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Today's Tom Toles editorial cartoon shows a man, marked "gays" standing on the stairs to a church. A man pokes his head out the door and says,

"You can't get married because you can't have sex.
And you can't be a priest because you can't be celibate either."

Pretty much says it all. It took 2,000 years for our Church to decide to exclude a very large number of its hierarchy and faithful?

Please say it isn't so.

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Little Pond

Shame on the Catholic Church!

It should know better. We didn't suffer enough through all the sexual predator scandals. Now we have to watch a witch-hunt, initiated in the mistaken belief that homosexuality causes pedophilia.

Pedophilia is a crime of power abuse. Nearly all sexual abuse is. It is not about sex. It is about power.

Because the Church considers homosexual behavior to be a disorder, it is looking to clean out homosexuals. I have a question for the Roman Catholic (or is it the American Catholic?) leadership:

Shall we wipe out upwards of 10% of the church hierarchy? Shall we eliminate up to 10% of humanity from the Book of Life?

When our leadership gets over its homophobia, then maybe it will set itself to the true task. Then it can train priests to be protectors of their flock. Not leaders, but servants. Precious lives are not theirs for amusement and ego-glorification.

When I think of all the saintly priests who have gone before, dedicating their lives to service, I feel sick for their memories. A celibate priest is not a sexual abuser, regardless of his orientation.

Get some competent advisors and get over it. A witchhunt is not the answer.

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Little Pond

The Heavenly Blues are in their morning glory, and the roses have noticeably faded. The summer is truly over for me. Now is the time for cleaning house and taking stock of our position in the universe. 

Soothing Thursday

Let's start with an update on the Ravenous HuggaMutt: The replacement part for the chewed shed arrived from Suncast. Husband RJ managed the job himself. It is very difficult to undo parts that snap together, but all is as it should be now. Glad I don't have to worry about snow-day heart attacks. Lost a friend's husband that way.

Both Sissy Willis and Shelley at BurningBird alerted us to the dangers facing the pets victimized by Katrina. Got a forwarded note from an animal rescue organization at the scene:

Speaking of rescues, time is running out for animals still in the city. But we still look forward to more and more rescues - especially since many more people have now been finding their way into the
city on their own, and simply putting out food and water until more help arrives. That, in itself, is a major blessing for animals who have been struggling to survive for just on three weeks now.

You can visit The Best Friends here. They have a really complete site to fill us in on all the operations. They need donations, too. Please remember that the easiest way to help may be to go through your closest SPCA. That goes for any donations to any efforts. If you donate local it will probably get there fastest.

Grand Rounds is up! Thanks to GruntDoc for the tip, as always.

Afghan Warrior has the local take on the Parliamentary Elections in Afghanistan. Looks like Al Quaeda being roundly ignored. Let's hope their glory days are over.

And save your last dance for the gals at the Cotillion. Their Late But Always Great Edition.

Ellie needs a walk, and I need breakfast.

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Little Pond

Aaaarrrrrggghhh!!!!

Join me in celebratin' Talk Like a Pirate Day! I'll be fixin' some grub for me mates tonight.

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Little Pond

Can you stand one more blog?

I was all doped out on antihistamines Sunday, so I grabbed the GrandDog and camera, threw them in the Tracker and rode out to Personius Woods, where Tanglewood had Doggy Days a few weekends back. We also stopped at Harris Hill Dam on the way back. Ellie was whimpering with fatigue by the time we headed home for a nap.

For those of you who wanted my take on current events, scroll down: I'm ignoring them in my blog. Visit my Everloving Blogmother for just about the only dissenting view on the Crescent blooper. Keep scrolling; she's like a voice crying out in the wilderness. (Give'em hell, Sissy!) And almost all of my sidebar links will at least touch on the Porkbarrel/Katrina Aid outrage.

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Little Pond

Light links, as promised

Sorry it's taken so long to keep my promise, but our old COMPAQ has finally gone around the bend. Memory problems, big time. Must be the automatic updates that ought to be carefully culled out. Just getting in and out of Internet Explorer is now fraught with hangups. Anyway....

Without further delay, we head over to Instapundit's place, because, frankly, that's where all the best links are, on a day to day basis:
This next year will be hugely blah, fashion-wise. Even Manolo is running out of ways to describe beige. And forget empire waists! They make me look hippy, and I don't mean emaciated, spaced out and druggy.
In a quite-possibly unintentional salute to our brave brothers and sisters of New Orleans, the Carnival of the Recipes has many cajun and bayou style meals to offer. Marvelous bonus: offered in a way that relates the brewing process for beer!
And, especially for those who love to follow comment threads, welcome one of your fellows to the Blogosphere. Remember, I got my start through commenting on my Everloving Blogmother's site.

And appropriate to my being so late with LightHearted Links, a piece on "Adult ADHD." I've always believed that a person who is consistently late could be consistently early, if properly motivated. Thanks to Grunt Doc.

Not so much light-hearted, as full of heart: The Afghan elections have me once again all choked up. Bless them and keep them safe during this celebration of democracy. The photos posted on Smash's site are truly inspiring and leave me all teary-eyed.

Not to be frivolous, but... Well, yes, okay, it's certainly frivolous, but I did promise Light. Dave Barry is showing his age. Hey, we can cry about it, or we can laugh about it. I'd much rather laugh. That's why it's great we can "celebrate" return to work Monday by observing Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Head over to helpless giggling with the girls of the Cotillion! Absolutely my favorite post of the week, or even month. Girls' gossipy take on the Robert's nomination hearings. Grab a great big wine spritzer before you sit down to this one!

And no links' post is complete without a trip to BurningBird's nest. Very unusual night photos of night-time preparations for a balloon race. Amazingly impressionistic. And Shelley provides references and photography details (lest we doubt that any mortal could take such marvelous pictures!).

That's it. The HuggaMutt awaits her Sunday stroll.

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Little Pond

LightHearted Links Later

In the post below I promised LightHearted Links. Later, I still promise. Right now, I'm in a more pensive mood. It's been months since the last murder, and I'm still asking, "Who's killing our street people, and why doesn't anyone seem to care?"

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Little Pond

Lotsa Links Weekend

Very busy. Too busy to blog. But never too busy to visit!

Been thinking about current events. Visited with David at Rishon Rishon to get his take on the events in the Mideast. As an expat, his viewpoint is unique. I was saddened to read his take on the Gaza handover. David is always a good read, and it's not all sad: He was tickled to find a transplanted Saudi with a lovely blog about Saudi Arabia, its policies and customs. Even some humor.

So I got to wondering about more currently American perspectives. The Right? The Left? Both? Neither? Here are a few links about the Mideast, in no particular order:

A new Mideastern blog is welcomed to the 'Sphere by Winds of Change.
Afghan Warrior checked in on the 9/11 anniversary.
And no visit to the Mideast is complete without reading the best reporter ever Over There.

Another huge anniversary. In my opinion, the CBS meltdown was the biggest event so far that affected (or was caused by) the Blogosphere. Thanks to the BlogFather.

Back later with LightHearted Links.

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Little Pond

Disaster Updates

Go to the Cotillion, to get our ladies' takes on recent current events.

Me? Got some baking to do. Zuchini bread is the order of the day.

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Little Pond

Early Birthday Ruined by Ravenous HuggaMutt

Husband RJ got an early birthday present today when I brought home a new Suncast storage shed for the snowblower. He's always shoveled his way to the garage, two doors down the block. It's been worrying me for years.

We had an impromptu assembly party, right then and there. Starting with removal from the top of the Tracker (That was quite a trip from Big Flats, NY!), we simply got to work and assembled it. No tools needed. Instructions were easy to follow and in no time...

...we found our penultimate part had been chewed useless by the GrandDog, Ellie!! Now the door doesn't swing open. But it doesn't show and we ordered a new piece from Suncast. By the way, that's the GS2500, just right for our two-stage snow blower, which is a must for a corner property. Under $200. Not too much to pay to prevent heart strain during heavy snowstorms.

Made for a pleasant moment of quality time with the Husband.

Update: Got a note from Suncast

" As an animal lover and owner of one aging blue merle Sheltie and four inside cats (a white, a black, a short yellow tiger, and a long-haired yellow tiger), I appreciated your web site and the stories within. I also know how kittens, cats, puppies, and dogs can be! "

They offered to absorb the costs of replacement. Thanks again, Suncast!

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Little Pond

SunCast "Snowblower" Shed

Here is the shed, about elbow high on me. Ellie was a little surprised when we locked her out of it. Can't see the damage, and we've already ordered the replacement part.

View of the Hummingbird Feeder

So now we have a place to dry the KittyWalk. Hope the shed doesn't upset our hummers. And Husband RJ can simply exit the back door and take out the snowblower. The garage is in the Upper Right Corner of the photo, and required a shovel just to get there.

RiverDogging Labor Day

Come with Ellie and me to find the elusive Chemung River Fishing Access Site. The original one, of course, down by Dunn Field.

Hurricane Katrina Update: thanks to the Happy Catholic.

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Little Pond

Go out and play

Couldn't get into Blogger this morning, so I grabbed the GrandDog and we walked the levee off Brand Park. We were looking for the elusive Chemung River Fishing Access Site. It took hours but we finally found it, right next to Dunn Field, home of Elmira Pioneers baseball.

Need to cull through some fifty snapshots, and will probably open a couple of sites to post them, through WalkElmira in a few days. Results here.

Meantime:

Get updated on the aftermath of Katrina, straight from New Orleans, herself. This fellow rode out the storm and ensuing chaos, blogging all the way. That's the spirit!

I've written this before. The future of Iraq is previewing right now in Afghanistan. Check with the Warrior.

Sick of scenes from Hell? How about Heaven Light? Shelley at BurningBird is winding up her summer. Just a touch of Americana, so appropriate to Labor Day Weekend.

Ferdinand, your host, is waiting for you at the Carnival of the Cats.

And if you've been busily praying for Karen of Scottsdale and Norm, you'll be happy to see those prayers answered.

It's empty-nesting time for Jenny, whose sons are testing their wings. Happening here in Pat's Pond, as well. But I'm not ready to blog it, just yet. I'm such a sap.

Okay, time's up. Turn off the computer and get outside and play!

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Little Pond

The Kitty Corraller

Noon, Saturday, and Patches and Bubba are in the KittyWalk; Ellie is on her line. The birds are quiet and the squirrels are not scolding. Everything seems too quiet. So I grabbed my camera. We have numerous requests for more KittyWalk adventures.

Don't know if they were caught gearing up for trouble, or if they are just hams for the camera.

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Little Pond

Parallel play occurs when babies (or pets) are content to keep themselves busy alongside their buddies, without interacting. The doggy has a chewie and the cats are birdwatching. 

GrandDog is bored. She quietly sneaks up behind the cats (note the tail to the left) and slips in under the netting. A quick nip! And awaaaay we go! 

Patches responds with a bop to the snout! Then she rolls back to the other side. 

Ellie will come around to rouse Patches. Otherwise, the littlest cat will simply sit and watch the birds feed. Right now, doggy wants some action! 

Come on! I dare you to poke your heads out this side! Ellie gets a reprimand for yanking on the netting--and snapping it back at the cats! 

Bubba wants to take a bat at Ellie, now. If I am watching or shutterbugging, Granddog makes a big, noisy show of it. 

No they don't always play nicely. Who knocked down the doorframe? Ellie or Bubba? And no one's talking... 

The Best We Can Do

Just a note. No time on Fridays to post thoughtfully.

We all can do one more thing: carry on.

Our lives must not change for the worse. Only a healthy nation can overcome tragedy and disgrace. Yes, we must send aid. Yes, we must tighten our belts. And yes, we must pray, or at least keep our thoughts positive and our moods on an even keel.

The rest of America must carry on. The flood victims need a healthy country they can turn to for aid. Otherwise we will all become victims of the hurricane.

Don't Go Online

Please don't go online: Go through your local agencies. The national agencies are overloaded. Your local agencies are better equipped to process your donation.

Please pray. I have separated religion from Pat's Pond. But right now, you can help. You can pray, especially for those who are creating chaos. They are suffering. They are in Hell right now, and are desperate. They cannot see us all trying to help. I believe prayer is the best that many of us can do right now.

Remember, this is a catastrophe. People are dying. The living are desperate. And we may need, as cities, to open our arms to the refuges. To diffuse the tragedy and ease the suffering. We can do this, we are a large nation with a big heart. Keep your eyes and ears open, and pray. We can do the right thing.