We're constantly playing Whac-A-Mole

I first became acquainted with that phrase when John McCain used to describe our efforts in Iraq that way. Today, it's about the constant social issues that keep coming up and won't go away.

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell had a segment on last night about a gay person being denied Holy Communion at the funeral services of her mother. As always, the priest announced that only church members in a “state of grace would be allowed to receive Holy Communion at the funeral mass for 85 year-old Loretta Johnson. When Loretta Johnson's gay daughter, Barbara Johnson,went up to receive the communion bread and wine, the priest put his hand over the body of Christ and looked up at her and said” I can't give you communion because you live with a woman and in the eyes of the church that is a sin.” The archdiocese of Washington D.C. Stated in their letter of apology; that the priest should've handled the issue privately without inflicting embarrassment on the daughter and those who were there to mourn the deceased. It should've never been made a spectacle.

If it would've ended there, it would not have been a story but doing the eulogy when daughter Barbara Jordan was speaking ,the priest made a spectacle of himself by walking off the altar in full view of the attendees. He later told the funeral director that he had a splitting headache and would not be able to conduct the burial services. I cannot imagine how I would feel if we were headed for the burial services expecting the rituals, which is one of the steps in the grieving process and instead being left with uncertainty. Thankfully, the funeral director was able to find a retired priest who had no qualms about fulfilling his duty.

As I said at the beginning, the Catholic Archdiocese issued a full apology  because the priest did not follow protocol. Father Marcel Guarnizo had to know the consequences of his actions. He took it upon himself to interpret the true intent of church dogma but failed to realize the embarrassment and even more grief he was putting on the family and friends of the deceased.

Today, I'm seeing our legislators enacting abortion laws as if we're having a serious abortion epidemic. Mississippi defeated a “person-hood bill” but that did not deter Alabama from producing one of their own  “person-hood” bill. I can’t remember what state it is (I believe it’s Virginia) where a woman can avoid the intrusive sonogram before she gets an abortion, if she can produce a police report. Can you imagine the thinking that went into making that exception? I remember during the health care squabble, when Senator Jon Kyl(R-AZ) did not think that he should be required to pay premiums to help finance maternity costs, since he has never needed maternity care. Senator Stabenow calmly observed, “I think your mom did.”

It’s not Christianity or religion that’s being put on trial here but it’s on those who interpret the true meaning of such.

Did I betray my faith?

I'm walking around with a sense of guilt because I'm not agnostic; I'm a proud Roman Catholic but again I find myself in disagreement with the church's hierarchy.  I didn't go to church yesterday because I suspected that they would try to get me to  oppose something I don't agree with.  I found myself watching a lot of television this week end, hoping to find some words that would give me comfort or prove me wrong.  I heard a lot of church representatives try and prove their case but  their analogies were not realistic.  I know I've been told more than once; you don't like the church teachings get out.  It's not that simple because it's like a marriage to me, I have a lot invested in it.  Right now feel like I betrayed my faith by being so adamant and going the extra mile to prove them wrong.

I strongly oppose any church's involvement in politics, not because I think they should be blind followers but because they should be a model of peaceful resolutions, not back room negotiations.  The church's involvement in politics started a long time ago during the crusades.  In United States, Father Coughlin.,took to the airwaves to speak about danger of  Social Security and socialism, way back in 1926.  He was the Rush Limbaugh of that time.  This time it's different, it's about the church's fundamental values, whether I agree with it or not. The church's hierarchy are conservatives and they will not evolve anytime soon.  Don't get me wrong, they still support the poor and are proponents of climate change concerns and I'm in agreement more than I disagree with the teachings.

When the church gets involved in politics both sides will use them.  The evangelicals do not like the catholic church per say but they will side with them on the social issues.The politicians will take the same path.

I don't get offended when someone talks bad about the president,Democrats, or in this issue the opposing party in an issue such as this. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I'm so frustrated with the work on Sam Houston but it's going to look super when it's all complete. There is not a single construction hand around because of the recent rain,so that's another two days or more of wait time. In the meantime I'll just have to get used to taking Airline or Teakwood to get to the main thoroughfares.

A tarnished Penn State

I still can't get over the fact that in 28 year old graduate student, who is well over 6 foot and weighs over 200 pounds, would not have jumped in that shower to stop the raping of a young child.  Mike McQuary allowed former Penn state coach Jerry Sandusky to continue abusing the boy.  All McQuary could think of was calling his father and then coach Paterno.  What a pathetic individual.

You will ever get me to believe that the other coaches did not know anything about this incident.  Locker room gossip spreads just as rapid as work place gossip.  Questions should have been asked and answered when Jerry Sandusky retired at age 55, for personal reasons.  Successful assistant coaches don't retire; they go on to be head coaches.  I wonder if Joe Paterno would have given his fellow coaches a heads up, when they inquired about Sandusky.  After all, when Coach Paterno reported the incident to his boss, all he did was take away Sandusky's keys to the athletic room.  No one picked up the phone to call the police or at least the Second Mile charity to make them aware of the incident.  Coach Sandusky received a $150,000 lump-sum payment at retirement and still gets almost $60,000 a year. Jerry Sandusky is free on a $100,000 unsecured bail by a judge who was a volunteer at the Second Mile charity.

I guess it would've done any good to call the Second Mile charity because when its president, Jack Raykovitz, was told about the incident, he never contacted the police either.   Penn State athletic Director Tim Curley told Mr. Raykovitz that an employee of Penn State was uncomfortable about seeing Sandusky in the locker room shower with a boy but an internal investigation revealed no wrongdoing.

This long overdue investigation should at minimum provide the names of all the people in positions of authority that had knowledge of Sandusky's wrongdoing.  Every one of  those people should be fired immediately for covering up a hideous crime.  Until then, the university shouldn't even talk of a bowl game, even though it might hurt the players who had nothing to do with this scandal.

I can see the similarity between the catholic church priest scandal and Penn State because it was all about protecting the institution at all cost.  The hierarchy put their stamp of approval on decisions made by their subordinates.  I don't buy the " could've have known" excuse because a leader that comes through the ranks, knows what happens at the ground level.  They could start by calling in all the people in positions of authority and tell them that cover-ups will not be tolerated.  They can follow through by publishing their memorandum.

I remember when the local firefighters had their little scandal and many posters said" Boys will be boys." That's where it all starts, as our parents used to tell us " give them little rope and they'll hang themselves." A spouse wrote that we should appreciate the work and sacrifice our public servants put in.  We do, but horseplay of a sexual nature, muddies the water on what will be tolerated and what action calls for discipline.  If we tolerate it, we get people like Herman Cain, who will laugh and threaten their accusers.

On another subject, I got a glimpse of the new Victoria Advocate on line forum. It looks professional and colorful. I logged in  7:00 this morning, so it was a little confusing as most things are when they're first presented.  I hope they don't jam all the blogs together because the tests,ads, and the Advocate blogs will not allow a blog much viewing time.  I'm not going to write a blog that only stays up 2 hours.  I'm sure they're working through all the kinks and everything will be fine.