There are dozens of fully ordained, married Roman Catholic priests ministering in dioceses in the U.S. today. The church does not require them to be abstinent with their wives. Many are former Anglican and Lutheran priests who converted after marriage, then were re-ordained by Rome. Pope Paul VI wrote an exception to the vow of celibacy on July 22, 1980 in a Pastoral Provision for the ordination of Episcopal priests. In recent years Rev. Bill Lowe was ordained in the LA diocese after retiring as an Episcopal priest; Cardinal Mahoney ordained him.  Rev. Bill has been married going on 50 years to his wife and they have three adult kids and grandkids. 

In Africa, probably 30% of RC priests have wives and children.  We look the other way because 2/3 of us worldwide support the idea of married priests and no one is complaining about these priests flouting their vow of celibacy.Top

We have a high-deductible healthplan with a health savings account. We deposit $5850/yr for our family of 5 and whatever we don’t spend continues to grow from year to year.  It is tax-advantaged.  And it reduced my monthly premium from $1100 to $620.

BUT I didn’t anticipate I would be loathe to spend that money on myself. What mother would? With three children, I conserve that money in case someone breaks a leg again or worse. So when the doctor tells me I need, e.g., $4k worth of periodontal work, the chances I will do that are … nil.  

It is clear to me now that making people fully accountable for their own health spending can backfire :D  

"The children will not leave unless I do. I shall not leave unless their father does, and the King will not leave the country in any circumstances whatever.” — Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

She didn’t break her contract.  She lied to enter into that contract and gain the benefits of it. She made a fraudulent misrepresentation, with the intent to deceive and the knowledge it was false.

Concur, who cares about the tame photos of an ambitious 17 yr old.  

But as an adult, she lied to gain benefit for herself, and because her lie was believed, she deprived someone more deserving of an opportunity to participate. 

So much for southern charm and hospitality—she even said it in front of Matthew’s grieving mom.

I sent her these facts:

The defendants used the "gay panic defense", arguing they were driven to insanity by Matthew’s alleged sexual advances.

The prosecutor said the defendants pretended to be gay to gain Matthew’s trust to rob him. During the trial, their girlfriends said under oath that Henderson and McKinney plotted beforehand to rob a gay man. They went to the Fireside Lounge and selected Shepard as their target. After befriending him, they took him to a remote area where they robbed him, beat him severely (media reports often contained the graphic account of the pistol whipping and his smashed skull), and tied him to a fence with a rope from McKinney’s truck. Shepard begged for his life. Both girlfriends testified that neither McKinney nor Henderson was under the influence of drugs at the time. The beating was so severe that the only areas on Shepard’s face that were not covered in blood were those where his tears had washed the blood stains away.

Not a hate crime? Please help flood her with calls and emails and send a dollar or two to the Matthew Shepard Foundation if you can at matthewshepard.org. Thank you!

I feel so badly for the parents of the women who died, and also for the suspect’s parents.  

Seeing the photo of his mom and Dr. Markoff arriving at jail to visit him, I thought of what the minister said at Dylan Klebold’s funeral, that his parents had to be the loneliest people on the planet. They thought they had been good parents.  Their son was ready to graduate and had been accepted at univ.  He said the Klebolds were like people who had been run over by a truck, and then the truck backed up over them again. They lost their son, but their son was also a killer.  As a parent, my heart goes out to them. 

I am concerned b/c this flu is like the 1918 pandemic strain: more lethal forthose with the strongest immune systems (young adults); theinflammatory response is so strong, the lungs become damaged fromimmune-mediated pathology (cytokine storm). Apparently thedead Mexicans were predominantly 25-45 years of age. When a flu is lethal for people other than old/young immuno-compromised, that is where pandemics come from.

I want to thank all the CDC, NIH, and independent microbiologists and immunologists for all you are doing for us today and everyday.

It would be tough to buy only from companies I "agree" with. I do avoid a few whose views are so opposite my own—Domino’s, WalMart, and Curves, from which I cancelled my membership after realizing the workout song was a proselytizing one, and looking further, found they were giving some of my money to fundamentalist religious causes.  

It’s good to know what will happen if you don’t have one.  After all, every woman has a few things that are special to her; why let the state decide whom they go to …

Here are the guidelines for your estate: cash, property, jewelry or whatever you leave if you die intestate; (it varies by state):

married with kids: most states give 1/3—1/2 to surviving spouse; rest split among the kids regardless of age.

married, no kids: 1/3—1/2 to the surviving spouse; rest to your parents. If the parents are dead, brothers and sisters (half-siblings may take same as full siblings) share equally.

single parent: 100% to your kids. If no kids, and your parents are living, they get your estate, or if not, it will be divided among your siblings.

But the main reason to execute a will for yourself is so that your choices are honored upon your death.  Every woman, after a lifetime, owes herself that I think.