Pages

Friday, July 17, 2009

Church Blessings, Sort Of

L.A. Times reports that the bishops at the General convention of Episcopal Church officials in Anaheim “endorsed the creation of blessing liturgies for same-sex unions one day after they ended a de facto ban on the ordination of gay bishops”

“the resolution passed by an overwhelming margin, with 104 bishops voting yes, 30 voting no and two abstaining after a failed attempt by some bishops to kill the measure. The resolution must still be approved by clergy and laity in the church’s other legislative body, the House of Deputies – a step widely viewed as all but certain.”

The American Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion, which has urged it’s American cousins not to take this step, since the church is already divided by the issues – same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay bishops, even “married” gay bishops –and four dioceses and dozens of congregations have already split to form a “rival church.”

Interestingly, the measure voted on “calls to Episcopalians to ‘honor the theological diversity of this church in regard to matters of human sexuality,’ but clergy who object would not be required to deliver the blessings.” Which is interesting: A church that allows “choice” in is liturgies and customs.

As for the break-away groups, many people might view that as a bad thing. I view it as a really good thing since it indicates the vitality and livingness of this particular church. Dead theology, dead churches, dead congregations to not cause members to break off congregations and form their own churches when they feel their theology isn’t being practiced like they want it to. Folks with living religions always take the ball and go find another playing field.

Indeed, it’s one of the hallmarks of religion in America: Yeasty growth. It’s like one big San Francisco sourdough starter – centuries long, still chugging away, still able to create whole loves of bread, never mind the fishes. In short, it’s a perfect illustration of the enormous benefit of NOT having a state established religion.

And the Episcopals splitting over this issue is full of irony. The church’s original founder was Henry VIII who – talk about yeasty – broke from the Catholic Church so he could divorce his first wife and marry Anne Boleyn. Theologically and scripturally, divorce was verboten so Henry said phooey and broke off to form his own church so he could have his way (and hired all kinds of “theologians” to write and defend and support his views. Heck, he even wrote a lot of the supporting documentation himself.) So, Episcopals have a tradition of, let’s say, pragmatic adaptation. As this present Convention noted, “The resolution calls for the church to ‘acknowledge the changing circumstances’ in the Unites states and other countries that result from legislation authorizing or forbidding marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships for gays and lesbians.” Changing circumstances. Exactly what Henry VIII called it. He loved his wife but Oh you kid, he needed an heir. Circumstances had changed, the Catholic Church wouldn’t, so the Anglican Church was born.

As I said. Bubbling yeast.

Make Hay While The Sun Shines

Margot Roosevelt at the Times reports a new study finds sharp increase in rooftop installations in San Diego, L.A. and San Francisco. Which is a good thing. As usual, there’s a fly in the ointment: The for-profit power companies are reluctant and or hostile to “robust” legislation allowing/requiring a “feed-in tarrif, such as the one in Germany, which would allow homeowners who install extra capacity to seel their electricity back to utilities at a favorable rate.”

For profit utilities fear such a move since it would cut into their profits and you can be sure they’ll oppose any such plan, which will slow down any idea of serious and practical solar use so that private companies can make money . . . while the world burns. And here’s the sickest part of all this: Centrally located solar plants (which the large utilities are seeking to build) use enormous amounts of water, which we’re running out of, are located way out in the back of nowhere, thereby have transmission-loss problems. Solar panels on every available rooftop don’t. Further, urban local roof panels don’t have to transmit power that far since the grid is all around them as opposed to being located way out in the desert somewhere.

So here’s the sad part, which could but will never happen: Suppose California “nationalized” the utilities and turned them all into non-profit publicly owned utilities, slap solar panels on every willing home and business (Rent-A-Roof) and parking structure and parking lot around, feed all the “excess” power back into the grid for all the other public members of the publicly owned utilities, how much clean, renewal power would be available? As for the shortfall, the missing part can still be provided by other traditional power plants, also owned as a non-profit publicly owned utility.

Yes, people would cry “Commie,” but if you recall during the experiment in energy de-regulation (remember, the free market will solve all problems!), while California was being screwed royally by private industry (think Enron), communities who had publicly owned utilities weren’t being whipsawed into bankruptcy.

Yet another issue (like universal medical coverage) where our belief in the “free market” can blind us to a too often harsh reality: The “market” has no interest in our welfare. At all. It IS interested in separating us from our money and will game us and tilt the playing field and lie and buy off politicians to do it. And, being the suckers we are, we think this is not only the way it’s supposed to be but is the best of all possible worlds, as we’re left sitting by the side of the road with holes in our shoes, pockets empty while our fleecers drive off down the road with our cash, laughing all the way to their offshore banks.

10 comments:

Ron said...

Ann wrote:

"For profit utilities fear such a move since it would cut into their profits and you can be sure they’ll oppose any such plan, which will slow down any idea of serious and practical solar use so that private companies can make money . . . while the world burns."

How's the line-drying coming along, Ann? (Hope everyone's line-drying their laundry.)

Also and... The continued tinkering of the blog? It's really coming together -- the photos, the gmail address, the "About the Can(n)ons," the links (by the way, that "Sandra Off the Strip" is a kick... Snoop Dog concert reviews, and where the $1 drink specials are -- my kind of gal!).

Now, if we could just get that poor dog on the right turned around. ; -)

Churadogs said...

Ron sez: How's the line-drying coming along, Ann? (Hope everyone's line-drying their laundry.)"

Excellently! Plus my 35 year old Maytag washer finally bit the dust (they aren't making them any more. Literally, Maytag doesn't exist, except as a lable, and washing machinesand other things only last about 10 years now. sigh)

And "Snoop Dog concert reviews, and where the $1 drink specials are -- my kind of gal!)."

Isn't that site a hoot. She lives in Vegas and thanks to her blog site, what happens there doesn't have to stay there. Plus she snoops around and covers lots of out of the way stuff.

and, "Now, if we could just get that poor dog on the right turned around. ; -" Naw. That's the quintessential picture of zuri, the Sloughi. (www.sloughi.net)

And, "Also and... The continued tinkering of the blog? It's really coming together -- the photos, the gmail address, the "About the Can(n)ons," the links" Slowly, slowly, catch a monkey. Greg, who's got the "parent" blog, will be refreshing and redoing the "master" Central Coast Newsmission blogsite, so things may change a bit again. Plod, plod, which is how Luddites go.

Churadogs said...

Oops, forgot to finish the Maytag story. Since my old, old, old, very, very old washer finally died, can now get one of the energy-saver, water thrifty front loaders which will be good for water-busted Los Osos. Every little bit helps out here.

M said...

Is it my imagination, or has there been more crop growing than ever along LOVR? I've lived here nearly 40 years and I can't remember so much continuous growing. Is any of that water from our source of water? Is that a source to swap our eventual treated water?
Sincerely, M

alabamasue said...

Congratulations on getting a front-loader, Ann. I've had one for about 20+ years and will never go back to a top-loader. Besides using half the detergent and one third the water, your clothes will last much longer. I wore the same uniform shirts for 7 years and they looked as good the day I retired as they did the day I bought them.

Ron said...

Ann wrote:

"Literally, Maytag doesn't exist, except as a lable, and washing machines and other things only last about 10 years now. sigh)"

On that note, I've got a great washing machine story, that's also a great "planned obsolescence" story.

The spin cycle on my 20-year-old machine stopped working about a year ago -- essentially rendering the entire machine useless.

So, I took the top off, and looked around. The problem? You know how when you lift the lid during the spin cycle, the spin cycle stops for safety reasons? Well, what causes it to spin, is a little plastic lever that pushes down on a small button, and that activates the spin cycle, so when you lift the lid, that takes the pressure of that plastic lever, and the button comes up and stops the spin cycle.

My spin cycle stopped working -- thus rendering the entire machine useless -- because that little plastic lever had cracked.

It was probably a 10-cent part.

So, I just bypassed the entire safety button by cutting the two wires that led to the button, and twisted them together, and it's worked perfectly ever since.

And, I'm pretty sure I won't be jamming my arm down into the machine anytime soon, while the lid is open, and the washer is spinning like mad... pretty sure I won't be doing that.

Now, these days, I think about all of the washing machines that must have ended up in landfills just because that little plastic lever cracked.

Alon Perlman said...

Ron's Yanqui ingenuity, though not as fancy as Motorcycle shop class (Ann's previous blog post) is real recycling.
(Killing the kill-switch; P.s. don't borrow my circular saw, I Jerry-rigged it similarly)
Used to be, the sand spit was the (South Bay's)los osos Washer and Dryer Graveyard. It's been cleaned up since. There is a guy in Los Osos who has a good collecton of defunct Washer dryer parts, and the skills to fixum.
To buy, or to repair: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The bills and charges of outrageous utility costs,
Or to take arms against an overextended credit line,
And by purchasing, reduce long-term outlays?

Anything to reduce water consumption in Los Osos is good, but we do live in a world (that we created) and where we are bombarded with messages of consumption. We are, as seduced today by promises that we can use technology to solve problems brought on by technology, as we were seduced when among the consequenses of global mass consumption, was thought to be peacefull co-existance.

Skipping over the questions of religion, and how can a church increase it's market share; and of the utility of local versus centralized sun energy;
This was on NPR recently--
Longtime health insurance company bigwig and former holder of "the ultimate PR job," Wendell Potter recently told PBS' Bill Moyers (Bill Moyers Journal, 7/10/09) how he had been "involved in the campaign by the industry to discredit Michael Moore and his film Sicko," and now sees that "the industry is resorting to the same tactics they've used... back in the early '90s, when they were leading the effort to kill the Clinton plan" for national healthcare reform.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/07/14/media-check-insurance-co-abuse-occasionally/
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/transcript2.html

Churadogs said...

Ron sez:"Now, these days, I think about all of the washing machines that must have ended up in landfills just because that little plastic lever cracked."

And there, in one sentence, you have The History Of America.

alon sez:"how he had been "involved in the campaign by the industry to discredit Michael Moore and his film Sicko," and now sees that "the industry is resorting to the same tactics they've used... back in the early '90s, when they were leading the effort to kill the Clinton plan" for national healthcare reform."

And there, in one sentence, you have The History of Ameican Medicine. You can bank on this: Harry and Louise are coming back with a vengeance. And if the American public is stupid enough this time to fall for it, they all deserve to die in the streets like dawgs.

Ron said...

Alon wrote:

"Wendell Potter recently told PBS' Bill Moyers (Bill Moyers Journal, 7/10/09) how he had been "involved in the campaign by the industry to discredit Michael Moore..."

Whoa... hold on here: You mean to tell me that some people deliberately create campaigns to discredit reporters that do excellent investigative work?

Huh, imagine that?

Churadogs said...

Heh-heh.