The very reason why I am sick of the Roman Catholic Church (in fact, any faith that demands celibacy from clergy) was on full display on Friday. Fr. Henry Willenborg, a Franciscan priest, had his transgressions from over 20 years ago "exposed" and his name dragged through the mud that is the front page of the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/us/16priest.html Fr. Henry was attacked by the three-times-divorced woman, Pat Bond; their son, Nathan Halbach; and Laurie Goodstein, the author of the article. I will get to these attacks, but I need to give my connection to the story first.
I am a Roman Catholic. Not only that, but my parish priest is (or was) none other than Fr. Henry Willenborg himself. I know him as a good person, and a very good priest. My family is active in the Superior diocese, and I was confirmed in 2008 at Our Lady of the Lake. He is, in fact, the only person that has kept many of my friends and family in the Church.
The accusation that he was involved with Ms. Bond and another woman at the same time is completely false. He had broken off the relationship with the other woman years earlier, and she had followed him to Quincy, Ill. as a vindictive ex. ("A lifetime of pain"? Puh-leeze) Also, the complaints of "spending the least amount they could possibly spend under any circumstances" exposes her as a golddigger concerned with getting as much money as she can squeeze out of a priest who is under a vow of poverty and an order which has already paid her:
$85,000 at the birth of Mr. Halbach for his care, of which $38,000 was used for a down payment on a house;
Half of Mr. Halbach's expenses at the University of Missouri (in-state tuition: $20, 600 for the 2008-09 school year) plus $586 per month until he turned 21, which is a better deal than I can get.
Half of all medical expenses related to the cancer until he turned 23 (a very significant sum, and possibly more than insurance would cover.)
In fact, this issue wasn't brought to the media's attention until the Order finally said no to her endless requests for money. She then broke her confidentiality agreement and told her side of the story to the left-wingnuts at the Times.
As to the son's assertment that Fr. Henry wasn't there for him, how could he be? He was in charge of running a parish. At Our Lady of the Lake, this requires two priests, two ordained brothers, two lay deacons, and numerous others to cover two churches for a total of ten masses per week and a parish school (K-8).
The only reason that this is an issue at all is because of the anti-Catholic bias within the near-bankrupt New York Slimes. Fr. Henry has always been there for his parishoners when we needed him, and we will be there for him, now and forever.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
I'm Back!
A brilliant satire from the Ashland (WI) Daily Press.
http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2009/08/20/opinions/doc4a8c124f57e9e514848286.txt
Welcome to America, comrade
A Daily Press commentary
Published: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 10:13 AM CDT
Richard Coleman
"Yes, we can!" What a wonderful catch-phrase. It invoked such power to those who were tired of things the way they were. A brand new America! From now on everything will be better! Never again will we have to worry about running out of oil and gas, the ruling party has fixed that, they will just tax it to the point we can't use so much of it and then they will provide us with little teeny fuel efficient cars after they get rid of the old 'clunkers' we northerners are so used to dragging our families around in. Never again will we have to worry abut the Sun being obliterated by nasty fossil fuel generated industrial coal smoke — we will get used to having less of everything — after all, we are the biggest consumers ever and that just isn't fair to the rest of the world.
Now we can be just like Canada and Europe and stand in line to get free medical treatment! Doctors will be paid by the government and not by us, and that government can tell the doctors just how to treat us and how not to waste that precious tax money on someone who is just going to die anyway! How invigorating! Now that we have only one party running the United States of America we can look forward to fulfilling their long-time wishes of a country free of prejudices (the first in history), a country with no class distinction (except for the ruling class of course), a country where free enterprise will finally come under the government's control so some people won't actually earn more money than the people who work for them, a country where everyone's homes will eventually be the same so some of us do not use more energy than others — oh how exciting — I could go on forever!
Wow, I remember in GW Bush's second term when the ruling party and media started the take-over of government, the first thing Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid and their group did was outlaw the incandescent light bulb, you remember, the one that turns on the moment you flip the switch and actually did not have that subtle hummm sound while you are trying to read. I was so proud — they did it to save the planet and end our dependency on foreign oil. Of course I have always wondered why these people have always not wanted us to have nuclear energy — just like the French people have — so we could heat our homes and light our lives without using oil or coal, but I guess anyone smart enough to shun the power-hungry incandescent light bulb must have a good reason not to use nuclear energy, which I always felt would free up oil — of which we have plenty of our own — for powering America's transportation.
While we're at it, those stimulus deals to get America working again, you know, the future's money that was given to brokers and bankers and what was left over went somewhere else I guess, well this puts a new twist on the old saying from our pal Karl Marx "To those according to their needs from those according to their abilities," those brokers and bankers — the ones who weren't too good at their professions — well they sure did need our hard-earned money now, didn't they? We can sure count on congress to figure how to straighten these things right out for us now can't we. Don't blame the president if this thing goes south though, he doesn't make laws or enforce them, Congress is in charge of that. Just think, our very own Congressman Dave Obey has been busy making this government work for 40 years! Isn't that amazing; that is a lifetime for many of us!
It’s funny how things go in the world; the Russians are going more and more toward freedom and democracy while we seem to be rushing headlong toward a socialist republic. Who would have ever guessed? And as for that prejudices thing; I always wrote that off as practiced by stupid people, but I can see that there is no shortage of stupid people in this country and that is for sure; after all, many of them can be found in Congress.
Richard Coleman lives in La Pointe.
Comments as of 8/24/09:
jeremyoswald wrote on Aug 19, 2009 8:04 PM:
" Can Richard please provide an address so we can dump the nuclear waste at his house? That would great. "
johlsson wrote on Aug 20, 2009 6:32 AM:
" Richard, I was just wondering if you've ever cared a bit what the Russians did or did not do.I'm guessing you didn't.If my guess is correct, why should we care what they are doing now? It appears like you're invoking support for your argument from a particular source only when it's convenient for you to do so.Just one question about your polemic here. How exactly would you offer health care to the one sixth of Americans who have no medical coverage? Or are you happy to let them fend for themselves and get what they can afford, if that's nothing, then so be it? "
batman wrote on Aug 20, 2009 8:13 PM:
" May I make a suggestion for the 1 sixth,go back to Mexico. "
hodag55 wrote on Aug 22, 2009 11:09 AM:
" Batman, if you think it's only Mexicans that have no health insurance, next time you see your KKK buddies - ask them how many have health insurance. You'll be surprised how many whites also live with no health insurance. "
jeha wrote on Aug 22, 2009 11:12 AM:
" One of the uninsured, and never been to Mexico, batman, but way to make racist assumptions based on complete fiction! All kinds of people are uninsured--students, people with jobs that either don't provide health care or provide it at rates their employees can't afford, people who have been laid off. Must be nice to live in that bubble of smug ignorance, though. "
jj wrote on Aug 23, 2009 7:54 AM:
" If more people got off their fat arses, turned off the tv, and stopped eating all that refined sugary crap they wouldn't need so much health care to start with. Obesity just isn't cool anymore. "
123 wrote on Aug 23, 2009 11:56 PM:
" If Richard is so unhappy here, maybe he should leave! "
Plaster Caster wrote on Aug 24, 2009 9:04 AM:
" Just in case no one here gets it, both parties are tossing around fictious numbers as far as how many are or aren't insured. If you want an accurate figure contact your local bookie "
Obey's Army strikes again! Please join me in striking back.
Oh, by the way, jeremyoswald is tonight's winner of the "Shut the **** Up!" Award!
http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2009/08/20/opinions/doc4a8c124f57e9e514848286.txt
Welcome to America, comrade
A Daily Press commentary
Published: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 10:13 AM CDT
Richard Coleman
"Yes, we can!" What a wonderful catch-phrase. It invoked such power to those who were tired of things the way they were. A brand new America! From now on everything will be better! Never again will we have to worry about running out of oil and gas, the ruling party has fixed that, they will just tax it to the point we can't use so much of it and then they will provide us with little teeny fuel efficient cars after they get rid of the old 'clunkers' we northerners are so used to dragging our families around in. Never again will we have to worry abut the Sun being obliterated by nasty fossil fuel generated industrial coal smoke — we will get used to having less of everything — after all, we are the biggest consumers ever and that just isn't fair to the rest of the world.
Now we can be just like Canada and Europe and stand in line to get free medical treatment! Doctors will be paid by the government and not by us, and that government can tell the doctors just how to treat us and how not to waste that precious tax money on someone who is just going to die anyway! How invigorating! Now that we have only one party running the United States of America we can look forward to fulfilling their long-time wishes of a country free of prejudices (the first in history), a country with no class distinction (except for the ruling class of course), a country where free enterprise will finally come under the government's control so some people won't actually earn more money than the people who work for them, a country where everyone's homes will eventually be the same so some of us do not use more energy than others — oh how exciting — I could go on forever!
Wow, I remember in GW Bush's second term when the ruling party and media started the take-over of government, the first thing Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid and their group did was outlaw the incandescent light bulb, you remember, the one that turns on the moment you flip the switch and actually did not have that subtle hummm sound while you are trying to read. I was so proud — they did it to save the planet and end our dependency on foreign oil. Of course I have always wondered why these people have always not wanted us to have nuclear energy — just like the French people have — so we could heat our homes and light our lives without using oil or coal, but I guess anyone smart enough to shun the power-hungry incandescent light bulb must have a good reason not to use nuclear energy, which I always felt would free up oil — of which we have plenty of our own — for powering America's transportation.
While we're at it, those stimulus deals to get America working again, you know, the future's money that was given to brokers and bankers and what was left over went somewhere else I guess, well this puts a new twist on the old saying from our pal Karl Marx "To those according to their needs from those according to their abilities," those brokers and bankers — the ones who weren't too good at their professions — well they sure did need our hard-earned money now, didn't they? We can sure count on congress to figure how to straighten these things right out for us now can't we. Don't blame the president if this thing goes south though, he doesn't make laws or enforce them, Congress is in charge of that. Just think, our very own Congressman Dave Obey has been busy making this government work for 40 years! Isn't that amazing; that is a lifetime for many of us!
It’s funny how things go in the world; the Russians are going more and more toward freedom and democracy while we seem to be rushing headlong toward a socialist republic. Who would have ever guessed? And as for that prejudices thing; I always wrote that off as practiced by stupid people, but I can see that there is no shortage of stupid people in this country and that is for sure; after all, many of them can be found in Congress.
Richard Coleman lives in La Pointe.
Comments as of 8/24/09:
jeremyoswald wrote on Aug 19, 2009 8:04 PM:
" Can Richard please provide an address so we can dump the nuclear waste at his house? That would great. "
johlsson wrote on Aug 20, 2009 6:32 AM:
" Richard, I was just wondering if you've ever cared a bit what the Russians did or did not do.I'm guessing you didn't.If my guess is correct, why should we care what they are doing now? It appears like you're invoking support for your argument from a particular source only when it's convenient for you to do so.Just one question about your polemic here. How exactly would you offer health care to the one sixth of Americans who have no medical coverage? Or are you happy to let them fend for themselves and get what they can afford, if that's nothing, then so be it? "
batman wrote on Aug 20, 2009 8:13 PM:
" May I make a suggestion for the 1 sixth,go back to Mexico. "
hodag55 wrote on Aug 22, 2009 11:09 AM:
" Batman, if you think it's only Mexicans that have no health insurance, next time you see your KKK buddies - ask them how many have health insurance. You'll be surprised how many whites also live with no health insurance. "
jeha wrote on Aug 22, 2009 11:12 AM:
" One of the uninsured, and never been to Mexico, batman, but way to make racist assumptions based on complete fiction! All kinds of people are uninsured--students, people with jobs that either don't provide health care or provide it at rates their employees can't afford, people who have been laid off. Must be nice to live in that bubble of smug ignorance, though. "
jj wrote on Aug 23, 2009 7:54 AM:
" If more people got off their fat arses, turned off the tv, and stopped eating all that refined sugary crap they wouldn't need so much health care to start with. Obesity just isn't cool anymore. "
123 wrote on Aug 23, 2009 11:56 PM:
" If Richard is so unhappy here, maybe he should leave! "
Plaster Caster wrote on Aug 24, 2009 9:04 AM:
" Just in case no one here gets it, both parties are tossing around fictious numbers as far as how many are or aren't insured. If you want an accurate figure contact your local bookie "
Obey's Army strikes again! Please join me in striking back.
Oh, by the way, jeremyoswald is tonight's winner of the "Shut the **** Up!" Award!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
End of an Experiment (17 Mar - 31 Jul 2009)
When I introduced the "Sailor's Life" feature, my plan was to give future sailors an idea of what Navy life was like. That idea never got off the ground, partly because of the lack of internet access in boot camp (and my complete inability to remember when things happened while i was there), and partly because when I got to NNPTC (Naval Nuclear Power Training Command) in Goose Creek, SC, I found that it was a little boring. About the only things I experienced were:
Naval Military Training (NMT), also known as the phase system. Basically this is designed to ease the transition from boot camp to the outside world.
The end of the Navy Utility Uniform, which is being replaced by the Navy Working Uniform (NWU, digitilities)
Boot camp, of course, although I did not get a graduation ceremony (Pass-In Review) or Liberty Weekend due to failing run times.
And now, my personal experiment comes to an end, as I am receiving a General (Under Honorable Conditions) discharge from the Navy, effective 31 Jul 2009, for failing to disclose Asperger's Syndrome on my enlistment paperwork.
I have no regrets of my time in the Navy, and I have nothing but respect for the sailors that protect our country and our allies against all enemies, and I will answer any questions about the Navy to the best of my ability. I will continue to use this space for ramblings on my life, which will hopefully include enough events to update this blog more than once every four months.
I will sign off for now with a quote from my mom that I agree with and will support if some god ever curses me with public office.
"Every person should have to go through boot camp at some point in their lives."
Naval Military Training (NMT), also known as the phase system. Basically this is designed to ease the transition from boot camp to the outside world.
The end of the Navy Utility Uniform, which is being replaced by the Navy Working Uniform (NWU, digitilities)
Boot camp, of course, although I did not get a graduation ceremony (Pass-In Review) or Liberty Weekend due to failing run times.
And now, my personal experiment comes to an end, as I am receiving a General (Under Honorable Conditions) discharge from the Navy, effective 31 Jul 2009, for failing to disclose Asperger's Syndrome on my enlistment paperwork.
I have no regrets of my time in the Navy, and I have nothing but respect for the sailors that protect our country and our allies against all enemies, and I will answer any questions about the Navy to the best of my ability. I will continue to use this space for ramblings on my life, which will hopefully include enough events to update this blog more than once every four months.
I will sign off for now with a quote from my mom that I agree with and will support if some god ever curses me with public office.
"Every person should have to go through boot camp at some point in their lives."
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Matt Schaub Religion Rant!
Tonight, in the Facebook group “Petition to REMOVE ‘Soldiers are not heroes’ from Facebook”, Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub posted the following statement under the topic “Let’s keep prayer out of schools forever!”
“Too much time and effort are being used to keep Christian values in schools. Will someone please enlighten me as to why we have had to practically force our children to learn about a made up story and fictional character using my tax dollars?”
Ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s "Shut the F*** Up Award" winner!
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=58849197408&topic=7873
EDIT: He probably posted this too quickly, as he failed to take into account fake Facebook accounts. I would've apologized for him sooner, but I didn't check the blog for months. I blame boot camp. Buckybone 6/17/10
“Too much time and effort are being used to keep Christian values in schools. Will someone please enlighten me as to why we have had to practically force our children to learn about a made up story and fictional character using my tax dollars?”
Ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s "Shut the F*** Up Award" winner!
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=58849197408&topic=7873
EDIT: He probably posted this too quickly, as he failed to take into account fake Facebook accounts. I would've apologized for him sooner, but I didn't check the blog for months. I blame boot camp. Buckybone 6/17/10
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Small Town Politics
This is a man after my own heart.
Town of Gordon
I, ------- -----, have been asked if I am running for the board. I've also been told to run. I don't understand, you overwhelmingly chose
--- --- over me and now you want me to run against him.
I quit my job at the Town of Peeksville because of what was going on there. It was the same crap I've seen here. I have no intention of re-subjecting myself to this immature, asinine behavior. I am sorry but I will not be running for the board.
Reproduced from a paid ad in the January 3, 2009 edition of The Extra Shopper (Park Falls, WI). All names have been deleted, but the rest of the ad is shown exactly as it appeared in the original.
changes
After a long layoff, I'm back!
I will now be using this blog as a journal of sorts, titled Sailor's Life. Yes, I joined the US Navy, and will report to RTC Great Lakes on April 2.
Don't worry, the commentary will also be returning. It will written by a friend of mine, under the pen-name The People's Voice. His first post will be later today.
I will now be using this blog as a journal of sorts, titled Sailor's Life. Yes, I joined the US Navy, and will report to RTC Great Lakes on April 2.
Don't worry, the commentary will also be returning. It will written by a friend of mine, under the pen-name The People's Voice. His first post will be later today.
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