I WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT IF I HADN'T SEEN IT

Nina Burri's parents are Persian (Iranian), but she grew up in Europe.

Thanks to Doug.

HERMAN CAIN WANTS A BORDER FENCE

From The Caucus in the New York Times:

“It’s going to be 20 feet high. It’s going to have barbed wire on the top. It’s going to be electrified. And there’s going to be a sign on the other side saying, ‘It will kill you — Warning.’” At an earlier rally, on the campus of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tenn., he added that the sign would be written “in English and in Spanish.”

According to Edward Wyatt, the listeners at two rallies in Tennessee cheered and applauded Cain's remarks.

Cain added:

“If we have to put troops with real guns and real bullets for part of it, we can do that too."

What about the deficit? 2,000 mile fences don't come cheap. But wait! Although I haven't done the math, doing away with Social Security and Medicare might more than cover the cost.

Cain said that some folks had told him his suggestion is insensitive. Has anyone told him to his face that his suggestion is just plain stupid?

Picture from Wikipedia

UPDATE ON IMMIGRATION LAWS: Ormonde at Through the Dust said:

The last [Louisiana] Legislature passed two bills, both requiring employers to use the incompetent but poisonous E-Verify, and we are in danger of even stricter legislation based on the Alabama model. The speaker, Susan Weishar of the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University, shared with us a letter issued by several bishops in Mississippi last February, including Duncan Gray.

The entire text of the letter from the bishops in Mississippi is here. It's a fine thing to see the religious leaders stand together against the punitive legislation. The letter is excellent. I hope to see similar action by the religious leaders in Louisiana.

OUR MAN DOUG AT OCCUPY WALL STREET

Doug reports from Times Square.

David Kaplan, Paul Lane, and I met at the Public Library on 5th and 42nd to go to the big Occupy Wall Street rally in Times Square this evening.
....

The weather was perfect, a cool breezy autumn evening. The crowd was immense, much larger than we expected. From our vantage point, it looked like Broadway was packed all the way to 34th street. Far from pot smoking hippies, the crowd struck me as very middle class, and very diverse in terms of age and ethnicity. The mood was determined and very happy and festive. I'm a great believer in the political power of a good time had by all.

Read the rest at Counterlight's Peculiars, and see his pictures from the rally.

SUMMARIES OF THE INVESTIGATION OF BISHOP MARK LAWRENCE OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

If you're interested in reasonable and non-hysterical summaries of the investigation of Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina ('Episcopal' has been removed from the name of the diocese at the website) and the complaints (no charges!) against him by persons within the diocese, which the Disciplinary Board of the Episcopal Church is now investigating, as it must, check out the posts at The Lead here and here and the article at The Living Church.

In an update, The Living Church also notes that Josephine Hicks has recused herself as the attorney representing the Disciplinary Board in the investigation.

ABOUT THE PLACEBO EFFECT

This morning after breakfast, I had a bit of heartburn, so I went to the cabinet for a tablet for relief. Actually, I buy the generic version of Zantac, because it's cheaper. My heartburn went away rather quickly. Much later I went back to the cabinet, and there was the pill lying on the counter. I never swallowed it! Have I made a new scientific discovery? The pill works even when you forget to take it, just so you believe you've taken it. Since I'm home alone, I had a good private laugh over the incident, but, of course, I had to tell y'all.

Picture from Wikipedia.

FEAST DAY OF TERESA OF AVILA

Nada Te Turbe

Nada te turbe
Nada te espante
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta
Solo Dios basta
Todo se pasa
Dios no se muda
La paciencia todo lo alcanza

Let nothing disturb you,
nothing afright you.
Whom God possesses
in nothing is wanting.
Alone God suffices.
All things are passing.
God never ceases.
Patient endurance attains all things.

YouTube video stolen from Margaret's website Leave It Lay Where Jesus Flang It.

English lyrics from Margaret, and Spanish lyrics from Paul, who is also a thief.

What are friends for, if not to steal from?

Repost from three years ago.

TYPICAL HEADLINES FOR THESE DIFFICULT TIMES

Pictured above is the front page from The Advocate out of Baton Rouge, LA.

MOVE COSTS BR 400 JOBS

FOOD BANK CUPBOARDS BARE

BR'S NEW MILITARY FACILITY SET TO TRAIN RESERVISTS, GUARD

Priorities! The money's always there for new military facilities. Where's the money to create jobs?!!!

A CAUTIONARY WORD ON AUSTERITY

From the New York Times:

For a year now, Britain’s economy has been stuck in a vicious cycle of low growth, high unemployment and fiscal austerity. But unlike Greece, which has been forced into induced recession by misguided European Union creditors, Britain has inflicted this harmful quack cure on itself.

Austerity was a deliberate ideological choice by Prime Minister David Cameron’s ruling coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, elected 17 months ago. It has failed and can be expected to keep failing. But neither party is yet prepared to acknowledge that reality and change course.
....

Austerity is a political ideology masquerading as an economic policy. It rests on a myth, impervious to facts, that portrays all government spending as wasteful and harmful, and unnecessary to the recovery. The real world is a lot more complicated. America has no need to repeat Mr. Cameron’s failed experiment. (My emphasis)

But that's just where we're headed here in the US, with the obstructionist Republicans in the House and the Senate who will not cooperate with a jobs bill. Make no mistake: theirs is not an ideological or principled stand. The goal of the Republicans is to block all efforts to get the economy on the upswing but rather allow the situation go from bad to worse over the next year, in order that they may electioneer on the failure of President Obama. That's just how cynical the Republicans are. They will sacrifice the people and the country for the sake of politics.

ENGLISH ABROAD

Subject: ENGLISH SIGNS DON'T TRAVEL WELL

In a Bangkok temple:
IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN, EVEN A FOREIGNER, IF DRESSED AS A MAN.

Cocktail lounge, Norway:
LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.

Doctors office, Rome:
SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES.

Dry cleaners, Bangkok:
DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR THE BEST RESULTS.

In a Nairobi restaurant:
CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.

On the main road to Mombassa, leaving Nairobi:
TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE.

On a poster at Kencom:
ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO WE CAN HELP.

In a City restaurant:
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND WEEKENDS.

In a cemetery:
PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.

Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations:
GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.

On the menu of a Swiss restaurant:
OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.

In a Tokyo bar:
SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.

Hotel, Yugoslavia:
THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Hotel, Japan:
YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery:
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.

A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest:
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Hotel, Zurich:
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Advertisement for donkey rides,Thailand:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen:
WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

A laundry in Rome:
LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Don't blame me. Blame Wade. And don't ask me if these are real signs from abroad, because I don't know, but they are funny.

HOW TO PASS THE TIME IN THE CLINIC WAITING ROOM

An elderly couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic for a checkup and spotted a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year. Check out this impromptu performance. We are only as old as we feel, it's all attitude. Enjoy! They certainly do.

What a delight! Thanks to Paul (A.).