Holy Hypocrisy! What a Tangled Web!

The end of the world can't come too quick for Archbishop Earl Paulk.

O.K., let's get the whole storyline straight:

Earl "Pearly" Paulk, Jr. (1927-) founded a "cutting edge" ministry and megachurch (using dance and drama) near Atlanta in1960. The ministry was called "the Harvester Ministry" and he established it with his wife, his brother Don, and his sister-in-law Clarice (No, not that one - this was waaay before Hannibal Lecter). The ministry morphed into "The Cathedral at Chapel Hill" using multimedia effects Paulk had learned while appearing in TV shows and radio broadcasts for the likes of TBN (Paul Crouch's Trinity Broadcasting Network). He eventually had a show himself.

According to Wikipedia:

In 1982, Paulk was ordained as a bishop in the International Communion of Charismatic Churches. His public housing ministry was named one of a "thousand places of light" by President George H. W. Bush[citation needed] The church has long been known for being one of the few truly integrated churches in the South.[citation needed]


Got that so far?

Enter Mona Brewer:

In 1989, Mona Brewer, who was featured as a soloist in many of Paulk's TV shows, entered into a relationship with the married Paulk because he felt "'impressed of the Lord' to get to know her better." (Hey, every woman's heard THAT one before!). Paulk got to know her "biblically" for the next 14 years.

Ho Hum, you say? Just Wait.

In 2001, while Mona was still on the scene, College student Jessica Battle alleged that Paulk had molested her between the ages of 7 and 11. That suit was settled out of court.

At the same time of the breakup between Mona and Paulk, one Cindy Hall came forward to say that she had been in an affair with both Paulk and his brother, Don since 1983! (Boy, was Mona ever pissed!).

Fast forward to 2007:

On October 14, 2007, the nephew of Earl Paulk (Don Paulk,Jr.) who succeeded him as senior pastor (he was retired by that time) informed his congregation that he was really the son of Earl Paulk and Clarise and not Don and Clarise!

Then, just after Paulk's daughter, Beth, offered an apology for her decrepit father (after all, he was 80!), her own daughter, Penny, stated (on the same FOX newschannel, forcrissakes!) that Paulk had molested HER when she was a child.

Whew!! And you thought soap operas were difficult to follow!

Of course, the only thing the goverment can pin on the guy right now is a charge of perjury (along with Clarise who called little Donnie a liar).

Archbishop Paulk has allegedly espoused Dominionism and Word of Faith doctrines.

There's nothing like looking forward to the End Times after you've had so much action yourself!

You pick: George Bush, Iraq or Lisa del Giocondo?

It's a Tough Call - Or Is It?

The top of my home page gives me a list of news articles to choose from.

Here, from Reuters, were the top three when I logged on today:

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah hosts George W. Bush at his desert playground on Tuesday when the U.S. president will get a taste of how the royals live in the world's richest oil-producing monarchy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq's defense minister said on Monday his country would need foreign military help to defend its borders for another 10 years and would not be able to maintain internal security until 2012.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German academics believe they have solved the centuries-old mystery behind the identity of the "Mona Lisa" in Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait.

I went right to the "Mona Lisa" article. It wasn't until I was half way through that I asked myself: why did I pick this one instead of the other two?

The Bush article was easy, of course. We've all known for years about the ties of the Bush dynasty to the House of Saud. Presumably the king will show George how a REAL ranch is run and he will have the enough diplomatic skills to warn Bush not to get his foot stuck in horse manure (this is Riyadh, George, not Crawford).

Skipping the second article, however, took me aback: was I so war-weary that the possibility of ten more years and hundred of thousands of deaths didn't mean very much to me? Did I need a break from the political world so badly that I chose to read about the origin of a painting?

Let me defend myself here for a moment. First of all, The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci is not just another painting and it's not just a world-reknowned painting. The Mona Lisa is an icon. It is a icon of stability and hope: there is something permanent about that enigmatic smile and it gives us hope that if Lisa del Giocondo can still survive through it all, we can too. We can survive the Bush administration and Iraq.

The end of the article added something to my self-esteem in choosing it:

The painting, which hangs in the Louvre in Paris, is also known as "La Gioconda" meaning the happy or joyful woman in Italian, a title which also suggests the woman's married name.

Thank you, Leonardo. Thank you, Mrs. del Giocondo.