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I) Revolutionary War chaplains discharged both sermons and gun powder. At Concord, Mass., the Rev. Dr. Philips Payson shouldered a musket and led an attack against the British.
2)The Civil War saw the introduction of Jewish, Indian and African American chaplains. The first black chaplain, the Rev. Henry Turner, later served in the Georgia legislature. Unaguskie, son of a Cherokee chief, was chaplain of the Confederate Army's Cherokee Battalion of North Carolina.
3) Ella Gibson Hobart caused a stir in 1864 when she was chosen chaplain of a Wisconsin artillery regiment. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton said nothing doing. It would be 110 years before the Rev. Alice Henderson became the first female Army chaplain. Now there are about 50.
4) In 1943, when the troop ship Dorchester was torpedoed Army chaplains Clark Poling, George Fox, John Washington and Alexander Goode helped rig rafts, then gave their life jackets to others. They were last seen holding hands and praying as the ship sank in the icy north Atlantic.
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What's Happening on The News and on The "Tube" ?_____
REUTERS/Tim Shaffer
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The G8 Conference of world leaders starts Wednesday, July 6. I confess I've paid about as much attention to it in the past as a Donald Rumsfeld's briefings. The G8 Conference has more possibilities for sure: debt relief and reduction in global warming with a nod to helping African nations. Sounds impressive. And, Britain is leading the way. Our own President is less engaged as he is occupied in Iraqnam.
Add to the mix, the just held Live 8 Concert which purports to be about the same thing, i.e., helping the poor. The history of Live 8 deserves a "look." Twenty years ago, Bob Geldof, (wouldn't know him from Adam's house cat as my Mom would say) who is a musical one hit wonder, had these lofty dreams of prominent names in the music world uniting to bring an end to poverty.
Well, I don't think that has happened, but still, they get "credit" for trying. And, with the latest concert, supposedly 2 billion watched worldwide on television. And, the purpose was to put pressure on the G8 Conference of eight world leaders.
A high and lofty purpose but The Girl In The Cafe spoke more directly to the issue of what the G8 Conference could do. The title of the TV movie,
The Girl In the Cafe, seems a little off but the title is part of the understated way of the actors and I think good. Are you still with me? Probably not, but I am going to continue anyway. The Girl in the Cafe is an HBO original movie.(check local listings for dates and times)_______________
The story: This painfully shy guy, an underling with the British government, but involved in the G8 conference, meets this equally painfully shy girl in a cafe. They mostly sip tea and stare at each other briefly and then for prolonged times into space. Watching them is painful. This wonderful actor and egoless and "painfully" shy guy ends up inviting her to go with him to Iceland where they are having the G8 conference. (He's unmarried, no sex, relatively speaking--I was disappointed; and, in context of story, no issue.)
The painfully shy girl is a nobody really, just a simple girl; and, as only the movies or TV can do, make anything they want to happen happen. This girl ends up confronting the Finance Minister in a low key way at a dinner which was a social occasion( It was like spitting in the punch bowl) about the possibilities of the Conference. In front of all these people, she talked about the starving and dying kids in the world and how the G8 conference could impact this. She embarrasses them and with various sorts of kicking the ground; they sent her home. But, she had the impact of forcing them to do something and they did more than they would have, i. e., a Tony Blair type leading the way on forgiving debt to poor countries. And, in the real G8 conference, he is leading the way on Global Warming.
Think about it. With the TV movie on HBO, The Girl In The Cafe (I have not nearly done it justice, watch for the DVD, will be worth your time to see some super good acting); Live 8 free concert, and the "real" Live 8 Conference(G8 Summit) could all come together in an idealistic potential for good. Stay tuned.
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