Category Archives: Clippings

* Oh, what a tangled web we weave …

Clippings, Get on your feet, Justice, Local politics, Politics, , , , , , , ,

… when first we practice to deceive.

Closing arguments in Julius Henson election fraud trial

I have had direct contact with trials involving Edward Smith, Jr. in the past, such that his antics here come to me as no surprise.

The question I ask is whether it’s worth it to tell the truth, and what happens when we don’t.

[To be continued …]

(Originally posted 05/09/12 at Trojan Horse Productions.)

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A new page has appeared at The Homeless Blogger:  “Choose your name.”

One can also take a sneak peek at the related post scheduled for release 2014-03-12, “What’s in a name?”

(Reposted 08/31/17.)

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* Fusion; Scruffy people in commercials; The most bizarre Xmas ever

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George F. Will’s 12/21/13 column, “A dazzling bright future dawns in New Jersey,” is an infomercial for a fusion energy project.

Two points:

“Because of its large scale and long time horizon, the fusion project is a perfect example of a public good the private sector cannot pursue and the public sector should not slight.”

Whatever became of the concept of venture capital?

Continue reading * Fusion; Scruffy people in commercials; The most bizarre Xmas ever →

* Nancy Lanza, a mother tragic and infuriating

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PLEASE READ THE COMMENTS!

Nancy Lanza, a mother tragic and infuriating

When I saw the TV news segment on the official report a few nights ago, I tried to recall what had become of the mother.

Oh, yes.  He killed her first.

I have to believe there were resources and expertise available that she did not avail herself of, in her decades of dealing with this difficult child.

I still do not understand those who oppose any limits at all on how many guns a person can own.

I strongly suspect karma plays a big role in what happened.

Ultimately, she shares culpability.

Recall that this is the story that made most of us aware of the term “crisis actors.”

Related: Conspiracy Theorists:  America’s Lost Sheep?

(Reblogged 08/03/17.)

* Aromatherapy, Millet and Celebrities

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In the past, I’ve seen many print ads that use the word “aromatherapy.” They seemed to me only to be selling fragrances, and I didn’t see the point of using that word.

Light endorses the Bach Flower Remedies. I’m skeptical.

Continue reading * Aromatherapy, Millet and Celebrities →

* Prayer is work, too.

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Saint Benedict ran a monastery. He ran into the problem that many monks wanted to spend all their time praying and studying, and not do any of the dirty manual labor — housekeeping, tending livestock, working in the fields — needed to keep the place going. So he adopted and enforced the motto, Laborare est orare — “Work is prayer.”

In excess, religious study can become a drain on society’s resources. Many Haredi, or “ultra-orthodox,” men in Israel want to spend all their time in religious study instead of earning any money. (Article.) Meanwhile, a majority of them live on welfare, with eight to fifteen children. This places a burden on the remainder of society that that economy can no longer bear.

What about me?
Continue reading * Prayer is work, too. →

* Kansas prisoners get the granny treatment

Clippings, Get on your feet, Justice, National news, OUR BEST POSTS, The Way of Peace, , , , , , , ,

Steve Hartman’s “On the Road” segment for the CBS Evening News, 11/01/13:

Kan. prisoners get the granny treatment

Here is a practical example of how brightening the “divine spark” within people can effect redemption or transformation.

(Reblogged 03/23/17.)

* Tehran rally shakes fist at America and outreach

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Tehran rally shakes fist at America and outreach

Something struck me in the TV footage of this 11/04/13 demonstration, perhaps given the fact that it’s a challenge for me to buy coffee at McDonald’s.

This was not spontaneous. There was some big money behind it. Someone paid for the big effigies/pictures of Obama; for the American flags that got burned; for the signs, including a mural that read “Down with America” in English. Someone organized the presence of the tens of thousands; someone called them out, saying be at this place at this time.

Who?

What does this say about demonstrations we see in this country?

Previous pertinent post: Will the real Malala please stand up?

(Reblogged 02/16/17.)

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* The new panhandling controversy in Baltimore

Clippings, Homelessness, Local news, Local politics, Poverty, Squalor, , , , , , , ,

City considers crackdown on panhandling
Baltimore has another fit of panhandler anxiety

For years, I had the mantra: “Most panhandlers aren’t homeless, and most homeless people don’t panhandle.”

Now I have many acquaintances who do one or the other.

Given recent instability in my support system, I myself may soon become one who does both.

My experience is much informed by what I’ve seen at the McDonald’s I frequent at Baltimore and Light Streets, where some people seem to panhandle outside all day long.
Continue reading * The new panhandling controversy in Baltimore →

* Will the real Malala please stand up?

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Malala, survivor of Taliban, resented in Pakistan hometown

Malala Yousafzai’s friends wounded in Taliban attack continue education

Malala Yousafzai: Why the global hero is scorned in Pakistan

The media have been bringing us contradictory reports of how Malala is viewed in her homeland.

Conspiracies do occur. In my previous work as a legal secretary, I was privy to secret campaigns to manipulate public opinion in various ways. That often comes to mind when I see a flurry of media coverage on any given subject. In recent years, for example, there was an explosion of coverage of the creation of vaccines for new, terrifying strains of the flu — that may not have proved so terrifying after all, but for the media hype itself — that impressed me as very likely a campaign to raise public esteem for pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Here we have two competing constituencies that, for whatever reason, are competing for U.S. public opinion concerning this woman.

(Reblogged 05/04/17.)
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