DECEMBER 5 UPDATE

ELIN, TIGER AND THE THREE IRON

That photo and other features are on: www.spysoftball.org.

BENNY SIXTEEN AND THE ANGLICANS

Some observers, including probably some Cardinals, who thought the selection of Benedict XVI was a safe choice because of his age, and his history of doctrinaire beliefs, are shaking their heads as the pontiff leads the Church into new or at least modified territory.  There are many facets to his papacy which make the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger hard to fir into one mold: Upgrading the dialogue with Jews, while simultaneously furthering the use of the Tridentine (Latin) Mass which normally includes prayers for the conversion of Jews, yet also insisting on a freeze on Israeli settlements but still demanding that the Muslims, especially the Palestinians, moderate their views on Israel.

Benedict astounded Catholics and Protestants with his policy encouraging Anglicans to consort with the Catholic Church, even to convert its members to Catholicism.  Actually, the Churches are not that far apart, and were separated more by the political and sexual whims of Henry VIII.  The Anglicans still use the Latin Mass.  For three years, I lectured each summer at symposia conducted at Oxford’s Christ Church College.  Arising early the first day of my first trip, I entered historic Christ Church Cathedral and was surprised when Matins began in Latin, equally surprised at how much of the Latin of the Mass I remembered.  After Matins, we adjourned to another sacristy for Communion.  I asked the priest if I could take Communion, and he replied, “I have no objection and I am sure the Pope doesn’t.”  “How did you know I was Catholic,” I asked.  The priest replied, “As soon as we began opening prayers, I realized I had a former Catholic altar boy in my congregation.”

SENATOR PAULA HAWKINS

Many deserved tributes were offered yesterday, honoring the service of former Florida Senator Paula Hawkins.  Elected on the heels of the Reagan landslide in 1980, Hawkins lost her re-election bid to former Senator Bob Graham, but she made her mark.  She backed legislation which helped widowed and divorced mothers enter the job market; she helped pass the Missing Children’s Act  of 1982; and championed women’s rights on family issues – while opposing abortion on demand and the Equal Rights Amendment.  Unfortunately, the obituaries omitted reference to her efforts to put teeth into anti-narcotics laws, personally pressuring the White House and State Department to not only report on the cooperation received from producing and trafficking countries but to evaluate and grade their performance.  She won the amendment, then hounded me like a schoolmarm on the reports which I was responsible for writing.  Hawkins was well out in front of others in demanding action to prevent drug money laundering, which was pervasive in South Florida.  Well done, Paula.

ON STAR NABS CARJACKERS

On Wednesday, two carjackers forced Julia Corker, 22, daughter of Sen. Bob Corker, out of her car on Seventh Street and sped away.  Police tracked the Chevrolet Tahoe through its On-Star system, and an hour later, the two thieves were in custody.  They were arrested by Seat Pleasant MD police at a restaurant, across the street from the Seat Pleasant police station.

THE BLIND SIDE

At some point during this holiday season, see the motion picture which has Hollywood abuzz, grossing more than $100 million at the box office in two weeks and launching a certain Oscar nomination for Sandra Bullock.  Listened to the real-life Leigh AnneTuohy on CNN; Sandra has her down cold.  Every so often, Hollywood makes a family movie which has the audience on its feet cheering.  The story of Michael Oher fills that bill.  (A friend of mine is married to a blonde Southern princess like Tuohy; they are indeed a special breed.)

THE GREAT MODEL T

This is a great video showing the first assembly lines at the original Ford auto plant.
Neat to see those guys making the old wooden wheels, by hand mostly.
The places that car could go...is amazing!

Click here:     The Great Model T!

PRIVILEGED  INTELLIGENTSIA

After reading the December 3 posting, a reader wrote that I should remember that I was a member of the elite, privileged intelligentsia.  Yes, there were some fantastic experiences, especially in Europe, but they were mostly at personal expense and sandwiched into weekends when the Europeans typically do not work.  True, I have an out-of-sight IQ and was well-educated at one of the most highly regarded universities in the world.  True, I obtained special insights into the world – politically, geographically and historically – through travels with the State Department.  But, it wasn’t always “la dolce vita” and I paid my dues.  Given my father’s finances, I worked nights as a teletype dispatcher on the Santa Fe to put myself into Oklahoma, and paid for Georgetown where a master’s degree costs more than some cars.  I not only had to endure the insufferable politics inside the State Department, they were a walk in the park compared to the situations I encountered in many countries.  There are no lace curtains in places like Peshawar when the mujahdin massacred the Russians, or in the Congo where rival tribes committed incomprehensible atrocities, or in Moscow when the army shelled the Duma, or in Athens when the revolution was in full storm, or in Paris when Algerian bombs exploded all along the Champs Elysses, or in Jerusalem where I was warned my life was in danger, or in Chiang Rai where an assassin came at me with a knife and nearly succeeded, or in Cairo where I helped subdue a passenger on my plane with a bomb. No one asked my degrees when I crossed through the Kyber Pass into Afghanistan, nor when I was sent to the Middle East shortly after Saddam Husseins tanks stopped rolling through Kuwait.  Yes, I wore white dinner jackets to dance with debutantes in the early days of the Kennedy administration, but I wore jungle garb and packed a pistol in the Chapare.  There were rifles pointed at me in San Jose de Guaviare when a false move could have meant death, and those were real bullets piercing the helicopter when we flew over the Colombian coca fields.  I wore safari suits from Abercrombie and Fitch, and two men bled on those suits while I held their hands and watched them die. I could cite many more instances where I did not feel so elite.  I tend to write about the good times, but all the other times float through my conscience when I try to sleep.  The intelligence was God-given, the privileges were earned.

POTPOURRI

Class Acts.  90 seconds to play, and needing just six yards more to reach 500 yards for the game against one of the top defenses in the game, Alabama took a knee.  Tim Tebow, who had just seen a third national championship and a possible second Heisman trampled under by the Crimson Tide, wiped away the tears, and, with head held high, calmly answered questions, praising the Alabama team.  Mark Ingram may have just run up onto the Heisman stand.  But, if Bama beats Texas, and Greg McElroy has another performance like today, he has to be a candidate with the Longhorns Colt McCoy.

Nonsense.  A law suit seeks to compel Georgia to use a robotic dog in place of its live bulldog.

Can you believe.  A couple successfully sued a cruise line, recouping most of a $100,000 fee for a multi-week cruise, claiming in essence they did not have a good time.  Complaints about the cabin, the food, the entertainment, etc.

Corrected quote: Chris Rock on Tiger Woods.  “A man is only as faithful as his options.”

The USA produces outstanding female athletes.  If you didn’t watch, you missed a soccer classic – Stanford edging UCLA 2-1 in overtime.  The sheer athleticism of the young women on both squads was incredible, racing up and down that field, fighting for every opportunity.