Inauguration Week - Sunday Music

"...I know that tonight is the beginning of a new age of understanding and hope for all of us... The incomparable Whitney Houston belts out the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Roberts Rules of Order

You may think, what has gotten into them over at Off Topic.  They are now writing about rules of what?  And what significance has that to, well, to anything?  Good question.  Let me entertain you.  As we all know Roberts Rules of Order is the parliamentary process we all follow for all our conventions.  Maybe sightly modified for some but the fact is that WE ALL follow them.  So, I would hazard a guess that John David Mercer Schofield, Leo Jack Iker, Bobby Duncan, Et al have seen and used Roberts Rules of Order repeatedly, ad nauseam.  Would everyone agree?  Certainly  one needs to be familiar with these rules if you are going to get a word in edgewise.  Well for those of you who have a copy, and I am referring to the 2nd Edition, my version is penguin putnam books copyrighted 1989 and 1998, turn to page 246, and read section 68.  For those who do not have a copy handy here is what it states:

68.   Rights of Ecclesiastical Tribunals. Many of our deliberative assemblies

are ecclesiastical bodies, and it is important to know how much respect
will be paid to their decisions by the civil courts.

A church became divided and each party
claimed to be the church, and therefore entitled to the church property.
The case was taken into the civil courts, and finally, on appeal to the
U. S. Supreme Court, which held the case under advisement for one year,
and then reversed the decision of the State Court, because it conflicted
with the decision of the highest ecclesiastical court that had acted
upon the case. The Supreme Court, in rendering its decision, laid down
the broad principle that, when a local church is but a part of a larger
and more general organization or denomination, it will accept the
decision of the highest ecclesiastical tribunal to which the case has
been carried within that general church organization, as final, and will
not inquire into the justice or injustice of its decree as between the
parties before it. The officers, the ministers, the members, or the
church body which the highest judiciary of the denomination recognizes,
the court will recognize. Whom that body expels or cuts off, the court
will hold to be no longer members of that church.

These (then bishops now just regular folk) knew then what would become of their fate should they try and steal land and property and they went ahead anyway.  They intentionally inflicted untold misery on a wide number of people realizing that the only thing to come out of it was the expenditure of resources that could have been spent on the needy and the intentional infliction of as much pain as could be mustered on those left behind.  

On another blog, actually several blogs, there is the admonition to be kind and gentle as the thugs plans slowly come unwound.  We are told, do not gloat, do not be gleeful.  Can someone once again explain why?  I mean I understand what is being said, but, these folks intentionally, with malice and forethought set out to not only crush the church but the people in it as well!

Another Rutter Sunday

John Rutter, Magnificat: Esurientes. And a lovely rendition it is, by the Schönhausen-Chor Krefeld (Sabine Schneider, Soprano).

FAVORITE RECIPES:INAUGURATION DAY AND SUPER BOWL SUNDAY UPDATED

         

Ladies and Gentlemen:  Where or where have your recipes gone?

Inauguration Day is January 20th and many, many, many of us have been looking forward to this quadrennial day for at least 8 years.  Those "lucky" enough to live in the District of Columbia metropolitan area will have a free holiday.  In addition, Super Bowl Sunday is coming to a local NBC station on February 1, 2009.  All of America will have that day off and for both occasions there will most likely be cooking galore.  I also know we here at Off Topic have not requested ANY recipes in a very long time.  Well, what better time than for the inauguration and the greatest football day of the year. 

Break into Nana's recipe file, Dad's BBQ files, Aunt Tillie's hidden papers and give us your very best shot.  Drinks, pastries, breads, meats, donuts, coffees, mixed drinks, snacks, dips, rolls, and anything you wish to have published on line.  Should we get enough recipes to create and share an online "cookbook" we will do so.  That will allow everyone to download a copy and have it courtesy of OFF TOPIC.  Now, the only rules to this whole thing are that you ought (Leonardo, you know what that means) to contribute at least two (2) recipes, they should be your favorites and each recipe should come equipped with a brief story on the recipe (not required but nice).  Do Not let the story thing slow you down!  You may contribute as many as you like and we will try and remember to get each one credited correctly.  

To top this off we are going to at least sub-title the on-line cookbook something like "With A Little Help from Jake's Friends".

Thanks for your help!  You may begin now and continue until we run out.  If you need time to look something up, go for it.  We will not "publish" until after the Super Bowl so please add as many different recipes as you like.

PS: If you don't happen to have recipes for either day but would still like to contribute by all means please do so!

Sunday Music from John Gardner

A new twist on an old text, performed by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge.

Research Time

As we all know there are several organizations in the "real world" bent on continuing the exclusion and marginalizing of segments of our society. Organizations like the Institute on Religion and Democracy. James stumbled into another and I have tried to figure out where the group is coming from but have been unable to do so. My curiosity has been aroused. The group is called the Becket Fund (supposedly named after Thomas à Becket) and here is just a little of their cause:

"Religious people and institutions are entitled to participate in public life on an equal basis with everyone else, and should not be excluded for professing their faith."

Now, if you go to The Three Legged Stool, James has referenced an advertisement that ran in the NY Times. (James, can you leave the URL for us?) If you look them up the information is interesting. For example, on the issue of gay marriage they talk about religious freedom and they use some sophisticated language BUT they repeat old saws like to one about Catholic Charities closing down in Boston. They talk about guaranteed religious liberty and defend public school vouchers. This group is very difficult to pin down because of the apparent sophistry but it sounds very much like the IRD. If you have any information (one way of the other) please leave it here. It might appear in another writing -- please leave your retrievable citation.

Thanks, Fred.

Happy New Year with - ABBA?

I promise this will be the only ABBA song in 2009.