"We can not do great things. We can only do little things with great love." — Mother Teresa

A New York City police officer is photographed giving
boots to a homeless man on Nov. 14. (NYPD/Facebook)

NYPD Officer Lawrence DePrimo had no idea that his act of kindness was being photographed by a tourist.

"On a cold November night in Times Square, Officer Lawrence DePrimo was working a counterterrorism post when he encountered an older, barefooted homeless man. The officer disappeared for a moment, then returned with a new pair of boots, and knelt to help the man put them on." - NY Times

Officer DePrimo purchased the boots and the two men went their seperate ways.

Officer DePrimo did not seek the attention that he is getting for his act of kindness. Police officers around the country perform acts of kindness on a daily basis, acts of kindness known only to the officer and those they have helped.

Officer DePrimo deserves our gratitude for a different reason. His actions that night are an example of what we can do starting with one person at a time. Thank you Officer DePrimo for a gentle reminder of what we can all be,

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one."—Mother Teresa 

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/nyregion/photo-of-officer-giving-boots-to-barefoot-man-warms-hearts-online.html?hpw

Port Is Left, Starboard Is Right

You would not want your
 daughter to marry this man

"Church of England is blind, losing credibility - Archbishop"

"(Reuters) - The Archbishop of Canterbury accused his Church of England of being wilfully blind to the attitudes of modern British society on Wednesday after it voted 'no' to women bishops, a triumph for its traditionalist minority."

There was a captain of a merchant vessel that would upon arriving on the bridge in the morning open a small safe on the bulkhead behind the helmsmen. The captain would remove a carefully folded piece of paper and would read what was written upon it while sipping his coffee. He would fold the piece of paper and put it back in the safe and take his place on the bridge.

One morning the captain forgot to lock the small safe, and as the captain was leaving the bridge the helmsman realized he would have the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity about what was written on the folded piece of paper. The helmsman looked to his left, then to his right and opened the safe. He carefully unfolded the paper and read the note. It simply stated "Port is left, Starboard is Right".

Perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury should carry a small piece of paper, a small piece of paper that has written upon it, "Culture shapes opinion, Culture does not shape truth."

The irony of the reformation is that the thought of one pope just could not be tolerated, so now we have millions of popes. The irony for the Archbishop of Canterbury is that instead of trying to please one master he has decided to try and please thousands upon thousands of masters. He will please neither.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/11/21/uk-britain-religion-women-idUKBRE8AJ17O20121121

Finally, Some Good News

"Number of Potential Future Lawyers of America Drops to 13-Year Low"

Just when you have reached the point of despair that there is no good news in this world a story like this comes along and you begin to see a small ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds.

All that is left to do is turn the air conditioning off in the House and Senate during the summer and we just might have a chance to survive.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/11/number-future-lawyers-america-drops-13-year-low/59251/#

Planned Grandparenthood

The following qoutes comes from an op-ed piece for the NY Times by Steven Rattner that was titled "Beyond Obama Care." The NY Times published this piece on September 16, 2012.

"WE need death panels. Well, maybe not death panels, exactly, but unless we start allocating health care resources more prudently — rationing, by its proper name — the exploding cost of Medicare will swamp the federal budget."

"Most notably, President Obama’s estimable Affordable Care Act regrettably includes severe restrictions on any reduction in Medicare services or increase in fees to beneficiaries. In 2009, Sarah Palin’s rant about death panels even forced elimination from the bill of a provision to offer end-of-life consultations."

This op-ed piece is a feint to determine how much resistance the Obama administration might receive when the decision comes to send grandma and grandpa, mom and dad if they are 62 or older home with enough opiates to put down an entire herd of elephants, rather than any medical care.

I call this op-ed piece a feint because the author is an Obama administration insider. Mr. Rattner was the car czar for the Obama administration's takeover of GM and Chrysler.

The President should hire an advertising firm that directs the message on cutting  Medicare to his political base. Perhaps something like this;

 

(Cue voice over from Morgan Freeman)

 

After a rough day at the barricades are you tired of going home and hearing this?

 

 When are you going to get a job? For 29 years we have fed and clothed you, and oh yeah paid for 8 years of college. How about picking up the pizza boxes and Pringle cans in the basement.

 

Are you tired of the old man grabbing the remote and changing the channel to the game when you are trying to watch Current TV? 

 

Can't access that trust fund and you're facing the possibility of having to get a real job?

 

Just when you were going to to earn your advanced degree in the Supression of Transgender Native Cultures from the Neo-Colonial White Europeans Studies Department you could actually end up having to leave school to.....insert pause......work at a job.

 

Maybe you're just tired of sharing your parents house with your parents.

 

(President Obama appears on the TV screen and speaks directly to the camera)

 

Your parents did not build their house. They have had their moment, it is your turn now. That is why I have expanded the Cash for Clunkers Program to include the elderly. Call or visit your Planned GrandParenthood clinic today, and remember it is your turn to move Forward. Don't forget to ask about their discount for veterans.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Rattner

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/opinion/health-care-reform-beyond-obamacare.html?_r=2&

Sorry About The Power, But We Won't Screw Up Health Care

The following quote comes from a Reuters article. The link has been provided.

I regret to say that I laughed out loud when I read Governor Cuomo's critique of the power utilities.

Give Cuomo, Bloomberg, and Obama a little more time and there will be plenty of weeping.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo turned his ire on the power utilities, which he said had failed customers.

Some 696,000 homes and businesses in the region were without power as of late Thursday night.

The storm damage exposed flaws in the regulation of power utilities that will require a complete redesign, said Cuomo, who oversees the state-controlled utilities and appoints the members of the Public Service Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities such as Consolidated Edison.

"It is nameless, faceless bureaucracy that is a monopoly that operates with very little incentive or sanction. ... They have failed the consumers," Cuomo said.

http://news.yahoo.com/northeast-digs-snow-gas-rationing-expands-004951341.html

The Big Nowhere

I have updated this article with new information from Catholic World Report concerning the number of Catholic votes for President Obama.

Half the country believes that they have found the messiah, the other half is still searching for Ronald Reagan.

I have provided a link to politico.com and their interactive Electoral College map. The division on the direction that the U.S. should take among voters is interesting when one looks at the regional geographical divide, and in some cases the states that have a well defined geographical divide between supporters of Mitt Romney and President Obama.

Some pundits and politicians are already claiming that President Obama has been given a mandate. Unfortunately for President Obama, and fortunately for the country voters sent their own message by sending a Republican majority back to The House of Representatives.

In the weeks to come experts will weigh in on the reasons that Mitt Romney lost the election. I am more concerned with the fact that President Obama received 50% of the Catholic vote.

The Catholics that voted for Obama are what I call cultural Catholics. They are willing to identify themselves as Catholic, as long as the Church requires nothing in return. The bishops should also take their share of the blame when 50% of Catholics vote for someone who believes in unfettered abortion. The constant yammering about social justice issues from the 70's up to the present day rather than catechizing the faithful has produced E coli for the soul, rather than nourishment. More Aquinas please, less Father Pfleger.

I am reminded of Pontius Pilate when a Catholic tells me that even though they do not support abortion they can justify a vote for President Obama because of his social conscience. It is like saying human sacrifice is bad, but if it helps bring rain to the crops it is not all bad. I imagine a line of Catholics at the gates of Heaven with the Litany of Lady Macbeth coming from their lips....."Out Damned Spot" as they try to back away from abyss that leads to the Big Nowhere.

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/1732/churchattendance_numbers_tell_a_different_story.aspx

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/1730/obama_wins_the_catholic_vote_again_updated.aspx

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/President/2012

Obama Is Not The Lightbringer

"Whoever exalts race, or the people, or the state, or a particular form of state, or the depositories of power, or any other fundamental value of the human community—however necessary and honorable be their function in worldly things—whoever raises these notions above their standard value and raises them to an idolatrous level, distorts and perverts an order of the world planned and created by God." - Mit Brennender Sorge (With Burning Sorrow)