August 27, 2013

Catholic Conversation on Race: Catholics need to help make 'the dream' a reality, panelists say

Grimes noted that Coretta Scott said that every generation must take up these battles for justice and opportunity, and today's Catholics must utilize new technology and rely on their Church's social justice teachings in this effort.

She said African-Americans have endured racism and discrimination in the continuing struggle for civil rights in our country. "What helped them was their deep spirituality, and the recognition this was a spiritual battle," Grimes said.

Panelist John Carr, the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, expressed regret that members of our country's political parties seem to use or ignore religion, which he said should play a key part in confronting the issues highlighted by the historic march.

"I think we're losing a sense that the March on Washington was as much a religious experience as it was a political experience," said Carr, who previously served as the executive director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He noted that Dr. King, with his famous "I Have a Dream" address to the marchers, "gave a sermon, not a speech."

http://www.cathstan.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=5780

August 23, 2013

10 ideas Republicans loved until Barack Obama became President

...

The twisted irony is this: Many of the ideas President Obama and the Democrats have tried to put forth were actually Republican ideas first. So when you think about it, finding common ground and passing legislation that might, you know, help the American people, would be possible if Republicans weren’t hell-bent on attacking President Obama.

Here are 10 examples:

1. The Obamacare individual mandate. Before they became obsessed with bringing down Obamacare, Republicans had the idea of a free-rider fee for people who can afford health insurance but refuse to buy it, also known as the individual mandate. The free-rider fee is part of “Romneycare” in Massachusetts.

2. End-of-life counseling. Republicans also used to include counseling for end-of-life issues in their own healthcare proposals. But when President Obama liked the idea? Well, he just wants to kill your grandparents. Oh, and by the way, the so-called “death panels” are nothing of the kind. It’s simply about giving patients and their families the information they need to make the best decisions about the end-of-life care they want.

...

http://www.eclectablog.com/2013/08/10-ideas-republicans-loved-until-barack-obama-became-president.html

August 22, 2013

POINT: "Who Wants A Belly Rub?" COUNTERPOINT: "I Want A Belly Rub" (from The Onion)

Aw, who’s a good boy? Who’s a good little boy? Does someone want a belly rub? Does someone want to roll over and let me rub his belly? Who does? Who? Does someone want me to wub his bewwy wewwy wewwy?

Does a special little boy want a good scratch on his little belly? A good scratchy scratch for a very good boy?

...

Good afternoon. My name is Clayton R. Powell III of Bard Capital Investments, and it’s come to my attention that you’ve asked who would like a belly rub. I’m a busy man with a very tight schedule, but I have a good belly and I want it to be rubbed.

According to my planner, I have a quick five-minute window between meetings, so the timing is good on my end. I can lie down on my back with my arms and legs in the air, or I can lie down on my side, and then you can proceed to rub my belly. My belly welly.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/who-wants-a-belly-rub-vs-i-want-a-belly-rub,33569/

August 20, 2013

High school kids bust claims about Double Stuf Oreos

If you ever thought high school math wasn't useful in real life, take a look at what the students in Dan Anderson's class discovered.

The upstate New York high school teacher tasked the students in his "Consumer Math" course in the spring with determining whether Nabisco's Double Stuf and Mega Stuf Oreos really are, indeed, double and mega stuffed.

"This class is for students struggling with math so I'm always looking for hands-on activities," Anderson, who teaches in Queensbury, N.Y., told ABCNews.com . "When the Mega Stuf Oreos came out, I decided to do it."

Anderson, 32, brought his class one package each of regular Oreos, Double Stuf and Mega Stuf. He then split his students into different groups, with some measuring the cookies' height and some their weight.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/daily-extras/math-students-double-stuf-oreo-packaging-claims-dont-add-up

Between this and Subway's "footlong" claim, this isn't the only time a company's advertising claim has been busted. What's interesting about this is that a bunch of high school kids caught them.

August 20, 2013

Viral Photo Shows Muslims Protecting Catholic Church in Egypt as Congregants Attend Mass

A viral photo showing Muslim men standing in front of a Catholic church in Egypt, protecting its congregants while they attend mass, serves as juxtaposition to recent reports indicating the growing attacks on Christians by Muslims in the North African country.

The photo, which has been circulated around the internet, shows over 20 Islamic men, wearing traditional Islamic dress, holding hands in a line in front of a large Catholic cathedral. The men are reportedly protecting the Catholic Church from vandalism and attacks while Christian congregants attend mass inside.

The picture has gained a wide amount of media attention after it was tweeted by the Rev. James Martin, S.J., a Jesuit priest and the author and editor-at-large of America, a national Catholic magazine. Martin, who has 30,000 followers, tweeted the image, and it was then retweeted by his followers more than 600 times and made a "favorite" nearly 300 times.

"Hope for return of compassion and dignity," one Twitter user commented on the photo, while another commented "our world needs more of this."

http://www.christianpost.com/news/viral-photo-shows-muslims-protecting-church-in-egypt-as-congregants-attend-mass-amid-threat-of-attack-102592/

August 19, 2013

TV fans call 911 after cable outage leaves 'Breaking Bad,' Yankees-Sox fans in the dark

“We got several 911 calls last night from at least three individuals inconvenienced because they lost their Cablevision,” Lt. Jim Perez of the Fairfield Police Department told The Post today.

In one recording, a dispatcher answers “Fairfield 911,” and a woman says, “Hi. I’m ... I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on, we have no TV!’

The annoyed dispatcher interrupts and says “Ma’am, 911 is for a life-threatening emergency” and the woman answers, “I know that. I know that.”

The dispatcher then demands, “Is this a life-threatening emergency?” and the woman replies: “No, we’re just trying to find out what’s going on? Is it a life-threatening time?”

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/clueless_breaking_yankees_call_conn_JEx06zvYJrCZRvWKR181zL?utm_source=SFnewyorkpost&utm_medium=SFnewyorkpost

August 19, 2013

Borowitz: Republicans accuse Obama of using position as President to lead country (satire)

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Responding to reports that President Obama is considering signing as many as nineteen executive orders on gun control, Republicans in Congress unleashed a blistering attack on him today, accusing Mr. Obama of “cynically and systematically using his position as President to lead the country.”

Spearheading the offensive was Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), who charged the President with the “wanton exploitation of powers that are legally granted to him under the U.S. Constitution.”

Calling him the “Law Professor-in-Chief,” Rep. Stockman accused Mr. Obama of “manipulating a little-known section of the Constitution,” Article II, which outlines the power of the President.

“President Obama looks down the list of all of the powers that are legally his and he’s like a kid in a candy store,” Rep. Stockman said. “It’s nauseating.”

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/01/republicans-accuse-obama-of-using-position-as-president-to-lead-country.html

August 13, 2013

Fr. James Martin: Three Steps to Reduce Income Disparities

Before I entered the Jesuits in 1988, I worked for six years at General Electric in their finance department. Before that, I studied at the Wharton School of Business, where I majored in finance, which also meant taking courses in accounting, management, securities, bonds and real estate.

Why am I telling you this? Not to brag, but to establish a bit of bona fides when it come to talking about the economy, about business and about work on this Labor Day. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, building on Catholic social teaching, which builds on the Gospels, has called us to work for a more just world, particularly in terms of income inequality.

But the average person, who is neither an economist, nor the head of the World Bank, nor president of the United States, might ask themselves: How can I help? Here are few easy steps.

1.) Educate yourself. Did you know that income inequality in the United States is getting worse, not better? Despite worldwide increases in technology and productivity, the gap has only widened over the last 40 years. Here’s a statistic that might shock you. Three decades ago, CEOs in the United States were paid 42 times as much as the average U.S. worker. Today they earn 354 times as much. The rich are getting much richer, the poor much poorer. Educating yourself with simple facts like these can help raise your consciousness, make you more alert to income inequalities in your workplace, and help you in the voting booth.

http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-can-i-do-three-steps-to-reduce.html

August 8, 2013

In Maine municipal election, it's husband versus wife

A married couple from Maine will run against each other in a municipal election this November.

Republican David Johnson is scheduled to face off against Democrat Jennifer Johnson for Waterville's Ward 1 warden position. Wardens are in charge of voting at the city's polling place.

Jennifer tells the Morning Sentinel the election will be for "bragging rights for the rest of our lives."

...

Jennifer says they have been married for 10 years and agree on most things, but usually avoid discussing politics.

http://www.wlbz2.com/news/article/252520/3/Waterville-husband-wife-to-face-off-in-election

August 8, 2013

Victim's vitals improve after priest visits accident scene, prays, leaves incognito

Emergency workers and community members in eastern Missouri are not sure what to make of a mystery priest who showed up at a critical accident scene Sunday morning and whose prayer seemed to change life-threatening events for the positive.

Even odder, the black-garbed priest does not appear in any of the nearly 70 photos of the scene of the accident in which a 19-year-old girl almost died. No one knows the priest and he vanished without a word, said Raymond Reed, fire chief of New London, Mo.

“I think it’s a miracle,” Reed said. “I would say whether it was an angel that was sent to us in the form of a priest or a priest that became our angel, I don’t know. Either way, I’m good with it.”

Carla Churchill Lentz, mother of the teen who was critically injured, said emergency workers have told her there is no way her daughter should have lived inside such a mangled car. Of the priest, she said, “I do believe he certainly could have been an angel dressed in priest’s attire because the Bible tells us there are angels among us.”

http://www.freep.com/article/20130808/NEWS07/308080117/priest-missouri-victim-s-victims-improve-accident

This is very typical of a priest: humble, prayerful, compassionate - and not wanting in attention.