birds of winter

It has been a remarkably cold winter about the Great Lakes. We have had only a few hours of thaw, and many hours of negative Fahrenheit. The cold was a disincentive to photograph. Few were the days that the lake was free of visible ice. Even those days, where there were pools of open water, or cracks in the sheet to form a channel, the wind savaged naked, and lightly covered flesh. I did not get many good shots and snaps off, and the subjects were hard to come by. These were a few that i did take.

    Obi-Wan: "Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim."
    Luke: "What's a duck?"
    Obi-Wan: "Never mind."

Arthur Tyler

A plea for a life, write and post to the governor:

It is a terrible thing to have thirty years taken away from you. It is a terrible thing to count the days towards the execution of your life. It is a terrible thing to so suffer for something you did not do. It is a terrible thing.

What is justice? Is it equity based on truth, evidence, and mercy? Or is it following orders?

Is it right to do right? Or is it right that the government and the legal system not be embarrassed?

See:

http://justicedenied.org/arthurtyler_rickkerger.html

Name:  Arthur Tyler         Inmate Number:  A175-637
County:  Cuyahoga
Clemency Hearing: TBA
Scheduled Execution:  May 28, 2014

It is not right for any man to be killed for something some one else did, and which the powers that be do also know, but will not admit. Whether, one supports capital punishment or opposes capital punishment, a decent person can not support the judicial murder of an innocent. Do not turn away, an hour of your time, and that of others like you may save a life, and make this a more just society.

I am told, that, these petitions are more effective when they are written by hand and posted with the intentions of the writer. And politics as they are, being identified as an Ohio voter may add significance. Below, is an example summarising the situation. This is a sample letter (some errors in transcription were corrected, i have no proofreader).

 ----oooo----oooo----oooo----oooo----oooo----oooo----

Governor John Kasich
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6117

Dear Governor Kasich,

I write to you today on an urgent matter. The State of Ohio is preparing to execute Arthur Tyler on May 28, 2014 despite the fact that there are serious doubts about who is actually responsible for this tragic crime.

I and so many other Ohioans support clemency for Mr. Tyler because we are deeply concerned about the unfairness in this case. Mr. Tyler's co-defendant, Leroy Head, confessed no less than eleven times that he was the person who actually killed the victim, not Mr. Tyler. Shockingly, despite these assertions, Mr. Head is now a free man while Mr. Tyler faces execution.

Mr. Head made these statements on multiple occasions, orally and in writing, to the police, his mother, his friends, other prisoners, a private investigator, attorneys, and in a sworn affidavit for use in court. However, before the trial began the prosecutor offered Leroy Head a deal: 20 years if he testified that his co-defendant, Arthur Tyler, was the shooter. Mr. Head accepted the deal.

I am also very troubled that, no court has ever had the chance to thoroughly review all of the confessions from Leroy Head due to serious errors in the trial and appeals process. The defense provided to Mr. Tyler during his initial trial was so ineffective he was granted a second trial. During Mr. Tyler's post-conviction appeal, a sworn affidavit by Mr. Head that again confirmed he was the murderer was inexplicably lost by the court during the proceedings.

Everyone can agree that our criminal justice system must be administered fairly and accurately – especially in the context of the death penalty. Executive clemency is especially warranted when the system proves it failed to provide equitable and precise decisions. The clemency phase is Mr Tyler's last chance to receive a fair sentence.

Governor Kasich, I know these are incredibly difficult decisions for any governor to make, and I appreciate your leadership. In this case, which is so riddled with grave doubt and inconsistencies, I respectably ask you to grant executive clemency to Arthur Tyler.

Sincerely, 

_______________ 

postscriptum: an essay by Arthur Tyler, This I Believe [click]

postscriptum ii: 7 p.m. 29 April 2014: "The Ohio Parole Board recommended to Gov. John Kasich today that convicted killer Arthur Tyler’s death sentence should be commuted to time served, making him immediately eligible for release from prison" [click]

is Lincoln your Valentine?

This is not money, it is chocolate gelt.  The mint mark is 1949 M (fictive), and pennies were wheat backs from 1909 to 1958. To-day, is Lincoln's birthday. Lincoln was the most impressive Republican their party has had. This is the north, we are free to celebrate him and his day.

 on the way to a chocolate shop

The marketing for this business is brilliant. The television news channels in Cleveland, maybe all four, will come here and give free publicity disguised as news. Supra, is their side lot. The little pink booths will have people selling chocolate dipped strawberries (and maybe other chocolate novelties) on Saint Valentine's Day. The traffic cones are waiting, and they will probably have police directing traffic. And here is another factoid of interest, the neighboring businesses form a red-light district (supposedly cleaned up). Aren't a couple of the strippers named Coco, and Sugar?

Good news arrives in Buffalo from Rome

Good news arrives in Buffalo from Rome.

Good news, the 'winds of change' had already began turning with the Allentown decrees, the Cleveland decrees were unequivocally for the parishioners, and clearly, and repeatedly highlighted episcopal error in form and substance of canon law. And now, the Holy Spirit has blessed us (in the person of Francis) with an anti-clericalist pope. The People of God will be better served by the officialdom of their Church. The bishops of the United States will not be allowed to tread so deeply upon the Faithful. They will have to learn to be circumspect in the exercise of their office. They may have to learn the difference between 'proper authority' and absolute authority. An issue, here, being addressed is the what is the basic unit of Christian community life? Is it the parish, which Jesus instituted and was described by the Evangelist (and Apostle) Matthew (xviii. 20) "For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them", or the diocese?, which was an imperial governmental territorial unit of the Roman Empire.

quoting from the article:
"So why have hundreds, if not thousands, of Catholic churches, including several dozen in Western New York, been allowed to close during the past few decades? Simply put, it’s because bishops were not challenged on their decisions, and if they were, the people making the challenges did not follow procedural requirements as spelled out in canon law."

People finally started to refuse being 'buffaloed' by bishops, and their appeasers, and lackeys. Those people knowing what was right, and calling on their ancient rights began winning in curial courts. The sad, sad matter is how much damage, and harm these bishops have done. And this is doubly large locally, for Cleveland's tyrant was an extreme exemplar of such bishops. The division he, and they have wrought; and how many people went along with their programmes? And how badly did they treat those that were right—all along.

http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/religion/church-closings-in-limbo-as-rome-overrules-bishop-20140208

Buffalo Mass Mob, why not Cleveland and elsewhere?

Sometimes clever and elegant ideas work. A 'flash mob' is a mass of people who simultaneously gather at some place in surprise. Some beautiful ones are when people appear in a public square, or shopping center, and break out in an artistic performance; although non-beautiful ones also occur. Some people in Buffalo New York were successful in having a mass of people show up for Mass in an old beautiful church. The use of social media communication entities greatly aid in this. Using this to re-evangelise those that have drifted away from church is worth more than a couple of tries in one city. Buffalo is voting [starting Feb. 10 see: click] for the third Mass mob for 23 March.

 BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- You've heard of flash mobs? Behold the Mass mob. [click]

Playing off the idea of using social media to summon crowds for parties or mischief, mobs of Buffalo-area Roman Catholics have been filling pews and lifting spirits at some of the city's original, now often sparsely attended, churches.

It works this way: On a given Sunday, participants attend Mass en masse at a church they've picked in an online vote and promoted through Facebook and Twitter. Visitors experience the architecture, heritage and spirit of the aging houses of worship and the churches once again see the numbers they were built for, ...

http://buffalomassmob.wordpress.com/

Buffalo, A City of Churches

Did you ever wonder how you can help make a difference at some of Buffalo’s incredible historic and heritage churches? Buffalo Mass Mob has an easy answer!...

St. Adalbert [click]
Our Lady of Perpetual Help [click]
next Buffalo church? [click]

...the five churches who will potentially host Buffalo Mass Mob III on March 23, 2014: Holy Angels (West Side), Saint Anthony’s (Downtown), St. John Kanty Church (East Side Polonia), Saint Clare’s (The Valley) and St. Casimir Church (Kaisertown)...
_________________________________________
Postscriptum 4.00 p.m. 5 February:  a new web journal has been created:
Cleveland Mass Mob [click]
Postscriptum mid May: o, we do have one in Cleveland, now, and the 'social media' vehicle of choice is:   https://www.facebook.com/cleveland.massmob

neve e ombre, snow and shadows

 walking the beach in Bay Village

East 72nd and Shoreway park benches

Rockefeller Park's German Gate on East Boulevard

 Dante Aligheri did mention snow, but not often:

...Similmente questa nova donna
si sta gelata come neve a l'ombra;
ché non la move, se non come petra,...

...Similarly this new woman
is as frozen as snow in shadow;
because she doe not move, except as stone,... 

—from Dante's Sestina

St. Michael at St. Casimir

Guest Submission XVI: Weather Forecasting Mammals

Concord Casimir takes over for Concord Abby and makes his Annual Forecast in Lake County

John Niedzialek with Concord Casimir at his debut forecast on Feb. 2, 2014

   “You have waited all season for this”, spoke Master of Ceremonies John Niedzialek of Concord. It’s official, winter will not be ending anytime soon. Today, Concord Casimir took over the duties from Concord Abby at the annual weather forecasting event at Ellison Creek Knob in Concord, Ohio.  Casimir did not see his shadow on this snowy morning meaning we are in store for many more weeks of winter. “Contrary to popular myth spread by a burrowing animal in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the sun’s shadow of such a beast is not a very accurate predictor of weather.  They have had it all backwards over there in Pennsylvania, and their record shows it. No shadow means a long winter around here, not a short one”, declared Niedzialek. 

   Concord Abby had been flawless on her predictions over the years but, because of a few hecklers out there, Abigail decided to play a little trick on all of you last year and gave an erroneous forecast as a retirement going away present to the public. “Cats have feelings too you know, and Abigail just had enough of the negative fan mail”, said Niedzialek. As you can see in the photo below, Abigail has since retired with a big smile on her face knowing she got the last laugh.

   The good news is that Concord Casimir has picked up the duties with great enthusiasm. Casimir knows he has big paws to fill after Abby’s great record. Just last night, he was pacing the window sills of the house in nervous anticipation of today’s event. Casimir was found abandoned as a kitten on the footsteps of St. Casimir Catholic Polish Church on Cleveland’s east side last summer, at what many are now calling “Cleveland’s Miraculous Polish Church.”  Against all odds, St. Casimir’s church reopened on July 15, 2012. “According to my veterinarian’s best estimate, Casimir was born exactly one year later on July 15. With such divine intervention, how could anyone possibly doubt this cat”, reported Niedzialek.

   Admittedly, Casimir was a bit nervous about his debut this morning. However, a little sour cream from some left-over pierogi did the trick in enticing the Polish Prince of felines to come out this morning.

John Niedzialek with a retired Concord Abby

  -by John Niedzialek