As mentioned last week, I was working on the
archive of my Bartcop-E music reviews at Baron Dave's Recommended
Music. I'm now caught up. For now.
Memorial Day
Memorial Day,
originally Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who
have died in our nation's service. While it's precise origins are
murky, the ceremonies seem to have cropped up in several places
before being proclaimed on 5 May
1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army
of the Republic. Since it was nominally to honor those fallen in the
Civil War, the southern states refused to acknowledge the day until
after WWI, when it honored all fallen soldiers.
Memorial Day
is often conflated with Veteran's
Day. What started out as Armistice Day after WWI and became
Veteran's Day after WWII. It takes the next war to put the previous
war in perspective, I guess.
We can honor our fallen and our
veterans in many ways. I'm going to dig in past columns (and a
LiveJournal entry) for this one.
Honoring Our Soldiers And Those Who Fight
For Them
Preamble
Anybody who is
willing to die for me is my hero. On Memorial Day, we remember the
fallen and honor the men and women in uniform. And we should never
forget the people who are fighting just as hard to keep them out of
danger. George W. Bush is a girly-man who went AWOL from his duties
and is not fit to come out of his hidey-hole on May 30st, much less
wear a uniform and shake hands with real soldiers. But that
shouldn't stop us from honoring those who serve. As John Kerry, a
real war hero, said, we should separate the war from the warriors.
Kerry was not only a hero while in combat, he was a hero after his
service because he tried to get his fellow soldiers out. All
soldiers who got out of Vietnam alive owe John Kerry and the anti-war
movement their lives, just as we owe the soldiers who died in the war
our eternal gratitude.
I don't apologize for failing to
fit comfortably within current political labels. Heroes are not
heroes because of their ideology, they're heroes because they are
fighting for you and me.
He gets up on his
soapbox.
Our men and women in uniform are outstanding.
They are the best. They are the best trained soldiers in the world,
but that's not why they're the best. They have the strongest, most
up-to-date weaponry in the world, but that's not why they're the
best. They have the most experience military leaders, but that's not
why they're the best.
Our soldiers are outstanding because
what they are fighting for is outstanding. Any Pvt. Tom, Sgt. Dick
or Capt. Mary can be trained to shoot a gun, but only American
soldiers know that they are fighting for the USofA.
Merely
being well-trained soldiers is not enough: The Soviet Army was good,
but they were fighting for the Soviet Union and that was ultimately demoralizing
enough that they lost their effectiveness and the USSR collapsed
without a shot. Terrorists/insurgents may be fighting for clan or
land, but suicide bombers will be forgotten long before their
desperate fight is rendered meaningless. All soldiers are taught
that they fight an important cause, but politicians and religious
zealots will say anything for selfish motivation. The United States
brings people together under the rule of law, and our soldiers know
that they are fighting for their families, their country and the
Constitution that makes us one. Terrorism is the tool of the
powerless. A strong military under civilian rule is the pride of the
powerful.
This country is best defined by the first half of
the first line in the Constitution: We the people of the United States of America, in order to form a
more perfect union....
The King did not bestow. G_d did
not grant. History did not decree. We, the people, in union,
are writing this set of laws.
We are not perfect, and we
never will be. Perfection is for G_d, and we are striving
toward perfection. We will never get there, but we're sure
going to try.
Striving to fix flaws in a great country is is
an act of patriotism no less than joining the armed forces.
Protecting our men and women in uniform who are protecting the
country is an act of heroism. We know soldiers are there when
needed, and we on the homefront want to ensure that you make the
ultimate sacrifice only when needed. We know you'll fight where sent
and follow orders. Death in service to your country is worth of
honor, even if the battle was determined by selfish political motives
and not military necessity.
I am a man of peace, but I am not
a pacifist. There are times when war is necessary, but they are few.
Weak politicians love to make threats that other people die for.
Sometimes soldiers get killed when there is another way. We must
separate the war from the warrior. In doing so, we must honor those
who fight against the war. The warriors fight the battle, and we the
people fight to bring them home when the battle no longer serves the
country.
To those who support war based on lies and outside
interests I say: You are doing this country harm.
To those
who are against war I say: Remember that our soldiers are fighting
for you.
To our soldiers I say: We've got your
back.
There are heroes aplenty. There are too many dead
heroes.
This Memorial Day, let us remember the fallen and
make sure that they are honored for their ultimate sacrifice. And
let us, too, honor those patriots who are trying to form a more
perfect union.
He kicks away the soapbox. Touching solid
earth, misty-eyed, he looks up at the flag.
Honoring the fallen by showing
flag-draped coffins
The conservative media does
not allow the nation to mourn. They make long lists, but rarely,
if ever, pause to show the flag-draped remains of an individual as
they return home. Here are just a few of the fallen we honor
today.
An Army honor guard carries the coffin
of Staff Sgt. Duane J. Dreasky, of Novi, Mich. at Arlington
National Cemetery original
An Army honor guard carries Darrell C. Lewis'
coffin to the grave site in Arlington National Cemetery original
Members of the Travis Air Force Base
Honor Guard performs a military flag folding in honor of Senior
Airman Alecia Sabrina Good original
An Army honor guard carries the casket of Army
Sgt. Michael C. Hardegree, of Villa Rica, Ga. during funeral
services at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va original
I
wish I could show them all, but even if I could just plunking them
all in one place does not do justice to the continuing effort and
sacrifice of our soldiers.
We have great differences with the
current leaders of the United States, but we must separate the war
from the warrior. Those of us who are against the war bear the
burden of getting them out of harms way as soon as
feasible.
I hope that next year we as a nation have fewer new
casualties to add to the list of the fallen. I fear this will not be
the case.
An average of 1,800 veterans die each day, and
10 percent of them are buried in the country's 125 national
cemeteries, which are expected to set a record with 107,000
interments, including dependents, this year. And more national
cemeteries are being built.
The peak year for veterans'
deaths will be 2007 or 2008, Tuerk said. An estimated 686,000
veterans died in 2007. Although many World War II veterans are dying,
so are an increased number of Korean War and Vietnam
veterans.
I can only hear "And the Band Played Waltzing
Matilda" so many times a year. David Gompper and Stephen Swanson do
powerful versions of anti-war songs originally conceived in anger at
the remarkably poor media coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They
will never be on Fox or CNN. A few brave musicians cover Tom Lehrer;
fewer are brave enough to cover Charles Ives or Flanders and Swann.
I look forward to listening to the
CD... after a time. A Shockwave Radio Theater
Review.
For a Fringe dominated by comedy, musical comedy
and conceptual dance, at least in the ones I went to, the most
affecting shows were the first-person accounts of the aftermath of
war. Swanson sung "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" at the
Ootiefest, which immediately made "Songs of War" a priority, but for
later in the Fringe. It still chokes me up just hearing it in my
head; yes, I'm a romantic. "Death Camp Diaries" on Thursday acted as
fulcrum to these songs, and I have a hard time talking about that one
as well.
Maybe I need to scream at injustice, literally. I
should go to a town hall meeting and engage, loudly and verbally,
with the morons who are yelling lies and right wing political
correctness. I'm normally a calm person, but sometimes you just have
to get their attention, and if it provides catharsis for me so much
the better.
Truth in reviewing: One of the reasons I can't
identify with the label "liberal" is because of Buffy Sainte-Marie's
Universal
Soldier. Okay: If no one wanted to be a soldier, we wouldn't
have wars. I get it. You get it. Unfortunately, The Bad Guys don't
get it. You can convince us peace-loving Americans not to fight, but
that leaves the Nazis/Viet Cong/al Queda/Hamas who want to kill us.
Many of The Bad Guys would come here and massacre us in our
sleep shouting "Death to America" convinced that they will be
rewarded in the next life. Having a strong army necessary to a
strong defense. Buffy was just wrong, and I had a visceral reaction
against that aspect of the peace movement.
Yet one of the
reasons I can't identify with the label "conservative" is in the use
of said army. The best way to keep the peace is to be prepared to
win a war if it comes. Pre-emptive wars need a damn good
justification, and wars of aggression are unAmerican. That puts the
onus of avoiding wars on politicians and the burden of fighting
unavoidable wars on soldiers... and sends the responsibility back to
the political arena to end deadly conflicts. I have an equally
visceral reaction against the gung-ho pseudo-American types who think
that every political disagreement can and should be settled by
force of arms. The height of this disgusting stupidity was Bush's
refusal to honor our fallen soldiers by showing their flag-draped
caskets when they returned home. Thankfully, Obama has reversed that
decision.
But I digress.
Until You Come Home
is not anti-war; it is pro-soldier. By itself, a tremendous
achievement. We don't need songs to say that wars kill soldiers; we
get it. We need reminding of the sacrifices made by our brave
soldiers; sacrifices of blood, of identity, of family back
home.
Even if you survive physically intact, the experience
will change you in ways that are intensely personal and yet affect
everyone you know.
The Casualty of War is not just the
WWII vet, but his family: "They'd haunt his dreams, we'd wake to
screams to know the horrors that he saw". Holly Near sees how war
causes "the burden in my family and the sorrow in my town" and says
I Am Willing to see change: "May the children see more clearly
and may the elders be more wise, may the winds of change caress us
even though they burn our eyes." Tom Paxton sings for the voiceless
of The Unknown, as in The Unknown Soldier, watching people
watching him be buried in Arlington. "Time to quit your grieving for
your only loving son. Momma, I'm okay."
George Mann gets the
first and last songs. Streams of Gold. about the how all
soldiers share their hopes in battle, "I will walk this trail beside
you till you're home." In Welcome Home, an old soldier at
least has the peace of dying in a hospital accompanied by loved ones:
"What a life you have led, what a story you've told. Welcome
home."
You can preview the songs on Until You Come Home
on CDBaby, but they deserve a full listen.
Until
You Come Home: Songs for Veterans and Their Kin is from old
lefties, but the the viewpoint is the soldiers. Highly recommended
for anyone, regardless of politics, who appreciates our warriors or
who has had their life changed by someone else's battle
experience.
Would You Hire Your Own Kids? 7 Skills Schools Should be Teaching Them (alternet.org)
"First and foremost, I look for someone who asks good questions," Parker responded. "Our business is changing, and so the skills our engineers need change rapidly, as well. We can teach them the technical stuff. But for employees to solve problems or to learn new things, they have to know what questions to ask. And we can't teach them how to ask good questions-how to think. The ability to ask the right questions is the single most important skill."
Richard Greenwald: When Did Teachers Become the Enemy? (inthesetimes.com)
Education has been consuming a great deal of attention of late. There have been two major articles in the New York Times in the past few months. Schools are dealing with body-blow-like budget cuts, the demands of No Child Left Behind and the Obama Administration's focus on Race to the Top.
Gerardo Orlando: A Chat with Richard Roeper (bullz-eye.com)
Roeper also loves to gamble, so he came up with a great idea for a book after seeing Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me." Roeper concocted his own 30-day challenge - he would bet at least $1,000 per day of his own money every day over a 30-day period. The result is "Bet the House: How I Gambled Over a Grand a Day for 30 Days on Sports, Poker, and Games of Chance," ...
Capt. John Joseph Yossarian is a fictional character and protagonist in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22. In Catch-22, Yossarian is a 28-year-old Captain in the 256th squadron of the Army Air Forces where he serves as a B-25 bombardier stationed on the small island of Pianosa off the Italian mainland during World War II.
Source
mechadave was first, and correct, with:
Yossarian was stationed on the (semi-fictional) Italian island of Pianosa.
Joseph Heller's Catch 22 is one of the best (and funniest) books I have ever read, but was the basis for one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
Jim from Ca, retired to ID, said:
Captain John Yossarian is a bombardier for the 256th Squadron, stationed
on the island of Pianosa in the Mediterranean (from Catch 22)
Charlie wrote:
No need to look this one up. Captain Yossarian in Catch-22 was stationed on Pianosa, which is an actual island in the Tuscan Archipelago between mainland Italy and the island of Corsica. The epigraph of the novel states that Pianosa is obviously too small to have accommodated the action portrayed (but that could have been interpreted as part of Catch-22!).
This was a case where I did read the book before I saw the movie. The movie was no substitute for the book, but was nevertheless well done, and Alan Arkin as Yossarian was brilliant.
Alan J answered:
Pianosa
Marian the Teacher replied:
Pianosa
BadtotheboneBob responded:
The Italian island of Pianosa which is near Elba... and on this Memorial Day let us pause and reflect on Yossarian's profound observation... (Thanks, Joe...)
"The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on..."
Sally said:
In 1961, a new novel captivated the country, and myself as well. The book was entitled, "Catch-22," and in it, a major character, "Yossarian" was a 28-year-old Captain and a B-25 Bombardier in the 256th squadron of the Army Air Corps. We (the readers) were told that he was stationed on the small island of, "Pianosa," which was off the Italian mainland, during WWII. When I lived in Italy, circa 1970 - 72, of course I wanted to actually go there (pre computer days)!
I was SO disappointed to learn it was a bloody fictitious Island!! Boo!
We did find some nice islands off the Dalmatian coast (Croatia) and also that found one of them was a Nudist Colony, and was awash with nude bathers. My EX, who displayed little zeal in my quest to find Pianosa, became quite enthusiastic about visiting the Nudeville paradise, however. Memories...
I still have this book, unfortunately, the print is so small that I can no longer read it. Sniffle...
MAM wrote:
Capt. John Joseph Yossarian stationed at the fictional U.S. Army Air Corps
bomber squadron base on the island of Pianosa off the coast of Italy.
And, Joe S (unrepentant plagiarist) answered:
Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller, first published in 1961. The novel, set during the later stages of World War II from 1943 onwards, is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century. It has a distinctive non-chronological style where events are described from different characters' points of view and out of sequence so that the time line develops along with the plot.
The novel follows Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier, and a number of other characters. Most events occur while the airmen of the fictional 256th squadron are based on the island of Pianosa, in the Mediterranean Sea west of Italy.
The City of Bath, the historic city situated in the south west of
England, is popular with tourists from all over the world. However the
good citizens of this two thousand year old city woke up this week to
be greeted by visitors of a completely different type - a different
species altogether in fact.
The biggest outdoor art event the city (which in its entirety is a
World Heritage Site) has ever hosted sees a pride of one hundred lions
take to the streets. You have surmised already though that these lions
are not flesh and blood - they are life size individually decorated
sculptures. The contemporary wives of Bath (and indeed their husbands)
are safe on the streets.
In July 1960 a novel about the collision between childhood innocence
and the sometime harshness of life in the American Deep South was
published, to little fanfare. Quickly, however, it became a hit, first
domestically and then internationally. Translated in to over forty
languages and still selling at least a million copies each year, To
Kill A Mockingbird has become to many the singular American National
Novel.
The US Muslim country and western singer Kareem Salama will be touring the Middle East.
NEW YORK // Singing country music songs from beneath the brim of a cowboy hat with a full-bore Southern drawl, the up-and-coming performer Kareem Salama breaks the expectations audiences may have of an Egyptian-American Muslim.
At least that is the message the US state department hopes to make by sending "America's first Muslim country singer" on a month-long tour from Morocco to Bahrain, designed to improve Washington's dented reputation across the Middle East...
CBS opens the night with a RERUN'How I Met Your Mother', followed by a RERUN'Rules Of Engagement', then a RERUN'2½ Men', followed by a RERUN'Big Bang',, then a RERUN'CSI: The 2nd One'.
On a RERUNDave (from 5/12/10) are Michael Keaton and Jenna Fischer.
On a RERUNCraig (from 5/3/10) are Morgan Freeman and Kate Mara.
NBC begins the night with 'SNL In The 2000s', followed by a RERUN'Law & Order'.
On a RERUNLeno (from 4/30/10) are Mickey Rourke, Ashley Graham, and Kevin Meaney.
On a RERUNJimmy Fallon (from 5/3/10) are Sarah Silverman, Joan Rivers, and Corinne Bailey Rae.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 3/24/10) are Paul Rieckhoff, Bad Religion, and the Raveonettes.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'Bachelorette', followed by the SERIES PREMIERE'True Beauty'.
Jimmy Kimmel (from 5/20/10) are Josh Holloway, Adam Perry Lang, and Slayer.
The CW offers a RERUN'One Tree Hill', followed by a RERUN'Gossip Girl'.
Faux has a RERUN'Lie To Me', followed by a RERUN'The Good Guys'.
MY recycles an old 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', followed by another old 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'.
A&E has 'Hoarders', another 'Hoarders', followed by a FRESH'Hoarders', then another FRESH'Hoarders'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Big Red One', followed by the movie the movie 'Heartbreak Ridge'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 4 Suddenly Human
[1:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 5 Legacy
[2:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 8 Future Imperfect
[3:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 9 Final Mission
[4:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 10 The Loss
[5:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 11 Data's Day
[6:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 12 Clues
[7:00 PM] BBC World News America
[8:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 20 Qpid
[9:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 5
[10:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[11:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 20 Qpid
[12:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 5
[1:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[2:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 5
[3:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 2
[4:00 AM] BBC World News
[4:30 AM] BBC World News
[5:00 AM] BBC World News
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of NJ', another 'Real Housewives Of NJ', still another "Real Housewives Of NJ', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of NJ'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Beerfest', 'It's Always Sunny In Philly', another 'It's Always Sunny In Philly', still another 'It's Always Sunny In Philly', and yet another 'It's Always Sunny In Philly'.
On a RERUNJon Stewart (from 5/6/10) is Mario Batali.
On a RERUNColbert Report (from 5/10/10) is Gov. Gary Johnson.
FX has the movie 'Enemy Of The State', followed by the movie 'Next', then the movie 'Cruel Intentions'.
History has 'Pawn Stars', another 'Pawn Stars', still another 'Pawn Stars', yet another 'Pawn Stars', followed by a FRESH'America The Story Of Us'.
IFC -
[6:05 AM] Milan
[6:35 AM] Story of Women
[8:30 AM] Ballad of a Soldier
[10:00 AM] The Good German
[11:50 AM] Milan
[12:15 PM] Story of Women
[2:05 PM] Ballad of a Soldier
[3:40 PM] Meat
[4:00 PM] Days of Glory
[6:05 PM] Story of Women
[8:00 PM] Tigerland
[9:45 PM] Black Book
[12:15 AM] The Good German
[2:05 AM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[2:30 AM] The Henry Rollins Show
[3:00 AM] Tigerland
[4:45 AM] Ballad of a Soldier (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:40 AM] Shadow Of The Holy Book
[7:35 AM] Saving Jazz
[8:35 AM] Man On Wire
[10:10 AM] Rains - Sundance Film
[10:20 AM] I Am Because We Are
[11:50 AM] The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
[1:30 PM] Right Foot, Left Foot - Sundance Film
[1:50 PM] Shadow Of The Holy Book
[2:50 PM] Saving Jazz
[3:50 PM] Man On Wire
[5:30 PM] I Am Because We Are
[7:00 PM] LIVE FROM ABBEY ROAD - Seal, Imelda May & Sugarland (Episode 2, Season 3)
[8:00 PM] A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory
[9:20 PM] At Night
[10:00 PM] Hunger
[11:45 PM] Garage
[1:15 AM] Better Things - Sundance Film
[2:50 AM] A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory
[4:10 AM] Hunger
[5:55 AM] Better Things - Sundance Film (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has fills the night with the movie 'Stephen King's The Stand'.
TBS:
Scheduled on a FRESHLopez Tonight are Drew Carey, Marisa Miller, and Mike Posner.
Actor Jack Nicholson arrives for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 30, 2010. Nicholson willwave the green flag to start the race.
Photo by AJ Mast
Germany's Lena Meyer-Landrut won the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest with the catchy pop song "Satellite," edging out Turkey and Romania as the continent put aside its financial woes for a night of musical exuberance.
It was Germany's second win in the songfest's 55-year history, and the victory means it will host next year's contest.
Meyer-Landrut had been the second favorite among leading bookmakers, but first in a Google predictor program. Her victory marks the second year in a row that the Google program has correctly projected the winner of Eurovision, after predicting Norwegian fiddler Alexander Rybak's win in Moscow last year.
This year several countries pulled out of the extravaganza citing financial strains, including the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Andorra and Hungary.
Dario Franchitti, of Scotland, gets a kiss from his wife, Ashley Judd, after winning the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis,Sunday, May 30, 2010. At top left is team owner Chip Ganassi.
Photo by Michael Conroy
The seeker from the Bronx High School of Science had to jump a fence and follow the snitch down Fifth Avenue. He caught the snitch but it didn't count because his broom wasn't between his legs.
Bronx Science lost 50-30 to Lenox High School in Lenox, Mass., as Central Park played host to an exhibition of Quidditch, the soccer-like game invented by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
In the books, Quidditch is played by wizards and witches on flying broomsticks. The real-life version with Muggles - non-magical folk - started in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont and is now played at over 150 colleges and 100 high schools.
In Muggle Quidditch, chasers try to throw the quaffle - a volleyball - through a hoop. For defense, beaters hit opposing players with a bludger - a dodgeball. The team's seeker runs after the snitch, a fast runner with a tennis ball in a sock that the seeker has to grab like the flag in flag football. In the fictional game, the snitch is a winged ball.
Half art book, half music nerd bathroom reading, Dave Tompkins' long-in-the-works history of the vocoder, "How to Wreck a Nice Beach," chronicles the sound synthesizing system's journey from Bell Labs to the top of the charts -- and from the Pentagon to the nightclub.
Billboard spoke to Tompkins about his inspirations for the project -- which was published in March by Stop Smiling Books/Melville House -- and why Winston Churchill was the original T-Pain.
Billboard: How did you come to write this book? After all, it's not every day someone says, "I think I want to write the definitive history of the vocoder."
Dave Tompkins: Well, I actually did say that at some point. At the outset, I just wanted the opportunity to interview all these guys I grew up listening to. It was a good way for me to go back to weird childhood stories and the memories associated with this music that was completely new to me at the time. I was hearing it on the radio, the local black station in Concord, North Carolina. And then I would go to the record store in downtown Charlotte and look at the walls with rows of 12-inches and pick two to buy every week. So that was the genesis of the book, and it mutated from there.
Television personality David Letterman, car owner of the car driven by Graham Rahal, watches the action the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the IndianapolisMotor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 30, 2010.
Photo by Darron Cummings
The United States may provide an incubating ground for some flu strains, helping them migrate to warmer climates, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
For many years, researchers assumed that flu strains were mostly the product of China and Southeast Asia.
But a team at the University of Michigan, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Florida State University found that not all strains of flu circulating in North America die off at the end of influenza season.
Some of those appear to head to South America, and some migrate even farther, the reported. That may have happened with the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, they added.
The future Pope Benedict XVI refused to defrock an American priest who confessed to molesting numerous children and even served prison time for it, simply because the cleric wouldn't agree to the discipline. The case provides the latest evidence of how changes in church law under Pope John Paul II frustrated and hamstrung U.S. bishops struggling with an abuse crisis that would eventually explode.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press from court filings in the case of the late Rev. Alvin Campbell of Illinois show Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, following church law at the time, turned down a bishop's plea to remove the priest for no other reason than the abuser's refusal to go along with it.
With the church still recovering from a notable departure of priests in the 1970s to marry, John Paul made it tougher to leave the priesthood after assuming the papacy in 1978, saying their vocation was a lifelong one. A consequence of that policy was that, as the priest sex abuse scandal arose in the U.S., bishops were no longer able to sidestep the lengthy church trial necessary for laicization.
New rules in 1980 removed bishops' option of requesting laicizations of abusive priests without holding a church trial. Those rules were ultimately eased two decades later amid an explosion of abuse cases in the United States.
The mayor of Gallup in western New Mexico has filed a defamation lawsuit against the local newspaper publisher, claiming the newspaper intentionally harmed him by publishing articles about a 1948 rape case in which the mayor was implicated but never tried nor convicted.
An attorney for Gallup Independent publisher Bob Zollinger said his client is "innocent of all charges."
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in McKinley County District Court, seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Sam Bregman, the attorney for Mayor Harry Mendoza, said "it is time to put a stop to Mr. Zollinger and his paper" and that Mendoza plans to hold both accountable.
According to the lawsuit, the Independent published an article last July 11 that reported Mendoza had been "lying for more than 60 years about his involvement in one of the most brutal cases of gang rape in Gallup's history."
The full moon rises on the Athenian sky behind a statue, which stands at the top of the National Archaeological Museum of Greece, late Thursday, May 27,2010. The replica of a marble statue of the early 4th century B.C. representing the Peace Goddess keep the arms of the Pluto as an infant.
Photo by Petros Giannakouris
For decades, countless people from Buffalo have made the move from Rust Belt to Sun Belt. Maybe it was only a matter of time before one of its buildings would follow.
A Roman Catholic parish in the affluent northern suburbs of Atlanta has begun raising $16 million to import, piece by piece, a closed Buffalo church. The 99-year-old St. Gerard's would get a second life as Mary Our Queen in Norcross, an up-and-coming parish that has outgrown the 600-seat sanctuary that opened a dozen years ago.
Supporters see it as "preservation through relocation" of a unique structure that already shows signs of deterioration since it was closed in January 2008 as part of a diocese-wide restructuring.
While a dozen other vacant Catholic churches in Buffalo have been reincarnated as housing, office space or houses of worship by other religions, there had been no takers for St. Gerard's, occupying half a city block in a bereft neighborhood. Then came the Rev. David Dye's offer to buy it, with the condition he take it with him to Georgia.
How well you get along with your parents in your teens might influence your romantic relationships a decade later, a new study suggests.
The results show a close relationship with one's mother in early adolescence was associated with better-quality romantic relationships as young adults.
The findings highlight the importance of the parent-child bond for building relationships later in life, the researchers say.
"Parents' relationships with their children are extremely important and that's how we develop our ability to have successful relationships as adults, our parents are our models," said study researcher Constance Gager, of Montclair State University in New Jersey. "So if kids are not feeling close with their parents then they're probably not going to model the positive aspects of that relationship when they reach adulthood."
Someone's been bringing the storks babies at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo.
The 142-year-old zoo suddenly has the making of a new flock of European white storks after three stork eggs hatched there in the last week. A mated pair hatched the eggs Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Lincoln Park's bird curator, Colleen Lynch, said Friday that it is the first time in the zoo's history that the species has hatched young there. Lynch said the storks have built their nest in a viewable outdoor habitat next to the bird house.
A more ominous chick also arrived at the zoo Monday, when two rare Cinerous vultures hatched an egg.
DreamWorks Animation's sequel "Shrek Forever After" remained the No. 1 movie for a second weekend with $43.3 million from Friday to Sunday. The film raised its domestic total to $133.1 million.
That easily topped the Warner Bros. sequel "Sex and the City 2," which was No. 2 with a $32.1 million debut that came in far below the $56.8 million opening weekend of its predecessor two years ago. Along with a $14.2 million haul in its first day Thursday, "Sex and the City 2" has brought in $46.3 million.
Debuting at No. 3 with $30.2 million was Disney's action tale "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time."
The modest results for "Prince of Persia" leave the movie's franchise potential in doubt. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose movies include the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "National Treasure" series, was aiming for similar franchise treatment on "Prince of Persia."
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