THE NEWSPAPER OF RECORD IN THE RUN-UP TO THE IRAQ WAR

Charles Pierce at Esquire:

The "public editor" of The New York Times tells us today that the paper's coverage of the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War is likely to be less of a hoot than back in the drum-banging days when Judy Miller was standing atop a great pile of stove-piped bullshit while Bill Keller threw roses at her feet.

 How I wish I could draw a cartoon.

UPDATE from the comments by Paul (A.):

Then there is this letter from a veteran. (h/t Crooks & Liars).

No cartoon necessary.

The letter brought tears to my eyes.   What unnecessary suffering for many just so Cheney/Bush could flex their muscles and pound their chests. 

FROM A VERY NAUGHTY READER

What shall I wear to the ball?

The times they are a-changin'.

CATS IMITATE ART

A Woman Before a Mirror

The Bath

Woman in a Blue Dress

The third picture down sins against all cats.

From Buzzfeed.

Thanks to Ann.

SHOCK AND AWE - TEN YEARS LATER

I will never forget my growing alarm as the war drums for invading Iraq beat louder and louder.

I will never forget my embarrassment at Colin Powell's speech at the UN.

I will never forget that the UN inspectors who asked for a couple of months more to continue the search for WMD, but were instead driven out of Iraq on the run, by the beginning of the Shock and Awe invasion.

I will never forget the pillaging of the ancient and priceless holdings of the museums and libraries in Iraq, because there was no plan to protect them.

I will never forget the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA secret agent and the persecution of Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson, by the Bush administration because after his investigation, Wilson said that Niger did not sell uranium to Saddam.

I could go on and on with my list.  I began to lose a friend when I continued to suggest that there were no WMD in Iraq and that there was no connection between Saddam and al Qaeda.  I finally lost that friend on May 1, 2003, when I mocked George W Bush's "Mission Accomplished" moment.

How could I, way down in the swamps of Louisiana, know that the chances of finding WMD in Iraq were slim to none, and the members of Congress not know, especially the Democrats who voted for the war?  How could I know that Cheney/Bush were lying, and the members of Congress not know?

How could the major media outlets fail so miserably in their responsibility to inform us of the truth in the run-up to war?  A small number of journalists expressed doubt about WMD, but few paid attention.  As my friend Doug, to whom I owe credit for the video, said on Facebook, "Shocking and awful."   

Image from Wikipedia.

THE HEAVENS ARE TELLING THE GLORY OF GOD...

 

...and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.  (Psalm 19:1)

O gracious Light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven, O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light, we sing thy praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Thou art worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, O Son of God, O Giver of life, and to be glorified though all the worlds.

Phos hilaron (The Book of Common Prayer)

The picture shows the sunset yesterday. 

TEMPER, TEMPER

Traditionalist Anglican leaders are threatening to snub the new Archbishop of Canterbury in a furious row over gay clergy.

Conservative archbishops from Africa and Asia, who are among Anglicanism’s most senior clerics, are planning to boycott a meeting called by Archbishop Justin Welby that is scheduled to take place after his enthronement this week.

The leaders are flying in for Archbishop Welby’s formal installation service in Canterbury Cathedral on Thursday.

The archbishops are stamping their feet, too.  The African prelates, the Primate of Kenya, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, the Primate of Nigeria, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, and the Primate of Uganda, Archbishop Stanley Ntagali are angry because the Church of England will allow partnered gay clergy to become bishops, so long as they promise to remain celibate.  They wasted no time throwing down the gauntlet.  I hope and pray the Archbishop of Canterbury does not give in to the bullying tactics.

They are also unlikely to sit at the same table as their liberal counterpart from the United States, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who has already consecrated openly gay bishops.

Fear of contamination?  Or is it immaturity?  With their threat not to sit at the same table as Katharine, they remind me of children in an elementary school cafeteria.  The three archbishops need to grow up. If Justin gives in to the bullying, they will not be appeased but will smell weakness and follow up with further demands.  We've seen this drama before, and I, for one, am tired of it and bored with it.

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!

 

Ha ha.  Where, indeed? 

From nakedpastor.

FEAST OF ST PATRICK

St. Benin's Church, Kilbennan, County Galway, Ireland

---

Detail of stained glass window depicting St. Patrick.

May God shield me;
may God fill me;
may God keep me;
may God watch me;
may God bring me this night
to the nearness of His love.

From Patrick's Compline. 


Image from Wikipedia. 

UPDATE: Padre Mickey has a wonderful post on St Patrick:

I think the celebration of St. Patrick's Day has more to do with the pride of those of Irish heritage in the land of their ancestors than with the actual St. Patrick; leprechauns and green beer and getting plastered have nothing to do with the saint, and such celebrations do not take place in Ireland. Today we are going to remember Patrick as a missionary and bishop, and as the man who helped spread Christianity throughout Ireland.   

Of course, Padre Mickey is correct.   Read the entire post.

FOR THE UNBELIEVING

MY FRIEND ANN FONTAINE

Ann and Jim

A lovely article about my good friend Ann Fontaine in the The Daily Astorian:

Fontaine has lived in Cannon Beach full-time for two years since she and her husband, Jim, retired. Though the couple lived in Lander, Wyo. for nearly 35 years, they owned a house in Cannon Beach for nearly as long. Ann, a professional interim minister ordained in 1996, realized long ago that the heart of her spirituality lay at the Oregon Coast.

Early in life, Fontaine’s ties to the North Coast grew. “I grew up in Portland and spent all my summers with my grandparents in Seaside,” she said. “My uncles – Norwegians and Scots – all fished the Columbia River and put down deep roots in this area.” As an adult, she raised three children in Wyoming where her husband was a doctor. Whenever possible, the Fontaines made the trek west to their home in Cannon Beach. “We owned a home here for years and always knew we’d retire here one day,” she said. “It was always like coming home.”

Read more at the Astorian.

Ann and I were virtual friends for a few years before we met in person at General Convention 2009 of the Episcopal Church.   Looking back over the time I've known Ann, I'm grateful for her good company, sympathetic listening, wise advice, guidance and support through the highways and byways of Episcopal Blogland, and source of jokes, cartoons, and funny pictures.

From my description, Ann sounds downright pastoral, doesn't she?  I expect that the churches where she has served during the interim from one rector to another are grateful for her gifts.  Wise guidance through an interim period is, as I've come to see from my experience in my own church, a vital bridge toward a smooth transition from the departure of a rector to the arrival of another.

Ann says the North Coast has always been "the home of my heart", and I'm pleased that she and Jim, who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, are settled in their home on her beloved Oregon coast.  Ann can't seem to settle into retirement, but maybe it's not yet time.