Friday Crankiness

It's a gorgeous summer day outside and it's Friday, but I'm feeling cranky. Sure, I'm perimenopausal, but there's just too much garbage going on in the world right now:

The House of Representatives approved a nonbinding resolution, 256–153, that "praises U.S. troops, labels the Iraq war part of a larger global fight against terrorism and says an 'arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment' of troops is not in the national interest." I guess they think the Haditha massacre is mere collateral damage, just as the 2,500-plus dead U.S. soldiers and the 40,000-plus dead Iraqi civilians are.

Apple Computer allegedly produces [or here] its iPod audio devices in a sweatshop in China, where workers toil for 15-hour days for a monthly income of about $50 so that millions of Americans can have slick toys with ear buds.

U.S. inflation is higher than most of us think, so the Federal Reserve may have to keep boosting interest rates. Makes me think back to when I was a young adult just starting out during the high-inflation 1980s, when I had a car loan on a Chevy Chevette [here's one—not mine] with a 21% interest rate. Don't wanna go there ever again!

My erstwhile Protestant denomination, the Presbyterians (actually the branch called the Presbyterian Church USA), is holding its biannual national meeting, the 217th General Assembly, in Birmingham, Alabama, through June 22. One of the perennial debates will go on again: whether to ordain noncelibate gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people as ministers, members of session (the governing body of each individual church), and deacons (who are pretty much lay ministers who extend the work of the individual church's pastor in caring for church members and the community). The assembly will discuss the report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church, which contains the controversial recommendation that "the General Assembly approve a new 'authoritative interpretation' of the PC(USA) Constitution that maintains the current ordination standards of the church but grants ordaining bodies greater discretion on a case-by-case basis in determining if any departure from a constitutional standard is a departure from 'essentials,' therefore disqualifying for ordination to church office, subject to judicial review." This is fence-sitting Presby-speak for Yeah, you individual churches can make ordination decisions on your own, but you'd better be careful when you ordain GLBT members, 'cause if we don't like ya, we'll put ya through the church's judicial wringer and take back those ordinations. I call myself an erstwhile Presbyterian because I'm tired of waiting for the denomination to align itself with its more liberal contingents and stop discriminating. The PC(USA) currently commits spiritual violence against would-be leaders who just happen to be GLBT. It's time to move past the fear and loathing.

There has to be some good news out there, but I'm just not seeing it today.



Bush Iraq war collateral damage Haditha iPod Apple Computer sweatshop China
inflation economy interest rates Presbyterian GLBT LGBT gay lesbian ordination
discrimination spirituality EditorMom