"We're in for a bumpy ride."

Joan Baez Talks Protest in the Trump Era (click)

Resistance

It's Wilson A. "Snowflake" Bentley's Birthday!

Balance

Sugar on Snow, anyone?

More:  Maple Syrup Spill in Vermont

Feeding Frenzy

PAX

“The motto was ‘Pax’, but the word was set in a circle of thorns. Pax: peace, but what a strange peace, made of unremitting toil and effort, seldom with a seen result; subject to constant interruptions, unexpected demands, short sleep at nights, little comfort, sometimes scant food; beset with disappointments and usually misunderstood, yet peace all the same, undeviating, filled with joy and gratitude and love. “It is My own peace I give unto you.” Not, notice, the world’s peace.”

~ ~ ~

These are the opening lines to Rumer Godden's book In This House of Brede, which I have begun reading again. We used to write to Rumer in our home schooling days, and she received our family newsletter Mother Earth Press. Always, she wrote back. She was very encouraging about what we were doing with our children, and each time she would say something kind about "mother" because she knew it was a heap of work, and important work. I will never forget her kindness.

How her words come back to me now. The quote refers to the life of a Benedictine nun, cloistered to be a "prayer powerhouse." Yet, even then, it made me think of the work of being a mother. Rumer once gave me permission to use her quote with a sketch I did, as a Christmas gift. I am better because of her thoughtful books, and because of the depth of the person she was and shared.

Trump Accuses French Woman of Spreading Pro-immigration Propaganda

Trump Accuses French Woman of Spreading Pro-immigration Propaganda

~ Andy Borowitz  

Make that French and Jewish women...

Here's the full text:

"The New Colossus"

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus, 1883

"...one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws..."

One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.  

~ The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
in Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Well, it's Groundhog Day, again! (And listener is dipping candles!)

C'mon, February, give us a break...!

Good Riddance, January!

PLAIN SPEAKING...

Day of Rest

Year of the Rooster

Yeah, let's restart this year!

In a Word (from Webster's Unabridged, 1983) . . .

Comic Relief

❄️ The funny thing is that this is actually fairly accurate! ❄️

Please share, especially if you know federal employees...

DT has put a gag order on all government scientists, and made the National Park Service delete their tweets about Climate Change.

Here are some useful, related links:

Badlands National Park deletes tweets on climate change

What we actually lose when the USDA and EPA can't talk to the public

PIPELINES

BUT!  Just at the end of the day came some light!  
Check these out...

US Park Service peeps create ALT Twitter account!

Women Scientists Protest

Scientists March on Washington

NPS CLIMATE CHANGE PAGE can still be downloaded. Download it before it gets deleted!

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/upload/ClimateChange_01-05_DigitalPrelim.pdfhttps://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/upload/ClimateChange_01-05_DigitalPrelim.pdf



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Shed some Light today

Nurse Rosie Knows

March on Washington 1963

Women's March on Washington 2017

Don't Panic!

Need a way to get through the coming four years? Don't panic. The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is the drink for you. Field tested and recommended by Zaphod Beeblebrox, former President of the Imperial Galaxy, the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is guaranteed to make you feel as though your brain has been smashed in by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick, perfect for coping with difficult and unpleasant times.
Here's how to mix one:

• Take the juice from one bottle of Ol' Janx Spirit.
• Pour into it one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V — Oh, that Santraginean seawater! Oh, those Santraginean fish!
• Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into the mixture (it must be properly iced or the benzene is lost).
• Allow four litres of Fallian marsh gas to bubble through it, in memory of all those happy hikers who have died of pleasure in the Marshes of Fallia.
• Over the back of a silver spoon float a measure of Qualactin Hypermint extract, redolent of all the heady odours of the dark Qualactin Zones, subtle, sweet and mystic.
• Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger. Watch it dissolve, spreading the fires of the Algolian Suns deep into the heart of the drink.
• Sprinkle Zamphuor.
• Add an olive.
• Drink... but... very carefully...

Pres. Beeblebrox suggests no more than two Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters at one sitting- but he never faced four years of a Donald Trump administration! We recommend mixing your first one at noon EST today and carry on from there.

The old order changeth, yielding place to new

The Passing of Arthur

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron (1809–92)

From “Idylls of the King”
THEN saw they how there hove a dusky barge,
Dark as a funeral scarf from stem to stern,
Beneath them; and descending they were ware
That all the decks were dense with stately forms,
Black-stol’d, black-hooded, like a dream—by these
Three Queens with crowns of gold: and from them rose
A cry that shiver’d to the tingling stars,
And, as it were one voice, an agony
Of lamentation, like a wind that shrills
All night in a waste land, where no one comes,
Or hath come, since the making of the world.
Then murmur’d Arthur, “Place me in the barge.”
So to the barge they came. There those three Queens
Put forth their hands, and took the King, and wept.
But she, that rose the tallest of them all
And fairest, laid his head upon her lap,
And loos’d the shatter’d casque, and chaf’d his hands,
And call’d him by his name, complaining loud,
And dropping bitter tears against a brow
Strip’d with dark blood: for all his face was white
And colorless, and like the wither’d moon
Smote by the fresh beam of the springing east;
And all his greaves and cuisses dash’d with drops
Of onset; and the light and lustrous curls—
That made his forehead like a rising sun
High from the dais-throne—were parch’d with dust;
Or, clotted into points and hanging loose,
Mix’d with the knightly growth that fringed his lips.
So like a shatter’d column lay the King;
Not like that Arthur who, with lance in rest,
From spur to plume a star of tournament,
Shot thro’ the lists at Camelot, and charged
Before the eyes of ladies and of kings.
Then loudly cried the bold Sir Bedivere:
“Ah! my Lord Arthur, whither shall I go?
Where shall I hide my forehead and my eyes?
For now I see the true old times are dead,
When every morning brought a noble chance,
And every chance brought out a noble knight.
Such times have been not since the light that led
The holy Elders with the gift of myrrh.
But now the whole Round Table is dissolv’d
Which was an image of the mighty world,
And I, the last, go forth companionless,
And the days darken round me, and the years,
Among new men, strange faces, other minds.”
And slowly answer’d Arthur from the barge:
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me?
I have liv’d my life, and that which I have done
May He within himself make pure! but thou,
If thou shouldst never see my face again,
Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
But now farewell. I am going a long way
With these thou seëst—if indeed I go
(For all my mind is clouded with a doubt)—
To the island-valley of Avilion;
Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow,
Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies
Deep-meadow’d, happy, fair with orchard lawns
And bowery hollows crown’d with summer sea,
Where I will heal me of my grievous wound.”
So said he, and the barge with oar and sail
Mov’d from the brink, like some full-breasted swan
That, fluting a wild carol ere her death,
Ruffles her pure cold plume, and takes the flood
With swarthy webs. Long stood Sir Bedivere
Revolving many memories, till the hull
Look’d one black dot against the verge of dawn,
And on the mere the wailing died away.

Already Missed

"The Transfer"

MLK, Jr's Birthday observed by people who want a Monday off

Photo credit

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.    

Click here to hear an audio Webinar on MLK, Jr!

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Martin Luther King Day

The article linked below draws a direct connection between Dr. King's work and the struggles of today, particularly Black Lives Matter. But it makes as I see it a distinction without a difference when speaking of the "peace and love" King as distinct from and inferior to the "radical" King. Love and forgiveness is a pretty radical concept. So is nonviolent resistance. All the boycotts and protests and hard, physical work in the world can't bring about social justice without the spirit of love, forgiveness, peace and nonviolence. As we move forward into what bids fair to be one of the most unsettled, vicious and divisive periods in American history, let us embrace both parts of Dr. King's legacy.

Link

King's shift from dreamer to radical resonates for activists

Saturday Is Kitty Day

Visit The Daily Kitten to read about Fluffy and Snow.

Friday The Thirteenth

Bernie is calling for rallies for health care on January 15th!

Find the nearest rally to you, here:

   Where's my Rally?

Article and Photo credit

Organize! Resist!

President Obama's Farewell Address

Thank you, Pres. Obama. The first president of my generation, our first biracial president, a man of intelligence and integrity and honor. You have shown us what the best of America can be. I'm sorry to say goodbye.

Link

Obama speech: Democracy needs you, says outgoing president

Compassion

Peace...together.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor

Today the Catholic Church honors the Blessed Virgin under her title Our Lady of Prompt Succor. This is most appripos as, in my view, we could do with some prompt succor right about now. One line from the litany struck me particularly:

Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the enemies of our country, pray for us.

Links

Our Lady of Prompt Succor (Wikipedia)
Our Lady of Prompt Succor (CatholicTradition.org)

Saturday Is Kitty Day

Visit The Daily Kitten to read about Timmy and his family.

Seeing The Light

The Feast of the Epiphany, that concludes the Christmas season, is above all a celebration of Light. Let us remember that light and keep it in our hearts as we face the gathering darkness of this year.

Links

Reflections On The Readings For The Feast Of The Epiphany Of Our Lord
Bishop Bambera’s Reflection for the Epiphany of the Lord « THE DIOCESE OF SCRANTON

🌟 💖✨💜 🌟Happy Epiphany Birthday, Cat !! 🌟 💜✨💖 🌟

 

🌻💝🌻Happy Birthday, Renee!! 🌻💝🌻

Two Vermont Bays on New Year's Day 2017

Mallet's Bay

Shelburne Bay

Ice Falls at Shelburne Bay, Vermont

New Year's Resolutions

Visit Pax Christi USA and take the Vow of Nonviolence.

Visit Catholic Climate Covenant and take the St. Francis Pledge to pray, act, and advocate to solve climate change.

While Pax Christi and Catholic Climate Covenant are Catholic movements, the Vow of Nonviolence and the St. Francis Pledge are, it seems to me, consonant with the Progressive project. Also, in the coming year, we're going to need all the peace and nonviolence we can get!

Some people lay down to make snow angels. Mah*Sweetie stands up...

Mah*Sweetie made this angel on Christmas Eve Day and crowned her with balsam and berry on Christmas Day itself.  The bird was snagged from a decoration on our porch.  Then he scattered bread and seed around the base. ♥

A New Year of Peace and Nonviolence

In his address for 2017's World Day of Peace, Pope Francis calls nonviolence "a style of politics for peace." He describes nonviolence beginning in the heart of the individual and spreading from there through the family and community to the world. Yet the Holy Father emphasizes that the culture of nonviolence and love is the furthest thing from mamby pamby passivity and retreat from the world. On the contrary, he calls for active engagement on all levels. Only so can we resist evil and achieve the project of "peace founded upon truth, justice, freedom and love”."
As he points out, "An ethics of fraternity and peaceful coexistence between individuals and among peoples cannot be based on the logic of fear, violence and closed-mindedness, but on responsibility, respect and sincere dialogue." These fundamentals, that is responsibility, respect and sincere dialog, don't just happen; they must be worked at, developed and actively nurtured. Thus, nonviolence as a style of politics, as a lifestyle, is vigorous, active, a work in progress.
Let us commit ourselves this year to nurture and spread nonviolence in our own hearts and throughout those parts of the wider world that we touch. Through love and nonviolence, as the Holy Father reminds us, all things are possible.

“All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers”. In 2017, may we dedicate ourselves prayerfully and actively to banishing violence from our hearts, words and deeds, and to becoming nonviolent people and to building nonviolent communities that care for our common home. “Nothing is impossible if we turn to God in prayer. Everyone can be an artisan of peace”.

Love, Rise, Resist!

Link

Nonviolence: a style of politics for peace - Message for the 50th World Day of Peace