"I Am Indebted To You For Your Existence."

Image by RED STICK RANT

I attended the ecumenical service last night in New Orleans with the Archbishop of the Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. His sermon, on the healing of New Orleans (and by extension, the Anglican Communion and each other), was quite moving, and I did think the service was a success. I was surprised, though, that there was not a bigger turnout. Two amusing things of note:

First, There has not been that much purple in a concert hall in Louisiana since Prince played in here the 1980's. Purple Reign, indeed.

And second, while ++Rowan and +Katherine may be powers in the Church, God bless 'em they have NO rhythm at all. None. There was a traditional New Orleans "Second-line" jazz number in the service, complete with folks "second-lining" in the aisles, and the two Bishops on stage tried their best to clap or tap their feet to the beat. I did appreciate the effort, though.

UPDATE: Here is the TEC Pravda Episcopal Life Online article on the event. And surprisingly free of political spin (until you get to the end).

Gulf Storm Watch - 070919

Something of interest has appeared in the eastern Gulf:


"Spaghetti Models" of it's possible track:


Let's hope this does not develop into something worse. For New Orleans' sake, at the very least.

Source: Golden Triangle Weather Page, of course.

UPDATE: Maybe God wants these folks and their pointy hats to remember He is still out there. Many of them see Him as not really relevant anymore.

Yeah, When We Get Our Embassy Back, Bucko.

The Iranian President has asked to visit Ground Zero when he is in New York at the UN next week.

The City, thankfully, said no. Personally, I say let the loony visit. Just make sure he is on the viewing platform with this guy.

Or, with a few of these folks, who he appears to have met before. It'd be a reunion!!

Knives And Swords May Cut Off Heads, But Cartoons...........

Of late, the 12th-Century boys have been getting their keffiyhas (sorry, "peace scarves") in a bunch over a series of Swedish cartoons showing Mohammad's head on a dog. They've even put a price on the cartoonist's head, offering a couple hundred G's for his untimely demise.

Can't you just feel the tolerance? Yeah, me either.

So you can make up your own mind, and because that old First Amendment still exists, here is one of the cartoon in question:



Oh, my. Seems Chris Muir is raising the free-speech ante with this cartoon.

And Don Surber weighs in:

"Hey, change it to a cross, put it in a urinal and you can get a grant from the U.S. government.

He also asks a real good question:

"Where is the outrage from Amnesty International over the throat-cutting? The ACLU? The Democratic Party?"

I always find it interesting that the waton torture and murder of anyone who disagrees with the 12th-century boys struggle to pull the world back into the Middle Ages doesn't seem to concern the above folks too much. But take a picture of a naked inmate at Abu Ghraib..........

UPDATE: So would it be OK with the ACLU or Amnesty International if we put a price on the head of the Palestinian who drew this cartoon?



It appeared on 9.12.2007. In a Palestinian newspaper.

Even so, it is still free speech.

Hattip: LGF

Hunting Al Qaeda

Michael Yon's latest: Hunting Al Qaeda, parts I of III, and II of III. And for those who notice, some Holy Grail references...

Read it all. (Like I need to tell you that.)

Very busy these past few days. Apologies on the light (OK, non-existent) posting. More later, when I can catch my breath. (Glenn, HOW do you do keep this up??......)

The Future Of The Episcopal Church (tm).

General Convention, 2009:


"Is nothing sacred?"

From here.

When our relationship with God becomes whatever 51 percent of us wants it to be, who needs Salvation?

Or God?

Gimme Less. A Lot Less.

I don't (and won't) normally post on pop culture, but this Louisiana native is giving my home state a, um, black eye. First, her "performance" at the VMA Awards (original video is here; but parodies here and here are way better than the original.) And then, she was again caught flashing her publics to the world (with her, you can't honestly call them "privates" anymore). Yes, the pride of Kentwood, Louisiana, is proving conclusively that the Peter Principle can be exceeded. (The Peter Principle: "everyone tends to rise to his/her level of incompetence.")

My $0.02, Brit: You're a wreck. Grow up, and some get help. And some panties. You're a mother, fer crissakes, you are not the most important person in your world anymore.


UPDATE: Spears does have her defenders. This is one of the more popular videos on YouTube right now. It doesn't take long to see why - just remember that you are watching a grown man.

UPDATE: Perez Hilton has a parody of the defender.

Fences and Mitres.

I posted this earlier about discerning the leanings of our good Bishop here in the Diocese of Louisiana, the Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, and where he will stand with respect to the Current Unpleasantness in The Episcopal Church (tm). He's been a hard read, but after learning about Bishop Smith on the Diocese website I was heartened. Now, there is a letter from Bishop Jenkins that makes me wonder.

Charles+, I care for you, and your family, deeply. But isn't that fence an uncomfortable place to sit for so long??

Gulf Storm Watch - 070912

A trpoical storm develops off the Texas coast.


And another is brewing up in the western Atlantic.


Remember, keep checking here.

Another Announcement From The Management.

A few of your humble blogger's posts got him noticed, and he has been asked to be a regular contributor over at Louisiana Conservative Dot Com.

While I tend to live my own life by conservative values, when it comes to politics I tend to be more of a curmudgeonly libertarian in how I relate to my fellow man. (And woman.) So this should be an interesting experience for me, and starting today we'll see how it goes.

You will notice, at least initially, that many of my posts there will be nearly the same as the ones posted here first. That's because things are very hectic work-wise, time is short and (let's be honest here...) blogging is a past-time for me, not work. Y'all (all 15 of you) have been loyal readers these past few months, so I won't desert you now.

We're all New Yorkers today.

UPDATE: Except, of course, if you're in San Francisco.

Ask the Battalion Commanders.

Michael Yon weighs in on the Petraeus Report.

Gulf Storm Watch - 070910

Gabrielle is heading out to sea. But there is another disturbance out in the Atlantic, east of Grenada.


Keep checking in here for the latest updates.

Digging For The Truth. Without A Shovel.

Robert Cerasoli must love challenges. He is is the new Inspector General in the City of New Orleans, and his job is to find corruption and malfeasance in government. He seems well qualified to do just that. And given the current state of government in New Orleans, this should be like shooting fish in a barrel. Except, Mr. Cerasoli doesn’t have (to continue the metaphor) a barrel. Or any ammunition. Or even a gun. In fact, the City has given him nothing at all: no office, no desks, no staff, no operating budget.

What a great way for the City to claim it is doing something about corruption without really, well, doing anything about it. Kudos to Ray Nagin and the City Council for a stunning political slight-of-hand. What chutzpa.

Normally, I would let this pass with another shake of the head and a mutter of “It’s New Orleans….”, were it not for one thing: Me and Mr. Cerasioli have something in common – Boston. He’s from my second hometown, and he’s trying to clean up my first. I owe the man.

A commenter in this post below said he would buy Mr. Cerasioli a lamp if it would help, which got me thinking - if the City of New Orleans will not get Mr. Cerasioli going, maybe we (you know, “the people”) should. I don’t think we can raise a $3.5 million operating budget, but we can put in for some office furnishings and the like and maybe embarrass the City into taking some positive action.

So let’s let Mr. Cerasioli know that we appreciate his being down here, even if the City government in New Orleans does not. If any of you are interested in helping out a “Let’s Get the Inspector General Going Fund”, post a pledge in the comments section or send me an e-mail to redstickrant@gmail.com.


The Naked Emperor is in for a lamp.

Red Stick Rant is in $100 in office supplies. And a dart board with Paul Cellucci's picture on it.

You?

No Play for Mr. Grey!

It seems Osama Bin Laden got hold of some Just For Men, and over the weekend auditioned for a guest spot at DailyKos. Video and transcript are here.

A naturist monarch responds point-by-point. It's lengthy, but well worth the read.

Inactions Speak Louder Than Words

Words fail me:

"New Orleans' first inspector general hit the ground walking Wednesday.

Literally walking.

In his first week at work, Robert Cerasoli has no car, no staff, no city office, no city phone and no clear idea of what budget his newly created office will have next year."

The inspector general is supposed to investigate corruption in City government. Sadly, this level of incompetence what we've come to expect from a Nagin administration.

Couple this news with C. B. Forgotston's posts here and here , and it's no wonder a Colorado Congressman said what he did.

Laissez Les Bloggers Rouler!

Last Thursday I attended the First Annual Louisiana Bloggers Bash here in Baton Rouge. Smaller than I expected - and a bit foreign for a newcomer like me - but all-in-all it was a good time. I got to meet a few candidates, and a few bloggers who reach a rather wider audience then yours truly. Plus, I finally got to meet the Avman.

Reading Between The Mitre.

Many in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana have been wondering - on which side of the Current Unpleasantness in The Episcopal Church (tm) will our good Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, finally stand? Maybe this is some indication:

"The Rt. Rev’d Michael G. Smith, Bishop of North Dakota, has accepted the invitation of Bishop Jenkins to assist the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Louisiana in their ministry by serving for a time as assisting bishop."

Bishop Smith seems to be a "Windsor Bishop" who signed onto at least one "Camp Allen" declaration. And unlike our Presiding Bishop, he's not apparently a fan of this guy and his theology (if you can call it that).

Months ago, this would have been real news. But with the (Maybe, Maybe Not) Final Showdown about to take place just downriver from me in New Orleans, in a few days we will know in which direction all of the pointy hats are truly pointing.

Until then, my fellow Anglicans / Episcopalians: PRAY.

A Marine. A Mentor. A Model Approach.

Michael Yon's latest post on Iraq is up: A Marine. A Mentor. A Model Approach.

Though it goes without saying, read it all.

UPDATE: Michael's last part of his Ghosts of Anbar dispatch has been posted: Ghosts of Anbar Part IV of IV.

Read all of that one, too.

Avast, Ye Scurvy Dogs......

Enough about politics, theology, morons, and Ray Nagin (Sorry. I repeat myself.) Here is something REALLY important: 'International Talk Like A Pirate Day' is 19 September - less than two weeks away. Get those eye patches ready!

Very busy day today, even though my New Orleans site visit got scrubbed. More later.

Second Place Debate.

Another debate with the GOP Vice-Presidnetial Candidates is on in a few minutes, on FoxNews. The Vice-Presidential Candidates?? Yep. But worry not - the nominee will put in a 30-second appearance, too.

Go watch it. I hear Iron Chef is a repeat. Survivorman, too.

Creative JDAM

This is amazing. We spend billions on precision guided munitions, but you can get the same result using a 500-lb. dumb bomb, a store-bought GPS, and a hovering helicopter.

It's About Damn Time.

Fred Thompson is officially getting into the race:

"The veteran actor and former senator and lobbyist is declaring his presidential ambitions in a 15-minute Web cast early Thursday."

With more than a bit of chutzpah, too:

"Just to make sure no one misses it, he is airing a 30-second ad on Fox News Channel during Wednesday night's broadcast of a Republican presidential debate from New Hampshire - which Thompson is skipping."

Self-confidence, and a willingness to ignore conventional wisdom. Now THAT'S Reagan-esque.

UPDATE: Fred was on The Tonoght Show last night and said he was in. Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit has a roundup of videos and commentary. Thompson's official webcast announcement is here. Money quote: "A govenment that is big enough to do everything for us, is powerful enough to do anything to us."

My $.02: Look In The Mirror Time......

It seems the Times-Picayune is taking great issue with Rep. Tancredo's recent comments about Federal relief spending in New Orleans (my earlier post is here ). More to the point, they call his comments "the ramblings of an uninformed, mean-spirited demagogue." I think they are missing the point.

I understand this hurts, but "compassion fatigue" is starting to set in when it comes to New Orleans. After two long years I think it is reasonable for the rest of the country to ask, "OK, how much is enough? And, when can we see results?" Look at it from their point of view: the Road Home Program is a financial disaster which the State cannot seem to control; fraud is looking like it's upwards of a billion dollars; murder seems to be the only "brand" that New Orleans has anymore; large swaths of the City still lie nearly empty; and the Mayor of New Orleans appears out-of-touch, unappreciative, and blames everyone else for his troubles. No one seems in control in the Crescent City. Did you hear this kind of stuff two years after Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992? Two years after 9/11? Me either. Leadership, or the lack thereof, matters. That is what the Representative from Colorado seems to be commenting upon.

So the issue to me is not weather Rep. Tancredo has, or has not, seen a levee failure. The issue is not with the thousands of private individuals who have struggled, and who continue to struggle, to rebuild their lives and their city. The issue is weather we - and our fellow Americans - can trust those currently in positions of responsibility in the City and in the State to be, well, responsible. On balance, the evidence so far does not look good.

How things turn out on 20 October will, I think, say a lot. About us, about our future, and about how much we are willing take responsibility for that future.

My .$02

UPDATE: Via C. B. Forgotston - this is the kind of thing that makes out-of-state Congressman say harsh things about our recovery. It's beyond embarrassing.

The Iranian Speer

I saw a link at Instapundit to this PM article about Iranian Brigadier General Mohhamad Ali Jafari being appointed commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. (The Ayatollah's SS, if you will.) The General, it turns out, was one of the "students" who took over the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held Americans hostage for 444 days. That was interesting enough, but what really threw me was this bit in the second paragraph:

"After the war (Iran-Iraq War -ed.) he went to complete his Masters Degree in Architecture."

Oh, really. As a fellow professional therefore, I hereby nominate General Jafari for the First Annual Albert Speer Award for Best Supporting Role of an Architect in Promoting a Totalitarian, Fascist, and/or Theocratic State.

Yesiree, nothing says enhancing the human environment through design better than overseeing the violent enforcement of 12th century religious laws and supporting terrorists here and here.

UPDATE: Oh, yes - I also take full credit for inventing the First Annual Albert Speer Award for Best Supporting Role of an Architect in Promoting a Totalitarian, Fascist, and/or Theocratic State. Anyone want to be a judge?

Week Two: 'Opus' Held Hostage.

If you were reading last week you may remember this post about the Washington Post, self-appointed defender of the First Amendment, getting uber-sensitive about fundamentalist religious values and pulling several Sunday 'Opus' cartoons in response. I'll let you guess which religion's fundamentalist strain was at issue here. (Hint: they gladly ran the 'Opus' strip two weeks ago which took a shot at fundamentalist Christian values....)

Because we here at RED STICK RANT believe in the First Amendment, and because we have a soft spot for pudgy, flightless waterfowl, here is the second of the pulled 'Opus' cartoons. We'll let you be the judge.

UPDATE: My local paper, the Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate, ran the strip.

UPDATE: To the nice person at the US Department of State in Washington who found this site this morning (9.4.07) while looking for Opus-related posts during work hours: Would you ask Condi if she could come down and speak with my daughter's 8th-grade history class sometime. Condi is a real hero to her. It would be a real treat. Thanks.

Gulf Storn Watch - 070903

New projections have 'Felix' taking a more southerly route, skimming the northern Nicaragua / Honduras coasts and hitting Belize. For spaghetti maps and other current info go here. Oh, and take a look at the NOAA Atlantic activity map while you're there - it shows two more areas of tropical activity that may trun into something. (Or, not)

Felix is a Category 4 storm now, and the areas it is forecast to hit are remote and poor. Our church has ongoing mission work near San Pedro Sula in the northern area of Honduras, so I ask your prayers for Fr. Juan Hose and everyone in the Copan Deanery.

Please Don't Choke Now. Please Don't Choke Now. Please Don't Choke Now. Please Don't Choke Now. Please Don't Choke Now. Please Don't Choke Now.....

It's September, Satan's overpaid minions are still SIX GAMES BEHIND these guys, and pitcher Clay Buchholz bagged the 17th no-hitter in Red Sox history the other night.

What a great Labor Day weekend. Don't blow it, guys.

Gulf Storm Watch - 070902

12 hours is a lifetime in the blogosphere. Same is true with the atmosphere. The 8:00am EDT forecast track for 'Felix' has him starting to take more of the the traditional "northwest hook" when he gets into the southwest Gulf of Mexico.


The "Spaghetti Models" are looking this way, too:


That's clearer indication than they had at 8:00 pm EDT last night, and 'Felix' just might be a threat to the Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts after all. We'll see. Plus, there is a follow-on area of disturbance out in the Atlantic.


It may be a busy week, storm-wise. Remember, keep checking the Golden Triangle Weather Page for more storm-related information.

I Think Someone's A Few Lessons Short Of A Plan.....

Hey, what do I have to do to get really interesting comments like this one?

All I can say is it defies description - just go read it. Allegations of mind-control, body-snatching, conspiring Clintons, energy weapon attacks, genital torture, Presidential cross-dressing fantasies, Satanism, and worshiping George Bush, Sr., as a god are all involved. In a single comment. Note also that the commentor is a teacher. In L.A.

Figures.

No Justice. No Peace. No Show.

"Incidents" like this are never a surprise: protesters took over the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) headquarters on Friday. All I can say is..... where have you been, guys? Last Tuesday even I knew there might be a "take over" of the facility - we understood it would be on Wednesday - with a couple busloads of people. But the "incident" never materialized on Wednesday. Or on Thursday.

Showing up two days late with only 20 people (mostly from out-of-town) doesn't quite sound like a mass outpouring of anger, now does it?

Look, HANO does have it's share of problems. But knowing what I know first-hand about this one, I think they're getting a bum rap. HANO is in a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation right now. - take action, get sued; take no action, get blamed.

Gulf Storm Watch - 070901

Felix is now a hurricane.


While it looks certain to miss the US (see the "spaghetti models" here), northern Central America looks like it will take some or all of it. Areas in Honduras where we have mission work lie in the projected path. Again, prayers.

"And Now Departing On Platform One..."

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) says it's “time the taxpayer gravy train left the New Orleans station” with respect to Katrina aid. He is tired of the fraud and official incompetence. In the last two years, 114 billion dollars (yes, that's billion with a "b") in Federal hurricane relief has been spent in the Gulf Region, and more than 1.1 million volunteers have come to the New Orleans area alone to help with cleanup and repair.

If you look at it from outside the area, it's hard to argue with the Congressman - especially when there may well be upwards of a one billion dollars in relief fraud (yes, that's billion with a "b"), and when New Orleans' mayor shows his appreciation by saying: "It still important to point out that America still hasn't done right by us..."

Gulf Storm Watch - 070831a

Uh, oh. Remember this post from just a few hours ago? Now take a look:


It's now Tropical Depression 6, or "Felix". Whie the NHC has the track forecast westerly, almost following the track "Dean" took a few weeks ago, some of the "spaghetti models" posted here forecasat a more northerly hook, passing between the Yucatan and Cuba.

Stay tuned.

Second Amendment, Meet Checkbook.

OK, I've made up my mind. This will be my next "big boy toy" purchase:


I want a good, proven rifle, and I've always been partial to the HK-91 in 7.62mm NATO (.308). It's been 25 years since I shot one, but the HK is accurate, reliable, with lots of spare parts available, and (if I remember correctly) not too hard on the shoulder.

Why? Two reasons: First, I want to have (and shoot) a big-bore rifle again; and second, private citizens having something like this at home drives the limousine liberal types stark-raving nuts.

Anyone out there have any recent experience with the HK-91? Comments are open.....

What, Me Vote?

According to nola.com, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund offered this rationale for filing suit to stop the recent purge of voting rolls in Louisiana:

"Many of the people were not aware that they were registered to vote elsewhere and intend to return to Louisiana, said defense fund attorney Kristen Clarke."

C. B. Forgotston responds:

"Any person who doesn’t know the state in which they registered to vote is simply too dumb to vote ANYWHERE."

I couldn't agree more. I'm wondering - are the Dems still trying to find a way to make John Breaux eligible for the governor's race?

The Management Speaks....

To: My readers (all 12 of you).

From: Clifford.

Re: Comments.

They are turned on again. Seems the "rant back" e-mail address at the bottom of the page was hard to find. We'll deal with the spam as it appears, but if it gets too much we'll have to find other options.

So comment away, my loyal public.

The Myths Of Katrina - The Gulf Coast Is Suffering From A Lack Of Leadership.

The third and last of ReasonOnline's Myths of Katrina. Myth Three: The Gulf Coast is suffering from a lack of leadership. It's not that the leaders aren't there, they're just not the folks collecting a government paycheck.

Link to Myths One and Two is here.

UPDATE: You know Red Stick Rant readers are an elite bunch ('cause the bunch ain't real big), but did you know you are also better informed, too? You were aware of the ReasonOnline post mentioned above a whole day before the Blogfather himself cared to share it with his readers. All I can say is..... heh.

Defining Poverty Upward.

Having been on Episcopal mission trip to Honduras, I have seen poverty - houses with dirt floors, no running water, three people living under some tin and plastic between two factory buildings, a hole in the ground surrounded by some boards and plastic for a toilet. People making $2.00 a day. Children who can't go to school. That's poverty. This, this is not poverty:

Forty-three percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.

Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.

Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.

The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)

Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.

Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.

Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.

Eighty-nine percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.

The report is lengthy, but read it all. And remember these things when multi-millionaire lawyer John Edwards starts preaching on his "two Americas" theme. We actually seem to be winning the war on economic poverty. Poverty of the spirit, though, is a whole other fight - and in that we have not been as successful.

Ghosts Of Anbar III.

Michael Yon's latest is up: Ghosts Of Anbar III.

Go here for links to parts I and II.

Gulf Storm Watch 070831

Eastern Caribbean. Maybe nothing; maybe not.


Never hurts to keep checking.

Go Fig-ya!

A little something off the wall to begin the weekend......

The two videos below are from my other hometown, Boston, and the TheGuyFromBoston (tag line - "I got the balls to say what you're thinking") These are DECIDEDLY NOT WORK SAFE!!, so you have duly been warned. (Use headphones...)

TheGuyFromBoston ruminates about the morals of Congress. Or lack thereof. I can't confirm his stats, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

TheGuyFromBoston explains how to talk Boston. And why you can't "Pahk Ya Cah In Havaad Yaad". He left out my two favorites, though: "Peabody is pronounced "Pee-bud-ee", and the City of Quincy is pronounced "Quwin-zee", but the President is still John "Qwin-see" Adams. Oh, and I'm and "Aaak-ee-teck". It's wicked pissah!

Hattip: My buddy Karl.

iPhone: Two Months On.

It’s been just over two months since I got one of Mr. Jobs’ latest playthings, so I think it’s time to do a quick “how-do-I-like-it-so-far” post. (My earlier posts are here, and another here.) For those with A.D.D., here is my conclusion up front: I love it. Go get one.

And I do love it. Besides it’s cooler-than-all-get-out looks (which I keep covered with one of these goofy silicone covers ‘cause I’m a klutz) it’s darn decent phone. Let’s take a look at the features one by one:

OPERATION
Click on, touch screen, go. Couldn’t be simpler. And the screen is excellent, even outside in direct sunlight. The tapping and dragging with your finger really does become second-nature. Even the two–finger double tap or drag versus the one finger variety. The mechanical controls are easy, though the sound/ringer silence switch can be hard to operate with the silicone cover on. Minor issue, really. The keyboard is pretty good once you get used to it. And the “intuition” AI works well. I have come to rely on it, and it makes typing on such a small keyboard workable. The one big “Gurr” annoyance I have is the headphone jack. OK, I know Apple had to go to a smaller diameter jack housing to keep the iPhone as thin as it is, but c’mon guys – an adapter would have been nice for those who have after-market headphones or, like me, plug it in and run it through the audio system in my car. My solution was to whack about 3 millimeters of the plastic off of the bottom part of the jack so it would seat to the correct depth. So far, so good, but it’s not quite what I should have to do to get this to work. My other, all be it minor “Grrr”, is that the phone sometimes gets, well, brain-farts - and freezes up for up to 30 seconds. This especially happens right after you take off the charging stand. If you do a reboot, the problem stops for a while, but it eventually comes back. Syncing the iPhone is as simple as setting in the charging cradle. iTunes does the rest. I’ve had no problems with that so far.

PHONE
As I’ve said before, it's light years better than the Treo. I’ve had only a few dropped calls, and it will even work in most interior spaces. The Treo, on the other hand, would drop a call if you went under a tree branch. Without leaves. I really like the Bluetooth capability, too, which allows the phone to be linked through my car’s audio system for hands-free use.

E-MAIL
This works OK, and seems to sync with our Outlook server at work but for one thing – if you delete an e-mail from the iPhone, it does not delete them on the server when it syncs. Minor problem if you are talking about being away from your desk computer for a few hours or a day, but more than a few days and this can be a real annoyance when you get back to your desk. It may be a setting I do not know about, but for now it is a real pet peeve.

INTERNET
After having that rump browser on the Treo, having (nearly) full-blown Safari in your pocket is great. (“Is that browser in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? Oh, it’s a browser….”) But the ‘Net on the iPhone is Slllloooooooooow with ATT’s EDGE. I mean, slower than dial-up slow. I heard somewhere that there is a major iPhone software upgrade coming in October that will correct some of this (G3, perhaps??). I sure hope so. If you can hook onto a wi-fi network things speed up to tolerable levels. For some reason, Safari on the iPhone will not display Flash or YouTube, which seems very surprising. Especially the YouTube embeds. It’s more annoying than critical, but considering what you pay for the thing…..

IPOD
Oh, wow. Oh…… Wow. And, it works great with the Bose ‘Sounddock’, too. If you set it on ‘Airport’ mode though, the Bose controls don’t seem to work. (Or, is it vice-versa. I can’t remember.)

OTHER GOODIES
I use ‘SMS/Texting’ only because it seems to be the preferred method of communication for my 13-year old daughter. Works OK.
The ‘Calendar’ syncs fine with Outlook, but it has a limited selection for setting alarm times. Sometimes I need to set an alarm for 1:45 before the event. Weird, I know.
‘Photos’ is wonderful. I have every darn family image in my pocket, and I’m going to be a real annoyance at my wife’s family’s next Christmas reunion.
‘Camera’ is OK, but I already have a 4 MP digital in my day-timer for construction photos, so it’s redundant for me.
‘YouTube’ is a waste as far as I am concerned. Bad image quality, craps out constantly, and a lot of videos are “unavailable”. What’s with that?
‘Stocks’ I initially ignored, but I entered some stocks and now watch them daily. Call it voyeuristic capitalism.
After the main four apps, ‘Maps’ is for me THE most useful app on the iPhone. I have used it to get around in all sorts of places and find all sorts of locations in the US since June, and the ability to have the address, phone number and website (if they have one) in one click is nothing short of amazing. There is very little that the iPhone database has not found (it found my old apartment in Florence, Italy, with no trouble). This app could easily put AAA out of the map business. The satellite image feature in ‘Maps’ really impresses folks at dinner parties, but I haven’t found it to be as useful as I initially thought. But it is good for close-in navigation in a strange place.
‘Weather’ is cute, but logging into a dedicated website is much better. Though, knowing what the highs and lows will be in Florence, Italy is kinda neat. Again, great for dinner parties.
‘Clock,’ ‘Calculator,’ and ‘Notes’ are useful and not much to complain about. I do wish the calculator had a ‘Clear Entry’ button along with the 'Clear All' one.
‘Settings’ is a fine control panel; easy to use and simple to set.


CONCLUSIONS
All things being equal I could have gotten another phone that does almost all of these things almost as well at a lesser cost. No argument there. But the iPhone does them without the “almost” factor, and it does them elegantly, to boot. I am continually amazed how tight the integration is between functions and applications. They really thought this one out. I must say that this is one Apple product that truly seems to have lived up to it’s hype, and one where I’m not regretting having the 1.0 version.

The Myths Of Katrina -"New Orleans" And "The Gulf Coast" Are Synonymous.

The second of RaseonOnline's The Myths of Hurricane Katrina. Myth Number Two: "New Orleans" and "the Gulf Coast" are synonymous.

Here is the first one: Myth Number One: A lack of federal money.

The Episcopal Church (tm) And Their Edifice Complex.

Via Ontario Emperor, I came across this tidbit from the former chaplin of the United States Senate, Dr. Richardson Halverson, when asked where his church is:

"The church where I preach is all over the city. It’s driving buses, serving meals in restaurants, having discussions in the Pentagon, deliberating in the Congress.' He knew exactly where his church was, and he went on and on with his lengthy listing. Then he added, 'Periodically, we get together at a building on Fourth Street, but we don’t spend much time there."

That, to me, is the best description of a church I've heard in a long time. So why is The Episcopal Church (tm) pouring hundreds of thousands into litigation to keep buildings? People may leave, says the The Episcopal Church (tm). They don't seem to care too much about people ("breeders" especially). But a "congregation" must stay. OK, who then is the "congregation"? The rocks and stones themselves?? When there are no more people, does the "congregation" still exist? There are more than a million fewer souls in the US calling themselves Episcopalians than there were 30 years ago, and more than a hundred thousand members have left since 2000 alone. Some entire dioceses are now smaller than your Baptist Church up the street. Is that a growing Church?? You can count all of the "congretations" you want (The Episcopal Church (tm) claims more than 7,000), but if the average congregation is only about 200 members, often elderly and hanging on because of an endowment or financial aid, is that really an accurate picture of our health as a Church?

No, but it makes those who are at the head of this sinking ship feel better. Iceberg? What iceberg?

Declarations, Constitutions; It's All The Same, Right?

From Instapundut - Proof positive that passing a basic civics class is not a requirement for a creative writing degree. An Editor(!) at the new New York Times puts this in print:

"But that’s to care for them as human beings, under that other constitutional right — to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." (emphasis mine)

I suppose that's in the Constitution around the "wall of separation between church and state" right they are always harping about. (Actually, it's in here.)

Another National Piece About New Orleans.

Another New Orleans post is up at ReasonOnline. It covers two points I have been making for a while now.

First, if anybody is ultimately to blame for New Orleans' problems with Katrina, it's the French:

"As one scientist said after Katrina, "A city should never have been built there in the first place."

And second, there is precedent here for how things may well play out - that of Galveston and Houston:

"Historian Douglas Brinkley, writing in The Washington Post, fears the Bush administration is trying to do to New Orleans what was done to Galveston, Texas, after a terrible 1900 hurricane. "Galveston, which had been a thriving port, was essentially abandoned for Houston, transforming that then-sleepy backwater into the financial center for the entire Gulf South," he says. "Galveston devolved into a smallish port-tourist center, one easy to evacuate when hurricanes rear their ugly heads."

Which means, I guess, Baton Rouge has a very bright future.

Two Bits Of Good News.

According to this article from Reuters:

"The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said."

That's guns in private hands, not any military weapons. And it seems we like it this way. According to Alphecca, a nationally organized gun-control rally in PC Seattle drew only two participants. Other rallys in other cities had but "dozens", including the one in Washington DC. Only one appears to have had more than 100.

Now you know why the Dems are not publically pushing a new assault-weapons ban.

The Mayor Gets A Helping Hand.

"OK, Ray, now that I've pulled this out of your ass, maybe you can see things more clearly."

I know, I know. But sometimes these things just write themselves. And after the somberness of today, a little levity is most refreshing.

The Myths of Katrina - A Lack Of Federal Money.

ReasonOnline has posted the first of a series called The Myths of Hurricane Katrina. Myth Number One: A lack of federal money.

Read it all. If you are not already reading ReasonOnline regularly, I recommend it highly.

29 August - Day of Days

The people in each generation - and each place, I suppose - have one day, and one event, which divides their lives. A “before-blank”, and an “after-blank”. For the Greatest Generation, no doubt that was 7 December – Pearl Harbor. For Boomers, 22 November – the day John F. Kennedy was killed – was their day. For everyone down here in southeast Louisiana and on the Mississippi coast, that day is today - 29 August – the Day Katrina hit.

There were lots of events today in New Orleans to “commemerate” the Katrina disaster, complete with speeches, ceremonies, and politicians earnestly trying to look earnest. There were (thankfully) church services galore. In Lakeview alone I counted no less than seven TV vans today, so I guess it’s time for our “tragedy” to get another 15 minutes before Brittany, or Paris, or some congressional sex scandal, gets top billing again. In one sense I am glad the rest of the nation gets reminded that there is still much to be done down here. But I’m also embarrassed by how much remains even to be started, two years later, and by how badly our leaders and government have handled the crisis. This should NOT be a crisis two years down the road. Should this area be whole again by now? No. The damage was too great to heal in that time. But we should expect - no, demand - more from our government than the finger pointing, posturing, buck-passing and excuses we’ve had so far. Where are the road repairs? The infrastructure repairs? The safe streets? What happened to the expensive master plans y’all hyped last year? So much of what’s been done to date has little to do with government efforts, and much to do with the work of individuals - one house or business at a time - or by concerned individuals banding together. The citizens seem to have a can-do attitude, but the government seems to have a can’t-do one. Think I’m kidding? Just try to get a Building Permit problem resolved at City Hall. That’s if you can get someone to even answer the phone. Until the government, and especially the City and State governments, either get on board - or get out of the way - we will be about where we are a year from now. And that, folks, will be the real tragedy.

If you want to do something to “commemorate” today, here are some suggestions: Give blood; pray; send a few dollars to these folks, or these good people; pray; join one the many church mission teams that come down here from all over the country to help clean up and renovate (or buy some supplies for them); pray; or last, but not least – if you live in the City of New Orleans would you please run for Mayor in a couple of years.

UPDATE: Someone suggested folks in New Orleans commorate the day by taking a handgun safety / self-defense course. Considering this number, can't say I blame him.

UPDATE: Or a survival swimming course.......

And Another Quick Note From The Management....

Still very busy here - a project hits the streets tomorrow, and I have a site meeting in New Orleans (of all days!!) to review progress on the demolition of the old State Police Troop B buildings at Veterans Hwy. and West End Boulevard. (I'm the architect for the rebuilding project there.)

Please take a moment today and remember what happened on 29 August 2005. And ask the Lord for His strength - a lot of people down here still need it.

More tonight. Promise. See you then.

.10 for One.

OK, State Senator Walter Boasso left the Louisiana GOP to run for Governor as a Democrat. His "Cardboard Campaign" has him just now breaking into double digits - and he's leading the Democratic field! Not exactly a smokin' result..... IMHO. And today State Treasurer John Kennedy - one of the few pols in state government generally seen as haveing any competence at all - is leaving the Dems for the GOP.

Don't know about you, but I'll take that trade.

And who do the uber-lefties at DailyKos blame for the switch? The man behind everything that is wrong with the world today (including, I believe, dandruff): Karl Rove. Really. I've never been a conspiracy nut, but I think the Kos Kiddies may be onto something here. When our vacuum cleaner went on the fritz the other day, I swear I saw Rove cheesing it out our back door just before it died. The man must be truly diaboloical. If he is, in fact........ just a man.........!! [queue sinister organ music here]

A Quick Note From The Management.

We're doing a bit of fiddling with the stuff on the right side of the page, so you will notice some changes. First up, Chris Muir's excellent Day By Day is now posted every day. Second we're making changes to the 'ol Blogroll - adding some links, moving some links, and deleting others - over the next few days. Third, we may add some interactive stuff - a poll, perhaps - to keep our audience (all 10 of you) coming back. Fourth, I intend to use the first-person plural a lot more. "We" sounds so much more regal, don't you think?

Today is very busy, so posting will be nonexistent until tonight. See you then.

Best,

.....CLIFFORD

28 August: Waiting, Watching, and Listening.

Following up on this post from yesterday: Two years ago tomorrow (28 August) we waited for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina. All our hurricane prep was done; house battened down, supplies in place, our parents were safe, as were other family from New Orleans. The late reports had the storm was going more easterly toward Mississippi, and that it was not nearly as strong as before. Not a Hurricane Andrew, thank goodness. (Andrew hit Louisiana in 1992, after devastating Florida a few days before.) I sat in the den with the TV on and the curtains partially open so I could watch the wind and the trees (Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! - ed.) As evening fell on the 28th the wind began to pick up, but being 100 miles inland and west of the storm it wasn't that heavy or sustained. Just lots of gusts and rain. We lost power about 8:00pm, which was not surprising since we often loose power in ordinary thunderstorms. (What was surprising was it being off for six days. More on that, later.) The hurricane reports on the radio said about what everyone predicted, but reports of Hurricane Betsy-like flooding in the 9th Ward of New Orleans did start to come in the early morning hours. (Betsy hit New Orleans in 1965. Both my wife and I lived through that one.) Knowing that rumors often fly as fast as the debris during a hurricane, I didn't give the reports much thought. My wife and kids went to bed around midnight; and I finally fell asleep around 4:30am, thinking it was not going to be too bad after all.

(more tomorrow)

No Opus, No Peace!

I saw this over the weekend: Opus held hostage! The Washington Post, that self-appointed bastion of the First Amendment, suddenly gets very worried about offending others - and pulls several 'Opus' comic strips. And who were they worried about offending? Women? Minorities? Democrats? Republicans? Christians? Jews? Zoroastrians? Nope. None of them cut off reporter's heads.

I think you can guess who they're worried about offending. So here is one of the "offending" cartoons, because, well, it's still a free country. Judge for yourself.

Lesson for the Day: Intimidation works only if you let it. Eugene Volokh has some commentary here.

UPDATE: It seems that the 'Opus' cartoon the Sunday before poked fun at Jerry Falwall and beliefs of evangalical Christians, but it did not get pulled. Hmmm. FoxNews has more, and an explanation from the Writers Group about why one was pulled, and one wasn't. It's pretty lame, but go read it for yourself. FWIW, I've been a fan of Berkeley Breathed since his Bloom County days, and even carried a stuffed Opus (complete with mortarboard) as a joke when I graduated college. One sits on my desk even now. I do not always agree with Berkley politically, but the writing is good and Opus is, well, so darn likable.

Ghosts of Anbar, I and II.

Michael Yon has some new posts up, Ghosts of Anbar I, and Ghosts of Anbar II.

Do remember that Michael is an independent journalist. He is not suckling at the teat of some national media sow; he is out there where the story happens, not in an air-condirioned hotel in Baghdad having stringers call it in. He needs your support, dollar-wise, to keep up what he is doing.

Holy Toledo!

Over at Forgotston.com is a link to this op-ed about our fine political leadership here in Louisiana, and how well they've done post-Katrina. If you do not think the nation is laughing at us, note that the op-ed is in an Ohio paper. And it doesn't put all the blame on our leaders - it reminds us that we keep putting them there.

UPDATE: And this article in the British newspsper The Guardian.

Hipster Olympics.

After that last post, here is a little something to lighten the day a bit. It's an update of Monty Python's Twit of the Year sketch and, to double the enjoyment, it makes fun of urbane, trendy, self-absorbed New Yorkers. Enjoy.

Hattip: Instapundut.

27 August: The Day Of Bridges.

27 August is one of those days that I used to look back upon with fondness. It was the day I started LSU in 1979, crossing both a physical and metaphorical bridge out of New Orleans that I so much wanted to cross. And each year when this day passed I would look back and quietly smile; I’m glad I crossed that bridge.

But now 27 August is different. Two years ago on that day my parents, and my in-laws, left their homes in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans for “a few days” to wait out a hurricane named Katrina. So did lots of other people. They all crossed bridges that day both physical and metaphorical, though none of us had any idea how big those bridges were going to become. While Katrina may have hit on 28 August, this was the day that everything began to change for us.

And how it changed. My in-laws have left New Orleans, never to return. The house they built some 55 years ago was beyond repair and had to come down. They moved elsewhere in Louisiana. They crossed a bridge. My parents, on the other hand, want to go back. As much as I wish at their ages they would pack it in and move out of the City, they are determined to rebuild. They, too, have crossed a bridge. For my father, a judge and retired Marine, it almost as a matter of principle – he says he will NOT be defeated by all of this. While they have made very different decisions, I understand both, and find no fault with either. They both have had to cross bridges that no one should ever have to cross. And they are not alone. Hundreds of thousands in New Orleans and the surrounding parishes have had to struggle across the same bridge. For most, that struggle continues even now, two years later.

So when you hear all of the hooplah on the news about the Katrina anniversary commemorations and speeches this week, remember that the world actually changed for so many days before. With bridges. Crowded bridges. And please remember in your prayers: Carole and John in Lakeview, Earl and Pat from Lakeview, Toby and his family in New Orleans East, all of the good people at the Church of the Annunciation in the Broadmoor neighborhood, Karl and his family near Bayou St. John, Johanna and her family in Lakeview, Frederica and her family from Mid-City, and Tammy and her family in Kenner.

(more tomorrow)

Laissez Les BANG BANG Rouler.

Unfortunately, when Mayor C. Ray opens his mouth, folks in the rest of America (you know, the place that hasn't done right by him) are listening. And responding. Like this classic from SFGate.com.

Hattip: nola.com.

Compare And Contrast.

The Ontario Emperor has this interesting post about comparing Deadheads, Parrotheads, and..... Claymates.

Claymates?? (I hear most of you asking) Yes, Claymates; as in rabid zealots fans of American Idol singer Clay Aiken. (Think Englebert Humperdink without the testosterone. Or, a latter-day Jim Neighbors).

Since we have every song Jimmy Buffet released, and we have jobs, I guess me and the wife are Parrotheads. Though, Touch of Grey did become my anthem post-Katrina.

Episcopal 'Wiki-gate' Update II.

To follow up on a story I blogged about here, and here: EpiscopalLife Online has this article saying Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori denies any involvement in the editing of Wikipedia entries to erase damaging information about Episcopal Bishop Charles Bennison. The story about the doctoring of the Wikipedia entry was first reported by VirtueOnline in May. The person who made the damaging edits, Bishop Bennison's assistant, Barbara Alton, has since said she was acting on her own.

For what it's worth, I take the Presiding Bishop at her word on this one. For all that I may disagree with her on theological grounds (and we disagree om a lot), I see no motive for her in this silliness. She has (pardon the pun) bigger fish to fry right now, and I do I think she is that petty and shallow. The damaging information about Bishop Bennison was already common knowledge and can be found in other sources around the 'Net. (Try Google.) So removing it from Wikipedia would serve no real purpose for the Presiding Bishop. It seems more realistic that Ms. Alton was just very loyal to her employer.

The September 30 deadline, and the US House of Bishops Meeting, are both fast approaching. We have far more important things to worry about as Episcopalians right now.

The "WinPhone".

Gotta love it!



Hattip: Little Green Footballs

Gulf Storm Watch 070823

All's quiet on the storm front.


But keep checking.

Minding The Gap.

Now that I've erased any shread of my credability with the last two posts, let me try to redeem myself by pointing out this excellent piece by Brad Drell on the generation gap in the movers and shakers in The Episcopal Church (tm). I think he has hit on something here, and it gives me hope that The Episcopal Church (tm) will weather the silliness of the self-absorbed Boomers now in control. Just for the record, I was born in 1959, but I consider myself an "X-er". Much of my foundation was indeed formed by watching the excesses and silliness of the Boomer generation.

Carnival Of The Shirtless European Leaders

From Drudge. Lordy, I hope this isn't a trend....

Vladimir Putin, Russia


Nicolas Sarkozy, France


But if it is a trend, I wouldn't want America, the leader of the Western World, to be caught with it's shirt down, as it were. So I guess our next President will need a different set of, um, qualifications. Like these:



At a minimum, it puts Hillary out of the running.

Perhaps A Large, Flatulent Badger?

You run across this story about moose belches and moose farts being a huge source of carbon dioxide – maybe even more than cars. You can’t pass it up. You know exactly how you are going to post this, Monty Python and the Holy Grail jokes and all, but you don’t have time - meetings, reviews, designs and all the other stuff you have to do run an architectural practice take precedent. And by the time you get to your blog, some ivory tower lawyer - apparently with too much time on his hands - beat you to it.

Damn academics.

If the moose story is accurate, I bet Frostbite Falls, Minnesota has to spend a fortune in carbon offsets.......

Bishop Richard Gere?

News of a proposal by Presiding Bishop Kathering Jefferts Schori to merge The Episcopal Church (tm) with Buddhism.

From Tominthebox. He's got lots more "theological satire", so stop by for a visit.

Is It 20 October Yet?

Sign Number One that Louisiana Democrats are desperate about the upcoming Governor’s race: This TV ad attacking Bobby Jindal’s religion. Even papers in the target area of the state said it went too far. More here.

Sign Number Two that Louisiana Democrats are desperate about the upcoming Governor’s race: This mayor of a formerly flooded city is seriously toying with putting his hat in the ring for the governors mansion.


EDITORIAL POINT: On the Democratic Party attack ad, one needs to remember that The Roman Catholic Church believes that they are the one true “Catholic” (Universal) Church, with apostolic succession all the way back to St. Peter, and that all other Christian faiths, theologically, fall short. OK, so we differ on points of theology. I am an Anglican, and the Vatican sees my practice as, theologically speaking, heritical, since I am not in communion with the Roman Church. Did Bobby Jindal call for the persecution of members of my Faith, or of other Faiths? No. He stated his Faith’s theology, for goodness sake! Hebrews believe that Jesus Christ was not the Messiah; by the logic of the Louisiana Democratic Party, shouldn’t they be criticized for “insulting” Christian beliefs?

Progressive Runs Into Reality; Rose-Colored Glasses Shattered.

And Briton Andrew Anthony starts to see. Part II of his commentary is here, and Part III is here.

Read. It. All.

Sadly, This Seems So...... Fitting.

Via Instapundit: A recently stolen handgun once owned by Elvis Presley has been found. In a Porta-Potty.

I know, I know. I'm gonna burn in hell for this one.

And We're Moving On Up, Too.

Finally. Louisiana is ranked in the top 20 in something other than cancer, illiteracy, or murder. My Alma Mater, Louisiana State University (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tiger Athletic Foundation), is ranked Number 13 in this survey.

I swell with pride.

We did beat this guy's 15th ranked school, so that must count for something.

UPDATE: The Emperor of Ontario has responded to my post by lamenting that his school refuses to participate in surveys, including the U.S. News College Survey. Which prompted me, since that U.S. News issue came today, to see how LSU ranked:

Best National Universities (112 ranked): Not there.
Top 50 Public National Universities: Nope.
Best Business Schools: Missed that one.
Best Engineering Programs: Must have been busy that day.

If I may quote the iconoclastic Randy Newman: "College men from LSU, go in dumb, come out dumb, too."

But He's Getting The Deck Chairs Arranged...

Pop Quiz:

You are on a ship that gets hit by an iceberg. There is confusion, uncertainty and fear as the ship begins to take on water. Who do you want as the captain?

1) Someone who takes control of the situation and fights to save the ship and the lives aboard;

2) Someone who watches the ship sink and blames the loss on the rescuers not showing up with enough life jackets.

If you live in the City of New Orleans, unfortunately, you are stuck with Answer No. 2. To quote Mayor C. Ray directly: "It still important to point out that America still hasn't done right by us..."

With an attitude like that, and with all the local politicos currently involved in corruption scandals, why should America trust anyone down here with a dime? Leadership, or the lack thereof, makes all the difference here. And leadership means taking responsibility. But since the Mayor can not seem to do that, I hereby recommend this song as the new official anthem for the City of New Orleans.

A bit of advice: If Mayor C. Ray wants to know how to successfully run a large Louisiana city, he should call up this guy for some pointers. He's done a pretty darn good job for us, IMHO.

UPDATE: 1.1 million volunteers have been to New Orleans in the last two years to help with the recovery. (And those are just the ones that get reported.) One. Point. One. Million. I think America has done pretty damn good by us. And some people (see above) should be a whole lot more appreciative of that, don't you think? I know I am.

Dean Update V

Damn. Dean's a Category Five. Jamaica got clobbered, but thankfully the loss of life appears small. Yucatan's next. Like I said before: prayers now, and action after. People will be in need of help, so volunteer and/or donate.

And there is something else brewing out in the Atlantic, too.

THE Unanswered Question.

Right now over the House of Bishops / Deputies Listserv, some folks have their polity all in a bunch over this letter by Archbishop Peter Akinola, the Anglican Primate of Nigeria, where he lays out in detail The Episcopal Church's repeated middle-finger salutes to the rest of the Anglican Communion over issues of human sexuality.

Even after all the years of meetings, communiqués, conventions, synods, listening processes, and the rest, there is one elemental question that still needs an answer:

Is homosexual practice compatible or incompatible with Scripture?

Either it is, or it isn't.

So I ask you, Louie, Liz, Tom, Nigel, Walter, +Katherine, Executive Committee, Bishops, et. al., can you tell this check-writing-pew-sitter how you would answer that question? Don't dodge around with a bunch of "how-are-we-to-know-the-will-of-God?" silliness. If Scripture is the revealed Word (and therefore will) of God, we know the answer to that question; so let’s drop the circular argument. And no yammering on about polity, canons, conventions, autonomy, listening processes, borders, contexts, conspiracy theories, greater understandings, or the MDG's. I want a simple "I believe homosexual practice is compatible with Scripture," or "I do not believe homosexual practice is compatible with Scripture."



Can't do it, can you?



UPDATE: I just read a post on the HOB/D Listserv that, while I cannot quote or republish, I think requires a response. For all that I may disagree with Louie Crew about over this current issue, he has shown remarkable Christianity in his comments about his opponents (that would be folks like me), and he has earned my respect because of that. Mr. Crew, I am glad you see the doors as always open. I wish I could say the same for many others on your side who post there. (Or many on my side who post elsewhere.)

Episcopal 'Wiki-Gate' Update.

Following up on this post from a few days ago about someone changing the Wikipedia entry on Episcopal Bishop Charles Bennison, VirtueOnline says Wikipedia has deleted the account of Barbara Alton for vandalism. Ms. Alton is Bishop Bennison's assistant, and she allegedly deleted information damaging to the Bishop.

VirtueOnline claims Ms. Anton said she made the changes at the direction of Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori. Again, let me state that I hope this latter allegation is not true. I pray it is not true. While I am very critical of +Bp. Schori on theological grounds, I still respect the office she holds and presume in her the highest ethical standards of a Priest in the Church. But if she is involved in such paranoid, petty, and utterly Nixonian actions, then she has violated those standards and should be made to answer as the Canons and Constitution of The Episcopal Church require.

Hey, Louie - We're Getting Organized!

We just got back from the Baton Rouge Standfirm Commenters Dinner. A typical Cajun dinner - great food, great company, and a great time; with a not-so-typical topic: the future of The Episcopal Church (tm). More later, once I have had time to (urp!) digest both food and discussion.

Dean Update IV

11pm EDT projected track is even more southerly than before. Landfill on the Mexican mainland below 25 degrees North.

Right now, this is a bad storm and is going to do a lot of damage. Pray for those in the path. And start thinking about what you can do to help them once it is all over.

Dean Update III.

At 8am EDT, the NHC track is still projecting Dean to hit Mexico just south of the border. No northward turn yet. This is a nasty storm; pray for those in it's path.

The Basis For Bishop Imam Spong's Theology Revealed.

It seems the British ITV network is making a movie about Jesus Christ:

"There was no manger, Christ is not the Messiah, and the crucifixion never happened. A forthcoming ITV documentary will portray Jesus as Muslims see him.

With the Koran as a main source and drawing on interviews with scholars and historians, the Muslim Jesus explores how Islam honours Christ as a prophet but not as the son of God. According to the Koran the crucifixion was a divine illusion."

How is this different from what this retired Episcopal Bishop has to say about the divinity of Jesus Christ? And since he is the theological mentor of the current leadership of The Episcopal Church (tm), you can now see why this Episcopal priest (and her local Bishop) thought her actions weren't such a big deal.

As they say, when you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything. Maybe this isn't so far off for us 'Piskies.

Flowers Are Easier, And Work Just As Well.

To take your mind off hurricanes, corruption, and war, just remember that 18 August is 'Bad Poetry Day'. C'mon, guys, admit it. We've all tried our hand at "rhyming profound", thinking we could get laid if we could just channel our inner Shakespeare. And if you were anything like me, it didn't work. I wrote a poem to a girlfriend once, thinking I was pouring out my inner feelings and writing her the "sonnet for the ages". But I never had the nerve to show it to her, and a good thing, too. I found it years later and I was surprised my eyeballs didn't melt, or the pages didn't burst into flames, when I read it. Lordy, was it bad. I mean, beyond Vogon bad. Author Robert Heinlein, who didn't write poetry, postulated that it wasn't murder if you shot a poet who read his own verse in public. If they're 17, I quite agree.

And mark your calendars now, because 31 August is 'National Trail-Mix Day'. Yeah, I can't wait, either.

Dean Update II.

At 11pm EDT, the NHC track is projected to be more southerly, hitting Mexico just south of the border. While South Louisiana is looking more and more in the clear this time, parts of Haiti are going to get hammered, and Jamaica is right in it's path. Pray for them. They will need it.

As an FYI, here is your one-stop, more-info-than-you'll-ever-need hurricane website: Golden Triangle Weather Page. This website could give weather junkies an overdose, but I'd definitely bookmark it.

Hattip: My dear wife.

Dean Update Ia.

In response to Glenn Reynolds' question about New Orleans: "Not yet."

The majority of the models, including this one, show a westward track - and I'm willing to go with those until I see something different - and I live down here. We should always be prepared for a hit here in Louisiana (they have already activated some emergency preparedness agencies as a precaution, and we're rechecking our home hurricane supplies), but let's not go looking for trouble.

You May Let The Puns Fly At Will.

A member of the Louisiana National Guard offers a most unique inducement to enlist. At a baseball game.

Two Alexandria mothers got more than they bargained for during Wednesday’s Alexandria Aces game – commotion coming from a bathroom stall, a “thong panty” discarded on the floor and a woman’s feet and legs “swinging back and forth.”

And now a Pineville man faces an obscenity charge and a National Guard member faces discipline by a military court after the two were caught having sex in a bathroom stall during the game, according to Alexandria Police.

The 18-year-old Colfax woman and members of her National Guard unit were at the Aces game as part of a recruitment effort.

They sure didn't have signing bonuses like that when I joined up. (And since when did a "thong panty" become authorized uniform wear??)

Stating The Obvious.

New crime stats are in for New Orleans. It's up a..... wee bit. But unlike the Mayor, Chief Reily doesn't think it's a good thing.

Dean Update.

National Hurricane Center forecast now has Hurricane Dean heading on a bit more northerly track, but still not turning northward.



UPDATE: 5pm EDT forecast track about where it was before. Landfall near Texas / Mexico order.

Believing Is Seeing.

Michael Yon links to this piece on that iconic Abu Ghraib image.

Read it all.

They say God is in the details; which may explain why most mainstream journalists don't believe in God anymore.

UPDATE: Mr. Sitemeter says this post has attracted a few visits from folks using a New York Times address. Welcome aboard, boys and girls! And just for the record (since folks say you are the paper of record) I'm not wearing pajamas as I write this.

Rollin' On The River. (Union Only, Please.)

Remember all that talk about the Democratic Party controlled Congress cleaning out the special interests? Well, I guess they missed a few. And one of them may cost the Mississippi River one of it's last, great icons - the Delta Queen.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..........

How Red Are Your Sox?

It's mid-August. The All-Star game is a memory. And who do you think is (still) on top of the AL East? If you said these guys, you'd be right. And five games ahead of Satan's overpaid minions, too.

Not A Good Day.

For the painful experience file: Thursdays are never a good day to have a root canal. Come to think of it, neither is any other day.
I need a milk shake.
And some Advil.

Uh-oh.

A hurricane in the eastern Caribbean. Hurricane Dean, and he's predicted to grow into a Cat 4 storm. Post-Katrina, this gets your undivided attention if you live in South Louisiana. The NOAA projections say it's going west and south of us, but still.........

Are you ready? Really ready?

Michael Yon in Bali.

Michael Yon e-mailed with a new post, but this time from Bali, Indonesia. He deserves it.

An Episcopal Wiki-gate?

I don't think this is news to most of you, but Wikipedia is not the most reliable information resource there is. (Duh. It's written by zillions of contributors!) To prove the point, Wired Magazine now has a post up about entries that have been purposely altered for one reason or another. And Little Green Footballs has identified the origins of some of the people doing the altering. Mostly these are sophomoric attempts to make an opposing view or person look bad; the digital equivalent of spray painting a penis on the billboard of a political opponent. Not only is it sad that such immature things take place, the origin of the some of the perpetrators are eye opening.

But it was the alleged doctoring of the Wikipedia entry concerning Episcopal Bishop Charles Bennison that caught my attention. According to the Wired post, which linked to this post on VirtueOnline from last May, the Bishop's entry was doctored to remove damaging facts and alligations against him, and in particular a sex scandal involving his brother, also a priest. The latter scandal was much discussed on the traditionalist websites (Bishop Bennison is no friend of traditionalist Episcopalians). The Wikipedia listing of edits and re-edits to Bishop Bennison's entry is rather long. And the person who changed the original post is, according to the VirtueOnline post, the Bishop's executive assistant, Barbara Alton. They also claim Ms. Alton changed the Wikipedia entry following a directive by Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori.

This is the first I've heard of any of this. I know nothing of VirtueOnline, other than a couple of references to them on StandFirm - and one of those is criticizing VirtueOnline for getting something wrong. I checked several of the other traditionalist/orthodox websites, and could find no reference to this incident, or VirtueOnline. (Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough.) But if it pans out that Presiding Bishop Schori did direct the entry be altered to delete information that could damage the image of the Episcopal Church, what would that say about her character, integrity, and her ability to pastorally lead this Church? I may have my sincere disagreements with Bishop Schori - and I have taken her to task on several occasions - but I pray what VirtueOnline reported about her is not true. Theological differences are one thing; trying to erase damaging allegations is quite another.

Has anyone else heard about this incident? If so, drop me an e-mail and bring me up to speed. I am interested in finding out what's going on.