Tom Faranda's Folly

WSJ: Even small amounts of alcohol raise breast cancer risk

The study was massive, looking at multiple prior studies and combining data. A short video.

 

WSJ: "One Family’s Toll in Egypt Attack: 7 Dead."

The attack on the Coptic Christian bus. Atrocious.

They were among 30 people killed when ISIS gunmen attacked a tour bus south of Cairo on Friday

CAIRO—For Samia Morkous and her family, the trip to a Coptic Christian monastery was meant as a pilgrimage of gratitude for her husband’s recovery from lung surgery. Then Islamic State gunmen ambushed the tour bus south of Cairo.

Her son, Sameh, opened the door of the small bus and then recoiled and fell back from shots to his head, said Mrs. Morkous. Several gunmen boarded the bus and demanded that the occupants recite the Muslim creed.

Those who refused—or who answered with Christian hymns—were immediately killed, Mrs. Morkous said at a Cairo hospital where she is recovering from bullet wounds to her thighs suffered in the Friday attack.

When it was over, Mrs. Morkous’s husband, Mohsen; two adult sons; a teenage grandson; a four-year-old granddaughter; and two other relatives were among 30 people killed.

“We came to get blessings and rejoice with our children,” Mrs. Morkous, who lives in Tinley Park, Ill., said of the trip to the ancient St. Samuel Monastery.

******

Visitors to Mrs. Morkous’s hospital room kissed her hand, asking for her blessings and offering condolences. They told her that her family members were in a better place and marveled at an interview she gave to a local television station in which she said she is praying for the murderers.

She recalled the attack in a low voice and short sentences punctuated by deep breaths. “There was heavy gunfire,” she said.

In an effort to save a relative who had a gun pointed at him, Mrs. Morkous said she removed her gold jewelry and handed it to a gunman. He shot her family member anyway.

“May the Lord forgive them,” she said.

A family friend, Samuel Mokhtar, said Mrs. Morkous will return to the U.S. only if her daughters-in-law whose husbands were killed and her grandchildren who lost their fathers accompany her.

“She won’t leave them behind,” he said.

How your smartphone knows where you are ...

This is a two year old short video. I don't care if "they" know where I am - even might be helpful if something were to happen to me. But if you're paranoid ...

In any event, you can turn it off.

One difference b/w Rex Tillerson and John Kerry

The current Secretary of State and the former Secretary. Amusing. And below it, another video of Tillerson playing the part of the regular guy at the 30th annual Rolling Thunder.

 

Tillerson, playing the Harley crowd..

Memorial Day - my namesake - I've been posting this every Memorial Day in last few years.

I did this research in 2013 and posted it; then repeated it last year and decided I wanted to post it again today.

Memorial Day research on my namesake

My namesake is Thomas C. Faranda, a cousin (first? second?, not sure) of my dad's.

I was an adult when he mentioned to me that I was named for a cousin who died on D-Day, at the age of 21. Evidently in one of those supposedly amphibious tanks that weren't so amphibious. I think he told me that he was never found.

Anyway, he was a member of the 29th infantry division, and he was killed in action, but not on D-Day.

According to this website The 29th Infantry Division Historical Society, Thomas was born in 1911, lived in New York, and enlisted in 1943. He did not land on D-Day but on July 22, 1944 reported from the Replacement Depot to the 116th infantry regiment, 2nd battalion, H company.

On August 11th he was promoted from private to private first class (PFC).

On August 30th he was killed in action in Brittany. No other details. His death was recorded in the division "morning report". The 29th was trying to take the French City of Brest at that time.

He is buried at the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial along with 4,409 other young Americans. Evidently in gravesite L-16-3.

That's all the information I've been able to find about Thomas C. Faranda. Killed in France at 33 years of age. There's some historical data online about the 116th infantry regiment. I'll probably have a look at it one of these days.

in reading a little bit about the cemetery, it's mentioned that there are 4,410 buried there, but only 4,408 gravesites. In two instances, two unknowns could not be separated.

War is Hell.

 

My namesake is Thomas C. Faranda, a cousin (first? second?, not sure) of my dad's.

I was an adult when he mentioned to me that I was named for a cousin who died on D-Day, at the age of 21. Evidently in one of those supposedly amphibious tanks that weren't so amphibious. I think he told me that he was never found.

Anyway, he was a member of the 29th infantry division, and he was killed in action, but not on D-Day.

According to this website The 29th Infantry Division Historical Society, Thomas was born in 1911, lived in New York, and enlisted in 1943. He did not land on D-Day but on July 22, 1944 reported from the Replacement Depot to the 116th infantry regiment, 2nd battalion, H company.

On August 11th he was promoted from private to private first class (PFC).

On August 30th he was killed in action in Brittany. No other details. His death was recorded in the division "morning report". The 29th was trying to take the French City of Brest at that time.

He is buried at the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial along with 4,409 other young Americans. Evidently in gravesite L-16-3.

That's all the information I've been able to find about Thomas C. Faranda. Killed in France at 33 years of age. There's some historical data online about the 116th infantry regiment. I'll probably have a look at it one of these days.

in reading a little bit about the cemetery, it's mentioned that there are 4,410 buried there, but only 4,408 gravesites. In two instances, two unknowns could not be separated.

War is Hell.

Fr. Morris on the recent attack on Coptic Christians

This AM on FOX.

 

NY Times editor has "no regrets" about publishing confidential information about the Manchester bombing

Dean Baquet. The smugness and arrogance of the guy is breath-taking. Just colossal.

A sad case of a cancer medical mess

The death of Dr. Amy Reed, a physician.

Amy Reed, Doctor Who Fought a Risky Medical Procedure, Dies at 44

Dr. Reed and her husband fought for years to ban the use of a surgical tool called a power morcellator, which has a spinning blade that slices up tissue so it can be extracted through small incisions. Though the device is regarded as a great boon to minimally invasive surgery, if a patient has cancer, as Dr. Reed did, morcellation can spread the disease.

Dr. Reed and Dr. Noorchashm (pronounced NOOR-chash) won some notable victories. Because of their efforts, the Food and Drug Administration studied morcellation and in 2014 recommended that it not be used in the “the vast majority” of women having surgery for uterine fibroids, a common tumor that is usually benign but that can hide a dangerous type of cancer.

The couple has six children. Terribly sad. And their efforts led to a certain level of rejection from many in the medical field.

The stupid absurdity of the death penalty

So what was the point of killing this guy? Will it bring back the man he murdered in 1982?

Cavuto: Trump budget has no real cutting of anything

Reductions in future increases but virtually no real cuts. As Cavuto asks, when was the last time your salary went up 10% a year?

 

NR: "What the Media Can Learn from Professional Wrestling"

Here's a clever column comparing wrestling as "sports entertainment" to the media and "news entertainment".

One has to wonder if sectors of our media will ever come under public pressure to draw a similar distinction between “news” and “news entertainment.” After all, we appear to have entered an era where even legitimate news organizations are now quite comfortable allowing their commentators to present tabloid-style stories and conspiratorial narratives that just don’t line up with the facts. We’re not talking about “fake news,” an increasingly meaningless term that people tend to apply to any story they don’t like. We’re also not talking about honestly held commentary that happens to venture into outlandishness. We’re talking about willfully dishonest or misleading narration put forth simply to draw in viewers or readers.

100% accurate on much of the media. And here's why the dishonesty:

Outlets do this to maintain an audience that desperately wants the allegations to be true.

Trump's Budget Director in 2 minute video on the Trump budget

Interesting approach - looking at the budget "through the eyes of the people who pay the bills."  And the Trumpian view of compassion. Sounds like Jack Kemp. And neither socail security or medicare are touched.

CNN: "Roger Moore's best James Bond one-liners"

But Brigid remembers Roger Moore way back as Ivanhoe - 1958-59, 39 episodes.

 

NY Yankees: Play "God Save the Queen" for Manchester victims.

Good.

The Yankees remembered the victims of Monday's terror attack in Manchester, England, standing in solidarity and unity with the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain by playing "God Save the Queen" prior to Tuesday night's 6-2 loss to the Royals at Yankee Stadium. Public address announcer Paul Olden called for a moment of silence to honor the victims of Monday's "heinous and cowardly" attack, which claimed the lives of 22 people

President Trump, first President to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem

I'm surprised that he's the first President; why haven't past Presidents visiting Israel done this?

 

Aaron Judge - spectacular game saving catch

WOW. Judgement day in the outfield. He does it all. Yanks won by 3-2 on Sunday, so that saved the game. As Brett Gardner said Aaron Judge "is must-see TV."

 

He's the real deal.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman; his speech yesterday

I was in the gym yesterday morning and quite by chance saw the entire 13 minute speech while on the elliptical machine. Unfortunately trump's speech seems to be getting all the commentary; but I thought King Salman's speech was great. Here it is - takes only a few minutes to read (I was unable to find a video where the translation wasn't running simultaneously with his speaking; hard to follow)

Our meeting with His Excellency President of the United States of America, a country enjoying strong bonds of friendship and relationship with many of our countries, does reflect His Excellency's keenness on enhancing cooperation and coordinating stances in various fields. The meeting significantly shows that our 55 Arab and Islamic countries attending the summit today with a population exceeding 1.5 billion, are an important partner in fighting the forces of extremism and terrorism and achieving world peace, security and stability.

He was tough on terrorism; very tough. An excerpt below, but well worth hitting the link for the full speech.

Dear brothers and friends:
Due to our responsibility before Allah and then before our peoples and the world, we have to stand united to fight the forces of evil and extremism whatever their source, in compliance with the orders of our true Islamic religion. Islam was and will remain the religion of mercy, tolerance and coexistence which were confirmed by clear examples. During its bright eras, Islam provided the best examples in coexistence and harmony among interreligious and intercultural. But today, we see some who considered themselves as Muslims seek to present a distorted image of our religion where they seek to link this great religion with violence.

We say to our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters of Muslims everywhere that one of the most important purposes of Islamic law is self-preservation and there is no honor in committing crimes. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Islam urged reconstruction of the land and prohibition of destruction and corruption. Islam considered killing an innocent as killing all people. Our way to achieve purposes of our religion and win the paradise is to spread the tolerant values of Islam based on peace, moderation and prevention of destruction and corruption on the ground.

We, as countries and peoples, condemn all forms of harm to relations of the Islamic countries with the friendly countries and classification of peoples and states based on religious or sectarian basis. Such abhorrent acts are only made as a result of attempts to exploit Islam as a cover for political purposes that fuel hatred, extremism, terrorism and religious and sectarian conflicts. The Iranian regime and its affiliated groups and organizations such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, as well as ISIS (Daesh) and Al-Qaeda and others are clear examples.

The "Hillary Step" on Mt. Everest has collapsed

the Hillary Step; named for the first person to summit Mt. Everest, it was the last obstacle from the top. Evidently the 2015 Nepal earthquake caused the collapse.

This from the Guardian (UK).

“It’s a piece of mountaineering history that has disappeared. Even non-mountaineers know the name and the association of the infamous Hillary Step,” he said. He said the difference between the state of the step as he saw it on this trip and his previous five expeditions was “huge” and meant he had serious concerns for how people would safely climb the section in the future. Located at 8,790 metres, the Hillary Step is a steep and narrow section considered by climbers to be the last obstacle before the summit, which is at 8,848 metres.

In this pre-2015 view of Mt. Everest, the high point is the summit; to the right of the summit, the southeast ridge slopes down to the Hillary Step, and then rises up to the South Summit. The yellow band is its namesake geological feature stretching across the mountain

Yogurt: Good for older men and women

From the always valuable NYT health and fitness section.

Eating yogurt daily was associated with a 39 percent lower risk of osteoporosis in women and a 52 percent lower risk in men compared with those who did not eat yogurt. Yogurt eaters also performed better on tests of physical fitness.

The lead author, Eamon J. Laird, a research fellow at Trinity College Dublin, said that the study was observational so it could not prove cause and effect.

Still, he said, “The main message is that yogurt is a good source of micronutrients, vitamin D, B vitamins, and calcium — and of protein and probiotics as well. We think it could be a combination of these things that has the beneficial effect.”

 

Rep. Maxine Waters exposes the Trump-Russia connection and collusion

Hehheh. This is pretty good. Mark Dice is a grating personality but this is worth watching nevertheless. Good line about taking the car keys away from Grandma.

CNN: Five other people Trump has called "nuts".

I don't understand the hysteria of Trump referring to Comey as "nuts". It seems to be a habit of his. My father would sometimes use the expression.

 

Marisa Inda and more deadlifts

I've posted about this lady, who is only five feet tall and doesn't weigh very much -  here - Whew girl ... that's a pull up! "Girls just want to have fun." over two years ago.

Well here she is again deadlifting a triple at 375 lbs. And she's almost 40 years old. YIKES!

 

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow surging on cable TV

Maddow has been leading the charge. In April, her “Rachel Maddow Show” was the most-watched cable-news program in the demo. Overall viewership of her program grew 98% last month while her 25-to-54 audience surged 89%. Her program, which launched on MSNBC in 2008, is currently the fastest growing primetime show in cable news – nearly a decade into its tenure on the air.

Great: Tonight Show - Aaron Judge interviews people about Aaron Judge

Very amusing - a classic. Some of the expressions are priceless. In Bryant park, across from where I had an office long ago.

 

Former head of FBI to investigate Trump - Russia connection

Announced today - a good idea. Mueller's bio is here And here's the story -

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller III was appointed as special counsel to oversee the FBI investigation of the Russian government's efforts to influence the 2016 election, the Justice Department said. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigation related to the 2016 race. Mr. Rosenstein said in a statement that "I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a Special Counsel to assume responsibility of this matter." He cautioned that his decision wasn't the result of a "finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted."

And also see this -

What is a special counsel?

Under federal regulations from 1999, the attorney general may appoint a temporary special counsel from outside the Justice Department to conduct a criminal probe into a particularly sensitive matter and to potentially prosecute related wrongdoing. The appointment should be reserved for extraordinary situations when normal protocol is compromised by political conflicts.

Within the first 60 days of the special counsel’s appointment, the appointee must develop a proposed budget for the investigation for the attorney general’s approval. While the special counsel isn’t subject to day-to-day supervision, Mr. Mueller can be asked to report to the attorney general—or in this case, the deputy attorney general, because the attorney general has recused himself—about “any investigative or prosecutorial step.”

Mr. Mueller will have ample time to conduct his investigation. “There appear to be...no time limits on the special counsel’s authority, aside from annual reporting requirements for budgetary purposes,” according to a recent Congressional Research Service report.

Yankees: Great throw by Judge seals fate of the runner ...

Aaron Judge can hit - and he can field. Check this throw with the "out" coming on the appeal. The game was earlier this month.

Rush Limbaugh says his audience is "skyrocketing" in size (26 million)

I think the reason is that Rush is nearly always upbeat and entertaining - whether you agree with him or not.

Jimmy Fallon: Trump plagiarizes "Legally Blonde" speech

Pretty funny.

CNN: Airplane passengers behaving - with no class - it's not just the airlines

Two minutes of horror! Tape from about a month ago.

Tucker Carlson on Trump haters

Yeah great description. "Extremism in pursuit of Trump is no vice." That's most of the media.

 

Ford cutting worldwide work force 10%

Mainly salaried employees and not hourly. Not clear how many USA based workers will lose ...

While Mr. Fields worked to ease political tensions, he hasn’t been able to answer investor concerns about Ford’s ability to weather a downturn or find new sources of revenue. The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker has booked substantial profits in recent years, including delivering two consecutive years of record earnings, but its market value sank below electric-car maker Tesla Inc. earlier this year.

Now, Ford has said it expects its profits to fall in 2017 and has flagged slowing sales in the U.S. and China—two of the world’s largest auto markets.

Ford has been steadily expanding both its salaried and unionized workforce since the financial crisis. While many employees have been added to support higher volumes and expansion in global markets, Mr. Fields has also been hiring to support new technology ventures that fall outside of the company’s core business of building and selling cars.

These new projects include a unit called Ford Smart Mobility LLC, and an expanding presence in Silicon Valley, where several tech giants are rushing forward with car-sharing ventures, driverless cars and other future mobility experiments. Ford in February, announced it would acquire artificial-intelligence startup Argo AI with plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years to expand the firm.

General Motors, meanwhile, has been retrenching under Chief Executive Mary Barra. It began cutting thousands of U.S. jobs in the U.S. earlier this year in response to soft demand for passenger cars, and has pulled out of several underperforming markets, including a plan to sell its Opel unit to Peugeot .

$385 billion asset manager on the markets - two short videos

Aberdeen Asset Management is world-wide, but with head office in Scotland.

No complacency in the markets yet -

 

 

But big fund managers, especially in the United States - are feeling "miserable."

 

Journal News report: "Ruining Mount Vernon"

Really sad. I have clients in Mt. Vernon. One Party rule, corruption, incompetence. This reminds me of Newark, NJ which for decades has had the same issues. The Journal News (and it's reporter) will be attacked for this expose'?

Ruining Mount Vernon. A city under siege by its own government

Yet, Memorial Field isn’t the only casualty of the city’s broken politics, which has reached such a fever pitch that Mayor Richard Thomas is barely on speaking terms with the City Council, City Clerk George Brown and city Comptroller Maureen Walker.

In March, he had police officers bar the city clerk from estimate and contract meetings. The mayor says he can't buy something as simple as paper clips because the council and comptroller won't approve the expense. He has repeatedly gone on the attack on social media, including by posting a Facebook video after he and 13 staffers confronted a deputy comptroller over unpaid fuel bills.

"It's never been like this," said the Rev. Stephen Pogue, pastor of Greater Centennial AME Zion Church in Mount Vernon. "This is a different level. Whatever the battle was, it never got this personal, this entrenched, where there's no movement at all, until everything becomes a battle."

With city government now at a virtual standstill, little is being done to address lingering blunders that have already cost taxpayers millions. In addition:

• They spent more than $1 million on a YMCA building the city bought in 2013, but it remains shuttered. 
• Another $1 million has been poured into a still-unfinished emergency operations center that is the subject of a lawsuit with a contractor who is now a city councilman. 
• A state judge has ordered the city to pay for a $450,000 streetlight audit officials signed off on, but now say was never done.

"It’s very disheartening," said Barbara De George, a retired Mount Vernon school teacher who helped found the Fleetwood Citizens Society. "It seems that Mount Vernon can’t move forward. No one can compromise. There’s no collaboration. This is our city, and this is what the people of Mount Vernon want and need. And they don’t care what we want and need, and that’s why it’s so frustrating.

"They don’t even try to get it," De George said. "They just have it in their mind that this is the way it’s going to be."

 

Jesuit America Magazine video on the Pope's Fatima trip - one minute long

A huge crowd. Here's the story of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, on October 13, 1917.

Amusing comments to an article about the NY Times and their journalistic practices

Here's the article The Gray Lady’s Long History of Journalistic Malpractice

And one thread of the comments:

QBee • 2 days ago

I am a librarian, and I take home old issues of the NYT to shred for cat litter.

•  
   

  

  Seamrog QBee • a day ago

  You should have it blessed before bringing it into your house...your cat's gonna go all weird and start walking on the ceiling and stalking babies.

• 

  TERRY QBee • a day ago

  Apologize to your cat.
•  

   
•  

  

  Guest QBee • a day ago

  NYT: From cat litter you were born; to cat litter you shall return.

•  

  

  Jim in Pittsburgh QBee • a day ago

  Poor kitty.

   
• 

  Deplorable S E Delenda QBee • 2 days ago

  Aren't you worried about the cat scratching Haz Mat in your house? Asbestos is friable.

•  
   

  

  QBee Deplorable S E Delenda • 2 days ago

  I don't really care for the cat all that much. AND, ironically, his name is Francis.

•  
   

  

  Deplorable S E Delenda QBee • a day ago

  Forget the cat, you're breathing it.

  I want to channel Sgt Hulka and say "lighten up, Francis".

"The miracle that led to the Fatima children's canonization"

A healing, as most of the approved miracles are. And they are exhaustively researched before they're approved as legitimate.

In recounting the story of their son’s healing in the face of almost certain death, João Batista and his wife Lucila Yurie could not hold back tears. “On March 3, 2013, before 8:00 pm, our son Lucas, who was playing with his little sister Eduarda, fell out of a window from a height of 20 feet. He was five years old,” related the boy's father. “His head hit the ground and he sustained a very serious injury, which caused a loss of brain tissue,” Batista said during the press conference at the Fatima Shrine.

YIKES! How to deadlift 960 lbs

I'm not sure - did he do this in his garage? Just another workout?

 

Fatima - Sister Lucia on how Mary appeared

This is actually off an ad from Crisis magazine -

"How old did our
Lady appear to be?"


"Perhaps seventeen,"
said Sister Lucia, the last
surviving visionary of the
apparitions at Fatima.

Father Thomas McGlynn was visiting
the girl (now a nun) who had spoken
with Mary, the Mother of God.


He had sculpted a statue of
Our Lady of Fatima and was
seeking Lucia's approval...


...but she wouldn't grant it!

 

Lucia invited him to remain in Portugal and work with her to create a statue that reflected the reality of what she saw.


She showed how Our Lady appeared by pulling a Rosary from the pocket of her habit, draping it over the palm of her right hand, and joining her hands together.


She would make corrections as Fr. Tom worked, and at times would even take one of the tools and make changes to his model.

Pope Francis going to Fatima - 1 minute video on his trip

"A pilgrimage."

Acting FBI chief: Russia probe will continue

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe on the ongoing probe -

 

And from WSJ, another under 3 minute video that makes sense.

Administration announces trade deal boosting exports to China

This is a medium big deal. From the Wall Street Journal - no doubt the deal will be criticized by some.

Trump Administration Announces Deal With China to Boost Exports

After months of bashing China for its trade practices, the Trump administration said it had agreed with Beijing on a broad range of measures aimed at improving the access of American beef producers, electronic-payments providers and natural-gas exporters, among others, to the world's second-largest economy.

Some items on a 10-point plan address longstanding irritants between the two countries, as both governments strive to show warming ties while seeking cooperation on a range of economic and diplomatic issues such as North Korea's nuclear program.

See More Coverage »

Comey's farewell letter to his colleagues

I think Comey was left in a no win position once Loretta Lynch met with Bill Clinton during the Presidential campaign.  As Comey said, she was "compromised" & that led to some of his ill-advised decisions and statements.

Comey farewell letter to his colleagues

To all:

I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all. I’m not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won’t either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply.

I have said to you before that, in times of turbulence, the American people should see the FBI as a rock of competence, honesty, and independence. What makes leaving the FBI hard is the nature and quality of its people, who together make it that rock for America.

It is very hard to leave a group of people who are committed only to doing the right thing. My hope is that you will continue to live our values and the mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.

If you do that, you too will be sad when you leave, and the American people will be safer.

Working with you has been one of the great joys of my life. Thank you for that gift.

Jim Comey

Colbert: Has to straighten out his audience about the Comey firing

Colbert, the current voice of the Democratic Party - he's bigger than the NY Times editorial page - has to correct his audience that the Comey firing was Bad and not to be cheered. ...

 

Funny - Maxine Waters v. Maxine Waters

Hehehe. A 50 second video.

The Russian Foreign Minister mocks U.S. reporters

Mildly amusing.

 

CNN: Anderson Cooper v. Kellyanne Conway over Comey firing

Back and forth great stuff! You can read the documents she is referring to by going here.

 

Liberal politics as a religion

Pretty good article by Rachel Lu a philosophy professor. Excerpts below the link and it's not a long article.

When Left-wing Politics Becomes a Substitute for Religion

Liberals have always had a taste for political activism. In general, religious conservatives are less keen. We have our annual March for Life, and it’s true that the Tea Party was fairly friendly to the public demonstration. That was a bit different from the protests we’re currently seeing, however. The Tea Party had a central theme. Seeing massive growth of government and irresponsible spending in the early Obama years, conservatives made a sustained, grassroots effort to voice their opposition. Here we see no such cohesion. Clearly liberals are upset about Trump, but their protests are all over the map: women, taxes, the environment, you name it. Oddly, the randomness doesn’t seem to dissuade people from coming.

Or perhaps it isn’t random, after all. Have demonstrations simply become the liberal substitute for church? There must be some connection between the emptying of Protestant pews, and the filling of Washingtonian streets. As God is exchanged for mammon, the rally seems to have become the new devotional. As we might expect, then, it has many elements of a devotional. There may be ceremonial clothing (pink hats, for instance). Creeds are printed on placards, and carried in processions. There is preaching, and usually music.

****

In light of these reflections, we should note this. Non-believers have many of the same reactions to the churchgoing. Some see religion as insidious, and a possible precursor to unhinged zealotry. Others are benevolently tolerant, but make no secret of their mirth when we Christians insist that there is something salutary about assembling in dusty pews to watch men in funny clothes perform strange rituals. At the same time, there are also non-believers who find churchgoing heartwarming. It is traditional, and the continued vitality of churches may appear to be a sign of cultural health, even in the eyes of one who does not believe.

****

It also means that the liberal demonstration, even when snicker-worthy, is important as an indicator of what’s happening on the left. Because they don’t respect religion, liberals often make the mistake of just assuming that the views of religious people are basically incoherent. They rarely bother to investigate. It’s not to their benefit or the nation’s; even if you think people are very wrong, it’s often worthwhile to take the trouble to understand them. Admittedly, there are strong non-parallels here. Christians worship a real God, in fidelity to a tradition honed across millennia. Liberal politics, by contrast, is a murky mess of different influences, easily moved by momentary fads and emotional currents. Even so, protests can be good indicators of where cultural currents are flowing, and it may be worth taking a little trouble to understand the interior logic such as it is.

****

For the godless man, political horizons may represent the only higher cause worth pursuing. It’s unsurprising that liberals quickly grow shrill when their political vision seems to be faltering. Christians have the benefit of a long tradition and, even more importantly, the reassurance that all things are ultimately held in God’s providential care. Unbelievers have no such reassurance, so we can understand why their rhetoric and activism may take on despairing notes. They are hungry for the spiritual food that we ourselves have.

Christ told his Apostles that the harvest was plentiful. Looking out across the throngs of protestors, we see that it is plentiful still.

Here's the memorandum recommending Comey be fired

From the Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who Comey, as head of the FBI reports to. Rosenstein was confirmed for his job by the Senate with a 94-6 vote two weeks ago. He had been the US Attorney General for the District of Maryland.

Here in the Washington Post is his memo - hit the link - it only takes a few minutes to read.

The Justice Department’s case against James B. Comey, annotated

And here are the letters from Trump and Attorney General Sessions, as well as another copy of the Rosenstein memo.

Letters from President and Attorney General

Tucker Carlson on liberals who will or won't go on his show.

I like Carlson; sometimes we tape the show and fast forward to find the interesting bits. He is on the ball when he does his interviews - which means he's got a very good production staff...

 

What small busines owners are doing for health insurance for themselves and their employees

This is a very sensible article off CNBC website. The majority want Obamacare repealed, but that's not the main point of the article. The whole article is worth the quick read it takes; excerpts below the link.

So what changes are small-business owners looking for in a revised federal health-care bill? Topping the list is the overturn of the individual mandate that requires employers with 50 employers or more to provide health care or pay penalties. Paul Entin, 48, owner of EPR Marketing, a two-person marketing firm in Bloomsbury, New Jersey, is among those who chaffed at being forced by the federal government to buy health insurance. He purchased a high-deductible plan for his family. "The individual mandate is the most important issue to me," he said.

Entrepreneurs are also hoping the legislation will protect people with preexisting medical conditions. There is concern because, as the bill stands now, states will be allowed to waive rules that stop insurance companies from charging higher premiums for people who have preexisting conditions if they set up a high-risk pool.

"Younger, healthier and middle- to higher-income self-employed workers will do better," says Steve King, a partner in Emergent Research in Lafayette, California, which studies independent workers. "Older, poorer and less-healthy self-employed people will likely do worse."

*****

"Clients have already started to call and email me. I've been advising them sit tight and don't get too stressed about this," said David Lewis, president and CEO of OperationsInc, a human resource outsourcing and consulting firm in Norwalk, Connecticut. Lewis believes the outcome of the bill will be unclear until it comes before the Senate and gets sent back to the House.

"Right now, because Obamacare is still the law of the land, we're advising our clients to just stay the course — offer the health insurance and make sure that it's affordable and that it provides what is called minimum essential coverage," {This is what I've been telling my clients TF} said CPA Steven Goldstein, an audit partner at Grassi & Co., an accounting firm in the New York City area, prior to the vote. "By doing that, you will keep the IRS off your back."

Although the House approved the bill, "it's not going to get to the Senate for weeks, if not months," says Goldstein. "And it is going to be drastically modified under its current provisions."