On Bullies & Influence, Caution & Awareness

 

On Clear as a Bell & Root Causes

 

On Something to Agree On & Give Away

 

On Light in Darkness & Christmas Blessings

 

Amid the bustle, may peace guide you.

Despite the noise, may silence speak to you.

Under the lights, may the darkness beckon.

When demands are made of you,

may you be sustained by the gift you are given.

When jolly words frame hidden loneliness,

may you know unshakable love.

When you are surrounded by what is trite and cheesy

and hounded by what is expected and irrelevant,

may you be arrested by wonder,

led by delight, and held with tender love.

When you wait for the surprise that never comes,

may the grace that has always been happening

catch up with you.

Not with earthquake or armies,

but tiny and fragile, quiet and easy to miss,

may the Child come to you.

from Unfolding Light

On Propaganda & Plagiarism

 

On Cuddly as a Cactus & Charming as an Eel

 

On Holding the Rope, Subversion & Decency on the Ballot

 

 The Latin root subvertere means “to turn from below,” and when you turn something on its head in a sneaky way, that's subversion.

On More Ugh & Aaack

 

On Aaack & Ugh

 

File this under "Another Weird Perversion", with perversion defined as: the alteration of something from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.  

And I Did Not Write This

OK, you're all ready to confine me to the Home for Wayward Commenters. I get it. I haven't given up.

But...

When you read this, you may wonder if, mirabile dictu, it just might come to pass.

This is off Sundance and here is a blurb to get your attention:

Within this story, you discover the CIA, NSA, DNI, DIA, DOJ-NSD, Pentagon and State Dept all believe President Donald J. Trump is going to win the 2024 election.  If they didn’t fear and anticipate his victory, the Senate would not be taking action to control the ramifications of his pending victory. 

His main thesis is Your opinion of their ability is vastly overrated.

This perspective is driven in part by the incapacity of most to understand how the silo system of control inside the matrix of our governmental institutions works.

Everything is compartmentalized….

Every aspect of what you know in totality is unknown to every participant who operates inside each compartment.

That’s a fancy way of saying, you know more than they do.

And that's the part that grabbed my attention because any reading of history tells you it is the absolute truth. Did Stalin let Beria know what Khrushchev was doing. Did Herrmann know what OKW was doing? That was part of the safety mechanism. Nobody got to know as much as the Fuhrer (or Caudillo or Duce) did.

Which explains something that has probably bugged everybody. How could they make so many stupid mistakes with the people? How could they alienate those constituencies they can't afford to lose?

Consider - we're still being told by Fake News how the economy is improving, but we all know a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck. Food is up 18%. Even worse the price of toys is up enough that Hasbro (GI Joe, etc) is farming out a lot of their manufacturing to smaller companies.

It's one thing to cut back on the goodies, but telling a 5 year old Santa Claus ain't coming this year is something else.

Blacks are departing the Demos in numbers strong enough to cause concern. Same with kids (FJB ring a bell?), women, and Hispanics.

I'm the first one to say we're a long way from 11/5/24, but the reality that the Supremes may strike down the J6 persecutions (and with them, those aimed at Trump) is starting to hit home.

If you needed a little Christmas cheer, flavor your egg nog with it.

They just don't make TV like they used too!

I'd Love to Change the World - but I am afraid it is too late!

There can be only one!

On Not Involved & Cleaning Up

 

On Opposite World Hoots & Hollering

 

On Lit Candles & Creative Messengers

At one time, I enthusiastically made a practice of entering into the Season of Advent by clipping fresh greens to build a wreath, lighting a new candle each Sunday, and focusing on advent specific readings in the days leading up to Christmas.   I don't recall when I quit doing that, but am guessing it was soon after I left the church during the mid-2000's, to look for and find a different path forward.  This week, however, I received an email with a message that lit a candle in my own heart.  It contained a call to serve as light by engaging as creative messengers.   In a world where darkness seems to prevail, with truth hard to find and hold, and grace gone missing, I appreciated being reminded of the seemingly small things that matter greatly and serve to call forth and ignite more of the same.  

                                 The Spirit of God dwells within us and urges us to 

                                       Prepare the Way, 

                                            Cry out, 

                                                 Let our Voice be heard, 

                                                      Call out in earnest.

                                  Send us as creative Messengers….

                                       Telling stories that instruct,

                                           Sharing memories that connect,

                                                Communicating love that recreates,

                                                      Fostering environments that regenerate

On Twists & Holes; Becoming Entangled & Falling In

 

On Woes, Does, & Ding Dongs

 

On There It Is & Isn't

 

On Leaders & Followers

When an individual has no personal integrity (honesty, values and morals that they uphold) and are therefore willing to do whatever it takes to _________________(fill in the blank).  

On More Falls, Fails & Fractures

 

On More Falls & Fails