I Will Not Be Silent Anymore

To All Americans,

The recent bombings at the Boston Marathon have brought many people together.  For victims, first responders, law enforcement officials, Americans have united to show their support, solidarity, and to offer their prayers for everyone involved.  They have also been united in helping the FBI find suspects wanted in connection with the heinous crimes that were committed on Marathon Monday.

Please if you can identify anyone in the photos or video here, please contact the FBI.

However I have taken to my rarely used blog to ask America to unite over one more subject.  In the hours after the bombing, the Westboro Baptist Church has pledged to protest at the funerals of those who passed away on Monday.  Yes, that's right they are going to attend the funerals of those who have died to thank God for the death of 3 INNOCENT people and the wounding of over 150 other INNOCENT people because the United States allows homosexuals to exist.  Their actions are despicable and quite frankly I am sick of it.

WELL YOU KNOW WHAT?

I will not be silent anymore.  So WBC, if ever I am in a position in my life to make your lives more difficult count on it!  Your inability to recognize that people have the right to mourn and grieve without harassment and ridicule is disgusting.  So I ask all my friends and followers, help me do the same.  If they come to your community tell them that their message of hate is not welcome.  If they confront you on social media, block them & move on.  Let's shut these people out.

If you Google Search the WBC, their websites are frequently citing Scripture passages as justification for their beliefs.  Well I've got some of my own, they come directly from the one person the WBC and I have in common - Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

Matthew 22:35-40 - "One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

John 13:34 - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

Please join me in staying #BostonStrong

Sincerely,

Ryan J McCarty
(A person who has read the Bible and is tired of explaining the actions of the WBC to young people)

God's Mercy

So if you don't know, I am now a Religious Studies teacher at a Catholic High School in Rhode Island.  I teach Old Testament Hebrew Scripture to 9th graders.  A couple weeks ago we covered Adam & Eve.  One student asked me: "What ever happened to them?"  The following homily that is traditionally read on Holy Saturday was my only answer.  Well You Know What? I think it really shows God's mercy for all of us.  This is not my own work, it comes from The Vatican Archives (http://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010414_omelia-sabato-santo_en.html)

"What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son.

The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.

‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.

‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image.

'See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.

‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.

"The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages."

The Eve of the 112th Congress

Tomorrow at noon comes the end of an era.  The Democrats who have had control of the Legislative Branch since 2006 will lose control of the House of Representative when 60 new Republican Congressman enter the hallowed halls of the Capital Building of Washington D.C for their first day of work.  Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House in the history of the United States, will be demoted.  Their leader and the next Speaker of the House, Congressman John Boehner (R-OH) along with the incoming Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) have "Pledged to America" that they will take back America for Americans by repealing everything that the Obama Administration has passed in the last two years.  Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has resolved that his goal and that of Senate Republicans is to make sure that President Obama is a one term president.  Well You Know What?  That's fine Republicans, go for it.  Just remember to eat your words when you have nobody left in Congress because you didn't bother to care about the one thing you got sent to Congress for...the American people!

What most interests me about the 112th Congress is the emergence of the Tea Party.  It's not the fact that they have 18 different "leaders" or the fact that anyone who has a sign can be a member.  No that's the stuff I can wrap my brain around.  What I can't wrap my brain around is the fact that they want to return America to it's glory days.  Yes, that's right America, they wanna take you back and party like it's 1787!  Let's take a look at what that would be like shall we?

1. Well first I thought I would start with the lack of indoor plumbing.  Plain and simple, only about 5% of homes had it.  Surely the invention and implementation of the toilet is something that America can be proud of?
2. Electricity - Again, nobody had electricity.  The only way you could experience the miracle (yes it was called a miracle) of electricity was if they were struck by lightening.  Maybe we should give Congress some kites and keys then send them out into a rain storm.
3. Another simple one - due to the lack of proper medicine and scientific research as an American you likely would not live pass the age of 45.
4. The flaws of the US Constitution: That's right I said it!  The Constitution is flawed.  It was written as an imperfect and living document.  MEANT TO BE EDITED AND REVISED! (that one was for Justice Scalia).  But many Tea Party people have said that we should obey the Constitution in its purest form.  Ok, let's try:
1. Slavery - yep, in 1787 it was still legal.  Thousands of human beings were subject to some of the most cruel and unusual punishment imaginable.  Should we return to that?  This leads me to my next point
2. Civil Rights - well, they didn't exist.  Enough said. 
5. Women - ladies you get your own category because lets face it you got a raw deal.  In the "glory days" of America, you were supposed to be seen and not heard.  You stayed in the home, went to a sewing circle, made the meals for your husband who used you to make male heirs...and then you died.  Yes, let's go back to that.

So friends, I can't wait to see what happens in the 112th Congress.  Will it be government gridlock?  I certainly hope not.  America faces too many challenges for our leaders to piss and moan at each other on 24/7 cable news.  So let's see what happens.  Until something major happens or until I get bored at 11:30 at night again, please continue to follow me on Twitter (@ryjoemc).  I'll try to leave some golden nuggets for you.

Thanks for reading!

R

Oh Teddy Where Art Thou?

Many who know me know that I am a political junkie, especially when it comes to the Legislative Branch.  If there is a scandal, election, or significant juicy something or other about a Senator or Congressman I usually am aware of it.  The special election to fill former Senator Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts is no exception.  Sitting in my home in Rhode Island these past weeks, I have been lambasted with Coakley-Brown PALOOZA on television!  The mud slinging that has occurred has been remarkable.  This stuff equates the "Obama is a terrorist!" and "McCain is an old Republican" that was the year 2008 and I couldn't have thought of any other way to spend the first days of 2010.  As Massachusetts prepares to vote for Martha Coakley, Scott Brown, or ANOTHER Kennedy (yea, that guy), I have some thoughts to share.


First - Does Martha Coakley deserve to win?  This disgruntled Democrat says no.  A self-proclaimed "bad" campaigner, Martha Coakley's campaign strategy has been on the lack-luster side.  According to a piece done by the Boston Globe this past week and with some paraphrasing, I've determined that Coakley has a five step process when she comes to town.  Step 1 - Come into town. Step 2 - Meet the Mayor and the Board of Selectmen. Step 3 - Take a photo with the previous persons for the local paper.  Step 4 - Shake hands with the common folk (only some, gotta keep it moving). Step 5 - Move on to the next town.  I'm sorry but when did that work for a GENERAL ELECTION.  Oh Martha, you're stuck in the primaries aren't you?  Just because Ted Kennedy was a Democrat and his widow likes you, doesn't mean you can't actually talk to the people who are going to vote for you!

Second - Scott Brown friend or foe?  Hard to say.  As a Democrat, I'm supposed to say he's a foe and will ruin the country and further perpetuate Glen Beck's takeover of the world.  However as someone with a brain I do have to say that while I agree with him on absolutely nothing, he wins this fight as the best politician.  When just last year he polled at under 10% for name recognition to being statistically tied or even ahead of Coakley is just remarkable. Yes Martha, 90% of Massachusetts didn't even know who this guy was just 4 months ago and now he may beat you tomorrow.  Scott, you ran a great campaign and should be proud of yourself and if you become the next Senator from Massachusetts, good luck.  I can't wait to see how Harry Reid will try and crawl out of his fox hole.

Third - Who will win?  I don't know.  Last week I would have told you Coakley.  At this point I'm going with Charlie Cook and I'm staying in the Toss-Up Category.  I know everyone is tired of hearing it, but Health Care Reform maybe the issue that best gets the vote out.  Senator Ted Kennedy left a legacy that is going to be hard to fill.  Just look at his 2,500 page Health Care Reform Bill he left us (literally, ask me how heavy it is, I carried through the Capital Building).  Scott Brown has vowed to slow down on Health Care, Martha Coakley has vowed to be the 60th vote that Obama needs to get it done.

I hope that a Democrat retains the seat that Teddy sat in, however at this point there is not much to get excited about.  However if this election teaches anything, it should be that Democrats need to wake up and realize that holding a super majority doesn't mean anything if you don't do anything with it!  And also, (and I thought this was self explanatory) in order to win an election, campaigning usually helps.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.

To everyone who is eligible to vote in Massachusetts please GO VOTE tomorrow regardless of who you support.  It is very important that everyone's voice be heard.  And besides, if you don't vote you don't get to complain about the decisions that your representatives make for YOU.  Look for my reaction to tomorrow's vote to come later.

When America Recovers, Where Will The Signs Go?

If you have driven on a highway in the past year, you've probably seen one of the obnoxious signs as you've driven along advertising that the miserable traffic and construction you are limping through is brought to you by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA is the wonderfully creative name for President Obama's 787 billion dollar stimulus package that was signed into law on February 17, 2009. The ARRA was brought to you by President Obama and the Democratic Super Majority in Congress who thought it necessary to help jumpstart the economy and put people back to work after well…George W. Bush. So in the past 10 months, $787 billion has been distributed throughout this great land to in order to infuse cash into all aspects of our struggling economy. Much of this cash, $80.9 billion, was put under the purview of Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood for the purposes of investing in infrastructure. So the highway workers of America went out and began “shovel-ready” highway and roadway construction projects. Begin the traffic jams.

Now while you’ve been driving down the highway, stuck in traffic due to an off-ramp expansion or lane expansion, you seen these wonderful signs that say “This project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” I think it’s great that the government has decided to spend good money on repairing and rebuilding roads and highways especially in New Hampshire (where road repair is pretty low on the totem pole). The funding puts people back to work whose work is usually seasonal and it keeps motorists safe. However I do have one problem with the project, what about the signs? Wherever there is a project taking place with the help of ARRA money, there must be a sign. How much do these bad boys cost? Well the answer is sure to have you join the Tea Partiers down in D.C. My friends those signs are reported to have cost $2,000 bucks a pop.1 Yes that’s right, $2,000! I don’t know about you but I could think of a lot of things to help stimulate me for $2,000. Not only that but there is never just one sign, there is at least two (one on each side of the highway). Multiply that by the other side of the highway and the project costs $8,000 just in “advertising”. Dear Federal Government, we know you are doing construction, WE’RE STUCK IN IT.

Now the cost of the signs isn’t even what really upsets me. It’s what will happen to the signs when the ARRA has run out of money. Now knowing the Federal government, I don’t suspect that they will be in a position to “re-use”. So what will happen to the signs? Well I have a proposition that will avoid me having to direct my grandchildren to this post when we drive on a crappy highway to see one of these signs in a museum that I have to pay $12.50 to get into 50 years from now. They should give the signs back. After the ARRA runs out of money it should be open season on these signs and I can take one at my leisure. I’ve got a dorm room with some empty wall space. Just please, I can’t bear to think about the thousands of dollars of signage that will sit in a warehouse. Or even make money off the signs. Put ad space on it. I can see it now, “This project brought to by the American Recovery and Re-investment Act and by Budweiser, drinking and driving FOR YOU!”



1. http://sweetness-light.com/archive/stimulus-road-signs-in-pennsylvania-cost-60000-themorningcall-com

RLCs: What have you done for us lately?

This article, co-written with Eric Ricci'10, appeared in the December 11th, 2009 issue of the Saint Anselm Crier. The opinions expressed in the article are opinions and not meant to be a personal attack on those people involved with the program in which the article critiques. It was meant to be a constructive criticism. I, and Mr. Ricci, welcome any and all comments.

Since becoming students at Saint Anselm College over three years ago, we have seen the Office of Residential Life and Education attempt to find new ways of engaging students. One program that they have instituted this year is the beginning of Residential Learning Communities. What that means is that three apartments in Father Bernard Court have been taken over so that twelve people (less than ¼ of 1% of the student population) can further a common interest by living together. In return for not having to participate in that God-awful Housing Lottery, these “RLCs” are supposed to provide significant programming and opportunities for the larger campus community. The idea of putting students in an apartment in order to foster a worthy interest and then to promote it to the student body is an admirable endeavor. In our experience, it only looks good on paper. Thus, we would like to pose a question to “Think BIG Think Green,” “The Art House,” and “The Un-Armed Allies”; what have you done for us lately?

A couple of years ago, the college began a Greening Initiative. We applaud this effort and want to do our part to help; in fact, we have. As members of the Knights of Columbus, we established the first effective recycling program on campus. Every Saturday, we borrow one of the physical plant trucks, collect recyclables from students in the Uppers, and then from the Goffstown Women’s Prison, finally bringing all of it to the Goffstown Transfer Station. Last year we recycled over 2,000 pounds of material receiving no assistance from any of the college’s three greening programs. Since the beginning of the semester, we have not seen anyone from Think Big Think Green, the Green Team and “Greening the College” at our weekly pick-ups. Frankly, this is an embarrassment. After Think Big Think Green sent a school wide email, simply with directions to the transfer station, the Knights decided to take it to the next level by offering to pick up the recyclables. Think Big Think Green is in its second year of existence and their actions have been non-existent. Where do the funds from the $3 Christmas cards go? If the money that is raised is used to provide recycling bins for each apartment, your mission would be realized. Where are the weekly greening tips we were promised? Guess they stopped after we were told to pick, not buy, flowers for Valentine’s Day only to realize that there was three feet of snow on the ground. What have you done for us lately? Where is the accountability? As for The Art House and The Un-Armed Allies, we’re not even sure of your purpose. Un-Armed Allies, we just figured out what your name was three days ago, let alone what you do. Art House, kudos on the Art Competition you are holding, that’s what you’re supposed to do. We would like to see more of both of your houses promoting events on campus and further integrating yourselves. However, now, we believe that you programs are draining funds from the college (a.k.a our tuition dollars) for not much return on our investment.

This is by no means meant to be a personal attack on the twelve people who want to further the missions of their houses. Again, the RLC programs sound good on paper; they simply need to be explored further. We hope that this article will help you realize that you not only have a programming, but a public relations problem as well. You could be doing many quality things; we just don’t know that they are happening. So please RLCs, we think you could do something great, so be like Nike, and just do it! In the meantime, we will continue to ask, what have you done for us lately?