In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs either December 21 or 22, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn.
I've lived in Southern California for 10 years now, and this is what I am in for when traveling back East this year for the Christmas Holiday to be with family and friends.
Pope Benedick-head V1,V1,V1 wants a “Leaner, Smaller, Purer Church.”.
Now all you abortion hating, ex-commie fighting Catholics in America, please don’t misunderstand his Holiness's message… from God…to Pope…to you… It is not about you or religion or sex.
It is about money and like every other country and corporation on the planet this century, The Vatican is going to turn its back on America and go after the dumb poor. America has become the smart poor. We don't give generously to a church that molests our children or we chose weekly groceries over the weekly donation envelope.
The Church is going to send the Holy Spirit into Central and South America and into Africa to convert the poor, the hungry, the mourners, to the one true faith… with donations accepted at services.But remember, on Sunday, according to the Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine, it is now okay to throw a Nazi salute after blessing yourself.. SO it is forehead, heart, left shoulder, right shoulder, Hail Hitler!
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Why did President Obama double down with our young soldiers in Afghanistan?
If it is war, let the air force go at it for a couple of weeks to kill every living thing along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. Then put a standing order that if one more terrorist attack happens on American soil, the capital cities of all Middle Eastern nations will be nuked.
Hold them all hostages for peace: Ankara, Beirut, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Sana, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Manama, Kuwait City, Baghdad, Damascus, Amman, Tehran, Ashgabat, Kabul, Islamabad, Dushanbe, Tashkent, Bishkek
If even one attack… they all go. So they are all in it together. Peace in our time.
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If the Republican Party is not blown out of the water in 2010 and then ended in 2012 then the American people might as well roll up the side walks and go home.
Watch TV for a ½ hour and listen to their side of the debate on any topic. You may not love the Democratic Leadership, but good lord, at least most of them have the middle class in mind and are not certifiably insane.
Let’s just take two extremes… Senators Vitter and Franken. Now who do you really want making decisions about your future, your children and your grand children?
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I have made my Holiday gift-giving Writer of Choice for Christmas 2009 decision: Somerset Maugham. So if you are a member of my ever expanding family, be prepared to be Anglicized this year. Cakes & Ale anyone?Here are the steps that must be followed in the process of canonization:
1. A local bishop investigates the candidate's life and writings for evidence of heroic virtue. The information uncovered by the bishop is sent to the Vatican.
2. A panel of theologians and the cardinals of the Congregation for Cause of Saints evaluate the candidate's life.
3. If the panel approves, the pope proclaims that the candidate is venerable, which means that the person is a role model of Catholic virtues.
4. The next step toward sainthood is beatification, which allows a person to be honored by a particular group or region. In order to beatify a candidate, it must be shown that the person is responsible for a posthumous miracle. Martyrs -- those who died for their religious cause -- can be beatified without evidence of a miracle.
5. In order for the candidate to be considered a saint, there must be proof of a second posthumous miracle. If there is, the person is canonized.
These alleged miracles must be submitted to the Vatican for verification.
So why was President Obama dissed?
I went through the Catholic School system in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Pictures of Jack and Bobby Kennedy hung in the class rooms. Some of the nuns and priest that taught me had worked with Bobby Kennedy in New York City and Cesar Chavez in California.
Now look at them. the Democratic Party is their enemy. The Republican Party is what they have adopted.
Satan wins.
If it all comes down to a woman''s right to an abortion in America for the Catholic Church, then the 21st century will see an end to that religious sect. They are as useless to god and man/womanlkind as Islamic fundamentalism.
Which political party does this remind you of...
* Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
* Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
* Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
* Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
* Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
* Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
* Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
* Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I'd rather have Socrates.
So a Cosmonaut goes into orbit around the earth, looks out his space ship window and declares: This is proof there is no god.
An Astronaut goes into orbit around the earth, looks out his space ship window and declares: This is proof there is a god.
Francis Collins. Do we trust him to spend the billions of dollars in the right places? He seems like the perfect example of an Obama-man for-all-seasons.
Education... check. A little too American South for my prejudices.
Curriculum vitae... check.
Science bona fides... check.
Theological bona fides... BioLogos... not so much.
I just wish that somewhere in the Administration we were getting a flaming liberal... no apologies.
Sarah Palin melted down in a rambling, winking, almost illiterate resignation speech as a 4th of July present to the people of Alaska and to the rest of America.
Oh, she has plans, too big to discuss in front of the evil liberal media… like … FOX News? John King of CNN?... David Letterman?
Look, the Bill Kristol-wing of the Republican Party hand picked this idiot to be John McCain’s running mate in 2008 because they saw their neocon dreams going down in flames. The fact that that dream also brought down the United States of America doesn’t matter to them.
They manipulated John McCain, who was never their man, never really one of them, but too weak to defend himself when presented with the Party’s ultimatum of Sarah Palin.
Is Bill Kritsol proud this 4th of July? Is he smirking, knowing that Sarah Palin will be back someday and he will be proven right? I fucking hope so.
Sarah Palin and Bill Kristol are insane. This brand of Republican Party hero has had their day and the day was lost.
The Republican Party, both politicians and media, need to follow Sarah Palin’s example and leave the stage. You stole the American Century and trashed the nation. Thank your god you are not all in jail or up against a wall.
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It seems some Democratic Senators have a “if you build it, they will come” plan for national health care. Okay, let’s see it, but what about a full-court, fuck the Republican Party press on a strong Democratic Party national health care system?
Be brave. Be strong. You are fighting for America… act like it. The Republican Party has acted in bad faith on this issue. So they don’t get a seat at the table. The Democratic Party needs to be willing to kick a little ass when it has to, for the good of the American people.
We deserve that much for putting up with Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich and The Contract With America and the George Bush, Jr. /Dick Cheney take over. You have the ball. Run with it!
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Afghanistan…so it begins.
“When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier…
Most Americans know most national religious figures are charlatans.
Most Americans know that most Republican political leaders are phonies.
I'm not saying these two groups aren't smart, they do fool a lot of people into following them, but man... Richard Nixon takes the cake.
These newly released Presidential recordings of Nixon just keep getting worse for the former, failed, Republican President. We already knew he was anti-Semitic and racist, but in that everyday, all-American, white- guy, asshole from the 1950's kind of way.
I know Richard Nixon never slept with pre-teen boys, or sexy female interns, but he committed every other sin the book. And like all professional assholes, he takes people down with him.
The Reverend Billy Graham is toast. Butter his ass and file it under L for liar... "Synagogue of Satan"?
I love the Presidential tape recording system. Not only does it prove for history that Republican Presidents are degenerate, racist, lying pricks who belong in prison rather than the Oval Office... it also has proven that Democratic Presidents are interesting, smart, patriotic leaders who deserve to be in the Oval Office.
I read a few hate biographies of President Kennedy that have him in a back-brace, rolling around the floor of the Oval Office crying to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to help him out of the Cuban Missile Crisis... but wait... there is TAPE!!! And guess what... JFK was actually a hero... and the Joint Chiefs were treasonous bastards that would have blown up the world. Check out the movie 13 Days based on the tapes.
"Bomb, Bomb, Bomb... Bomb, Bomb Iran"... how would that have worked out for us all, in the light of history, huh?
Republicans... trash 'em.
I’m sure glad all the tanker fires at freeway underpasses in California are not terrorism.
Strange time for airplanes, too. They seem to be having trouble staying in the air.
Maybe there are just too damn many of us people traveling around.
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If President Obama was a socialist dictator in waiting, where are the mass executions? That list would be long and we wouldn’t be worrying about those rich, CEOs flying around in executive jets.
If President Obama was a fascist dictator in waiting, where are the mass executions? That list would be long and FOX News reporters would only be seen and heard in show trials on TV.
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So if I opt-in for a national health care plan, would that part of my salary taken from each paycheck be mine? It would be like a pay raise! Damn the AMA and the big Pharmaceutical corporations… where’s my Paxil?
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Saving Grace is back on the air. I guess it is the point of the show, but they don’t even need the angel. The ensemble acting is so good. This is one of my favorite police shows, but the angel… I don’t see the need for an angel in post-Bush, Jr. America… seems unnecessary, now... with heathens in charge.
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June-gloom in Southern California. It's raining this morning. A good day for reading.
Wow. Iran and America have had an interesting history this century. Our conservatives overthrew their liberal government. Their super-conservatives eventually revolted against this government... but they turned out to be religious fundamentalist nuts.
Our conservatives have overthrown our liberal governments. Our conservatives turned out to be religious fundamentalist nuts.
Conservatism is so fucked up.
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The Bush Family must be proud right now. A stolen election right under the lights of the modern, global mass media.
It is not wrong to keep bringing up the Bush Family, come on... Grand-pop Prescott Bush was involved with the attempted overthrow of the American government and coup of FDR. Poppy Georg Bush was involved with treasonous acts WITH IRAN against the Carter Administration that brought him and Ronald Reagan to power. George Jr. stole the election from Al Gore and ruined the nation, if not the entire world.
So why are we going all 'O'Reilly' on Ahmadinejad? The phony raging indignation is embarrassing.
At least some Iranians are taking to the streets. That's more than America did in 2000.
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If Prescott Bush was a Nazi and America won WW2 and Prescott Bush's Son and Grandson become President through treasonous acts... did the Nazi's win WW2?
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President Obama is set to turn his sites on reforming health care in America. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
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Did you ever see the Manchurian Candidate?
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Is it true FOX News didn't report much on the terrorism at the Holocaust Memorial Museum? That would be reason enough to haul them all in for questioning and ban the network. Accomplices before the fact? Accomplices after the fact?
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Instead of sending ships overseas to North Korea, why don't we ask China and Japan to smack the little fuckers around? Even with a nuke or two, would you want China coming back over the Yalu River?
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BOOKS: Just bought Aaron Copland: The Life & Work of an Uncommon Man the biography by Howard Pollack. Copland was born in 1900 and lived 90 years, so I'm looking forward to a very specific slice of the American Century.
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A musical recommendation off the beaten track: The Hotel Costes Series of lounge music mixes. The Hotel Costes in Paris has released about a dozen mixes by Stéphane Pompougnac. They make interesting background music for hanging out, talking and drinking . If you create your own quiet cocktail hour or want to throw a low-tempo party, this is good stuff to be playing in the background.
