Sunday, July 10, 2011

Minnesota Homosexual and Progressive Groups

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Rainibow Sash Alliance Brian McNeill
Dignity Twin Cities Brian McNeill
Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) Michael Bayly
Catholic Coalitiion for Church Reform (CCCR) Michael Bayly
OutFrontMN Twitter
#NoMNProp8 Twitter
Project 515 Twitter
Minnesotans United for All Families Twitter
Facebook
Catholc for Marriage Equality Minnesota Michael Bayly
Twin Cities Voice of the Faithful
Isaiah Alinskyite organization
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

Minnesota Homosexual and Progressive Groups

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Rainibow Sash Alliance Brian McNeill

Dignity Twin Cities Brian McNeill

Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) Michael Bayly

Catholic Coalitiion for Church Reform (CCCR) Michael Bayly

OutFrontMN Twitter

#NoMNProp8 Twitter

Project 515 Twitter

Minnesotans United for All Families Twitter Facebook

Catholc for Marriage Equality Minnesota Michael Bayly

Twin Cities Voice of the Faithful

Isaiah

Alinskyite organization

Saturday, July 09, 2011

Minnesota Homosexual Blogs

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1. The Wild Reed Michael Bayly

July 8 -- Sharing the Good News of Marriage Equality at the Basilica Block Party
July 8 -- The Bishops' Reaction to Marriage Equality: "Wrong-Headed and Counterproductive"
June 30 -- Out and About – June 2011
May 26 -- In the Struggle for Marriage Equality, MN Catholics are Making a Difference by Changing Hearts and Minds

A Catholic Statement of Support for Same-Sex Marriage
Tips on Speaking as a Catholic in Support of Marriage Equality
Catholic Attitudes on Gay and Lesbian Issues: An Overview
At UST, a Rousing and Very Catholic Show of Support for Marriage Equality
A Message for NOM (and the Catholic Hierarchy
Distinguishing Between Roman Catholic Theology and Civil Law in the Struggle for Marriage Equality
The Bishops' Reaction to Marriage Equality: "Wrong-Headed and Counterproductive"
Responding to Bishop Tobin's Remarks on Gay Marriage
Dale Carpenter on the "Win-Win" Reality of Gay Marriage
The Minnesota Bishops' Last Ditch Effort
It's a Scandal
The Minnesota Bishops' Unholy War
Exposing NOM's Shameful Behavior in Minnesota
Winona Daily News Calls Proposed Marriage Amendment "Bigoted" and "Malicious"
Law Professor: Marriage Amendment is Divisive and Mean-Spirited
Opposition to the Marriage Amendment Grows

2. Progressive Catholic Voice Michael Bayly
July 7 -- Twin Cities-Based Coalition for Church Reform Has High Hopes -- Zoe Ryan
July 6 -- Clericalism and Laity-ism: Twin Evils in Our Church -- Brian J. Willette
June 26 -- Marriage Equality and the Catholic Bishops -- Geoffrey R. Stone
June 25 -- Community Ethics vs. Individual Freedom: The Fox and the Hedgehog -- Paula Ruddy
June 20 -- Fr. Wenthe's Lawsuit: "Callous and Selfish" -- William D. Lindsey
June 4 -- Learning from the Elders -- Brian McNeill
May 31 -- What is "Mainstream" Catholicism? -- Carol Ann Larsen
April 27 -- Calling all supporters of marriage equality . . . -- Michael Bayly
April 25 -- MN Catholic Legislator Scott Dibble on the "Ill-Timed Attack on Planned Parenthood" -- Scott Dibble

Archdiocese Blocks Bills to Help Sex Abuse Victims
Essential Reading: Tom Doyle's Response to John Allen, Jr.
SNAP Responds to Archbishop Nienstedt
The Scandal of Sexual Abuse
He Spoke Truth to Power, But Vatican Wouldn't Listen
Fr. Thomas Doyle: "There is Something Radically Wrong With the Institutional Catholic Church"
Statute of Limitations for Sex Abuse Victims: “You Can’t Get Healing in a Court of Law”

3. Gayapolis

4. TheColu.mn

5. Minnesota Independent Andy Birkey

July 8 -- Outing of Supporters -- Religious leaders backed successful push for amendment banning same-sex marriage
July 5 -- The politics of the anti–gay marriage amendment: A primer
July 5 -- Outing of Supporters -- Meet the top donors who helped get the marriage amendment on the 2012 ballot
June 27 -- Supporters of Minnesota gay marriage ban react to New York vote
June 24 -- DFL launches campaign focusing on gay and lesbian families

6. The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody Bayly, Lindsey, Weldon et al.

Michael Bayly http://www.thewildreed.blogspot.com/
Jayden Cameron http://gaymystic.blogspot.com/
Obie Holmen http://opentabernacle.wordpress.com/author/obholmen/
William Lindsey http://bilgrimage.blogspot.com/

Terrence Weldon http://queeringthechurch.wordpress.com
June 14 --American Catholic Conference – The “Action” Is In the Talking!

colkoch http://opentabernacle.wordpress.com/author/colkoch/
Frank Cocozelli http://opentabernacle.wordpress.com/author/frankcocozzelli/
John J. McNeill http://johnjmcneill.com/
http://www.johnmcneillspiritualtransformation.blogspot.com/

Betty Clermont http://opentabernacle.wordpress.com/author/bettyclermont/
July 10 -- The Church in Ghana: Latest Victim of the Corporatocracy
July 8 -- Serving Mammon Vatican Finances
July 2 -- Karol Wojtyla and the secrets of Vatican finances
June 27 -- Chaput: Fleecing his Flock

7. Gavin Sullivan

8. Obie Holmen

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Vatican Time

Eating lunch today, I had another interesting conversation, this time with two members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, which has just ended several days of meetings here.

The commission's main focus for this 5-year period -- founded more than 100 years ago, in 1909, the commission studies a single issue for five years at a time -- is the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. In short, what does the inspiration of Scripture really mean about the truthfulness of the text. Dr. Robert Moynihan, #17

So if you want to get a decision out of the Vatican, it might take five years. It took them 30 years just to convene the Council of Trent after Martin Luther's revolution.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Minneapolis to pay $210,000 to settle suit by fired psychologist

Michael Campion had sued after his firm was fired amid concerns raised about its ties to an "anti-homosexual'' family institute.

By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune

Last update: September 3, 2010 - 3:00 PM

A well-known pyschologist who screened potential Minneapolis police officers will receive a $210,000 settlement from the city over his firing, which stemmed from his affiliation with the Illinois Family Institute and his support for treating the "problem" of homosexuality.

The City Council unanimously agreed Friday after a closed-door session to pay Michael Campion of Campion, Barrow & Associates of Illinois, Inc., (CBA) rather than go forward with a U.S. District Court trial scheduled to start Sept. 13 in front of U.S. Judge Joan Ericksen.

Council Member Gary Schiff, who is gay, said, "It was clear the settlement was in the city's best interest."

The family institute has stated that it opposes the "gay lifestyle."

If the city had lost at trial, it could have been made to pay Campion's attorney's fees. Schiff said the settlement amount includes legal fees.

In reaching the decision, Schiff said, the council leaned heavily on an 18-page pretrial ruling from Ericksen, in which she wrote, "The court observes, at this preliminary state, that plaintiffs' First Amendment interests appear to be strong."

Schiff said the council realized that her ruling signaled an uphill fight for the city in a trial.

CBA began working for the city in 2004, about a year after a federal mediator came to town to address concerns about biased policing and low numbers of minority officers. In 2006, members of the Police Community Relations Council (PCRC), which grew out of the federal mediation, raised concerns about racial bias in CBA's work. Another firm reviewed the work and found no such evidence.

Campion met with the community council in August 2006 and concerns were raised about his affiliation with the family institute, founded by James Dobson, and the "anti-homosexual" nature of the organization, the judge's order said.

Former City Council Member Scott Benson, who is gay and a lawyer, sent a note to then interim Police Chief Tim Dolan and asked, "How did Dr. Michael Campion, who was a board member of the Illinois Family Institute (a notoriously discriminatory anti-gay group) become the psychologyist for the Minneapolis Police Dept. for screening new hires etc?"

The same month, the city suspended work with Campion and hired another firm to do screening, citing better "diversity and transparency" issues at the firm.

CBA sued, claiming the city violated Campion's First Amendment rights by taking action against him because of his association with the family institute.

The city argued that the decision to part ways with CBA stemmed not from Campion's speech but by "concerns about bias."

Campion's business, based in Champaign, Ill., has performed psychological testing for 35 years for more than 100 law enforcement agencies, including St. Paul. A portion of Campion's testing was developed through a U. S. Department of Justice grant in which he sampled St. Paul residents on what characteristics were important in an officer.

Before receiving the psychological exam, applicants are given a conditional job offer. If they are rated unqualified, they generally are not hired.

Campion has not commented on the case. His lawyers didn't return a phone call. StarTribune

Saturday, May 13, 2006

The NSA is Looking for "Anomalies"

COMMENTS

I was involved in this kind of work as an analyst when I was in the Army 40 years ago. I can’t even conceive of what the types of information and the technology used to get it must be like today.

The government must protect it’s citizens. For virtually as long as there have been telegraph, telephone or radio communications, all governments have to a greater or lesser degree sought to discover what their enemies (and even their friends were up to).

Today we’re engaged in a differnt kind of conflict where the enemy isn’t using millions of soldiers organized into complex formations using fixed and mobile command posts.

It might be 25 people whose telphone numbers are not listed in the Manhattan telephone directory.

Do you want your government to protect you?

Then what they probably are doing is throwing out a net and grabbing billions of messages and phone calls daily and electronically sorting them based upon patterns that they have discovered in the past. Those patterns based on location, based on language, based on time of day, based on time of year, based on length of message and probably thousands of other patterns that are used in the hopes that they can learn information that will help to prevent the next 911 type attack.

Nobody is sitting and listening to orders for birthday cakes, transactions with bookies, romantic assignations among adulturous spouses and the like. There is too much at stake and not enough people to do it if they wanted to.

Even when they have filtered all the billions of items, daily they end up with many thousands of items to analyze, translate and then categorize and communicate to the appropriate parties. An almost impossible task. But there is no other option.

Do you really think a native born American can sneak into Pakistan or Afghanistan and infiltrate bin Laden’s headquarters? Not gonna happen. Not even a Pakistani unknown to them could do that.

If we can’t talk or listen to them in person, and we can’t mind read, then doing it remotely through electronics is the only method left.

And since we generally don’t know what we are looking for until we see it, everything has to be filtered, looking for one of the intelligence community’s favorite words, “anomalies”, something out of the ordinary.

Posted by Ray from MN on 05/13/06 at 06:03 PM

Thursday, May 04, 2006

This Morning's Ethanol Message 2

From: Ray Marshall [raymarsh@mninter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 11:31 AM
To: John L. Sweeney
Subject: RE: This morning's Ethanol message

-->

That “hub and spoke system” might be another place to start. I would bet that taking off and landing takes ¾ of the fuel that a plane consumes. But management is so afraid of losing a fare to another airline that they are determined to stop everywhere (God forbid that they drop somebody off in Chicago so that they can then catch a plane from a different airline to reach Sioux Falls). That’s got to be a big percentage of their fuel (and maintenance) costs.

De-regulation contributed a lot to this. Management got greedy; 20 small airlines got gobbled up; some got rich for a while; but no longer. Maybe it is time to “re-regulate” the airlines? Give them some financial security and give them monopolies at smaller airports.

I think a lot of those airlines around the world are given national monopolies by their governments. That is starting to disappear in the EU and some of the smaller lines are starting to be folded into the majors.

-----Original Message-----

From: John L. Sweeney [mailto:sweelab@enter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 10:32 AM
To: Ray Marshall
Subject: Re: This morning's Ethanol message 2

Hi, it seems that much of the woes can be firmly put on the heads of Management.

Looking at airline firms that operate throughout the world except here one would wonder;
"what are they doing that we aren't?" Might be a place to start, how about pricing?

Jack

To: Jack

Good thoughts and comments, Jack!

Another lobbying group that should be getting together with the automobile industry is the Airline industry. I’m not sure what common ground they have, but maybe planes could fly on ethanol too? Or by taking the automobile demand away from the oil company supply, the price of “kerosene”, or whatever it is that jets burn, would drop.

Ray

This Morning's Ethanol Message 1

From: Ray Marshall [raymarsh@mninter.net]

Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 9:45 AM
To: John L. Sweeney
Subject: RE: This morning's Ethanol message

-->

Good thoughts and comments, Jack!

Right now virtually all of the majors are actually in bankruptcy or have just come out of it and their problems are not over yet. And the smaller, feeder airlines are going into bankruptcy because their “major airlines” are squeezing them dry.

I have a friend through Polish genealogy who is the Chief Federal Bankruptcy Judge for Minnesota. He is hearing a Mesabi Airlines case right now that has become the longest trial in the history of his court. Northwest is in its own bankruptcy hearing in Delaware where its corporate papers are filed, but it’s headquartered here.

Most of the airlines problems relate to the price of gas, but they also have WILLINGLY negotiated contracts that are costing them much more for wages and fringes than the newcomers like Southwest how hire employees to the lowest bidders.

If Minnesota lost Northwest as a headquarters, we’d probably lose 10,0000 jobs here. That would be the biggest hit we would have ever taken. We’d still have a “hub” but there is a lot of management in an airline.

-----Original Message-----

From: John L. Sweeney [mailto:sweelab@enter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 8:17 AM
To: Ray Marshall
Subject: This morning's Ethanol message

Good Morning Ray:

Highlighted areas are my messages for this morning.

Jack

Gas-price surge strains oil-auto pact

By Jim Snyder

The high price of gasoline and the growing call for congressional action are undermining the gentleman’s agreement under which the oil and auto lobbies do not attack each other.

Tyson Slocum, an energy specialist at Public Citizen, said the two lobbies have benefited from a “non-aggression pact.” But as pressure mounts on Capitol Hill against the oil industry, which has been reporting huge profits, the truce may be ending, Slocum said.

“The oil industry is feeling lots of pressure,” Slocum said. “They are not used to this. They want to break the détente,” to shift some of that pressure to the auto industry.

Sources in both the oil and auto camps say there is no split yet. But several lobbyists acknowledged that tensions appear to be rising in a political environment where even some Republicans, long oil-industry allies, are calling for what the industry considers to be punitive measures.

One oil lobbyist said he and his colleagues have discussed more aggressively challenging the auto industry, which for years has fought increases in gasoline-mileage standards, known as corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE. In particular, some oil lobbyists say Detroit has pushed too hard for the development of alternative fuels, such as ethanol.

“The pile-on factor is pretty enormous at this point,” the oil lobbyist said.

Dozens of bills have been introduced in recent weeks as gasoline prices have risen and angry motorists demand their members to act.

What makes oil lobbyists especially red in the face when discussing the auto industry is the recent embrace of E85, a fuel type that is 85 percent ethanol, which is made primarily from corn.

“If the oil industry learns that the autos are using political pressure to force E85 on the industry as a branded fuel with no liability, then, yes, we very much think it is fair play to raise CAFE standards,” said Don Duncan, a lobbyist for ConocoPhillips.

Here is some tangible Bullshit, “tangible” in that a whole country has been using ethanol for about 10 years [Brazil] without such dire results. The exhaust from an ethanol fueled internal combustion engine is water. What is a catalytic converter for when this is the case? What part of H2O is a pollutant?

Duncan said the two industries cooperate on the development of new fuels but the oil industry believes in general that E85 is not ready for widespread use. He said there is evidence that E85 can corrode a car’s catalytic converters, for example. A gallon of E85 is also less efficient — it produces less energy — than a gallon of gasoline, he said.

Michelle Kautz, a spokeswoman for the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, said that there are no corrosion issues when E85 is used in a compatible car. Coalition members include ethanol producers and vehicle makers, according to its website.

She said the oil industry has not done enough to build the infrastructure necessary for the 6 million E85-compatible vehicles now on the road. Only 681 stations sell E85, Kautz said.

How naïve! Can anybody really NOT comprehend that it is un-American to build an infrastructure, on your property, with your money so your competitor can make a buck. Ethanol could be sold at a refueling place that does not sell oil products at all. How long would it take to FORCE the retail outlets now selling gasoline to ALSO sell ethanol based fuels. And FORCE via the almighty dollar is what is required so I can drive my Saturn, get a fill up of ca. 10 gallons of ethanol for ca. $20.00 rather than filling up with 10 gallons of gas for $30.00 at any existing gas station.

Again, FORCE not “pressure” gets results. Duncan said he has heard that some auto lobbyists have urged the White House and Energy Department to put pressure on oil companies to build more infrastructure, namely gas stations, that offer alternative fuels.

But overall, he said, he doesn’t believe that auto executives are taking a position in opposition to his industry.

To the extent that there is a feud, oil lobbyists point to a blog entry posted by the vice president of communications for DaimlerChrysler’s American division as the starting point. According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, the entry criticized oil companies for not doing enough to reduce the cost of gasoline.

An auto-industry source said oil companies fired the first shot, however, when ExxonMobil ran advertisements in newspapers that some saw as suggesting the auto industry was too reliant on large, gas guzzling sport utility vehicles.

The source said the oil industry has not developed the infrastructure to support alternative fuels, although executives say publicly that they support their development.

“It would be helpful if oil companies could identify what exactly they are doing on alternative fuels,” the source said.

Oil-industry officials say they spend millions of dollars to develop new energy sources.

If tensions are rising in Washington, several lobbyists stressed that war hasn’t been declared.

“The two big goliaths can tend toward canceling each other out and forcing [members of Congress] into having to take tough votes,” one oil lobbyist said. “Because both sectors require a degree of cooperation in making each other’s products commercially viable, there is no joy taken by either side in having to go to war.”

The story is one of increasingly divergent fortunes.

Indicative of oil companies’ good fortune recently, ExxonMobil reported $36 billion in profits last year, a record for an American company. In contrast, the U.S. auto industry is losing money and laying off workers.

One advantage domestic carmakers say they have is in the development of so-called “flex-fuel” vehicles that run on oil or ethanol or other alternative fuels, such as E85.

President Bush, meanwhile, has asked Congress to allow him to raise standards for fuel economy. That gives environmentalists and consumer advocates that have challenged both the auto and oil lobbies hope — as does rumors of frayed relations between the two.

Pius XII and the Jews of Europe

1 May Cafeteria is Closed Blog

Rome under Pius XII was occupied by Italian Fascist troops and after their surrender, by elite Nazi units until 1944.

The Pope had his Swiss Guards.

France and England and the United States with all their vast resources did nothing but negotiate with fascism until they were attacked. France folded in six weeks.

Why is it expected that the Pope with no army was to take on Hitler and Mussolini and leave millions of Catholics at risk.

Twentieth century history had already shown that thousands Catholics in Mexico and in Spain and Portugal had become victims of militant anti-Catholic governments. Hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians had died at the hands of Islamic Turks.

One hundred or so Swiss Guards were to defend Catholicism? The Vatican could have been destroyed in an afternoon by a couple of artillery batallions.

The evidence is pretty clear that world-wide Pius XII and the Catholic Church quietly saved hundreds of thousands of Jews and other victims of Nazi hate and repression. To have openly encouraged resistance by German and Italian Catholics would have only generated more hate, repression, torture and deaths.
Ray from MN | Homepage | 05.01.06 - 9:31 am | #

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Smoking Ban

From: Michael Thompson [mthomps@mninter.net]
Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2005 10:32 AM
To: Ray Marshall; Andy Driscoll; Minneapolis Issues
Subject: Re: [Mpls] Smoking Ban

You know, Ray, I agree with your post. In my treatises on the ban,
one of the points I made long ago was the undercurrent of
paternalism inherent in this ban. Smoking, for the most part, an
activity of the lower socioeconomicclasses. The enlightened
elitists of Minneapolis made an attempt to protectthe less
enlightened working stiffs of this city against themselves. The
arrogance of this stance disgusts me. This faux benevolence is so
typical of Minnesotans.......

"Minnesota nice" delivered to you, for your own good,
with another ban. And if a few bar owners----and their employees
----lose their jobs, I guess that's tough.

For (maybe) the last time, everyone: the latest board move was
about compromise. Compromise is what happens in a democracy
(unless you're a "Progressive"). Anyway, now ban-proponents can
still find bars where there is no smoke so they can wear the same
shirt the next day and still believe that they've saved the life
of someone, somewhere (maybe an ill-informed waitperson or a
bartender)..... while smokers can find a bar where they can smoke.

Smoking ban proponents may have lost this battle, but their brand
of restrictive authoritarianism can still win the war. Fortunately
for us who value freedom, the war is fought on many fronts.
Someday, somewhere, a ban will be imposed that is as equally
restricting to smoking ban proponents as this current ban is to
those of us who value free will over the illusion of safety. And,
as I've said before, it will be too late to do anything about it
then, for we will have already sold our souls to the government to
protect us from the very choices we choose to make. But that
doesn't matter to ban proponents, as long as they don't have to
wash their hair after a night of jazz.........

Mike Thompson
Windom

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray Marshall To: "Andy Driscoll" ;
"Minneapolis Issues"
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 4:05 AM
Subject: Re: [Mpls] Smoking Ban

> Poor people don't have a lot of options in life and have even fewer
> pleasures.

> It's very tiresome to see the middle classes (now, or of the future
> in the case of the young) crusading to have other people mend their
> ways.

> I suspect that the middle classes have a few bad habits that I might
> like to see eliminated.

> What will we expect the poor to do with the money they will save
> from being forced to quit smoking? Caribbean cruises; climbing Mt.
> Kilimanjaro; perhaps buying a Lexus (to park on the street)? Going
> to graduate school (after they get their GED)?

> What will they be doing with the extra 7 years they will have at
> the end of their life? Join a country club and hang out with non-
> smoking members of the middle class?

> Most people probably will quit smoking over time. Many won't,
> just to be obstinate when someone tells them what they must do.

> There are maybe 100 million jobs in this country. Very few of
> them are in bars or restaurants where smoking is prohibited. I
> suggest that those who don't like second hand smoke should not seek
> work in those establishments.

> They can probably make more money doing the noon rush in a
> Perkins or similar restaurant catering to the speedy lunch crowd
> with a half dozen table turnovers.

Let's have more leaders of heft

MINNEAPOLIS - ST. PAUL, MINNESOT

Last update: January 14, 2006 – 11:25 PM

Garrison Keillor The Old Scout: Let's have more leaders of heft

Maybe Americans have been looking at the wrong body type as they choose their commander in chief.

Garrison Keillor The Old Scout

Everything was said that could be said about Ariel Sharon last week as he lay in a coma except the one thing that crossed the mind of every viewer watching newsreel footage of the prime minister, which was, "How much does that man weigh?" (Answer: 255 pounds. And he's 5-foot-7.) He looked like a bull walrus ruling a colony of baby seals. And it made you wonder, how does tiny Israel come up with this family-size guy while the World's Only Superpower struggles along with a wiry little fellow who works very hard on his abs? Is it time we think about getting someone weightier?

We haven't had a fat president since William Howard Taft and that was at the tail end of the Gilded Age, when politicians were expected to be portly. We've had a few semi-beefy ones since (Harding, Hoover), and LBJ carried a potbelly, and Bill Clinton had his moments of bloat, but the American people, now that two-thirds of us are overweight, prefer that the Great White Father be lean, taut, angular, a runner or horseman or cutter of brush. Whereas a guy who looks like he'd be right at home in a Barcalounger with a can of Pabst in his mitt doesn't seem to fit the bill.

I suppose that a compact build indicates some sort of self-discipline, but discipline to do what? Look at Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot. None of them was a hearty eater, and for good reason: paranoia. When you're a megalomaniac, it takes away your appetite, thinking of all the folks who'd love to put rat poison in your ratatouille.

It is human to put butter on mashed potatoes and to choose the cheese plate instead of the lo-fat gelatin and to linger over the port wine and chocolates. The man who denies himself might satisfy his hungers elsewhere, promulgating reckless policies, such as a war against a nation that poses no threat to us and torturing those whom he deems enemies and detaining them at his pleasure and marching his troops into a quagmire. A fat man, someone who must heave himself to his feet in the morning and behold a great pile of flesh in the bathroom mirror, the matronly pectorals and the enormous haunches and spare tire, might be more circumspect. He already looks like an emperor, so he would try harder not to act like one.

The advance eulogies of Sharon spoke of his remarkable political shift, from right-wing warrior to moderate compromiser, and you thought, "This is the sort of man America needs right now. Maybe we've been looking at the wrong body type."

Fat men spend more time in contemplation, if only because they get winded climbing stairs and need to sit down. Because they jiggle when they walk, they may be less prone to delusions of grandeur. The fat man doesn't expect his supporters to hoist him to their shoulders. Nor does he hope to sneak around undetected. He is able to face up to his own mistakes. (How can he not? They are hanging over his belt.) He has lived with derision and that gives him a sense of compassion that may be lacking in a Medium or Small. And yet like Churchill, he knows what it's like to rouse oneself to heroic effort. Neville Chamberlain was the elegant guy in the 36 Extra Long who kept backing down from the Nazis. It was the Old Fat Man who spoke of blood, sweat and tears. He knew about sweat.

The top-ranking fat man in government today is Speaker of the House J. Dennis (Coach) Hastert of Plano, Ill., who for years has been two heartbeats away from the presidency, and one of those hearts has a pacemaker. A mild-mannered fellow who only seeks to do good for the western suburbs of Chicago and for American business, Hastert favors a strong national defense and the education of our children while opposing tax increases of any kind, large or small. He is also in favor of life.

Sitting on the dais behind President Bush at the annual State of the Union address, the Speaker has never missed a single standing ovation. A fat man must get tired of jumping to his feet 20 times in a row, but the Speaker has always been there, clapping his big meaty hands. He would be the first Dennis to become president. And he would look more like us, the American people. Think it over.

Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" can be heard Saturday nights on public radio stations across the country. His column is distributed by Tribune Media Services.

What do you think of this 'judicial' reasoning?

From: Ray Marshall [raymarsh@mninter.net]
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 8:06 AM
To: Jake Manahan
Subject: What do you think of this 'judicial' reasoning?

-->

I posted this on a Catholic blog which was discussing polygamy as the next step after homosexual marriage. A bit of hyperbole perhaps, but something that is not being discussed and should be.

And right after polygamy is endorsed, the bestiality crowd will move into line to get theirs. But they will be fighting NAMBLA who will plead seniority.

Don't laugh. In the light of what we know now about our society, how would it be possible to say "no" to them?

These would have to be considered as falling within the shelter of the "right of privacy" just as abortion and birth control were classified.

By the way, drag out your copy of the Constitution of the United States. In it you will see that in Article III, concerning the courts, Section 2 reads as follows: "Clause 1: The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority...."

Article VI reads in part: "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."

The astute reader will note that "treaties" are part of the "supreme law of the land" according to the Constitution.

That means that UN laws and regulations and those of NATO and other organization which the US is a member of, will become laws that have to be observed in the United States.

Several of the sitting Supreme Court justices are regularly citing European rights and legislation in their opinions.

It's only a matter of time until the "Euro-justices" on the U.S. bench will have a majority.

Comments on St Joan of Arc Parish

Adoro Te Devote blog
January 2006

Ray Marshall said...

I used to attend St Joan's a long time ago (I'm now a member of the Basilica parish but as often as not find myself at Nativity in St Paul).

I had hoped that the new pastor at SJA, recruited personally by the Archbishop, would put the brakes on some of their activities. But he's only been there a month and this revisionist teacher probably was scheduled some time ago.

Frankly, as evidenced by the number of Catholics who do not know or understand their faith, the entire American Church could be found to be guilty of gross malfeasance of office.

Regularly, I hear the most astounding things in a Spiritual Journey Group whose sessions I attend at the Basilica. But as we aren't there to debate, I generally let them pass.

One of our members attends St Joans.

I enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good work.

(Curt Jester picked up your SJA piece and that's how I found you).

Ray in South Minneapolis, more towards St Paul, though.

10:07 AM

Ray Marshall said...

I just checked out the SJA link that Curt Jester provided. Take a gander at the picture of the audience.

http://www.stjoan.com/thumb1fr.htm

Most of the attendees look like they graduated from high school in the 50s. These are the people who were inspired by Vatican II in the belief that the laity would begin to run the Church. I have many friends who still believe that.

I recall having a conversation with one friend in particular a few years ago who was almost in tears as he had to admit that that was not going to be the case.

That belief is one of the many things that grew out of Vatican II, but that had no basis in fact.

I don't know about St Joan’s, but my observation in attending Mass at the Basilica, St Olaf's, Nativity, the Cathedral, etc. is that there are a lot of 30 somethings and families at Mass and a significant number of folks who arrive early for prayer, stay late, participate in Perpetual Adoration, light votive candles and march in Eucharistic processions.

So it's not all bad.

Ray

10:22 AM

Ray Marshall said...

When I attended SJA, it was in the early 80s and right at the end of Fr. Harvey Egan's tenure. He started the "looseness" but was reasonably orthodox, other than the homilies. But nobody objected from the chancery.

And he was crafty. He would get up, give a two or three minute homily to satisfy the liturgical requirements, which generally was pretty good, and then introduce the main speaker, who would be a lay person, and generally speaking on a topic in which I was not at all interested and often didn't even have anything to do with religion. I left soon after Fr. Egan retired.

I just didn't like the whole "gym" scene. But they did have a nice orthodox 7:30 a.m. Mass in the church that I attended a few times.

You are correct in that there is a large homosexual community at the Basilica and they have an active social group. But to my knowledge, "sashes" have not been used there.

And I would agree that the majority of the parish is pretty liberal. But most of the "liberalness" is reflected outwardly only in standing at the Consecration and in the substitution of the word "God" for "man" and "him" at various points in the Mass.

Of course, internally, since the vast majority under 50 have not had much catechesis, their beliefs are often not orthodox, and they don't care. Relativism reigns. And many of those over 50 are the rebels who want to see the laity in control of the Church.

But there are 7,000 people on the mailing list, so that still leaves room for others.

The parish is starting to have adult education classes and events and I would expect over time, more and more people will take advantage of these and benefit. They have an arrangement with priests and teachers from St. John's in Collegeville to do some of the instruction.

I attended a 5 hours class on the Holy Trinity just before Christmas and it was great.

A lot of people believe that the riot act should be read at both places and drastic measures taken to get rid of dissenters. But all that would do is drive people away. And there are a half dozen or more parishes that have the same problems.

Might it not be better to be welcoming, as the Basilica is, and maybe over time bring people back into full communion.

I personally, was away from the Church for 20 years. I didn't join any other Church. I was just lazy. Of course, I still considered myself to be Catholic, but knowing I was not at all ready for the final judgment.

I thank God daily for the graces that got me back. And I pray that people I know get those same graces.

Since the Church was the one to let loose the reins starting in 1965 (when the whole country was in a state of rebellion anyway because of Vietnam, the Civil Rights movements and the drug culture, clamping down on these people just wouldn't work.

I was lucky. And I thank God for it.

4:55 PM

What do you do when the perpetrator's dead?

From: Ray Marshall [raymarsh@mninter.net]
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2006 7:33 AM
To: Rick Marshall
Subject: What do you do when the perpetrator's dead?

-->

You sue anyway, the jury will always decide in your favor, it seems.

This is the first case that I know of involving the Duluth diocese. Although the Superior diocese is having huge problems with the priest who apparently killed two in a funeral home in Hudson, WI. I know the guy who was the public defender for the priest (but he only met with him two or three times before the priest hung himself). The Defender thought the priest was innocent.

We've been pretty fortunate around here. There was a young priest who for a time in Duluth in the 70’s or so who was sent off for rehabilitation for an unnamed offense.

I see Merced got hit with a bad one a year or two ago.

This is a quite stomach wrenching experience for us bystanders to live through. I’ve followed it fairly closely for a time and there is no doubt that there were some real monsters out there. But there also were more than a few who might have had only one or two experiences/charges and 40 years later they get to be declared guilty.

And no doubt but that the Bishops deserve much of the blame. But they were depending on the lawyers and psychologists for advice. Nobody was trained for these kinds of situations.

All one can do is pray that it will end some day.

What's really shocking is the priests who can’t/won’t stop.

And of course, rather than pedophilia, since mostly it involves teenagers as victims, it is mostly homosexuality. But you can deny the holocaust before the media would accept that.

The lawyer Anderson referred to in the article has made millions, literally, over the years setting up a firm whose only practice is defending claimants against the Church.

One thing that I’ve talked about with others is the number of priests who hung around with kids, sometimes even taking them on outings, overnights, even.. Maybe I was naïve, but I don’t think I ever saw a kid ever even “chat” with a priest other than in a classroom. And the most they would say to us as Altar Boys would be “Good Morning” and “Thank You.”

Posted on Sat, Feb. 11, 2006

Trial set in case against diocese

BY MARK STODGHILL
NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

A September trial has been set for a former Proctor man who is suing the Diocese of Duluth and St. Rose Catholic Church in Proctor, claiming he was sexually abused by a priest starting more than four decades ago.

The plaintiff claims he was molested by the Rev. John Nicholson at the Proctor church starting in 1965 when he was an 11-year-old altar boy. According to the complaint, Nicholson died in 1988.

The suit claims that the alleged sexual abuse by Nicholson led the plaintiff to develop various coping mechanisms and symptoms of psychological distress, "including great shame, guilt, self-blame, depression, repression and disassociation."

The suit asks for more than $50,000 in damages.

The plaintiff, 52, is known in court documents as "John Doe 65." The former railroad employee lives in Arizona in the winter and Superior in the summer.

In his lawsuit, filed in 2003, the man claims that the alleged sexual abuse by Nicholson included fondling and masturbating the minor.

The Sept. 25 trial date was set during a teleconference Judge John T. Oswald held with the attorneys on Friday.

The plaintiff is represented by St. Paul lawyer Jeff Anderson, one of the most prominent lawyers in the country in handling sexual abuse cases by clergy.

The diocese is represented by Duluth attorney John Kelly.

Anderson said the plaintiff will argue that Nicholson abused the plaintiff while acting in the scope of his employment and that makes the Duluth Diocese legally responsible.

In his court-filed answer to the complaint, Kelly said that Nicholson was not acting within the scope of his duties as a Roman Catholic priest at any time he is alleged to have sexually abused or exploited the man.

Parking at the U of MN

From: Ray Marshall [raymarsh@mninter.net]
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2006 10:12 AM
To: Mpls Issues
Subject: [Mpls] Parking at the U of MN

Boy, I'll bet that that subject line cause a few to click who otherwise
would have bypassed this message.

Remember the late, un-lamented Koller's Garage? Raise your hands if you had
cause to visit them?

Well, anyhow, I've had cause to visit the Mpls campus a couple of times in
the past month and feeling flush, I decided to park in a ramp on my first
visit. Imagine my shock when I got socked for seven buck for a bit over two
hours. There are a lot of places downtown where that might come to a whole
day's tab, I see from the Mpls Parking Web Site.

http://parking.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/parking_rates.php

But back to my gripe. Are well-heeled Ivy League dropouts crowding into the
land grant universities and scarfing up all the great parking spaces?

Now I can see that during the day, the rate must be justified only because I
can't imagine that all those ramps (and they seem to have only one rate) can
be empty, but my first visit was at 6:30 on a Thursday evening. As I dug
deep for the 7 bucks, I noticed that the attendant seemed to be enjoying his
graphic novel. Probably can go through quite a few of them each night.

And yesterday, I decided I needed to spend a few hours in Wilson Library.
Same rate. Seven bucks for two+ hours, and I had hoped to spend four or five
hours there. And I note in the neighborhood that all parking seems to be
limited to one hour without a resident permit. Which is fine. I didn't
check the meters to see if I could get enough time with one fill. Too cold
out.

I see from the parking meter page that all parking meters take that rarity
of rarities, a dollar coin, and something called a Parking Card. That's
good to know.

http://parking.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/parking_meters.htm

Fortunately, I am a short jog from the LRT and I will be able next weekend
to zip over and back for two+ bucks, and get a little needed exercise while
I'm at it.

As a taxpayer, though, wouldn't it make sense to crank down those night and
weekend rates when there are no classes at the U to grab a few more parking
fees and give those attendants a little more work to do?

Gas Masks for the Homeless

To: Mpls Issues Forum
14 Feb 2003

Typical Morning, Mpls Forum Digest:  Gas Masks for the Homeless, etc.

Message 1  Money Needed for Redevelopment of Franklin Ave

Message 2:  $700,000 to be given to the poverty stricken Mdewakanton Sioux
to preserve "sacred" Camp Coldwater Spring.  I understand the Archbishop has
applied for a grant to help pay for the restoration of the Cathedral and the
Basilica.   I expect that will go through without much problem.  Any First
Amendment authorities on the Forum?

Message 3:  Gas Masks and Rations needed for the Homeless to withstand
terrorism from peoples unknown.  No mention of any groups that might be
involved. How 'bout Arabic lessons for them, or is that too impolitic to
mention?

Message 4:  No cuts in Local Government Aid for Minneapolis

Message 5:  Ditto

Message 6:  Minneapolis needs to be reimbursed for all the money we spent
for infrastructure for the suburbs.   Maybe we should make them all move
back.  Is everybody ready to double and triple and quintuple up in their
housing?

Message 7:  Alternative use for plastic and duct tape.  No thoughts on who
would pay.

Message 8:  Non resident sheds light on who pays for what.

Message 9:  Biggest War Protest in History Scheduled for Loring Park.
Police agree to work for nothing as a sign of solidarity?

Message 10:  Full Moon predicts start of war this weekend.  City needs to
prepare by Monday, oops, it's a three day weekend for them.  Might be too
late.

Message 11:  Suggestion that duct tape is worthless.  Rather we should all
move to the northern suburbs (where we paid for the infrastructure), far
away from the Mega Mall, our prime target.

Message 12:  New day coming at City Hall with election of Samuels; DFL upset

Message 13:  City Council in favor of Poverty and Homelessness

Message 14:  Another rational thought on Local Government Aid

Message 15:  Where to Snowtube from someone who doesn't want Federal Funds
(as far as I know)

Message 16:  American politicians likened to Nazis in whipping up anti-Iraq
fever.


Ray Marshall
Hiawatha

Early Review of the New Library Building

From: Ray Marshall [raymarsh@mninter.net]
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 3:43 PM
To: 'Mpls'
Subject: Early Review of the New Library Building

I don't get downtown that much these days but I happened to be there this
morning and drove by the new library. Just got a quick glance from Hennepin
and Fourth Street's vantage points. It's going to open in a few months.

Starting with the open disclosure that I have often been accused of not
knowing what I am talking about, I venture the opinion that at first glance
it looks like they remodeled the old building, changed the yellow color to
cream, left the gray color as it was and added a couple of floors. Oh,
yeah, and it looks like Paul Bunyan left one of his chisels on the roof.
But they're not done yet, so he'll probably come back to pick it up.

I'll further add that as much as I love books and libraries, and I really
do, my personal collection is nothing to be ashamed of, I voted against the
referendum.

It was my opinion, and nobody listened, that the existing building should
have been remodeled as a business-medical-technology-research library with a
greatly increased collection in those areas (and maybe a few others) and
lots of nifty stuff on patents, copyrights and trademarks, etc. and
ultra-modern technology for the State's business community. I have a friend
who was the City Manager of Sunnyvale, CA, "capital" of Silicon Valley in
the 80s, and that's what that community did. Of course, they had tons of
money.

Then, the general collection of the library should have been moved to a new
location with a lot more parking: maybe on the near North along the river,
or in an area crying for redevelopment. I've talked to developers and
shopping center builders. The general public doesn't like to go to places
where parking isn't obvious and locations where they don't quite know where
to go when they get out of their car. Construction would probably have been
cheaper too.

I'm sure the new building will be nifty from the inside, but considering how
much money is being spent, it doesn't look like the city got much in the
line of architecture on the outside. (This is another one of those problems
that can be attributed to the fragmented form of municipal government we
have).

And speaking of my neighborhood library, East Lake, I see that the
contractor, "Slow-Motion-Construction", after about a year or better, seems
to finally have started building something. When you figure that Target can
throw up a building in a few months, and Wal-Mart probably faster, and that
this isn't the first neighborhood library ever to be built, it sure seems
like it is taking a very long time for this project. Have I read somewhere
that the Walker Library is still a mess?

Now, having donned my Dad's old Civil Defense Air Raid Warden helmet from
WWII, I await your thoughts.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

RE: Changing picture marks Sappi talks

From: Ray Marshall [raymarsh@mninter.net]
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 8:08 PM
To: John L. Sweeney
Subject: RE: Changing picture marks Sappi talks

Itâ€™s amazing that transportation doesnâ€™t seem to be a factor.

Iâ€™m still at heart a Duluth booster, being born there. In 1900-20, Duluth was one of the boomtowns of the country. It was thought that because of Great Lakes shipping, they would one day rival Chicago for industry and population.

Two things put the kibosh on that. The weather, of course, was one. But the national highway system and the growth of the automobile/truck industry was even more important.

And ever since then Duluth has slowly â€œdied on the vine.â€� In the 80s they finally read the handwriting on the wall and discovered tourism and have at least stopped the free-fall.

You may have heard of â€œJenoâ€™s Pizza.â€� A cheap frozen supermarket brand. Also canned sauce. And they invented the Pizza Roll. Manufactured in Duluth by Jeno Paulucci, the same guy who made a fortune by starting Chun King Chow Mein in Duluth and ultimately selling it to R.J. Reynolds. Now he has a new frozen Italian food line named after his mother, â€œMichalinaâ€™s.â€� Whatever he has touched, through hard work, mostly, he has done well. Demanding boss, but he pays them well. All his managers drive Company Cadillacs. At one point he was the second biggest landowner in Florida, after Disney.

20 or more years ago, Jenoâ€™s moved to Ohio (near West Virginia), claiming that transportation costs were too much living so far north and away from the population center of the country. One time I happened to be on business in NY and flew back via Columbus, OH, and happened to be sitting next to a guy who was Jenoâ€™s Maintenance Manager in OH who was born in Duluth. We had mutual acquaintances. I asked him whether it was that much cheaper to produce in OH rather than Duluth. He laughed and said that in one year they paid for the entire move, including payments on the new building (heavily subsidized by OH because of all the jobs) just through transportation costs alone.

Being in Duluth, they were so far out of the way, they had to pay truckers to drive up there to pick up loads. In OH they were on the main drag and truckers automatically stopped by to pick up loads.

Yet Europeans, South Africans and Asians can sell paper and heavy equipment here, even with 10,000 mile ocean voyages. Doesnâ€™t say much for American efficiency, does it.

-----Original Message-----
From: John L. Sweeney [mailto:sweelab@enter.net]
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 7:03 PM
To: Ray Marshall
Subject: Re: Changing picture marks Sappi talks

A- The price of the American firms is attractive, i.e. "low", considering the "off-shore" firm keeps the Sales people, contacts stay in place, customer and prospect lists become the new owner's, Production Machines and their labor force are eliminated, plant real estate is sold and the buyers have [in time] no real American sources of supply, they must pay higher prices for the Production output of non-U.S.

plants of the new owners.

B-That's the only reason a S. African, Finnish, etc. firm would buy paper manufacturers.

When our steel industry went belly up because of the 90 day syndrome and there were no

more American steel companies the new owners [Chineese e.g.] charged 20 times the going

price for rebar steel. Only the Chineese steel plants made the stuff.

After Formica, Inmont, Masonite etc. closed their printing plants because buying gravure

cylinders and paper from the Japaneese wood-grain folks, Topan, DiNippon & Chioda

was such a good idea, it was cheaper, the quality was better than ever before and the Americans

could make more money because of the lower costs of what they used to produce.

Then, the Japaneese firms would no longer supply cylinders, only printed paper at 10 times the

previous prices.

C-- That day can and will come when the "new owners" can't expect to pull out of us higher profits

than they can get elsewhere, China comes to mind right now and Russia came to mind a decade ago.

A---Youâ€™ve given me the reasons, but I still find it amazing that so many foreign companies are investing in American firms. Just like in the 19^th century.

B-----And it must be, as you state, that they are so inefficiently managed that there is a lot of money to be made.

C----And if they didnâ€™t invest in American firms, we wouldnâ€™t have the money to pay off our balance of payments deficits. And that would really drive the dollar down.