July 2004 Archives

Parish rallies behind priest

In today's (Friday) Metro section of the Austin American-Statesman, a story ran about St. Theresa's parish in Austin and a priestly transfer currently in progress. After a five-year term as pastor, Fr. Gregory Romanski is being transferred to St. Martin de Porres Parish. Many parishioners disagree and wish for Fr. Greg to remain Pastor. As stated in the article, the people involved with the rebuttal- calling themselves "Austin Catholics"- have started a letter-writing drive to Rome, namely the Congregation for the Clergy, to appeal the transfer.

Fr. Greg has hired a canon lawyer to help with the appeal. The lawyer, Msgr. Vincent Bertrand, spoke to a crowd and the newspaper included some of the comments:

Some bishops [want priests] to say, 'Yes, bishop; yes, bishop,' It's not like that anymore. We're living in the year 2004.

The relationship between most bishops and their priests is much deeper than a "yes, bishop; yes, bishop." The bishop is the shepherd of the flock- both the lay faithful as well as his clergy. Moreover, they are his clergy, something the man submitted to through Holy Orders. In either case, the bishop has to look over all within his diocese. While disagreements occur, he must do what he feel his best, through the guidance of people helping him on the diocesan level and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. While the relationship is not usually a "yes-man" type, when conflict occurs, the bishop is the victor.

Overall, the story was fairly well written.

The paper-version of the article included a URL for Austin Catholics, austincatholics.org. The site, pretty simple in design, includes scanned copies of many of the documents related to the situation. They're all pretty interesting.

Of particular note, the letter signed by various members of the parish community following the bishop's response to the petition.

...We feel compelled to let you know that because you have chosen not to communicate with the hundreds of Austin Catholics who have expressed serious concerns regarding one of your recent decisions, we find ourselves forced to share our views with a much larger audience.

This letter strikes me. It's rather combative and assuming. My first tip to any Catholic wishing to write to their bishop about anything: this is not how to do it. Charity, compassion, prayfulness. These are all things that should be included in any form of communication. In my humble opinion, I don't believe these were included as much as they could have been in the formation of this letter. As someone who has worked with letter-writing campaigns, I understand the "rush" that comes over the group. That rush must be calmed with insight by the Spirit.

The letter seems very assuming- mentioning veil of secrecy and a chosen lack of communication and interest.

The bishop responded a few days later. As many of you know, I am a fan of Bishop Aymond. I've worked with him on multiple projects and spoke with him many times on both business and personal matters. In all of my dealings with him, I have never felt brushed off by him or felt anything but open communication. That being said, he is very ethical. If he feels that it is not his place to discuss a subject, he respects what is proper and ethical. If I became a seminarian and the bishop decided to transfer me from the University of Dallas to another minor seminary anywhere else, it is not his place to tell my friends why he transferred me. If a superintendent transfers a teacher to a different campus, it is not the superintendent's place to discuss the reasons with students.

As far as open dialogue, there is a split in this country between "American Catholicism" and actual Catholicism. Spirituality is not based on the rule of the people. Religion, faith, matters of truth are not determined by the popular vote. I think many Americans forget that. Should the U.S. Bishops allow American Catholics to take a vote to determine whether they are to kneel or stand when taking communion? No. It is not a matter of getting what the people want.

I really don't understand at times why this seems to be such a hard concept. If I had a problem with a priest at a parish I was at, I would submit letters to the bishop requesting action. If nothing happened, I would suck it up. If a priest I dearly love is transferred, I would probably not be happy; however, I would have to accept- and believe- that the transfer would make the Diocese stronger.

I don't know Fr. Greg but I'll take on faith that he's a good priest and that all the things that the "Austin Catholics" group is saying is true. I'll also take on faith that he has done great things for the parish. Perhaps, he's done "too good" of a job. How could he do too good of a job? Possibly, he has made so many improvements that worked so well that the bishop, seeing a need in another parish, wanted to see the priest improve this other parish just as much.

I have one final comment regarding this situation. The organized group is calling itself "Austin Catholics". I'm an Austin Catholic and I'm nowhere close to being aligned to this group much less a member of it. I feel that a name means something and giving a group a name that doesn't fully represent it correctly is something that I can't respect. Call it "Committee to Retain Fr. Greg" or "We Love Fr. Greg" or "People at St. Theresa's Parish Who Really Want Fr. Greg To Stay Really Really Badly" or "Austin Catholics Who Want Fr. Greg to Stay" or even "Some Austin Catholics" or "A Few Good Catholics" or anything else. Calling the group "Austin Catholics" seems to include a much much larger group than it ever will. It is just a pet peeve that instantly drops credibility with me.

Perhaps I don't have the experience or the training needed to write up a blueprint on how to reform the educational process in this country. However, I do have some experience and I do have some training so I feel like I'm qualified to say something about blueprinting education reform.

I found a section of the blueprint as posted on reformk12.com:

Lack of Choice: Why is it that in any other area of our lives we don't tolerate the government telling us what to do or what to choose, yet when people propose giving parents real choice (for example in the form of vouchers, or even permitting parents to homeschool), the response is, "Nooooo, that will destroy public education!"

First, I do not believe that private school vouchers would destroy public education. Equally so, I do not believe that private school vouchers would improve public education. Even though I'm Catholic, I can not support school vouchers. There is nothing wrong with public education that would be solved by diverting money and students elsewhere. You want your child to have a good Catholic education? That's completely your option. Go for it. You can't afford it? Talk to your pastor, apply for scholarships, ask for sponsorship. If I ever make millions, I'll donate a chunk to help pay for scholarships to Catholic schools. I don't believe that tax dollars should go towards that purpose. They're called public schools because they are operated by the state. They're called private schools because they are operated by private individuals. They're called parochial schools because they are operated by a church parish.

Public schools need improvement and competition does help spur that in many cases.

Does that limit the method of competition to public/private? No. Create choice programs within districts. Allows parents and students to choose what junior high and high schools they attend. Many will choose based on old traditions but many will choose on what would be the best school. Keep elementary schools, for the most part, as neighborhood schools. What about raising low-performing schools? Keep an open flow of teachers. Move underperforming teachers out; move proven teachers in. Not only that, move proven teachers in and put them in a position to help mentor young, fresh teachers on what works and what doesn't. Make low-performing schools into magnet programs. Create programs with specialized function and purpose to help draw in students interested in certain fields. Create programs that are unique and will draw the interest of the general public. Create programs in all schools that would invite, welcome and encourage input, interaction and support from local businesses and industry.

I am the product of public education done right, in my opinion. I went to one of the poorest elementary schools in the city. Looking at the latest campus accountability data table (2002), the school is still 85.1% economically disadvantaged. At the time, I wasn't one of the economically disadvantaged students; I didn't know the difference though. I made real connections with students of every race and socioeconomic bracket. My kindergarten teacher, a Ms. Georgie Walton, noticed early that I had a high ability for learning and had already, thanks to my mother, been taught how to read. She did something- now I assume she talked to the principal, Mrs. Diane Taylor and whomever else. The school decided to place me half of the day in Mrs. Rose Partridge's 1st grade classroom (when they conducted reading assignments) and I would spend the rest of the day with my kindergarten classmates- after all, socially, I wasn't ready to leave kindergarten. Later in the year, we had a transfer student, a girl, who was advanced as well. The school noticed it and did pretty much the same thing with her except she was down in the 1st grade class longer.

My first grade teacher, Mrs. Gail Anderson, who is now the school's principal, read my file and noticed my advanced ability as well. She kept me in the classroom; however, she gave me assignments much beyond the scope of the class. I ended up completely the first-grade, the second-grade and about a third of the third-grade material during that school year. Also, I took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. I don't remember exactly what my scores were but they were almost all in the 99th percentile for my grade level. The school noticed this, called myself and my parents in for a meeting. At the meeting, it was felt that I had all the skills needed to begin the third-grade in the following fall. My handwriting, however, needed improvement so I should attend a couple of summer school where I was given some additional instruction on handwriting (although I don't think it ever stuck).

My third grade year was uneventful and I have no difficulty in completely the coursework.

As the school I was attending only went through third grade, I left and started attending a relatively new math-science-technology magnet elementary school. The school was located in a former high school on the Eastside of town. The district had been under court order to desegregate so they closed most of the schools on the Eastside (read: black) side of town and bused those kids to other locations. The school was in a poverty-stricken area of town. Across the street was one of "the projects"- public housing for those who couldn't afford it. Since it was a magnet school, students from all over town attended lowered the economically-disadvantaged rate up to 46.4% (again, using 2002 numbers).

Even though it was on the wrong side of the tracks and had all the local children- as well as magnet students- in the same classrooms together, parents used to wait in line starting at 4 am to try to get their students a place on campus. In any case, the school- through Federal Magnet Assistance- had over 300 computers on campus, two state-of-the-art project rooms, a greenhouse, a hydroponics lab, a riverwater testing lab, an aviation/space lab. In addition, the teachers knew their material, they knew how to aim higher and higher, they pushed students- both the rich boy who was the son of the most wealthy man in the city as well as the poor boy who couldn't afford school supplies. No excuses were made for either of them. The student that needed pencils- pencils were found somewhere for him. They both succeeded. The school has since won various awards, including the first presentation of The Ronald P. Simpson Award, giving it the title as "The Best Magnet School in America". Previous to that, it had been a Magnet School of Distinction and a Magnet School of Merit.

After seeing the success of the elementary magnet program, the Wichita Falls ISD started a junior high magnet- making Kirby Junior High into the Kirby Math-Science Center. The school, again with the assistance of Federal Magnet funds, had computers in every classroom, a video-editing lab and studio, a greenhouse, an aerospace technology program as well as whatever I can't think of at the time. The school also offered Pre-AP courses, at the time, in Algebra I and II. Since, they expanded to include other courses. While at Kirby, most of the teachers knew what they were doing. I learned the basics while reaching for the stars, literally, in the space shuttle simulator that one of the teachers had created from a converted Air Force F-14 cockpit simulator (see- this is where creating programs that catch the attention of surrounding businesses and industry helps).

The school won the third presentation of the Ronald P. Simpson Award. It had previously been named a Magnet School of Merit award winner.

Of course, after seeing both an elementary and junior high magnet program work- it was time to branch out to high school. The district selected another school in a low socioeconomic area to be converted. Hirschi High School was redesignated as a magnet school. Now, this is when I believe Dr. Huffines, the late Director of Federal Funds for the WFISD, really had fun. The school started with four magnet programs: multimedia, medical, aviation and engineering. The school continued to run the district's automotive career center as well. Again, using Federal Magnet Funds, they converted part of the building into a multimedia lab; they converted an old upstairs gym (without need after the completion of a field house a few years before) into the largest Tech Plaza in the country that contained a fully digital video studio and editing suite complete with blue screen. A set of classrooms were converted to a medical classroom that had a complete simulation of a hospital room as well as medical dummies for students to work on. The aviation program was given a handful of computers with flight simulators as well as a pilot to serve as an instructor and the ability to use an aircraft at the local airpark. The engineering program was given a small portion of the building where they worked on various projects that served the school well. While I was at Hirschi, they built all of the pyros used at pep rallies and football games, t-shirt guns, a run-through tunnel and other various spirit-related things. One of the cool things- they created a device to help the local law enforcement determine the speed that an accident victim was traveling based on skid marks. I don't know what they created but apparently it saved a huge amount of time for the officers using the devices.

Meanwhile, in the year before I attended, the district heard wind somehow of the International Baccalaureate program and was accepted to the program with the Class of 2002. The school, with my class, started offering Pre-IB and then IB coursework.

This high school, also, was very negatively seen by the community at large. The school was painted with the image that it once rightly held as the "gang school" in town with the drug problem. The problem had ended in the early 90s but community perception did not change. The school, in a process driven by students and administrators, worked on spirit-related projects, image-related projects as well as a media campaign designed to improve the school's image. The hands-on work that I was able to put into the projects has given me the largest benefit of any progressive educational technique.

Now back to the issue of choice. What didn't I tell you about this setup? Initially, the school magnet programs worked like how many across the country do. Students in the district attend whatever school that they are supposed to according to neighborhood outlines. If they wish to attend a magnet school, they apply and are then accepted or denied. My elementary school and junior high experience was like that.

Now, the school district, under court pressure, adapted a different technique. First off, all secondary schools were upgraded to magnet status and, by the decision of the campus with school board approval, were given a field to specialize electives. Visual and Performing Arts programs developed, Communication programs developed, etc. Secondly, all 6th grade students (rather their parents) return a form requesting a junior high campus to attend. All 8th grade students return a form requesting a high school campus to attend. Geographical zones do not exist for secondary schools. Initially, the process was to ensure racial balance and so they would deny some students their first choice based on that (only eight students in two years). After a few years, they realized that the process racially balanced itself and so they lifted that restriction.

Secondary school education in WFISD is based on choice.

Elementary schools are still neighborhood schools with a request required to transfer to a magnet school. Since my elementary school days, the district has expanded the magnet program to include a number of campuses.

In any case, that is how public schooling should be done in my opinion. I had doors opened to me every time I thought to knock. The teachers cared and put forth effort I would only dream of on a college campus. I will, in the future, describe certain aspects in more detail but in short, I feel that public education is not the bane of education of this country. It is sick but it has potential that can not be ignored.

Hello, my name is Brandon and I'm addicted to books.

I have a bedroom covered with books- almost every corner has a book or two or four or six stacked up. All kinds of books as well. Campbell's Biology to Sources of Chinese Tradition (as well as the Japanese and Koren counterparts) to the red Worship hymnal (volume 3) to the Liturgy of the Hours and Christian Prayer. Not to mention various philosophy texts, random other textbooks from the past few years, an occasional novel here and there.

That isn't so bad. My problem is I'll read about halfway through a book, set it down and not pick it up again for months. I read the first half of The Hobbit back in December/January. I didn't pick it up again until three days ago. I started Theology of the Body before Christmas break- haven't touched it in months. There are some, like The Spirit of the Liturgy, that I've read cover-to-cover in a week.

So, I have piles of half-read books throughout my room. I really should curb that and mull through some of these books that were good, just never completed. Now, I run off to the rest of my classes.

I'm studying for my BIO 213 exam tomorrow while watching the Democratic National Convention on PBS. I saw on the news segments of a speech given by former Governor Ann Richards (D-TX). In short, she went on, in her usual attacking manner, about how we can not stand to let Bush appoint a Supreme Court Justice, a justice that would probably vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Now, I'm watching Ron Reagan giving a so-far pro-stem cell research speech at the DNC.

He just mentioned that "fetuses are not created and it is all done in the lab" and that some people would oppose this because they claim that life at all stages, even if this "form that would never become a person, never be implanted into a mother's womb, should be protected.

As far as stem-cell research, I do not know enough about it. I've heard there are methods that do not create embryonic stem cells. I simply need to know more before I say, with any foundation, where I stand on it. The creation of embryonic stem-cells, being the creation of an embryo for the exclusive use of stem-cells, is something that I believe is wrong.

As far as Ann Richards speech soundbite about abortion, it is simply disgusting. Not nearly as disgusted as when I read this article from the NY Times Magazine. It is not a women's right to choose. It's simply not a right. It does not exist. A women's right to choose exists on whether she should or should not have sex. Sexual intercourse is procreative.. This is true according to thelogy. This is true according to nature. This is true according to evolution. In the context of being human, sexual intercourse is regarded as more because it is supposed to be an expression between husband and wife, an expression of love that has the potential to be fully manifested by the creation of new life. Our society does not, as a whole, hold that to be the philosophy of sex; however, that does not change the nature of sex. The point: the women's right to choose exists in the bedroom. Have sex or don't. That's your choice.

Something that Ron Reagan did say that I can not refute: The theology of a few can not dictate [something] to us all. That statement gets in the way of what I would like to see change in our society, but it is a valid point. That's why it is our duty to find other ways, not just theology, to prove our points. I digress.

So yes, the democrats disappoint me.

Bush's No Child Left Behind Act has left children behind. My largest complaint with the law is that it gives no incentives to teachers and schools to push further. If you don't reach the benchmark, well you're screwed. If you meet the standard, good for you. If you reach for the stars, well um, good for you but we're not going to pat you on the back or anything for it.

The No Child Left Behind Act pushes districts, schools and teachers to teach what the law prescribes and not anything further or not anything in more detail. In the end, it will give teachers more requirements that they must follow and take away the ability for genuine education.

Since Bush took office, public universities in 49 states have increased tuition. The cost of education is increasing. Yet, Pell Grant limits remain frozen. No Child Left Behind until they try to break out and go to college.

The economy is still floating. Nothing positive I can say there. On the large scale, cutting taxes (reducing income) while spending more and more on homeland security and war (increased spending) just doesn't seem like a sound policy. If someone can honestly explain to me how spending more than you're taking in is a good idea, please do. Then tell me what I did wrong last year when I tried that. All I ended up with was high credit card bills that will cost me more in the end.

The Bush campaign- so far- has been terrorism. I haven't heard anything else besides Bush claiming that he would be the strong leader we need to get us through this so-called war on terrorism.

So yes, the republicans disappoint me.

What am I to do? With the direction I believe this country should take, my hands are tied. Both parties would take this country in different directions. I know many argue that certain issues are trump-issues, that being I would have to vote one way because of this one issue. I'm simply not ready to reduce my concerns and conflicts down to a simple single issue decision.

And, again I ask, what am I to do?

I went to the PCL (i.e. the main library) on campus today and found a Pontificale Romanum from 1895. It is the liturgical book that contains all the different rites and celemonies usually reserved for the Bishop. The edition in the library, and online here, was promulgated by Popes Benedict XIV and Leo XIII.

It is completely in Latin so I only understand bits and pieces of it. In either case, it has been very interesting to see it in print so far. For a good number of the ceremonies, there are very highly-detailed illustrations picturing the ceremony. Also unlike the online version, it has the psalm tones.

There is one graphic that makes me laugh. On page 263, under "De Patenae et Calicis Consecratione", illustrates the Bishop blessing the Paten and Chalice. All looks fine and dandy, then you notice one of the servers is looking over his shoulder looking very bored. It also has the Degredation rituals that Fr. Jim Tucker translated and posted awhile ago. (First Tonsure, Exorcists and Lectors, Acolytes, Subdeacons, Deacons, Priests and Bishops).

It just has really cool stuff in it. Like the Ordo ad Reconciliandum Apostatam, Schismaticum Vel Haereticum. As you may have guessed, that's the Order of Reconciliation with Schismatics, Heretics, etc. Most of it, while I can't translate word-for-word, I can pick up the meaning of. Like the following:

Pontifex apostatam,
schismaticum, vel haereticum reconciliare volens, paratus amictu,
stola, pluviali albo, et mitra simplici, sedet super faldistorium
ante foras Ecclesiae sibi paratum, coram quo genuflectit
reconciliandus, quem interrogat Pontifex de fide, dicens:

Credis duodecim Articulos Fidei?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, creatorem coeli et terrae?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis et in Jesum Christum Filium ejus unicum Dominum nostrum?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis quod conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis quod passus est sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis quod descendit ad inferos?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis quod tertia die resurrexit a mortuis?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis, quod ascendit ad coelos, et sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis?
Ille respondet: Credo
Pontifex interrogat: Credis quod venturus est judicare vivos, et mortuos?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis in Spiritum Sanctus?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis sanctam Ecclesiam Catholicam, Sanctorum communionem?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis remissionem omnium peccatorum?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Pontifex interrogat: Credis carnis resurrectionem et vitam aeternam?
Ille respondet: Credo.
Deinde Pontifex surgit cum mitra, et super illum genuflexum dicit absolute, incipiens:
Exorcizo te, immunde spiritus, per Deum Patrem omnipotentem, et per Jesum Christum Filium ejus, et per Spiritum Sanctum, ut recedas ab hoc famulo Dei, quem Deus et Dominus noster ab erroribus et perceptionis tuis liberare, et ad sanctam matrem Ecclesiam Catholicam atque Apostolicam revocare dignatur. Ipse tibi imperet, maledicte ac damnate, qui pro salute hominum passus, mortuus, et sepultus est, te atque omnes vires tuas superavit, ac resurgens coelos ascendit, inde venturus judicare vivos et mortuos, et saeculum per ignem.

The bulk of this, as is pretty obvious, is the Bishop questioning the person to be brought back into the Church. The form is pretty usual where the Bishop asks "Do you believe in XYZ?" with the person responding with "I believe." The end, well, I don't know what it says. It sounds like the person is genuflecting before the Bishop, with mitre, when the Bishop casts out any unclean spirits by means of the Almighty Father, by means of Jesus Christ and by means of the Holy Sprit. He further commands, either the person or the spirits- this is where my lack of Latin education fails me- to obey the Lord our God. You get the idea though. My goal is to some day be able to read it.

Anyhow, it is a really cool little book. I picked up a copy of The Rites and The Rites II that contains the modern version of many of the ceremonies. Perhaps I'll compare a few of them before giving the books back.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved an amendment to the Constitution (S.J.RES.4) adding "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."

I disagree with laws prohibiting flag-burning or anything of the sort. I agree with laws that state the proper protocal for the use of the flag, but with no punishments for lacking proper taste.

"The symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest." --President Andrew Shepherd, The American President

We should celebrate our flag. It should wave proudly as a symbol of the freedom that we hold so dear. That freedom is paramount though. The ability to exercise our free speech, rather it be in the form of a Random Musings weblog, a well-crafted "Admit It! Our public debate has been reduced to reading bumper stickers." bumper sticker, a t-shirt telling you that 1 out of every 4 women are sexually assualted at some point, a pile of discarded textbooks protesting buy-back prices or a flag burned to decry some governmental injustice. As long as it's done in a safe manner, why should we limit our free speech to protect a symbol that represents, among other things, our free speech?

That may not be the worst part of it.

What will happen to that young man who wears an American flag shirt and sweats too much? What about that young woman who gets a flag bikini dirty from laying in the sand? What about me- I've had a small flag in my car since 9/11. It's starting to fade? Is that desecration? It's not an fade-resistant flag. Am I wrong for not preventing that type of destruction?

There are greater ills in this society that should be taking up the time of Congress.

The well-liked Fr. Jim links to a Slate poll referring to a "cultural soundtrack". Just read the article and take the quiz.

I scored "it's time to get out of the sun. You're a little red." I don't really know what that means.

The second week of summer classes began this morning for me. The ratrace starts again. I was riding the Route 1 bus from Oltorf to campus this morning. It struck me for a few reasons. First, literally every seat and every piece of the aisle was taken. I've never seen the bus that full along that route at that point at that time of day. It was just very odd.

Secondly, there was a woman on the bus talking about random topics. She mentioned that she was 38 years old and her oldest child was 24. She had a child at age 14. I just can't fathom that. I couldn't imagine having a five year-old right now.

Over the weekend, I had the chance to visit one of the Casa Juan Diego houses in Houston. It is based on the Catholic Worker model and serves immigrants and refugees in the Houston area. It was a short visit- perhaps ten minutes plus a quick tour- it was obvious that the project helps many people. If you're interested in the Catholic Worker concept and getting involved with it, keep Casa Juan Diego in mind.

The classroom will kill your innerchild. Education and the advancement of ideas, knowledge, concepts, theories, awareness and whatever else was never meant to be carried out in the method that I just experienced. The good news is although the overwhelming thought that discussion sections are nothing but a waste of time, I have still been attending.

My BIO 214 class is held up on Bloom's taxonomy. For those who don't know, it's a theory on stages of learning. Is it related to biology? Sure, just as much as 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O. It's not within the scope of the subject. Sure, the point is to teach us to become "active" learners, etc. As far as teaching is concerned, if you want to give me a handout on learning levels- great. Unless I'm taking an education course, don't teach it to me. I've taken education courses. I've spent an entire semester looking at learning levels. Stick to biology.

I found this Washington Post article via Dappled Things today regarding two nudist magazines. The intro is too great not to read:

The best thing about nudist magazines is that they give you a newfound appreciation for clothing. The glitziest fashion spread in the history of Vogue is not as good an advertisement for clothes as a nudist magazine's simple black-and-white photo of a pudgy middle-aged couple just sort of standing there buck naked.

In this over-civilized modern world, we don't often get to see what average Americans look like under their clothes. And after perusing two popular nudist mags, I can report that this is probably a good thing....

It's easy to wax poetic about the beauty of the human body while reading Playboy or gazing at Michelangelo's "David." But when eyeing naked pictures of folks who look like Dick Cheney or Barbara Mikulski, you're forced to admit that the average human body is really not all that attractive. On a purely aesthetic level, I'd rank humans somewhere in the middle of the spectrum -- above the slug, the sloth and the catfish certainly, but far below the gazelle, the tiger and even, if truth be told, the cockroach....

Dick Cheney naked- there are some places we're never meant to go as a society.

NB. This post marks the 200th Random Musing. Go me.

A real quick entry between classes:
I found this page on the TxDOT site last night. I think a couple of these internet-enabled rest stops are along the stretch of US 287 that takes me home. I think it's a great idea and I'm glad to see Texas is keeping up to the times.

Check out this post from GetReligion. It touches upon a situation in the Diocese of Fort Worth involving an incorrectly hired priest and the struggle of the Catholic reporter who discovered the problem.

All in all, I agree with reporter not covering up the incident. My only suggestion would be for him to contact Bishop Delaney before submitting the article and make sure he was aware of the situation. Still publish the story but give the Diocese a few hours headstart on it.

A little background on the parish itself: St. Mary the Virgin is one of the Pastoral Provision parishes that I've mentioned from time to time. The parish was founded as St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. In 1991, the parish decided to leave the Episcopal Church and seek full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. In 1994, it became the first parish to transfer corporately into the Catholic church and retain its property in the process. Fr. Hawkins is a Episcopal priest-convert and has been pastor of the parish since 1980.

As far as the questionable priest, there is evidence on both sides on whether or not he should be allowed to serve in the ministry. In either case, from all reports, the priest failed to request permission from Bishop Delaney before performing in active ministry. Even if he was a perfect priest with no red marks on his file, he still was supposed to contact the Bishop before engaging in ministry.

While I hope the priest was never involved with sexual misconduct, I am glad to read that this was caught before any misconduct took place in the Arlington parish.

As many of you know, Maure is in Mexico filming a documentary on the conditions in Cuatro, Mexico. From my conversations with her, she wants to help the village to at least get some running water. Not only are they lacking running water, many homes have tarps as roofs. Her documentary will be a chance for the villagers to have their voices heard.

The downside to filming a documentary of this nature is that it comes with a substantial cost. She will be living in Mexico for about six weeks for the documentary. So, for six weeks she is unable to work while also having to pay all of her bills in Austin plus all of the expenses of living in Mexico. Not to mention, the documentary itself is costly. I went to Fry's with her before she left- we spent about $100 in film alone.

Before she left, she sent an e-mail to one of the University Catholic Center's mailing lists asking for help- both for prayers and for donations.

After she left, I began thinking about her situation, her desire to help and the setbacks that had encountered. Even though she hadn't raised enough money on her own, yet, she still went down to get started on a project she really believed was needed. I didn't like that someone who wanted to give so much for people in need- her time and energy to help raise public awareness- had to do so much else. She's giving six weeks plus whatever time and energy it will take in post-production to produce the documentary. What could I do?

With that thought in mind, I started looking up what is out there for projects of this type. Frankly, I couldn't find much. So, I decided to start my own non-profit with the purpose of assisting mission activities, inclusive of documentary projects intended to raise public awareness. I vetted the idea to a couple of people; Dawn in particular jumped at the idea.

With a little team assembled, I filed paperwork with the Secretary of State's office and picked up the paperwork from the IRS for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. With that, The Brandon Kraft Foundation was born. I'll grant I'm not the most creative soul out but hey, I was beyond eager to get started.

For the moment, the Foundation is collecting tax-deductible donations for the documentary project with 100% of check/money order donations going directly to the project. Donations via credit card face the 2.9%+ 30-cent fee imposed by PayPal.

So, that is what I've been busy with lately. I encourage you to contact me for more information, send a donation via brandonkraft.org or at PO Box 7140, Austin, TX 78713-7140.

The Wichita Falls ISD reports that they spend about $5700/student.

The district's total population is 15,013 students K-12 with a total budget of $86,000,000 (inclusive of debt service, maintenance & operations, campus activity funds, special revenue fund). Doing the math, that would equal $5728.37 per student.

While this is about $2,000 higher than local private school tuition (as compared to the local Catholic high school that is operating very close to the red after support from the city's parishes), I don't believe it is that out of line.

The school district runs:
* a bus service
* two active International Baccalaureate schools while in the application status for a third
* pays the user fees for students taking AP/IB exams
* have fully-support art/music programs at all levels
* maintain magnet programs at all 7 secondary campuses (without Federal Magnet funding)
* maintain magnet programs at eight elementary campuses (without Federal Magnet funding)
* operates a career and applied technology center

While I am sure some districts may be wasting money somewhere, I don't believe that broad numbers should be an indictive sign that government schools are wasteful. Let's hire some people that know what they are doing, take that money and more and make our schools into cathedrals of education. Let's make them run better and smoother; not take away funding, yet.

[This entry is responding to a reformk12.com entry.]

Pope Takes 6-Hour Trip Into the Alps

LES COMBES, Italy, JULY 8, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Despite the rain, John Paul II left a vacation chalet in the forest of Les Combes this morning and went for a drive in the Italian Alps.

It was the Pope's first long excursion from the chalet since his arrival in Valle d'Aosta on Monday.

The destination of the six-hour-long outing was not immediately made known. Details are not reported, to avoid attracting tourists to places the Pope is visiting, Vatican Radio explained.

Fifteen excursions by car have been planned this vacation, with possibly as many destinations, according to the Pope's wishes.

In general, gamekeepers' paths are chosen that are not open to tourists, to ensure greater privacy for the Holy Father.

This is the 10th year the Pope is spending his holidays in Les Combes. His vacation is scheduled to end July 17.
ZE04070806

The rain of yesterday couldn't keep the pope away from the road. Zenit, even though I jest, is a great news organization keeping people around the world up to speed on the news of the Vatican and the Church. The summer is just slow that's all.

Almost a year to the day, I wrote an entry about a news story reporting the the pope took a morning drive and how everso exciting it was.

Today, I open my e-mail to find this headliner from the Zenit News Service:

Poor Weather Halts Papal Outing

LES COMBES, Italy, JULY 7, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Heavy rains today prevented John Paul II from going on a drive in the Italian Alps, where he is spending his 12-day vacation.

The rain kept the Pope close to the chalet in Les Combes, a small village of Introd, where he is spending his holiday.

Many people waited for the Holy Father in the curve of the road near his residence, hoping to catch a glimpse of him as his car drove by, but their hopes were disappointed.

Rain fell on the Valle d'Aosta from the early hours of the morning and the Civil Protection Authority raised the alarm about possible dangers due to the bad weather.
ZE04070704

Last year, the pope took a drive. This year, the weather prevented the drive. I could find nothing in a quick search on whether he was able to take his drive two years ago.

If you notice near the bottom of the sidebar, I added a "total word count" header. That is how many words I've typed in this blog. Kinda sick. Also, you'll notice that every entry now has a word count on it.

Since I know oh-so-many chemistry majors out there, I'm going to throw out the remainder of my four-year plan so all of you can wait to take your classes until a time where you can take them with me ::grin::

Summer 2004 (4 hours):
BIO 213 (Intro Bio: Diversity and Ecology)
BIO 214 (Intro Bio: Structure and Function of Organisms)

Fall 2004 (14):
BIO 325 (Genetics)
CH 310M (Organic Chemistry)
CH 431 (Inorganic Chemistry)
M 408K (Differential Calculus)

Spring 2005 (13):
CH 310N (Organic Chemistry)
CH 210C (Organic Chemistry Lab)
M 408L (Integral Calculus)
PHY 317K (General Physics I)
PHY 117M (Lab for PHY 317K)

Summer 2005 (7):
PHY 317L (General Physics II)
PHY 117N (Lab for PHY 117N)
CH 369K (Techniques of Research) or other UD electrive

Fall 2005 (14):
CH 339K (Biochemistry I)
CH 353 (Physical Chemistry I)
CH 456 (Analytical Chemistry)
M 408M (Multivariable Calculus)

Spring 2006 (13):
CH 154K (Physical Chemistry Lab)
CH 354L (Physical Chemistry II)
CH 376K (Advanced Analytical Chemistry)
CH 371K? (Science Outreach in Elementary Schools)
UD Elective?

Summer 2006 (7):
CH 153K (Physical Chemistry Lab)
CH 369K (Techniques of Research) or other UD lab
M 340L (Matrices and Matrix Calculations)

With the above four-year plan, I would walk in the Spring 2006 ceremonies and officially graduate with the August 2006 date. Looking at it, it may seem weird that I would take CH 154K before 153K. For those two classes, 154K is offered only in the spring with a concurrent prereq for 354L. 153K is offered only in the Fall (and first summer session) with a true prereq of 353. Weird but it works.

50055 -- BIO 325 (Genetics) -- TTh 9:30-11, M 3-4
52560 -- CH 310M (Organic I) -- MWF 12-1
52805 -- CH 431 (Inorganic-W) -- TTh 11-12:30, F 9-12
57935 -- M 408K (Differential Calc) MTWThF 8-9

I met with my chemistry advisor today for the first time; she suggested a slightly different four-year plan than the one I figured up on my own. The real difference was taking CH 431 this Fall and CH 456 next fall instead of the opposite which I had proposed. The change from CH 318M to CH 310M (both Organic) was simply to fit my schedule. The lab for 310M and 310N (Spring) is 210C whereas the lab for 318M and 318N is 118K and 118L (one each semester). So that, boys and girls, is how I figured out my new schedule. Since she was an advisor, she was able to override a seat limit for me but it's all good.

This is just a quick entry wishing you all a Happy 4th of July. I've been working on a big project that will be announced on here soon. I also found a copy of the charges filed against Kerry online so in addition to working on the Mass draft (which is going slowly since well, I haven't been working on it) I might see if there is anything in the charges that is worth a posting.

Now get offline and enjoy a hot dog.

A Catholic in Boston has filed heresy charges against Senator John Kerry with the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston. I have no comment yet, but I'm sure I will later.