Abraham Lincoln

Two reckonings of Abraham Lincoln, one through great African-Americans and one through the man who murdered him.  

Reckoning 1

7 Degrees

Seventh Degree: Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is a president that all Americans are proud of.  Republicans, Democrats, Tea Partiers, Lefties, Righties, Women, Men, Blacks, Whites, Browns, etc. all love Abraham Lincoln.  Here are two videos about Lincoln, one from the right-ish and one from the left-ish.

Watch the full episode. See more Bill Moyers.

Sixth Degree: Frederick Douglas and Booker T. Washington
It pains me to put these two great men on one degree.  They deserve their own degree.  But you see, their paths cross a few generations down the line with their great-great grand children.  To read Nettie Douglas' letter to her great grandfather, click here.  

Fifth Degree: Nettie Washington Douglas and her son, Kenneth B. Morris Jr. 
Mrs. Douglas presented 4th Degree, Joe DiMaggio with the first Booker T. Washington half-dollar in San Francisco in 1950.

"I let no man drag me down so low

as to make me hate him." - Booker T. Washington

American Slavery Still Exists!
Watch a video of Mrs. Douglas and Mr. Morris discussing modern slavery here.
To see a video with comments by Ashley Judd and other celebrities click here.
For a CBS morning show spot on human trafikking in the Us click here.  

Slavery is mentioned in the bible.  You may remember the section about "slaves, obey your masters."  It's a shocking phrase.  In this post I found a website that ranted against the Catholic Church for supporting slavery in its history.  I was actually a bit surprised that this site didn't dig up more.  To my eyes, a dozen phrases spoken or written in 2000 years of popes is not a lot of evidence.  

We all know that some popes are more holy than others.  By the grace of the Holy Spirit, the church has survived some dark years.  What's really amazing is how consistent the teachings of the church are in spite of its 2 millenia of history peppered with a few unholy popes.  The United States is not even 250 years old and its history is liberally peppered with poor presidencies.  What we agree on is that the United States is a great country and she is worth fighting for.  As Catholics, we know that our church is that of Jesus Christ and worth fighting for.  We fight with ideas, we fight with our bodies, we fight with our resources, but ultimately, we fight with love.  

For the official Catholic word on slavery, click here.  

Degree: John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln

6 degrees

Descendants of  Fifth Degree, John Wilkes Booth are maintaining that Booth lived for 40 years after the assassination.  Here is a link for an episode of "Decoders" from The History Channel.  I hope you enjoy the video.

Dr. Samuel A. Mudd
"His name is Mudd," the probable
origin of that idiom.

Fourth Degree: Dr. Samuel A. Mudd

Weather you believe that Booth died in a barn just after the shooting, or that he lived in obscurity for decades thereafter, there are elements of the shooting that are beyond doubt.  A jump from the presidential box or a fall from his get-away horse caused Booth to break his leg the day of the shooting.  His injuries were too severe for him to dismount on the way to medical attention.  

The couch on which Booth was treated by Dr. Mudd

As Booth wound his way from Ford's Theater with his co-conspirators, he sought remedy for his painfully broken leg.  In the wee hours of the morning, he came to the house of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd.  Mudd, a southerner who was raised on a tobacco plantation, set the leg, cared for the wound and sent Booth on his way.

Dr. Mudd's aid and comfort to the assassin is the origin of the term, "Your name is mudd."

Third Degree: Roger Mudd
Decades later, in February of 1928, a distant relative of Dr. Mudd, Roger Mudd was born in The District of Columbia.  This Mudd grew up to be a journalist on the order of Walter Cronkite.  Here he is in his most famous interview, with
Second Degree, Senator Ted Kennedy.

First Degree: Pope Pius XII
Young Ted Kennedy received his first communion from Pope Pius XII.  It appears from her veil and white dress, that his sister did as well.

The Kennedy family were very wealthy, but devoted to public service.  Living out their Catholic faith has been inconsistent in their family, as it is in most Catholic families.  The virtue of marital fidelity is hard to come by in the Kennedy men, but modesty was common among the women.  All Kennedys seem to have a deep sense of public service and need to sacrifice for their countrymen.  Indeed, one would be hard pressed to find a family who has lost more of its members to assassination than the Kennedys.   

Eunice Kennedy at the center of a candid photo from Jack and Jackie's
wedding day.  

The most saintly Kennedy in my opinion is the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver.  She lived a beautiful life, never bowing to popular will, but only to the will of God.  She is most popularly known as the founder of Special Olympics.  This alone is accomplishment for a lifetime, but she did much more than that.  For a list of her awards and honors is here.  

Edith Shain: The Kiss in Times Square Nurse

The Eisenstaedt photo
August 14, 1945

Edith Shain and Glenn McDuffie kissed on August 14, 1945 in Times Square. This iconic photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt makes me happy each time I see it.  A random GI kissing a random nurse in Times Square upon hearing that the war was finally over!

The identities of the kissers was a mystery for over 50 years.  Not wanting to be seen as a flusey,  Edith Shain did not come forward.  As an elderly lady she figured, what the heck!

5 Degrees

Julius Axelrod

Edith in the 21st century

Fifth Degree: Julius Axelrod:  Edith was a nurse at Doctors Hospital, now Presbyterian Hospital, when she heard about the end of the war.  When she was a medical student at NYU in the late 30s/early 40s, so was 1970 Nobel Laureate Julius Axelrod.  

Fourth Degree, Norman Borlaug:  Julius Axelrod, with colleagues Bernard Katz and Ulf von Euler, won the Nobel Prize for their study of  neurotransmitters. Dr. Axelrod received his prize in Medicine in the same 1970 ceremony that Norman Borlaug won the prize for Peace.

Dr. Borlaug receiving the Congressional Gold Medal

Third Degree, Nancy Pelosi:  Dr. Borlaug discovered ways to yield more wheat per acre.  His work was seen as an embodiment of the ideals of Nobel by "benefiting humanity."  To read the award ceremony speech for Dr. Borlaug click here.  Dr. Borlaug's work didn't stop with this work.  He went on to head  the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the auspices of the Ford Foundation, The Rockerfeller Foundation, and the Mexican Government.  His work with the CIMMYT earned him the Congressional Gold Medal.  He received the medal during the Bush administration, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House.

You do realize, Nancy, that by kissing my hand you
are submitting to my authority?

  Second Degree, The Pope:  Madame Speaker was summoned to The Vatican in February of 2009 by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.  The audience was requested when Speaker Pelosi stated that she was a "good Catholic" in spite of her party stance on life issue, including abortion.  While no transcripts of the 15 minute meeting were released, both parties released statements to the press. Pelosi's rendition is of a formal and friendly greeting.  The Vatican's statement is about life issues and the importance of leaders to stand for justice.  Read the Fox story here.  Read the CBS story of the visit here.  

Friends

First Degree: Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) was a friend and confidant of John Paul II.  The two were very good friends.  It's so unfortunate that Benedict is plagued with dark circles under his eyes and a surname that begins with "rat."  The combination of these characteristics have made for many nasty photoshop opportunities, but he's a very holy man.  Check out the photo of him with Nancy Pelosi.  Yeah, he's got dark circles like Natasha's Boris, but there is a warmth, light, and sweetness radiating from him.  When you see the parody pix, close the page. 

Don't make statements of doctrine
unless they are correct, Nancy

Bishop Tobin vs Patrick Kennedy
The bishop won

Did you know? The Catholic Church reserves public contact with politicians to State events and matters of heresy.  While Nancy Pelosi had been on the wrong side of life issues for many years, she was only called out publicly when she said she could do so and still be a "good, practicing, Catholic."  


A similar Episcopal reprimand was given to Patrick Kennedy by Bishop Tobin in 2009.  Read the story here.