Washington POST (Jeff Bezos, publisher)
exclusive story and how many and how to
be "rationalized"
[ subscription required ]
VA PLANS TO ABRUPTLY ELIMINATE
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF
HEALTH CARE JOBS
Douglas Collins Secy. of Veterans Administration
Saturday, December 13, 2025
Heisman Trophy Presentation tonight - television networks ABC & ESPN
ESPN & ABC will live air
the Heisman Trophy "party"
where the contestants / nominees
share the same room and get to applaud
the sole Winner of the TROPHYgiven
the athletic / sportsman participation over
the current season leading to the
National Championship match-ups
Saturday 12/13/2025
7 p.m. at Lincoln Center, NY City
the "APPEL ROOM"
4 nominees to be present
QB for
Indiana University
Fernando Mendoza
football team (#1 ranking)
already won
AP Player of the Year (Dec. 11, 2025)
and Davey O'Brien National QB Award
(also Dec. 11 - 12)
. . . . . .
will he win the Heisman Trophy?
Probably
CONSOLATION PRIZE FOR
Jeremiyah Love
Doak Walker Award
for Best Running Back
2024 Emmy Win
Dick Van Dyke (reached 100 on Dec. 13, 2025)
recently won an Emmy Award for Daytime Programming
Outstanding performance by
an actor in Daytime Drama
Days of our Lives (NBC)
Sept. 7, 2024 - outstanding special
Creative Arts Emmy
Dick Van Dyke -- centenarian
ABC News dot-go dot-com
Will reach 100th birthday
Dec. 13, 2025
new book / he is giving interviews
100 Rules for Living to 100:
an optimist's guide to a
Happy Life
Grand Central Publishing
(last month)
Five issues in front of SCOTUS -- Chief Justice John Roberts Court --the Supreme Court of the Land
Second Amendment clarification =
do gun owners need 'express permission'
to carry their guns onto private property
open to the public?
do 'unlawful users of controlled substance'
have gun rights?
does Climate Change need to be addressed
at the Federal level or just at the State levels,
specifically in Colorado?
Priscilla Villareal complaint against law
enforcement that it violated her First
Amendment interfering in the work of
the Press.
Religious accomodations regarding
exemptions from vaccines (for example
Christian Scientists, Jehovah Witnesses,
religions of various type whose doctrine/
dogma prohibits/punishes those who have
been medically vaccinated) Kane versus
City of New York
Excessive fines in a case from Alaska
courts - Ken Jouppi, bush_ pilot whose
transported six-packs of beer, some
visible . . .
_______________________________
scotus BLOG -- Kelsey Dallas
reporting 12/12/2025
Chapter 4 Epigram : A_HIGHER_LOYALTY by author James Comey
Author James Comey, former FBI Director
chose this EPIGRAM:
I have always believed,
and I still believe,
that whatever good
or bad fortune may
come our way we can always
give it meaning and transform
it into something of Value!
- - author Herman Hesse
Dept.Justice prosecutors of Comey already undermined by D. Richman, their own witness : attempt to re-charge being done sloppily to fulfill "retribution" against fired FBI director Comey
update Friday 12/12/2025
Late in week -- Judge's order this week that
tranche of evidence illegally obtained will "gum up"
the D of J "case" being made against former
FBI Director James Comey :
see details at
NYTimes.com/2025/12/12/us/politics/judge-comey-richman-files.html
Daniel Richman, a law professor
see details: ABC News.go.com/
October 9, 2025 5:09 a.m.
"Central Witness Undermines Case
Against James M. Comey, Prosecutors
Concluded"
Friday, December 12, 2025
Admiral Alvin Holsey -- will retire -- news emerges suddenly at Late Friday 12/12/2025 Administration updates to public - intra-government
Admiral Holsey who supervised the Navy and Joint Command
bombings of ships / marine traffic this fall off
Venezuela in the Caribbean area
will retire
NYTimes.com/2025/12/12/us/politics/admiral-alvin-holsey-
retires-boat-strikes.html
WASHINGTON POST (Jeff Bezos Publisher)
reports on Tuesday 12/9/25 that the Admiral is meeting
with Senate and House lawmakers [4:30 p.m. Eastern]
_______________________________________
Oct. 17, 2025
The admiral in Hegseth's Defense/War department
is leaving less than a year into his tenure
as the Pentagon escalates
attacks against boats in
the Caribbean Sea. . .
nytimes.com/2025/10/16/us/politics/southern-command-stepping-down.html
Typically Admirals are appointed
for a 3-year job; Holsey is in the
midst of the biggest operation in
his 37-year career. . . . Sources tell
the NY Times that he had raised
concerns about the mission and the
attacks on the alleged "drug boats"
New figure for the cost of TRUMP Ballroom -- USA TODAY (late November 2025)
from July's estimate (before
demolition) of $200 million
to NOV. 2025
$300 million.
Now expected to seat
1,000.
Billionaire donors and
corporate sponsors (who
will expect name benefits)
are being sought to make
this TRUMP re-do of the
building in place since
the John Adams (POTUS 2.0)
administration.
Bethlehem Christmas Tree in Manger Square (West Bank) lit up for first December since 2023
Advent Season
pre-Christmas "countdown" to
Dec. 25, 2025
BBC dot-com .UK
reports that the City authorities
and merchants have lit the Christmas
displays for the first time since
Oct. 7, 2023 attacks from HAMAS and
other terrorist kidnapping and killing of
those near Gaza urban and rural locations.
Dec. 6, 2025 -- St. Nicholas (an ancient
church Bishop of Myra [ modern-day Iznik,
Turkey ] who took part in the
Nicaea Council in 325 Common Era --
1,700 years ago this fall.
Erica Kirk who forgave her husband's assassin -- TO appear on CBS News (Saturday Dec. 13, 2025) -- hour-long Town Hall
"Erica Kirk to open up about life, loss, politics . . ."
Prime Time special with Bari Weiss moderator
the taped event will air in prime time 8 - 9 p.m.
Saturday Dec. 13, 2025
cbsnews.com/news/erika-kirk-town-hall-cbs/
_______________________
Yes
in eulogy (Sept. 21)
I've had so many people ask,
'Do you feel anger toward the man?
Like, do you want the death penalty?
I'll be honest. I told our lawyer.
I want the government to decide this.
I do not want that man's blood on my ledger . . . . .
Trump sued over East Wing demolition by Historic Preservation group
see CNN.com
Friday Dec. 12, 2025
regarding recent wrecking of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
those suing TRUMP 2.0
are:
National Trust for
Historical Preservation
Trump expected to suddenly loosen FEDERAL Cannabis restriction / / / such Stock in publicly traded corporations soar
Major news platforms get wind of
TRUMP switch off as far as
Cannabis being federally prohibited . . .
Federal restrictions on Marijuana
nationwide . . .
See COVERAGE from
Jeff Bezos' media
platform : Washingtonpost.
com with story attested for
by reporters
Jacob Bogage,
Dan Diamond,
David Ovalle
[ overnight Dec. 12, 2025
Subscription required ]
ALSO. . .
Trump opts on behalf of
Executive Branch control of
Pentagon to begin without
any mediating discussion
whatsoever to begin
seizing oil tankers near Venezuela
427 - 1 decisive vote followed by Unanimous Vote of 100 Senators -- Nov. 18 -- follow-up Dec. 12 opening up of PHOTO Trove Epstein phone storage
In the U.S. Senate Tuesday 11/18/2025
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer scrambled to get the
Attention of the 100 senators to unite and not one of them
to dissent and block a full-throated order to the POTUS'
desk at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. -- OPEN THOSE
Epstein / Maxwell files from Pam Bondi's D of J
storage . . .
By uniting their effort,
Democrats and a tiny minority
of GOP Representatives (Thomas
Massie of Kentucky and 3 GOP
women - Boebert, Greene, Mace)
succeeded in forcing the legislation
by PETITION to make fellow
House members vote for or against
the release of Epstein-Maxwell
files held now by the Pamela Jo
Bondi Dept. of Justice . . .
427 - 1 who opposed = Higgins,
Louisiana
Of the 5 out of 433 total
members of the House who did
not cast a vote or voted present
3 were Democrats, and 2 GOP.
Christkindlmarkt at Grand Rapids, Michigan - Advent season 2025 - until 12/23/2025
https://experiencegr.com
Event -- Christkindlmarkt (West Michigan's Market
during Advent - Nov. - December 2025)
Wed., Thursdays
Friday-Sat. - Sundays
Closed Mondays-Tuesdays
FRIDAY (day after Turkey Day)
November 28, 2025 up to
Monday Dec. 22
Tuesday Dec. 23 (Both days 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.)
How long until the 8 nights of Hanukkah / Chanukah?
The First Night of
Hanukkah / Chanukah begins
Evening of December 14, 2025
(a Sunday) until
Monday, Dec. 22, 2025
(day after the Winter Solstice this year)
House GOP - MAGA leaders opt to wait until Saturday 13th - Sunday 14th to reveal details of counter-proposal for OBAMA -Care subsidies
Credit Mike Johnson (3rd in line for the Presidency as
"Speaker of the House")
for procrastination in that
the
House leaders wait to unveil
health plan this weekend
( POLITICO .com Dec. 12
online "breaking news")
Lethal Hostilities: Southern Command Admiral gave order to double bomb : (Dec. follow-up) POPE LEO XIV, Notre Dame Professors of Global Affairs / Political science / Law School
FOLLOW-up (Dec. 2025)
ADMIRAL (former Navy SEAL) needs to send
top Military Lawyer (u.s. Navy) in House of Repr.
boat strike inquiry -- details at Washingtonpost.com/
More on Alternate to use of invading troops into Venezuela
itself :
NCR online.org/Vatican/press-conference-pope-leo-
says-us-has-another-way-besides-attacking-venezuela
story filed by Justin McClellan -- National Catholic Reporter
December 2025 from Vatican City
POLITICO Platform (Dec. 2025)
"Pope Leo XIV warns against
military action in Venezuela" reporters
Jacob Wendler, traveling with the Pontiff
another reason not to engage in a U.S. - Venezuela Ground fighting / invasion
war for Trump-Vance "National Security - "Dept. of War" teams
"DRUG BOATS FROM Venezuela are mainly moving
Cocaine to Europe not
Fentanyl to USA"
NBC News.com/ military/drug-boats-
venezuela. . .moving cocaine
NBC NEWS coverage by Dan DeLuce, Courtney Kube,
Gordon Lubold [Nov.21, 2025 5 a.m.]
NOTRE DAME "Kellogg Institute" director
Anibal Perez-Linan, prof. of
political science & global affairs.
Also commenting was Prof. Mary
Ellen O'Connell of the Law School
and concurrent professor of
international peace studies:
"International law on the use of force leaves no room for
using military force to kill individuals or groups suspected
of any crimes"
ND Student-journalist : Grace Sullivan article posted early
10/16/2025
ndsmcobserver dot-com
nd-professors-comment-on-u-s-attacks-against-suspected-drug-trafficking-boats
A Christmas Tree has been lit in Kyiv, Ukraine (in front of St. Sophia Cathedral)
Dec. 6, 2025
www3.nhk.jp.or/nhkworld/en/news/20251206_08/
the 18-meter tree was where many people gathered
for a lighting ceremony and reflected on peace :
. . .the tree is a small joy. . .Ukrainians want to
return to the life they had, which was taken away by Russia.
One does not love a place the less . . .
Jane Austen
in her novel
Persuasion
wrote:
One does not love a place the less
for having suffered in it, unless
it has been all suffering, nothing
but suffering.
What you could have said or done, . . .but you didn't
Harriet Beecher Stowe :
The bitterest tears shed over graves are
words left unsaid and deeds left undone.
The _VOICE_ (reality-competition series) for Fall 2025 to air live on air -- Next Monday 9 - 11 p.m. (mid-December 2025)
Monday, December 15, 2025
9 - 11 p.m. Eastern Time
[event is actually held in
Universal City, CA
Pacific Time Zone -- 6 - 8 p.m.]
hosted by Carson Daly
[ season judges were performers
Michael Buble', Snoop Dogg,
Niall Horan, and Reba McEntire ]
The top six artists perform a
contemporary song and a classic
song to attain the title of
"VOICE" winner for Dec. 2025.
Dec. 13, 2025 Yuletide Birthday Ball at Bath, England for 250-year-old -- Happy Birthday Jane Austen, novelist!
Author
Jane Austen
will be celebrated by her
fans worldwide and those
with tickets for the Birthday
Ball (extreme fans call themselves
Janeites) Saturday, December 13
(in the area she lived).
nytimes.com/2025/11/26/books/jane-austen-birthday.html
a 250th celebration is called a
semiquincentennial
(in contrast to 200 years called
a bicentennial)
Ukrainian Children's Aid/ Relief Effort - Christmas Ornaments - Holy Trinity, Goshen, IN - 2nd Saturday Dec. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
details of Sat. Dec. 13, 2025
event to support the church and
its ministries:
Holy Trinity Ukrainian
Orthodox Church --
61314 Cty. Road 21
Goshen, IN
Event is from 10 a.m. -
3 p.m. - Bake Sale,
Silent Auction, Gift items
from Ukraine
INSIDE the Church Hall
(separate building behind the
church) - Come shopping for
the holidays - Christmas Bazaar
Free Admission to Niles History Center, Niles, Michigan - Saturday 12/13/25
Evening of lights and music
Saturday Dec. 13, 2025
4 p.m. until 7 p.m. Eastern
enjoy live music from the
Michiana Chamber Orchestra
as you visit displays and tour the
Chapin Mansion.
details on this FREE TOUR
abc57.com/news/niles-history-to-host-special-holiday-open-house
When is the shortest Day (as far as between sunrise and sunset) and Longest night-time?
The Winter Solstice
is
10:03 a.m.
Sunday
December 21, 2025;
only 9 hours and 10 minutes
daylight.
Japanese Character for "BEAR" is Kanji Character of 2025
NHK -- Japanese Public TV Network
Platform
reports 12/12/2025 that the Character
which most reveals what happened from
Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 is
BEAR
Night of Hanukkah Programming -- NPR
7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Monday Dec. 15, 2025
(second of 8 nights of
HANUKKAH / Chanukah)
WVPE dot-org FM
88.1 Elkhart - South Bend, IN
National Public Radio
entertainment / news
Redistricting battlefield shifts from Indiana where MAGA Braun and Trump 47 lost to nearby state : WISCONSIN
NBC NEWS
coverage of
"Redistricting battlefield
shifts to Wisconsin Supreme
Court, where judicial panels
may pick new maps"
nbcnews.com/ 12/12/ breaking-news
Do Penguins need annual check-ups?
Yes, learn about the colony
of Magellanic Penguins at
John Ball Zoo at
Grand Rapids, Michigan
______________________
for the
Penguin Palooza
at Michigan LIVE!
mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/
2025/12/john-ball-zoo-grand-rapids-
penguin-palooza-ensures-colonys-
clean-bill-of-health.html
How many "National Board of Review" awards does Paul Thomas Anderson (producer-director, screenwriter) have?
Up to date -- Dec. 12, 2025
the American film Director / Screenwriter has won in these years:
2014 -- screenplay "INHERENT VICE"
2017 -- screenplay "Phantom Thread"
2021 -- Best Director "Licorice Pizza"
2025 -- Best Director "One Battle
After Another"
Friedrich Merz and Mark Rutte both ask Trump team to come to Berlin !
Trump will be plenty welcome
to help the European and NATO
leaders (Merz who is Chancellor
of Germany & Rutte who is NATO
Secretary-General) negotiate
alongside Volodymyr Zelinskyy
to get a
potential Ukraine-Russia
cease-fire !
Dec. 2025 blog Statistics
Month of December
2025
December 1 (Monday) 1,959
Dec. 2 1,522
Dec. 3 1,712
Dec. 4 1,166
Dec. 5 772
Dec. 6 (St. Nicholas' Day) 1,098
2nd Sunday of Advent 1,228
Dec. 8 1,831
Dec. 9 2,736 [most views / visits during 31 days of Dec. ]
Dec. 10 1,446
Dec. 11 2,402
Dec. 12 1,312
Dec. 13 867
3rd Sunday of Advent
Dec. 14
Dec. 15
Beethoven's Birthday
Dec. 17
Dec. 18
Dec. 19
Dec. 20
Winter Solstice
Dec. 22
Dec. 23
Xmas Eve
Xmas Day
Boxing Day
Dec. 27
Dec. 28
Dec. 29
Dec. 30
New Year's Eve
Total (entire month, 31 days) = 20,051
Center for Biological Diversity -- Trump Secy. of Interior dumps prize-winning photography of Montana's Glacier Pass
Douglas Burglum, Cabinet member of Trump-Vance administration
dislikes the prize-winning photography of
Montana
Glacier Pass National Park
so much that he substituted
an "A.I." photo of POTUS 47
standing next to POTUS 1 (I.e.
George Washington)
see biologicaldiversity dot-org
lawsuit-challenges-trump-use-of-
headshot-on-national-parks-pass
Dec. 10, 2025
Fruitcake (associated with Christmas)
Linda Raedisch The Secret history of Christmas baking
Llewellyn Books, 2023
chapter 10
"Stirring Things Up"
Homemade fruitcake, which was originally
a wedding and special occasion cake,
beat gingerbread to the American
Christmas table by at least a hundred years. . .
The giant fruitcake or "great cake" with
which Martha Washington welcomed her
husband home for Christmas 1797 was
more like a raisin cake than what we
think of as a fruitcake today. The only
fruits in it were dried currants, which
may have been all Martha could get
at the time. The idea of a heavier cake
in which roughly chopped fruits and
nuts took the lead was reintroduced to
America by later immigrants from Ireland,
where fruitcake baking is begun a month
or more before 12/25. Some Irish cottages
even have a special niche in an outside wall
where the brandy-anointed cake can be
kept while it matures. The last step
before 12/25 is to cover the cake,
like Queen Victoria's wedding cake,
in marzipan and royal icing.
Outcome of Mike Braun (MAGA Governor) and POTUS Trump's attempt to carve up by end of 2025 session: Indiana's Congressional districts
Dec. 11, 2025 -- more than a dozen
GOP Lawmakers defied Trump and Braun
and would NOT vote in favor of
"Carved-Up" Congressional Districts
during a special "called" session of the
INDIANA State Legislature
_______________________
11/15/2025
President Pro Tem
of the Indiana Senate (Legislative
branch of statewide government :
There WILL NOT be
a special session in December 2025
to carve up the state at mid-decade
as
Gov. Mike Braun
and
POTUS D.J.T
have expressed their
wish to remake the
2021 Census "carve-up"
of the state's federal
Congressional districts
SEE LOCAL TV Affiliate
(S. Bend, Elkhart in N. INDIANA)
abc57.com/news/breaking-senate-president-
pro-tem-rodric-bray-says-indiana-congressional-
maps-wont-be-redrawn
Bob Dylan - just announced tour dates for Spring 2026 Mid-America
"Rough and Rowdy Ways" Tour -- Bob Dylan
Mid-America
concert tour for next year :
Scheduled dates include
Thursday April 2, 2026 at DeVos
Performance Hall, Grand Rapids,MI
and Friday April 3 Saginaw,MI
and Saturday April 4 at the Masonic
Temple Hall in Detroit,MI.
mlive.com/ Michigan Live!
includes in online article Dylan's
entire 2026 schedule from
March 21, Omaha, NE until
May 1 Abilene, TX
Abilene Auditorium.
Meeting Dec. 11, 2025 CANCELLED : FEMA "Review Council" will not eliminate the agency but greatly take away funding after emergency disasters
UPDATE: Dec. 11, 2025 meeting of
FEMA REVIEW COUNCIL
has been abruptly cancelled -- unclear if
states or Congress have raised serious
issues about the Constitutionality of this
group plotting the future of Federally mandated
agency on Disaster Recovery . . .
on the committee is DHS Secy. Kristi Noem,
TX Gov. Greg Abbott, more intent on
dismantling the federal agency.
CNN dot-com
co-chaired by Secretarys
Hegseth
and Noem, the Trump-Vance Cabinet
"review council" that must approve
individual grant petitions from the states
after disasters will be
restructured -- all this
is happening without
vote of the Congressional/
Senate committees and
legislative review. Six
months ago (June 2025)
Trump 2.0 declared in the
Oval Office that the agency
should "go away."
Thursday, December 11, 2025
Who shows up in Jeffrey Epstein "Photo Trove"?
released by House Oversight Committee
Chmn. James Comer (MAGA - KY)
Donald John Trump
William Jefferson Clinton
Bill Gates
Larry Summers
Steve Bannon
Woody Allen
Richard Branson
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
women being victimized
Swiss Valley ski and snowboard (Jones, Michigan) - - Regular Winter Hours begin 12/12 - Friday
Ski & Snowboard area -- SWISS VALLEY
opening day was THURS. 12/11
Planned Opening day will be December 11, 2025
regular hours starting Friday 12/12
for all the details see FACE BOOK and other Social Media
as well as WEB Platform
https://skiswissvalley.com
2 new Magic Carpet lifts;
new redesigned beginner area
Jones, Michigan [ near Three Rivers, MI ]
has website,
FaceBook,
Salvation Army RED KETTLE Bell Ringers needed (next two weeks) - any day through Christmas Eve
Dec. 11 (thursday) - Wed. Dec. 24, 2025
HQ for Salvation Army, NILES Michigan 49120
1707 Miller Drive
_____________________
Ring the Bell to help your
neighbors in need!
Thereby you assist others
to get
food,
shelter,
essentials
volunteer.uwsm.org/
need/detail/?need_id=1147329
What was it like to write books? and to read them?
IN JANE AUSTEN's TIME
reading was not necessarily a solitary
occupation. Books and newspapers were
read aloud, as part of the tradition of
shared entertainment. It was too expensive
for everyone to read their own book on dark
winter evenings, because each would need
a candle. Throughout her life, Jane Austen
read books aloud or listened to others. Such a
pastime was relatively cheap and always
available, and on a day (October 1805) when
it rained heavily for many hours:
My wife read the novel of Camilla to us all
the whole day with little intermission so
that we were all much entertained with that very
affecting narration!
Letters also provided entertainment when
read aloud among family and friends. Writing was
essential for long-distance communication;
those who had the time corresponded on a daily
basis with friends and family. Jane Austen was
a prolific letter writer, but the greater part of
her letters were destroyed by her sister Cassandra
and other family members. The cost of sending
a letter was relatively high, charged according
to the distance travelled and the number of enclosures.
Did Jane Austen's generation believe in ghosts / spirits who haunted places and in omens that preceded death?
Belief in ghosts was certainly widespread,
something noted in 1807 at Lancashire:
Scarcely a field, gate, or stile is without
its attendant spirit and in some of the houses
the noises these beings or shadows or sprites
or whatever they are are terrible beyond anything!
Ghosts were feared as being the restless spirits
of the dead, and in April 1810
the "Morning Post" reported on superstitious rites
that accompanies the burial of a suicide :
The officers appointed to execute the ceremony of
driving a stake through the dead body . . . he had cut
his own throat at a public house. . .in consequence
of which, the Coroner's Jury found a verdict of
self-murder, very properly delayed the business
until 12 noon when the deceased was buried in
the crossroads at the end of Blackmoore Street,
Clare Market.
A howling dog signified a death in the family,
a coal spitting out of a fire and landing at
someone's feet in the shape of a coffin foretold
their imminent demise. Tallow rising up the
wick of a candle was sometimes called a 'winding
sheet' and foretold a death in the family.
although Christmas was observed in Jane Austen's
era, it was not a major holiday. Houses were
decorated with greenery, usually Holly or Laurel.
The custom of giving servants and tradesmen
small gifts of money (Christmas boxes) was
growing but New Year was more often the time
for celebration and the exchange of gifts.
What were meals like for Jane Austen (b. 1775) and her counterparts in the Georgian Era?
Dinner was the main meal, eaten at any
time in the afternoon between two and
five o'clock. The timing of dinner was
related to the hours of daylight, since
the cooks needed to work in daylight,
especially for formal dinners with guests
where preparations could take hours.
Dinnertime for the elite became later
and later, and in contrast to the meager
breakfast, a formal dinner could be a
dazzling array of food. The first course,
served on the table all at once, had
numerous dishes, and was followed
by a second course with a smaller
selection of meats and fish, along
with savoury and sweet items.
Finally, a selection of nuts, sweetmeats,
and occasionally fruit constituted
the dessert course, at which point
the servants withdrew.
AN EXAMPLE :
I gave them for dinner, a couple
of chicken boiled and a tongue, a leg
of mutton boiled, and capers, and
batter pudding for the first course.
Second, a couple of ducks roasted
and green peas, some artichokes,
tarts, and blamange. After dinner,
almonds and raisins, oranges, and
strawberries. Mountain and port wines.
Jane Austen (born 1775 died 1817) - social life and customs of her era : WEDDINGS
All weddings were morning events,
since canon law decreed that they
could be solemnized only between
8 a.m. and noon -- a rule
that held until 1886. Particular times of the year
(especially Lent) were traditionally avoided,
and Sundays could be a nuisance.
The oldest customs, survivals from antiquity,
were the wedding cake and the ring
that was given to the bride
during the ceremony. . .Some wives
never removed their wedding ring.
"Many married women are so rigid,
not to say superstitious,
in their notions concerning
their wedding rings, that neither when they
wash their hands, nor at any other time,
will they take it off from their finger,
extending the expression of
Til Death Us Do Part even
to this golden circlet, the token and pledge of
matrimony!
After the event, a meal might be laid on;
at a morning ceremony, a wedding breakfast
was most common. More elaborate celebrations
could continue the whole day, perhaps with
a dinner and a supper, along with music,
dancing, games, and sports. Then as now
the wedding cake was an important element
of the ceremony
and was subsequently distributed to family
and friends, something Jane
Austen herself mentioned writing to sister
Cassandra in 1808:
Do you recollect whether the
Manydown_family send about
their wedding cake? Mrs.
Dundas has set her heart upon having a
piece from her friend Catherine,
and Martha, who knows what importance
she attaches to this sort of thing,
is anxious for the sake of
both, that there should not be a disappointment!
89 years ago -- the Throne of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales was empty
As King Edward VIII
abdicated -- causing a
crisis for the Governance
of the British Empire and
the House of Windsor. . .
Dec. 11, 1936
Cambodian and Thai P.M. Ministers (Hun Manet and A. Charnvirukal) now at war again after crediting Trump 2.0 with Peace on Oct. 26, 2025
Both the Peace "Deals" of Rwanda & DRC (Congo)
and Cambodia and Thailand
are unravelling this mid-week of December 2025
___________________________
No good "cashing a Giant Sized" Treaty / Pay Check
when there is "NO PEACE" to be had . . . Dec. 11, 2025
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ASEAN Summit
has great publicity for the public-signing ceremony
on Oct. 26, 2025 =
4 men hold up giant-sized Treaty Posters
HOST (Malaysia) : Anwar Ibrahim
and POTUS 47 (Donald
John Trump) grin and
hold poster / billboard
with peace treaty co-signatories
since spring lethal hostilities
between Cambodia & Thailand
no longer being reported : cease-
fire between armed forces exists.
PHOTOS at REUTERS.com
A kind of pagan or heathen figure
Back at mid-year following first 6 months
of Trump-Vance administration
(July 19,2025 Saturday)
Ross Douthat : Julie K. Brown interview "What remains
to be revealed about Epstein's 2nd arrest in 2019 for sex
crimes, about what the govt. COULD release but hasn't,
and how the story is bigger than Epstein.
NYTimes.com/2025/07/19/opinion/interesting-times-julie-k-brown-epstein.html
______________________________________________
Ross Douthat focused on Faith / Religion / Conservative Politics /
Philosophy / Political movements & 21st Century / History
NY TIMES columnist / acclaimed author
OPINION PAGE:
. . .I think of Trump as, persistently,
a kind of pagan or heathen figure,
much more than he is a Christian
figure. Not withstanding the attempts
to claim him as a kind of King David
or Emperor Constantine. . . The
bargain for religious conservatives
with Trump is for protection and support.
A transactional bargain. . .Particular
steps Trump-Vance administration has
taken are anti-Christian. . .the way in
which the foreign aid programs were
reshuffled and cut off was a failure of
Christian duty. . .
April 25 column / op-ed / 2025
Press Conference expected from Nobel Laureate Machado of Venezuela - Thursday (Dec. 11, 2025)
Hours after her daughter
spoke on behalf of
Maria Corina Machado
at Oslo, Norway
the Venezuelan election reform
candidate for President spoke
and waved to the public gathered
at the "Grand Hotel."
nytimes.com/2025/12/10/world/Americas/
maria-corina-machado-venezuela-nobel.html
Next step is "Platinum TRUMP CARD" -- $5 million apiece - for Business Foreign interests, seeking to arrive in U.S. quickly by "jumping the line"
Further details at
nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/trump-gold-card.html
Business "TRUMP Gold Card" visa, expedited by Secy. State Rubio and State Department -- costs $2 million -- ready now in Dec. 2025
Details at
"What is a Trump Gold Card?"
nytimes.com/2025/12/10/
us/politics/trump-gold-card.html
$2 million apiece
Expedited Visa from State Department -- cost $1 million for those foreign visitors with deep pockets -- Trump-Rubio plan now in place
Details of the
Trump Gold Card
(cost $1 million from
foreign visa applicants, apiece)
nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/
trump-gold-card.html
Not quite Mount Rushmore + one
The National Park Service is being sued
for the alteration of Jan. 1, 2026
NATIONAL PARK VISITOR passes (annual)
by billionaire Doug Burglum
(currently Secy. of the Interior, formerly N. Dakota
Governor) to include the White House fave
photograph of Pres. Trump 2.0 alongside
POTUS 1 (George Washington, two consecutive
terms in the 1780s - 1790s, and who left
the Presidency peacefully in a transition to
his VP, duly elected) . . .
details at
NY TIMES dot-com/ 2025/12/10/climate/lawsuit-
park-service-passes-trump.html . . . .
By 312- 112 (10 members absent or not voting), Mike Johnson's House GOP (MAGA) + Democrat support pass $900 billion Defense Authorization
Provides a 3.8 percent raise for active / in service members of the military branches
- - Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space Force (Trump-Pence
expansion to 6th service).
It will ban D.E.I programs at all levels and send $400 million funding to Ukraine in the
short term and blocks the removal of U.S. troops when stationed in Europe.
nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/house-approves-house-bill.html
This measure also forces Sec. Hegseth
to release the attack video from
recent Southern Command bombing
of Venezuelan ships, termed
"narco-terrorists" . . . Hegseth will
be deprived 25 percent if such video
documentation isn't given to national
security legislative committee chairmen.
Former MAGA Congresswoman (GA)
Greene opposed the authorization
over the Ukraine annual support for
the next 2 spending years.
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Pushing Daisies (season 3) -- Bryan Fuller will bring TV sitcom "back to a revived life"
Details at
EW.com
Entertainment Weekly (online feature articles)
pushing-daisies-creator-reveals-season-3-in-the-works
Dec. 9, 2025
Fuller sixteen years ago created the quirky
fantasy - detective series for ABC
Nobel Peace Prize - Dec. 10 awarded today -- Laureate designated her daughter to give public address
web address =
Nobel prize.org/
1300 CET the simulcast / Livestream begins
In Stockholm, Sweden
the Prize ceremonies for 2025 range from
Chemistry (Dec. 6)
next Physics; Biology/Medicine;
Literature; Peace;
Economics
______________
Nobel Peace Prize
Ceremony (Dec. 10 at Oslo,
Norway)
Details of Hegseth Southern forces & what to do with Survivors (take them to Guantanamo?)
The U.S. Government is legally obligated to give
even irregular combatants some humanitarian rights
under the Geneva Convention . . .
nytimes.com/2025/12/09/us/politics/pentagon-boat-strike-survivors.html
cooperative reporting by Damien Cave, Edward Wong, Maria Abi-Habib
MARIA CORINA MACHADO -- 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate - she remains in hiding Dec. 10, 2025
Breaking News -- early Wed. a.m.
the Nobel Peace Prize Committee (Oslo, Norway)
has announced she will NOT appear publicly.
Live Stream (her award will be given Dec. 10
nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-during-nobel-week-2025/ )
Machado has communicated to the NOBEL
prize authorities in Sweden/Norway that she
WILL TRAVEL to receive the Peace Prize and
deliver a Laureate speech / acceptance address.
DEC. 10 is the date for that ceremony in
Oslo, Norway.
CBS NEWS dot-com
breaking news (Dec. 6, 2025 evening)
Venezuela's Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate (Winner for Dec. 2025) may be
pushing false claims about Maduro
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/world/America's/
/Maria-Machado-maduro-venezuela.html
___________________________________
more about her
work as a Venezuelan election mobilization advocate =
NYTimes.com/live.2025/10/10/world/nobel-peace-prize
Oct. 10, 2025 (Scandinavian capital)
Live (not pre-taped)
from Oslo, Norway --
a crack-of-dawn
presentation where the
"nominees" are not
assembled in the room
as they are in the
HEISMAN TROPHY
presentation . . .
Eileen Higgins elected Mayor (Dec. 9, 2025) -- vote in this major U.S. City may offer national implications
to be reported in NBC NEWS politics / elections
NBC News.com/politics/elections/democrat-wins-miamis-mayoral-
race-first-time-almost-30-years-rcna248168
City of Miami FLORIDA
race for Mayor's Office (2026)
between
Emilio Gonzalez (GOP City Manager)
and Democrat
Eileen Higgins.
She is a former county
commissioner.
Tonight's outcome from
early voting and same-
day ballots cast may have
implications for 2026
voting at Congressional
and Senate Midterms.
WLRN (NPR affiliate)
coverage dot-org
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
MacKenzie Scott -- philanthropist - $7.1 billion in 2025
Donation total of $7.1 billion reported in
AP NEWS online article -- Wed. Dec. 10, 2025
IN Mid-October news:
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced
that she will donate $40 million to help
preserve and keep before the public
Black History.
NYTimes.com/2025/10/15/realestate/mackenzie-scott-donation-black-history.html
The former wife of Jeff Bezos,
MacKenzie Scott,
did not attend her ex-husband's
wedding to Lauren Sanchez, test
pilot in the city of Venice, Italy.
Nor has she commented publicly
on the gala which ignited protests
in the European city / port.
The notoriously private author has
donated to charities $19.2 billion
since 2019. She married the AMAZON
founder in 1993 and raised their young
family of four children.
more at sheknows.com/entertainment/articles
Gulf States unite in effort to buy Warner Studios (Saudi, Qatari, UAE investors)
a $108 billion bid to take over the
WARNER BROTHERS studio is
bankrolling an effort by Paramount
Skydance to take over the corporate
entity
Warner Bros Discovery
10 Dec. 2025
U.S. Trade deal with Indonesia at risk of collapse - failure / / imminent war at Thailand / Cambodia border areas
Dec. 10, 2025
The Trump - Vance administration has failed to
sustain a trade "deal" with the Pacific nation of
Indonesia
according to trade officials
who admitted details to
REUTERS (news platform)
overnight.
/ / / also early Dec. 10 --
Trump has expected to intervene
by telephone to stop hostilities/
killings at the Cambodia/Thailand
border . . . both countries accuse
the other of firing missiles in
civilian areas.
Judith Olivia Dench - Happy 91st Birthday!
born in York, England
Dec. 9, 1934 a daughter
to Eleanora Olive (Jones)
of Dublin, Ireland and Dr.
Reginald Arthur Dench.
Famed actress, Stage &
TV & Film roles, named
a "Dame" (Order of
the British Empire)
by Queen Elizabeth II
for contributions in arts
and excellence.
What does it mean to be human? Exhibit opening Dec. 12, 2025 - stowecenter.org/
Stowe Center for
Literary Activity
Hartford, CT
Exhibit opens
Friday Dec. 12, 2025
6 - 7:30 p.m. Eastern
Artist Amanda Mendoza
Do fans of NBA Basketball show up at arenas on Dec. 25 (Christmas Afternoon, early evening)?
For 12/25/25
there will be games at
Knicks (NY City), Oklahoma
City Thunder, Golden
State Warriors arena,
Lakers (Los Angeles),
and Denver Nuggets (CO)
arena.
In various time zones the
5 professional BB games
start
Noon Eastern at Knicks Arena
2:30 p.m. (Eastern) at OK
City home arena
5 p.m. Eastern (Local
2:30 Pacific) Golden State
arena
8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m.
Pacific Zone at L.A.)
10:30 p.m. Eastern (8:30
p.m. Mountain) at Denver!
Thailand - Cambodia : Trump 2.0 falsely claimed his "Peace Effort" brought war to an end
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE - Tues. 12/9/2025
Thai-Cambodia Peace Deal at risk of collapse
NHK World News -- TOKYO office report at
PLATFORM
UPDATE (Dec. 8 - Monday) -- 5 dead in air strikes
Dec. 7, 2025 -- as one of the "Wars" he had solved,
Trump 2.0 is learning that the peace "deal"/
cease fire is threatened
as Thailand in early December
is again hitting its border region next to Cambodia. . .
AIR STRIKES hit its neighbor / border
Monday Dec. 8, 2025
AP News (Monday 11/10 breaking news)
Last month in Malaysia the two warring nations
signed a U.S. brokered deal to cease hostilities
but that fragile commitment may be about to fold --
AP NEWS dot-com
article/thailand-cambodia-land-mine-border
This was one part of
Trump's "case" for the
Nobel Peace prize for
Dec. 10, 2025 presentation in Oslo, Norway.
Pokrovsk, Ukraine
BBC world news UK
maintains that inside the
Ukrainian city, video footage showing
that the proud citizens of the besieged
city of POKROVSK still raise the
Blue - Yellow flag of their independent,
sovereign nation.
BBC.com/news/world
Tuesday Dec. 9, 2025 7 a.m.
Eastern U.S. Time Zone
UPDATE (BBC world news)
No progress after 5-hour bilateral conversation (?)
between Witkoff and Putin
Tuesday Dec. 2, 2025
Hosted in Russia by the war criminal / slaughterer
of innocents
During bilateral talks between
Steve Witkoff - Jared Kushner team
and the
Russia "team" headed by Vladimir Putin,
the Russians claim they have control of
the Ukrainian city of
Pokrovsk.
However, Ukrainians (not
invited to the bilateral negotiations)
deny this takeover . . .
Dec. 2, 2025.
Christmas Eve (St. Peter's Basilica)
Yes, NBC
plans on its Dec. 24, 2025 schedule to broadcast
from the Vatican City location its annual
coverage of
Christmas Eve Mass
beginning at 11:30 p.m.
Eastern. Celebrant will
be 70-year-old newly
elected Pontiff,
LEO XIV.
Monday, December 8, 2025
For China saying "Nix" on soybeans, Trump to offer $12 billion to farm lobby vote for holding on until next trade / commodities fund transfers
Dance of the seven veils :
$12 billion to be administered
by Brooke Rollins, Ag Secy.
who recently gave the "Scrooge"
line that we have "no money"
for SNAP nor School Lunch
programs for children in
public education feeding programs. . .
BBC : Trump to unveil $12bn
farm aid package
[ notice no "means testing" where
smallest, most destitute farmers
get paid first ahead of corporate
mega-farm operations that
swallow up large swathes of
fertile cropland . . .
Which Cabinet Secy. has been administering NASA during 11 months of 2025? Just the Transportation Secy. (former WI Congressman Sean Duffy) . . .
AP News.com/article/
Trump-musk-nasa-space-Isaacman . . . . .
Dec. 3, 2025 1:14 p.m. Eastern
Jared Isaacman - Try, try again -- Trump to re-nominate as "Space Walk-Man" Winner to head NASA agency -- Billionaire donor to Trump campaign funds
apnews.com/ Dec. 5, 2025
JARED ISAACMAN is back again before
Senate SCIENCE committee for vote to head NASA
Nov. 4, 2025
Politico Platform .com tells this story
"Trump nominates Isaacman to run NASA
- - again "
_________________________________
June 1, 2025 early a.m. follow-up NOW
claims that the Billionaire had contributed
in the past to Democratic causes and candidates. . .
______________________________________
WASHINGTON POST has the scoop
May 31, 2025
THIS billionaire will not get this public
sector job over scientists and astronauts,
and many tech employees . . .
TRUMP withdraws this nomination
4 p.m. Saturday last day of May 2025
__________________________________
Chief Executive of Shift4 Payments
went before the
Commerce, Science, Technology Cmte.
of the U.S. Senate Wed. April 9, 2025
for a confirmation hearing - statements - Q/A
at D.C. Capitol.
UPDATE: He claimed that with a $25 billion
budget that NASA could do both Mars and Moon
Missions
NYTimes.com/ nasa-jared-isaacman-confirmation.html
Jared Isaacman is a financial billionaire aligned
with Musk, the world's richest individual; two
prior Chiefs of NASA were also without NASA
credentials nor in the aerospace industry :
Jim Bridenstine /
Bill Nelson (2021 - Jan. 20, 2025
Bridenstine was Trump 1.0 pick
after being an Oklahoma congressman
and Nelson was Biden's pick after
many years as Florida's U.S. Senator.
Isaacman was also asked by Senators on Wed. April 9
whether he would commit to restoring climate data
produced by NASA Missions that had been removed
from online databases. He replied that he did not
know about the issue.
He avoided using terminology like "climate change"
or "global warming."
Trump's love of "PHANTOM of OPERA" on Broadway, starring Michael Crawford, U.K. "star"
6 memorable moments
from "TRUMP/Kennedy
Center Honors (episode
Dec. 7, 2025, featuring
KISS, Gloria Gaynor,
George Strait, Sylvester
Stallone)
"We miss Johnny Carson,
don't we? "
"I don't want to tell you
how many times I've seen
you (Michael Crawford) as
Phantom -- there will never
be anything like it" . . .
POTUS 47 plans to "nominate
himself" for his cultural contributions
in time for Dec. 2026 KENNEDY
HONORS at the Kennedy Center . . .
Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, resigns from "Temp.Job" as a U.S. attorney for New Jersey -- he placed her there illegally
Alina Habba,
a Trump loyalist,
NJ U.S. Attorney
resigns Monday Dec. 8, 2025
PANEL of Federal Judges last
week ruled her appointment
was illegal
Detroit's Mayor-elect marries Rickey Jackson -- she will be sworn into office in Jan. 2026
Mary Sheffield
(just elected in November
as Detroit, Michigan's incoming
MAYOR) --
married Rickey Jackson, Jr.
in a private ceremony in
Detroit Dec. 6 - 7, 2025
photos at FREEP.com
Detroit Free Press
(subscription required)
Michigan LIVE! also shares
that he is program manager
at "Project Play Southeast
Michigan"
#RealDonaldTrump did it first
Even though he skipped the annual
"Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts" Honors (annual gala + social
get-together of the talented, affluent,
and social trendsetters) all four years
of his POTUS 45 term,
Donald John Trump
used live comments /
introductions to make
his point : I am
"the first to command
the stage and to open
the show."
people.com/donald-trump-
slams-horrible-people-in-
audience-at-kennedy-
center-honors-11863405
PUBLISHED 11 a.m
Monday Dec. 8, 2025
Hate-hate relationship : many of you are horrible people [ comments by 79 1/2 year-old ]
I know so many of you
are persistent.
Many of you are miserable,
horrible people. You
are persistent. You
never give up. Sometimes
I wish you'd give up,
but you don't.
Emcee looks out at Audience (Annual award-honor stage spectacular)
Well, we're really having a good
time tonight. So many people
in this audience. Some good.
Some bad. Some I really love
and respect. Some I just hate. . .
Persistence is a trait shared by
the honorees.
Born Oct. 9, 1964 in Guadalajara, Mexico : respected & honored Film Director / Writer : NEW FEATURE FILM : Frankenstein
Alissa Wilkinson review of del Toro's adaptation
of the Mary Shelley Gothic horror classic and
it is infused with John Milton's PARADISE LOST
NYTimes.com/2025/10/16/movies/frankenstein-review.html
Guillermo del Toro
at age 21 made his own
feature film debut;
his first Hollywood horror
film was Mimic (1997).
A run of successful films in
2000s - current :
The Devil's Backbone
Blade II
Hellboy
Pacific Rim
Pan's Labyrinth
The Shape of Water.
Feliz Cumpleanos !
Guillermo Del Toro (director of _FRANKENSTEIN_)
the Nominee for a Jan. 11, 2026
GOLDEN GLOBE
for directing a motion picture
won previously for his acclaimed
picture :
The Shape of Water
in 2018
at the 75th Golden Globes
ceremony.
Last time Indiana played in the Rose Bowl was 1967 -- in 2025 it is ranked #1 in College Football Playoffs
the athletic.com/
college-football-playoff-brackets-ranking-revealed
Dec. 8
btw, OSU (Ohio State Univ.) will play in the Cotton Bowl
and is ranked #2
despite its 10-2 record, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
will not accept a bowl invitation this Dec. or on Jan. 2026
Dec. 7, 2025 Nobel Laureate in Literature is: Laszlo Krasznahorkai of Hungary - transcript of lecture
nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2025/krasznahorkai/lecture
POSTED for online viewing
along with a transcript in English, Swedish language, Polish
Sunday Dec. 7, 2025 at "NOBEL PRIZE" main website
nobelprize.org/
Previous recognized
and lauded winners include
Bob Dylan
Rudyard Kipling
John Steinbeck
Ernest Hemingway
Pearl Buck
Toni Morrison
Pablo Neruda (Chilean poet)
Kazuo Ishigoro (born in Nagasaki, Japan)
Sunday, December 7, 2025
Trump personally handed out medals to Crawford, Strait, Gaynor, KISS original band members, Stallone - - at Oval Office Friday gathering Dec. 5 ahead of Sunday GALA
SUNDAY Dec. 7 -- evening highlights include
GARTH BROOKS wearing six-inch platform shoes,
Kelsey Grammer extolling the virtues of
Michael Crawford
and Kurt Russell extolling
Sylvester Stallone . . .
those singing a tribute song were
Miranda Lambert / Brooks & Dunn
-- sang "Amarillo by Morning"
for songwriter-singer George Strait
_ _ _ _ _ _
Deniece Williams honored Gloria
Gaynor, DISCO's 'First Lady"
- - - - - - - - - - -
Cheap Trick honored the KISS
band members present (Paul Stanley
& Gene Simmons)
________________________________
Johnny Carson was a late
20th Century Media "Star" / entertainer
Another NBC star of a longstanding
series -- The TONIGHT Show
_____________________________
Instead of giving his honorees the
benefit / insider privilege of sitting
with him and FLOTUS in the President's
box, Trump 2.0 acted as a "Johnny Carson-like"
Emcee - Host
of the
Kennedy Center Honors
2025
__________________
33 years ago, Johnny
Carson retired after a
generational
term of being the late night talk
show weekday
host for NBC at Burbank,
CA from 1962 - 1992. In 2005
Carson died at age 79, 3 mos.
in Los Angeles of emphysema.
Who are in the 98th percentage group for Kennedy Center Honor elite group? Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Mel Gibson
Will the VILLAGE PEOPLE join the
elite music geniuses of the past and present?
ONLY
POTUS 47 (Trump 2.0) knows that answer
He will begin narrowing down the eligibles
and the "woke" subset that will,
according to him,
NEVER get such a Trump-Kennedy Center
honor . . .
2026 is approximately 365 days away for the
KENNEDY CENTER Honors weekend festivities
presided over by Donald & Melania . . .
2026 (year of America's
250th birthday)
Oldest to youngest : Kennedy Center Honors individuals
Michael Crawford is 83
Gloria Gaynor is 82
Sylvester Stallone is 79
George Strait is 73
members of KISS range from
76, 73, and 67
the honor is to be given posthumously
to drummer Ace Freehly who died at age
74 this fall.
_________________________________
Event done live at the J.F. Kennedy Center
main theater / stage in D.C.
Dec. 7, 2025
Entrance
from 99 Poems
by poet Dana Gioia
Entrance
Whoever you are: step out of doors tonight,
Out of the room that lets you feel secure,
Infinity is open to your sight.
Whoever you are.
With eyes that have forgotten how to see
From viewing things already too well-known,
Lift up into the dark a huge, black tree
And put it in the heavens: tall, alone.
And you have made the world and all you see.
It ripens like the words still in your mouth.
And when at last you comprehend its truth,
Then close your eyes and gently set it free.
[ from the German verse of
Rainer Maria Rilke ]
Secretary of Treasury (April, August, Dec. 7, 2025 updates) : must he divest of his ethically dubious Soybean Farmland vast holdings?
UPDATE Dec. 7, 2025
Secy. of Treasury Scott Bessent says
"I have divested from my thousands of acres
of North Dakota Soybean farmland in order
to meet a federal ethic agreement that I made early
in 2025 as the administration was being confirmed
by the U.S. Senate and sworn in to "uphold the
Constitution and preserve American from enemies
both foreign and domestic. . ."
NYTimes.com/2025/12/07/business/bissent-divest-soybean-farms-ethics.html/
Trump 2.0 Secy. of Treasury is admittedly
deficient in following Ethics admonitions
to avoid conflicts of interest
"Bessent has yet to fully divest
assets, raising concern at ethics agency"
NYTimes.com/2025/08/13/us/politics/scott-bessent-conflicts-of-interest.html
___________________________________________
Three-legged expectation
Trade / Tax / de-regulation
One, "beautiful" omnibus will be the target
to get funding for the Trump - Vance
financial package that seals up the Tariff /
Fiscal Year funding into a giant "to-do"
overturning of the regular separated budget
appropriations. . . comments by Scott Bessent.
politico.com/live-updates/2025/04/28/scott-bessent-
reconciliation-deadline-gop-megabill . . .
April 29, 2025
Starbuck: Accepting Death - a character in Melville's Masterpiece Novel MOBY_DICK
Starbuck: Accepting Death (POEM :
The Struck Leviathan : Poems on Moby Dick
by John Bennett (1970: Univ. of Missouri Press)
page 61)
High in their shaken tower
the bells remembered God:
through the white clouds at Bedford
they sent His Name abroad
in my last last October
when leaves came twisting down
to lie in drift and bumble
upon the Sunday town.
Here in its yelping power
the wind grips ship and sail:
all other noise grows noiseless,
all distant towers fail
while teeth-tiered sharks glide lower
to taste the choking doom
where speechless God has entered
my last enormous room.
Fedallah : a character in Melville's MOBY_DICK
Poetry written by John Bennett
for The Struck Leviathan: Poems on Moby Dick
(1970: University of Missouri Press, Columbia, MO)
Fedallah: Exultant, After the First Sighting
Something deathly this way comes,
hidden by the shadowed wave.
Neither shark nor whale is He:
neither lance nor sail can save.
Ahriman in His Whale Shape
comes to taste the sacrifice.
I must serve Him as He wills:
dooms of fire or of ice,
dooms of blood along the blade,
dooms of melding with the sea!
Ahriman the Dark God comes:
none so fierce and strong as He!
Let the foolish Christians learn,
and those other infidels,
that they never dared to dream
of true heavens or true hells;
No! nor learned the Cycle which
hurls Good beneath the Other Good
and endlessly resolves Itself
in sea and desert, plain and wood!
Ahab : primary character in MOBY_DICK
page 39 of John Bennett's
The Struck Leviathan: Poems on Moby Dick
(1970, Univ. of Missouri Press, Columbia, MO)
Ahab: His Vision of the Kraken
Where green-skulled whalesmen lie, where no tides run,
deep down in that unsculptured gloom,
the great sea squid gropes blindly unaware
of lean Egyptians drowned in spicy rock
or Capricorn knocked hornless in the East,
a blare of goatcry shaking constellations.
Deep down and dark where mudbones gird the world,
by arm and sucking arm and sucking arm,
a polyp blob creeps through the heavy depths
where Satan, homeless, might establish home.
Ahab: Near the Mainmast, Sunrise
Into the madman horror of the sun
how many men crawl forth reluctant now
from the grey swamps of sleep and dress themselves
in clothes that stink with mortal yesterdays?
Cursed endless batter ! batter! wind and wave!
bows crashing down, green water surging up,
and the long, whining dip of mast and spar!
Who truly listens on this ship? Who hears?
Across the fronts of heaven, silence grows
between the muted thunder of old suns
like some enormous cancer;
here, the sea
roars out its manic scansion, pauses, beats,
lifts to crescendo scream, and then drops down
through seething voids that drain my outraged heart
of its warm rhythms.
Soon! Soon! Oh! Soon!
that blunt-faced phantom from the shrouded depths,
that damned razeeing bastard devil brute
whose rending jaw cut coldly at my quick
will rise to meet me on the upper seas!
In what last tide or precinct of my course
will he breach forth to learn that I can kill?
No matter where he hides, no matter where!
I'll chase him out across the compass rose,
through every strait and passage of the sea!
I'll chase him round the Maelstrom's triple lip
and round the brimming flames of Hell itself
until my lance drives down through his heart's root!
Come, Moby Dick! My compliments to ye!
My compliments, my very best to ye!
I bear a gift of tempered steel whose edge,
baptized with blood almost as wild as yours,
will force ye to attend me when we meet
and grave sweet lessons on your sullen heart!
Come, Moby Dick! Come, Moby Dick! Come! Come!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)