Cookies for the choir

Cookies for the Choir

         Setting aside the religious aspects of the holiday for a moment, Christmas is a time of family togetherness, gift exchanges, and cheer. Kids try to get a peek at Santa, or at least think they hear him rustling around their trees after midnight. Some light Advent candles or Yule logs. Some sing songs around the fire or at church. That's what I did as a young schoolboy. I was in the choir. 

         Our choir rehearsed very diligently after classes ended throughout November and December. As the big day approached we anticipated singing at Midnight Mass. It was a command performance for the pastor in front of the entire parish. No pressure.  Once after choir practice, a small group of us set out to go caroling. This is the tradition of knocking on doors as one does at Halloween, but rather than expect treats, we would deliver songs of the season. One or two verses of "Hark the Herald" or "Silent Night" and those at the home would usually thank us with a small donation of cash or cookies. We made Sister Theresa cry with joy when we presented to her our small collection at the following day's practice. We kept nothing for ourselves that night, except a few cookies. It was then, as a fifth grader, that I learned the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about the tree, the tinsel, or Santa. It's not even about "baby Jesus". Christmas is about touching others with unexpected kindness. 

         Of course time move ever onward. I am no longer a choirboy, and have drifted away from midnight mass. The season comes each year, but the hustle-bustle of daily life seems always to overshout the quiet tones of the choir at the doorstep. Then I hear the car radio or scratchy mall PA system playing "Away in a Manger" and my mind races back to those times when life was simpler. Simpler not because of any growing up the world has done, but because then I had no real responsibilities. As kids we are free to let our hearts open to Christmas, to build the memories we lock away as adults. After all, we have to meet the deadlines and pay the bills. We have precious little time to sing along with the choir, or even to stop to listen to their carols.  The "good old days" are only in our minds. In a way, we are all Ebenezer Scrooge. We worry about our day-to-day crises and care a bit less for those around us. We tend to keep to ourselves and our own families instead of sharing our world with others. We get stuck in our routines and worry only about the problems within it. Scrooge wasn't really a bad man, he was just set in his own world. He didn't hate Christmas, he just had no time for it. Once he opened his eyes to what others saw in the world and in him, he awoke to the possibilities of the season. Once he remembered what Christmas is supposed to be he made it such again. We only need to follow that example; to see what we can do for others in order to celebrate the season and indeed every day. 

         One crisp late Autumn evening when the snow is lightly falling, you may answer the doorbell's ring to a small group of choirboys making their seasonal rounds. Think again before closing the door in haste. Those Christmas carols are not for the choir, but a command performance just for you. Take a moment to remember when you heard Santa at midnight, or lit a candle against the winter's gloom. Sing along or just smile knowing their effort was successful. So share a cookie with the choir and remember what Scrooge always knew.

Merry Christmas. 

  

My 2d Amendment Rant

My 2d Amendment Rant

The right of the people to keep and bear arms is in question. Just who are "the people"? We the people - we are a collective, our society, not a group of individuals but we as a whole - we as one nation. The authors of the amendment are also those who authored the document as a whole. It starts "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense…". So the right of "the people" to keep and bear arms really means we as a nation have the right to defend ourselves; to provide for the common defense of our nation. We keep the arms that enable this defense in our military armories, we bear them in times of war against our enemies. 

Should we repeal the second amendment? Perhaps, I am not trying to suggest that here, but we need to understand and enforce the entire constitution. We can't pick a single line from it and set policy accordingly, while ignoring the rest of the document.

In brief:

Article 1 Section 8 says that the Congress arms the Militia

re: [Congress shall have the power]  

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Article 2 Section 2 says the President is in charge of the Militia

re:The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;

And yes, Amendment 2 says that a Militia is important to the security of the nation: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The Constitution also says the Militia is to be used to fight against insurrection (again Article 1 Section 2)

re: [Congress shall have the power] 

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

The arms you have the right to keep and bear are to be supplied to you by the government. This duty is carried out as "the people" keep and bear arms as part of a "well regulated militia" (read: The US Armed Forces) This is CLEARLY outlined in Article 1 Section 2: Congress shall have the power to... provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress… This describes the Armed Services and the State National Guards. The formation of a private army in not protected by the US Constitution.

So your going to Walmart to buy an AR does NOT make you part of a Militia. If you decide to take up arms against the government, you are an insurrectionist, not a patriot. 

We the people, as a nation, have decided that private weapon ownership is a right to be protected. We have also decided that permits are required to carry that weapon concealed on one's person. We have not regarded that permit requirement as an infringement on the right to carry that weapon. We have laws against owning a fully functional tank, or a fully equipped F-16A fighter jet. These restrictions are not generally considered infringements on the right to bear arms. Therefore the right to bear arms is not absolute, although reasonable weapon ownership is protected. In a modern society, the rights and privileges of every citizen must be taken into account when passing the laws that govern us all. Providing for the common defense must be balanced with promoting the general welfare. The general welfare of us all, our common safety, is put at risk when we allow any citizen to possess a weapon. There must be oversight and regulations governing who can and who can not own a firearm. So if the regulation of weapons is required to promote the general welfare, that is what we must do. That  is our constitutional duty to each other as a nation; as We the People.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html

Why a living minimum wage matters

Why a living minimum wage matters

Taxes. Yes, that's right, taxes. Disregarding the 1% for a moment, this making more income pay more in income taxes. Those making a poverty wage pay nothing in income taxes. They get everything back in their refund check. This helps no one. the government gets an interest free loan, but that's about it. The worker gets about $500 dollars back in the Spring when their refund check arrives. That's a little windfall, but that will be spent almost before it arrives.

People with disposable income will spend that money, usually locally. A higher wage allows workers to pay for more items such and food and clothing. That money gets put back into the economy very quickly. The shops get more business, in return they can hire more people who will spend their paychecks. It becomes an upward spiral. Throughout this the government gets more in sales taxes across the board.  Governments with more income use that money to better their infrastructure. Roads, bridges, and buildings are maintained. That maintenance means steady jobs. Those jobs pay workers that in turn spend for items such as food, shelter, and clothing. 

Another reason to pay a living wage is that people get sick. Like it or not, Obamacare is here. Even if it doesn't last, people need health insurance. If that insurance is paid for by the individual, that worker needs to have the money. Given a choice between food on the table tonight or maybe having a big medical bill in a few years, dinner is served. Being paid enough so that the insurance is also affordable helps everyone. If a worker does not have insurance, they are far less likely to see a doctor regularly. If they do get really sick, they  go to the ER - but are unable to pay. That increases the costs for everyone else. They are also more likely to go to work sick than an insured worker. A sick worker gets other workers sick. If that worker is in the food services business, the malady spreads to customers too.   Had the worker been insured, the likelihood of their seeing a doctor early would have been much higher. They may have missed a few days of work, but that is better than several workers being out currently and having a reputation of getting customers sick with the product.

People need to eat, food on the table, a car to drive, and a place to live. Working for $7.25 an hour will not provide any of that. Consider that $7.25 @ 40 hrs/week for 50 weeks = $14,500/year - at full time - before taxes. What minimum wage worker gets full time hours? A person would have to work multiple jobs at that rate to make 40 hours a week. That means that person is not a full time employee and so is not getting any benefits beyond the paycheck. No health insurance, and no means in order to buy health insurance, even on the Obamacare exchanges. So we are back to the ER or not seeing a doctor at all. 

$14,500 isn't paying for much beyond partial rent - get a roommate. Buying food is not an option, so you're walking instead of driving. You can't afford that car, or the auto insurance that goes with it, or the gasoline and maintenance costs either. Maybe you can get a bicycle. Are you a single mother of two trying to make ends meet? Hope that your parents are still alive to help out. Got a student loan left over from those heady days when you thought getting a degree was your ticket out of low-wage employment? You must pay that before all other debts. 

A living minimum wage helps the entire society. Paying people what they are worth is the key to the American Dream. We are supposed to be able to work hard to get ahead, but if employers decline to subscribe to the idea that paying people what they are worth is what drives our nation forward, then there is no hope for us a society. Our community is broken and our nation will collapse under the weight of the greed at the top. 

My TEAParty Rant

I think the basic problem is that the TEA and GOPers are ideologues that want their vision of America to be put in place NOW. They can't quite articulate what that vision is. They conflict with themselves internally, not just as a party but as individuals (cognitive dissonance). They don't want to work towards a goal, they want to be there now.

They have a loose association with the truth, and are totally disconnected from the reality that people have opinions that differ from what Fox tells them. 

No amount of discourse on MSNBC will convince them otherwise - they are not watching. They are impossible to embarrass; they have no conscience except for whatever the daily outrage from Fox directs them to feel outrage over. 

The worst part is that they do not realize they are being herded this way. They can not think for themselves, or have forgotten how. So they get worked up over "Obamacare" but are OK with the Affordable Care Act. They hate this president, but said that opposing W was unpatriotic. They don't like Socialism, but work as firemen, police, road builders, and teachers. They refuse to believe Obama was born in Hawaii, but want a Canadian born senator to be our next president.

They want lower taxes AND the biggest military the world has ever seen.

And impeach that bastard - he's not "American enough".

Perhaps, since this was God's will that the E5 storm hit them, they should go to church and pray for forgiveness. God will oblige, of course, and all the homes, businesses, and dead people will pop back up on their own in no time.
It's just a matter of praying for what you want, right?
Thoughts and prayers, Oklahoma. Thoughts and prayers.


I read this once somewhere: 
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Wouldn't it be wonderful if a nation were founded on such principles?