Mainline Florida: Link to Mainline Florida.
I tried something new here. This is a 20 x 16” oil on canvas board from a photo I shot several years ago in the Florida Panhandle. I reserve the right to tweak before I varnish😊
The Way of Beauty: A Path for Evangelization excerpt from an article by Dr. R Jared Staudt.
Art provides an initial sign of the Christian vision, and Christian witness confirms its living reality in the world.
Ugliness is a spiritual problem. If beauty manifests the perfection and splendor of something, ugliness distorts it, corrupting what it is meant to be and blinding us to its true reality. A tree struck by lightning or blighted with disease is ugly. A building sculpted with cement, with little light or elegance, depresses us. The ugliness of most modern art disturbs us and does not uplift our sensibilities. And the greatest ugliness of all — sin — corrupts and distorts the beauty of our soul by grasping after pleasurable scraps, trying to force happiness even though this pleasure, cut off from higher goods, only makes us more miserable.
We long for beauty, yet we’re not always sure how to recognize it. There are things that immediately attract us: a stunning landscape, a Renaissance masterpiece, or a beautiful figure. Why do they grab our attention? The beauty of nature awes us and give us peace. Great art amazes us and inspires our imagination. The beauty of another person moves our heart and leads us to desire communion. That is what it should do, although a merely surface attraction can lead us back to ugliness — using the person for immediate gratification and pleasure. Exterior attraction might capture our eyes, yet it should always lead us to more.
Beauty calls us to commitment, not just to enjoy another but to give our lives in love. When we are taken by someone’s beauty, it generates a spark, a desire for something more than ourselves…
Evangelization happens through beauty. Art provides an initial sign of the Christian vision, and Christian witness confirms its living reality in the world. Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the connection between holiness and art:
I have often affirmed my conviction that the true apology of Christian faith, the most convincing demonstration of its truth against every denial, are the saints, and the beauty that the faith has generated. Today, for faith to grow, we must lead ourselves and the persons we meet to encounter the saints and to enter into contact with the Beautiful.
The world needs to learn how to see again, to recover its ability to recognize the all-surpassing beauty of knowing Jesus and living in communion with him. And it starts with our own ability to recognize that beauty; only then can we truly share it with others, helping them to see as well.
It is a private island, trip from 10 AM to 3PM, included narrative regarding the water formations, buildings, history, fish and bird facts. Not pictured are the historic fish shacks, some of the Captiva condos and mansions, and Cayo Costa State Park beaches.
From our lunch table at the Inn.
One of the Island docks
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| Some Dolphin activity |
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| Also short stop at Cabbage Key to drop off half of the group. |
SpaceX launches 4 amateurs on private Earth-circling trip
Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man (Live In Montreux 1980)
And he is running our Covid program?????
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| YES, SHE IS A NUT CASE, go to Babylon Bee to read the full parody😊 |
"It's a beautiful, bold, brave statement," said fashion writer Vandross Tixatron, who was wearing an $82,000 garbage bag plucked from a landfill in Zimbabwe. "It's even braver when you consider the fact Trump wasn't even invited and he's being chased down by security now. What a statement!"
Other stunning attendees to the gala included:
- Gavin Newsom in a dress made of discarded hobo tents
- Bill Clinton, who wore a tux embroidered with the message "Believe All Women"
- Buffalo Bill, a transgender hero in his latest skin-suit
- Bill Cosby in a #MeToo dress
- AOC, who wore a 'Tax The Rich' dress made by enslaved migrant children
- Greta Thunberg, who wore a 'Save The Planet' dress made with clubbed baby seal skins
- General Milley, who draped himself in the vibrant red flag of the Chinese Communist Party
In spite of the audacious and colorful characters at the Met Gala, Trump's dress and attendance were deemed inappropriate and he was tackled by two dozen security guards and dragged outside.
Trump has announced he will be organizing his own, way cooler Met Gala for REAL Americans this winter.
The general gave an emotional testimony today recounting his brave acts in betraying the United States to a hostile power in order to prevent even worse betrayals from the president of the country.
"I had to commit treason to prevent Trump from committing treason," he said to a panel in the House of Representatives. "Trump was going to betray the interests of the United States, and I had to beat him to the punch to make 100% sure that would never happen."
"Also, he posted a lot of mean tweets. And I couldn't let that stand. They were... hurtful." Milley then asked for a recess, as he was tearing up and needed some time to control his emotions.
According to Milley, after he committed treason to stop Trump from committing treason, Trump threatened to commit treason to stop Milley from committing treason to stop Trump from committing treason, but Milley put a stop to that by committing treason to stop Trump from committing treason to stop Milley from committing treason to stop Trump from committing treason.
At publishing time, Trump had blasted Milley, saying that his treason would have been "the best treason of all time" and that Milley's treason was "lame and pathetic" in comparison.
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| Babylon Bee parody |
I guess the parody could also be humor…
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Michele McAloon TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2021
Withdrawal or defeat? Armchair quarterbacks and history books will debate the question for decades to come. For the majority of Americans watching the debacle of Afghanistan, this question is merely a matter of national pride and not an existential question intruding into their private lives. Unfortunately, for the small minority of Americans who chose to fight, they are now forced to ask themselves if twenty years of continual combat was worth the cost to themselves, their families, and the nation.
For most Americans, the reality of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was a burden left for others to shoulder. Politicians who had no familiarity with the military, nor had sons or daughters serving in the military decided quickly, and maybe even fecklessly, upon military engagement. At the same time, there was no national appeal to America’s youth to fight and serve. From the very beginning of both wars, there was a pervasive attitude that this fight belonged to someone else. Certainly, it was not a matter of personal responsibility, nor for one’s own family members to take part.
There were no calls for victory gardens, war bonds, or even the smallest of sacrifices to acknowledge, much less contribute, to a national war effort. Instead, woke politics and shopping were the order of the day. “Thank you for your service” rang hollow while college applications, sports scholarships, SAT prep kept most parents from encouraging their children even to consider military service.
Since 2001, almost 3 million members of the military have served in post-9/11 war operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 7000 United States troops, and sadly, now 13 more, have died in the past 20 years fighting in the wars against terrorism. Many of our European allies also suffered significant losses. Even more tragic is the number of returning troops who have committed suicide. The psychological wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have proved deadlier than actual combat. Four times as many than died in combat have died by the taking of their own lives. Over 30,177 service members and veterans of the post-9/11 wars have committed suicide.
This war was a family affair. Many military members served multiple deployments with more time spent away than at home during the past two decades. The cycle of deployments, returning home and preparing for the next deployment never stopped. Family members intimately bore the costs of war as spouses, parents, children, and friends had to cope with absence and – more often than not – had to adapt to the changed person who returned from the battlefield.
Since the beginning of the brutal and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, spouses of soldiers have been posting photographs of the welcome home ceremonies they attended, over multiple years, for their loved one. Photographs of two, three, or four ceremonies, with children chronologically aging according to the year, bear witness to the true personal cost military families paid for this war.
Reports that Afghans were not willing to fight are simply false. Afghan soldiers died at 27 times the rate of U.S. and allied soldiers. For the past ten days, American officers have fielded phone calls, texts, and Facebook messages from Afghan counterparts and interpreters pleading for help. Old wounds have reopened since most are powerless to provide the aid needed by their loyal colleagues to flee the Taliban
War and conflict are as old as mankind; so is defeat. But defeat does not mean defeated. The Old and New Testaments and the lives of the saints are full of examples of loss and renewal. Moses found hope in 40 years of wandering through the desert, without the reward of entering the Promised Land. St. Paul ultimately found victory in chains. He knew that the real victory only comes by rejoicing in hope, being patient during tribulations, and remaining constant in prayer. (Romans 12:12) Saints and sinners throughout the ages have willfully chosen to rise from defeat by turning a painful past into a hopeful future through faith and service to something greater than themselves.
Ironically, our renewal as a nation, church, or community of believers may come from an example of service being set even now, in the shadow of hardship and loss, by our U.S. military community. Service members and their families, a people without extraordinary financial means or material resources, who have been most affected by America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, are still serving, sacrificing, and asking: What more can we do to help?
As Afghan refugees begin resettlement into U.S. government-sponsored detention centers in Germany, legions of military families and veterans are volunteering as translators and workers. I’ve seen them the past few days at the Ramstein Air Base – a response that can only be described as awe-inspiring.
The simple act of a military family member buying a diaper for an Afghan baby whose father may have contributed to the violence targeted against their own loved one is a defining moment for our nation. Serving and sacrificing even more, instead of succumbing to resentment, has become a source of healing. Service and giving to others are a simple reflex for those who have chosen to serve. Americans really need to reflect deeply upon this humble example.
For Christians defeat is always just around the corner. Christian life is a battle against sin, temptation, and despair. Our true strength comes from the simple, yet so hard to live, commands of loving God and neighbor. A less violent future may lie in the hearts of men and women willing to organize their lives as God has commanded.
On a Friday, several centuries ago, in the Middle East, on a desert hill called Calvary, defeat and death seemed absolute. Three days later when the sun crept over the horizon it shone upon an empty tomb – the most profound victory in human history. Defeat can only be tempered by love and with the knowledge that His victory is ours, now and forever.
St Michael the Archangel, Defend us in battle.
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The twofold temptation for shepherds has always been either to neglect their genuine authority or to abuse it for selfish gain. Or both. As this scene indicates, they are to be ministers, not masters, of Christ’s grace and truth. Theirs is but to do and disappear.
Then comes the final, somewhat curious, command: “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” It seems superfluous. Surely, the One Who multiplies loaves and fish need not concern Himself with leftovers. Of course, He gives the command not for His own benefit but for theirs – and ours.
It is an apostolic duty to gather up what Christ has given – so that it can be handed down to others. This is the grave obligation the Shepherds have to Tradition. They have authority precisely so that they can gather up and hand down the Church’s liturgical and doctrinal patrimony. Failure to do so detaches their authority from Tradition and thus distorts it. Without the content of the Tradition, without a reference to generations past and future, authority becomes just an exercise of power here and now. It leads to a magisterial positivism that values Church authority, not because of its service to what was received and should be handed on, but simply because it has the power to compel.
Such an exchange of authority for positivism traps the faithful in a particular moment of time. It makes them prisoners of the present, temporal orphans with no tradition to receive and, therefore, nothing to hand on to future generations. This dangerous situation makes the faithful prey to whatever new ideas or, more likely, ideologies come along. With no Tradition in which they can stand and by which they can discern, they fall easily into error.
Like the crowds that followed our Lord into the deserted place, the faithful need true shepherds – who rely on Christ’s grace and truth, who exercise genuine authority humbly, and who faithfully preserve and hand on the Church’s Tradition.
Fr. Paul D. ScaliaChrist’s Church, born from His pierced side, lives by His grace. We might use human means and worldly resources (as our Lord used bread and fish, the help of the Apostles, and baskets for the fragments). But we do not rely on them. We use worldly means; we rely on divine grace.
Our current crisis is not due to a lack of human ingenuity or worldly resources. The Church in Germany is wealthy – and moribund. It is a crisis of faith and the lack of a supernatural outlook, a failure of confidence in His grace and truth. This scene indicates that such has always been the temptation of the shepherds, and that only by way of such confidence can shepherds feed the flock.
And so forth, buy the book for further read.
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MIKE POMPEO: We were clear with the Taliban that we had this understanding--but you were going to live up to it. And we had a conditions-based withdrawal plan and we executed that. We were down from about 15,000 to a little over 2,500. And for the last 13 months of our administration, we didn't have a single American attacked or a single American killed.
It wasn't because of the piece of paper, that was the set of understandings. It was because the Taliban understood that if they acted against Americans and took on actions that were inconsistent with what they had promised to do, we'd respond and we did. We did it multiple times. When they pushed on us and the Trump administration, we responded with American power and American might, and we made clear to the Taliban that deterrence was going to be maintained. The difference was when the Biden administration came in, when the Taliban pushed, they withdrew. They showed weakness. The Taliban rolled it up. They put our military in an incredibly difficult position because they weren't prepared to defend the conditions and then decided to withdraw when the conditions weren't right.
President Trump wanted to get all of our folks out. No one disputes that the right thing to do was to get these folks home. But we never found the conditions right to execute what President Biden chose to do. President Trump wanted everyone out from January of 2017. We never found the conditions right to be able to do that. So we withdrew from 15,000 to about 8,600 then to about 4,500, each time along the way thoughtfully making sure that we understood that we had deterrence maintained, that we had an order that we could protect Americans. And we did so every single day.
CV NEWS FEED // A recent report shows a growing bloat of college diversity staffers whose primary job appears to be imposing ideological conformity.
In the report for the conservative Heritage Foundation, researchers Jay Greene and James Paul noted that the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology on college campuses has fueled this ongoing swelling of left-wing bureaucracy.
“The authors’ research suggests that large DEI bureaucracies appear to make little positive contribution to campus climate: Rather than being an effective tool for welcoming students from different backgrounds, DEI personnel may be better understood as a signal of adherence to ideological, political, and activist goals,” Green and Paul wrote in their report.
In light of their findings, the researchers added that state legislators and donors who fund the institutions they examined “may wish to examine DEI efforts more closely to ensure that university resources are used effectively. “
In its analysis of data from 65 colleges and universities, mostly state-run institutions, the University of Michigan topped the list as #1 in both an overall DEI staff of 163 and in an DEI/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance staff ratio at 14:1.
With an enrollment of 48,090 students, Michigan also ranked #5 in both its DEI to faculty ratio (5:8 for every 100 faculty) and in having 2:.3 DEI staff members for every 1 history professor, giving the university more diversity staff than history professors.
By comparison, the University of California in Berkeley has only 86 DEI officers, about half of Michigan despite ranking #4 for total staff.
Funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion positions typically comes from the U.S. Congress, but individual states administer it to their colleges and universities.
Even Catholic colleges, despite being ostensibly private, receive government money that they use to hire DEI staff and fund related programming.
The University of Notre Dame, an institution of the Holy Cross Fathers in Indiana, ranked at only #52 with a total of 26 DEI personnel. The home of the legendary “Fighting Irish” enrolls 12,683 students.
Jesuit-run Boston College, enrolling 14,747 students, fared much higher on the list with its 34 DEI personnel. While ranking only #42 for overall DEI staff, BC ranked #5 in DEI/ADA ratio (8.5:1) and #7 in having 5.5 DEI staff for every 100 faculty members. The university also had one DEI staff member for every one history professor.
According to the Heritage researchers, these results illustrated how colleges often use government money to impose ideology rather than teach history or fulfill their legal obligations to care for students with documented disabilities.
“Promoting DEI has become a primary function of higher education, with DEI staff making up an average 3.4 positions for every 100 tenured faculty,” the researchers wrote in their key takeaways from the full report. “But data show that colleges’ vast DEI bureaucracy has little relationship to students’ satisfaction with their college or their personal experiences with diversity.”
The Heritage report sought to give a representative sampling of U.S. higher education.
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| STL Post-Dispatch |
Sent to me:
IT'S A GREAT LIST TO KEEP AS A "REFERENCE GUIDE" WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW WHICH OF THE CREATURES ARE AT IT IN THE FUTURE AND WHY!!!
BE SURE TO SEE THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST -- VERY REVEALING!!!!
"FACT CHECKED!!" & THE DECK IS STACKED!!!
“Things you must know to be informed: ‘
*YES, THE GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN USED TO WORK FOR GEORGE SOROS.*
*YES, CALIF GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM IS NANCY PELOSI'S NEPHEW
* YES, ADAM SHIFF'S SISTER IS MARRIED TO ONE OF GEORGE SOROS’ SONS.
* YES, JOHN KERRY'S DAUGHTER IS MARRIED TO A MULLAH'S SON IN IRAN.
* YES, HILLARY'S DAUGHTER CHELSEA IS MARRIED TO GEORGE SOROS' NEPHEW.
* YES, ABC NEWS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER IAN CAMERON IS MARRIED TO SUSAN RICE, OBAMA'S FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER.
* YES, CBS PRESIDENT DAVID RHODES IS THE BROTHER OF BEN RHODES, OBAMA'S DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS.
* YES, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT CLAIRE SHIPMAN IS MARRIED TO JAY CARNEY, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY.
* YES, ABC NEWS AND UNIVISION REPORTER MATTHEW JAFFE IS MARRIED TO KATIE HOGAN, OBAMA'S FORMER DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY
* YES, ABC PRESIDENT BEN SHERWOOD IS THE BROTHER OF ELIZABETH SHERWOOD, OBAMA'S FORMER SPECIAL ADVISER.
* YES, CNN VP VIRGINIA MOSELEY IS MARRIED TO TOM NIDES, FORMER HILLARY CLINTON'S DEPUTY SECRETARY.
THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL A "STACKED DECK". IF YOU HAD A HUNCH THE NEWS MEDIA WAS SOMEWHAT RIGGED AND YOU COULDN'T PUT YOUR FINGER ON IT, THIS MIGHT HELP YOU SOLVE THE PUZZLE.
Now you know why no one is investigated. They all have their hands in the cookie jar! You might remember James Comey who investigated the Clinton email scandal and the Clinton Foundation, and made the final decision to not recommend prosecution by the DOJ.
It turns out that the Clinton Foundation was audited by the law firm DLA Piper. One of the executives there was in charge of the Clinton Foundation audit.
Who was it? Peter Comey, James Comey’s brother. Peter Comey held an executive position with the Washington law firm that did the audit of the Clinton foundation in 2015. Peter Comey was officially DLA Piper “Senior Director of Real Estate Operations for the Americas,” in 2015 when the Clinton Foundation scandals first broke and Hillary was preparing her Presidential campaign. Not only was DLA Piper, the firm where Comey’s brother worked involved in the audit of the Clinton Foundation, but according to the foundation’s donor records, DLA Piper has given between $50 - 100k to the Foundation. It gets even cozier. DLA Piper executive Douglas Emhoff is taking an extended leave of absence from the firm. Who is Douglas Emhoff? He is the husband of KAMALA HARRIS! Just a coincidence? Amazing if it is. You can't make this stuff up! Another example of the DC swamp.”
And it only gets worse. This "Family Tree" will make your head spin . . THE SWAMP IS DEEP!!
Dominion (voting machine provider) serves 40% of the US market. It is in 30 states - - The state of Texas rejected the machines.
- Admiral Peter Neffenger is on Biden's transition team.
- Neffenger was the President of the board of Smartmatic
- Smartmatic (another voting machine supplier) entered into an agreement with Dominion in 2009
- Smartmatic counted votes in Venezuela
- Smartmatic is connected to Philippine voter fraud
- Smartmatic is run by Lord Mark Malloch Brown who works for George Soros (-he and Brown are life-long friends)
- Brown chairs the Boards of a number of non-profit boards including the Open Society Foundation,
- Brown chairs the Centre for Global Development.
- Open society of course is owned by George Soros
- Smartmatic partnered with DLA Piper Global
- Douglas C. Emhoff works at DLA Piper Global
- Douglass C. Emhoff is Kamala Harris's husband
- Guess who owns Dominion? - -Blum Capital Partners, L.P.
- Guess who is on the board for the company? -- Richard C.Blum.
- Richard C. Blum is Dianne Feinstein's husband.
- Nancy Pelosi's husband is also a major investor
- An aide to Nancy Pelosi, Nadeam Elshami, was hired by Dominion Voting Systems
And it goes on & ON!!
- Dominion Voting Systems is listed on the Clinton Foundation website.
- Dominion Voting is listed as a $25,000 -$50,000 donor to the Clinton Foundation in 2014 by The Washington Post
- Georgia Governor Kemp used Dominion Voting after Texas and Florida rejected them
- Dominion has a lobbyist named Jared Thomas
- Jared Thomas was Governor Brian Kemp’s chief of staff and press secretary from 2012 to 2015
- You must remember the Feinstein-Kavanaugh-Soros connections to understand this next information
- Debra Katz (Christine Ford's lawyer) worked for George-Soros at the Open Society Foundation.
- Debra Katz (Christine Ford's lawyer) also worked at Project on Government Oversight (POGO).
- POGO is funded by Soros’s Open Society Foundation.
- POGO is the co-signer of the letter Diane Feinstein presented against Kavanaugh's nomination.
- Kamala Harris did not prosecute One West Bank for their fraud when she had the authority - Soros owned One West Bank.
- Now you know why a woman who placed 7th in her own State when running for President is now VP !”
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