History repeats itself...

...so get ready.

Pronunciation Questions

1) When did Pakistan change from (PACK-i-stan) to (PAHK-ee-stahn)?

2) Why is Afghanistan still (Af-GAN-i-stan) and not (Ahf-GAHN-ee-stahn)?

3) Didn't I get the memo that all the members of the press corps and the chief executive officer of the executive branch of the federal bureaucracy all seem to have gotten concerning numbers one and two?

4) Is it still OK to say "NOOK-ya-ler"?

5) Does Timothy Geithner (GITE-ner), who pronounces his name according to the German also know how to pronounce "Weimar" (VIE-mar)?

6) And a bonus question not related to pronunciation: Does the Federal government understand that the word "billion" means something different to Americans ($1,000,000,000) as it does those who use British English ($1,000,000,000,000)? We will need to make sure our new billion dollar bills are clearly labeled for when the kiddies go off to the store to buy a candy bar.

Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Mrs. Hollywood and I celebrated our fifteenth anniversary last Thursday. Or, more accurately, we celebrated the next day, last Friday, which also doubled as my forty-fifth birthday.

A family from our parish volunteered to entertain Lion Boy while we made merry - a rare event indeed.

We dropped Leo off with our friends at about 4 pm, and headed to the French Quarter. Our destination was Pravda, a bar located at 1113 Decatur Street. We have read some great reviews about Pravda, which praised its Cold War Kitsch decor, very hip clientele, outstanding service, and the fact that they serve absinthe. For some reason, we thought they served food as well, but they don't.

So, we walked around the neighborhood a bit (the weather was a wee bit chilly, but a light jacket was enough to keep things comfy). Decatur Street is where the French Market is located, a really cool little subset of the Vieux Carre that includes several restaurants and bars.

Not knowing where to eat, and getting hungrier by the minute, we settled on Margaritaville - which could be interpreted as heresy, as this is a "chain" restaurant, and not something unique to the Quarter or even to New Orleans. But that's what we decided on based on the posted menu and rumbling tummies.

We loved it!

The menu did have a distinctly New Orleans flavor, from the alligator bites to the file gumbo. The decor is a lot of fun, and people were definitely there to have a good time. It is also a family-friendly location, and as parents are wont to do, we kept saying how much Leo would like this, how we are going to come back with Leo, and how we can't wait to see Leo's face when he sees the boat and airplane in the restaurant. Yeah, I know, I know.

Anyway, the gumbo was really quite good, the steak (a house sirloin) was also very tasty. Mrs. H. had jerk chicken and a crab chowder. And the drinks were really (really!) good. Mrs. H. (who seldom imbibes) enjoyed her frozen blue "license to chill" margarita. Fr. H. (likewise not a heavy drinker) had a classic mojito - which was obviously made with all fresh ingredients. Service was outstanding, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is a perpetual party.

Another benefit for locals is that they are trying to bring us into the restaurant. If you are a local, you can get a card that entitles you to a 20% discount, plus a free drink and dessert on your birthday (which I was able to use right away).

We closed out dinner with key lime pie, and passed the time in a leisurely way.

After settling the check, we strolled over to Pravda.

Though it was getting dark, it was still early for the Quarter. The place was virtually empty. It is a very relaxed atmosphere, and there is a beautiful (and I mean beautiful) courtyard out back that butts up against the high wall of the neighboring Italian restaurant. There is a delightful and (though it was not in use) a firepit. Music is piped in, which on this day was of a classic rock bent (some old 70s and 80s alternative/punk).

Inside is just as the reviews described - Russian words painted on the wall, old Soviet posters, a large Communist Star behind the bar (with a faberge egg hanging in front), and even a ghastly painting of Rasputin.

The bar itself is decked out in absinthe paraphernalia.

Absinthe had a huge following in New Orleans during the "belle epoque" of the turn of the twentieth century. Absinthe is an alcoholic beverage that also has wormwood - which in high dosages can be poisonous. It is actually a kind of narcotic, though the dose in absinthe is actually small.

There is a mystique associated with absinthe, and it was enjoyed by the "bohemian" and literary set in New Orleans and in various places in Europe. There is a ritual of preparation involving an ice-water fountain, a sugar cube, and a strange-looking spoon upon which the cube is dissolved.

Absinthe was vilified amid the hysteria of the temperance movement, and was described in such laughable terms as this quote:

"Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country."

That's funny. That's how I describe the Federal Reserve.

Somehow, hype of this nature was not dismissed as ridiculous, and absinthe was outlawed in the US. in 1912. It was also being banned around the world at this time, though a few countries never outlawed it. By 2007, cooler (and saner heads) prevailed, and absinthe was again legal in the U.S. and in many other countries that had once made it contraband.

We wanted to try absinthe, and our bartender, Bird, was very helpful. She recommended the Kübler brand from Switzerland, which actually began making absinthe in 1863. It had only been revived in 2005, and the company's efforts allowed re-legalization to happen in Switzerland (whose constitution actually banned absinthe!) and subsequently, the United States - which supposedly includes New Orleans.

Mrs. H. and I decided to share a drink (it is not cheap at $15 a glass). Bird cheerfully set up the exotic looking apparatus. Before we knew it, the little fountain was pouring a tiny stream of icewater over a sugarcube into our glass, creating both a beautiful cloudy "louche" in the glass and a licorice-laced aroma in the air that was just unbelievable.

By this time, we were the only ones in the bar, and Bird patiently answered our questions about absinthe and about Pravda. She knew what she was doing, and was both professional, and friendly. We discussed absinthe's reputation, its various types, its chemical properties, and she described it quite accurately as "a lovely drink."

Kübler is on the mild side of absinthe at only 106 proof. Before it is mixed with the sugary icewater, it is clear in color - not the stereotypical bright green like some of the brands. Mrs. H. and I both enjoyed it - though I really like the licorice taste a lot more than she. The effect is very nice and relaxing, different than the usual "alcohol buzz." Of course, we were splitting one drink between the two of us, and also had full bellies. But still, it had a nice feeling to it. It is indeed "a lovely drink," and though neither one of us is really into the bar scene, Pravda is unique and cool. It is definitely a great place to go on a special occasion to relax and just hang out.

We leisurly sipped and chatted as the early evening wore on. Eventually, business in the bar picked up, and singles and couples both came in at a good clip.

When we picked up Lion Boy, he had been away from us for a whopping five hours, and was asleep. We are really grateful to our parishioners who took Leo out to eat, played with him, and came away with the usual collection of hilarious stories about the crazy things our son says and does. Where does he learn this stuff?

And though we won't be taking him to Pravda (at least not for another 17 years or so), we do look forward to bringing the little guy to eat with us next time at Margaritaville.

Sermon: Septuagesima

8 February 2009 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Matt 20:1-16

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

If our Lord’s labor practices are anything like the home-owner in His parable, our Lord Jesus would likely get a scolding from the President of the United States.

For we grumble about CEO’s making lots of money – especially when they’re being subsidized by tax dollars. Our sense of fairness is violated by people who make a lot of money for very little (or shoddy) work, while others, who bear the “burden of the day and the scorching heat” don’t get the wages we believe are coming to them.

Our Lord uses this sense of fairness that seems to be universal to mankind as a way to make a profound point about the kingdom of God. For according to our own sense of fairness, we don’t get what we deserve. We always think we’re entitled to more. We always think we’re being short-changed. We’re always looking at what others have, what others make, what others enjoy – and we think we’re getting the short end of the stick.

Listen to the grumbling of the workers at the end of the story, when they find out that the workers who worked a single hour are making the same wages as they who worked all day: “You have made them equal to us.”

And so here you have it. For all of our talk about equality, it’s actually equality that we complain of. We want more than equality. We want to be treated not fairly, but unfairly. We couch our covetousness in the talk of fairness, but in reality, we walk the walk of unfairness.

We want what we don’t deserve, and expect others to get less than we get.

And we do indeed get what we don’t deserve, but so do others. In God’s kingdom, we’re not paid according to our abilities, we’re not on a salary based on our skill or industry – rather we are paid, in the Lord’s words in His parable – “whatever is right.” Perhaps a more accurate translation would be: “Whatever is righteous.”

If we are to be paid fairly for what we deserve, the Word of God as revealed to St. Paul is clear: “The wages of sin is death.” But we are not paid according to what we have earned, but rather according to “righteousness” – not ours, but rather the righteousness we have received as a gift – that is, “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We do indeed get a higher wage than we have deserved. We deserve death, but we get life. We deserve hell, but we get paradise. We deserve separation from God, but we get communion with Him instead.

We are way overpaid, and if the kingdom of God were getting a bailout from the government, God would not be permitted to give us such an “unfair” bonus.

But our Old Adam is not content to be paid like a king – we want others to be paid less. Our warped sense of fairness dictates that we, who think we deserve more than others, should get more than others. And we, in our sinful flesh, don’t want others to receive the same inflated wages, the same grace, the same gift of a benevolent God – as we have received.

Our Lord willingly “took the form of a servant,” and yet “did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Nevertheless, He dies for us, accepts the wages of sin that we deserve, only to pay us according to His own worth. But this is still not good enough for our sinful nature. For rather than even grasp at equality with God, we complain when we are made equal with those who have done less. Like the villain in the Lord’s parable, we “begrudge” the Lord’s “generosity.”

For what business is it of ours if the Lord shows mercy and kindness to someone else in an even greater measure than He has shown us? What kind of hateful people must we be to mutter against God’s kindness in keeping people out of hell? Where is our sense of love not to rejoice with all of our fellow sinners who have been redeemed although we have all deserved death and hell?

Dear brothers and sisters, this is good news! This is the Gospel! This “inequality” and this “unfairness” are causes for rejoicing. As the Psalmist asks: “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?”

Rather than begrudge those who have perhaps been forgiven even more than we have, rather than seek praise for our deeds by expecting a reward for what we have done – we should be rejoicing that we have not been treated fairly, that we have not been truly rewarded according to our deeds, that we have not been given the really fair and just wage for our sinful nature – but rather, we are given a free gift, a “righteous” wage, a compensation based on mercy and charity rather than what we deserve.

For we all know what we deserve. And we all know what we have been given.

The Lord’s story is only a story. Instead of a denarius, a day’s wage, we have been given the gift of redemption, of forgiveness, of salvation, of eternal life. We have been paid handsomely with the promise of life in paradise, with a recreated universe, with never being separated from the love of God for eternity. And this wage has indeed been earned, not by us, but by our Savior Jesus Christ, “not with gold or silver,” as we learn from the Catechism, “but with His holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.” For the wages of sin is death, but the wages have already been paid out to the One and only One who did not earn it.

Thanks be to God that we are paid according to righteousness, the Lord’s righteousness, and not what we have deserved by our unrighteousness. Thanks be to God that in His kingdom, what is fair in the eyes of the world is not enforced against us, not even when we, in our sinful flesh, grumble and demand that God act in a way that seems fair to us.

For if we’re truly honest with ourselves, we are that last worker, who has idled all day long, who has squandered opportunities to work for the kingdom, who lounged around while others did the work, who is lazy and undeserving, who shirked while others slaved away – and yet, who is given the free gift of eternal life anyway.

That, dear friends, is what grace is all about. That is what we call the Gospel. That is the Christian life in a nutshell – the death we deserve was given to Jesus, and the life He has earned has been given to us.

This is what the Lord means when He says that in His kingdom, “the last will be first and the first last.” Thanks be to God.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Story of a Statue

Our local free paper, Gambit Weekly, which surprisingly has some items of interest from time to time has one such article in the current issue.

It is a history of the statue of one of Louisiana's favorite sons, General P.G.T. Beauregard (1818-1893), who was for a time, the general of all the armed forces of the Confederate States of America. On the same day as the General's death on February 20, 1893, a group of 19 Confederate veterans raised $157.50 and started a memorial organization that would eventually result in the placement of a magnificent equestrian statue that would be placed at the Esplanade Avenue gate of City Park in New Orleans.

After many years of patient and determined fundraising, the statue was dedicated with great pomp and ceremony on November 12, 1915 in tandem with the annual convention of the Louisiana Division of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV). In addition to the UCV, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) and the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) were actively involved in the fundraising and in the ceremony itself.

Once again, you can read the article here.

It is a fascinating look into life a century ago, when the aging veterans of a war fought sixty years before were still honored, treated with dignity and respect, and people by the thousands donated money in order to place a monument in a public place without waiting for the government to do it.

The monument is still there, and is still magnificent. It memorializes not only a great man, but also the thousands of brave American soldiers who fought under his command, engaged in a truly defensive war - men who, long after their rifles were silenced, continued to honor their fallen comrades and storied commanders. But the memorial also honors the devoted men and women who would not let the sacrifices of their fathers and grandfathers be forgotten.

Old Friends, Circuit Court, and a Trash Triumph in the Quarter

I'm in the middle of a "work-cation" - having my classes covered while I use the time to work on a book that is overdue (sorry, Bror, it is not a translation from Swedish). But I did actually take part of the day off (for real) to spend some time with friends visiting New Orleans.

They are actually here on business.

My buddy Kirk is a civil rights attorney from North Carolina. His Texas client's case in on appeal, and the district court had ruled against him on a summary judgment. So, they appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court Federal Court of Appeals which sits in New Orleans, and Kirk had a few minutes to make arguments before a three judge panel. Another old friend of mine, Fred from Virginia (who was accompanied by his wife Adrienne), who just finished law school and is working on the Virginia Bar, was on hand to assist with the case, as was a new friend, Jeff, from Texas - a concert violist turned lawyer who is licensed to practice in both the U.S. and Scotland.

All interesting folks!

Anyway, I arrived this morning at the Federal Courthouse on Camp Street (having shrewdly left my Swiss Army knife at home, taking the risk that I would need a toothpick or corkscrew and be forced to do without). I met up with my attorney friends in a tiny little lobby adjacent to the courtroom.

On a desk was a computer. And the only thing on the computer's monitor was a huge number 1. Kirk's case was number 3. So, we waited. There is just something humorous about having a Dell computer with way more computing power than NASA had for the Apollo missions - sitting on the desk with the only job of flashing a single-digit number on the screen. Government at work.

At the appointed time, when the number three appeared, we headed across the hall to the courtroom itself. My friends took their place inside the "chancel" while I sat in one of the "pews" outside the gate (a strange role reversal indeed).

The arguments were interesting. One of the judges was an absolute riot. In fact, he said something so politically incorrect that I was actually shocked. And aside from the jolts of static electricity I always have when I open my car door, I don't get shocked. But I was this morning.

The hearing was over in about 40 minutes. Now they will deliberate for a few weeks before rendering a decision.

We met back at my friends' hotel - the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon Street (very nice!), we decided to hit the restaurant on the corner (which is actually part of the hotel itself), Desire, a beautiful old fashioned pub with the typical New Orleans fare - po boys, turtle soup, shrimp, crawfish etouffee, etc.

We headed back to the hotel for my friends to check out. All of a sudden, we heard brass music. This is hardly unusual in New Orleans - but the hotel lobby cleared out.

This was no ordinary parade! It was led by Sidney Torres (the owner of the local trash pickup company), along with the Rebirth Brass Band, and a small army of people with brooms and heavy street cleaning equipment. They were cheered like a conquering army. Mr. Torres was grinning ear to ear, and strutting along Bourbon Street.

For the past few days, the French Quarter had become a battleground between the lunatic mayor of New Orleans, C. Ray Nagin, and the exasperated and yet quixotic City Council - with the weapon of choice being garbage. With the threat of a return to the bad old days of a putrid French Quarter - just in time for Mardi Gras - Ray Nagin decided to play games with the city's budget in petty retaliation over one of his lackeys (who oversees waste collection) being raked over the coals by a reform-minded Council.

Needless to say, Quarter residents and businesses were furious. This stinky dust-up has been at the heart of all the trash-talk in the town for the past several days.

SDT Waste and Debris owner Sidney Torres (who enjoys true rock star status in New Orleans), stepped up to the plate, and offered to buy the quarter more time while the two sides sought compromise. Eventually, time ran out, and garbage began to pile up in the Quarter again like old times. The outcry was huge, and a settlement was reached - after a dramatic showdown at City Council.

And Torres wasted no time when the compromise was announced. Hence the parade.

I waved at Sidney across the street. He beamed. We traded thumbs-up gestures. The spontaneous crowds on the sidewalk were cheering the band, the street sweepers, and the heavy equipment. People were actually patting the people with the brooms on the back and thanking them while they swept debris as the brass band strutted alongside down Bourbon Street.

"Only in New Orleans," said the smiling doorman, nodding approval in his cape and 19th century hat.

The street spraying machines blasted the road with high-pressure suds and lemon-scented detergent. Torres was directing the machinery personally, pointing and gesturing as he continued greeting people and strutting to the music. The street was immaculate. After the sprayer went by, it literally smelled like lemons.

If you've been to Bourbon Street in years past (and were sober enough to remember), your head has just exploded. I said, "It smelled like lemons." Yes. That's what I said.

Sidney Torres crossed over to our side of the street. I shook his hand and said: "Thank you!" He smiled, and said, "Hey, thanks for noticing." I asked: "Could you run for mayor?" He laughed and nodded good naturedly - but he didn't say "no."

There is hope for New Orleans.

Sermon: Transfiguration

1 February 2009 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Matt 17:1-9 (Ex 34:29-35, 2 Pet 1:16-21)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

Jesus is full of surprises.

As the time draws near for our Lord to go to the cross, He shares a secret with three of His apostles: Peter, James, and John. He takes them up on a “high mountain” and is “transfigured” – which means literally, a “metamorphosis”, a change in form.

For three years, everyone has seen Jesus in his human nature. Of course, they have witnessed miracles and seen Him using His divine nature – but on this day, the day the Christian Church commemorates as Transfiguration Sunday, Sts. Peter, James, and John actually see our Blessed Lord shining in the unhidden glory of His divine nature, which He typically veils from sight.

Jesus shares this little secret about Himself, not by telling them, but by showing them.

And if this weren’t enough of a surprise, Peter, James, and John get to see our Lord speaking with Moses and Elijah. The Law and the Prophets themselves testify to the divine nature of our Lord as “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.”

Peter is so shocked by the sight, he starts muttering something about building tents for everybody.

But the surprises don’t end here. For the final scene of this remarkable day, the thing that floored Peter, James, and John, knocking them to their faces in terror, wasn’t something they saw, but something they heard: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” They actually heard the voice of the Father, the Word of God. And what they heard was a reminder of our Lord’s baptism, in which the Father made the same pronouncement about the Son. And this time, the Father had something else to say, some advice. He told the apostles to “listen to” Jesus.

And as quickly as this horrific scene came upon them, it was over. “Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and have no fear.’ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no-one but Jesus only.”

No more would they hear the Father’s voice, for the Father told them to listen to Jesus. No more do they see the Law and the Prophets, for now they see “Jesus only.”

Moses, who appeared to the three apostles in this miracle, had previously had a kind of “transfiguration” himself. After speaking face to face with God, Moses’s face beamed with light, and the people “were afraid to come near him.” They begged him to cover his face with a veil. Eventually, Moses’s face stopped glowing, for the light from his face was only reflected light. It is as though Moses went forward into time and spoke face to face with God on the mountain of transfiguration, and then went back to his own time, with his face glowing from this remarkable conversation with God the Son, and it took time for his face to stop beaming with the light of Christ. For indeed, it was the Word of God that said: “Let there be light.” It was by the “Word made flesh” that “all things were made.”

And though the light that shone from the face of our Lord was not a mere reflection, but rather a manifestation of His divine glory, the Lord Jesus typically veils His glory, hiding under forms that our feeble brains can process, such as His form of a baby in a manger, or the form of a rabbi, the form of the Word of God proclaimed among the people of God, the form of words of forgiveness, of the Gospel preached, of simple bread and wine. And yet, beneath the veiled forms are the very power and radiant might of God Himself, whose words create, whose words forgive, whose words make new.

For listen again to what St. Peter, who was there, has to say about this transfiguration:

“We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure,”

Listen to what St. Peter says next. He says that even more than the voice of God, even more than the witness of Moses and Elijah, even more than seeing the veil come off of Jesus’s divine nature, there is “something more sure”, that is, Holy Scripture. For the apostle continues: “the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.”

Remember the Word of the Father spoken to Sts. Peter, James, and John – all of whom would write books of Scripture? The Father told them to “listen” to the Word of the Son. There would be no more booming voices from heaven – but rather the Word Himself, the Word made flesh, the Son, whom in these last days, the Lord has spoken. And St. Peter tells us to “listen” to Scripture.

And notice where we are to look. No more should be be distracted by the Law and the Prophets apart from the One who fulfills the Law and the Prophets. For just as the Father bids the apostles to “listen” to the Son, the Lord Jesus lifts them off of their faces, tells them not to fear, and they see “Jesus only.”

Dear friends, St. Peter has given us a surprise as well. For he says that the Word of Scripture, given to us by “men [who] spoke from God” and were “carried along by the Holy Spirit” is “more sure” than even the extraordinary events he witnessed with James and John on the mountain of Transfiguration with his own eyes! He says we “will do well to pay attention” – for this Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is like a “lamp shining in a dark place,” and is capable of leading us from the darkness of sin and death to the light to forgiveness and life. For these Scriptures are not our personal interpretations, but rather prophetic words that speak of the Word made flesh, the One in whom the Lord is pleased.

When we hear the Scriptures, we hear the Son – just as the Father commands. And though we are unable to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and though because of our sins we have every reason to fear and fall on our faces before God, our Lord Jesus Himself fulfills the Law and the Prophets on our behalf, touches us, absolves us of our sins, offers us Himself in the veiled forms of bread and wine as we kneel before Him, and when we have eaten His body and have drunk His blood, He bids us to “rise and have no fear.”

And like the apostles, dear friends, we need to be reminded of where we are to focus our eyes. Even as this world has many competing lights and all sorts of enticements and allurements, bidding us to “look here!” and “look there!”, let us follow the example of Sts. Peter, James, and John, and when it comes to our salvation, when it comes to hearing the Word of God, when it comes to the revelation of God Himself, let us look to no-one but “Jesus only.” Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Uh, how are we going to escape hyperinflation?

And these folks are in charge of the budget...

The following revelation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is stunning on a number of levels.

First of all, she is actually trying to argue that spending hundreds of millions of dollars is needed to save money. Has the woman ever lived in a normal household a day in her life? This is like arguing that the family needs to buy a Rolls Royce so we can drive to Sam's Club to save money over shopping at the local grocer. Typical Washingtonian idiocy.

Second, she is buying into the "culture of death" argument that the problem with the economy is children. Yep, it's the children. It's not compelling banks to loan to people who can't and won't pay the loan back, not banks taking risks they would not otherwise take because of government backing and the promise of "bailouts" if the risks don't pan out, not a governmental monetary policy of fiat currency and debt-based "wealth," not the failure of central economic planning over and against the free market, not years and years of deficit spending in Washington, not Washington-directed meddling in the private sector. No, the problem is... children. Typical Washingtonian arrogance.

Third, she seems to be utterly clueless that a huge part of the federal budget is Social Security and Medicare - which operate in the same manner as Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Current workers pay the entitlements of the retired workers. Hence, looking at this looming funding crisis in a purely utilitarian manner, (assuming that there is not going to be a needed overhaul of the entire system), we need people to have more children, not less. Typical Washingtonian cluelessness.

The baby boomers are called "baby boomers" because of the population boom following World War II. These boomers are now beginning to retire. The "boomers" are also the first generation to have widespread contraception in the form of "the pill." This means they had fewer children, as did their children. This means we have a bulge in population being supported by a sliver. This means the house of cards is being maintained by a fraction of the people who were once supporting it.

Having worked all these years in Washington, the land of pyramid schemes, you would think Mrs. Pelosi ought to know that a pyramid has to have a bigger base than top. But then again, Washington is an upside-down world where they have actually come to believe they can legislate anything and everything - even the laws of physics. Maybe Pelosi thinks Congress can make a two-legged stool that won't topple over or create prosperity through debt. Maybe she thinks she is a teapot and wears a straightjacket.

And they seem to think the problem of spending money we don't have can be solved by (what else?) spending money we don't have, which also means we can fix Social Security and Medicare by (what else?) aborting and preventing the births of those who would be paying into the system down the road. Even with contraception, how would the numbers have played out if the abortion holocaust of the last thirty-five years had not occurred? This is sheer madness.

One thing is for sure: the inmates are running the asylum - and their view of human life isn't that far off from "the final solution." In fact, maybe Mrs. Pelosi's credo is: "This would be a great country if it weren't for the people."

Sermon: Epiphany 3

25 January 2009 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Matt 8:1-13

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

There’s an old saying about atheists in foxholes – but even if soldiers are in fact atheists, they do know how authority works. Even atheist soldiers have a great deal of faith. For lives, and even nations, depend on orders being carried out. A commander gives an order and believes, that is, has faith that his subordinates will obey those orders.

A centurion is an army captain, a commander of a hundred men. As an officer of this rank, he knows about giving orders, and he knows about taking orders. He knows what it is to command a soldier, and he knows what it is to be commanded by an officer. A centurion operates by his word. And woe to any officer and to any army where orders are not followed, where no-one can believe in the power of authority moving men and arms with mere words.

The example of the centurion illustrates how God’s kingdom works – for the centurion understands quite well what most of our Lord’s Jewish countrymen do not. And Jesus marvels at the irony of it all. For centurions were Roman citizens, typically pagans, typically without any knowledge of the God of Israel or of the Hebrew Scriptures.

But while the Jews demanded signs and the Greeks desired wisdom, this very practical Roman imperial soldier is seeking the solution to a problem.

He is no quibbler in the law or philosopher looking for a debate. He is a man on a mission to find a healer for his servant. Somehow, it has been revealed to the centurion that Jesus could, and would, heal the centurion’s paralyzed slave. Jesus describes this revelation as “faith” – and Scripture is clear that faith is something we receive as a gift. Faith is something that comes from above. Faith is not something revealed to us by flesh and blood. Somehow – perhaps by the preaching of Christ Himself who was to become the One crucified by another later centurion – this veteran comes to faith.

He believes in Jesus’s power to heal, to restore, to make new. And he believes this firmly, to the point of simply asking Jesus to “only say the word” with the result of his servant being healed.

The centurion seeks no sign nor word of wisdom. He doesn’t even ask Jesus to come in person. He doesn’t try to use his own position of authority to arrest and compel Jesus. He simply shows up and asks Jesus for His help. And notice too that the revelation of Jesus’s power also seems to include a revelation that the centurion is “not worthy” to have the Lord “under his roof.”

Once again, this is a clear conviction of sin by the law. This is not the natural state of hubris of a Roman citizen, soldier, and officer. The centurion’s humility to come before the Lord with his humble petitions is likewise a gift of God, evidence of a converted heart.

The centurion explains matter-of-factly that he, as a soldier and commander, understands the top-down nature of power. He knows that Jesus is the general over men and creation – even over the forces that cause sickness. He puts his faith in the very words of Jesus, and places his trust blindly on the promise of Jesus.

It is no wonder that our Lord marvels. For he hasn’t seen such faith even among the Israelites, who not only have the ancient prophets, but the Scriptures, as well as the preaching and miracles of their Messiah to bolster their faith. But instead, it is this Gentile, this imperial soldier, whose faith exceeds the scribes and the Pharisees.

This passage not only illustrates the way the Lord works, passing His power in the form of His Word through a chain of command to affect healing and regeneration, this narrative also shows clearly that citizenship in this kingdom is not based on one’s race or social status.

And what a glorious picture of the Church!

Natural children of Abraham are bound in service with adopted children of Abraham. Men, women, and children of every race, tribe, and tongue are united in a vast army of soldiers fighting the forces of evil under the command of our Lord. And just as any army contains a diversity of gifts and talents to keep on marching against the enemy, the Church likewise has footsoldiers, centurions, and commanders of the highest rank – rallying around a blood-red banner of redemption and united in His Majesty’s service.

In this army, there is no cause for arrogance among men of rank. For in the army of God’s kingdom, those who command are to be servants of all. In this army, there is no reason to boast of one’s station, for we are what we are by grace, because it has been commanded us, because we have been created to do what we have been designed to do.

Our victories are His victories, even as our failures and shortcomings are our own. But like any army, we aren’t alone, dear brothers and sisters. We march as a unit, we support one another, we bind up one another’s wounds, we lay down our lives for our comrades in arms, and if we pay the ultimate sacrifice, we are only following the example of our Lord, who not only says “go” and His servants “go,” “come,” and His servants come, but also “Let there be light” and there was light.”

The Word of Jesus moves men and mountains, for the Word of Jesus is the Word of God. The Word of God creates anew and forgives sins. The Word of God heals and restores. The centurion not only knew how the chain of command works in God’s kingdom, he understood that he was addressing the One who had the authority to command even paralysis to obey.

The centurion understood that when our Lord said: “Go, let it be done for you as you have believed,” these were not simply words of encouragement, empowerment, self-esteem, or best wishes. For psychobabble, no matter how well-intended, is powerless to cure disease and forgive sin.

Indeed, the centurion understood completely, or more accurately, he believed, he had faith, he trusted the promise of Jesus and confessed Him to be God Almighty. The centurion believed that the Word of Jesus has authority, not just to express a sympathetic wish, but rather make it so.

You, dear brothers and sisters, have also been cured of something far worse than paralysis. You have been cleansed of your sins. You have been baptized and washed clean, like Naaman, the leprous general, who bathed away his rotting, dying flesh in the Jordan River. You have been cleansed of death and decay as well, in miraculous water containing the Word and the mighty power of Jesus – applied to you by a man under authority, bearing the Word of God and giving the promise of healing to you.

The Word of God is effective and powerful. It creates, it heals, and it sustains. And hear the mighty Word of the Lord again, dear friends, for I too am a man under authority: by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins…

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Again on Lew: (O Death, Where Is Your Stimulus?)

Obviously, a slow-news day on Lew Rockwell (or will be Monday, January 26), as Lew has opted to run my look at the Latin behind the stimulus.

Sermon: Memorial Service of Kevin Rome

24 January 2009 at Mothe Funeral Home, Harvey, LA

Text: Matt 11:28-30, (Isa 25:6-9, 2 Cor 4:7-18)

In the + name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, and guests.

Peace be with you. May you be comforted by Him who says: “I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Of course, in times like these, the yoke feels anything but easy, and the burden sure doesn’t seem to be light, but we cling to the promise of our Lord and trust in Him.

For Jesus is far more than a gentle teacher, a noble spiritual master, or an all-around good-guy. The empty tomb in Jerusalem and the billions of people around the world who, for two thousand years, even in duress and martyrdom confess Jesus as God in the flesh, point to a very different Jesus: one who has power, even over death and the grave.

Jesus said: “I did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.” For we do live in a world that needs saving.

We live in a fallen world, where things are not the way they should be. Men should not be cut down in the prime of life. We are surrounded by crime, sadness, broken families, sickness, natural disasters, and every manner of pain and suffering. This is not the world as God created it. This is not what the Creator placed man into. But our own sinfulness and rebellion has brought on all these things – even the very death that we will all endure because of our own fallenness.

Rather than condemn us sinners and destroy the fallen world, our Lord is also our Savior, that is, our Rescuer and re-Creator. As the prophet has told us:

“He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”

But in the meanwhile, as St. Paul has told us anew:

“We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

For this, dear brothers and sisters, is what the Christian faith is. It is not a collection of fables, nor even a quaint way to learn morals. It is not part of a cafeteria of beliefs that you can pick and choose from, or just another hobby that you can do on Sundays. The Christian faith is the only comfort we have in death – because it is true in every sense of the word. Your Lord uses all manner of events in life – be it prosperity or sadness – to call you back to Himself.

The baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit applied to Kevin is indeed a source of comfort today. Your baptism should bring comfort to you – and the seed planted at your baptism cries out for you to nourish it with the Word of God and prayer, with Holy Communion, and being attached to the “one holy Christian and apostolic Church” – where Jesus is found, where sins are forgiven, where comfort is given, where death and the grave are forever conquered. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting” says St. Paul.

In spite of our continued life in this fallen world, this valley of tears, this place of brokenness, of crime, of suffering, of family problems, of hurricanes, of economic woes, of drug addictions, of disappointments, of broken hearts, of widows and orphans, of terminal illness, and even of death itself – we have a Savior. Cling to Him, to the only One who defeated every form of temptation, the One who crushed the head of the devil, the One whose death destroyed death and whose resurrection to eternal life is a pledge to those who hold fast to Him.

For this is how the apostle can say:

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Housewives making a comeback!

Wow! Check out this report from Australia.

Through a confluence of various cultural phenomena, it seems that there is a trend among young women to reject the modern woman-hating feminism and self-centered careerism that pushes women to compete with men, and instead are returning to the traditional vocation of what Scripture calls a "helpmeet" (Gen 2:18) and a "keeper of home" (Titus 2:5) - which sounds a whole lot like the modern version of the strong and powerful woman of Proverbs 31.

Dare we hope that womanhood will once again be something to celebrate and venerate instead of something to be ashamed of, something to exchange for a knockoff of masculinity? If nothing else, individual families that return to the biblical traditional model will experience home life that is impossible under the secular egalitarian approach. Can you just imagine quitting your job, bringing your children out of daycare, eating genuine and tasty home-cooked (and maybe even home-grown) meals with husband and children, and spending oodles more time together as a close-knit family? Let me tell you - any square footage in the house or material stuff to cram it with that you have to give up in order to do it is well worth it!

Of course, the mannish, sourpuss champions of "choice" will soon be denouncing women who opt to submit to their husbands and who choose to live out the godly vocation of wife and mother as some kind of "gender traitors." So much for the "freedom to choose."

Ladies, join the resistance!

A couple of places to start: Ladies Against Feminism (website) and Passionate Housewives (book). You're not alone, and your husband (and children) will love having a wife, a mother, and a real home-life once again.

Home, Sweet Rome

At the risk of being called a "Romanizer" by the "usual suspects," I offer this wonderful article that has both Father and Mrs. Hollywood agreeing that if I had no divine call, we would be on our way.

Being that leaving is in no way an option for a servus Christi under holy orders, we continue to enjoy cappuccino in the morning in a city and region that may be the among the most un-American (in the good sense) in the Imperium Americanum.

Ciao.

Brits Learn Hard Lesson

My old pal Steve who lives in London writes:

Yes, the video is a very good portrayal of what happened here. I remember at the time of the gun ban that most people simply didn't believe this would happen.

Well, it happened. Now you in America have a perfect example of the consequences of a gun ban. You have seen the 'mother country' throw away 1000 years of hard-won liberties - and become LESS safe and LESS civilized.

If you in America don't learn from our mistake then you are stupid and deserve everything you get.

Fr. Hollywood on Lew Rockwell

Insects and Bureaucrats

by Larry L. Beane II

In celebration of our son's 4th birthday, my wife and I brought him on a long-promised trip to the New Orleans Insectarium. It's the least we could do for our lad, given his penchant for insects and arachnids (he recently taught me the word: "cephalothorax").

But of course, if it were that simple, it wouldn't be a story worth telling. And like any story, there are villains and heroes.

Click here to continue...

Prayer or Nursery Rhyme?

How sad.

An eighty-seven-year old Methodist minister had the honor to give the benediction at an Inauguration. Here was his opportunity as a Christian pastor, an elder-statesman, a worshiper of the Holy Trinity, to give a benediction, that is, a blessing, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit on a day that could have been seen as a day of unity and harmony.

But instead, America got the opposite.

With two million people listening live, and perhaps billions around the world via TV, Rev. Joseph Lowery tried to be "cute" instead of genuinely praying for the Lord to bless the people of the United States of America and the man who has been elected to the helm of its executive branch. Pastor Lowery seems to worship his own race and his own sense of "empowering victimhood" rather than the Triune God. What a missed opportunity for a called and ordained servant of the Word!

USA TODAY patronizingly calls Pastor Lowery's insulting race-based frittering away of his few seconds to bless and to do what God has called him to do (to stand in the stead and by the command of Jesus Christ to forgive sins, to proclaim the Gospel before the world, to speak truth to power) as an "impassioned benediction."

"Impassioned" is basically a euphemism for "emotional drivel." But I guess that wouldn't be politic to come out and say so.

I'm not sure whether I should be more insulted by the pastor's race-baiting and arrogant scolding of white people, praying to God that they "embrace what is right" (this after millions upon millions of whites voted a black man into office), or rather more embarrassed for him as a fellow pastor for what appears to be his attempt to sound like Dr. Seuss:

"help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right."

This is about as much as a "benediction" as the old water-saving adage:

"If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down."

The sad part is that if Rev. Lowery hasn't grown up by now, he probably won't. At the age of 87, it's high time to join the ranks of the adults. Maybe the next inauguration will be more dignified (hopefully without the chanting at, booing, and taunting of, the former president). Americans are becoming an uglier people with an uglier culture, it seems, with each passing day. I can only imagine how far we will degrade over the next four, eight, sixteen, or thirty-two years.

No matter who wins the next election, I hope the Inauguration will have better, more faithful representatives of Christianity to offer prayers, and a real Christian benediction next time around.

Actually, the best benediction of all isn't particularly "impassioned," but at least it doesn't sound like a toilet flushing rhyme or a first book for toddlers. It is especially powerful because it is God's Word, it is not designed to be an insult or a belittling of people of any ethnicity, and it is applied to all of God's children regardless of their race, tribe, or tongue:

"The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and + give you peace. Amen."

Now that would have been a benediction we could have all said an "Amen" to.

Anybody need $6.8M ?

Free to good home: $6,800,000.

I got the following e-mail...

Contact Smith Raymond for your (ATM Card)with a fund worth 6.8 Million Dollars has been accredited in your favor.Email: smithraymond09@gmail.com

...and I'm passing it along to all Father Hollywood readers who may be interested. Of course, being clergy, I'm subject to some pretty unusual IRS rules, and I'm sure that if I were to take this money, I would get bumped into a different tax bracket. Boy, that would really mess up my tax forms.

Besides, $6.8M just isn't what it used to be. These days, I don't even think that would buy Steve Austin a hip replacement.

But it sure is nice that so many kind people, like this Smith Raymond, write to me on a daily basis to make such offers. For some reason, g-mail has a tendency to sort them into a folder called "Spam" along with all kinds of offers for pharmaceutical products. These kinds of e-mails always renew my faith in the goodness of man, and quite frankly, make me wonder if St. Augustine and all that "original sin" stuff might be an exaggeration.

But please do post back here if you take the money, and let me know what you plan on doing with it!

Treasury of Daily Prayer presentation

I continue to be impressed with the new Lutheran breviary (prayer book) published by CPH called the Treasury of Daily Prayer. Quite of few of my parishioners have purchased the book, and many of them report being similarly delighted.

However, for first-time users of a breviary, the practice of traditional, disciplined prayer can be unfamiliar or even strange. To Lutherans, it may seem strange to pray the Bible rather than studying it (and this is not to dimish the importance of the latter). It can also be an intimidating tome, with 1500 pages and six different colored ribbons to mark pages.

But in reality, TDP greatly simplifies daily prayer, and yet it is very flexible, being as rigorous as one desires.

After Sunday's Mass, I gave a presentation on the TDP and a workshop on how to use it. Of course, we had to begin with food, as parishioner Jean Richoux brought sandwiches (including muffulettas!) and other church members brought various cakes and goodies. After the repast, I opened with a scene from the movie Southern Belles that comically depicts a less-than-disciplined approach to prayer at a dinner table - a sort-of "what not to do" which stands in stark contrast to the TDP's traditional approach to Christian prayer. I then jumped into my powerpoint presentation itself, after which we concluded with a prayer service from the TDP itelf.

It was a real joy to be able to encourage my parishioners to join their brothers and sisters in daily prayer with this fine resource.

My powerpoint is not a scholarly treatise, and I'm quite sure it could be done much better. But if anyone is interested in what I presented, you're free to take it, look at it, modify it in any way, and use it as you see fit for any presentations of your own. If it can help someone else, great! The point is to help people get over the hump and start praying!

So, if you'd like a copy of the ppt file, click here and then click on "Treasury of Daily Prayer presentation."

Birthday of a Great American

For more than a century, Southerners in particular have celebrated the Birthday of Robert E. Lee as a holiday - in many Southern states as an official observance. In Virginia (the home state of General Lee and his compatriot General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson - whose birthday is January 21), the official state holiday for many years was "Lee-Jackson Day).

For a century, it has been the custom in many Southern states and communities to fly the battle flag of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in tribute to Lee on January 19 in honor of his birthday. Some folks from the North are shocked, even scandalized, to learn that many Southern states give state employees the day off for Confederate Memorial Day - which few realize actually predated the Federal version of Memorial Day (which later was added to the list of holidays in the Southern states as well).

Robert Edward Lee was always a man of extraordinary character and talent.

He was born January 19, 1807, the son of Revolutionary War hero and Governor of Virginia, Gen. Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee. The Lees are among the oldest and most venerable families in Virginia. Robert's father died while Robert was eleven, leaving the family in disarray - and Robert grew up in Arlington, Virginia, raised by his devout Episcopalian mother.

He went to the USMA at West Point (class of 1829), and was one of the very few cadets to graduate with no demerits on his record. He finished second in his class. He served in the Corps of Engineers, and worked on Mississippi River levees (New Orleans has a prominent traffic circle near the river downtown named for Lee that features a towering column with a statue of General Lee atop). He later distinguished himself as an officer in the Mexican War (1847-49).

One of his last duties as a U.S. Army officer involved the "war on terror" of his day. Colonel Lee was put in charge of a detachment of U.S. Marines to arrest a terrorist named John Brown, a fanatic and mass-murderer, who, along with a small militia of extremists, had overtaken an army arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in an attempt to seize arms for a planned slave uprising. Brown was captured, and later executed for treason. Today's history books largely (and shamefully) overlook his murderous spree of violence and even justify his terrorism based on his abolitionism.

Following the secession crisis of 1860-61, as seven states of the deep South had seceded (which did not include Lee's native Virginia), Northern President Abraham Lincoln offered Col. Lee command of all military forces of the United States. This was only three weeks after Lee had been promoted to full colonel - a remarkable offer. Though he opposed secession, Lee understood that his own state was poised to secede from the United States should the North invade the seceded states. True to his principle of honor over careerism, and in patriotism for his beloved Virginia, Lee declined the promotion. Virginia did later secede in indignation toward the refusal of the Lincoln administration to allow the seceded states to leave the Union in peace. Lee resigned his Federal commission to take command of the military forces of the newly-independent Commonwealth of Virginia.

After Virginia joined the other ten seceded states (as well as two other disputed provisional state governments and several U.S. territories that had likewise seceded) in forming the Confederate States of America, General Lee would find himself commanding one of the three major armies of the CSA: the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV).

Lee's ANV would rack up a remarkable record of victories, being noted not only for their military prowess, but courage, audacity, discipline, strategic and tactical brilliance, and innovation. As the ANV's commander, Lee insisted that his soldiers act with gentlemanly military bearing and chivalry toward civilians - whether Northern or Southern. Lee's reputation, both as a general and as a man of honor, was unquestioned - even by his opponents.

Lee wrote many letters to his family, and was deeply committed to his Christianity, to chivalric honor, to patriotism, to duty, and to ethical rigor.

As a general, Lee was concerned for the welfare of the common soldier. While on the march, he typically slept in a tent rather than in a house. The affection with which Lee was held by both grateful civilians and fighting men alike is shown by the anecdote (I believe recounted in Michael Shaara's Killer Angels) of how Lee was sleeping in his tent as a large detachment of Confederate soldiers tiptoed by as silently as possible so as not to disturb the general. Anyone who has participated in reenactments - being laden down with a clanging tin canteen, heavy musket, foot-long bayonet, bags of supplies, ammunition, and shod in noisy metal-heeled brogan shoes - realizes how comical and touching this scene must have been.

Lee and his indefatigable warriors beat the overwhelming odds for four long years. My own Confederate ancestors fought in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and participated in some of American history's greatest battles. But in the end, the Confederates were defeated by sheer numbers in a war of attrition. In April of 1865, Lee surrendered his forces and laid down his arms. He was determined to partake in whatever misery lay ahead for his fellow Virginians. The now penniless General Lee, whose Arlington home was confiscated by vindictive federal bureaucrats, was a "man without a country." He was offered several lucrative contracts to do nothing more than allow his name (and thus his reputation) to be listed on corporate boards of directors - which General Lee felt would be dishonest. He turned down all such offers.

Instead, General Lee accepted the presidency of Washington College, believing education to be the best path to rebuilding the infrastructure of the demolished South. He insisted that every Washington College student be first and foremost a gentleman. After the war, General Lee showed respect and compassion to the veterans who were mostly common soldiers on both sides. He continued to exhort his fellow Southerners to patiently endure the insults, brutality, and outright political plunder of their post-war Northern countrymen, and get on with rebuilding their families and society.

General Lee died October 12, 1870, and was buried in a tomb beneath the chapel of Washington College (today known as the Lee Chapel of Washington and Lee University).

Wikipedia's article on General Lee, which in places is quite deliberately insulting, includes the following quote from the great Georgia Senator and orator Benjamin Harvey Hill delivered four years after the General's death, an opinion shared by Americans in the North and South alike:

He was a foe without hate; a friend without treachery; a soldier without cruelty; a victor without oppression, and a victim without murmuring. He was a public officer without vices; a private citizen without wrong; a neighbour without reproach; a Christian without hypocrisy, and a man without guile. He was a Caesar, without his ambition; Frederick, without his tyranny; Napoleon, without his selfishness, and Washington, without his reward.

In a day and age when "role models" are selected based solely on things like athletic ability, being in a rock band, having wealth, or artificially and arbitrarily based on race, sex, or perceived "gender identity"; even as character and nobility are overlooked, as trashiness is exalted, as scandal and sometimes criminality are no longer barriers for making a person worthy of emulation by young people - continuing to remember and honor Robert E. Lee on this, his birthday, is a refreshing act of rebellion against the forces of political correctness.

Robert Edward Lee was a man who stood for principles. He was a Christian, a patriot, a warrior, an educator, a peacemaker, and a man whose life was quietly ruled by the ever-present desire to do what is right. It is fitting that Americans, especially Southerners and most especially Virginians, remember this heroic man on this auspicious holiday commemorating his birth. And though fewer and fewer recall his ideals and example as the years go by, those who do continue to be edified by true greatness as opposed to manufactured mythmaking and the politically-correct collective overlooking of "inconvenient truths" that cannot be wished or ignored away.

Here is a tribute to General Lee written by Fr. Abram J. Ryan, the Roman Catholic priest who served as a Confederate chaplain and as a prolific and beloved American poet:

The Sword of Robert Lee

Forth from its scabbard, pure and bright,
Flashed the sword of Lee!
Far in the front of the deadly fight,
High o'er the brave in the cause of Right,
Its stainless sheen, like a beacon light,
Led us to Victory!

Out of its scabbard, where, full long,
It slumbered peacefully,
Roused from its rest by the battle's song,
Shielding the feeble, smiting the strong,
Guarding the right, avenging the wrong,
Gleamed the sword of Lee!

Forth from its scabbard, high in air
Beneath Virginia's sky --
And they who saw it gleaming there,
And knew who bore it, knelt to swear
That where that sword led they would dare
To follow -- and to die!

Out of its scabbard!  Never hand
Waved sword from stain as free,
Nor purer sword led braver band,
Nor braver bled for a brighter land,
Nor brighter land had a cause so grand,
Nor cause a chief like Lee!

Forth from its scabbard!  How we prayed
That sword might victor be;
And when our triumph was delayed,
And many a heart grew sore afraid,
We still hoped on while gleamed the blade
Of noble Robert Lee!

Forth from its scabbard all in vain
Bright flashed the sword of Lee;
'Tis shrouded now in its sheath again,
It sleeps the sleep of our noble slain,
Defeated, yet without a stain,
Proudly and peacefully!