Winter Solstice is here

December 21, 2024

Shortest daylight of the 366-day year

for the Northern Hemisphere

Philippians 2: 10 - 11 (Latin transl.)

Ut in nomine Jesu

omne genu flectatur

caelestium

terrestium

et infernorum.

Et omnis lingua confiteatur,

quia Dominus Jesus Christus

in Gloria Dei Patris.

Frankfurt Silver Inscription (amulet foil writing, Latin)

A.D. 230 - 270

18 lines of Latin Text in amulet

"In the name of St. Titus

Holy! Holy! Holy!

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Son of God

The Lord of the World

Resists to the best

of his ability

All attacks / setbacks

The God grants the well-being

Entry.

This means of salvation

protects the human being who 

surrenders to the will of 

the Lord Jesus Christ, 

the Son of God, 

since before Jesus Christ

All knees bow to Jesus Christ: 

the heavenly the earthly 

and the subterranean and 

every tongue confess to Jesus Christ"

cnn.com/2024/12/20 online article "Silver Amulet discovered in Germany

could rewrite Christian history in Europe"

Pentagon admits that 2,000 troops (NOT 900 as formerly publicized)

. . . are on site in Syria to support the

core official deployed forces participating

in the Pentagon's mission of keeping

Islamic State's armed forces from reconstituting

nytimes.com/2024/12/19/us/politics/us-troops-syria.html

Military prepares to go without pay due to GOP budget shutdown

LIVE Update CNN

However, the Dept. of Defense will continue to work

after Friday's shutdown. . .

CNN.com/politics/live-news/trump-government-shutdown-

news-12-19-24/index.html 

Wrath of Trump

No, not another sci-fi blockbuster in the Star Trek franchise

INSTEAD,

an early order from the President-elect to show how his DOJ

will begin its FBI Inquiry as far as her actions on

Jan. 6 Congressional committee that examined 

Trump's attempts to hold on to Presidential power when he

lost the 2020 election.

nytimes.com/2024/12/18/us/politics/trump-liz-cheney-report.html

Tom Homan

Trump-Vance incoming

Border Czar

needs 100,000 beds far beyond the

40,000 already currently funded for

to deal with the 11 million illegal

immigrant "issue" : his plan is to

carry out Trump-Vance plans by 

immediately arresting and holding

in "detention camps" the undocumented

immigrants . . .

cnn.com/ border-czar-homan-trump-

deportation-plans/index.html

Jared Moskowitz

FL Congressman (D) denies any job in Trump-Vance administration

was offered -- He will stay in Congress representing his district.

(23rd)

There are always areas for bipartisanship // he will not be named

as FEMA chief by #DJT

CR "Stopgap measure" does not emerge until 14 March 2025

Speaker of House Johnson negotiated specific assistance

for farmers - $10 billion new spending

DETAILS CNN.com/2024/12/17/politics/

government-spending-negotiations-congress/index.html

Stop gap measure he originally planned for was to run thru 

March 14 next year

UPDATE:

As of Wed. -- outside agitator Elon Musk is calling

for GOP members to vote against this bipartisan

deal -- leaving Mike Johnson in the "lurch"

RFK , Jr. plans to continue to question the science of vaccines

Trump - Vance nominee for HHS and all health agencies at

federal level told Senator Mark Wayne Mullin (Oklahoma)

that he plans to continue to

question the science of

vaccines -- CNN.com/

2024/12/16/politics/

kennedy-vaccines-gop-

senators/index.html

French Prime Minister

Dec. 17, 2024

President Macron named this fellow party member as incoming

Prime Minister

Francois Bayrou,

founding member of MoDem Party

Dec. 17 new entries in "National Film Registry"

LOC (Library of Congress) announces these new titles for 2024

Star Trek II : The wrath of Khan

Dirty Dancing

No Country for Old Men

Beverly Hills Cop

The Social Network

Up in Smoke

Angels with Dirty Faces

The Chelsea Girls

Spy Kids

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Thomas Edison short film

American Me

Mi Familia

Powwow Highway

Compensation

Common Threads: AIDS Quilt stories

Ganja and Hess

Invaders from Mars (1953)

Koko's Earth Control (1928)

The Miracle Worker

My Own Private Idaho

The Pride of the Yankees

Uptown Saturday Night

Will (1981)

Zora Lathan Student Films

Alberta Clipper

The first "Alberta Clipper" of the winter precipitation

season will hit Michigan on Dec. 19 - 20, 2024 : SOURCE

Michigan Live! dot-com

storm system that moves from

the Pacific Ocean to SW Canada &

then SE into the Northern Plains,

then moves SE over the Great Lakes

region

mlive.com/weather/2024/12/weather-this-week-

1st-alberta-clipper-gradually-turns-us-wintry.html

Winter Solstice 2024

The shortest daylight of the year will

take place at the Winter Solstice at 4:20 a.m. eastern

December 21, 2024;

from that point in the season the amount of

daylight increases until the longest Daylight

of the year at the Summer Solstice !

Happy Birthday, Ludwig B.!

Beethoven's Birthday

[Schroeder of Peanuts

comic strip honored this day]

Dec. 16, 1770

Bonn, Germany

he would live 56 years, 3 months

Parents: Johann B. & 

Maria Magdalena Keverich

Bonhoeffer War Sermon (1930)

Concerning the early 20th century international war termed

The Great War or The First WORLD War:

War bears within itself the justification

of sin.  For it contradicts God's command-

ment.  A final answer to the question of

whether a Christian should or should not

participate must be rejected.  Both answers

are possible.

One person shows solidarity and goes along.

The other one says: "Even the authorities 

are demanding sin; I will not participate."

On the one hand, we are threatened by

militarism.  And on the other,

by doctrinaire pacifism.

This is not a matter of assessing people

morally.  Here people did die heroic

or miserably cowardly deaths.  One can

be even more grateful to the cowardly 

than to the person who died heroically.

Just think what it means for a poor,

cowardly person to offer up life itself!

The heroes at least had an ideal.  The 

others died without such an ideal, 

miserably, but perhaps with all the more

difficulty.

But both suffered death, stood together

in a single line like a wall.  Gratitude!

But God amid all this!  It is not our

place to award retroactive medals for

bravery.  Nor the opposite either.

They died.  How?  Who knows?  Enough

simply that they died.  As a result,

we live.  That prompts us to offer

thanksgiving and to repent before

God!

Pray for the victory of one's own

cause?  No.

It, the church, prays only for peace

for soldiers on both sides.  War sermons?

They were equally bad in both Germany

and England.

Han Duck-Soo

With today's impeachment of the former president

Yoon Suk Yeol

the Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo

will step in to govern the E. Asian democracy,

on an interim basis (12/14/2024).

Yoon Sook Yeoul - elected leader in S. Korea

Korea's President who declared Martial Law this month

and who is today impeached by the constitutional

court (Dec. 14, 2024).

Celebrations broke out across the cities and region

of South Korea.  He did vow to fight removal from

office DETAILS at

nytimes.com/live/2024/12/14/world/south-korea-impeachment

president-yoon

2025 invitation to a communist leader

#DJT invited by phone and written request for

Xi Jinping

of China to attend his swearing-in

ceremony, overshadowing democratically

elected officeholders, ex-Presidents, military brass,

and members of Congress.  A formal decline was

conveyed by the autocrat, given that their

ambassador and wife were assumed to be

adequate representation. . .

cnn.com/2024/12/12/politics/trump-xi-inauguration-

china-analysis/index.html

SUPPLEMENT:

NY Mayor Eric Adams wants a ticket to

Trump inauguration (20 Jan. 2025) -- reporting

in NY Times 17 Dec. 2024 that advisers

are approaching the Trump-Vance arrangers / 

staff about a ticket to the D.C. event

Aaron Siri

NYTIMES dot-com profile

Friday 12/13/24

a lawyer assisting RFK, Jr. pick federal

health officials for the incoming Trump-

Vance administration 

He has petitioned the government to 

revoke its approval of the

polio vaccine,

Hepatitis B vaccine, 

13 other vaccines until

their makers disclose 

details about aluminum

nytimes.com/2024/12/13/health/

aaron-siri-rfk-jr-vaccines.html

Kirchenkampf

The German word

Kirchenkampf

refers to the situation of

the Christian churches in

Germany from Hitler's rise

to power in 1933 to the 

end of World War II in 1945

The Church and the Jewish Question (1933 writing by D. Bonhoeffer)

The professional Theologian / academic philosopher took in

this writing a public stand against the new regime (NAZISM)

Michael P. DeJonge -- Bonhoeffer on Resistance (2018)

subtitled: The Word against the Wheel

There are three possibilities for action

that the church can take vis a vis the state 

First, questioning the state as to the legiti-

mate state character of its actions, making

the state responsible for what it does.

Second, service to the victims of the

state's actions.  The church has an

unconditional obligation toward the victims

of any social order, even if they do not

belong to the Christian community 

("Let us work for the good of all");

these are both ways in which the church,

in its freedom, conducts itself in the 

interest of a free state.  In times when

the laws are changing, the church may

under no circumstances neglect either

of these duties.

Third possibility is not just to bind up

the wounds of the victims beneath the

wheel but to seize the wheel itself

Volume 12 DBWE page 365

German phrase is _dem Rad selbst

in die Speichen zu fallen

alternate translations:

to jam a spoke in the wheel

itself and to seize the wheel

itself footnote 2, page 5

DeJonge Bonhoeffer on Resistance

Jan. 20, 2017 (told by Fred Trump III)

in his memoir of "The Trumps and how we got this way"

(2024, publisher Gallery Books)

As nephew of the President-elect, Fred and Lisa Trump

were seated close with other members of the family, near

Senator John McCain. . .

Donald was sworn in at noon, as is the custom . .  

Just as my uncle began his inaugural address, 

the slate-gray sky of the Capitol opened up 

and a light rain began to fall.  As many com-

mentators pointed out later, it was a 

fairly dark speech, berating the D.C. 

elites of both parties for ignoring the 

needs of the American people and allowing 

the nation's cities to be overrun with "crime & 

gangs & drugs. . .The American carnage stops 

right here and stops right now. From this day 

forward, a new vision will govern our land.  

From this moment on, 

it's going to be America First." (p. 293, Chapter 20) 

Massad Boulos, truck and heavy machine dealer in Nigeria, Africa

The Presidential Middle East adviser is

Massad Boulos,

father-in-law to Tiffany (Trump)

His company last year had a net profit of $66,000,

corporate filings show.

a Christian from Northern Lebanon who emigrated to

Texas as a teenager;

he is not an attorney but has a B.A. in Business Administration

None of the 215 Democrats will support Mike Johnson

Current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson should

expect none of the 215 votes of the Democratic Party

when he is seeking to get at least 218 votes for a 50%

plus one majority of the 435 member Constitutional

body.  Between now and the Jan. 3, 2025 vote to elect

a speaker of the House, the Louisiana back-bencher

of only 8-years experience as a Representative

who only ascended to leadership in 2023; he has been

lambasted by arch-conservatives who want to 

stymie any efforts at bipartisanship as recently as 

May 2023 (the R. vote against him was 10 "radicals)

and future "Votes to Recall" may be forthcoming.

Among the 220 Reprs. (GOP) elected the number fell

to 219 when Matt Gaetz of FL resigned due to

Ethic complaints and the possible release of 

details of that multi-year investigation.

SOURCE Hakeem Jeffries -- the hill.com online

coverage 12/11/2024 (who hopes to hold on to all

215 votes for himself)

The Amazing Kreskin

NY TIMES Obituary says he was

born George Joseph Kresge, Jr.

Jan. 12, 1935

and died December 10, 2024

at an assisted living center, Wayne, NJ

an entertainer who used to dazzle audiences

as he rose to fame on late-night TV shows

of the 1970s

11 a.m. Wed. til 1 p.m. Thursday (opening Day in Jones, MI)

 Winter Weather Advisory

in effect those 13 hours --

high winds 35 - 40 MPH and

2 - 4 inches of blowing snow

Dec. 11 and 12, 2024

ON Thursday 12/12

the SW Michigan Ski resort

Swiss Valley will open for

the winter season 2024-25

Beethoven Day

Charles Schulz, cartoonist

featured a part of arts & culture when his

piano-playing character, Schroeder,

observed Ludwig Beethoven's birthday

(Dec. 16 annually from 1953-1960).

In the musical YOU're A GOOD MAN,

CHARLIE BROWN -- that same character

has a featured song "Beethoven Day" !

A3446 - legislation to "ban" BOOK BANS (New Jersey) Dec. 2024

NPR.org

New Jersey has a new law that limits 

the BANNING OF BOOKS in

School Libraries and Public Libraries:

the state law directs that 

FREEDOM TO READ ACT 2024 

ensures generations of children will

be able access diverse and inclusive,

age-appropriate materials and boards

"cannot ban books solely on the basis

of the Origin,

Background, or

Views contained within the text

or

Because an individual finds it

offensive . . ."

whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-book-

banning-school-libraries.html

Ang Lee, to receive DGA Lifetime Achievement Award Feb. 2025

apnews.com/article/ang-lee-dga

On Feb. 8, 2025, noted and honored director

Ang Lee, age 70,

will receive the Directors Guild of America's

Lifetime Achievement award for his body of work:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Sense & Sensibility

The Ice Storm

Life of Pi

Brokeback Mountain

Feb. 8, 2025 at their annual

awards (the 77th)

77 Nobel Prize Laureates -- letter opposing RFK, Jr. for HHS Secy. (Trump cabinet)

The seventy-seven Laureates/recipients of Nobel Prizes

are in the fields of 

MEDICINE, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, ECONOMICS

Victor Ambros & Gary Ruvkun (2024)

Daren Acemoglu & Simon Johnson

(this year Economics on Global inequality)

Dr. Harold Varmus

Richard Roberts

List at

NYTIMES.com/2024/12/09/

health/kennedy-hhs-nobel-laureates.html

2025 Award Season begins Jan. 5

Eligible films / TV series / specials / technical

awards and lifetime awards for Ted Danson &

Viola Davis

Golden Globes

Gabbard (Trump-Vance nominee for DNI) visited Syria 2017

The 4-term Hawaii congresswoman declared upon her

return from Damascus that "Bashar al-Assad was not

an enemy of the U.S." and endorsed many of Russian

President V. Putin's

actions to invade and brutally attack Ukraine's citizens

and infrastructure. . .

details at the hill.com/home news/house/5029519-tulsi

gabbard-capitol-hill-syria

Tulsi meets the week of Dec. 9 - 13 in D.C. officially with 

Senators she hopes will back her nomination to the 

Cabinet level after the inauguration of #DJT and #Vance

Jan. 20, 2024.

Insurgents break in to set free political prisoners (authors, civilians)

Sunday Dec. 8, 2024

was a new day dawning for 100s of long-term prisoners

of Assad's Saydnaya "human slaughterhouse",

just north of Damascus, Syria

apnews.com/articles/syria-assad-prisons-human-rights

detainees-saydnaya online article (Monday 12/9/2024)

Cold Moon 2024

Watch at 4 a.m. Sunday December 15, 2024

for the December maximum FULL

Moon, a.k.a. "Cold Moon"

almanac.com (Old Farmer's Almanac online)

ALSO -- on Dec. 30 or 31

there will be a "New Moon" called

BLACK MOON 2024

Two PEARL HARBOR survivors return

The combat Navy veterans, ages 102 and 104,

returned Dec. 7, 2024 to the Hawaii location

of the Japanese air attack to honor those who died

and were injured 83 years ago.

coverage at POLITICO.com/  

Trump Legal scandals [Wm McGinley replaced as White House Counsel]

Judge Juan Marchan held that Trump's bid to have his 34 felony

convictions overturned has failed -- he will enter the White House

as the only POTUS with felon as his status on criminal charges

found guilty by a jury of his peers.

nytimes.com/2024/12/16/nyregion/trump-immunity-criminal-case.html

The Trump/Vance pick for 

WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL will not be William McGinley

but instead a different top lawyer for the Campaign

David Warrington.

McGinley's aide BORIS

EPSHTEYN has been accused

of "shaking down" potential

appointees for tens of thousands

of dollars.

nytimes.com/2024/12/02/us/politics/trump-replaces-

white-house-counsel.html

Jared Isaacman - billionaire nominee of #DJT

CNN online article (Dec. 6, 2024)

The 42-year-old nominee of Trump-Vance administration

to head the NASA (govt. sector Space program) is a 

CEO of Shift4Payments, the company he founded as

a 16-year-old entrepreneur teenager.

An experienced jet pilot -- owner of $27.5 million worth

of stock of SpaceX . . .

cnn.com/science/nasa-pick-jared-isaacman.html

Aleppo's Christian citizens

Over 14 years of civil war, Aleppo (Syria ancient city and 

larger population center) has had its Christian population

shrink from ~300,000 to 25,000, as many have left the country

for better opportunities and a life free of the threat of violence.

washingtpost.com/ online article

Kash Patel "Enemies List" he published 2023

Representative Liz Cheney

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Jack Smith, outgoing sp. counsel

Adam Schiff (lead House prosecutor for 

first Trump Impeachment)

Olivia Troye

General Mark Milley, retired Chairman

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Letitia James, Atty. general New York

Justice Arthur Engoron

Police officers who defended the Capitol (6 Jan. 2021)

Mark Zuckerberg

John Bolton

William Barr, former Atty. General

Mark Esper, former Defense secretary

Pat Cippolone, former White House counsel

Gina Haspel, former CIA director

& Christopher Wray, current FBI Director. 

S. Korea -- off the itinerary for Biden's Secy. of Defense Lloyd Austin

2 p.m. Thursday 12/5/2024

Reuters Exclusive: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin

will NOT travel to S. Korea following President Yoon Suk

Yeol's botched attempt this week to declare martial law

reuters.com/world/pentagon-halts-planning

defense-secretarys-south-korea-visit-officials-say

Sunday Dec. 8 -- (aired on CBS two weeks later)

at Kennedy Center for the Arts (Washington, D.C.)

Queen Latifah will host the annual

celebration of the achievements of people and 1 place:

F. Coppola, 

the Grateful Dead, 

BonnieRaitt, 

Arturo Sandoval,

The Apollo Theater (Harlem, New York City).

Its chairman is David Rubenstein (appointed by

George W. Bush) -- Trustees will at Jan. 2025

be 18 appointed by #DJT and 18 by #POTUS 

Biden; notable ones are Pam Bondi & Mike 

Huckabee.

Psalm 121

to be chanted 3 times ahead of the rite of the opening of

the doors of Notre-Dame-de-Paris Cathedral

Dec. 7, late in the afternoon

(first Saturday, Dec. 2024)

How joyful it was when 

they said to me

'Let us go to the House of the Lord'!

Now our feet are standing within 

your gates, O Jerusalem! 

Jerusalem, built as a city, 

that is bound firmly together.

World Leaders 7 December 2024 re-opening of Notre-Dame de Paris

800-year old cathedral at heart of Paris, France will

be re-opened with a ceremony presided over by

French President Emanuel Macron, Paris mayor

Anne Hidalgo, Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich.

NOT attending -- Pope Francis (press office)

Guests to include:

Heads of State: Ukraine President Zelenskyy;

President A. Buda of Poland; Prince Albert II of Monaco;

FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden (representing the Biden-Harris

administration and the U.S. government);

#DJT; his Plus-one Elon Musk;

+40 world leaders (Prince William); Italian PM

Giorgia Meloni, former Secy. of State John Kerry.

December 7 (Saturday) is NOT the same as Dec. 8

re-dedication inaugural MASS led by the Archbishop of

Paris with the President of the Republic also

in attendance -- see 

notredamedeparis.fr/en/re-opening/december7-8/

Chad Chronister

Sheriff of Florida county that includes Tampa;

he was named by #DJT to head the D.E.A. but has

withdrawn his name from the nomination (needed

Senate approval) three days after he was tapped.

nytimes.com/live/12/03/us/trump-biden-news

Source of the Acrostic (I CH TH HU S)

from Constantine & Christendom 

edited and translated by Mark Edwards

Transl. Texts from Historians (2003)

vol. 39 Liverpool University Press

"Now the Erythraean Sibyl,

saying that she was born in the

sixth generation after the flood,

was a priestess of Apollo,

wearing a diadem on equal terms

with the God whom she worshipped,

in charge of the tripod round which

the snake was coiled. . . she foretold

in words what was to happen with 

respect to God, plainly revealing

by the prefixing of the initial

letters, which is called an acrostic, 

the history of Jesus' descent"

(page 41)

The acrostic spells the words

Iesous Christos Theou Huios

Soter Stauros (Jesus Christ,

Son of God, Saviour, Cross).

I CH TH U S

ACROSTIC

for "fish" (Greek)

also code for "Christ"

part of poem (4th Century) - by

Emperor Constantine

In sign of coming judgment

    earth shall sweat;

CHaff now and earth shall

    all the world become;

THen shall all people wail

    and gnash their teeth;

HUge sorrow then shall fall

     on humankind;

Savior immortal, King 

     who died for us.

pages 42-3 [Constantine &

Christendom ] 2007 reprint 

by Mark Edwards, editor/transl.

Spade-toothed Whale discovered off NZ

a 5-meter (16-foot) male washed up dead on a beach

at New Zealand -- only 6 ever before found

apnews.com/article/rarest-whale-zealand-spade-toothed-

dissection-d71aad4ce6e47feq1056a10cf5b8610e

Winter Storm Warning -- revised

For Berrien and Cass Counties in Michigan

Heavy lake snow expected - possible 5 - 8 inches

High Winds

midweek Dec. 4 5 p.m. - until Friday 12/6/2024 1 a.m.

Oxford Dictionary "Word of the Year 2024"

 Brain rot

earliest use was 1854 - H.D. Thoreau

"While England endeavors to cure the

potato-rot, will not any endeavor to 

cure the brain-rot, which prevails 

so much more widely and fatally?"

nytimes.com/2024/12/01/arts/brain-rot-

oxford-word.html

When POTUS 46 visits Angola this week (Dec. 2024)

When Joe Biden visit Luanda the week of Dec. 1

he is scheduled to visit the national Slavery Museum

near Luanda (the capital) to highlight the bond

between the two nations that was born out of slavery.

A vast majority of African Americans have Angolan

ancesty . . .that gives the United States an ability to 

draw cultural and historical ties to the country that its

rival, China, cannot.

Online article mentions Wanda Tucker, part of Biden's

delegation and present Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III

who has said : "Four centuries ago, slavers from far away 

put the men and women and children into shackles --

people who looked just like you and me."

Moshe Yaalon

1 December 2024

Former Israeli defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, has accused

Israel of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in

Gaza Strip, a rare critique from a member of the security

establishment at a time of war

nytimes.com/2024/12/01/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-yaalon.html

"The path they're dragging us down is 

to occupy, annex, and ethnically cleanse --

look at the northern strip"; Israel was being 

pulled in the direction of building settlements

in Gaza . . .

Mr. Yaalon is a former member of the Likud Party.

December 2024 (last 31 days out of Leap Year)

Welcome to this Google BLOGGER

SEEKING FAITH & UNDERSTANDING

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Dec. 22

Happy Andrzeji (St. Andrew's Feast)

the Polish feast evening (Nov. 29 - 30) observed

as a night of fun -- dancing - fortune telling --

in honor of the apostle Andrew (disciple called

by Jesus along with his brother Cephas / PETER

Aleppo, Syria & Hama, Syria

BREAKING NEWS:

Rebel soldiers swept into the airport, killing dozens of

Bashar al-Assad troops in biggest challenge to the

autocrat in 14 years . . .

reuters.com/world/middle-east/aleppo-airport-closed-

sources-say-syrian-rebels-reach-heart-city . . .

Hayat-Tahrir-al-Salam (Islamist group)

Turkish-backed rebels have also joined in

DECEMBER 1 update =

The rebels now control a broad swath of land across

the regions of Hama, Idlib, and Aleppo,

in the west and northwest of Syria

Dec. 2, 2024 (NPR coverage):

With root in the uprising of 2011

ORGANIZATION for the LIBERATION of

GREATER SYRIA swept down from its

strongholds to take control of a vast swath

of their nation, long under Autocrat Assad.

who-are-the-rebels-who-have-seized-control-

of-Aleppo-and-Syria

Dec. 5 update (apnews.com/)

Syrian insurgents entered the 4th largest city (Hama)

after 3 days of intense clashes with Assad's

government on its outskirts.  Hama's capture would

be a major setback for dictator-autocrat Bashar

Assad.

The likely next target of the insurgents will be 

Homs (3rd largest city in Syria).

Mark 6: 26 - 29 (Revised New Jerusalem transl.)

a unique parable to GospMark chapter 4 "The seed 

growing by itself"

He (Jesus) also said,

"This is what the kingdom

of God is like.  It is as if

a man should scatter seed on

the earth.  Night and day,

while he sleeps, when he is

awake, the seed sprouts and

grows, how, he does NOT know.

Of its own accord the earth

produced first the shoot, 

then the ear, then the full

grain in the ear.  And when

the crop is ripe, at once he

puts in the sickle, because

harvest time has come!"

I John 5: 6 - 9 (Revised New Jerusalem Bible transl.)

I John chapter 5 contains

the Johannine Comma

(verses 7 - 8):

verse 6

"He it is who came

by water and blood,

Jesus Christ,

not with water alone,

but with water and blood,

and it is the Spirit

that bears witness,

for the Spirit is Truth.

verses 7 - 8

So there are three witnesses,

the Spirit, the water,

and the blood,

and these three are one.

verse 9

If we accept the testimony of

human witnesses,

God's testimony is greater,

for this is God's testimony

which he gave about his Son.

John's Prologue (GospJohn 1: 9-14)

Excerpt of REVISED NEW JERUSALEM translation:

The true light that gives

light to everyone

was coming into the world!

He was in the world

and the world came into

being through him,

and the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own

and his own people did not

accept him

But to those who did accept him

he gave power to become

children of God,

to those who believed in his

name, who were born not from

blood, or from the will of the

flesh, or from human will

but from God himself.

The Word became flesh,

and lived among us, 

and we saw his glory,

the glory as of an

only-begotten Son 

of the Father, 

full of grace and truth!

published in the USA May 2019

ISBN 978-0-525-57319-7

Happy Thanksgiving (4th Thursday Nov. annual)

back to POTUS 16

Abraham Lincoln,

following a victory of the

Civil (1861 - 65), declared

a "National Day of 

Thanksgiving" -- we continue

that into the 2020s

Bonhoeffer family (86) members may sue Eric Metaxas for lies

Currentpub.com/2024/11/26/the-bonhoeffer-family-

is-considering-legal-action-against-eric-metaxas/

The Christian right / white supremacist/nationalist

has distorted and misused the legacy of

Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- Theologian, advocate

ecumenical pioneer, Hitler opponent

calling him "SPY - ASSASSIN"

Giuliani -- in court -- sketch artist

Nov. 26, 2024 Manhattan court judge

reprimands the former Prosecutor - co-

conspirator with #DJT to defame Georgia

pollworkers in his "Big Lie" coup attempt

to overturn the Nov. 2020 Pres. election.

cnn.com/ Kaitlan Collins interview with artist

Memo of Understanding (MOU)

This necessary document for the presidential transition process

(transfer of power) between the Biden White House and the

Trump-Vance "team" was signed approx. 4 p.m. Tuesday

Nov. 26, 2024;

that allows Cabinet nominees

to begin critical preparations.

By comparison the Biden-Harris

in SEPTEMBER 2020 signed

an MOU, before that year's

election took place.

the hill. com/ homenews

Boris Epshteyn

Sold access to office of Secy. of Treasury - Trump/Vance

administration -- source was Scott Bessent,

Trump's own named nominee

apnews.com/article/trump-epshteyn-bessent-

campaign-transition 

National Fertility Rate (54 women out of 1,000)

cited in NY TIMES article ("Does the U.S. Have a Fertility Crisis?")

54 births out of 1,000

women of child-bearing age

[data for 2023]

Dylan James Smyth, age 42, insurrectionist in 2021 Capitol break-in

Smyth of Blanchard, Michigan has been charged by the DOJ

with felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during

a civil disorder as well as destruction of federal property.

He dismantled a fence barricade and used it and impeded

the DC and Capitol officers' ability to clear the restricted

area. -- more at ABCNews.com (today Monday 11/25/2024).

Best PODCAST of 2024

The winner is

"The Daily" (NY TIMES)

Who knows?

TRANSLATION: The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

Take the fig tree as a parable; as soon

as its twigs grow supple and its leaves

come out, you know that summer is near.

So with you when you see these things as

happening: know that he is near, at the

very gates!  I tell you solemnly,

before this generation has passed away,

all these things will have taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but

my words will not pass away.

But as for that day or hour, nobody

knows it, neither the angels of heaven,

nor the Son; no one but the Father.

You are the salt of the earth -- Sayings of Jesus

TRANSLATION The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

TRANSLATOR / EDITOR: Alexander Jones

others consulted were Joseph Blenkinsopp &

J.R.R. Tolkien

Mark 9: 42 - 50 (omitting 44 & 46)

But anyone who is an obstacle to

bring down one of these little ones

who have faith, would be better thrown

into the sea with a great millstone 

round his neck.  And if your hand 

should cause you to sin, cut it off;

it is better for you to enter into life

crippled, than to have two hands and

go to Gehenna, into the fire that

cannot be put out.  And if your foot

should cause you to sign, cut it off;

it is better for you to enter into life

lame, than to have two feet and be

thrown into Gehenna.  And if your eye

should cause you to sign, tear it out;

it is better for you to enter into the

kingdom of God with one eye,

than to have two eyes and be thrown

into Gehenna where their worm does

not die nor their fire go out. For everyone

will be salted with fire.  SALT is a good 

thing, but if sale has become insipid,

how can you season it again?  Have SALT

in yourselves and be at peace with one

another!

Happy end of the year -- St. Andrew's Feast Day before 1st Sunday Advent (yearly)

Nov. 30 is the annual feast day for

St. Andrew -- called

Andrzjeki by Polish

people: a night of magic

& fortunetelling

polishatheart.com/ 

David Weldon, 71-yr.-old physician / 7-term Congress Repr.

Nominated to head

C.D.C. - authored anti-

vaccine legislation:

lined up by Trump-Vance

to take away Vaccine Research

from Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention

Baptiste Quinternet - Jan. 6 Insurrectionist - arrested Nov. 21, 2024

French-American naturalized citizen

arrested Nov. 21 (Wednesday) although

arrest warrant issued March 14, 2024

IDENTIFIED from footage at the U.S. Capitol

Jan. 6, 2021

Surgeon General (nominee) -- markets Vitamin B & C dietary supplements

Physician and FOX News contributor

Janette Nesheiwat

[ medical degree from

University of the Caribbean

Medical School ]

announced by Trump-Pence

on X / Twitter by newly re-elected

POTUS #DJT

[requires Senate approval after hearing]

further info -- Houston CHRONICLE ONLINE

interview with Dr. Peter Hotez MD, PhD

Martin Makary, M.D.

 Fox News commentator

nominee of Trump-Pence

administration for Food & 

Drug Administration (FDA)

Nov. 22, 2024

nytimes.com/2024/11/22/health/fda-commissioner-

marty-makary-rfkjr-html

A clear view of Mr. Trump: world leader Merkel

 Angela Merkel: memoir published in translation

next week (Nov. 2024) Freedom: Memoirs 1954 - 2021

He judged everything from the

perspective of the real estate

developer he had been before

entering politics . . .In a 2017

Oval office meeting, she felt

like Mr. Trump wanted to be liked. . .

Kris Kristofferson - memorial tribute

SOURCE: Rolling Stone .com

The one-song tribute to K. ,

Ashley McBride offering a

sparse rendition of Help Me

Make It Through The Night

music/music-country-lists/2024

George Strait wins "Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement" Award

Nov. 20, 2024 on ABC-TV

C.M.A. - Country Music Association

award ceremony 8 - 11 p.m. Eastern

Country music stars, past & Present,

sang his original songs and acclaimed

career highlights.  The 72-year-old

thanked everyone for the strong 

renditions of his songs.  apnews.com

online article

Edward Kelley (age 35) of Knoxville, TN guilty of plotting murder

Nov. 20, 2024

Today a convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionist, Edward Kelley,

has been found guilty of plotting to murder a list of

FBI / DOJ Officials investigating his part in 

assaulting law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol

confirmed that he was plotting to assassinate

FBI agents at home and in the public.

abcnews.go.com/US/convicted-jan-6-rioter-

now-found-guilty-plotting/story . . . 

"Autumn" - comment by Leonardo da Vinci "NOTEBOOKS"

In the autumn

you will make things

according to the progress

of the season, that is, 

the trees begin to fade in

their leaves on the oldest

branches, more or less,

depending on whether the

tree is represented as

growing on sterile or

fertile soil, and even more

pale and reddish those

kinds of tree that were first

to produce fruit. (p. 170,

Oxford World's Classic 

edition).

Painter-God (episode 2 of PBS limited series)

Leonardo da Vinci

limited series

PBS.org

Documentary by

Ken Burns

and his team

Nov. 18 - 19,

2024 (check

local listings)

Kid Rock - Nickelback Tour announced

UPDATE: Kid Rock and T. Carlson

(podcaster) are acclaimed in Mar-A-Lago

fundraiser for Trump-Vance PAC as

"Entertainers of the Year"

according to POLITICO web article

(Dec. 11, 2024) -- the "rocker" was feted

with a $5,000 per plate fundraiser with

bonus features for those who paid another

$3,800 for "meet and greet" ahead of

the gala event at the Florida golf-course

of the President-elect.

MLive dot-com online information

"Rock the County" tour two-day concerts to include

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Travis Tritt

Big & Rich

Gavin Adock

Sammy Kershaw

Mark Chestnutt

Deana Carter

Little Texas

Afroman

Ying & Yang

and more

JUNE 13 - 14, 2025

G-20 as of November 2024

 Argentina

Australia

Brazil

Canada

China

France

Germany

India

Indonesia

Italy

Japan

South Korea

Mexico

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

Turkey

United Kingdom

USA

*Russia?

also AFRICAN UNION
EUROPEAN UNION

Hegseth -- views of the U.S. Military (he is nominee for Defence Secy.)

CNN.com article

politics/hegseth-controversial-views

he believes in using the military (including national guard)

to put down domestic riots,

he spoke in favor of using waterboarding, targeting cultural

institutions in drone strikes, 

banning women from combat roles.

in 2019 he privately courted then POTUS 45 to pardon

some service members accused and convicted of war crimes.

he also pushed Trump to take further action against Iran

after the Pentagon drone attack that killed Iranian commander

Qasem Soleimani.

Bonhoeffer - 90-minute documentary - Martin Doblmeier

GREAT

Documentary approach

"BONHOEFFER:

Pastor, Pacifist, NAZI Resister"

Extensive research and archival

interviews with relatives / friends,

students, church historians-academics

of the martyred Theologian killed

by the NAZIs in April 1945.

B & W + Color footage, 2003 release.

FEATURES narrator KLAUS MARIA

BRANDAUER

Antwione Williams -- one of 1st Capitol Insurrectionist to breach building

Arrested Thursday 11/14/2024 and charged with assaulting law officers

(Capitol Police - Washington, DC) was Antwione Williams

at Savannah, GA.  Details at CNN coverage

a-formal-nfl-linebacker-is-charged-in-connection-with-

the-january-6-capitol-attack

Emperor Constantine (from C. & the Bishops by H.A. Drake)

Constantine died May 22, 337 (Whitsuntide),

with his place in history already secure.  Eusebius

of Caesarea, who records the emperor's last days in 

his Vita Constantinii, is circumspect about the nature

of the illness and his symptoms, reporting 

only that it began as a "slight bodily 

indisposition" and around Easter took a turn 

for the worse.  Despairing a cure around 

Constantinople, Constantine crossed the 

Hellespont and went first to 

Drepanum. . .famous for its hot springs 

and the site for the powerful bones of the

martyr Lucian of Antioch.  There he exhausted 

himself in prayer and supplication.  With the end 

fast approaching, he began a progress to the 

sea but had to stop at Nicomedia,

where he summoned the Bishops and 

begged for the solemn rite of baptism. . .

Typically, Constantine died with a message 

on his lips.  Leaving little to the imagination,

Constantine arranged for his body to be 

placed in the middle of relics and memorials 

for each of the Apostles.

A dutiful church responded with 

the honorific title of 

ISAPOSTOLOS ( the equal of the Apostles).

Constantine & the Bishops, by H.A. Drake, Johns

Hopkins Press, 2002 paperback edition, pages 307-8. 

Christkindl Market (Grand Rapids) opens Nov. 15, 2024

grkids.com/grand-rapids-christkindl-markt-mi/

2024 vendors include

Paige Soy Candles - 100% soy and hand-poured

Lady Barkley's - handcrafted pet accessories

Ian & Grace - laser-engraved wood art

Piekny Polish Pottery - hand-decorated pottery

Whimsy Brims - hand-burned hats

The Candy - West Michigan-owned sweets company

Great Lakes Lavender Farm

28 days of festivities, starting on Nov. 15, visitors are

welcomed to the Grand Rapids (MI) Christkindlmarkt !

Downtown Market (435 Ionia Avenue SW)

Dr. Jill Biden

also popped in for the meeting between

incumbent POTUS 46 and 

incoming POTUS 47

congratulating Trump and handing him

a letter intended for Melania Trump who

had declined the invitation to also

visit the White House as an act of transition

between the administrations.

Chief of Staff Jeff Zients

and just-named Chief of Staff Susie Wiles 

discussed important priorities for keeping

the government funded and managing

the handoff between the administrations.

POLITICO.com 

MLK III to be on-hand for monument unveiling - Nov. 19, 2024

Monday 11/19

Three locations for the events at Benton Harbor and St. Joseph

MI (Berrien County) --

10:30 a.m. Eastern Margaret Upton Arboretum, St. Joseph

a March to neighboring Benton Harbor

Dwight Mitchell City Center Park 11:30 a.m. with

concluding Luncheon at Mendel Center, LMC campus

Benton Harbor, MI

the son of the renowned civil rights advocate and 

Nobel Prize for Peace laureate is Rev. Martin L. King III.

coverage

ABC57.com/news/monuments-unveiled-in-twin-cities

honoring-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-uniting-communities

Closed-door meeting

11/13/2024 Wed. morning

UPDATE: final words of Biden [ Welcome. Welcome back. ]

Press coverage of the 30-seconds

both shaking each other's hand:

Biden offering "everything we can

to make sure you're accommodated, 

have what you need"

Trump replying, "I appreciate very

much a transition that's so smooth,

it'll be as smooth as you can get."

NEXT were an off-camera meeting

with the two along with Chiefs-of-Staff, 

that lasted almost 2 hours.

www.nytimes.com online article

Michael Shear reporting.

He referred to POTUS 46 as "Joe"

offering appreciation for hospitality

that he would not offer in Nov. - Dec. 2020.

Replacement at CIA

Trump's director of National Intelligence (2017-21)

John Ratcliffe has been

nominated by #DJT as

a new Director of the

CIA (replacing William

J. Burns)

Transition

Meeting at

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

the "People's House" today

were the incumbent POTUS 46

and the incoming POTUS 47;

Mrs. Trump declined a traditional

transition with FLOTUS (Dr. Biden).

Community Vision - Today 11/13/2024

Walking Tour to begin at NILES, (Michigan)

City Hall @5:30 p.m. Eastern

333 n. Second Street

Real estate and economic development professionals from

Cornerstone Alliance & Place+Main advisors will

lead a facilitates tour of sites & assets in Downtown Niles.

FREE

Be Kind and Donate Blood

World Kindness Day --

Donate blood today

Nov. 13, 2024

givebloodnow.com/

SBMF (South Bend

Medical Foundation Lab)

Douglas Road, S.Bend, IN

We only have today. Let us begin!

Mother Teresa of Calcutta:

Yesterday is gone.

Tomorrow has not yet come.

We have only today.

Let us Begin!

Archbishop of Canterbury - resignation

 Justin Welby, 68,

resigned ahead of planned

retirement in 2026;

an independent review 

concluded he had failed to

take sufficient action

following reports of abhorrent

abuse of boys & young men

in the 1970s & 80s.

SUPERMOON -- November's Full Moon 2024

Nov. 15, 2024

7:26 a.m. 

The lunar phase calendar year is

wrapping up with November's sky

closing out the year's last 

Supermoon, part of a series that 

began in August 2024.

Michael Waltz

Trump's 2nd term (1/20/2025 start date)

National Security adviser [ not confirmed by the Senate ]

presently in 2024 just elected 

to a 4th term as a Repr. (FL) to

House of Representatives (from FL, member of R. Party)

in Congress since 2018

AGE = 50

served 27 years with Army & National Guard

npr.org/2024/11/11/nx-s1-5187098/trump-

national-security-adviser-mike-waltz

Rubio

Who is Marco Rubio?

FL U.S. Senator (since 2010)

likely Secretary of State for 2nd Trump administration

that begins 1/20/2025

9 p.m. Eastern -- "scoop" for the NY Times

nytimes.com/2024/11/11/us/politics/trump-rubio-secretary-of-state.html

11 a.m. on 11th Day of 11th month

Veterans Day National Service with laying of wreaths

at Tomb of Unknown Soldier,

Arlington National Cemetery,

other state, local, soldiers & sailors burial

parks / places of entombment.

Ruben Gallego -- new U.S. Senator from AZ

Independent senator Kyrsten Sinema

will retire this next January when former

Congressman Ruben Gallego (D- AZ) replaces

her as one of the 100 senators at the Capitol.

the Hill.com/home news/campaign/4969256-ruben-gallego

defeats-kari-lake/ 

Biggest Deportation Force this country has seen

Tom Homan (#DJT's named "Border Czar")

see

Newsweek.com/donald-trump-border-czar-immigration-tom

homan-1983660

Abortion Policies / ballot measures

Nov. 5, 2024

YES -- Arizona, Missouri, Nevada 

Mixed metaphors - James Carville

from Maureen Dowd column:

Quotations include

The party became enamored of

'identitarianism' radiating the

repellent idea that IDENTITY is

more important than humanity;

we could never wash off the

stench of it. Carville called

"DEFUND THE POLICE" as 

the 3 stupidest words in the English 

Language.  It's like when you get

smoke on your clothes & you have

to keep washing them again & again.

People are running away from it like

the devil runs away from holy water.

Zachary Alam, insurrectionist sentenced to 8 yrs. prison

Arrested in January 2021,

this MAGA Jan. 6 domestic terrorist was sentenced in

Federal court Thursday Nov. 7, 2024

he broke the glass panes of the Speaker's door

with a black helmet shortly before fellow Insurrectionist

Ashley Babbitt crawled through the broken area and

was shot by a Capitol police officer.

more details:

thehill.com /regulation/ court-battles 

Notre-Dame de Paris bells

Today 11/8/2024

For the first time since the April 2019

fire that consumed the centuries-old

landmark cathedral, the bells of

Notre-Dame on the Seine, Paris, France

rang together as 8 in the 860-yr.-old

structure's north belfry.

Another 3 new bells were also rung,

one that had been rung during the 

Paris Olympic Games (2024).

nytimes.com/2024/11/08/world/europe/

notre-dame-bells-cathedral-paris.html 

Happy 100th Birthday, Winnie-the-Pooh!

Fictional character created in Nov. 1924 

by A.A. Milne

When We were very young

LINES & SQUARES poem

Whenever I walk in a London Street,

I'm ever so careful to watch my feet;

And I keep in the squares

And the masses of bears

Who wait at the corners all ready to eat

The sillies who tread on the lines of the street,

Go back to their lairs

And I say to them, "Bears,

Just look how I'm walking in all the squares!"

Who is Marie Gluesenkamp Perez?

Incumbent D. Representative for the WASHINGTON

district #3 -- outpacing challenger Joe Kent (R).

With 94.5% of the vote,

she is ahead with a lead of 3.1 percentage points

JD Vance - to college roommate: TRUMP ESTIMATION

ohio capital journal article (April 2024)

State Repr. (Georgia) Josh McLaurin

shared this Tweet from his former Yale classmate:

I go back and forth between

thinking Trump is a cynical

a$$hole like Nixon who wouldn't

be that bad (and might even prove

useful) or that he's America's Hitler.

How's that for discouraging?

Vance describes the GOP as

"the party of lower-income, lower-

education white people. . . and 

Trump is the fruit of the party's

collective neglect"

Nevada votes to keep Senator Rosen

Votes in the race for Nevada's U.S. Senate seat 

currently held by Jackie Rosen (D) have now been

tabulated Nov. 7, 2024.  She has hung

on to her Senate seat (United States Senate).

nytimes.com/live/2024/11/06/us/

trump-election-harris-news#jacky-rosen

fights-to-hang-on-to-her-senate-seat-in-Nevada

UPDATE: Arizonans will elect Repr. Ruben Gallego

(D) to replace Kyrsten Sinema (I) for 2025-31

After Trump took the lead (Nov. 5 - 6 - 7),

 election deniers went

SUDDENLY SILENT . . .

nytimes.com/2024/11/06/technology/trump-election-denial.html

POTUS 47

I didn't know anybody

[during post-election

period 2016 - 2017 Inauguration]

I was not a Washington person;

I was rarely there.

I know everybody 

[now]

I know the good,

the strong,

the weak,

the stupid.

I know the --

I know everybody.

And we're going to

make this country

great again, and we

have to save our country

WHAT is likely to be attempted by #DJT

There will be a deportation blitz, beginning

in January 2025 (DAY ONE of his dictator-

ship); Stephen Miller has mentioned 

"denaturalizing people" who already became

citizens.  < Historically, Hitler had his biggest

initial goal of making Jews "aliens," stateless 

immigrants with no standing in Germany of

the Third Reich, so he could force them out

and do to them what he wanted. >

Trump's immigration plans will take enormous

funding to inflict a deportation camp infrastructure.

Japan - news of their Prime Minister (Nov. 2024)

Shigera Ishibu

will lead a minority government

after voters gave his party

losses in October 2024

Simon Harris, Taoiseach

DATELINE: Tuesday 5 Nov. 2024

Dublin, Ireland

The Prime Minister of Ireland,

Simon Harris,

announced Tuesday that he would

dissolve Parliament, that would

set the stage for a general election

by Nov. 30.

nytimes.com/2024/11/05/world/europe/

ireland-election-simon-harris.html

Yoav Gallant

Israel's Defense Minister

FIRED

Tuesday 11/5/2024

by P.M. Netanyahu

North Korean troop units

Five units of 3,000 soldiers each

are deployed to the Kursk area;

the Asian mercenaries are mixed with

Russian troops and are misidentified

on their uniforms.

thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-international/

ap-north-korean-troops-in-russia-

are-shelled-by-ukrainian-forces-

an-official-says

Who is 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke?

Latest of many celebrity - performers to endorse

Harris-Walz ticket for

President - Vice President

Nov. 4, 2024

deadline.com/

America gets the candidates it deserves

You are who you elect!

Clark County Sheriff deputy apologizes

following his post on FaceBook

that he would not help Democrats

and would require proof of who a person

voted for . . .

Lt. John Rodgers

Ohio sheriff's patrol commander

Springfield, OH 

Herschel Walker

endorses Jonald J. Trump

the Hill.com/policy/defense/4970165-trump

herschel-walker-missile-shield 

NBC Kowtows to Trump "equal time" message

Hollywood reporter.com/

tv/TV news/

NBC-Donald-Trump-campaign-free-ad-time-NASCAR-

race-Kamala-Harris-SNL-sketch-123605

During NASCAR and NFL wrap-ups

Nov. 3, 2024 (after SNL sketch that

featured Kamala Harris & Maya Rudolph)

Cardi B

Who praised Kamala Harris at a suburban Milwaukee, WI

rally on Nov. 1, 2024 for 

not delusional
?

politifact.com/article/November2

Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff

She has been named as CHIEF OF STAFF (2025 forward)

after 4 years of managing his political operation.

Trump's campaign manager

appeared at Sunday 11/3 airport rally at

Lititz, PA 

where he claimed he

"shouldn't have left the White House

Jan. 20, 2021" and "to get to me

somebody would have to shoot through

the fake news, I don't mind that much

cause I don't mind. I don't mind"

SUSIE WILES appeared at the

end of this speech and tried to

have him end the speech . . .

She is credited in Trump's

Election Night Mar-a-lago

Comments : she stays in

the back. Ice Baby

Mon.11/11/24 free for Veterans - Restaurants

1 p.m. update 11/11/24: also Starbucks & White Castle

Free Dinner for Veterans

PRIME Table 1915 S. 11th Street

Niles, MI 49120

open daily 7 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Closed Thanksgiving Day 2024

Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner

Dine in - Carryout

Curbside Available (call 269-684-2112)

Veterans Day 3 p.m.

until 8 p.m.

Full menu at 

PrimeTableNiles.com/ 

also: Applebee's, Chili's,

Mission BBQ, Bar Louie

among others

UPDATE:

McDonalds, I-Hop have added

meal give-aways (eat-in NOT

by way of the App).

2-day observance

After All Hallows Eve,

comes All Saints day (Nov. 1) annually

and All Souls day (Nov. 2).

The regional observance of 

Dia de Los Muertos 

is also observed as a day to pray for

one's loved ones and to commune

with them by visiting their burial

location.

Great commoner coffee shop, Dearborn, MI

NPR.org/Trump-Meets-With-Activists

Last-minute bid to sway voters at coffeehouse

in a heavily Arab-American city;

#DJT makes his pitch:

We have a good feeling for

Lebanon. . .Lebanese people,

. . .Muslim population. . .

We want their votes. . .I think 

we'll get their votes. . .

Full Moon -- the Supermoon 11/2024

Beaver Moon

7:26 a.m. on Nov. 15 Eastern Time

4th and Final Supermoon of 2024

It will appear larger and brighter

than usual

 

November 2024

Webvisits this month to BLOG = 5,147

Seeking Faith & Understanding

faithfor2008.blogspot.com

75 blog postings this month thus far

November 1 - 30, 2024

Friday Nov. 1, 2024 All Saints' Day -  174 visits

Saturday All Souls' = 229

Sunday = 217

Monday 400

Election Day 2024 = 201

Wed. 11/6 = 132

Nov. 7 = 366

Nov. 8 = 168

Nov. 9 (2nd Sat.) = 132

11/10 (Sunday ) = 383

11/11 (Veterans Day) = 236

Nov. 12 = 246

Nov. 13 =  352

Nov. 14 = 260

Nov. 15 = 128

Nov. 16 = 71

Nov. 17 = 68

Monday 11/18 = 59

11/19 = 40

11/20 = 40

11/21 = 73

11/22 - 73

11/23 - 288

11/24 = 41

11/25 = 170

11/26-7 = 142

11/28 = 116

11/26 = 96

11/27 = 173

11/28-9 = 124

Last Day of November = 91

Potica - mentioned in Mrs. Trump's autobiography

a Slovenian pastry

World Figure POPE FRANCIS

asks Melania if she has cooked/

baked it for her husband Donald

(see book review of her 184-page

autobiography published this Sept.)

nytimes.com/2024/10/31/opinion/

melania-trump-donald.html

Trump Drives Garbage Truck

Oct. 30 - 

as a publicity stunt, #Candidate #DJT 

[former TV host of now-cancelled TV Series

CELEBRITY APPRENTICE] climbs into

a garbage truck passenger side seat

at Green Bay, Wisconsin at airport tarmac [after

twice missing the handle of the passenger side door]

His closing message at #MSG Madison Square Garden

was "America is like a garbage can for the world"

Sunday New York City 8 p.m. (taking the stage late).

He again tries to distance himself from comedian

Tony Hinchcliffe

and claims he does not need to apologize to Puerto

Ricans for calling it "a floating island of garbage".

apnews.com/article/donald-trump-garbage-truck-wisconsin

October 30 - Nov. 10 -- PANERA BREAD restaurants

according to USA TODAY.com

With Purchase of an entree at PANERA

customers this fall can receive a free 

CUP of SOUP.

Use the password SOUP at checkout.

From Pro-Trump endorsement to renunciation

Who is NICKY JAM?

#DJT in September 2024 didn't know either --

calling the rapper to the stage "She's hot!"

politico.com/live-updates

The reggaeton singer has

renounced his support of the former

POTUS 45. . .

Who said "Take a blowtorch to the regulatory state"?

Speaker of the House

Mike Johnson

[a campaign speech-remark

quickly disavowed by Trump

spokesmen]

Affordable Care Act - "in the sights" of MAGA political power players

Speaker Mike Johnson -- while on the campaign trail for

Trump - Vance ticket and other MAGA incumbents and

wannabes: "Republicans would embark on a massive reform

of the ACA if Trump-Vance are elected Nov. 5, 2024; health

care reform's going to be a big part of the agenda"

Johnson (Louisiana Repr.) continued, "No OBAMACare

The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive

reform to make this work. . .we have ideas / concepts . . ."

#DJT on wife's autobiography (184 pages)

In first week, MELANIA sold 85,349 copies;

At a September 2024 rally, the candidate said

She just wrote a book. . .

I hope she said good things

about . . .

I don't know, I didn't. . .

so busy"

When is Diwali?

October 31, 6:22 a.m. -

Nov. 1, 8:46 a.m.

see further:

npr.org/2024/10/29/

nx-s1-5167938-/what-is-diwali

Who is Roberto Gonzalez Nieves?

Archbishop of Puerto Rico

demanding a personal apology from Candidate Donald Trump

Tuesday 10/29/2024

Fox News trumpets these "celebrity-stars" @ Oct. 27, 2024 rally at MSG

Vinny Guadgnino -- "Jersey Shore" star

Hulk Hogan -- attempted to rip off outer shirt but failed

Maye Musk (mother of Elon Musk) -- model

also a list of high-profile GOP / MAGA politicians

and influencers (podcasts, bloggers, cable reporters).

Seats were available for 19,500. (MAGA only invited)

UPDATE:

Nov. 4 (Monday before Election Day): at a Rally

in Philadelphia, PA for Harris - Walz appearing will be:

Lady Gaga

Katy Perry

Oprah Winfrey

Ricky Martin

The Roots

DJ Jazzy Jeff, and others

10,000 North Korean soldiers

Are on hand at the boundary of Russia and Ukraine awaiting

orders from Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un to attack

Kirkuk -- details to follow

Who is Angel Citron?

Leader of the Puerto Rico GOP (Republican) committee

for the territory of the U.S.

He, according to THE HILL, will not vote for Trump

unless #DJT personally apologizes for the 

"Oceanic Garbage Patch" joke told by a 

stand-up comedian during Sunday 10/27

historic Madison Square Garden Rally ($1 million

rental of the 15,000 seat arena rented for MAGA). 

thehill.com/latino

Dodgers win 2024 World Series 4 - 1

8:08 p.m. Wed. 10/30/2024

the NY Yankees host the NL-league champions

Los Angeles Dodgers

on FOX-TV.  The Yankees made 5 errors leading 

to unearned runs for the then-batting Dodgers.

Final Score 7 - 6 where the visiting NL winners

returned to Los Angeles for their fans to rejoice.

Speech at the Ellipse (D.C.)

 VP and candidate for POTUS

Kamala Harris will speak at the

site of former President trump's

rally speech that sent off 1000s

to attack the U.S. Capitol and his

own then-VP Mike Pence on

January 6, 2021

Trump (former President, twice-impeached) attacks former FLOTUS Michelle Obama

nytimes.com/2024/10/28/us/politics/trump-michelle-obama.html

At a Michigan rally on Saturday, Oct. 26,

FLOTUS (2009-2016) said some voters were ignoring 

Mr. Trump's "gross incompetence" and that he displayed

erratic behavior and obvious mental decline. . .

Cornucopia of coarseness

Madison Square Garden

a cornucopia of coarseness (sexual / racial epithets)

punctuated by the kind of language

that once would have been unthinkable

to promote the candidacy of a potential

President of the United States . . .

Peter Baker and Dylan Freedman, NY Times writers

The 15,000 on-hand MAGA patrons

cheered and laughed at the S-bombs and F-bombs

and other bombs thrown out by the various speakers

and warm-up acts for #DJT. 

Tuesday - Harris - Walz will rally at D.C. Ellipse

Speech Transcript =

c-span.org/video

Stand with @Zourabichvili_S

The President of Georgia, a European nation bording

Ukraine and Russia,

cannot recognize the results of election ballots 

stuffed by hackers funded by Putin.

She is the only remaining independent institutional

leader . . . Stand with her and those fighting

for democracy in that European county!

Rumor spread by #DJT that POTUS 16 had a phobia

Quotation from JOE ROGAN Podcast:

I heard Lincoln had a . . .golfers call it a yip, phobia about Robert E. Lee

MORE Balderdash and Fiddle-dee-dee

SOURCE FOR #DJT

"I've never read this,

I heard it from people in the White House

who really understand what was going on

with the whole life in the White House. . .

Said 'I can't beat Robert' because

Robert E. Lee won many battles in a row . . .

NPR.org/2024/10/26/

g-s1-30151/trump-joe-rogan-

experience-podcast-traverse-

city-michigan-election

Isaiah 58:12

Your ancient ruins shall be built;

you shall raise up the foundations 

of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer 

of the breach, the restorer 

of streets to live in! 

Trump Advocates - invited speakers at his MAGA MSG rally 5 - 10ish rally

Madison Square Garden, NYC, New York

Crowds left early as he was expected 2 hrs. earlier

than he actually showed up;

NEWSWEEK.com asked the media team - "Why

are MAGA leaving early?" The rental for the 19,500

seat arena was $1 million.

National Anthem sung by recording artist / entrepreneur

Mary Millben of Oklahoma b. 1982

on social media (her "debut" at the Garden) - tickets given away

to those registered at the MAGA website / ticket control . . .

JD Vance (Ohio - Jr. Senator)

Elon Musk (inventor - CEO) - wearing all black including a MAGA Black baseball cap

RFK, Jr. (Vaccine hater)

Mike Johnson (Speaker of the House, Louisiana Congress Repr.)

Elise Stefanik (NY repr. to U.S. House) -- YouTube video at WWNY

Rudy Giuliani (disbarred attorney)

Stephen Miller (adviser during Trump-Pence admin.)

Tucker Carlson (fired from FOX News talk-entertainment show)

Dr. Phil (TV syndicated host) - he knows he is "no celebrity endorser"

Hulk Hogan (Wrestling expert / model / actor / dancer) - wearing giant yellow, orange, red boa

several of the rally speakers crudely insulted Harris who is an incumbent VP