The World According to Squed

2012-01-30T12:56:00.000-08:00

I just love the image...

I love the Guy Foxx mask.

I love how an image in the UK for an anti-treason holiday has been absconded by people that are taking on the establishment.

And if you haven't see V for Vendetta you really should put it on your Netflix list.

As for Anonymous... ya I gotta say on a philosophical level I think they are great.

On an item by item basis you can never tell, that is the joy and danger of random people all claiming the same moniker.

But the image... that's just good stuff.

I Love Scientific American

2012-01-27T11:37:00.000-08:00

Isn't science so much fun? So here are the articles I am finding awesome: (These are my headlines.)

The Jet Stream is acting weird... polar melting, sun spots, what's going on?

5 minutes to the end of the world... they ticked us down another minute on the Doomsday clock. I miss 1991, back when life is good, 17 minutes to Doomsday. Ahh the end of the Cold War, wasn't that nice?

Indian down, Three More to Go - India is about to finally be rid of Polio! That is kind of seriously exciting! Now for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. Then on to the next!

Oops, more earthquakes... Fracking in Ohio...

Columbus Caused Syphilis - Ok really he just brought it over from the Americas. I totally had not heard about this until now. You know considering how many locals were killed by small pox etc, there is a part of me that smiles at the idea that even though we are just figuring it out that they had their revenge.

See this is what I am talking about, science is so fun... they are finally going to get to watch something fall into a black hole. And sad thing to acknowledge I didn't know the center of our galaxy is a made up of a massive black hole. I am going to assume my cool science teachers told me this and I simply forgot it. Ahh the things I used to know about the world, in the 9th grade.

Hints of God - Ok really hints of the Higgs Particle, which you should already know is what some call the God Particle, searching for what gives all things mass. So really shouldn't it just be called the Mass Particle? I love all things CERN. Black hole that could destroy us all, finding God, can something actually travel faster then the speed of light after all? Could Einstein have been wrong? Such fun stuff.

There was a great article a few years ago in Vanity Fair by a guy who talked about how he always reads Scientific American and can usually follow just fine, and how he thought he was doing really well with all the science as he was interviewing folks at CERN and then he sat in on a lecture for all those scientists and 30 seconds in couldn't understand anything they were saying and realized how very much they had been dumbing it all down for him. I'm ok with that, it still makes me feel smart to be able to hang in there and understand Scientific American.

What Makes Edette Crazy Today you ask?

2012-01-26T15:35:00.000-08:00

Well let me tell you a tale... a little birdy just said it was going to start censoring its little birdy posts...

Now do I understand why Germany does not allow anything Nazi? Yes.

Do I also firmly believe that Germany will never truly be free of its past until they allow open and free expression of their most lunatic? Yes.

This is where it starts... Soon it will be China... or Syria... no more Arab Springs... no more Occupy movements... even in the US...

What the blankety blankety blank blank blank is Twitter thinking?

I say we start charging them a coward's fee for us to use them at all.

The coward's fee thing - that's Aaron Sorkin... I have spunk

2012-01-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hope you can read this... I have been trying to look at facebook a bit more and this is the prize I got...

Of the 32 states which receive more then they contribute 27 states (84%) are Republican.

Of the 18 states which contribute more then they receive 14 states (78%) are Democratic

I think I may make this my desktop background!

Once a National Park...

2012-01-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

... Not always a National Park as it turns out. Did you know that? I had no idea!

Turns out there are all sorts of parks that have been decommissioned! Including the Kennedy Center, Union Station, Lewis and Clark Cavern, and this place Old Kassan, they eventually moved all the totems from Old Kassan to New Kassan -which now sounds like the cool place to visit, so visit New Kassan I guess and meet the Haida Indians.

I warned you at the end of the first post of the day... I really did. I told you to watch out... you didn't believe me did you?

2012-01-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

My Apologies - And Kids

2012-01-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

I was once at a wedding, this was almost 20 years ago, and I met a woman who said she was pregnant with her 10th child. The only reaction I had was this: "Why?!" Her response was that she wanted to raise up Christian kids.

Well this was before I even became a Crazy Liberal Christian, and I was fairly certain that was a bit nuts. But mostly I think that simply speaks of my complete lack of interest in having kids.

I once posted I had found a reason to have kids, to raise up U2 fans. I was kidding - mostly.

I think I have found a reason to adopt a whole army (ooh sorry bad use of word, sorry I have been watching Homeland, my world is entirely militarized... ) a whole choir of kids.

To teach them true American history - even if I have to home school them.

Here is my apology, I remember the headline... Texas Board of Education went nuts and thought they could re-write history. I guess I didn't think this could ever really happen, and it is being fought with the Department of Education (oh that is why Rick Perry wanted to get rid of them... there is a joke in here about his education and how he couldn't remember their name in that debate but I am too riled up to find it.)

My apologies for not taking to the 'airwaves' and going... postal comes to mind, ape-sh*t comes to mind, nothing appropriate comes to mind, maybe that says something... this is sooooo inappropriate a thing for Texas to do that there is no appropriate way to respond to it.

My apologies for not taking these crazies and the damage they can do more seriously. My apologies for not understanding and listening to the horrible things that they are trying to sell as the new version of truth.

Wow, and they say we are the ones with relative morality. The ability to accuse the other side of their own sin never ceases to amaze me. Is it better to still be amazed or not?

Anyway, my apologies, I should have railed and made sure you knew to rail too.

My apologies for not finding the money for a year there to renew my membership in the NCAAP, it will not happen again.

My apologies for not taking more interest in the education of my friends kids and kids of my nation.

Somebody hand me a sign... pick a street... any street...

The whole time I am typing this diatribe I keep thinking, you know what, let them secede, just go, and then I remember an old post from here...

Nope - no succession for them - nope - they don't get to re-write history - 'cause you know what - every black child in Texas and the South and Maine for that matter deserves to have the story of their great great great great great grandmother told true.

And every white child does too.

Slavery was our greatest sin against our own people and Secession was the greatest sin... I am Master and Slave, that is my story, so let's tell this true... Secession was our greatest sin against our nation.

Funny, I can claim slave and master but somehow I still can't claim treason.

What is your story, what are you teaching your children, at school - and at home.

I promise - I will do better.

Your Civic Thought for the Day

2012-01-23T15:01:00.001-08:00

Now here is something that me and those 65% really disagree on. No worries, SC will be one of the last, well who are we kidding - the Supreme Court will have to order them some day.

Washington state is well on the way to legalizing gay marriage. This is a good thing for liberty and equal protection under the law.

A decidedly not religious thought. I take a purely civic stand on this particular issue. (Well I have religious thoughts too but they are not a part of today's conversation.)

Connecticut

Washington DC

IOWA

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

New York

Vermont

Coquille

Suquamish (oh yes, two Indian Nations have approved it as well - I love Indian sovereignty)

California and Washington are coming along, and wow, what a colorful mess, check out the map with all the variations that different states have... now that has to make State's Rights people happy, I mean I know it doesn't - but it should!

6 down, 2 a coming, 10 have some kind of something going on, 32 to go...

South Carolina - A Theolgical Question

2012-01-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

So everyone is talking about Newt kicking Mitt's butt in SC. There is a lot to talk about there, this is the stuff political junkies like me live for. And the politics is fascinating. But the thing I keep trying to figure out is how the 65% of registered Republicans in SC that self identify as Evangelical could any of them vote for Newt. Now 17% of them voted for Santorum, who I find equally as scary, but at least he is their kind of guy. What are they thinking?

This is not actually a political question for me, the politics are easy, they hate Obama and want to beat him and they are mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore and they love anybody that has the passion of Newt to rally the troops - 'cause they really don't like Mitt much more then Obama I think.

They shouldn't like Mitt, he is a moderate that used to be for all the things they are against, and he is Mormon, now I am not saying its a good thing to not like him for that reason, but at least it would be consistent with the Evangelical mold of the day.

You know what is not consistent? Voting for a guy that not only has had three wives (so far) but had a long running affair with the 3rd. That is in no way shape or form anything close to something a consistent Evangelical should be able to handle. I mean I get they seem to have thrown that out the door the day they voted for Ronald Regan, who also had an affair with his second wife. I get that that one was long time ago and whatever the circumstances were, but this is serial behavior on Newt's part - seriously read that article, you thought Bill had self-destructive tendencies from growing up crazy, you don't know from crazy and you don't know from self-destructive...

Sorry got a bit off the theological topic there... here is my real theological thought for the day... is consistency in a vote based on faith too much to ask? I am not saying you don't take your faith and beliefs into account when you vote - I sure do, but really a cheater, an adulterer, THREE wives? Really? And that does not take into account his own party running him out of office and fining him $300,000 for ETHICS violations. I am just saying... Mitt and his true God loving and fearing Mormon self is looking really good right about now.

Newt... not much has changed

2012-01-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

So a couple of weeks ago I went hunting the back story on all the Republican candidates, back when there were still several of them and they were all talking up their poor childhood roots. I was curious how many of them had actually grown up poor.

What I didn't have time to share then was this amaaazzing article on Newt from back in the day... it has interviews with his then wife, he was at the time having a long term affair with his mistress/3rd wife and was about to go after Clinton with guns blazing. A lot of time has gone by, many things have changed, and many have not.

If you are interested in the makings of a person, or politics, or are a Republican trying to figure out who to vote for - you gotta read this - its a page turner!

Oops - I shouldn't have done that, 'cause I would love to run against this guy...

Oh wow, I went looking for an article that a couple of weeks ago was on the first page of a Google search and now if you don't know what you are looking for its gone, lost in the myriad of campaign stuff... how much does change in a few weeks, what do you think he will look like a few weeks from now... happy page turning!

Vacation

2012-01-23T14:25:00.000-08:00

You know Keith did this to me the first time I became a fan... he went on vacation! I decided it was time to get back into things after a bit of a vacation myself - from politics. So I started getting online each day to see what Keith was up to - since my @#$%@%^#% cable company Charter refuses to put Current on their service. And he was on vacation. He is back though and this gave me a chance to catch up. You know he has become famous for his rants, but seriously that man is funny! So that is what I wanted to blog about last week or so when I was too busy. But I am back now... watch out!

The Golden State (tarnished)

2011-11-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

Talk about a group you don't want to be listed with... much less be the worst!

So the guys at 24/7 do a calculation each year of who has the best and worst run states in the union, you can imagine how fun that is these days!

California - 50

49 - Illinois

48 - Michigan

47 - Arizona

46 - Nevada

That is just the saddest group of states I have ever seen - and we are the worst of them!

I will be honest, I keep hearing things in Illinois are bad, but I know nothing about it.

Michigan - well they are living under economic marshal law! They have an unelected state manager that literally will not let towns pass resolutions supporting the Constitution without his permission!

Arizona... they are starting to talk recall of their governor. Dude our minister made a crack about Arizona in his sermon yesterday - and he never does that kind of thing!

Nevada... does anyone have a job there?

We are making Louisiana (42) look good!

And California is the worst of them all... thanks Arnold.

By the way - the consensus in these parts as I type... who cares! California rocks! Greatest place in the world! Wouldn't leave for nothin'!

To Fox News or Not to Fox News

2011-11-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

Ok now I have a well rounded readership here at the world according to me... some crazy liberals like myself, and some serious conservatives, Fox News watching conservatives no less!

So I chuckled quite a lot and thought I would forward this... Please Please Please, just stop watching Fox, you can watch CNN (which don't think for a minute is liberal) or even just watch Scott Paley on CBS - he has Cronkite's chair for goodness sake! He will not lead you astray.

Fox has some magical way of making you less informed then people that watch no news! Please! No Fox News!

Isn't talking about God fun?

2011-11-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note, had a super question from a reader on the post Freedom of Religion below, check it out, and feel free to add your comments and help me answer... only some of the most fundemental things... Jesus, the law, grace, OT, NT, which parts do we keep which do we let go... Isn't talking about God fun?

Straw Bale Houses

2011-11-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

Just had to share... don't you just want one?

I so want one...

Holy Climate Change Batman

2011-11-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

The latest... or perpetual future as the case may be.

I Just Hit the Wall with Congress

2011-11-18T10:57:00.000-08:00

Clearly I can put up with a lot before I go stark raving mad over how stupid Congress is, I mean really you could do that a few times a day if you paid too much attention... But the straw has officially been added that breaks me down and sends me screaming for the hills! (To seriously mix my metaphors.)

I get these great polling emails asking me what I want my Congressman to do - and you know how I love that! He was wanting feedback from his constituents about the House passing a bill saying that if you live in a state without a license to carry a concealed weapon (like Illinois) those coming in from states that do have one (like Texas) would have a right to continue to carry a concealed weapon (in Illinois). Luckily I can't imagine this getting through the Senate.

And don't get me started on concealed weapon laws. You want to have a hunting gun - cool. You want to form a militia - you have a Constitutional right to do so (historical context not withstanding). You wanna have an Oozy (and maybe the necessary nuclear weapon) to overthrow your government - you have a "Declarational" right to do that too - good luck with that by the way (hear my best sarcastic tone). But a concealed hand gun? Um - no - that is just - well - dumb.

Uh-oh, sorry I got started there a little bit... back on track...

Let's get this straight... according to this Congress equal protection under the law means a Texan gets to conceal his hand gun in Los Angeles, but Oklahoma doesn't have to acknowledge a marriage from New York?

A POX ON ALL THEIR HOUSES!

Where is the Supreme Court when you need them?

Yep... Stark Raving Mad!

(You simply must check out the Wiki site on concealed weapons, they have an animated map that shows how gun laws have changed since 1986. Stark Raving Crazy!)

The Squed Post

2011-11-18T10:35:00.001-08:00

I have not given you a run down of the crazy I am enjoying in the news for a while, today is just too much good stuff...

...Einstein Wrong In the world of all things awesome scienceyness CERN has replicated their neutrino going faster then the speed of light, which of course is not supposed to be able to happen. Which is really just one test down in proving that maybe it can happen. Now a different lab has to replicate it, and since they may not have equipment sensitive enough that might take a while. I love this! I love Einstein and I love that he may be wrong, it opens up all sorts of new fun to discover.

Past Tumultuous Love Life Comes Back To Bite Candidate Well sure, the guy has only been married like 20 times... but he would make a great President?! The fact that Gingrich is doing well in the race at this point really says more about how desperate the Republican faithful are to not have to vote for Mitt Romney. Which is more important to them, being Mormon or being a cheater?

'Colored Only' Signs Found On University Campus So the first photo in the headline on HuffPost was of an old sign, I thought the story was going to be about signs discovered in a renovation or something. My comments were all set about how sometimes we need to remember how far we still have to go, but sometimes we also need to remember how very far we have come.

And then I actually looked at the article, turns out some racist nut has been posting these signs right here and now.

How very very far we still have to go...

And can you tell me who I can blame for it suddenly being not just Constitutionally protected free speech, but socially acceptable to be racist in the public square again... what's next white pointed sheets?

Inmates In Private Georgia Prison Charged Five Dollars Per Minute For Phone Calls Am I the only one that just cringes each team I see the words Private and Prison in the same sentence?

Fashion Fail That is my headline not theirs, Obama does look good in the Indonesian shirt, you wanna explain to me then why he broke with tradition and didn't do the Hawaiian shirt thing at the APEC meeting? I think I am annoyed.

Arab World To Assad: It's Over! Finally! Ask Gaddafi, when the Arab League turns on you time to find a friend that will let you move in... otherwise... The end is nigh and its just beginning all at the same time.

How many vets do you know?

2011-11-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

If you asked me on any given day if I knew any vets I might instinctively say no, then I would remember - you bet I do. It is not a part of my everyday thinking, but really we are surrounded every day by vets - how many have you known over the years?

My grandfather whose service I didn't really understand until the last year or so, and my grandmother's service following him all around the country during WWII. Thank God the war ended as he was about to be sent to the Pacific.

Then there is his brother, the only great uncle I really have known, he did go to the Pacific. I was once told he never talked about it, so you can imagine my surprise when one night after dinner he just started talking - like he was telling me about that afternoon's football game - horrible things, I won't retell on a blog most particularly because they are not my stories.

Then there is the man from church where I grew up. He lost a leg in Vietnam. No one ever talked about it.

The principle at my elementary school that also fought in Vietnam, he brought a family over and was their sponsor to get citizenship. They were the only Asian family I ever knew growing up in suburban St. Louis in the 80s. But really no one ever talked about any of that either.

A good friend from my brief time in LA, her father flew helicopters in Vietnam, its about all she knows, he never talked about it either. There was just this carved chest in the corner of the living room - all the outward evidence this happy man ever saw the horror of war.

There is the friend we had in our days in DC, he had amazing stories about life in the jungles of Central American in the 80s. He would speak mater of factly that he served in Desert Storm, but there were no stories he was telling there.

The friend from work in LA whose one woman show about life in the military would blow your mind. She works tirelessly for the anti-war movement. I wonder do women talk about their service more then men? An interesting item to look into as so many of our people come home, needing very badly to talk through what they have experienced.

And then there is my cousin. To see the little boy I used to know in a Marine uniform is a sight to behold I can tell you. His mother took up a collection to buy him body armour back when the military wasn't providing it yet. I don't get to see him much, but I don't think I would be able to pry stories out of him with a crowbar. Not his way.

There is a great article today by the daughter of a man that served in Europe, she says she thinks the silence was about her father protecting her from what he experienced. Perhaps self protection and protection of their loved ones is exactly what it is about - it seems to be the nature of those that serve.

And yet I wonder, if they all came home this time and started telling us what they saw and did and lived through, would we ever go to war again?

Look around... how many vets do you actually know?

Freedom of Religion

2011-11-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

So I am a Christian and a trained theologian at that, of course I think the other religions are wrong on a good day and on a bad day in real trouble.

And I am an American. Now certainly there is an argument that faith comes before nation, and this nation is founded on the principle that all get to worship as they want. Regardless of what laws may be on the books of other nations (and it is always amazing how many of our friends don't have anything like freedom of religion on their books) we really may still be alone on the Earth in how seriously we take this.

And then there was the Congressman from Minnesota that is Muslim and took the oath on Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Koran. I loved this! No greater image of our freedom of religion then that! Of course a lot of people went bananas about it.

Now he is running for reelection and one of the folks running against him made some horrible ad. Youtube took it down - good for them.

Here is some of what it said,"The Koran says Christians and Jews are infidels. The Koran says Christians are blasphemers who should have their hands and feet cut off and that they should be crucified and killed." He asks, "Do you really want someone representing you who swears an oath on a Koran, a book that undermines the Constitution and says you should be killed?"

Now here is my question... has this Christian read his Bible? Does he know Leviticus 26? Does he know how God talks about idolaters and false prophets? Because clearly he does not seem to understand our Bible has some not so good suggestions for what to do with idolaters and false prophets and blasphemers too.

The only thing undermining of the Constitution going on here is that this guy seems to think he gets to pick and choose which religions we accept in the United States of America.

The document that protects my right to swear on a Bible protects the Congressman's right to swear on a Koran. The document that protects my right to think the other guy is wrong and going to hell protects his right to think I am going to hell. And that is within my own faith of Christianity! Much less all the rest!

If you want to live in a theocracy there are quite a few over in the Middle East - feel free to move. But as for me and my house... I will serve the Lord - and fight for my neighbors Constitutional right not to.

What is Making Edette Crazy Today and Your Theological Thought for the Week

1,530,000 sq ft of garden

2011-11-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

NYC buses have 340 sq ft of roof top and NYC has about 4500 of them... that is 35 acres of garden in the Big Apple... forget the thesis this came from... we gotta start doing this!

If only...

2011-11-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

If you have seen the news lately you know how much Bangkok needs to actually build this idea... if only we were cool enough as a species to do the cool and right thing now before millions die... plus let's be honest - how freaking awesome would it be to live like this!

Normally I like being right

2011-10-21T17:39:00.001-07:00

You know how I like being right, but for goodness sake - I was sooo right about the dining table vs restaurant table... latest info from the Census Bureau says less then half of us "dined out" last year!!!

Well we all have to know someone in that case then, put your thinking cap on and have them over to your house to dinner - and send them home with the left overs!

New Mantra

2011-10-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this pic remind you of your grandmother's photo albumn?

Ok so it is not so new, many of you have been hearing me say this for about a year and a half now, but I am pretty sure I have never actually blogged about it. So its new to the blog at least.

COMMUNITY IS MY DINING TABLE (not facebook!)

See this is the thing Kids These Days have no idea about, even when we do get together we usually go out to restaurants. Like we fly over the country instead of road trip it, or we stay in hotels instead of staying with friends as we road trip it across country.

Now certainly there is some possibility that that is how we grew up as little kids 'cause our folks were less then rich in their early life. And I have friends that can still tell you stories about how they used to travel that way because there were no airlines or hotels that would accommodate them.

Certainly you could argue that our lives are better by being able to afford nice hotels and planes and restaurants, but what happened to all that community? What happened to kids desperately trying to stay up way past their bed times on trips to hear all that the adults were saying as they stayed up 'till 4am catching up with old friends?

You wanna know what happened? Some of my parents' dear old friends found me on facebook the other day and asked how to get ahold of them. Now thankfully we have facebook to make the connection, but shouldn't catching up still be about phone calls and letters (written in cursive - see previous post) and overnight stays with friends?

I had a lovely time having 20 folks over to my house for a whopper of a dinner party on Sunday night. Getting the house ready and working out a menu and worrying if there would be enough food (a mid-western trait according to my also mid-western roomie) and on an on is exhausting - maybe that is why we never do them anymore! Two income households don't have the time or energy but do have the money to just meet at a restaurant. But its not the same.

I will say if we did it more often it would not be near as much of a hassle, for one thing I would have a much better idea of how much food feeds how many people, a math skill I am sure my mother is a master of.

So instead of telling my good friend who has been in and out of town so much in the last couple of months that I have not seen him that I will meet him in the middle at some restaurant I said, come out to the house!

Because community is my dining room table - not facebook - or even a restaurant.

Kids These Days

2011-10-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

A friend just sent this link to a list of 20 Thing Your Kid Will Never Know. Some of it is standard like record players and rotary phones.

Then there is the VCR - can I just say I miss these! DVR is not as good because it requires that you record an entire event, I didn't want the whole time slot just the next 20 minutes which it won't record because after those 20 minutes there are already two other recordings that will conflict. Sooo annoying!

And encyclopedias, I would love to have a set of these, I bet you could find a set somewhere for super cheap too, must keep an eye out. And that leads to the library card catalog. I am still in the market, found one 15 years ago but didn't have the $250 bucks. Now I find table top versions for that amount out here in Cali!

The scariest was cursive - what do you mean they stopped teaching cursive in schools! No wonder people are starting to home school! Mine may be terrible but at least I learned!

The very best though is the flash cube! What a fun old memory! And what a pain to carry them around like that! 4 shots per cube! I remember my first camera took a flash tower like thing, I am pretty sure I could get 6 flashes out of it.

...Kids These Days...

Celebration

2011-10-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Can you hear them, can you hear Cool and the Gang...

Ceeelaabraation...

Every time I hear it I am in the 5th grade again.

The Brewers were on earlier this summer and I said 'I Hate the Brewers' and my friend asked "Why on Earth would you hate the Brewers?' I just looked at him and said - '82. And he shook his head in understanding.

Our father...

2011-10-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

I tried I really tried but this is so wonderful I had to post it... so here is your theological and blasphemous thought for the day!

Our Father who art in Saint Louis, Baseball be thy game.

Thy will be done, the NL Division will be won, on the field, as well as in the bullpen.

Give us this day our bat and our glove, and forgive us our errors, as we forgive those who home-run against us.

Lead us not into defeat, but...help us BEAT THE BREWERS.

In the name of the fans, Albert Pujols, and the Cardinals..

AMEN!

5 years and counting... 2036

2011-10-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

I was just looking again at my little bio bit, in truth nothing has changed since I wrote that 3 years ago, so I won't bother changing it, but I have been doing this blog for 5 years now!

Will you still love me when I am 64?

What new fangled form of communication will we be using when I am 64? Holograms maybe?

How will the world be different?

What will I be talking about then? What will make Edette crazy then?

Something tells me a lot will be different - and mostly it will all be the same.

Politicians will still be saying stupid things that make me yell at my TV.

The poor will still be too poor and the rich will still be too rich.

The planet will still be begging us not to screw her up. Will she be refusing to feed us yet? Will we have sucked all the oil dry?

Millions more will have died of AIDS, and TB and malaria and... well some other crazy thing that has not even mutated yet.

How many millions will we have saved?

Will Israel and Palestine be getting along?

How many women will become President of the United States of America in the next 25 years? 6 chances - I say 2 and I say they stay there 8 years a piece (I just hope they are both Democrats!)

Will you still love me when I'm 64?

Church and State

2011-10-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Youser! How did I miss this one?!

Well thank God for the Washington Post - literally! I read a couple of articles about the case that went before the Supreme Court today and was more confused then when I started, and then I came across the Post and they made it all very clear.

So I was not listening so much to NPR on my break and then breaking through my ignoring came all these quotes and I was thinking what are they talking about?

Turns out in the Court today they heard arguments about a case where a woman who was a teacher at a church school and taught both secular and religion classes was fired. She was fired after trying to come back to her job after taking disability and has sued. Makes sense.

Oh yes but she works for a church. So the question is as a "teacher of the faith" as the church argues - is she a minister? Well that depends on the denomination of course. A church "calling" a "teacher" does not make you an ordained minister. Without that the church does not have a leg to stand on as they illegally fired her.

And even if she was a minister - you still don't get to pull a stunt like this even on a minister and just get away with it! Of course in reality churches get by with it everyday, because they know the courts don't want to touch church cases. Last time the Court took up a church case? 30 years ago!

So the question is huge - can the Court get into this at all? I am a huge believer we want the government out of church - or any other religious institution for that matter - as much as is humanly possible. Only for a much greater good can they override religion - one of the only ones I can think of is abuse - you call the cops - I don't care what your doctrine is.

Even as a feminist I have to say churches have the right to say women don't get to play. I also get to say fine I will go play somewhere else. It's not great for women, but Freedom of Religion is more important then feminism in that instance.

Here perhaps protection of the disabled and ill should be what the Court should look at more then anything else. Most of the arguments today seem to be centered on can the Court look into this at all.

It would have to be very finely written, both with a fine tooth comb and by a fine fine writer, but I saw she wins this one - minister or not. And for the record - she is not a minister either.

(Don't worry I haven't given up on the Priesthood of All Believers! Church of Christ = My Ethnicity. Can't change - tried - won't take! )

Hope you found some theological thought in there for your day...

A Section Unto Himself

2011-10-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

I finally found something that amused me so much I had to post...

Huffington Post has its front page, here they have all the latest from each section of the "paper" and there is always a little arrow icon that says "More Politics" "More Sports" etc to click on through to the section.

Today there is an arrow that instead of saying "More Impact" as one would do for such a story in the Impact section of the paper... instead it just said "Bono."

Bono is his own section! It just made me chuckle so I had to share. Here is what we need to be spending time on... the "F Word." You know the 7 second delay rule for live non-news TV is this country is called the Bono Rule. He likes to forget he is on American television sometimes when accepting Grammy after Grammy.

But that is not the F-word he is concerned with today - its Famine. Take a read.

2011-09-16T16:54:00.001-07:00

It has occurred to me some of you might feel lost in our trip around the world, so let me put this in terms you will understand: United Nations - Le Corbusier, The Getty Center - Meier. With me now aren't ya...

PS - You gotta go read some of the tales of getting the UN built - whew! Glad Le Corbusier won the round!

Pilgramage worthy

2011-09-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

The original master... Le Corbusier and his Notre Dame du Haut de Ronchamp

2011-09-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

More theological thinking for the day... Jubilee Church, Tor Tre Teste, Rome, Italy... 'road trip' anyone? (Meier)

The Masters

2011-09-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

I am going to try not to ramble any more then I must, but I just have to share my fun...

So as a former interior designer (once a designer always a designer) you learn of the masters. But like many things in life you focus on the stuff you really love. For instance I had stopped buying books on Frank Lloyd Wright, because I honestly thought there was nothing more to find in a book on the subject that I didn't already have. (It is a large collection.) Then a couple of years ago my uncle gave me a book for Christmas - it is one of the best books on FLW I have ever seen! So first lesson is never stop looking for a great source.

Second lesson is always return to the masters, even the ones you weren't crazy about. You never know what you might find. Object lesson one: Thanks to HuffPost Architecture Page for this one, but I have to send you to the Dwell page because they have a bunch of pics, and after all it is their article. The story of a couple that kept coming back to a house, the asking price kept going down, the house had been on the market for years, and after deciding to buy it they started researching, only to discover that it was a masterpiece by a master! Richard Meier to be exact.

Now that modern of a place and exclusively in white does not really grab me. Or does it? Object lesson two: I went over to his firm's site to check out his work again. Flipping through amazing project after amazing project and on the second page click on the spiral staircase... It is called the Joy Apartment... I remember seeing this place when it was on the market, I printed it out, I thought wow not my usual fair, but if I was going to go for a modern white apartment in NYC this would be the one - it is stunning! And weird and creative and all around fun. Turns out - its a masterpiece by a master! That would be Richard Meier.

One last ramble... HuffPost has this regular bit they do on websites you should be wasting time on right now, let me say just clicking on it is a waste of time, never interesting stuff, but this site of Meier's... not sure its a true waste of time, but you can surf through here all day and see extraordinary architecture - by a master.

2011-09-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

A transparent church: your theological thought for the week.

!@#$%& Update

2011-09-16T10:51:00.001-07:00

The Supreme Court is reviewing the case, execution averted for the moment.

2011-09-15T14:00:00.001-07:00

Ok the text doesn't show up well enough so let me give it to you:

Keeping Poverty in Check

Government programs keep people out of poverty

The Earned Income Tax Credit kept 3 million children out poverty last year.

Unemployment Insurance kept 2.3 million adults out of poverty last year.

Social Security kept 13.8 million people out of poverty last year.

!@#$%^&(&^%$#@!##$%^&(&%$#@!#@$%&%

2011-09-14T15:30:00.001-07:00

From the article on the man about to be executed in Texas on Thursday:

"Prosecutors firmly established Buck's guilt, but to secure a capital punishment conviction in Texas they needed to prove "future dangerousness"—that is, provide compelling evidence that Buck posed a serious threat to society if he were ever to walk free. They did so in part with the testimony of a psychologist, Dr. Walter Quijano, who testified that Buck's race (he's African American) made him more likely to commit crimes in the future (Quijano answered in the affirmative to the question of whether "the race factor, [being] black, increases the future dangerousness for various complicated reasons.")

"He testified so often for the prosecution in capital-punishment cases that he had become known as Dr. Death. (A Texas appellate judge once wrote that when Grigson appeared on the stand the defendant might as well “commence writing out his last will and testament.”) Grigson suggested that Willingham was an “extremely severe sociopath,” and that “no pill” or treatment could help him. Grigson had previously used nearly the same words in helping to secure a death sentence against Randall Dale Adams, who had been convicted of murdering a police officer, in 1977. After Adams, who had no prior criminal record, spent a dozen years on death row—and once came within seventy-two hours of being executed—new evidence emerged that absolved him, and he was released. In 1995, three years after Willingham’s trial, Grigson was expelled from the American Psychiatric Association for violating ethics. The association stated that Grigson had repeatedly arrived at a “psychiatric diagnosis without first having examined the individuals in question, and for indicating, while testifying in court as an expert witness, that he could predict with 100-per-cent certainty that the individuals would engage in future violent acts.”

2011-09-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

I went looking for red and found this wonderful wallpaper for your computer. I miss (Red), I know it's still around, but not like it used to be. Darn that recession. Nope doesn't work, I tried, damn that recession. But doesn't the art just bring a smile to your face.

God Is Red

2011-09-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

Commie that is... not Republican...

I just loved the headline and had to pass it along.

Here is the actually extraordinary article and story of Christians in China.

Saving Billions

2011-09-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Yet another way in which the dingy Republican Party politicians keep screwing up our world. Let's outsource everything!!!!! Oh sure, and spend way more money then we need to... I wonder how many of those politicians are being lobbied by the companies getting those contracts!

And as someone that once worked as a contractor to the government - never made more money in my life! And I made way more money then the government workers doing the same job I was. Now let's be clear they needed to be paid more - but the contractor always makes more money.

Which is something I have always been a bit crazed about when we are talking about war. Only 50K soldiers left in Iraq - sure but we are footing most of the bill for the 150K contractors still over there and making more money then the guys we call heroes.

And they are all complaining about the deficit - stop spending money we don't need to!

DO THE MATH!

No cancer

2011-09-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

I should clarify, Congress could only manage to cover general and respiratory issues for 5 years... not cancers. Did you watch that great documentary on Sunday night on CBS? The two French guys that just happened to be there making a documentary. All the guys from Ladder 1 and Engine 7 made it through the day. Two have died so far from multiple cancers. How many more will we loose?

We call them heroes - there is a reason for that - those guys are right - yes we lost an unspeakable amount, AND 20,0000 people were saved that day. That is the real reason they are heroes - and we can't manage to cover their health care.

Post Script: I went looking for photos of Ladder Company 1, this is part of what I found: They were formed on July 10, 1772 as Hook and Ladder No.1. Then there was some sort of reorginaztion. Ladder 1 has had a continuous existence since June 16, 1784.

More names for the memorial

2011-09-12T13:31:00.001-07:00

So the new memorial has the names of everyone killed on 9/11.

There are more names that need to go on that memorial - the hundreds that have died and likely thousands that will still die from illnesses related to 9/11.

And Congress can only manage to approve total funding for care for 5 years.

"The day of the terrorist attacks, 343 New York city firefighters, 37 Port Authority police officers and 23 city police officers died.

Since then, thousands of responders have become sick and hundreds have died, igniting controversy over whether exposure to toxins caused certain illnesses.

The World Trade Center Health Registry reports more than 54,000 first responders are enrolled in health programs, and 15,901 received treatment in the past year. The New York State Department of Health says 836 first responders have died since the attacks, though not all may have resulted from the rescue and recovery work."

We have no idea how many the terrorists managed to kill that day.

Another 5 years

2011-09-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

I should warn you: I say some nice things about Bush!

The last time I posted about 9/11 was 5 years ago. I have a new tradition. Most anniversaries I note it mentally, it is always impossible to escape and maybe that is ok. But every 5 years I will sit down and watch all the documentaries again and remember. How insane it all really was. How different our lives are now - because really I am getting used to it.

I have not yet watched the Bush interview on NatGeo and I just saw there was something on HBO too I will have to check out. So before I do, let me say this - the Bush Administration really did a good job back then. I have never tolerated talk around me about his reaction in that room full of kids. Totally appropriate and anyone that wants to harp on that will have to come through me. How would you have done that day any different? They did what you had to do to get through the day with what they had. All the way into the Afghan war I would say they did ok.

(Now there was that memo from August 6, 2001, and the briefing that went along with it that you really don't want to get me started on.)

But then there is the second thing - how very very badly they just wasted it all away in Iraq. They just wasted it. The high ground, the sympathy of the world, any moral standing, they wasted it.

Any other day that could easily be What Makes Edette Crazy Today - but yesterday and still today - it just breaks my heart.

872 days - 70 years later

2011-09-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

It was hard to find a photo I could post.

Here is the problem with the Soviet Union becoming our enemy after World War II - we do not know their stories.

Do you know about the Siege of Leningrad? I had no idea! It is considered one of the largest sieges in all of history, the destruction and loss of life is worse then any other in modern history including the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagisaki. It lasted 872 days!

They sounded the air raid sirens in St. Petersburg yesterday to denote the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the seige. Perhaps they should sound them again in 872 days.

And it turns out they have their very own Anne Frank. They need to get this book recently published in Russian translated soon! Her name is Lena Mukina. She died in 1991 not knowing her dream of becoming a published writer would actually come true someday.

These are some highlights to begin your fall down the rabbit hole of history they never taught us.

I wonder, do our history books include more Russian history now then they did in the 80's? I hope so.

I will try and ring the sirens again 871 days from now - January 27, 2014.

All the President's Men

2011-09-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

Yes clearly I have been on a bit of a Redford tear since his birthday.

If you have not watched it lately - you must get it on Netflix! Redford has a commentary that is... well what is a good word for super awesome cool great informative educational scary fantasticness?

Its that...

That and why I still want to be a journalist when I grow up. Maybe the coolest hardest most quickly disappearing job in the world.

Talk about hands I still need to shake - Woodward, Bernstein, Redford, Hoffman, Bradley, and since I never got to shake her hand... Katherine Graham... best autobiography - EVER! (Even better then Bill's - don't tell him I said so though.)

Preview and Warning

2011-09-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

I went looking for a picture and I found the tie too!

So I know I have been away a bit, just wanted to let you know I should be back next week in full force. Life has been getting in the way of fun.

So I should warn you... a couple of you recently mentioned that you keep waiting for me to start complaining about Obama. I promised I would. Not that my complaints are the same as many of my readers, but I promise I have much to be annoyed with and I will share soon.

Also, I have been reading John Dean... I got to shake his hand back in May. He was wearing his lime green and dark blue striped tie and the moment I saw it across the room I was like "I know that tie!" from Countdown of course.

Two things there... when you get the chance to shake the hand of someone that effected your world even though you know you will never get to say you 'know them' you simply must do it. I didn't shake Sydney Pollack's hand - I will never make that mistake again.

The other thing... well I have been reading John Dean... you have been warned!

2011-09-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

That's all I have to say about that.

Um... Huh?...

2011-08-26T14:13:00.001-07:00

This feels like one of those signs gone wrong funny photos in the paper kind of things...

Did they realize what they were doing when they did it?

So the PCUSA (Presbyterians) are now ordaining gay ministers. Cool, fine, whatever.

So surprisingly there are a bunch that don't really love that idea. And they are having a conference to figure out how to deal with it all. Some sort of loosely affiliated group, or what - like the conservative branch of the PCUSA - lets call them the PCUSAC. Cool, fine, whatever.

I just found out how they made the change in the first place though. They took out this entire line, "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness".

So now not only is the man and woman thing out, but so is fidelity and chastity. Please someone tell me there are other parts of their code of rules that says you still can't run around on your spouse or sleep with half the town?

Shouldn't it have read 'fidelity within the covenant of marriage or chastity in singleness'?

Ah yes I see now, the marriage word is a problem because not all states have this yet.

Well then I sure hope the PCUSA is out there fighting for that. And doing weddings.

Cause here is the thing, it's totally not ok to have a straight ordained minister that is just living with their significant other. So even if you're gay and can't get a license from your state yet, shouldn't your church being requiring a service before - your know - God.

So I am left wondering... Uh... Huh?... What were they thinking?

I Agree with the Tea Party?

2011-08-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

Seriously I am not trying to post on everything I read today, but there is just so much good stuff!

So not only has a Republican Congressman from Ohio gotten Progressives and the - wait for it - Tea Party on the same side of something, but... I have a bigger question...

So Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio has been limiting direct questions at his town halls - ridiculous but whatever - then he started telling folks they couldn't bring in their cameras - now we are into insane but still I am sort of on the whatever track - then he asked cops to take cameras away - not from the press that were there but from a couple of Democrats that were there.

Now everyone is calling him an idiot. Fine. He is. But my question is shouldn't our cops know the law well enough to say, 'Sorry Chabot but that is against the law and you cannot use the police force to enforce your backwards idea of controlling a story.' What were the cops thinking is my question!

Bad Dems Bad!

2011-08-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well now honestly this is annoying but had it been Republicans I would not be posting, but it seems that in fairness you should every once in a while take on your own people and frankly these two should either owe the tax man a whole lot of money including fees and fines or they should loose their job as they are apparently ineligible. Or both.

So here is the short of it: Two Dems, one from CA, and also on the Super Committee (Nancy you seriously need to replace him fast!) claimed on their taxes that their primary residence was their house in MD. This saves them boat loads on taxes. The problem is as elected representatives their primary residence has to be in the district they represent.

So either they owe taxes or they do not qualify for their jobs. Or - like I said - both.

Now the long of it is that apparently they may be legally OK, maybe... but still...

Bad Dems Bad!

2011-08-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

"You have good eyes. Not kind, but… they don't lie, and they don't look away much, and they don't miss anything. I could use eyes like that."

The Hot Rock

2011-08-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Photo taken sometime soon after filming of The Hot Rock.

Ok you get to kill two birds with one stone on this one:

You get to celebrate Robert Redford's birthday (see below)

And you get to "celebrate" ... remember? - remember is the word... 9/11.

Watch The Hot Rock... I realized I have never seen these kind of images before, The World Trade Center being built.

It is always a bit shocking to see them in old movies, but this movie is from 1972 while the Trades were being built, well one tower looks done, the other, well you get a helicopter ride tour of the thing.

It took my brain a minute to even understand what I was looking at...

Anyway, its a good little 70's caper flick. Enjoy and remember all at the same time.

Curious III

2011-08-25T13:35:00.001-07:00

Ohhh...

So that is why the Supreme Court ruled CA had to reduce its prison population...

That is three beds a station...

In the gym...

Curious II

2011-08-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

Really?

We are worse off then Russia?

Are you kidding me?

Curiosity...

2011-08-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

A reader once asked me a question out of curiosity... Something about what I thought of Biden's take on what to do in Sudan. This was back in the primary season for '08. You can search the archive during that time if you want, I posted my response here. My reader ended with "Just curious." Said reader may have regretted asking... I had rather a lot to say... shocker I know!

Well now I have gone and done it to myself... Here is the starting point "Just Don't Call It A Prison" is the current main headline on the Politics section of HuffPost right now. I was reading through and thought, "You know exactly what is our prison population in comparison to the rest of the world?" I was curious...

Well... here we go...

Could you live on it?

2011-08-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

You have just got to check this out! A chef living on Food Stamp money. It is amazing how little it is. It's also amazing what he can do with it. But my favorite parts are the interactions he has with people. The stranger in the line that runs back to get some creamer for our chef - Food Stamps is not enough to have creamer in your coffee. The neighbor that drops off a can of cream soup and asks him to come up something to do with it, because it is always at the food pantry. (Good note to folks - drop off food you would actually eat!) The friend that came by with a bottle of wine and his pure joy at something simple - but too expensive - as a glass of wine.

I'm giving away all the good parts, but this is so cool! The neighbor at the store that finds out what he is up to, texts his wife, who runs in a couple minutes later with a loaf of flat bread she just baked!

Here is the link for his actual blog that will keep you up to date... this is awesome stuff people!

The Wall Redux

2011-08-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

It seems like the Berlin Wall coming down again. It was so inconceivable that communism would fall. And now one after the other the Arab dictators keep falling. Russia is a good example of how it will not all be cleared up and pretty and democratic even 20 years from now in these countries, but it is a step in the right direction. Next step - Syria. Syria - did you ever see that coming?

Vacation

2011-08-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Now in truth this bit about Obama's vacation is so ridiculous I am not even upset that they are giving him a hard time. I do have a love of looking up just how much vacation Bush took. So for fun and not annoyance:

At 31 months in office:

Obama 61 days (and now the length of this current trip)

Bush 180 days in Crawford

Clinton 28 days at Martha's Vineyard in two trips (and starting a 21 day trip to Jackson Hole)

Reagan 112 days

Clinton only spent a total of 174 days on vacation the entire 8 years he was in office!

HW spent 40 days in Kennebunkport during his first year in office

Carter spent 17 days in Georgia in his first year in office

To date Obama has spent 27 days at Camp David

Bush spent 78 days at Camp David in the year 2001 alone.

Officially Camp David does not count as vacation time.

And there is the notion that there is not such thing as vacation for a President of the United States of America. You are still always the leader of the free world!

Happy Birthday

2011-08-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

It is a Babcock Women tradition that it is best to honor the people we love while they are still with us. To visit them while they are still alive, etc. So if that was the word you needed to hear today to get it gear I suggest you do so.

Today however for me I am going to use this little reminder to honor my favorite actor, or as this article reminds - movie star, of all time. And there is a fun confession too.

Here is the thing - Robert Redford turned 75 yesterday. Now that is hardly old, but since we have lost both Paul Newman and Sydney Pollack I would hate to have to do this after we lost him. And if you have been paying attention to the life of Robert Redford I expect we will have him around literally for decades to come.

That said, I have loved him about as long as I can remember. (Longer then even Tommy Lee Jones for those that know of my love of all things Tommy Lee.) I have done the math and at least since I was 6. Everything stopped when I was a kid and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or The Sting came on TV on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Chores could be put aside for a couple of hours and I was mesmerized.

Then came the great Ordinary People. My parents had been to see it and back then before there was a VCR in every house, if you wanted your kid to see a movie you had to take them. Now in truth the only thing from the film itself I remember is the "Directed by Robert Redford" at the end. Here is where the confession comes in - I vowed I would never let my parents know - but its been over 30 years now so I suppose the stubborn little girl will have to forgive the stubborn adult woman.

See they had prepared me all week, 'Now Robert Redford is not in this movie, he directed it.' Me rolling my eyes, "Yes I know I know." Now I do remember being enthralled with the film to such an extent that I had actually forgotten about Robert Redford while watching it, which I imagine would make him very happy. Then at the end I remembered. And I was totally upset. But I was NOT going to let it show, I was not going to let on. Now my folks are pretty savvy, they may come back and say they knew I was upset. But for all these years I was never going to let them know I was heartbroken there was no Robert Redford.

So that is my birthday present to "Bob" - my little tale, the fact that he made me forget about him in a film he directed, and each movie he directs and is not in to this day I am still a little bit heartbroken.

Oh and one more gift, the first person that got me interested in environmentalism - Robert Redford. I grew up in a culture that said they were lunatics, but if Robert Redford was in to it then could it really be all bad? That would make him smile the most...

Preach On Sister

2011-08-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well you have just got go over here and see what this Southern Baptist turned lawyer turned American Baptist preacher - woman - has to say on the subject of women in the pulpit. Its awesome! You can hear her accent in the piece - its great! American Baptists! I may have to check them out!

Freeee...dommmm...

2011-08-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

So the sub-headline on this article is what caught my attention - where are they now - The Freedom Riders that is. This article does not address that at all actually, but it is one of the best articles on their story I have seen! So check it out if you have no idea who or what I am talking about, or even if you think you do!

Also if you did not see them on Oprah hit your DVR and maybe they will rerun it before the summer is out. Also PBS has a super great site and you can watch right now online the documentary they did - which is just stellar! And they actually have a whole section on each of the Freedom Riders and where they are now.

Start by telling the truth [Pt 2]

2011-08-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well I was going to give you this link and beg the Republican party to give us Michelle Bachmann as their candidate, 'cause wow would she be fun and easy to stomp in the election! It was going to be fun, cheeky and amusing...

Then I kept reading and now I am required by conscience to send you to this site and to its linked sites to read the absolute crazy and rewriting of history and what?, what is the word?! Abomination! Yep that is the word. Abomination that is this man's thinking, and the idea that anyone running for The President of the United States of America would do anything other then toss such writing in the trash when handed a copy.

More and more we see over and over the rewriting of history to say that slavery and seceding from The Union were somehow not the moral and civic crimes of our national history. These things should be held up to our children as the worst men and women can do to each other, not throwing galas to celebrate their anniversaries, not saying it was all done in the interest of the enslaved, not saying that it ever had anything to do with Christianity.

So since our tag line is still: Vote ~ Speak the Truth ~ Pray...

Be sure to Vote with this in mind no matter who our candidates are next year, I speak the truth right now - this crap is a LIE!, and keep praying - all - day - long!

An excerpt:

"Ryan Lizza's profile of Bachmann reveals that Bachmann's odd perspective on slavery isn't a series of gaffes, but rather "a world view." Lizza explains that Bachmann is a believer in a kind of Christian conservative reimagining of slavery, where "many Christians opposed slavery" but owned them anyway and didn't free them because "“it might be very difficult for a freed slave to make a living in that economy; under such circumstances setting slaves free was both inhumane and irresponsible.” How charitable of them!

She is also a fan of Robert E. Lee biographer J. Steven Williams whom Lizza describes as a "leading proponent of the theory that the South was an orthodox Christian nation unjustly attacked by the godless North." Wilkins "approvingly" cites Lee's conviction that abolition was premature because it was necessary for "the sanctifying effects of Christianity” to take their time “to work in the black race and fit its people for freedom.” Not only that but as Lizza reports, Williams hates abolitionists and thought slavery was awesome..."

A Little Context

2011-08-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

This pic is from Liverpool by the way - not London!

Well you just have to read this... What a great article on what is going on in the UK. And how very disturbingly familiar it all sounds... here is a taste, but really you gotta read this whole thing.

"Those condemning the events of the past couple of nights in north London and elsewhere would do well to take a step back and consider the bigger picture: a country in which the richest 10% are now 100 times better off than the poorest, where consumerism predicated on personal debt has been pushed for years as the solution to a faltering economy, and where, according to the OECD, social mobility is worse than any other developed country.

As Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett point out in The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone, phenomena usually described as "social problems" (crime, ill-health, imprisonment rates, mental illness) are far more common in unequal societies than ones with better economic distribution and less gap between the richest and the poorest. Decades of individualism, competition and state-encouraged selfishness – combined with a systematic crushing of unions and the ever-increasing criminalisation of dissent – have made Britain one of the most unequal countries in the developed world."

I take it back

2011-08-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

I take it back... I have wondered from time to time what it would take to make us take to the streets. I retract the question. I don't ever want to find out.

This started with a questionable police shooting in London. Then it turned into a bunch of seriously pissed off poor youth taking to the streets.

On a related note: So this morning on CNN some crazy anchor woman asked "What are they complaining about?" referring to the poor in America. If the CNN folks are listening... you need to make her cover this story tomorrow morning, for her entire shift!

Living History

2011-08-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, so you gotta check this out... footage of the last living witness to Lincoln's assassination was on a TV show in 1956, and the footage is now on YouTube.

Gardens of My Youth

2011-08-04T13:41:00.001-07:00

Ya that is about the view as I remember it, at the ripe old age of 4.

So last night I was chatting with another friend (well the previously mentioned friend too come to think of it) about the state of the world and how scary it can be. One is starting to garden in her little back terrace. Urban gardening is becoming very big and generally I think a lot of folks are like me, they would just like to know they could feed themselves if it came down to it.

We would like to know the things our great-grandparents and grandparents knew and the stuff our parents can tell stories of being taught. But somehow the how-to of canning did not make its way from my great-grandmother's tornado shelter in OK to my brain. (That is where she would store all the Ball jars filled with beans and who knows what else.) Although I am sure my mom knows how to do it, because I think I remember her canning from the massive garden she grew at our house in Iowa.

You know what other garden I remember? My great-grandmother's garden in California. I just got the address from my mom so I could look it up on Bing Maps, I wish I could let you see it, but that would be way inappropriate on a blog. Suffice to say her garden is not there anymore. But that long long huge front lawn is still there. When she was alive it was one big garden. Lots of veggies and flowers, and about 2/3 of the property. I was scared to make the long walk to the street to get the mail. And there were always bees that I was afraid of... but I was also mesmerized, it was a wonderland in there. Much like I remember my mother's Iowa garden being a forest of corn.

Next spring I think I need to take over the side garden and try my hand. Luckily I have a roomie that grew up on a farm. Maybe between her and calls to my mom, like when you are learning to cook something new, I could start figuring out how to feed myself... and garden like the Babcock woman I am.

Oh, I know we have raccoons, Mom how do you keep raccoons out of the garden?

Theology of Song

2011-08-04T13:26:00.001-07:00

So anyone familiar with Fuller knows that Dr. Mouw loves to quote hymns like he was quoting scripture. There can be some great theology in there sometimes.

I was just chatting with a friend about how you know where you are going and what direction when you step away from the door of your youth to go out and find your own salvation. In truth, once you step out on that adventure you are never finished.

So I always remember the foundation I got when I was a youth, don't agree with all the extra stuff but the foundation, the stuff really bound up in the stories of the heroes of faith, that stuff sticks with you, that stuff is what you anchor yourself to.

And that got me humming a tune... so your theological thought for the day: (I was just going to give you the chorus, but it's all so good!)

I know not why God's wondrous grace

to me he hath made known,

nor why, unworthy, Christ in love

redeemed me for his own.

Refrain:

But I know whom I have believed,

and am persuaded that he is able

to keep that which I've committed

unto him against that day.

I know not how this saving faith

to me he did impart,

nor how believing in his word

wrought peace within my heart.

(Refrain)

I know not how the Spirit moves,

convincing us of sin,

revealing Jesus through the word,

creating faith in him.

(Refrain)

I know not when my Lord may come,

at night or noonday fair,

nor if I walk the vale with him,

or meet him in the air.

(Refrain)

Lubbock Christian University

2011-08-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well who would have thought... I guess we should have seen it coming, LCU have used old army barracks... they use an old hangar for their rec center... this is a recycling crew!

One of my faithful readers (and an LCC alum) let me know that LCU is using shipping containers for offices and dorm rooms! They could turn out to be the largest shipping container installation in North America!

So way to go Chaparrals! (It's apparently a bird of some kind.)

ps: Condi will be there in September if you are in the neighborhood. I would even like to hear her!

When I Grow Up

2011-08-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Have I ever blogged for you about my love of all things Madeleine Albright? I want to be Madeleine Albright when I grow up. I would even take to wearing brooches to be as cool and amazing as this woman! Anyway, check out her tale of the monkey gaff with Putin.

I love how she wears a dove in all her official photos. She wore a bumble bee to meet Arafat... wonder what was going through her head that day. Do a Google image search, she has some great ones!

Capitalism vs Communism

2011-08-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Now I love to complain about Capitalism. Have found it odd since I was a kid. But I have always done so with the full knowledge that I vent from the luxury of my own position as a citizen of the largest capitalist economy in the world.

Today I must say something nice about Capitalism. What do you mean those Commies down in Cuba don't even own their own house?! Are you kidding? So yes private property is a good thing. Unregulated open gambling on the stock market maybe not so much, but private property good.

Cuba is supposedly going to get to buy and sell real estate by the end of the year. What sort of regulations end up being attached seems to be anyone's guess, but the writer is right, it's the foundation of Capitalism. This is good news, with the inevitable downfalls that come with Capitalism for good measure.

But there I go again complaining from my mountain top...

"...but it's even more important not to be the last."

2011-08-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan

I used to think my sister and I were Foster woman. My mom corrected me in the last couple of years, we are Babcock woman. A product of not just of my mother and grandmother, but also my great-grandmother.

Now the truth is they did not raise me to even know who these pictured women are. I am still learning about these ladies. But I double dog dare you to tell my mother she cannot do exactly what she is going to do.

Marlo Thomas wrote an article for Huff Post's Women page that just must be read. Here are some highlights, but seriously, hit the link!

It's hard to believe now, but it wasn't that long ago in this country when, if you stood in a hospital hallway and looked through the glass window of the nursery, you could point to all the babies wrapped in pink and know exactly what they'd be doing in 20 years.

These were the days when most women felt they had two choices if they wanted higher education: you could become a teacher or a dental hygienist.

If you wanted a job, you'd look at the "Want Ads for Women."

And phrases like "glass ceiling,'' "the mommy track'' and "paternity leave'' weren't even in our vocabulary. Here are other phrases you didn't hear because they didn't exist: "sexual harassment,'' "reproductive freedom '' and "Rape Crisis Center''.

O'Connor answered the speculation with her signature straight talk, "It's important to be the first, but it's even more important not to be the last."

For women there's safety in numbers. If you have only one woman at the table, she's a pest. Two women? That's a team. But three? Now that's a coalition.

So now, after all the marches and the consciousness-raising and the law changing, it's up to the next generation to protect the hard-won rights of women everywhere. These rights have to be defended and protected with vigilance, or they'll be chipped away. It's no different than our democracy. We must be ever-vigilant for both.

A lot of women cleared a lot of rough brush in those wilds to get us to a place of entitlement today. With hope in our hearts, we pass it on to the next generation with these words: Use it. Enjoy it. And grow it for the generation after you.

A Mosque I Want to Visit

2011-08-01T14:44:00.001-07:00

I hope they build this, I wanna visit! I will even take my shoes off if I have to! They build this and the crazy of last summer will morph into this being a tourist destination in NYC! Park 51 - I say let's get it built!

Your theological thought for the day... ok maybe more like your civic thought for the day... certainly your architecture loving thought for the day!

I want to live in a shipping container

2011-08-01T14:29:00.001-07:00

So did you see the newest Tron movie? The kid lives in a house made from shipping containers and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I have seen this dotted throughout the architectural world but found a great website with photos and there is a great new book (now in my Amazon Wish List.) This is soooo cool! I am a bit concerned about insulation, but depending on your climate it might not matter that much.

Chris Hayes is the man!

2011-08-01T13:31:00.001-07:00

Finally a reason to come home to MSNBC! Chris has his own show!!!!! Thankfully there is DVR, who is up at these hours on the weekend?

Day is over, drive home, go to the grocery, bring groceries in house, set them down, program DVR, put groceries up, have dinner, wish my stupid cable company gave me Keith, go to sleep sad once again, but a bit happier on weekends!

January 1, 2013 and counting!

2011-08-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Wow! Well who needs Congress! Turns out the Department of Health and Human Services does not! You will recall I recently was amazed at the great recommendation that all women receive, among other things, free birth control. I was not expecting an appropriate reaction of "Heck Ya" from the other side of the isle, turns out who needs 'em? Secretary Sabelius just made it so. As of 1/1/13. Not soon enough, but I will take it. There will be some grandfathering issues, but it will become the law and the norm. And I couldn't be more thrilled! A good day for women in America!

Mean for Jesus

2011-07-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago a good friend of the family that I will not embarrass by naming here said the most wonderful thing sitting at dinner in Malibu: "He is mean for Jesus."

I just read the most wonderful article that starts off talking about the new TV show coming this fall with Kristen Chenoweth, and let's be honest - if she is in it I am watching it. It has had a few name iterations from the awful Good Christian Bitches to the bad Good Christian Belles to the lame GCB. When you can get Evangelical women and feminist women on the same side of something you are really doing well or really really not. Here it is the later... I say they keep looking for a title.

The real reason I am giving you the link though is so you keep reading the last 2/3 of the article, it is beyond wonderful and I will use her writing as my theological thought for the day. There is no mean for Jesus there is just mean, and we all have been there done that.

So as a feminist raised as a conservative Christian and now a liberal Christian, let's be good to each other this Sunday ladies - for real.

By the way our friend also said something else at that dinner: "The underground church, the ones that really take care of people." Are you a member of the underground? But more on that later...

The Multitude of Things Making Edette Crazy...

2011-07-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Well, considering how ludicrous the whole of our government is being these last few weeks it is rather amazing I am just now so annoyed as to have to speak. The thing is there is just a whole lot of craziness going on in the world today...

First of all they are banning books in Republic, MO. Now I grew up in Missouri, so I take this personally on even a bigger level then my normal level of complete annoyance at anyone having the nerve to ban a book. Slaughterhouse Five is apparently in the top 20 books in American lit - and since I have never heard of it, I clearly need to get to the library and check it out. I don't know or care what it is about - we do not ban books in this country!!!! What's next burning them?!

Second... where is my pink sign?... someone hand me my pink sign... Here is the thing, if you are going to protest, if you are going to go so over-the-top-far that you make and throw a Molotov cocktail then I simply must require that you know what the heck you are doing! I do not think this is too much to require! So when they start throwing bombs at a Planned Parenthood in McKinnley, TX I have a problem in general, but then it turns out this office does not even conduct abortions, so really what - they are just throwing bombs at what - women - for what - fun? Oh there it is I found it, pink sign firmly in hand. I Stand With Planned Parenthood!!!!

Third, and the thing that finally had me opening a second tab on my internet provider to come over here and chat with you all... How did we get from "Social Security is the Third Rail" to they may just not write those Social Security checks on August 3?! How did we get here? Now I should say early on that I do not for anything think that this will happen, even the idiots in Washington (and I include both the idiots on the other side of the isle and those of my own party that I love) are not so stupid as to do this. Frankly I don't think they are so stupid as to actually let us default. In truth a lot of this is lobbying by every faction, the people, the press, the congress, the administration, everybody is trying to scare the crap out of everybody else. But since sense and reason do not seem to be working, then maybe a little fear is required. I just want to know how we ever got here... third rail to let's just not write those checks...

Ok, well I have now finished the front page of my "paper." On to the other sections... wish me luck...

Edette's New Favorite Thing

2011-07-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

Worldcrunch - the coolest thing ever - or at least today!

It's a site that gives you the English version of articles running all over the world, if you are inclined and so talented you can read the original in the original language with another click.

I have linked you to the page of articles that cover the US from the international point of view, I am learning a lot! Also because at least for today the front page's first photo is of some crazy extremist kid flicking off the camera. Didn't want to offend any of my readers with a simple click, now you are warned and can click on over anyway.

By the way did anyone even know there was a massive fire issue in Russia outside of Moscow last year, sounds like we are headed there again. I knew that Russia had lost a lot of crops and it is effecting the world market on food, but I had never heard what had happened - they all burned up apparently!

Enjoy and learn a little all at the same time.

See all I had to do was complain...

2011-07-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

If you have not read my post below on CBS read it first.

Ah if only ABC changed their ways because I was that powerful, or because anyone at ABC knows or cared about my little blog...

But at least you all know now that ABC is fiiiinally doing the right thing and stopped their practice of buying photos and videos which is really just tantamount to paying for a story or interview.

Your Theological Thought For the Day

2011-07-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

Normally when I read Scripture in church I say, "A reading from...", the other option in the Episcopal church is to say, "A lesson from..." Today I am going with the later.

A Lesson From the Psalmists and the first writer of Isaiah:

Of Solomon: For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. (Psalm 72:12-14)

A Psalm of Asaph: God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgement: ‘How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’ They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I say, ‘You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.’ Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!(Psalm 82)

Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey! What will you do on the day of punishment,in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth, so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain? For all this, his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still. (Isaiah 10:1-4)

The Word of the Lord

My Bible is in my car...

2011-07-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

... I will be back with scripture as my theological comment later in the day.

But for now, I can't quite decide what to keep and what to loose from this article from AP, so I will give it all to you and highlight a few of the most disturbing items.

WASHINGTON -- The wealth gaps between whites and minorities have grown to their widest levels in a quarter-century. The recession and uneven recovery have erased decades of minority gains, leaving whites on average with 20 times the net worth of blacks and 18 times that of Hispanics, according to an analysis of new Census data.

The analysis shows the racial and ethnic impact of the economic meltdown, which ravaged housing values and sent unemployment soaring. It offers the most direct government evidence yet of the disparity between predominantly younger minorities whose main asset is their home and older whites who are more likely to have 401(k) retirement accounts or other stock holdings.

"What's pushing the wealth of whites is the rebound in the stock market and corporate savings, while younger Hispanics and African-Americans who bought homes in the last decade – because that was the American dream – are seeing big declines," said Timothy Smeeding, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who specializes in income inequality.

The median wealth of white U.S. households in 2009 was $113,149, compared with $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for blacks, according to the analysis released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. Those ratios, roughly 20 to 1 for blacks and 18 to 1 for Hispanics, far exceed the low mark of 7 to 1 for both groups reached in 1995, when the nation's economic expansion lifted many low-income groups to the middle class.

The white-black wealth gap is also the widest since the census began tracking such data in 1984, when the ratio was roughly 12 to 1.

"I am afraid that this pushes us back to what the Kerner Commission characterized as `two societies, separate and unequal,'" said Roderick Harrison, a former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau, referring to the 1960s presidential commission that examined U.S. race relations. "The great difference is that the second society has now become both black and Hispanic."

Stock holdings play an important role in the economic well-being of white households. Stock funds, IRA and Keogh accounts as well as 401(k) and savings accounts were responsible for 28 percent of whites' net worth, compared with 19 percent for blacks and 15 percent for Hispanics.

According to the Pew study, the housing boom of the early to mid-2000s boosted the wealth of Hispanics in particular, who were disproportionately employed in the thriving construction industry. Hispanics also were more likely to live and buy homes in states such as California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, which were in the forefront of the real estate bubble, enjoying early gains in home values.

But those gains quickly shriveled in the housing bust. After reaching a median wealth of $18,359 in 2005, the wealth of Hispanics – who derived nearly two-thirds of their net worth from home equity – declined by 66 percent by 2009. Among blacks, who now have the highest unemployment rate at 16.2 percent, their household wealth fell 53 percent from $12,124 to $5,677.

In contrast, the median household wealth of whites dipped a modest 16 percent from $134,992 to $113,149, cushioned in part by a stock market recovery that began in mid-2009.

"The findings are a reminder – if one was needed – of what a large share of blacks and Hispanics live on the economic margins," said Paul Taylor, director of Pew Social & Demographic Trends. "When the economy tanked, they're the groups that took the heaviest blows."

The latest data come as President Barack Obama and congressional leaders try to reach a deal to avoid a U.S. default on its financial obligations after Aug. 2. Democrats and Republicans have been wrangling over proposals that could cut trillions of dollars from programs such as Medicare and Social Security; they are divided over whether to bring in new tax revenue, such as by closing corporate tax loopholes or increasing taxes for the wealthy.

The NAACP and other black groups urged Obama to resist deep cuts to housing assistance or safety net programs, saying it would disproportionately hurt urban areas with high poverty and unemployment. The U.S. poverty rate currently stands at 14.3 percent, with the ranks of the working-age poor at the highest level since the 1960s. Some analysts believe the poverty rate will climb higher when new figures are released in September.

"Typically in recessions, minorities suffer from being last hired and first fired. They are likely to lose jobs more rapidly at the beginning of the recession, and are far slower to gain jobs as the economy recovers," said Harrison, who is now a sociologist at Howard University. "One suspects that blacks who lost jobs in the recession, or who have tried to help family members or relatives who did, have now spent whatever savings or other cashable assets they had."

Other findings:

_About 35 percent of black households and 31 percent of Hispanic households had zero or negative net worth in 2009, compared with 15 percent of white households. In 2005, the comparable shares were 29 percent for blacks, 23 percent for Hispanics and 11 percent for whites.

_Asians lost their top ranking to whites in median household wealth, dropping from $168,103 in 2005 to $78,066 in 2009. Like Hispanics, many Asians were concentrated in states like California hit hard by the housing downturn. More recent arrivals of new Asian immigrants, who tend to be poor, also pushed down their median wealth.

_Across all race and ethnic groups, the wealth gap between rich and poor widened. The share of wealth held by the top 10 percent of U.S. households increased from 49 percent in 2005 to 56 percent in 2009. The threshold for entry into the wealthiest top 10 percent, however, dipped lower: from $646,327 in 2005 to $598,435.

The numbers are based on the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation, which sampled more than 36,000 households on wealth from September-December 2009. Census first began publishing wealth data from this survey, broken down by race and ethnicity, in 1984.

Hallelujah!

2011-07-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

Color us blue!

Woohoo! The end of Don't Ask Don't Tell! Yippie!

Obama just certified the end and now we have to wait 60 more days and it will all be a horrible memory!

You know I have to say one of the things that drew me closer to the Democratic party and Clinton was watching him announce DADT all those years ago, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

For all those that may not be as happy as me today remember the one thing I thought of sitting on that weird floral sofa in Abilene, TX all those years ago: Well the document that allows gays to serve (and live) freely in this country is also the same document that allows people to think they are sinners.

The price of our freedoms is that all are free.

God Bless America!

African Summer

2011-07-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

A map for all those that keep asking where on Earth is this Malawi of yours?

There was the Arab Spring, just yesterday on NPR they were talking about a possible African Summer. (Although in most of Sub-Saharan Africa it is winter.)

Then yesterday I started getting emails from my dear friend Don Thomas that brought it all home. Don is currently in our beloved Malawi and let's just deal with this part first - he is perfectly safe and fine. And is regularly keeping us up to date that all is well.

But that is partially because he is not in Lilongwe where there have been protests and at least one person has died. It seems the peoples of Africa are looking around and seeing that they too do not have to put up with dictators. This is of course a good thing, and a scary thing.

Please keep the people in Malawi in your prayers as they move toward a shift in power and that this can be done as peacefully as possible. One of the amazing things about the Malawians is that they have never been involved in a war, they are known to be very peaceful people.

And please keep Don, Evan and Andrea in your prayers as well for their safety and ability to continue on with the work they are there to do this summer.

Putting your money where your mouth is...

2011-07-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

Now see this is what I am talking about! The latest recommendation that all women in this country receive free birth control, and some others things too! Now here is where the rubber meets the road: Are conservative Republican voters and politicians more interested in throwing a fit over the horror of health care or are they more interested is being genuinely Anti-Abortion - cause if they really want to reduce the numbers of unwanted pregnancies in this country they need to be on Obama's doorstep demanding he sign the bill they just wrote to help get it done! But alas, I think they care about many many many things more then they actually care about the women they love to claim to fight for... we shall see! Take a read its awesome!

CBS... Who Knew?

2011-07-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, now no offense to any that loved her, although I don't mind offending her, Katie Couric was a hack! I don't know what she was doing but it was not journalism.

So imagine my joy when she left CBS and Walter Cronkite's chair. Then I saw a great bit a couple of weeks ago on how during the Weiner disaster Scott Pelley did a fraction of coverage of this awfulness, in his first week on air. And how he was doing a lot of international news etc. I thought oh I have to DVR this!

So finally this week I got around to hitting the DVR button and I have to say it is a good show he is putting on. He is going old school on the evening news, like what I grew up with, actual news, actual international news, that kind of thing.

As for ABC news, you would think I would go with the girl, and I do love Diane, but don't love the show and don't really love ABC news, hard to trust them when every other minute they refer to "licensed" material - in other words they bought it. And now they have hired Katie, so that is a no go for me. Then again, they do have the master of all things George Stephanopoulos - I mean what else do you need in life, at least we get him each morning on GMA.

And then there is NBC. Well let's get real here, Brian is the closest thing to Peter Jennings we have left. And they have really the best overall news division on TV, and the help of MSNBC doesn't hurt. So really if the sky falls Brian is my guy.

But Scott Pelley is so far DVR worthy and I thought you might want to check it out.

What Makes Edette Happy

2011-07-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

I gotta say, "a devastating blow" to the Murdoch empire makes me happy.

Now you may think this is about Fox News, but its really not, I have been a not fan for much longer. No one person should have that kind of control over the media in the bulk of the English speaking world - or any other speaking part of the world for that matter!

As evidenced by how clearly the British politicians have been afraid of him for decades now. I have to say - bring on a little Fox News and our adversarial relationship between politicians and the press - turns out the two being that good of friends - whether out of friendship or blatant fear - is not a good thing!

Time to Party

2011-07-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

The party starts well... according to the world clock, 5 minutes ago! (OK at time of posting more like 26 minutes ago.)

The work of building a country can wait 'till Monday.

Luckily they have a lot of oil money, hopefully it will be used to actually build schools and roads and hospitals, and you know pay to fill them with teachers and doctors and nurses.

Congrats to the Republic of South Sudan!

(This is what has me happy today!)

All my life...

2011-07-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

I remember sitting on the hallway floor of The Village at Woerther Elementary in the third grade with our 1st-5th grade classes all smooshed up together to watch the TVs they had brought in for us to watch Columbia take off. It was mesmerizing.

I remember being in the lunch room of Selvidge Jr High when I heard, and didn't really believe, that she had exploded heading up again.

Since then I rarely if ever have watched a live take off, too scary, the tape version once I know they made it is just fine with me.

But this last one I really wanted to see live and luckily I got to this morning.

Mesmerizing as the first time.

Selfishly I hope Atlantis has to come home in California, I would love to hear that double sonic boom one more time.

I know that the fact that it makes me crazy (yes this is your crazy update for the day too) that we are not really going up anymore, much less to the moon again, etc. is not going to change the world. But if wishing our dreams into existence made them so I so wish I could go to the moon someday.

I don't know what others are thinking spending $200K on cars, if I ever have it to spare I am booking a flight on Virgin Galactic.

Oh No They Didn't

2011-07-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

"We are firing the women so they can stay at home and look after the children. In any case, what they bring in is a second income."

Oh ya that totally just happened in Italy. Wow, let me tell ya, life in Italy not so great... take a read.

Talk About Independence Day

2011-07-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

You know the main headline on HuffPost is almost never good news. This morning it is good news that a grave injustice is being righted.

This brief summary coverage by Radly Balko is worth a full reprint:

MONTICELLO, Miss. -- After 10 years of incarceration, and seven years after a jury sentenced him to die, 30-year-old Cory Maye will soon be going home. Mississippi Circuit Court Judge Prentiss Harrell signed a plea agreement Friday morning in which Maye pled guilty to manslaughter for the 2001 death of Prentiss, Mississippi, police officer Ron Jones, Jr.

Per the agreement, Harrell then sentenced Maye to 10 years in prison, time he has now already served. Maye will be taken to Rankin County, Mississippi, for processing and some procedural work. He is expected to be released within days.

Maye's story, a haunting tale about race, the rural south, the excesses of the drug war, the inequities of the criminal justice system and a father's instincts to protect his daughter, caught fire across the Internet and the then-emerging blogging world when I first posted the details on my own blog in late 2006.

Shortly after midnight on December 26, 2001, Maye, then 21, was drifting off to sleep in his Prentiss duplex as the television blared in the background. Hours earlier, he had put his 18-month-old-daughter to sleep. He was soon awoken by the sounds of armed men attempting to break into his home. In the confusion, he fired three bullets from the handgun he kept in his nightstand.

As he'd later testify in court, Maye realized within seconds that he'd just shot a cop. A team of police officers from the area had received a tip from an informant -- later revealed to be a racist drug addict -- that there was a drug dealer living in the small yellow duplex on Mary Street. It now seems clear that the police were after Jamie Smith, who lived on the other side of the duplex, not Maye or his live-in girlfriend Chenteal Longino. Neither Maye nor Longino had a criminal record. Their names weren't on the search warrants.

Maye would later testify that as soon as he realized the armed men in his home were police, he surrendered and put up his hands. There were three bullets still left in his gun. But Maye had just shot a cop. And not just any cop. He shot Officer Ron Jones, Jr., the son of Prentiss Police Chief Ron Jones, Sr. Maye is black; Jones was white. And this was Jefferson Davis County, a part of Mississippi still divided by tense relations between races. Maye was arrested and charged with capital murder, the intentional killing of a police officer.

After a long series of delays, Maye was finally tried in 2004 in Marion County, Mississippi. Maye's family shied away from retaining Bob Evans, the Prentiss public defender, a decision they'd later come to regret. Instead, they pooled their money and hired Ronda Cooper, an attorney in Jackson who made a number of critical mistakes during Maye's trial. There were other problems with Maye's trial as well, including testimony from Mississippi medical examiner Steven Hayne, who performed the autopsy on Jones. I'd later report on a number of questions about Hayne's workload and credibility as an expert witness. He eventually resigned from the National Association of Medical Examiners and was barred from doing any more autopsies for Mississippi prosecutors.

In early 2007, after reading about Hayne's case on a number of blogs, attorneys from the D.C. law firm Covington & Burling agreed to represent Maye pro bono. Maye's family also went back to public defender and defense attorney Bob Evans. (Evans would later be fired as Prentiss public defender for his decision to represent Maye.) In the fall of 2007, at a hearing in Poplarville, Mississippi, Judge Michael Eubanks threw out Maye's death sentence, finding that he had received inadequate defense counsel during the sentencing portion of his trial. Maye was to be taken off Parchman Penitentiary's Death Row. Eubanks resentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In November 2009, the Mississippi State Court of Appeals granted Maye a new trial, finding that he should have been permitted to move his trial back to Jefferson Davis County after his attorney mistakenly asked for a change of venue. In 2010, the Mississippi State Supreme Court upheld the order for the new trial, but on the grounds that Maye should have been permitted to offer the defense that he was defending his daughter on the night of the raid.

Early Anniversary

2011-06-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

"I liked the mass better when it was in Latin. It's nicer when you can't understand it."

I am 95% sure that is the exact quote from the grandmother in While You Were Sleeping. There are all sorts of protestants that would agree with the sentiment even if they never heard a mass in Latin. There have been all sorts of things in church that make me think of that lovely old woman just telling the truth.

So I am not sure why this guy is writing about the anniversary of Vatican II a year ahead of time, it was opened October 11, 1962. But it immediately made me think of that line. He ponders what will and will not be remembered over the short term and centuries to come from the latest council of the Catholic church.

Maybe I am just a protestant, but I a theologian, and I would say any look at the history of the church universal will show that hearing the service and Scripture in particular in your own language opens up the faith in a whole new way.

If Vatican II accomplishes nothing else over the years, in gives all Catholics that right and ability and responsibility.

Dancing a Jig

2011-06-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

So if you have not read my notes from Michelle Alexander's lecture on her book The New Jim Crow...Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness please check it out. It is called Start By Telling the Truth and is from March of this year (see archive list below and to the right.)

So now that you have read that you will understand my super excitement at the Federal Sentencing Commissions ruling today that they will retroactively allow those previously convicted on crack charges to petition for a reduction in sentence based on the new sentencing rules passed last year by Congress that adjusted the disparity in sentencing requirements between crack and cocaine.

So since we get to say so rarely let's say for the record that Congress did something good. And now the Commission is continuing that. Now we need to get each state and locality to follow suit.

Tweat 2

2011-06-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

Look at that face just below... Who cares about American politics when you see a face like that?!

(Ok yes I know what we do totally effects her life, but still, a little perspective is always good.)

A Tweat

2011-06-30T11:16:00.001-07:00

This next comment is why they invented Twitter: (and no I am not joining that crazy!)

I have been researching some of the possible Republican candidates - and I cannot believe I am about to say this, but they make W look smart and rational. And that may very well be what makes me crazy today, 'cause ya know how I feel about Dubya.

Do you have a net yet?

2011-06-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well I went looking for a good pic and there were a few that were so great I couldn't pick, until I found this one!

Did you know that an African child dies every 45 seconds from malaria? Malaria is the greatest killer of children under age 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. But the disease is 100% preventable. If the mosquito carrying the parasite cannot reach you, you will not contract the disease. A net is not fancy technology; it is simply effective.

$10 and you save two lives this coming summer in Malawi! Get your order in now so we can get them delivered in time!

Check out GAIA's Net-by-Net Campaign.

Not Crazy More Like Speechless

2011-06-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

3.7 Trillion spent so far on our wars...

Really I saw the headline and just tried not to care.

Then I realized that that has to be more then most national GDP. Turns out I was right. According to the World Bank that is the GDP of India in 2010. Only the US, China and Japan have a bigger GDP then the cost of our wars.

Like I said its too awful and depressing to make me crazy at this point.

I should warn you: Edette crazy is a good thing - ranting good. Cool calm and collected - that's just dangerous.

From the world of just cool...

2011-06-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

"Miriam daughter of Yeshua son of Caiaphas, priest of Maaziah from Beth Imri."

As in the Caiaphas.

Pretty cool.

(You know that means her name is Mary daughter of Jesus...)

Myths of the Criminal Justice System

2011-06-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

This is such a great series, some of it I knew, some I didn't!

I have been waiting for the finale so I could give you one big summary post, there are three articles. Here I am giving you some highlights, the full read is totally worth it - you would not believe the stories!

Myth 1: You Can't Be Tried More Than Once For The Same Crime

First, the protection only comes into play once a jury has convicted or acquitted a defendant. Second, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the government can charge a defendant with both a crime and the conspiracy to commit that crime without violating the constitutional prohibition on double jeopardy. Finally, there is the "separate sovereigns" exception to double jeopardy. This allows a defendant to be tried, convicted and sentenced for the same crime in both state and federal court.

Myth 2: The Government Can't Punish You For A Crime Without First Convicting You

Under federal sentencing law, once a defendant has been convicted of any federal crime, when determining a sentence, the judge can consider other crimes he or she may have committed. That includes crimes for which the defendant has never been charged and even crimes for which he or she has been acquitted.

The doctrine of civil asset forfeiture allows the government to seize the property of people it believes are engaged in criminal conduct before they've been convicted. In fact, the government isn't even required to file criminal charges, only to show some vague connection to criminal activity.

Myth 3: Ignorance Of The Law Is No Defense

In his most recent book, the civil libertarian and defense attorney Harvey Silverglate argues that most Americans now unknowingly commit about three felonies per day.

But there is one exception to this rule: If you work for the government, particularly in law enforcement, you can be forgiven for not knowing the law.

In a Supreme Court case decided earlier this year, former New Orleans DA Harry Connick and his assistants failed to turn over exculpatory evidence in the case of John Thompson. Thompson was later exonerated of murder, but only after serving 18 years in prison, 14 of them on death row.

In depositions, Connick and his assistants claimed they didn't know the Brady rule, which requires prosecutors to turn over all such evidence. Connick was already protected by absolute immunity, and the Court added that the parish that employed him couldn't be sued either.

Myth 4: We have appeals courts to check and verify jury verdicts.

Appeals courts review claims that a defendant wasn't afforded his rights under the U.S. Constitution, or the constitution of a particular state.

In a 2008 article published in the Columbia Law Review, Brandon L. Garrett, a law professor at the University of Virginia, reviewed how appeals courts handled the first 200 cases in which DNA testing exonerated a defendant who had previously been convicted of rape or murder. Of those 200 convictions, just 18 convictions were at one point reversed by appellate courts. Another 67 defendants' appeals were denied without even a written ruling. In 63 cases the appellate court opinion described the defendant as "guilty," and in 12 cases referred to "overwhelming" evidence of guilt. In the remaining cases, the appeals courts either found the defendant’s appeal without merit or found that the errors in the case were "harmless" -- there were problems with the case, but those problems were unlikely to have affected the jury’s verdict -- due, again, to the convincing evidence of guilt.

Myth 5: Due to their position, law enforcement officials are held to a higher standard of conduct than regular citizens.

A strong argument can be made that they're actually held to a lower standard. Unlike any other profession in America, prosecutors and judges are protected by the doctrine of absolute immunity, which completely shields them from civil liability for the decisions they make in the course of their jobs. The courts have ruled that prosecutors can't be sued even if they intentionally manipulate or manufacture evidence that results in the conviction of an innocent person.

Myth 6: Dangerous criminals frequently escape punishment by "getting off on a technicality."

In truth, the conviction rate for federal prosecutors is 90-95 percent. For state prosecutors it varies by jurisdiction, but convictions rates generally fall between 60 and 85 percent.

It also isn't true that appeals courts are setting criminals free en masse because of technical errors that occur in the police station or the district attorney's office. Even when an appeals court does overturn a conviction, the defendant usually remains in custody until the state decides whether to retry the case, and isn't released unless acquitted at the new trial.

Myth 7: No one confesses to a crime he didn't commit.

False confessions are more common than one might think. In a 2008 op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Washington, D.C., Detective Jim Trainum wrote about a case in which he was able to extract a murder confession from a suspect. The confession included details about the murder only the perpetrator could have known. Trainum was later shocked to learn that the woman who had confessed to him couldn't possibly have committed the crime. He went back to review the tape, and found that he had inadvertently revealed details about the crime during his interrogation.

According to the Innocence Project, about one in four convictions that have been overturned by DNA testing involved defendants who at one point had actually confessed to the crime for which they were later exonerated.

Minors and the mentally disabled are especially prone to false confessions, but anyone under considerable duress or who has endured an unusually long or harsh interrogation can be susceptible. Rob Warden and Steven A. Drizin point out in the book "True Stories of False Confessions," an anthology of reports of 48 people who confessed to felonies they didn't commit, the confession often puts a halt to the investigation, even when the confessions "aren't corroborated or don't fit the facts of the alleged crimes."

(I had to give you all of that one, just such great and scary stuff.)

Myth 8: Sex offenders are more likely to reoffend than other criminals.

In Texas, children as young as 10 can be put on the sex offender list.

In some states, you can land on the sex offender list for crimes that have nothing to do with sex. In seven states, "unlawful restraint of a minor" will land you on the list.

None of this is to say we should give a pass to people who actually do prey on children, or others. But our laws ought to address the actual harm, not perceived harm, and they should be passed based on real-world data, not the hysterical visions of pundits and politicians, or in response to a single incident.

Myth 9: Seeing is believing. Eyewitness testimony is a reliable way of solving crimes.

The criminal justice system has been disturbingly slow to embrace the established science on human memory. More than three of every four wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing were in part the result of faulty eyewitness testimony.

Myth #10: Wrongful convictions are tragic, but they're inevitable in an imperfect system. We at least take care of the wrongly convicted once we realize there has been a mistake.

With some notable and laudable exceptions, prosecutors often find it difficult to let go of a conviction -- even once it's clear that they got the wrong man.

Even after there's a consensus that the state has convicted the wrong person, it can be a struggle for the exonerated to get compensation. In 23 states, there's still no automatic compensation for the wrongly convicted. They have to go to court. And in states that do have compensation laws, the exonerated are deemed ineligible if they contributed to their own conviction by, for example, giving a false confession.

In other states, the wrongly convicted are only eligible for compensation if they're cleared by DNA testing, even though DNA evidence is only dispositive of guilt in a small percentage of cases. So in Missouri, for example, when Josh Kezer was exonerated by a judge after serving 15 years for a murder he didn't commit, he wasn't eligible for the state's compensation law.

Perversely, if Kezer had committed the crime, then been paroled after 15 years, he would have been eligible for job training and other state assistance programs designed to integrate ex-cons back into society. But because Kezer was declared innocent, he wasn't eligible for those programs, either.

In many states, compensation is awarded for each year of wrongful incarceration, but it's paid out not in a lump sum, but in annual installments, usually spread out over 20 years. So a man imprisoned for decades for a crime he didn't commit, but who isn't exonerated until he's 70, isn't likely to live long enough to see much of his compensation.

The exonerated are also often subject to codes of conduct in order to continue to receive compensation. It's as if they're on parole, even though they've been cleared of the crime for which they were convicted.

War on Women

2011-06-28T13:18:00.001-07:00

Where to begin:

Well first of all this will go down as today's What Makes Edette Crazy column.

Second - do you know how much I have wanted to not have to make this post? Been avoiding it.

When it was Indiana being stupid and the Federal Government saying, hey you are being stupid, cut it out. That was one thing.

But now it is Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Texas... at 5 I would say we have a serious problem.

So when I was in seminary the student health care was so bad a good friend of mine that was married was having to go to Planned Parenthood to get her birth control pills. This she and I both found really annoying. We grew up being taught Planned Parenthood - Bad! And now we are reduced to using them, because a Christian institution won't provide better and affordable health care!

I remember this got me curious and I decided to conduct a little experiment and went looking at the cost of other forms of birth control like condoms. They are not cheap! So yet again, the poor are screwed.

Then there was the time I didn't have health insurance anymore and called to check on the cost of my medications as well.

Then there is my under-insured (through her company) friend that also had to use the services of Planned Parenthood to get her testing done to make sure she didn't have cancer, and her medications.

All these antidotes to say two things:

1) If you really want to reduce abortion, study after study says that prevention and access to services are the way to reduce those numbers. So instead these 5 states and how many after them think that by cutting services to Planned Parenthood they will what...? What they will do is make it harder and more expensive for the poor, and not so poor, to get the help they need to ensure there is not a pregnancy to begin with! Let's watch how fast the abortion rates in these states go through the roof.

2) And this is the thing that actually makes me take up my pen in a diatribe in defense of an organization I grew up thinking like many in these states was "the devil." Planned Parenthood is the primary care giver of countless women, although each of these states can count them in the hundreds of thousands each. This is real life, regular health care! Birth control, testing, cancer screenings, diabetes testing! On and on the list can go!

I don't know who or what these people think they are waging war on - but they are waging war on women - and I am done being nice about it.

Once again I will quote Ed Bacon (this time he will approve): You are stepping on my sister's toes - Get the Hell Off!

What Makes Edette Crazy Today: Having to say - I Stand with Planned Parenthood. Somebody hand me a pink sign!

The World According to Squed

I Love Scientific American

What Makes Edette Crazy Today you ask?

Once a National Park...

I warned you at the end of the first post of the day... I really did. I told you to watch out... you didn't believe me did you?

My Apologies - And Kids

Your Civic Thought for the Day

South Carolina - A Theolgical Question

Newt... not much has changed

Vacation

The Golden State (tarnished)

To Fox News or Not to Fox News

Isn't talking about God fun?

Straw Bale Houses

Holy Climate Change Batman

I Just Hit the Wall with Congress

The Squed Post

How many vets do you know?

Freedom of Religion

1,530,000 sq ft of garden

If only...

Normally I like being right

New Mantra

Kids These Days

Celebration

Our father...

5 years and counting... 2036

Church and State

A Section Unto Himself

Pilgramage worthy

The Masters

!@#$%& Update

!@#$%^&*(*&^%$#@!##$%^&*(*&%$#@!#@$%&%

God Is Red

Saving Billions

No cancer

More names for the memorial

Another 5 years

872 days - 70 years later

All the President's Men

Preview and Warning

Um... Huh?...

I Agree with the Tea Party?

Bad Dems Bad!

The Hot Rock

Curious III

Curious II

Curiosity...

Could you live on it?

The Wall Redux

Vacation

Happy Birthday

Preach On Sister

Freeee...dommmm...

Start by telling the truth [Pt 2]

A Little Context

I take it back

Living History

Gardens of My Youth

Theology of Song

Lubbock Christian University

When I Grow Up

Capitalism vs Communism

"...but it's even more important not to be the last."

A Mosque I Want to Visit

I want to live in a shipping container

Chris Hayes is the man!

January 1, 2013 and counting!

Mean for Jesus

The Multitude of Things Making Edette Crazy...

Edette's New Favorite Thing

See all I had to do was complain...

Your Theological Thought For the Day

My Bible is in my car...

Hallelujah!

African Summer

Putting your money where your mouth is...

CBS... Who Knew?

What Makes Edette Happy

Time to Party

!@#$%^&(&^%$#@!##$%^&(&%$#@!#@$%&%