BROKEN ANGLO-SAXON LINK?

Mitt Romney on the London Olympics:

The dustup began Wednesday, as Romney, who ran the 2002 Salt Lake City games, said there were "disconcerting" signs in the days before this year's games.

"The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials -- that obviously is not something which is encouraging," he told NBC News.

"Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? And that's something which we only find out once the games actually begin," he said.

Whoa!  Then Mitt Romney backs up:

In comments before meeting with Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, Romney was more measured. "My experience with regards to the Olympics is it is impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur," he said. "Of course, there will be errors from time to time, but those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes."

Wait!  What about the special Anglo-Saxon relationship that is really special?  The relationship between the US and England that President Obama does not understand because his father is from Africa?

In remarks that may prompt accusations of racial insensitivity, one suggested that Mr Romney was better placed to understand the depth of ties between the two countries than Mr Obama, whose father was from Africa.

“We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the adviser said of Mr Romney, adding: “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have”.

Is the Anglo-Saxon link between England and the United States broken beyond repair?

Is it possible for Mitt Romeny and his campaign staff to be more incompetent?

BISHOP JUSTIN WELBY - CENTRAL CASTING ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY?

Although he's fourth in line behind Christopher Cocksworth, Graham James, and John Sentamu, Giles Fraser likes Bishop of Durham Justin Welby for Archbishop of Canterbury.

Paddy Power has him as 6:1 to be the next archbishop of Canterbury. But Justin Welby, the Bishop of Durham, is having none of it. He really doesn't want the job. "Lets be clear, I'm one of the thicker bishops in the Church of England," he tells me. I'm not taken in by this disarming self-deprecation – something for which Old Etonians like him are not especially noted. No, there is nothing remotely thick about Bishop Welby. 

Ah well, I don't know whether Bishop Welby is thick or not, so I'll take Giles' word for it that he's not.  For the sake of my English friends, I hope and pray for a wise choice by the Crown Nominations Commission.  For the sake of the Anglican Communion, too, although I hope the leaders of the Episcopal Church will never again be as obsequious to another Archbishop of Canterbury as they have been at times to Archbishop Rowan.  I also nurse a small hope that the next ABC might like the members of the Episcopal Church just a little and have the occasional kind word for us, unlike Rowan Williams who seemed so often to scorn, scold, and lecture.

"I have tried to avoid saying anything," he admits at the end of the interview. Well, I'm not sure he succeeded. On many levels he seems like a central-casting Church of England bishop. On the subject of women bishops he speaks of the need to square the circle, reconciling those who think it a theological necessity and those who think it a theological impossibility. How do you do this? "Well, you just look at the circle and say it's a circle with sharp bits on it."

On the question of women bishops, Bishop Welby surely succeeded in not saying anything to me, for I have no idea what he means by his "circle with sharp bits on it".  Still, he'd have Giles Fraser's vote, if he had a vote, which should count for something.

WEEKLY REMINDER

And not only that:

President Obama’s health care overhaul will shrink rather than increase the nation’s huge federal deficits over the next decade, Congress’ nonpartisan budget scorekeepers said Tuesday, supporting Obama’s contention in a major election-year dispute with Republicans.

About 3 million fewer uninsured people will gain health coverage because of last month’s Supreme Court ruling granting states more leeway, and that will cut the federal costs by $84 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said in the biggest changes from earlier estimates.

Republicans have insisted that "Obamacare" will actually raise deficits — by "trillions," according to presidential candidate Mitt Romney. But that’s not so, the budget office said.

Well, excluding people from health care coverage is a sorry way to reduce the deficit, but even if the governors of the various states had not decided against adopting the extension of Medicaid, the deficit would have been reduced by the Obama plan.  Take that, Mitt Romney! 

At the time it was approved in 2010, CBO estimated the law would reduce the deficit by $143 billion from 2010 to 2019. And CBO estimated that last year’s Republican repeal legislation would increase deficits by $210 billion from 2010 to 2021.

Mitt won't take that, as his campaign does not operate in the real world, and he will probably continue to say that Obamneycare will increase the deficit, the truth be damned.

JESUS AND MO - CERN

From Jesus and Mo.

BUYER'S REMORSE?

Republican and Democratic legislators said Monday they are skeptical of Jindal administration claims that health care would not suffer with more than $320 million in cuts to the LSU hospital system.

LSU’s 10-hospital system would bear 60 percent of some $522.5 million in health care spending reductions outlined so far in response to an unexpected cut in federal funding.

Gov. Bobby Jindal is counting on surplus revenues materializing to close the rest of an $859 million congressionally created hole in the Medicaid program for the state fiscal year that began this month.

Come on guys, you just passed the Jindal budget and now you're scared by a lil' ole unexpected $859 million hole in the Medicaid program and a lil' $522.5 million cut to LSU's hospital system?  Heavens to Betsy!  Don't you ever look ahead and plan for the unexpected?  Now you may have to start looking at generating some revenues.  Some of you want a special session to address the budget hole, but the guvna says that won't be necessary because he's counting on surplus revenues to materialize.  You believed his hokus-pokus before, but now you're beginning to doubt?  Iizzy-wizzy, let's get busy; there's a charm for that.

You see, LSU's hospital system is talking of goring oxen - er - closing down clinics and hospitals that treat the uninsured and poor, and the other hospitals in those areas fear lines around the block of people wanting treatment in their emergency rooms.

“I just worry how do we take care of those people if some of these doomsday scenarios happen?” [Sen. Ronnie] Johns responded. “The private hospital sector is absolutely fearful of people showing up on the steps of their emergency room.”

What we have here is a mess on our hands, but what?  Me worry?   Indeed not!  The surplus revenues will materialize...out of thin air, if necessary.   The guvna says so.  Besides, everything must be OK in the Gret Stet, because the guvna is mostly not here in Loosiana.  He's busy campaigning around the country.  I'm not sure what he's campaigning for, but he's very busy.

MARY MAGADALENE

"Penitent Magdalene" - Caravaggio

MARY MAGDALENE

Mary, Mary, Jesus healed you.
Full of thanks, you followed him,
Stayed with him until the end,
Mourned your Savior at the cross.

To the tomb you went on Sunday,
Your Lord's body to anoint.
When you found no body there,
By the grave you stood and wept.

"Mary, Mary, why the weeping?"
"Sir, where did they lay my Lord?"
"Mary!"  "Rabbouni!"
"Ah Mary, do not hold me.

"Go now and tell the others
That I live, as they will see."
And you went, and you told them,
"I have seen my Lord.  He lives."

June Butler 7-23-12

Yesterday was the feast of Mary Magdalene.  There is no evidence in any of the four Gospels that Mary was a harlot.

The whole story of Mary as a prostitute, who is fallen and redeemed, is a very powerful image of redemption a signal that no matter how low one has fallen, one can be redeemed.

Powerful as this image may be, it is not the story of Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene is mentioned in each of the four gospels in the New Testament, but not once does it mention that she was a prostitute or a sinner. At some point Mary Magdalene became confused with two other women in the Bible: Mary, the sister of Martha, and the unnamed sinner from Luke's gospel (7:36-50) both of whom wash Jesus' feet with their hair. In the 6th Century, Pope Gregory the Great made this assumption official by declaring in a sermon that these three characters were actually the same person: Mary Magdalene, repentant saint. The Catholic Church did later declare that Mary Magdalene was not the penitent sinner, but this was not until 1969. After so long the reputation still lingers.

Indeed!  Although Caravaggio's painting of the penitent Mary contradicts the information above, I chose it because I love his art.  

Image from Wikipedia.

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Blogger does a good job of filtering out spam without blocking legitimate comments.  I was so pleased to get rid of the fuzzy letters in the word verification feature.

Picture from Wikipedia.

FEAST OF MARY MAGDALENE

Sr Mary Charles McGough - "Mary Magdalene Announces the Resurrection"

Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ 

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. 

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid. 

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’  (My emphases)


(Mark 15:37-16:7)

As you see, I highlighted the words in the Gospel about the Magdalene and women.  Why were the vital roles of the women who followed Jesus, the women who ministered in the early church, and the major role of Mary Magdalene as an apostle diminished for so many centuries?  If you say Mary Magdalene is not an apostle because she was not one of The Twelve, then there is the problem of Paul, the writer of the Epistles, who claimed for himself the title of apostle and is known today as Apostle to the Gentiles.  Although the role of women is being reexamined, prejudice against women in leadership remains alive and well today in certain parts of the church.  Why?  Why is Mary Magdalene so often unacknowledged as an apostle in the Western church, although she receives her rightful place in the Eastern church?  An apostle is a messenger, one who is sent on a mission.  Mary Magdalene was sent to the disciples to deliver the message, "Christ is risen!"  Is there a greater message?   

Collect of the Day: St. Mary Magdalene

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed of all our infirmities and know you in the power of his endless life; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

Here's the link to the backstory of the of the lovely icon written by Sr Mary Charles McGough.

H/T to Josh Thomas at The Daily Office for calling attention to the icon.

COULD SOMEONE WITH A CONCEALED WEAPON HAVE STOPPED THE KILLER?

We hear it today in reference to the mass killing by James Holmes in Aurora, Colorado:

"If someone with a concealed weapon was there, they could have stopped this man."

Donn at Anything You Want responded to the statement in a blog post after another mass killing in May of this year.

 On May 30th, 2012, Ian L. Stawicki, walked into to Cafe Racer about 11 AM. and opened fire with two semi-automatic handguns. Six people died that day, including Stawicki, who turned a gun on himself as police cornered him in West Seattle.  He lived long enough to be transported to the hospital, where he later died.

This article will not address the violence in our society, our cowboy culture, our ongoing affair with the firearm, it's popularity in the movies, gun control, gun banning, or how guns provide us with 2nd amendment solutions when things don't go our way at the voting box.

I'm not wading into the RKBA, the 2nd Amendment, or Gun Control. I'm not going to do it.  That path lies madness.

I'll address one thing, just one thing. It's something I've heard time and again, on Facebook, in comments to articles in the paper, ever since this shooting.  I've heard it said different ways but, the meaning is the same.  Whenever any shooting happens, I hear this statement, usually in defense of legal concealed carry.  It's always the same statement.  It's always misplaced.

Read Donn's post, and you will see why the statement in bold type is false, and the answer to the question in the title of my post is, "No".

How soon I forget.  The previous mass killing was in May of this year, less than two months ago. 

H/T to my Facebook friend, Jay, for the link.

NEUTRON

A neutron walks into a bar.  "I'd like a beer," he says.

The bartender promptly serves up a beer.

"How much will that be?" asks the neutron.

"For you?" replies the bartender, "no charge"


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

Oh, that amazing Paul (A.)!  He's an attorney who also knows his science.