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Thursday, November 30, 2017
Did Trump Greenlight Neoconservative Takeover of State Dept. and CIA?
Did Trump Greenlight Neoconservative Takeover of State Dept. and CIA?
http://lobelog.com/did-trump-greenlight-neoconservative-takeover-of-state-dept-and-cia/#more-42176Quote of the Week
Quote of the Week
"As some of
my closest colleagues have also come to realize, those of us who came
to Congress to change Washington for the better through good governance
are now the outliers. In legislating, we previously fought against
allowing the perfect to become the enemy of the good. Today, a vocal and
obstinate minority within both parties has hijacked good legislation in
pursuit of no legislation."
Fr. Warren's Week Reflection: Christ the King
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| Christ the King | |||||
| A young child climbed to the top of a large tree. His mother, worried, called out to him, "What are you doing?" "Nothing," the boy replied. "Well, then, get down here," his mother answered in an angry tone. The child was confused. "Why should I get into trouble for doing nothing?" he wondered. | |||||
| Today's Gospel tells us that much of the time we get into trouble for doing nothing. | |||||
| I was hungry, and you gave Me no food.... I was thirsty, and you gave Me no water.... I was away from home, and you gave Me no welcome.... Naked, and you gave Me no clothing. I was ill, and in prison, and you did not come and comfort Me. In other words, in all of these cases, nothing was done. | |||||
| Of course we sin when we do wrong things: stealing, lying, etc. But so often we overlook the possibility of sinning by not doing. | |||||
| The Gospel calls our attention to the judgment all of us will face. It is wholly contingent upon whether one has responded humanely to the needs of the marginalized, the nameless, the homeless, and those that society looks down upon. You do not define neighbor by race or religion. Neighbor is a four‑letter‑word.... Need. | |||||
| We have our modern day outcasts, often ostracized from human society, separated from their families and even, at times, from our churches; the mentally ill who are prematurely released from hospitals, and the substance abusers, unable to obtain treatment. | |||||
| Then we have the runaways who sleep on our streets every night. Add to them some of our elderly, for whom a nursing home is hardly a home, who watch and wait for a son, a daughter, a relative or friend, anyone to spend an hour with them. | |||||
| There are many people in our world who need us. Maybe we can update the list a little. Like, I was being picked on or gossiped about, and you did nothing to defend me. I was headed for disaster by my bad decisions, and you simply laughed at my destructive behavior. I was discouraged, and you thought "Oh well, he'll get over it." What are you doing? Nothing! | |||||
| St. Theresa of Avila, a great mystic and doctor of the church, wrote after 20 years of being a nun, "Christ has no body on earth but yours. No hands, but yours. No feet, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He is to look out at the world. Yours are the hands He must use to bless." | |||||
| St. Theresa understood that if the hungry, thirsty, homeless and sick are to be cared for, if Christ's mission is to be sustained and continued, then it is to be done by us, His followers. He made enemies of the powerful because He put compassion above tradition, love above law, and people above things and institutions. | |||||
| In her book, "Out of Africa," Karen von Blixen writing as Isak Dinesen tells the story of a young man who came to work for her. She employed many people on her farm. He worked out very well, and was a good manager. After a year he suddenly announced that he was going to leave. He said, "I wanted to work for a Christian for a year, to see how they treated their workers. Now I will work for a Muslim. I want to compare both of these faiths to see which one to follow." | |||||
| What would this young man choose if he lived among us? When we thought he was not looking, what would he think of what we did and how we acted? Or how we treated each other? | |||||
| My friend, it is not for me to tell any of you how you should fit into today's Gospel. I do, however, urge you to take time and listen to what God might be saying to you, might be asking you. | |||||
| Perhaps He is saying to some of us, "Live simply so that others may simply live, especially those who experience far more of Christ's crucifixion than His resurrection." | |||||
| In a short while I will read the preface of Christ the King. It tells us that His kingdom on earth is to be a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace. | |||||
| We ask ourselves, is this the kingdom we experience every day? If not, why not? Perhaps we need to recall from time to time the words we began this mass with; "Forgive us for those things we have done, and for those things we have failed to do." | |||||
| When we stand before the Lord and He asks us, what did we do to bring about His kingdom on earth, make sure the answer is not, "Nothing." | |||||
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| P.S. I hope you'll join me and the other faithful benefactors of the Graymoor extended family in preparing our hearts for the celebration of Christ's birthday. Request the weekly Advent Devotional Series now » | |||||
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Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Monday, November 27, 2017
Trump White House displays stunning nativity set with baby Jesus
Trump White House displays stunning nativity set with baby Jesus
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trump-white-house-displays-stunning-nativity-set-with-baby-jesus
Diplomacy: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Just Doesn’t Get It
Diplomacy: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Just Doesn’t Get It
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/column/expert-view/diplomacy-secretary-state-rex-tillerson-just-doesnt-get?utm_source=Join+the+Community+Subscribers&utm_campaign=94a6fca8ba-TCB+November+22+2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_02cbee778d-94a6fca8ba-122495629
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/column/expert-view/diplomacy-secretary-state-rex-tillerson-just-doesnt-get?utm_source=Join+the+Community+Subscribers&utm_campaign=94a6fca8ba-TCB+November+22+2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_02cbee778d-94a6fca8ba-122495629
Hijab Barbie: Useful Idiots of Cultural Jihad
Hijab Barbie: Useful Idiots of Cultural Jihad
Hijab Barbie: Useful Idiots of Cultural Jihad
by Judith Bergman • November 27, 2017 at 5:00 am
- Far
from being a symbol of empowerment, the new Hijab Barbie is an example
of a cultural and civilizational jihad -- and the submission of a
Western company, Mattel, to that jihad. Cultural jihad is the attempt
to change and subvert Western culture from within, or more simply put:
to Islamize it. - Rather than reminding girls of a world of opportunities, the hijab reminds them of all the things they cannot
do in many Muslim countries. These include decisions about their own
lives and bodies, such as not having their genitals mutilated, and
generally not leading the free lives that women in the West -- including
the ones working at Mattel -- probably take for granted.
(Image source: Facebook screenshot via BBC/YouTube)
A
new Barbie doll has been launched as part of Mattel's "sheroes" line.
It is a doll in full hijab modeled after American-Muslim Olympic fencer,
Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics
wearing a headscarf, which -- apparently -- Mattel felt was something
for little girls worldwide to emulate. That and the possibility of
selling millions of toys in the burgeoning Muslim market, of course.
new Barbie doll has been launched as part of Mattel's "sheroes" line.
It is a doll in full hijab modeled after American-Muslim Olympic fencer,
Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American athlete to compete in the Olympics
wearing a headscarf, which -- apparently -- Mattel felt was something
for little girls worldwide to emulate. That and the possibility of
selling millions of toys in the burgeoning Muslim market, of course.
According to a statement from Mattel:
"Barbie
is celebrating Ibtihaj not only for her accolades as an Olympian, but
for embracing what makes her stand out," said Sejal Shah Miller, Vice
President of Global Marketing for Barbie. "Ibtihaj is an inspiration to
countless girls who never saw themselves represented, and by honoring
her story, we hope this doll reminds them that they can be and do
anything."
Continue Reading Article
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11451/hijab-barbie
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11451/hijab-barbieSunday, November 26, 2017
Russian hacking: FBI failed to tell US officials their email was targeted
Russian hacking: FBI failed to tell US officials their email was targeted
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/26/russia-hacking-fbi-fancy-bear-officials-email
Saudi Crown Prince: Biggest Danger of Terrorism is Distorting the Name of Islam
Saudi Crown Prince: Biggest Danger of Terrorism is Distorting the Name of Islam
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1095346/saudi-crown-prince-biggest-danger-terrorism-distorting-name-islamSaturday, November 25, 2017
Palestinians vs. Trump: The Battle Begins
Palestinians vs. Trump: The Battle Begins
by Bassam Tawil • November 25, 2017 at 5:00 am
- Although the full details of the proposed plan have yet to be made public, the Palestinians have already made up their mind: Whatever comes from Trump and his Jewish team is against the interests of the Palestinians.
- The Palestinians' rhetorical attacks on the Trump administration are designed to prepare the ground for their rejection of the proposed "ultimate solution."
- Take careful note: these warning shots may well be translated into yet another intifada against Israel under the fabricated pretext that the Americans and Israelis, with the help of some Arab countries, seek to strip the Palestinians of their rights. One wonders when the world will wake up to the fact that those rights have already been stripped from the Palestinians -- by none other than their own brainwashing, inciting and corrupt leaders.
Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (right) meets with Jared Kushner,
Senior Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, on June 21, 2017 in
Ramallah. (Photo by Thaer Ghanaim/PPO via Getty Images)
Over
the past year, the Palestinians have managed to keep under wraps their
true feelings about US President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoys
and advisors. In all likelihood, they were hoping that the new US
administration would endorse their vision for "peace" with Israel.
Palestinian
Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas ensured that his spokesmen and
senior officials spoke with circumspection about Trump and his Middle
East advisors and envoys. The top brass of the Palestinian Authority in
Ramallah felt it was worth giving Trump time to see if he was indeed
gullible enough to be persuaded to throw Israel under the bus and fork
over their demands.
Well, that bus has long passed.
Continue Reading Article
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11431/palestinians-trump-rejection
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11431/palestinians-trump-rejectionFriday, November 24, 2017
The Modern Epic of Denunciation
The Modern Epic of Denunciation
The media is driving the story line but we all are caught up in the moral drama.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-modern-epic-of-denunciation-1511465202
Why My Family Takes a Thanksgiving Vow of Silence
Why My Family Takes a Thanksgiving Vow of Silence
The silent retreat gives us all time away from the be
https://catapult.co/stories/retreat-why-my-family-takes-a-thanksgiving-vow-of-silence?src=longreads&utm_source=Weekly+Longreads+Email&utm_campaign=f56411d060-Longreads_Top_5_November_24_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bd2ad42066-f56411d060-239031537&mc_cid=f56411d060&mc_eid=9528811089
The Uncounted
Anand Gopal, Azmat Khan | The New York Times | November 16, 2017 | 46 minutes (11,576 words)
A multi-media investigative report on the vast discrepancy between the
actual number of Iraqi civilians killed by American-led coalition
airstrikes against ISIS, and the number the coalition itself reports. In
addition to uncovering likely truer math, the report puts human faces
on the air strikes’ victims and survivors.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/16/magazine/uncounted-civilian-casualties-iraq-airstrikes.html?src=longreads&login=google
From CVE to ‘Terrorism Prevention’: Assessing New U.S. Policies
From CVE to ‘Terrorism Prevention’: Assessing New U.S. Policies
https://breakingenergy.com/2017/11/23/from-cve-to-terrorism-prevention-assessing-new-u-s-policies/?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=58761250&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8JWazV1Q23vGvsZEDzvHyQeO6mH1pKUGE7tkOZl97pF1IVNP48fQIfcKClgsmoDoRLeKKeNZhp37hu-PPyofyRIVFbXg&_hsmi=58761250
The Expanding Umbrella of Anti-Semitism
The Expanding Umbrella of Anti-Semitism
by Nonie Darwish • November 24, 2017 at 5:00 am
- Islam did not trick Western nations; the West brought itself to the embrace of Islam.
- The center of the original Islamic message seems to have been to convert, kill or drive away Christians and Jews, rather than to meet the spiritual needs of Muslims. To this day, the central preaching of Islam still appears to be an intolerance of non-Muslims.
- What made America great is being discarded together with America's imperfect past, without acknowledging that America has taken -- and is still taking -- steps to correct its injustices, as many Middle Eastern nations have not.
- There is a good possibility that, with the impact of Islam -- and the replacement of the active values of personal responsibility and "pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps" by the passive values of victimhood for blackmailing, redistribution and abdication to "government" -- the West's humanistic values, which welcomed Islam in the first place, may not survive.
Adolf
Hitler meets with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini,
on November 28, 1941. (Image source: German Federal Archive)
The
famous expression "Never Again" was coined after the world, during
World War II, almost exterminated its Jewish population. But instead of
anti-Semitism being eradicated, a worldwide rebellion against the people
who gave us the Ten Commandments continues today, and has now expanded
to include other groups.
While
the Jewish people are still at its center, there are now also violent
protests, hatred and rejection cleverly camouflaged as demonstrations
against supposed "bigots," and "hate groups" -- meaning not only those
who support Israel and the Jewish people, but also against those who are
patriots, who love God, family and country and who want to protect
their nation's sovereignty from the world's hostile forces. These
individuals are now often viewed as evil, mean-spirited or racist.
Continue Reading Articlehttps://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11310/antisemitism-biblical-values
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11310/antisemitism-biblical-valuesHow the West Is Adopting the Worst Practices of the Post-Maidan Ukraine
How the West Is Adopting the Worst Practices of the Post-Maidan Ukraine
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/11/24/how-west-adopting-worst-practices-post-maidan-ukraine.html
Thursday, November 23, 2017
How Ten Dem (Dumb) Members of Congress Encourage the Use of Child Terrorists
How Ten Dem (Dumb) Members of Congress Encourage the Use of Child Terrorists
by Alan M. Dershowitz • November 23, 2017 at 5:00 am
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Now ten members of the "progressive caucus" of the Democratic Party are trying to give these terrorist leaders another reason for using even younger terrorists to kill even more innocent civilians.
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The bill fails to acknowledge that some of the most barbaric terrorist attacks against Jewish Israelis have been committed by Palestinian teens who have been recruited by terrorist leaders.
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Israel has a right — according to international law — to protect its citizens from constant terror attacks, even those committed by young Palestinians. Indeed, it has an obligation to do so.
(Image source: Fox News video screenshot)
Palestinian terrorist leaders
often use teenagers to commit acts of terror because they know that the
Israeli legal system treats child terrorists more leniently than adult
terrorists. Now ten members of the "progressive caucus" of the
Democratic Party are trying to give these terrorist leaders another
reason for using even younger terrorists to kill even more innocent
civilians.
On November 14, Representative
Betty McCollum introduced legislation c co-sponsored by nine other
"progressive" members of Congress — calling on the State Department to
"prevent United States tax dollars from supporting the Israeli
military's ongoing detention and mistreatment of Palestinian children."
In a statement about the proposed legislation McCollum said:
Continue Reading Articlehttps://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11420/congress-child-terrorists
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11420/congress-child-terroristsWednesday, November 22, 2017
Fr. Warren's Week Reflection: 33rd Sunday - The Talents
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| 33rd Sunday ‑ The Talents | |||||
| The Master was going on a journey and before He left, He called in His servants, and gave them each strange and wonderful gifts. | |||||
| To the first, He gave a power which, until then, had never been heard or seen in the land; it was to make music, and to dance. The gifts of melody and rhythm were put into his keeping. | |||||
| To the second servant the Master gave a power so wonderful that the entire kingdom does not have it, only the human. It was the power of speech, to make words, the gift of language. | |||||
| To the third servant the good Master gave the greatest gift of all: it was the power to love. | |||||
| Having given all these strange and wonderful gifts, He began his journey. One day the Master sent His Son to ask what they had done with their talents He had given them. | |||||
| The first servant had used his gift of melody and music to write a symphony, and a rock concert. He had taught a small boy how to play the harmonica. He also taught the old people how to dance. And there was dancing in the streets, and they danced at family reunions, and at graduations, and weddings, and the Master's Son was very pleased. | |||||
| What about the man who had the power to speak, to use words? At first he used the power to call out stock market quotations, and to shout strange words like "Buy" and "Sell." | |||||
| Then he found other uses for words. He made lullabies, and wrote poetry. He used words like "Please" and "Thank You." He said "Yes" and "No;" yes to what was good and no to the bad. | |||||
| The Master's Son was so pleased that He taught him some more words, like, "Forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who have trespassed against us." The Master's Son was very pleased. | |||||
| What about the third man who had received the most precious gift of all? | |||||
| He had used his power to love himself, but not his neighbor as himself. He loved money, but only to buy more things for himself. He loved a woman, and that was good. They married and that was good. But they did not love enough to have children because they said they did not want to be tied down. They wanted to travel, and have a good life. | |||||
| The servant came in fear to the Master's Son, and said, "I have not used wisely Your gift of love, and now it is too late. I have nothing to show for my love except a bank account, a Mercedes, two homes...." | |||||
| The Son was angry, but the servant asked for mercy. The Son said, "I will give you one more year. Take your power to love and go to a nursing home. Learn their names, bring them flowers, learn to love them." | |||||
| "Take one of your homes and use it for anyone who is homeless. Take the money you have loved and give it to the hungry, give it to the blind, and the crippled, and the deaf." | |||||
| The man went and did as he was told, working at top speed, and the Master's Son was pleased. | |||||
| "None of you are worthless," he said. "Welcome into my Father's house." | |||||
| My friends, you have all been given many gifts. Gifts to help you help each other and to lead useful lives. Do not bury them. | |||||
| God has endowed each of you in a special way.... To speak.... To listen.... To love.... To be a friend. You are all called to light, not darkness. | |||||
| Use your gifts well, do not hide them. Use the gifts that God has given you. His gifts are meant to be given, not clutched. | |||||
| Then the Master's Son will be very pleased, and say to you one day, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the Kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world." | |||||
| Sometimes we take for granted the gift of speech, of touch, of caring. Speech.... Do you feel blessed or cursed? Touch.... Violence, or a handshake? Do you care for everyone? These seemingly ordinary but wonderful gifts that we can use to bring peace or pain. | |||||
| Jesus is telling us in this parable that it is not how many talents we have, what matters is how we use them. We are not equal in talents, but we can be equal in effort. | |||||
| And the talents or gifts that God has given all of us, be they little or great, are not to be given to us just for ourselves. They are to be used in the service of others, and of the God who gave them to us. Then the Master's Son will be very pleased. | |||||
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