Sunday, December 23, 2018

"Twas the weekend before Christmas....


Pay close attention to what he did, at least publicly:
Trump tweeted about Mattis' "retirement" on December 20.  Then he saw a cable news report about the resignation letter, and realized he'd been criticized.  You can almost hear the penny drop:
Meanwhile, fuck the Kurds and who cares about ISIS?  There's gold in them thare hills!
Interesting he can talk to Erdogan, but not to anybody in the Pentagon:

“Are your families asking if you’re leaving?” [Gen. Robert] Neller[, the Marine Corps commandant at Bost Air Field in Afghanistan] asked a group of Marines in Helmand province. Many said they were. “You’re not leaving.”

The Journal explained that none of the commanders have details about the president’s plan to draw down the troops.

“The Marines have laughed with their leader and his honesty, but it belied a frustration among officers and personnel about the lack of details from Washington: If Gen. Neller, one of the highest-ranking officers in the American military doesn’t know what’s happening, who does?” The Journal wrote.

In another case, Gen. Austin Miller, the head of U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces in Afghanistan, received morning intelligence briefings that focused on news reports because there was no official communication from the White House or Pentagon.

“I don’t think anybody really knows exactly what’s going to happen,” Gen. Neller told some Marines Friday. “I’ve read the same stuff in the newspaper you did, I have a little more knowledge than that, but not a whole lot more.”
This makes the government shutdown look coherent and well thought out.  And again, we can't seem to grasp that just because the President says so, doesn't mean it's so.
Thoughts and prayers, ya know.  Good for all occasions.
"Mistake" is apt in ways the media has yet to catch on about.

Yeah, he's so busy he has time for this.  Sen. Corker gets the last word, though:
But enough about you, let's talk about me for another minute. 
But that's not enough, he needs some more:



Poor baby.

He hugs praise to him like it was a blanket.  Have you ever seen a public figure more transparent and pathetic?

Why can't we just shutdown the office of the President until 2020?
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Advent 22: 2018


Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and ransomed his people.  He has raised up for us a horn of salvation in the house of David his servant.  This is what he promised in the words of his holy prophets of old:  deliverance from our enemies, and from the hands of all who hate us; mercy to our ancestors, and the remembrance of his holy covenant.  This is the oath he swore to Abraham our ancestor:  to grant that we be rescued from the hands of our enemies, to serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.  And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, t give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.  In the heartfelt mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those sitting in darkness, in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.

--Luke 1: 68-79, SV
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Fourth Sunday of Advent: 2018


2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
7:1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,

7:2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."

7:3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

7:4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan:

7:5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?

7:6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.

7:7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"

7:8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel;

7:9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

7:10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,

7:11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.

7:16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

Luke 1:46b-55
1:46b "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

1:48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

1:49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

1:50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

1:51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

1:52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;

1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.

1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

1:55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

Romans 16:25-27
16:25 Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

16:26 but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith --

16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Luke 1:26-38
1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

1:27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

1:28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

1:29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

1:30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

1:31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.

1:33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

1:34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

1:35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

1:36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.

1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God."

1:38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

The arrogance of David; the humility of Mary. That is the obvious place to start.

Advent is about preparation. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord," the famous words say. How do we prepare? By making a highway in the desert, a straight road the procession of the Lord can travel down, so all can see it long before it arrives? And to we prepare it so we can praise our perceptiveness, our perspicuity, or insight? Or do we prepare ourselves so we can be a handmaiden to the Lord? That way lies all kinds of trouble, not least of which is: who wants to be a handmaiden?

We don't "do" humility. Mary's song is taken as a hymn of praise and power. Her response to the angel is taken, at best, as sly; at worst, as demeaning. None of these are quite right. Mary is humble because she has no power. She knows her position in the world, and what she can do with it. In Matthew's version, the visitation on an angel in a dream (which marks Matthew as more Jewish than Luke; for Luke, incarnation and ephemeral touch at all points. Matthew prefers the more traditional visitation in sleep.), and the power of decision lies with Joseph. Zechariah has just made a decision, a manly decision by a decision maker: "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." (Luke 1:18, SV). It is the question of one used to being responsible, who knows the burden for declaring this vision to the community will rest on him. It's also the wrong question: "Listen to me: you will be struck silent and speechless until the day these things happen, because you did not trust my words, which will come true at the appropriate time." (Luke 1:20, SV). Mary asks only how this can be; not how she can possibly trust it. And of course, here's where the question of faith, of knowing God and the mind of God, comes in: because the angel is a messenger, is an agent of God. The angel is not God, but the angel speaks for God, literally speaks as God. But how can you be sure the angel is true and can be trusted? How can you be sure this is not a delusion?

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

And by the way, something comes up to underline the importance, the radical nature, the raw challenge, of the Magnificat. It seems that ancient Rome, at the height of its economic inequality, saw the top 1% of Roman society controlling only 20% of the empire's wealth. That, as compared to today in America, where the 1% controls 40% of the nation's wealth. Of course the ptochoi, of whom Jesus was one from birth, would see some strong differences between the Roman Empire and modern America, in favor of America. Do we imagine, though, that the 1% in America today hear Mary's song and tremble? Any more than Rome did when Luke first penned the words?

When will those words come true? How can we know the mind of God, and see those words finally come true? So long, of course, as we are not the ones toppled from our thrones, or sent away empty-handed and hungry. Justice is a terrible price to pay for mercy. And it is mercy Mary is singing about. It is also mercy that she expects from the messenger of God, and so she offers humility. The two are joined, like hand and glove. Mercy is the greatest act of humility, because there is no pride in it. And humility makes mercy possible, because pride will never stand for anything merciful when punishment and the exacting of payment will do.

What do we do with this idea, that we are now, in some ways, less equitable than ancient Rome? Do we look to laws to correct this error, so we can return to fuller employment and richer earnings and go back to storing up our treasures on earth with frantic passion and near-wild abandon? Well, when I put it that way, it seems almost as foolish and panicking in a crowded store and spraying pepper spray on anyone near you. We would never do that, so surely we aren't pursuing the goods of the world quite so manically as...well, as others are. If we just had a bit more, and some to put by, then we could calm down. We could relax. We could rest secure in what we own. If we just had enough, then we could think about taking care of others. We might even be able to afford to be merciful; if only our pride would let us.

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." But only if you let it be with me according to my desires. After all, what am I, a servant? A handmaid? A slave?

How can you be sure that what the angel says is true, and can be trusted? "A Miracle on 34th Street" deals brilliantly with this problem. Is "Kris Kringle" truly Santa Claus? Or is he just a kindly but demented old man? We never find out, and the question is never settled. The courtroom scene turns on a simple cheat to avoid taking responsibility for an answer. The final scene, in either version, winks at the thought that the old man was really a right jolly old elf; but again, who can be sure? How, then, would you ever know that you were speaking to God, unless you already believed it was God speaking to you? How would you ever be sure? What proof would you find satisfactory? The proof to the little girl that the old man is indeed the myth incarnate is easily explained away with other reasons; it is not a final proof, except to her. And perhaps, at the end, the rest of us are humbled, a bit; humbled in our pretensions that life is not wonderful, that what seems like magic cannot happen, that love cannot transform us and bring out the angels of our better nature.

And is that God? And how do you know, one way or the other?

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

There's that blasted humility again! And what do we do with it? Do we accept it, and lower ourselves? Do we ignore it, and wonder how anyone can ever contemplate being merciful (except, of course, to us!)? Do we reject it, and harden our hearts against all entreaties to turn around. to change, to come and hear the angels sing, or at least see the oxen kneel? Which to choose, and how to choose it? If God has already scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; if God has already brought the powerful down from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; if God has already filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty, and already helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; have we simply not seen it? Is it possible this is true, and we keep rejecting the truth of it? Is it possible the truth is not bitter, but sweet; not sorrowful, but joyful; not despairing, but full of hope? Is it possible this truth is so simple, we simply have to humble ourselves to see it?

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

Let it truly be unto you, according to your faith. Amen.
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Saturday, December 22, 2018

Merry Christmas!

SUCKERS!

And the sacrifices he is making for us!

Because really, no one has suffered more!
As of day 702 of the Trump Administration, Donald Trump has a -10.6 net approval rating!  Favorite President Ever!!!!!!

BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!!!  Right, Beto?

Robert,

The government of the greatest country the world has ever known, the wealthiest, most powerful nation on the planet: closed until further notice.

This shutdown – hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans working without pay during the holidays, basic government functions no longer available to the taxpayers who fund them – didn’t have to happen. The Senate passed a compromise government funding bill two days ago, 100–0. The men and women who can’t agree on what to name a post office were able to unite and unanimously agree on how to fund the entire government.

But maybe it was intended to happen.

Maybe in the face of an investigation that seeks the facts surrounding allegations of collusion with a foreign government and obstruction of justice within our own government… as one aide after another pleads guilty… as the stock market tumbles… as men and women intent on keeping their dignity and their conscience flee his administration… perhaps the President calculates that by adding to the blizzard of bizarre behavior over the last two years and shutting down the government at Christmas, while his own party still controls each branch of it, the institutions that we need for our democracy to function (and to ensure no man is above the law) will be overwhelmed.

From a President who promised action, we got distraction.

But my concern for the country goes beyond the immediate pain and dysfunction that this shutdown will cause. Beyond even ensuring that this President is held accountable. What’s happening now is part of a larger threat to us all.

If our institutions no longer work, if we no longer have faith in them, if there’s no way to count on government even functioning (three shutdowns this year alone), then perhaps ultimately we become open to something else. Whatever we choose to call it, whether we openly acknowledge it at all, my fear is that we will choose certainty, strength and predictability over this constant dysfunction, even if it comes at the price of our democracy (the press; the ballot box; the courts; congress and representative government).

If there were ever a man to exploit this precarious moment for our country and our form of government, it’s Trump. Sending 5,400 troops to U.S. border communities during the midterm elections. Organizing Border Patrol “crowd control” exercises in El Paso on election day. Defying our laws by taking children from their parents, keeping kids in tent camps, turning back refugees at our ports. Calling the press “the enemy of the people” and celebrating violence against members of the media. Pitting Americans against each other based on race and religion and immigration status. Inviting us to hate openly, to call Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, to call asylum seekers animals, to describe Klansmen and neo-Nazis as very fine people. Seeking to disenfranchise fellow Americans with made up fears of voter fraud. Isolating us from the other great democracies as he cozies up to dictators and thugs. Lying again and again. Making a mockery of the United States – once the indispensable nation, the hope of mankind.

So we can engage in the immediate fights about blame for this latest shutdown… fall into his arguments about a wall, or steel slats, at a time of record border security and in the face of asylum seekers – our neighbors – fleeing the deadliest countries in the world… we can respond to his name-calling and grotesque, bizarre behavior… or we can pull up, look back at this moment from the future and see exactly what is happening to our country.

We are at risk of losing those things that make us special, unique, exceptional, those things that make us the destination for people the world over, looking for a better life and fleeing countries who lack our institutions, our rule of law, our stability.

If ever there was a time to put country over party it is now. This is not about a wall, it’s not about border security, it’s not about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about the future of our country – whether our children and grandchildren will thank us or blame us. Whether we will lose what was fought for, made more perfect, by the men and women who risked and lost their lives at Antietam, on Omaha beach, in Jackson, Mississippi… whether we will be defined by greatness and ambition or pettiness and fear. Whether we will continue to live in the world’s greatest democracy, or something else.

In the short term – let’s pass the funding bill that was agreed to by the Senate 100–0 just a few days ago. Send it to the President with the confidence that we represent the people of this country and that we are willing to override his veto if he cannot respect their will. Show that government can work, that we can see past our immediate differences to serve the greater good. To put country over party. To put country over one man. To do what we were sent here to do.

In the longer term – we must strengthen all of our institutions at the very moment they are called into question. Some clear opportunities for Congress: Ensure that our representatives in government reject PAC money, corporate and special interest influence. Demand that they hold town halls in our communities, listen to and respond to their constituents. Show America that they are working for us and for no one else.

Take action on the most urgent issues of our day: climate change, healthcare, endless war, income inequality, immigration, the vibrancy of rural communities and inner cities, education and criminal justice reform. Define the goal in each area, build the coalition to achieve it, find the common ground (between parties, between branches of government), and move forward. Prove that our system of government – whatever its problems – is still the best thing under the sun.

It’s action vs. distraction. One will save our democracy, the other will lead to its end.

- Beto


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"Leaning together, headpieces filled with straw. Alas!"


A textbook example of the importance of definition.  There is, this argument claims, a "war" between science and religion.  And the basis of that argument is the definition of "science" and of "religion."  Oddly enough, no definition of "truth" is proffered, because science already has "truth" held tightly in its grip; apparently.

But I digress.  The definitions, please:

My argument runs like this. I’ll construe “science” as the set of tools we use to find truth about the universe, with the understanding that these truths are provisional rather than absolute. These tools include observing nature, framing and testing hypotheses, trying your hardest to prove that your hypothesis is wrong to test your confidence that it’s right, doing experiments and above all replicating your and others’ results to increase confidence in your inference.

And I’ll define religion as does philosopher Daniel Dennett: “Social systems whose participants avow belief in a supernatural agent or agents whose approval is to be sought.” Of course many religions don’t fit that definition, but the ones whose compatibility with science is touted most often – the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam – fill the bill.
They don't, actually, but being ignorant about religion is held as a positive in arguments of this type, so set that aside.  Notice science is how we find "truth about the universe."  What is 'truth'?  Answer comes there none.  These "truths" are provisional rather than absolute, but that's the only qualifier given.  What these "truths" actually are is assumed.  All right-minded people know, just as they know the less you know about religion, the better.  Ignorance is strength.

And truth, as Kierkegaard argued, is subjective.  Sherlock Holmes famously asked Watson what good it was for him to know that the earth circled the sun.  That information might be valuable for calculating sunrise and sunset, or interplanetary travel, but as "truth" it comes up quite a bit short.  It is an accurate fact about the physical universe; but "truth"?  I think we all understand the concept is a bit more comprehensive, and complicated, than the reduction of the universe to a set of undeniable facts.  Even Hume understood the distinction between analytic and synthetic, and he used it to discard the notion of truth entirely.

But that requires a knowledge of philosophy, which is almost as bad as having a knowledge of religion.  After all, if your go-to source for definitions of religion is Daniel Dennett, you aren't exploring any subject covered by this argument very deeply.

The definitions, you see, set the argument and declare victory before a shot is fired.  Science discovers "truth," religion demands fealty to a non-existent (because "supernatural".  Science defines the natural, too, and "supernatural" is defined out of possibility) entity.  This is reductio Nietzsche.  Oops, another philosopher; we are going far afield now!  But this is the kind of thing I teach first-year English students to watch for:  set the definitions, you set the terms of the argument.  And in this argument, we have two straw men struggling to knock each other over while remaining standing themselves.  Well, rather one straw man is active; the other is pure abstraction, a figment of a weak imagination, a chimera, a cartoon caricature.  No wonder the other argument "wins."

Obviously it is so "strong" it needs as weak an opponent as possible.
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Advent 21: 2018

My soul extols the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has shown consideration for the lowly stature of his slave. As a consequence, from now on every generation will congratulate me; the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name, and his mercy will come to generation after generation of those who fear him. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has put the arrogant to rout, along with their private schemes; he has pulled the mighty down from their thrones, and exalted the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, as he spoke to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-56, SV
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Friday, December 21, 2018

Massacre of the...


Well, no, no one's innocent in this.  Let's just say:  Houston, we've found the problem.


That was then ("shutdown will last a very long time").  This is now:
If you don't want to listen to it, the relevant connection is:

“We are going to have a shutdown. Hopefully, the shutdown will not last long."

Crawfishing already; again.  Of course, we "MUST HAVE BORDER SECURITY!" (you know he means it; all caps and an exclamation point!), but we must not pay our Border Patrol for border security.  Or anybody else in the DHS (Hello, TSA employees!  Merry Christmas!) or the DOJ, or about 9 other agencies.  Because this shutdown will last for a very long time, but hopefully it will not last long.

No wonder the Senate doesn't know what to do.  They had a deal with Pence which Trump blew up to appease Limbaugh and Coulter (are they still alive?).  As somebody said on "Washington Week" (or was it PBS NewsHour?), our enemies are noticing just how easily our POTUS is lead around by his ego.  As if they hadn't learned that lesson already.  Well, good thing our media has figured it out, huh?  Better late than never.


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"A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket..."


Another typo; clearly he mean "U.S.," not "ISIS."
Yeah, how does that work, again?  Oh, yeah:
The Department of Homeland Security will no longer be funded as of this evening.  Part of the DHS is the Border Patrol.  While agents will still protect the border, they won't get paid for it; because border security is so important not funding border security is the only way to secure the border.  Or something.  I dunno, it's almost Xmas, maybe seasonal drinking will help it all make sense
Yes!  Nuke the Senate so the Democrats can do whatever they want with it!  Let's not just shut down government, let's wreck it entirely!  In order to save the village, we have to destroy it!  (It's called "nuclear option" for a reason, ya know.)  Besides, why let a little thing like a law stand in the way of a big, beautiful wall?

So you still need the Democrats' votes.  Huh?  Who came up with this "representative democracy" idea, anyway?
So the Border Patrol can expect to go a long time without a paycheck, in the name of "border security"?  Asking for a friend.


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"What Fools These Mortals Be"


Valerie Tarico is making a side business out of being a former evangelical.  Obviously her childhood was the source of much trauma in her life; or concern, or trouble, or what have you.  I don't know; I've known people to grow up in very, very conservative Christian denominations and be the kindest, most charitable people I know (mostly my mother's family, largely Primitive Baptists, and perhaps I'm jaded or biased, but they are truly kind people to one and all, and you don't get much more conservative theologically than Primitive Baptists).  Of course, what Ms. Tarico grew up with seems to have been a church more deeply lodged in the culture of where she grew up than my grandparents church ever was (you probably haven't even heard of the Primitive Baptists).  That embedding in culture (my family members' church is far too marginalized to be considered any kind of cultural or worldly power; it's probably a better model of Christianity, probably closer to Paul's "house churches," than anything else extant in the world) is frequently a source of trouble for Christianity (not for religion, for Christianity; there is a difference, though most Westerners don't seem to understand that).  Part of that problem is the pug ignorance about Christmas, which still rears its head from time to time, even if only in passing, as in this case:

After the Gospels of Matthew and Luke were bundled into the Catholic Bible, the two infancy stories merged. The three astrologers became Kings riding camels. Mary got her own “immaculate conception” and became, to some, a sinless perpetual virgin. The place of Jesus birth became a stable filled with adoring animals. And the holy birthday moved to winter solstice, weaving in delicious and delightful pagan traditions including feasting, tree decorating and festivals of light. The birth of a long-awaited messiah fused with the rebirth of the sun—and their joint birthday party became, in the dead of winter, a celebration of bounty and beauty and love and hope that captivated hearts even beyond the bounds of Christianity.

That's the last paragraph of Ms. Tarico's most recent seasonal offering.  Nothing she has to say in the rest of the article about the nativity stories is particularly surprising; it's even dated by Internet standards.   The Daily Beast ran an article last week citing the Protoevangelium of James (a/k/a The Infancy Gospel of James), which is basically a variant on the nativity story in Luke (popular even in the second century!  The classics never go out of style!) with the appendage of the birth of Mary (whose parents are Anna and Joachim), the story that provides the narrative of the Immaculate Conception (that's Mary's conception, not that of Jesus).  Frankly, a much more interesting take on the history of nativity stories than pointing out Matthew and Luke's versions don't jibe with each other at all.  Then again, Tarico betrays her fundamentalist upbringing by claiming the gospels of Matthew and Luke were "bundled into the Catholic Bible."  Those gospels became part of the canon long before there was a "Catholic" church.  And the idea that Christmas celebrations took over pagan ones is a Puritan canard meant to distinguish the "pure" Christians of Puritanism, from the unrighteous members of the church they denigrated as the "Whore of Babylon."

First, Saturnalia wasn't a time of feasting.  Feasting itself is more likely a result of Christmas celebrations, not a cause of such celebrations being in December.  Second, tree decorating came from German mystery plays in medieval Europe, long after Europe was Christian.  There was an article in Slate about what strange efforts people go to trying to keep the needles on Christmas trees, and the main point of the article was:  the tree is dead!  Strange way to honor what you supposedly worship.  Tarico links this, as many do, to the English Druids, but she then says the first mention of a Christmas tree is in 16th century Germany.  How those two groups connect is beyond me, but you know, people in the past are a homogenous group of "ancestors" who did thinks in a simple and pleasant fashion, unlike the complexity of the modern world.  Right?

And rebirth of the sun?  In northern Europe that return of the sun doesn't happen for months.  Today may be the shortest day of the year, but the sun's "re-birth" isn't realized for months.  Today is the first day of winter, not the last.  Besides, Christmas observances started in Egypt, and only got to Europe in the 4th century.  Not a whole lot of sun worshippers left in Europe by then (the Romans worshipped their leaders as gods, and the Greeks were never that enamored of pantheism).  To say 4th century Europe was influenced by Druids and sun worshippers is to say American culture was heavily influenced by the natives who set up elaborate sun calendars in the American southwest, calendars we have only recently figured out.  Again, the past is simple, the present is complicated; or something.

Old stuff, I know, but still: it's the shortest day of the year.  Blame it on Seasonal Affective Disorder.  SAD!
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Advent 20: 2018


THREE old men, of whom one had a bad reputation, came one day to Abba Achilles. The first asked him, "Father make me a fishing net." "I will not make you one," he replied. Then the second one said, "Of your charity make one, so that we may have a souvenir of you in the monastery." But he said, "I do not have time." Then the third one, who had a bad reputation, said, "Make me a fishing net, so that I may have something from your hands, Father." Abba Achilles answered him at once, "For you, I will make one." Then the two other old men asked him privately, "Why did you not want to do what we asked you, but you promised to do what he asked?" The old man gave them this answer, "I told you I would not make one, and you were not disappointed, since you thought I had no time. But if I had not made one for him, he would have said, 'The old man has heard about my sin, and that is why he does not want to make me anything,' and so our relationship would have broken down. But now I have cheered his soul, so that he will not be overcome with grief."

--The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
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Thursday, December 20, 2018

Advent 19: 2018



If the lost word is lost, if the spent word is spent
If the unheard, unspoken
Word is unspoken, unheard;
Still is the unspoken word, the Word unheard,
The Word without a word, the Word within
The world and for the world;
And the light shone in darkness and
Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled
About the centre of the silent Word.

--T.S. Eliot
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Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Life is Art is Life is Art is....



The best (because truest) part of SNL's "It's a Wonderful Trump" was the end, when Clarence kept repeating "That is not the lesson at all!".

True because art doesn't imitate life, or life art; they just echo each other:

“Rudy [Giuliani] was saying, ‘This is the best thing that could’ve happened — who in their right mind would want to cooperate with Mueller now!,’ with a big chuckle, obviously referring to the [Michael] Flynn sentencing debacle,” a source told Page Six.

And not in front of TeeVee cameras, trying to convince Trump supporters with a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down the pants, but in a group of the like-minded.  Charitably, he could have been trying it out on the road before taking it to Broadway.  More likely, he's not that good an actor, and he really is that dumb.

Why else would he work for Trump?
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Advent 18: 2018



Genesis 16

The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.

9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." 10 The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:
"You are now with child
and you will have a son.
You shall name him Ishmael, [a]
for the LORD has heard of your misery.

12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward [b] all his brothers."

13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen [c] the One who sees me." 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi [d] ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Genesis 18

1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, [a] do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant."

"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs [b] of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."

7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him.
"There, in the tent," he said.

10 Then the LORD [c] said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Judges 13

1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. 3 The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, 5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of his death.' "

8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD : "O LORD, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born."

9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!"

11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?"
"I am," he said.

12 So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?"

13 The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her."

15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you."

16 The angel of the LORD replied, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.)

17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"

18 He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding. " 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. 21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.

22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"

23 But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."

24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.

1 Samuel

1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite [a] from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple. [b] 10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."

12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."

15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."

17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."

18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, [c] saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."

Luke 1

5THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

7And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

8And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

9According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

10And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

11And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

14And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

17And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

18And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

19And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

20And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

21And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

22And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

23And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

24And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

25Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

26And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

32He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her
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Tuesday, December 18, 2018

The Paper It's Printed On


The difference between a law professor and professional loud mouth (Alan Dershowitz) and a real lawyer with extensive courtroom experience:

“This sentencing is unique. It’s unique because of the allegations made in the 11th hour by General Flynn’s lawyers,” Napolitano said. “Which I thought were inappropriate. When the government says zero, that’s the best thing you want. The allegations were ‘Our client wasn’t treated fairly, he was manipulated.'”

Host Harris Faulkner asked Napolitano why Flynn’s team decided to do this.

“I think they thought that this judge, who has a backbone of steel, would be so aggravated at what the FBI did that he might through the whole thing out,” he said.

Napolitano was then asked to react to the judge’s statement that Flynn “sold your country out.”

“That is a very, very harsh analysis of this. One that totally undermines the argument that President Trump has been saying,” he said.

Fox News co-host Lisa Boothe pushed back and defended the strategy, causing a heated confrontation.

“Why is it inappropriate, though, for Flynn’s attorneys to raise concerns? Particularly in a time when you have James Comey admitting that they went outside the typical FBI protocol. They took advantage of this White House. Why would it be inappropriate?” she asked.

“The answer to your question, Lisa, is a great question. Why was it critical to the lawyer’s customer when the government says zero, remain silent. The time to attack the government has long passed. It’s a little late,” Napolitano said.

Attacking the government, in other words, is only going to harm your client's interests.

You can insist (if you want) that the judge should agree with your reading of the law (the Dershowitz position); that doesn't serve the interests of your client one whit.  Which is the primary difference between a law professor like Dershowitz, and a trial lawyer like Napolitano: your job as a lawyer is to represent your client, not an ideology or legal theory.  As Napolitano says:  when the government is asking for no jail time, shut up and take it.  If Flynn wanted his lawyers to do otherwise, they should have refused and even withdrawn if necessary; what they did actually constitutes malpractice, as it may have damaged their client's interests.

Which is all Dershowitz's arguments amount to:  pushing an ideology (i.e., legal theory) at the expense of the people affected by his argument.  The difference between a lawyer and a law professor is that the latter can argue abstract concepts; the former has a client with interests that must be protected, especially from going to prison.

Dershowitz still insists he is right and the world is wrong (the Donald Trump Weltanschaaung); not a good look for a lawyer, who is literally trained to know better:

"Wrong" according to Dershowitz; that and 5 bucks will get you a decent cup of coffee at Starbucks.  That's all such a "legal opinion" is worth.

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Best Wishes!


I'm guessing those wishes for good luck are no longer operative, because it wasn't "interesting" in the way Trump expected:
Apologies for the length of that, but on TeeVee this would have taken 30 seconds, because we'd all have seen the lawyer (or the cops) prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the guilt of the defendant.  This is how courts work, and it's not the way Trump imagines they work, either.  Conspiracy theories and "Q-Anon" function best in ignorance, which is to say I sympathize with this last sentiment, even if the hearing were not "dramatic":
And to put a bit of flesh on those bare narrative bones:

“I cannot recall any incident in which the court accepted a guilty plea in which he was not guilty and I don’t intend to start today,” Sullivan told Flynn, according to MSNBC. “I will inform you, any false answers will get you in more trouble, do you understand?”

Flynn responded in the affirmative, before Sullivan asked if he wished “to challenge the circumstances under which you were interviewed by the FBI?”

His lawyers have said in recent days that the only reason Flynn lied to the FBI was because he was caught off-guard by the agents. The White House on Tuesday said he was “certainly ambushed” by the FBI.

“No, your honor,” Flynn said. “I was aware that lying to the FBI was a crime.”
(Alan Dershowitz is gonna plotz!)

Trump fired Flynn for lying to Pence, but now Flynn is not a "rat" and Cohen is? What sense does any of this make, except that Trump is guilty?




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What Luke's Nativity Is All About


For some reason my comments are "down" in my browser (I can access them on my phone, but thumb-typing is not my forte.  Real typing isn't either, but that's another matter.), so I can't post a long comment to this post; instead, I'll drag the conversation over here.

Not to argue with the original post, or the revolutionary nature of the Magnificat, but to point out it is part and parcel of the nativity story in Luke (the only everybody loves because Linus recited part of it on-stage, and because it has angels and shepherds and a "manger," which we all forget is not a fancy word for "stable" but actually means "eat" in French, which leads me to believe it derives from a very similar Latin root), and the nativity story is part and parcel of Luke's entire gospel; you know, the one with these "Beatitudes":

Congratulations, you poor!
God's domain belongs to you!

Congratulations, you hungry!
You will have a feast.

Congratulations, you who weep now!
You will laugh.

Damn you rich!
You already have your consolation!

Damn you who are well-fed now!
You will know hunger.

Damn you who laugh now!
You will learn to weep and grieve.

I've said more than a bit about those, which I won't bother to repeat here.  They also have a strong connection to the Hebrew Scriptures, a connection often overlooked in the desire to make the "Old Testament" about blood and thunder, and the New Testament about "hippie Jesus."  The post at Thought Criminal underlines the connection between all the books of the Bible; I just wanted to underline that point.

And, of course, Luke's gospel includes my favorite gospel talking point, on the nature of soteriology and faith and forgiveness.  My commentary on that is imperfectly aggregated here.  There is a great deal about Luke's gospel that is absolutely revolutionary.  We would do well to remember that.  I doubt Charles Schulz meant to be challenging when he included the first 14 verses of the second chapter of Luke in his TV special over 50 years ago.  But that's the part of the special everyone remembers.  Whether they understand it, like the eunuch in the second part of Luke's gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, well, that's another matter.



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The Cherry Tree

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Advent 17: 2018



Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justum.
Aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem

Rain down your dew, you heavens,
and you clouds, rain down the just one.
Earth, be opened,
and give birth to the Savior.

--Monastic Liturgy
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Monday, December 17, 2018

Advent 2018: O Antiphons




The O Antiphons will begin tonight, December 17, and continue through December 24th. They are such a centerpiece of the Advent liturgy that they were made into one of the most famous songs of Advent: "Veni, Veni Emmanuel."

Mary's Magnificat is part of the Vespers liturgy the year 'round. It is always preceded by an antiphon, recited before the "praying" of the song (songs and psalms are considered prayer in Christian liturgy). The "O" Antiphons for Advent were in liturgical use by the 8th century, and probably existed for some time before that. "The importance of the “O Antiphons” is twofold: Each one highlights a title for the Messiah: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel. Also, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. " And they are "a unique work of art and a special ornament of the pre-Christmas liturgy, filled with the Spirit of the Word of God".

As is typical of Christian liturgy, "The antiphons are, in fact, a collage of Old Testament types of Christ. Their predominant theme is messianic, stressing the hope of the Savior's coming. Jesus is invoked by various titles, mainly taken from the prophet Isaiah. The sequence progresses historically, from the beginning, before creation, to the very gates of Bethlehem." But also, they are simply lovely; and worth contemplating as the Christmas rush swirls us into a vortex down a Venturi tube. A beginning point to re-focus the celebrations of the season, and the ending of the calendar year.

O Wisdom, O holy word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care; Come and show your people the way to salvation.

O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: Come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.

O Flower of Jesse's stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; rulers stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.

O Key of David, O royal power of Israel, controlling at your will the gate of heave: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and lead your captive people to freedom.

O radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal night, sun of justice: Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

O Ruler of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart, O Keystone of the mighty arch of humankind: Come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.

O Emmanuel, ruler and lawgiver, desire of the nations, savior of all people; Come and set us free, Lord our God.

And, as I noted in 2006 (something perhaps only a pastor would love):

That canon urges the constant presence of the faithful in the church, calling on them not to stay at home or run off to the country or the mountains during a period of twenty-one continuous days, beginning from December 17 and reaching to the Epiphany.

--Thomas Talley

Over 1600 years ago, people still had to be urged to attend worship during December.  It helps put Kipling in perspective.  Of course, Kipling helps put the modern church in perspective.
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