Jan's Stinkin Blog: July 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

AMERICAN NUNS ON THE MARCH...

NUNS WEIGH RESPONSES TO SCATHING VATICAN REBUKE: New York Times / Laurie Goodstein.

I have talked at length about American nuns at odds with the Vatican on policy or shall we say doctrinal fundamentals. The nuns respond to and embrace the “signs of the times” or issues of modern life while the Vatican considers modernity a threat and demands a return to the past.

Nuns are also engaged in serving the sick, the poor, children and immigrants and not sitting in thrones deciding issues of theology; the nuns are with the people and on the ground and engaged in the realities of modern life which often do not jive with Vatican rules.

The nuns are also still engaged in Vatican II and its dictum to open the church to the modern world while Pope Benedict wants to cancel what Vatican II tried to do and return to pre-Vatican II times of darkness and obedience.

The nuns are supposed to be obedient and silent and Benedict has dispatched bishops to bring the nuns into line with the thinking of Benedict and not Vatican II.

American nuns are meeting in St. Louis to come up with a response to the Vatican’s call to bishops to overhaul their organization LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS.

Yes, the nuns can bow and accept the bishop’s takeover and leadership of their organization OR they can form a new organization independent of Vatican control…wow…most American Catholics are for the nuns and are cheering them on…and so am I!

The problem the nuns find with the Vatican is that the Vatican regards questioning as defiance. The same thing happened to me during my Catholic education, when I asked questions I was told to shut up because the devil is making me ask those questions; I could never ask, just obey and the nuns are saying no to blind obedience and yes to discussion because discussion is good for the Church and its members.

The Vatican says that the Church must speak with one voice and that is correct but the Church has not found that voice yet and must work with members of the Church to develop that voice and it must be a new voice and not the voice of the past.

That is a problem because the past popes were conservatives and appointed fellow conservatives to positions of power in the Church and unless a progressive pope is elected which is doubtful given that most cardinals are conservatives, the nuns have to take leadership roles into moving the Church into modernity.

I feel that once the nuns resist the pressure from the Vatican, they will be joined by other religious organizations in pressing the Vatican to change or at least produce another John XXIII.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN…IT NEEDS TO BEGIN NOW!

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Chick-Fil-A controversy...

I don’t know if you caught the hubbub about Chick-Fil-A Sandwiches but I found it quite interesting and a sign of the times.

We don’t usually see this fast food brand up here in the North but it is quite the place to eat in the South. The president of Chick-Fil-A (Dan Cathy) said that his organization backs the “biblical definition of a family” and added that “…we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fists at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage”.

OK, it’s a free country and we have free speech so what the hey; let him speak. Being a mostly Southern restaurant, it should not be a surprise that the owner is a Southern Baptist and holds the views that he does.

But the Jim Henson Company, the company that supplies “Muppet” toys to the restaurant chain, said it is pulling its toys and ending its relationship with Chick-Fil-A because it objects to the company’s anti-gay stance. OK, they have a right to do that.

Now comes the hubbub.

The mayors of Chicago, Boston and San Francisco said that Chick-Fil-A is not welcome in their cities saying their values do not belong in their cities.

Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum have called for a Chick-Fil-A appreciation day urging all that agree with their anti-gay stance or should we say anti-gay marriage stance, to support the restaurant. Other politicians will undoubtedly join in the fun…

I find this situation interesting on a number of levels.

The injection of fundamentalist religion into our political structure is troubling and where Republicans advocate for less government intrusion into our lives, they have no problem telling us who to marry (gay marriage) and what we can do with our bodies (contraception & abortion) and what researchers can and cannot research (stem cells).

The gay community and supporters of diversity and toleration of diversity have become more vocal and willing to take action when they encounter what they feel are acts of discrimination against diversity.

There is also an economic component to this issue as either side tries to boycott or support places of business that lean one way or another.

The Chick-Fil-A situation is just the tip of the iceberg and there will be more such situations coming but overall, I think Christian conservative radicals are losing control over American minds and hearts, even in the South.

Americans are growing more and more tolerant and willing to accept the diversity among them. Even religious people are realizing that they cannot force their views on people and some Christian religions openly support diversity using the argument that if Jesus was here, he would absolutely support diversity.

We are definitely living in interesting times…

Thursday, July 26, 2012

COLORADO MASSACRE: Questions about guns, etc.

All you here on the news these days is about the Aurora, Colorado massacre at a theater during the midnight showing of the latest Batman film.

Although there are many discussion threads about this bizarre and terrible event, many people are dancing around the gun issue as is the norm after a shooting incident like this.

Obama and Romney are not touching the gun issue at this juncture of their campaigns because it is such a volatile subject in our society and they are smart to do that.

My friends are also divided with some urging others to stock up on guns and ammo while they can. Obama has shown no indication that he would ban weapons of any kind so why the worry…but gun sales are way up before the election anyway.

Other friends and family are asking why we allow the purchase of “assault rifles” since they cannot be used for hunting. Well they can be used for target practice by people that want to play being special ops commandos. The assault rifles are not like real assault rifles in that they cannot fire on automatic but must be fired one bullet at a time each time the trigger is pressed BUT they can have very large ammo clips which would allow someone to keep firing for a long time without reloading.

Would banning the sale of assault rifles have kept James Holmes from doing what he did? I think not especially when we find out his assault rifle actually jammed early into the massacre and he had to rely on secondary, non-assault type, weaponry.

Could anything have stopped this man? Well, under current gun regulations, probably not since he had a clean police record and bought his weapons legally. He did amass a great amount of ammunition and explosive supplies on-line, delivered by probably UPS or FedEx. Should ammo manufacturers or sellers have a maximum purchase amount after which they notify authorities?

If we are to protect this country from terrorists, shouldn’t we have some type of reporting system in place when a large amount of explosives or ammo is purchased?

Many are saying that we are the only modern country that allows basically unregulated sale of guns to any and all who want them. The regulations that we do have are supposed to keep guns out of the hands of convicted criminals but they somehow always seem to be able to get their hands on guns when they want to.

Some are saying that having more gun owners with concealed weapon permits may reduce these types of crimes but others are saying that having more people carrying guns may mean more innocent bystanders killed by indiscriminate firing of all those weapons…Dodge City?

There is a TV show where a giant computer tracks all residents of a city as to their potential for committing a crime and when the computer kicks out a name, a special agent goes out to stop them. This may be the only way James Holmes could have been stopped but that is all fiction at this stage; maybe someone is already working on such a computer.

James Holmes did send an account of what he is about to do to a professor at the school he was attending but the package remained in the mailroom unopened. Some say that these types of guys always send out signals about what they are about to do but no one listens or picks up on those signals. I think since a number of these massacres have already occurred, we as a public are more sensitive to certain clues that people give off but obviously, in this case the ball was dropped again.

Do we ban all guns? We have many examples of countries that have done just that but are they free of such massacres?

Are movies and games just too violent for our impressionable youth? I think to some extent that is true and we have banned our grandson from playing such games and have noticed a difference in his behavior but what about adults that play and watch such violence…I do and I don’t feel like killing scores of people…

Obviously the last Batman movie made an impression on Holmes and especially the Joker character that was so brilliantly portrayed by Ledger as totally, uncontrollably maniacal; Holmes even dyed his hair orange just like the Joker in the movie. The fact that Holmes targeted the premier of the new Batman movie makes it a part of the puzzle?

The fact that he had body armor covering his entire body adds to the mystery and points out an oddity in the usual behavior of such people who normally kill themselves at the end or have police kill them as they charge towards them; Holmes obviously wanted to live another day…why?

I don’t know the answer but blaming it all on guns just does not seem like the way to fix this problem and maybe there is no way to fix this problem and we will have mindless massacres every so often by people that are apparently deranged in special ways unlike criminals who are criminals and lead criminal lives; Holmes was normal until he snapped and that makes him special.

Should be interesting to see how this case develops…I would like to hear more about this guy’s parents and family life…

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Mayor Bing to the state: give us money but don't interfere...

I realize Dave Bing, the mayor of Detroit, is a politician and he obviously wants to get re-elected so he must say what Detroiters want to hear him say but he must be careful since he is walking a fine line with the state and all those residents and voters of the state of Michigan that are NOT residents of Detroit… because those non-Detroiters have had about enough from Detroit and some Detroiters.

We all know how Detroiters have trashed their city through their incompetence and corruption and are on the verge of total collapse but since we all say we are from Detroit when asked by others outside of Michigan, even though we live in the suburbs, we want the city to survive and are willing to help.

But when Detroiters spit on our efforts to help and instead demand money for THEIR city that they will spend as they wish, all I can say is @##$$%^&*! Why would anybody with a functioning brain cell give money to people that have demonstrated total irresponsibility in handling millions given to them in the past.

Belle Isle was a beautiful island in the Detroit River that I remember visiting often in my youth. The Polish community held picnics, marches and celebrated Polish holidays on the island. I went ice skating there in the winter and canoeing and picnicking in the summer. That was years ago…the island has degenerated into total shit since then. It is full of trash, unsafe, the bathrooms don’t work, the aquarium has closed and so has the small zoo…it is a mess.

Our governor has offered to lease the island for 99 years and make into a state park under the auspices of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources which would clean it up and make it the shinning star it once was but NO…………………………………

That would mean that it would not be under control of Detroit and its wonderfully incompetent government and that just cannot be allowed; you can fix it up but only WE can run it and be in control of it…aren’t you also Michigan residents?...does not the island belong to all Michiganians?

I guess not because you see, it is a race issue and not a property issue.

Mayor Bing vowed to take the state’s money but never surrender control of the island to the state…which makes no sense whatsoever but in Detroit it does not have to make sense.

Mayor Bing also told the state not to help demolish abandoned homes in Detroit; they will accept money to demolish homes but will not allow the state to do the work because…they want control of the money and where it goes…to their friends?

Mayor Bing also scoffed at the state’s offer of state police to help Detroit police keep the peace in murder city. Again…no thanks but we will take the money and spend it as we want which is irresponsibly and corruptly…

More and more Michiganians are convinced that the city of Detroit needs to be allowed to go completely bankrupt and maybe then and only then will the city and the people in the city (not all of them) will learn a little humility and understand that they are the ones that brought the city to its knees and therefore are not capable of bringing the city back and should not be trusted to do that given their history; they are the problem and the sooner they realize that the better.

And as to keeping the city in the hands of blacks; you had years of black rule…how did that work out for you? How about putting racism aside and trying to be just responsible Detroiters and help build a new and better Detroit…still my home town.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

ABUSE ENABLER PRIEST ASKS FOR PROBATION...my ass!

OFFICIAL IN CHURCH SCANDAL ASKS FOR PROBATION, Assoc. Press, July 20^th, Detroit News.

I have reported in the past about Monsignor William Lynn (61), a Catholic priest in Philadelphia that was convicted of child endangerment for letting abuser priests continue their abuse instead of putting a stop to the abuse by reporting the abuse to the police.

His defense said that he was not in charge (the archbishop was and he is now dead) and was just following orders but that did not wash with the jury who convicted him, making him the first Catholic church official convicted for essentially covering up the abuse.

Now Lynn is asking for a probationary sentence saying that he has already experienced months of scrutiny, vilification and shame. He is asking for a sentence of time served combined with house arrest, community service, work release or probation; the poor baby has suffered enough!

It is true that Lynn himself did not abuse any children but the fact that he “knowingly” allowed abusers to continue to abuse children makes him not only culpable in the crime but, in my mind, guilty of the abuse itself.

His lawyers say that putting him in jail will not serve any purpose at all and would be cruel and unusual punishment but I disagree and feel that a message must be sent to all Catholic abuse enablers, that the law is coming for you and you will be punished.

It also sends a clear message to the Vatican that it can no longer hide its crimes but must take responsibility for them and accept punishment; not divine punishment but earthly punishment for committing crimes against earthly beings, innocent and vulnerable young ones at that.

As to Lynn himself and to the many others like him in the Church, this case exposes and reveals clerics who are supposed adult, responsible men who have lost all sense of humanity and with it the ability to distinguish right from wrong, sacrificing the welfare of fellow humans (children) just to protect an organization that is supposed to be all about humanity.

Lynn and fellow clerics in the Catholic Church have lost their ability to behave like responsible adukt human beings and are basically zombies of the Church with no moral or ethical standards common to humans and this HAS to be trumpeted to the world so that the Vatican and its minions is revealed for what it is; a criminal organization hell bent on self-preservation at all costs.

Lynn is only the first cleric convicted of child endangerment but I am sure many will follow but being the first, he must be used as an example and as a deterrent to present and future church leader criminals engaged in the same cover-up operations as he was.

THROW THE BOOK AT HIM and let him do some earthly atonement behind bars and ponder how he lost his humanity and how the entire Church leadership structure has deteriorated to such a level that those leaders are now considered common criminals.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

IN GOD WE TRUST AD: Response to a response...

In a response to my blog: “IN GOD WE TRUST AD: Very misleading and expensive” Hobby Lobby, the company sponsoring the ad, said it was saddened that some of the responses to their ad was “pure venom”.

The full page ad ran in many if not most, newspapers in the country so it was bound to attract some commentary, some maybe not so nice because the blogosphere gives many a voice that they probably would never use in public.

The Hobby Lobby response was well written and had some interesting points.

They are correct in stating that when the First Amendment was written, the country was basically a mish mash of Christianities, many at each other’s throats; they were escaping religious persecution in Europe but were willing to persecute other denominations here in the land of the free…so much for brotherly love and other so called Christian virtues.

The First Amendment was designed to keep these Christianities from taking control of state governments and making states exclusively Catholic or Methodist, etc. best way was to make sure government(s) never sided with any specific religion; Separation of Church & State.

The Founding Fathers did however have a healthy distrust of organized religion and the damage it has done throughout history, especially in Europe; they were determined that would not happen here.

Please remember that in the Treaty with the Barbary Pirates (Muslim), Congress specifically stated that the United States was not a Christian nation and therefore not an enemy of non-Christian nations.

The Hobby Lobby makes a point of saying that at our founding, most people were some sort of Christians and Christian values predominated in the birth of this nation and that many today feel we are moving away from those Christian values.

These values such as honesty, purity, faithfulness and morality, they posit must be based on an authority other than our own and here ladies & gentlemen, is the rub.

Many today, feel that values and virtues are not the exclusive property of some God; they feel that we as humans, living in our social groupings are the exclusive masters of the values and virtues we hold dearest and we practice morality as something expected of fellow humans and as such humanists, we owe it to the rest of our brothers and sisters to behave in a humane fashion and not because we are commanded by some God to behave that way under penalty of eternal damnation.

The Hobby Lobby feels that we have slipped morally as a nation because we have removed God from the public square. I feel that God does not belong in the public square but in a private square where those who wish to practice their beliefs can entertain God in their midst only and not where God is not wanted.

This is exactly what the Founding Fathers meant when they created the policy of the Separation of Church & State; they wanted God in only places where he is wanted and not forced on the public at large.

The foundation of this country is strong and will remain strong only if we don’t allow any one group to take control of the public square and yes that includes the rabid Christians who feel they know how everyone should behave; au contraire, many so called Christians are some of the worst offenders of our societal rules of accepted behavior.

Please also note that the non-believing or non-religious population of this country is growing rapidly and to force them to accept Christian practices like prayers to a Christian God is not only unconstitutional and a violation of our freedoms but is harkening back to the days of darkness that saw religious persecution running rampant across Europe forcing many to seek refuge in the land of the free; the United States of America; lets not go backwards.