Franken Wins!

And now, the circus has a clown. They are going to go crazy overreaching and that is a good thing for the 2010 elections where they will all be tossed out by fired up thinking types. I hope. Hope and change. It's a good thing.

Summer Swimmers

Swimmers 1

I have to brag about my kids and my niece. I am so proud of them. They are facing their fears of cold water, competition, spotlight, and judges. As for my kids, I had to force them to join and I force them to complete one season so that they know what the experience is before they reject it. They are developing the great discipline of rising early and swimming laps in cold water. They are gaining confidence and camaraderie as part of a team that just won their first meet. They may never do this again, but they will know that they have the capacity to achieve. As for me, I am developing the discipline of rising early and ushering them off to practice. I have to work on my attitude in that area. I have become a bag lady. I have a purse, a towel bag, a snack bag, a miscellaneous bag and I bring extra bags for the wet stuff. It's all good. I am just so proud of them! Go Team! Go Team! By the way, click on the title of the painting...beautiful paintings!

Pray Globally, Act Locally

Click here for Iran Updates (VIDEO): Live-Blogging The Uprising

Posted using ShareThis

Pick your news outlet and you will find that each one attempts to polarize every piece of news. They try to pit us against them. I am posting the St. Francis peace prayer to remind us to make peace with each moment, each person, especially the members of our own family, neighborhood and community.

Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

That might explain this.

Posted using ShareThis

Looking for Lines in the Sand

It is Saturday morning and everyone is out getting the best deal for Father's Day or cleaning the house or mowing the lawn. And then there is Iran. The turmoil is rising to a melting point. Back in the Bush era, we knew where we stood. Bush was swift to draw lines in the sand. The current administration is refraining from meddling. Eventually, President Obama will need to take a stand. Let's not forget that we are keeping an eye on a North Korean ship and this emerging story may very well be related to the story in Iran. In the interim, we can all pray for a peaceful resolution to this uprising.

Year for Priests

Friday, June 19, 2009 marks the beginning of the Year for Priests. This is a time to recognize the numerous gifts that these men have bestowed on the faithful for years. The Pope acknowledges the pain that has been caused by those priests who did not uphold their vows, but rather caused deep pain and sorrow for so many. They inflicted a cancer on the sweetest rose, the Church. The faithful that remain in the Church are working to heal the pain and make sure that this never happens again. I have had the priviledge of knowing more than a few of these good men. I often ask myself what gives them the strength to put the collar on day after day when they are demonized by the media. I know that it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Still, they need our prayers.

Dazed and Confused

President Obama fired the Inspector General of AmeriCorps citing that he was "confused, disoriented." Not that Obama was confused or disoriented, but that the Inspector General was, of course, you understand. I don't mean to confuse you. This does not smell right. There are too many conflicts of interest. Either Obama is saying that Gerald Walpin is too old, in which case Kennedy, Pelosi, and Liberman better step up, or Obama is inventing a reason to fire this guy who blew the whistle on Obama's friend. Keep an eye on this story. It is being selectively covered at the moment, meaning that only Fox News is covering it. Fox News gets a lot of criticism and is becoming known for its tenacity in going after the Obama administration. Isn't that what all networks should be doing?

Don't Demonize Me, My Friend, You'll Be Sorry

Joan Walsh debated Bill O'Reilly on his show, The O'Reilly Factor to discuss her charges that he was, in part, responsible for Dr. Tiller's murder because he called Tiller "the baby killer" repeatedly on his show. Bill O'Reilly was Bill O'Reilly, i.e. attack dog, ratings hound, so she must have known what she was walking into. I would not want to be in her shoes, defending the practices of this particular abortion doctor. I am guessing there are not many contenders for that job. Her only defense was to repeat that "what he did was legal." Slavery was legal at one time, too. She was flustered and clearly did not have her facts and even admits this when she says "I skimmed them" when referring to the records of patients. These patients listed rather trivial reasons for such a violent procedure. Life of the mother is a reason most people do not object to, however this is so rare that it cannot explain how Tiller was able to kill 60,000 fetus'. The tensions rise to the point where she levels the threat that is the title of my post. I am not sure what will happen to Bill O'Reilly now that he has, in fact, demonized Ms. Walsh. That remains to be seen. I am left wondering what her mission is. Does she object to freedom of speech? You decide.

And Iran...Iran so far away

What were you up to Monday night? I had gone to a movie and dashed home to tweet about it and I got caught up in a twitter revolution. For about and hour, I was a part of the action. I was not changing diapers, folding laundry or doing dishes. No, I was sharing in the protest against a fraudulent election and information suppression with Iranians who heretofore had been, I am ashamed to admit, unknown entities to me. I suppose a part of me had dismissed them as broken people who had folded under the weight of an oppressive regime. But, the truth is that they have been empowered to make their voices heard. And thanks to twitter, Americans are not the "them" that we had been for years. Now we are their allies. By changing my profile twitter picture to green, I show solidarity with those seeking to establish true freedom and democracy in Iran. Twitter has made us neighbors and friends.