BALTIMORE, Maryland, April 24, 2017 - In a way, I had many months to mourn losing my mother. The giant of a human being that I knew and loved slipped from my life way back when, and we, her family, then cared for what was left to us until her death. People who lose somebody to Alzheimer's know what I am speaking about.
Last night, the essential Mark Levin spent quite a period of time explaining the disgusting and - were it not for his Ultra Far Left Views and Lifestyle - quite illegal way that President Obama negotiated the heinous, low-brow and debauched "treaty" he purported to bind These United States to with the ultra debauched State of Iran. What kinds of things did Obama do? What didn't he do?
While Levin gave the really disgusting story legs, the credit for getting the news out goes to Politico and its writer, Josh Meyer. In an article posted at Politico on April 24 at 5 am, Meyer painted an amazing and in-depth picture of the unbelievable and desperate measures sanctioned by Obama to get the deal with Iran. The evil Islamic folk who run Iran clearly picked up the fact that Obama was absolutely desperate to get the deal done, they made a series of outlandish demands that would have made any self-respecting government leader turn and go home. Not Obama. He capitulated, and then he capitulated again. And again
According to Meyer - and if you doubt any of this, just remember that Politico is a far left publication - the Obama administration released 14 federal prisoners charged with the most serious espionage and weapons-running charges. Not one soul in the mainstream media has printed a word about this. This is the web page where Meyer's story can be found: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/24/obama-iran-nuclear-deal-prisoner-release-236966
What's worse, a federal prosecutor told Meyer that there was an embargo placed on any actions against Iranians. In other words, the 14 that were charged were released and the countless others who should have been charged were not charged with anything and continue to operate in favor of a nation that openly flaunts the fact that it promotes evil Islamic Terrorism.
What the hell was Obama doing? Who is Obama? Was he the President of the United States or the Iranian Point Man in Washington? It seems that the latter is more accurate.
On his Extremely Popular Radio Show on Monday Night, the essential Mark Levin said Obama "sold the United States down the river," and that his conduct was nothing short of "disgraceful." He blasted the Republicans in the Senate who allowed Obama to avoid the legal scrutiny deals such as this are supposed to get because they allowed Obama to get it approved without an up or down vote. The deal with the Republicans in the Senate - at least the many who went along with it - allowed Obama to get it through without calling it a treaty. But, as Levin as often explained, the deal is plainly and unarguably a treaty that deserved the full scrutiny that deals such as this should get in the U.S. Senate.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
The Death of A Mother
TOWSON, Maryland, Monday, April 17, 2017 - For the last two years of my mother's life, her mind was enfeebled with Alzheimer's or Dementia. Doctors say they can never be sure which of those two horrors is actually doing its dirty deeds, I'm told, unless they do an autopsy, and after all of the indignities heaped upon my mother during the end of her days on this earth, an autopsy was not going to happen.
Then, my mom died on Good Friday. She was 87. This close to the end, I cannot hope to do justice to her as I write here. My sister calls her the perfect mother, in the sense that she made my sister and me feel like we were always loved and that somebody was always on our side. My mother was perfect at that.
My mother and father were married over 63 years when she left us on Friday. He is 90. It was my thought he never looked or acted his age until then.
My sister is worried that people will only remember the last two years, when my mother's personality changed 100%. Once this happened, she was able to embarrass herself and her family with a cutting statement that, during the rest of her life, she would never dream of saying. In fact, all of the things that were extremely important to her for 85 years seemed to disappear from her world. The diseases that do that to people come straight from hell; there is no other place that could concoct something that evil.
My father would patiently explain to her, over and over again, who she was, who he was, who we were, where we lived, where we went to church, and so on. A second later she'd prove she didn't comprehend anything he had said. Over the last six months, one day would be simply terrible and you'd think, this has to be the worst it can possibly be. And then the next day would be even worse. You'd bury your head in your hands and - when nobody was looking - sob for an hour. But we kept her at home with us. Meals were sent in and nurses came. My wife and oldest daughter were relentless (and then some) in fixing meals and treats and doing other things that lessened the burdens. But 95% of the time it was my father and me. More him than me. My sister lived half way across the continent - OK, she lived in Ohio - and could only come now and then. She worked ridiculously hard when she came, but she couldn't stay because, like her mother, she had a family she was responsible for.
That was the last two years of my mother's lifesd. The 85 that came first were God's most gracious gift to the people mom came to know. People remembered her warm sincere smiles and gentle laughter, her love of her family, how she marveled at the Maryland countryside and how well she kept her gardens. She and my father were frugal to a T. The reward for all of that was that both of their kids went to college, earned degrees and started families.
Anybody who knew her eventually heard the story of her near-drowning at age 13. She was in the surf at Atlantic City when, suddenly, a series of large waves rolled in. She was knocked under the seething water and when she tried to come up for air, a number of smaller children near her yanked on her so they could get up above the surface. By pulling on my mother, the smaller children made it up for air, but my mother couldn't get there, at least for the longest time. At the last, she did survive that horror, but she never was at ease in the water again.
Nor was my mother at ease up in the sky, and a lot of great vacations my mother and my father could've taken in their later years never happened because of that. My father did finally persuade her into flying out west, just the two of them, to see parts of These United States they had only read about or saw on TV. Their flight took off from Baltimore, and would finally land in Las Vegas after a lay over in Kansas City. After one night in Vegas, they embarked on a motor coach tour of the great western National Parks. Both of my parents absolutely loved that trip, but the "leaving on a jet plane" part was another story altogether. In later years my father would show people the permanent scars on his arm where my mother had dug her finger nails into him upon take off from Baltimore, and kept them embedded there for the duration of the flight.
My mother did make it to other destinations by automobile. The Trotz's drove to Florida and Maine, Vermont, Canada, and other places in these United States. Although my mother wasn't much for boats, she did consent to taking the Ticonderoga Ferry across Lake Champlain, probably because it only takes 15 or 20 minutes. She loved those trips. Most of them took place after both of my parents had retired. But i do recall one lengthy car trip that took place when I was 14.
My father was one of six children born to an immigrant coal miner and his wife. Both of my dad's parents were of Polish Ancestry and lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania. One of my Father's sisters ended up in Orlando, Florida. When I was 14, my aunt and her husband (my uncle) came to Baltimore to visit my dad and one of his other sisters, who also lived here. While they were in Baltimore they talked my parents into driving back to Florida with them for a visit. It was great idea, we all thought, except for one thing: it was 1969 and our car wasn't air conditioned. It was also summertime. My sister and I took turns riding with Aunt Edna and Uncle Ernie - their car was air-conditioned - but my mother stayed with my father all of the way down to Florida and then all of the way back to Baltimore.
I remember that while we were in Florida, the first manned flight to the Moon took off from Cape Kennedy (which it was called at that time). On the day of the launch, we all arose before dawn and drove to a small peninsula that was near the Cape. The spot offered a great view of the early morning event. The large rocket jumped out of the morning mists, orange-tailed and flaming, and flew up and up until it finally disappeared into a distant cloud bank. We saw the actual landing on the moon on my aunt and uncle's TV.
On the drive back to Baltimore, my parents revealed that about eight years prior to that time my father, who was both an engineer and a complex tool designer, and was employed by Martin Marietta at that time, had been offered a better job at the Martin facility in Cocoa Beach, Florida, very near to the Cape. He sort of kind of wanted to take the job, but my mother was vehemently opposed, solely because she was, for all intents and purposes, an only child and would've had to leave her parents behind. Funny thing was, neither my sister or I knew anything about the job offer or the other issues until they told us these many years later.
My mother graduated from Towson High School, back when that school was housed in the building that eventually became Towson Elementary. In those days, High School ended after the 11th grade. Her parents - my grandparents - only had two children. My mother's older sister had died in infancy after being born with a serious stomach or bowel defect. My mother was their second try and to say she was the apple of their eyes would be a vast understatement. But my grandparents were the most wonderful people and she had a very happy childhood.
My sister and I came along in the mid-1950's, a couple of years after she had married that son of the Polish Coal Miner from Scranton, Pennsylvania. My sister and I never doubted that we'd gotten a great deal we'd done nothing to deserve. My mother did all the things mothers did, and then she did a lot more, working hard, raising a family, keeping us on the straight and narrow, and many many other things she decided she needed to do. Every Christmas and birthday was remembered, celebrated and made memorably special. Every piece of clothing I pulled on was laundered and most often pressed. Every dinner had a green vegetable. Big breakfasts were on weekends, but even the midweek ones were just great. We did our homework, come hell or high water. We took some fun vacations to the ocean. One year my father rented a house trailer for a week or two and we headed north, touring New England all the way up to Maine.
This week, the very best mother in the world will be laid to rest in the old Lutheran Cemetery in Blenheim in Baltimore County. The cemetery sits up on a hill and behind a small grassy lot where the little wooden church, St. John's Blenheim, once stood. It's the very same little wooden church where she and my father were married on August 1 those 63 years ago. Her parents and her infant sister, and her grandparents, and lots of her aunts and uncles and cousins, are already buried up there. All of their spirits and souls are with the Lord in heaven, and there must've been quite a joyous reunion a few days back. Back here, among her survivors, there is a gaping hole so large it cannot now possibly be imagined.
Then, my mom died on Good Friday. She was 87. This close to the end, I cannot hope to do justice to her as I write here. My sister calls her the perfect mother, in the sense that she made my sister and me feel like we were always loved and that somebody was always on our side. My mother was perfect at that.
My mother and father were married over 63 years when she left us on Friday. He is 90. It was my thought he never looked or acted his age until then.
My sister is worried that people will only remember the last two years, when my mother's personality changed 100%. Once this happened, she was able to embarrass herself and her family with a cutting statement that, during the rest of her life, she would never dream of saying. In fact, all of the things that were extremely important to her for 85 years seemed to disappear from her world. The diseases that do that to people come straight from hell; there is no other place that could concoct something that evil.
My father would patiently explain to her, over and over again, who she was, who he was, who we were, where we lived, where we went to church, and so on. A second later she'd prove she didn't comprehend anything he had said. Over the last six months, one day would be simply terrible and you'd think, this has to be the worst it can possibly be. And then the next day would be even worse. You'd bury your head in your hands and - when nobody was looking - sob for an hour. But we kept her at home with us. Meals were sent in and nurses came. My wife and oldest daughter were relentless (and then some) in fixing meals and treats and doing other things that lessened the burdens. But 95% of the time it was my father and me. More him than me. My sister lived half way across the continent - OK, she lived in Ohio - and could only come now and then. She worked ridiculously hard when she came, but she couldn't stay because, like her mother, she had a family she was responsible for.
That was the last two years of my mother's lifesd. The 85 that came first were God's most gracious gift to the people mom came to know. People remembered her warm sincere smiles and gentle laughter, her love of her family, how she marveled at the Maryland countryside and how well she kept her gardens. She and my father were frugal to a T. The reward for all of that was that both of their kids went to college, earned degrees and started families.
Anybody who knew her eventually heard the story of her near-drowning at age 13. She was in the surf at Atlantic City when, suddenly, a series of large waves rolled in. She was knocked under the seething water and when she tried to come up for air, a number of smaller children near her yanked on her so they could get up above the surface. By pulling on my mother, the smaller children made it up for air, but my mother couldn't get there, at least for the longest time. At the last, she did survive that horror, but she never was at ease in the water again.
Nor was my mother at ease up in the sky, and a lot of great vacations my mother and my father could've taken in their later years never happened because of that. My father did finally persuade her into flying out west, just the two of them, to see parts of These United States they had only read about or saw on TV. Their flight took off from Baltimore, and would finally land in Las Vegas after a lay over in Kansas City. After one night in Vegas, they embarked on a motor coach tour of the great western National Parks. Both of my parents absolutely loved that trip, but the "leaving on a jet plane" part was another story altogether. In later years my father would show people the permanent scars on his arm where my mother had dug her finger nails into him upon take off from Baltimore, and kept them embedded there for the duration of the flight.
My mother did make it to other destinations by automobile. The Trotz's drove to Florida and Maine, Vermont, Canada, and other places in these United States. Although my mother wasn't much for boats, she did consent to taking the Ticonderoga Ferry across Lake Champlain, probably because it only takes 15 or 20 minutes. She loved those trips. Most of them took place after both of my parents had retired. But i do recall one lengthy car trip that took place when I was 14.
My father was one of six children born to an immigrant coal miner and his wife. Both of my dad's parents were of Polish Ancestry and lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania. One of my Father's sisters ended up in Orlando, Florida. When I was 14, my aunt and her husband (my uncle) came to Baltimore to visit my dad and one of his other sisters, who also lived here. While they were in Baltimore they talked my parents into driving back to Florida with them for a visit. It was great idea, we all thought, except for one thing: it was 1969 and our car wasn't air conditioned. It was also summertime. My sister and I took turns riding with Aunt Edna and Uncle Ernie - their car was air-conditioned - but my mother stayed with my father all of the way down to Florida and then all of the way back to Baltimore.
I remember that while we were in Florida, the first manned flight to the Moon took off from Cape Kennedy (which it was called at that time). On the day of the launch, we all arose before dawn and drove to a small peninsula that was near the Cape. The spot offered a great view of the early morning event. The large rocket jumped out of the morning mists, orange-tailed and flaming, and flew up and up until it finally disappeared into a distant cloud bank. We saw the actual landing on the moon on my aunt and uncle's TV.
On the drive back to Baltimore, my parents revealed that about eight years prior to that time my father, who was both an engineer and a complex tool designer, and was employed by Martin Marietta at that time, had been offered a better job at the Martin facility in Cocoa Beach, Florida, very near to the Cape. He sort of kind of wanted to take the job, but my mother was vehemently opposed, solely because she was, for all intents and purposes, an only child and would've had to leave her parents behind. Funny thing was, neither my sister or I knew anything about the job offer or the other issues until they told us these many years later.
My mother graduated from Towson High School, back when that school was housed in the building that eventually became Towson Elementary. In those days, High School ended after the 11th grade. Her parents - my grandparents - only had two children. My mother's older sister had died in infancy after being born with a serious stomach or bowel defect. My mother was their second try and to say she was the apple of their eyes would be a vast understatement. But my grandparents were the most wonderful people and she had a very happy childhood.
My sister and I came along in the mid-1950's, a couple of years after she had married that son of the Polish Coal Miner from Scranton, Pennsylvania. My sister and I never doubted that we'd gotten a great deal we'd done nothing to deserve. My mother did all the things mothers did, and then she did a lot more, working hard, raising a family, keeping us on the straight and narrow, and many many other things she decided she needed to do. Every Christmas and birthday was remembered, celebrated and made memorably special. Every piece of clothing I pulled on was laundered and most often pressed. Every dinner had a green vegetable. Big breakfasts were on weekends, but even the midweek ones were just great. We did our homework, come hell or high water. We took some fun vacations to the ocean. One year my father rented a house trailer for a week or two and we headed north, touring New England all the way up to Maine.
This week, the very best mother in the world will be laid to rest in the old Lutheran Cemetery in Blenheim in Baltimore County. The cemetery sits up on a hill and behind a small grassy lot where the little wooden church, St. John's Blenheim, once stood. It's the very same little wooden church where she and my father were married on August 1 those 63 years ago. Her parents and her infant sister, and her grandparents, and lots of her aunts and uncles and cousins, are already buried up there. All of their spirits and souls are with the Lord in heaven, and there must've been quite a joyous reunion a few days back. Back here, among her survivors, there is a gaping hole so large it cannot now possibly be imagined.
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Good Friday is a Day When Christians Confront the Agony of Their Lord's Death on a Cross
TOWSON, Maryland, Friday, April 14, 2017 (Good Friday) - Today is Good Friday. On the Calendars of most of Western Christendom, including the worldwide Roman Catholic Church and almost every Protestant Denomination around this globe: the Anglican Church, based in England, the Lutheran Church, including the original Lutheran Congregations, a great many of which still worship in their now ancient parishes in Germany, and the western Lutheran Churches, based in These United States, the Episcopalians, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Southern Baptists, and a great majority of the so-called Fundamentalist Congregations, all observe today as the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified and then died on a wooden cross on a small hill, called Golgatha, "which means", says the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 27, Verse 3, "the place of a skull". Golgatha is near the Holy City of Jerusalem.
Before Jesus was nailed to the wooden cross, he was offered wine, "mingled with gall" (according to Matthew, Chapter 27, Verse 34). Saint Mark, says that the Roman Soldiers assigned to carry out the actual crucifixion offered the Lord "wine mingled with myrrh" (Mark, Chapter 15, Verse 21). Both of the Saints record that the Lord refused the concoction offered to him by the Roman Troops. Once the cross was raised with Christ nailed to it, the soldiers settled claims to his garments - which had been taken from him by those soldiers - "by casting lots." This is noted in St. Matthew, Chapter 27, Verse 35 and St. Mark, Chapter 15, Verse 24. St. John also delves into this detail of the death of Christ. Chapter 19, verses 23 and 24 say:
Verse 23: When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; Verse 24: so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the scripture. "They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."
Where in the scripture was this detail foretold? There are two places in the Old Testament where this event was described in detail. In the Book of Exodus, Chapter 28, Verse 32, it is said, "It shall have in it an opening for the head, with a woven binding around the opening, like an opening in a garment, that it may not be torn." And in Psalm 22, Verse 18, the author writes, "they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots."
There are other events which took place because the Lord was a human of great compassion and mercy, and also because some of the events had been foretold in other Books of the Old Testament. In the Gospel according to St. John, Chapter 19, verses 25 to 27, Christ is described as seeing his mother, Mary, standing near the foot of his cross with St. John. He declared, while hanging on the cross, that beginning at once the Saint was to consider Mary his Mother, and Mary was to consider the Saint her son. It is said in Verse 27 that John immediately took Mary into his home to live.
The Gospel of St. Luke contains some amazing details of events of Good Friday that the other three Gospels do not have. During the course of interrogating Christ, the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, learned that Christ was a Galilean. See the Gospel of St. Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 6. Knowing that the Governor of that part of the Roman Empire, Herod the Tetrarch, happened to be in Jerusalem at the time, Pilate had Christ sent to him. Herod himself had been anxious to meet Christ and his disciples, having heard much about him. He was very curious about St. John, since he believed he had had "John" beheaded and wondered who this John, also a disciple of Christ, could possibly be.
Whatever curiosity Herod had, he did not let it get in the way of an opportunity to belittle a man who was said to be a future king. When Herod asked Christ questions, Jesus remained silent. Finally, Herod had Christ dressed in what the Gospel called "gorgeous apparel" (Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 11) and then sent him back to Pilate. Pilate was beguiled by what Herod did, for some reason. Up until this moment, the two Roman Governors had greatly disliked each other, but now, St. Luke notes, "they became friends with each other that very day." (Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 12.)
Upon his return from Herod, Pilate told the Jewish leaders who were following Christ everywhere, hoping to play a role in determining his punishment, that he believed Christ was not guilty of any crime. Pilate further told these Jewish leaders that he intended to release Jesus.
Those were words that thoroughly incensed the Jewish leaders, who had concluded that Christ was directly challenging their authority. It is interesting to note that a burial ossuary believed to belong to Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest who was Christ's chief antagonist, was recovered in 1990 in Israel. Inside of the ossuary were two nails which are believed to be "crucifixion nails;" i.e., nails that were used in a crucifixion. The nails were studied with the outside hope that DNA could be recovered. But before anyone starts dreaming of the recovery of Christ's DNA, none was to be found. The ossuary itself is on display at the Israel Museum.
All of these details are interesting and add details to a combined account which is held in the hearts of every Christian. The Life of Christ is so rich in meaning that scholars through the ages have studied it down to the slightest of details. The Son of God was born in the poorest of circumstances, and his Earthly life comes to a brief "end" after he is crucified, one of the cruelest and most inhuman methods of Capital Punishment that humankind has yet devised. Throughout the Bible, the theme of humility is expounded upon as an essential trait of all Christians. And yet teachers and priests seem overwhelmed by the simple human trait, and often overlook it in their lessons and homilies. I have often wondered why.
Pope Benedict XVI wrote an essay in 2012 at the request of the editors of the Financial Times. The article was actually written about Christmas and has a Christmas theme to it. Nonetheless, the Holy Father turned his attention to the issue of humility and the duty of Christians to seek to incorporate that theme into their lives. This is a portion of the Pope's Essay:
"The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is
undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At
the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty,
the simplicity of the crib scene?
"Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the
manger, but as the one in whom we recognize God made Man.
"It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it
in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange.
"Christians shouldn’t shun the world; they should engage
with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.
"Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image
and destined for eternal life. Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief
that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians
oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus
of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life.
"Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human
being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all."
While on the subject of the Vatican, the Holy See has announced (again) that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, will make a historic visit to Egypt later this month. The general itinerary for this visit has now been released. Of note is the Pope's plan to meet with the Muslim leader of Egypt and the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In May, Pope Francis intends to visit Portugal and the Shrine to Fatima. It will commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the appearance of the Mother of Christ to three children in Portugal in 1917.
Before Jesus was nailed to the wooden cross, he was offered wine, "mingled with gall" (according to Matthew, Chapter 27, Verse 34). Saint Mark, says that the Roman Soldiers assigned to carry out the actual crucifixion offered the Lord "wine mingled with myrrh" (Mark, Chapter 15, Verse 21). Both of the Saints record that the Lord refused the concoction offered to him by the Roman Troops. Once the cross was raised with Christ nailed to it, the soldiers settled claims to his garments - which had been taken from him by those soldiers - "by casting lots." This is noted in St. Matthew, Chapter 27, Verse 35 and St. Mark, Chapter 15, Verse 24. St. John also delves into this detail of the death of Christ. Chapter 19, verses 23 and 24 say:
Verse 23: When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; Verse 24: so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the scripture. "They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."
Where in the scripture was this detail foretold? There are two places in the Old Testament where this event was described in detail. In the Book of Exodus, Chapter 28, Verse 32, it is said, "It shall have in it an opening for the head, with a woven binding around the opening, like an opening in a garment, that it may not be torn." And in Psalm 22, Verse 18, the author writes, "they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots."
There are other events which took place because the Lord was a human of great compassion and mercy, and also because some of the events had been foretold in other Books of the Old Testament. In the Gospel according to St. John, Chapter 19, verses 25 to 27, Christ is described as seeing his mother, Mary, standing near the foot of his cross with St. John. He declared, while hanging on the cross, that beginning at once the Saint was to consider Mary his Mother, and Mary was to consider the Saint her son. It is said in Verse 27 that John immediately took Mary into his home to live.
The Gospel of St. Luke contains some amazing details of events of Good Friday that the other three Gospels do not have. During the course of interrogating Christ, the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, learned that Christ was a Galilean. See the Gospel of St. Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 6. Knowing that the Governor of that part of the Roman Empire, Herod the Tetrarch, happened to be in Jerusalem at the time, Pilate had Christ sent to him. Herod himself had been anxious to meet Christ and his disciples, having heard much about him. He was very curious about St. John, since he believed he had had "John" beheaded and wondered who this John, also a disciple of Christ, could possibly be.
Whatever curiosity Herod had, he did not let it get in the way of an opportunity to belittle a man who was said to be a future king. When Herod asked Christ questions, Jesus remained silent. Finally, Herod had Christ dressed in what the Gospel called "gorgeous apparel" (Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 11) and then sent him back to Pilate. Pilate was beguiled by what Herod did, for some reason. Up until this moment, the two Roman Governors had greatly disliked each other, but now, St. Luke notes, "they became friends with each other that very day." (Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 12.)
Upon his return from Herod, Pilate told the Jewish leaders who were following Christ everywhere, hoping to play a role in determining his punishment, that he believed Christ was not guilty of any crime. Pilate further told these Jewish leaders that he intended to release Jesus.
Those were words that thoroughly incensed the Jewish leaders, who had concluded that Christ was directly challenging their authority. It is interesting to note that a burial ossuary believed to belong to Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest who was Christ's chief antagonist, was recovered in 1990 in Israel. Inside of the ossuary were two nails which are believed to be "crucifixion nails;" i.e., nails that were used in a crucifixion. The nails were studied with the outside hope that DNA could be recovered. But before anyone starts dreaming of the recovery of Christ's DNA, none was to be found. The ossuary itself is on display at the Israel Museum.
All of these details are interesting and add details to a combined account which is held in the hearts of every Christian. The Life of Christ is so rich in meaning that scholars through the ages have studied it down to the slightest of details. The Son of God was born in the poorest of circumstances, and his Earthly life comes to a brief "end" after he is crucified, one of the cruelest and most inhuman methods of Capital Punishment that humankind has yet devised. Throughout the Bible, the theme of humility is expounded upon as an essential trait of all Christians. And yet teachers and priests seem overwhelmed by the simple human trait, and often overlook it in their lessons and homilies. I have often wondered why.
Pope Benedict XVI wrote an essay in 2012 at the request of the editors of the Financial Times. The article was actually written about Christmas and has a Christmas theme to it. Nonetheless, the Holy Father turned his attention to the issue of humility and the duty of Christians to seek to incorporate that theme into their lives. This is a portion of the Pope's Essay:
"The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is
undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At
the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty,
the simplicity of the crib scene?
"Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the
manger, but as the one in whom we recognize God made Man.
"It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it
in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange.
"Christians shouldn’t shun the world; they should engage
with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.
"Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image
and destined for eternal life. Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief
that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians
oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus
of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life.
"Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human
being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all."
While on the subject of the Vatican, the Holy See has announced (again) that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, will make a historic visit to Egypt later this month. The general itinerary for this visit has now been released. Of note is the Pope's plan to meet with the Muslim leader of Egypt and the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In May, Pope Francis intends to visit Portugal and the Shrine to Fatima. It will commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the appearance of the Mother of Christ to three children in Portugal in 1917.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
USA Uses Largest Bomb In Its Arsenal on ISIS Installation Located in Cavern Complex in Afghanistan
TOWSON, Maryland, Thursday, April 11, 2017 - The absolute largest bomb in the entire United States arsenal was dropped today on a cave complex used by ISIS Islamic Terrorists. The cave complex is in Afghanistan near its border with Pakistan.
There is no word on casualties. The bombing comes just days after an American Green Beret soldier was killed in Afghanistan. This attack by the American armed forces comes just days after the United States launched an attack on a Syrian Air Base utilized by the Syrian Air Force to launch a plane loaded with deadly Sarin Gas. That Syrian Air Force plane dropped the Sarin Gas laden ordnance on a small town in Syria that was under the control of Rebel Groups fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: بشار حافظ الأس) . Up to 100 people, many of them infants and small children, were killed and injured in the Sarin Gas attack.
The attack using the huge ordnance was announced by the United States today at a White House Press Briefing. Fox News has photographs of the bomb. It is said to weigh 21,000 pounds, compared to the 1,000 pounds that each Tomahawk Cruise Missile weighs.
Use of the huge ordinance was necessitated by the fact that this key ISIS installation was mostly in caverns deep beneath the mountains of Afghanistan, very close to Pakistan. The bomb is officially designated a MOAB, which is the acronym for Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb. Military personnel have used the same acronym to rename to ordnance the "Mother of All Bombs."
There is no word on casualties. The bombing comes just days after an American Green Beret soldier was killed in Afghanistan. This attack by the American armed forces comes just days after the United States launched an attack on a Syrian Air Base utilized by the Syrian Air Force to launch a plane loaded with deadly Sarin Gas. That Syrian Air Force plane dropped the Sarin Gas laden ordnance on a small town in Syria that was under the control of Rebel Groups fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: بشار حافظ الأس) . Up to 100 people, many of them infants and small children, were killed and injured in the Sarin Gas attack.
The attack using the huge ordnance was announced by the United States today at a White House Press Briefing. Fox News has photographs of the bomb. It is said to weigh 21,000 pounds, compared to the 1,000 pounds that each Tomahawk Cruise Missile weighs.
Use of the huge ordinance was necessitated by the fact that this key ISIS installation was mostly in caverns deep beneath the mountains of Afghanistan, very close to Pakistan. The bomb is officially designated a MOAB, which is the acronym for Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb. Military personnel have used the same acronym to rename to ordnance the "Mother of All Bombs."
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
In the Aftermath of the Horror, the World Reacts; Sports: Orioles Off to Hot Start; Maryland Stumbles at Nebraska; Burnley Closing In On Second Straight Year in Premier
BALTIMORE, Maryland, Monday, April 10, 2017 - Alfred Lord Tennyson, the treasured and absolutely essential English Poet, wrote with almost amazing foresight those many decades ago:
Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails,
Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales;
Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rain’d a ghastly dew
From the nations’ airy navies grappling in the central blue;
From "Locksley Hall" by Alfred Lord Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892)
For the life of me, I cannot fathom why Assad would even think of using chemical weapons. What other move could bridge differences amongst the factions which oppose him in the Western World and in the Factions elsewhere? In These United States, pernicious Ultra Leftists agreed with Moderates and even Conservatives in condemning the purely evil spreading of chemical weapons, especially where many of the most obvious victims were children, including not a few infants. Even a very minor intellect like Assad could have seen his wholesale condemnation coming when he chose such a bleak and evil course of action. But Assad went ahead and did it anyway, and Putin sat back and watched, raising not a single objection to Assad's very obvious actions. Now, when the USA's Chief Diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Wayne Tillerson, arrives in Moscow later this week, he will be fully armed with enough diplomatic ammunition to send Assad back to the dark ages, or, more probably, personally out into oblivion.
Try, if you will, to look at it from Assad's point of view. While Russia has allied with you, it is a pretty one-sided alliance. Russia wants an in into Middle East Politics and the Struggle to Control the region's vast petroleum reserves. Russia has already succeeded there. Even if it jettison's Assad and even all of Syria this very day, it is already in the Middle East and has become a major player there. Had Trump not upset Hillary Clinton in the fall elections, the USA could be on its way out of Middle East Power Politics, with Russia taking its place. But Trump did win, and now he is reasserting the USA's global hegemony. In the Middle East, the USA is already back in the driver's seat, and Trump would like nothing better than to quickly and completely send Russia packing back to the frozen north. Assad, with a complicit Putin fanning the flame, has proven immeasurably helpful in Trump's Middle East planning.
The Trump gambit in Syria was also greatly helpful in forever quashing the nonsensical idea that Trump colluded with Putin to defeat Hillary. It is becoming more and more obvious to many political observers around the world that the whole idea of such a stupid "colluding" happened only in the morbid minds of some ultra left idiots. Russia, of course, was nosing around trying to get in the way. But Trump was in no way on board in their lunatic plans, such as they may have been. With each passing day it is obvious that the only ones who gave any serious thought to getting Russian help in the fall elections were the mental giants running the campaign of Clinton the Fool (am I allowed to say that?).
Sports: The Orioles Win 4 of Their First Five; Lead AL East by One-Half Game over Rays; Maryland Goes 1-2 at Nebraska; Burnley Breaks 7 Match Slide With Win Over Stoke City and Draw at Middlesbrough; Claret 8 Points Clear of Relegation With 6 Matches Remaining
Orioles:
The Baltimore Orioles opened their 2017 Campaign with 4 straight wins before losing the series final to the Yankees. Outstanding pitching was the name of the game, along with clutch power hitting. In sweeping Toronto in the opening series, Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. Gausman did not get a decision on opening day because the game went into extra innings. Bundy, however, got a win and was even more sensational. Baltimore fell behind the Yankees on Friday, 5-1, as well as Saturday. Each night they rallied to win. Manny Machado and Seth Smith hit homers on Friday. On Saturday, the Orioles were still behind in the 7th inning when the heart of the order came through without hitting the long ball. Chris Davis doubled and scored on Mark Trumbo's clutch hit. Then Trumbo stole second. Really, he did! With two outs and two strikes, Hyun Soo Kim singled, scoring Trumbo. In both wins over the Yanks, Brad Brach and Zach Britton pitched shut out innings. On Sunday, Showalter decided not to use either Brach or Britton and the Birds blew a 3-0 lead. The Orioles are 4-1 in first place. Tampa Bay is 5-3 and in second place. The Red Sox are 3-3 in third place. New York is 3-4 in fourth place and Toronto is 1-5 and dead last.
Maryland:
Maryland only won one of its three games at Nebraska, and the lamentable series cost them in the Big Ten Baseball Standings. It probably will also knock the Terps out of the Top 25. They were #24 going into the series. Friday night, Brian Shaffer pitched an 8 inning complete game, but the Terps couldn't get a clutch hit and lost, 3-1. Saturday, on national TV, Maryland played the way it was capable and beat back the Corn Huskers, 8-5. Sunday, the pitching disappeared and the Terps lost, 8-4.
In the win on Saturday, Maryland came through in front of 6,615 fans at Haymarket Square Field in Lincoln. A.J. Lee was the big star, The sophomore third baseman was 3-4 with a home run and three runs batted in. Ryan Hill was the winning pitcher, moving his season record to 3-0. He bailed out shaky starter Taylor Bloom in the second inning and ended up going 4 and one-third innings and allowing only one run. Ryan Selmer pitched the final one and two-third innings to earn his fourth save. In between Hill and Selmer, Andrew Miller threw one and one-third innings of one-hit baseball to keep Maryland in the game.
Minnesota did not play conference games over the weekend and remain at 6-0, good for first place. Nebraska is second at 4-1-1. Maryland and Michigan are tied for third at 6-3. The Wolverines hadn't lost a game since losing the first two games of the Maryland series in late March. But the win streak, which had reached 9 games, ended Sunday when Michigan lost to Illinois, 7-5. Purdue is in fifth place at 5-4. Three teams are at .500 and tied for sixth: Indiana at 4-4-1, Iowa and Indiana, each at 3-3.
Maryland is now 20-10 overall. They have two mid-week games scheduled: Tuesday they host West Virginia (4 pm) and Thursday they visit George Mason (3 pm). Then, next weekend, Penn State comes to College Park. The Nittany Lions are 11-20 overall and 1-5 in the Big Ten. On paper, it seems to be a weekend for the Terps to gather some wins, but they have to do it on the field for that to happen.
Burnley:
More and more it looks like Burnley will easily avoid relegation and bring a second consecutive year of Premier League Soccer to Fortress Turf Moor. The Claret had hit their rough patch, but apparently have survived it. A streak of seven straight matches without a win ended on April 4 when Burnley defeated Stoke City, 1-0, at Turf Moor. The Claret followed that up at Middlesbrough on this past Saturday, April 8, when they earned a draw. Burnley is currently 12th on the Premier Table with 36 points. They are tied with Leicester City, which has the same number of points and the same goal differential, but has played one few match than has Burnley.
Swansea is the top relegation-ranked team (18th place in the 20-team league), and it has 28 points with the same number of matches played as Burnley. Here is the Premier Table up to this minute:
1 Chelsea: 31 matches 40 goal dif. 75 points
2 Tottenham: 31 matches 42 goal dif. 68 points
3 Liverpool: 32 matches 28 goal dif. 63 points
4 Man City: 31 matches 25 goal dif. 61 points
5 Man Utd: 30 matches 22 goal dif. 57 points
6 Arsenal: 30 matches 22 goal dif. 54 points
7 Everton: 32 matches 21 goal dif. 54 points
8 W. Brom: 32 matches -2 goal dif. 44 points
9 Southham. 30 matches 0 goal dif. 40 points
10 Watford: 30 matches -12 goal dif. 37 points
11 Leicester: 31 matches -12 goal dif. 36 points
12 Burnley: 32 matches -12 goal dif. 36 points
13 Stoke: 32 matches -13 goal dif. 36 points
14 West Ham: 32 matches -15 goal dif. 36 points
15 Bournmth: 32 matches -14 goal dif. 35 points
16 Crystal Pal: 31 matches -8 goal dif. 34 points
17 Hull: 32 matches -31 goal dif. 30 points
18 Swansea: 32 matches -30 goal dif. 28 points
19 Mid 'bro: 31 matches -15 goal dif. 24 points
20 Sunder: 31 matches -32 goal dif. 20 points
Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails,
Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales;
Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rain’d a ghastly dew
From the nations’ airy navies grappling in the central blue;
From "Locksley Hall" by Alfred Lord Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892)
For the life of me, I cannot fathom why Assad would even think of using chemical weapons. What other move could bridge differences amongst the factions which oppose him in the Western World and in the Factions elsewhere? In These United States, pernicious Ultra Leftists agreed with Moderates and even Conservatives in condemning the purely evil spreading of chemical weapons, especially where many of the most obvious victims were children, including not a few infants. Even a very minor intellect like Assad could have seen his wholesale condemnation coming when he chose such a bleak and evil course of action. But Assad went ahead and did it anyway, and Putin sat back and watched, raising not a single objection to Assad's very obvious actions. Now, when the USA's Chief Diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Wayne Tillerson, arrives in Moscow later this week, he will be fully armed with enough diplomatic ammunition to send Assad back to the dark ages, or, more probably, personally out into oblivion.
Try, if you will, to look at it from Assad's point of view. While Russia has allied with you, it is a pretty one-sided alliance. Russia wants an in into Middle East Politics and the Struggle to Control the region's vast petroleum reserves. Russia has already succeeded there. Even if it jettison's Assad and even all of Syria this very day, it is already in the Middle East and has become a major player there. Had Trump not upset Hillary Clinton in the fall elections, the USA could be on its way out of Middle East Power Politics, with Russia taking its place. But Trump did win, and now he is reasserting the USA's global hegemony. In the Middle East, the USA is already back in the driver's seat, and Trump would like nothing better than to quickly and completely send Russia packing back to the frozen north. Assad, with a complicit Putin fanning the flame, has proven immeasurably helpful in Trump's Middle East planning.
The Trump gambit in Syria was also greatly helpful in forever quashing the nonsensical idea that Trump colluded with Putin to defeat Hillary. It is becoming more and more obvious to many political observers around the world that the whole idea of such a stupid "colluding" happened only in the morbid minds of some ultra left idiots. Russia, of course, was nosing around trying to get in the way. But Trump was in no way on board in their lunatic plans, such as they may have been. With each passing day it is obvious that the only ones who gave any serious thought to getting Russian help in the fall elections were the mental giants running the campaign of Clinton the Fool (am I allowed to say that?).
Sports: The Orioles Win 4 of Their First Five; Lead AL East by One-Half Game over Rays; Maryland Goes 1-2 at Nebraska; Burnley Breaks 7 Match Slide With Win Over Stoke City and Draw at Middlesbrough; Claret 8 Points Clear of Relegation With 6 Matches Remaining
Orioles:
The Baltimore Orioles opened their 2017 Campaign with 4 straight wins before losing the series final to the Yankees. Outstanding pitching was the name of the game, along with clutch power hitting. In sweeping Toronto in the opening series, Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. Gausman did not get a decision on opening day because the game went into extra innings. Bundy, however, got a win and was even more sensational. Baltimore fell behind the Yankees on Friday, 5-1, as well as Saturday. Each night they rallied to win. Manny Machado and Seth Smith hit homers on Friday. On Saturday, the Orioles were still behind in the 7th inning when the heart of the order came through without hitting the long ball. Chris Davis doubled and scored on Mark Trumbo's clutch hit. Then Trumbo stole second. Really, he did! With two outs and two strikes, Hyun Soo Kim singled, scoring Trumbo. In both wins over the Yanks, Brad Brach and Zach Britton pitched shut out innings. On Sunday, Showalter decided not to use either Brach or Britton and the Birds blew a 3-0 lead. The Orioles are 4-1 in first place. Tampa Bay is 5-3 and in second place. The Red Sox are 3-3 in third place. New York is 3-4 in fourth place and Toronto is 1-5 and dead last.
Maryland:
Maryland only won one of its three games at Nebraska, and the lamentable series cost them in the Big Ten Baseball Standings. It probably will also knock the Terps out of the Top 25. They were #24 going into the series. Friday night, Brian Shaffer pitched an 8 inning complete game, but the Terps couldn't get a clutch hit and lost, 3-1. Saturday, on national TV, Maryland played the way it was capable and beat back the Corn Huskers, 8-5. Sunday, the pitching disappeared and the Terps lost, 8-4.
In the win on Saturday, Maryland came through in front of 6,615 fans at Haymarket Square Field in Lincoln. A.J. Lee was the big star, The sophomore third baseman was 3-4 with a home run and three runs batted in. Ryan Hill was the winning pitcher, moving his season record to 3-0. He bailed out shaky starter Taylor Bloom in the second inning and ended up going 4 and one-third innings and allowing only one run. Ryan Selmer pitched the final one and two-third innings to earn his fourth save. In between Hill and Selmer, Andrew Miller threw one and one-third innings of one-hit baseball to keep Maryland in the game.
Minnesota did not play conference games over the weekend and remain at 6-0, good for first place. Nebraska is second at 4-1-1. Maryland and Michigan are tied for third at 6-3. The Wolverines hadn't lost a game since losing the first two games of the Maryland series in late March. But the win streak, which had reached 9 games, ended Sunday when Michigan lost to Illinois, 7-5. Purdue is in fifth place at 5-4. Three teams are at .500 and tied for sixth: Indiana at 4-4-1, Iowa and Indiana, each at 3-3.
Maryland is now 20-10 overall. They have two mid-week games scheduled: Tuesday they host West Virginia (4 pm) and Thursday they visit George Mason (3 pm). Then, next weekend, Penn State comes to College Park. The Nittany Lions are 11-20 overall and 1-5 in the Big Ten. On paper, it seems to be a weekend for the Terps to gather some wins, but they have to do it on the field for that to happen.
Burnley:
More and more it looks like Burnley will easily avoid relegation and bring a second consecutive year of Premier League Soccer to Fortress Turf Moor. The Claret had hit their rough patch, but apparently have survived it. A streak of seven straight matches without a win ended on April 4 when Burnley defeated Stoke City, 1-0, at Turf Moor. The Claret followed that up at Middlesbrough on this past Saturday, April 8, when they earned a draw. Burnley is currently 12th on the Premier Table with 36 points. They are tied with Leicester City, which has the same number of points and the same goal differential, but has played one few match than has Burnley.
Swansea is the top relegation-ranked team (18th place in the 20-team league), and it has 28 points with the same number of matches played as Burnley. Here is the Premier Table up to this minute:
1 Chelsea: 31 matches 40 goal dif. 75 points
2 Tottenham: 31 matches 42 goal dif. 68 points
3 Liverpool: 32 matches 28 goal dif. 63 points
4 Man City: 31 matches 25 goal dif. 61 points
5 Man Utd: 30 matches 22 goal dif. 57 points
6 Arsenal: 30 matches 22 goal dif. 54 points
7 Everton: 32 matches 21 goal dif. 54 points
8 W. Brom: 32 matches -2 goal dif. 44 points
9 Southham. 30 matches 0 goal dif. 40 points
10 Watford: 30 matches -12 goal dif. 37 points
11 Leicester: 31 matches -12 goal dif. 36 points
12 Burnley: 32 matches -12 goal dif. 36 points
13 Stoke: 32 matches -13 goal dif. 36 points
14 West Ham: 32 matches -15 goal dif. 36 points
15 Bournmth: 32 matches -14 goal dif. 35 points
16 Crystal Pal: 31 matches -8 goal dif. 34 points
17 Hull: 32 matches -31 goal dif. 30 points
18 Swansea: 32 matches -30 goal dif. 28 points
19 Mid 'bro: 31 matches -15 goal dif. 24 points
20 Sunder: 31 matches -32 goal dif. 20 points
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Trump In Decisive Action Against Syrian Use of Sarin Gas on Civilians
BALTIMORE, Maryland, Thursday, April 6, 2017 - In the most basic sense, the news moving like lightning through all of the world's capitals this April evening is that the days of the United States tolerating pure evil are over. In the new world of President Donald Trump, the USA will act decisively against raw evil. The President has sent a dramatic message to all of the evil leaders around this Earth: the era of 'do what you will' is over, forever, and consequences will now surely and certainly follow the commission of pure evil.
The American response to the purely evil deeds of Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: بشار حافظ الأس) was the unleashing of some 59 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles from two American Destroyers on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea off of the Syrian Coast. The 1,000 pound missiles were all aimed at, and landed at, a Syrian Air Base where, several days prior, a Syrian plane carrying chemical weapons took off. That plane dropped those chemical weapons, including the pernicious and agony-causing Sarin Gas, on a Syrian Town known as Khan Sheikhun, under the control of Rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashaar Al Assad.
Authorities, such as they are in the rebel-held province, said some 70 people were killed and at least 100 wounded at the town in Idlib Province. Many of the dead were children, including infants. Video of the aftermath of the horrific attack depicted children writhing in agony on the ground before succumbing. It was these videos, viewed by President Trump, along with intelligence reports that verified that Russia had prior knowledge of the chemicals used on the innocent civilians, that convinced the President and military leaders that they had to act to prevent a repeat.
Around the world, the American action was generally praised as a measured response to a horrific deed. Nations as diverse as China, Israel, Poland, Japan, Australia, Italy and Saudi Arabia all strongly endorsed the Trump-ordered action. Only actual allies of the parties targeted in the attack were critical of the American action. These unhappy nations included Russia and Iran. Here in the United States, former top Obama Adviser David Axelrod was cynical about Trump's motives, saying it came at a convenient time considering the fact that Trump is suspected (by the Ultra Left) of colluding with Russia before and during the autumn, 2016 Presidential elections.
By Friday, Russia had deployed a battleship to the Eastern Mediterranean to the same general area as the two American ships that launched the Tomahawks. The American ships, of course, were no longer at the places where they launched their attacks, and there was no word whether the Russian ship would seek to engage the American Destroyers.
Sports: A look back at NCAA Basketball Title Game Kennedy Meeks is a six foot, ten inch tall senior for the University of North Carolina Men's Basketball Team. Monday night, with most everybody in These United States glued to their televison sets, Meeks bailed his team out of another brush with defeat in the NCAA championship game. Many will recall that the Tar Heels had suffered the agony of a last second defeat in the 2016 title game with Villanova. Meeks made sure there would be no repeat of that painful debacle.
This time, North Carolina was clinging, precariously, to a narrow lead. When his teammate missed a last second free throw, Meeks clawed, danced and flew through a mass of humanity, out-jumped a number of Gonzaga's mega-talented front court players in the process, in order to get to the rebound. Kennedy Meeks knew he was not in a position to completely catch and secure that rebound, so, using his right arm and hand, he powerfully whacked the descending ball out away from the basket to Theo Pinson of Carolina. Pinson managed to dribble away from pursuing Gonzaga players until the final horn sounded.
A look at the video replay of those final seconds of the game illustrates, dramatically, the spectacular nature of Meeks' actions. In the fraction of a second he had to work with, he deftly cut between several other players trying to do the exact same thing that he was. Meeks, somehow, managed to end up at the exact place he needed to be to execute the soaring leap required to get to the basketball as it fell from the rim. To successfully execute the play, Meeks required speed, quickness, tremendous leaping ability and precise on-the-move calculation. And yet, to the viewer, it appeared Meeks acted almost from instinct, so fast did he make the moves required.
In winning the championship game, North Carolina had to fend off a courageous Gonzaga team that, prior to this game had lost only once in 38 outings. Even in the final seconds, Gonzaga still had a lead. When Carolina regained a very narrow lead, Gonzaga came right down the floor poised to take that lead right back. But on the final offensive effort for Gonzaga on this championship night, the ankle of their star player, Nigel Williams-Goss, gave out, meaning he was unable to execute his drive in the lane in the last seconds of the game. Meeks blocked the shot finally taken by Williams-Goss.
The American response to the purely evil deeds of Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: بشار حافظ الأس) was the unleashing of some 59 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles from two American Destroyers on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea off of the Syrian Coast. The 1,000 pound missiles were all aimed at, and landed at, a Syrian Air Base where, several days prior, a Syrian plane carrying chemical weapons took off. That plane dropped those chemical weapons, including the pernicious and agony-causing Sarin Gas, on a Syrian Town known as Khan Sheikhun, under the control of Rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashaar Al Assad.
Authorities, such as they are in the rebel-held province, said some 70 people were killed and at least 100 wounded at the town in Idlib Province. Many of the dead were children, including infants. Video of the aftermath of the horrific attack depicted children writhing in agony on the ground before succumbing. It was these videos, viewed by President Trump, along with intelligence reports that verified that Russia had prior knowledge of the chemicals used on the innocent civilians, that convinced the President and military leaders that they had to act to prevent a repeat.
Around the world, the American action was generally praised as a measured response to a horrific deed. Nations as diverse as China, Israel, Poland, Japan, Australia, Italy and Saudi Arabia all strongly endorsed the Trump-ordered action. Only actual allies of the parties targeted in the attack were critical of the American action. These unhappy nations included Russia and Iran. Here in the United States, former top Obama Adviser David Axelrod was cynical about Trump's motives, saying it came at a convenient time considering the fact that Trump is suspected (by the Ultra Left) of colluding with Russia before and during the autumn, 2016 Presidential elections.
By Friday, Russia had deployed a battleship to the Eastern Mediterranean to the same general area as the two American ships that launched the Tomahawks. The American ships, of course, were no longer at the places where they launched their attacks, and there was no word whether the Russian ship would seek to engage the American Destroyers.
Sports: A look back at NCAA Basketball Title Game Kennedy Meeks is a six foot, ten inch tall senior for the University of North Carolina Men's Basketball Team. Monday night, with most everybody in These United States glued to their televison sets, Meeks bailed his team out of another brush with defeat in the NCAA championship game. Many will recall that the Tar Heels had suffered the agony of a last second defeat in the 2016 title game with Villanova. Meeks made sure there would be no repeat of that painful debacle.
This time, North Carolina was clinging, precariously, to a narrow lead. When his teammate missed a last second free throw, Meeks clawed, danced and flew through a mass of humanity, out-jumped a number of Gonzaga's mega-talented front court players in the process, in order to get to the rebound. Kennedy Meeks knew he was not in a position to completely catch and secure that rebound, so, using his right arm and hand, he powerfully whacked the descending ball out away from the basket to Theo Pinson of Carolina. Pinson managed to dribble away from pursuing Gonzaga players until the final horn sounded.
A look at the video replay of those final seconds of the game illustrates, dramatically, the spectacular nature of Meeks' actions. In the fraction of a second he had to work with, he deftly cut between several other players trying to do the exact same thing that he was. Meeks, somehow, managed to end up at the exact place he needed to be to execute the soaring leap required to get to the basketball as it fell from the rim. To successfully execute the play, Meeks required speed, quickness, tremendous leaping ability and precise on-the-move calculation. And yet, to the viewer, it appeared Meeks acted almost from instinct, so fast did he make the moves required.
In winning the championship game, North Carolina had to fend off a courageous Gonzaga team that, prior to this game had lost only once in 38 outings. Even in the final seconds, Gonzaga still had a lead. When Carolina regained a very narrow lead, Gonzaga came right down the floor poised to take that lead right back. But on the final offensive effort for Gonzaga on this championship night, the ankle of their star player, Nigel Williams-Goss, gave out, meaning he was unable to execute his drive in the lane in the last seconds of the game. Meeks blocked the shot finally taken by Williams-Goss.
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