TIME magazine chose ‘Ebola doctors’ as their safe choice. I highly disagree.. While the doctors who perform their functions are brave and amazing to go to West Africa to fight the deadly disease, EBOLA was not the biggest news event of the year..
TIME magazine picked Adolf Hitler and other creepy characters in the past for their ‘person’ of the most importance. They decide not by the best of the year, but the man or woman who most changed history.
In that same context, it’s without a doubt that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has most changed the course of modern history in 2014.. he’s the leader of ISIS–the group that murdered in wreckless regard for human rights throughout the entire year. At one time, he was so quiet you could hardly hear his voice. But not with a murderous zeal for power and an unholy alliance with the dark lords of hell, the gates of wrath have opened on earth and this man, more than anyone, changed events throughout the previous 12 months of our fragile existence.
Friday, December 26, 2014
The person of the year
2014 was a year filled with useless division, angry rhetoric, and faceless villains. Ferguson’s anger boiled over into other cities.. The death of the ‘gentle giant’ in the city may be a blip in history, or perhaps a bigger event that marked a change in race relations in the United States. But there’s something bigger of a story, it’s not Ferguson or the New York City protests or cop killings, it’s this: Media conglomerates and others ‘in the know’ were doing their best to keep the United States divided as much as possible throughout the entire year. With every single passing event, CNN and others snooze networks went wall to wall with 20th century relics talking about 20th century racial divisions. That’s not to say that the 21st century doesn’t have problems, but they are not the same as the previous. The insult on the American people is being force fed the same diatribe of hate from those who claim to want peace and love.
There is a real division in the United States. The 1% are completely isolated and divided from the rest of us. And all of us, the 99%, are in the same boat together. Now if only the media would report that, we’d come together in unification like never before..
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Santa tracker volunteers U.S. Navy Petty Officer Brandon Wright, center, and his wife, Petty Officer Emily Wright, left, take phone calls from children asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their homes, inside a phone-in center during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014. Once a year, hundreds of volunteers, from generals to people who live near NORAD at Peterson Air Force Base, take calls from children around the world who want to find out where Santa is. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
TEXT OF POPE FRANCIS’ HOMILY DURING CHRISTMAS EVE MASS, 2014
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Is 9:1). “An angel of the Lord appeared to (the shepherds) and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (Lk 2:9). This is how the liturgy of this holy Christmas night presents to us the birth of the Saviour: as the light which pierces and dispels the deepest darkness. The presence of the Lord in the midst of his people cancels the sorrow of defeat and the misery of slavery, and ushers in joy and happiness.
We, too, in this blessed night, have come to the house of God. We have passed through the darkness which envelops the earth, guided by the flame of faith which illuminates our steps, and enlivened by the hope of finding the “great light”. By opening our hearts, we also can contemplate the miracle of that child-sun who, arising from on high, illuminates the horizon.
The origin of the darkness which envelops the world is lost in the night of the ages. Let us think back to that dark moment when the first crime of humanity was committed, when the hand of Cain, blinded by envy, killed his brother Abel (cf. Gen 4:8). As a result, the unfolding of the centuries has been marked by violence, wars, hatred and oppression.
But God, who placed a sense of expectation within man made in his image and likeness, was waiting. He waited for so long that perhaps at a certain point it seemed he should have given up. But he could not give up because he could not deny himself (cf. 2 Tim 2:13). Therefore he continued to wait patiently in the face of the corruption of man and peoples.
Through the course of history, the light that shatters the darkness reveals to us that God is Father and that his patient fidelity is stronger than darkness and corruption. This is the message of Christmas night. God does not know outbursts of anger or impatience; he is always there, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, waiting to catch from afar a glimpse of the lost son as he returns.
Isaiah’s prophecy announces the rising of a great light which breaks through the night. This light is born in Bethlehem and is welcomed by the loving arms of Mary, by the love of Joseph, by the wonder of the shepherds. When the angels announced the birth of the Redeemer to the shepherds, they did so with these words: “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12).
The “sign” is the humility of God taken to the extreme; it is the love with which, that night, he assumed our frailty, our suffering, our anxieties, our desires and our limitations. The message that everyone was expecting, that everyone was searching for in the depths of their souls, was none other than the tenderness of God: God who looks upon us with eyes full of love, who accepts our poverty, God who is in love with our smallness.
On this holy night, while we contemplate the Infant Jesus just born and placed in the manger, we are invited to reflect. How do we welcome the tenderness of God? Do I allow myself to be taken up by God, to be embraced by him, or do I prevent him from drawing close? “But I am searching for the Lord” – we could respond. Nevertheless, what is most important is not seeking him, but rather allowing him to find me and caress me with tenderness. The question put to us simply by the Infant’s presence is: do I allow God to love me?
More so, do we have the courage to welcome with tenderness the difficulties and problems of those who are near to us, or do we prefer impersonal solutions, perhaps effective but devoid of the warmth of the Gospel? How much the world needs tenderness today!
The Christian response cannot be different from God’s response to our smallness. Life must be met with goodness, with meekness. When we realize that God is in love with our smallness, that he made himself small in order to better encounter us, we cannot help but open our hearts to him, and beseech him: “Lord, help me to be like you, give me the grace of tenderness in the most difficult circumstances of life, give me the grace of closeness in the face of every need, of meekness in every conflict”.
Dear brothers and sisters, on this holy night we contemplate the Nativity scene: there “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:1). People who were unassuming, open to receiving the gift of God, were the ones who saw this light. This light was not seen, however, by the arrogant, the proud, by those who made laws according to their own personal measures, who were closed off to others. Let us look to the crib and pray, asking the Blessed Mother: “O Mary, show us Jesus!
This is Darlene Love’s final performance of CHRISTMAS (BABY PLEASE COME HOME) on David Letterman.
And it may be the best I’ve ever seen..
The war on Krampus.
News from Ohio this year.. A homeowner is making news after reporting to the world that his township is telling him to take down his zombie nativity scene.. The owner of the scene also has a haunted house called 13 ROOMS OF DOOM… And he believes his first amendment rights are being violated..
The fight before Christmas.. This scene was one of chaos.. police attempted crowd control after a fatal shooting near Ferguson..
Another fatal shooting near Ferguson.. accoridng tom reports, an 18-year-old pointed a hand gun at a police officer.. he was shot. The protesters say that the brutality aspect entered when police failed to call for medical assistance for Antonio Martin after he was shot.. The St. Louis Police Department is handling the internal investigation, but we know that the inital AP report is this for the record: “One of the men pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer, Schellman said. The officer fired several shots, striking and fatally wounding the man. The second man fled, and the dead man’s handgun has been recovered, according to Schellman”
After all that.. SONY will show THE INTERVIEW in ‘select theaters’ Christmas..
Call me a kooky conspiracy nut, but I offer up the following premise, only based on hunches and a windy tale of a spider web of oddities..
THE INTERVIEW was getting really bad press.. and awful reviews. Most who saw it said it was not funny. It looked disastrous..
The State Department helped write the ending. Along with someone from the RAND Corp, that was reported in the DAILY BEAST..
Sony got hacked—either an inside job or a group called the GOP. I don’t believe North Korea did it.. not that they wouldn’t want to. But SONY figured out a great PR way to make America hate North Korea, force headlines about racist and sordid emails OFF the front pages, and cancel a movie, only to create a demand to release it.
President Obama got in on the action.
And suddenly it seems to be a patriotic duty to go see THE INTERVIEW..
It reads like a spy novel.. or a badly written HOLLYWOOD film.
And really, isn’t all the world a stage?
Maybe we saw some players for who they are?
The Next Big Social Idea: Unconditional Basic Income
The fundamental theory behind this new social idea:
Unconditional Basic Income.
The UBI is a monthly monetary income granted every month, unconditionally, by a political community to each of its members from birth. Depending on the nation, in Europe and the U.S. it would probably be $2,500 per adult and $1,500 per child. It must secure a minimum livelihood and enable a participation in society. It is unconditional because it constitutes a human, civil and legal right and shall be provided without proof of need and without obligation to work, search for work, or performing any services in return. Yes, you’re being paid to live, work and participate as you please.
Some may immediately decry this as a socialist experiment on crack.. But there’s something to be said for one point of this: I often wonder about the future, especially about jobs.. as they dry and whither, does this UBI become more possible? Does time may it almost necessary to feed and clothe a population that has succumbed to the machine and lost out to the monotony that only robots can perform well?
Would this promote a new age of art and literature, perhaps people leaving jobs they hate and filling their newfound safety net with good things. Just very good things?
Or does all of this get wrecked with the lack of monetary value?
I have a suspicious mind about UBI .. but I also have a belief that if we do not address the reorganization taking place within our economy, the vast majority of people who are going to lose their jobs in the next ten due to technology and progress are going to be in a very bad spot.
But the 1% will still be fine..
The Next Big Social Idea: Unconditional Basic Income
I have written a bit about the Schuylkill Mall during the history of this website.. It’s my local shopping center, one that is now becoming more and more vacant by the day..
I offered some suggestions to mall management several weeks ago. Some weird, some a little outlandish, and some sort of in the realm of complete common sense to attempt to keep the mall open for some sort of business…
These two newspaper clippings are from the Reading EAGLE in September 1980. It’s amazing to see the article showcasing the excitement and hope.. Also interesting to see the full list of stores that were once at the mall.
I recall fond memories of being there, buying HE-MAN action figures, and going to eat with family..
I am sure you have the same memories of your local shopping center.
Thought you’d enjoy some history with some old newspaper screen shots..
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
The gray days are here..
Rainy Christmas over the white version.. no snow but cheer on the way. I hope.
Days before Christmas
And all through my town,
No smiles are found,
Only deep frowns .
The nation has weathered a tide of hate,
Rage and the like,
Demons left gates.
The moral compass is cracked and gone,
The heathens of hell are clever and strong.
The nation’s at war,
Bit our secrets came out,
Torture and weapons,
Now there’s no doubt.
Movies were canceled,
Due to a hack,
But that’s the least concern,
Of things in the stack.
It’s been a long year but it seems to fly by,
As the month turns, no doubt some will cry.
Because despite the ill will and moments of rage,
We are all still nostalgic for our place in this cage.
Christmas is here,
All through the land.
But we’ll never improve,
That’s the part I can’t stand.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Did historical Jesus really exist? The evidence just doesn’t add up.
…well at least we still have Santa.
Did historical Jesus really exist? The evidence just doesn’t add up.
The CIA Didn’t Just Torture, It Experimented on Human Beings
Human experimentation was a core feature of the CIA’s torture program.
The NATION magazine reports the full bit of details—at least the fullest we know.
I just want to say, regardless of your opinion or perspective, everything that “loons” like Alex Jones or Cynthia McKinney have been saying for 12 years all is true.
And then some.
THE NATION details the rest of the CIA’s human experimentation history. And then the newest stuff.
Makes you surely wonder.. what is the NEWEST stuff we don’t know about yet?
The CIA Didn’t Just Torture, It Experimented on Human Beings
Ayden met Santa for the second time last night. He announced his list, but this time shortened it down to two things. I think he panicked a bit and clammed up once he was face to face with the big guy..
Although afterwards he asked a good question: What is Santa doing here right now instead of the North Pole? He knew how busy a time it was.. how did Santa have a chance to come to Ashland, PA? I reassured him .. he was not as persistent as he will be at four, or even five.
I recall my ‘moment’ of realization came around four. So if that happens with my son, I’m just loving getting this one magical Christmas with the amazing innocence of believing in something.
Funny enough, our moment with Santa has been recorded for posterity by the POTTSVILLE REPUBLICAN. A reporter even got a quote from both of us.. John Usalis writes,
Inside the Legion post, members sold hot food while people came in to warm up. Santa Claus was also inside, ringing bells as children came to tell him their Christmas wishes.
Ayden Smolock, 3 1/2, of Ashland, was attending his first Old Fashioned Christmas and told Santa that he wanted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sewer lair play set. He was also excited to get a candy cane from Santa. His father, Brian Smolock, enjoys coming to the event.
“The event has a very nice feel, like a mini Jim Thorpe,” Smolock said. “It’s a good atmosphere. I was over at the historical building across the street and they’re doing a good job there.”
So it is written.
SANTA, now you know. Even the media is reporting Ayden’s wish list!
