A person who saw my sign protesting war told me that I need not worry because Christ will take care of it. My sign read, “U.S. military cannot account for $21 Trillion. Stop all illegal wars now!” I tried to understand the person’s comment, but it is hard for me to think that we do not need to do anything about how our money is spent or how many wars we have initiated that leads to millions dying or being disabled for life. I fail to understand how people can call themselves Christians while at the same time paying for war and weapons meant to destroy lives. I presume that when you call yourself a Christian you intend to follow Christ and obey his message of love for all. When did Christ tell us that we should build weapons to destroy our enemies? When did Christ say that we should retaliate with violence when others have used violence against us? When did He say that we should not forgive our enemies when they refused to ask us for forgiveness? Would Christ not reject the idea that money should be used to build weapons or start wars with others for the sake of making money off of others? Are we not the arms, legs and heart of Christ? Are we not to live out the message of Christ in our daily lives? We believe Christians are not to remain quiet when people are being killed and their means of survival taken away. We must proclaim the message of Christ by attempting to change the minds of those who desire making war and building more and more weapons. Instead of threatening Iran with war and hardship we Christians need to do good to them since only love, not violence, will bring true peace. ---Don Timmerman
There is an evil which most of us condone and are even guilty of: indifference to evil. We remain neutral, impartial, and not easily moved by the wrongs done unto other people. Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself; it is more universal, more contagious, more dangerous. A silent justification, it makes possible an evil erupting as an exception becoming the rule and being in turn accepted. ----"The White Man on Trial," spoken in February 1964 and published in a collection of Heschel's essays, The Insecurity of Freedom (Schocken, 1972)
A 7 year old boy was at a zoo, and he told us that he saw a frikin elephant. We asked him why he used the word, frikin, to describe the elephant. He said it is written on the sign near the cage. It read, “African elephant. The lion said to the cheetah, “You are a cheetah.” The cheetah turned and said, “Oh ya. Well, You are a lion. A preacher was trying to sell his horse. A potential buyer came by for a test ride. The preacher said, “Before you start, you should know that this horse only responds to church talk. Go is praise the lord and stop is Amen.” So the man on the horse says, “Praise the Lord”, and the horse starts to trot. The man again says “Praise the Lord,” and the horse starts to gallop. Suddenly there is a cliff right in front of the horse, and the man yells “Amen!!!” The horse stops just at the edge of the cliff. The man wipes the sweat from his brow and says “Praise the Lord.” The child comes home from his first day at school. His Mother asks, “Well, what did you learn today?” The kid replies, “Not enough. They want me to come back tomorrow. Why did the cowboy get a dachshund? Because he was told to get along little doggie. I heard Chuuk Norris has cowboy boots made out of real cowboys. Did you hear about the marble statue that left her husband? She was tired of being taken for granite. What did mama corn ask baby corn? Where is popcorn? Daughter: “Daddy, where would you find the Himalayas?” Daddy: “If you’d clean your room, you’d know where to find things. ”What kind of sickness does a martial artist get? Kung flu.
INTERESTING FACTS
President Trump plans to charge the US taxpayer nearly $100,000-a-minute to expand the nation’s nuclear weapons capabilities. In the Navajo Nation where uranium was mined to build bombs since 1944 it left behind mountains of radioactive waste material that are still impacting newborn babies today, 75 years since mining started and over 20 years after the last uranium mine was shuttered.---NukeWatch
The Trump administration is planning to divert an additional $7.2 billion from the military budget for the construction of Trump’s promised border wall, bringing the total amount allocated to wall construction so far to over $18 billion This past year was the hottest year for the world’s oceans on record.----Democracy Now
Although the Air Force acknowledges that its current airspace is adequate, Holloman Air Force Base (AFB) wants to expand its F-16 pilot training airspace over Wilderness areas. Specially, the Air Force proposes an annual additional 10,000 flights, discharging 15,000 flares and 15,000 bundles of chaff into the wilderness----Wilderness WatchJetBlue announced that starting in July all of its flights departing from San Francisco International Airport will run on "sustainable" fuel. The sustainable fuel made by Neste called MY Renewable Jet Fuel is made 100% from waste and residue raw materials. JetBlue says that throughout its lifecycle, the "sustainable" fuel has a carbon footprint that is up to 80% smaller than current fossil jet fuel. Australian Firefighters saved the only wild prehistoric Wollemi Pines on earth---EcoWatch
Estimated number of drones that governments worldwide will purchase in the next decade for combat use : 1,800 For surveillance use : 75,000 Rank of 2018 among the deadliest years since 1990 for cyclists in the United States : 1 For pedestrians : 1 Percentage by which new plastic was more expensive than recycled plastic in 2018 : 2 By which recycled plastic is now more expensive : 19 ----Harper’s Index
A new study suggests that raising the minimum wage by a dollar an hour could save thousands of people from dying by suicide each year — and that if the minimum wage had been at least $2 an hour higher, nearly 60,000 lives could have been saved between 1990 and 2015 ---Democracy Now, 1/10/20
Every U.S. president over the last 28 years has ordered the bombing of Iraq. Something like a million Iraqis have died during the past three decades as a consequence of U.S. occupation, bombings and sanctions. Why would they be so against the U.S.? Is this what people mean by a “just war”?
In Mexico, authorities say more than 60,000 people have been disappeared since the beginning of the U.S.-backed drug war in 2006.---Voces de la Frontera
The U.S. Navy has awarded a Lockheed Martin-led team a multi-billion dollar order to build four Multi-Mission Combat ships These ships will be for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fincantieri will build the ships at the Marinette yard in Wisconsin, and the contract is worth approximately $1.3 billion dollars for Fincantieri Marinette Marine. ---TruthOut Again, money for weapons of war, not to help the needy in the world.
Doctors and advocates for jailed immigrants are demanding that ICE release five South Asian asylum seekers on hunger strike at a remote ICE jail in Louisiana, where at least three strikers are being force-hydrated and at least two are being force-fed after refusing to eat and drink for over 75 days. ---- TruthOut
Events:
Thurs., Feb. 6---Jericho Walk starting at 9 a.m. at ICE, Knapp & Broadway. Stop all detentions and separation of families. All are welcome.
Feb. 7 ---350.org. Picketing at Noon on Water St. & Wisconsin Ave. protesting the banks, Chase and Wells Fargo, who are the biggest investors in fossil fuels. Chase invested $63.9 Billion and Wells Fargo invested $63.4 Billion in 2018 in fossil fuels.
Fri. Feb. 7 --- Jerry Danks will be performing with his guitar at Sherman Perk Coffeehouse, 49th & Roosevelt, from 7-9 p.m. This is a benefit for Casa Maria. We thank Jerry for all his help now and in the past. He is a great guitarist and an excellent individual. Click here for details!
Thurs. Feb. 20, World Day of Social Justice ----NO GUNS DEMO at Brew City Shooters Supply on 43rd & Lincoln starting at Noon. The only purpose of a gun is to harm other living beings. It is an instrument of violence. Peace comes only through nonviolence. On New Year’s Day alone, there were 177 gun deaths in America. That includes 132 gun suicides and three mass shootings.---Brady United for Gun Control
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26 ---NO ROTC AT MARQUETTE U. Rally from Noon to 1 p.m. on 14th & Wisconsin. No Christian institution should be involved in the U.S. military, a violent institution. “We’re killing innocent people, raiding other countries, preying on the weak. And the priests call them heroes, even saints, the soldiers, the doers.”
Sat.,March 7 ---- CASA MARIA BENEFIT 7:30 p.m, to 10:30 p.m.. at The Coffee House, 2717 E. Hampshire St., Milwaukee. Donations are appreciated. Brett Kenmitz and other musicians want us to bring voices, instruments and readings, and have a great time! Click here for details!
NOTES FROM 21ST STREET: Lately a song has been running through my mind. I am sharing it now as I feel it is a positive wish for the world at the beginning of this New Year. It was written by Jerry Kennedy and sung by Danny O’Donnell. I modified some of the language. “Let there be peace for today and forever. May troubles cease in this fair land we love. With hope and faith days of fear will be ended. When God hears a nation praying let there be peace. Peace to tend the field of grain watch the sky or sea. Walk in sun shine or in rain unafraid and free. Peace in our time and for our children’s children, God our Creator grant it let there be peace. Let there be peace for today and forever. May troubles cease in this fair land we love. With hope and faith days of fear will be ended. When God hears a nation praying let there be peace. Peace to tend the field of grain watch the sky or sea. Walk in sunshine or in rain unafraid and free. Peace in our time and for our children’s children God our Creator grant it let there be peace.” ----Peace, Roberta
There is an evil which most of us condone and are even guilty of: indifference to evil. We remain neutral, impartial, and not easily moved by the wrongs done unto other people. Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself; it is more universal, more contagious, more dangerous. A silent justification, it makes possible an evil erupting as an exception becoming the rule and being in turn accepted. ----"The White Man on Trial," spoken in February 1964 and published in a collection of Heschel's essays, The Insecurity of Freedom (Schocken, 1972)
A 7 year old boy was at a zoo, and he told us that he saw a frikin elephant. We asked him why he used the word, frikin, to describe the elephant. He said it is written on the sign near the cage. It read, “African elephant. The lion said to the cheetah, “You are a cheetah.” The cheetah turned and said, “Oh ya. Well, You are a lion. A preacher was trying to sell his horse. A potential buyer came by for a test ride. The preacher said, “Before you start, you should know that this horse only responds to church talk. Go is praise the lord and stop is Amen.” So the man on the horse says, “Praise the Lord”, and the horse starts to trot. The man again says “Praise the Lord,” and the horse starts to gallop. Suddenly there is a cliff right in front of the horse, and the man yells “Amen!!!” The horse stops just at the edge of the cliff. The man wipes the sweat from his brow and says “Praise the Lord.” The child comes home from his first day at school. His Mother asks, “Well, what did you learn today?” The kid replies, “Not enough. They want me to come back tomorrow. Why did the cowboy get a dachshund? Because he was told to get along little doggie. I heard Chuuk Norris has cowboy boots made out of real cowboys. Did you hear about the marble statue that left her husband? She was tired of being taken for granite. What did mama corn ask baby corn? Where is popcorn? Daughter: “Daddy, where would you find the Himalayas?” Daddy: “If you’d clean your room, you’d know where to find things. ”What kind of sickness does a martial artist get? Kung flu.
INTERESTING FACTS
President Trump plans to charge the US taxpayer nearly $100,000-a-minute to expand the nation’s nuclear weapons capabilities. In the Navajo Nation where uranium was mined to build bombs since 1944 it left behind mountains of radioactive waste material that are still impacting newborn babies today, 75 years since mining started and over 20 years after the last uranium mine was shuttered.---NukeWatch
The Trump administration is planning to divert an additional $7.2 billion from the military budget for the construction of Trump’s promised border wall, bringing the total amount allocated to wall construction so far to over $18 billion This past year was the hottest year for the world’s oceans on record.----Democracy Now
Although the Air Force acknowledges that its current airspace is adequate, Holloman Air Force Base (AFB) wants to expand its F-16 pilot training airspace over Wilderness areas. Specially, the Air Force proposes an annual additional 10,000 flights, discharging 15,000 flares and 15,000 bundles of chaff into the wilderness----Wilderness WatchJetBlue announced that starting in July all of its flights departing from San Francisco International Airport will run on "sustainable" fuel. The sustainable fuel made by Neste called MY Renewable Jet Fuel is made 100% from waste and residue raw materials. JetBlue says that throughout its lifecycle, the "sustainable" fuel has a carbon footprint that is up to 80% smaller than current fossil jet fuel. Australian Firefighters saved the only wild prehistoric Wollemi Pines on earth---EcoWatch
Estimated number of drones that governments worldwide will purchase in the next decade for combat use : 1,800 For surveillance use : 75,000 Rank of 2018 among the deadliest years since 1990 for cyclists in the United States : 1 For pedestrians : 1 Percentage by which new plastic was more expensive than recycled plastic in 2018 : 2 By which recycled plastic is now more expensive : 19 ----Harper’s Index
A new study suggests that raising the minimum wage by a dollar an hour could save thousands of people from dying by suicide each year — and that if the minimum wage had been at least $2 an hour higher, nearly 60,000 lives could have been saved between 1990 and 2015 ---Democracy Now, 1/10/20
Every U.S. president over the last 28 years has ordered the bombing of Iraq. Something like a million Iraqis have died during the past three decades as a consequence of U.S. occupation, bombings and sanctions. Why would they be so against the U.S.? Is this what people mean by a “just war”?
In Mexico, authorities say more than 60,000 people have been disappeared since the beginning of the U.S.-backed drug war in 2006.---Voces de la Frontera
The U.S. Navy has awarded a Lockheed Martin-led team a multi-billion dollar order to build four Multi-Mission Combat ships These ships will be for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fincantieri will build the ships at the Marinette yard in Wisconsin, and the contract is worth approximately $1.3 billion dollars for Fincantieri Marinette Marine. ---TruthOut Again, money for weapons of war, not to help the needy in the world.
Doctors and advocates for jailed immigrants are demanding that ICE release five South Asian asylum seekers on hunger strike at a remote ICE jail in Louisiana, where at least three strikers are being force-hydrated and at least two are being force-fed after refusing to eat and drink for over 75 days. ---- TruthOut
Events:
Thurs., Feb. 6---Jericho Walk starting at 9 a.m. at ICE, Knapp & Broadway. Stop all detentions and separation of families. All are welcome.
Feb. 7 ---350.org. Picketing at Noon on Water St. & Wisconsin Ave. protesting the banks, Chase and Wells Fargo, who are the biggest investors in fossil fuels. Chase invested $63.9 Billion and Wells Fargo invested $63.4 Billion in 2018 in fossil fuels.
Fri. Feb. 7 --- Jerry Danks will be performing with his guitar at Sherman Perk Coffeehouse, 49th & Roosevelt, from 7-9 p.m. This is a benefit for Casa Maria. We thank Jerry for all his help now and in the past. He is a great guitarist and an excellent individual. Click here for details!
Thurs. Feb. 20, World Day of Social Justice ----NO GUNS DEMO at Brew City Shooters Supply on 43rd & Lincoln starting at Noon. The only purpose of a gun is to harm other living beings. It is an instrument of violence. Peace comes only through nonviolence. On New Year’s Day alone, there were 177 gun deaths in America. That includes 132 gun suicides and three mass shootings.---Brady United for Gun Control
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26 ---NO ROTC AT MARQUETTE U. Rally from Noon to 1 p.m. on 14th & Wisconsin. No Christian institution should be involved in the U.S. military, a violent institution. “We’re killing innocent people, raiding other countries, preying on the weak. And the priests call them heroes, even saints, the soldiers, the doers.”
Sat.,March 7 ---- CASA MARIA BENEFIT 7:30 p.m, to 10:30 p.m.. at The Coffee House, 2717 E. Hampshire St., Milwaukee. Donations are appreciated. Brett Kenmitz and other musicians want us to bring voices, instruments and readings, and have a great time! Click here for details!
NOTES FROM 21ST STREET: Lately a song has been running through my mind. I am sharing it now as I feel it is a positive wish for the world at the beginning of this New Year. It was written by Jerry Kennedy and sung by Danny O’Donnell. I modified some of the language. “Let there be peace for today and forever. May troubles cease in this fair land we love. With hope and faith days of fear will be ended. When God hears a nation praying let there be peace. Peace to tend the field of grain watch the sky or sea. Walk in sun shine or in rain unafraid and free. Peace in our time and for our children’s children, God our Creator grant it let there be peace. Let there be peace for today and forever. May troubles cease in this fair land we love. With hope and faith days of fear will be ended. When God hears a nation praying let there be peace. Peace to tend the field of grain watch the sky or sea. Walk in sunshine or in rain unafraid and free. Peace in our time and for our children’s children God our Creator grant it let there be peace.” ----Peace, Roberta