Mainline Florida: Link to Mainline Florida.
Pils, John Henry 82, passed away, Monday, December 27, 2021.
Beloved husband of the late Margaret Erna Pils (nee Flaack); loving father of Karl (Cherole) Pils of Henderson, NV, Katherine (Todd) Geisert of Washington, MO, Kristen (Jason) Amich of Kirklin, IN and Kirk (Autumn) Pils of Wentzville, MO; dear grandfather of 13; great-grandfather of 2.Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, John's gift as an artist and designer always shined. When he was not working for his father in the family-owned deli and grocery store, he was commissioned to paint murals on the sides of buildings. He also spent time adding decor to his family home. While serving in the army, his interior design talent was also used to decorate the homes for officers and generals. After receiving his interior architectural degree from the New York School of Design, he married his lifelong sweetheart, Margaret. They shared a happy life together, traveling the world, until her passing in 2014.
John enjoyed a successful career with interior design and architecture, which eventually brought him to St. Louis. It was here that they set down roots, grew their family, and established a passion for their new home and city. With the love and support of family and friends, John Pils Posters was brought to life. The iconic black and white line drawings of the city's skyline and the signature hot air balloon prints caused Johns's name to become well known to locals and tourists alike. This recognition allowed him to pursue his passion as a full-time artist in the St. Louis area.
John was generous in his life and active in his church. For the many that knew him and called him friend, they would agree that he was passionate about connecting with people and sharing his knowledge and inspirations. John loved to travel, Margaret and he travelled the world, especially cruising, inviting friends to join in their adventures. John continually organized gatherings, events, and parties, bringing people together. Regardless of where they were, Margaret and John seemed to make new friends, leaving an everlasting impression on all. Even after Margaret passed, John continued to bring people together. He will be greatly missed by his family and all that knew him.
Babylon Bee |
And so on… for the complete story go to Babylon Bee website |
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If he can lose weight…
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 2, 2022 / 07:30 am (CNA). (I have deleted portions to shorten the reading time)
His fellow Democrats call him a traitor (and worse) and the leaders of his party have pressured him to resign. What has Aaron “A.J.” Oliver, the Democratic municipal chairman in his New Jersey hometown, done to deserve such scorn? He’s pro-life.
Never mind that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and other prominent Democratic leaders have professed tolerance for pro-life Democrats.
Or that Oliver, an Episcopal priest and New Jersey Army National Guard chaplain, says he's a faithful Democrat soldier in every other respect.
“I'm a loyal Democrat, a lifetime Democrat,” he told CNA. “Many of us think that there’s not an inconsistency with being pro-life and a Democrat. We think the party should be the open tent that it claims to be.” The flaps of the tent appear to be drawn tight in New Jersey when it comes to abortion, however, Oliver has found, even though Pelosi and other Democratic leaders insist there’s no litmus test on abortion. Pelosi famously cited her own “devout Catholic family” in 2017 as the reason for her openness to Democrats who don’t share her staunch support of abortion rights.
“Most of those people — my family, extended family — are not pro-choice,” she said. “You think I’m kicking them out of the Democratic Party?”
A party ‘betrayal’?
The 41-year-old Morristown resident was elected to a two-year term in June as chairman of the New Jersey suburb’s municipal Democratic committee, an unpaid position. The committee's chief role is to recruit and support strong Democratic candidates, Oliver said. Until very recently, party leaders saw Oliver as that kind of candidate, having initially supported his run in 2021 for the Morris County Board of Commissioners, a GOP stronghold for many years. His ultimately unsuccessful bid ran into trouble after a video surfaced of him at an event sponsored by Democrats for Life of America (DFLA), an organization that opposes abortion and promotes pro-life Democratic candidate. In December, the Morris County Democratic Committee called on Oliver to resign his municipal post. The county organization said it was its “duty to choose representatives and party leaders who will support, protect and expand equitable and quality access to reproductive rights in New Jersey and help make that a reality for every American.” But Oliver is standing firm. He says party leaders were aware of his pro-life views prior to his run for commission and still thought he'd be good candidate, "especially since the county government doesn't vote on legislation involving abortion," he added. Yet know they want him out as Morristown chairman.
“I don’t think that’s a sufficient reason to resign, I really don’t,” he said. ”To be honest with you, many of us are sick and tired of being bullied and marginalized for a matter of conscience like this, for defending a consistent life ethic … and we don’t want to take it anymore.”
Embracing a 'Whole Life' approach
Oliver's story illustrates not only the hardened abortion stance of the Democratic Party but also the diversity of the pro-life movement. Oliver, who is gay and a staunch Democrat, witnessed that heterogeneity himself when he attended a Democrats for Life rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1 during oral arguments in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization abortion case. Among those advocating for the unborn that day were secularists, atheists, feminists, and members of the LGBTQ community.
"It's not just religious people that are pro-life," Oliver said. "I think that the pro-life movement is growing. It's diverse in a lot of ways, I mean ethnically, politically, as far as age, religion. I was happy to see that. "Nor is the pro-life movement strictly focused on abortion, he added. Democrats for Life's own "Whole Life" philosophy embraces a range of issues, he noted. "We talk about issues like euthanasia, and capital punishment, and protecting women — providing real choice for them when it comes to pregnancy support (and) reducing the maternity mortality rate," he said.
Raised in a Methodist family, he says his brother and several other relatives served in the military. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, he enlisted in the New Jersey Army National Guard in 2003, joining an infantry unit. Meanwhile, his spiritual journey led him to join the Orthodox Church, and after discerning a vocation, he became an Orthodox priest and a U.S. Army chaplain. The journey wasn't over. He left the Orthodox Church and was accepted as an Episcopal priest in 2012. A couple of years later he went on active duty with the Army for five years, spending some of that time overseas. He rejoined the National Guard as a chaplain and captain in 2020.
He says his pro-life position evolved over time. “I certainly haven’t reached this point overnight,” Oliver told CNA. “I’ve always had pro-life inklings … I’ve always wanted to look out for the vulnerable and the marginalized. And I started to see unborn children as being vulnerable and marginalized, and I started asking more questions, like, ‘Why aren't we standing up for them and supporting them?’”
Those questions ultimately led him to Democrats for Life of America, which states on its website that "every human being is worthy of dignity and respect, from fertilization to natural death."
But Oliver says the real turning point for him politically was Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s effort to pass the New Jersey Reproductive Freedom Act which would codify an unrestricted right to abortion up to the moment of birth, while removing the state’s longstanding conscience protection for medical professionals who object to abortion. Additionally, the act authorizes non-physicians to perform certain abortions, and requires insurers to cover abortions with no out-of-pocked costs. It also mandates an annual allocation of state taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood. “Those provisions terrified me, honestly,” Murphy, a “Catholic”, is pushing to get it passed in 2022.
“At first I was kind of afraid to talk about it, because I don’t want to be accused of being anti-woman or not being sensitive to people who have to make that difficult decision,” he said. “But then I realized that … this is the civil rights issue of our time.” Oliver says some of his fellow Democrats have privately told them that they share his pro-life views, but they're too afraid to buck the party. At the same time, Oliver says it disturbs him to hear some abortion rights proponents talk about the issue in a way that “goes beyond pro-choice to pro-abortion” and equates abortion with routine health care.
“I’m even starting to hear people say, ‘Yes, the fetus is a (human) life, but abortion is still OK,’” he said.
Oliver, who spent six weeks guarding the U.S. Capitol with his National Guard unit after the civil unrest on Jan. 6, isn’t sure what’s next for him, politically. Asked if he is considering switching to the Republican Party, Oliver said he would prefer to remain a Democrat, though his party isn't making it easy for him.
Ryan Bomberger of The Radiance Foundation in northern Virginia. He praises his "loving, compassionate" parents who adopted him and gave him a home and a chance. He told Fox News Digital, "Faith shapes the way I think and the way I create." (The Radiance Foundation)
Bomberger, who is adopted, praised the parents who took him into their home years ago and embraced him as their own. "My mom and my dad are the most amazing people I’ve known," he said.
He added that his "birth mom experienced the horror and violence of rape" — and that he, Bomberger, is the product of that rape. He is grateful, he said, to have been given the chance at life and to have been welcomed into a loving, compassionate family that includes twelve siblings, nine of whom were adopted from neglectful, abusive, or poverty-ridden situations.
"None of us would've been better off dead," he said. "We're better off loved."
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The Son does not make his theophany, his appearance among us, trailing a retinue of sycophants. Rather, he eschews all the worldly appurtenances of power and glory.
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