rebuilding.

STILL PROUD - STILL TEARY

As I reread the text of President Obama's speech at the memorial service in Tucson, Arizona, for those who died in the shootings, I cried all over again - so many fine and eloquent moments in one speech. The cadences, the repetition of key phrases demonstrate his mastery of the art of speech-making. Most of all, his words seemed sincere and to come from his heart. Today, I note especially the words below:

So sudden loss causes us to look backward—but it also forces us to look forward; to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. (Applause.)

We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we’re doing right by our children, or our community, whether our priorities are in order.

We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame—but rather, how well we have loved — (applause)– and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better. (Applause.)

And that process—that process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions—that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires.

I think of the times that I was impatient with the president in his many efforts to forge alliances with Republicans. And I realize now that's the sort of man the president is, a man who will try, in the face of seemingly impossible odds, to find common ground and establish bonds with those who oppose nearly all of his ideas and policies. And he will continue his efforts, and perhaps that's the kind of president we need now. More and more, I see Barack Obama as the man for the hour.

STORY OF THE DAY - PARTIAL VIRTUE

She went everywhere with a basket
filled daily with a fresh blueberry
muffin. It's either that or cigarettes, she
said. I am only strong enough for a life
of partial virtue.

From StoryPeople

I WAS PROUD

As I watched President Obama's speech at the memorial service for those who died in the shootings in Tucson, Arizona, I was proud. The presidency is a bully pulpit, and Obama excelled tonight in striking all the right notes with his words and his demeanor.

From the Miami Herald:

President Barack Obama played the part of "healer in chief" Wednesday night, honoring the victims of Saturday's mass shooting while seeking to calm an increasingly angry political debate, urging all Americans to stop pointing fingers and "make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds."

And the president was able to announce the good news that Representative Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time tonight. Thanks be to God and to all who cared for the congresswoman since her injury.

"YOU GOTTA MOVE" - FRED MCDOWELL

Thanks to echidne at Eschaton for calling the video of the excellent performance by the Mississippi Delta blues great, Fred McDowell, to my attention.

BANKER NO LONGER SORRY

From Reuters:

In a crammed room that spectators had to queue to enter, American Bob Diamond -- one of Europe's highest-paid executives -- declined to say if he would waive his bonus for a third year and would not say how much Barclays would lend to businesses.

"There was a period of remorse and apology for banks and I think that period needs to be over. We need our banks willing to take risks ... so we can create jobs," Diamond told the cross-party Treasury Select Committee during 2-1/2 hours of questioning.

Love means never having to say you're sorry, and don't we all love the bankers? Which means that the poor dears never had to say they were sorry for their big bonuses from taxpayers' money in the first place. But they did! And now, enough is enough. The time is well past for bank executives to stop apologizing for taking bailouts from taxpayers' money and using it to pay themselves big bonuses.

Pay was the hot topic, as expected. Britain is heading toward a "car crash" on the issue, according to Jesse Norman, a Conservative Member of Parliament and member of the Committee, who said the public resents seeing a UK bank bonus pool expected to reach 7 billion pounds ($11 billion) for 2010.

Can it be true that the public resents the bonuses?

Ah, I see that Bob Diamond is American. Hmmm. Does it matter? Methinks bankers are the same all over. Of course, I could be wrong.

Mark Steel in his piece in the Independent says it far better than I ever could. If you see similarities between Mark's words and mine, bear in mind that I wrote my post before I read Mark's column. Honest.

Photo from the Daily Mail. As you can see, Diamond's hands are empty.

Thanks to Cathy for the links.

FEAST DAY OF ST AELRED OF RIEVAULX

In 2008, I had the great pleasure of visiting the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey in the company of MadPriest and Mrs MadPriest, and a lovely visit it was, both for the pleasure of their company and for the lovely walk through the beautiful ruins. As I said in my post:

What a holy place. I could sense the presence of many saints from the past who prayed there, and the prayers seemed to linger in the abbey. I thought of our blog friend Prior Aelred of St. Gregory's Abbey, because his namesake was abbot of Rievaulx Abbey.

And Happy Feast Day to Prior Aelred!

Collect of the Day: Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx, 1167

Pour into our hearts, O God, the Holy Spirit's gift of love, that we, clasping each the other's hand, may share the joy of friendship, human and divine, and with your servant Aelred draw many to your community of love; through Jesus Christ the Righteous, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Rievaulx Abbey - my photo

Image at the head of the post from The Daily Office.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND - TWO VIDEOS

First from Mr CatOLick, whose video is a response to the Church of England video. You may or may not want to watch the CofE video first.





From the Church of England:




H/T to Lesley at Lesley's Blog.

UPDATE ON AILEEN

continued prayers -- from Sally Boyd.

Begin forwarded message:

On behalf of Aileen I want to thank each and every one of you for the birthday wishes and prayers. Spent the day with my sweet girl. decorated her room to try to make it more festive. I dont know if she even realizes it, but it made me feel better. Bright note: white cell count dropped its biggest drop yet and her hemoglobin is up. After five bad days, today is good news.---Mike

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

O God, give to Mike and all who watch and wait with Aileen strength and courage during this difficult time. Surround them with your presence in the power of your Holy Spirit that they may trust in your everlasting love.

Sally Boyd is the priest who ministers to Mike and Aileen.

From Ann.