Archive for December, 2019

2nd Day of Christmas Realities Under the Fedora

Posted: December 26, 2019 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Today is the 2nd Day of the Christmas Season which will be continuing officially until January 12 the feast of the Baptism of the Lord which is both the last day of Christmas and the 1st Sunday of ordinary time.

Because it is the 2nd day of Christmas and because disability has made me a little short today I will be shopping for what would be considered “late” Christmas gifts for her and paying less.

Celebrating all the days of Christmas has its advantages.

I’m sure the ring doorbell has its advantages, here is one of its disadvantages:

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Every smart device from your doorbell to your car is a computer and any computer is only as secure as the dumbest and most careless person who knows your password or sets up your network makes it. And really if you think your eight year old’s bedroom is so unsafe that you need a camera in it you need to move your family into a cave in the mountains or something.

I know cable news networks need to fill time but can we stop the debate on if the President is “officially” impeached or not? I know that rules lawyering is all the rage in America these days but let’s drop the pretense. This president was impeached, it was a political impeachment, one without foundation which is going to destroy the electoral prospects of those who pushed it and diminish the power of congress and the value of impeachment as a check on actual presidential corruption for all time. But it IS impeachment.

I recently read Bishop Robert’s Barron’s short book “Open Letter to a Letter to a Suffering Church”. While the Bishop might have some novel opinions concerning the current population of hell I don’t think I’ve read a better book on the subject of the sexual scandals that have been revealed in the church in the last two decades. He provides historical perspective, diabolic and scriptural perspective while not sugar coating the causes nor the responsibility of the local bishops or the Vatican.

Most importantly he does a fantastic job making the argument that leaving the church is not a solution. If you’re a Catholic and haven’t read this book (you can finish it in an hour) do so.

While the voters are not cheering the Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg campaigns at the moment they are providing both the media and political consultants a very Merry Christmas.

In the wake of Bloomberg’s official presidential campaign launch on Nov. 24, he’s invested $57 million in TV advertising, putting him on track to overtake fellow billionaire Tom Steyer in the coming weeks, who has spent just over $60 million since July, according to data compiled by Advertising Analytics.

Nothing warms the heart of a political consultant or a TV or Radio station than Christmas stockings full of cash provided by billionaires with unlimited funds to make them. Ironically they are both likely to become what a lot of people (including at first me I confess) thought the Donald Trump campaign would be, a full employment scheme for consultants to milk for a few months. Donald Trump turned out to be smarter than that, It remains to be seen if his Democrat counterparts will prove the same.

The Reason For the Season

Posted: December 25, 2019 by datechguy in Uncategorized

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus 2 that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child,and she gave birth to her firstborn son. 3 She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.

All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

Luke 2:1-20

Sweet Sound

Posted: December 24, 2019 by julietteochieng in culture
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Show and Tell

by baldilocks

From Mark Deutchle at American Thinker:

You might be surprised at what you can see and hear while ringing the Christmas Bell for the Salvation Army.  These last two weeks, I saw hundreds of people going in and out of our local Walmart, all coming within just a few feet of my Salvation Army Bell and Red Kettle.  Soon after I started ringing the bell, a few people stopped to chat, and it was then that I realized that I had a great opportunity to learn some new things.  I found that I was in the presence of authentic people living life, who were wanting and striving toward the best life they could create for themselves and their loved ones. (…)

I noticed that most people going in and out of Walmart were really not paying attention to me and my ringing bell.  However, if I took the lead by greeting them with a robust “Merry Christmas!,” many would smile and return the greeting.  Over and over again, I watched as some would mentally stop in their tracks, turning from their inward focus so they could place a donation in the Kettle.

It became obvious to me that the Salvation Army has earned for itself a tremendous reputation in America.  One can only wonder how many millions of lives the organization may have touched.  My brief time ringing the bell was encouraging, as I witnessed all kinds of people taking a few moments to donate to the Kettle: whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, vets, young and old.  All were acting on an impulse to improve the lives of others at their own expense.

At the end of Psalm 91, God says that, if we trust Him and are not afraid of all the stuff that life throws at us, He will show us His Salvation. It occurs to me that this means that He will show us Jesus the Christ and He will show us what Salvation looks like in action — what it looks like when it is on the march – like an army.

Mr. Deutschle got it from two perspectives: he saw it and was a part of it.

And it’s my opinion that each one of us can see it — if we are looking for it.

Merry Christmas.

By the way, I promised an update to this post. That will happen this Saturday.

Juliette Akinyi Ochieng has been blogging since 2003 as baldilocks. Her older blog is here.  She published her first novel, Tale of the Tigers: Love is Not a Game in 2012.

Follow Juliette on Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, Patreon and Social Quodverum.

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Egypt Today

Posted: December 24, 2019 by chrisharper in Uncomfortable Truths
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By Christopher Harper

Ahmed, a middle-aged tour guide, didn’t work for almost six years as Egypt’s economy fell into a downward spiral as a result of government instability, terrorism, and crime.

His health suffered, leading to two heart operations. His children’s plans to attend college had to be put on hold until recently.

Today, however, he’s optimistic about the future because the government of strongman Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has brought stability to the largest country in the Arab world.

I first visited Egypt more than 40 years ago, and it’s been eight years since I last traveled there—a time of great hope after the 2011 revolution.

That hope became despair in only a few months after the Muslim Brotherhood took control of the government for two years until the military seized power in 2013.

My wife and I just started a two-week stay that will allow us to travel throughout Egypt.

The people I’ve spoken with share Ahmed’s optimism. For example, Mina, who is Coptic Christian, said the greater attention to terrorism and street crime has made Egypt far better than under the Muslim Brotherhood. Although the hope of the Arab revolution of 2001 failed to be achieved, Mina is content that times are better than in recent years.

The Coptic Christians, who make up about 20 percent of Egypt’s population of 100 million, came under intense harassment at the hands of Muslim extremists for several years. Copts were killed because of their religion. Their churches were burned. Most lived in fear of what would happen next.

Although security remains relatively tight around Coptic churches, my wife and I visited the center of the Christian population. The streets bustled with local residents and tourists, with little concern about possible attacks during the Christmas holidays.

After a visit to a Coptic monastery in the western desert, however, military police accompanied our tour bus until we made it to more populated areas.

Tourism seems to have picked up after the problems of the past decade, although my wife and I didn’t see too many Americans. Many of our friends thought we were crazy to make such a trip, so Egypt will have to convince people from the United States to return there.

El-Sisi and his team have rolled out a variety of economic programs, including a major building project at the Suez Canal to increase traffic. Also, the government has devalued the currency, making foreign investment far more appealing.

But Egyptian skeptics remain. One of my friends whom I visited during the 2011 uprising left the country for Central America. When I asked him if any of my acquaintances remained in Egypt, he responded, “They’re dead, in prison, or they left the country.”

El-Sisi and his supporters still have to convince some of their fellow countrymen that the economic and political situation will get even better.

One final note: A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you from Egypt!

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