Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Saint Lucy's Day

Saint Lucy's Prayer:
Saint Lucy, you did not hide your light under a basket, but let it shine for the whole world, for all the centuries to see. We may not suffer torture in our lives the way you did, but we are still called to let the light of our Christianity illumine our daily lives. Please help us to have the courage to bring our Christianity into our work, our recreation, our relationships, our conversation -- every corner of our day. Amen

Tradition tells us that St. Lucy often wore a crown of candles in order to have her hands free as she worked to succor and assist Christians in the Catacombs. As she carried her light with love, balance and grace dispelling the darkness of oppression and despair, let us as Progressives bring our light into the coming year with love and nonviolence but also with rock-solid conviction and set it against the gathering darkness of bigotry, hatred and self-serving greed.

22 comments:

  1. ExxonMobil CEO Has Cozy Relationship With Russia, Complicated Climate Record - Click

    In and of itself the awarding of an honor to a prospective member of an incoming administration need not be problematic. I doubt anyone would worry if he'd received an OBE in the Queen's last Birthday Honours List. But in combination with the President Elect's close ties to Pres. Putin and the mounting evidence that the Kremlin interfered in this year's election on Trumps behalf, it becomes very troubling indeed.

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  2. Thanks, Listener, for the JKR related link on the last thread.

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  3. http://www.nationofchange.org/2016/12/13/demagogue-in-chief/

    From the article:

    Ridicule especially antagonizes the demagogue. It deflates the pretentious and the powerful. It reduces to human size those puffed up by their self-importance. It exposes them for who they are. It affirms the self-respect and dignity of the oppressed. Demagogues, lacking the capacity for self-transcendence, cannot see the ludicrousness and absurdity of their pretensions. They cannot distinguish between their inner fantasies and reality. They can belittle and ridicule others, as Trump does, with great cruelty, but they see nothing humorous about similar treatment directed at the self-created edifice of their own glory.

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  4. Also from the article linked above:

    Demagogues foolishly see the elaborately staged public events held for them as proof that a populace loves and respects them. And in the final, decrepit stages of their rule they became grotesque parodies of themselves. The sycophants around them, profiting from the orgy of corruption, feed their gargantuan self-delusion. The demagogues, believing they are divinely inspired geniuses and omnipotent, make decisions based on hallucinations. When a demagogue reaches that stage, society can be obliterated.

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  5. And also from the article, accurate and frightening:

    The story of demagogues is as old as civilization. They have risen and fallen like the tides, always leaving in their wake misery, destruction and death. They exploit the frustrations and anger generated by a decayed society. They make fantastic promises they never keep. They demonize the vulnerable as scapegoats. They preach hatred and violence. They demand godlike worship. They consume those they rule.

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    Replies
    1. That all sounds spot on, Susan. Heaven help us.

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    2. Wait, wait, the benefit concert was for Smoky Mountains not Standing Rock. This in the wake of the terrible wildfires there.

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  6. Idling the day away as I recover from a nasty respiratory virus. Coughing greatly reduced, as is runny nose. I really need to get an opinion and a couple of notes taken care of for attorneys, though. A dose of Nyquil helped last night, and I had a dose of Dayquil this afternoon; I haven't had any such medicines for decades, because they make me feel weird, but this time it is worth it. That said, a few notes from the Inner Tubes.
    --Alan

    Photovoltaics are now probably carbon-negative overall. [Click]

    Why Fewer Americans Outearn Their Parents [Click] I heard about this study recently, but not in this much detail.

    Which Department Should Rick Perry Head? The Answer Will Come to You. [Click]

    Intended purpose of the Electoral College [Click] I'ts not what we usually think…

    Putin didn't win this election for Trump. Hillary Clinton did [Click]

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    1. "Putin didn't win this election for Trump. Hillary Clinton did" Amen brother! I've been saying that since November Ninth!

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    2. Ayup. But very convenient for the Clintonistas to point the finger an someone--anyone!-other than The Anointed One. And those who followed her.

      Alan

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    3. Oh, absolutely.

      Got involved in the discussion in the comments on the article. The devoted faithful are keeping the faith, still doing their best to smear Bernie, Jill Stein and their supporters as having effectively voted for Trump, among other things. Their stupidity is sickening, not wholly unlike that of Trump supporters, as I have no doubt observed before.

      My blood is boiling. Must take a nice, deep breath...

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  7. Idling the day away as I recover from a nasty respiratory virus. Coughing greatly reduced, as is runny nose. I really need to get an opinion and a couple of notes taken care of for attorneys, though. A dose of Nyquil helped last night, and I had a dose of Dayquil this afternoon; I haven't had any such medicines for decades, because they make me feel weird, but this time it is worth it. That said, a few notes from the Inner Tubes.
    --Alan

    Photovoltaics are now probably carbon-negative overall. [Click]

    Why Fewer Americans Outearn Their Parents [Click] I heard about this study recently, but not in this much detail.

    Which Department Should Rick Perry Head? The Answer Will Come to You. [Click]

    Intended purpose of the Electoral College [Click] I'ts not what we usually think…

    Putin didn't win this election for Trump. Hillary Clinton did [Click]

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    Replies
    1. Oops! I thought the first posting had not made its way through...

      Alan

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  8. Alan, Re: Perry: I know, right?! It's too incredible. I swear SNL couldn't make this stuff up!

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  9. With apologies to Puddle:

    A video everyone needs to view and share:


    Hamilton Electors on The Electoral College
    - Click

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