Hillary Clinton tries to Flex Her Political Muscle

One of the odder affects of the Heywood Jadoit Affair has been the change it has brought about in President Bush's over-all approval rating.Almost immediately after Canada increased troop levels on the U.S. - Canadian border, George Bush went into action.After it was announced that Mr. Bush and PM Harper would be meeting in "Reykjavik, Iceland for a no-holds-barred,champeenship, best 2 out of 3, arm-rasslin' contest." his rating with the American people went through the roof. Never in American history has a President's rating been this high at this closing stage of his term in office.
Of course, none of this is lost on the candidates seeking election in the 2008 Presidential race....particularly, Hillary Clinton.It's well known that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, governed strictly by the poll numbers and there's no doubt that she will follow in his footsteps.
Hours after the announcement of the "Rasslin' n Reykjavik" Mrs. Clinton was on the floor of the U.S. House looking for potential arm wrestling challengers in order for her to flex her muscle. She told reporters,"If it takes an arm rassler to run this great country, then I'll show the people that I have what it takes. I can beat any body.....man or woman."She later pointed out that she was the champion of her university mud wrestling squad and she said,"If it means I need to mud wrestle PM Harper's wife, I can do that too."
She later posted a photo on her website showing her performance during the mud wrestling match between Harvard and Yale during her final year.

Canadian/U.S. Crisis Averted?

It seems hardly worth mentioning.With news traveling across the world via the Internet at incredible speed,I'm sure there isn't a person out there with access to the web that hasn't already heard the news.But,the Heywood Jadoit affair has been the topic of this blog for more than a week, so it is only fitting that I remark on this......old news or not.
As I'm sure everyone worldwide knows by now, President Bush and Canadian PM Harpo Harlow Harley Davidson Harper
held a joint press conference today and announced what may well turn out to be the solution to the problem facing the two countries.
So in the interest of keeping a consistent record of the events, I'm putting in a link to the news report concerning their announcement here.

Canadian PM Explains

In yesterday's blog entry I was critical of Canada's PM for his failure to attend the meeting in Vatican City between Bush and the Pope.The meeting was held in an attempt to settle the so- called "Heywood Jadoit Affair" and the growing tensions between the two countries.
Early this morning I received an email from the Prime Minister urging me to try and understand his side.In the interest of fair play, I will copy the email here for all to read and judge for themselves.

From: pm@pm.gc.ca
To: sorryalltheclevernamesaretaken@blogspot.com
Cc:
Bcc:
Subject: Papal Conference
Date: Monday, June 26,2007 3:30 AM

Hi,
First,I'd like to tell you how much I enjoy reading you blog.I never miss it.I
find your posts to be both entertaining and thought provoking.
Secondly,I appreciate the work you've done on behalf of Canadian Heywood Jadoit.
In your blog today, you took me to task for failing to attend the recent conference
held in Vatican City......even going so far as to say that I was "dissing" not only the President of the United States but Pope Benedict XVI
as well.I assure you that that was not my intention.I am sending a link to the
Canadian Govt.website so that you and your many readers can understand why I did not attend.
I hope you will see fit to put this link up on your blog.
Thank you,
Stephen Harper

So, anyone interested in reading the PM's explanation can click here.

Pope Benedict Pleads for Peace

This weekend, as the two North American superpowers nations edged closer to war, Pope Benedict XVI asked Canada and the United States to look for another solution to the crisis over the Heywood Jadoit affair.Leaders from around the world came to Vatican City this Sunday to confer with His Holiness on the matter. However,conspicuous by his absence was Canadian Prime Minister Harpo Marx Harper Stephenson Stephen Harper.
I know that the PM is a fan of this blog....I know he is reading it; so I call on him to explain why he felt the need to diss the Pope and George Bush by failing to attend the Papal conference.Perhaps he will send an email my way.
Internet News Network had a great article on the meetings in Rome and the link to that article can be found here.

Canada prepares

Within the past few days,the problems between the U.S. and Canada have escalated, possibly to the point of no return.It has been reported that Canadian troops have amassed along the border in preparation for invasion of the U.S.
The Canadian Govt. has asked for the immediate release of Canadian national,Heywood Jadoit who is currently in the Whitfield, Co. jail in the American state of Georgia.
For more details, a link has been added for the news article. click here.

Canadian PM responds

It may be important to be good but it's also good to be important.I don't want to brag,but it's come to my attention that Canadian Prime Minister Alex Trebek Tony Blair Ted Kennedy Stephen Harper has taken notice of all the time and effort I've wasted spent towards helping Heywood Jadoit gain his freedom.
You can read PM Harper's response on the Canadian Govt. Website.I've provided a link.
Canadian Govt. Website. As always,this site looks much better if viewed with the Firefox browser rather that Internet Explorer.

Free Heywood

One of the pitfalls disadvantages advantages of having a widely read highly respected blog is that I often sometimes receive email from a loser reader who can provide me with something useful.Such was the case today.
In a previous post, I told the story of Heywood Jadoit, a Canadian here as an exchange student, who was expelled from school and arrested for singing the French Canadian folk song 'Alouette' at his school.
For those of you who are lucky to have missed that post, I'll provide a link to it here.
When I opened my email this morning I found an email from someone claiming to be an employee of the Whitfield County, GA. jail where Jadoit is being held without bail.This deadbeat astute reader had secretly taken a photo of Jadoit in the booking room of the jail.This bum employee would send the photo to me for an outrageous small amount of money.Like a fool I immediately sent the money via Western Union. (I don't really understand why he had me send it to Nigeria, but that's OK).The photo I received shows the tortuous conditions in which Jadoit is being held; it rivals the cruelty shown to the prisoners at Abu Grave Abu Grab Abu Ghraib.
The photo I received is so horribly graphic that I can only provide a link to it.Those of you brave enough to look at it do so at your own risk. As I said before, we must all work together to FREE HEYWOOD JADOIT. To see the photo click here.

Foreign Exchange Student Expelled

As the old saying goes "It's a small world....but, I wouldn't want to paint it !"
No sooner had I published a blog entry on Alouette when I received several emails an email from my many readers reader telling me of an incident involving the song.
Obviously bowing to pressure from P.E.T.A and other "politically correct" interest groups, a high school located in a small town in north Georgia has banned the singing of the well known folk song on school grounds.
I tried phoning the school's principal, Bud Tugley, but was told by his secretary that he was not giving interviews to bloggers.
Rather than editorialize,I decided to put a link to a news article relating to the story here. I'm sure with our combined efforts we can FREE HEYWOOD JADOIT !!!!

Je Te Plumerai

Now that I have a young son, my mind often goes back to the time when I was very young.Long forgotten memories of my parents,my grandmother and my early school days pop up regularly.For the most part, these are pleasant memories.
My son is very fond of music and I've made an effort to recall some of those songs I learned as a boy.I don't know if it's still sung in school, but one of the songs we were taught was a folk song (sung in French) called "Alouette". It has a very cute and lighthearted melody;it's quite catchy,in fact.
I wanted to teach the song to my son but,I couldn't recall the lyrics... it's been so long ago and I don't think I ever knew the English translation.So,it was off to the P.C. to search the Internet.
I was surprised by what I found.The song is of French Canadian origin.
Alouette means "Lark" in French.A lark is considered to be a small "game bird" such as the coot, dove, grouse, hazel hen, mud hen, partridge, pigeon, plover, or quail.The song is actually about "plucking" the feathers (plumage) from a lark, presumably in preparation for cooking.

Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Je te plumerai la tête
Je te plumerai la tête
Et la tête, et la tête
Alouette, Alouette
O-o-o-o-oh
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai

La tête is the head.....plucking the feathers from the head. The song goes on to mention plucking the feathers from Le nez - the nose; Les yeux - the eyes; Le cou - the neck; Les ailes - the wings; Le dos - the back; Les pattes - the legs; Le queue - the tail.
It's not what I expected.
By the way,the painting is "Song of the Lark" by Jules Breton.It has nothing to do with the song but putting the two together makes an even more bizarre impression.

The dangerous sippy cup.

Because of concern about liquid explosives,the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has banned most fluids at airport security checkpoints.This past June 11, Monica Emmerson, a former Secret Service officer,was traveling through Washington's Reagan National Airport with her toddler when she was told by a TSA officer that she could not come through with liquid in her child's sippy cup.I was in a similar situation in April when we returned to the USA from Philippines,however my reaction was very different from Ms. Emmerson's.I simply opened the cup, drank the water and was then allowed to go my way.For reasons known only to her, Ms. Emmerson decided it would be better to empty the contents onto the floor.
The battle was on.
Ms.Emmerson was detained by security and nearly arrested.A security video released by the TSA shows her dumping the water and being "out of control".
I agree that the TSA regulation is ridiculous but confronting security guards (who have no choice in the matter) in the airport is not the best solution.
Perhaps,all this publicity will force the TSA to use a bit more common sense in their regulations.

Bishops Urge Release of Kidnapped Priest

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Italian priest abducted in Philippines

10 gunman kidnapped a 57 year old Italian Roman Catholic priest in Payao township in Zamboanga's Sibugay province.Father Giancarlo Bossi, was riding his motorcycle when the armed men blocked his path and then seized him.The kidnappers are believed to be Moslem, but,Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said it is helping Filipino authorities track down the kidnappers.
A report in Asia news.it says otherwise.According to Philippine Army Colonel Paderanga, the kidnap leader was identified as Aka Kedie, a MILF guerrilla leader.
What do the kidnappers hope to accomplish by such a barbaric display? Do they believe they can win the hearts and minds of people with terrorism?Kidnapping innocent bystanders is the work of swine........no, it's really lower than swine.

Bishop blasts Rudy Giuliani

Every morning I received an email from Zenit News Agency with links to several news stories of interest to Catholics.Today, there was a piece about a Bishop who had written a column blasting presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani . I had never heard of Bishop Thomas Tobin before this; but I have a new hero after reading what he had to say.
He says of Giuliani,
"Rudy’s public proclamations on abortion are pathetic and confusing. Even worse, they’re hypocritical."
Knowing the mayor's "pro choice" position, I could not vote for him should he become the Republican Party's candidate for 2008. This will be difficult for me when I consider who the Democrats will likely nominate.
The primaries are still a long way off and perhaps the Republicans will nominate someone more to my liking. I'm not optimistic. At this point, I don't see anyone who I can be enthusiastic about. It's quite possible that I will have to sit out the November 2008 election.

Contemplating Illegal Immigration

Anyone who really knows me, or has,at least, read some of my Meditation blog entries,knows how religion plays a large part in my day to day life.As I've mentioned before,meditation and contemplative prayer play a role as does the Rosary and frequent Holy Communion.Reading religious writers is also an important part.....Father Thomas Keating being one of my favorites.In Chapter 12 of "Open Mind Open Heart;The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel" he writes that we should:
"Deliberately dismantle excessive group identification. This is the practice of letting go of our cultural conditioning, preconceived ideas, and over identification with the values of our particular group. It also means openness to change in values, openness to spiritual development beyond group loyalties, openness to whatever the future holds."
I suppose this is what I've done, to a certain extent, in my views toward the ,so called,"illegal alien situation" in the USA.
I am not impressed by any of the arguments coming from those are worried about the "invasion".
We are all children of God....each one equal in His sight.I have no problem with someone coming to this country to improve the life of his family.Many of these immigrants are here illegally simply because the US and Mexican governments have made it nearly impossible for most to enter legally.The process of immigrating here is outrageously difficult.
Many Americans say that the new immigrants do not want to "assimilate" into our culture. What are we trying to preserve? American Idol? Our Materialism? Our culture of Death (abortion on demand)?
There are some who are angry that the new immigrants do not learn English fast enough.They fear, I suppose, that English will no longer be the language of our country. I don't see that happening in my lifetime.Besides, all languages are of equal value....if my grandchildren speak something other than English, so be it.
This isn't the final word, of course. There's more to be said at a later date.

Call me Mr.Guilty.......

One has to be careful when being critical of others. It's possible that you may be guilty,someday,of the same offense you found in someone else.I never mentioned the thought out loud, but in my mind, I'd been a bit critical of other bloggers who had failed to keep their particular writings up to date. Now, as singer song writer
Loudon Wainwright III once wrote, you can....
"Call me Mr. Guilty,
Mr. Guilty is my name.
Without a doubt, it's all my fault.
I am the one to blame."
It's been woefully long since I put an entry here.I've started a second job and quite frankly, I just haven't had the time or energy to put down anything. Even now, it's a struggle for me to manage this. Still, I feel guilty for not having kept up this blog as I should have.
I want to make amends and promise to do better, but I'm not at all certain that I can keep that promise.