Archive for December, 2023

The 2nd Day of Christmas The Stark Reminder of St. Stephen’s Martyrdom

Posted: December 26, 2023 by datechguy in catholic, catholic devotions
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Christmas is of course a time of joy to celebrate the birth of the world redeemer, however December 26th the 2nd day of Christmas is a stark reminder that while the souls of uncounted millions will be delivered thanks to the events of the 25th, it is not without cost.

Because this is the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian Martyr.

Now for those immersed in propaganda of Hamas it might be a surprise that until Muslims started blowing themselves up in their quest to kill Jews a martyr was understood as someone who gave up their live for the cause of the faith without harming anyone else.

Before St. Maximilian Kolbe was killed by the Nazis, before St. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, before Sts. Thomas Moore and St. John Fisher were beheaded, before the first Christian was thrown to the lions and even before the Apostle James the greater was killed by Herod, there was St. Stephen.

St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons of the Church singled out for mention in the list of the seven in scripture as: ”a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit “ I suspect, although scripture does not say some ancient authorities suggest that he might have been one of the 72 who were sent out to the various towns to prepare the way for Christ. This would explain his ability to confound the members of the Synagogue of Freedman in his arguments which led to their accusations of blasphemy before the San Hendren.

At his trial he re-iterated the history of Israel from Abraham to Solomon before closing with the words that set them off and led to his death:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.”

When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.

Unlike the execution of Jesus which was sanctioned by Rome, Stephen’s stoning was done by a mob in a fit of passion, ironically much like the mobs currently running amok in western cities over Gaza

But note how as they are stoning him what his final words are:

As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them“; and when he said this, he fell asleep.

emphasis mine

And by those two acts, the first dedicating himself to God and interceding for those who murdered him, he gave the example that the great Christian Saints have followed for two thousand years. The example of loving God and loving neighbor, even your enemies.

All of us are not called to martyrdom as Stephen was, but all of us are called to follow his example of the love of God and of neighbor, even our enemies.

May we learn this lesson well.

Ending the indignity of self-checkout

Posted: December 26, 2023 by chrisharper in Uncategorized

By Christopher Harper


If you choose self-checkout, you may be considered a glutton for punishment.

With each selection, the automated voice gets more exasperated with your mistakes.

You need to place all the items in the bagging area.

Didn’t you get that necessity the first time? Or the second time? Now it’s the sixth time!

Have you checked all the items? Are you really trying to steal something?
Your card cannot be read. Please try again.

Would you like to add 57 cents to give money to people who aren’t jerks like you?

The card reader failed!

I’ve never liked shopping, and I guess it seemed that self-checkout would be faster the first time I used it. It probably is.

But self-checkout is a way to get me to do all the work that a real person has done for years.

But Ben Cohen of The Wall Street Journal wrote recently about a system that ends the frustration and the embarrassment of self-checkout.

At a clothing store called Uniqlo, the company has simplified the process using old rather than new technology: radio frequency identification readers or RFID tags.

“I picked one of the dozen self-checkout machines, followed the instructions on the screen, and placed my clothing in the box. The machine did the rest of the work. I confirmed the number of scanned items, tapped to pay, and grabbed my receipt. And that was it,” Cohen wrote.

The key to the whole operation was RFID tags and their declining cost. As the technology became more precise and less costly, retailers could afford to buy RFID chips in bulk and deploy them in novel ways: predicting demand, adjusting production, optimizing distribution, preventing theft—and reinventing self-checkout.

Uniqlo said the new self-checkout system cuts waiting times in half—and the longer it’s been in a market, the more customers prefer it.

Putting RFID cards on some products, such as tomatoes and bananas, may be difficult. But stores have found ways to counter such products’ lack of bar codes.

The only further change would be a way to silence the ever-present school marm who anticipates and notes every conceivable mistake you make!

The Tale of Norman the Invisible Christmas Gnome A Slightly Weird but True Christmas Story Update: That’s GNORMAN the Gnome

Posted: December 25, 2023 by datechguy in fun, personal
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11th Doctor: Yes, I know that, Rory. I’m not exactly one to miss the obvious but we need everything we can get. Okay, Cyber weapons! This is basically a sentry box. So headless wonder here was a sentry. Probably got himself duffed up by the locals. Never underestimate a Celt.
Rory: Doctor—
11th Doctor: Hush, Rory. Thinking. Why leave a Cyberman on guard unless it’s a Cyberthing in the box but why would they lock up one of their own? Okay, no, not a Cyberthing. But what? What? Oh! Missing something obvious, Rory. Something big. Something right slap in front of me. I can feel it.
Rory: Yeah. I think you probably are.
11th Doctor: I’ll get it in a minute.

Doctor Who, The Pandorica Opens 2010

The Sunday before last I went to the supermarket with DaWife getting various things we needed for Christmas. As we were leaving there was a pile of large plush Christmas Stuffed Animals at the checkout for a rather low price. My wife immediately noticed a large three foot tall Gnome and game him a big hug, bigger than the ones I’ve been getting lately and went on about how cute he was.

She was working that weekend and left by 1:45 to go to her job. I also work every Sunday but this Sunday the fellows who ride with me had a different ride so instead of leaving early to pick them up I left early to get the Gnome. I didn’t have time to bring him home and I figured my trunk might be dirty so I buckled him into the passenger seat and took him to work with me leaving him in the car.

It was raining that evening so the problem was how to sneak him into the house. I took off my sweater and wrapped him in it and carried him onto the back porch where there was a large Gnome sized empty box that contained the Christmas Tree that is now permanently set up with what used to be our youngest son’s room but is now our permanent Christmas room. I tossed him in quickly and folded the sides so it could not be seen.

When I came in I was the one surprised as there was a Pinball machine in the den (A 1988 Williams Taxi). I had expected a rental for Christmas but not a week early. I also noticed a large blanket on the side of the machine next to the bookshelf that wasn’t there before. DaWife explained that it was the blanket he used to cover glass as it was brought in (a common thing when moving a pinball machine to help prevent it from being shattered and also if it does break to keep the glass from scattering.) and the fellow decided he might as well leave it there as he would need it when he took it out.

That gave me an idea, the next morning when DaWife went to the washing machine, in the covey of the kitchen I rushed the Gnome in put him in the space between the bookcase and the old entertainment center and tossed the blanket over it. Even with her sleeping directly across from the Pinball machine (she has back issues and sleeps on a recliner I sleep on the couch next to the recliner because what’s the point of being married and sleeping in a room alone) she would not be likely to notice something odd with the blanket thinking it was just over some clutter. I was right, she never noticed it.

The pinball machine gave me my plan, after she went to bed on Christmas Eve I would prop up the Gnome on the pinball machine standing up so when she woke up on Christmas day it would be the first thing she would see. When her sister came on Christmas Eve for dinner I showed her the Gnome under the blanket and explained my plan. She grinned and approved.

My sons were both over for Christmas Eve and decided to spend the night. We went to midnight mass and when we got home they went upstairs to sleep while DaWife got comfortable on her recliner. I waited on the couch watching the recap of the miraculous Patriots win over the Broncos but actually waiting for her to fall asleep so I could set up the Gnome. Finally at 2:30 AM I heard her snoring but to play it safe I waited till about 3:15 AM before I set up the Gnome in front of the black glass wondering if she would wake up in the middle of the night and see the gift.

I woke up at 7:38 AM with a bit of a cramp and noticed she was still out like a light. I decided to go to the 8 AM Christmas Mass since I normally go to daily mass anyways so as quietly as I could I made my way out of the room, got dressed and went to Mass. When I got home I parked in the front of the house and coming in the front door I noticed DaWife’s chair empty but the Gnome still set up on the pinball machine.

Confused I came in and saw her at the kitchen table waiting for the water to boil for her coffee and having banana bread. I asked her how her new friend was and she looked at me very odd asking what I was talking about. Trying not to sound incredulous I made conversation and realized that she somehow had not seen the giant 3 foot Gnome right in front of her when she woke up. I kept hinting that she was missing something but despite my efforts I couldn’t talk her into going back into the den. She simply looked at me confused and slightly irritated.

Eventually one of my son’s woke up and came down stairs and noticed the Gnome I signaled to him to say nothing but we started making remarks that indicated to DaWife that she was missing something she still had no clue. Even when I called him into the room and had him take a picture of the Gnome with the Pinball machine she didn’t get it still sitting at the kitchen table sipping her coffee and watching her phone. This is the picture he just took from the recliner my wife sleeps on. The hands on the bottom right are my hands typing this post.

The 2nd son also came down and I also signaled to him to say nothing and he played along. It is now 49 minutes since I came home as even as I type DaWife still hasn’t noticed the Gnome, ironically as I finished typing that sentence she walked in and finally saw it and then I repeated the story to her as I just wrote it. She hugged it named him Norman and finally understood why were were all confused. She insists that I note that she

  1. Was running to the bathroom
  2. Didn’t have her glasses on

And for the sake of peace in the house those things are duly noted

It was not an expensive gift and the you didn’t see it bit took less than an hour but if my sons ever find wives and we have grandchildren for the rest of our lives we will tell them the story of Norman the Invisible Christmas Gnome who Nana couldn’t see right in front of her.

Now if that story isn’t worth $15 bucks I’d like to know what is.

Merry Christmas all!

FYI this week I will be starting my post Christmas Fundraiser to try to get the blog into the black for the year. The goal is $3000 and 5 New $20 a month or 10 $10 a month subscribers. If you wish to keep us going beyond the election to our 16th anniversary please considering kicking in at the TipJar button in the upper left.

Update: DaWife informs me that his name is GNORMAN not Norman I regret the error

Taxpayers should be able to sue crooked politicians for their corruption

Posted: December 24, 2023 by John Ruberry in crime, News/opinion, opinion/news, politics
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By John Ruberry

“Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’” Robert F. Kennedy Sr.

“When people fear the government, there is tyranny. When government fears the people, there is liberty.” Thomas Paine.

Former Chicago alderman alderperson Edward M. Burke, who for much of his–wait for it–54 years as a member of Chicago’s City Council, was the second-most powerful politician in the city, because he was the chairman of that body’s Finance Committee. 

Last week Burke was convicted on over a dozen corruption and racketeering charges. Burke, according to federal prosecutors, abused the powers of his office to shakedown businesses, such as the owner of a Burger King restaurant in his ward who was told by Burke if he wanted a construction permit, he needed to retain the alderman’s law firm. 

Developers of the massive old US Post Office and even the venerable Field Museum were victims of Burke’s extortion schemes. I suspect there were hundreds more.

Burke is appealing his guilty verdict of course. Once the appeals are exhausted, barring a successful appeal, the lifetime politician is likely headed to prison.

I’m not a lawyer–so forgive my naivete here. Then again, since I’m not an attorney–and not enmeshed in the gears of the rotten system–maybe I’m the right person to tackle this subject.

For thirteen years of Burke’s crooked career, I was a resident of Chicago. Because I was denied honest services by Burke, so that gives me standing to sue Burke for damages. Right?

Wrong. 

Qualified immunity protects public officials from such suits. My interpretation of the legal concept–again, I’m not an attorney—is that if officials, let’s say the head of a state highway department, fears being sued over a possible bridge collapse, it may mean that no new bridges are built.

Back to Burke.

It’s difficult to see where Burke’s public career as an alderman alderperson began and where his private legal practice ended. It was a hybrid beast. In short, Burke was running a racket.

So, since a jury ruled that Burke was using his public office for private gain, why should qualified immunity protect him?

Why shouldn’t Burke, and other corrupt Illinois pols such as former governors Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan, be subject to taxpayer lawsuits? Or class action lawsuits?

“To join this lawsuit now–call the 800 number on the bottom of your screen–time is limited! Make that politician pay!”

Taking my idea to the federal level, there’s a recent case with bribery allegations against a sitting US senator and his wife. I mean, I’m just saying…

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if crooked pols could be sued for every penny they have? And their vacation homes? And their gold bars?

Everything!

That just might scare these pols into honesty.

Change the law. Or laws. 

Drop qualified immunity for crooked public officials. Call it–ahem–Ruberry’s Law. Consider it my Christmas gift this year.

Back to Illinois.

As Illinois’ SAFE-T Act law–which by the way I believe it should be repealed–was being drafted, dropping qualified immunity for police officers was suggested. So clearly, at least in Illinois, qualified immunity is not sacred.

One more item. Since 1973, 38 members of the Chicago City Council have been convicted of crimes.

John Ruberry regularly blogs from Illinois at Marathon Pundit. During his lifetime, four Illinois governors have served time in federal prison.

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