AMERICAN HISTORY: On October 14, 1774, the First Continental Congress made its Declaration of Colonial Rights. It is important to remember that the founders of our great nation were Christians who were deeply involved in politics.
DOUBLE STANDARDS: @HispanosLokos asks an excellent question. “So can anybody explain to me how Spanish people are brown but the Spanish conquistadors were White oppressors?“
LIFE: The same one that had legal representation for a trial by jury, followed by ten years of appeals.
MILITARY: I am not opposed to the death penalty. However, the live streaming does make me really uncomfortable, calling to mind the “bread and circuses” mentality that marked the decline of the Roman Empire.
STUPID PEOPLE: CLICK https://x.com/LBrownKSTP/status/2108999881108967857 [:57] to watch lily-white members of the “Party of Peace” (left) disrupt the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Lisa Demuth (right), at Friday’s Minnesota GOP Lincoln-Reagan Dinner in Eagan, Minnesota.
TRANS: “Kelly” Day (32) chased down and repeatedly stabbed Larry Young (50) until the knife tip broke off in Young’s skull. This reportedly happened in front of Young’s wife and 7-year-old stepson. Day, a Black man who identifies as a woman, was reportedly angered by Young mocking him. After the incident, he went to a hospital with a cut finger and claimed he had had a cooking accident. Now that he’s behind bars, he is claiming it was self-defense. According to the trannie with the knife, Young used a verbal slur, then made a gun gesture with his hand and threatened violence. Thankfully, the judge has ordered Day be held without bail.
DOUBLE STANDARDS: You know the saying … if they didn’t have double standards, they wouldn’t have any standards at all.
EVERYDAY HEROES: Wheelchair ballet teaches dance to the “differently abled.” [12:20] – I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. And I’m very proud of the work my Dearest architect has done to make buildings accessible.
EVERYDAY HEROES 2: One-legged dancers gets the Golden Buzzer! [10:06] – I had to put this one here too.
FLY DUBAI: [2:20] – An Omani national was in the second seat on a FlyDubai flight when he stabbed the pilot multiple times and hijacked the plane. The hijacker, who had worked for FlyDubai for around a year, apparently planned to fly the plane into the ground, killing all 174 souls aboard.
The flight had departed Dubai for Tel Aviv just before 7 a.m. and was cruising around 34,000 feet before the violence broke out. The jet dropped from an altitude of approximately 33,000 feet to around 15,400 feet in just 12 minutes. The pilot was able to transmit a radio warning and Israeli fighter jets were scrambled as a precaution.
Passengers successfully subdued the hijacker, regained control of the aircraft, and somebody safely landed the aircraft in Saudi Arabia.
MAHA: [10:29] – Osteoarthritis runs strongly in my family so I was especially interested in this video about how to preserve one’s cartilage for as long as possible.
CATHOLIC: [4:14] – Grok reports that the most common pronunciation for “ex cathedra” is eks kuh-THEE-druh, though some Americans go with eks KATH-i-druh. Rarely, some may use the pure classical Latin pronunciation (eks ka-TAY-drah).
CIVILIZATIONAL COSMOCRACY: [14:29] – It’s well worth your time to listen carefully to understand what “CIVCOSM” means and how it coheres all of Trump’s foreign policies.
CLIMATE: When the Mascots were here, they visited the Museum of the Earth. I’m going through the photos and noticed this one. Have any of they global warming alarmists heard that “We Still Live In The Ice Age”?
OTTERS: CLICK https://x.com/awkwardgoogle/status/2045567264208937326 [:32] to watch otters get ice cubes for picking up their toys. After watching this, I asked Grok, “Do otters like ice cubes?” Grok informed me that otters enjoy tossing, sliding, wrestling, hoarding, or chasing ice cubes, which helps keep them mentally and physically stimulated. Eating ice also helps hydrate them. Zookeepers often freeze treats, like fish or crab, inside the cubes, because chewing ice helps scrape plaque off their teeth and keeps their gums healthy. Naturally, I had to got to YouTube and google “otters ice.” Lots of hits. I posted only one.
STUPID PEOPLE: “Trump is the reason gas isn’t 24 cents a gallon like it was before 1973.” When will this reign of terror end?!
GRAMMY NOTES: Actually, the point of the lid and base rugs are there for the women who approach toilets backwards and clean the bathroom floor. The lid rug forces the lid back down. The base rug catches man-pee before it ruins the floor.
In 2003, then-Congressman Adam Schiff and his wife bought the house shown above, which is in Potomac, Maryland. On their mortgage application, they claimed the property as their primary and principal residence. In 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013, they refinanced the Potomac, Maryland, home, each time citing it as their principal residence. N.b., Mortgage rates on primary residences are more favorable than they are on secondary residences or vacation properties.
In 2009, the Schiffs bought a one-bedroom and one-bathroom condo in the Burbank, California, condominium shown above. In 2020, the Schiffs refinanced their condo mortgage, listing it as that as their primary residence to get a more favorable mortgage rate.
On December 13, 2018, during an interview with CNN, Rep. Schiff stated, “No one is above the law, not even the president of the United States.”
On September 30, 2019, in a discussion about possible impeachment proceedings, Schiff emphasized that no one, including the president, is above the law.
On July 8, 2020, Schiff stated, “No one is above the law, not even the President of the United States. Nor are they immune from congressional oversight or criminal investigation.”
On October 17, 2021, Schiff, now a member of the Jan. 6 committee, stated, “No one is above the law.”
On March 3, 2022, Schiff reiterated, “We need to uphold that idea that no one is above the law, including former presidents.”
In 2023, while Schiff was running for the U.S. Senate, it came out that he had claimed both homes as primary residences. His Senate campaign said it was okay, “because they are both occupied throughout the year.” An insider revealed that Schiff is “rarely at his California apartment.” FYI: It is illegal to claim two homes as primary residences simultaneously for mortgage or tax purposes.
On October 25, 2024, Schiff again stated, “No one is above the law.”
On November 25, 2024, now Senator-elect, Schiff stated, “No one is above the law.”
On March 5, 2025, in Senate floor remarks, Schiff said the justice system should ensure “no one is above the law or beyond its reach.”
On April 7, 2025, Schiff highlighted the importance of the principle that “no one, not even a president, is above the law.”
On July 15, 2025, news broke that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division had sent a criminal referral to the DOJ regarding Schiff’s mortgage shenanigans, requesting further investigation.
N.B., I have been stuck in internet hell for an hour, trying to get links Grok swears to me are valid to work on my computer. In the process, Grok taught me how to use “incognito mode” (see below). Sadly, I inadvertently deleted my Grok convo and lost all the links. ::sigh:: I’m fed up and hoping you will just take my word for it that Grok swears these statements are all verified at reputable sources. ::sigh::
To access “incognito mode” in Firefox, click the three lines in the upper right corner and choose “new private window” from the drop down menu. If you get a purple screen, you’re there.
DAILY PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we ask for You to be at the center of all our families. Help us to pray for Your help in working through our challenges and to remember that love is patient and kind. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
DOGE: Over the last 3 days, agencies have terminated 90 wasteful contracts saving We the Taxpayers $200 Million. These included two DEI contracts, one at NASA for “integrating earth observations toward advancing equitable resilience to geo-hazards in a changing climate” ($911,000) and the other at HHS for “essentials in equity” via “innovative modeling and policy analysis interactive tools” ($4.6 Million).
FAITH: Best comment – “Want to know what makes the enemy mad? Praising God in the midst of turmoil.” [4:31] – Israel and Iran are trading bombs. Trump told CNN’s Dana Bash Iran’s hardline negotiators are now dead. Bash asked, “Does that mean Israel got them?” Trump replied, “Well, they didn’t die of COVID.”
LIFE: [6:58] – In 2009, Cardinal Francis George spoke about abortion at a Parish Leadership conference. (Reminder: I mentioned Cardinal George in yesterday’s post.)
WOMEN’S SPORTS: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jcVkBKGz7zo to see another athletic activity (besides gymnastics) where we do not and will not ever see trannies excel.
GRAMMY NOTES: Feeling a little weepy-joy over this e-note from my daughter – “I am in awe at how wonderful your art class for the kids was. Every time we go somewhere, I learn another lesson from Grammy’s art class. They remember so much of what you taught them and can relay the history so well! It’s quite amazing – I think that is more than any other class they’ve ever taken.” (Graphic from my “Early Middle Ages” art history lesson.)
DAILY PRAYER: Thank you, God for sending Your Son on one glorious night to be born of a virgin, to live a perfect life, and to die on the cross for our sins. Thank you that He rose from the dead three days later and that, on this and every Christmas, we can celebrate the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Amen.
GRAMMY NOTES: Bootz served at the altar for the first time on Christmas Eve!
GRAMMY NOTES 2: Actually, it isn’t. My guess is they go with their husband’s and grandparent’s traditions. I have been homebound by disability since they were very small. If I had insisted, my husband and kids would’ve stayed home with me.
But his family always did/does the big gathering with a real tree, turkey and trimmings, aunts, uncles, and cousins, going to Mass as a family and taking up yards and yards of pews. They live 4 hours away, so holiday trips are always at least one and usually more than one overnight.
I wanted my girls to soak in that culture and sense of belonging while they were young, so I spent 13 Christmases alone. It sucked. I cried, watched a lot of movies, and waited for them to come home so we could open my presents together.
His family also did/does the huge Thanksgiving thing and they always went to that as well until, one year, I just had had enough and said I wanted Thanksgiving to be MY holiday. My best holiday memories are from the days when the five of us turned off the phone on Wednesday and focused on doing delicious, fun, relaxing, and sometimes silly things together until school resumed on Monday.
The girls still talk about the year we put together a ginormous jigsaw puzzle and got grease on some of the pieces from all the nachos we ate while doing it. Another year, we got out all the board games they had outgrown and didn’t want to save for their own kids. We played them each one more time before giving them away and I had prizes for everyone at the end.
We also didn’t do turkey. Instead, we had food adventures. One year, the girls had gotten an American Girl colonial era cook book, so we each picked a dish to make. We had an elaborate kitchen schedule for who began when and got which pans, burners, and oven time. The food was wonderful. Another year, I got each of us a Cornish game hen so we could have “individual turkeys.” But I think the most memorable seems to be the year we had shark. Mama Buzz still talks about that. LOL
The pope has approved this anime-style mascot for the 2025 Year of Jubilee, hoping it will appeal to young people. The official word is that she is a little pilgrim named Luce. Pronounced loo chay, it means light in Italian and light from the east in Latin.
Luce is a pilgrim. From her muddy boots to her walking staff to her raincoat, she is dressed for life’s journey to Christ. The raincoat is yellow, the color of the Vatican’s flag.
Luce’s hair and eyes are blue, the color traditionally assigned to hope and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The gleam shining in her eyes is in the shape of the scallop shell, a symbol that has long been associated with Catholic pilgrimage, in particular the famous Camino Way in Spain.
Luce wears a World Mission rosary, which was created by Fulton Sheen. Wearing a rosary as a necklace is common in some places and frowned on in others, but it seems to be a practical choice for a pilgrim on the road.
The Jubilee 2025 logo is embroidered on the raincoat’s front in green, the liturgical color for the Ordinary seasons of the year, the time when we focus on growing in Christ. The Jubilee 2025 site says of the logo, “The anchor is well known as a symbol of hope. In maritime jargon the ‘anchor of hope’ refers to the reserve anchor used by vessels involved in emergency manoeuvres to stabilise the ship during storms. It is worth noting that the image illustrates the pilgrim’s journey not as an individual undertaking, but rather as something communal, marked by an increasing dynamism leading one ever closer to the cross. The cross in the logo is by no means static, but it is also dynamic. It bends down towards humanity, not leaving human beings alone, but stretching out to them to offer the certainty of its presence and the security of hope. At the bottom of the logo is the motto of the 2025 Jubilee Year.“
N.b., The colors on the official logo are not a nod to the “pride” flag, but rather denote the regions of the world as used on the World Mission rosary.
Aleteia reports, “Within days of her reveal, Luce became a prime source of inspiration for Catholic and anime artists alike, who created many beautiful tributes to Luce on art sites and social media.”
Personally, I like this variation better than the official one. Until I did the research for this article, I did not know about the pilgrim’s scallop shell, so found the shape of the sparkle in the official version’s eyes off putting. This one has Bethlehem stars!
The other reason I haven’t warmed up to the official Luce is that her forked “pilgrim staff” is much more commonly known as a stang, a forked staff used in various forms of occult rituals as a tool of power and respect. Various sites say it represents the World Tree, connecting the heavens and the earth and standing tall as a reminder of the witch’s place between worlds. It may be placed in the center of an altar or carried as a symbol of authority. It may be used to call on deities during rituals. One witch said she uses it to ground herself when she travels the celestial planes.
However, I did find one article that delved into a different source for the forked staff. It was published in 2018 after Pope Francis carried a stang staff with a nail through the forked branches. An article at Patheos says, “It was a gift to Pope Francis by a group of young people, who asked him to use it during the synod.”
Catholic bishops and popes each have a special staff known as a crosier, or shepherd’s crook. They carry during rituals to symbolize their roles as shepherds of God’s flock. Bishops’ crosiers can vary tremendously, but they generally have a crook at the top.
By contrast, the papal staff (known as a ferula, which is Latin for rod) has cross or crucifix on top. There is no set standard; the photo shows Pope Francis with two different ones.
I wasn’t the only one bothered by the pope’s synodal ferula’s resemblance to a witch‘s stang. However, a deacon did some research and found that, though rare, there are examples of forked crosses in our church’s history. The author says, “The three arms of the cross are meant to remind us of the Holy Trinity and the attributes of God: omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.”
Another author writes, “This cross also resembles the Greek letter Upsilon which capitalized looks just like the English letter ‘Y’. The Greek Upsilon is often called Pythagoras’ letter as it is said he used it as a symbol to demonstrate human life where the two horns of the letter represent the two paths of vice and virtue. We all travel down a road in life, but it is not always the easy road and we come to a split into the road where we must choose where we will take our life. Will it be down the road of virtue or the one to ruin?” This explanation goes a long way toward making me more comfortable with Luce’s staff.
Some critics have also objected to the name Luce, suggesting it is short for Lucifer. Like luce, the Italian word for light, Lucifer, the name of the first and greatest angel God created, comes from the Latin for light. But Jesus called Himself “the light of the world.” Lucifer’s light only exists to the extent that God created it; plus, he only uses it for himself. Jesus’ light is not only self-existent, but also used to guide pilgrim’s to God. I guess I can get on board the Luce lovers’ pilgrim trail.
