It’s Christmas morning, here in the CatBox. WWWendy celebrates with her family on Christmas Eve, so my present today is to become a de-stunk TomCat. I gave her a set of Mellanni king size sheets. There are none softer. For her birthday last week, I gave her a large basket of gourmet sweets. She loved/hated them. She’ll be here around three and is bringing ham and beans, cooked in my pressure cooker to make it easier for me to digest. Merry Christmas to you all.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:35 (average 8:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: Three pastors at Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Virginia decided to give the holiday gift of school lunch debt relief to local families. While school lunch debt shouldn’t be a thing families (and specifically students) have to worry about, it very much is. So a group of pastors decided to take $17,000 from the church’s budget to erase much of the lunch debt at two local school systems.
The Rev. Brian Bennett, the Rev. Jerry Williams, and the Rev. Andrew Segre donated about $7,000 to Spotsylvania County Public Schools, which covered balances in the entire district, as well as just over $10,000 to Stafford County Public Schools, which covered balances at a few elementary schools.
“It seemed like a good idea, [but] we didn’t know if there was a need because no one ever seems to talk about this,” the Rev. Williams explained in a Facebook video, which quickly went viral. “So we called the school systems. And gosh, wow, was there a need.”
“This is not a churchy thing,” Williams stressed. “This — helping children and families — this is a thing that anyone can do.” He and the other two pastors say they plan to pay off lunch debt again. As The Washington Post reports, donations to cover this lunch debt came from the church’s 2019 budget. Because the church generally saves 10% of its annual budget for charitable projects, Williams suggests they could make a similar donation next year, based on their 2020 budget.
As Baptists are evangelicals, I probably disagree with these gents on a number of issues, but here, we praise and acknowledge the good done by those with whom we disagree too. They illustrate that, while Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians starve hungry children, authentic Christians feed them. RESIST!!
From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): 5 Ways to Stop Corporations From Ruining the Future of Work with Robert Reich
Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right, and the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich represents the greediest capitalists at all our expense. However, automation in other nations will drive American workers into the unemployment lines . Therefore, in addition to support for labor, profits must also fund volunteerism, child, health, disability and elder care, education, housing and food for those without means, and public research and development, and more, not just the accumulation of money by the greedy rich! RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast for the season): Celtic Woman / Chloe Agnew – ”O Holy Night”
This is one of my favorites. Mary Christmas to all! RESIST!!
Vote Blue!!
11 Responses to “Open Thread – 12/25/2019”
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Cartoon: I’d believe the cat before the dog…I should know, I have both. lol
DK: I sure did get choked up reading about these pastors relieving the lunch school debt…what a wonderful gesture of love for the kids.
RR: Great video, passing this one one too.
CW: Love how they sing, and love the song too!
What a lovely gift (the sheets)…they sound very comfortable. Hi, Wendy. Hope that you have a wonderful and Merry Day through and though, and warm wishes for a memorable day. You too, TC. Take good care, and Thanks, Tom.
*Merry Christmas to ALL !!! who grace these pages.
*This just in: Looking at picture of dt – “You inspire me to be nothing like you.” ~ Tom D. ~
2. “How about instead of a Space Force, we keep 700,000 hungry families on food stamps and provide health care for all? ~ Robert Reich ~
3. “A 16 y.o. boy dies of illness on the concrete floor of an immigration detention center in TX. Doctors with free flu vaccines are turned away from the centers. Are Evangelicals even paying attention during the Season of Giving??” ~ Michal A. ~
4. “Congratulations! to dt !! He finally accomplished something that President Obama never did. Impeachment! ~ Sylvia S. ~
Congrats, Pat!
Merry Christmas TC and all the rest of the PP population! I wish you all Peace and an Impeached and removed Prez Drumpf next year.
Hi Patty Monster! I hope we see you more often!
4:58 Those actually look quite tasty.
Cartoon – Yes, Tom cats are naughty. But so lovable.
DK – This congregation probably belongs to the same “conference”* to which Jimmy Carter belongs now, since he left the Southern Baptists because of their misogyny. So you might not disagree as much as you think. And apparently, the congregation was fine with this. Kudos to them indeed.
[*Baptists call it “conference,” Lutherans call it “synod,” but the fact is that almost every denomination has different ones on account of – um – differences of opinion over the years.)
RR – The hardest part of this is convincing those at the top that working with workers benefits them. Privilege seems always to think that NO ONE can POSSIBLY know as well as, let alone better, than they do.
Season – A beautiful carol. And not just the first verse. “Truly He taught us to love one another./His law is love and his gospel is peace./Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,/And in His name all oppression shall cease.” Of course, Republicans aren’t very good wit second or third verses of any hymns, since that’s usually where the hard doctrine is.
This just in:
“It’s common, especially around this time of year, to describe conservative politicians who cut off aid to the poor as Scrooges; I’ve done it myself. But if you think about it, this is deeply unfair to Scrooge.” – Paul Krugman
As I’m closer to Deism than Evangelical Christianity, I was referring more to theological issues than social issues.
Cartoon: Have to agree with what Joanne said 100%.
DK: Bless these Rev’s for their generosity.
RR: Right on as usual. Tired of hearing what type of salaries that these CEO’s make compared to the ones who do the real work. It’s a must that this high pay for them must stop. When I worked we believed in Team Work from the top all the way down.
Blast: Lovely song.
I too wish you and everyone here a very Merry Christmas.
Wendy should love her gifts. Make her so comfy at night.
Glad that you will be having a Christmas Dinner with her. Hope your tummy lets you enjoy it without any after effects Tell Wendy “Merry Christmas” for me.
Take care. Thanks TomCat
Robert Reich is spot on! The working class is the true lifeblood of this country. Destroy the middle class, destroy the USA.
I hope a clean TomCat enjoyed his Christmas meal with his best friend WWWendy.
3:55 Don’t mind if I have a bite.
Cartoon: Left-wing Aussies have petitioned Santa to stop distributing coal.
DK: Human kindness knows no faith, human kindness knows no Church.
RR: Always right, isn’t he? Your remark on Robert Reich’s video “However, automation in other nations will drive American workers into the unemployment lines” is only partly true. A lot of work is already done by very cheap labour in other nations which took many American jobs away already. Automation there will cause local workers to be laid off, setting up CEO’s for more profit but sending their labourers back into abject poverty, as there are no unemployment lines for them.
Good point!
Thanks and heartburn hugs to all!