One of the commenters got my goat by writing, “I’d imagine the women are too busy doing their good works to take time out and document those good works for the Vatican. Most busy people are. “

Yet they’re not too busy to take a reporter’s phone call and answer (anonymously, of course) media questions.  Strange how that happens so often when people have something to hide. I’m reminded of corruption in a multinational corporation for which I worked. The “industrious” people who brooked no intrusive questions were lining their pockets at our customers’ and business partners’ expenses.

I do, however, like this quote from the NCR article: “Vatican II took us out of the ghettos and into ecology, feminism and justice in the world….” It’s like a list of catchphrases from UN documents. Better to live in the ghetto and care for the people there, then pursue a nebulous cloud of lofty-sounding goals which are secondary.

Raise an urban community garden, as many the Cappuchins in Detroit do, and you’re introducing urbanites to the importance of ecology in their own neighborhoods. Give an unmarried mother a place to stay, an education, and the knowledge that Christ loves her enough to have died for her – and she’s learning to see herself as a worthy child of God. That’s feminism. Stand up for the unborn child who has no voice and no choice – and that’s justice.

“(I)n 1973, the Michigan legislature passed a law intended to regulate unlicensed day care providers, not good neighbors, to ensure the health and safety of children.” – Ismael Ahmed, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Services

Recently the plight of a West Michigan woman made national headlines when she received a letter from the Department of Human Services warning her against running an unlicensed daycare. Except that she wasn’t doing that: She was helping her neighbors. Between the time they left for work and the time the school bus arrived, the woman looked after their children.

In these parts, that sort of caring gesture is called “neighborliness”.

But another neighbor – anonymous, of course – called the DHS to report an unlicensed daycare center. The DHS sent a letter to the helpful lady, complete with a list of consequences like fines and jail time.

News shows and bloggers leaped on the story. A few (very few) right-leaning commenters equated the law with a Michigan full of “union toughs” and power-hungry “libs”. Evidentally they missed when Governor Granholm*- a notoriously left-leaning politician – talked to Mr. Ahmed and Michigan legislators about working together to change the law.

I also tired of comments (both online and in real-life) that stated that the helpful neighbor should go ahead and get a daycare license. I suppose some of them responded out of igorance, having no idea that a license entails background checks, home inspections, etc.

But what bothered me most were others implied that private citizens (Jane Q. Neighbor, if you will) shouldn’t be doing public service.

I’ve heard that tune more than once, lately.

In the spring, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) proposed an amendment that would have protected the conscience clause, which allowed health care workers to opt out providing abortions and the like. After it went down in flames (thanks in part to 16 Catholic senators voting against it), I heard and read a lot of comments that dismissed the idea of workers having the right to refuse to compromise their moral convictions. When informed that Catholic hospitals are the largest provider of hospital services in the US, a co-worker remarked, “Another reason for national health care.”

The implication was that “godbags”** shouldn’t become doctors, nurses, or technicians unless they are prepared to do abortions, sterilizations, and whatever else might offend their moral sensibilities. Leave public service to secular authorities.

Last week, a fellow on the radio talked about ending the tax-exempt status of religious organizations. Someone mentioned the charity work that such organizations do, and he responded that our government has the responsibility to ensure the welfare of its people.

“(I)t is my responsibility ethically and morally to enforce the code. We don’t mean to be punitive with the non-profits…” – the Salem (Massachusetts) Health Agent, in 2007 after holiday bake sales were required to meet restaurant health requirements

Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I tend to agree with what Charles Dickens wrote in Martin Chuzzlewit : “Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door.”***

Michiganians are typical of most Americans in that if someone needs help, we donate our own time and money. When I worked at a Detroit parochial school, the most generous children often had the least. The principal told me of children going hungry so they could give their lunch money to a classmate whose family lost everything in a fire.

When I first moved to the Thumb, I was introduced to the Spaghetti Dinner fundraisers, “Chinese” auctions, and raffles for Barrels of Cheer. If a church, a fire department or another community institution needs money, there is no end to the bake sale, bottle-drives, and volunteers. No one waits for officials to step in.

It would also be a shame if we lose our tradition of spontaneous self-giving, not because it becomes illegal, but because red tape and restrictions stifle. It would be a profound loss if Jane Q. Neighbor starts to think paying taxes is the same as charity.

————————————————-
*Referred to as Her Jenniferness whenever her liberal-headedness gets in the way of fiscal responsibility

**For some reason, I like the derogatory terms “godbag” and “Papist”. The former sounds like an affirmation that we’re empty until our lives are filled with the Divine. And the latter sounds like the pet term for members of the Society for the Appreciation of Human Nipples. (Oh, let the spam begin!)

*** Martin Chuzzlewit is yet another Dickens book in which I loved a supporting character – Mark Tapley – more than the main characters. See also Aunt Betsy in David Copperfield.

President Obama’s Address to Students Across America September 8, 2009 –

Ha! Amateurs! I refer both to the conservatives and to the “Teaching Ambassador Fellows” who wrote the plans.

Conservative political commentors think they get ticked off by propaganda posing as “education”? Since I spent the summer working on new lesson plans for all my classes, I am furious at these so-called “Teaching Ambassador Fellows”. The classroom activities list is pure crapola. There’s no justification for how it fits ANY curricular goals, and it’s not even grade-specific. Heck, my colleague who was hit by a drunk driver made better lesson plans from the hospital!

A first-year student in the college of education couldn’t get a decent grade on such shoddy work, so I wondered what these “Teaching Ambassador Fellows” were. Thirteen fellows sent to the U.S. Department of Education as ambassadors to learn about this strange American tradition that some like to calll “edumacation”? Why, no! In fact, these thirteen people were chosen for their leadership, their students’ achievements, and their “insight on education policy”. You can read more here:

http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/awards.html

Click on each person’s name and you can read his or her fellowship-earning essay. I find a few vomit-inducing in their political-speak. Except for Tamra Jackson, who spent 23 years in the same district, there seems to be a plethora of experiences outside the norm; e.g. teaching in prison, working under a government grant, etc.

I smiled wryly at the teacher who was shocked to find that education was politicized and that colleagues resisted improving education. Try telling a local politician or business leader that his daughter is failing history class because she plagiarized her term paper. I dare you. Or, in my case, have a “school improvement” guru tell you that American students do worse on tests than the average student in a developing nation, so we should adopt their strategies. And when you point out that the average citizen in that nation doesn’t take those tests because their education ended before high school, the guru smiles patronizingly and waves off your critique. Bonus points if the nation in question has a history of considering girls less worthy of education than boys.

BTW, I have noticed that a lot of the “education experts” at conferences escaped from the daily grind as soon as possible. For example, the writer of The Freedom Writers Diary, Erin Gruwell, left the classroom after her memoir became a best-seller and she had a media tour. She became an educational consultant after just four years of experience as teaching. She now heads the Erin Gruwell Education Project, which focuses on inclusion and scholarships.

My ex-boyfriend announced his engagement with a mass e-mail. The e-mail read thus:

SUBJECT: Ahem…
…she said YES!!!!

We broke up about a year and a half ago. He insisted we could remain friends. Our contact mainly consisted of e-mails.

He’d send me jokes and chain letters with lots of graphics. Periodically I’d ask about his dad and stepmother, his sister, his work on the night-shift, his studies… that sort of thing. His replies were nice, usually funny. In all that time, he never mentioned a new (or old) girlfriend. I believe the term actually in play was ”too busy for a relationship”.  

I used to find out such things naturally in conversation. In fact, after 20 years of dating, I prided myself on a hard-earned skill of sensing “hedging one’s bets.” That occurs when a guy keeps me around in case his current relationship doesn’t work.

But with technology, intuition goes out the window. Granted, my best friends have built long-term relationships with men they met on-line, including a still-strong marriage between Type-A Man and Miss Spontaniety.

But I stopped Internet dating after one too many wacky (even scary) dates. I joked that the only thing worse than a bad blind date was paying for the privilege. Or as one of my friends put it, “If these women and I are compatible, then I need to spend the money on therapy!” 

Even if you know someone in real life, technology can distort your view.  Your relationship might vary quite a bit between the real world and the cyber-world. After all, there’s an “edit” button. Not to mention the ability to alter photos, exaggerate with impunity, and generally put oneself in the best light.   

I thought about this when a college boyfriend “friended” me on Facebook. Like many in our circle of old friends, he’s married with child and working for “the Man”, as he puts it. But there’s a weird undercurrent in his comments.  He wants to know how far I live from him. He travels some weekends on business and thinks it might take him into my area.  He really wants me to post a current photo. 

No. He can continue to look at my icon (an Aztec idol) and stay out of trouble.  I wish him well, I like his jokes, but that’s it. Anything else is Lead us not into temptation territory.

As for the engaged “friend”, I e-mailed him back a congratulations. I jokingly asked, “Who is she? And what exactly did she say “yes” to?” But I got no response, not even the usual chain mail.

After a week, I flagged his address as “junk”.

However, the Argentinian numbers have increased sharply. In less than a week, the reported number of deaths more than doubled. The number of cases jumped by 898 between the WHO’s July 3rd report to its most recent report.

An Argentinian aquaintance told me the normal 15-day school break has been extended to 30 days to prevent exposure. Her daughter is doing her work at home and faxing it in. Theatres and cinemas have closed, and children are not supposed to go shopping.

Her family hasn’t been able to get the vaccine, though a shortage isn’t being reported by the government. Meanwhile, tens of new cases are reported every day – and the death toll goes up. Doctors and medical workers are being pulled from their regular duties to handle the workload. That means surgeries have been cancelled, labs are processing only samples that have already been sent in, etc.

Part of the problem is that swine flu prefers cooler weather (although the new virus isn’t affected as much). Argentina’s weather is the opposite of North America, so it is experiencing winter now – prime flu season.

Attributed to a Muslim extremist group, the bomb went off in front of the cathedral, killing  5 people. Thank God it went off during Mass, rather than afterwards, when  people would have been exiting the cathedral.

The Pope released a statement here.

“The prayer station helps people see, whether it’s 9/11 or Chrysler or GM about to go into bankruptcy, we always share a need for God…. The station becomes a vehicle toward life change, not just offering a prayer.”  - Tom Grassano,  member of Urban Harvest Ministries

Christine Ferretti, a Detroit News reporter, wrote an interesting and well-balanced story. A nonprofit set up a prayer booth in Warren City Hall as a place for unemployed or financially-distressed people who might want prayers or spiritual comfort.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) has raised a hue and cry, but it sounds like Mayor Fouts isn’t giving in.    

As a former resident of Warren, where I had my first apartment, I opine that FFRF isn’t going to win the hearts and minds of residents.  The FFRF is based in Wisconsin, so perhaps their members are unaware that Michigan has been in a one-state recession for several years before the current economic downturn. As an added bonus, the GM Tech Center is in Warren.

Not that I’m trying to support FFRF’s agenda, but strictly as a practical and rational matter, its leadership should take a different tact. They could set up an atheistic alternative support booth for the unemployed and financially-teetering. Heck, they wouldn’t even have to rent it from City Hall – there are plenty of vacant buildings for rent!

Instead, the FFRF is providing a valuable advertisement for Christianity.  The Christians are letting people come to the booth of their own volition. They offer prayer, but they don’t force it on anyone.

In contrast, the FFRF isn’t concerning itself with the needs of the unemployed, let alone those most pathetic losers - those who seek spiritual comfort (aka “superstition”).  They’re more concerned with people who believe as they do, people who might be “uncomfortable” by public displays of (religious) affection.  They have a different take on the Establishment Clause** :

This is ridiculous. Prayer should be private. -  Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president

(Note to my non-Americentric readers: In the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, there is a clause that forbids Congress from establishing a state religion.)

In a similar way, Contrarians don’t just disagree with other people’s opinions. They seldom create anything of their own, yet when viewing the results of another person’s labor, they state (loudly) how it could have been done better. They throw no fabulous parties, but they somehow manage to attend the most popular (and disappointing) affairs.

To Contrarians, everything has been done and everything is jejune – and yet they have the ability to emote boredom or apathy without appearing to strain themselves. Highly-skilled Contrarians can quash inventions and innovations without ever losing their blasé mien.  Such are their skills that nonContrarians can’t hear the whoosh as the joy is sucked from the room.

Contrarians can be found in every stage of life, from callow teenagers to retirees. They have a myriad of occupations, from guidance counselor to movie director. And they thrive in a variety of habitats, from intimate family gatherings to classes with “Critical Theory” in the title.

The reverend John Zuhlsdorf, aka Fr. Z, has dissected a theological specimen.

Nicole Sotelo wrote a column in the National Catholic Reporter in which she criticizes the Pope’s declaration of the Year of the Priest (a call to prayer for priestly vocations). She says he should be declaring a Year of the Laity. In between, she declares that priests didn’t exist in the ancient church and that Christ Himself wasn’t a priest, which is why all people should emulate Him in a common priesthood.

Sound confusing?  

As I note in the combox, her manner is familiar to anyone who’s taken a class in “Critical Theory” (Deconstructionism’s eviler Marxist twin). She blatently cherry-picks the Bible because she’s on a sexism/classicism hunt. Thus, truth is no defense.

I’m slightly amused by her implication Pope Benedict is not as great a theologian as she is. She expresses (sardonically) her reluctance to inform him of his errors. If she were any more condescending, she’d be a (male) character in a Dan Brown book.

Gunmen ordered a priest and two seminarians out of their vehicle and shot them dead in a drug-plagued region of western Mexico, authorities said Monday.

The three were killed as they drove through the town of Arcelia in Guerrero state to nearby Ciudad Altamirano to organize a spiritual retreat, said the Archbishop of Acapulco, Felipe Aguirre Franco.

No word yet on their names.

UPDATE: They are Father Habacuc Hernandez Benitez, and seminarians Eduardo Oregon Benitez and Silvestre Gonzalez Cambrón. More at CNA.

Obama’s clever construct comparing the mass genocide of six million Jews to the Palestinian struggle will not be lost on the estimated 100 million Muslims who tuned into to hear him.
(…)
At first blush Mr. Obama’s speech seemed rosy, optimistic — one that espoused tolerance and understanding. If you scratch the surface it is a dangerous document that history will view as a turning point for America and Israel — one that will lead to dangerous times ahead for both Jews and believing Christians.

The immediate danger posed by Obama’s speech is in its incredible re-writing of the history of Jews, Christians and Muslims from Medieval times to the present.

I was already tired of pop culture revisions of the Crusades (among other things), as well as the destruction of pre-Islamic antiquities by those who wish to re-write Middle Eastern history. But it’s something entirely worse when the President of the United States buys into it.

UPDATE: Victor Davis Hanson doesn’t believe the Orwellian Newspeak. He fires several quotable quotes (including “Princeton – the New Guantanamo”). Here’s a sample, but check them all out:

“They” and “Some” did it, not me… (…) The President, the First Lady, and the Attorney General cannot begin a speech without “some say”, “there are those who believe,” or “I am not convinced by others who argue”—all followed by their own enlightened antitheses. We are perennially back to Michelle Obama’s “they” who raised the bar, or the nefarious “some” in the Bush-Cheney-Halliburton nexus that shredded the Constitution with military tribunals and renditions in order to steal Iraqi oil.

No one points out that almost every historical reference Obama invoked in Cairo—from the supposed Muslim role in great world discoveries to Islam fueling the Renaissance and Enlightenment to the Inquisition and Spain—was inflated, but, more importantly, always inflated from a politically-correct point of view.