Last Words for the End of the Decade

BEFORE I begin my post, I would like to send out some birthday shout-outs for the month of January (and if I have overlooked you, please accept my "oops"):
1. Jana Moore (4th), my dear friend/sister in Tomball, Tx
2. Marivel, Dora's great-niece from Big Spring, Tx
3. Michelle, Dora's niece (Marivel's mom) from Big Spring, Tx
Have a wonderful, fun-filled birthday! And if you didn't get exactly what you wished for at Xmas, here's your second chance!

KUDOS goes out to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina! Rex Wockner, a news reporter for gay media (12 years running) in, yes, count'em, 38 countries, updated his blog with a posting of the first gay marriage in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. A bill to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the nation is pending in Argentina's Congress and there seems to be enough votes to pass it, which is phenomenal considering the country is predominately Catholic! Other Latin American countries with similar laws include Uruguay, Mexico City (hey!), the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the Mexican state of Coahuila, yes folks, on the Texas border near Del Rio. (Eso! Eso!) And in case you weren't aware, other countries who have progressed (unlike the USA) include: Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. If these countries can think outside of the box, why does this country refuse to do so?

AND NOW A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUR FANCY, SHMANCY AIRPORT SECURITY. Northwest Flight 253 averted a tragedy on Xmas Day. But, as this event makes painfully clear, the airport security systems put in place after 9/11 have serious flaws...still. And so do the bureaucracies that run them...still. When will we ever learn. The giant seems to constantly want to sleep. How in the hell was Mr. Abdulmutallab permitted to board an airliner with explosives in his underwear?! The worst of this story is that two critical pieces of info appear to have been connected: National Security Agency intercepts of al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen talking about using a Nigerian man for an attack, and a warning from the Nigerian's man father...HIS FATHER!...about his son's radicalization in Yemen. And yet, the U.S. sat on the info. YOU SHOULD WANT TO KNOW WHY! This case has the smell of pre-9/11 events, when the N.S.A., the CIA, and the FBI all had gathered bits of intel about the future hijackers. Did the U.S. act on this intel? Here's a hint: the Twin Towers are gone, as well as 3000+ people on board the hijacked flights. And now, let's fast forward to Xmas Day 2009. Let's be clear on one thing: the system did NOT work. It is disturbing to me that Janet Napolitano, Obama's secretary for homeland security, seemed to suggest, even briefly, that it had. MISS JANET, ARE YOU FUCKIN' KIDDING ME? If we can't catch a Nigerian with an EXPLOSIVE POWDER in his underwear and a syringe full of ACID, whose own FATHER had alerted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, a traveler whose ticket was paid for IN CASH and who DIDN'T CHECK IN BAGS, whose visa renewal had been DENIED by the British, and whose name was on a COUNTERTERRORISM WATCH LIST, who can we catch? On Tuesday, Obama acknowledged what he called a "systemic failure" in the nation's security apparatus and saying he would "insist on accountability at every level." I hope he was including himself because EVERYBODY bears responsibilty: the Bush regime for not connecting the dots before 9/11 and continuously failing to improve homeland security after that; the Congress under both parties for not being insistent on the changes; and the Obama administration (yes, Obama, yes, he gets no free pass from me), which has shown little interest until now in reforming what is clearly an inadequate security system. JFK was new to the Oval Office when he accepted responsibility for the Bay of Pigs fiasco, even though there was more to the story.

MIKE LEACH MADE THE NEW YORK TIMES. It's too bad his termination as Tech's head football coach was the news-making topic. According to the NYT, "Leach said his dismissal stemmed from bitterness on the board of regents that lingered from his contentious contract negotiations last year." The story went on to quote Leach as saying, "Texas Tech's decision to deal in lies and fabricate a story which led to my firing includes, but is not limited by, the animosity remaining from last year's contract negotiations...I will not tolerate such retaliatory action; additionally, we will pursue all available legal remedies." While there are several former and current players and coaches who defend Leach, there are other Tech players who support Adam James. Tramain Swindall told the AP that he supports Adam and "what he's doing because it's the right thing to do." But it is the fan base the university and the James family must contend with. When Leach's attorney, Ted Liggett, read the termination letter from Tech, a chorus of boos was set off and the crowd became emotionally charged. Many of the fans wore black and red tshirts that read "I love Pirates," a reference to Leach's obsession with pirates. I was instant messaging with a friend who lives in Lubbock and she indicated to me that she heard students suggesting Adam hire security detail when he returns to his classes in the spring. She also said that many fans are painting messages on the windows of their vehicles with the words: "Fire Myers!" Interesting....


SINCE we are nearing the end of a decade--the 2000s--I thought it would be fitting to honor those we lost throughout the decade. If their deaths came in the first decade of the 21st century, their lives helped define the 20th.
We lost inanimate objects, but they were significant just the same: the Twin Towers.
We lost actors who ruled the silver screen with grand performances: Katharine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, Jack Lemmon, Jason Robards, Glenn Ford, and Marlon Brando.
We lost those faces who we saw on a regular TV basis: Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Peter Jennings, Tim Russert, Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, Milton Berle, Steve Allen, Julia Child, Bea Arthur, John Ritter, Steve Irwin, Merv Griffin, and Fred Rogers, who always went by Mister.
We lost remnants fo the Kennedy years: Pierre Salinger, Arthur Schlesinger, Patricia Kennedy Lawford, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and Edward "Teddy" Moore Kennedy.
We lost remnants of the Civil Rights Movement: Rosa Parks, Lester Maddox, and Coretta Scott King.
We lost a gracious world leader in Benazir Bhutto, who was leading a rally for her Pakistan People's Party in the parliamentary campaign she hoped would restore her to power early in 2008 when she was killed.
We lost literary giants: John Updike and Michael Crichton.
We lost entertainers: James Brown, Johnny Cash, Bo Diddley, Peggy Lee, Ray Charles, Rosemary Clooney, Luciano Pavarotti, George Harrison, and Celia Cruz.
We lost masters of film direction: Robert Altman, Stanley Kramer, Sydney Pollack, and John Hughes.
We lost our comic relief: Bob Hope, Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Pryor, Bernie Mac, and George Carlin.
We lost an athlete: Johnny Unitas, taking with him his '60s buzz cut and his precision instrument of an arm.
We lost the man who gave us the Peanuts characters: Charles M. Schulz.
We lost the cartoon men: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
We lost fashionistas: Yves Saint Laurent, Bill Blass, and Liz Claiborne.
We lost an enigma: Anna Nicole Smith.
We lost shining stars: Heath Ledger, Natasha Richardson, Aaliyah, Left Eye of TLC, and more recently Brittany Murphy...deaths that shocked us for their abruptness, prematurity, and theft of promise.
And Finally, we lost a legend in TV: Farrah Fawcett. Though it was expected, Farrah's passing was still a devastating blow to those of us, her admirers, who felt she had been dealt a double blow by dying on a day when heads were turned in another direction; therefore, this direction shall remain nameless and without tribute.
The preceding list of those we lost may be people we never knew, but their deaths can feel personal. Their deaths, in many respects and in a fleeting way, compels us to take measure of what has slipped from our own lives. To be sure, they remind us of our own impermanence. That said, let us begin the new year--the new decade--with optimism. Step into the new decade with a new zeal for righting the wrongs in our lives and never passively accepting fate. Instead, exhaust every last ounce of will and hope in the face of any challenge or adversity. After all, approaching challenges and adversity with a positive attitude at lease gives you a chance for success. And remember, a successful life is not measured by how many people have loved you, but by how many people have been loved by you.

Another Kennedy Making the Headlines

I was looking at my Xmas Wish List last night and I came across one of the items I listed: Ted Kennedy's autobiography True Compass: A Memoir. I really hope I get this book, as I have always been an admirer of the Kennedy clan. This morning, as I was reading through The New York Times, I came across the headline "The Catholics vs. the Kennedys." Immediately, I began to read the article. Long story short, the article focuses on a bishop in Providence, Rhode Island banning Representative Patrick Kennedy (Teddy's son) from receiving communion after Kennedy criticized the bishop for opposing health care reform unless it rolled back existing abortion rights.
Right away, I am reminded of how Patrick's late uncle, JFK, was forced to defend his Catholic faith before a roomful of skeptical Protestant ministers in Texas before his election in '60. I googled the speech he gave and this is what JFK said: "I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish, where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches of any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general population or the public actions of its officials." It is no small irony, then that Rep. Kennedy, now the only member of Congress from America's most prominent Catholic family, had his faith questioned by the Bishop Tobin for his pro-choice position on abortion, an issue that has recently become a hot topic during a time when legislators are trying to pass a health care bill.
Let's take a brief visit to the past, something the bishop obviously has not done. It was Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, who first defined the separation of church and state (in his words...the "wall of separation" between "the garden of the church" and "the wilderness" of the state). Granted, Williams' concern was for the protection of the church from encroachment by the state. But this separation also protects the state from religious extremism.
Rep. Kennedy is not the only politician who has been criticized for his pro-choice stance. Senator John Kerry was ambushed by a number of U.S. cardinals and bishops over abortion. As a result, Kerry became the third Catholic to win the Democratic nomination but the first to lose the Catholic vote.
I suppose the bishop is within his right to ban Kennedy from receiving communion. And I suppose the Church is within their rights to enter the political arena and preach that no health care is better than health care that pays for abortions. However, I also believe that if the Eucharist is everything that the Church says it is, then no one has the right in withholding it from anybody. You say in your prayer before communion that you are not worthy to receive the body of Christ. How then are you ever worthy to decide who else should receive? Judging by his actions, the bishop thinks that Catholic politicians should take their direction from the Vatican, not the voters. More and more, there seems to be more political sermons delivered from the pulpit. Need I remind the Church that this politicking from the pulpit threatens the Church's nonprofit status? The Church has plenty of assets to tax.
Dora is always referring to this "Catholic guilt." And others have simply labeled it as a sort of shame the Church has long used as a cudgel of control against its own people. I'm glad to see Rep. Kennedy not allowing them to use it against him. He knows the value of this separation of church and state. This separation is rooted even in scripture. Jesus was challenged on whether paying taxes conflicted at all with his stance on doing right in the eyes of God. He said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. (book of Luke)
And most importantly, with respect to the Eucharist: it is never a cleric's place to assert that a man (or anyone else) is barred from a relationship with God.
I'm not a theologian or a Catholic scholar, but I know enough to know that the Bible says nothing about "abortion" but plenty about hypocrisy, pride, greed, and arrogance and the Church has been wrong on occasion throughtout history.

Today's Special: Stone Soup

As indicated by the title of this posting, today's special is Stone Soup, which means that I will be commenting on more than one topic. But first thing's first. Dora and I attended our niece's (Alex) choir concert last night and, as usual, it was awesome. And Alex looked very pretty in her attire.
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TRIBUTE TO A GENUINE LEGEND: JOHN LENNON, 1940-1980. THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS UNTIMELY DEATH WAS DECEMBER 8th. THIS WORLD NEEDS MORE PEOPLE LIKE JOHN. "IMAGINE" HOW MUCH BETTER THE WORLD WOULD BE!!!!! RIP
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Well, Obama has decided to send more troops to Afghanistan. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I don't like this decision. Frankly, I'm disappointed in Obama for beating the war drums like this. After all, at a cost of more than $100 billion a year, the U.S. cannot afford a war that does not make us safer. Though Obama blasts the notion that the war in Afghanistan does not compare to the Vietnam War, I think there are good arguments that it does. For instance, LBJ also hesitated about committing troops to Vietnam. He still did it, placing him in the middle of the quicksand. Then, as now, the war caused innocent civilian deaths--deaths the top brass prefers to call "collateral damage." Obama claims that our troops will be training Afghan soldiers. Hmmm, LBJ promised that "Asian boys" would do the fighting. To LBJ's credit, they did. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of young American soldiers died along with millions of Vietnamese. If you are unsure about the war in Afghanistan, then I encourage you to not support it. There is an interesting website I highly recommend for your perusal: www.rethinkafghanistan.com
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Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we are waiting for the bowl games (and Xmas,too). Incidentally, only Texas Tech and Oklahoma are favored among the eight teams that were selected. GO TECH!!!!! The Horns of Austin are the underdogs against Alabama in the BCS Championship Game. In fact, 73% of SportsNation indicated that Texas would lose. I agree. After watching the performance (or lack of one) by Colt McCoy & Co. against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, UT does not deserve to be in contention for the national title. Furthermore, McCoy should kiss his chances of winning the Heisman good-bye, au revoir, and adios. His performance (or lack of one) was absolutely NOT Heisman-caliber. I'm not a BAMA fan, but I predict BAMA wins by three touchdowns and a field goal. Good luck Horns. You will need it. What is the silver lining to this BCS fiasco? The Florida Gators will not be playing in the championship game!
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I was reading The New York Times and found two articles which disturbed me. The subject of the first article was the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, which was ordered to release more than 12,000 pages of documents relating to lawsuits alleging decades of sexual abuse of children by its priests. Allow me to reiterate the word "ordered." According to the report, "it was not the power of repentance or compassion that compelled the" diocese to release the docs, but "it was a court order...The diocese had spent seven years fighting a lawsuit brought by The New York Times and three other newspapers to unseal the records in 23 lawsuits involving accusations against seven priests." Of course, this information does not revise our knowledge about the scandal that has plagued the church since 2002, when the scandal erupted in Boston. But the testimony provided in these documents is still chilling. And the problem does not exist only in the States. It is also found in Ireland. According to The Times, the church and the police in Ireland covered up decades of child sex abuse by priests in Dublin. The cover-ups continued to the mid-1990s and beyond! The report was prepared by a group appointed by the Irish government and called the Commission of Investigation Into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, and indicated that the church was concerned only with "the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the church, and the preservation of its assets." And the accounts of abuse are as chilling as the accounts in the U.S. One priest admitted to abusing more than 100children! It is NOT my intention to only pick on the Catholic Church. Scandal, corruption, greed, and hypocrisy can be found everywhere. These articles simply crossed my daily reading of The New York Times. I also find it coincidental that these articles came before my eyes at a time when I have just learned (last month) that a close friend of mine admitted being sexually abused by a priest. In the past, when I read about the abuse, it made me sick to my stomach. But now that the abuse hits closer to home, my feelings have evolved to consummate anger.

Birthday Shout-Outs!!!!

Last month, I forgot to include November birthday shout-outs (so sorry). Here they are:

(3rd) Josie Hernandez
(8th) Cindy Welch
(14th) Dr. Ana Martinez-Catsam
(25th) Eva Guzman

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

And now, the December birthday shout-outs:

(7th) Micaela Ryan Veliz
(13th) Betty Gamboa
(14th) Aurora Dominguez
(27th) Felicia Guzman
(31st) Mark Veliz

Chee-tah, Chee-tah, Pumkin-eatah!!

I am so sick and tired and tired and sick of hearing about Tiger's "transgressions." Who the hell cares?! What happens between Tiger, aka Chee-tah, and his ol lady is exactly that--between Tiger and the wife. Yeah, he made a mistake (and by the looks of it, more than one), but the biggest mistake made was NOT admitting his mistake before others pieced together the embarrassing facts. I guess the golf diva mistakenly thought the rules did not apply to him.
One thing is for sure: athletes are not role models ladies and gents. They are simply models--for everything from sports drinks to running shoes to sportswear to credit cards to razor blades to Buicks to Wheaties. While I do believe that everyone is entitled to privacy, let's be real here. Tiger has been marketing himself since he turned 21 (when he turned pro), essentially becoming a billionaire with endorsement deals Nike, American Express, Titleist, General Motors, and General Mills. While I do believe that everyone, including the rich and famous, is entitled to some level of privacy, I also believe that once he served up the fairy tale wedding to the Swedish beauty and had a family, his value was in family and its values. From then on, he sold his image of decency, filial devotion, and paternal responsibility--not mysterious car crashes. And what of the icing on the cake? I cannot believe he actually left that dreaded voicemail message! I'm not a fan of golf or Tiger Woods, but I had always thought--THOUGHT--that the guy was at least intelligent. I guess now all we have left to look up to is Derek Jeter. Hmf...yeah right! How is your crabs condition Mr. Jeter?

FOOTBALL FIESTA...SOUTH AFRICAN STYLE

I am not much of a soccer fan by any stretch, but I am looking forward to next year's Fifa World Cup, which will be kicking off June 11th in South Africa. The World Cup trophy arrived in SA on Tuesday. I am looking forward to the tournament because of what the tournament means to the country. It will transform lives of its people. To be sure, it will not eradicate townships, put an end to HIV/Aids, or stop the violent crime. But the tournament means a great deal to the people. It's more symbolic than anything else--a symbol of hope. Having been a student of South African History in grad school, I learned about the terror apartheid reigned upon its black South Africans at the hands of Afrikaners. South African President Zuma said in an interview (Mail & Guardian Online): "All of us who were in that struggle [against apartheid] said: 'One day we are going to be a democratic South Africa, one day we are going to be a member of Fifa, one day we are going to host this World Cup'." Apartheid collapsed only 15 years ago. South Africa, a country of 49-million souls and 11 official languages, can already claim to have had one unifying moment through sport, with the 1995 Rugby World Cup win on home turf, which was deployed by Mandela to narrow the gulf between white Afrikaner culture and that of the newly emancipated black majority. And, opening on December 11th, will be the Clint Eastwood film--INVICTUS--starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, and I can't wait! The rugby victory had its own symbolism--the unification of a country that had been violently divided because of apartheid. The 2010 Fifa World Cup is the next stage on from racial rapprochement. I just hope that South Africa, with 450,000 foreigners coming in for 64 matches, will be able to contain the excitement that comes from these matches. The sport is taken very seriously on this side of the hemisphere!