If we are all in agreement on the decision, then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about. - ALFRED P. SLOAN
Good Morning Digital Neighbors & Friends! Happy Tuesday! This pretty much sums up nearly every politician and elected or appointed official I have heard throughout my life. There are a few exceptions, but not many. Most say a whole lot of nothing , ironically enough I have heard the same said of preachers. Perhaps there is an unknown affinity.🤨
It is difficult to think of the last major thing Congress has done that doesn't involve a massive spending bill. It is impossible to even know where all the money went and who benefitted from it. Sure the people down the food chain saw something to benefit them, not that government should be involved in such things, trickle down bills only breed a fatal dependency that an abusive caretaker can withdraw at any moment.
Anything The Feds provide they can withdraw, and now thanks to the eye opening events of 2020, they don't even need to pass laws, just make decrees. The Feds and their joy juice of power was so overflowing that Governors and even Mayors got a good sip of dictatorship. Only the push back of the citizenry will change that, and I am not sure that too many have a desire or need to push back if life is just comfortable enough. A slow boil seems like a warm bath at the beginning.
I am hopeful more people are realizing what is happening and gaining some sort of clarity. Hard to write that word - clarity - when we live in a world of manipulation, distortion, confident ignorance and blatant lies. But slowly - more people are gaining clarity - with the birthing pains of skepticism and the dawning of being played. It is happening across the political spectrum. Few people embody confident ignorance more than Dr. Fauci and his ever changing certitude. March of 2020 - what an unforgettable crapfest now that we look back.
Mildly hopeful but not naively convinced that it all work out for the good in the short term. I am hopeful for the long term, but haven't the foggiest idea how long it will take to get to the long term. I smile and focus on the concretes of my life. Looking for signs of growing clarity is a patient process.
Winter in North Dakota (No idea where - DDG knows but doesn't tell)
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.Â
Happy Friday, Digital Neighbors!! Slept in a little this morning. Woke up at my ordinary time, hit the hour timer, and wandered back into short, incoherent dreamland. It was a good hour to try and get a little more rest after a long day yesterday. We had a good staff team-building day with personal prayer and then looking at the DISC tool as a way to appreciate our gifts as we work together for the good of our parish family.
Had a meeting in the evening to explore using our auditorium for an Emergency Overnight Shelter in the winter for the homeless and unhoused in our local area. Lots of potential, lots of work if that is to come to fruition. As I mentioned last night, this is where the rubber hits the road on personal charity. People feel comfortable giving money to support charities, but the possibility of hosting and staffing one is way out of the comfort zone for most. Prayer and time will tell.
Off to some “ifferisms” for your Friday cup of Joe.
If you get gloomy, just take an ...
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The Beautiful
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Said the Disciple to the Lover, “Sir, before I left the world I heard certain men who were held in high esteem and thought to know the will of the Beloved say that those who loved the Beautiful did not love the Beloved but loved idols, yet in the Garden of the Beloved we are ever striving to create beauty for the pleasure of the Beloved. Were they then speaking the truth?”
The Lover answered, “Those who said this had never glimpsed the form of the Beloved nor ever truly sought Him, for all beauty is but the reflection of the beauty of the Beloved, although seen very dimly as in a dark and faulty mirror, even as all goodness is a dim reflection of the goodness of the Beloved. So it is that those who love beauty and goodness recognize dimly in them the form of the Beloved and though often in ignorance those who are seeking the Beautiful and the Good are seeking after the Beloved.”
