He forgot those 19 lunatics that ruined everything (democracy, civil rights, privacy, 2 wars) because the Bush administration didn’t pass on using 9/11 for its own ends.
Glenn Beck pleads with his audience not to resort to violence: “Just one lunatic like Timothy McVeigh could ruin everything” | Crooks and Liars
These people in Washington have no idea what they have done. They have wakened a sleeping giant. But just one lunatic like Timothy McVeigh could ruin everything that everyone has worked so hard for, because these people in Washington won’t pass up the use of an emergency.
Daily Archives: August 4, 2009
Further Ructions in Episcopalian/Anglican World Likely And Desireable
Maybe it’s time to turn the tables on the conservatives and agitate from within the English church for inclusion, just as the exclusivists did in the American church. So there.
Mad Priest put me on to this story, it’s all his fault.
Ruth Gledhill of The Times (THE Times, of London, you know) reports that UK “pro-gays” are going to take a survey of all LGBT clergy in London, Southwark, and everywhere in the Anglican church in England. It’s an old joke that there are many, many gay and lesbian priests, who serve with the tacit approval of their bishops (some of whom are also undoubtedly gay). In Greater London, it’s estimated that up to one in five Anglican priests is gay, whether closeted or uncloseted. Thus, the conservative hoo-hah over gay clergy and bishops is thus rendered a bit hypocritical when it’s coming from the Anglican church. See “mote in one’s eye, log in thine own” and so forth. Thus endeth the lesson.
Also, Gledhill notes that hundreds of blessings of gay unions have been done, and the survey would like to get accurate numbers. Then she has been tipped that inclusive churches in Britain may try to link up with liberal parishes in the US, following on the model used by the ultra-conservative “Network” churches, many of which have since decamped for the oversight of African bishops once they found one another via the Internets tubes. Now that the US church has “lost” the most politically and theologically disaffected of the dissident faction, it appears ready to move forward more purposefully, and Gledhill thinks that there may be some kind of “TEC outpost” of the US Episcopal Church in London planned. Meanwhile, two US dioceses have announced candidate slates for bishops, Minnesota and Los Angeles – with several partnered gay and lesbian priests in the running.
Gledhill’s bombshell, already under discussion at conservative sites, quotes (apparently in full) a draft response from a number of inclusive-church groups to Archbishop Rowan’s disappointing reflection that came out after General Convention ended. This is not the Chicago Consulation’s response, this is a bunch of organizations that are all UK-based.
We have no doubt that the Church of England is called to live out the Gospel values of love and justice in the whole of its life; these values are intrinsic to the calling of Jesus Christ to follow him and it is out of this context that we speak. While we acknowledge the intention of the Archbishop of Canterbury to seek a way forward for the Anglican Communion, we have grave concerns about the implications of his reflections in “Covenant, Communion and the Anglican Future.â€
‘For example, we consider that references to same-sex unions as a “chosen life-styleâ€, and assertions that those who have made such a commitment are analogous to “a heterosexual person living in a sexual relationship outside the marriage bond†to be inconsistent with the Archbishop’s previous statements on committed and faithful same sex relationships and are at odds with our reading of the message of the gospel.
‘Whilst we applaud his assertion that we are called to “become the Church God wants us to be, for the better proclamation of the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ†we find no indication of how that can be achieved for those who are not heterosexual.
‘We acknowledge, once again, that there are and always have been many loyal, committed and faithful bishops, priests and deacons – properly selected and ordained – and many lay people who are LGBT or who work alongside LGBT people with delight and thanksgiving.
‘We know ourselves to be part of the church of God in England and we work, together, to bring about the reign of God in this part of God’s creation. We pray earnestly that the Church of England will continue to select, train, ordain and deploy LGBT people and enable them to exercise their calling from God in the Church of England.
‘Together, we reaffirm our commitment to working for the full inclusion of all people at all levels of ministry. We will continue to work towards liturgical and sacramental recognition of the God-given love which enables many LGBT couples to thrive. We will seek to strengthen the bonds of affection which exist between those in all the Churches of the Anglican Communion who share our commitment to the full inclusion of all of God’s faithful. We will also continue to work closely with our brother and sister churches, especially those with whom we have mutual recognition of orders such as the Nordic churches. We will work to ensure that if the Church of England is to sign up to the Covenant, it has potential for rapid progress on this and other issues.
‘We find the notion of a “two track communion†flawed in the way that the Act of Synod is flawed, and we commit ourselves to continuing the effort to find ways forward through which those who disagree profoundly on this and on other issues can continue to celebrate their common membership of the Church of England and unity in Christ’
Courage
Evangelical Fellowship of Lesbian and Gay Anglicans
General Synod Human Sexuality Group
Group for the Rescinding of the Act of Synod
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (Anglican Matters)
Modern Churchpeople’s Union
Sibyls
I’m pleased to find St John’s-Hyde Park in London is a member of both Inclusive Church
and Changing Attitude, as I thoroughly enjoyed my Sunday visit with them a year ago in August and think they’re really on the right track, as the service was VERY well attended (a rarity in Britain). I had previously blogged on the concept of a “two-track communion” but that referred specifically to women Anglican clergy in Britain, who face similar obstacles (and obstinacies) when faced with conservative opposition to female ordination. If this “TEC beachhead” becomes a reality in London (it may be wishful thinking), it would be interesting to see how they respond to the very real and troubling accusation of border-crossing. From the lists of member churches at Inclusive Church and Changing Attitude, it’s clear there are plenty of welcoming, affirming Anglican parishes all over Britain, not just in London.
Happy Cat Loves Teh Litterbox Naow
@MrRileycat_Esq didn’t like the highly scented “major label” cat litter I used, apparently. He had Issues. We had a Serious Problem. Solved it with Dr Elsey’s Precious Cat line of cat litters.
Precious Cat Litters – Quality Cat Litter
Dr Elsey offers several different options: there’s the Cat Attract stuff, which is pricier, and there’s the regular Precious Cat Classic and Ultra litters, plus specialty ones for kittens and long-haired cats. He also sells these “litter attractant” herbs but so far I haven’t felt the need to get them.
Over nine million cats suffer from litter box aversion. It’s a leading reason why cats are abused, abandoned and put in shelters. Now there is Cat Attract™, my answer to help these cats live a long happy, healthy life in a home, not a shelter. If your cat is not using its litter box, look for a retailer near you on our site or ask for it wherever you shop for pet supplies. Print a coupon for $1.00 off Cat Attract™
Our Precious Cat scoopable litters, Classic, Ultra and Ultra Scented are now 99.9% dust free. These litters also feature the ideal texture, particle size and “paw feel†to create the ideal litter box environment for your cats. This along with proper litter box care will keep your cat content and happy.
I suspect that not using the litterbox consistently was one of the reasons Riley was found wandering the streets back when he was a juvenile “delinquat.” In the years since we brought him home, I was just not very diligent about dealing with the box and David tended to have more and more to do with it. This may have been because I had had to be ultra diligent when our previous cat, Stuey, was in his later years and suffered from diabetes and really, really inaccurate aim.
Here’s a list of some of the things that cause cats to avoid their boxes…
- Too highly scented; harsh perfume-y smell is almost worse than natural funk
- Rough, jagged edges on the litter particles, especially true of declawed cats
- Not cleaned out frequently enough – daily is best, every other day at a minimum
- Complete clean-out of box, with rinsing and deodorizing, should be weekly
- Hooded or enclosed boxes concentrate the odor, also some cats claustrophobic
- Older boxes can retain urine odor when they’re all scratched up, even after washing
- “Paw feel” is not right; cats need to dig and bury
- Multiple-cat households should have one more box than the number of cats
Before Stuey’s diabetes was diagnosed, I’d been using various brands of “litter pearls” that purported to absorb urine odor, but it was expensive and tended to be flung EVERYWHERE. Also, it either worked itself deep into carpets, or rolled on hard floors. As he got worse, I went with the “odor reducing,” highly scented Tidy Cat Multiple-Cat brand.
SQUICK ALERT – scroll fast if you do not want to know too much about Cats Who Pee A LOT
In fact, with Stuey I’d had to put the catbox in a big plastic washing machine tray – the kind designed to catch overflow from leaky appliances, and twice a day I had to pretty much mop it out and sanitize/deodorize it. So with low-maintenance cat Riley, I had been “coasting” a little too much – depending on the perfumed brand to mask the odor rather than to clean out the box as frequently as I should have.
It seems that Riley is one of those cats that prefers a clean and odorless place to potty, with nice smooth dustless litter, and if he didn’t find this need fulfilled by his box… he’d go find a place someplace else in the house. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
However since running across references to how to retrain a cat, I’ve changed litter brands, gotten into the habit of scooping more frequently,and bought a brand new box (let’s see – this must be about the 10th litterbox purchased since the day I brought Stuey home 2 decades ago).
And hey presto, it worked. Just about all the suggestions I ran across were right on the money.
I’d found a link to this Dr Elsey’s brand of cat litter, along with some reviews. This stuff WORKS. I used a bag of the “problem cat training litter” Cat Attract first, in a brand new “lift and sift” box. Turns out I could have saved money and just bought a plain old Rubbermaid sink tub, because Riley LOVED THIS STUFF, and it’s very hard clumping, with extremely low or no dust at all. It’s very dense, and kind of expensive. I’ve never even had to use the sifting feature.
I did an experiment, too. Riley is declawed (front paws) and it turns out that many vets believe that this procedure can actually lead to litterbox problems, because cats associate the pain felt when trying to scratch in the box with rough litter with the box itself. They’ll often “vote with their paws” and go someplace nice and soft… like your new couch or a pile of laundry.
So I completely switched out the old litterbox, washed it and deodorized it, and filled it with the old brand of litter (Tidy Cat Multi), which is highly scented. The new box with the Dr Elsey’s Cat Attract was in the hall bath, and the old box was in its usual place. After a few days of diligent scooping when I returned home from work, it was clear that Riley not only preferred the Cat Attract, he completely stopped visiting the old box entirely. After several days of not finding anything in the Tidy Cat-filled box, I removed it and moved the new box into the old area (still using the tray to keep the scattered stuff corralled).
Also, and I don’t know how significant this is, his behavior has been very consistent with this Dr Elsey stuff. All the “Number One” is always clumped in one spot at the front of the box, and all the “Number Two” nuggets are toward the back. Never noticed this before getting more consistent about scooping…
Now that Riley seems to be completely converted to using the new box exclusively, I bought a bag of the less expensive “Precious Cat” litter, which is less expensive, doesn’t contain the special “attractant” dried herbs, and comes in bigger bags. Just now I topped up the box with it, and he was in there IMMEDIATELY, making industrious CHUFF CHUFF CHUFF noises. He’s another satisfied customer, apparently!