• Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    Stunning Upset in Illinois: Oberweis Scooped by Scientist

    Democrat Foster wins Hastert’s seat — chicagotribune.com In a stunning upset Saturday that could be a harbinger of trouble for the GOP this fall, a little-known Democratic physicist won the special election for a seat drawn to re-elect former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert. David and I were driving back from a visit with our convalescing relation when we heard this on the radio and actually cheered and clapped and high-fived (safely) in the car. We’re not political geeks, it’s just that we’re happy when annoying funnymentalist conservatives get righteously trounced, with an extra generous helping of humiliations galore. They…

  • Random Access Memories - SABRE2th Tigress: Book 'em, Dano.

    The Case of the Missing Pork Chops

    I don’t pay much attention to what goes on around me at work – I have enough to do trying to maintain focus and stay on task without getting into dishing the dirt much about colleagues. But sometimes, a topic just begs to be explored. Yesterday, a co-worker who’s now a kind of tech services/general upgrades and hardware dogsbody was walking around behind me saying “Porkchops, porkchops,” in a sing-songy, “where are you” tone of voice. I responded with “applesauce,” because that’s what immediately leaps to my tiny little mind on instinct. She came to my desk and related the…

  • Dear Mom - Episcopal - Only in Utah...

    Spiritual caregivers: Salt Lake Trib mentions a friend

    Spiritual caregivers: Beyond physical healing – Salt Lake Tribune For 22 years, Lincoln Ure, an Episcopal priest, has been the clinical pastoral education supervisor at St. Mark’s Hospital, the one site in Utah that offers the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) training. Succeeding as a chaplain, Ure explained, “takes some serious internal work.” Father Linc spent some time with Mom and with the rest of our spiritually divergent family while Mom was at St Mark’s. He was such a good sport when she was throwing us out one by one – offered to go in and be thrown out,…

  • Dear Mom - Second Life

    Waiting

    We’re in the family waiting room at the day surgery center, waiting for the surgery of our dear family member to finish so the surgeon can come in and give us an update. There will be at least a couple more hours waiting after that while the patient is in recovery, and we’re most of us pretty much here for the long haul today. Unlike last time, which was marred by the unseemly haste the patient was booted out after surgery, this time there’s more personal choice involved, and the option to stay for at least two or three days…

  • Dear Mom

    Meanwhile, what’s happening?

    All this incessant blogging about politics, spiritual and secular, is just camouflage: I don’t really have anything that I can blog about that’s all that interesting, aside from several very personal family topics. Well, rather than maintain complete radio silence (and rely too much on sources other than myself) I’ll try to tactfully refer to some of the things that are REALLY on my mind (and not on the diversions I find on the Internets Tubes). Tomorrow, we’ll be spending much of the day at a nearby hospital, lending support to a much-loved family member who is undergoing surgery. AGAIN.…

  • Mini-Posts - Politics, Schmolitics

    God Bless Little Vermont Towns

    They know it’s silly, but still they do it, the darlings. Vt. towns OK Bush ‘indictment’ – Life- msnbc.com BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – Voters in two Vermont towns approved measures Tuesday calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for what they consider violations of the Constitution.

  • Episcopal - Good and Joyful Things

    Bad Bishop of Harare: Loose Canon

    Nolbert Kunonga, deposed bishop of Harare in Zimbabwe, is notoriously known as the “Bad Bishop” around here. He’s been embroiled in a dispute with his diocese where he’s currently squatting in possession of the cathedral, and refusing to allow worshipers, priests, and the acting bishop access. He commented recently in an interview: “The cannons(sic) are clear on the issue of homosexuality. We are not doing anything new, but we have joined other dioceses elsewhere that have rejected homosexuality and decided to break away from their provinces. “If they do not see anything bad in homosexuality then for us there is…

  • Episcopal - Good and Joyful Things

    Go in Peace, Church Dividers

    Here are a few items I ran across the other day… yeah, I blog about this stuff too much, while I mull over real-world blogfodder.  I am in some ways coming around to the point of view expressed by a Canadian columnist: Sin of hypocrisy I suppose I should be charitable to those who are splitting my church but that’s too much to ask. There isn’t, I daresay, a single one of them who is without sin — many of whom, like divorced persons, are ongoing sinners. These defectors are hypocrites. Their sin is OK but the conduct of gays,…