Seriously: a guy knocked on our door yesterday and asked, "Is this the Ninja house?" and I got to answer "Yes!"

Granted, he was talking about Ninja250s, which is a type of motorcycle. Some of my husband's fellow riders came over yesterday for an afternoon of working on bikes and grilling burgers.

Me, I've been enjoying the Not Having to Go Anywhere aspect of the weekend. The Bronchitis of Doom is still a factor - I overdid things Saturday morning, and ended up spending the rest of the day in bed - but today I've managed to sling out some nice phrases amidst the slogging-on, so that feels good.

There's a Peter Steinfels Q&A of Douglas W. Kmiec in yesterday's New York Times that caught my attention, in part because interfaith relations is a major component of the work of several people dear to me (and it's the topic of William Sinkford's editorial in the latest issue of UU World). Kmiec is a devout Catholic, an opponent of abortion, and a supporter of Barack Obama, and the Q&A itself isn't specifically about interfaith issues, but as someone who's adamantly pro-choice, I found myself unexpectedly heartened by Kmiec's discussion of his priorities:

Senator Obama's articulated concerns with the payment of a living wage, access to health care, stabilizing the market for shelter, special attention to the needs of the disadvantaged and the importance of community are all part of the church's social justice mission.

Applying this to the issue of abortion, the senator has repeatedly indicated that he is not pro-abortion, that he understands the serious moral question it presents, and, most significantly, that he wants to move us beyond the 35 years of acrimony that have done next to nothing to reduce the unwanted pregnancies that give rise to abortions.

Q. But all the same, isn't your support at odds with Catholic teaching?

A. Quite the contrary. Senator Obama is articulating policies that permit faithful Catholics to follow the church’s admonition that we continue to explore ways to give greater protection to human life.

Consider the choices: A Catholic can either continue on the failed and uncertain path of seeking to overturn Roe, which would result in the individual states doing their own thing, not necessarily, or in most states even likely, protective of the unborn. Or Senator Obama's approach could be followed, whereby prenatal and income support, paid maternity leave and greater access to adoption would be relied upon to reduce the incidence of abortion.

It is, of course, not enough for a Catholic legislator to declare himself or herself pro-choice and just leave it at that, but neither Senator Obama, who is not Catholic except by sensibility, nor Joe Biden, who is a lifelong Catholic, leaves matters in that unreflective way.

In my view, Obama and Biden seek to fulfill the call by Pope John Paul II, in the encyclical "Evangelium Vitae," to "ensure proper support for families and motherhood." It cannot possibly contravene Catholic doctrine to improve the respect for life by paying better attention to the social and economic conditions of women which correlate strongly with the number of abortions.

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On a totally frivolous note, the BYM served me iced tea this afternoon. Why? Because he needed the empty bottle to synchronize a pair of carburetors. I tell you, between him and the dog (and me being very easily amused), it's never dull around here. ;-)