The following comes from an April 6 story in the New York Times. Lara’s initial anti-Serra move appeared on Feb. 10 in Cal Catholic.
If California legislators succeed, a statue of Sally Ride, astronaut, physicist and educator, will be enshrined in the nation’s Capitol. But first they will have to remove an impediment: the statue of the Rev. Junipero Serra, an 18th-century Catholic priest who established California missions and is about to be canonized by Pope Francis. In the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection, there is not room for both.
Since 1864, Congress has invited every state to install two statues. In 2000, a new law allowed states to swap an old sculpture for a
new one, which is how California dispensed with Thomas Starr King, a minister and politician, for Ronald Reagan.
A likeness of Dr. Ride in her NASA flight suit could join other notable Americans, including George Washington, Barry Goldwater, Will Rogers, Robert E. Lee, Brigham Young, Helen Keller and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dr. Ride would be the first acknowledged gay person honored with a statue in the collection.
There is bipartisan support for replacing the statue of Father Serra — which has been on display in the Capitol since 1931 — with one depicting the first American woman in space. The statue of Reagan, installed in 2007, is not eligible; the law requires statues to remain for at least 10 years.
Ricardo Lara, the California state senator who put forward the resolution to memorialize the astronaut, said, “Sally Ride will be the first woman to represent California and the first person to represent the L.G.B.T. community in the Capitol.” Mr. Lara, a Catholic who is openly gay, added, “It’s about modernizing our heroes.”
“Symbols are important, especially for those of us who have traditionally not seen ourselves in figures of influence or power,” Mr. Lara said.
State Senator Ted Gaines, a Republican, voted to support honoring Dr. Ride. “It shouldn’t matter what someone’s sexual orientation is,” Mr. Gaines said in an interview. “Let’s strive for exceptionalism,” he said, adding that Dr. Ride “clearly exemplifies that.”
In 1983, at 32, Dr. Ride became not only the first female American but also the youngest American astronaut to blast into space. Born and raised in California, she earned her Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University and spent her later years promoting math, engineering and science to boys and girls. She did not make her sexual orientation public but did approve that it be disclosed upon her death. She died of pancreatic cancer in July 2012, when she was 61.
“She proved you don’t have to have the right plumbing to have the right stuff, and for that alone she deserves to be in Congress,” said Lynn Sherr, a TV reporter who wrote a biography of Dr. Ride. Statuary Hall has only eight women — though it will have nine when the likeness of Amelia Earhart arrives, courtesy of Kansas — and no state-selected African-Americans. Although a statue of Rosa Parks is in Statuary Hall, it was commissioned by Congress and not by a state.
Barbara Wolanin, the curator of the Architect of the Capitol, who oversees its art, said, “There is concern about the lack of representation of women,” but she added, “This represents the history of our country, our attitudes of the past.”
A statue of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — also commissioned by Congress — is in the Capitol’s rotunda, Dr. Wolanin said.
Last month, Mr. Lara’s resolution received unanimous support from the California Senate’s Governmental Organization Committee. On Thursday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the resolution, which is expected to pass. Then it would go to the State Assembly. It requires approval from Gov. Jerry Brown.
In Washington, the Congressional Joint Committee on the Library, which oversees the statue collection, must approve the proposed changes. “They have not turned down a proposal,” Dr. Wolanin said.
Some Republicans, concerned about the statue’s costs, were relieved to learn that financing would come from private donations.
The only criticism of the resolution at a recent hearing came from the California Catholic Conference, the church’s public policy organization. Sandra Palacios, associate director for governmental affairs, said Dr. Ride “is worthy of recognition” but called the timing “inappropriate.”
Pope Francis will be in Washington in September to canonize Father Serra. In an interview, Ms. Palacios said, “It’s like celebrating Grandma’s 100th birthday and sending her away after that.”
The Vatican need not worry about the statue of Father Serra’s being replaced any time soon. If approval is granted for the Sally Ride statue, it will take about three years to raise money for and to commission the sculpture.
Ms. Palacios had wanted to postpone a vote until after the pope canonized the priest, but that timeline appears unlikely.
“I don’t necessarily see a removal of Father Serra as a removal,” said State Senator Ben Hueso, a Democrat. “I see it as a rotation.” The Serra sculpture was installed in 1931.
Committee members suggested that Father Serra’s statue could be safely delivered to the San Diego mission or sent on a tour of the state’s missions.
“It seems very appropriate to replace one of the male statues with a woman,” Tam O’Shaughnessy, a science writer and educator who was Dr. Ride’s partner for 27 years, said. “It’s time for California to have more diverse representation.”
Father Serra was a founder of California who actually built things that still stand. End of argument for me.
Tom, this is what drives me nuts about the anti-Catholics who attack the Church constantly: where do they THINK the names Sacramento and San Francisco came from? English? Henry VIII? Martin Luther? Some lame atheist?
California was established by CATHOLICS, as anyone with a brain can see from looking at a map and reading the names of our cities… :)
California was colonized and depopulated by Catholics, who made every attempt to erase any trace of its history prior to their arrival. They established a European dominance in the place of a 20,000 year old civilization.
Picture a scenario something like this:
The Syrian army and some mullahs came along with 23rd century weaponry, inadvertently decimating the population with communicable diseases in the process, severely limiting the potential for resistance. Mosques are erected and the areas where they exist are given new names. California is renamed عرض البحر.
All real property is confiscated and granted to prominent Syrian families. Survivors are corralled into work camps around mosque compounds where conditions are so harsh that life expectancy at birth drops below 10. Participation in the work camps is initially a choice predicated on lack of other options for survival, but as population dwindles, it becomes necessary for Syrian soldiers to conduct raids to abduct people to maintain a workforce. Escapees are captured and severely beaten.
Any trace of the culture prior to their arrival is prohibited, including, dress, birth names, and the English language. Within a few generations, virtually nothing remains of the population or culture that existed prior to the arrival of the Syrians.
The Syrians have successfully established عرض البحر. Is that something to celebrate?
The constant hammering on about the diseases brought from Europe to the New World is nonsense. Either every part of the world had to remain separate forever, or populations would eventually encounter one another and their respective antigens. It was inevitable. Enough, already.
Kathleen, the native Californian Indians were not decimated. There are many still here, and many of them intermarried with the non native Indian population. Of course, Richard is probably a “purist” and thinks they should not have done so, which shows his own prejudice.
The indigenous population of California was an estimated 300,000 in 1769, and 16,000 in 1900. That’s a reduction of 94.67%. How would you define decimated?
Forgive my math. It’s 81%
Excellent point, Kathleen. That being said, I wonder if modern man considers what he might be spreading to others whenever he/she leaves home. Goes to work Travels to another country. Explores space. Etc. There seems to be no concern in the hook-up culture about potentially decimating others or spreading all manner of nonsense – disease and bogus ideology.
Anywhere and everywhere there is eventually going to be “the encounter” and hasn’t the Pope just set the beauty of that to song?
Richard Conrad, I see them all around me. I also see their facial features in lighter complected people too. There have been fraternal twins born in this state where one twin is light skinned and one twin brown skinned, and there is no African heritage on that side of the family. Where do you think they got their “brownest” if not from their native Indian heritage? Yes, the Spaniards killed some Indians, but they did not wipe them out. They intermarried with them a long time before many other ethnic groups did. They themselves had been persecuted and overtaxed in their own country, Spain, by the Moors, who had killed Jews and Christians in Northern Africa a long time before the Spaniards came here. All groups have done some good things and some bad things, and your 20,000 years ago for the arrival of the Native Indians might not be accurate either as they came across the Bering Straits themselves as far as we know, and 20,000 years ago sounds a bit long.
“How would you define decimated?” A. Troll
Decimated comes from the practice (made notorious by the Romans amongst others who relied on terror to rule) of blinding all but 1 in 10 taken as captives / prisoners in War.
The ‘lucky’ one was made blind in one eye and got to lead the rest back to their homeland, where instead of being remembered as fallen Heroes, they were objects of helplessness & pity. This example helped deter future emulation by the boys of the place, who had the blind invalids as a warning of what awaited them.
Kind of like Gaystapo Thought Policing in this Age of Abomination, cruelly intentioned to ‘Fundamentally Transform’ others who may not actually agree with putting on political blinders.
As for the Spanish Crown and its Army – and the Catholic Missionaries who accompanied them but could not control them very well – even with Religious Sanctions threatened…
They did bring the same diseases (smallpox…) as had scourged Europe for centuries, but they had no vaccination for themselves and little was understood about such things until after Pasteur and his microscope.
Did they all act like Angels, including the founders of the City of Angels – Los Angeles / La La Land? No.
Did Some Do Their Best, however flawed their knowledge and skills in that primitive era and remote place? Yes.
Kind of like today – and most other days in Human History.
This has been a really interesting article! I never knew about these statues and so I looked them up…here are all fifty states. https://www.flickr.com/photos/uscapitol/6263573635/in/photostream/
California should be so proud of their two choices. I was truly shocked at Ohio’s : Wm Allen (whoever he was) and Wm McKinnley! Good grief. If any state needs to re-evaluate their statuary it is us! Edison, Goodyear, John Glenn, Bob Hope, the Wright Brothers, Annie Oakley, Mother Angelica, to name a few . We could definitely fill a rogue’s gallery with Custer, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahlmer, etc. but no saints yet.
By the “it still stands” line of thought, we ought all be druids.
If Sally Ride was a woman, why did she have sex with women? A Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender idol should not replace a Saint of the Catholic Church.
Amen, Amen!!!
Gratias:
Agreed, but the better argument in the modern secular forum is that she didn’t do anything for California: she just had a “cool job” and was a sort of “first” in a field she did nothing to found and little to further. Even Reagan isn’t the best choice for a statue in Congress, because (as much as I liked him) he was not in any way a founder of the state. Merely celebrity is not enough.
Gratias.. You ask “If Sally Ride was a woman, why did she have sex with women? ”
God, in His infinite wisdom made most of His children attracted to the opposite gender, however, in every generation He made a small percentage of us attracted to our own gender. Oh, Sally Ride isn’t a “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender idol ” she’s an American idol.
Gratias, Ok well for starters, Serra is not a Saint, at least not yet. Secondly, Serra had his day of glory in Statuary Hall. Surely a state the size of California has dozens of worthy candidates for that honor, and since we can have only 2 at a time, somebody has to go, and they get switched out quite often and 3) This is a place of honor for our state, not our state religion.
This is what happens when Bishops and Priests do not TEACH. And this includes our duty regarding VOTING and intrinsic evils.
“VOTER”S GUIDE for SERIOUS CATHOLICS”
Your Role as a Catholic Voter
Five Non-Negotiables
Which Political Offices should I worry about
How to Determine a Candidates Position
How not to Vote
How to Vote
When there is no acceptable candidate
Save this link for future reference and to share with other Catholics.
https://www.politicalresponsibility.com/voterguide.htm
When the California Catholic Conference of Bishops speaks publically – why can’t it be in full accord with the Faith ?
” The only criticism of the resolution at a recent hearing came from the California Catholic Conference, the church’s public policy organization. Sandra Palacios, associate director for governmental affairs, said Dr. Ride “is worthy of recognition” but called the timing “inappropriate.” ”
What is this supposed to mean ?
The CCCB needs to teach California Catholics their voting responsibility.
Bad politicians made bad decisions. They honor those who choose to live in mortal sin.
Mortal Sins include but are not limited to: Adultery, Fornication, Homosexual Acts, and viewing Pornography.
We must never tolerate Mortal (grave) sin. We must never honor those who choose to do so.
Let the people of California vote on this……and let it stand.
Not those yahoos in our State Legislature!
The CA politicians and their appointed Judges merely ignore the votes of the people. We’ve been there and done that many time in the past 10 years.
If we want important figures in California history to be on display, Father Serra far exceeds Sally Ride in significance. He should stay and she can be a statue in a park somewhere. This idea is just more pandering to the gay community. They don’t need or deserve it.
You should not be able to replace a statue that is part of our Judeo Christian History in America. Period!! In this case, we are losing our country’s identity in order to promote the gay agenda. This is wrong!!
I almost want to give up on this. It ought not be whether the legislature of California wants the statue of Ms. Ride, We The People should be able to vote on this. Afterall, these statues represent our state. Fr. Serra walked the length of our state, daily establishing a place for people to live, and grow in Faith. His accomplishments (in the balance of fair representation) oit weighs what Ms. Ride accomplished for herself. One need only weigh them and compare. Fr. Serra gave his life to establish our lives in Faith. If others have a blind spot to him, it is all the better that We The People speak up and make our voices heard in favor of Fr. Serra or Ms. Ride. I believe in Fr. Serra’s sacrifices for California have a greater representation over all.
For California History – those who helped to name major cities should be memoralized along with the reasons why.
Is this taught in CA public schools ? If not, why not?
Look at a map of CA and you will see the names of many Christian Saints.
San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Rosa, San Jose, Sacramento,
Santa Ana, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, etc.
I had pointed this Fact out in an earlier story – in which the purported ‘Catholic’ Radical Homosex Activist Ricardo Lara was also mentioned – but Not the Real Reason for the Removal of Father Serra…
Which is just another Propaganda Move to both Trash the Catholic Faith & its Wise Moral Teachings, but also promote the Radical Gender Feminist / Homosex Agenda BAMN – By Any Means Necessary.
Because a Political Shill purporting to be Catholic – who Actively Opposes and Demeans the Church for failure to pander to his sexual perversions – will be the ‘catholic face’ of this scam, it will fly under the lamesteam media Gaydar and anyone opposed will learn what it is to ‘Go Ballistic’ when they observe how the Gaystapo Thought Police swoop down on them.
Oh, I get it now. The Woman clothed with the sun and a crown of twelve stars on her head giving birth to the Christ child of Chapters eleven and twelve of the Book of Revelation versus an icon of sterile sex. and most likely the abortion industry, too,
Anne .. I don’t understand. Are you saying Dr. Ride was connected to abortion or that she was somehow against the Blessed Virgin Mary?
Fr. Serra first went to Mexico and dedicated his mission to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the image of the Virgin Mary clothed with the sun and a crown of twelve stars on her head, which appeared on St. Juan Diego’s tilma. She is also the patron of the pro life movement.
On the other hand, Sally Ride was and is a darling of Planned Parenthood. If you want to see what I mean, just put in “Sally Ride, the astronaut, and Planned Parenthood” to find out.
Often these women come into the schools and tell young girls that they “can be anything they want to be”, but they never tell them the price they might have to pay. I once read the biography of a famous opera star. She seemed to have it all, except she died alone by herself in her mansion. She had lived as the mistress of a very rich man, and had aborted the only child she ever had at his request — his child. He dumped her for a younger, more exciting woman, whom he even married, so you see for some of us, family comes first because all the “glory” of a big name, prestige, loads of money and statues of us are not worth aborting one of our children — no way. I will take Fr. Serra any time over Sally Ride, she is no idol of mine. I much prefer Mother Teresa and Mother Angelica as far as women go.
Correction: Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness, not patron, of the pro life movement.
No matter how greater anyone person might be, if that person wants to claim himself or herself as a Roman Catholic, there are three things that person must comply: Baptism, The Creed and obdience to the Majesterium. All there are musts!
No one ever knew or cared that she was gay. It was a random piece of trivia that emerged after her death.
The state can rotate out statues if it wants. Junipero Serra is arguably worth keeping, simply by virtue of his prominence in California history, and current moment of relevance with canonization. It’s not necessarily an endorsement – there are still statues of Lenin all over. Love him or hate him, he’s an indelible figure.
If the state wants to remove a statue, Reagan is a better candidate.
“No one ever knew or cared that she was gay. It was a random piece of trivia that emerged after her death.” RC
Was it Trivia, or was it (like the radical homosex behaviors of former Prop-8 judge Walker & his ‘partner’) ‘An Open Secret’- Deliberately kept from the ‘Vanilla’ (clueless taxpaying voters) by a bought and paid for ‘free press’?
Meaning – did those on the inside know and perhaps even aid Ride over other Heterosexual Women of equal or better merit who perhaps Should have gotten the position – were it not for the behind the scenes maneuvering of ‘Big Happy’.
Remember – ostensibly ‘Catholic’ CA Governor ‘Der Arnold’ was being Blackmailed While In Office over his not so ‘secret’ Extra Son – by the same ‘Big Happy’ Gaystapo who were forcing him to Abandon the Voters & Constitution and roll over on Prop-8 and So Much More.
I don’t know the inside story of Ride, and so long as she was not being turned in to an Icon in the Capitol then it didn’t much matter.
However – Scamming a Statue in the Capitol for use as a propaganda tool for ‘Big Happy’to bash and recruit with – proposed by an ostensibly ‘Catholic’ homo-anal coprophile legislator (lara) is too much like the other Bait & Switch scams of the Age of Abomination to pass the smell test.
Except for the Alinskyite ObamAcorns running this country – in to the ground.
Back in the dark ages, people used to live in the closet for fear that living openly would ruin their lives and careers.
The most remarkable thing about Sally Ride’s posthumous coming out, and the only reason anyone noticed at all, is that it’s hard to imagine now a world where anyone would care to keep their sexual orientation a secret. That’s a relic of a bygone era, but it’s a reminder of how recent that was.
She was married to a man (and fellow astronaut) throughout her entire NASA career, so it’s pure speculation whether anyone knew at that time, including herself, that she would have a 27 year relationship with a woman.
She was not a LGBT icon, or even identified as such. She is famous for being the first female astronaut.
Sally asked that her long standing homosexual relationship be advertised at her death.
The LGBT community is promoting her statue, not women.
Richard Conrad, get your facts straight. Two Russian women beat her into space. She was only the third.
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, a Russian, was the first woman in space.
Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya, a Russian, was the second woman in space. She became the first woman to perform a space walk.
So now just what are the homosexuals promoting ?
well, if she were the first American in space, then lets put her in Statuary Hall! Was she the first american woman in space?
YFC, the first American in space was: Alan Shephard.
Gus Grissom was the second American in space.
Alan Shepard went into space in 1961, when Sally Ride was 10 years old.
Pretending to honor a female just because of gender is an insult to women.
This Sally Ride statute is a homosexual agenda thing.
Russian space explorers are called Cosmonauts.
Ah, yes, the ‘dark ages’, when we were all mole people, all pasty white with sunken eyes from living in closets. And the reek from cedar blocks and moth balls was simply ghastly. How wonderful to live in a time that keeps you informed and up-to-date of people’s sexual preferences, BM’s, operations, breast sizes, the size of their bums (enhanced with full color photos on Twitter, facebook, et al) their dietary preferences, number of orgasms…nothing is too personal or disgusting to share with perfect strangers. “Howdy do! Nice Ta meecha!What do you thinkama’tatoo? See how my belly button is the mouth?”
Now we know longer have to ponder does she or doesn’t she? Are those real? How much does he earn? It’s all out there and in our faces..no shame here folks, move along. Oh, yes, we’re all just thrilled to death to hear another story of a gay athlete, gay CEO, gay movie star coming out ad infinitum, ad nauseum! My, but that is so fascinating. Gee, how proud and happy your folks must be!
Dana, you have hit the nail right on the head.
Lara: ‘Sally Ride will be the first person to represent the L.G.B.T. community in the Capitol’
BTW- Thought it was about representing the Whole State – and Not just the ‘Gilberts’
*Note – how Lara re-shuffels the ‘Gilbert’ term, which is morphed to include the ‘L-Word’ First in Lara’s Statement.
This only highlights the fact he is part of a Gaystapo Alliance – who generally don’t much like each other and rarely socialize with each other’s ‘communities’ – but are joined by their mutual Misandry – the Hatred of Men & Boys, Masculinity & Normal Heterosexuality)
Michael … Sorry but sometimes I don’t understand you. In your last paragraph are you saying that lesbians and gay men don’t like each other but we all hate straight men. That certainly hasn’t been my experience. Where do you get information like that?
My guess C&H he gets his information like I get mine… life experience, reason and observation of facts.
LOL! Good one Canisius. You do have a sense of humor after all!
As usual, the response of the Catholic leaders in California is as weak as water!
Yes, Michael McDermott, isn’t it cute that Richard Lara, who has native American Indian blood of the North or South and it shows, is pushing for this white woman, Sally Ride, whose ancestors “decimated” the native American Indian population as much or more than the Spaniards, all because she fits his agenda. It is all just so hilarious I cannot stop laughing. I know. I know. I am terrible, but it is all so true.
The whole idea is pretty amusing when you think about it, Anne T…first dog in space: first monkey in space…and then, ta da! First woman in space! Well, fiddley dee, aren’t we special!? Women will know they’re ‘equals’ when they don’t get jobs or get elected, etc. just because they’re women. Many people will vote for a liar and a crook just because she’s a woman. (I’ll leave it to you, dear reader, to ponder on just who that could be!) Now that’s sexism!
Dana, thanks for that post.
“first DOG in space: first MONKEY in space…and then, ta da!
First WOMAN in space!
Well, fiddley dee, aren’t we special !?
Women will know they’re ‘equals’ when they don’t get jobs or get elected, etc. just because they’re women.
Many people will vote for a liar and a crook just because she’s a woman. ”
Why don’t the homosexuals honor ALBERT II, the first US monkey in space in 1949 ?
What about the American squirrel monkey named Gordo in 1958 ?
In the new dark nightmare of the Abomination – Catholics who support the Magisterium (and its rational, reasonable, logical, fact based Wise Moral Teachings) and others of similar Viewpoints – had best abandon any closets and dig a hole they can cover with sheet metal for anticipation of the fallout.
As with the ‘Cake Baker’ scams -where the Gaystapo uses the Turkey Baster Creationist ‘justice’ system to Force People to Speak Against Their Own Beliefs – such as putting writings and decorations on objects – solely for Radical Homosex Propaganda Purposes.
The ‘most transparent’ Abomination has been a haven for Gaystapo Thought Police – and the most recent ‘Executive Orders’ (Rule by Fiat of the Tyrant) now force Everyone to Deny the Immutable Inherited Nature of their Own Gender…
– And pretend that Science and Genetic Facts (Everyone has a Male Father XY & Female Mother XX, regardless of who does child care) means nothing – when it conflicts with the ‘Pander or Perish’ agenda that is the ‘gospel’ of the Gaystapo
If the Abomination can make ‘Martyr / Hyro / Icons’ and name federal laws and national days after Disease Spreading Meth Dealers killed by their Homo-Anal Coprophile Boyfriends (m. shepherd) and Disease / Death Spreading Homo-Anal Coprophile Pederasts (harvey milk)…
Then perhaps we should put a statue of PT Barnum (the Circus Huckster) in the Capitol Rotunda – as his mottos (created or stolen, he didn’t bother with the details of truthiness too much) was “A Sucker Born Every Minute” & “Nobody ever went broke Underestimating the American Public”….
– Fit perfectly with the transparent scams of our own tyrannical Fundamental Transformationist – POTUS Barry ‘on the Down Low’ Soetoro, ObamAcorn (whoever the guy really is) and the ‘Big Happy’ lamesteam media who are his propaganda shills.
Let’s at least get the math correct. Given the figures cited above, starting population was 300,000. Ending population was 16,000. Decrease is 300-16 or 284,000. 284/300 is 94.67%.