Some Have Hats

As for Me and My Family, We're With Uncle Di

I just finished printing and clipping our "thanks but no thanks" coupon for the CCHD collection tomorrow. I hadn't decided where to send the Walkers' widows' mite, but Uncle Di just gave me an idea:

This is the weekend of the special collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Skepticism about the CCHD's bait-and-switch rhetoric has been expressed on this site often (go here, or here, or here, or here), on the grounds that the public appeal is aimed at the relief of poverty, while the funds collected are aimed at overcoming poverty: political manipulation of the state purse.

Bishop Roger Morin finds the criticisms of the CCHD "outrageous." Well, judge for yourself. A complete list of the 2009 grantees can be found here. Go ahead, do a search for the word "Catholic" and see what you come up with.  If you have more time, read the brief prospectus given for each grantee and ask if it corresponds to the notion of aiding the poor by which the Church appealed to your generosity and in response to which your compassion was engaged. 

If your heart is warmed by the CCHD grantees, great: go for it! If not, there are alternatives.

A group calling itself Reform CCHD Now provides a printable coupon that you can put into the collection basket in place of CCHD donation. On the coupon it explains, "This year, I will give the money I would have given to the CCHD to another organization which is fully in agreement with Church teaching on social justice and family and life issues." The point is that the coupon in the basket and (just as important) the redirected donation might help send a message to the right folks.

But where to target the redirected money? Among many worthy recipients, let me single out Mother Teresa's sisters, the Missionaries of Charity. Consider these factors:

• The money will go for the relief of the poorest of the poor.
• The "overhead" is as low as low can go.
• Funds will not be diverted toward feminist consciousness-raising workshops or accessories for business apparel.
• The sisters are exuberantly Catholic; those they feed, bathe, comfort and clothe may be of any faith or none.

Their U.S. address for donation:

Treasurer
Missionaries of Charity
335 E. 145th Street
Bronx, NY 10451

A final point: donors to the Missionaries of Charity get a brief written acknowledgment, but no further solicitation whatsoever.  Your call.

I'm pretty sure the Missionaries of Charity will not use our donation to fund a brothel.

Locking the Barn Door After the Cow Has Become a Steak

This just in from the bishops:

At their fall general assembly in Baltimore, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved by a vote of 180-45 a pastoral letter entitled, “Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan.” The letter, approved on Nov. 17, describes artificial contraception as “objectively wrong" and "essentially opposed to God's plan for marriage and proper human development." In addition, the bishops said cohabitation before sacramental marriage “involves the serious sin of fornication. It does not conform to God's plan for marriage and is always wrong and objectively sinful."

The letter also addresses divorce, saying it is contrary to "God's plan for marriage," but encourages divorced Catholics to "participate in parish life and attend the Sunday Eucharist, even though they cannot ordinarily receive Holy Communion." (The ban on Communion applies to divorced Catholics who have remarried without an annulment, unless they are celibate. A divorced person who has not remarried is also permitted to receive Holy Communion.)

In addition, the bishops remain steadfast in their opposition to same-sex marriage, describing it as "a multifaceted threat to the very fabric of society.” Said the bishops, "To promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman is itself a matter of justice. In fact, it would be a grave injustice if the state ignored the unique and proper place of husbands and wives, the place of mothers and fathers and the rights of children, who deserve from society clear guidance as they grow to sexual maturity."

To read the entire 60-page pastoral letter, Click Here.

From California Catholic Daily, dated November 20, 2009.

Who sees a problem?

On Second Thought

I will not be able to stop blogging at SHH as long as there are articles like Marita Vargas' Our Second Camelot.

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

FYI...

Political Elite Fund Draconian Programs to "Handle" Opponents

Official Washington has quietly responded to last summer's "Town Hall" phenomenon with some disturbing new policies.

I'm not talking about Service Employees International Union thugs ("Purple Shirts") being used for "crowd control." Or liberal activists packing Town Halls with friendly audiences only. Or their switching Town Halls to one-way-only communication electronic formats.

Today's Executive Bulletin spells out very disturbing military preparations authorities are making to quash massive demonstrations -- which those running the show in Washington are apparently now anticipating on a regular basis.

A wise intelligence expert told me a long time ago: "Never accept government intentions at face value; pay attention to the capabilities it is developing to anticipate future events." Please read this bulletin carefully, because that's exactly what I am going to do right now.

Federal Government Responds To Town Hallers
As Security Threat

You may remember last summer that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other top Democrats branded Town Hall protesters as Nazis and raised concerns that violence could be imminent. Since then the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has responded in kind.

As an October Washington Times story notes DHS is now sending grants to local police forces all over the country to buy military-style sonic "cannons" to "subdue unruly crowds and political protestors..."

Here's an overview of the situation:

• A new series of DHS grants are being made to local police departments nationwide to purchase military-style "LRADS" short for Long Range Acoustical Devices which the San Diego-based LRAD maker, American Technology Corp., says are not intended to be used as "sonic weapons" but rather to "influence the behavior and gain compliance" from large crowds. In a nutshell, these devices deafen people (even if their ears are plugged) and compels them to flee in order to escape the pain.
• These LRAD sonic devices are aimed at malcontents and have been used by the military in Iraq to disperse crowds. The Times reports that LRADs were actually carried in the early fall for possible use against "unruly behavior" at least two congressional town hall meetings -- including Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) town hall meeting in Spring Valley, California.

What You Need to Know About the
National Ammunition Shortage

You probably know about the emerging national ammunition shortage since Barack Obama was elected president. The most commonly-offered explanation by the mainstream is that the bullet supply crunch is a consequence of the Iraqi and Afghan wars. But here's the real story:

• The Pentagon has a complex of major ammunition-making contractors that cater only to the military. Recent Congressional documents have established these ammo-makers are not working at anywhere near full capacity.
• The private-sector shortage of ammo to some degree reflects increased demand consistent with any Democrat in the White House. But the larger cause of the bullet shortage are millions of dollars in DHS grants to militarize local police departments across the country. Military-style SWAT units, once a rare fixture in major metropolitan areas, have become common to even small and medium-level police departments. And these departments are stocking up on bullets.
• The increasing militarization of local police to support federal emergency "crowd-control" plans is drawing a reaction among ex-military and police officers in the form of the Oath Keepers. This group, founded in March, have pledged themselves to defend the Constitution if they are ever ordered to fire on American citizens on U.S. soil.
• The Oath Keepers are specifically promising they will not obey any order to disarm U.S. citizens in violation of their Second Amendment rights.

The Oath Keepers movement is headed by ex-army paratrooper and Yale-educated lawyer Steward Rhodes, who says "the whole point of Oath Keepers is to stop a dictatorship from ever happening here... my focus is on the guys with the guns, because they can't do it without them."

It is impossible to know just how large the Oath Keepers movement is. But the fact that it exists at all suggests some Constitution-friendly people in law-enforcement are themselves disturbed about the militarization of local police in support of federal emergency planning.

A Blog is Born

Check out the new Black Bear Books blog. It's not very creative at the moment, but it will be as soon as I have a little time. 

I haven't decided on the future of SHH. I no longer have much interest in ranting and I'm going to be very busy trying to keep our small business alive against all odds. So I'll probably be doing all my blogging at the BBB blog. I hope you guys will move on over there. Soon we will have a website from which you can order books and other cool stuff. You KNOW you want a Black Bear Books t-shirt just as soon as they exist, right?

Be thinking about ways to keep a small indie book store in business. I'll be taking suggestions (very gratefully) at the new blog.

Thanks for all the years of loyal readership. Think of it as the beginning of a new era!

(And yes, Ryan, I will be hitting you up for a banner.)

Read All About It

I wish I had time to tell you all about our new life. We moved over the weekend and started working at the bookstore (Black Bear Books -- we'll have a real website soon) just in time for the mad rush to get ready for Black Friday.

I now know why they call it black.

The local paper ran a story about us this morning, which you can see here.  (I do not know the source of Caleb's put-upon look. I suspect it has something to do with the uncoolness of smiling.)

Stay tuned for details, when I have time. (That might be after Christmas!)

The Inconvenient Facts

This made it's way to my e-mailbox, and at the risk of stating the blatantly obvious, I decided to post it.

*****

To President Obama and all 535 voting members of the Legislature,

It is now official you are ALL corrupt morons:

• The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775 You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.  
• Social Security was established in 1935. You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.  
• Fannie Mae was established in 1938. You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.  
• War on Poverty started in 1964. You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.  
• Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.  
• Freddie Mac was established in 1970. You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.  
• The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before. You had 32 years to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.
  

You have FAILED in every "government service" you have shoved down our throats while overspending our tax dollars AND YOU WANT AMERICANS TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM??  

Oops!

This just in...

A priest in the Diocese of Scranton has been removed as administrator of three Throop parishes after he inadvertently displayed four photos of what a diocese spokesman called "minimally attired adult males" before the 8 a.m. Mass at St. Bridget's Church on Oct. 25.

The Rev. Edward P. Lyman was using his personal computer to project an informational DVD about the diocesan Annual Appeal fundraiser when he accidentally showed the "inappropriate personal photographs" that were stored on his computer, according to a diocesan statement read at the Throop Masses on Sunday.

Diocese spokesman William Genello said the photos were not pornographic and did not display nudity or sexual activity. The photos were not of the Rev. Lyman, nor did he take the pictures, Mr. Genello said. [source]

Doncha just hate when that happens?

Good Time to Head for the Hills!

I just heard on the news that there was a shooting in downtown Orlando. We are all fine and accounted for. The college kids are all away at college. Chris and I are at home, about to leave to go to Caleb's school with cupcakes because it's his last day there.

My brother-in-law who works downtown is at home recovering from rotator cuff surgery. I'll bet he's never been happier to be in pain.

I'm sure that The One will be along later in the day to crack a few jokes, give a few shout-outs and plug Obamacare before he expresses his sincere sympathy to the people of Orlando.

In a related story: we are moving tomorrow! We'll be up in the mountains, where people don't shoot at each other because everyone is armed.

Stupid News

When my daughter Julie was small, we used to do a thing we called "Stupid News," where we would use our best anchor lady voices to report anything particularly stupid that we came across. Here's one we would have loved: Having More Than Three Cats Now Requires a Kennel License.

I would love to know how this new law is going to be enforced. Will the Kitty Patrol show up when you least expect it and count your cats? Will the Cat Police hang out in grocery stores and question anyone who is buying too much of kitty litter?

I hope this doesn't become a national law, because I will be compelled to immediately go out and find three more cats.

News, Finally

I apologize for the long absence. Life has been too insane to try to explain.

I have big news, but I didn't want to write about it until all the deals went through. But as of this morning, Chris and I are now the proud owners of Black Bear Books, a great little independent book store in Boone, North Carolina.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. What a GREAT time to buy an independent book store! (Well, one way to look at it is that all the competition is now gone.) And what a great time to be a small family business.

Well, I have always been a contrarian. And we have been threatening to move to North Carolina for many years now. Add that to a gut instinct that now would be a good time to head for the hills, and maybe you'll understand why we acted on a whim and bought the store.

I can't write about the estate sale, because that would require reliving it. Let's just say that I agree with Chris' declaration: "We're never doing that again."

I will be blogging and/or tweeting from the book store, once we have the website up.  That will be sometime between now and Christmas, depending on how long it takes us to unpack, how busy the store is (busy, we hope!) and what my show business work situation turns out to be. I just returned from a week of back-to-back meetings in L.A., so I hope I'll have some news on that front soon.

Anticipating your questions: Yes, I will still be a Gator fan. Yes, Caleb is excited about the move, though we are all dreading the fact that school starts an hour earlier there. And yes, after all these years of Florida, starting the car in the mountains in the dead of winter at 7:30 a.m. every morning is going to be different. But I'm looking forward to the "snow days" of my youth. (Though I remember that those were more fun for my siblings and I than they were for my mom.)

Those are the highlights. It's going to be crazy for awhile, but I will be back when I can.

Zir Majesty the Queen

My glorious alma mater, the oldest college in the country (despite what you might here from Harvard grads in denial), has added another accolade to its long list.

WILLIAMSBURG - History was made without fanfare on Saturday.

Jessee Vasold, William and Mary's first transgender homecoming queen, took the field at halftime of the Tribe's game against James Madison wearing a red shirt, black pants and a small silver lip ring to applause and not much other notice.

Vasold, a junior, and the other members of the homecoming court were introduced to the crowd, posed for pictures, and walked off the field.

"I knew I was nominated, but I was just surprised, because there were a lot of other really good candidates on the ballot," Vasold said. "I know all of the other girls, and they're wonderful people, really friendly. So I was surprised."

Vasold identifies as "gender-queer," a catch-all term for those who identify with something other than traditional male or female gender roles.

"Normally, it really just depends on the day, how I dress," said Vasold, who prefers gender neutral pronouns – "ze" instead of he or she and "zir" instead of him or her. "I don't identify as a woman. It really just depends on the day and the occasion."

Vasold said family members were in town for homecoming, and while they have been "generally" supportive, some were unsure about Vasold's decision to accept the homecoming title.

"They're a little hesitant about this, but they realize that it's my choice to accept," Vasold said.

William and Mary president Taylor Reveley had no problem with Vasold's selection, made in nominations and voting by students.

"I knew Jessee before," he said. "(It's) a little more publicity than normal for a homecoming queen, but it's just fine."

Students were asked to describe how their nominees exemplified school pride, junior class president Mike Tsidulko told The Flat Hat, William and Mary's student newspaper.

Vasold is the student assembly undersecretary of diversity initiatives for the college's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs. Last year, Vasold was co-president of the Lamba Alliance, the school's GLBT advocacy group.

"I got a lot of support from the people I know," Vasold said.

Copyright © 2009, Newport News, Va., Daily Press

William & Mary is also the alma mater of founding fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler, none of whom could be reached for comment.

We'll Eat You Up, We Love You So

Show and Tell

I got an e-mail from Joe Biden. Did you?

Just in case you didn't, I'll share mine:

Karen --

We've got a fight on our hands. Powerful insurance companies are pulling out all the stops to defeat the President's plan for health reform. They're spending seven million bucks a week on lobbyists, blanketing the country with deceptive TV ads, and just funded two high-profile "reports" to distort what reform would mean for you.

I know their game. I was in the Senate the last time health reform came around, and I saw the special interests savage our efforts. Frankly, under the old rules of Washington they were nearly impossible to beat. But now, thanks to you, the rules are changing. All the lies, scare tactics and lobbyist shake-downs in the world are no match for the incredible work of Organizing for America supporters like you. That's exactly what frightens them so much -- and it's what Barack and I are counting on.

After decades of false starts, we're now just a short time from finally passing real reform. Every member of Congress will soon have to cast their vote. As real change draws near, you can bet the insurance companies will hold nothing back. That means OFA will need the extra resources to beat back whatever attack they can dream up next. Here's the bottom line: it's not time to let up -- it's time to double down.

Please donate $5 or more to power OFA's fight for change as we head into the final round.

When I talk about you changing the rules in Washington, here's what I mean: This week, crucial negotiations on Capitol Hill are shaping a comprehensive reform proposal. At the same time, the insurance companies' phony reports are grabbing headlines and their lobbyists are twisting arms. But your work is keeping them from setting us back.

On Tuesday, OFA supporters around the country organized more than 1,000 local outreach events and generated an astounding 330,000 calls to Congress from constituents telling their representatives that "it's time to deliver." From my years in Congress and my conversations with Senate colleagues this week, I can tell you with confidence that your message broke through and you helped keep us on track.

If this fight were only about guaranteeing the choice of secure, quality, affordable care for every American, it would be worth everything we could throw at it. But as Barack reminded us this week, this fight for change is now about something even bigger: a test of whether or not "we as a nation are capable of tackling our toughest challenges, if we can serve the national interest despite the unrelenting efforts of the special interests; if we can still do big things in America."

I believe we can. And Barack believes we can. But what really matters is whether you believe we can. If you do, now is the moment to make it happen. Please contribute today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/FinalRound

Thank you,

Vice President Joe Biden

Ummm...

Any constitutional attorneys want to weigh in?

I'm just a radical fringe element redneck gun-totin' Bible-clingin' truther birther Fox News watcher, but this Drudge Report headline don't sound right to me: "Dems Lock Republicans Out of Committee Room: 'They Don't Know How to Behave.""

Organizing to Take Over America

For some reason, I am on the "Organizing for America" e-mail list. I rarely read them, for reasons that will probably become evident in a minute, I rarely read them. For some reason I I read this one, so I thought I'd share:

It's late; I know you've gotten a lot of messages from us recently, and everyone here at OFA headquarters is pretty tired. But the last reports of calls and commitments are just coming in from events on the West Coast, and I wanted to share the news with you.

As you know, we set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress placed or committed to in a single day by OFA supporters and allied organizations. By 2:30 p.m., you had crushed it. So, we gulped and said let's go for 200,000, not knowing what would happen. But the calls just kept pouring in -- keeping phones ringing off the hook in congressional offices in D.C. and your representatives' district offices around the country.

Then, OFA supporters gathered in over 1,000 living rooms and community centers from Macon, Georgia to Missoula, Montana. You called hundreds of thousands of key voters in your community and got them to agree to call Congress and speak out for reform, too. President Obama joined in at a call party in New York -- and he had some amazing words of support for the folks like you who make this movement possible.

I'm looking at the numbers, and with almost all of the reports now in, the tally wasn't 200,000 calls placed or pledged -- it was 315,023. You did it.

Take a moment to watch the President's inspiring words to OFA volunteers on this incredible day.

Your voice was overwhelming -- with reports in the media of congressional offices "completely crushed with calls." CBS News described your effort as an "onslaught." And a congressional aide was quoted with a common response, saying their office was deluged by "pretty much non-stop health care calls from OFA.

You set a new OFA record, you caught the national media's attention, and you certainly put Congress on notice. But you know that's not what really matters.

The message I sent earlier talked about a woman, Jenny U., whose insurance company cut off her coverage because they decided her kidney donation to her sick daughter counted as a "pre-existing condition." What really matters is that today you brought America one giant, irreversible step closer to being a place where no one will ever have to suffer that kind of injustice again. That's what all the messages, late nights, and phone calls ultimately add up to. It's what makes everything we do together worthwhile -- and it's why we'll keep fighting together until the job is done.

Watch President Obama's special message to you from a call party in New York:

http://my.barackobama.com/TTDreport

Thank you, so much, for being part of the team.

Sincerely,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

P.S. -- Here are just a few stories from "Time to Deliver" events across the country:

This evening I and three other volunteers got together and made calls. As I was calling, one of the women I spoke with told me that she was inspired by my story -- shared in the email earlier that day -- to get her entire family to call Congress. She didn't know it was me on the phone, but she said she just couldn't stop saying "this isn't right" when she heard my story. It gave me so much hope -- during the evening we made 213 calls and got 64 commitments to call tomorrow.

-Jenny U., Missouri Volunteer

Seeing the tally go up, hearing voter after voter agree to call, and listening to the real excitement people have about finally fixing this broken system, I was reminded why we do this. Each of us can only give so much -- but when we all do it together, we move mountains. Health insurance reform, here we come.

-Sean Knox, California New Media Director

I want to recognize the folks in this room -- and folks watching online -- who are helping us to do exactly that. And I want to thank all the Organizing for America volunteers for making calls, knocking on doors, and keeping up the fight. You know why this is so important. ... We are nearing the finish line -- and with your help, we're going to cross it.

President Barack Obama

If we still had a news media, they might mention this in contrast.

It Just Gets Creepier and Creepier

Reading this makes me temporarily happy to be unemployed.

Question of the Day: What "Holiday" Does a "Holiday Tree" Represent?

Just got this from my mom. Now I'm brainstorming ornaments. "Lucy" with a red bow around her neck is my favorite so far.

Thought you might be interested in this information from the White House. This isn't a rumor; this is a  fact. We have a friend at church who  is a very talented artist.  For several years she, among many others,  has painted ornaments to be hung on the various White House Christmas  trees.  The WH sends out an invitation to send an ornament and informs  the artists of the theme for the year. She got her letter from the WH recently. It said that they would not be called Christmas trees this year. They will be called Holiday trees. And, to  please not send any ornaments painted with a religious  theme.

She was very upset at this development and sent back a  reply telling them that she painted the ornaments for Christmas trees and  would not be sending any for display that left Christ out of Christmas.

Just thought you should know  what the new residents in the WH plan for the future of America .  If  you missed his statement that "we do not consider ourselves a Christian  Nation" this should confirm that he plans to take us away from our religious foundation as quickly as possible.

I'm not sure that last statement is true, as I think he has too much on his plate to do it "as quickly as possible." But it's a little weird for a man who claims to have found Jesus.

Maybe we should send empty mangers, as he seems to have lost Jesus somewhere along the way. I'm guessing it was the second week of November.

With All Due Respect

I've given up ranting, for the most part, because it's pointless, I'm all ranted out, and I'm busy with other things. (Like packing, which is not as much fun as ranting, but definitely more productive.)

But I just have to say this...

Where the HELL were these guys when 54% of "ardent practicing Catholics" were voting for Obama? NOW they're "demanding" he change his view (zealous enthusiasm) over abortion.

I wonder how they feel about The One having been declared the Prince of Peace.

A Jesuit pal sent me a photo of the rec room where he lives. Three pictures of Obama. Zero pictures of Jesus.

I wonder, were the Ten Commandments given in any particular order, or is it possible that God felt particularly strongly about that first one?

Men Cry Peace When There is No Peace

If this isn't the most classic example ever, I'll eat all the hats that some people have.