Biscuitfest!

My friend Janet is selling her slap yo' mama, pumped up jams at Knoxville's own celebration of that staple of the South - the biscuit!  Even the Biscuit Queen approves!

Go on, git yo'self downtown and EAT!

And go and "like" Garden to Gourmet Goodness on Facebook - just a buncha good, mackerel-snappin' jam-making folks!

I really need to know how I can tap into this art scam, for the scratch . . .

Residents at a luxury Manhattan apartment block are up in arms after discovering that a neighbor at a nearby building has secretly been taking their photographs to exhibit and sell.

Artist Arne Svenson freely admits to secretly photographing his neighbors at the exclusive 475 Greenwich St apartment block in TriBeCa, but claims he hasn’t done anything wrong.  

His photographs are careful not to show anyone’s face in full, but they do show the residents engaged in a wide range of intimate and private activities including cleaning, taking a nap, watching television and carrying their sleeping kids to bed. 


The photographs are currently on display at the Julie Saul Gallery in the city as part of an exhibition called ‘The Neighbors’ which opened on Saturday.

Prints are available to buy for up to $7,500 and in sizes up to 5 feet by 2 feet.

Never mind the privacy issue . . . WHY IN HEAVEN WOULD SOMEONE PAY $7500 FOR THIS?!

You want Big Green Butt?  Call me, I'll get you Big Green Butt.  And I'll only charge you $5000.  Such a deal.

Lesson to take from this story:  buy curtains and urban yuppies and/or hipsters will buy any crap labeled as"art."


Svenson, whose previous exhibitions have included photos of sock puppets, was inspired to do this latest project after he inherited a bird watching telephoto lens from a friend.

Good Lord.

IRS wants to know your prayer . . .

“Their question, specifically asked from the IRS to the Coalition for Life of Iowa: ‘Please detail the content of the members of your organization’s prayers,’" Schock declared.

“Would that be an inappropriate question to a 501 c3 applicant?” asked Schock. “The content of one’s prayers?”

Come on, it was Psalm 109:8.  Duh.

Practicing photo retouching . . .

I believe that what separates the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, the popped corn from the old maids (okay, choose your own damn metaphor!) when doing portraits is retouching - not overdone, just subtle enough to make it . . . nicer.

So I have been practicing using various tips I picked up and Scott Kelby's book on the subject.  My objective is to (a) get good, and (b) get fast at it.

I wanted to do a male since they have their challenges.  I was looking through my Flickr set when I saw a picture, albeit a candid portrait, that posed some challenges:

• Bags under the eyes
• Wrinkles/creases around the eyes from age
• Teeth yellowed from coffee and cigarettes
• "Red" nose from broken capillaries (disclaimer: a lot of people have that without necessarily imbibing too much, so no speculation, please)
• Five o'clock shadow
• Dim catch lights due to deep eye sockets/small eyes
• Hairy knuckles creating a "fringe" at the edges.

Now, I admit, I am a brat.  This fellow, Fr. John Moneypenny, used to be a close friend - a sort of baby brother, actually - before he dumped me because I don't quite agree with his joie de vivre, if you will.  Tant pis for lui.  Oh well.  But, since he has thrown me down the Orwellian memory hole, he is not going to come around this blog and so who better to use as a guinea pig.

Click on the image to see it larger

Frankly, I don't think I did that bad a job - ya gotta admit, the goofball looks better in the "after" shot.  This was all done with healing brush, clone stamp, blending modes, layer masks, and adjustment layers, all at various opacities.  What surprises me is doing this also seemed to slim his face, although the liquify filter was not used and I took no special steps to make that happen.

Lawdy, I loves me some time in my digital darkroom.

Oh, and if the subject does see this and wants me to take it down . . . I suggest you consult a lawyer on copyright law.  However, a high resolution copy of the "after" shot can be provided for the low price of $412, special for you.

Emma On Her 1st Holy Communion

Emma On Her 1st Holy Communion, originally uploaded by Stephanie Richer Photography.

I had posted a picture of her when I took the pictures on April 13, 2013, but before I had a chance to retouch them.  Go look at when I posted it, pretty much straight out of the camera.  Rare is the photo that cannot benefit from retouching.  I never retouched in the past, not much.  I think I will go and do some on old photos.

Here is my favorite from all I took. At Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Audit shows decline in abuse cases in Catholic Church

This is good news:

The annual audit of diocesan compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People found a drop in the number of allegations, number of victims and number of offenders reported in 2012.

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which gathered data for the report, found "the fewest allegations and victims reported since the data collection for the annual reports began in 2004."

Most allegations reported last year were from the seventies and eighties with many of the alleged offenders already deceased or removed from ministry in the priesthood.

StoneBridge Business Partners, which conducts the audits, said law enforcement found six credible cases among 34 allegations of abuse of minors in 2012 itself. Credibility of 15 of the allegations was still under investigation. Law enforcement found 12 allegations to be unfounded or unable to be proven, and one a boundary violation.

I would like to credit this to a changing leadership in the Church as a specific generation dies off, the one with the likes of Cardinal law and Cardinal Mahony, men who in my opinion helped pedophiles by shuffling them around.  And I think the current leadership is more savvy as to warning signals among the priests, as to backgrounds where scandal might occur; I recall that some bishops, albeit perhaps disingenuously, complained that they did not have the understanding of the nature of pedophilia.

This is not to say the Church should let its guard down.  I know of one priest who was violating boundaries with a young girl by texting her at night and on weekends (presumably telling her not to let her parents know) who simply got transferred to a different diocese, and another who sexually assaulted a seminarian while he was a rector and still sits in his diocese with his pontifical title.  But . . . at least there is notice to the bishops involved and activity can be monitored.  It is a hard call, but I hope a bishop has the fortitude to cull the problem, as well as understand that such notice does increase his liability if nothing is done.

Unless they're buff just to look good in Abercrombie & Fitch ads or porn movies . . .

Men who are strong are more likely to take a right-wing stance, while weaker men support the welfare state, researchers claim.

Their study discovered a link between a man’s upper-body strength and their political views.


The figures revealed that men with higher upper-body strength were less likely to support left-wing policies on the redistribution of wealth. 

Men with less upper body strength are more likely to support the welfare state - like Labour leader Ed Miliband.

But men with low upper-body strength were more likely to put their own self-interest aside and support a welfare state. 

The researchers found no link between upper-body strength and redistribution opinions among women.  
Professor Michael Petersen said: ‘In all three countries, physically strong males consistently pursued the self-interested position on redistribution.

‘However physically weak males were more reluctant to assert their self-interest – just as if disputes over national policies were a matter of direct physical confrontation between individuals.

"Self-interest" or "self-determination?"  Because it would be interesting to see how the difference in actual charitable acts between the two.  Of course, those supporting the welfare state are very charitable . . . just with other people's money.

Funny, that . . .

Chief among the revelations from today’s release of 100 Obama administration emails related to Benghazi is there was no mention of a YouTube video at any point, yet it became a central part of Ambassador Rice’s case during her appearances on Sunday morning television, Hayes said.

BTW, the maker of the vodeo, Innocence of Muslims, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula - ostensibly the person that Hilary Clinton had in mind when she told Charles Woods, the father of one of the four dead Americans, "We will make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted" - sits in jail.

Queer as Folk

Well, yeah, if the name fits . . .

A student group at San Diego State University for its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is reportedly changing its name — but some are questioning whether the move is politically correct.

The university’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Student Union (LGBTSU) will become the Queer Student Union beginning in the 2013-14 school year, Fox5SanDiego.com reports.


Negron and the group’s president, Michael Manacop, said “queer” is the easiest way to encompass all of the gender and sexual identities on campus without getting too wordy. There’s a similar group at University of California, San Diego called the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning Intersex Association (LGBTQIA).

I have also seen a "P" thrown into their alphabet soup, for "pansexual," which seems to imply "any orifice, any time."

Once upon a time, I think, there was a nice male couple who just wanted to live their lives together, and somewhere, I do also believe, there was a nice female couple who were also looking for a quiet, private life . . .

And then the freaks took over.

I wonder how many members of the "gay community" resent now being placed in a vast array of sexual orientations and identities.  There are straight folk and then . . . there is everyone else.  The circus.  If you wish to do rude things with zucchini and believe that makes you and the vegetable "in a  relationship," then you are in the LGBTQIA-and-sometimes-P camp.

Because they will accept you, whereas those intolerant heteronormative types will vilify you and tell you, "You got a problem, dude . . ."

What happens when someone objects?

Although not decrying the same thing, Bret Easton Ellis provides a good indication.  His commentary when Jason Collins came out is spot-on:

Was I the only gay man of a certain demo who experienced a flicker of annoyance in the way the media treated Jason Collins as some kind of baby panda who needed to be honored and praised and consoled and—yes—infantilized by his coming out on the cover of Sports Illustrated? Within the tyrannical homophobia of the sports world, that any man would come out as gay (let alone a black man) is not only an LGBT triumph but also a triumph for pranksters everywhere who thrilled to the idea that what should be considered just another neutral fact that is nobody’s business was instead a shock heard around the world, one that added another jolt of transparency to an increasingly transparent planet. It was an undeniable moment and also extremely cool. Jason Collins is the future. But the subsequent fawning over Collins simply stating he is gay still seemed to me, as another gay man, like a new kind of victimization. (George Stephanopoulos interviewed him so tenderly, it was as if he was talking to a six-year-old boy.) In another five years hopefully this won’t matter, but for now we’re trapped in the times we live in. The reign of The Gay Man as Magical Elf, who whenever he comes out appears before us as some kind of saintly E.T. whose sole purpose is to be put in the position of reminding us only about Tolerance and Our Own Prejudices and To Feel Good About Ourselves and to be a symbol instead of just being a gay dude, is—lamentably—still in media play. 

And was pilloried by the LGBTQIA-and-sometimes-P community:

Gay activists dive-bombing other gays who express an opinion that doesn’t lean toward their agenda means that within the gay world we are living in a very simplistic place. A barbed observational opinion tweeted by a gay man about gay men in Hollywood—and not directed at anyone—becomes, in the world of GLAAD, hate-speech. When a community prides itself on its differences and uniqueness and bans the gay man because of the way the gay man expresses himself—then a corporate PC fascism has been put into play that needs to be seriously reconsidered by the LGBT community. This is a problem: If you are a gay man who is not The Gay Man as Magical Elf, then you run the risk of being ostracized by the elite gay community. An organization holding an awards ceremony that they think represents all gays and also feels that they can choose which gays can and cannot be a member of the party is, on the face of it, ridiculous. The fact remains that if you aren’t presenting yourself as a happy homosexual promoting healthy mainstream gay values and pimping for GLAAD, then you’re somehow defaming The Cause. 

And so I can imagine that someone who views the annual Gay Pride parades with some disgust and who is a "straight" homosexual, as it were, would find themselves going against the herd mentality that screams, 'WE ARE ALL-INCLUSIVE!" and who let's anyone into the club . . . no matter how queer in the traditional sense of the word.

Alex Notte and Belen Mozo in the East Tennessee Catholic

I photographed the pictures for this article from the East Tennessee Catholic.

Alex Notte and Belen Mozo share a passion for golf. Now, the Bearden High School student who is a member of All Saints Church and the international golf pro have something else in common—a date to remember to Bearden’s senior prom.

Alex has become an overnight sensation after being featured in newspaper and television reports for his YouTube video inviting Miss Mozo, a rising star on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour, to the prom. The video, which was shot by Alex’s sister, Arielle, has nearly 10,000 hits and the number has risen every day.

Read the rest of the article to learn what a special kid is Alex.  Alex has neurological disabilities as a result of a very premature birth.  But hello, put that aside - the guy has a mean swing in golf, in which he competes in Special Olympics, competes in a swim club, participates in Jr ROTC, and maintains a devout spiritual life.  Frankly - and pun intended - that places him on par with his peers, if not shooting well below them with no handicap.

Here is my set of pictures that I shot that night.

Alex was thrilled to be able to introduce his date to his very good friend, Fr. Michael Woods, who gave the blessing before dinner

I R Confused

Meanwhile . . .


The woman in charge of the IRS division responsible for reviewing tax-exempt status applications and who is at the heart of an ongoing scandal over revelations the agency targeted conservative groups is set to receive an honorary tribute from Western New England University School of Law on Saturday.

Lois Lerner – director for the IRS Exempt Organization Division – is slated to deliver the school’s commencement address and be given the university’s “President’s Medallion.”

And now for your daily tap dance from the White House's own trained monkey:


"I still don't quite understand the timeline," said MSNBC's Chuck Todd, about the IRS scandal. "We had members of Congress complaining about this for two years. Did it just never reach you guys here at the White House that there was these complaints that conservative groups felt they were being singled out and targeted?"

"I'm sure people were aware of and knew some of the stories that had been reported about the complaints, but we were not aware of any activity or of any review conducted by the inspector general until several weeks ago," Carney responded.

Todd replied, "Should you have been made aware sooner? I don't understand."

"Let's just say that -- well, first of all for all the reasons why distance between -- you know, why the IRS should not be politicized, you know, there has to be that distance. But on the specific question that you had, I want to wait and see what the report says and wait and see what we actually know happened and what the facts are before we comment beyond what the president said yesterday on this matter and before we make any decisions or pronouncements about what actions should be taken. I mean, you heard the president say what he believed and what he feels what is reported about specific targeting turned out to be true. But we need to see if that's actually the case," Carney said.

Wait, didn't he say the other day that the President learned about the IRS scandal from the news . . . which broke just last week and not "several weeks ago?"

Gosnell avoids death penalty

Kermit Gosnell will receive life in prison for killing babies born alive in his West Philadelphia abortion facility.

Gosnell avoided the death penalty for three counts of first-degree murder by waiving his right to an appeal in exchange for a two consecutive life sentences. 

I am okay with this.  He does not pose a threat to anyone in prison; actually, it is he who will have to watch his back, given his notoriety.  He will die in prison - so there is a chance, there is always a chance, for redemption.  I am happy for his convictions.

Priest: No experience necessary

A radio show I tune into in the mornings if I am driving is Seize the Day on The Catholic Channel.  Its host, Gus Lloyd, is intelligent and well-spoken, and I enjoy his topics.  I even call in sometimes.

A discussion ensued last week about this topic - the Class of 2013 for the Catholic priesthood and what their backgrounds show:

Among the survey’s findings:

• the median age of ordinands is 32; the mean age, 35.5
• the typical diocesan ordinand lived in his diocese for 18 years before entering seminary, though 15% had lived in their diocese for less than a year before entering seminary
• 67% of ordinands are white, 15% are Latino, 10% are Asian, and 5% are black
• 9% are converts, with the average age of reception into the Church being 24
• 34% have a relative who was a priest or religious
• in 81% of cases, both parents were Catholic
• 4% have served in the US Armed Forces; 13% had a parent who spent his career in the military
• 68% regularly prayed the Rosary, and 62% regularly participated in Eucharistic adoration, before entering the seminary
• ordinands typically first began to consider the priesthood at 16
• 67% were encouraged by their parish priest to consider a vocation; 46% were encouraged by a friend, 38% by a parishioner, 34% by their mother, and 22% by their father
• 19% were discouraged by a priest from considering a vocation; 30% were discouraged by their fathers, 28% by their mothers, 43% by other family members
• 20% have five or more siblings, 10% have four siblings, 22% have three siblings, 24% have two siblings, 21% have one sibling, and 3% have no siblings
• 40% are the oldest children in their families
• 63% had earned their undergraduate degree before entering seminary, and 23% had earned a graduate degree
• 62% worked full time before entering seminary
• 47% took part in a parish youth group, and 35% took part in Boy Scouts
• 20% took part in a World Youth Day, and 11% took part in a Franciscan University of Steubenville summer conference
• 67% had served as altar servers, 55% as readers, and 46% as extraordinary ministers of the Holy Communion before entering seminary

The discussion gravitated towards the first point, the rise in median age for new priests - and was this a good thing?

My opinion is that it is.  At age 19, my father was on Omaha Beach at Normandy.  At age 19, my friend, Eddie, was in the jungles of Vietnam.  For many men in the past, at age 19 they were working men and many were supporting their growing families.  But the typical 19-year-old today is probably griping in a community college somewhere how unfair it is that the teacher does not grade on a curve, or thinking about how he will afford the latest fashions being offered at Hot Topic or Abercrombie & Fitch or Ed Hardy at the local mall.  Adolescence is extending into the early 20's and I think many young men are not given the opportunity to grow up.

A number of callers talked about how an older priest brings "life experiences" to the priesthood.  No, that is not the key to success:  there can be a man who has had an absolute dissolute life and has learned nothing from it.  "Life experiences" he has a-plenty, but they do him no good.  I recall a priest who used to be in the Diocese of Orange who bragged about all the bad things he did in life, and told everyone how he woke up in a jail cell and had a "conversion of spirit."  He left the priesthood, eventually - I do not know the circumstances, but when I was in the same parish as him, I just felt he brought up his past a little too often and would jokingly "challenge" parishioners to "shock" him in the Confessional, because whatever they would say, he could tell you worse stories.

No, what is needed for priest, as several callers eloquently said, was a man with spiritual maturity.  Maybe for one it is there at 19 - perhaps for another he does not reach it until his later years.

A friend recently reacted to the term "vocations crisis." on Facebook with this comment:

I've said this before, but it's been a long time, so I'll say it again: There is no "vocations crisis." God is calling as many people to Holy Orders and consecrated life as the Church needs. What there's a shortage of is discernment. And that occurs as much on the side of Church authorities as on the side of those being called.

Indeed.  And true discernment can only come about with spiritual maturity, whether it is needed by the man who believes God is calling him or the men who must decide whether another is fit to enter their priestly fraternity.

Many of the high school seminaries have closed, which is a pity since they allowed that "lifer" (I recall an older priest in Orange referring to himself as that when he was the pastor of a church I attended when I was single, since he said he "knew" he would be a priest when he was 8 or 9 years old) to follow his path happily or, at the very least, allowed a young man to even consider a life as a priest.  When I spoke with Reverend Mother Marietta of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood recently, a cloistered order of nuns who sacrifice their lives to pray for the holiness of priests, she noted how Catholics are widely disseminated into secular society and consequently, many have never even seen a religious or do not have regular contact with them, and that same society provides too many distractions to prevent them from such a consideration.  The same problem, she also noted, applies to priests - they, too, are bombarded with so much information and distraction that the possibilities for them to get "off-track" have multiplied.

I knew a priest who went the "lifer" route.  His childhood was marred by poor health and sexual abuse, and I recall him saying that at one point, when a tumor threatened his young life, he made a "promise" to become a priest if he survived.  And so he went to a seminary high school that got him out of the house - and away from his abuser.  From seminary high school, he transitioned into a seminary for his undergraduate studies, and thereafter remained there until his ordination - except for a short time when he left, pursued a relationship with a young lady, even contemplating marriage with her, but that fell apart when she realized his homosexual orientation, and returned to the seminary with his hopes for a "normal" life with her gone.  And became a priest when he was 27 years old.

Why do I bring up this story?  Because I think it serves the purpose to illustrate a situation where spiritual maturity was lacking.  I would not discourage a young boy's hopes of becoming a priest, but caution them when they stem from a child's bargain with God, and when such a child is being sexually abused by his own father.  One would hope that someone at the seminary - and the authorities there did know about this - would suggest that the priesthood might be serving more as an escape, and again, proceed with caution, questioning whether therapy was needed for his childhood trauma or whether the priesthood was a "rebound" after a failed relationship that might have been less love and more a quest to be "normal" based on an immature sexuality.  

But no one wanted to do that, no one wanted to make a hard call - no one wanted to protect the priesthood.  And yes, this priest - who remains one today - has been placed by me on the Handmaids' "target list" to open the gates of Heaven on him.  Hopefully, one day the good sisters can be saying a prayer of thanksgiving instead of petition for healing (they gave me a copy of their founder's, Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, biography and his compassion for this wayward brother priests was immense).

Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, SP

“He who would truly honor the priesthood must do so by helping priests. I would rather have a hand in getting one priest back to the altar of God than to write a thousand books on the priesthood, or to preach a million sermons on the glory of the priesthood, for neither the sermons nor the books can hold Christ in their hands and offer Him to the Father.”   - Fr. Fitzgerald


The statistics look good for the Class of 2013 because the most important factor is present to ensure spiritual maturity:  prayer.  A solid and habitual prayer life can only deepen a relationship with Christ and allow for true discernment to the priesthood.  A friend of mine, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, once made the comment that priest get in trouble when they get too busy to pray their breviary.  A priest takes a vow to pray the Divine Office five times a day, as found in their breviary - while that remains their discipline, I wonder how many realize its their life preserver?

The Catholic priesthood:  no experience necessary, but maturity is critical.  Do not answer God's call for any reason but to serve.

Oh, and something Fr. Fitzgerald's book made me realize - Jesus Christ said, "I am with you always."  He is present physically in the Holy Eucharist.  Only a priest can consecrate the bread and wine into His Body and Blood.  Thus, we need priests so that 24/7, the Eucharist is present on this earth to fulfill Jesus' promise.  Don't let Him down, guys.

Arrival of Handmaids of the Precious Blood in Tennessee

050613 Arrival of Handmaids of the Precious Blood in Tennessee, a set on Flickr.

Want to do some nun-gazing today? These women are beautiful!

Find out more about them.

Interesting phrasing

He talked about visiting disaster sites in Boston and West Texas and being impressed with the spirit of the people. He said he wanted to “see we can institutionalize that.”

Doesn't that seem contradictory, sort of like trying to bottle good will?  When politicians speak of "institutionalizing" the "spirit of the people," I am reminded of the Nuremberg Rallies held by Nazi Germany.

Mackerel-snappin' on the rise (or why I am durn glad to be in Knoxville)

Several weeks ago, I went down to photograph the guys getting our retreat center ready for the Handmaids of the Precious Blood and fell into conversation with Al Forsythe, who oversees the center.  Remarking about everything that was going on in the Diocese of Knoxville, we had to conclude there was just a grand amount of holiness coming in.  Our vocations numbers are up and continue to thrive.  We have the upcoming Eucharistic Congress with a top-rated panel of speakers.  The Glenmary Brothers are doing extraordinary mission work in rural counties.  The Handmaids are taking up residence here.  Catholic Charities of East Tennessee is well received by the community.  Our two high schools - Knoxville Catholic HS and Notre Dame HS in Chattanooga - were voted among the top 50 Catholic high schools nationwide.  One of Pope Francis' first apostolic blessings was for Knoxville.  We are blessed not only with a great Bishop, but have the presence of a good Cardinal.

In short, God is smilin' on Rocky Top and the Body of Christ is vibrant.

So it was no surprise to read this:


New data shows that some of the fastest growing dioceses in the country are deep in the U.S. South.


The third fastest developing diocese is Atlanta, which saw the number of registered parishioners explode from nearly 322,000 in 2002 to one million in 2012 — an increase of more than twofold, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. Atlanta also has the largest Eucharistic Congress in the country, with an annual attendance of about 30,000, according to an archdiocesan official.

Atlanta is not alone. Charleston has seen a 50% increase in parishioners over the last decade. Charlotte grew by a third, as did Little Rock. The Diocese of Knoxville, established just 25 years ago, is now the 25th fastest growing in the nation — and would rank near the top if those official figures counted as many as 60,000 unregistered Hispanic congregants, according to a diocesan official.

Dioceses like Knoxville stand in stark contrast to former Catholic strongholds like Boston and Philadelphia where parish consolidations, school closures, and dwindling priests are the norm.

“Instead of us closing parishes and closing schools, we’re doing the opposite. We’re in total growth mode,” said Deacon Sean Smith, chancellor for the Diocese of Knoxville.

When Knoxville was established as a diocese in 1988 it had 37 parishes. It has since added 14, including four mission parishes. It has also expanded three parishes, built a new high school, and opened one middle-elementary school. Meanwhile, the number of parishioners has doubled.

One telling indicator is vocations to the priesthood. Knoxville expects to have 23 men in graduate seminary next year. Contrast the Archdiocese of Chicago, which has 37 times as many parishioners but only three times as many graduate seminarians next year, at an anticipated enrollment of 70. Boston, which is nearly 30 times the size of Knoxville, will have 60.

“There’s excitement here in Tennessee and I would say in the Southeast in general,” Smith said.

I have said, it is not that people in the South are more conservative, but they are more serious about their Christian faith here in the Bible Belt.  And it is far more ingrained than in other areas of the United States.  To wit, a local pharmacy had a sign outside that I read yesterday:  "Save on prescriptions!  John 3:16."  It is not unusual to see a mom-and-pop business have advertisements to wish their customers a happy Easter and add, "He is risen, alleluia!"  I think these people would be confused if someone from a large metropolitan area like New York or Los Angeles told them that they were so "religious" - that is just who they are and as essential a part of them as breathing.  Although we remain in the minority, Catholics are no exception.  Many of us here are converts to the faith and bring that old time religion of the rugged Cross to Catholicism.

This guy is a big reason why the Diocese of Knoxville is doing so well . . . and why our priests stay in line
Hey, Bishop . . . go Yankees!  (ducks quickly)

It is a great article.  And please, early September is a lovely time to visit East Tennessee - so come to our Eucharistic Congress and have y'allselves a right good time.  There'll be biscuits!

Too tired from the crassness of "Saturday Night Live" to be outraged, frankly ...

“Saturday Night Live” mocked the Republican-led effort to investigate Benghazi, opening its show this week with a sketch about Wednesday’s hearing.

“Rep. Darrell Issa” bemoaned the lack of media coverage Benghazi has received, “with the exception of Fox News.” “Rep. Elijah Cummings” offered that the reason the media hasn’t covered Benghazi is because “everyone knows this is just a partisan witch hunt, and a chance to attack the president and Secretary of State Clinton.”

Issa said he’d like to see the media ignore the hearing this time…and brought out just-convicted murderer “Jodi Arias.”

“Rep. Trey Gowdy” took the lead in questioning Arias, asking her when she first became aware of the attack on the American diplomatic post. This morning, she said.

“Is it still going on?” Arias asked.

“N-no, it happened last September,” Gowdy said.

“Who do you think did it?” she asked

“Well we know who did it, it was Ansar al-Sharia.” he replied.

“Well if you know who did it, why are you holding these hearings?” Arias asked.

After Arias was finished, Cummings protested that Issa brought her in purely to increase the hearing’s TV ratings, and asked whether he planned to have Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro testify next. And indeed, he did.

I did not watch the sketch but I do not need to do so to know it is poorly timed and thus distasteful.  Last night, I briefly heard Mike Huckabee's show and he was interviewing Pat Smith, the mother of Sean Smith, who was one of the four killed in Benghazi.  These hearings matter to her because the question is not who killed Smith and the others, it is why Obama and Clinton allowed it to happen, it is why they lied to the American people for weeks about it, and what will prevent this from happening again.  To suggest the hearings are simply a "whodunnit" is to say, "Well, we don't need to prosecute Ariel Castro because after all, we know he did it."

Pat Smith's pain, even over radio, was evident.  Her child is dead.  She shares the pain with the mothers of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods, who will all have their first Mother's Day without their sons today.  I wonder if anyone in the cast or writers for "Saturday Night Live" might have thought that airing a sketch like that on the eve of this holiday would be hurtful to the family and simply poor, poor taste.  Or was it a case of "anything for the laugh?"  Although it seems for both the laugh and the politics . . . at the expense of another's pain.

Lorne Michaels:  "C'mon, it's funny."

And Travis Alexander's family, what of them?  Sure, they saw justice done with the conviction of Jodi Arias, but does that make the pain any less.  And the years of agony that the mothers of the women kidnapped by Ariel Castro, not knowing what the fate our their daughters was - yes, the story ends "happily," but is Lorne Michaels  so oblivious to the pain that still remains, and the years lost by these women to torture, that he can allow that to further an agenda against the GOP?

My outrage is dulled by fatigue.  Hollywood types are so out of touch with caring about others for the sake of ratings that the entire business is a giant sociopath.  You would hope that some deference can be shown to the family, especially the mothers on the eve of this first holiday without their kids.  Oh, but I guess Benghazi was such a "long time ago" - eight months ago - that is is fair game as fodder for jokes.

Happy Mothers Day!

I miss you, Ma!  My mother, Dorothy Koretzky Martin, was a class act - and a great mom.