Mitt Romney belongs to the category of GOP politicians that I call 'tasseled loafer' Republicans. They tend to be nice enough people, as far as I can tell. I don't run into many, if the truth be told. They are folks like Speaker John Boehner, or closer to home here in Chicago, DuPage County Republican types, of the failed gubernatorial candidates Bill Brady, Jim Oberweiss and that other guy . . . what's his name? Most of these folks have the personality of dial tones and excite the imaginations of of people like the fabled offer of an ALL YOU CAN EAT Melba Toast Buffet.
That said, I find these folks far less repellent than the successfully artful Progressive ophidians who dominate the Democratic Party Nationally, Statewide and locally. Watch here as David Axelrod gives a tutorial on how exactly Obama will be re-elected in a land-slide:
Make sense to you? Of course not and it is not supposed to . . .Dave Axelrod tosses word salads and even Fox eats it up, without question. Death by a Thousand UnAnswered Cuts- that is David Axelrod's modusoperandi. Mitt Romeny, like every tasseled -loafer GOP hopeful requires the help of an urban ethnic Democrat Ward healing cut-throat adviser - A Tammany baptized, unfiltered voice of practical political wit and wisdom to slap the back of his head everytime he tries to take the high-road to low-road set-ups by media or political surrogates
Mitt, go for her nuts, when asked a question about Mrs. Romney's equestrian back therapy by Rachel Maddow - "Well, you want your wife to be healthy would you not spare no expense, Rachel?"
Mitt, go Harry Reid, when asked about coughing up tax returns - " You know, I was talking to a top White House source only yesterday, and he told me that Eric Holder had set up a string of used gun shops from Brownsville, Texas to Baja, CA . . . Hey, I'm just sayin' "
Mitt, go Desiree Rogers, when asked about Valerie Jarrett running the Obama White House - " You know, one day your BFF gets her Knockers in a Knot and the next it is some other babe's bazongas . . .that's brand Obama. Hey, did Desiree crash that wedding afterall, Hey, I'm just sayin'"
Such counsel might make Mitt more palatable to folks who read only the New York Times, religiously, and watch only the PBS Nightly News with Judy Woodruff and Gwen Eyeful, as well as the guys who put busted-up chairs out in their freshly shoveled parking places and women who shop at Save Lots. I expect that Mitt Romney will pick a VP cut exactly to specifications of the Obama Campaign 2012 - a Tim Pawlenty ( Mn), or Rob Portman (OH). He should pick someone like Governor Bobby Jindal, or Gov. Chris Christies, or Col. Allen West. I don't see it. Mitt will get my vote, because the alternative is repellent to me anyway. I doubt if that will be anywhere near enough. Mitt Romney will be willing victim until his concession speech early on the night of November 6th, 2012; after that . . .hold the phone, citizens!
Ronald Reagan was a good-looking guy with lots of dough who rode horses and never wore tasseled loafers. Reagan was a Democrat, understood Democrats, and could never get trapped into skipping down a rhetorical blind alley by punks from Evanston, Winnetka, or Hollywood.
Transcript -
But, first, the presidential campaign battle over how to get Americans back to work. Joining us now from Chicago, David Axelrod, senior adviser to the Obama campaign.
And, David, welcome back to "Fox News Sunday."
DAVID AXELRORD, OBAMA CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Thanks, Chris.
WALLACE: Let's start with the latest jobs numbers. The economy created 163,000 jobs in July but unemployment rate rose from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent. Let's put that into some context. More than 23 million Americans are now unemployed, have given up looking for work, or are working fewer hours than they would like, and 5 million have been out of work more than six months.
Given that fixing the economy was number job one -- why does President Obama deserve reelection given that record?
AXELROD: Well, first of all, Chris, let's put this in perspective. In the six months before the president took office, we lost 4 million jobs. The economy was shrinking at 8.9 percent in the quarter before he took office. We lost 800,000 jobs the month that he took office.
The hole that was created is huge and we're going to fill it. But in last 29 months, we've had 29 straight months of private sector job growth, 4.5 million jobs created. In this last report, 173,000 private sector jobs created, led by the auto industry and manufacturing, that would be in a depression but for the president's intervention -- something Governor Romney opposed.
So, we've got a lot of work to do. The two sectors, by the way, that lagged were construction and education. The president has been urging Congress since last fall to pass his bill that would invigorate those sectors, and that would help. But we have a lot of work to do.
And the real question for voters is going to be, what is the choice on the other side? This week, we learned that Governor Mitt Romney's tax plans would raise taxes for the wealthy -- would cut taxes for the wealthy, a windfall for the wealthy and raise taxes by $2,000 on the middle class. That's not a prescription for getting our economy moving or rebuilding the middle class.
WALLACE: But, David, didn't this White House badly misjudge this recovery? I remember in 2010, two summers ago, you and Vice President Biden were running around, talking about recovery summer. That was the summer of 2010.
And the fact is that your White House said that if you got the stimulus, that $800 billion, that unemployment would stay under 8 percent. In fact with the stimulus, unemployment has stayed over 8 percent for the last 42 months, that's 3 1/2 years.
AXELROD: Chris, first of all, I wasn't running around saying anything that other than we were going to be persistent, that it took years to get into this mess, it was going to take years to get --
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: You talked about recovery summer in 2010.
AXELROD: Well, you should show me the tape of me saying that. I have been very consistent about the fact we need to be persistent in our effort.
But we can't do is go back to the -- you know, Moody's analyzed Governor Mitt Romney's plan to the degree you can because there aren't enough specifics to actually score it. And what they said was his plan would actually throw us back ward and might tip us back in a recession because it would ratchet down the things we need to keep the economy growing. So, people are going to have a real choice.
WALLACE: If I may --
AXELROD: Do we think -- do we think that raising taxes is the way to get this economy moving? Do we think cutting education by 25 percent is the way to get this economy moving, research that creates innovation and technology? I don't think most Americans agree with that.
WALLACE: But, David, you talk about Romney. I am asking you about the Obama record and the fact is unemployment has been over 8 percent for 42 months, which is 3 1/2 years.
AXELROD: There's no doubt about it, Chris. There's no doubt -- we have faced an economic crisis that goes back -- you'd have to go back to the Great Depression to see a crisis like the one we walked into in 2009. And as we said then and as I say now, the hole was tremendous. We have to be persistent in moving forward. There are more things we can do. We wish Congress would act on them. There are more things we can do.
But we can't do is go back. And the reason I keep bringing up Governor Romney, Chris, is because people are faced with a choice. They need to know -- they need to make a decision as to whether going back to the last policies is going to get us to where we need to go.
WALLACE: All right.
AXELROD: I think most people don't believe that.
WALLACE: All right. Well, let's talk about the choice, because I think you would say, you would agree that the biggest policy difference right now between President Obama -- there are a bunch. But the biggest policy difference right now between President Obama and Governor Romney is on taxes. Romney wants to extend all the Bush tax cuts for everyone, the president says no, extend them only for people making less than $250,000.
But back in 2010, President Obama opposed raising taxes on the wealthy because he said the economy was too fragile. Let's take a look at what the president said back then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Potentially, you'd see a lot of folks are losing business, more folks potentially losing jobs. That would be a mistake when the economy has not fully taken off.
The above is a basic sketch for Eddie Carroll Roofing & Construction Mt. Everest Climb fleshed out by Master Sherpa and engineer Framin' Eamon Cosgrove for the trip up Everest's south face.
Having topped the summits of Mount Greenwood, ( Georgians, Cape Cods, Raised Ranches and the odd Chicago Bungalo) philosopher, roofer, gad-about, swordsman, Big band leader and adventurer, Eddie Carroll will dominate the top of the world, Ma! Carroll Roofing and Construction - the surname of quality and Old World craftsmanship ( "I hire only DPs") - will soon best the name of Hillary, not the long suffering Mrs. Clinton, but Sir Edmund the Kiwi Rock Jock. Like Sir Edmund, Citizen Eddie will take the much tested south ridge route from Nepal.
I asked the raffish adventurer what possessed him to assault the 24,000 + ' summit and he cocked an eyebrow and rejoined, " I like it on top, Patrick, my boy; I like it on top."
I had expected nothing less.
To continue, I mentioned the perilous 1996 expeditions that ended in the deaths sixteen persons, but Mr. Carroll was not nonplussed. He's often not nonplussed. Conturbent me Non Nihil! -(Perplex Me Not With Nothing!) should be Eddie Carroll's family crest. I, on the hand. am nonplussed enough for everyone, let alone anyone.
Mr. Carroll continued to wax practical, "I'm using scaffolding . . .lots and lots of scaffolding . . . Pat, I take safety as seriously as President Obama takes his oath of office, maybe more so. Look, if you skimp on costs in material quality, customers will skedaddle pronto . . .not to mention funeral. . . .well, burial anyway, maybe not the whole Bob Sheehy, but certainly the burial . . . expenses for the husky immigrants going up with a load of lumber, or shingles. No, Sir, I am scaffolding my way up Everest on Badger Quality*!"
God Speed, Eddie Carroll!!!!!!!!!!!
* Badger Ladder and Scaffolding -
1-5/8", 5' x 6'7"Steel Tube Scaffolding
The Outside Diameter of this frame scaffolding is 1 5/8".
This high quality steel frame scaffolding is built tough to handle the demands of your work load.
Fast Lock, lock system to help decrease assemble and disassembly time.
Coupling Pin with NO collar included.
The LF6R Scaffold Package is Painted Red.
Each One of these Scaffold Packages Include:
Francis Cardinal George Our Great Shepherd -with Leo Board Member Tamara Holder and the Leo Guys -Bobby Sheehy, Bill Hessian
I remain a Roman Catholic in America for the exact same reasons that I wake up at 3 A.M. and look in on my kids even though two are adults and the youngest seventeen, pray the Memorare and the Novena of the Little Flower on my knees an hour and a half later, read as much as I can, write about what I have read or thought about, try to do a few laps on the Rosary looking for all the world to be playing Master's Level pocket pool while waiting at Dunkin Donuts for Miss Lou, Kim and her daughter Kameron. Lou takes Kameron to Day Care for Kim while Kim works at U of I Med Center in the cafeteria. I take Kim to the terminal at 79th & Western, as it is on my way to Leo High School.
Kim is a single mom with two daughters. The elder girl is nineteen and ebony goddess Kameron is eight years old with designs on capturing America's heart on the Disney Channel. I was easy. Kim works a brutal day preparing salads for the Medical staff at U of I ChicagoMed Center. Last year, I began driving Kim and spending real quality time with these three African American women, along with the cops, firemen, skilled tradesmen, City of Chicago white collar folks, nurses and cousins at Kareem's Dunkin Donuts.
These tasks, like my prayer ritual, are part of me. I was taught to pray and then forgot how, until times of trouble or when I had managed to piss off every carbon foot-print within my five mile radius. Prayer is not only a public ritual, but should be a reflexive action that underlies our waking hours and balms our sleep.
Being Irish, I am embarrassed to make a public display of prayer - that kiss of Peace at Mass ( 'Peace Be with You!' - Uh-huh, thanks. Back at you.) really tossed Irish Americans into a spiral. Some of the more pious took to it like duck's to Cheetos and evolved into the folks who extend arms with palms up like ad hoc Melchizedeks I belong to a subsection of Irish Catholic America that winces when publicly hugged, touched, or complimented. I like traditional prayers and go absolutely Bat Guano when Catholic educators begin every Goddam meeting with the distribution of xeroxed copies of personal prayers to be read out loud. We got plenty good prayers, but we insist on being the center of the show with a presentation of badly formed words and phrases - "Dear God, the sexually ambiguous Trinity, bless our actions this day as we bring about an end to universal poverty, racism, torture with this day's breaking into groups for discussion and sharing and all kinds of passive aggressive gamesmanship . . .!"
Prayers get answered in God's own manner and with his own brand of theological larceny - "Hickey, the door to back . . .right is open and you already signed in . . .pull a Murphy . . .let Dan know . . . there, see behind the faculty from St. Benedict's? Yes, the doors with exit sign . . . Really, how do you get a fork to your mouth without mutilating yourself? Now, you guys go . . .clear the exit to parking lot . . .wait for the signal . . . the command for heads to drop in Humble supplication . . .Go!"
I am proud on my Church and more than proud to find a pew in the back and off to side at Mass on Sunday and a few days of the week. For the last twenty or thirty years, Catholics have been goaded into becoming Unitarians - Let's call Blessed Virgin Mary Hospital - All Faiths Health Services! No, let's not. Most of the kids at Leo High School are non-Catholic, but they all take Catholic instruction and attend Catholic Mass. Leo High School prays every day, because it is Catholic.
The American Catholic Church in America and every other faith is under attack. The new Pastoral by the American Catholic Bishops clearly road-map the paths to the situation and identify assaults. In subsection of this pastoral the government handcuffs on religious liberty are here -
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty
Religious Liberty Under Attack—Concrete Examples
Is our most cherished freedom truly under threat? Sadly, it is. This is not a theological or legal dispute without real world consequences. Consider the following:
HHS mandate for contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs.The mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services has received wide attention and has been met with our vigorous and united opposition. In an unprecedented way, the federal government will both force religious institutions to facilitate and fund a product contrary to their own moral teaching and purport to define which religious institutions are "religious enough" to merit protection of their religious liberty. These features of the "preventive services" mandate amount to an unjust law. As Archbishop-designate William Lori of Baltimore, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, testified to Congress: "This is not a matter of whether contraception may beprohibited by the government. This is not even a matter of whether contraception may be supported by the government. Instead, it is a matter of whether religious people and institutions may be forced by the government to provide coverage for contraception or sterilization, even if that violates their religious beliefs."3
State immigration laws. Several states have recently passed laws that forbid what the government deems "harboring" of undocumented immigrants—and what the Church deems Christian charity and pastoral care to those immigrants. Perhaps the most egregious of these is in Alabama, where the Catholic bishops, in cooperation with the Episcopal and Methodist bishops of Alabama, filed suit against the law:
It is with sadness that we brought this legal action but with a deep sense that we, as people of faith, have no choice but to defend the right to the free exercise of religion granted to us as citizens of Alabama. . . . The law makes illegal the exercise of our Christian religion which we, as citizens of Alabama, have a right to follow. The law prohibits almost everything which would assist an undocumented immigrant or encourage an undocumented immigrant to live in Alabama. This new Alabama law makes it illegal for a Catholic priest to baptize, hear the confession of, celebrate the anointing of the sick with, or preach the word of God to, an undocumented immigrant. Nor can we encourage them to attend Mass or give them a ride to Mass. It is illegal to allow them to attend adult scripture study groups, or attend CCD or Sunday school classes. It is illegal for the clergy to counsel them in times of difficulty or in preparation for marriage. It is illegal for them to come to Alcoholic Anonymous meetings or other recovery groups at our churches.4
Altering Church structure and governance. In 2009, the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut Legislature proposed a bill that would have forced Catholic parishes to be restructured according to a congregational model, recalling the trusteeism controversy of the early nineteenth century, and prefiguring the federal government's attempts to redefine for the Church "religious minister" and "religious employer" in the years since.
Christian students on campus.In its over-100-year history, the University of California Hastings College of Law has denied student organization status to only one group, the Christian Legal Society, because it required its leaders to be Christian and to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage.
Catholic foster care and adoption services. Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and the state of Illinois have driven local Catholic Charities out of the business of providing adoption or foster care services—by revoking their licenses, by ending their government contracts, or both—because those Charities refused to place children with same-sex couples or unmarried opposite-sex couples who cohabit.
Discrimination against small church congregations. New York City enacted a rule that barred the Bronx Household of Faith and sixty other churches from renting public schools on weekends for worship services even though non-religious groups could rent the same schools for scores of other uses. While this would not frequently affect Catholic parishes, which generally own their own buildings, it would be devastating to many smaller congregations. It is a simple case of discrimination against religious believers.
Discrimination against Catholic humanitarian services. Notwithstanding years of excellent performance by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services in administering contract services for victims of human trafficking, the federal government changed its contract specifications to require us to provide or refer for contraceptive and abortion services in violation of Catholic teaching. Religious institutions should not be disqualified from a government contract based on religious belief, and they do not somehow lose their religious identity or liberty upon entering such contracts. And yet a federal court in Massachusetts, turning religious liberty on its head, has since declared that such a disqualification is required by the First Amendment—that the government somehow violates religious liberty by allowing Catholic organizations to participate in contracts in a manner consistent with their beliefs on contraception and abortion.
Here in Chicago, the two daily newspapers fully ignored Francis Cardinal George's statement on Rahm's Chicago Values. It is not about the chicken sandwiches at all. The media wants the Catholic Church in Chicago to obey the meme text maxim -STFU -What about the pedophile scandal? What about it? What has not been said, or done about it? The media washed the homosexuality of the scandal right out of the issue and turned its guns on administration. The pedophile priests weren't looking for Bachelor and the Bobby-Sox-er dates. It was and remains overwhelmingly Man on Boy predation.
Our politicians have all been bought by Planned Parenthood and "baptized Catholic altar boys" like Alderman Proco Joe Moreno do its bidding. Gay Marriage is an adjunct of the abortion industry. The media, never friends of Catholics, cares more about an interview with Governor Pat Quinn than with the leader of one of the largest Catholic populations in America. Chicago's President announced no compromise on contraception and abortion mandates - how about that Pat Quinn, Dick Durbin and the balance of the Illinois Personal PAC elected serfs?
I am a Catholic and I pray everyday -thoughts, words and, I hope, deeds.
“The Bible says many things,” Moreno said. “For the cardinal to say that Jesus believes in this, and therefore we all must believe in this, I think is just ingenuous and irresponsible. The God I believe in is one about equal rights, and to not give equal rights to those that want to marry, is in my opinion un-Christian.”
Candid, frank, guileless, without cant and yet irresponsible? Say it it ain't so Proco-Joe.
Candidly, Proco Joe, I believe that Mayor Rahm twisted your ear like Kesley Grammer did to that Hispanic Alderman in last season's Boss on Starz ( New Season Begins August 17 on Starz -catch Chicago actor Tony Mockus as Kesey's Father-in-Law!) and said, " Proco Joe, prove your fealty, and go out and test the Gay waters for me - send Chick-fil-A a dead fish . . .Don't make me come into your shower!" No Alderman goes off on his own hook . . .not in decades.
Proco Joe is wriggling on the pike and Chick-fil-A is frying up a storm.
"The Bible says many things " and the dictionary has many words. Chicago's Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno said a mouthful there; no doubt he needed to immediately sit down and catch his breath following such vigorous display of intellectual dexterity and rhetorical exertion.The Ghost (Rahm) had Mr. Chick-fil-A gallop gamely to the finish line with this -
Moreno also called the cardinal’s reference in the blog to a fictional Council Committee on Un-Chicagoan Activities “hyperbole and rhetoric.” Moreno noted the church scandal surrounding pedophilia among priests, questioning George’s right to the “moral high ground on equal rights.” Moreno, who has called gay marriage the civil rights issue of our time, also said the mayor and he are not trying to force their values on anyone, but rather to ensure equal rights. (emphases my own-natualment)
Pretty Ingenuous yourself, there, Proco! You know, candid, frank, honorable, noble & etc. Did you mention that there had been a pedophile scandal? Oh Yes. But, of course, That's So, 1990s Proco Joe - unbefitting of the above postered beefcake-punk rock-theologian and one might find that last bit rather irresponsible for an American elected official to condemn a churchman for defending his church - This Ain't Your Daddy's Political Party notwithstanding. Well, First Ward First; now, to that Bible.
That Bible says a lot of stuff - Lot for example.Lot was the guy who defended God's angels from be gang-banged by the lads of the Boystown of the Central Plains -Sodom. God, according to the Genesis account, was determined to destroy Sodom and its suburb. God told Abraham "find 50 just men." Abraham, the old desert haggler, tried to gyp God down successively. . . " 40, 30, 20, 15 15 & 1/2 . . .10?"
Lot was it. He was a Breeder and had big family.
"No Dice, Clay, " God said to Abraham, but I'll help get Lot out of this coming jackpot." God sent two angels to help Lot and the wife and kids
Genesis 19:1 ¶ And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
Here's where it gets problematic with regard to sexual preference. Lot had two handsome gents as his guests and the neighbors wanted to "know" them - Knowing causes choice or coercion. Know in the Bible means to have marital relations - between man and woman. However, the gents of Sodom and its suburb, took a far less natural approach to the requisite act of natural selection*. They stormed Lot's door -
6. Calling out to Lot they said, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so that we can have intercourse with them.'
7 Lot said, 'Please, brothers, do not be wicked.
8 Look, I have two daughters who are virgins. I am ready to send them out to you, for you to treat as you please, but do nothing to these men since they are now under the protection of my roof.'
9 But they retorted, 'Stand back! This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge. Now we shall treat you worse than them.' Then they forced Lot back and moved forward to break down the door.
That was it! So much for Chicago Values in Sodom.
The God of the Phoenicians ( in the Bible the Moabites and all those folks; Philistines and such) Astarte was a sexually ambiguous deity of pan sexuality and human sacrifice. Them folks in Tyre and Sidon and Biblus and especially the sensitive and civil rights conscious folks of Sodom along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea worship up a storm and tried to force other folks to accept Sodom, Tyre, Sidon and Biblus Values. Didn't take.
Nope, a barbered blind man breeder pulled a whole temple to Ashtarte ( Baal -whatever) down around their noggins. These were pretty much the last of the sexually ambiguous folks who eschewed Old Time Chick-fil-A.
Earlier, some sort of 'natural occurrence wiped out the 13 cities of the plain around Sodom. The Koran, the Torah as well as the Bible mention the calamity and so do the secularist Greeks, who by the way did not make a religion out of preference -Spartans notwithstanding, because they didn't get along with anybody. Greek geographer Strabo states -"there were once thirteen inhabited cities in that region of which Sodom was the metropolis". Strabo identifies a limestone and salt hill at the south western tip of the Dead Sea, and Kharbet Usdum ruins nearby as the site of biblical Sodom."
Proco Joe you are free to believe in "The God I believe in is one about equal rights" Knock yourself out!
Francis Cardinal George is, as you so correctly state INGENUOUS, but he is no way irresponsible. In fact, Cardinal George pretty much presented the view of most people of faith. So are we ingenuous.
Regular School Day is from 7:45-2:35 p.m. Regular Wednesday Schedule is from 7:45-1:45 p.m. Early Dismissal is from 7:45-11:30 a.m.
First Day of School/Early Dismissal (7:45-11:30 a.m.) - Thursday, August 16, 2012. Students will be in full uniform.
"Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly." ~Epictetus
I am always thrilled to see the return of the men of Leo after a few weeks off. Most of our gents have been around all summer, taking Trig and Algebra with Mrs. Latifi, working out in the weight room supervised by the coaches, helping move athletic gear and the checking up with Vice -Principal Frank Wilson and Miss Hyland our guidance counsellor. The incoming freshmen had three weeks of summer school and made themselves home to Leo High School and meeting expectations of a Catholic college prep school - most of our guys come from Chicago public schools.
I was amused by the fashion tips provided by the Chicago Tribune*, yesterday which featured the poor kid at the top of this post. I tried to imagine the poor lad's entree to Vita Leonis were he to enter the hoary portals on 79th Street, or the entrance on Sangamon street and Coach/Dean Ed Adams's jolly welcome -
something like this I'd venture. Here is Ms. Wendy Donahue's tips to urban teens:
Boy meets girl forback-to-schoolfashion. Both are borrowing from classic menswear, reworking it in younger ways. Wall Street plaids and herringbones migrate to skinny pants and miniskirts. Brogues and boots abound, sporting unusual soles or metal details. Adding a "Wild One" edge, motorcycle jackets top preppy looks for boys. Denim and military-inspired shirts are staples for both, but with twists — a contrast collar for him or jeweled embellishment for her. . . .On him (above left):Motorcycle jacket: "Some of the must-have pieces of the season — khakis, colored denim, military shirts, motorcycle jackets — are closet staples for girls and boys," Steinmiller said. Motorcycle jacket, $129, at zara.com Denim on denim: The denim-on-denim trend continues to defy naysayers. "The easiest way to indulge in a trend but not commit to it fully if it's a bit risky or very fashion forward is to pick an accessory that reflects the trend and work it into your current wardrobe," Steinmiller said, as with this tie. Denim shirt with contrast collar, $27.90, and denim tie, $9.90 atforever21.com. Safety pin as tie clip: "For guys, a small accessory adds character and personal flair to an outfit," Steinmiller said. "Pins, watches, a pocket square or friendship style bracelet all are personal pieces that make a look his own." Old-school shoes: Brogue shoes come in hip colors like gray, or with new details like rubber soles. "The best stores for shopping the trends at a reasonable price offer options for guys and girls — Topshop, American Eagle, H&M, Zara, Maje. Vesuvius brogues, $110 attopshop.com. The chino in color: A natural extension of the colored-denim trend: Colored chinos. Chinos, $88, and white leather belt, $128 at diesel.com. (emphases my own)
$88 chinos????? That's lunch for the freshmen! White leather belt $ 128?????????? First off, . . . .A WHITE LEATHER BELT???????
How a man dresses is good barometer for the man's worth. A comfortable cotton polo in stunning white, or basic black sporting the Leo crest and logo with clean pressed Wrangler chinos at $18 a pop, sensible and comfortable shoes in black wrapping a well groomed gentleman is a dandy start to a productive day.
Poor Steve Stunning from Ms. Donahue's fashion goo would be known by another name here on the series streets around Leo . . . Victim comes to mind; object of derision; bully-bait; the poor kid; former student . . .& etc.
* Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago and Leo Man 2012, made national headlines with his column challenging Rahm Emanuel on "Chicago Values - a Moveable Feast of Folly," but the Chicago Tribune thought it not fit to print. How's that old print media shaking out? Enrollment is up here at Leo.
"Men, Men . . .horrible men; I said it before and I'll Say it again" - Kate McKenna Olson 1983
When you see a deer you see Bambi And I see antlers up on the wall When you see a lake you think picnics And I see a large mouth up under that log You're probably thinking that you're gonna change me In some ways well maybe you might Scrub me down, dress me up aww but no matter what Remember, I'm still a guy
When you see a priceless French painting I see a drunk, naked girl You think that ridin' a wild bull sounds crazy And I'd like to give it a whirl Well love makes a man do some things he ain't proud of And in a weak moment I might walk your sissy dog, hold your purse at the mall But remember, I'm still a guy
And I'll pour out my heart Hold your hand in the car Write a love song that makes you cry Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground 'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
I can hear you now talkin' to your friends Saying, "Yeah girls he's come a long way" From draggin' his knuckles and carryin' a club
And buildin' a fire in a cave But when you say a backrub means only a backrub Then you swat my hand when I try Well now, what can I say at the end of the day Honey, I'm still a guy
And I'll pour out my heart Hold your hand in the car Write a love song that makes you cry Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground 'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
These days there's dudes gettin' facials Manicured, waxed and botoxed With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands You can't grip a tacklebox
Yeah ith all of these men linin' up to get neutered It's hip now to be feminized I don't highlight my hair I've still got a pair Yeah honey, I'm still a guy
Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked There's a gun in my truck Oh thank God, I'm still a guy
Recent comments by those who administer our city seem to assume that the city government can decide for everyone what are the “values” that must be held by citizens of Chicago. I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval. Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city? Is the City Council going to set up a “Council Committee on Un-Chicagoan Activities” and call those of us who are suspect to appear before it? I would have argued a few days ago that I believe such a move is, if I can borrow a phrase, “un-Chicagoan.”
The value in question is espousal of “gender-free marriage.” Approval of state-sponsored homosexual unions has very quickly become a litmus test for bigotry; and espousing the understanding of marriage that has prevailed among all peoples throughout human history is now, supposedly, outside the American consensus. Are Americans so exceptional that we are free to define “marriage” (or other institutions we did not invent) at will? What are we re-defining?
It might be good to put aside any religious teaching and any state laws and start from scratch, from nature itself, when talking about marriage. Marriage existed before Christ called together his first disciples two thousand years ago and well before the United States of America was formed two hundred and thirty six years ago. Neither Church nor state invented marriage, and neither can change its nature.
Marriage exists because human nature comes in two complementary sexes: male and female. The sexual union of a man and woman is called the marital act because the two become physically one in a way that is impossible between two men or two women. Whatever a homosexual union might be or represent, it is not physically marital. Gender is inextricably bound up with physical sexual identity; and “gender-free marriage” is a contradiction in terms, like a square circle.
Both Church and state do, however, have an interest in regulating marriage. It is not that religious marriage is private and civil marriage public; rather, marriage is a public institution in both Church and state. The state regulates marriage to assure stability in society and for the proper protection and raising of the next generation of citizens. The state has a vested interest in knowing who is married and who is not and in fostering good marriages and strong families for the sake of society.
The Church, because Jesus raised the marital union to the level of symbolizing his own union with his Body the Church, has an interest in determining which marital unions are sacramental and which are not. The Church sees married life as a path to sanctity and as the means for raising children in the faith, as citizens of the universal kingdom of God. These are all legitimate interests of both Church and state, but they assume and do not create the nature of marriage.
People who are not Christian or religious at all take for granted that marriage is the union of a man and a woman for the sake of family and, of its nature, for life. The laws of civilizations much older than ours assume this understanding of marriage. This is also what religious leaders of almost all faiths have taught throughout the ages. Jesus affirmed this understanding of marriage when he spoke of “two becoming one flesh” (Mt. 19: 4-6). Was Jesus a bigot? Could Jesus be accepted as a Chicagoan? Would Jesus be more “enlightened” if he had the privilege of living in our society? One is welcome to believe that, of course; but it should not become the official state religion, at least not in a land that still fancies itself free. Surely there must be a way to properly respect people who are gay or lesbian without using civil law to undermine the nature of marriage.
Surely we can find a way not to play off newly invented individual rights to “marriage” against constitutionally protected freedom of religious belief and religious practice. The State’s attempting to redefine marriage has become a defining moment not for marriage, which is what it is, but for our increasingly fragile “civil union” as citizens.
Francis Cardinal George, OMI
Archbishop of Chicago
Dad always said that I couldn't find my butt with both hands. I can. Allow me to add this imperative -“Defend the unborn against abortion even if they persecute you, calumniate you, set traps for you, take you to court or kill you." - Pope Francis to celebrate Pro-life Mass, Vatican
"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."
A peach of a guy with all the sweetness one could expect from a life well-spent and in good company: short on brains but a terrific dancer!
Author:
Every Heart and Hand: A Leo High School Story
The Chorito Hog Leg, Book One: A Novel of Guam in Time of War
.JPG)
and adventurer, Eddie Carroll will dominate the top of the world, Ma!
