Motley Moose – Archive

Writing up my short diary on Pope Francis brought out the sometimes startling variety of papal names. The last pope to use a new name was Lando (so you can see why Francis didn’t pick that one),  but if you go further back the names get even more surprising. Take the poll – which of these would you pick for yourself?

As an Episcopalian, I am only an onlooker when it comes to papal elections. Nonetheless, this one is a doozy. Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) is the first pope from the Americas, the first non-European pope for over a millennium, the first pope to use a new name since Pope Lando (from the saeculum obscurum, also called the nadir of the papacy), and the first Jesuit pope.

He has a master’s degree in chemistry, taken before he changed his focus to theology.

Cardinal Bergoglio became known for personal humility, doctrinal conservatism and a commitment to social justice.A simple lifestyle contributed to his reputation for humility. He lived in a small apartment, rather than in the palatial bishop’s residence. He gave up his chauffeured limousine in favor of public transportation.

On the death of Pope John Paul II, Bergoglio was considered one of the papabile cardinals. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. It has been reported that Bergoglio was in close contention with Ratzinger during the election, until he made an emotional plea that the cardinals should not vote for him.

He has a strong record of support for the poor, but the predictably dismal one for human sexuality in various forms. One report of colluding with the junta does not seem to be backed up by any others.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing is his choice of the name Francis. It is Assisi, not Xavier, so it is not a tribute to the Jesuits but something else. St. Francis in his lifetime was a rather disruptive person; what does that augur for this pope?

It will be very interesting to see what develops.

UPDATE: This live blog by Andrew Sullivan is chock full of insights, too many to copy over – go take a look. Almost all heartening, apart from the human sexuality questions.

This is not about the Tea Party. The awesome white base was passed along by my father-in-law and perfected by us. It’s a method for salad dressings and sauces that is easy, delicious and healthy. How can you not love something like that? If you’re curious (or hungry) join me over the fold –  

As some requested, there is an online service for Terun Weed (GreenMountainBoy02), the spouse of Bill Harris (commonmass). The cathedral service at 3:00 is being paralleled here at the GOS. You are welcome to leave comments here or there, but I don’t think I can tend both at once.

There’s a new social app (just what we need!) called Quipio. It lets you combine a picture with words. It reminds me of Haiku Deck with the additional limit of a single frame. I’ve had fun playing around with it and thought I’d share a few here – if you’re curious join me over the fold –  

There’s a new social app (just what we need!) called Quipio. It lets you combine a picture with words. It reminds me of Haiku Deck with the additional limit of a single frame. I’ve had fun playing around with it and thought I’d share a few here – if you’re curious join me over the fold –  

As I write, President Obama is speaking about immigration. His opening to this hot topic was seemingly cold-hearted: he focused on the economic reasons for immigration reform – to keep skilled immigrants, to stop employers from having to compete with ones that hire undocumented workers and exploit them, to get the new jobs and new industries that immigrants may build. It sounded very Republican in focus, in short.

Now President Obama has moved on to the kinds of justifications that we would have expected: re-uniting families, opening opportunities, sparing people the fear and exploitation of the shadow economy. He’s telling the wonderful human stories behind immigration (a young man who was the first to benefit from the Dreamer executive order and is now in college, preparing for the Air Force).

This is a powerful example of something called “consilience,” the property of being the right course of action for multiple reasons. In this speech President Obama laid out the very diverse reasons for immigration reform. In doing so, he is giving Republicans the tools to sell it to their supporters and Democrats a different set of tools for theirs. Is one set of reasons the “real” set? No, there really are multiple, different reasons for reform. It’s lovely to have an adult for President who can see so many of them.

Dear Speaker Boehner,

Always remember, this year and next, that you are the Speaker of the House for a country that re-elected President Obama, that increased the Democratic majority in the Senate, and that cast over a million and a half more votes for Democratic congressmen than for Republican ones. You are the speaker, but not the majority leader; Nancy Pelosi leads the majority as chosen by the people. You sit in the Speaker’s chair because many Republican state legislators defied democracy and gerrymandered their states. They deprived their citizens of an effective franchise.

You did not do this, but you are charged with leading one of the two legislative chambers. How can you do that responsibly and with due regard for the true majority in the House? You have already begun in one regard, by ignoring the Hastert rule twice. Throw that anti-democratic rule out the window. It never had a policy basis. It was always and only a partisan, anti-democratic dodge to keep control.

Another thing you can and ought to do: consult with Nancy Pelosi. She represents the majority – let her voice be heard, let amendments be considered, let bills out of committee. In short, trust the American people and democracy.

No more road blocks. No more obstruction for the sake of obstruction. No more silly bills that will never pass the Senate, even when passed for the twentieth or thirtieth time. Just settle down and do the work of the people.

I invite all my readers to send this open letter to John Boehner in your own names. I particularly invite the Republicans who are reading this. As the daughter and granddaughter of Republicans, as a former Republican, I would love to see the party return to its principles. As a several-great granddaughter of a Republican Civil War soldier who fought for liberty, as the granddaughter of a Republican who told Branch Rickey to hire Jackie Robinson, as the daughter of a Republican who signed, with Eisenhower, the appointment papers for the first African-American post master in New York, as a former Republican who voted for Gerry Ford (he of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the executive order against assassinations), nothing would please me more than to see the Republican Party grand again.

I love pumpkin pie. I credit my mother, who looked at the recipe for pumpkin pie and saw pumpkin (a vegetable), eggs, and milk and concluded there was no reason children shouldn’t eat all they want of it. We had unlimited pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas and I’ve continued the happy custom with our children.

My passion for pumpkin pie is unabated, but my metabolism alas is not what it was when I was ten. I came up with these cookies as a way to enjoy the best elements of pumpkin pie without slowly expanding to the horizon. Enjoy!

Innocent Pumpkin Cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350 ◦ F

– 3 large eggs

– 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

– 1/2 cup Splenda (baking kind, with equal volume to sugar)

– ¼ cup xylitol

– 1/2 tsp NaCl

– 2 tsp baking powder

– 1 tsp ground cinnamon

– 1/2 tsp ground ginger

– 1/4 tsp ground cloves

– 1/4 tsp ground allspice

– 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

– 1 cup (approx) coconut flour, sifted or shaken vigorously to break up clumps

In large bowl beat eggs and stir in pumpkin. Add seasonings and stir in. Add milk and stir. So far, this is basically a pumpkin custard as you would make for a pie.

To thicken into cookie dough, add the coconut flour gradually, about a quarter cup at a time. Stir in completely before adding more. Coconut flour has a lot of fiber and soaks up a lot of liquid, so the potential is there to make lumps. The final cookie dough should be light and hold together for dropping onto a cookie sheet.

Drop onto a cookie sheet covered with baking parchment (with no added fat these cookies would probably stick otherwise). Bake for 24-28 minutes, rotating front to back and between shelves every ten minutes, until the cookies brown a little bit and are firm. With so little sugar in them they do not brown a lot. They take longer than normal cookies because the coconut flour holds so much water. Cool on a rack to let them set.

These cookies are low glycemic, gluten free and rich in complete protein, fiber and calcium. They taste exactly like pumpkin pie ☺ and would make good breakfast cookies.

If you prefer other non-sugar sweeteners, the amount of coconut flour might need to be adjusted up or down to get a texture that allows dropping onto cookie sheets, and the baking time might need adjusting too.

My son’s girl friend describes them as “Pumpkin pie you can hold in your hand.”