Too good to pass up

Here's a selection from Matthew 25:34-40

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me."  Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it . . .?"  And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me."

Then today I saw this image:

'Nuff said.

Congratulations to us

I think most of the people who read this blog are probably aware of this famous quote:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,and I did not speak out--

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me-- and there was no one left to speak for me.

I have just reviewed my posts since I changed the purpose of this blog to reflection and commentary, and I see that I have not yet shared one of my favorite post-Trump-election reactions.

First they came for the Muslims . . .

NOT THIS F**KING TIME!!

I'm so heartened by how many people in so many areas of life are not sitting back and letting Trump do whatever he wants to do.  Most recently I notice that the NSC has been restored to the membership it should have, including removing Bannon.  And I have been informed that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) currently has an approval rating of 55%, UP from 42% before the election.  (source - Gallup Poll)  Good job, everybody!  Let's keep saying NOT THIS F**KING TIME!!

Results

One exciting thing about the Trump administration.  Just when you think you've "seen everything," they come up with something even worse.

I am taking this information from an article in the March 16 Daily Kos, written by Joan McCarter.  She quotes Trump's budget director Mick Mulvaney speaking about Meals on Wheels and after-school nutrition programs.  Trump's proposed budget cuts these programs because they "aren't showing any results."

"We can't spend money on programs just because they sound good.  Meals on Wheels sounds great . . . [but] I can't defend that any more."

"[After-school nutrition programs] are supposed to help kids who don't get fed at home get fed so they do better in school.  Guess what?  There's no evidence they're actually doing that."

Excuse me.  Feeding shut-ins, primarily elderly people with few resources, and feeding children who are not getting enough food at home -- just FEEDING them counts as "results" to me.  How can the administration that promised to give the government back to the people justify balancing their budget at the expense of old people and children?  I mean -- what sense does that even make?

Oh, but Mick Mulvaney understands about compassion.  The "compassionate" thing that matters to do, according to him, is "to go to [the taxpayers] and say, look, we're not going to ask you for your hard-earned money anymore.  Single mom of two in Detroit, give us your money.  We're not going to do that anymore unless they can guarantee that money will be used in a proper function.  That is about as compassionate as you can get."

Yeah, like increasing the military budget, which DEFINITELY has a record of good results, right?

Give me a break.  I cannot believe this.

I'll call it Trumpcare

I consider this a good summary of where we're heading.

Our precious freedoms

I'm glad that the members of the media are not taking the Trump Administration's assaults on freedom of the press lying down.  Good for them.

I read a long message on Facebook by Andras Corban-Arthen describing his experiences and recollections of living under a repressive dictatorship.  I am copying his last paragraphs here because I think his point is so important.  I have added the emphasis to the last sentence.

"Surely many people would say that it’s very far-fetched to think that what I have described could ever take place in this country. I fully realize that it’s certainly not what is happening here at the moment – that we’re by no means there yet, and that we may very well never get there. The U.S. is much too big and complex, with so many checks and balances that it would be extremely difficult for any one person to exercise complete control over all of it.

But getting there, however, can happen a lot more easily and quickly than one might think, especially since many of the factors that would speed up such a process have already been in place for quite some time. And the most insidious of those factors – and our greatest weakness – is the naiveté, the denial and the apathy implicit in the belief that such things could never happen here.

 We should never take for granted the precious freedoms which we still have, and preserve them at all costs while we still have them."

Press Conference

One of the things I like to do in this blog is pass along things I run across that I think are worth attention.  Today (February 16), Donald Trump gave a press conference at which he blasted the media.  I don't know whether the idea was, "He can't object if we print the whole thing," but the Washington Post has published the entire transcript of the press conference.  This is the link:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/16/donald-trumps-grievance-filled-press-conference-annotated/?utm_term=.791f89e25fb2

I confess that I didn't have the patience to read the whole thing.  But I think it IS worth reading.  That way we can each draw our own conclusions, rather than depending on the "lies" the media is supposedly feeding us.

Another perspective

For any reading this who don't know, I am part of an intentional faith-based community known as Jubilee House Community (JHC).  We run the Center for Development in Central America (CDCA) in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua.  One of the aspects of our work here I have liked to compare to a conduit, connecting resources (primarily in the US) with needs (primarily in Nicaragua).

We became aware of a vast potential resource in many U.S. Rotary Clubs, eager to help in impoverished areas like Nicaragua, but Rotary guidelines require that the donor club work with a recipient club in the targeted area.  After a number of unsuccessful attempts to partner with the existing Rotary clubs in Nicaragua, we decided to start a new one.  You can learn more about our club on their Facebook page (Club Rotario Ciudad Sandino).  It is a proudly unique organization!

Rotarians are called to consider all their actions in light of the Four-Way Test:

I don't think that Donald Trump ever joined Rotary, although many business people do.  But I have to point out that so far his first 100 days fail the Four-Way Test right down the line!

I'm just saying . . .