Tuesday, December 24, 2024
I'm no lawyer, but the terrorism charge seems wrong to me. And it's not just me. Several commentators have questioned it, including opining that Bragg did it for the headlines.
Whatever the reason for the charges, Bragg has not made himself popular. Moreover, he has very possibly set himself up for jury nullification or acquittal for some other reason. While most people do not condone murder, it seems unlikely to me that most people would consider this murder an act of terrorism. Don't be surprised if Mangione walks as a direct result of Bragg's overreach.
The defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, is the best in the business, though she is better known as a prosicuter than a defense lawyer. I have every confidence that she will protect her client's interests. A murderer he may be; a terrorist, he is not.
From His Holiness, Pope Francis - December 24, 2024
"So, on Christmas Eve, let us ask ourselves: “Do I desire to allow myself to be enveloped by the shadow of the Holy Spirit, by the gentleness and meekness of God, by the kindness of God, making room for him in my heart, drawing near to his forgiveness, to the Eucharist?” And then: for which lonely and needy people could I be a shadow that restores, a friendship that comforts?
May Mary help us to be open and welcoming to the presence of God, who with meekness comes to save us."
- Pope Francis
Monday, December 23, 2024
From His Holiness, Pope Francis
"Christmas must not be reduced to a merely sentimental or consumerist feast, full of gifts and good wishes but poor in Christian faith, and also poor in humanity. Therefore, it is necessary to curb a certain worldly mentality, incapable of grasping the incandescent core of our faith, which is this: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (Jn 1:14). And this is the heart of Christmas; rather, it is the truth of Christmas, there is no other."
- Pope Francis
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Breakfast Time for Kitty
There's nothing like breakfast in bed with your kitty drinking the milk out of your creamer. :)
Saturday, December 21, 2024
Friday, December 20, 2024
Christmas Snapshot
For several years, we drove two or three times a year from our home in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. to my grandparents' farm in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, near the Tennessee boarder. The trip took about eight hours. Thank heaven for 8-track tapes!
The Christmas trip I'm thinking of must have taken place in 1975, because my sister was a babe in arms. Don't remember anything about it except this one snapshot: Afternoon on an ascending mountain road bordered on both sides with tall, dense growths of evergreen, with no other traffic. It was either snowing lightly or the snow had recently stopped. Snow on the evergreens and a sense of peace, and quiet wonder as the car climbed through the simple yet somehow profound scene. And, this song playing on the car's stereo.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Monday, December 16, 2024
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Friday, December 13, 2024
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Political Movement, Not Murder, Is the Path to Medicare for All
"Killing people is not the way we're going to reform our healthcare system," he said. "The way we're going to reform our healthcare system is having people come together."