A Reading from the First book of Kings: In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, “Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.” She left to get it, and he called out after her, “Please bring along a bit of bread.” She answered, “As the LORD, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only... Read more
I haven’t been in the best shape, the past few days. I can’t imagine I’m alone. They’re telling me the United States’s democracy is finished and the tariffs will drive inflation through the roof. Millions of innocent migrants, like those people in Springfield I tried to speak up for, are in mortal danger. Schools are going to be in trouble. Ukraine and Gaza are doomed. There won’t be any effort to mitigate climate change before it’s too late. We’re... Read more
There is little to say, but I’ll say it again. I did this eight years ago, I’ve done it countless times since, and I’m doing it again now. I’m saying that this is wrong. Authoritarianism is wrong. Racism, xenophiobia and nativism are wrong. Rape, sexual abuse, and misogyny are wrong. White supremacism is wrong. Glorifying the wealthy and presuming they should rule merely because they are wealthy, is wrong. These things are against the Gospel. They are against common sense.... Read more
I suppose this will be the last of my lighthearted and snarky Election Updates for the year. As I’m writing this, on Monday, we have about thirty hours until the polls close in the Eastern time zone, and then the candidates-earning-votes stage of the election is over and the litigation stage can begin. I don’t like that the litigation stage is now an expected November tradition, but nobody asked me. Please refer back to my boilerplate about voting and... Read more
My aunt– not one of the mean ones– said she looked forward to Halloween every year. She lived in a well-to-do neighborhood, in a nice house facing the park. It was one of the prettiest well-to-do neighborhoods of the city, perfect for walking on an Autumn evening, but it was near downtown and bordered closely by several poor neighborhoods. On Halloween, hundreds of families would come up to the fancy neighborhood, so their children could trick or treat. I’ve... Read more
I was ripping out the last of the tomato cages, when the shrieks began. There are at least ten children on my block and the block across the alley, and they play outdoors loudly whenever it doesn’t rain. You always know school has let out because the laughter and yelling starts– playful yelling, silly yelling, yelling punctuated with bouncing balls and those irritating motorized scooters. This wasn’t that kind of shriek; it was a frightened shriek. I’d just gotten... Read more
All right, everybody, gather round. It’s less than a week before election day. Time for my prediction. I’ve been writing about the election for months, and now it’s almost over. Here’s what I’m sure is going to happen on election night, 100% guaranteed. If I’m wrong I’ll personally mail you a dollar if I ever get a dollar (and I never have a dollar so you’re out of luck). 1. We’re all going to sit down with our nasty grownup... Read more
Jimmy’s boy came by again. He’s been coming every day now– sometimes with the Artful Dodger, sometimes with Sparkles the Disaster Cat, sometimes with a new child who wanted to see the garden. I’ve learned to have bread and peanut butter ready when school lets out. This time, the boy was carrying a long metal stick that looked like part of a window sash. “See this? It’s like a machete! I can use it to cut leaves!” “Good, because... Read more
Today, we had Donald Trump’s great big pre-election rally in Madison Square Garden. I don’t know if I’m surprised at how it went or not. If you do a quick search, you’ll find the media is being pretty honest about how bigoted and racist the Madison Square Garden rally was, and I’m glad they’re largely owning that. The New York Daily News headline reads “Trump’s MSG Event Turns into Ugly Racist Rally, Insults Puerto Ricans, Blacks, Jews.” But that’s not... Read more
I just want you to watch something. This video contains the portion of a speech that Michelle Obama gave today, were she addresses the men in her audience and pleads with them to care about what’s been happening to women’s healthcare in the wake of Dobbs. I don’t expect you to agree with every word. I just want you to hear it and think about it. I really, actually do believe that most people who call themselves pro-life honestly want... Read more
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