Politics Plus

A busy day with church activities that taxed my bad knee in particular.  It was ice pack time when I arrived home, which turned into ice pack and cat nap time.  Tomorrow is teaching and physio.  I hope you are all getting as ready as possible for all the holiday activities, but are remembering to take some time for yourself.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:26 (average 7:51). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

Washington Post — "What he wanted to do was get the state of Virginia out of the business of deciding which was the best religion, and who had to pay taxes to support it," said Spellberg, a professor of history and Islamic studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

During the bill's debate, some legislators wanted to insert the term "Jesus Christ," which was rejected. Writing in 1821, Jefferson reflected that "singular proposition proved that [the bill’s] protection of opinion was meant to be universal."

He continued:

Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word "Jesus Christ," so that it should read, "a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan [Muslim], the Hindoo [Hindu], and Infidel of every denomination."

An interesting article that I encourage everyone to read.  There are plenty enough people today who state that the US was founded by Christians and should have biblical law as the basis for its laws.  I know, having studied history, that the Founding Fathers would not have sanctioned this but would support the separation of church and state.  They came out of Britain where there was great strife between Roman Catholics and Protestants in the 1500's.  To read Jefferson's words provides additional evidence of this.

Alternet —  As the Donald Trump campaign turns from farce to tribulation, it’s worth noting that millions more Americans support Bernie Sanders than the Republican frontrunner.

Trump’s level of national support is 30.4 percent of GOP primary voters, according to the average calculated by Real Clear Politics, while Sanders remains in second place among Democratic primary voters with a 30.8 percent average level of support.

Ah, truth in numbers?  Let's hope that Bernie and the Democrats prevail.  To be sure though, it is vitally important to get out the vote!

Politico — They must find a way home to the countries they have chosen to adopt, and which are still willing to adopt them. For Muslims to be at home in France or in America means that they have to develop and evolve through constant reinterpretation of the sacred texts, and their historic experiences. Above all, we must see ceaseless efforts to synthesize the core values of their religion with the very ethos of the countries in which they live. Otherwise the war will go on forever.

An interesting article I thought.  This last part had me thinking about my own Christian beliefs.  The plethora of Christian sects each has an interpretation(s) of key tenets.  Roman Catholics differ from Protestants, Baptists from Methodists, Roman Catholics from Eastern Orthodox, etc. on some tenets.  And undeniably there has been blood shed in the name of religious differences.  But I hope that all religions will not be so "stuck" on their own dogma that they remain in the past and fail to grow with the people that believe.
 

My Universe —

Last night was a mostly sleepless night, or it certainly felt that way.  Hence I indulged in a needed cat nap this evening which put me behind.  I was teaching today and running interference with young Simon who chose to be especially naughty today.  I think it is time to have a discussion with the kids about acceptable play.  I think that Simon is following their lead in roughhousing without knowing the consequences.  The work of a teacher is never done.  Tomorrow, it's off to Costco with Lucia, my student, for a major shop . . . 6 mouths to feed!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:43 (average 5:51). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

CBC — "Now, we feel as if we got out of hell and we came to paradise," Jamkossian told Trudeau through an interpreter. "That's how we feel." …

In Syria, Zires worked as a clerk in a women's clothing shop and Jamkossian worked as a blacksmith.

A better life for their daughter Madeleine was the main motivation for coming to Canada. 

"She is the reason for us to come here because here she can do many things," Zires said, also through an interpreter. "In other countries, she can do nothing."

Read through to hear some of the experiences that these refugees have had to endure.  My physiotherapist fled Iran 7 years ago because he and his wife wanted a better life for their children.  My ESL student fled South Sudan and then Uganda with her two oldest children because of the violence and war.  The military/industrial complex, the merchants of death, grow fat while children die.  The US needs to get its act together to live up to the words on the plaque at the Statue of Liberty, or maybe we should take the statue away.

CBC — Calls are growing to remove Donald Trump's name from a Vancouver tower following the Republican presidential candidate's call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

After Trump made the remarks on Monday, former Vancouver city planner Brent Toderian tweeted that the developers building the Trump Tower in Vancouver should remove his name from the building. 

"I seriously suggest that Vancouverites call on @TrumpVancouver to remove his name," Toderian said on Twitter.

That call was then echoed by Vancouver city councillor Kerry Jang on Tuesday, who says the city can't do anything to stop the building from bearing Trump's name, but he has written to the developer asking them to part ways with Trump.

Trump's hate rhetoric is having more than just political consequences and goes beyond the US borders.  There are petitions to have him banned in Australia and I believe the UK.  Here in Vancouver, a petition with over 45,000 signatures and a movement to boycot the new Trump Tower are proceeding.  Dubai has taken Trump's name from a Dubai golf course.  It must really suck to be Trump with so many people world wide disliking you intensely.

The Nation — So what is really being discussed in DC by the party establishment is a strategy to unite all the delegates who are not Trump backers behind an alternative candidate. Under this theory, Trump might arrive with 49 percent of the delegates and get beat by some united-front alternative like Jeb Bush or Chris Christie or Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney.

This is a lot like what was said to be happening during Canada's last election . . . strategic voting . . . with the goal of anyone but Harper!  It is too bad that the RNC didn't act sooner to contain Trump earlier.  Or perhaps as a progressive, I should say "way to go RNC!".  Trump could split the vote if he goes independent.

My Universe —

Well, The Cat is back home which is very good news.  It will take some time for him to get into a routine, but he'll do it.  I am going off to the chiropractor for some "bone cracking" which I know helps with the back.  When I return, I'll do the final work on stats for October and November . . . just in time for December's.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:33 (average 5:29). To do it, click here. How did you do?  This one was a toughie for me!

Short Takes

Huffington Post — They escaped a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, leaving behind homes that have been bombed to pieces, their livelihoods and future hopes in tatters.

They fled to Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon — living in refugee camps, shantytowns and private apartments, trying to figure out their next steps, watching as what they thought would just be a temporary move away from their home country began to look more permanent.

Mazan Khabbaz, centre left, a refugee from Syria, is embraced by a well wisher as he arrives with his family at Toronto's Pearson Airport, on Dec. 9, 2015. 

This week, hundreds of Syrians will be on the move again, this time to Canada with the first mass arrival of refugees as part of the Liberal government's commitment to Syrian refugee resettlement.

As I watched the news videos with this article, I wept . . . tears of joy for these people who arrived at Toronto.  Please take a few minutes to watch the news videos.  Life will not be easy, but there will be opportunities, challenges, frustrations, and joys, but above all safety.  The people you see here are part of a private sponsorship.  The first group of refugees coming under the auspices of the Canadian government arrive tonight at Toronto on a military flight.  The second will arrive Saturday at Montréal also aboard a military flight.  It has begun!!!

Alternet — What have Muslims ever done for America? If your sole source of information were Donald Trump, you’d think that the answer was not much. The Republican presidential hopeful has called for a halt to Muslims entering the US until American authorities “can figure out” Muslim attitudes in the wake of last week’s killings in San Bernardino. (If only Scotland had had the same thought about Trump before he was allowed in to blight Aberdeenshire with another of his golf resorts.)

What Trump doesn’t seem to grasp is how many American achievements worth celebrating are the work of the kinds of people—Muslims—he wants to keep out. 

Click through for the many accomplishments of American Muslims. Religion is no determinant to national patriotism. There are Muslim members of the armed forces who fight and die alongside other Americans.  Is their sacrifice any less?  Seems Trump would have everybody believe so.  Personally, I think Trump should be charged with sedition for inciting people to do violence against other Americans and against the government.  Don't know that it fits all the legal definitions but it sure feels good saying it!

The Nation — The COP21 Paris Climate Summit has seen some very positive developments in the global effort to combat climate change. But a new wave of international trade deals—deals that are being pushed between the US and the EU, and between Canada and the EU—threaten to undermine the actual implementation of any smart and sane climate policies.

In this dispatch from Paris, Naomi Klein explains how companies like Exxon and Shell are pushing for these trade deals because they see them as ways to create new markets for fossil fuels—which is exactly what we cannot do if we are to save our planet. 

This very short article is so true.  Klein mentions a lawsuit against the Canadian government for $250 million under NAFTA because it wants to frack in the St Lawrence River but a Québec fracking moratorium prevents it.  This is the kind of thing that will continue to happen with all trade agreements if they are legally binding and adjudicated by a tribunal composed of corporate lawyers.  The TPP is the most recent agreement with some of the most far reaching clauses.

My Universe —

A bit of a crazy day today but in addition to physio, I managed to finish up my Christmas shopping for my student's family.  I was going to get young Simon (18 mth old) a wooden truck but changed that to a small stuffed dinosaur.  He is very adept at throwing so figured the dinosaur would do less damage.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:07 (average 5:40). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

Alternet — According to an investigation by the New York Times, half of all the money contributed so far to Democratic and Republican presidential candidates—$176 million—has come from just 158 families, along with the companies they own or control.

Who are these people?  They’re almost entirely white, rich, older and male—even though America is becoming increasingly black and brown, young, female, and with declining household incomes.

From the Reich on the left, telling how it is.

Think Progress — During oral arguments on a case that may eliminate race conscious affirmative action, Justice Antonin Scalia said that “most of the black scientists in this country do not come from the most advanced schools” and added that black students do better in a “slower track.”

Scalia also said students of color are being “pushed into schools that are too advanced for them” due to race conscious affirmative action policies.

Scalia is becoming more and more open about his activist conservatism and racism, and I for one am sick of it.  Call me a pollyanna but I still believe in equality and fairness.  Scalia's retirement cannot come soon enough.

Talking Points Memo — Three Republican senators Mark Kirk (R-IL), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski(R-AK) weren't about to let their party gut Planned Parenthood without a fight.

Collins led the charge on Senate floor Thursday announcing that defunding Planned Parenthood could lead to "the closure of several hundred clinics across the country, depriving millions of women of the health care provider of their choice."

OK, that's a start, but where is that hapless McTurtle in this?  As I understand, unless McTurtle buys in, this is going absolutely nowhere.  It is refreshing however to see some Republicans with some common sense. Or is it just the vagaries of re-election? 

My Universe — The Bag O’ Nails pub in Bristol, England, is known in the area for its unique selection of beers, ciders and ales.

Now it’s getting some attention for a reason that has more to do with fur than fermentation.

Check out the furmentation.  Personally, I like the manager of the pub!