Free Concert...and Weekend fun

On January 30, 1969, The Beatles surprised the people of London with a free concert from the rooftop of their Apple Building headquarters.

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Beatles' Rooftop Concert, local Beatles tribute band

The BeatLads will hold a concert from the rooftop of Church of the Reconciler as a benefit for the homeless of Birmingham.

The concert is free; however, those attending are encouraged to bring a blanket or a coat for the homeless.

The Beatles were about peace and love. Nobody in Birmingham needs more peace and love than the growing homeless population in our city. Come, bring a blanket or coat and help the homeless enjoy the day.

Date: Friday, January 30, 2009

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Location: Rooftop of Church of the Reconciler United Methodist Church, Downtown Birmingham, 2nd Avenue North and 14th Street

The BeatLads is a local Beatles tribute band that has been playing charity events and paid events for approximately five years.

Church of the Reconciler is a multicultural, interracial United Methodist Church in ministry to the homeless. Church of the Reconciler has offered the venue for this afternoon of music and fun.

For some weekend fun:

Visit The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks for a few minutes of fun. Or an hour or so. I never realized that so many people use quotes inappropriately. I mean, I know I do, ...

Here's a "sample". Oops, I just did it.

Presidential Biographies

At the White House site there is a slide show of the 44 presidents with brief biographies of each.

I was looking through the pictures, noticing things like when the first photos were taken, wondering why some of the paintings (or photos of paintings) are in black and white, wondering why they don't mention that James Buchanan, the 15th President, was gay.



What? Yes, gay. And it seemed pretty out in the open at the time.

In this book, Lies Across America, James Loewen disputes several things that we are taught in school, or brings up things that are true, but that are ignored.

One thing Loewen reveals is that at Wheaton, the historical home of President James Buchanan, his sexuality is denied. Buchanan was gay, and was partnered with Alabama Senator Rufus King for years. Read about it here . That link came from this post on Birmingham Blues about Tom Parker.

King was referred to as "Miss Nancy" and "Aunt Fancy." I can see that. Check him out.

While there are other writings that suggest Buchanan was gay, I like these snippets from the book.

When King was leaving for France in 1844 after being appointed Minister, he wrote to Buchanan,"I am selfish enough to hope that you will not be able to procure an associate who will cause you to feel no regret at our separation."

And then Buchanan wrote to a Mrs. Roosevelt, "I am now 'solitary and alone', having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone; and should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well, and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection."

Of course the concept of "gay" or having different sexual orientations was not known at the time, and there were no organized anti-gay groups to rally against them. The D. C. elite seemed to take it in stride, using such terms as "better half" and "his wife" in referring to King in relation to Buchanan.

And Buchanan had other things to worry about as president. He certainly left a mess for his successor, Abraham Lincoln, (who, we now know, was bisexual) to deal with.

Amazing Grace...and local folk

The state senator that represents my district, E. B. McClain, was found guilty of money laundering, mail fraud and other charges. So was Rev. Sam Pettagrue.

I have not been a McClain fan since the controversial land deal that resulted in Lake Cyrus being in Hoover. Still, I hate to see the man convicted. Sentencing will be in May.

I wonder who our next senator will be.

Mary Orndorff reports in today's Birmingham News that Tracie Jones of Bessemer was in D. C. this week but was unable to get tickets for the swearing in or the balls. But she did win the chance to go inside the White House yesterday for the meet and greet hosted by the President and First Lady.

"We just prayed, and thank the Lord!" she said as she shook his hand.

"Jones told Obama he was "beautiful" then corrected herself and said, "I mean, first lady, you're beautiful!" according to the report distributed to news organization.

Amazing Grace

McClain and Jones might both be thinking about Grace these days, one of them needing some, the other thankful for it.

Here's one more song related to the events of the last few days.

What do you get when you mix Anglican tradition and ceremony with Negro spirituals? This is from yesterday's prayer service at the National Cathedral.



Dr. Wintley Phipps says that almost all Negro spirituals were written using only the black notes on the piano, including Amazing Grace, which he describes as a White spiritual, built on the slave scale (the black notes). Here he gives the history of the song, with its African roots and white slave trader author, John Newton.



Phipps uses this history to remind us that we are all connected through God's Amazing Grace.

Phipps has an Alabama connection, having received his Bachelor of Arts in Theology at Oakwood College in Huntsville. He later received a Masters of Divinity from Andrews University in Michigan.

I heard one commentator say that Barack Obama was assuming the role of spiritual leader for our nation. Isn't that something.

The Work Begins...For All of Us

Be sure to read my column this week. It addresses some issues seen here on Bessemer Opinions. It follows this post.

I'm not sure if it was a request or not, but for John, and for the rest of America, here is the President and First Lady's first dance to "At Last" sung by Beyonce. I'm not sure how long this video will stay up, I will try to replace it if it is removed.




I want to clear one thing up. Barack Obama did not flub the oath. Chief Justice John Roberts did. He tried to cue Obama from memory, and screwed up. Obama knew the oath, and kind of laughed it off, but had to decide whether to repeat what Roberts was saying or say it right. Anyway, either then or later he said the complete oath correctly. Two previous presidents had to repeat the oath due to similar issues - Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur.

Now that the pageantry is over, the work begins. For all of us. We have been called to service. I have an idea for myself, more on that if it turns out to be doable.

In addition, the Bessemer Historical Homeowners Association agreed last night to look into new service projects (in addition to our work at Jonesboro Community Garden and Davis Middle School) as a way answer the President's challenge by addressing needs in our community.

The administration has begun their work too. Look at the new White House web page, whitehouse.gov .

From there, you will learn that President Obama's first official act was to proclaim January 20 2009 a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation. Read the whole thing, but the meat of it is this:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century.

If you look under the "agenda" tab, you will see Civil Rights listed first, mainly because the list is alphabetical. From there, you can be assured that President Obama recognizes the importance of inclusion and equality for the GLBT community.

But President Obama also recognizes that there are serious issues at hand. He suspended prosecutions at Gitmo . This is seen as a first step in shutting the place down.

Western Tribune column January 21 2009

From Today's paper:

The karma of the nation is changing, and just in the nick of time.

The “miracle on the Hudson,” as the recent jet crash in which all 155 people on board survived has been called, is the latest evidence. The nation is cheering.

The inauguration of President Barack Obama further advances the positive karma of the nation. A strong majority still have positive feelings about the new administration, in spite of all the trouble the country seems to be facing.

Of course I realize there are still those who do not believe. Why, just the other night, I was at a concert in Birmingham, and the people sitting behind me were doing their best to hold on to the negative feelings of the past, and pronouncing the Obama administration as a failure before it even gets started.

And day after day I receive comments on my blog reflecting the same negative outlook.

But most conservatives are cheering Obama on. They realize that the president needs the support of Republicans and Democrats alike in congress to solve the problems we face. They realize that without this support our country may slide into a territory from which we cannot emerge.

Even Cal Thomas, a conservative columnist with whom I rarely agree, is backing the new president.

“Good luck, God bless, and I hope you succeed in the things with which conservatives can agree. And on those things we cannot agree, I at least promise to be more than a naysayer and suggest how they might be done better.”

The time for “naysaying” is over.

After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, president George W. Bush had the support of everyone in the country. While his rush to an unjust war and shredding of the constitution diminished that support, at least he had a clean slate when he started.

Give Obama that chance. Quit complaining when there is not even anything to complain about. Join in the positive feeling the rest of the country is enjoying.

You might be surprised. As your outlook improves, your health will improve. As your health improves, you will feel better and your life with your family and friends will improve.

And you will be contributing positive energy to the karma that benefits us all.

Let Freedom Ring

We have a new president. If you have followed this blog at all, you don't need me re-hashing policy differences or the new direction we will be moving in.

You don't need me to dissect the president's speech.

You don't need me to tell you that Rick Warren's prayer was lack-luster, but that Joseph Lowery's prayer ended with a bang.

"We ask you to help us work for that day
When Black would not be asked to get 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."


But you may not know this. There is a drive on to have the president create a new cabinet position: Secretary of the Arts.

A Secretary of the Arts would further legitimize America’s place in Art History and in the international dialog through the many disciplines of art - a language itself. People yearn for arts & culture and if they don’t, most are missing out on education, exposure, self-expression, & a creative outlet for internal strife versus unconstructive outlets that are too often used in our society. Production of art can be both a creative & an intellectual pursuit. Exposure to art has numerous benefits, one being for society as a whole to be elevated. Let’s put an arts leader in the Cabinet to start measuring up to other governments’ commitments to arts & culture.

Read the rest at the link. Sign the petition here. I am number signature number 159466.

On Sunday, Quincy Jones was asked about serving in that position, should it be created. Well of course he would.

Speaking of Arts, how about the Queen of Soul today. Let Freedom Ring, Aretha! You are likely to see replays of the Speech and the Oath, but here is a replay of the Song. Nice hat, too. This was posted by a guy in Germany.

There is something about this new direction that is inspiring musical artists to give us their very best. We saw that on Sunday, Monday and now Tuesday.

Now, let's go watch the parade.

In Honor of Barack Obama

Picture credit: The Obama Tree

Today. We are one.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Those words are from the Declaration of Independence.

It’s that “all men are created equal” part that we are inching toward today.

Yesterday we heard those words repeated as Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Dream” speech was replayed. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Since this post is going up before our president elect’s inaugural speech, a comment on that will come later. For now, in recognition of the historic nature of today, I have put on display the historic flags that we use on such occasions.

Seeing the Capitol draped in flags reminded me that Bessemer should have a display as well. Since I haven't seen any other public displays in honor of Obama, I consider this the official-unofficial tribute from Bessemer, Alabama.

The flags, in order, are the Bennington Flag, that tradition says was flown at the Battle of Bennington (actually fought at Wallomsack, New York, not Bennington, Vermont) in 1777. This is the only U. S. historical flag with white stripes rather than red, as the outer stripes.

The next flag is the Betsy Ross flag, the first official flag of our country, with the circular ring of stars, and flown from June 14, 1777 to May 1, 1795.

The “Star Spangled Banner,” with 15 stars, is next. It inspired a song at Ft. McHenry.

Next is one of the flags that flew during the Civil War. This one has 34 stars. The flag changed a few times during the civil war, as states were added during wartime.

Behind it is the flag that flew during World War II, when my father fought in Europe and the Pacific.

The last flag is the flag with 50 stars that is flying today as Barack Obama becomes our 44th President.