The Catholic Church and the Nature of Man

Red Eye did a two page article on the Catholic Church's new statement about gay men entering the priesthood.  I had a couple of minutes before lunch and decided to send in my 4.7 cents (damn inflation!) to the paper regarding the issue.

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I went to 12 years of Lutheran parochial school and was very active in the church growing up.  I am actually grateful for that because I couldn't imagine the emotional scars I might have received as a gay black man coming through the Catholic church or any other church for that matter.  Now that I am an adult I thank the gods that I'm not religious anymore!  Because to be religious you have to buy into a lot of dogma that has little or nothing to do with spirituality or that personal relationship to a higher power.

 

The fact that the Catholic church came out with such a statement which essentially blocks gay men from entering the priesthood doesn't surprise me.  What does surprise me are the number of gay men who would want to be priests in the first place!  Let's face it, the Vatican hasn't exactly welcomed the gay community with open arms!  Neither has the Republican party but that's a different letter.  Just a simple message to all my gay brothers who are considering joining the priesthood.  Though your faith may tell you otherwise please remember that for the past 2000 years the Catholic church has been run by men.  Men by their very nature are flawed which means their decisions may be flawed.  The purchase of penance and the Inquisition??  Hello!  This is simply a case of another flawed human trying to interpret the mind of God.  We all know how well that works out.  Can you say Waco?!  Let's not forget that the church that doesn't want to let you in is the same church that hid pedophiles for years.  Hmm...must have been God's will.

Happy Thanksgiving

Every year people sit around a table piled high with food and testify to what they are thankful for during the past year.  The one thing they should all be thankful for is that they are not that poor dead bird all spread eagle on the table!  In keeping with the spirit of this tradition here are 10 things I'm thankful for (in no particular order).

 

1. I'm thankful that my family isn't as crazy as other families.  (This is where you can assume it is your family I'm referring to.)
2. I'm thankful for any meds which my family may currently be taking to quiet those internal voices!
3. I'm thankful that I'm able to take the CTA to work and catch up on MUCH needed sleep, reading or boy watching.  Haven't missed my stop yet!
4. I'm thankful my credit card bill hasn't increased this year.  Hasn't really decreased much either...
5. I'm thankful for my friends who call me after a night of drinking to remind me what I did the night before.  Yeah...thanks a lot!
6. I'm thankful we all have one less year of the Bush administration.  No more Bush family in office please! However I might make special dispensation for that cute nephew... :) 
7. I'm thankful my feet aren't in constant pain anymore!
8. I'm thankful to live in the mid-West.  No hurricanes, forest fires or floods here!
9. I'm thankful for getting shit canned from that hateful job at Equity.  Good riddance to bad rubbish!  (To my former managers not the staff.)
10. Finally, I'm thankful for having so many special people in my life who actually take the time to read this stuff!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Randomness

Its Wednesday and I have one more reason to be happy.  George Bush's ratings have fallen once again!  Hmm..  I wonder if it's something he could be doing wrong??  Nah!!!

 

On a lighter note the cats have not torn up the place but I must say there's still a lot of hissing and fighting going on.  Can you believe it's all my Casper instigating it!?  I was shocked.  At first he got a taste of Jada's claws and steered clear but as time has progressed he has become more bold.  I believe it's like a game to him and he enjoys it!  What a crazy cat.  Also, that Jada is never far from the feeding bowl!  I can already tell I'm going to have to put her on a diet!  She's already a little chubby.  I'm the only one in that house allowed to be fat.  No fat kitties!

 

And finally we are having tuck pointing done on my condo.  The good part:  Cute Polish guys who speak little to no English are doing the work.  Bad part:  I'm not there during the day to give them tea and crumpets!!!!  I feel a sick day coming on.  Ah chew!!!!!

A Tale of Two Kitties

As you all should know, Casper has been my four legged companion for over 9 years. I got him when he was but a wee kitten. He can be a cool cat most of the time and other times you just want to strangle him. I'm sure that I'm not alone with these feelings toward my pet. For quite some time I have wanted Casper to have a companion. You know, a little friend while I'm away at work or whoring about in the streets. The other day my friend Matthew mentioned that he was looking for a home for a stray female cat he found a while ago. I decided to take on this new challenge of taking care of another cat. She turned out to be the sweetest little thing and a total lap cat. Then she met Casper and so began the war. There was hissing, biting, hair pulling and scratching. Sounds like two queens fighting, doesn't it?! At first I felt bad for her but then I felt bad for Casper! He's been alone all this time and he finally meets a female and she wants to rip his eyes out. Enough to turn a cat gay!

I was keeping them apart for the first couple of days but I got tired of double feeding and double poop scooping! I just figured they are going to have to find some happy medium and get along. Hopefully my house won't be in a shambles when I get home tonight. It does appear that some preliminary boundaries have been set. Mostly around her. At first I named her Jade because her eyes are a bright green. Then I decided on Jada (After Jada Pinkett-Smith) because I saw how much attitude she had! Casper has learned to keep a nice distance from her and those dangerous claws of hers. Unfortunately, Casper is de-clawned so his only recourse is to stay the hell away! Of course, only time will tell if this new arrangement will work out but in the meantime I'm assuming the role of the United Nations. This basically means I get the hell out of the way and do a lot of yelling which means absolutely nothing.

Scared Out of My Mind!

I'm sure the religious right is singing Hallelujah at Bush's supreme court nominee Samuel Alito. They bitched and complained about Meyer's nomination and they got what they wanted, a staunch conservative constructionist in the mold of Antonin Scalia. He has since earned the nick name Scalito?! Yikes!! There is no doubt about his qualifications (Sorry Ms. Meyers). But this guy will flip Roe v. Wade in a heartbeat! Ladies, once this guy gets on the bench (and I have little doubt he won't) you just became second class citizens again. What the hell am I talking about, so did I! From what I've heard this guy is a true servant of the Federal bureaucracy and has never had to defend an individual his entire career. Ergo, individual rights don't mean poop. Still stinks to me.

On another note, yesterday was Halloween. Or as I like to call it Satan's day! All of Satan's evil little minions were let loose on the streets dressed in their ceremonial coven gear and looking for a sacrifice. I know they have this strange ritual of going door to door and demanding food while they try to scare the hell out of you. I think this is how they determine if you are a fitting sacrifice for the blood letting. I have been very lucky the past few years. Satan's minions have not come to my door. I may have some talisman at the entrance or someone painted lamb's blood across the doorway. Whatever the reason I'm just glad those little demons haven't come calling to my door! Last night I was driving around all white knuckled in the dark and rain trying to find a store that had chicken broth for my soup. I went to four stores before I found any. Now that is STRANGE!!! Those little bastards were everywhere! I was so afraid I was going to hit one. And you definitely don't want to do that because that's a trip straight to hell! Fortunately I got home safe and sound and survived yet another day from hell. I'm not sure which is scarier, Satan's minions running a muck on the streets or Samuel Alito on the high bench!