Povey Prattle

Back in the “olden days” we carried cloth or string bags when we shopped. Then the supermarkets introduced plastic bags, and we were grateful for this progress. Back in the old days many of us did not have vacuum cleaners, so we used carpet sweepers: “Bissell” or “Hoky” brands. Then we all bought vacuum cleaners. ============================================ These days the supermarkets have (ahem) gone “green”. So they urge us to disdain plastic bags, and instead to use their permanent shopping bags, priced modestly enough, (in the USA) at 99 cents or so. We, seeking to be green , purchase the “new” bags. (I have one on which is emblazoned “I used to be a plastic bag”). Greenness aside, we forget that we are saving money for the markets by reducing their costs for plastic bags. We also forget their profit margin on the “new” bags. “Remember those old “manual” carpet sweepers?” They are back in style They are being sold as the “new thing”. I bought one today. Vacuum cleaners perform ...

Friday 5th September 2008, 20:00h My cat Adelaide snuck out of the house three hours ago. I looked for her in vain. So I left a porch door, and the front door open. 10 minutes ago I heard her “miaow”, and there she was, back at home. Call me “sentimental” or maybe even “silly”. But I had tears in my eyes as I hugged and caressed Adelaide, thankful that she was at home, and safe.

Bloviation and substance I did not watch Governor Sarah Palin’s speech last evening at the Republican Convention. Nor, for that matter did I watch the speeches of Senators Obama and Biden. The Englishman in me finds these Conventions to be tedious. I dislike the “hoopla”; the scripting; the bloviating; and the inevitable applause. I see the Conventions (Democratic and Republican) to be utterly phony and silly. But I did read the “pistol packin’ momma’s” speech today. The pundits, the press and the bloggers swooned about Gov. Palin’s performance. But I found her words to be filled with style, sans substance. Not a word about our collapsing economy; or about health care, pensions, employment and our wars. A ton of rhetoric. Not an ounce of wisdom.

Today a guest at Resurrection House asked me what I think was a question. He said “You don’t got no deodorant do you” I am glad that I am bilingual and knew what he was saying. On N.P.R tonight the announcer stated that the Mayor of New Orleans had announced a “dawn to dusk” curfew. Just what the city needs. Folks indoors during the day, outdoors at night. Our brilliant President was in Louisiana today to talk about the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. He noted that one million homes are without electricity. Then he added. “The Governor knows that this is a problem. His team knows that this is a problem. I know that this is a problem” I am dazzled by such profound and in-depth analysis.

Levi Johnston is the wonderful piece of work who is the sperm donor for Bristol Palin's to-be-born child. He donated his sperm by the old fashioned way known as "screwing", "humping", "shagging", or "fucking". Bristol Palin's mother is, of course Sarah Palin. She is the "darling of the right, conservative evangelical, anti-choice, homophobic, gun-toting" woman whom John McSame has chosen as his running mate. Listen. I am not gloating over the fact that Bristol Palin is pregnant, 17 years old, and unmarried. These things happen in many families, including mine. They are hard for everyone concerned. But I am angry that Sarah Palin is "rejoicing" that her pregnant daughter will marry this piece of work, and that the Evangelical Right is lauding the marriage. And I am angry that Evangelical Rightists are so damn hateful towards other voters, some of whom are also Christians. Below is a bit from the New York Post about Mr...

I was raised in the Fundamentalist/Evangelical tradition within the Plymouth Brethren. They were, to the best of my memory, a-political. Many “Peebs” did not vote. Nonetheless I have voted in very election since I was aged 21, and I have always voted left of centre, in the U.K. and in the U.S.A. When I became an Anglican (1970) it was in a nicely Evangelical Church of England Parish, (Christ Church, Clifton, Bristol). I do not remember an ounce of political rhetoric in that Church. And when I went to Seminary it was to St. John’s Theological College, Nottingham. St. John’s was in the Evangelical tradition. But its political stance was left leaning. There I was a clearly identifiable Christian Socialist. There was no conflict between my faith, my theology, and my beliefs. And there were also “Tories” (political conservatives) who were part of the mélange at St. John’s. These days I am pissed off beyond all belief with Evangelicals in the United States. To a large extent they h...

Sermon for August 31st 2008 The Revd. J. Michael Povey, at All Angels by the Sea. Longboat Key, FL It’s always good to be at All Angels by the Sea. There is a lovely warmth and joy here. I have been preaching each Sunday in August, at St. Hilary’s in Fort Myers, at St. Margaret of Scotland in Sarasota, and here today. So the themes of the Epistles and Gospels have been very present in my thinking . A brief word about Jeremiah . He is the prophet who has been called by G-d to speak the unspeakable. He’s had to tell his nation that it faces military defeat in the face of an expansionist Babylonian Empire, and that there is nothing they can do about it. It would be an unpopular message to any peoples today, as indeed it was in Jeremiah’s time. “Give up”. “Surrender” This is what Jeremiah had to say. He received no thanks for this message. In the face of violent criticism, Jeremiah gets on the pity pot, and complains to G-d. G-d, be believes has deceived him. “Truly” he s...