For those who have been following the ongoing scarmable at my church, through episodes such as "The Stewardship Committee Murders", "Revolt of the Parish Council", "Revenge of the Business Manager", "WTAF?" and some episodes that aired only on Univision ...
... the latest events are that the Business Manager is retiring, causing many to say, "I thought she already was," and the Parish Council, where hope springs eternal, is trying to round up some people who know fiduciary responsibility from a hole in the head to participate in hiring the replacement. I have made some phone calls, because one can't leave a paper trail. When I emailed a friend yesterday to say, "When could we talk on the phone? Sorry if I seem paranoid ...," she replied, "Friday afternoon, and no, you seem perfectly rational." Stay tuned ...
... and the mystery of who was telling the Spanish congregation not to take up the second collection - and why - remains unsolved. A reasonable case has been made that it's just a confusion, but we'll learn something this Sunday, when I assume there will be a collection for the missionary priest who's coming, and then the true test on the first Sunday in July, when the building fund collection takes place. The Building Fund Chairman, "Jim, my fixer," says we should take up the collection No Matter What, and if anyone objects, we all yell, "Jim told us to do it!" while making sorcerous gestures and maybe setting something on fire.
I'm going to Walmart now to get fabric softener sheets and wine.
Yesterday I drove back to Muncie. The mother of the family that lived across the street from us, passed away. She was 102. She was the last of the original homeowners in that neighborhood.
I attended the calling, at the Meeks Mortuary chapel in Yorktown. It's in the former Dayspring Friends Meetinghouse, which was just a mile from where I grew up. Isonagle road is 1 mile long, and my parent's neighborhood opens across the road from it. When I ran, I used to run up and down Isonagle. Isonagle was 50n, my parents lived on 46N.But the neighbors behind us had a gravel driveway straight across Isonagle...
My brother and middle older sister were there too! The Greens had five kids (3 girls, 2 boys; the boys named Jay and Jeff). We had five kids (3 girls, 2 boys named Jeff and Jay). I was the same age as Jeff, and My older brother was the same age as Jay. yeah, it got confusing at times!
I had planned to drop in for 30 minutes (the funeral home is an hour and 20 minutes from my house in Ohio), but we began swapping stories. Their Jeff was into cars, and later got into professional hot rodding. One night before a race he was fixing something on his car, firing it up. No muffler, it was loud. He told use he ran it for about 2 minutes, then turned around. Glaring out the picture window was my Mom, disapproving! 😱He says he never did that again!
As we swapped stories, I appreciated how life is more connected than we realize. As an example, Sherry (one of Bette's daughters) knows where I live because one of my neighbors was a well known Hummel figurine collector. Sherry adopted her daughter from Russia two years after we adopted Clair. Bette knew a lot about Pam, because her nephew worked on Indiana Yearly Meeting business with Pam for years (before Pam and I dated). I could go on, but you get the idea.
When it was time to go I drove past my parents house, and turned around in Green's driveway. I drove through Muncie, past the old Supermarket where I worked in high school, passed the old campus ministry I worked for in college. I drove past the old Water company building (they've moved), as well as past Tuhey pool. Tuhey was closed for 20 years,t hen they renovated and reopened it when I was in college. To share what Muncie's competence is like, the city decided it wanted a big pool that could hold swim meets. So they spec'd it as 50m by 25 yards, with a handicap ramp. Except the contractor made it 25 yards only at the handicapped ramp, and 23.5 yards the rest of the way! 🤦♂️Since then they added a water slide, a zero depth kids pool, and playground equipment. When I was a lifeguard, in college, after hours we used to sneak in and swim. Fortunately one of the guards was dating (and later married) a police officer, so they wouldn't bust us guards for doing it. In college my dates knew to carry a swimsuit with them, because we ended many a date with a dip, and looking at the stars.
Eventually I drove back, a little wistful. I don't regret leaving Muncie, but it was a special time in my life. Holding on to the past, but with a light grip, so it doesn't render me a prisoner of the past, it's best.
Flag day reminds me of the pride flag which reminds me of a rainbow which reminds me of the GORGEOUS photo I captured of an entire rainbow over the lake last night.
Flag day reminds me of the pride flag which reminds me of a rainbow which reminds me of the GORGEOUS photo I captured of an entire rainbow over the lake last night.
If you enjoyed that, you might like this—a classic from WFB and Andrew Stiles. The background was that Stiles was pictured at a staff meeting wearing a MAGA hat not long after Trump started his 2016 primary campaign. A rival mainstream journo caught the image and made a stink. So the WFB editors sent their “ombudsman” “Biff Diddle” to investigate. The result was this article and report. Classic!
Good morning. Happy Flag Day! it feels like a hot one is coming, temps only in the 60s but humid. (And several hot days are forecast).
The mothership has found something else to worry about -- bird flu, which has made its way into dairy cow herds in several states. That's not a big risk for humans, unless you work around cows (or poultry, which are also infected -- birds, you know) or drink "raw" unpasteurized milk. Even then, bird flu is not thought to be overly dangerous to humans.
I see Cynthia is actively posting on the mothership, even if not TSAF.
I can't help but think the manner in which we raise livestock in this country is now backfiring. We have to kill off bazillions of animals when there is an outbreak. Bring back the family farm!
Family farms are hard to make a living from in this day and age. And dairy farming itself is hard on life. Cows have to be milked 2x a day 365 days a year. Growing up, our "family vacations" were taking cows to the county fair.
Some day we are going to pay a serious price for the demise of the family farm and the natural *diversity* it represented (diversity isn't always a dirty word, at least outside of politics) in favor of economies of scale that amount to huge corporate monoculture that will no doubt prove extremely vulnerable to some widespread natural calamity at some point in the future.
"As church attendance has declined, so has our connectedness to one another. But for the increasing numbers of spiritually ambivalent Americans, there may be an unusual solution to the loss of community. As counterintuitive as it might seem, more agnostics should give religion a try."
So this is kind of where I am. Not the least bit religious, but I've been to church more in the last three months than I have in the last half century. I'm test driving churches -- Methodists, Presbyterians,Episcopalians, Unitarians, and I'm sure there will be more.
I'm not looking for that "Old Time Religion." I want something to make me think more about how I relate to other people -- thoughtful sermons, not diatribes -- and a chance to interact with a community of people.
Will I find my place? That's not clear. But it seems more interesting than a bowling league.
The challenge is that as denominations have split, the two sides may share a common name but be radically different. United Methodists are among the latest to go through this, but among Friends, we have unprogrammed (no sermon) vs programmed, and among programmed we have very progressive vs. fundamental. Those of us in the middle feel awkward quite often. I gave a sermon in a little country meeting that only uses King James Version for scripture; Open worship last one minute for them.
Megachurches have a bad rep, but I've had some good experiences in them as well. More modern music, more emphasis on uplifting. But clearly not for everyone.
I've been going to the same Catholic church for 30 years and have been through a LOT of priests. Our parish was recently reorganized into a Pastorate and we lost a beloved priest from Nigeria in return for three duds. None of them are outgoing. It's really been tough for our church. I always said, "I'm not going to stop going to church because of the priest" but man oh man, this has been tough.
** "I'm not going to stop going to church because of the priest" but man oh man, this has been tough. **
Yeah, what she said! We in the Hispanic Volunteers Committee are (this close) to saying, "Fine, you do it your way," and just sitting down in the pews and seeing what happens.
The clergy has to be intellectually engaged and educated and willing to handle the toughest questions honestly, in a way that leads to greater understanding.
It reminds me of something I’d read ten or 20 years ago by a dad who had been going to church with his family for years since he’d been in deep doubt about his own beliefs. He just thought the commitment to a church community was too important for his family to question it or turn his back on it.
I’d imagine the Unitarians would be the closest of the Christian-based churches to that belief profile. In the past I’d heard the virtues extolled of Eastern Orthodox churches for their adherence to strict ritual and pageantry over intellectual meaning—though I wouldn’t be interested myself in an organization with ties to the Russian state from among that family of churches.
If it’s ritual and pageantry you like, I’d think a Catholic church that offers traditional, pre-Vatican II mass to have potential.
I don't know, exactly. However, I think some elements are that Trump is the opponent of "liberals," which by TLM standards includes everyone in the Catholic Church and most of Christianity writ large, except themselves. There's also that sense of being embattled holdouts against the Fall of Civilization, which is an element in the MAGA belief system.
The serious Biden supporters kinda have that We're Saving America vibe, too. It would be comical if it wasn't so sad.
For some of the rest of us, just the Constitution plus a president with competency and smarts somewhere between Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton would be nice.
I want a pastor who thinks before he/she talks. I heard one recently basically admit she was giving the same sermon she did every year at this time. That doesn't appeal. Ritual means nothing to me. It matters more to my wife. We'll see...
I do hope it gets tweaked to respond to the times!
I have a friend who is a Presbyterian interim pastor and she always preaches on the Lectionary for the day. It is her way of being open to God's leading instead of her worries.
Formality is important to me - not high church necessarily, but structured, respectful worship. And NO applauding after the choir sings.
At the Unitarian service we went to last week, everyone applauded the pianist (who was exceptional). My wife looked at me like he had performed a satanic ritual.
Me, I don't care much about any of that. It just doesn't matter much to me. Whatever floats folks' boats.
I don't even care if there is music. (No one wants to hear me sing, especially my long-suffering wife.) Ritual or not, it matters not to me. The pastor needs to make me think. The folks need to be nice. That's kinda it.
I was raised Episcopalian, became a Catholic in my 50’s, and now attend a nondenominational church. At each place, the sense of community was the biggest appeal for me. Some might say that’s the wrong reason to belong, but what are they gonna do, fire me?
The Axios style is quite different than other news orgs. I get a few of their newsletters, so I am used to it by now. But its made Jim Van Der Hei and Mike Allen very wealthy. They also, BTW, were founders of POLITICO, and left to form Axios in a dispute with the "founding money" partners.
I recognize their accomplishments and ability to cash in. I’m just not a fan of it myself. In that way, it’s a lot like Zuckerberg and Facebook, or Musk and Tesla.
To me it’s a complete mystery as to what makes Axios so valuable. I find the style insufferable.
I have no idea what makes Politico a diamond-encrusted pearl of a news outlet when so many other suspected mega-bucks geniuses have failed. *side eye for Buzz Feed and Vice Media*
Politico was better when they were there. Mike Allen was and is one of the most plugged-in people in D.C., and his morning newsletter was widely read---even by me. The only person who rivals that now is Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News (not a fan of the name. See if you can guess why its called that) and I refuse to pay the toll anymore to read that.
As for the Axios style, they tapped into people wanted news in nuggets and often, having the news explained to them. I don't mind the style that much. I DO, however, mind their ceaseless self-promotion (especially VDH). He now has a book out extolling the virtues he's developed over the years since his seriously misspent youth, with advice on how you, too, can become insufferable, IMHO.
As for Politico, it’s just plain weird that the company was reckoned to be worth a billion dollars based on Mike Allen’s electrical sockets—after Mike Allen was gone from there. The idea that his personal value was transferrable to the organization is / was just, uh, weird!
Funny you used the word "nuggets," because that's how I think of Axios. They are to news what Chicken McNuggets are to food. Parts is parts, as some would say.
As demonstrated here during a spontaneous display just moments ago after her morning walk through the neighborhood. You just can't keep a good woman down for long, no matter how many times you throw her under the bus...
I find the Alito stor(ies) massively overblown, but I also find the Alitos annoying. More super rich people with all the Fancy Credentials, and they're yammering goofballs. And so are their neighbors in Super Rich Place.
Peggy Noonan at the WSJ wrote an editorial about the Lauren Windsor kerfuffle. Windsor tried to pass as a conservative Christian, and comes off kooky. IDK if you've ever been somewhere with kooks, and you cannot just leave. You often try to humor them. Windsor is a dishonest hack.
Chris Stirewalt and Eliana Johnson talked about this today. I was referring to the fuss over the flags, and Mrs. Alito was in a pissing match with the neighbor while Mr. Alito was "Like, what?"
The Dispatch pod, too. Jonah made the apt comparison,I thought, invoking James O’Keefe, who was worth non-stop denunciation for his methods. Clearly there’s no problem with the method so long as the target is considered fair game.
I hate to break it to you, Cynthia, but the Alitos are actually pretty down to earth, all-American sorts. I mean, how much more earthy and American can you get than as seen in this surreptitiously obtained video of them recently pursuing another of their favorite flag-related activities, second only to annoying their neighborhood and the public writ large by flying their freak flag so proudly and prominently.
Not sure why this *particular* venue attracted them (you should be able to decipher that 'emphasis' pretty easily, if you're paying attention) but hey, maybe in addition to all-but-having red-white-and-blue blood running through their veins they're a bit more 'liberal' minded than is generally suspected?
Failed attempt at humor on my part apparently. Rodeo is thought of as a pretty all-American thing, not many 'super rich people with all the Fancy Credentials' from 'Super Rich Place' even go there, much less participate. As to the 'venue', Gay Rodeo sign on the gate behind the second flag stand made me laugh in the context of the two people for which I was using the clip to try to poke some fun.
Flag racing, freak flag, the whole Alito flag-ball-'o-wax... didn't see any red flags that indicated a complete humor fail here. But my vision ain't what it once was. Neither is my sense of humor. The stranger the times get, the more it copies 'em.
When I saw the gay rodeo sign, I wondered who rides who? 🤦♂️
All joking aside, I'm not into rodeos either, but if others enjoy them that's great! I'm actually not into quilts (Katie really knows that), but I fully support her enjoying it!
Kerfuffle du jour. I sometimes think I want to write a history of the Great American Kerfuffle. There have to be hundreds of them over two and a half centuries.
For those who have been following the ongoing scarmable at my church, through episodes such as "The Stewardship Committee Murders", "Revolt of the Parish Council", "Revenge of the Business Manager", "WTAF?" and some episodes that aired only on Univision ...
... the latest events are that the Business Manager is retiring, causing many to say, "I thought she already was," and the Parish Council, where hope springs eternal, is trying to round up some people who know fiduciary responsibility from a hole in the head to participate in hiring the replacement. I have made some phone calls, because one can't leave a paper trail. When I emailed a friend yesterday to say, "When could we talk on the phone? Sorry if I seem paranoid ...," she replied, "Friday afternoon, and no, you seem perfectly rational." Stay tuned ...
... and the mystery of who was telling the Spanish congregation not to take up the second collection - and why - remains unsolved. A reasonable case has been made that it's just a confusion, but we'll learn something this Sunday, when I assume there will be a collection for the missionary priest who's coming, and then the true test on the first Sunday in July, when the building fund collection takes place. The Building Fund Chairman, "Jim, my fixer," says we should take up the collection No Matter What, and if anyone objects, we all yell, "Jim told us to do it!" while making sorcerous gestures and maybe setting something on fire.
I'm going to Walmart now to get fabric softener sheets and wine.
Sounds like the movie rights should be worth something.
It would be a dark comedy.
> I'm going to Walmart now to get fabric softener sheets and wine. <
That’s an odd choice of fire starter—no one will ever suspect it!
I learned from an expert.
Yesterday I drove back to Muncie. The mother of the family that lived across the street from us, passed away. She was 102. She was the last of the original homeowners in that neighborhood.
I attended the calling, at the Meeks Mortuary chapel in Yorktown. It's in the former Dayspring Friends Meetinghouse, which was just a mile from where I grew up. Isonagle road is 1 mile long, and my parent's neighborhood opens across the road from it. When I ran, I used to run up and down Isonagle. Isonagle was 50n, my parents lived on 46N.But the neighbors behind us had a gravel driveway straight across Isonagle...
My brother and middle older sister were there too! The Greens had five kids (3 girls, 2 boys; the boys named Jay and Jeff). We had five kids (3 girls, 2 boys named Jeff and Jay). I was the same age as Jeff, and My older brother was the same age as Jay. yeah, it got confusing at times!
I had planned to drop in for 30 minutes (the funeral home is an hour and 20 minutes from my house in Ohio), but we began swapping stories. Their Jeff was into cars, and later got into professional hot rodding. One night before a race he was fixing something on his car, firing it up. No muffler, it was loud. He told use he ran it for about 2 minutes, then turned around. Glaring out the picture window was my Mom, disapproving! 😱He says he never did that again!
As we swapped stories, I appreciated how life is more connected than we realize. As an example, Sherry (one of Bette's daughters) knows where I live because one of my neighbors was a well known Hummel figurine collector. Sherry adopted her daughter from Russia two years after we adopted Clair. Bette knew a lot about Pam, because her nephew worked on Indiana Yearly Meeting business with Pam for years (before Pam and I dated). I could go on, but you get the idea.
When it was time to go I drove past my parents house, and turned around in Green's driveway. I drove through Muncie, past the old Supermarket where I worked in high school, passed the old campus ministry I worked for in college. I drove past the old Water company building (they've moved), as well as past Tuhey pool. Tuhey was closed for 20 years,t hen they renovated and reopened it when I was in college. To share what Muncie's competence is like, the city decided it wanted a big pool that could hold swim meets. So they spec'd it as 50m by 25 yards, with a handicap ramp. Except the contractor made it 25 yards only at the handicapped ramp, and 23.5 yards the rest of the way! 🤦♂️Since then they added a water slide, a zero depth kids pool, and playground equipment. When I was a lifeguard, in college, after hours we used to sneak in and swim. Fortunately one of the guards was dating (and later married) a police officer, so they wouldn't bust us guards for doing it. In college my dates knew to carry a swimsuit with them, because we ended many a date with a dip, and looking at the stars.
Eventually I drove back, a little wistful. I don't regret leaving Muncie, but it was a special time in my life. Holding on to the past, but with a light grip, so it doesn't render me a prisoner of the past, it's best.
Very interesting anecdotes.
Flag day reminds me of the pride flag which reminds me of a rainbow which reminds me of the GORGEOUS photo I captured of an entire rainbow over the lake last night.
That's not the flag that is honored at Flag Day. There is all the rest of "Pride Month" for that.
Tell the Upnorth People that.
The Upnorth People next door still have their "Progressive Pride" flag up: rainbow plus pink, blue, brown, black, etc.
Flag day reminds me of the pride flag which reminds me of a rainbow which reminds me of the GORGEOUS photo I captured of an entire rainbow over the lake last night.
Free Beacon exclusive! Unauthorized except from Brian Stelter’s upcoming young adult fiction novel:
https://freebeacon.com/author/stiles/satire/exclusive-read-an-excerpt-from-brian-stelters-young-adult-fantasy-novel-about-the-2024-election/
That was funny. The Free Beacon is a real mix of reportorial scoops and fluff.
If you enjoyed that, you might like this—a classic from WFB and Andrew Stiles. The background was that Stiles was pictured at a staff meeting wearing a MAGA hat not long after Trump started his 2016 primary campaign. A rival mainstream journo caught the image and made a stink. So the WFB editors sent their “ombudsman” “Biff Diddle” to investigate. The result was this article and report. Classic!
https://freebeacon.com/blog/breaking-the-diddle-report/
Enjoy!
That's a tower of farce.
They should teach that in j-school.
Hah, right.
I’m a longtime fan.
Good morning. Happy Flag Day! it feels like a hot one is coming, temps only in the 60s but humid. (And several hot days are forecast).
The mothership has found something else to worry about -- bird flu, which has made its way into dairy cow herds in several states. That's not a big risk for humans, unless you work around cows (or poultry, which are also infected -- birds, you know) or drink "raw" unpasteurized milk. Even then, bird flu is not thought to be overly dangerous to humans.
I see Cynthia is actively posting on the mothership, even if not TSAF.
I can't help but think the manner in which we raise livestock in this country is now backfiring. We have to kill off bazillions of animals when there is an outbreak. Bring back the family farm!
Family farms are hard to make a living from in this day and age. And dairy farming itself is hard on life. Cows have to be milked 2x a day 365 days a year. Growing up, our "family vacations" were taking cows to the county fair.
Some day we are going to pay a serious price for the demise of the family farm and the natural *diversity* it represented (diversity isn't always a dirty word, at least outside of politics) in favor of economies of scale that amount to huge corporate monoculture that will no doubt prove extremely vulnerable to some widespread natural calamity at some point in the future.
Been listening to some good podcasts on Covid policies and what went wrong. The one with James Meigs on Commentary was quite good, too.
https://ricochet.com/podcast/commentary-podcast/the-covid-lies-four-years-later/
Ugh, long at 74 minutes, even if sped up.
They do ramble.
For now.
From TMD this morning: "RFK Campaign Spells ‘United States’ Wrong on Ballot Petition"
Doesn't ANYBODY check what they wrote anymore? The Trump people are particularly infamous for this but it appears to be contagious.
As someone who reverses letters as he types, I can relate. I know it is spelled "the" and not "hte"...
It’s not???
Bad spellers of the world, untie!!
Exactley!😉
In some parts of the south where I live, it’s ’zackly.’ ‘Murica!
I was hoping the typo was "Untied" States. that would have been funny. Instead, it was "Unites". (sigh)
Same.
Coffee
I meant to say "covfefe" but autocorrect. :)
From "The case for showing up to church—even if you don’t believe in God" as cited on the Mothership today. https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/06/11/church-community-nones-247904 :
"As church attendance has declined, so has our connectedness to one another. But for the increasing numbers of spiritually ambivalent Americans, there may be an unusual solution to the loss of community. As counterintuitive as it might seem, more agnostics should give religion a try."
So this is kind of where I am. Not the least bit religious, but I've been to church more in the last three months than I have in the last half century. I'm test driving churches -- Methodists, Presbyterians,Episcopalians, Unitarians, and I'm sure there will be more.
I'm not looking for that "Old Time Religion." I want something to make me think more about how I relate to other people -- thoughtful sermons, not diatribes -- and a chance to interact with a community of people.
Will I find my place? That's not clear. But it seems more interesting than a bowling league.
The challenge is that as denominations have split, the two sides may share a common name but be radically different. United Methodists are among the latest to go through this, but among Friends, we have unprogrammed (no sermon) vs programmed, and among programmed we have very progressive vs. fundamental. Those of us in the middle feel awkward quite often. I gave a sermon in a little country meeting that only uses King James Version for scripture; Open worship last one minute for them.
Megachurches have a bad rep, but I've had some good experiences in them as well. More modern music, more emphasis on uplifting. But clearly not for everyone.
I've been going to the same Catholic church for 30 years and have been through a LOT of priests. Our parish was recently reorganized into a Pastorate and we lost a beloved priest from Nigeria in return for three duds. None of them are outgoing. It's really been tough for our church. I always said, "I'm not going to stop going to church because of the priest" but man oh man, this has been tough.
** "I'm not going to stop going to church because of the priest" but man oh man, this has been tough. **
Yeah, what she said! We in the Hispanic Volunteers Committee are (this close) to saying, "Fine, you do it your way," and just sitting down in the pews and seeing what happens.
If I love the community, maybe I stay. But the clergy really matters.
The clergy has to be intellectually engaged and educated and willing to handle the toughest questions honestly, in a way that leads to greater understanding.
That is not found in every church.
If I love the community, maybe I stay. But the clergy really matters.
I do love my church community!
I saw the thread on the MS.
It reminds me of something I’d read ten or 20 years ago by a dad who had been going to church with his family for years since he’d been in deep doubt about his own beliefs. He just thought the commitment to a church community was too important for his family to question it or turn his back on it.
I’d imagine the Unitarians would be the closest of the Christian-based churches to that belief profile. In the past I’d heard the virtues extolled of Eastern Orthodox churches for their adherence to strict ritual and pageantry over intellectual meaning—though I wouldn’t be interested myself in an organization with ties to the Russian state from among that family of churches.
If it’s ritual and pageantry you like, I’d think a Catholic church that offers traditional, pre-Vatican II mass to have potential.
The Traditional Latin Mass crowd tend to be on-beyond-zebra MAGA supporters.
Really? Why?
I don't know, exactly. However, I think some elements are that Trump is the opponent of "liberals," which by TLM standards includes everyone in the Catholic Church and most of Christianity writ large, except themselves. There's also that sense of being embattled holdouts against the Fall of Civilization, which is an element in the MAGA belief system.
The serious Biden supporters kinda have that We're Saving America vibe, too. It would be comical if it wasn't so sad.
For some of the rest of us, just the Constitution plus a president with competency and smarts somewhere between Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton would be nice.
"The serious Biden supporters kinda have that We're Saving America vibe, too."
I agree, but it has a different feel, so to speak, from traditionalist Christians' attachment to Trump.
I want a pastor who thinks before he/she talks. I heard one recently basically admit she was giving the same sermon she did every year at this time. That doesn't appeal. Ritual means nothing to me. It matters more to my wife. We'll see...
The appeal in ritualism for me is in the mysticism that comes along with it, at the risk of sounding too mysterious…
I do hope it gets tweaked to respond to the times!
I have a friend who is a Presbyterian interim pastor and she always preaches on the Lectionary for the day. It is her way of being open to God's leading instead of her worries.
Formality is important to me - not high church necessarily, but structured, respectful worship. And NO applauding after the choir sings.
At the Unitarian service we went to last week, everyone applauded the pianist (who was exceptional). My wife looked at me like he had performed a satanic ritual.
Me, I don't care much about any of that. It just doesn't matter much to me. Whatever floats folks' boats.
I don't even care if there is music. (No one wants to hear me sing, especially my long-suffering wife.) Ritual or not, it matters not to me. The pastor needs to make me think. The folks need to be nice. That's kinda it.
I was raised Episcopalian, became a Catholic in my 50’s, and now attend a nondenominational church. At each place, the sense of community was the biggest appeal for me. Some might say that’s the wrong reason to belong, but what are they gonna do, fire me?
I thought the comments on the MS were excessively crabby. You might even say “too judgy” considering the subject and its more infamous proclivities…
Showing up to church can always lead to more.
The Axios style is quite different than other news orgs. I get a few of their newsletters, so I am used to it by now. But its made Jim Van Der Hei and Mike Allen very wealthy. They also, BTW, were founders of POLITICO, and left to form Axios in a dispute with the "founding money" partners.
I recognize their accomplishments and ability to cash in. I’m just not a fan of it myself. In that way, it’s a lot like Zuckerberg and Facebook, or Musk and Tesla.
To me it’s a complete mystery as to what makes Axios so valuable. I find the style insufferable.
I have no idea what makes Politico a diamond-encrusted pearl of a news outlet when so many other suspected mega-bucks geniuses have failed. *side eye for Buzz Feed and Vice Media*
Politico was better when they were there. Mike Allen was and is one of the most plugged-in people in D.C., and his morning newsletter was widely read---even by me. The only person who rivals that now is Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News (not a fan of the name. See if you can guess why its called that) and I refuse to pay the toll anymore to read that.
As for the Axios style, they tapped into people wanted news in nuggets and often, having the news explained to them. I don't mind the style that much. I DO, however, mind their ceaseless self-promotion (especially VDH). He now has a book out extolling the virtues he's developed over the years since his seriously misspent youth, with advice on how you, too, can become insufferable, IMHO.
As for Politico, it’s just plain weird that the company was reckoned to be worth a billion dollars based on Mike Allen’s electrical sockets—after Mike Allen was gone from there. The idea that his personal value was transferrable to the organization is / was just, uh, weird!
Agree completely. I do like Jonathan Martin's reporting, but that's about it.
Funny you used the word "nuggets," because that's how I think of Axios. They are to news what Chicken McNuggets are to food. Parts is parts, as some would say.
You're not wrong. I absolutely loved the Wendy's "Parts is parts" ads.
Good morning. After the third reminder, my husband took down the Margaritaville flag and put up the U.S. flag, in observance of Flag Day.
Thanks for the reminder. I'll pop the Betsy Ross flag out this morning.
Mrs. Alito's favorite holiday.
As demonstrated here during a spontaneous display just moments ago after her morning walk through the neighborhood. You just can't keep a good woman down for long, no matter how many times you throw her under the bus...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etbzga2J3Yw
😳
iHay caramba!
Hopefully she flies it right side up today. 🙂
She should put out the flag of New Zealand and *really* test her neighbors!
Would they know what it was, or even tell it apart from the Australian flag?
What kind of protest would THAT be?
I find the Alito stor(ies) massively overblown, but I also find the Alitos annoying. More super rich people with all the Fancy Credentials, and they're yammering goofballs. And so are their neighbors in Super Rich Place.
Go away, all of you.
Peggy Noonan at the WSJ wrote an editorial about the Lauren Windsor kerfuffle. Windsor tried to pass as a conservative Christian, and comes off kooky. IDK if you've ever been somewhere with kooks, and you cannot just leave. You often try to humor them. Windsor is a dishonest hack.
here's her editorial.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dishonorable-attack-on-the-alitos-windsor-partisanship-secret-recording-87adbb0d?st=e0vp0h1si26ztpa&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Chris Stirewalt and Eliana Johnson talked about this today. I was referring to the fuss over the flags, and Mrs. Alito was in a pissing match with the neighbor while Mr. Alito was "Like, what?"
The Dispatch pod, too. Jonah made the apt comparison,I thought, invoking James O’Keefe, who was worth non-stop denunciation for his methods. Clearly there’s no problem with the method so long as the target is considered fair game.
It's the mantra of our time: "It's good when we do it."
I hate to break it to you, Cynthia, but the Alitos are actually pretty down to earth, all-American sorts. I mean, how much more earthy and American can you get than as seen in this surreptitiously obtained video of them recently pursuing another of their favorite flag-related activities, second only to annoying their neighborhood and the public writ large by flying their freak flag so proudly and prominently.
Not sure why this *particular* venue attracted them (you should be able to decipher that 'emphasis' pretty easily, if you're paying attention) but hey, maybe in addition to all-but-having red-white-and-blue blood running through their veins they're a bit more 'liberal' minded than is generally suspected?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3GnEUfUG0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIMEPPZxzyg
😆
Not getting the point, sorry.
Yes, I think you did!
Failed attempt at humor on my part apparently. Rodeo is thought of as a pretty all-American thing, not many 'super rich people with all the Fancy Credentials' from 'Super Rich Place' even go there, much less participate. As to the 'venue', Gay Rodeo sign on the gate behind the second flag stand made me laugh in the context of the two people for which I was using the clip to try to poke some fun.
Flag racing, freak flag, the whole Alito flag-ball-'o-wax... didn't see any red flags that indicated a complete humor fail here. But my vision ain't what it once was. Neither is my sense of humor. The stranger the times get, the more it copies 'em.
When I saw the gay rodeo sign, I wondered who rides who? 🤦♂️
All joking aside, I'm not into rodeos either, but if others enjoy them that's great! I'm actually not into quilts (Katie really knows that), but I fully support her enjoying it!
I get it now that you've explained it. Thanks!
👍. And take your various flags with you!
Unless it's a Margaritaville flag.
Better than a Trump flag. Hmmm, I wonder:
"Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
But I know -- it's our own dang fault"
(With apologies to jimmy Buffet)
I wonder how many tattoos really come after drinking?
Personal responsibility for the win.
Of course.
Kerfuffle du jour. I sometimes think I want to write a history of the Great American Kerfuffle. There have to be hundreds of them over two and a half centuries.
On the other hand, we haven't had a French Revolution.
We wouldn’t want people to lose their heads would we?
Citizen Genet was unavailable for comment.
Re: most people want their partisan stories full of drama, whether real or fairy tales, it seems.
The internet's true One Neat Trick.