It’s hard to put Judge Sotomayor into any particular pew

Theologically, Pres. Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court would probably be considered a cultural Catholic, but from the bench her decisions on church-state disputes make her hard to pigeonhole.

We were talking about Walter Cronkite at work today

And one of my colleagues said, “Perhaps you didn’t know, but Walter Cronkite was the most trusted man in America,” and we all kind of laughed because of course we knew that.

But then we started asking why. Why was that, that Uncle Walter was so trusted? Especially as a member of the media, Cronkite, who died Friday at age 92, enjoyed a stunning level of trust among his peers and among his viewers even long after he left CBS.

On-air, when he said, “And that’s the way it is,” you believed him.

More to the point, how do I earn that kind of trust? I’m not a famous newscaster and I never will be, but the whole idea of earning people’s trust is intriguing, no matter what you do for a living. This says trust is a relationship of reliance. I like that. That sounds like a good start.

What is it about racist jokes?

That makes people want to tell them?

Is it fear?

Ignorance?

A pungent combination of the two? A need to be liked? What?

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

…at least, it is in the stores with “Christmas in July” promotions that seek to beat the wolves from the door.

Should I unpack my manger scene? Because I know it’s here somewhere…

Does the father get a say in an abortion?

We don’t talk about this much, but this raises some interesting questions in relation to this.

Apropos of very little…

…but I was just noodling around on a web site when up popped a photo of Meg Ryan in an ad for what I assume is a quaff from the fountain of youth, with the sentence: “Do you want to stay young forever?”

And even though I’m sitting in an office and one shouldn’t be seen shouting at a screen even in private, I called out “No!”

I’ll take the wrinkles and the sags and the middle-aged fanny pack, that roll of flesh that sits just below my belt. I’ll take the wayward hairs that crop up in odd places, and the general breaking down of my body over the taunt and tightness of my youth. Because even though I was skinnier and I had muscle tone back then, I was a bundle of reactions and I was blessed enough to have never been rewarded greatly for my looks, anyway. At my age (49 11/12ths), I kind of pity women who were gorgeous when they were younger, because your looks will change and every where around you is the message that they’re not changing for the better.

The fact that they’re changing, my looks, matters not one bit to me. And I refuse to buy into the cultural idea that youth=beauty, and its corollary, age=ugly.

And so no, I don’t want to stay young forever. But thanks for asking.

Walter Cronkite: An appreciation

I couldn’t have said this better myself.

Everyone wants to be black: Ann Coulter speaks on victimhood.

Or maybe the jist of what she was saying is that insects have it better than African Americans. It’s hard to say.

Let’s not try to parse this too much, but let’s do talk about victimhood. I’ve noticed in the last few years — the bogus War on Christmas, organizations such as this one — that certain people of my tribe seem awfully quick to cry victim when what’s really happening is a difference of opinion.

In this instance, by “my tribe,” I mean evangelical and/or fundamentalist Christians. I also belong to the tribe of feminists and the tribe of liberals, both of whom have been blamed for years (by people like Ann Coulter) for tossing the victim card onto the table. And, while we’re examining my pedigree, I belong to the tribe of whites (I’m mostly white), some of whose leaders spent last week at Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings worrying over the phrase “wise Latina woman,” and whether they should be offended.

That they were sitting on the side of power at those tables made their concerns seem about as weighty as the pretend holiday skirmish.

In fact, we are only victims if we allow ourselves to be so. And Christians who are quick to toss that card halt debate while we all gather around to examine their imaginary boo-boo. Instead, let’s meet people with diverse opinions head-on, not in a fetal crouch. The conversation is so much more interesting that way.

And thanks, Sister Ann, for bringing this up.

Remember Harry and Louise?

They’re back!

I’m so confused by their flip-flop! (Though the duo has aged fairly well.)

Harry and Louise’s latest foray into the health care debate is funded by Families USA, which supports affordable health care for families, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. According to Huffington Post:

The two groups, often at odds, have joined forces this year to support some general principles behind revamping health care, such as making it more affordable for low-income people.

Shopping for a church

This concerns a young believer who’s looking for a church that fits her.

It’s a buyer’s market, she says — which gave me a giggle. Imagine if different faith groups came to your home and tried to convince you that their church was the right one? I mean beyond the knock-doors-for-Jesus stuff that I used to do.

This would be fancier. Faith group representatives could bring along a small choir, show you photos of the sanctuary, maybe let you taste the communion wafer (if you’re a communion-taking kind of believer, that is).