Category Archives: Uncategorized

(Community Matters) suggests reforms to weaken hyper-partisanship

(Community Matters) Can you name today’s top bands? Joene asked us this at dinner club and I couldn’t. Looked today at top selling songs on iTunes:

1. Taylor Swift: I Knew You Were Trouble
2. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: Thrift Shop
3. Will I Am: Scream & Shout
4. Bruno Mars: Locked Out of Heaven
5. The Lumineers: Ho Hey
6. Swedish House Mafia: Don’t You Worry Child
7. Pitbull: Don’t Stop the Party
8. Justin Bieber: Beauty and a Beat
9. Phillip Phillips: Home
10. PSY: Gangnam Style

Top Albums:

1. Various Artists: Pitch Perfect
2. Taylor Swift: Red
3. Various Artists: Les Miserables
4. Hollywood Undead: Notes from the Underground
5. The Lumineers: The Lumineers
6. Bruno Mars: Unorthodox Jukebox
7. Imagine Dragons: Night Visions
8. Chris Tomlin: Burning Lights
9. Mumford & Sons: Babel

(Community Matters) It isn’t religious discrimination to shun folks who promote prejudice. Kudos to the President and his inauguration team for disinviting evangelical pastor Louie Giglio. No one would question “discriminating” against leaders who preached against blacks or Jews or Mexicans  or women- though of course in the 60s, mainstream religious leaders were arguing that they should be allowed to do so. Their supporters in Congress and in state capitals around the country thought it was suppressing religious freedom to condemn racial and gender prejudice then too. Hell . . . some religious groups still discriminate based on gender and argue that it’s right too

(Community Matters) I suppose some might read the English Catholics’ arguments as threatening; I read them as desperate and signaling defeat of state sanctioned prejudice against gays & lesbians.

After centuries of persecution, Catholics have, in recent times, been able to be members of the professions and participate fully in the life of this country.

Legislation for same-sex marriage, should it be enacted, will have many legal consequences, severely restricting the ability of Catholics to teach the truth about marriage in their schools, charitable institutions or places of worship.

It is meaningless to argue that Catholics and others may still teach their beliefs about marriage in schools and other arenas if they are also expected to uphold the opposite view at the same time Towleroad

I don’t mean there won’t be setbacks and that we’re talking tomorrow . . . but victory for LGBT equality nonetheless.

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(Community Matters) The City considers another housing bond ballot initiative. Potentially interesting – as are ideas of how to fund even without bond monies. I agree it’ll probably never cost less to address the problem. I’d like to see more land banking and property trades for entitlements as part of the package.

Update: See Paul’s comments

(Community Matters) CNN: The nominees for best picture are “Argo,” “Django Unchained,” “Life of Pi,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Les Miserables,” “Amour” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

The nominees for best actor are Daniel Day-Lewis (“Lincoln”), Hugh Jackman (“Les Miserables”), Denzel Washington (“Flight”), Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master”) and Bradley Cooper (“Silver Linings Playbook”).

The nominees for best actress are Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”), Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Quvenzhane Wallis (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”), Naomi Watts (“The Impossible”) and Emmanuelle Riva (“Amour”).

The nominees for best supporting actor are Robert De Niro (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Philip Seymour Hoffman (“The Master”), Tommy Lee Jones (“Lincoln”), Alan Arkin (“Argo”) and Christoph Waltz (“Django Unchained”). < /p>

The nominees for best supporting actress are Sally Field (“Lincoln”), Amy Adams (“The Master”), Anne Hathaway (“Les Miserables”), Helen Hunt (“The Sessions”) and Jacki Weaver (“Silver Linings Playbook”).

The nominees for best director are Steven Spielberg (“Lincoln”), David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Ang Lee (“Life of Pi”), Michael Haneke (“Amour”) and Benh Zeitlin (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”).

(Community Matters) isn’t that an interesting thought. Evidently a new book about Scientology and Tom Cruise intimates a certain relationship with the global chairman of Scientology, David Miscavige.

(Community Matters) Gosh knows I’m not shy for fights (I could stand to be a bit more); nevertheless, increasingly, I’m sensing that we should build more national consensus before imposing anything beyond a ban on large volume magazines and semiautomatics. It’s feeling like we’re wedged over a drum of explosives. Unreal or simply conspiracy stories, it’s hard for many of us to imagine the fear I’m sensing among otherwise logical, sensible neighbors.

I’m reminded, we must stop and listen, demonstrate we’re at least listening and trying to understand if we’re to have any chance of persuading.

(Community Matters) Stumbled across Austin Monthly’s Thirty Somethings Rock article featuring Shea Little (pictured herein), Christal Cureington-Sims, Polly Chandler, Dan Graham, Nick Goggans, Hayden Briggle, Nina Godiwalla, Paul Dalglish, Courtney Clark, Emily Marks, Lauren Larson, Homero Gil de Zuniga, Natalie Madeira Cofield, Jeff Nichols, Plinio Sandalio, C.K. Chin, Simone Wicha, David J. Neff, Wes Hurt and Paige Hill. Have to say, I haven’t read Austin Monthly in a while; impressed with the magazine. We should read it regularly.

(Community Matters) Many individual parishes do much good, certainly many of the Catholic Relief Organizations do; and, growing up Catholic, I knew many priests who I adored.. The hierarchy of this vulnerable institution, however, and some of the various sects – there’s obviously a disconnect from the world’s reality and there’s a lack of any accountability.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, declared Jews “enemies of the Church,” during a talk that aired on a Canadian radio station, the Catholic News Agency recently reported. Fellay’s remarks took place on Dec. 28 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Chapel in New Hamburg, Ontario.

(Community Matters) My dinner club met at our house last night. Dinner topic, everyone’s words: Joene Grissom, EXPLORE; Sandi Tomlinson, GROWTH; Marianne Rochelle, WILLING; Mark Salmanson, PATIENCE; Christopher Kennedy, PACE. Cookie Ruiz wasn’t able to make this one, though we did discuss her word earlier in the day.

updated: Willing from Willingness

(Community Matters) Connecticut State Rep Debra Lee Hovey’s comment to former Congressman Gabrielle Giffords who visited the families of victims in Newton, Conn, “Gabby Giffords stay out of my towns!!!”