All Hearts Come Home For Christmas...

 Here's to the people with long memories today, who can remember Christmastimes long past with everyone in them passed on now.  It might feel like you are the last of a generation, or the last one standing from your high school crew, maybe you've lost a spouse or child or sibling or friend... enjoy your memories and know they are with you at this time...

            The pipes, the pipes are calling...From glen to glen and down the mountainside

                The summer's gone and all the roses dying  It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow...

I love you so!

Just... wow. I guess she has no say. (?)

 

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Democracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion

Follow Megan McArdle

Who's with me?

 I'm staying up, apparently, as we hit the winter solstice at 320CST this glorious Saturday, December 21. Must be the pagan in me causes me to be awake, eh?  We did get our first winter dump of about 5 or 6 inches of light fluffy snow; you couldn't make a snowman or even a snowball if your grandmother demanded... (lol, inside joke. Not MY grandmother, but those more "determined" types... ;-) nttawwt, heh.

Beautiful to coat the landscape, freshen the air, drop the temps, and bring in the sunshine for Friday and Saturday before a slight warmup for Christmas holy days beginning next week. Good for the travellers and those who like to get out,

I just hope this winter passes quickly.  Too much pent-up anger and insecurity in our shared American hearts. The country is changing, and some people really do not like that and are only now realizing they cannot stop the shifts that began decades ago.  Insecurity causes hoarding, and hoarding causes isolation and isolated people do not know one another and the cycle intensifies...

The only cure, of course, -- (not to sound trite or sample sound lyrics, but...) -- is to let it be. Hold on loosely, but don't let go. Go with the flow (ok that's not a lyric.)  The bigger they are the harder they fall, so do your best not to fall...

Check yourself out of the game before that happens and you inadvertently take yourself out.

Time Travel in the USA

It's funny, you can criss-cross the nation and travel back and forth in time many ways, especially if you leave the radio playing where it's back into the 20th century in many states. We often think of New York and Cali as being way ahead of the rest of us, and then you stumble upon something like this...

Lol. Good luck, New Yorkers. You can do it! Lift the plastic lid and put your trash bags inside for pickup and wheel it behind you to the curb.* I think we started that back in the early 80s in teh Midwest... 🤣

Putting Trash in Trash Cans? Good Luck With That, New Yorkers Say.

Citywide rules now require more buildings to place trash bags inside containers for pickup. Many New Yorkers are thrilled to see fewer rats, but some are discovering new headaches.

---------------

*Racoon- and possum-proof. Rats too, if that's the nightlife where you're at. You're gonna love it, way less ripped plastic bags and trash spilling out. Just line them up properly so when they roll the trucks with the automatic arms the "garbage truck man" can whip down your block... or is that asking too much from New Yorkers to line the bins up straight too?

No Matter the Final Score...

 how the once mighty have fallen!

Score

Tulane Green Wave

0

Florida Gators

0

12/20 2:30 PM

People are too polite to say this, so I will...

 Take one:

David Brooks

The Shock of Faith: It’s Nothing Like I Thought It Would Be

By David Brooks Opinion Columnist Dec. 19, 2024 

When I was an agnostic, I thought faith was primarily about belief. Being religious was about having a settled conviction that God existed and knowing that the stories in the Bible were true.

--------

David Brooks came to Christianity via his girlfriend, now current wife. A woman who had been working as his "personal assistant" and was years younger when he as a now-divorced man was sexually attracted to her youth. Brooks never identified publicly as "agnostic." He was a Jewish-American writer, opining in a conservative vein at the NYT.  A family man. (His son served in the IDF during the years he was publicly champion the Bush-Cheney middle east wars.)

Because he used his role as family man to push his product, it's fair to "reveal" facts: His first wife not only changed her surname when she married him years ago, but also her first name. She converted to his religion -- Judaism -- to ensure their children would be considered Jewish as a birthright, which is gifted via the mother's lineage.

Columns like this, intertwining his newfound Christianity with his sexual advances in marrying younger second wife, who converted him to her own religion, are not as impressive as the NYT seems to think.  Wonderful story material for a religious periodical interested in private testimony;  off putting to millions of quiet everyday Christians celebrating their high holy days in the coming week...

Please reconsider letting David Brooks go, as you did Paul Krugman. Not only will this make more room for fresh voices needing to be heard, but you won't look like you are endorsing this cad for his private life that benefits mostly himself. People already think prosperity Christianity and political evangelicism are off-putting and not helpful to the faith... don't keep rewarding this and publishing stories that David Brooks and David French are selling as something universal to all readers...

You really can do better, put out "spiritual" editorials that are more helpful to us all, rather than just the white males trotting out their W's. Hth.

NYT writers seem to think this is a Dance Off...

 

Maps: See Israel’s Moves in Syria Since Assad Was Toppled

2 min read

-------------

*  It's a land Grab, peopole.  or "Things Tom Friedman Will never tell you..." For the WIN!  lol

What if "the government shutdown" is a ploy to put government workers out of a job and not hire them back...?

 If the shutdown goes well, do we really need all those workers? the thinking will go.  (Remember when Reagan fired and replaced all the striking air-traffic-control workers who thought their jobs essential?)

I'm not saying it is a healthy plan for the country, but cmon... see what's coming?

Madison kids grow up fast.

It's a cynical place, and there's no real respect for childhood, traditions or community there, imho. (The big Memorial Day event back in my day was a bratwurst grilling in a mall parking lot. Working-class were pretty much non-existent.) Gotta feel for children who come from broken homes and don't really have any community to compensate.

Police have released few details about Rupnow beyond her name, and they said they were investigating a possible motive behind the shooting. With much still unknown, a Washington Post review of court records points to an unsettled childhood for Rupnow, whose parents’ custody agreements sometimes forced her to move between their homes every two or three days.

“There are always signs of a school shooting before it occurred,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a Tuesday news conference, where he asked the public for patience as authorities investigated Rupnow’s social media activity and state of mind leading up to the rampage.

The teen is one of just nine female student school shooters in the last 25 years, according to a database maintained by The Post. She is also among the younger recent shooters: Just over a month removed from her 15th birthday, she was about a year younger than the median age of school shooters. And the violence unfolded at a small K-12 school with a religious affiliation, an uncommon site for such incidents, researchers say.

-----------------

(The Christian school they sent her to does not believe in evolution, if that's any indication of how this child was being raised by her father. His pictures of being proud of her on the gun range were posted on social media.  If he didn't lock his guns and she got to them... charge him*. Holding parents, or those who provide the guns, responsible if the weapon is used in a killing is the only way. Unforseeable my ass.)

* Wah! Wisconsin has no state law that gun owners must safely lock them to keep them out of the hands of minors.  #Sad  #ChangeIsGonnaCome

IF it weren't for kids, have you ever thought?, there wouldn't be no Santa Claus, or "look what the stork just brought!", thank God for kids...

... and we'd all live in a quiet house, without Big Bird or a Mickey Mouse, and Kool-Aid on the couch, thank God for kids. ... Do you ever stop to think or wonder why, the nearest thing to heaven is a child?"

(Don't be creepy, people. It's a great song, and the children in this hokey old video were the children of the Oak Ridge Boys' musical family...)

"When you get down on your knees tonight and thank the Lord for His guiding light, pray they turn out right... Thank God for kids."   

GenX for the Win!

 

1. A Lottery Drawing Included Four Consecutive Numbers. What Are the Odds?

   A Mega Millions drawing turned up 66, 67, 68 and 69. Is that unusual?

   4h ago

   
   

...and: Israel attacks Yemen.*

This is such a joke -- Netanyahu on his worldwide campaign, determined to "fight and kill" all opposition and potential threat to Israel's way of life.  They're killing it all right...  

I wonder if the Israeli elders who remember the old ways are saddened to see the light extinguished like this, especially with Hanukkah coming up...

HInt?, or Clue (get one?): You don't Win by killing your way victory while tossing aside all your best traditions; you just devalue your own lives, even more than what They did to you...  

It's your History of Insecurity (capital I) not true reality guiding your actions today (and the American taxpayers' seemingly blank check to purchase Weapons of War). There are better ways to accomplish your ends than killing without trial; bombing from above; accepting so much "collateral damage.  You are only killing yourselves and your own way of life...

Destroying the cultural traditions YOU have built and gifted the world, once upon a time

Pass it on as you try to keep the lamps lit in days to come.

------

* of course, this is a wonderful thing to be celebrated: Israel is going after only "the bad guys" determined to do what it takes to protect Free Trade and their dominance in the neighborhood as the BiggestBullyontheBlock.  America should let them fight it out without us.  We got enough here for now we can hunker down and let the Middle East burn before it is ready to call it even and rebuild.  America is not Israel, and their interests are not ours.  Let them stand on their own two feet, confident in their military might and remembering they are not our 51st state.  And they are not the GoodGuys to be worshipped and adored and collecting our tax dollars...  #NotCompicitHere #AsForMeAndMineWeWillServeTheLord  #ChangeIsGonnaCome

Halftime...

Survivor Finale:

1) If Tiny votes for Sam after all Rachel tried to do for her in the fire challenge, not cool.*
2) Sue! I think she was honestly loyal to others, and though she did not have the best competitive game at 58 (not 59 years old), I hope she gets some votes...

3) Rachel for the win!  Most competent and deserving, but that does not always equal most popular... 

PREDICTION: I do think Rachel will win it, she seems to have a loyal, smart and respectable group of men backing her in the jury, if the women split their votes... 

--------
* (This pro-masc political year though, I'd cover my bet by putting a small wager on Sam -- the male long(er) shot...  We'll see if Rachel can make her case to the jury, I guess. And if she loses, be left guessing if it was a pro-guy kinda vote.)

** I think Tiny's vote will go to the winner... Hope she votes brain more than heart.

ADDED:  I was just going to type that Sam seems to (breaking stereotypes) the most verbal of the group, but then... Sue started talking.  again... 59!  Damn impressive, physically as well as w/Solid values. (yes, it IS better if you can win by not having to lie, cheat or sneak... even if that's the way oOthers think they have to play the(ir) game...

To be honest, I don't like this part of the game as much as the "challenges".  Too much talking now...

BoDeans - Closer to Free (Live at Farm Aid 25)

 The trouble with the world is the stupid are cocksure, and the intelligent are full of doubt."  ~Bertrand Russell

America is Funding Terrorist Tactics Now...

 Let's not whine and act offended when somebody takes out one of our generals like this soon enough, ok?  I liked it better when men fought like men, and wars were short and quick, but we're playing a new game now... Let's just hope our civilians here don't pay the price for endless war.  #LethalLethalLethal

Video Captures Moment That Blast Killed Russian General

A video clip that recorded the assassination of Igor Kirillov, a high-ranking general, gives a few clues about the power and the placement of the explosive device.

2h ago

"As I would not be a slave, I would not be a master..."

 "This expresses my ideas of democracy." ~Lincoln

*bump* DeSantis Would Be an Excellent Choice...

...  to put up for Sec. of Defense when President-elect Trump pulls the Hegseth nomination.*

Secretary of Defense in a time of #Change means you're going to have to butt heads with a lot of old, traditional, embedded career military types... and be tight with a budget.  You have to be strong enough to be comfortable -- even embrace -- being disliked for your honest work. 

And you should be #Competent above all else. You can ruffle feathers, if you can back up your work and its the best course moving forward. If not, you have to be man enough to admit your mistakes (it doesn't have to be long and loud or even verbal) by correcting course.

Ron DeSantis has proved he can learn from his mistakes; he is a straight-up guy, honest as the day is long, I suspect, in a non-corrupt, "you really can't buy me" way... (see his Disney interactions); and now that the PC dust has settled, I don't think he'd be worried much about minor children in the military being somehow corrupted.

Give him a Man's job, in a currently disfavored industry, and let him clean house...

Pete Hegseth isn't equipped to do that, but Ron could!

-----------

* [or the Senate rightly rejects his nomination; hopefully it won't have to play out until the cards are actually placed on the table... too long a game when you can see what is coming...]

How 'bout that Navy game, sir? ;-)  

JD had a beer. They tell me Pete's abstaining of late? ;-) Good boy.  

(Send him back to Minnesota when you're done with him; plenty of work still to be done here... and I'm not talking in the lucrative non-profit sector. I could see Hegseth as a Hazelden rep really. Plenty of work to be done in America acknowledging addictions and helping even over-achievers overcome pressured pasts... never mind conflicted war veterans just coming to terms today with how they've been used by others to advance themselves on other people's time and talents. At least Pete got out alive, eh? and reproduced himself so the children live on, long after his own contributions here have ended.... That's something, eh?)

Harry Belafonte - Jump in the line (Shake, Senora) 1961

UB40 - Red Red Wine (Official Video)

"Hang on to that thought. All the good things about yourself. Don't think of the bad parts..."

 A brief video about homelessness in Washington County, Minnesota.

 Isaiah 42

King James Version

42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

10 Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

12 Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.

13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.

15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant?

20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.

21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?

24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.

25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

Sid the Science Kid: Where Did I Come From?

DEBBY BOONE - You Light Up My Life (1977)

Happy Advent!  Hope Peace Joy and Love if you celebrate the season!

Cool Change Little River Band

 An 84-year-old travelling abroad trips and falls down some old stairs and fractures a hip... These stories don't always end well.

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

"So, so you think you can tell...heaven from hell? Blue skies from pain? Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?, a smile from a veil?

                                    Do you think you can tell?

Did they get you to trade your heroes for gold?  Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for #Change? ... 

                    Did you exchange a walk-on part in the war 

                            for a LeadingRole in a cage?"

Just Sayin'.

 He's no Andrew Cunanan. 

Hothouse Flowers - Don't Go (Official Video)

The Beginning of our 2024 Snow Cover...

 ... it's amazing how quickly it can cover all out there when it's coming down heavy. Warm enough to crack a window even...

"Yes, the [forecasters] were right: snow was general all over [Minnesota]...  It was falling softly over the [Saint Croix River], softly falling upon [ice floes, dark woods, and farmlands further eastward, neatly put away for the winter. It was falling in Afton, Plymouth, and New Ulm.] It lay thickly drifted [in open prairies and parking lots and blanketed the concrete and asphault roadways plows had yet to touch...  It fell here too.]

*

His soul swooned softly as he heard the snow falling faintly though the universe and faintly falling like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead..."

----------

* needs more cowbell...

Falling...

* Nobody sings it more softly than lady Olivia! (even if she wasn't talking about snow necessarily...)

Feels So Good

Celebrating Chuck Mangione today... who remembers this one from the 70s?  Man had killer talent... for real.  Use your powers and privileges for good, not evil, kids.  #LifeMatters

Whatsoever You Do | Lyrics

"If Daniel Penny had choked a dog to death, he wouldn't even have gotten bail..." ~Curtis Scoon.

RIP Jordan Neely. Gone too soon...  A white woman's fears got you.* You used your words, didn't put hands on anyone, and were subdued/choked out long before you became a true threat to anyone...

"Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me."

---------

* Whoops. Turns out it was a white ex-marine fearing for his life from a hungry, homeless black man... #wimp  A good Christian man would have overcome his fear and offered the lesser man a sandwich. Don't try to make Penny out to be a hero: there are children watching...

Let it Be

Ben Wikler vs. Rahm Emmanuel?

I don't understand after the wipeout loss in the recent presidential election, why the Democrats don't understand they too must deliver #Change, put the party's past ways behind them, if they want to win in the New America in the future.

So why do they seem determined to make an effete white man the face of the party going forward? That's not how you're going to win over the voters you've lost, and those new ones coming up looking to see who can bring the needed #Change.

Fight smarter, not harder. If you go with the losers of the past, those who made promises, collected handsomely, then left the place behind worse off (*Chicago... cough cough... google LaQuanMcDonald... Mayor Rahm payout... cough cough) then you sure as hell do not deserve to try to "lead" like that again...

Stand down effete white men.  You're no longer capable of effective action. #WeSeeYou

---------

* Jussie Smollett and Kim Fox were the city's costly payback for LaQuan McDonald and Rahm Emmanuel. Tell me otherwise...  Both Fox and Rahm were sent packing. He's making a comeback with his press contacts like Ezra Klein and Bret Stephens tho, scratching around to see if he still has a future in politics.  Nope. Not on any winning teams, loser. #WeSeeYou

How 'bout that US Solicitor General?

 Elizabeth P. Prelogar for the win!

She's got Brett Kavanaugh on his heels, arguing,,, international law (!) and his big concern pushing hypotheticals re. girls-only spaces like sports.

If you heard her reason for why it's simply not fair to deny true trans gender children medical treatment before puberty forces their bodies to undergo changes that take invasive medical procedures to later reverse, if at all, then you know how this one shall come out... (ie/ you don't have to undergo a mastectomy if you never develop female breasts; you don't gain a competitive advantage in girls' sports if you've never undergone male puberty... Some children know, and know early. Listen to them. The number of "regretters" is minor and they should not be allowed to deny other children the medical care they need...)

"We want girls to be girls, and boys to be boys..." Can we be honest? Amy Coney Barrett does not belong on that Court.  She's getting a good 'splaining to too.  The Catholic family people of a certain age have a lot of growing and understanding to do about sexuality and gender differences in the real world.  Their experiences are parochial, and it shows. (Do you think Barrett knows who Brandon Teena is? Is she seriously suggesting the disparaged "he/she's" have not suffered discrimination over the ages? Not  a "suspect class"? Oy. This is what sheltering catholic children can lead to.  Send 'em to public schools where they can compete with the best of all religions and races and economic classes, and get exposed to a non-private life outside their domains?)

OK, back to listening.

C-Span now. Listen and think for yourself...

DeSantis Would Be an Excellent Choice...

 to put up for Sec. of Defense when President-elect Trump pulls the Hegseth nomination.

Secretary of Defense in a time of #Change means you're going to have to butt heads with a lot of old, traditional, embedded career military types... and be tight with a budget.  You have to be strong enough to be comfortable -- even embrace -- being disliked for your honest work. 

And you should be #Competent above all else. You can ruffle feathers, if you can back up your work and its the best course moving forward. If not, you have to be man enough to admit your mistakes (it doesn't have to be long and loud or even verbal) by correcting course.

Ron DeSantis has proved he can learn from his mistakes; he is a straight-up guy, honest as the day is long, I suspect, in a non-corrupt, "you really can't buy me" way... (see his Disney interactions); and now that the PC dust has settled, I don't think he'd be worried much about minor children in the military being somehow corrupted.

Give him a Man's job, in a currently disfavored industry, and let him clean house...

Pete Hegseth isn't equipped to do that, but Ron could!

Remember When Rich Men Used Their Money For Good?

Went to the library today:

"On account of the lumber interests the city contains a great many single men, who work in the woods in the Winter time, and return to the city in the Spring with more or less money which they have earned in the Winter and these men have no public place in which they can pass their time until the sawmills open when the ice goes out in the Spring. The State Prison is also located in town."

Stay Off the Ice...

It's been bitter cold up here, but the ice is just not thick enough yet to walk on.  Keep on eye on your kids, if they are typical kids who think they know everything and take risks.  The ice isn't thick enough to hold them yet, and they're going to get in trouble trying to help each other when they get into trouble...

https://www.fox9.com/news/markgrafs-lake-woodbury-water-rescue

They were on the scene for a long time looking for the one who was brought up from underwater.  It's cold but he was down there a long time, it seems... I'd be surprised if his was a "successful" rescue, and I'm assuming it was a male.

Any old Chicagoans remember Jimmy Tontlewicz? He was our "Baby Jessica in the well" feel-good story, years before that childhood accident/rescue happened. (Jimmy was sledding with his father, fell into Lake Michigan in January 1984, and was submerged for almost 1/2 hour but lived to tell...)

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/01/17/A-4-year-old-boy-who-was-submerged-nearly-30-minutes/1172443163600/

What did Netanyahu Know of Omer Neutra's Death and... WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?

 What a dirty dog. Promising now to get the body returned "as soon as possible."  That' body has been rotting for more than a year, sir. You want the "remains" returned now.

Be honest. With your own people, even if they are newcomers to your country. Praising the "Zionist" passion in this young soldier's mettle isn't enough... You used this family, it seems.  You knew so many of the hostages were likely killed and no longer alive, and let their families be used for propaganda purposes.

I don't understand -- if the diaspora is NOT on board with advancing Israel's land acquisition to support the religious extremist (Jewish and Evangelical Christian) biblical take on land ownership in greater Israel... why are they choosing to remain silent?  Safety?

Where is the Western media?  We can't keep denying what is being done with US taxpayer dollars to seize land like this...  It's one thing to turn away while it's done. It's another to be complicit.  Netanyahu is an evil man.  We need more Americans to start saying that aloud...

Trump knows.