SOTU address Archives

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

So Pope Benedict XVI announced on Monday that he’s retiring, the first papal resignation in 600 years!

At 84 and ailing (it was recently revealed he had a pacemaker for years, the battery being replaced only a few weeks ago) The Pope stated not wanting to go out like his predecessor Pope John Paul II, who died of heart failure while still in his Papacy. What would be great would be for the Vatican to take this unprecedented opportunity to bring in a new kind of Pope who can bring the Church and Christianity into the 21st century. Sorta like the intentions of the character from Dan Brown‘s “Demon’s and Angels“, Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca, but without the maniacal plot to vanquish all his competitors and fake the rescue of Vatican City from an Illuminati plot blow it up. A Pope who will create a fresh path to ideas regarding birth control, homosexuality, the use of the Church’s vast riches to help the poor all around the world who join the legions of Christianity more regularly than any other faith. Making religion less of a cash cow and more of a scared one. The world doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Christianity can no longer afford to stay in theirs. “Make That Change” as Michael Jackson used to say. ♦

President Obama‘s State of The Union Address went off as planned, without a hitch. He made good on his promises to address a push for the strongest of gun control laws, to continued commitment on bringing the troops home from Afghanistan, to fix the Immigration process, to administer stern presidential warning commissioning both parties to grapple fairly and intelligently with the country’s debt crisis and its recovery from it, and creating an agenda to battle climate change. I think he pretty much has the next four years covered, don’t you? And they will make great signature legislation along with ObamaCare, to come off of what is already an extraordinary Presidency. ♦

Today is Ash Wednesday, one of the holiest days in Christianity. But how many of us really know the story behind the ash in Ash Wednesday? Here’s a quick lowdown:

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar. Occurring 46 days before Easter, it is a moveable fast that can fall as early as February 4 and as late as March 10. According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke; Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a reminder and celebration of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. This practice is common in much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and some Baptist denominations ~ Wikipedia

“…ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a reminder and celebration of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God.” And now you know…and knowing IS half the battle…♦

OMG! I’m I just slow or has everyone just discovered the miracle of Groupon.com. Well–its a magical site that allows you to print out super-duper discounts on everything from aqua filters to zebra patterned pillow cases. I’m talking up to sometimes half off stuff like Sushi dinners, spa days, kickboxing lessons, hotel stays, camping gear, comedy shows, clothes, everything!

One thing’s for sure, the Brains behind this idea did their homework on how to take a simple idea like the discount coupon and make it a globally successful business in an economy that otherwise is not giving out breaks. Wish it had been me, but there’s more great ideas where that one came from pilgrims!…♦

Tuesday, February, 12, 2013

The parents of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old girl gunned down just a week after she sang at the President’s inauguration, will be attending the State of the Union Address as guests of the President and First Lady.

Michelle Obama, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Education Secretary Arne Duncan attended Hadiya’s funeral service this past Saturday to pay their respects to Cleopatra and Nathaniel Pendleton Sr. and console the family amisdt reports out of Chicago of January being its bloodiest month in more than a decade due to gun violence. The President is expected to be re-emphasizing his position on gun control during his address to the country this evening.

Is it just me or is anyone else getting the feeling that there’s more to the Christopher Dorner case than meets the eye?

It was was reported that the ex-marine went cra-cra after being fired in ’08 for misconduct by the LAPD (there’s an oxymoron in there somewhere), accused of falsely claiming his training officer kicked a mentally ill suspect in the course of an arrest.

In 2008? He’s just getting fired up about it 5 years later?

He then goes berserk and kills a cop and two civilians, vows to kill other cops and their families and then goes on the lamb for which he disappears off the face of the earth?? He now has a million dollar reward on his head and a War Drone searching for his ass.

And last Friday, the LAPD announced it would reopen its investigation of Dorner’s firing and his claims…the story’s not all here pilgrims…

Seems like there’s some historical inaccuracies in the movie “Lincoln“ by Steven Spielberg. Political representatives from the state of Connecticut contend that their’s was wrongly characterized in the movie as having three of its four legislative forefathers voting against the 13th Amendment, when in fact the delegation voted overwhelmingly in favor of passing the bill that technically ended slavery in all its forms in the United States of America.

Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat from Connecticut, wrote a scathing letter to Spielberg earlier this week emphasizing that although he is aware of the use of artistic license in the movie business, he was still demanding that the film be corrected before “Lincoln” comes out on DVD.

Guess the difference between license and lying was lost on the movie’s screenwriter.

And on a final good note: Happy Valentine’s Day to my favorite couple, Veronica & Marcus. Their’s is a story of Love lost and found, that never fails to give me hope, warm my heart and lighten my Spirit, stuff of which we all can use more of…♥