Ray Nagin and the "Chocolate City"

I've listened to the Martin Luther King Day comments and remarks made by Ray Nagin, current mayor of New Orleans, and his Democrat counterpart, Hillary Clinton, Senator from New York. Nagin has recently apologized for certain parts of his comments (which can be viewed here from the New Orleans' WDSU or read from transcript here). However, those parts of the speech were merely concerning the mentioning of God sending the Hurricanes, nothing more. His comments about a "Chocolate City" and how New Orleans will be "one again" has raised a serious uproar both in the city and across the Nation. As being from the area, born there and raised nearby, I find it to be rather disparaging for the kind of frenzy he worked himself into that day. Dr. King would not be proud.

Neither would Dr. King be proud of Senator Clinton's remarks comparing the House of Representatives to that of a plantation. It is just not right. It is a spit in the face to what Dr. King worked towards, that of equality. When remarks like that are accepted by a community at large when they are not the case (and clearly the House is NOT run like a plantation), then you actually take a step back for what Dr. King had accomplished in his life. What the African-American community must realize is that neither party is looking out for their interests and neither party is truly looking for equality. There must be eracism before racism can be wiped from the Earth. We not only should we be not racist but we should also be color-blind to race all together. Morgan Freeman put it best in a 60 Minutes interview about a month ago when posed the question, "How are we going to get rid of racism?" from Mike Wallace, and he responded by saying, "Stop talking about it."

All of these thoughts led me to write in to a specific PBS show, Washington Week, which I have been watching rather regularly as of late. They had a "What were they thinking?" segment that called for viewer comments, and well, I couldn't resist writing in. Apparently they had a shortage of comments this week because mine got in! So without further ado, my ten seconds of fame courtesy of who other than Hillary Clinton and Ray Nagin...

My comment read on on-air...

In response to Ms. Ifill's January 20, 2006 request for comment on her "What were they thinking?" segment:

As a native New Orleanian currently out-of-state, I was stunned to listen to Nagin's remarks. I thought he went off the deep end. However, Nagin and Clinton were doing the same thing. They were both playing to the crowd, which that day was predominantly African-Americans. They were caught up in the moment.

Saying the House is run like a plantation is a degrading statement. It's a far cry from being as repressive as the antebellum plantation system and thus is a slap in the face of the ancestors of many African-Americans these days, the slaves that were oppressed.

For all the talk of New Orleans as a melting pot, what it is and still has been a socio-economically divided city. What Nagin did was evoke a racial tone to an already brewing pot of trouble. From any other mouth such words would make many cry foul. What would have saved him face was not to call for the city to be a "chocolate" city but instead for it to be a "Neapolitan" city again. The city is a rich mix of cultures, and to include one race without the other is completely and utterly racist.

Both set of remarks, from Clinton and Nagin, were uncalled for and cheap allegories that have no place in today's society where we must get past race in order to actually defeat racism.

John Book
College Station, TX

Yurttasisms to Live By...

Rare is the case that a Texas A&M computer science undergraduate doesn't have the privilege to take a course from the esteemed senior lecturer, Dr. Salih Yurttas. He is famous among the computer science student body for his quotes and sayings that are often peppered amid his lectures on topics of the design of programming languages, database systems, or distributed objects programming, among others. He is programming language maven with extensible educational programming examples on everything from smalltalk and simula to java, c, c++, c#, perl and python among others. His booming (and I mean booming) Turkish accent is a memorable and sometimes unnerving sound that has been described as a mix between Count Chocula and the "IKEA Guy." I had the pleasure of taking his programming languages design class last semester and have yet to regret it since.

Some of the memorable quotes, the Yurttasisms that have come to be priceless:

In Latin, they write left to right. Arabic writes right to left. Chinese write top to bottom. No one has thought of writing bottom to top.

Our angel on the fourth floor has taken care of this for us. -Speaking of Bjarne Stroustrup

Don't tell me 'I know these things.' I know you know these things but the problem is you never do.

You know what I always say, kill three birds with two stones.

You will learn this both properly and fully.

You will never do this; that is the 1950's way of programming.

Some may argue that his teaching style can be unorthodox at times, but I will fervently argue the opposite: that we in fact need more to teach in his style of teaching by example and sometimes lofty assignments. For when one keeps an open mind, one will always learn more than by keeping one's mind closed to instruction.

Oddly enough...

I don't know how much stock to take in this, but it seems fun enough...

You scored as English. You should be an English major! Your passion lies in writing and expressing yourself creatively, and you hate it when you are inhibited from doing so. Pursue that interest of yours!

English 100% Philosophy 100% Journalism 100% Engineering 83% Dance 75% Mathematics 75% Theater 75% Linguistics 75% Psychology 67% Anthropology 50% Art 42% Sociology 42% Chemistry 33% Biology 33% What is your Perfect Major?

Roberts Confirmation and Anti-Catholicism in the United States

I've meant to comment for quite some time on this article since mid-September but due because of my schedule I have waited until now. However, the topic is still fresh in noteworthiness here in America, as it has been since the United States' founding over 200 years ago. What are the place of Catholics, especially active Catholics in tune with their moral conscience based in a foriegn state? As Catholics we believed in this day in age that we have forever banished the question: "As practicing Catholic, is a person fit to hold office?"

With the media these days, much of it filled with anti-Catholic sentiment, I guess we cannot. Entertainment is set on bashing traditional Catholicism even more than the media in their pathetic satire, so much so that Viacom (parent company of Comedy Central) recently banished one South Park episode titled "Blood Mary" that first aired on the eve of the Immaculate Conception, the Catholic feast day honoring the Virgin Mary. This kind of tasteless satire is both demeaning and rude. Not mention, it's happened countless times in one form or another throughout recent years from the Pope picture-tearing on live television during on Saturday Night Live by Sinéad O'Connor, which has since also been bannished from public viewing altogether like the one South Park episode, to being the butt of jokes on the priesthood scandals—something that should not be joked lightly about.

However, this is not what I came to comment about today. I wanted to comment on the Christopher Hitchens opinion article Catholic Justice: Quit tiptoeing around John Roberts' faith from Slate.com. The curt words of Hitchens in his labasting of good Catholics, stating simply:

If Roberts is confirmed there will be quite a bloc of Catholics on the court. Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas are strong in the faith. Is it kosher to mention these things? The Constitution rightly forbids any religious test for public office, but what happens when a religious affiliation conflicts with a judge's oath to uphold the Constitution?

Now that John Roberts has been confirmed and Samuel Alito has been nominated to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, must we hear this nonsensical ideological garbage again? Hitchens continues to insinuate later in his piece that through the actions of the Catholic Church in the child abuse scandals and the Church's teachings on abortion and evolution (which he both clearly and fervrantly disagrees with) that Church (and its members) is solely political in nature. Hitchens must realize that moral teachings WILL collide with political issues from time to time and that does not mean there will be any resulting double allegiance issues, which worried the WASP's during the 1960 election of John F. Kennedy, our first Catholic president. This new round of insuations in merely more anti-Catholic sentiment popping up in Supreme Court issues.

Hitchens even goes so far to equate Opus Dei, an organization that Supreme Court Antonin Scalia (a Catholic) is a member of, to that of the Ku Klux Klan, a totally outrageous notion that should not be given the time of day in consideration. What does it then? Because it is "cool" to bash Catholicism.

Well, I think Scalia put it best when he addressed a group of the Knights of Columbus (which protected the Church in the South decades ago from Klan anti-Catholic violence) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: "Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world." Amen. Give me Scalia any day over a bucketful of contemptable liberals.

Hope for a New Year

I've read news I've been waiting to hear for four months now. Benson has said the Saints will return to New Orleans again next season. To practice at their Metairie facility and play games in Louisiana. Thank Heavens!

There's even talk of having the Superdome ready for mid-September 2006. So Christmas Miracles do happen, I suppose. There is always hope at the start of a new year. WWL-TV's Jim Henderson had it right when he described the Benson-New Orleans as a marriage of sorts in his December 30th Commentary:

And so it wasn't a divorce after all, just a separation these last four months between Tom Benson and the New Orleans fans.

In [sic] behalf of those fans, I would say this:
As in any separation we both probably said and did some things during it we regret.

[...]

You without us and us without you wouldn't ever be the same.

You have wants and needs. We have wants and needs.

We can only hope that these last four months have given both of us greater wisdom to recognize the difference.

God willing, New Orleans will return to the great city it was and become even better in the days and years to come. For Auld Lang Syne and the new days to come. Cheers to New Orleans and 2006. Happy New Year!

Aggie Awakening #75

Amazing, simply AMAZING! Each time, whether as a retreater or a staffer, the experience becomes evermore profound. Why you ask? Well, not to ruin it for those yet to experience it, but simply because of the profound impact this retreat has on one's faith life.

The retreat is a weekend-long retreat that occurs three times a year: in the spring, the summer, and the fall. The retreaters are put together in groups, or "tables," for the weekend and madness and mania ensue! I'm joking here, of course. There are talks and discussions, so come ready to share. Overall, it's an amazing experience and one that I will continue to cherish (and renew) each semester.

Christ be beside me; Christ be before me; Christ be behind me; Christ be within me; Christ in my sleeping; Christ in my sitting, Christ in my rising, Christ be in all hearts thinking about me; Christ be on all tongues telling of me; Christ be the vision in eyes that see me; in ears that hear me, Christ ever be.

When the Saints Go Marching In

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.

Holy Virgin of virgins,
Saint Michael,
Saint Gabriel,
Saint Raphael,
All you holy angels and archangels,
All you holy orders of blessed spirits,
Saint John the Baptist,
Saint Joseph,
All you holy patriarchs and prophets,
Saint Peter,
Saint Paul,
Saint Andrew,
Saint James,
Saint John,
Saint Thomas,
Saint James,
Saint Philip,
Saint Bartholomew,
Saint Matthew,
Saint Simon,
Saint Thaddeus,
Saint Matthias,
Saint Barnabas,
Saint Luke,
Saint Mark,
All you holy apostles and evangelists,
All you holy disciples of Our Lord,
All you holy innocents,
Saint Stephen,
Saint Lawrence,
Saint Vincent,
Saints Fabian and Sebastian,
Saints John and Paul,
Saints Cosmas and Damian,
All you holy martyrs,
Saint Sylvester,
Saint Gregory,
Saint Ambrose,
Saint Augustine,
Saint Jerome,
Saint Martin,
Saint Nicholas,
All you holy bishops and confessors,
All you holy doctors,
Saint Anthony,
Saint Benedict,
Saint Bernard,
Saint Dominic,
Saint Francis,
All you holy priests and brothers,
All you holy monks and hermits,
Saint Mary Magdalen,
Saint Agatha,
Saint Lucy,
Saint Agnes,
Saint Cecilia,
Saint Catherine,
Saint Anastasia,
All you holy virgins and widows,

All you holy men and women, saints of God,
Pray for us.

Living with Dreams

Many forget that the sacrifices one must take in order to achieve ones dreams do not come without costs or without lost. It is with this in mind that one must dream big and never lose sight of one's goals.

Running Down the Batteries...

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

--Philippians 4:6-7

I am by nature an anxious person. I fret and worry about just about anything of significance...at least until I become immune to worry. Some times worries just need to be ignored or, better yet, left in the dust completely.

Case in point, take my car, a wonderful old (relatively speaking) clunker of a Ford (Found On Roadside Dead...FORD). I went out to my car tonight to go to a party and pick up next week's groceries before Midnight Yell, only to find my car battery completely dead and my car boxed in next to a gas-guzzling pick-up parked too close to my driver's side door. Trust in the Lord, and he will provide. Thank God for friends, I tell you!

Take another point such as classes or whatever causes stress. There are good stressors (eustress) and bad stressors (distress). It's all what you make out of it. Ever heard of the expression, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade?" Or any other derived saying? Of course! It's seeing the silver lining in all aspects of one's day whether it's 100 degrees outside in the blazing sun and getting a sunburn or if it's a task-driving course that seems to be beating you senselessly. It's all about seeing the good of the situation. It's all about perseverance.

Another Bible verse comes to mind for me in this case where we are told that God does not give us more than we can handle and that all that it takes is trust in Him, who has given us so much despite are ever-present unworthiness for His love.

Out of Darkness Comes Light

Finally a day with some cool weather. No rain to speak of from the Storm, just lots and lots of steady wind. Oddly enough it did feel like autumn, since we're already into our second day of it...supposedly. Nevertheless, it has been a very nice day here, much better than expected.

I have plenty to be thankful for. The day off we were given on Friday was a nice break. It allowed us students to volunteer at local shelters for those evacuating from the coastal regions. It also acted as a sort of second Saturday...three day weekends are always nice. That being said, after a productive day on Friday I've had a seriously lazy streak today. I haven't done much, but I'll get my act together for Monday. I moved the car from the Central campus garage this evening and couldn't help but notice the perfectly clear blue skies. It was about 7 p.m. when I passed by Kyle Field on my way to the Koldus garage, around the time the A&M football game was scheduled. It was perfect football weather, absolutely perfect fall weather. How ironic.

Forgiving the Unforgivable

Today, everyone knows, is September 11th. It's the fourth anniversary of the horrific World Trade Center/Pentagon attacks. It is an also important day. It is a day for us Americans to reflect on how we should treat the rest of world, including the Muslims both here and across the world. How should we as Christians act? I don't be cliché like, but what would Jesus do? I ask this honestly. Should we treat hate with equal if not greater hatred? The answer should be apparent to you. NO. Revenge is best served on a cold platter, but it is something that should be removed from our vocabulary. Revenge is not reserved for us. God did not give us our gifts here, our one's here on an Earthly loan for the duration our lifespan, for hatred and revenge. Those are not the actions of true Christians. When I see overly judgmental, the ones who judge to a fault, I cringe. This includes myself at times. What place do we have to chastise our brother or sister if our own sins equal if not surpass our fellow brother or sister?

Take for instance the Gospel reading for Friday, September 9th:

Jesus told his disciples a parable:
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

--Luke 6:39-42

Another pertinent Bible passage on how we should handle hatred is the first reading from this Sunday's mass, of September 11th:

Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.
Forgive your neighbor’s injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the Lord?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.

--Sirach 27:30-28:7

How more true can this be? Hate not your neighbor. That's every neighbor, not just our Christian brothers. Do not cherish wrath as the others do, rather cherish love. Cherish God in all his glory.

May God give rest and repose to the victims of September 11th and strength of spirit to the their families on this difficult day. Amen.

Silver Taps

What a roller coaster of a time. One day I'm feeling on top of the world, the next I'm in the trash heap. What honestly gives? Silver Taps was tonight, Brian's Silver Taps. I felt so disconnected with the so many other Silver Taps I have attended over the past two years because I felt that I should know something more about those I come to commemorate.

Well, I know for a fact now that knowing them doesn't help any either. It allows the opening of old wounds, letting them fester in the harsh reality that is life now. I couldn't help but feel Brian's presence there. It was as if he was there still, like my first semester where he was directing our small games group for TAGD telling me not to worry. All I kept hearing was "Don't worry." The sounds of sirens blared in the background as we awaited the arrival of the Ross Volunteers. The sirens reminded me of those that I'm sure were present after Brian's wreck on Highway 6. The sirens came and went, but my replaying of the events around the time of his death only continued to bother me. I remember the wreck each time I drive that stretch of road. I will always have that on my mind. I just wish this was all a bad dream, and that I could wake up knowing it wasn't true.

But, it is true and that is something we all have to accept in the end. For we pray in the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." Plain and simple. His will is His will, come what may His will will be done. Nothing will change that.

"I Still Heart New Orleans"

Today's daily mass reading that, although not originally meant for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, certainly now fits. May we do God's will in our actions and pray that God grant us the strength to persevere.

Brothers and sisters:
From the day we heard about you, we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

--Colossians 1:9-14 NAB

A Day of Prayer for Katrina's Victims

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco called for today to be a day of prayer for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. They opened up today's press conference with a set of prayers from the Archbishop of New Orleans Hughes and other spiritual leaders from the area. It was a very moving thing to see.

This is today's Bible verse from a Bible calendar I received over the summer is a very insightful and true statement for what the Lord will require of all us in the coming months of recovery from Hurricane Katrina. It goes as follows:

All that you have commanded we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. -- Joshua 1:16 NASB.

May God bless those affected by Katrina, those who are helping to bring things back to a sort of normalcy, and those who have perished because of this awful natural disaster. May God changes the hearts of those inconsiderate and greedy looters that their dangerous activities may cease so that peace and order can be returned to the ravaged communities. May God be with all today and every day. Amen.

Hurricane Katrina

This is THE ONE. It's it, and there's no doubt about it now. I've been vigilantly watching it on the local CBS affiliate in New Orleans WWL-TV since I've learned of the doomsday track aimed at New Orleans Saturday evening. Surprisingly, I failed to keep my eye on the storm since it's beginnings because of my vacation and move back to College Station. My family and friends have since moved out of harm's way, thankfully, and now all we can do is watch now and pray.

160 MPH sustained winds and at one time stronger than Camille...may God have mercy on those still in the city there. A once-in-a-lifetime storm, thank God.