the multicultural spitfire

NYT: The Gospel versus H.R. 4437

2006-03-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

This NYT editorial gave me chills, especially the part about, "Cardinal Mahony's declaration of solidarity with illegal immigrants, for whom Lent is every day, is a startling call to civil disobedience, as courageous as it is timely."

I'd say, "Enjoy..." - but what I really mean is, "Think..." or, "Open your heart..."

***
Published: March 3, 2006
It has been a long time since this country heard a call to organized lawbreaking on this big a scale. Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation's largest, urged parishioners on Ash Wednesday to devote the 40 days of Lent to fasting, prayer and reflection on the need for humane reform of immigration laws. If current efforts in Congress make it a felony to shield or offer support to illegal immigrants, Cardinal Mahony said, he will instruct his priests — and faithful lay Catholics — to defy the law.

The cardinal's focus of concern is H.R. 4437, a bill sponsored by James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin and Peter King of New York. This grab bag legislation, which was recently passed by the House, would expand the definition of "alien smuggling" in a way that could theoretically include working in a soup kitchen, driving a friend to a bus stop or caring for a neighbor's baby. Similar language appears in legislation being considered by the Senate this week.

The enormous influx of illegal immigrants and the lack of a coherent federal policy to handle it have prompted a jumble of responses by state and local governments, stirred the passions of the nativist fringe, and reinforced anxieties since 9/11. Cardinal Mahony's defiance adds a moral dimension to what has largely been a debate about politics and economics. "As his disciples, we are called to attend to the last, littlest, lowest and least in society and in the church," he said.
The cardinal is right to argue that the government has no place criminalizing the charitable impulses of private institutions like his, whose mission is to help people with no questions asked. The Los Angeles Archdiocese, like other religious organizations across the country, runs a vast network of social service programs offering food and emergency shelter, child care, aid to immigrants and refugees, counseling services, and computer and job training. Through Catholic Charities and local parishes, the church is frequently the help of last resort for illegal immigrants in need. It should not be made an arm of the immigration police as well.

Cardinal Mahony's declaration of solidarity with illegal immigrants, for whom Lent is every day, is a startling call to civil disobedience, as courageous as it is timely. We hope it forestalls the day when works of mercy become a federal crime.

Moral outrage

2006-03-01T09:57:00.000-05:00

...seems to be the only thing that will get me to post these days. Work. Flat remodel. Work. (Not) seeing friends. (Not) seeing my beau. Work. Parents. Stress.

But this - this you must know about. From the Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-viner1mar01,0,4597888.story?track=tothtml

A message crushed again
By Katharine VinerMarch 1, 2006
THE FLIGHTS for cast and crew had been booked; the production schedule delivered; there were tickets advertised on the Internet. The Royal Court Theatre production of "My Name Is Rachel Corrie," the play I co-edited with Alan Rickman, was transferring later this month to the New York Theatre Workshop, home of the musical "Rent," following two sold-out runs in London and several awards.

We always felt passionately that it was a piece of work that needed to be seen in the United States. Created from the journals and e-mails of American activist Rachel Corrie, telling of her journey from her adolescence in Olympia, Wash., to her death under an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza at the age of 23, we considered it a unique American story that would have a particular relevance for audiences in Rachel's home country. After all, she had made her journey to the Middle East in order "to meet the people who are on the receiving end of our [American] tax dollars," and she was killed by a U.S.-made bulldozer while protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes.

But last week the New York Theatre Workshop canceled the production — or, in its words, "postponed it indefinitely." The political climate, we were told, had changed dramatically since the play was booked. As James Nicola, the theater's 's artistic director, said Monday, "Listening in our communities in New York, what we heard was that after Ariel Sharon's illness and the election of Hamas in the recent Palestinian elections, we had a very edgy situation." Three years after being silenced for good, Rachel was to be censored for political reasons.

I'd heard from American friends that life for dissenters had been getting worse — wiretapping scandals, arrests for wearing antiwar T-shirts, Muslim professors denied visas. But it's hard to tell from afar how bad things really are. Here was personal proof that the political climate is continuing to shift disturbingly, narrowing the scope of free debate and artistic expression, in only a matter of weeks. By its own admission the theater's management had caved in to political pressure. Rickman, who also directed the show in London, called it "censorship born out of fear, and the New York Theatre Workshop, the Royal Court, New York audiences — all of us are the losers.

"It makes you wonder. Rachel was a young, middle-class, scrupulously fair-minded American woman, writing about ex-boyfriends, troublesome parents and a journey of political and personal discovery that took her to Gaza. She worked with Palestinians and protested alongside them when she felt their rights were denied. But the play is not agitprop; it's a complicated look at a woman who was neither a saint nor a traitor, both serious and funny, messy and talented and human. Or, in her own words, "scattered and deviant and too loud." If a voice like this cannot be heard on a New York stage, what hope is there for anyone else? The non-American, the nonwhite, the oppressed, the truly other?

Rachel's words from Gaza are a bridge between these two worlds — and now that bridge is being severed. After the Hamas victory, the need for understanding is surely greater than ever, and I refuse to believe that most Americans want to live in isolation. One night in London, an Israeli couple, members of the right-wing Likud party on holiday in Britain, came up after the show, impressed. "The play wasn't against Israel; it was against violence," they told Cindy Corrie, Rachel's mother.

I was particularly touched by a young Jewish New Yorker from an Orthodox family who said he had been nervous about coming to see "My Name Is Rachel Corrie" because he had been told that both she and the play were viciously anti-Israel. But he had been powerfully moved by Rachel's words and realized that he had, to his alarm, been dangerously misled.

The director of the New York theater told the New York Times on Monday that it wasn't the people who actually saw the play he was concerned about."I don't think we were worried about the audience," he said. "I think we were more worried that those who had never encountered her writing, never encountered the piece, would be using this as an opportunity to position their arguments."

Since when did theater come to be about those who don't go to see it? If the play itself, as Nicola clearly concedes, is not the problem, then isn't the answer to get people in to watch it, rather than exercising prior censorship? George Clooney's outstanding movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" recently reminded us of the importance of standing up to witch hunts; one way to carry on that tradition would be to insist on hearing Rachel Corrie's words — words that only two weeks ago were deemed acceptable.
***
KATHARINE VINER is the features editor at the Guardian in London and the editor, with Alan Rickman, of "My Name is Rachel Corrie," which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in April 2005. Because of the cancellation of the New York run, the play is transferring to the Playhouse Theatre in London's West End.

Almost Giddy

2005-10-07T09:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the hiatus, friends. I had a great birthday in August (post still pending), got a puppy at the begining of September (Rudie Pie, the Ska pup), and promptly sprained my foot trying to get him out at 7am to do his business in the first week.

Hobbling around takes a great deal of time and effort. It's one thing to break a bone and have the bone grow back together - it's an entirely different thing to have one's ligaments try to re-attach themselves to bone.

ANYWAY.

If it weren't so scary that this guy has has so much influence over our government, I'd be giddy that this is happening. As it is, I am only cautiously optimistic. Note who Roy Blunt is. (He is now in charge.)

Courtesy of Wonkette:
Tom DeLay's Money-Go-Round
The AP chases down some interesting documents relating to the Tom DeLay fundraising hoo-hah. It appears that DeLay deliberately raised more money than required to throw fancy parties at the GOP convention in 2000, and wound up handing a good deal of the surplus to Roy Blunt, the hardy Missouri House warrior designated as DeLay's replacement last week. The two cash-happy Congressman then filtered it through a couple of obliging Republican committees and whatnot, and presto:
DeLay's private charity, the consulting firm that employed DeLay's wife and the Missouri campaign of Blunt's son all ended up with money, according to campaign documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
Oh, and hey, look--it's Jack Abramoff!:
Much of the money -- including one donation to Blunt from an Abramoff client accused of running a "sweatshop" garment factory in the Northern Mariana Islands -- changed hands in the spring of 2000, a period of keen interest to federal prosecutors.
During that same time, Abramoff arranged for DeLay to use a concert skybox for donors and to take a golfing trip to Scotland and England that was partly underwritten by some of the lobbyist's clients. Prosecutors are investigating whether the source of some of the money was disguised, and whether some of DeLay's expenses were originally put on the lobbyist's credit card in violation of House rules.
Of course, DeLay and Blunt both maintain that--wait for it, wait for it--it was all perfectly legal: "This was disclosed to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law," said Don McGahn, a lawyer for DeLay. "It just shows that donors don't control funds once they're given."
Oh, all right then. You just take anyone's money, and it just coincidently happens to fall into the hands of, let's see, a tax-free charity you operate, your wife's consulting firm, and your crony-protege's son--who now is the governor of Missouri. It's all good, dudes--no hard feelings. In fact, why not just go ahead and name someone to the Supreme Court or the head of FEMA? --HOLLY MARTINS
AP: Blunt, DeLay Traded Secret Donations [Via Salon, so irritating ultramercial viewing--and encounter with scary site redesign--required]
READ MORE: brazen cronyism and graft , campaign finance , jack abramoff , roy blunt , tom delay

I am woe. ("Woe is me" but in more standard English.)

2005-08-15T14:46:00.000-05:00

Today is Monday.
The only days I have not been in the office since 18 July are the days I was at J9's wedding, 27-29 July, and 7 and 13 August.
If I have gotten out of the office before 9pm, I feel like I've been leaving early.

This report needed to "go to agency" ten days ago.
We still aren't there.

Not to mention I may have messed up one of my case studies, and will have to do a big mea culpa-ish kind of thing in the methodology. Thinking about that just doubles my stress levels.

* * * *

I was hoping to take the 19th off for my birthday which is the next day. May have to cancel the appointment for a facial that Mum got for me.

* * * *

When this is all over, I would like a top shelf, $15 margarita. Something like El Presidente at Austin Grill. I would also take a dirty Bombay Sapphire martini, extra olives, at Poste.

Make the above times two.

And my hope is that people who love me will pay for it. Although they may not be inclined to since I have been neglecting them since I have been at work.

The Economics of Dr. Seuss

2005-08-09T15:54:00.000-05:00

I've found an interesting blog, courtesy of Wonkette, of course.

Free market environmental musings at The Commons. On the effects of the need for a Thneed.
However, I don't trust that a mere better definition of property rights would translate into those property owners' stewardship of the land. There are plenty of people out there who would trash land and resources that they own so that they could make a buck. They may - or may not - live on their property. A lack of regard for biodiversity, endangered species, and future generations is evident in these fights over the spotted owl and trashing of Kyoto Treaties...

* * *

Excuses here:

I haven't been writing lately because...

1. I went to friend June's 40th Birthday Celebration in E. Hampton, NY 14-17 July.
2. I was working most all of the following weekend of 23-24 July.
3. I spent five glorious days in the Carson Valley of Nevada (and one afternoon in God's Country, Alpine County, California) for Ben & Janine's wedding (thereby putting pressure on the other days I was at work) from 26-31 July, returning home on a redeye from Denver on 1 August.
4. I've been working ever since. We are trying to get our report out for review. I'm stressin'.

Will perhaps have a recounting of the Nevada holiday and ensuing emotional turmoil regarding big life events next week...

See for yourself.

2005-07-20T11:45:00.000-05:00

Information from People for the American Way on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts's recent judicial activities.

* * * *
John Roberts, DC Circuit
In the short time since he was confirmed by the Senate in May 2003, Judge Roberts has issued troubling dissents from decisions by the full D.C. Circuit not to reconsider two important rulings. These included a decision upholding the constitutionality of the Endangered Species Act as applied in a California case and a ruling against Bush Administration efforts to keep secret the records concerning Vice President Cheney's energy task force.

Rancho Viejo, LLC v. Norton, 334 F.3d 1158 (D.C. Cir. 2003): Constitutionality of Endangered Species Act.

This case involved a real estate development company's contention that the application of the Endangered Species Act to its construction project in California was an unconstitutional exercise of federal authority under the Commerce Clause. After the United States Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the company's project "was likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the arroyo southwestern toad," placed on the Endangered Species List by the Secretary of the Interior in 1994, the company filed suit "[r]ather than accept an alternative plan proposed by the Service." Rancho Viejo, LLC v. Norton, 323 F.3d 1062, 1064 (D.C. Cir. 2003). The district court dismissed the company's complaint, and a panel of the D.C. Circuit unanimously upheld the dismissal (323 F.3d 1062), following prior D.C. Circuit precedent upholding congressional authority under the Endangered Species Act. By a vote of 7-2, the D.C. Circuit denied a petition for rehearing en banc (by the entire court) of the panel's ruling. The only dissenters were Judges Roberts and Sentelle.

All of the other Republican-appointed judges on the court - Judges Ginsburg, Henderson, and Randolph - joined the court's Democratic appointees in voting to deny rehearing en banc. The panel's opinion upholding the authority of Congress under the Commerce Clause in this case not only followed D.C. Circuit precedent, but was also consistent with a recent ruling of the Fourth Circuit in Gibbs v. Babbitt, 214 F.3d 483 (4th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1145 (2001). The opinion in that case upholding the authority of Congress to protect endangered species on private lands was written by Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, a conservative Republican-appointee. Roberts's dissent in Rancho Viejo strongly suggested that he thought it would be unconstitutional to apply the Endangered Species Act in this case. By his vote to rehear the case and thus potentially reverse the district court, Roberts indicated that he may well be ready to join the ranks of such right-wing officials as Judge Michael Luttig (who dissented in Gibbs) and Alabama Attorney General William Pryor - nominated by President Bush to the Eleventh Circuit - in their efforts to severely limit the authority of Congress to protect environmental quality as well as the rights and interests of ordinary Americans.

In re: Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 18831 (D.C. Cir. 2003), cert. granted, 2003 U.S. LEXIS 9205 (2003): Secrecy of Vice President Cheney's energy task force.

Judge Roberts was one of the dissenters in the court's 5-3 denial of a petition for rehearing en banc (with one judge not participating) filed by the Bush Administration in its continuing efforts to avoid releasing records pertaining to Vice President Cheney's energy task force. This ruling came in litigation brought by Judicial Watch and the Sierra Club charging that the Vice President's task force had violated federal law by not making its records public. The court's ruling marked "the fourth time a judicial panel has rebuffed efforts to keep the information from the public." Carol D. Leonnig, "Energy Task Force Appeal Refused," Washington Post (Sept. 12, 2003). At the Administration's urging, the Supreme Court has agreed to review the case; a decision is expected by the end of June 2004.

Summer isn't supposed to be this busy.

2005-07-19T11:37:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend with some friends from Texas in East Hampton, Long Island. While I left a difficult section of my report flying a bit in the wind (and it was subsequently edited the hell out of) it was a relaxing time. It is totally a different world up there.

TB and I saw "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" upon my return, but only after my parents regaled us with stories of Patmos, Greece.

Now I'm nine straight days at work before I go to the Sierras for a friend's wedding for five days. Then that's it for my summer holidays!

But I wanted to share this. I'm going to try to order my collection of books from Canada. I prefer reading Harry Potter in the original English.*

be sorted @ nimbo.net

*US editions
Q: Are the American editions different to the UK ones?
A: Yes a little, as well as the title change of the first book (it is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US), there are some minor changes to the text to adapt it to an American audience, but everything else is the same.

The Russell Square Tube Station

2005-07-08T10:41:00.000-05:00

As some of you know, I have an "ex". He is a Brit. We were "together" (it was always long-distance) for three and a half years. It has been over for about a year now. Among other things, he committed the cardinal sin of insulting my Leo pride - other than not being honest with himself or me, he is a decent chap. But I no longer choose to communicate with him.

He happens to live on Woburn Place in the area they call "Bloomsbury". This is smack inbetween Tavistock Square and the Russell Square tube station.

Yesterday morning, I had to check my copy of "Walking Literary London" for Tavistock as it such a small part of, say, Bloomsbury as to not be in anything such as the Rough Guide. I had a sick feeling in my stomach at that point. Why hadn't I remembered it is the next block north of J's flat? Then they mentioned the Russell Square tube station only once or twice in the morning. That just made me feel doubly worse.

I lived on Woburn Place for two months in the summer of 2001 while taking at the LSE. Of course, I had gone back any number of times until March of 2004. I know that part of London better than I know any part of New York, for instance. And so I scoured the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the BBC websites for any photos of the bus scene. I was obsessed yesterday, and am trying to shake it off today. There is a photo of someone being taken from the Russell Square tube station, and it is right along a street that I walked almost every day I was there. Just so you know, there is a Safeway and an indie cinema just around the corner. Very everyday.

Please allow me to also tell you about the Russell Square station itself.

It is a relatively small station, but it is the one you'd use to get closest to the British Museum. It is small-ish perhaps because it is up and down. What I mean by that is that you walk in and buy your ticket, go through the turnstiles to some big elevators, and you go down about four stories to the platforms, after which you go down a few more stairs (these were built WELL before anyone heard of the ADA). Coming out of the station you go back up the stairs to the elevators and go out the opposite way as those coming in.

As far as I know from experience, there is one, narrow, spiral staircase to use if the elevators are out.

Russell Square sounds like the worst of the bombings. Those poor people are trapped deep, deep beneath the streets of London. It is difficult to get in and out of there. I can imagine that Russell Square will not be part of the Picadilly Line for some time to come.

J was out of town that day. As sanguine a person as he is, I couldn't imagine something so devastating happening, say, accross from the Washington Hilton, or at DuPont Circle Metro station (R.S. tube is much closer to him than DuPont is to me, though) - and not be affected by it. People died - violently. Close to home.

We are so blessed that this doesn't happen in our world on a regular basis. We shouldn't forget that in many parts of the world, such violent ends are almost par for the course.

Pax.

Thought you might - MIGHT - be interested.

2005-07-06T19:42:00.000-05:00

I don't always read Dan Froomkin of the Post, save for the fact that it said "Impeachment" in the leader on the homepage today.

Here, for your reading pleasure, is Froomkin's synopsis/assessment of a recent Zogby poll:

*****

The Impeachment Question
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, July 6, 2005; 1:24 PM

More than four in 10 Americans, according to a recent Zogby poll, say that if President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment.
But you wouldn't know it from following the news. Only three mainstream outlets that I can find made even cursory mention of the poll last week when it came out.
You also wouldn't know it judging from the political discourse in Washington, but that makes a little more sense. After all, impeachment is for all practical purposes a political act, not a legal one. So with a Republican-controlled Congress that doesn't even like to perform basic White House oversight, it's basically a moot point.

Nevertheless, could there be anything that 42 percent of Americans agree on that the media care about so little?
The poll results certainly illustrate the intense polarization of the American electorate -- not exactly news.
But they also suggest an appetite for more investigation into Bush's reasons for war and specifically -- in light of the assertions in the Downing Street memos -- whether his public rationales were in fact at all like his private rationales.
One topic for further inquiry, for instance, could be whether in private conversations Bush expressed the same kind of reticence about war that he advertised publicly. Some evidence -- stories like this one in Time, which quotes Bush saying in March 2002: '[Expletive] Saddam. we're taking him out.' -- suggests otherwise.

Was Bush motivated more by personal animosity toward Saddam Hussein than by a post-Sept. 11 desire to protect America from a grave threat? Did he exaggerate that threat? At what point was war inevitable?
Those are not settled questions. And evidently quite a few Americans would like to see some accountability if Bush deceived them.

The Poll
The impeachment question was part of a Zogby International poll conducted early last week, and released on Thursday.
It found that Bush's job approval ratings had slipped a point from the previous week, to 43 percent.
But the jaw-dropper was that 42 percent said they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found that the president misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq.
Zogby noted: "While half (50%) of respondents do not hold this view, supporters of impeachment outweigh opponents in some parts of the country.

"Among those living in the Western states, a 52% majority favors Congress using the impeachment mechanism while just 41% are opposed; in Eastern states, 49% are in favor and 45% opposed. In the South, meanwhile, impeachment is opposed by three-in-five voters (60%) and supported by just one-in-three (34%); in the Central/Great Lakes region, 52% are opposed and 38% in favor."
Pollingreport.com offers the results broken down by party. Among Democrats, 59 percent answered the impeachment question affirmatively -- as well as 25 percent of Republicans.
Shailagh Murray of The Washington Post made the poll results the third item in the paper's Sunday politics column: "Even the pollster couldn't believe his eyes. 'It was much higher than I expected,' John Zogby said of the 42 percent.

"By comparison, in October 1998, as the House moved to impeach President Bill Clinton over the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal, a Zogby poll found that 39 percent of voters supported the House action, while 56 percent opposed it. . . .
"Zogby said the hypothetical question 'reveals just how badly divided this country is over the war,' but also that people may be more comfortable with the idea of throwing a president out of office. . . .
"Unlikely that the Republican-led House will begin proceedings anytime soon. But the Web sites are up and running. Impeachcentral.com is running a petition drive. Impeachbush.org is planning a march on Washington in September. Thefourreasons.org site argues that the Iraq invasion was unconstitutional. Afterdowningstreet.org asserts that Bush secretly decided to go to war and to mislead Congress in mid-2002."

In a Washington Times political roundup, John McCaslin also mentioned the poll in an item headlined: "Crying wolf?"
He wrote: "If you believe the latest Zogby poll, 42 percent of Americans would favor impeachment proceedings if President Bush is found to have misled the nation about his reasons for going to war in Iraq."
Pollster Zogby himself made it onto Countdown with Keith Olbermann on Thursday night. Olbermann was most taken with the fact that 25 percent of Republicans were willing to consider impeachment.
He asked Zogby: "When do you do the impeachment question again? When are you going bring that up again in a poll?
"ZOGBY: We'll test it periodically. Probably a month from now. Again, no one is really talking about it, but it is a good barometric reading."

*****

Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. -tms

The Divine Miss M.

2005-06-23T15:56:00.000-05:00

Do you know who Molly Ivins is?
She is a political reporter/humorist/columnist.
Her specialty is the Texas Legislature.
She lives in Austin and is a doyenne of what they call "Yellow Dogs" in them there parts.
As in, "I'd vote for a yellow dog if it was a Democrat."
That phrase is from the old days when all Southerners were Democrats - and oft times were the very same people who were up to no good.
Well, the South has changed, and anyone who is still a D there probably really is a D - like Molly. Good liberals who supported civil rights and programs for needy people, etc.

But I digress.

Because I knew a few of those Yellow Dogs when I lived, worked, and went to school in Austin, I was invited to parties call "Final Fridays". These parties are on the final Friday of each month (except for November 'n stuff). I was shocked and amazed the first time I was invited. Was I a priveleged one for it? No, indeed. One of the neat things about Final Fridays at Molly's is that, in the words of he who invited me, "These are democratic parties with a little "d" - anyone can come." All you had to do was come with some food, beer, or ice, if your means allowed.

At every Final Friday there was a cultural assignment. Molly or a designee would send out a topic, and you could come prepared with a poem, song, or interpretive dance to share what you would about the assigned topic. Once, I even saw a shadowbox that someone made interpreting Rep. Elliot Naishtat's eating habits at evening events.

Well, one night some friends and I stayed late, and Molly was a few sheets to the wind. She wanted to know who we were (just some young women), what we did (we were just in grad school at UT). My friend Mel got her to come give a brown bag talk at our school. That's where she signed my copy of "Shrub: the Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush."

She starts this book by telling the reader there is a cardinal rule for political reporters:

Look at the record, look at the record, look at the record.

Kind of like the cardinal rule of real estate: Location, location, location.

It's a maxim. You wanna challenge it? Well, then, you go to journalism school.

In any case, I highly recommend this particular book. It was written in late '99 and early '00. You will wonder why we didn't pay attention to Dubya's record before - because you all of a sudden won't be surprised by anything he or his administration has done since.

Here, for your reading pleasure, is one of Molly's latest columns from the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram:

*****
Posted on Thu, Jun. 23, 2005

Memo to us: It's appalling

By Molly IvinsCreators Syndicate

AUSTIN - I hope this is not too inside baseball, but I am genuinely astonished by what the bloggers call "mainstream media." (In my youth, it was quaintly called "the establishment press.")

The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times have all gone way out of their way to deny that the Downing Street memos (it's now plural) are news.

Like many of you, during the entire lead-up to the war with Iraq, I thought the whole thing was a set-up. I raise this point not to prove how smart we are but to emphasize that I followed the debate closely and probably unconsciously searched for evidence that reinforced what I already thought. Most people do that.

I read some of the European press and most of the liberal publications in this country. I read the Times, the Post, The Wall Street Journal and several Texas papers every day. It's my job.

But when I read the first Downing Street memo, my eyes bugged out and my jaw fell open. It was news to me, and as I have tried to indicate, I'm no slouch at keeping up. Yes, it has long seemed to me that the administration had been planning the war for months before it began its public relations campaign to scare a skeptical public.

That was no easy task. Public opinion was still evenly divided at the time we invaded. The administration actually said it could invade another country without even consulting Congress or the United Nations. Pretty much everything that followed was a charade.

It was always weird that the White House kept saying it knew that Saddam Hussein had WMD, but it would never tell U.N. inspectors where. Yes, I suspected all that, but I was not the head of British intelligence in the summer of 2002, for pity's sake.

Here are some aggravating factors:
Tom Friedman, columnist for The New York Times, recently wrote that "liberals" no longer want to talk about the war because we were against it to start with and probably hope it ends in disaster. Who does he think we are? Does this man actually think we are out here cheering every time another American is killed?

Mr. Friedman, real, actual, honest-to-God American liberals are out here in the heartland, and we know the kids who are dying in Iraq. They are from our hometowns. We know their parents. That's why we hate this war. That's why we tried to tell everybody else that it was a ghastly idea.

We are not sitting here gloating because it is the horrible mess we said it would be. We're in agony. There is nothing pleasurable about being a Cassandra.

I have said from the beginning that if this thing worked out the way that Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Dick Cheney said it would, I would be happy to get down on my knees and kiss George W. Bush's feet.

The second aggravation is that the very prestigious papers that are now dismissing the Downing Street memos have already themselves admitted that their pre-war coverage was … I don't know -- you pick the adjective. Slack? Inadequate? Less than rigorous? Wrong? And now they're saying: Oh, this isn't news -- we knew it all along.

Michael Kinsley out at the Los Angeles Times, which has certainly done some commendable reporting on this war and taken the heat for it, too, also dismisses the memos.

I don't get it. You suddenly get evidence -- I don't know if it proves or just strongly suggests -- that this administration lied to all of us about war, and your reaction is not to go after the administration but to dismiss the evidence?
And to put down the people who are calling you screaming about why you haven't bothered to mention it? What is wrong with this picture?

Also aggravating: The Republicans in Congress refuse to allow hearings. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan held "Democratic hearings," without the R's, in a room described as a large closet because they were not allowed to use an actual hearing room.

Under these difficult circumstances, 30 Democratic representatives persisted in asking the important question of whether Americans were deliberately misled in the lead-up to this war. When did we come to the point where the minority has no place?

I don't know if these memos represent an impeachable offense -- although I must say I don't want to bring up the Clinton comparison again. But this strikes me as a lot worse than anything Richard Nixon ever contemplated. He used the government for petty political vindictiveness. Heck, I'd settle for that again over what we're looking at now.
The irony of Deep Throat's surfacing after all these years in the midst of this memo mess is almost too precious.

Does The Washington Post have any hungry young reporters on metro any more?

More on hypocricy - I love it!

2005-06-16T15:12:00.000-05:00

A freind at work told me that the bugger from the last post resigned from his position as Chief of Staff for the Council on Environmental Quality. Now he's going to work for ExxonMobil. Nice.

CQ GREEN SHEETS -- NEWS CLIPPINGS
GLOBAL
ENVIRONMENT
June 12, 2005
Official Who Edited Climate Reports Resigns Philip A. Cooney, chief of staff of President Bush's Council on Environmental Quality, resigned Friday, two days after The New York Times reported that he had repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that cast doubt on the link between greenhouse gas emissions.
Dana Perino, a deputy White House press secretary, said Cooney "had long been considering his
options following four years of service in the Bush administration." She said the decision was unrelated to the revelations.
- The New York Times, June 10
- Agence France Presse in Yahoo, June 11
- Reuters in Yahoo, June 11

But this - this is a beauty!

Mary Carey and the Pro-High Life Republicans
On "Countdown" last night, Mary Carey revealed just what went down at the NRCC dinner she attended this week. And, really, she never thought it would happen to her:

CAREY: I think they can drink just as much [as porn stars]. There were some really drunk guys by the end of the night. I was getting propositions to have threesomes with wives or mistresses. I was offered money from oil tycoons! I mean, it‘s pretty exciting. I didn‘t take any money and I didn‘t do any threesomes, but it was pretty—I was just surprised. I thought everyone would be
stuck up and no one was going to like me. And everyone loved me and got drunk and took pictures with me. So I want to keep going to Republican events. I‘m a fully converted Republican now.

So that's what they're calling it these days.
By the way, the far left corners of the blogosphere have been crowing Carey's appearance at the dinner will prove to be a "messaging disaster" for the GOP, tarnishing their pro-family image, muddying their morality machine, and in general reminding average Americans that Republicans are hypocritical hedonists who get squeamish about gay marriage but love the idea of threesome with a porn star.

We have news for the premature congratulators: Average Americans are hypocritical hedonists who get squeamish about gay marriage but love the idea of threesome with a porn star. Having Mary Carey at your official GOP event isn't a PR mishap, it's a recruitment tool.

As it were. — WONKETTE

makes me mad enough to blog today...

2005-06-08T09:22:00.000-05:00

From the New York Times:

By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: June 8, 2005
A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents.

An Editor in the White House
National Academies Statement (pdf format)
ClimateScience.gov

Forum: The Environment

In handwritten notes on drafts of several reports issued in 2002 and 2003, the official, Philip A. Cooney, removed or adjusted descriptions of climate research that government scientists and their supervisors, including some senior Bush administration officials, had already approved. In many cases, the changes appeared in the final reports.
The dozens of changes, while sometimes as subtle as the insertion of the phrase "significant and fundamental" before the word "uncertainties," tend to produce an air of doubt about findings that most climate experts say are robust.
Mr. Cooney is chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the office that helps devise and promote administration policies on environmental issues.
Before going to the White House in 2001, he was the "climate team leader" and a lobbyist at the American Petroleum Institute, the largest trade group representing the interests of the oil industry. A lawyer with a bachelor's degree in economics, he has no scientific training.

What world view...

2005-05-18T17:40:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Silver Fox for directing us to this quiz.

Anyone who really knows The Multicultural Spitfire knows that I am, indeed, a very religious woman. However, the quiz insists that though I am not religious, I am spritual. What I think they are really trying to say about me is that I'm not a fundamentalist. I answered questions about interpretation of scripture (no, doesn't have to be literal, people) all the way over on one side, which probably lowered my "religious" score...

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

Cultural Creative

94%

Postmodernist

75%

Idealist

75%

Existentialist

44%

Romanticist

38%

Materialist

25%

Modernist

13%

Fundamentalist

13%

What is Your World View?
created with QuizFarm.com

Right, I never know how to fix these things.

Miss C has sent me some html to fix some things on this lovely template she made for me. I hope to get to that soon, amiga! Thanks!

Letter from Tucson...

2005-05-15T01:11:00.000-05:00

You know you're getting old when jet lag from EDT to PDT curbs your day.
I am here in beautiful, DRY, Tucson, Arizona for my baby sister's graduation from the U of A and for her commissioning as a 2LT into the USAF.
I cannot tell you how neat-o it is to be in a place where there are rock gardens, cacti, sage brush, and palm trees everywhere. It is totally flat UNTIL you see these majestic mountains just - I mean just - off in the distance.
I love the Southwest, and I now realize I miss it.
And thank you, Lord, for dry climates.
There is this pedestrian overpass that has a kind of painted, mesh cover over it - presumably to keep some of the sun off of passers-overs. But there is a head and a tail - with a rattle - at either end. Cute! Also, I find the dryness of the climate here FAR preferable to any place with a humidity level over 60%. That means almost any place in the country other than God's country - California. For reasons I'll not get into on the blog.

Sooo, my two other sisters and I pinned her Lt. bars on her uniform this evening, and that was quite an honor. My Little Sis kicks ass. Other than my dear ol' Dad, the genetleman who rendered her her first salute (an army drill seargeant) and the colonel in charge of the cadets, Little Sis had more women up on the stage than any other cadet (her best USAF amiga administered her oath of office).

Uncle and Aunt from Minnesota were here this weekend (Dad's side of the fam), as well, and the family has had a good time. Even without having ordered a "virgin margarita" - from the bar - ("That would be LEMONADE, Mom!") - Mum and Aunt got up and danced when the dj played Santana. Just wait until the next family wedding (Mum's side) for celebratory dancing.... (Oh wait - that was TODAY in Galveston - oops. Sorry, we couldn't make it. Besides, you didn't invite us all. And Little Sis is WAAAAY more important.)

Right. So that was a strong margarita. Please disregard above ranting, should anything above so qualify. It is 11:36pm PDT, which is way past my EDT bedtime. And my flight leaves at 6:00 am tomorrow. Goin' to bed. Like I said, you know you're getting old when jet lag does a number on you.

Hasta luego...

blog hiatus

2005-05-07T13:17:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Spring, people! So, nope, haven't been on the blogging bandwagon lately. I do feel a bit remorseful about that.

Lessee, what's been going on....

I was falling asleep at work a little too much, and so went to chat with the on-site counselor they have here at my workplace (I really do like where I work - I think they try their best to take care of us). So, yes, all of a sudden I realized I had been burning the candle at both ends. Trying to fit in too many things. Adjusting to having a significant other in one's life takes - well - some adjusting. Because I want to spend time with him, and yet still try to see family and friends and still try to fit in other responsibilities.

Something had to give.

So there I was singing, and it wasn't an easy piece. Some lady (from whom I've always gotten a little bit of a condescending vibe) isn't happy with how I'm singing (I admit, I was having a hard time) and she's plugging her ear against hearing me while we're singing. Ouch.

We have also been rehearsing Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass for the spring concert. All of a sudden, our director has the altos all in one row in front, the sopranos all in one row just behind, etc. We have ONE alto section leader who - I believe - doesn't give a flip about actually leading her section. And there I am at the end, nowhere near her, with noone to carry the alto line in my ear so I can sing it.

So, I'm sulking and haven't been to choir in about three weeks. Not gonna sing in the spring concert - again. And that has been one less thing to do, which makes me a bit more sane.

TB and I went out on an actual date to celebrate three months together a few Mondays back. We went to see Fever Pitch. It has been panned in reviews, but I though it was very cute! Needless to say, I found myself having lived a few of the same moments that Drew Barrymore's character does (closet scene, in particular) with my own Red Sox fan. During some of the more intense scenes of the 2004 Red Sox season, I found TB squeezing my hand or pounding my knee a bit too hard (hey, you know how it ends! yeah that was close, but alright already!).

And so my eyes filled with tears when they won. And then there was the parade. Go Sox. :-)

I spent the night at my parents' new bay house, and woke up to a lot of sun on the Chesapeake. It was nice. But now I'm back in the District, and it's sunny but cool here; I wish it would stay this way all summer - as if we were in God's country (California). But I'm at work. Really, I promise I will be getting some work done (instead of blogging!) - had brunch at the Austin Grill with a friend and her parents, and was in the neighborhood, so figured, why not. I haven't been very productive at work lately anyway, for some reason.

At 6pm I'll be having drinks on the roof of the Local 16, and then off to have more rooftop drinks for a Cinco de Mayo theme evening with the girls.

So what's a few hours in the office - especially when one's S.O. is in Annapolis, catching up with his friends. Yes, I know his blog has been neglected. He now has his laptop at my place, connected to my DSL, so he really doesn't have much of an excuse anymore. So if you want him to blog again, you're gonna have to bully him to do it. I ask and it doesn't seem to work.

Have a good weekend, amigos. And Happy Mothers Day to AELR, Smash, De-licia, J(squared), Anner, Mel (soon! soon!), and Reegs. And of course, my dear Mum herself, with whom I'll be at the bay.

I can't believe it.

2005-04-19T13:58:00.000-05:00

Ratzinger is our new Pope.

Finally, the flock will move toward total homogeneity - it will be interesting to see how Benedict XVI will prune the Body of Christ.

:-(

Lord, please have mercy on us.

Boy, that's a cool site...

2005-04-14T15:59:00.000-05:00

I'm glad to know that this blogthings quiz validates my assertion that I am indeed a little OCD. Poor TB requested a handbook on my idiosyncracies recently. (Is not allowing shoes on the bed, even transiently [as in taking them off or putting them on or packing them], so wrong?)

That microscopic text says, "You may be a bit Obsessive Compulsive..."

You May Be a Bit Obsessive Compulsive ...

Meticulous and detailed oriented, you have some irrational obsessions.
Maybe it's your super neat closet or washing your hands a gazillion times.
You probably know it's weird, but you just can't stop thinking about it.
In fact, the more you think about your quirks, the more you have to do them.

What Personality Disorder Are You?

Funny, this

2005-04-14T11:11:00.000-05:00

My sister's Inner European is French...

Your Inner European is Spanish!

Energetic and lively.
You bring the party with you!

Who's" Your Inner European?

Full disclosure

2005-04-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

I am a hypocrite. (You'll have to ask me for my views on the Culture of Life versus Public Policy for the details.)

But I love it when real hypocrites like the Bush campaign's Catholic consultant, Deal Hudson, are exposed - thank you, Wonkette, for linking to a link to this story. Surprisingly enough - over six months old.

Go ahead, read it.

Lots o' things

2005-04-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

So many things have been going on. I am tired.

There was Easter. I never posted my fave choral arrangements from the 15+ hours I was at HT during Triduum and Easter. We had a lovely time at Mum and Dad's in the evening.

There was the Pope on his deathbed. I have had many thoughts on this. Have been trying to decide whether to post them.

Went to a wedding on Saturday. And a 30th birthday celebration. And the Holy Father passed on... Requescat in Pacem.

TB and I helped Mum and Dad move stuff in to the bay house.

Later that evening was my very first Red Sox game. I am looking forward to being in the proximity of that place they call Fenway this coming Monday. As well as meeting all kinds of neat-o Bostonians I have been hearing much about.

But thanks to the Divine Miss C for this groovy quiz - let's see if copying/pasting works:

You scored as white. you are white.

white

67%

latino

50%

asian

25%

black

17%

Are you a different race than you think you are?
created with QuizFarm.com

Indeed, is seems I am multi-cultural.

I hope to be back soon...

The Good Guys of the GOP

2005-03-29T10:56:00.000-05:00

I keep telling Bunny that there ARE good Republicans out there. Here's something from the Washington Post, however (Howie Kurtz, I believe), chronicling the decline in what has been called the Fabulous Four's influence...

"Hopes were high for last week's pay-as-you-go vote,
because the moderates succeeded in pushing through just such a measure a year
ago. Rather than accede then to pay-as-you-go rules, furious GOP leaders opted
for the spectacle of passing no budget resolution at all. It was a significant
moral and public-relations victory for the mod squad. But this year things were
different. When pay-as-you-go came to a Senate vote again last week, it failed
to pass despite the intense efforts of the Fantastic Four. That's one of several
defeats the moderates have suffered recently. Last week, when the Senate
defeated an effort to block oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, the moderates voted with the Democrats once again, and once again it
didn't matter. Most tellingly, perhaps, it looks increasingly likely that the
mods won't be able to stop the most radical move the Senate has seen in years:
the Republican push to deploy the 'nuclear option' that would rewrite Senate
rules to end filibusters of judicial nominees."

For the record, the Fabulous Four referred to in the article are Snow and Collins from Maine, Chafee from Rhode Island (I believe he was named after the greatest Republican of them all, too), and McCain from Airzona.

I wholeheartedly believe in our two-party system, and therfore I must love the fact that there are Republicans out there. Those I do not love are the Bush II Republicans - those neo-cons who fuck up our safety with their foreign policies, and the right-wing-nut Christian conservatives who want to legislatively impose their creepy morality on the rest of us.

There are more Republicans whom I respect at varying times for varying reasons, among them Hagel from Nebraska. But I can't go into it here. Must keep saving the taxpayers' dinero...

A hip, hop, a hibby dibby dibby....

2005-03-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Those of us of a certain... vintage... I hope will find this just peachy.

Happy Easter, everyone.

http://www.grayace.com/dex/bunny.html

Satire from...

2005-03-23T16:29:00.000-05:00

The Onion:

EPA To Drop 'E,' 'P' From NameWASHINGTON, DC—Days after
unveiling new power-plant pollution regulations that rely on an industry-favored
market-trading approach to cutting mercury emissions, EPA Acting Administrator
Stephen Johnson announced that the agency will remove the "E" and "P" from its
name. "We're not really 'environmental' anymore, and we certainly aren't
'protecting' anything," Johnson said. "'The Agency' is a name that reflects our
current agenda and encapsulates our new function as a government-funded body
devoted to handling documents, scheduling meetings, and fielding phone calls."
The change comes on the heels of the Department of Health and Human Services'
January decision to shorten its name to the Department of Services.

Funny, but sad all at once...

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

2005-03-17T00:19:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I won't get to celebrate St. Paddy's Day all that much because I'll be at choir rehearsal. But rest assured, we DO drink in the middle of rehearsal, so not all is lost.

I thought this was quite witty about Irish history. This is in honor of my sister who both introduced me to The Onion, and spent a year in Dublin, coupled with a shoutout to her friend in Belfast.

Also, here's to my cousin, Bridget, who just had her first baby. It was a long road to motherhood, and we're all very happy for her.

Bridget is an awesome name. Apparently, St. Bridget (or Brigid) was a bishop in Ireland waaaaaay back in the day. When Ireland and Rome got back in touch after those dark ages, she's all, "Dudes!" and they're all, "Who're you? Where's our homeboy?" And she goes, "Um, well, I'm your homeGIRL." And they're all, "Okay, you didn't get that memo about throwin' the chicas out of the club?" "Um, no...." And the rest is a poor history for regular women and the Church.

Okay, so I can't find, amongst all of the Catholic saint revisionist history webpages, anything to substantiate that story about Bridget. But it's a cool rumor, isn't it? I did find this quote: "I would like a lake of beer for the King of Kings." Amen.

Fifth Sunday, or "Fishmouth!"

2005-03-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

I thought perhaps our director was on some stimulant this Sunday when he made us bellow, "Hello!" during warmup. Usually it's just, "Sigh on 'aaayyy'", or 'aaahhh', or "everybody say 'yeee'". In any case, practicing our fishmouths was in preparation to sing Brahms. In GERMAN!
"Come on altos, you wimps!" "This is your chance to sing like soloists!" This was not Palestrina.

It was fun. I had to cross out every last bit of English text before I could even attempt to sing the German. It is hard enough to try to follow along with notes (that make sense to me only in that they go up and down when your voice should) and to sing in a foreign language... but throw in one's native language in closer proximity to those notes, and suspected dyslexia to boot, and one has what they call a challenge. With no further ado, here was this Sunday's lineup.

***

Kyrie and Agnus Dei (Missa in Simplicitate)
-Jean Langlais

Preparatory Music
Lass dich nur nichts nicht dauren
-Johannes Brahms

Communion Proper
-Gregorian Chant
Qui mihi ministrat, me sequatur: et ubi efo sum, illic et minister
meus erit.

***

Unfortunately, we could not all sing the Communion Proper as we had no more time to rehearse. So B. - oh that man is a diva! - stepped in to perform a lovely solo. Perhaps someday you will all get to hear him sing...

Sometime in the future I'd like to wax upon our liturgical-musical heritage. I'm sure you all cannot wait.

Fourth Sunday

2005-03-06T11:30:00.000-05:00

As I had mentioned before, I will be posting (including a back post) some of the things that I sing on Sundays - for no other reason than I really like what we sing and I want to share. Again, I don't know Latin and I won't be doing any translating for you, but I will try to offer pertinent links to, say, composers.

Kyrie & Agnus Dei (Missa Aeterna Christi Munera)
-Palestrina

Communion Proper
-Gregorian chant

Lutum fecit ex sputo Dominus, et linivit oculos meos: et abii, et lavi, et
vidi, et credidi Deo.

Psalm 23 (Requiem)
-John Rutter

2005-03-05T11:24:00.000-05:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

How many of you know...

2005-03-03T10:22:00.000-05:00

whom is the evil-est person in the country? (Well, besides this guy, Tom DeLay.)
And did you know he shops at the Tenleytown Whole Foods?

And on another note, one of my favorite people made a snarky comment about the ACLU - yesterday, I think it was. Well, I do have mixed feelings about them, but I quite happy they are on this case. Iworked in the Texas House of Representatives for both the 76th and 77th Legislative sessions, and so I often exited the capitol on the west side of the building. I have no idea where the huge monument of the Ten Commandments is on those grounds. I do not believe it is on the west side, however.
(What is there is a monument to soldiers who fought in some place named "Porto Rico". Porto?!?)

In any case, while I'm all for the Ten Commandments, I see no reason why they need to be located anywhere near the legislative or judicial bodies' homes. I'm quite fond of the separation of church and state. That means that no one else gets to impose their religious beliefs on me, nor I on them - especially in our democracy's public fora.
While I've always been somewhat aware of this idea, NPR's Morning Edition reported on this p0int: how many versions of the Ten Commandments are there? Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish (and I can imagine that there are a few Protestant permutations). Now, know that I have a preference in what bible I consult - so why do you (Texas, Kentucky, Alabama, etc.) get to pick what version of the T.C.s gets put on my (and your) capitol? They shouldn't. There are far more sophisticated and legitimate reasons why the Supreme Court should rule for the ACLU, et.al. But I've got to get to work and I can't think anymore. Stay tuned...

March already?

2005-03-01T23:28:00.000-05:00

So, the year is in full swing.
I find myself in the middle of a crazy schedule that I created, in monster-like fashion, for myself some time ago.
Waaaay back when - when I was just re-arrived to D.C. - I knew somewhere deep down inside that TPCLAP (thanks to Whisky for that particular name) was just never going to come through, and that indeed, I was not going to expatriate to London. So what I did was join and volunteer for all kinds of stuff to keep me busy. It seems I succeeded.

-I volunteered to advise my little undergrad-ettes in "Collegeburg", VA - so I'm on the phone with them at least once a week for a meeting or two.
-I volunteered for my grad program's alumni board.
-I ran for... and unseated an incumbent on... my condo association board.
-I sing with a choir rehearsing every Thursday and singing every Sunday morning.

This was fine when I had an excuse for not going out with my friends ("I spend all of my disposable income on British Airways!") This is no longer fine now that I have a real life again. (A real life now including a significant other who actually lives in the country, on this coast. Dude!) Two meetings tonight, an alumni thing tomorrow, rehearsal Thursday, and social stuff on Friday.

This leaves little time for blogging.

But I'm going to try.

One little thing I'd like to do is list some of the stuff I get to sing. I know so little about music (I sing by ear, never had any music lessons, blah, blah), and perhaps even less Latin, but I'm going to post the stuff anyway. Just because. I think it's cool. And apparently one can do that when one has a blog.

Another apparent thing is that you, Gentle Reader, cannot comment on what you think of my Latin postings. I'm working on it. Soon, when I have a free moment, I shall e.mail the Divine Miss C and see if she can help me decipher my html... stuff. Including comments, blogroller, and counter (that there are any numbers there is amazing to me - what a great exercise in vanity for a Leo with a Leo moon).

'Tis late. Welcome March. 2005 is in full swing. I cannot believe how quickly time goes by the older one gets...

Third Sunday

2005-02-27T11:30:00.000-05:00

Today's repertoire:

Kyrie & Agnus Dei (Service in A Minor)
-Harold Darke

Communion Proper
-Gregorian chant

Qui biberit aquam, quam ego do, dictit Dominus Samaritanae, fiet in
eo fons aquae salientris in vitam aeternam

Motet Lord Have Mercy Upon Us
-Mendelssohn

Permitame para conocerlos...

2005-02-24T05:57:00.000-05:00

Good morning, amigos!
How to begin? First of all, I had no clue about blogging until, say, last October. I have my wonderful amiga of nine years, Whiskypants, to thank for introducing me to the blogging world. Apparently, my sister had been doing it for years, and has any number of blogs - but again, I didn't know that until, say, December.
So, now I actually HAVE a blog of my very own, and I must offer my humblest, most sincere thanks to She of the Watermelon Memories. Chewy created this absolutely gorgeous template for me - it was a total surprise.
Right... so, after six nights I cannot sleep like a normal person, and it's now approximately gym time (I sooo do not go to the gym in the morning, but I haven't the time this evening). I think I'll mix up some Don Gustavo and milk, and see how I feel about the gym after that.

2005-02-18T23:30:00.000-05:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.