For Jack

I offer Congratulations and wish you Happy Graduation; though it’s the saddest one I’ve wished anyone in this lifetime. My friend, we had a tremendous amount in common and I looked forward to another three years of exploring those commonalities; however, such is not to be and I feel a lesser person for it.

These wishes may not seem exactly the most proper thing to say at this moment, but I’m sure you understand what I mean and accept them in EXACTLY the manner in which they are intended. Our short class time together convinced me you were on the correct path.

So, Congratulations, I’m certain you’ve “got the cookie”, though far, far too soon. And, Happy Graduation. You didn’t complete EFM but you’ve graduated these Shadowlands and can now see and understand much more clearly than we would have ever hoped to in our discussions.

Godspeed my brother. Save me a seat at the table and set aside a “wee dram” for me when we next meet up.

A serious legal question:

In general, in cases of property disputes, legal precedence has been accorded that portion of a Diocese maintaining connection with its National Church, rather than the splinter group breaking off and aligning itself with another “arm” of the Anglican Communion. However, this has been done while The Episcopal Church has ostensibly “maintained membership in good standing” within its Anglican Communion.

Should it occur that the National Church, or for that matter, an individual Diocese, no longer is “In full Communion” with the Anglican Church, could/would that alter presumed past or future property dispute settlements?

My basis of this question is the Court’s seeming general reliance on the rights of the “larger whole” taking precedence over the individual rights of the separatists. And subsequently, could/would that give precedence to the group still maintaining “Covenant Status” within the Anglican Communion rather than a group that does not?

Or, am I missing a legally defined relationship between TEC and The Anglican Communion?

Father's Day

I started this post three years ago, and am finally finishing it now, the week of Father’s Day, three years hence.

Sunday was Father’s Day and the sermon was one of grace to me. Not sure that’s what Friar Chuck had in mind but that is what I heard. Because, we all seem to hear from our point of view and not that of the speaker, don’t ‘cha know?

From early childhood onward, the relationship with my parents was strained and confrontational, at best; which long caused me issues with the Commandment to “honor thy father and thy mother.” In the case of my mother that relationship was never healed. In the case of my father, it was, several years prior to his passing.

I had been completely estranged from the parents for many years when the wife was diagnosed with a chronic, frequently progressive, neurological condition and we truly didn’t know then what our future held. As a result of many issues, I had left “the family business”, under difficult circumstances well prior to that time; and was, in fact, somewhat in competition within a similar market. I suppose that was the final straw in my mother’s mind with regard to her feelings towards me. But that’s a story for another time, because this is about Father’s Day and my father.

Daddy was, in retrospect, a weak person led along by his wife. It was her father, my grandfather – whom I idolized and who started “the family business”. In Grandpa’s mind I was always his “heir apparent”; but then things don’t always work out as intended. Anyway, I was self employed at the time (still am today) and Daddy came into my office shortly after learning of the wife’s diagnosis to offer any help we might need. I remember clearly his comment: “We are still family and we’re here if you need us.” I’ve always believed that to be his affirmation of love and respect for myself and my family. In his waning years I saw him more frequently than before and by then he had mellowed a bit.

We all seek affirmation; myself, my father, my mother’s father and my son, one and all. I suppose there have been those few times in my life when I truly felt grace received. Once was the day when Daddy said “we are still family”. Another was after Father’s Day when I received an email from the son. We didn’t manage to make contact Sunday but his email was waiting for me Monday morning. He remembered back to a moment I’ve long forgotten, one of those “father moments”. In that same email he indicated that he’s using one of my favorite phrases as the basis for his transfer statement. “No deposit, no return.”

The relationship between fathers and sons is rather an unusual one, I have come to believe. And while it IS about love, it’s more so ultimately one of RESPECT based not on negatives but positives. Not the daily give and take but rather that of being there in “the clutch”. More one of character built and of character exhibited at those odd times least expected and most appreciated.

So, Happy Father’s Day Daddy, you taught me character and I still think well of you, even as time passes.

What’s wrong with this picture?

A practicing Muslim woman marries a Jewish man because they “love” each other. She later learns, while ostensibly pregnant and before their 1st anniversary, that he is emailing suggestive pictures of himself to other women.

The Rest of the Story

Raised Jewish, Weiner told Moment Magazine in 2011, "We weren’t a very religious household, but we had a very strong sense of our Judaism."

In May 2006, Weiner attempted to bar entry by the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations. He claimed that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas did not represent the PLO, and implied that this was because the group is listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department. Weiner further stated that the delegation "should start packing their little Palestinian terrorist bags." Weiner went on to claim that Human Rights Watch, the New York Times, and, in particular, Amnesty International are biased against Israel

On July 29, 2007, Weiner and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced that they would seek to stop a $20 billion arms deal that the Bush Administration had negotiated with Saudi Arabia. The lawmakers objected to the deal because they do not want to provide "sophisticated weapons to a country that they believe has not done enough to stop terrorism," also noting that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Weiner made the announcement outside of the Saudi Arabian consulate in Washington, stating that "We need to send a crystal clear message to the Saudi Arabian government that their tacit approval of terrorism can't go unpunished." Weiner and Nadler intend to use a provision of the Arms Export Control Act to review the deal and pass a Joint Resolution of Disapproval.

Weiner married Huma Abedin, a longtime personal aide of Hillary Clinton, on July 10, 2010. Former president Bill Clinton officiated the wedding. Weiner proposed to Abedin on May 23, 2009.

In October 2010, Weiner urged YouTube to take down Anwar al-Awlaki's videos from its website, saying that by hosting al-Awlaki's messages, "We are facilitating the recruitment of homegrown terror." In November 2010, YouTube removed from its site some of the hundreds of videos featuring al-Awlaki's calls to jihad.

Weiner attracted wide attention when, on February 24, 2010, he proclaimed in front of Congress: "Make no mistake about it, every single Republican I have ever met in my entire life is a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry.

Weiner, along with several other members of Congress, have criticized the Obama administration proposal to sell over $60 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia. Weiner said:

"Saudi Arabia is not deserving of our aid, and by arming them with advanced American weaponry we are sending the wrong message"

He described Saudi Arabia as having a "history of financing terrorism" and teaching hatred of "Christians and Jews" to their schoolchildren

Weiner is a friend of actor Ben Affleck, whom he met while Affleck was researching this role for the film State of Play, in 2008. "We got into a chest-to-chest shouting match over Obama–Clinton within about four minutes. Literally, people were outside the office wondering if they should go in and separate us," Weiner has said about one of their first encounters.

Weiner has been friends with Jon Stewart since Weiner and some of Stewart's college friends rented a summer house in Dewey Beach, Delaware, in the 1980s.

Huma Mahmood Abedin (born 1976) is an aide to United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who served as traveling chief of staff and "body woman" during Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election.

Abedin, an American of South Asian descent, was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her father was an Indian-born Islamic and Middle Eastern scholar who died when she was 17 years old, and her Pakistani-born mother, Saleha Mahmood Abedin, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology at Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the age of two, her family relocated to Jeddah. Abedin returned to the United States to attend George Washington University.

Abedin began working as an intern for the White House in 1996 and landed an assignment with the First Lady. She currently works for Clinton at the State Department

In June 2011, less than a year after her wedding to Weiner, Abedin became the subject of widespread media attention amidst her husband's Twitter photo scandal in which he admitted he had engaged in sexually charged exchanges with "about six women" over the Internet during the past three years. In the press conference admitting the sexual liaisons, Weiner said he had revealed his online relationships to his wife before their marriage. Regarding the new revelations, Weiner said, "She was very unhappy, she was very disappointed, and she told me as much. And she also told me that she loved me and we're going to get through this."

So I ask you, “What’s wrong with this picture?”