Setting the record straight

I haven't written a whole lot lately about the controversy concerning President Obama's commencement speech tomorrow at Notre Dame. I'm sure you're all getting an earful, because that seems to be the main story on CNN today, and the media circus seems to have reached the point of fullblown frenzy this weekend. Ken is off tomorrow, and I think we'll be watching the proceedings peacefully in our own home!

I'm disturbed by much of the coverage I'm seeing, because I don't believe it's giving a true picture of what is happening, or of our community. South Bend has its problems, just like every other town, but it's still a pretty good place to live, and it's my home, dammit. The impression being given is that we're a bunch of intolerant, hateful people who don't want the President here. That couldn't be further from the truth, and our county actually went to the President in last fall's election. Of course, there are people who didn't vote for him and don't like him, and probably are pissed off that we're spending money on security. But the majority of people here support his visit, and are excited that he's speaking at Notre Dame. (No, I didn't attend Notre Dame, but since I was born and raised here, I'm a fan of the university in many ways--sports, academics, research, and what they contribute to our city.)

The protesters who are being arrested are people coming in from out of town. They're shipping in busloads of people from Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit, and I think Randall Terry and Alan Keyes aren't just from out of town...I think they live on another planet. The Notre Dame students who disagree with the invitation are protesting peacefully and respectfully, with alternative speakers and a prayer vigil at the Grotto. Terry and Keyes and their minions are the ones fueling the fires of the controversy, by flying banners over campus and hiring trucks to drive around town showing offensive pictures that are seen by children. Their most recent efforts included a truck with a large photograph of a black man in chains, and the truck drove through several black neighborhoods. They were supposedly equating abortion with slavery, but I think they were just using outrageous tactics designed to generate anger and dissent. Not cool, people, not cool at all.

In the meantime, the graduating seniors have honored Father Jenkins (the President of Notre Dame and the one who issued the invitation) by choosing him as their Senior Class Fellow. One senior said that at the ceremony, Father Jenkins received a standing ovation. Although he turned down requests for an interview from the AP, Father Theodore Hesburgh, one of the most beloved and well-respected figures associated with Notre Dame, talked to one of our local TV stations and said that he approves of our new President's visit. He spoke of the various Presidents that have spoken at Notre Dame over the years.

None of them have agreed with us on all issues, but I think just coming here and seeing another point of view...that will have an effect on them. We're not a place that hides out in the corner and says we believe this and that's that and we're not going to talk to anybody that doesn't agree with us. We say, 'Hey, we know we disagree on things. Let's get together and talk.'

He also spoke about universities in general:

It's like a common place where people who disagree can get together, instead of throwing bricks at one another, they can discuss the problem and they can see different solutions to difficult problems and those solutions are going to come out of people from universities. They aren't going to come from people running around with signs.

Yay, Father Ted!

In the meantime, South Bend passed a new emergency ordinance that took effect on Thursday that anyone being arrested a second time on a misdemeanor cannot post bond and get out of jail; they must stay in jail until a judge can hear their case. This was announced on Friday. Alan Keyes was arrested for the second time on Friday, for trespassing on campus (private property, and they can enforce no trespassing if they choose to), and will spend the weekend in jail until a judge can hear his case on Monday, and decided if the bond needs to be raised. The Chief Judge said this has nothing to do with Notre Dame, and it's something they've been thinking about for a long time. I think the Judge is being a tiny bit disingenuous! But I don't care, because Keyes is not a representative of our community, cares nothing about it, and only wants to disrupt a peaceful commencement tomorrow. He has been duly charged, and I'm sure he's well-represented. His rights have not been violated.

It's very irritating--in fact, it's irritating as hell--to think that there are those around the country who think that these nutjobs are representative of our community. I may not have a huge audience here, but at least I can make sure a few people know that they don't speak for me. I hope if you watch any of this coverage tomorrow (apparently all the major networks will be here), you'll keep that in mind and not think too badly of South Bend...or its inhabitants!

DUCK!

But first...rabbit rabbit rabbit! Evil spirits begone from Nutwood for the month of May!

A good afternoon, taking care of final arrangements (no, not a funeral) for Ken's PMI meeting next week. Everything went so smoothly, and the Chamber of Commerce did a great job putting together a packet about South Bend. We just need to put in the agenda and the PMI pins that Ken ordered. We met with the event coordinator at Tippecanoe Place, and every time I walk into the restaurant, which was the home of one of the Studebaker brothers, I fall in love with it all over again. It's gorgeous. Our group is going to be in the room that was the family's original dining room. I'll write more about it and put up pictures after our dinner there next Friday.

Some excellent news upon our return, when I got an email update from the Tribune that said that Randall Terry (the anti-abortion guy protesting at Notre Dame) had been arrested on campus today during a protest in which the group was pushing around baby carriages that contained dolls covered in blood. They have also been flying banners of bloody fetuses over campus, and driving advertising trucks through town with the same large pictures. Do they have a right to protest? Absolutely. Are they disturbing the peace? Undoubtedly. Several parents have objected to the trucks with large pictures, saying that their children were very disturbed by the images. After Terry’s arrest, Notre Dame issued a no trespass injunction against him. His court appearance will take place after commencement, but I'm sure he won't stay in jail that long. He'll probably get out on bail, but if he tries protesting on campus again, I assume he will be arrested again.

I believe he has the right to protest, but he really is disturbing the peace, and has vowed to do so at the commencement. He is so obsessed with his crusade that he doesn't care about any collateral damage, and I can guarantee that he doesn't care one iota about Notre Dame or its students (or their souls) or our community. I'm glad they arrested him. I'm sure the commencement will be marred with more unpleasantness, I'm sorry to say.

It's been a fun couple of days for bird watching! Last night, Ken saw activity out at the back pond, and when I got the binoculars, I saw two male ducks and one female, and they hopped in the pond and were swimming around. The light was starting to fade, but I was able to get a good enough look at them to see that they were wood ducks! I had never seen one before, so it was a new sighting for me. I haven't seen them today, but I hope they'll hang out for a while. I don't know...our pond might be too small for them. I'd love to see ducklings, though! We had a mallard pair a while back that built a nest in the marsh grass, but some egg-sucking critter got into it and destroyed them all. Wood ducks apparently build their nests in empty woodpecker cavities, up in the trees, so they'd probably be okay from raccoons or the coyote. Even if they don't hang around and raise a family, it was neat to see them and add them to my list.

Today, I saw a flash of blue on the deck. It looked like a blue finch, but there aren't any blue finches around here (there might not be any at all, I don't know). I went downstairs, and found him pecking at the seed on the ground under the deck. I got a really good look at him, and he's an Indigo Bunting. I saw one the first year we moved in here, and hadn't seen one since. The males are beautiful, a much more intense, deeper blue than either bluebirds or blue jays. It was great to see him again, and know that they're hanging around!

Finally, it looks like Ken and I had our "Eureka!" moment in the Great Residence Hunt '09™, after looking at a couple of places last night. First was a house about 20 minutes away. Really cute place, nicely renovated, attached garage...with not enough overhead room for an opener, and no handle on the outside of the door! Huh? So you'd have to get out of the car, go inside the house and into the garage, open the door, drive the car in...kind of defeats the purpose of having an attached garage, doesn't it? But it was really a nice house other than that, keeping in mind that they are unable to do yard work, so we'd either do it or hire someone to do it.

Next was a place called Maple Lane, with only four apartments per building. (Don’t a lot of Ray Bradbury stories take place on Maple Street or Maple Lane? Uh oh.) Big living room, big family room with a woodburning fireplace, good-sized kitchen, two decent-sized bedrooms, and an attached garage. Unfortunately, only one bathroom, but like Ken had told his Mom, they're probably going to have to prioritize and compromise on some things. Nice large trees on the grounds, a pool, a clubhouse...after we dropped off the keys at the office and we were walking back to the car, I told Ken, "I think we've found them a place." Ken agreed.

We called his Mom when we got back, and we have permission to stop looking. Happy happy joy joy! Oh, and they get a senior citizen discount, too, and that is locked in as long as they're there. I really think they'll like this one, although it's not in the nice setting across from the river. We'll start the application process for them, and scan and print some info to send them. What a relief, and not just to be done looking...I'm relieved that we were able to find a place that meets their needs and that they'll enjoy and find comfortable. And that pool might be pretty appealing come August...!

Critters Gone Wild – Wooo, partay!

“I’m a horny engineer, Leonard. I never joke about math or sex.”

~~Howard Wolowitz

That photo and quote has nothing to do with this entry. We were watching "The Big Bang Theory" last night, and that was something that Howard (played by Simon Helberg) said to Leonard. It made me laugh so hard that I had to write it down. I liked that show from the beginning, but it’s gotten better and better as we get to know the characters a little more.

Guess who's coming to town to join in the Notre Dame fracas? Alan Keyes. Oh, goody. And Randall Terry has issued a statement criticizing Bishop D'Arcy's urging that everyone refrain from protesting on graduation day, and said that he (Terry) and his followers minions will respectfully not obey the Bishop's request. That guy is such a charmer!

It's still chilly today, but it's getting to be that time of year here at Nutwood when the young critter's thoughts turn to figuring out how much mischief can be made, and how much havoc can be wreaked. (All pictures are from previous years--I haven't had a chance to get any good ones yet this year.)

A couple of nights ago, after Ken had gone to bed, I heard a little noise from out on the deck. I flipped on the light, and a raccoon was up on the deck railing, holding on to the seed feeder and chowing down. He just looked at me, and didn't move until I started to walk out there. They are so bold! He ran off, but when I got up in the morning, the feeder was empty (and I had just filled it the day before, doggone it). Ken had sent me an email and said that when he got up, the raccoon was out there with the feeder in his "grubby little paws," and he'd popped him with the BB gun a couple of times. (It doesn't hurt them, just scares them off...temporarily.)

Last night, I heard another little noise, flipped on the light, and there was Rocky again. But get this--the little bugger doesn't run off. No, he walks over to the door, sits there, and looks up at me! I crouched down, and he just stared at me for a moment. Then I realized that there was a second one right there, and he was looking at me, too. They finally went about their business--after all, the seed feeder was empty!--and I just shook my head. I'm just not sure how to keep them off of the deck, and no, we won't kill them. I tried that hot pepper spray a couple of years ago, the stuff that doesn't harm the birds, but squirrels and raccoons hate the taste. I looked out one evening, and a raccoon was standing there licking the stuff off of the deck railing. [sigh]

During the afternoon yesterday, I kept hearing an odd noise, almost a thump. At first I thought it was coming from one of the neighbor's, but I kept hearing it, and it really did sound close. Sheeba was on my lap, and he perked up and ran over to the window, so he heard it, too. I looked out the front window and couldn't see anything. I went into the office and looked out that window--all clear. I wondered if it was a branch on the roof or something, or if something was up in the attic, but it sounded like it was coming from the front of the house. Sheeba put his little paws up on the front door and looked out the oval window, so I thought I'd give that a try. I didn't see anything on the front deck...but then I looked down, and Groundy (our resident groundhog, now out of hibernation) was crouched on the doormat, grabbing it in his teeth ("Grrr!) and letting it drop. That was the thumping I was hearing--the doormat dropping back down onto the deck. He was really going after it, and I'm not sure why. Maybe he thought Matt had insulted him. I opened the front door real quick and said "HEY!" and he was off like a shot, back to his hidey-hole under the deck walkway. Which is sinking, thanks to Groundy's digging habits.

I love our critters, but sometimes they try my patience! I throw food out for them, we don't kill them, although many people around here do, and they have much territory here in which to roam. I do and do and do for these critters, and this is the thanks I get! Raccoons taking seed out of the mouths of hungry birds and the groundhog attacking our welcome mat. ("Grrr!") It's a thankless job, I tell ya.

I’m looking forward to May 18th

Before I get to that, I watched an excellent documentary today on Snagfilms (which is such a cool site). My pal Marc had recommended it to me a while back, after I wrote about the Berlin Wall. This documentary, "After the Fall," includes interviews with people from both East and West Berlin, and they discuss their feelings about the Wall and its eventual destruction. To me, the most poignant, and somewhat unsettling, remarks made came from a reverend (is it wrong for me to say that he had dreamy eyes?) who said that the night the border was opened, he was watching people go over the Wall...but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He memorized their names, because he thought the border would close again, and he wanted to be able to tell someone what had happened to them. He said that the Wall was as much in his mind as it was a physical presence. It made me think about barriers that we erect in our own minds...there might not be anything physically stopping us, but the Wall in our head can be every bit as impenetrable as one that we can touch.

Anyhoo, if you're interested, give it a look. It's an hour long, so if it's something that doesn't really interest you, there's not much point in watching it!

So why am I wishing my life away and looking forward to May 18th? Because it's one day after President Obama gives the commencement speech at Notre Dame, and all this brouhaha should be over! Randall Terry will pack up and take his lapdogs with him, and get out of our town and our state. I haven't written about it much lately, because I was hoping it would die down, but it's a big topic on CNN and other national news sources lately.

However, the difference in what these media outlets are reporting and the truth of reality is vast. The media talks about PROTESTS HELD ON CAMPUS. Earlier this week, a group of students held a prayer vigil. It was quite peaceful, and I think calling it a "protest" was a little misleading. There was an actual protest later in the week, led by Randall Terry and his evil henchmen, so that really was a PROTEST HELD ON CAMPUS.

Twenty-six people showed up. Yeah. 26.

Randall Terry and his malicious minions also staged a protest in Fort Wayne on Friday. The diocese office urged people not to attend, stating that it was Good Friday and a time to focus on Christ's crucifixion, not on such protests. It was "poorly timed," they said. Five local people showed up early, followed a few hours later by Randall Terry's assistant and three others. That would make a total of, let's see [getting out calculator, punching buttons]...NINE. Nine people at this protest.

It is really burning my bacon that this asshole Terry is trying to make it look like he's speaking for everyone around here, and the media is portraying this as a huge deal in northern Indiana, with people up in arms and protesting, rioting in the streets, cats and dogs living together...it's not happening, folks. There are people upset, yes. There are people that are not happy with the decision, yes. I'd say that the majority of people are fine with him giving the speech, and those that aren't are voicing their opinions fairly peacefully. This dickweed Terry rolls into town and feels that it's his personal mission to tell us how we should feel. He has vowed to make this a "political mud pit" for President Obama. I really hope that at some point he crosses the line into threatening behavior so we can toss him in the slammer. I'm all for the right to protest peacefully in order to get a point across, but this numbnuts doesn't care about discourse or discussion. He just wants to stir up trouble.

Soon, I'll tell you how I really feel about him. I promise.

In the meantime, Bishop D'Arcy has issued a statement urging all Catholics and others of good will to stay away from "unseemly and unhelpful" demonstrations against our President, Notre Dame, or Father Jenkins. He goes on to state, "The Notre Dame community is well-equipped to supervise and support discussions and prayer within their own campus....Let's all work towards a peaceful graduation experience for the class of 2009 at our Beloved Notre Dame."

Do you think that was Bishop D'Arcy's way of telling Randall Terry to get bent? I think so. The Bishop also met with Father Jenkins and called it a "positive" meeting. I think everyone can handle this without Terry's help, and in fact, he's not doing his cause any favors. Hey, Terry? Go home. Seriously. You are not welcome here.

At least Arizona State took a little of the focus off of our community, with the story that they weren't going to confer an honorary degree upon the President...but then there was talk that they might, so I'm not sure of the latest. In reading about it, it's all cool. It seems that they weren't planning on giving any honorary degrees this year (although I wonder if there isn't more to it), and it's their school, their choice. Notre Dame's policy is to give honorary degrees to guest speakers, especially someone as eminent as the President.

Ah well, the Masters is coming on, and I'm hoping to see Tiger come storming back today. Oh, and I have a special Easter picture for you. I used to put this up on my locker at work every year around this time. We often had groups of schoolkids coming through for tours, and as one group gathered in the central area of the department, right by the lockers, we noticed some of them giggling at something they saw there. We realized later that they were giggling about this picture. What can I say? I guess I'm just a corrupter of youth.