2025 - Ring in the New Year, Ring out the Old Year 2024

Total posts made to Blog during 2024 = 908

Jan. 1 - 31 (first 31 days of 2025) --

2854  Visits to this Google BLOGGER

1/1/2025 = 76

Jan. 2 = 84

Jan. 3 (Friday) = 35

Jan. 4 = 89

Jan. 5 = 48

Jan. 6 = 55

Jan. 7 = 74

Jan. 8 = 60

Jan. 9 = 67

Jan. 10 = 54

Jan. 11 = 75

Jan. 12 (Sunday) = 47

Jan. 13 = 71

Jan. 14 = 73

Jan. 15 = 107

Jan. 16 = 124

Jan. 17 = 96

Jan. 18 = 84

Sunday 19 Jan. = 133

Monday 20 January 2025 -  129

Jan. 21 = 97

Jan. 22 = 96

Jan. 23 = 131

Jan. 24 = 112

Jan. 25 = 119

Jan. 26 = 113

Jan. 27 = 190

Jan. 28 = 120

Jan. 29 = 111

Jan. 30 = 86

Friday last day 31 Jan. = 88

Month of January = 2,854 total visits recorded

by GOOGLE Statistics Dept.

Posted articles / news items during Jan. 2025 = 108

National Mourning (30-days: since 29 Dec. 2024): Carter's Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 1977)

James Earl Carter

to be honored for military service and public service (Governor

of Georgia and POTUS 1977-1980) with

Flags hanging at half-staff

[ UPDATE: "sore winner" #DJT has raised on Jan. 13

his "own flags" to full height

thehill.com/homenews/administration/508256/mar-a-lago-flags-half-mast ]

HOW DID the incoming POTUS regard those with

him on the Inaugural Platform?

He thanked his predecessor (Gerald Ford - Nixon's VP)

and utilized to take the oath

of office

George Washington's Bible

presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/inaugural-address-O

Presidential Medal of Freedom (list of recipients) 4 Jan. 2025

George Soros

Magic (Earvin) Johnson

Jose Andres

Hillary (Rodham) Clinton

Robert F. Kennedy, Sr. (posthumous)

Bono

Ashton Carter (posthumous)

Michael J. Fox

Tim Gill

Jane Goodall

Fannie Lou Hamer (posthumous)

Ralph Lauren

Lionel Messi

Bill Nye

George Romney (posthumous)

David Rubenstein

George Stevens, Jr.

Denzel Washington

Anna Wintour

Nominee for Best Audio Book, Narration -- GRAMMYs 2025

grammy.com/artists/jimmy-carter/7405

Last Sundays in Plains:

a Centennial Celebration

Artist who recorded his

storytelling is

Jimmy Carter (b. 1924 -

died today, 2024)

Funeral and burial at Plains,

GA on 9 January 2025

Additional update for 9th January

VP-Elect JD Vance resigns from U.S. Senate

and will await 11 days for next job as Trump's 2nd Vice

President -- CNN.com/politics/

JD-Vance-ohio-senate-seat-resign-vice-president.html

Which Presidents have had FUNERALS at National Cathedral, D.C.?

 Burial service for

Woodrow Wilson

State Funerals for

Dwight Eisenhower,

Ronald Reagan,

Gerald Ford, 

George H.W. Bush 

and Jan. 9, 2025

the family will have

funerals / viewing

in D.C. for POTUS 39

James Earl Carter.

Day of Mourning (State Funeral for Jimmy Carter) - Jan. 9, 2025

NOTICED by journalists were ex-VP Mike Pence & Karen

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Panama's Pres. Torijos,

4 living "former Presidents" 3 living FLOTUS = 

Hilary Clinton, Laura Bush, Melania Trump

POTUS & FLOTUS Biden & son Hunter & dau. Ashley

UPDATE: National Day of Mourning will be 

Jan. 9, 2025 (Thursday)

Federal offices will be closed;

a 10 a.m. service at the National

Cathedral (Episcopal):

Eulogies given by POTUS 46

and 2 pre-prepared by the late

Gerald Ford and Walter Mondale.

source: NY TIMES 

cathedral.org/about/news-media

Andrew Young will speak

at the State Funeral; He

is 92 years old : AJC.com

interview with editor

POTUS 39 will have a state funeral in D.C. and

his home state Georgia where he will be buried in

his home town of Plains, GA, next to his beloved

wife Rosalynn.

wthr.com/ Associated Press details

Convicted Felon -- Trump faced no punishment, detention, nor parole

What did Trump promise to do on

"Day One"?  End the Russia-Ukraine

war, pardon Jan. 6 rioters in prison,

shutting down the U.S. - Mexico border,

largest mass deportation in history,

time.com/7206595/donald-trump-day-one-promises-

pardons-border-executive-order/

Latest expected list of invited

celebrities / donors to the Jan. 20, 2025

Inauguration of #DJT at D.C.

Mike Tyson

Elon Musk

Mark Zuckerberg

Jeff Bezos

Shou_ Chew (Tik Tok CEO)

former Presidents / outgoing

President & VP

Barack Obama

Bill & Hillary Clinton

George and Laura Bush

Mike Pence

Joe Biden & Dr. Jill Biden

Kamala Harris & Doug Emhoff

ambassadors / foreign ministers

from China among many others:

Argentina's Javier Milei

Nigel Farage, Eric Zemmour,

UPDATE -- Friday after POTUS 39 funeral -

Manhattan Courtroom

Donald John Trump faced sentencing on

34 felony convictions

on Friday Jan. 10, 2025

in Manhattan Court, State

of New York.  Judge Juan

Merchan announced 

Friday 1/3/2025.

Details at:

the hill.com/. . .

trump-hush-money-sentencing-

case/

AKC National Championship Show (Dec. 29, 2024) - "Monty"

Sunday after XMAS

2 - 5 p.m. Eastern on ABC

5,600 dogs to compete

American Kennel Club

24th Annual competition.

Dozens of breeds from 50 states;

title winner gets $50,000

Winner was 

"Monty" 

the giant schnauzer

Holiday BOWL between Illini FB (#20) and SC (#15)

New Year's Eve (12/31/2024)

Cheez-It CITRUS Bowl

Orlando, FL 

Camping World Stadium

3 p.m. Eastern

on ABC-TV

details at fightingillini.com/

Update (12/31/24)

Score was #20 Univ. of IL 21

while #15 SC Gamecocks scored 17. 

Manmoah Singh

former PM of India (10-yr. rule decade)

died Thursday at the age of 92

His body was cremated in the Sikh

tradition, as priests chanted hymns,

after his body was carried covered

by India's flag on a flower-decked 

carriage to the banks of the Yamuna 

River in New Delhi

Bible "English"

Ronald Knox had to confront many reflexive biases,

both among Catholic and non-Catholic critics,

when he began publishing his translations of [Matthew -

Revelation, and later Genesis - Malachi]; . . .

many revisions of the Douay-Rheims (from Vulgate

to English vernacular)  were written in what Knox

calls Bible English, a literary form that was

distinct even from the idiomatic English language

used by prose writers contemporary . . . with the

Authorized Version (I.e. KJV).  Bible English

was preternaturally old, and it was often

irredeemably dense, since it often departed from

common English usage the better to adhere to a

Latin Syntax. . .The Bible is meant to be read

at home, and so, a translation that makes the

reader comfortable is in order. . .The text should

read as if it were an original composition.

Knox, Ronald from TRIALS OF A TRANSLATOR (1949)

The transition from one sentence

to the next must be made logically

clear, even at the cost of introducing

words which are not there, but are

implicit in the context.  Your vocabulary

must be chosen, not so much by reference

to the use of this or that word elsewhere

in the Old Testament [TANAK] as by 

reference to the needs of this particular

passage -- token-words will not do.  You

must cast your sentences into a form which

will preserve not only the meaning but the

rhetoric of the original, or the flying

wrack of imagery will pass you by --

pages 33 - 34

Ronald Knox translation - Ephesians 1

Sections

Chapter 1, verses 3 - 6 [Hymn of Praise to Christ]

Blessed be that God, that Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has

blessed us, in Christ, with every

spiritual blessing, higher than

heaven itself.

He has chosen us out, in Christ,

before the foundation of the world,

to be saints, to be blameless in his

sight, for love of him; marking us

out beforehand (so his will decreed)

to be his adopted children through

Jesus Christ.  Thus he would manifest

the splendour of that grace by which

he has taken us into his favour in the

person of his beloved Son.

Chapter 1, verses 11 - 14

In him it was our lot to be called, singled

out beforehand to suit his purpose, (for

it is he who is at work everywhere,

carrying out the designs of his will);

we were to manifest his glory, we who

were the first to set our hope in Christ;

in him you too were called, when you

listened to the preaching of the truth,

that gospel which is your salvation.

In him you too learned to believe, and

had the seal set on your faith by the

promised gift of the Holy Spirit; a

pledge of the inheritance which is ours,

to redeem it for us and bring us into 

possession of it, and so manifest God's

glory.

{Verbal bridges have been built to

help the reader follow the Pauline

transitions and asides}

Ukraine - Urbi et Orbi sermon 12/25/ Pope Francis

delivered in Italian

St. Peter's Basilica, Rome

May the sound of arms be

silenced in war-torn Ukraine!

May there be the boldness

needed to open the door to

negotiation and to gestures

of dialogue and encounter,

in order to achieve a just and

lasting peace"

Full Moon (upcoming in first month 2025)

WOLF Moon

January 13, 2025

5:27 p.m. Eastern at Peak

Jim Pillen, former veterinarian

UPDATE: Mid-January 2025

Governor of NB expected to recover after surgical repair of

broken ribs; second surgery a success at Nebraska Medicine

in Omaha, NB.

No issues with his bruised kidney, injured spleen, or punctured

lung.

Sunday 12/22/24

The first-term Republican governor of NB was with his family

Sunday when he was thrown off a new horse and injured.  EMTs

rushed him to a hospital in Columbus, NB and then he was airlifted

to U. of NB Medical Center in Omaha.

He was reported as "conscious and alert" and in touch with his

staff; he will remain hospitalized for several days.

The 68-year-old was elected in 2022 and previously worked

as veterinarian and owned a livestock operation.

apnews.com/article/nebraska-governor-pillen-horse et cetera

John Curtis - Utah's next maverick U.S. Senator

deseret.com/politics/2024/12/16/john-curtis-search-for-consensus

Reality TV "Creator" / innovative producer Mark Burnett wins with Trump nomination

The 64-yr.-old former immigrant to America is likely now

to be a "special envoy to Britain" on behalf of Trump-Vance

nomination that will have no opposition from a GOP/MAGA

Senate approval vote in Jan. 2025.

Mark Burnett

well-known for #TheApprentice

and #Survivor, as well as 

#SharkTank and "Are you smarter

than a 5th Grader?"

nytimes.com/2024/12/21/us/politics/mark-burnett-special-envoy.html

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"

U.S. Defense Dept. - headed by Robert Salesses (acting Defense Secy. for Trump-Vance administration)

2,000 troops from U.S. Army 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

20 Jan. 2025

UPDATE: Following new POTUS swearing-in

new head of Defense Department is

Robert G. Salesses,

formerly deputy director of

Washington HQ Service,

a mid-level Pentagon official.

He accepted the job of acting

Defense secretary when no

Biden official would take it 

from Jan. 20 forward.

Military pay: UPDATE (Pres. Biden signs Govt. Budget coverage)

LIVE Update CNN

the Dept. of Defense will continue to work

POTUS has signed necessary legislation from House & Senate

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

news-12-19-24/index.html 

Wrath of Trump

Object of #DJT revenge / retribution

 NY TIMES articles 19 Jan. 2025

Jack Smith

Letitia James

Arthur Engoron

Fani T. Willis

Liz Cheney

Adam Kinzinger

7 other members of 

Jan. 6 Select Committee

investigating the attack on

the Capitol

General Mark Milley

Michael Cohen

John Bolton

Deep State officials:

James Comey

Andrew McCabe

Peter Strzok

51 former top Intelligence

officials

The media

Mark Zuckerberg

outgoing Pres. Biden

Barack Obama

outgoing VP Harris

Hillary Clinton

Sen. Adam Schiff

former Speaker of House

Nancy Pelosi

Tom Homan (nominee for Border matters) - Pete Hegseth (on Army base formerly named "Fort Bragg")

Jan. 10 NBC News interview

Homan discloses his plan to

"close the Darien Gap";

Trump-Vance incoming

Border Czar

needs 100,000 beds far beyond the

34,000 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

______________________________________

Pete Hegseth, Trump-Vance nominee to Defense Secy.

argued vehemently that the pre-2023 name for "Fort Liberty"

in NC should be restored to its 1921 name of Ft. Bragg

(that honored Confederate General / slave owner who

lost every battle he commanded forces for during the 1860s

CIVIL WAR).

cnn.com/2025/01/13/politics/pete-hegseth-confederate-

generals-military-bases/index.html

Jared Moskowitz - 4 uncertain votes for Spkr. of House Mike Johnson

Florida 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

UPDATE: December 2024

Although the vote for the next Congress SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

will be held on Jan. 3, 2025 (Friday after New Year),

Four members of the GOP conference are uncertain to vote for

current leader Mike Johnson of Louisiana =

Scott Perry (Pennsylvania),

Thomas Massie (Kentucky),

Andy Harris (Maryland),

Victoria Spartz (Indiana),

also Chip Roy of Texas has

declared something must

change in Republican leadership

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 (updated info about J. Trudeau of Canada)

UPDATE: Feb. 5, 2025

the government of P.M. Bayrou has survived a 

no-confidence vote in the Parliamentary govt.

of France

details at NYTimes.com/2025/02/05/world-europe

france-government-no-confidence-vote.html

Dec. 17, 2024

President Macron named this fellow party member as incoming

Prime Minister

Francois Bayrou,

founding member of MoDem Party

UPDATE: his Cabinet will carry over

from prior office holder

UPDATE: Jan. 6, 2025

Canadian Prime Minister 

Justin Trudeau will resign today

after 9 years as head of his

majority party in the government.

Dec. 17, 2024 new entries in "National Film Registry" (Library of Congress announcement)

LOC (Library of Congress) announces these 25 new titles in its

national film registry of significant feature and short films:

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 // updates as of 2026

With mid-December 2024 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).

UPDATE (mid-January 2025) =

Yoon (impeached and arrested President)

has so far refused to cooperate and answer

questions from his attempt to declare

martial law in late 2024

cnn.com  Jan. 14, 2025

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol

is indicted Jan. 26, 2025

and will face trial on criminal

charges from his declaring Martial

Law and attempting to subvert limits

on his power.

nytimes.com/2025/01/26

Yoon Sook Yeoul - as President in S. Korea, His Presidential Powers are Suspended

South 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 regions

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

UPDATE: He awaits ruling from Constitutional Court of Korea

as far as whether he is permanently removed from office or

might be restored to hold that high office in 2025

As of Mid-January 2025, no ruling has been given by the 

high Court.

2025 invitation to insurrectionist Russell Taylor DENIED

Convicted felon Russell Taylor

will NOT attend the 20 Jan. 2025

Inauguration of #DJT according 

to a judge's order

due to "unusually grave conduct"

at the U.S. Capitol 6 Jan. 2021.

DETAILS politico.com/news/

donald-trump-inauguration-

january-6

UPDATE: Brian Kelly, insurrectionist

who filmed desecration of Capitol

in 2021 -- sentenced Friday 1/17/2025

by Judge Tanya Chutkan to 10 days

in federal prison

Lewis Snoots -- sentenced also 17th Jan.

2025 for most violent attacks on Capitol 

Police including Washington Officer

Michael Fanone to 6 years in jail

FURTHER UPDATE (Jan. 19, 2025)

POLITICO reports that two trials (one

with a jury already in sentencing phase)

of Jan. 6 insurrectionists may be 

dismissed by Trump-Vance #DOJ :

Jared Wise - trial re: felony charges of

assault and civil disorder 

Kenneth and Caleb Fuller -- their 

prosecutors are still presenting the

case against the _father & _son.

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) - Initial Inaugural for #DJT

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." (page 293, Chapter 20) 

Middle East envoy -- Steve Witkoff

a real estate developer and investor --

his impressions of Gaza region being 

a "Riviera" with Mediterranean coastline

mesh with the Developer "TRUMP" persona

DETAILS: NYTimes trump-gaza-takeover

article (2025/02/05) - us politics

_______________________________________________

Steve Witkoff has met repeatedly with

BIBI NETANYAHU to encourage Gaza Cease Fire

ahead of Inauguration Day (3rd Monday 20 Jan.)

The ACTUAL envoy / primary adviser - briefer likely will NOT be

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.

Another Trump relative/buddy

is nominated Israel Ambassador

Mike Huckabee, Arkansas ex-governor

Zero out of 215 Democrats cast votes Jan. 2025 for Mike Johnson as incumbent Speaker

Still he did gain a 50% +1 majority

UPDATE: Nor this GOP member of the House

Thomas Massie (KY).

Incumbent 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, Johnson 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

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, DGA Lifetime Achievement Award Feb. 8, 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, 2025

Eligible films / TV series / specials / technical

awards and lifetime awards for Ted Danson &

Viola Davis

Golden Globes

UPDATE: Feb. 2, 2025

Grammy Award ceremony

in Los Angeles recently

ravaged by wildfires

Academy Award ceremony

March 2, 2025 -- hosted

by Conan O'Brien

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.

UPDATE:

She benefitted with $1.2 million honoraria / speaking

fees while a MAGA spokeswoman for the 2024 Campaign

appearances for the Trump - Vance ticket.

Inauguration weekend News headline Washington Post.com

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

Attorney General (DOJ) nominee of Florida at Senate Hearing (15 Jan. 2025) disclaims "enemies list" rumor

As of 2024, Trump associate Kash Patel published this enemies list

in his most recent book:

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. [he will leave office early

in 2025 when a suitable replacement can be named]

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

faithfor2008.blogspot.com

entries for entire year 2024 = 907

Posted Blog Entries = 70

This month (Dec. 1 - 30, 2024) = 3,055 visits

December 1 (Sunday) = 114

Dec. 2 = 126

Dec. 3 = 104

Dec. 4 = 165

Dec. 5 = 152

Dec. 6 = 136

Dec. 5 = 115

Dec. 6 = 193

Dec. 7 = 92

Sunday Dec. 8 = 110

Mon. 12/9 = 104

Tues. 10th Dec. = 105

Wed. 11/Dec. = 141

Thurs. 12/12 = 80

Friday the 13th - 122

12/14/2024 web visits = 82

Dec. 15 = 78

Dec. 16 - 120

Dec. 17 = 128

Dec. 18 (wed. before XMAS) = 96

Dec. 19 = 86

Dec. 20 = 94

Dec. 21 = 82

Dec. 22 = 87

Dec. 23 = 84

Xmas Eve = 65

Xmas - 78

12/26 = 23

12/27 = 52

12/28 = 65

12/29 = 89

12/30 = 86

Last day of month = 36

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)

Jan. 20, 2025 -- leading entertainers (Trump - Vance Inaugural Monday)

UPDATE: Kid Rock and Jason Aldean

will be among the singers / entertainers

to fete the Inaugural events Jan. 20, 2025.

Singing "God Bless America" will be

American Idol winner Carrie Underwood.

Jewel

Nelly

entertainers for the Inaugural balls.

Theme Song: YMCA by the Village People

G-20 as of November 2024 -- Feb. 20, 2025 meeting will not be attended by Secy. of State Rubio

 Argentina

Australia

Brazil

Canada

China

France

Germany

India

Indonesia

Italy

Japan

South Korea

Mexico

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

Turkey

United Kingdom

USA -- for Feb. 20, 2025 no Main

govt. official will attend (Secy. of

State Rubio declined early in 2/25)

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