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"The World Economy Is Stumbling Toward Disaster," Bloomberg

October 21, 2019, 6:13 am
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Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On The Moral Collapse Of Christian Evangelicalism

October 21, 2019, 6:14 am
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"Evangelicals See Trump Impeachment As An Attack On Their Values"
Bloomberg

"Evangelical Support Of Trump Will Be An Indictment Against Its Validity," Fr. Richard Rohr

Corrupted By Grifters And Charlatans, Evangelicalism Has Devolved Into A Hate Group


My Gripe With Christianity

"Are Highly Religous People Less Compassonate?"

Evangelicals' Satanic Surrender To Trump: Bend Over, Clasp Ankles, Apply K-Y


"Christian""Conservatives" Are Neither Christian Nor Conservative
Why "Christian""Conservatives" Are Losing Their Souls
"The Deepening Crisis In Evangelical Christianity"
Support For Trump Degrades Christian Witness 

Evangelicals' Lack Of Faith Is The Greatest Threat To The Church

Best Pax Posts About Trump's Cruelty, Mendacity And Seduction Of "Conservative""Christians"

When "Christian""Conservatives" Renounced Reason In Order To Believe Trump Would Be...

Great "Religious Right" Cartoon: "Satan Himself Comes Disguised As An Angel Of Light"

Absolutism As A Last Ditch Defense Against The Challenge (Threat?) Of Kindness


"Thoughts And Prayers"



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In The End, We Choose Between Cruelty And Kindness

October 21, 2019, 10:31 am
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"In The End We Choose Between Cruelty And Kindness" | In The End We Choose Between Cruelty And Kindness. On The Right Side Of The Aisle The Choice Is Increasingly Clear | image tagged in abu ghraib,conservative cruelists,uncle sam tortures people,conservatives torture people,catholics unusually fond of torturing p | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

Trump's America Is A Deliberately Cruel Place And "Christian""Conservatives" Are The Cruelest

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2018/07/trumps-america-is-deliberately-cruel.html

"The Cruelty Is the Point": Trump And Many Of His Followers Delight In The Suffering Of Enemies
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-point-president-trump.html

For Trump And Trumpistas Cruelty (AKA Hellish Torment) Is The Point
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/08/for-trump-and-trumpistas-cruelty-is.html

Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This: "Cruelty Is The Point"

https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/08/mommy-said-thered-be-days-like-this.html

Christian Conservatives, The Republican Party, And Deliberate Cruelty As A Source Of Laughter

Tennessee Williams' Critique Of Cruelty Should Be Included In The World's Sacred Scripture

Family Separation And The Deportation Of Parents Constitute Kidnapping And Human Trafficking

https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/07/family-separation-and-parent.html

New England Journal Of Medicine Determines The Lethality Of Trump's Family Separation Policy

https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/09/new-england-journal-of-medicine.html

"When Hate Came To El Paso," Introduced By A Central American Civil Rights Worker
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/08/when-hate-came-to-el-paso-introduced-by.html

Why Don't Christians Loathe This Guy Just For Trashing Every American Standard?

https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/09/why-dont-christians-loathe-this-guy.html

"You've Been Trumped" is the most revealing Trump documentary.
It was filmed in Scotland where Malignant Messiah presumed he could push around an entire native community whose ancestors lived in that place for hundreds if not thousands of years.
This film reveals "The Asshole" at his most loathesome.
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2016/05/youve-been-trumped-documentary-on.html

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You Can't Polish A...

October 21, 2019, 10:34 am
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The Deep State? "They Are Not the Resistance. They Are Not a Cabal. They Are Public Servants."

October 21, 2019, 1:23 pm
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From left, Fiona Hill, Michael McKinley and Marie Yovanovitch.
CreditCreditIllustration by The New York Times; photographs by Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times, Erin Schaff/The New York Times, Al Drago for The New York Times

They Are Not the Resistance. 

They Are Not a Cabal. 

They Are Public Servants.

Let us now praise these not-silent heroes.
Ms. Cottle is a member of the New York Times editorial board.
President Trump is right: The deep state is alive and well. But it is not the sinister, antidemocratic cabal of his fever dreams. It is, rather, a collection of patriotic public servants — career diplomats, scientists, intelligence officers and others — who, from within the bowels of this corrupt and corrupting administration, have somehow remembered that their duty is to protect the interests, not of a particular leader, but of the American people.
Fiona Hill, Michael McKinley and the whistle-blower who effectively initiated the impeachment investigation — when these folks saw something suspicious, they said something. Their aim was not to bring down Mr. Trump out of personal or political animus but to rescue the Republic from his excesses. Those who refuse to silently indulge this president’s worst impulses qualify as heroes — and deserve our gratitude.
Throughout the Trump presidency, there has been a trickle of fed-up individuals willing to step up and protest the administration’s war on science, expertise and facts.
In July, Rod Schoonover left his job as an analyst for the State Department after the administration blocked the submission to Congress of his report on the national security implications of climate change.
Also in July, Joel Clement, formerly the director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the Interior Department, filed a whistle-blower complaint alleging that the administration had reassigned him to an accounting position in retaliation for publicly speaking out on the potential dangers of climate change to Alaska Native communities.
In August, Lewis Ziska, a veteran plant physiologist with the Agriculture Department, quit in protest over the administration’s efforts to bury his findings about the negative impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide on the nutrient content of rice. “You get the sense that things have changed, that this is not a place for you to be exploring things that don’t agree with someone’s political views,” Mr. Ziska told Politico at the time. “That’s so sad. I can’t even begin to tell you how sad that is.”
With an impeachment inquiry underway in the House, the risks of breaking ranks with the president are higher than ever. Mr. Trump prides himself on punching back against perceived enemies, publicly suggesting that “spies” and “traitors” and people who turn “rat” deserve to have their lives and their families destroyed. Small wonder that few congressional Republicans have dared express even gentle concern over Mr. Trump’s increasingly erratic behavior.
But still the patriots come. Top of the list, of course, is the still-anonymous whistle-blower who touched off the impeachment drama by registering his concerns about Mr. Trump’s clandestine effort to pressure Ukraine into conducting investigations that would benefit his re-election campaign. The concerns enumerated in the complaint have since been verified and magnified by multiple administration insiders, despite the White House’s stonewalling mandate.
On Monday, Congress heard from Ms. Hill, the former top national security adviser on Russia and Europe, who detailed how Mr. Trump had done an end run around his own national security team, putting Ukraine policy in the hands of unqualified dilettantes like Gordon Sondland, whose $1 million donation to the Trump inaugural basically bought him the title of ambassador to the European Union, and Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer and favorite henchman.

On Wednesday, Mr. McKinley, a top adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo until this month, told Congress that he’d resigned in frustration over the administration’s disparaging and shunting aside career diplomats, as well as its using ambassadors overseas to advance the president’s re-election aims. (He put it more diplomatically, as one would expect.)
A week and a half ago, Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, testified that Mr. Trump prematurely recalled her in May, allegedly as a result of a whisper campaign by Mr. Giuliani and some of his associates, two of whom were arrested Oct. 9 on federal charges of violating campaign finance laws. “I do not know Mr. Giuliani’s motives for attacking me,” Ms. Yovanovitch told lawmakers. “But individuals who have been named in the press as contacts of Mr. Giuliani may well have believed that their personal financial ambitions were stymied by our anti-corruption policy in Ukraine.”
Presumably, Ms. Yovanovitch, a veteran diplomat and actual expert on Ukraine, had also proved an annoying hindrance to Mr. Giuliani pursuing his shadow agenda.
Right on cue, Mr. Trump’s lackeys are responding to such breaches of fealty by going on the attack. In a media briefing on Thursday, the White House acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, dismissed the witnesses who had spoken to impeachment investigators: “What you are seeing now, I believe, is a group of mostly career bureaucrats who are saying, ‘You know what, I don’t like President Trump’s politics, so I’m going to participate in this witch hunt.’”
That may be what Mr. Mulvaney hears when he listens to these men and women. But many, many others will hear veteran public servants appalled by an administration that continues to subvert the public interest to the whims of a president who has mistaken himself for a king.
This is Mr. Trump’s deep state. For the sake of the nation, the American public should be clamoring for more patriots to join the conspiracy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/20/opinion/trump-impeachment-testimony.html


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Two Good Friends, Pedro And Tano

October 21, 2019, 10:08 pm
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Here is a photo of good friends Pedro (co-owner of ERI) and master mechanic Tano.
Today, when I mentioned my unease over a recent "life event" Pedro said, "Amigo Alan, no te preocupes. Ya sabes que mientras Dios me da vida yo te saco de cualquier problema."
And he means it.
***
Some years ago, I helped Tano's wife prepare for her U.S. citizenship exam and, out of friendship and gratitude, he comes to my home to fix my car right in the driveway.
***
Like everyone else, I feel the national upheaval over immigration.
My view is two-fold.
All these "mostly Native American" people have prior claim to being here.
I also believe Hispanics will contribute mightily to the re-weaving of our threadbare social fabric.
I would not be surprised if latinos'epic generosity, good cheer, hard work (often laboring at jobs that native-born Americans shun) -- coupled with their buoyant celebration of Life -- prove decisive In our national resurrection.

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H.L. Mencken: Civilization, Doubt And Progress

October 22, 2019, 6:53 am
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The Sh*tstorm: Small But Revealing Moments In The Impeachment Process

October 22, 2019, 6:59 am
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Image result for "pax on both houses" fecal flecks

To Pluck Just One Fecal Fleck From Donald Trump's Brownout Blizzard Of Bullshit...


Also in July, Joel Clement, formerly the director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the Interior Department, filed a whistle-blower complaint alleging that the administration had reassigned him to an accounting position in retaliation for publicly speaking out on the potential dangers of climate change to Alaska Native communities.
In August, Lewis Ziska, a veteran plant physiologist with the Agriculture Department, quit in protest over the administration’s efforts to bury his findings about the negative impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide on the nutrient content of rice. “You get the sense that things have changed, that this is not a place for you to be exploring things that don’t agree with someone’s political views,” Mr. Ziska told Politico at the time. “That’s so sad. I can’t even begin to tell you how sad that is.”
With an impeachment inquiry underway in the House, the risks of breaking ranks with the president are higher than ever. Mr. Trump prides himself on punching back against perceived enemies, publicly suggesting that “spies” and “traitors” and people who turn “rat” deserve to have their lives and their families destroyed. Small wonder that few congressional Republicans have dared express even gentle concern over Mr. Trump’s increasingly erratic behavior.
But still the patriots come. Top of the list, of course, is the still-anonymous whistle-blower who touched off the impeachment drama by registering his concerns about Mr. Trump’s clandestine effort to pressure Ukraine into conducting investigations that would benefit his re-election campaign. The concerns enumerated in the complaint have since been verified and magnified by multiple administration insiders, despite the White House’s stonewalling mandate.
On Monday, Congress heard from Ms. Hill, the former top national security adviser on Russia and Europe, who detailed how Mr. Trump had done an end run around his own national security team, putting Ukraine policy in the hands of unqualified dilettantes like Gordon Sondland, whose $1 million donation to the Trump inaugural basically bought him the title of ambassador to the European Union, and Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer and favorite henchman.

On Wednesday, Mr. McKinley, a top adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo until this month, told Congress that he’d resigned in frustration over the administration’s disparaging and shunting aside career diplomats, as well as its using ambassadors overseas to advance the president’s re-election aims. (He put it more diplomatically, as one would expect.)

A week and a half ago, Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, testified that Mr. Trump prematurely recalled her in May, allegedly as a result of a whisper campaign by Mr. Giuliani and some of his associates, two of whom were arrested Oct. 9 on federal charges of violating campaign finance laws. “I do not know Mr. Giuliani’s motives for attacking me,” Ms. Yovanovitch told lawmakers. “But individuals who have been named in the press as contacts of Mr. Giuliani may well have believed that their personal financial ambitions were stymied by our anti-corruption policy in Ukraine.”







Presumably, Ms. Yovanovitch, a veteran diplomat and actual expert on Ukraine, had also proved an annoying hindrance to Mr. Giuliani pursuing his shadow agenda.
Right on cue, Mr. Trump’s lackeys are responding to such breaches of fealty by going on the attack. In a media briefing on Thursday, the White House acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, dismissed the witnesses who had spoken to impeachment investigators: “What you are seeing now, I believe, is a group of mostly career bureaucrats who are saying, ‘You know what, I don’t like President Trump’s politics, so I’m going to participate in this witch hunt.’”
That may be what Mr. Mulvaney hears when he listens to these men and women. But many, many others will hear veteran public servants appalled by an administration that continues to subvert the public interest to the whims of a president who has mistaken himself for a king.
This is Mr. Trump’s deep state. For the sake of the nation, the American public should be clamoring for more patriots to join the conspiracy.
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Reprise: "Wow. What A Concept! If You Study, You'll Actually..."

October 22, 2019, 7:01 am
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Wow. What A Concept! If You Study, You'll Know More Than The Dimwits Who Elected Trump
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/03/wow-what-concept-if-you-study-youll.html

Image result for waste fraud abuse bill maher

Donald Trump, Felon: Re-Visiting Trump University


Image result for "pax on both houses" trump people want to be lied to
American Conservatives And Aggressive Ignorance
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/08/american-conservatives-and-aggressive.html

Image result for asimov cult of ignorance
Isaac Asimov Explains Trump's Victory
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2016/12/isaac-asimov-explains-trumps-victory.html
Image result for "pax on both houses"carl sagan
Hannah Arendt: The Horror Of Normality

The Forces Driving Middle-Aged White People's "Deaths Of Despair"
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-forces-driving-middle-aged-white.html

Image result for "pax on both houses" not potty trained

Trump Memes, Album 1: The Best From "Pax On Both Houses"

Trump Memes, Album 2: The Best From "Pax On Both Houses"


Image result for "pax on both houses"carl sagan

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Instagram Is The New Frontier Of Russian Disinformation Efforts

October 22, 2019, 7:53 am
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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting on Tuesday in the Black Sea town of Sochi, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting 
on Tuesday in the Black Sea town of Sochi, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik via AP)

Whistleblower Chris Wylie Explains How Cambridge Analytica Helped Fuel U.S. "Insurgency"

Instagram is the new frontier of Russian disinformation efforts, but Putin can still reach Trump directly

item.bylineText
BY JAMES HOHMANN
with Mariana Alfaro
THE BIG IDEA: The Russians keep coming.
Facebook announced Monday afternoon that it took down a network of Russian-backed accounts that were posing as American voters in swing states. The social media company said the operation appeared well-resourced, reflected a sophisticated understanding of the culture wars that divide Americans, and bore all the hallmarks of the Internet Research Agency, the Kremlin-backed troll farm that interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
Fifty fake accounts were removed from Instagram, the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook. Only one of the accounts that was taken down was a traditional Facebook page. This reflects how America’s adversaries continue to be aggressive and entrepreneurial, evolving to maximize their impact.
Graphika, a social media analysis firm that examined the operation for Facebook, published a 30-page report about the fake pages, which were still in audience-building mode: “Multiple accounts praised Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. Accounts from both sides of the political spectrum attacked Joe Biden; some also attacked Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.”
“The reason that networks of phony accounts are drawn to Instagram is because disinformation is increasingly visual in nature, and that’s what Instagram specializes in,” said Paul Barrett, deputy director of New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.
“The disclosure from Facebook served as more evidence of what Trump has repeatedly questioned — that Russian actors not only interfered in the 2016 election but are continuing their efforts to interfere in American democracy,” Tony Romm and Isaac Stanley-Becker report. “The task of safeguarding U.S. elections from interference by Russia and other foreign actors has been a source of tension in the Trump administration, with the president repeatedly calling the allegations of Russian involvement in 2016 a ‘hoax’ and top security officials being forced to tiptoe around the issue.”
Facebook’s announcement comes ahead of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s scheduled testimony before Congress on Wednesday. Lawmakers have been champing at the bit to question him about what the company is doing to safeguard U.S. elections in 2020. In an interview with The Washington Post last week, Zuckerberg said Facebook is in a “much better place now” to stop disinformation, with better artificial intelligence technology to detect nefarious activity and more staff focused on the problem. But he also said the problem posed by disinformation has worsened since 2016, and he said the U.S. government deserves part of the blame. “Unfortunately, the U.S. did not have a particularly strong response to Russia after 2016 so it sent the signal to other countries that they could get in on this, too,” he said.
To wit, Facebook also announced yesterday that it disabled three disinformation campaigns that originated in Iran. They were almost certainly sanctioned by the government in Tehran.
Mark Zuckerberg walks to a meeting in the Russell Senate Office building. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News)
Mark Zuckerberg walks to a meeting in the Russell Senate Office building. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News)
-- Non-state actors are pursuing innovative approaches, as well. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports, for instance, that Islamic State militants have been posting short propaganda videos in recent weeks to TikTok, the social network that’s popular with teenagers right now.
“The videos—since removed, in line with the app’s policy—featured corpses paraded through streets, Islamic State fighters with guns, and women who call themselves ‘jihadist and proud,’” per Georgia Wells. “Many were set to Islamic State songs. Some included TikTok filters, or images, of stars and hearts that stream across the screen in an apparent attempt to resonate with young people. … The app, owned by Beijing-based Bytedance Ltd., features short videos that started becoming popular in the U.S. in 2018 and has been embraced by teens. It was the third-most installed app world-wide in the first quarter, behind Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp and Messenger, and about 30% of users are under the age of 18.”
-- Twitter announced yesterday that it plans to create a new policy to combat manipulated media, including deep fake videos, ahead of the 2020 election. These distorted videos are increasingly realistic and lifelike. Twitter is asking for public feedback.
-- It’s a brave new world out there, and authoritarians keep trying to turn technological tools into instruments of oppression: The Russians passed a law earlier this year that lets Vladimir Putin take all the country’s Internet traffic off the World Wide Web if he decrees that there’s an “emergency.” The latest development is that the Putin administration now plans to hold annual exercises to prepare for such a scenario by effectively turning off the Internet.
“A new posting appeared October 21 on Russia’s official government website to announce the exercise plans,” according to Meduza, a Latvia-based online news outlet that covers the Kremlin. “An executive order allowing for the exercises will take effect on November 1. Specific arrangements to test the Russian Internet’s isolation capabilities have been developed by the Communications Ministry and approved by the FSB, the Defense Ministry, the Federal Security Service, the Emergencies Ministry, and the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control.” The FSB is the successor to the KGB, where Putin was once an officer.
-- Bloomberg News posted a chilling story this morning about the expansion of the surveillance state in Moscow: “The fourth of 10 basic rules Western spies followed when trying to infiltrate Russia’s capital during the Cold War—don’t look back because you’re never alone—is more apt than ever. Only these days it’s not just foreigners who are being tracked, but all 12.6 million Muscovites, too. Officials in Moscow have spent the last few years methodically assembling one of the most comprehensive video-surveillance operations in the world. The public-private network of as many as 200,000 cameras records 1.5 billion hours of footage a year that can be accessed by 16,000 government employees, intelligence officers and law-enforcement personnel.”
Trump says Hillary Clinton is 'accusing everybody of being a Russian agent'
-- The stories about disinformation efforts should be read against the backdrop of a major update in L'Affaire Ukraine: Current and former U.S. officials say that Trump’s effort to pressure Ukraine for information he could use against political rivals came as he was being urged to adopt a hostile view of that country by its regional adversaries, including Putin.
“Trump’s conversations with Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and others reinforced his perception of Ukraine as a hopelessly corrupt country — one that Trump now also appears to believe sought to undermine him in the 2016 U.S. election” Greg Miller, Greg Jaffe, John Hudson and Ellen Nakashima report. “Neither of those foreign leaders specifically encouraged Trump to see Ukraine as a potential source of damaging information about [Biden], nor did they describe Kyiv as complicit in an unsubstantiated 2016 election conspiracy theory … But their disparaging depictions of Ukraine reinforced Trump’s perceptions of the country and fed a dysfunctional dynamic in which White House officials struggled to persuade Trump to support the fledgling government in Kyiv instead of exploiting it for political purposes …
“The role played by Putin and Orban, a hard-right leader who has often allied himself with the Kremlin’s positions, was described in closed-door testimony last week by George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state … Kent cited the influence of those leaders as a factor that helped sour Trump on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the months leading up to their July 25 phone call … The efforts to poison Trump’s views toward Zelensky were anticipated by national security officials at the White House … But the voices of Putin and Orban took on added significance this year because of the departure or declining influence of those who had sought to blunt the influence of Putin and other authoritarian leaders over Trump. …
“Trump spoke with Putin by phone and met with Orban at the White House in the weeks between Zelensky’s April 21 election and his May 20 inauguration. Trump also spoke with Putin on June 28, during a global summit in Japan, and by phone on July 31, days after the call in which he solicited a ‘favor’ from Zelensky. … Trump turned to Putin for guidance on the new leader of Ukraine within days of Zelensky’s election. In a May 3 call, Trump asked Putin about his impressions of Zelensky, according to a Western official familiar with the conversation. Putin said that he had not yet spoken with Zelensky but derided him as a comedian with ties to an oligarch despised by the Kremlin.”
-- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Russia today to meet with Putin about Syria’s future. “Erdogan’s meeting with Putin, the Syrian government’s most powerful supporter, was widely expected to center on the thorny aftermath of Turkey’s military operation and the rapidly shifting Syrian map of control, as U.S. troops withdraw and competing factions rush to fill the void,” Kareem Fahim and Sarah Dadouch report. “Putin’s role as Syria’s central power broker was bolstered after the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing its remaining troops from the north.”
-- Programming note: Today’s 202 comes to you from the great state of Texas. I’m here to cheer on the Nationals against the Houston Astros in Games 1 and 2 of the World Series. I’m on vacation for the rest of the week to focus on baseball, and then attend my college reunion, but the newsletter is in the able hands of my colleagues. I’ll be back on Monday, when hopefully Washington has won the championship.

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Manichaeism: The Pollution Of Early Christianity By A Radically Dualistic Iranian Christian Sect

October 22, 2019, 8:29 am
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Manichaeism

Alan: In the early Christian church, Manichaeism -- St Augustine of Hippo's original religious passion -- was a real contender for theological preeminence. Through those centuries of contentiousness, radical dualism came to pollute Christianity permanently.

"Anima naturaliter Christiana" 
"The soul is, by nature, Christian." 
Tertullian


Dear Fred,

Thanks for your email.


At bedrock, we have "good religion," and we have "bad religion." 

"My Gripe With Christianity"


Perhaps a universal qualifier of "good religion" is that practitioners see everyone (at least credally) as a manifestation of God.

I believe Mother Teresa's most repeated comment was some variant of "I see God in everyone."

If we see God in everyone - and if we also trust in God - a "lockstep equation" comes into view. (Later in this email, I will "define""God.")

Where "Good Religion" prevails, you can not "trust in God" without the credal premise that "God is to be seen in everyone." 

From one vantage, I suppose this conjunction of "trust in God" with the perception of "God in everyone" represents the union of "the incarnate" with "the transcendant" - "the manifest" and the "un-mainfest." 

Such faith in common union - in communion -- is essential for "good religion," and essential for healthy engagement of humankind's "religious instinct" (which Carl Jung considered homo sapien's fundamental drive).

The problem with "seeing God in everyone" is the risk of self-inflation. 

To paraphrase Gandhi: "Although every drop of the ocean participates in the nature of ocean, single drops are not the ocean."

In a recent email, I proposedthe "bedrock inclination of sectarian Christianity to persuade partisans that they - and only they - are absolutely right." 

The detriment of such self-righteousness is that other faiths - particularly Islam - are not merely wrong, but diabolical. (The same holds for Islam in its treatment of "infidels." It is not rocket science that Armageddon Cheerleaders and Islamic jihadists are mirror images of one another.)

Ultimately, Mother Theresa is "unitary," whereas many "Christians" are divisively dualistic - essentially Manichean. (Manichaeism is the most persistent, and most damaging, of Christian heresies - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism). 

Here is the draft of a pertinent email I never sent. It culminates with quotations from physicist Max Planck concerning the inter-relationship of faith and science, followed by my comments on those quotes:

Hola,

I just discovered a fine quotation by Galileo -- "Wine is light held together by moisture" -- a fit companion to Galileo's better known observation: “The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.” - http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Galileo 

We also have a similar reverie from Ben Franklin: "Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy." This quotation is often mis-rendered as "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." (Aside... The following Franklin quotation is, I think, the most startling comment ever made by an American politician. It deserves wide circulation http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch16s12.html) 

I discovered Galileo's "Wine is Light" reference while tracking down a Max Planck comment cited by Wayne Dyer on an audio CD which Lino Núñez Huerta gave me two years ago - http://magicalmysterytour.homestead.com/ 

Here is the fully-contextualized quotation to which Dyer referred: “As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.” Max Planck - Das Wesen der Materie [The Nature of Matter], speech at Florence, Italy (1944) (from Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Abt. Va, Rep. 11 Planck, Nr. 1797) 

On the other side of the Time/Space Continuum, Einstein held that "Time is an illusion, albeit a persistent one." http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Einstein 


Other Planck Quotes:

“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.” Quoted in The Observer (25 January 1931)

“Both Religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations… To the former He is the foundation, to the latter, the crown of the edifice of every generalized world view.” Religion and Natural Science (Lecture Given 1937) Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, trans. F. Gaynor (New York, 1949), pp. 184 


“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” Wissenschaftliche Selbstbiographie. Mit einem Bildnis und der von Max von Laue gehaltenen Traueransprache., Johann Ambrosius Barth Verlag, (Leipzig 1948), p. 22, as translated in Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, trans. F. Gaynor (New York, 1949), pp.33-34 (as cited in T.S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions).

§  Paraphrased variants:


§  Truth never triumphs — its opponents just die out.


§  Science advances one funeral at a time.


“Under these conditions it is no wonder, that the movement of atheists, which declares religion to be just a deliberate illusion, invented by power-seeking priests, and which has for the pious belief in a higher Power nothing but words of mockery, eagerly makes use of progressive scientific knowledge and in a presumed unity with it, expands in an ever faster pace its disintegrating action on all nations of the earth and on all social levels. I do not need to explain in any more detail that after its victory not only all the most precious treasures of our culture would vanish, but — which is even worse — also any prospects at a better future.” Religion und Naturwissenschaft (1958)


Curious biographical data:


"Munich physics professor Philipp von Jolly advised Planck against going into physics, saying, "in this field, almost everything is already discovered, and all that remains is to fill a few holes.""

In January 1945, Erwin, (the son) to whom he (Max) had been particularly close, was sentenced to death by the Nazi Volksgerichtshof because of his participation in the failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in July 1944. Erwin was executed on 23 January 1945.

Planck's Wikiquote page - http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Planck


Planck's Wikipedia bio - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck




Planck's Religious Affiliation - http://www.adherents.com/people/pp/Max_Planck.html     

Whichever "side" of "matter/spirit" we favor, we remain bound by the inescapable orbit of faith. 

Personally, I consider "matter" as "spirit" seen from the outside; and "spirit" as "matter""seen" from the inside. 

"Depends on what you look at obviously, but, even more, it depends on the way that you see." - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp6czLE8Ucg  ///  http://cockburnproject.net/songs&music/cotw.html

I also believe Planck is right. In particular, I have long intuited that Planck's observation about humankind's "future prospects" -- in the absence of belief and in the presence of aggressive atheism -- is accurate. (I think God may be properly conceived as that "ontological matrix" - that Ground of Being - that manifests as Universe-and-beyond; that Being-trans-Being which The Nicene Creed reveres as "all that is seen and unseen." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed  This Nicene "definition" of God is, I think, essentially beyond sectarian Christianity: in effect one religion's attempt to identify what resides, divinely, beyond definition. That said, we are still "challenged" by Tertulian's observation that "Anima naturaliter Christiana" - "The soul is, by nature, Christian." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertullian)

Combative British historian, Paul Johnson (a feisty Christian as well) observed: "The history of the 20th century proves the view that as the vision of God fades, we first become clever monkeys; then we exterminate one another." Johnson's "History of Christianity" is widely admired - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_Christianity_(Paul_Johnson)  ///  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Johnson_(writer)

One thing is "certain": "The Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose." J.B.S. Haldane http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._B._S._Haldane

In closing, I cite inter-related quotations by Thomas Aquinas and Jesuit paleontologist, Teilhard de Chardin and biologist, Gregory Bateson (who coined the psychiatric phrase "double bind"):

Arguing against those who said that natural philosophy was contrary to the Christian faith, (Aquinas) writes in his treatise "Faith, Reason and Theology that "even though the natural light of the human mind is inadequate to make known what is revealed by faith, nevertheless what is divinely taught to us by faith cannot be contrary to what we are endowed with by nature. One or the other would have to be false, and since we have both of them from God, he would be the cause of our error, which is impossible." "Aladdin's Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World" by John Freely 

“There is less difference than people think between research and adoration.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Chardin

“Natural History is the antidote for piety.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Bateson

It is, I think, no accident that in the virtuous trinity of faith, hope and charity, faith comes first. 


In closing, I will add that faith - a phenomenon that is most inspiring as a "gift" - can also be chosen. 

Ideally, everyone's faith - and we all subscribe to a credal system whether we acknowledge it or not - would be consciously chosen.

That's another story.

Pax on both houses,

Alan
                                                                            
On Fri, Nov 4, 2011 at 8:50 AM, Fred Owens wrote:

What's God got to do with it?

I don't agree with this opinion.  I don't know if we trust God, but I think He trusts us. Maybe God has the kindness and wisdom to let us make our own mistakes.

Fred Owens

***

Do American "Conservatives" Only Celebrate Paranoid Fantasies And Armageddon Wet Dreams?

"Since God Doesn't Heal Amputees, Humankind Will: The Future Of Christian Theology"
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/07/since-god-cant-heal-amputees-mankind.html

"Do Republicans Do Anything But Piss, Moan, Whine, Bitch?

Dear Fred,

Thanks for the Good News! http://www.nationalreview.com/article/426029/economics-wealth-global-liberal-democracy-free-markets

Do you think American "conservatives" will 1.) believe "the news," and 2.) celebrate it if they do?

Good Manichaeans that they are, I think many conservatives want the human condition to worsen so they can finally have "The Cosmic Showdown" between Good and Evil.

We overlook the remarkable fact that Manichaeism once rivaled Christianity in the ideo-spiritual competition to replace classical paganism.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism

Lamentably, the corrupting influence of Manichaeism on Christianity -- particularly Christian conservatism -- is incalculable.

Ironically, "The Good Christians" are unaware of their substantive heresy and inter-related adoration of a false god.

Pax 

Alan


On Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 10:45 AM, Fred Owens <froghospital911@gmail.com> wrote:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/426029/economics-wealth-global-liberal-democracy-free-markets


Good news in this national review story by Kevin Williamson

Fred Owens
cell: 360-739-0214

My gardening blog is  Fred Owens
My writing blog is Frog Hospital


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Trump Has High Praise For Marine General James Mattis: Calls Him "A General's General"

October 22, 2019, 6:16 pm
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Alan:"Back in the day" Trump repeatedly heaped praise on General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, Trump's Secretary of Defense.

President Trump Has High Praise For Marine General James Mattis: 
Calls Him "A General's General"

Jim Mattis Describes Trump As A Dolt Who Does Not Read And Has No Interest In Learning

In Stern Rebuke To Trump, Gen. Mattis Sees "Storm Clouds Gathering" And America "Withering"


Related image


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U.S. Envoy Says Ukraine Aid Contingent On Willingness To "Get Dirt" On Biden

October 22, 2019, 7:18 pm
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"Frog Hospital's" Fred Owens: "I Got Into An Argument With A Trump Supporter"

October 22, 2019, 7:25 pm
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FROG HOSPITAL -- I Got Into an Argument with a Trump Supporter


Fred Owens

1:18 PM (9 hours ago)
to Fred, bcc: me
FROG HOSPITAL -- September 23, 2019 --- unsubscribe anytime

I got into an Argument with a Trump Supporter

By Fred Owens

I prided myself on maintaining a friendly attitude with the Trump supporters that I know. We can have a dialog. We can sort things out. We can at least maintain civil contact. But no more, not from me. The discussion is over. The judgment is clear -- Trump has to go and soon. He is a danger to our country. It's not if or maybe, it's now and completely real. The damning evidence has been presented. Anyone who supports Trump now is a fool and worse. I was at a meeting discussing financial matters with my Edward Jones broker and some of his other customers when a political argument broke out over Trump. The man sitting next to me was a Trump diehard idiot who would not stop talking. The Edward Jones broker is a mild-mannered fellow who only wants to help his people obtain a bit of security and growth, but he lost control of the meeting to the blathering Trumpista.
I lost it at this point. I am no longer willing to engage Trump people at any level. It's time for us to do something good for our country.

Trump must be impeached and removed from office. When that happens, we will be facing -- not a happy time -- but a big mess to clean up. Pence will become President in a caretaker role. He will not be a candidate in 2020, but will only serve to complete Trump's term. Pence will agree to make no major decisions without close consultation with McConnell and Pelosi. The Republicans can put up a dramatic new candidate for 2020, such as Nikki Haley from South Carolina. They could even win with a a candidate of her caliber, and I could live with that. Just as long as Trump is gone, banished to his golf course, and that will be part of the deal he makes when he leaves the Oval Office. Congress will agree to not pursue criminal prosecution of Trump and Trump in turn will agree to have his most rabid red-hat followers stand down. Trump will golf on in peace after he has dampened the urges of his militia. And the nation will survive.

That's my best outcome scenario. Trump is impeached by the House. Facing conviction by the Senate he makes that deal. Pence takes over as caretaker to fill out the term and no more. Then we have a rousing election battle with some new Republican star -- like Nikki Haley -- and the Democrats counter with Amy Klobuchar, their strongest moderate.

The nation will survive. It's not going to be pretty, but we can get through this and come out whole.


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"All False Statements Made By Donald Trump," Pulitzer Prize-Winning PolitiFact

October 23, 2019, 4:14 pm
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All False Statements Made By Donald Trump," Pulitzer Prize-Winning PolitiFact
"The Hardest Truth: People Want To Be Lied To"
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-hardest-lesson-people-want-to-be.html

"Trumpistas Don't Just Lie. They Are Hostile To Truth"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2018/10/lies-lies-lies-lies-compendium-of-pax.html

Trump Tells The Truth: "I Lie."
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/07/lies-lies-lies-lies-trump-mendacity.html

Image result for 1% politifact "Pax on both houses'

If Mueller Had Been Given Sodium Pentathol, Here's What He Would've Told Us

Image result for "pax on both houses" flag

"The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich": Hitler And Goebbels' Replacement Of Truth With Falsehood

VIDEO: Trump Tells More Lies Than Any U.S. Politician. Why Do Patriots And Xtians Believe A Liar?

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/01/video-trump-tells-more-lies-than-any-us.html

Image result for 1% politifact "Pax on both houses'

Reprise: How Trump "Takes Credit" That's Not His... And The Dimwits Buy It

People Want To Be Lied To: The Convergent Horror Of Faithful Falsehood And Aggressive Ignorance


Image result for trump never forget "Pax on both houses'

Trump Could Begin Every Speech With The Words "Everything I'm About To Tell You Is A Lie" And...

Republicans Generally - And Trump Specifically - Are Eager To Lie And Cheat If It Expands Their Power

False Witness

Comparing American Politicians' Lie Rates (From Mormon Press)

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/08/comparing-american-politicians-lie.html

Image result for lies politifact "Pax on both houses'

How Conservatives Use Decontextualized Shards Of Truth To Tell HUGE Lies
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/08/scott-pruitt-how-conservatives-use.html

Snopes Probes Rep. Omar's Foul Mouth: How Fox News Takes Tiny Truths And Twists Them Into Gargantuan Lies

Reprise: How Trump "Takes Credit" That's Not His... And The Dimwits Buy It

Trump, Obama, Intellectual Rigor And Teasing Out Truth: What Golf Tells Us


Image result for trump never forget "Pax on both houses'
Fake News Agency -- InfoWars -- Gets White House Briefing Room Press Credential
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2017/05/fake-news-agency-infowars-gets-white.html

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Millions Of Deplorables Voted For Trump Because He Was The Only Candidate Who Was As Crazy As They Are


Image result for trump never forget "Pax on both houses'

Donald Trump Attacks "Fake News" As Polish President Responsible For Press Crackdown Smiles

Mark Twain, Adolf Hitler And The Dunning-Kruger Effect

McArthur Wheeler: Patron Saint Of American "Conservatism"

"The Death Of Epistemology"



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What General James "Mad Dog" Mattis Learned In The Cambodian Killing Fields

October 23, 2019, 4:38 pm
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Trump Has High Praise For Marine General James Mattis: Calls Him "A General's General"

https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/10/president-trump-has-high-praise-for.html

In Stern Rebuke To Trump, Gen. Mattis Sees "Storm Clouds Gathering" And America "Withering"




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"Reporters Routinely Categorize Trump's Behavior As 'Inappropriate.' It Would Be More Honest..."

October 23, 2019, 6:37 pm
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Reporters Routinely Categorize Trump's Behavior As "Inappropriate." How About "Grotesque," "Outlandish," "Preposterous," "Aberrant," "Perni | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

Trump Tells The Truth: "I Lie."
Reporters Routinely Categorize Trump's Behavior As "Inappropriate. How About "Grotesque," "Outlandish," "Preposterous," "Aberrant," "Pernici | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

"Trumpistas Don't Just Lie. They Are Hostile To Truth"


Reporters Routinely Categorize Trump's Behavior As "Inappropriate" How About "Grotesque," "Outlandish," "Preposterous," "Aberrant," "Pernic | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

"All False Statements Made By Donald Trump"
Pulitzer Prize-Winning PolitiFact

Reporters Routinely Categorize Trump's Behavior As "Inappropriate." How About "Grotesque," "Outlandish," "Preposterous," "Aberrant," "Perni | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

If Mueller Had Been Given Sodium Pentathol, Here's What He Would've Told Us


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Trumpism: The Rebellion Of Know-Nothing Twits. (... Armed-To-The-Teeth Twits)

October 23, 2019, 7:39 pm
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"There is an essentially lawless quality in "The Party of Law and Order."
A susprising late-life discovery has been my realization that "half the time, people talk most about what they themselves lack most."
For example...
Often evangelicals are not trying to convert their apparent audience of infidels.
They are trying to convert themselves.
"Evangelicals' Lack Of Faith Is The Greatest Threat To The Church"
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/…/evangelicals-lack-of…
"Evangelical Support Of Trump Will Be An Indictment Against Its Validity," Fr. Richard Rohr
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/…/evangelical-support-o…
***
What is "coming to light" is the squirmingly uncomfortable fact that about half the people are too stupid to know they're stupid.
However, they know just enough to be envious -- and dismissively contemptuous -- of the so-called "intellectual elites" who -- truth be told -- know waaayyyyy more than they do.
"Mark Twain, Adolf Hitler And The Dunning-Kruger Effect"
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/…/mark-twain-and-dunnin…
It is hard to see how this resolves since the people most in need of change are intrinsically unable to see that they need to change.
Indeed, since they are on Jesus' side -- and Jesus is on theirs -- they are convinced beyond doubt that they are on a divinely ordained mission to convert the intellectuals, or -- better yet -- take "the baby killers" to the entrance to "The Lake Of Unquenchable Fire." https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/10/how-to-reduce-abortion-what-delawares.html
"It is all about identity politics."
And it is in the nature of stupid people to believe "they're not stupid."
It's the intellectuals who are stupid.
Trump -- who is an idiot's idea of a genius -- is the perfect "Know-Nothing" reflection of the know-nothings. http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-american-party-no-nothing-nativism.html



NYDAILYNEWS.COM
The Republicans sink even lower: Matt Gaetz’s stunt outside the SCIF is despicable and dangerous
If Americans needed any further proof that Donald Trump’s toxic presidency has corroded the Republican Party beyond recognition, Rep. Matt Gaetz just proved the argument in grand fashion.
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"Lock Her Up!"

October 23, 2019, 8:46 pm
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Catholic Worker Friend Patrick O'Neill Is One Of "The Plowshares 7"

October 24, 2019, 6:16 am
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Plowshares And The Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base: 25 Years For Trying To Save The Planet

Peace And Justice Activist Mary Rider Recites Poem At Plowshares Celebration In Raleigh, NC

"Thomas Merton: Adolf Eichmann, Sanity and Normality"

"Do Wars Really Defend America's Freedom?"
(Homage To Marine Commandant, Major General Smedley Butler)
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/11/major-general-smedley-butler-do-wars.html

After Powerful Testimony

Kings Bay Plowshares Trial Nears End

October 24, 2019
BRUNSWICK, GA—Both the government and the defense finished their testimony yesterday at 5 p.m. in the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 anti-nuclear weapons case.
Defendants were able to say much more than had been expected after the wide “in limine” restrictions established late last week before trial. They spoke about their strong faith motivations and their knowledge of the horrendous effects of nuclear weapons, and read portions of documents they had carried onto the Kings Bay submarine base in their action on April 4, 2018, the fiftieth anniversary of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination. Thursday will likely see the trial end with closing statements, the charge to the jury, and jury deliberations.
In a recurring pattern, the judge would allow items the seven carried onto the sub base into evidence over frequent government objection. Martha Hennessy was even allowed to read from the indictment that nuclear weapons are always illegal. The judge did always remind the jury the items admitted were only for the fact that they were left on the base, not that they were true.
The prosecution called their final witness in the morning, base Facilities Management Specialist Juan Melgarejo, to verify the expenses of cleaning and repairs after the disarmament action, which he reported totaled $31,833.
Then two defendants, Hennessy and Patrick O'Neill, who had not previously given opening statements did so, and the defense began their case with Attorney Stephanie Amiotte examining Hennessy. After overruling an objection from the prosecution, the indictment of nuclearism the seven carried and which Hennessy had posted at the Strategic Weapons Facility Engineering office (known as SWFLANT) finally was allowed into evidence by Judge Lisa Godbey Wood.
Go Pro video footage was also admitted of Hennessy reading Bible verses from the prayer book “Give Us This Day” which she, Clare Grady, O'Neill and Mark Colville had read as they waited to be apprehended by base security personnel. Hennessy ended her testimony with, “It's imminent (nuclear war) and it haunts me.”
Next, Attorney Fred Kopp, in examining Carmen Trotta, asked why he and his colleagues went to Kings Bay. Trotta said that the base has one quarter of the US deployed nuclear weapons, and that it cannot be legal to destroy nearly all life on Earth. He noted the “outrage of God at putting his creation in jeopardy.” Trotta was one of three who went to the so-called “Limited Area,” where deadly force is authorized and where the activists believe nuclear weapons are stored in bunkers. Kopp elicited from Trotta the extreme caution the three took to be “careful for everyone's sake” as they entered the zone and when they were approached by Marine guards.
Grady, in examination by Attorney Joe Cosgrove, said that the consequences of global nuclear war are so atrocious they necessitate the creation of the word “omnicide.”
“Trident is the crime,” she said, explaining her use of crime scene tape, not caution tape, as the government kept calling it, at the SWFLANT office. Grady also noted that her colleagues used hammers to “deconstruct” or “transform” weapons to plowshares, instead of doing damage as the government claims. In cross examination, chief prosecutor Karl Knoche rapid-fired a series of accusations at Grady, claiming that she and her co-defendants believed themselves to be a law unto themselves. Grady calmly answered that the egregious use of weapons is bullying, not the painted peace messages and blood that Grady and Hennessy poured on the engineering office sidewalk.
Attorney Matt Daloisio examined Colville, who quoted his father saying, “Integrity is what you do when no one is looking, taking responsibility to what you know to be true.” Colville also explained his use of the word “idolatry” that he had written on one of the missile replicas, noting that the Bible urges us to remove, even smash, idols. Colville related that it was a long time before any authorities actually confronted him and Grady, Hennessy, and O’Neill in what the activists call the missile shrine area, even though several vehicles approached, slowed and then drove on. So after about an hour they felt they had done enough. They sat down and prayed, then carefully showed their hands when the vehicles finally approached them. In response to the repeated cross examination accusation of arrogantly choosing to run red lights, Colville said that he ran every red light when his wife Luz was in labor. “It was an emergency!”
Representing himself, O'Neill was examined by advisory attorney Keith Higgins. As a “cradle Catholic” grandchild of four immigrants from Ireland, his faith was always his guide and led him to co-found the Fr. Charlie Mulholland Catholic Worker in Garner, NC with his wife, Mary Rider. He noted that Catholic workers take nonviolent action and break the law like Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, and Dr. King, to bring social change. In reviewing the items he took onto the base, O’Neill brought international law into the courtroom. He mentioned copies of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the new Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In government's exhibit 36-1B-6 GoPro video footage O’Neill recorded himself quoting Pope Francis saying the use and possession of nuclear weapons is to be firmly condemned
The seven's statement is one of love and hope, O'Neill said.
Attorney Bill Quigley questions Elizabeth McAlister during day three of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 trial. Illustration by Chrissy Nesbitt
Elizabeth McAlister was questioned by her attorney Bill Quigley. After briefly describing her life growing up and her life as a nun, McAlister explained how she got involved in the peace movement. As a college professor during the Vietnam War, she said, 30 of her students’ boyfriends came home in body bags.
"One could not be a teacher of these young women without sharing their grief. I felt that we were being called to more."
She related the story of marrying well-known activist Philip Berrigan, who later co-founded the Plowshares movement. They established the activist community Jonah House in Baltimore. McAlister described how her continued sense of her vocation led her to this action. Prayer, she said, was integral to the action. There is a "reshaping" of conscience that happens within each of us, which mirrors the transformation we seek of weapons into tools for cultivating life. McAlister also explained her reason for using the symbol of blood.
"War involves radical bloodshed. (Using blood as a symbol) is a way of remembering that war is bloodshed, and we long to see the end of war and the end of shedding the blood of another human being.”
Scott Bassett, the communications officer for the Kings Bay base was called as a witness by the defense. Upon prompting, he testified that he had at earlier pre-trial motions hearings given a statement to the Washington Post. His statement said that there was no threat to any assets or personnel at the base from the protestors. He said the statement meant there had been no damage to military assets such as submarines or weapons systems, not a missile display.
Apart from a few objections and brief comments to indicate his agreement with the testimony of his co-defendants, Fr. Steve Kelly, S.J., remained silent throughout the proceedings.
After exiting the courthouse, the defendants told a gathering of supporters and media they were pleased that they were able to say so much more in court about their beliefs and motivation than they had expected because of the judge’s rulings prohibiting mention of their religious motivations, international law, or necessity.
“We are seeing what the courts protect,” said Grady.
PLEASE DONATE
Supporting this profound sacrifice by these seven requires generosity. Your support of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 will help cover the ongoing costs surrounding this trial and social change effort. You can give at our GoFundMe site and checks can be sent to Plowshares, PO Box 3087, Washington, DC 20010. Further details check the website: kingsbayplowshares7.org.
Thank you!
EMAIL: Media: kbp7media@gmail.com
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