Cat Random

He want's to HELP our schoolchildren? Boy. The nerve of some people.

2009-09-09T16:18:00.005-04:00

We've all heard the hysterical overreaction of the Right Wing Nutosphere to the President's address to school children. (And, in a delicious moment, last night on ABC's evening news we got to hear an "activist" who agitated against allowing the speech grudgingly admit the speech was not political propoganda in any way.)

My son's district is, I'm afraid, one of the school systems outright banning viewing of the speech, whether live or recorded. I sent the following message to our superintendent (edited to delete name of district):

"Let me say in advance that I hope you'll take this in the spirit it's meant. Forgive me if I give offense; none is meant. . . .

It is my understanding that our district has joined the group of districts that have forbidden President Obama's address to our nation's students to be shown to the intended audience.

What is wrong with us when an attempt by the President of the United States to reach out to students and try to positively reinforce the value of an education is met with a stone wall? Are we really that closed-minded as a society? And was any speech by any previous president ever explcitly forbidden by our district or any other district? Of course not.

Aren't we, de facto, sending a partisan message here? Aren't we, in fact, caving to the lack of civil discourse that is sweeping our society today? Aren't we undermining respect for the office of the presidency?

Obviously, I am very deeply disappointed in this action. I make no secret of the fact that I am a supporter of the President. But more than that, I support the Presidency -- whoever happens to hold it at the time. Respect the office. It's a lesson that, in the current tendency toward hysterical overreaction, needs to be taught. Our district has chosen not to teach it with this action."

I further asked that he forward the message to all members of the school board, since their contact info is not obtainable from the district website.

The reaction? "I have forwarded your email as requested. Thanks for your thoughts."

Funny. When George H.W. Bush did the same thing, no district banned it to my knowledge.

Pope Adolf strikes again!

2009-05-21T11:57:00.003-04:00

http://www.thetalentshow.org/2009/05/15/sugar-coating-nazism/

Greg at the Talent Show has a great commentary on Pope Benedict's latest difficulty in understanding that Nazis were Bad People who did Bad Things. This after cozying up to the Holocaust Denier bishop from the UK.

The most tone-deaf pope of my lifetime, certainly.

Free the Octuplets: From their MOTHER

2009-02-24T11:11:00.001-05:00

We went through "infertility hell" for few years, with two different docs: One who had the bedside manner of Josef Mengele and one who needs to be nominated for sainthood now while he's alive to enjoy it.

It didn't work, so we waited for adoption which finally happened, with our boy being placed with us at the age of four weeks. (It's for the best. He's the perfect kid for us, and if we'd had a child biologically that kid would be loved, enjoyed, celebrated, and nurtured, but the cosmic balance of the universe would be off because the wrong kid would be living upstairs.)

Nevertheless, with our son being age 15, taller than I am (so's his mom) and a deep basso profundo, the psychological pain of the infertility process is still a strong memory; it isn't easy living with constant attempts to have, and failure to achieve, the thing you want most as a couple.

Nadya Suleman and her doctor have taken this very real crisis in the lives of some people and made it a farce, a joke, a hateful caricature. She clearly is a person who has a deep need to be noticed, and this clearly is some sort of plan to be famous in a nation that worships celebrity, even when the person in question has done nothing worth celebrating. She has taken the very precious, private, personal desire for a child and turned it into a damned circus.

I'm afraid I'm one of the folks who believes the children should be taken from her. She should never have been treated in the first place. (I can just hear our second doc, the good one, cussin' up a storm at this guy who treated her; he would tell you that any treatment resulting in octuplets is malpractice.) And the doc needs to be banned from ever practicing medicine again. And possibly be made financially liable for all 8 of those kids and their expenses.

And don't even get me started on the reporters who are irresponsible enough to give this fame addict air-time.

I'll stop now. This woman makes me sick.

Today in History

2009-01-20T06:45:00.004-05:00

The title of this post is taken from one of my favorite features in the newspaper ('member newspapers?) when I was a teenager. I loved to see what was happening throughout history on the given date. (Of course, today we have the same feature in Wikipedia. Amped up on about 18 espressos.)

Years ago, Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman did a piece titled"You can't be elected president if." John Kennedy is shown standing under the word "Catholic" crossed out, Jimmy Carter under the word "Southern", and Ronald Reagan under the word "Divorced," holding the paint and brush, waiting to hand it off down the line of un-crossed words -- black, female, etc.

Today, of course, is history. Today, the next step of that cartoon is accomplished as Barack Obama becomes President of the United States. A black man will take the oath of office with his hand on a Bible used by President Lincoln. A black man becomes not just our leader but the leader of the western industrialized world. In 15 years or so, the Beloit College "Mindset List" for incoming freshmen will say that the incoming college class can't remember when a black man had never been president.

This changes so many factors in our country, our world, that it's difficult to absorb it all. My family, all three of us, worked for the campaign, including last minute door-to-door canvassing on Election Day. At times during this amazing journey, my breath has been taken away by the reality of what's happening, and this week more than once I've found myself near tears.

I am proud of the choice we have made, hopeful for the future we are building, and watchful for the naysayers who will do anything to stop the true change this country so desperately needs.

Two historic figures understand, I think, what's happening today. Lincoln himself said, "The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

St. Paul is on the same page. "Now is a very acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation."

So here's to Barack Obama, Michelle, Malia, Sasha -- God bless you. Our hearts are with you.

I'm Baaaaaaack

2009-01-09T12:44:00.001-05:00

I haven't blogged for a while, because I've been in kind of a funk about a lot of things, particularly my Catholic parish.

I also have been very busy -- including some volunteer work for the Obama campaign.

I am taking up my keyboard and cudgel again. More to come. Stay tuned.

More Senseless Killing

2008-08-14T09:03:00.000-04:00

Greg Saunders has a good rumination on the tendency of right-wing gun nuts to kill anybody they don't like.

http://www.thetalentshow.org/2008/08/13/another-partisan-murderer/

The right's obsession with the NRA and love of hateful ridicule (as so well exemplified by Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity) is a specter over us all.

The GOP ought to be careful, lest they clutch a viper to their breast; as the recent battles over whether McCain is "conservative enough" have shown, if these folks don't get exactly what they want, they can turn on you.

Vacation Food

2008-07-04T12:42:00.000-04:00

As promised, more vacation details.

We stayed in Charlottesville, VA, the night of June 5th, at the Holiday Inn Fifth Street. I went out "foraging," as my wife puts it, and happened on Feast, at the Main Street Market in the historic downtown area. A great little deli; I got olives and cheese and salame and sandwices and fresh crostini and a great white bean/ citrus dip I'm planning on trying to replicate. Dessert was fabulous organic strawberries, dense and fudgy double-chocolate chip cookies, and an individual carrot cake (for me).

The next morning, breakfast was also in the historic downtown area, at Blue Grass Grill & Bakery. A terrific, tiny, funky, charming place, with a dozen or so tables and mismatched coffee mugs and silverware and plates. Outstanding coffee. We each had a breakfast biscuit sandwich. The biscuits, like all other baked goods, are made fresh. These were towering tawny beauties, with a mix of whole wheat and white flours, a real buttermilk sour punch, and perhaps a hint of molasses. The eggs, cheese, and breakfast meats inside each were perfectly balanced, perfectly cooked.

On to the beach. Our house was a Sat. check in, but we stayed on the beach at a motel that night. Lunch that day was at Goombay's, on the beach road in Kill Devil Hills. What a fun place; the ceiling is a soft sculpture of the sea, and surfers, and fish and such -- looking UP FROM BELOW! My wife and I had terrific softshell crab sandwiches with a horseradish dijon mustard. Ian had a tuna melt, medium rare, that was very good. We split a splendid chocolate cake for dessert.

Breakfast the next morning was the venerable Sam & Omie's , where Vickie had a bacon and eggs breakfast, Ian had a great Eggs Benedict (I've had their Crab Benedict in the past), and I had eggs, grits, biscuits and a fine fish cake made from Mahi Mahi -- Dolphin, as it's known thereabouts.

No eating out at the beach; I get fresh seafood every night and prepare it in our kitchen. I made tuna steaks baked with thyme and other seasonings, a shrimp boil (with the leftover shrimp and corn made into a salad the next day with black beans, green onions, and such, bound with a little Duke's Mayonnaise.

We did grab pizza at Lisa's Pizzeria near our beach house in Rodanthe. Lovely, really good. Fried chicken strips on a fine crust with garlic pesto, vegetables, and cheese.

I should also mention the Atlantic Coast Cafe in Waves, NC. We've never actually eaten a full meal there -- a quick breakfast or snack or light lunch or coffee and a muffin on our way out of town -- but everything we've had is terrific.

We headed to DC on Saturday, June 14. It is as always a nutty busy commute, but this year was worse than usual; it was good we guaranteed our hotel (Marriott Metro Center) for late arrival!

We ate dinner Saturday evening at Chinatown Express in (where else?) Chinatown. Outstanding noodles and dumplings, hot and sour soup, egg drop soup, and good company; we were seated at a large table with a couple that lives in DC. I highly recommend this place. Actually, I now fantasize about going to Chinatown and eating my way up one side of the street and down the other.

Dinner Sunday (Father's Day) was at Ella's. This wood-fired pizza place isn't cheap, but it sure is good. I had the pizza melanzane with red and yellow peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, red onion, and goat cheese. It was sensational.

As an extra, on our way home Monday, June 16 we stopped at Wright's Dairy Rite in Staunton. Everything is cooked to order, so there's a bit of a wait. It's worth it; we loved the terrific burgers. but the standout for me was the onion rings. Crisp, hot, and not at all oil-laden. You know when you have greasy onion rings and your fingers glisten? My fingers were quite dry. Simply the best onion rings I've ever had.

We came home to an empty fridge of course.

The Big Five-OH

2008-07-03T16:26:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, I turned 50.

It's a nice round number, in a society that seems to love and need to commemorate nice round numbers. At the very least, it's forced me to admit I'm not forever young -- as if my greying hair and beard and the various new seams in my face would let me deny it for long. (There's a reason I don't wear my glasses when I look in the mirror after I shower.)

I had tried to get my wife and son to allow us to celebrate as in past years: Let me meet them after work at Coney Island Sunlite Pool for swimming, some Skyline Chili or LaRosa's pizza, and maybe a beer or two.

But no. They decided to surprise me. They made me get up and get dressed up and drove me around, ending up in downtown Cincinnati. I thought maybe they were killing time while a surprise party assembled at our house.

Imagine my surprise: Dinner at Jean Robert at Pigall's, the only four-star restaurant in a city that used to boast three five-star establishments. Indeed, the place inhabits the site of one of those fine dining places, the legendary Pigall's, where my mother dined with dates as a young woman.

It was heavenly. Formal, but not stuffy. Fresh, innovative, expertly prepared, presented, and served. Each menu item better than the last, accompanied by terrific wine and fine service.

But the best part was the company.

Growing old isn't so bad, said Mark Twain, if you consider the alternative. He was right. Growing older with my wonderful wife and our terrific son is the best gift of all.

The Perfect Antidote to a Busy Month

2008-06-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

We took our annual sojourn to the Outer Banks of North Carolina this month, followed by a couple of days in Washington, DC, followed by most of a week at home.

I'll talk more about the trip over the course of the week, because there's lots to tell. We had the best trip ever, I think.

This time each year, because of our peculiar schedules, is the only time we're all together all the time. It's great. I recommend it highly.

The Ohio Legislature: Watching Really IMPORTANT Stuff

2008-05-22T12:39:00.000-04:00

I could NOT make this up.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio lawmakers want to stop concertgoers from being disappointed by copycat or second-stringer bands performing under familiar names. On a unanimous vote, the state Senate on Wednesday passed a Truth in Music Act, similar to those in two dozen other states. It would require a music group to have at least one original member if it wants to use the band's original name. Republican Senator Robert Schuler of Cincinnati says a conversation with Mary Wilson of the Supremes inspired him to introduce the bill. At a reception for the Cleveland-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Wilson told Schuler that original Supremes may be sitting home, not working, while phony acts using the name are out on the road making money. The measure now goes before the Ohio House.

Wow. Remember, this is a state where the State Supreme Court (our own Supremes) has ruled the method of funding public schools unconstitutional multiple times. And the legislature hasn't lifted a finger. But BY A UNANIMOUS VOTE we can protect our citizens from phony rock acts.

Boy. Am I glad I live in a state where the priorites are clear. Not.

Emerging from Fear

2008-05-07T09:32:00.000-04:00

For the last four months, my wife has been undergoing a series of medical tests to decide the course forward for a case of pulmonary hypertension.

A fluke medical exam caused a series of events to unfold that resulted in this working diagnosis; while her blood pressure is low-normal, the pressures involving the vessels between the heart and lungs were quite high.

This wasn't a trifling matter. When Vickie was in nursing school back in the '80s, life expectancy for pulmonary hypertension was not terribly good. In short, we were all three very afraid. Our son, Mr. Straight-A's last quarter, actually got a C on an assignment.

Last week, she had a cardiac catheter test to see for sure. (She has taught use of the Swan-Ganz catheter for 15 years, but this is the first time she has ever seen the business end of one.)

Result: The echocardiograms she had previously received -- including the one that morning -- were in error. Vickie is fine; her pressures are about normal. There is no pulmonary hypertension.

I let my acquaintances know the good news, and received the following from a classmate at the Athenaeum of Ohio: "How do you know? Maybe she had elevated pressures but, because of God's intervention, she doesn't any more. We never asked him to fix the echocardiogram." I'm prepared to accept that this may have been the Spirit. Because whatever the reason, I am very relieved, and the Spirit has helped bring that about.

Life, my friends, is good. Make sure you let someone you love know that this week

Living the Example: The Greatest Love

2008-04-15T09:02:00.000-04:00

Nearly two weeks ago, two Colerain Township firefighters died in a house fire. Capt. Robin Broxterman and Firefighter Brian Schira went into the burning house to look for survivors. The floor collapsed under them. They died of burns and inhalation injuries.

Capt. Broxterman was the first female captain in the history of the department. Don Patterson, the fellow firefighter she was to marry was at the site when news of her death came; she had just purchased new gear with her soon-to-be married name. Schira also served in neighboring Delhi Fire Department.

There is no professional bond closer than that of firefighters, I think. They came from all over for the funeral at Cincinnati's St. Peter in Chains Cathedral last week.

My wife volunteered to serve as an extraordinary minister of communion at the mass; she has been a pediatric burn nurse for 23 years, and her uncle was a captain on the local fire department when she was growing up; the husband of her old babysitter now is chief of that department. She has heard the tones calling firefighters to action her whole life, and she has made a career out of healing the wounds fires give their youngest victims. I think, last week, she heard her own tone calling her to action.

It was an unbelieveable spectacle, incredibly moving. The protocol firefighters follow for the funeral of a fallen brother or sister is calm and measured, rife with symbolism of the special calling they hear and obey.

We owe firefighters so much; this community, this entire region has poured heart and soul into letting them all know that at this difficult time.

Dying is not heroic. Heroic is showing up for work every day knowing it's your job to go into a burning building. Heroic is responding to an alarm quickly, efficiently, with calm and purposefulness. Heroic is overcoming our most basic instinct for self-preservation and putting yourself in harm's way for others. Heroic is doing all this not because it's heroic, but because it's your job. It defines you; it's what you do. Such selflessness is heroic. Such selflessness sometimes leads to death.

Firefighers know that. They accept it. They even embrace it. And last week, as the last call sounded over the caskets of Robin Broxterman and Brian Schira, this city let all firefighters know that we are grateful and we join them in their grief.

Matt Maupin. Requiescat in Pacem

2008-04-02T09:08:00.000-04:00

I live very near Keith and Carolyn Maupin, the parents of Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin. Sgt. Maupin was missing in Iraq for four years. This weekend, his remains were found, and his parents must now deal with what they must have long suspected. (Here's the latest news on that story.)

The Maupins have been very public in how they have dealt with this difficult time, working at the Yellow Ribbon Support Center to assemble packages of goodies to comfort the troops caught between Iraq and the hard place that is our president's head. And our vice president's heart.

Signs at businesses and schools have kept Matt in our thoughts. Yellow ribbons have been tied to trees, fences, and other uprights all over the region. I had one on my mailbox -- until the Maupins put up the sign in their yard that read "Support President Bush and Our Troops." Obviously, I can't support this president and his megalomaniac aims. And sadly, war-supporting politicians have cozied up to the Maupins to make themselves look good. President Bush called them this week to express his sympathies. He wouldn't even talk to Cindy Sheehan; I guess you have to believe the war is good and right and just in order for the president to sympathize with your grief. I wonder how many of the more than 4,000 other families who have gotten The Worst News from the War heard from him?

My heart aches for the Maupins. My brother was career Army, my younger brother-in-law was in the first President Bush's Mideast Adventure, and my nephew is a Marine who's been over in the current conflict three times. I have been lucky; they've all come out alive. Our best neighbor's son-in-law has just been deployed to fuel this president's mad love of being a war leader. I can't imagine what it must be like, waiting in dread of a knock at the door or the fateful phone call.

War is hell, or so the saying goes. I know it to be true. May the Maupin family and the grieving families of those who died out of the presidential spotlight come through this time of hate and war and emerge into the light of peace.

Support the troops? Oh yeah. Support them in the best way possible. Put pressure on our leaders to end this senseless war and bring them home.

Here is a poem by WWI poet Wilfred Owen.

"Anthem for Doomed Youth."

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

The Triduum

2008-03-22T11:23:00.000-04:00

Today is Saturday of Holy Week, the highlight of the Catholic liturgical year.

The Easter Triduum has always been a special time for me, a convert to the faith. I try to attend all three services: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil. My son was selected to have his feet washed on Thursday; I was very moved.

Good Friday in Cincinnati has a special tradition. Thousands of the faithful climb the steps to Holy Cross Immaculata Church on Mt. Adams (see picture at right), overlooking the city, and pause to say a prayer on each step. I hope to do this someday; my mother wanted to, even though she was not Catholic, but it never happened.

Tonight, all over the world, Catholic parishes celebrate the Easter vigil and welcome new members to the faith. It is a spectacle, an expression of Catholicism at its Liturgically Excessive Best: Fire and candles and readings and darkness and light and water and oil combine to make a true celebration of our new family members.

Sunday morning our parish will be packed, partly because of the many CEOs (Christmas/Easter Onlies) in attendance. A lot of folks sneer at the CEOs, but I think differently. On this day, and on the day of the nativity, the two holiest days on our calendar, these "lapsed" or otherwise inactive Catholics recognize and cling to their Catholic identity. They reach out, take time, and touch their strong connection to that first Easter two millenia ago

Tempest in a Teacup

2008-03-18T11:34:00.000-04:00

The flapdoodle and foofaraw about Barack Obama's minister needs to stop.

First of all, rhetorical excess is not a concept invented by Obama's minister. Anybody who ever listened to Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, or Rush Limbaugh can figure that out. When they talk about us, venom fairly seeps through the TeeVee screen. So on the ill-chosen overstatement, we've frankly still got a lot of catching up to do.

Second, the minister is not Obama; Obama can't control him.

Thirdly, the minister states that the US is controlled by rich white people. Well, duh. That's so. It's always been so. Every time we've got a shot at that not being so we blow it.

Fourthly, I myself said some time after the 9/11 attacks that we were, once again, reaping what we've sowed in short-sighted unjust foreign policy. I'm not saying that the attacks were deserved -- nobody deserves anything like that. I'm simply stating that we allowed the attacks to happen, even encouraged them with our own international bumbling.

Finally, this shows how desperate the so-called "liberal" media is to discredit Obama. Powerful people are terrified that he might actually become president.

I'll be interested to see the contents of his speech today.

Worth it? Probably not

2008-03-16T12:46:00.000-04:00

I'm not going to belabor the obvious point: That Eliot Spitzer is a heinous sleazeball.

I'm not going to point out the obvious victims here: His wife and family.

I'm not even going to wish Gov. Paterson well. (Although I do. Really.)

What I want to say is this:

$4,000 JUST TO HAVE SEX

WITH A TOTAL STRANGER?

ARE YOU NUTS???!?!!?

Do you know how much damage I could do at Amazon or Sur La Table with Four Large?

Snow wimp!

2008-03-09T16:43:00.000-04:00

I talked earlier about snow wimpiness, about being to ready to shut things down because of inclement weather. But the Cincinnati area got hammered Friday and Saturday, with many areas (including ours) getting up to a foot of snow. My commute home Friday afternoon was a bit harried, partly because of folks being a bit too bold in the "driving in the snow" department. Most counties and towns had a snow emergency declared, and pretty much everything was shut down. No class Saturday morning, no mass Saturday at 4 p.m.

It was really nice yesterday to be home all day, a big pot of minestrone simmering on the stove, fire in the fireplace. There was a calm, a peace about us all that was simply wonderful. None of the three of us had to go anywhere -- and that doesn't happen very often. (This includes all of our "outside" cats since the picture to the left was the view from the open back door; even Puck, the Master Hunter, was loath to venture out. He asked to go out, we opened the door, he looked, stepped out, and came immediately back in.)

Sunday, with the streets in better condition, I went to mass at 11:30. A lot of churches in our area were closed, but we had a full house at St. Veronica; I was very proud of our community faith. Talking with a couple of friends afterwards, we all realized how much we liked this, how clean the snow was, and how it made everybody slow down and realize that what we think of as high priority may not be so important.

Can You Be Pro-Choice and Catholic?

2008-03-06T10:53:00.000-05:00

Well, here's an issue that's not worth tapdancing around.

A friend of mine, in a discussion about McCain's endorsement by noted Catholic-basher John Hagee, asked me what I thought about the bumper stickers that say you can't be a faithful Catholic and pro-choice. She asked what I think about this "icky topic". My response was the first time I was able to distill this, so here it is.

It is an icky topic. I obviously "have a dog in this fight" since my son was adopted and his birth-mother clearly was not "pro-choice". Politically, I tend to agree with Former President FratBoy -- uh, Clinton: Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.

Theologically, however, it's different. Granted, there is a school of thought in the Church that, in the "sin" department, abortion is at the top of some hierarchy of Bad Stuff To Do. It is not perfectly clear, and is not an infallible teaching of The Church. In an Old Testament class I took recently, my instructor opened a discussion on sin by saying that a specific Old Testament passage could be applied to evil today, "especially abortion". Another classmate said he's tired of the Church "pussyfooting around" the issue, that pro-choice politicians should be banned from taking Holy Communion, that to "true Catholics" the choice of candidates / parties is very, very clearly a moral decision. I blew a gasket, saying that the party / candidates he was espousing tend to act as if the right to life begins at conception and ends at birth. And so on; my friend has known me long enough that she can guess where it all went from there.

I think part of the problem with this mess is the names the two camps use: "Pro-life", implying that anybody who doesn't agree is a heartless monster who is "anti-life", and "Pro-choice" implying that anybody who doesn't agree is a totalitarian Nazi. The names have initially implied and over time ensured that extreme positions are maintained. "Pro-lifers" are against any interference in the conception, uterine implantation, gestation, or birth of a child. "Pro-Choicers" think any attempt to limit woman's right to abortion on-demand at any time for any reason is a step to outlawing it altogether. (In essence, they've become the National Rifle Association of reproduction rights.)

Interestingly enough, neither side will talk about birth control (even pro-life Catholics who think "Humanae Vitae" was full of beans and the Church is dead wrong on contraception). Perhaps that's not surprising; if the two sides can come to an equitable set of principles on which they do agree, their organizations might cease to have the sense of urgency and political power they have. The pro-life extremist group Operation Rescue has stated repeatedly that once they've succeeded in getting abortion outlawed, they intend to keep going and get contraception outlawed. It's the same impetus for organizational permanence that has been exhibited by the liberal group "MoveOn.org". Recall, the group was founded as a grassroots effort to stop the impeachment of President FratBoy -- uh, Clinton. After that event, the group didn't go away; instead it started lobbying for other liberal causes. I told them to go away and stop contacting me almost immediately.

As a faithful Catholic, I am required to give a "prayerful hearing" to the Ordinary Magisterium -- teaching authority -- of the Church, to make every effort to form my conscience well and allow the Spirit to speak to me through the Faith. I do that; I read, pray, think, reflect on this issue a lot, and I remain kind of squishy on abortion. I simply don't believe life begins at conception; if that were so, a whole bunch of women would be commiting abortions by getting out of bed and walking around before the fertilized egg has had a chance to implant. On the other hand, I am simply appalled at the number of abortions that occur. It strikes me as somehow cheapening life, of viewing a child as an inconvenience, of not taking responsibility for your own desire to be sexually active. (I am, however, constantly amused by the view of writer Florence King, a rare pro-choice conservative: "If men could get pregnant, abortion wouldn't only be safe and legal, it would be a sacrament.")

I am disheartened that my chosen political party seems to operate at all levels on the idea that abortion -- at any time, in any place, in any manner, for any reason -- is an absolute right, that being "pro-choice" has become the biggest single litmus test for whether you are really a Democrat. Equally, I am bothered by the number of "faithful Catholics" who believe they demonstrate that faithfulness by being "pro-life" absolutists, of voting for candidates for office who adhere to this one, single teaching of our Church and ignore or work against dozens of others. (Our current representative, the way-crazy Jean Schmidt of Ohio's 2nd District, comes to mind.) I think these folks simply find it easier to find the sins of other people ("She had an abortion, he runs an abortion clinic, she gives to Planned Parenthood") than to see sin in themselves, to discern "what they have done and what they have failed to do" to follow other Catholic teaching .

I am disturbed by abortion. But I am also disturbed by many other trends in this country: the refusal to work toward for a more equitable distribution of this planet's resources, our national obsession with "protecting the rights" of gun owners (even when that protection assures that any nut-job that wants to get some semi-automatics and kill a bunch of people quickly can do so), the widening gap between rich and poor that implies a rampant worship of wealth and materialism, the demonization of Hispanics and Muslims, our warmongering and high-handed approach to foreign policy, the executions carried out in a misguided call for "justice," the dismantling of affordable health care, the laissez-faire destruction of the Creation that God made and considered good.

I consider all of these issue in the light of the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin's theology that life is a seamless garment. So in all the issues that affect how I vote except one, I vote pro-life. I am a faithful Catholic.

Food Comedy

2008-03-04T09:53:00.000-05:00

I first saw Jim Gaffigan on Heather Armstrong's blog, Dooce, one of the best-written blogs I've ever read. He was doing a routine about bacon, and my son and I laughed ourselves silly.

Here he is talking about Hot Pockets. By the way, I'm not a prude, per se, but it's nice to see somebody still "works clean."

And here's the bacon sketch, on Dooce.

This Ain't the Tower of Babel

2008-02-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

I worked for four years at a local affiliate of a huge multinational company, assisting in running the computer help desk. This was a very multicultural organization; I provided service to people of Asian, Hispanic, Arabic, and other origins. I loved it; getting to know these folks was an education in the oneness of the planet. (Plus, I always knew where to get tips on each person's native cuisine.)

But one of the things that used to drive me nuts was when new staff would complain, "I can't understand [insert customer name], because of his strong accent!" I rarely saw how this was a problem; I don't know if I have an affinity for this sort of thing, but I had usually never encountered any difficulty in understanding the person in question; I always thought that my colleague was exhibiting some form of intolerance or xenophobia in not making the extra effort to understand anybody who didn't "talk like an American." (That's a phrase that was actually used.)

Now I find that on national news broadcasts, in any story involving anybody who has the slightest pronounced foreign accent is being subtitled; that is, a "translation" of what the person is saying is displayed at the bottom of the screen, as if it were a foreign film or an opera or a silent movie.

This strikes me as ridiculous. I close my eyes, and I can understand what the person is saying. Are we so intolerant -- or ignorant, or lazy -- that we won't make the effort to listen to people's words if they don't "talk like an American"? This is a nation of immigrants, a world of diversity, and if we can't make the effort to understand each other we're in a heap of trouble.

Obamamania vs.Clinton-palooza

2008-02-16T14:45:00.000-05:00

The two remaining contenders for the Democratic nomination were both here in Cincinnati yesterday. Hillary Clinton met for a roundtable discussion at the Oakley Skyline Chili in the morning. Michelle Obama spoke in the ballroom at Cincinnati's Music Hall (left) later in the day.

Needless to say, the local coverage was frenzied.

Both camps are courting Mayor Mark Mallory, who is a superdelegate to the party's national convention. (For the uninitiated, "superdelegates" are a group of party insiders who will decide the nominee if we voters are too stupid to give either candidate enough delegates to win the nomination. In other words after all this primary hoo-ha, they may anoint who they want, not who we want.)

Hillary's folks are desperately seeking my support. I've been emailed and phoned both at home and on my cell. I have told them that for now, I'm for Obama. I wish I felt better about Clinton, but frankly, I simply don't think she could beat McCain. Plus, an awful lot of conservatives hate her with a zeal that defies all common sense, and I fear for her safety. She's pretty middle of the road, from my vantage point -- not the wild-eyed Socialist they paint her as. My take on her husband's presidency is that he compromised too much with these conservatives. He could have accomplished much more for the middle and lower classes than he did. Also, it makes me squeamish that, should she win and then be re-elected, a Clinton or a Bush will have been president or vice president from 1981 to 2016 -- a total of 34 years.

Obama grabs me in ways I'm not sure I completely understand. I think he really feels passionately that change is needed and will work to make the necessary changes, yet he isn't running "against the government", as so many do. I find Michelle Obama to be an energetic and fascinating speaker.

I don't know. Maybe this is the coup de grace of this country's long slow climb out of its racist past. (But believe me, we're not completely out yet -- on the local paper's website, there were 23 pictures of the Clinton event, and only nine of Mrs. Obama). Maybe supporting Obama could mean being a part of history.

But for historians and politicos alike, it's a great era. Think of it this way: A lot of middle-class white men are wrestling with whether they prefer the black guy or the dame. That's a choice that's long overdue.

Snow Wimps

2008-02-13T18:13:00.000-05:00

We had a snowstorm here in the Cincinnati area Monday night into Tuesday morning. Our son had a snow day, and the evening class I am taking was cancelled.

What I found amazing is that events were being cancelled Monday evening before a single flake had fallen. I mean, yeah, sometimes you gotta yield to Mother Nature, but c'mon -- cancelling school or even putting it on a two-hour delay at 7 in the evening?

I blame the TV weather people. Time was, the weather guy (it was always a guy) had maybe 4 minutes, a big map, and some Magic Markers. In Cincinnati, the anchor man would gong him if he was wrong the day before and keep tally when he was right of "gongless days."

Now the weather takes up easly a third or more of a one-hour local newscast, and it's replete with high-tech graphics and jargon and "accuweather" and "pinpoint forecasting." The weather folks whip themselves into a frenzy, and it's like the aliens have come in "Independence Day."

Folks -- it's just snow. Get over it. Enjoy it for what it is.

Oh. And to indulge yourself? http://www.weather.com

Welcome to my blog

2008-02-05T09:33:00.000-05:00

"Cat Random". Interesting -- or dumb -- title. I'm a guy who likes cats, and I've noticed that my brain works kind of like my cats' brains: I have lots of reactions to lots of external stimulus, and I jump around mentally relating the world to what I think, believe, feel. We all do that. I just find the need, now, to organize and share those thoughts with anybody who might find them interesting. So, "Cat Random" -- a not-too-obvious play on "at random" with a nod to the felines in my life. Particularly Evil Zen Master Basil and Quincy, the crazy one-eyed white death cat.

This is a work in progress, obviously. At nearly 50 years of age, I've written on and off most of my life. But this "blog" thing is new to me, and I no doubt will revamp what its purpose is periodically. (Heck, I'm still figuring out how my iPod fits into my music life.)