Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Ted Kennedy wants to make amends to ex-Joan

Dying Ted Kennedy, the tabloids have it, has been calling his ex-Joan to make amends.  His sin?  In his eyes he "made" her an alcoholic through his womanizing.  My advice?  Do a lot more soul-searching, Ted.  Your sins seem lots more global - like depraved indifference and deliberate cruelty - than simple shirt-chasing.  In addition, no one "makes" anyone an alcoholic, not even a Kennedy can do that.

Molly Mittens - June 30, 2006, she left us

I made it through these two years after my dog Molly Mittens died.  No one could have told me that I would somehow survive.  And that's what we do, isn't it.  We don't make peace with the idea of a pet's death.  We don't look for meaning or message.

God

It was NEW YORK Magazine which brought the "Me Decade" mainstream.  And now it just might make the "new atheism" the ruling zeitgeist. This week, Sean McManus reports on this "fastest-growing faith [sic] in America." The comments which have already come into NEW YORK on this article show how embedded the concept of "God" is in our society and how liberated and, yeah, smug atheists seem to feel about overcoming this cultural hardwiring.

Jeffrey Immelt et al. - Should we send them off to a Buddhist Monastery?

Maybe business in these volatile times needs religion.  Today's news is full of scary stories about capitalism's best and brightest - e.g. GE Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt - who are stumbling on the road of transition.  They seem scared stuck in a global marketplace which is digitally driven that won't quit changing.  A short stay in a Buddhist monastery could take care of that.

For First Gen Americans, Our Own Patron Saint: Michael McGivney

Finally, we embattled First Gen Americans might have our own patron saint.  Last week, Pope Benedict XVI put on the path to sainthood Michael McGivney.  It was humble parish priest, son of Irish immigrants, who brilliantly mixed altruism with capitalistic shrewdness.  In raw industrial-age America, Father McGivney invented a type of "stop-loss" between Catholic newcomers to America and utter poverty.  He saw how quickly hard-working but economically isolated immigrants could fall into financial ruin.  His solution was to create the Knights of Columbus.   

Dishing the Dirt - Is there a Gossip Gene?

A five-foot writer/thinker I am invisible to most of the residents of the 1400 units at the Bella Vista development, New Haven, Connecticut.  No one knows my name, what car I drive, which of the high risera I live in.  I can command instant complex-wide attention, though, when I start to dish the dirt.  As a writer, I am a trained observer.  So, of detailed gossip I can be the designated carrier. I know for a fact that my dirt gets passed from person to person, building to building, complex to complex in New Haven and eventually throughout the tri-state area.

The Saint Glut - Bad Business Practice for Catholic Church

Mysticism is a platform from which the Roman Catholic Church seems to operate.  And it has this down cold with its rituals that seduce all the senses.  A fave ritual among many Catholics is a mass said in Latin, with lots of incense burning and professions around the church.  Another fave is awaiting a person known for holiness when living to be declared a saint.  All of this mysticism provides good, steady, and growing revenue for the church in general and for the individual parish.

AA - All the Girls Get Prettier After the Our Father

The lion's share of active alcoholics are being sentenced to or pushed into Alcoholics Anonymous [AA].  But that sentence or swift kick should come with a warning label: Can become downright addictive

A Prayer for George W. Bush

It's Nixonian.  A President seems to be in trouble, on many fronts.  But, he has few options for seeking help.  If the January 21, 2008 edition of GLOBE is 100-percent accurate, then that captures the situation of George W. Bush.  Should readers have any doubts of the authenticity of the facts, they are referred to Wayne Madsen's website waynemadsenreport.com.  Madsen, a Washington insider, has been covering the personal life of President Bush II since at least 2006.

Former British PM Tony Blair Becomes Roman Catholic

A stunner.  Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has shifted from his Anglican religion to that of Roman Catholicism.  And many, including members of the Catholic faith, are not happy about this.

According to SKY NEWS, the criticism is essentially focused on Blair's policies when in office.  At the top of the list are those supporting abortion and stem cell research.