Freedom of speech and freedom to peaceably assemble, right!

You can't handle the truth. . .

How many times have you heard American super-patriots proclaiming that our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are fighting for our freedoms? It's the mantra of those who won't see that our leaders have taken us in to a fiasco which hasn't made America anymore secure! Now, we see that the freedom of speech is even taken away from the very service personnel who supposedly are protecting such freedoms. Can a CINC and Congress which continues to finance this fiasco be given a dishonorable discharge? Read this and weep!

Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh and other veterans marked the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq in April by wearing their uniforms - with military insignia removed - and roaming around the nation's capital on a mock patrol.
After Kokesh was identified in a photo cutline in The Washington Post, a superior officer sent him a letter saying he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops from wearing uniforms without authorization. Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded with an obscenity.
Now, a military panel has been scheduled to meet with Kokesh on Monday to decide whether his discharge status should be changed from "honorable" to "other than honorable." "This is clearly a case of selective prosecution and intimidation of veterans who speak out against the war," Kokesh said. "To suggest that while as a veteran you don't have freedom of speech is absurd."
Lebowitz said Kokesh technically is a civilian unless recalled to active duty and had the right to be disrespectful in his response to the officer. He called the proceedings against Kokesh highly unusual and said the military usually seeks to change a veteran's discharge status only if a crime has been committed.
If his discharge status is changed, Kokesh said he could lose some health benefits and be forced to repay about $10,800 he received to obtain his undergraduate degree on the GI Bill. Kokesh said he holds no ill will toward the Marines. "I love the Marine Corps," he said.

Strange British pastimes

Competitors hurtle downhill during the annual cheese-rolling at Brockworth in Gloucestershire. The tradition, thought to date back to Roman times, involves scores of runners chasing a seven-pound wheel of Double Gloucester down a near-vertical slope. Twenty people were treated for minor injuries. (Words and photo from 29th May Guardian)

Bath International Music Festival

Tonight, Maurene and I went to the Assembly Rooms in Bath to hear Nicola Benedetti. She was named the BBC's Young Musician of the Year in 2004. At only nineteen (she turns twenty in July) I was captivated by her performance. Maurene argued that it was her looks. I'm not all that keen of violin music but I was blown away to watch her play for a first full hour from memory. Maybe that is what astounded me.

The Assembly Rooms themselves are well worth the visit. The grand ballrooms with their magnificent chandeliers are worth seeing with or without a concert. You can hear(and see) Nicola play at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUG9_ceFxbA

Super Bowl players at Indy 500

Since the Indy 500 is in Indianapolis it was only logical that after the Colts championship victory in the Super Bowl they would want to honour the team. For that reason, Peyton Manning is the honorary flagman for the start of this year's race. To show that they are good sports, the speedway also invited Bears Quarterback Rex Grossman to help out. But he kept dropping the flag and they decided it would endanger the drivers, so he is an honorary 'hot dog' vendor.

Race Day from Bath

The Internet is an amazing thing. I am getting photographs from Indystar.com of the track and weather radar whilst listening to the pre-race commentary on WIBC. Is this a great world or what?

Indy 500

By some freak occurrence I don't have an evening service this Sunday. So, I'll be able to watch the Indianapolis 500 on Sky Television. Actually, it holds less lure for me than it did in younger days. But, I still get a little sentimental when I hear Jim Nabors sing, 'Back Home Again in Indiana.' The last race I attended was with my brother Bob. I have action photos from Bob's last three Indy 500's. Do you see a pattern here? Do you suppose he could get the drivers to pay him a fee to stay away on race day?

Sicko
I realise that Michael Moore is a bit of a propagandist. He has been vilified by many right-wingers, primarily because his propaganda is different than their own. Let's face it, anyone who feels passionately about a subject tends to bend facts and statistics to meet their own agendas.
But this one-minute thirty-second segment of his new film, Sicko does cause one to ponder. Maurene and I have both experienced the blessings of the NHS. Yes it is sometimes a bit bureaucratic, and Brits do like to complain. But they always complain about the NHS as a whole, while vehemently defending their local GP and local hospital. So, much of their dislike seems to be perceived instead of based on reality.
From a theological and political aspect, I simply believe that providing all of a nation's citizens with free (at the point of service) healthcare is a moral and ethical essential. Jesus went about healing. He didn't ask for insurance cards or bill for the service before or after the treatment. And more often than not, his healing was given to those who were poor and on the margins of society. Just one answer to WWJD! God bless the NHS!

William Sweetland -organ builder and maker of Musical Instruments; Architect; Painter; Furniture Maker and Stone Mason.

Opening Night of the Bath International Music Festival

Last night was the Opening Night of the Bath International Music Festival. Central URC was one of the six venues that hosted performances. Our six organists did a wonderful job and we had a steady stream of guests who showed up to see portions or the entire performance. Opening Night encourages people to circulate between the venues and sample the wide variety of music on offer. Since it is a free evening, tickets were not required and it was basically 'come and go' as you please.

Our Social Events Committee hosted the evening and insured that there would be an interval with tea and biscuits. We did take donations for our Organ Fund (for the next refurbishment) and for the Parkinson's Disease Society -one of our organists lives with Parkinson's. We raised approximately £750 ($1500 USD).

Angela Calvert-Jones the great-granddaughter of William Sweetland (the Organ builder), and John Jones the great, great grandson were in attendance. She presented the church with a self-portrait of William Sweetland. He was not only an organ builder but enjoyed painting. The organ was placed in Central URC in 1888.

I have included Sweetland's self-portrait. Rather Quakerish in appearance, don't you think?

WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME

The only fighting Prince Harry will have to do is outside of nightclubs.

Wheeewww! That was close!

The 'spare' won't be going to Iraq. You'd think he was a congressman's kid.

The late William Sloane Coffin Jr.

The late Jerry Falwell

Jerry Falwell -Rest in Peace

Unlike many of my comrades on the 'religious left' I think it is inappropriate to dance on the grave of Jerry Falwell. I have the greatest sympathy for his family, his church and his university. But what astounds me is the level of press coverage his death is getting. The British newspapers are even speculating on how many Republican presidential candidates will show up at the funeral to gain brownie points with the Religious Right. When William Sloan Coffin died last year, where was the extensive press coverage? He was the Minister of one of the nation's most prestigious pulpits, Riverside Church in NYC. His opinions were often as controversial as those of Jerry Falwell -although from the other side of the theological spectrum. This should be another indication that the 'liberal media' myth is just that -a myth.

William Sloane Coffin's death was almost unnoticed by the mainstream media. The column inches devoted to Revd. Falwell are astounding. Both men have been hailed as Christian exemplars. Here are some of their words. Each of us can decide for ourselves who we think most closely followed the teachings of Jesus.

Peace does not come rolling in on the wheels of inevitability. We can't just wish for peace. We have to will it, fight for it, suffer for it, demand it from our governments as if peace were God's most cherished hope for humanity, as indeed it is. WSC

“I had a student ask me, "Could the savior you believe in save Osama bin Laden?" Of course, we know the blood of Jesus Christ can save him, and then he must be executed” JF

The argument that gays threaten to destroy heterosexual marriage is an assertion only, not an argument. If anyone destroys marriage, it's married people, not gays. WSC

“AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals” JF

What I hold against the religious right is its cruelty. It's cruel because it's ignorant; and as its ignorance stems from self-righteousness and complacency, it, it is an ethical, not an intellectual default. WSC

“[homosexuals are] brute beasts...part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven.” JF

MY GENERATION
This was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. The group of forty senior citizens is known as 'The Zimmers'. A Zimmer Frame is commonly known as a walker in the United States. Twenty years ago this would have seemed ridiculous. Now I rather enjoy it!

Organ Recital at Central URC

Next Friday the Bath International Music Festival will begin. Our recently refurbished organ and 6 of our outstanding organists will perform during the Opening Night festivities. Click on photo to read article.

Funeral home attacked for recycling efforts

It really disturbs me when a business tries to conserve resources by careful recyling and is vilified for its efforts. The following article appeared in the 12 May edition of This Week The Best of the British and Foreign Media:

A Scottish funeral home has come under fire for using the ashes of cremated bodies to grit the pavement in icy conditions. Staff at Co-op Funeralcare in Dunfermline say that the ashes were also used to increase the traction on the wheelchair-access ramp.

This attack also makes things more difficult for disabled folks.

Or, how about this from Sudan?

Rose, the goat who found international fame after being forced into marriage with a Sudanese man, has died. Last year village elders in Juba, southern Sudan order Charles Tombe to marry Rose after he was caught "engaged in indecorous behaviour" with the animal. The marriage was cut tragically short this month when Rose swallowed a plastic bag as she scavenged for food. She is survived by one kid.

You couldn't make this stuff up.

"And the lion will lay down with the lamb. . ."

Tweedle dee and tweedle (you fill in the rest). . .

I have lived in the United Kingdom for fully two-thirds of Tony Blair's premiership. I am quite ambivalent about his leadership. He is the leader of the Labour party, which is historically further to the left than the US Democratic Party, but adopted the more centrist approach of Bill Clinton. He is a staunch supporter of the National Health Service (socialised medicine), although he has brought some elements of privatisation into the scheme. The one place he has totally lost me was in his 'shoulder to shoulder' kinship with America. It isn't America that he is shoulder-to-shoulder with, at all. It is George Bush. The majority of Americans and the overwhelming majority of Brits oppose the continuing fiasco in Iraq. His 'hand-on-his heart' belief that he did what he thought was right, isn't all that soothing. As British Prime Minister, unlike a US president, he is supposed to do what the people think is right -this is a parliamentary system. Tony Blair is often accused of being 'too presidential'. Anyway, he does do well rhetorically, and we could have done worse -as the photo above suggests.

Cue up Lee Greenwood's Proud to be an American
War is dehumanizing. As one who wore the uniform this embarrasses me.

We are not amused. . .

The Queen is headed to the USA for a visit celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. As the Head of State, Her Majesty, must remain non-political in action and speech. But she surely is steaming about the war in Iraq now that her grandson Harry is about to go into 'harms way'. Think she might have a personal word for the President?

The 10th Green (Dragoons Drop) as seen from the tee

I'm the man!: Part 3

I began playing golf forty-three years ago. My earliest rounds were with my father and my brother, Bob, at the American Legion Golf Course in New Castle, Indiana. My father and I were both left-handed and so we shared his clubs. My brother, insisted that I play every shot with a 7 Iron when I began. Bob said that it was a good club with which to learn the basics of the swing. (In later years I have suspected that he only did that to speed up play.) But, in retrospect, I have always felt quite comfortable with a 7 iron in my hand.

Finally, the higher-ups at the golf course required us to quit sharing clubs because they felt it slowed our play. Quite ridiculous, in hindsight, because my father barely stopped walking before he would hit his next shot. On the day I got my own set of clubs (which Dad purchased for $19.95 at Arlans Discount City) we played a round and in a fit of excitement over a made putt, I hit my father squarely between the eyes and almost rendered him unconscious. My brother reminded me of that event in a touching eulogy delivered at Dad's funeral.

Forty-three years and never a hole-in-one. I had begun to wonder if I would ever get one. I'd been close, and made some long second shots on par fours, but the hole-in-one remained elusive. That is, until today. I went out at 7.00 am to get a round of golf in before my work day began. That time of morning I can knock out 18 holes in just under three hours. On the tenth hole, Dragoons Drop, I pulled out my trusted 7 iron and sent the ball toward the green. A ball mark and two bounces later I had a hole-in-one. No witnesses, except the sheep in the next field who took little, if any, interest. I didn't yell, I didn't jump up and down. I just smiled and chuckled to myself. As I walked toward the green my thoughts turned to Dad and my brother. How I wish they could have been here to share the moment with me. Thanks Dad, for sharing your clubs and your life with me. Thanks Bob, for making me feel very comfortable with a 7 iron.

from today's Bath Chronicle

Bath's newest resident. . .

Nicolas Cage just bought a house on the Circus. See Ron's Walking Tour: Part 7. A mere £4 million GBP -$8 million USD. When will he find time to live there? He has several properties in Los Angeles, a castle in Germany and an entire island in the Bahamas.