JOHN KERRY MAKES THE CASE FOR MISSILE STRIKES

Slippery slope: "The bottom line, as Kerry outlined in his speech, is that the White House believes inaction, after conclusively determining that Bashar al-Assad’s regime is behind the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in Damascus, would open the possibility of other countries or groups concluding that they could use such weapons in the future without fear of retribution."

National security: (There is no alternative): “Make no mistake, in an increasingly complicated world of sectarian and religious extremist violence, what we choose to do or not do matters in real ways to our own security. Some site the risk of doing things. But we need to ask, ‘What is the risk of doing nothing?’,” Kerry said.

WMD!: “Our high confidence assessment is the strongest position that the U.S. Intelligence Community can take short of confirmation,” the government said in the brief.

The plan: The White House is reportedly considering limited air strikes on military targets as retaliation for the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons. Senior administration officials also repeated that the administration is not aiming to achieve a regime change in Syria.

Syria's chemical arsenal is less of a threat to the US than the arsenals of other despots around the world. Saddam gassed the Kurds, but we didn't launch the Iraq war for that reason.

Kerry makes much of the children who were killed by gas, but what of children killed in drone attacks?  We're to weep over pictures of children killed by gas, but we never see the pictures of children blown apart by drone missiles. The airstrikes will almost certainly cause collateral damage (the ultimate euphemism for dead and wounded people!), which will include children and other innocents.   I weep for all the children.

What if Assad continues his defiance after we flex our muscles with the limited airstrikes? What do we do next?

I'm not buying Kerry's argument. I've heard it all before when we have undertaken deadly, misbegotten military adventures.  Obama and Kerry have pretty well boxed themselves in with their chest-thumping and red line on Assad's use of gas, but I hope and pray the president will have the courage and humility to turn away from inflicting more violence on the Syrian people, who are already suffering.  

Quotes above from Talking Points Memo.

GOLF VOCABULARY LESSON

A schoolteacher was taking her first golf lesson.

When she got to the green, she asked the instructor, "Please tell me:  Is the word spelled p-u-t or p-u-t-t?"

"P-u-t-t is correct," he replied. "Put means to place a thing where you want it.  Putt means merely a vain attempt to do the same thing."


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

GRANDCHILDREN

                                             There were four.

                                         And then there were six.

Sometimes I wish the children were not growing up so quickly, that they were still the ages in the pictures. But life goes on, and I like where all six grandchildren are at the present time, too.

VIDEO UPDATE ON THE SPREADING BAYOU CORNE SINKHOLE

Read the story here:

A colossal sinkhole that opened up overnight in August 2012 in the rural Louisiana town of Assumption Parish has continued to expand at a staggering rate, devouring with it land and trees as documented in a new video that was uploaded on Tuesday.

The three-minute YouTube video was posted to an account run by the Assumption Parish Police Jury. The video shows about a dozen trees on the outside of a berm in the sinkhole suddenly swallowed in less than a minute. Six seconds into the video, the trees slowly begin to sink. At 41 seconds, their tops are no longer visible above the bubbling water.

Does anyone know or, if so, will they say how much more the sinkhole will continue to expand?

The Assumption Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness has said that the sinkhole doesn't pose a danger to other homes in the area.

I wonder.  If I lived in one of the homes in the area, I doubt I'd be as confidant as the Assumption Parish official.  Not that I mean to imply that the parish leaders are hiding information, for I think they do the best they can with what they know.  Still, I worry about what they don't know.

UPDATE: An article in Mother Jones details the history of the sinkhole from the beginning to the situation in the area of the collapse in early August.

O GRACIOUS LIGHT

The moon in daylight

Hymn: O Gracious Light
Phos hilaron

O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light, we sing your praises,
O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
 and to be glorified through all the worlds.

I DID THIS

If you try to find out, on the internet, how many steps the Duomo of Florence has, you will see numbers that vary from 414 to 463. So, it’s up to you to find out the real answer! In this video, this guy climbs (and counts) the stairs, recounts a good history of the Duomo (with only one little error – can you spot it?), and shows us the view from above!

I climbed the steps when I was in my 60s.  Yes, I did.  As the teenagers were running up the steps, I ascended slowly, with an occasional stop to rest, the rest stops coming closer together the higher I climbed.  It was hard, but I persevered, and the view from the top was magnificent and very much worth the difficult climb.

From Tuscany Arts. 

UPDATE: My one disappointment was at the half-way point entry into the cathedral.  Due to restoration work, I was not able to see the closer view of the beautiful "Last Judgment" fresco in the dome by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari, because the paintings were covered by drapery. 

BATHING BEAUTIES IN THE 1920s

THE CLIMATE NAME CHANGE

This Is Probably The Funniest, Most Effective Way To Deal With People Who Ignore Science Facts Ever

There are members of Congress [and governors] who don't understand or accept basic science concepts. This hilarious video is dedicated to them.

Where's our boy Bobby Jindal?  Surely his name is next on the list.

From Upworthy.

TELL PRESIDENT OBAMA: DON'T BOMB SYRIA

The petition reads:

"President Obama:  With civilians being butchered and refugees suffering immensely, it is horrifying to watch the brutal civil war in Syria unfold. But U.S. military intervention is far more likely to make matters worse, not better. The U.S. should not bomb Syria. The best thing we can do is commit to holding war criminals accountable, expand humanitarian aid for refugees, and maintain constant diplomatic pressure for a negotiated end to the conflict."

Sign the petition here.

The administration sees the use of chemical weapons in Syria as a threat to our national security. Certainly, the Syrian people suffer, but I don't understand the threat to the United States. What good purpose would be served by sending missiles that inflict more suffering and death on people who are already suffering and dying?

Instead of sending in missiles that kill and cause more misery, why not spend the money to help refugees, over 1 million of whom are children, many alone without their parents? Help the Syrians who fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt who are in desperate need. The last thing Syria needs is more violence.

Donate to UNICEF here. 

50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM

From Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech:

"But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone."

 A movement for justice grounded in intentional non-violence, the determination to meet physical force with soul force, creates a moral authority of great power that can never be equaled by violence or threats of violence.

 Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Atlanta, GA (July 16, 2013). The King Center and the 50th Anniversary Coalition are calling on people and organizations across America to help culminate the 50th anniversary of The March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech with “Let Freedom Ring” bell-ringing events at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on August 28th, a half-century to the minute after Dr. King delivered his historic address. In other nations, there will be bell-ringing ceremonies at 3:00 p.m. in their respective time zones.

Collect from Holy Women, Holy Men.