Tom Faranda's Folly

Nice article on St. Vincent's Hospital - leading hospital in the US for AIDS care - where I was born and my mother trained

Of course the hospital closed in 2010. My mother graduated from St. Vincent's College in the Bronx -one of the first college programs that gave a  BS in Nursing. Much of her hospital training was at St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village and she also worked there for awhile. But most importantly, that's where I was born! YAY!! That's me with mouth open - a prelude of things to come?

Here's the article from the Jesuit publication, America

... The discs form a series of concentric circles. On one, the outermost circle, in all capital letters, is printed, “FORMER SITE OF SAINT VINCENT’S HOSPITAL 1849-2010.” The next ring reads, “THE SISTERS OF CHARITY FOUNDED THE HOSPITAL TO CARE FOR THE POOR AND DISADVANTAGED.” An image of a woman appears in the middle, identifiable by her distinctive bonnet as a member of the Sisters of Charity. I kept walking and came across the marker I had been looking for. The center circle contains the image of a ribbon. Around it is printed “INTERNATIONAL AIDS EPIDEMIC 1980s” and around that “IN 1984 SAINT VINCENT’S OPENED THE FIRST AND LARGEST AIDS WARD ON THE EAST COAST.”

Saint Vincent’s Hospital served the poor and indigent for as long as it existed. In its earlier days, sisters took care of victims from a massive cholera epidemic. People who had been aboard the Titanic when it sank were taken here. Not far from the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the hospital treated victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

*****************

Tom Bernarden introduced himself; he said he had lived in the neighborhood for decades. We told him we were interested in the history of the hospital. He told us about his admiration for the Sisters of Charity of New York and why Saint Vincent’s was so important to the L.G.B.T. community during the height of the H.I.V. and AIDS crisis.

“I lost all my friends, all right. You understand? I’m 24 when I move in here. I’m 70” today, he told us. When asked about the sisters, he paused for a moment. “They were there,” he said, recalling how many other people turned their backs to a community in need. “They were there.” Mr. Bernarden, a local tour guide who describes himself as the unofficial mayor of the park, had a few less complimentary things to say about the Catholic Church, mostly about money. But he also told complete strangers how much he admired the Catholic sisters who ran Saint Vincent’s, praising them for caring for the sick when everyone else vanished.

***************

Saint Vincent’s was a Catholic hospital, so it provided medical care that was in line with church teaching. Part of that is to care for the poor, which included gay men and drug users with H.I.V. and AIDS. It also meant following church teaching on sexual ethics, which did not permit condoms. Doctors could not give them out, and they could not counsel safe sex to gay men. But Sister Karen said that she and other hospital administrators worked with the medical team to ensure that patients had all the information they needed to protect themselves from this still little-understood disease.

****************

Many people I spoke to about the legacy of Saint Vincent’s said the hospital reflected on how to serve the gay community better—not in spite of being Catholic but because it was Catholic. That is, the sisters and other hospital administrators took seriously their mandate to serve those in need. Joan Blanchfield is a retired nurse who is now in her 80s. She recalled connecting her work to her faith with the help of a particular image of Jesus.

***************

Back in the park, Mr. Bernarden mourned the closure of the hospital—nearly a decade later. But he said the legacy of Saint Vincent’s continues because of the sisters who asked how they could do better and provide the care that they knew their patients deserved. “The only people to stay behind and take care of the dying and the sick at that epidemic were the Sisters of Charity, following their Christian mission,” he said.

 

COVID, school openings, and experts

Tucker Carlson can by smarmy/oily at times for sure - but what has he gotten wrong here? His producers have certainly put together a strong case.

 

Big Jesuit feastday today; St. Edmund Campion

This is a repeat of a post I put up five years ago today.

Martyred on December 1st, 1581. Hung, drawn and quartered, as well as having his "privy parts" cut off. Nasty ...

Here's some stuff about him.

Ignatianspirituality.com - Edmund Campion

Edmund Campion could have been the brightest star in Elizabethan England. He impressed Elizabeth with his welcoming oration when she visited Oxford University in 1569. Under her promised patronage his path to power and prestige was assured. Campion first thought to follow that path, being ordained originally as an Anglican deacon. But his heart was rooted in the Catholic faith. In 1571 Campion traveled to Douai, France, to study in the Catholic seminary. Several years later he walked to Rome, where he was accepted by the Jesuits. The next years Campion taught in Vienna and Prague.

Campion could have stayed safely in Prague, but he heard the call to minister to Catholics in England. He could only do this traveling in disguise, celebrating the sacraments in secret, and avoiding the many spies who sought him out. But Campion did not keep his mission a secret. He wrote and circulated the Challenge to the Privy Council to debate him on all issues between Protestants and Catholics. His mission began in 1580 but soon ended with his arrest in 1581.

After his arrest, Campion was convicted of treason, suffered the dislocation of his bones on the rack, and still held his own in debates against his persecutors. Showing her esteem for his person, Elizabeth I met him, trying to draw him back into the Church of England. Campion remained steadfast in his Catholic faith. Finally, Campion was hanged, drawn, and quartered on December 1, 1581

Here is a link to what was called by his enemies "Campion's Brag", but which he called his "Challenge to the Privy Council".

Enemies of Edmund Campion (1540-1581) disparagingly referred to his apologia as "Campion's Brag," the title by which his "Challenge to the Privy Council" is most commonly known today. It is perhaps the earliest defense of the faith to appear in English during the Reformation.

And lastly, off wikipedia - the trial and his end.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Campion#Imprisonment.2C_torture_and_disputations

Imprisoned for four days in the Tower of London in a tiny cell called "Little-ease",^[15] Campion was then taken out and questioned by three Privy Councillors—Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas Bromley, Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal Household Sir Christopher Hatton and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester—on matters including whether he acknowledged Queen Elizabeth to be the true Queen of England. He replied that he did, and was offered his freedom, wealth and honours, including a possibility of the Archbishopric of Canterbury,^{[2]:pp.32–33[16]} which he could not accept in good conscience.^[17]

Campion was imprisoned in the Tower more than four months and tortured on the rack two^[2]:p.33 or three times.^[18] False reports of a retraction and of a confession by Campion were circulated.^[19] He had four public disputations with his Anglican adversaries, on 1, 18, 23 and 27 September 1581, at which they attempted to address the challenges of Campion's Brag and Decem Rationes. Although still suffering from the effects of his torture, and allowed neither time nor books for preparation, he reportedly conducted himself so easily and readily that "even the spectators in the court looked for an acquittal".^[2]:p.33

He was arraigned and indicted on 14 November 1581^[20] with several others at Westminster on a charge of having conspired, in Rome and Reims, to raise a sedition in the realm and dethrone the Queen.^[14]

The trial was held on 20 November 1581. After hearing the pleadings for three hours, the jury deliberated an hour before delivering its verdict:^[21] Campion and his fellow defendants were found guilty of treason. He answered the verdict: "In condemning us, you condemn all your own ancestors, all our ancient bishops and kings, all that was once the glory of England — the island of saints, and the most devoted child of the See of Peter."

Lord Chief Justice Wray read the sentence: "You must go to the place from whence you came, there to remain until ye shall be drawn through the open city of London upon hurdles to the place of execution, and there be hanged and let down alive, and your privy parts cut off, and your entrails taken out and burnt in your sight; then your heads to be cut off and your bodies divided into four parts, to be disposed of at Her Majesty’s pleasure. And God have mercy on your souls. ."^[22]

On hearing the death sentence, Campion and the other condemned men broke into the words of the Te Deum. After spending his last days in prayer he was dragged with two fellow priests, Fathers Ralph Sherwin and Alexander Briant, to Tyburn where the three were hanged, drawn and quartered on 1 December 1581. Campion was 41 years of age.

 

 

Edmund Campion could have been the brightest star in Elizabethan England. He impressed Elizabeth with his welcoming oration when she visited Oxford University in 1569. Under her promised patronage his path to power and prestige was assured. Campion first thought to follow that path, being ordained originally as an Anglican deacon. But his heart was rooted in the Catholic faith. In 1571 Campion traveled to Douai, France, to study in the Catholic seminary. Several years later he walked to Rome, where he was accepted by the Jesuits. The next years Campion taught in Vienna and Prague.

Campion could have stayed safely in Prague, but he heard the call to minister to Catholics in England. He could only do this traveling in disguise, celebrating the sacraments in secret, and avoiding the many spies who sought him out. But Campion did not keep his mission a secret. He wrote and circulated the Challenge to the Privy Council to debate him on all issues between Protestants and Catholics. His mission began in 1580 but soon ended with his arrest in 1581.

After his arrest, Campion was convicted of treason, suffered the dislocation of his bones on the rack, and still held his own in debates against his persecutors. Showing her esteem for his person, Elizabeth I met him, trying to draw him back into the Church of England. Campion remained steadfast in his Catholic faith. Finally, Campion was hanged, drawn, and quartered on December 1, 1581.

- See more at: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/16th-and-17th-century-ignatian-voices/st-edmund-campion-sj#sthash.kxfRryWP.dpuf

Edmund Campion could have been the brightest star in Elizabethan England. He impressed Elizabeth with his welcoming oration when she visited Oxford University in 1569. Under her promised patronage his path to power and prestige was assured. Campion first thought to follow that path, being ordained originally as an Anglican deacon. But his heart was rooted in the Catholic faith. In 1571 Campion traveled to Douai, France, to study in the Catholic seminary. Several years later he walked to Rome, where he was accepted by the Jesuits. The next years Campion taught in Vienna and Prague.

Campion could have stayed safely in Prague, but he heard the call to minister to Catholics in England. He could only do this traveling in disguise, celebrating the sacraments in secret, and avoiding the many spies who sought him out. But Campion did not keep his mission a secret. He wrote and circulated the Challenge to the Privy Council to debate him on all issues between Protestants and Catholics. His mission began in 1580 but soon ended with his arrest in 1581.

After his arrest, Campion was convicted of treason, suffered the dislocation of his bones on the rack, and still held his own in debates against his persecutors. Showing her esteem for his person, Elizabeth I met him, trying to draw him back into the Church of England. Campion remained steadfast in his Catholic faith. Finally, Campion was hanged, drawn, and quartered on December 1, 1581.

- See more at: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/16th-and-17th-century-ignatian-voices/st-edmund-campion-sj#sthash.kxfRryWP.dpuf

Edmund Campion could have been the brightest star in Elizabethan England. He impressed Elizabeth with his welcoming oration when she visited Oxford University in 1569. Under her promised patronage his path to power and prestige was assured. Campion first thought to follow that path, being ordained originally as an Anglican deacon. But his heart was rooted in the Catholic faith. In 1571 Campion traveled to Douai, France, to study in the Catholic seminary. Several years later he walked to Rome, where he was accepted by the Jesuits. The next years Campion taught in Vienna and Prague.

Campion could have stayed safely in Prague, but he heard the call to minister to Catholics in England. He could only do this traveling in disguise, celebrating the sacraments in secret, and avoiding the many spies who sought him out. But Campion did not keep his mission a secret. He wrote and circulated the Challenge to the Privy Council to debate him on all issues between Protestants and Catholics. His mission began in 1580 but soon ended with his arrest in 1581.

After his arrest, Campion was convicted of treason, suffered the dislocation of his bones on the rack, and still held his own in debates against his persecutors. Showing her esteem for his person, Elizabeth I met him, trying to draw him back into the Church of England. Campion remained steadfast in his Catholic faith. Finally, Campion was hanged, drawn, and quartered on December 1, 1581.

- See more at: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/16th-and-17th-century-ignatian-voices/st-edmund-campion-sj#sthash.kxfRryWP.dpuf

Critique from one of my fond correspondent's

A frequent friendly critic - the person's email and my email response. Draw your own conclusion. No name of course.

One would think that as leader of HNM's Right to Life Ministry, you would howl at the Trump administration's rush to execute by any means possible (firing squads? electrocution?) before the end of his term - and post a story on the president's thirst for blood.  What gives?  Hypocrisy?

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/justice-department-rushing-to-expand-execution-methods-like-firing-squads-for-federal-death-row-inmates/ar-BB1bqEbM?ocid=uxbndlbing

 

My response -

 

****** where have you been. I wrote them months ago and passed my letter on to the Pastoral Council and put it up on my blog.

 

Please send me the letter you wrote or tell me about the call you made and I'll publicize it. Oh, that's right. You're "pro-choice". Well why aren't  you consistent and pro-choice on the death penalty?

 

Here's my July 31st letter, which I did post. They did write me back.

 

My letter to Attorney General William Barr

"Why do a lot of people think he (Trump) is a victim of fraud?"

UPDATE: An example - Crowd gasps after learning a spike of votes in PA had 600k votes for Biden and only 3,200 for Trump

The above heading was left in the comments section here a few days ago. So polls (if you accept them as accurate) show that 70% of Republicans and 1/3 of independents think the election was stolen from Trump. Now all those people could just be stupid but more likely it has to do with:

1. A three year investigation (Mueller) trying to prove Trump collaborated with the Russians to win the election - came up with nothing - though they did manage to entrap that guy Flynn - who Trump just pardoned.
2. An impeachment out to prove Trump was guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors - charges that the distinguished Democrat jurist Alan Dershowitz  said were ridiculous.
3. Unrelenting media attacks - NY Times, Washington Post, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, etc, etc, etc. Commentary fronting as news. Of course if you agree with the commentary you are likely to accept it as news.
4. On election night, most of the country went to bed with Trump ahead  in the swing states - for example up by 15% in Pennsylvania - and thinking (like I did, and like cable channels like CNN, and MSNBC did. The looks on their faces told it all...) that Trump was going to win. And then in the morning all of a sudden there's all these votes in for Biden? Example - Pennsylvania, at midnight with 62% of the vote in Trump is ahead by 15% - and then he's losing? All those mail-in ballots, hey? And when the day before Trump in Pennsylvania had a rally with 17,000 people, while Biden in the same state had a rally in a parking lot with 100 cars? 
5. The Republican Party in other statewide and Congressional races, did well.

Now I think there was probably some cheating, but not enough to cost Trump the election (I could be wrong). And The Donald in many ways was his own worse enemy. But I sure can understand why many people think they smell a rat.

 

Did Kamala Harris arrange for Biden to walk this dog? (Not BB)

Better have an investigation. Call in Mueller.

Joe Biden fractures foot after slipping while playing with dog

Biden has frequently dismissed questions about his age on the campaign trail. He released a doctor’s report in December that disclosed he takes statin tablets to keep his cholesterol at healthy levels, but his doctor described him as “healthy, vigorous” and “fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency”.

Darth Vader (David Prowse)

The man behind the mask, but not the voice (James Earl Jones). He was 85.

Work on Notre Dame continues; 200 tons of scaffolding removed. A one minute video

It will be years, maybe decades, to rebuild. I'm glad I saw it decades ago. 

 

Amazon to give out $500 million in end of year bonuses.

Well that's good. They have thrived during the pandemic. They now have over 1.2 million employees globally. And Amazon forecasts revenue of $112 billion to $121 billion in the final three months of the year. It reported third-quarter revenue of $96.1 billion, up from almost $70 billion a year earlier. The starting wage in the US at Amazon is $15/hr.

This is from CNBC

Amazon is providing front-line workers a one-time bonus to share its appreciation for their work heading into “the peak of the holiday season,” the company announced Thursday. In a blog post, Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of retail operations, said full-time operations staff who are employed by the company from December 1 to December 31 will receive a $300 bonus. Part-time workers employed within the same timeframe will receive a $150 bonus.

Obama very peeved with pro-Trump Hispanic voters - how dare they vote their values?

It's supposed to be all about identity politics - don't those pesky Christians understand that?  Below from Freeman's column in the WSJ yesterday. There's video of his interview all over the internet. I'm not bothering to post it.

Remember the “coalition of the ascendant” that was supposed to give the left a permanent political advantage? The popular theory among pundits held that Barack Obama’s coalition of young people, minorities and white liberals would create an electoral lock for Democrats as coalition members became a larger share of the U.S. voting population. Now Mr. Obama himself recognizes that the theory isn’t holding up.

In 2020 Donald Trump captured a larger share of the Hispanic vote than in 2016 and his predecessor is struggling to understand what happened. Mr. Obama’s early analysis seems to require some fact-checking.

On Wednesday Mr. Obama opined on the popular “Breakfast Club” radio show:

People were surprised about a lot of Hispanic folks who voted for Trump. But there are a lot of evangelical Hispanics who, you know, the fact that Trump says racist things about Mexicans or puts detainees, you know, undocumented workers in cages — they think that’s less important than the fact that he supports their views on gay marriage or abortion.

Kudos to the BBC for pointing out some of the holes in this analysis. The network reports:

It is not clear what Mr Obama was specifically referring to in his remark about gay marriage. A week after being elected in 2016, Mr Trump said he was “fine with” the US Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex unions, though he told CNN a year earlier he was for “traditional marriage”.

Mr Obama first ran for the presidency in 2008 opposed to gay marriage, before saying in 2012 that he was in favour...

Mr Obama’s mention of “cages” refers to border facilities where hundreds of children separated from adults at the US-Mexico border were held in 2018 under a Trump administration policy that was tougher than anything that had come before.

But these chain-link enclosures were built during the Obama presidency. Some 60,000 unaccompanied minors stopped at the southern border were detained in these cells during one summer alone in 2014.

The Obama administration also separated migrant children from adults at the border, though only in rare circumstances.

And even some U.S. media outlets aren’t buying the former president’s analysis. “Obama’s take on evangelical Hispanics could reinforce Democrats’ challenges” is the headline on a Washington Post report from Eugene Scott. He notes:

... according to some conservative Hispanics, Obama’s characterization of evangelical Hispanics’ support for Trump lacks nuance and minimizes how much they are concerned about undocumented workers — and their children — being put in cages or the president’s comments about Mexicans that many of his critics deem xenophobic.

Some noted that Obama’s positions on immigration were so controversial that he was referred to as the “deporter in chief” by some of his critics.

Mr. Scott also notes:

There is reporting that shows that fears about the Democratic Party’s alignment with the anti-capitalist movement and with lawmakers affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America — associations that reminded Hispanic voters of socialist governments in many of their home countries — played a role.

Steve Cortes of the Trump campaign says that the impressive results of the Trump economic program also attracted many Latino voters.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that such voters are up for grabs and that there are no guarantees in U.S. politics.

11 years ago; at the Morgan Stewart Shelter on the Appalachian Trail

I was at this shelter exactly 11 years ago today. Was doing a solo overnight hike on the Trail. Video has been watched almost 23,000 times and there are a number of comments. Here are the notes from the youtube text. And I still have the fleece jacket!

In the video I called this the "Morgan Stanley" shelter and said it was the 27th of November, when it was the 28th. Must have been tired. The shelter is in New York on the Appalachian Trail, 3.3 miles west of Rte 55, as you are going south on the Trail, and 8.7 miles from where the AT crosses the Taconic State Parkway, to the south and west of the shelter. It was clean when I was there and is a solid shelter with good water supply from a nearby pump (water needs to be purified!).

 

Another 1st for Tom Brady - he throws two passes on the same play

In last Monday night's game.

Walmart gives thanks - to Government for destroying their small business competition

Yes the lockdown - ain't it the truth. And Amazon also needs to send their thank you's.

Walmart leadership expressed gratefulness to the government for inflating their sales and stock price while completely pulverizing their small business competition. "Yeah, we know 2020 has been tough for the little people," said one board member while shoveling piles of cash into his vault. "But it's been super great for us!... The government just blew them up! We didn't even ask them to! Can you believe it? What luck!"

According to reports, Americans are really looking forward to giving all their business solely to giant mega-corporations like Walmart, Amazon, and McDonald's until all local culture has disappeared.

"This is my dream come true!" said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. "Within 10 years, everyone will be wearing the same identical futuristic grey jumpsuit and eating Amazon-issued food cubes, just like in the movies! That will be so cool."

Sources indicate most powerful corporations are advocating at least one more year of lockdowns to make sure small business competition stays dead. "We have to make sure those uppity business owners never threaten us again," said Bezos while sitting in a massive chair and stroking a white cat.

Funny: Comedians buy the "Trump 2024" online domain

Haha. Article from the uber Trump-hating (actually most things American-hating) Guardian (UK).

Donald Trump’s bid to retake the presidency in 2024 has been launched – by two comedians. “We got the domain DonaldJTrump2024.com,” comics Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, AKA The Good Liars, wrote on Twitter.

A TikTok video scored to Loser by Beck showed the site, which was headlined “I lost the 2020 election” and included the subheadings “Trump Lost”, “Trump is a Loser” and “Trump Lost the Election”.

**************

A banner on the DonaldJTrump2024.com website read: “Click here to donate to a PAC that has nothing to do with my legal defence team!”

Selvig and Stiefler offered to give the president the domain name “if you tweet ‘My name is Donald Trump and I lost the 2020 election by A LOT. I am a loser. SAD!’”

As of Wednesday lunchtime Trump had not done so, despite having plenty of phone time on a day officially free of public engagements.

Selvig and Stiefler are not the only people seeking to punk the president with online pranks. As of Wednesday, the domain loser.com directed users to Trump’s Wikipedia page. A satirical site presenting a notional Trump presidential library, meanwhile, was flourishing.

"Thanksgiving and the American Character"

This from the WSJ.

Covid will not stop Americans from embracing their annual Thanksgiving traditions involving charity, family, faith, food and football. And they might want to consider adding a new tradition this year as they gather around the dinner table—sharing a few passages from our former colleague Melanie Kirkpatrick’s delightful 2016 book, “Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience.”

What may seem shocking to some and inspiring to many is that the Pilgrims were even in a mood to give thanks when they gathered for that first special feast 399 years ago. As Ms. Kirkpatrick notes, their recent experience had been brutal:

All together, only half of the men, women, and children who had sailed on the Mayflower were still alive a year after landing in the New World. Many fell victim to an illness that scholars theorize was a virulent form of influenza. The Pilgrims called it “the great sickness.”

Whatever it was, the weak, poorly nourished settlers started falling ill about two weeks after arriving in Plymouth. Most of the sick were crowded into the small common house that the settlers had managed to construct quickly. But not everyone could fit into it, so others were kept aboard the Mayflower, anchored in Plymouth Harbor... The few people who stayed well had to prepare the food, get the water, and care for the sick.

Yet by the late summer or early autumn of 1621 they were gathering “with grateful hearts to celebrate their first harvest in the New World,” notes the author. The feast of course included generous participants from the Wampanoag tribe. In the years to come there would be violent strife between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans, but the event in 1621 was one of harmony. Ms. Kirkpatrick describes the event:

There are two eyewitness accounts of the First Thanksgiving. William Bradford, Plymouth’s longtime governor, penned one. Edward Winslow is the author of the other... As described by the two Pilgrim leaders, the event that Americans have come to call the First Thanksgiving was remarkably similar to the holiday we mark today. There was feasting and game playing, and an all-round mood of good cheer.

In their separate accounts, Bradford and Winslow each make much of the bounty on hand in New England, an abundance that presages the dining tables at modern-day Thanksgiving dinners. Bradford tells of the “great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many.” He also notes the “cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store.”

Winslow offers an anecdote about the rich natural resources of the American continent that would have wowed his readers back in England. The governor dispatched a shooting party for the occasion, he writes, and the four Pilgrims killed enough birds in one day to serve the community for almost a week.

It is from Winslow that we learn that a large group of Wampanoag warriors joined the Pilgrim feast. In telling how the Pilgrims welcomed the Wampanoag to their celebration, Winslow homes in on other attributes of the holiday, then and now: hospitality, generosity, neighborliness... The Wampanoags’ “greatest king Massasoit” and his men “went out and killed five deer,” which they “bestowed on our Governor [Bradford], and upon the Captain [Myles Standish] and others.”

...The central similarity between the First Thanksgiving and today’s holiday is something less tangible: the spirit of thankfulness. From the first, as Bradford and Winslow imply, Thanksgiving has been a time to stop and take stock of the blessings enjoyed by family and community. As the English settlers overcame the trials they faced that first year in Plymouth, qualities that Americans have come to honor as integral to our national identity were on full display: courage, perseverance, diligence, piety. These are the virtues that helped to shape the American character.

The Pilgrims displayed another virtue, one they practiced every day and which stood at the heart of the First Thanksgiving. Cicero called it the greatest of the virtues and the parent of all the rest: gratitude.

 

Thanksgiving Planning ahead

From a friend who wishes to remain anonymous - doesn't want the sheriff at his door....

 

Super-soccer player Argentinian Diego Maradona gone; the famous "Hand of God" goal...

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I don't follow soccer - but Maradona was a big deal - comparable to Babe Ruth in baseball) Diego Maradona was voted one of the two greatest soccer players of the last century. He died at the age of 60; he had years of addiction and other health issues.

Here are his two most famous goals, scored within four minutes of each other in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup against England. He captained Argentina in the World Cup, which they won.

The first goal - the "Hand of God goal" he punched in, but the referee missed it. The second goal voted the greatest goal scored in a World Cup. All within 4 minutes.

Maradona was not a big guy - 5'5" - same as myself. How many English defenders does he beat? And the announcer is famous. One minute long.

Here is a bit more about him.

Dow closes above 30,000 for first time ever

A rise from 19,000 in March. And I believe there's plenty more upside (see what I put in bold below) - the fact that Biden is a Wall Street guy doesn't hurt.  Good article in the Journal. Anyone wanting a full copy, email me or leave a comment.

Behind Dow 30000: A Self-Perpetuating Upward Spiral Low interest rates and a buy-the-dip mantra have put stocks in an ascending pattern, defying the pandemic and economic woes

The U.S. stock boom has its roots in tactics that fund managers, small savers and Robinhood traders alike have applied over the past decade:

Don’t hide from markets by hoarding cash.

Keep hold of your investments, and returns will follow.

When there’s a crisis, buy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 30000 on Tuesday for the first time, extending an eight-month rebound that has taken many analysts by surprise. The blue-chip gauge advanced 454.97 points, or 1.5%, to 30046.24, continuing a recent winning streak that has put it on track for the best month since 1987.

The run has put the Dow up 62% from its March low, when the U.S. Federal Reserve ended a panic that wiped out trillions of dollars in investments by outlining a plan to counter the pandemic’s economic stress.

The market appears to be in a self-perpetuating upward spiral, defying the pandemic and accompanying economic woes. Some pessimists say today’s gains will inevitably lower returns tomorrow. But low interest rates mean investors big and small can’t expect to make much money in less-risky investments like bonds. So they are betting that the market’s momentum will continue, whether passively through index funds or actively with a buy-on-dips mantra.

“The real learning lesson over the last decade is you just put your head down, you don’t try to time the market, you take advantage of weakness,” said Dev Kantesaria, a managing partner at Valley Forge Capital Management, which oversees around $1.1 billion in assets. Over the past 13 years, he typically held about a fifth of his firm’s holdings in cash. At the end of October, that figure was close to zero.

This strategy paid off handsomely in the past for investors who added to shareholdings around the March 2009 financial-crisis nadir and during recession scares in 2011, 2015-2016 and 2018.

Hunter Biden dresses as turkey; hoping for a pardon from Trump

Hunter was a day late - but he's not a dollar short...

In a last-ditch effort to clear his name, Hunter Biden made a rare appearance at the White House wearing a turkey costume in hopes that Trump would pardon him.

"Mr. Trump, I appeal to your greatness," began Hunter. "Please pardon me for drug use, human trafficking, bribery, extortion, espionage, and corruption. Er -- I mean... GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!"

President Trump agreed to pardon the unusually large and vocal turkey. "I am a wise and benevolent President. So true. Very wise, very benevolent," he said. "Go your way and be forgiven, little turkey."

"Gee! Thanks, Mr. Trump!" said Hunter. He then boarded a private jet just in time for another week-long bender in Beijing.

 

My guy for State Senate - Rob Astorino - concedes

Too bad. I know Astorino (that's him) a little and he's a great guy. Was an excellent County Executive for eight years despite Westchester County being overwhelmingly Democratic.

He was way ahead on election night but the same bugaboo - mail in votes - looks to have turned it around. His opponent the current State Senator Pete Harkham is your standard progressive Democrat but even more mediocre than the run of the mill progressive.

Democrat Pete Harckham declared victory over Republican Rob Astorino in a hotly contested New York State Senate race on Tuesday, three weeks after Election Day. The one-term incumbent thanked voters for their "confidence and trust" in a statement. "These are challenging times, though, and I look forward to being engaged in the hard work necessary to ensure a better future for all," Harckham said. Astorino called Harckham to congratulate him and offer his support Tuesday morning, Astorino spokesman William O'Reilly said. "This was a close, close race, but we respect the will of the voters and wish Senator Harckham the best in his new term," O'Reilly said. Harckham still trailed Astorino by around 500 votes, with 16,000 absentee ballots to be counted in Westchester as ofTuesday.

The remaining absentees to be counted are in Democratic strongholds and largely sent by registered Democrats and independents.

Harckham's campaign expected once results were final the race wouldn't end up being as close as it has seemed during the slow ballot counting process.

State Senate Democrats said they expected a win from Harckham during a news conference in Albany on Monday, but the senator held off declaring victory as thousands of absentees remained to be opened.

Democrats clinch a veto-proof supermajority in the Senate with Harckham's win.

 

 

Governor Cuomo cancels his Thanksgiving plans (not parody or satire)

After telling everyone to not have guests - accused of hypocrisy -  he cancels his plans to have his daughters and 89 year old mother over for dinner.

What a great man - my Emmy Award winning governor.

Andrew Cuomo was on Monday forced to cancel his Thanksgiving plans hours after saying his 89-year-old mom and and two daughters were coming to dinner. The New York governor had told WAMC: 'My mom is going to come up and two of my girls is the current plan. But the plans change. But that's my plan.' His comments sparked a fierce backlash online with Twitter users, including Meghan McCain, noting Cuomo had urged others to stay home over the holidays.

 

To stay relevant; SAT exam now a single page

What if you can't draw?

NY—The College Board is announcing significant changes to its SAT in an effort to remain a relevant measure of college readiness. Starting next year, all test questions related to math, science, and reading comprehension will be replaced by a single coloring page depicting a likeness of Donald Trump and a space to draw devil horns on his head.

"We wanted to boil everything down to the basic essentials of what today's students need to be successful at today's progressive state colleges," said College Board spokeswoman Cynthia Borshvittle. "For most publically-educated students today, literacy and math skills are a useless remnant of a bygone era. Today, we must train our students in one thing, and one thing only: progressive politics. It's all about ideology. Nothing else matters now."

Sources confirmed that the SAT will still require a #2 pencil for completion, and will be graded on a sliding scale based on how disadvantaged or oppressed the student is.

"This is just a first step for us," said Borshvittle. The College Board has plans to further improve its testing in the future by grading students on their ability to pull down statues and throw Molotov cocktails.

Pat Quinn, Co-founder of the "Ice Bucket Challenge" to fight ALS

Gone at age 37 after being diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease) seven years ago.

This is from Westchester Magazine -

Quinn was a common fixture in Westchester schools, often speaking to assembled students on the topics of ALS and adversity. Average survival rates for ALS typically range from 20 to 48 months from diagnosis, though 10-20 percent of patients can live more than 10 years, such as famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. Quinn had just returned home from the hospital on Friday after receiving a tracheostomy.

 

Sanders Shocked After U.S. Beats Cuba To Producing COVID Vaccine

Yes, shocked, confused and devastated.

"I happen to believe," said Bernie to supporters. "That Cuba and Venezuela invest more in their healthcare than we do. They are more compassionate. They are more advanced. There's no way they haven't produced a vaccine already. They are probably just keeping it secret so American capitalist billionaires don't steal it!"

Cuba has assured the world that they produced a "better, cheaper" vaccine than the American drug companies but they misplaced it and they're sure it will turn up soon.

Venezuela also claims to have a 100% effective treatment for COVID but that it was stolen by a pack of feral cats. They have assured the world they will find it shortly.

North Korea claims they have had a vaccine for years but they don't even need it because people never get sick there.

Sanders is calling for complete government control of healthcare in hopes that America will catch up to these other, more developed countries.

Voice of reason: Fauci has more to say on the vaccine roll out & "Operation Warp Speed" gets kudos

A ten minute interview and well worth watching the whole thing. Very interesting on the science. I hadn't heard Govenor Cuomo's comment. Projection I suppose. And Fauci offers sensible thinking on the Thanksgiving holiday. Says he gets along quite well with Trump and that WHO is a "flawed organization." Pretty good for a Regis HS grad...

The real reason Trump received record Hispanic support

Belwo is what Biden said a day or two ago.

Here's the link, at the end of the 17 seconds, if you think I made it up - https://rumble.com/embed/v8ofu3/?pub=4

Biden to Pelosi & Schumer: “In My Oval Office, Mi Casa, You Casa.”

 

Dr. Fauci talks sense about the pending vaccines and their efficacy.

Speaking truth to power (Governor Cuomo...)

 

"Trump Leads Voyage To Greenland To Establish Even Better America"

Instead of running again in 2024?

WASHINGTON, D.C.—"May God bless this voyage, and may God bless New America!" Trump said before a crowd of a few hundred loyal patriots in Washington. They had gathered at the docks to board three small ships: the Covfefe, the Bigly, and the Yugeflower, built especially for their voyage.

Their destination? Greenland, where Trump will establish a colony that's "even bigger and better than that old, stupid America."

"It will be the best America, maybe ever!" he said as the crowd cheered. "We're talking freedom you wouldn't believe, liberties galore. That old, sad America is just pathetic! Not good!"

The ships then pulled out of the harbor as Antifa well-wishers stood and screamed at the sky, distraught that their only reason for living was leaving America.

Plans for the new colony include a Mt. Rushmore that just has four faces of Trump, a Statue of Liberty modeled after Melania, and a Meme War Memorial in the capital city of Trumpington. Greenland will be divided into the same states we have in America today, though California and New York will be left out in order to make it a true utopia.

"If Football Games Were Called Like the Election"

I never heard of this youtube channel or the guy, Awaken With JP , but he's got 1.4 million subscribers, so doing something right.  Evidently does all types of youtube videos (not just parody) as well as raising money for real causes like clean water. And that's no joke. 

At the Blaze in Croton last night

We followed up our trip to the Blaze in Bethpage, going to the original Blaze, where Brigid does her carving and other work. It's great fun when, as she did in Bethpage, Brigid points out her work.

Here she is with her Croton Taurus - she is not a Taurus herself but did the carving for the bull. That's no bull. I will be posting stuff from Bethpage and Croton in the next couple of weeks.

Had to add this - but not done by Brigid...

 

Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi retiring after 30 years as supervisor

Linda Puglisi will be retiring at the end of 2021. She has done a very good job for Cortlandt, which includes my village of Croton on Hudson. 

Here is her published letter- 

I am announcing my retirement for the end of this two year term effective December 31, 2021. It is with a heavy heart and sadness that I make this announcement since I love Cortlandt and all of its wonderful people very much. It has been an honor to be Cortlandt’s Supervisor for all of these years. 2021 will make it thirty years and I was an elected Councilwoman first for one term. Therefore, for thirty four years I have had the privilege of serving this great community.

 

CNBC on why so many Hispanic voters flipped to Trump - 3 minute video

I report you decide.

 

Pigs fly: NYT's Nick Kristoff agrees with Trump

I recall he agreed with Trump on something else a couple of years ago, but I can't remember what it was. I disagree with Kristoff most of the time but at least he's has good intentions and a decent heart - unlike other NY Times op ed writers.

When Trump Was Right and Many Democrats Wrong Children have suffered because many mayors and governors were too willing to close public schools.

Trump has been demanding for months that schools reopen, and on that he seems to have been largely right. Schools, especially elementary schools, do not appear to have been major sources of coronavirus transmission, and remote learning is proving to be a catastrophe for many low-income children.

Yet America is shutting schools — New York City announced Wednesday that it was closing schools in the nation’s largest school district — even as it allows businesses like restaurants and bars to operate. What are our priorities?

“I have taught at the same low-income school for the last 25 years, and, truly, I can attest that remote schooling is failing our children,” said LaShondra Taylor, an English teacher in Broward County, Fla.

Some students don’t have a computer or don’t have Wi-Fi, Taylor said. Kids regularly miss classes because they have to babysit, or run errands, or earn money for their struggling families.

Common sense.