The Toledo Catholic Bishop [again]

I wonder how often the Bishop of Toledo has been in the news in the past 10 years? Predominantly, his newsworthiness has been associated with the priest sexual abuse issue or the Fr. Gerald Robinson murder case. Now the bishop is back again in the news.

It seems that he and the pastor of St. Rose Parish in Perrysburg have a personality clash going on and the negative fallout from it bolsters the negative opinion of the Catholic hierarchy once again.

Fr. Tom Leyland wants to stay on as pastor, bit the very conservative bishop has other ideas. The Blade has a story about this. Leyland is one of those liberal priests left in the Toledo Diocese who has been openly critical of the church in the past. His views are unwelcome by the new bishop who, of course, has the power.

It's not right vs wrong; its a power play and Fr. Leyland strikes out. But the 'loss' is racked up against the Church.

update June 27

How's this for the ultimate power play by the church: The bishop WILL meet with the parishioners of St. Rose Parish on MONDAY. Conveniently, that is the day AFTER Fr. Leyland will retire.

Are these the Middle Ages?

Lee Iacocca: Where have all of the Leaders Gone? Part 3

He writes: Why don't we bring democracy to our friends the Saudis? Iacocca asks why George W. didn't first attempt to 'bring democracy' to the Saudis, the Bush Family friends. After all, he notes, wouldn't it be much easier to try 'spreading democracy' to a friendly nation before one tries it on an unfriendly one?

Of course, this is all tongue-in-cheek because he and I and many well-read Americans know thwo things about this democracy thing: 1. it was a ruse, a shift in purpose after the initial reason for war [WMD's] fell through; 2. the Bush family is way too tight with the house of Saud to demand that they change their brutal monarchy.

Fifteen of the sixteen 9-11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Does that ring a bell? Of course, Bush family friend James Baker defended Saudi Arabia in a law suit brought by the 9-11 families; he won.

Iacocca notes that in Saudi Arabia: there is no constitution, no legislature, no due process of law; no demonstrations against the government; one legal religion [Islam]; corporal punishment; publicv executions; women cannot vote; a woman must have written permission from the husband to work, study, or travel; religious police monitor women's clothing; there is no alcohol permitted.

Iacocca notes the poverty in the nation except for the royal family. There are hundreds of gold-encased palaces, hundreds of wives, millions blown on vacations, gambling, and high living . He says: these guys make Saddam Hussein look downright middle-class.

Here's a final note: to top it off, every schoolchild in Saudi Arabia is taught that their sole duty in life is to destroy everything America stands for.

He concludes: Why do we tolerate this? It's the oil. We have sold our souls for oil.

Lee Iacocca: Where have all of the Leaders Gone? Part 2

That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.

Shake off the horseshit? But, Mr. Iacocca, it has been layered onto us thickly for more than 6 years already. We've been accustomed to it and, besides, it takes work, time, and frankly, some rocking of the boat; most Americans don't like to rock the boat. Of course, many don't understand that the boat s already sinking.

Let's tell 'em all we've had enough. OK, lets do that, but who are 'them?' Surely you don't mean that we should address our Congressmen and women? After all, they are major players in the problem scenario. They voted for the war and continue to fund it. They are the ones who will not consider universal health care. They are the ones who will not act to limit outsourcing of jobs as well as imports from China. They are the ones who vote for tax cuts for the wealthy. They are the ones who only meet for 98 days a year, yet fritter away their valuable time on silly things like gay marriage and flag burning.

We've tried 'them.' They are an exclusive club whose main interest is winning the next election. There aren't enough good ones to dilute the corruption and it will take too many years to replace the bad ones. By then, our ship will be sunk completely.

What's wrong with another American Revolution? After all, it has been over 230 years since we've had one. I'm in favor of another one, hopefully bloodless. We surround the Capitol and the White house and demand that they leave. We'd give them 24 hours to pack up and wildly cheer as they got into their limos and drove away.

Could it hurt? Iacocca had the idea that we suspend Congress for one year and have all 535 of them gather for a conference to discuss and defend all of the legislation it had passed the previous year. He argues that this has 2 advantages: 1. they will look at what they have done to us and 2. they will not be able to pass any legislation during this time.

Great idea, but that will not stop 'them.' They will make a mockery of all of this and will quickly return to their old ways when they get back to their 'job.'

We've given them enough chances; they have let us down time and again. No more 2nd or 3rd chances. Bush, Cheney and Rice, too. They have to go: ALL of them.