Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Your Anglican Dollars Hard At Work



I looked up the "tariffs" for the Imperial Hotel where this conference was held. The rates are between $300.00 and $1700.00 per night. Bishop Duncan, Williams, Minns,Guernsey and other American bishops made an appearance at this all African Bishops Conference. So let's see if I have this correct?#! They beg money for their lawsuits to continue the fight yet can fly to Entebbe, Uganda and spend at least $300.00 per day of your Anglican dollars to go to an All African Bishops Conference? Seems reasonable me, i am going to send a big fat check RIGHT NOW to Bob Duncan. Crap, maybe it should be to John David Schofield, I sure hope he got to go -- but those Central Valley Anglicans are far too smart to let this light at the end of the tunnel smack them.

By the way, they also call themselves the Anglican presence in the United States. Isn't lying fall somewhere on the stone tablets? The ONLY REAL ANGLICANS in the United States are Episcopalians.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

My Mom Was Right!

Years ago my mother and I would engage in some "hellacious" arguments. I was 14 or 15 and wanted to do something that all my friends were doing. Usually that "something" was dangerous or worse. I would go to my mom and ask her for permission to go with Jim and Tran and whoever and do this "thing". I had to ask because in the town I grew up in people knew my family (read that my mom) that I never knew, knew my mom. That relationship got me into big time trouble on more than one occasion. Before I got home my mom would receive a telephone call (we did have phones back then) and I would catch "it" (we all know what IT is) as I walked through the door. Suffice it to say I always asked for permission and rarely for forgiveness. Anyway, I would ask to do this deed or go on this trip and my mom would say, "Just because everyone else is doing it does not make it right! Mom, but everyone is doing it, why can't I? I would whine. Mom would say, "If the whole world was jumping off a cliff 3,000 feet high (not real sure why 3,000 feet but that seemed like a silly question and certainly non-productive at the time) would you jump off that cliff as well?" Well, I am not stupid so I would say, "of course not!" and promptly lose the argument, the request and the trip, case closed.

The argument the Prop 8 backers used in the court case settled yesterday seems to be a lot like that argument, "But judge, everyone wants this and you cannot deny us that opportunity to jump off that 3,000 foot cliff!" Except the judge did -- but unfortunately the case is not closed. We will see this thing fought all the way to mom the Supreme Court. But for the moment, enjoy the victory, you/we have all earned it. We are most happy for several people we know including IT and BP as they are about to celebrate their second anniversary and we here at Off Topic wish them a most happy anniversary! Yes, the struggle is still ahead but take a moment and savor what freedom feels and tastes like you have earned it!