FLAGPOLE

A team of engineers were required to measure the height of a flagpole. They only had a measuring tape, and were getting quite frustrated trying to keep the tape along the pole. It kept falling down, and they couldn't tell from the ground if the top of the tape was even with the top of the pole.

A mathematician comes along, finds out their problem, and proceeds to remove the pole from the stand, lay it on the ground, and measure it easily.

When he leaves, one engineer says to the other: "Just like a mathematician! We need to know the height, and he gives us the length!"


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

OBAMA - 'YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT VALUES?'

I keep on hearing these same folks talk about values all the time. You want to talk about values? Hard work has a value. Looking out for one another has a value. The idea that we're all in this together, and I am my brother's and my sister's keeper, that's a value.

President Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney, said Obama was not campaigning. All right, then.

ARCHBISHOP JANUS

Click on over to MadPriest's place, Of Course I Could Be Wrong, to read the latest incredible, yet true story about Archbishop Janus.

ROMAN CATHOLIC NUNS FILE BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF OBAMA HEALTHCARE EXPANSION

The Franciscan Sisters of Mary arrived in St. Louis in 1872 and later took on ministering to patients in hospitals. (NYT)

From Think Progress:

As further proof that conservative efforts to paint President Obama as the enemy of religion are a red herring, nearly two dozen leading Catholic nuns filed a brief in the Supreme Court last week supporting the president’s signature legislative accomplishment. The Catholic sisters who joined the brief include the leaders of many prominent religious orders providing health care and other services to the needy.

In the AMICI CURIAE brief, the sisters say:

We have witnessed firsthand the impact of our national healthcare crisis, particularly its impact on women, children and people who are poor. We see the toll on families who have delayed seeking care due to a lack of health insurance coverage or lack of funds with which to pay high deductibles and co-pays. We have counseled and prayed with men, women, and children who have been denied health care coverage by insurance companies. We have witnessed early and avoidable deaths because of delayed medical treatment. The health care bill . . . will expand coverage to over 30 million uninsured Americans. While it is an imperfect measure, it is a crucial next step in realizing health care for all. It will invest in preventative care. It will bar insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. It will make crucial investments in community health centers that largely serve poor women and children.

Brave, sisters! Preach it!

Having attended Roman Catholic schools with women religious as my teachers, I know 'Sister' is always right (at least, almost always). Thanks be to God for these courageous women, whom the RC hierarchy declare unfit to serve as priests...the church's loss, surely.

N/T to Katie on Facebook.

BLOGGER SPAM DETECTION WORKS

Blogger's new word verification function with its fuzzy double set of letters is so difficult to use, that my readers complained of trying 3 or 4 times without success to post comments, because they could not decipher the fuzzy letters. Since my own frustration matched theirs when I posted comments on other blogs, I decided to disable word verification here at Wounded Bird to see what followed. After a week, I'm happy to report that the Blogger spam detection function works quite well, as of now. Spam is screened out, and legitimate comments come through. The occasional signed anonymous comment goes into the spam folder, but I check frequently and send the comments through to the blog and delete the spam. I hope I've not spoken my public praise too soon, only to experience a breakdown of the system within a short time. For now, I'm optimistic.

IF WE PAY, WHY CAN'T WE PLAY?

As I understand, the Anglican Communion Office and the Anglican Communion News Service are funded by all of the churches of the communion. The churches have been tasked with deciding whether or not to adopt the proposed Anglican Covenant. One presumes a choice here, whether to adopt or not. Why then do the ACO and ACNS provide only pro-covenant material? It seems to me that the proper and fair thing to do would be to provide both pro and con information, so that the dioceses and the various churches in the communion are better able to make informed decisions.

It's not as though well-reasoned statements against adopting the covenant are non-existent. The No Anglican Covenant Coalition website offers such material from voices of members of different churches throughout the communion, and, in addition, offers pro-covenant material, including a blatantly anti-American paper by Peter Doll, Canon Librarian of Norwich Cathedral, which was sent out to all Church of England bishops by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Why can't those of us who have serious doubts that the covenant is the solution to the present troubles and disagreements in the communion have our voices heard through the ACO and ACNS? Publicizing only pro-covenant material prejudices the vote in favor of the covenant, and the actions of the ACO and ACNS are not right and not fair.

CLOWNS ATTACK WALL STREET BULL

From George Packard, Occupied Bishop, on Facebook:

At the bottom of Broadway, in the heart of the NYC financial district, there's this statue of a bull. It's become iconic for the over-hormoned culture on Wall Street. I attended clown training last night and this is one of the results...

Oh no! You clowns are under arrest for attacking our national idol, the Golden Calf - er - Brazen Bull of Wall Street.

UPDATE: Read George's latest post at his blog, titled 'A Lenten Return for Occupy'.

TWO CHURCH OF ENGLAND DIOCESES VOTE 'YES' TO ANGLICAN COVENANT

The Dioceses of Sheffield and Winchester voted to adopt the Anglican Covenant. The count is now 7 CofE dioceses voting in favor of the covenant and 10 voting against.

My dream is for the Church of England to kill off the covenant, and then the rest of us in the Anglican Communion can forget about the pernicious document and stop talking about it.

H/T to Simon Sarmiento at Thinking Anglicans.

Cartoon by MadPriest.

USEFUL GRAPHS

 

 

 

 

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

PLEASE PRAY...

From David@Montreal:

beloved Giants
grounds for gratitude: my dear Mam who will be 90 this November woke from a nap to incapacitating pain in her back, yesterday after getting back from Church.unable to get out of her chair, there was a phone within reach and she called one of my sisters who lives out in the burbs near her and who has a car.
taken to the hospital, turns out she has a fractured spine, has been given medication for the pain and is staying with one of my four sisters overnight.
at her age it could have been a lot worse, so i am profoundly grateful.

i will be going out tomorrow to spend the day with Mam and get a better idea of what we need to do to support her during her convalesence.
in the meantime, I would also beg your prayers for the people of Syria and most particularly for the people of Homs who are being bombarded mercilessly by the tyrant, 24/7
a Muslim friend asks that you ask not only that the people of Syria be delivered, but that the extreme violence which has been inflicted on the people of Syria become a teaching moment for the Islamic leadership.

thank-you my beloved Giants
love always-always Love

From me:

For members of my family who are going through a difficult time.

For positive results from medical tests for me. (Don't worry - nothing life-threatening.)

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfil now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Image at the head of post courtesy of Paul the BB.