Chapter ?? Cleansing of the Military Archdiocese
Jesus and friends made their way to Washington D.C. Jane, Ann and Peter, had warned him about coming to D.C., the capital of the US government. However, Jesus said he had some business there that could not wait. On arrival the group took the subway straight to the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Military Services in the USA. This Archdiocese certifies priests to be Roman Catholic Chaplains who then become a commissioned military officers of the United States.
As was his custom Jesus stood outside of the building reminding his followers of the message of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. Jesus taught nonviolent love of friends and enemies and that war was hell. This is in direct conflict with what the US Military teaches. They teach how to kill. Christians cannot justify killing and bombing in any form. A priest or minister being a commissioned officer of the military violates this teaching which is at the heart of Christianity and many other religious faiths. A security officer for the building took notice of the gathering and radioed to security inside to be ready. One of the friends, Devon, told the receptionist they wanted to see the Archbishop of Military Services. The receptionist asked if the group had an appointment with the Archbishop. Devon said no. She then said the Archbishop was busy in a meeting and they would need to have an appointment. Devon said: “We will wait until he has time to talk with us.” They all sat down. Jesus started to talk to the group about why they were there and what they hope to achieve. One of the security guards said “You will need to move outside. This is private property and you cannot wait inside. If you do not leave we will need to call the D.C. police to remove you.” Jesus just smiled and said they would stay. The security guard called the office manager, a priest, about the dilemna. The office manager knew of the reputation of Jesus and his companions and that they were popular with a number of Catholics. He said he would come out and talk with them. He came and repeated again that the Archbishop was busy and they could not wait inside. Jesus smiled at him and said: “We will wait.” The priest asked the group: “Why do you want to speak to the Archbishop?” Jesus said: “A priest or Christian minister that becomes an officer in the US Military is betraying the Gospel message by endorsing the military training to kill, which violates the teaching of the Gospel and love of enemies.” The priest thought of bringing up the Just War Theory but thought that he did not know much on it and that many theologians had said it was not valid any longer. So the priest asks: “Is it not right to minister to soldiers in the military?” Jesus says: “Of course it is right to minister to soldiers; but by becoming officers in the military, chaplains are not able to speak the truth of Gospel, love of enemies. It would be like a prison Chaplin ministering to prisoners condoning the acts of violence that brought the men to prison.” The military chaplain priest then said, “I guess we do not agree, Jesus. We need to agree to disagree. You have your opinion and I have mine.” Jesus said: “The Truth of the Gospel is not a matter of opinion. We can dialog about our opinions of the Truth and the meaning of the Gospel, but we cannot both be correct.” The priest said “Again I need to ask all of you to leave.” They refuse to leave. The priest nods to the security to call the police. While waiting for the police Jesus, Devon, Ann, Jane and the companions continue their discussion of the Gospel teaching of nonviolent love. The police arrive, and the priest checks with one of Bishops upstairs on what to do. The Bishop says to just ignore the group and let them sit there till closing time in an hour. If they do not leave when the building closes to have them arrested. ----Bob Graf, one of the Milwaukee 14 who burned draft cards in opposition to the Vietnam war.
“Jesus marked out the path of nonviolence, To be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence.”----Pope Francis
DON’S JOKES
What do you call dragging a pig from his pen? Pulled Pork! Did you hear of the guy who went into a deli and was looking at the different meats. And then he took a turn for the wurst!
How many Gorillas does it take to change a lightbulb. Just one of course, but it may take a whole lot of light bulbs.
Teacher: And Jesus was very upset with the money-changers and merchants, yelling and overturning their tables.
Student: Oh...So, he threw a Temple Tantrum!
When God challenged Adam about eating the apple, Adam blamed Eve. And Eve blamed the snake. But the snake didn't have a leg to stand on. Sign on a strip tease joint….Sorry, we’re clothed.
Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom? Because the “P” is silent! How did Don get hurt while ice fishing? He was hit by the Zamboni.
If the earth was flat, cats would have pushed everything off of it by now.
A Jewish student was doing well in school in all subjects except for math. So his parents decided to send him to a parochial school so he could do better in math. The student went to the school, and when he came home he got straight A’s in his math tests. The parents were delighted and asked their son, “What made the difference in learning math?” The boy replied, “Well, when I saw on the wall a man nailed to a plus sign, I knew they weren’t fooling around.”
INTERESTING FACTS
In 2011, North Carolina needed 6,500 farmworkers. Only 268 legal Americans applied. Some 245 were hired , but only 163 showed up to the first day. Worse, only 7 lasted until the end of the growing season. ---U.F.W.
The journalistic monitoring group Airwars recently said up to 100 civilians were reportedly killed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq’s Anbar province. Residents say the airstrikes continued for 4 hours and hit an internet hall, multiple homes, a stadium and a cemetery, where a funeral of an ISIS fighter was being held.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says U.S. airstrikes killed at least 30 people, including more than a dozen children, in Syria’s eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. This came after U.S. airstrikes on May 11 reportedly killed at least a dozen civilians, including eight children, north of the Syrian city of Raqqa. Two days earlier, airstrikes on two villages around Raqqa reportedly killed 19 civilians, including at least five children.----Democracy Now, 5/15/17 “ Pres. Trump does not have Congressional authorization to attack Syria, a country that has not attacked US.” ---Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif)
Amnesty International says the Syrian government has executed up to 13,000 people in prison since 2011.
Portion of Oklahoma school districts that have switched to four-day weeks because of budget cuts : 1/5
Portion of U.S. teachers hired today who are projected to pay more into their pensions than they will get back : 75%
Amount awarded to wrongfully convicted individuals for each year they spent in a Texas state prison : $80,000
In a Wisconsin state prison : $5,000
Number of U.S. states in which parents can be billed for the cost of their child’s incarceration : 47 Percentage of invitees from Africa to a U.S. conference on African economic development who were denied visas : 100
Estimated number of songbirds killed last fall in Cyprus for human consumption : 2,200,000 Number of endangered mammal species whose primary threats include being hunted by humans for food : 301
Minimum number of Haitians killed since October 2010 in a cholera epidemic introduced by U.N. peacekeepers : 9,439 Portion of South Sudan’s population that is expected to lack a reliable food source this summer : ½
Number of countries in which U.S. Special Operations Forces were operating in March : 102 The U.S. spent only $35 billion on foreign economic aid last year. Pres. Trump wants to give an extra $56 billion to the U.S. military.
Seventy-five percent of U.S. foreign military financing goes to two countries, Israel and Egypt. .... ----Harper’s Index
NOTES ON 21ST STREET: I am reading Occupy Spirituality by Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox. I don’t get too far because the discussions call me to ponder on what was written. Matthew Fox wrote: “One thing I have learned from seventy-two years of living is that the primary signs of spirit are courage and generosity. They go together nicely because to stand up for justice is always demanding in terms of generosity. It requires giving to those you may not even know personally . Giving to future generations. It also requires courage, of course, because one is always taking on powerful forces when one stands for justice and speaks truth to power. Without courage and generosity we do not have spirituality. With it, we do.” He then went on to give examples such as the civil rights movement and South America when people stood up to dictators at great cost. He then shared a story about an event in San Francisco Bay which reinforces the principles of courage and generosity and caring. A whale was trapped in ropes laid out by fishermen. She was thrashing around which made the ropes tighter and would eventually cause her death. Five men with wetsuits and machetes went out in dinghies to try and free her. One swing of her tail would have killed them. It took 45 minutes to free her. Upon release, she swam in a big circle and then swam up to each of the five men and touched them. The men said afterwards “That was the most transcendental experience of their lives”. This story gives me hope that if we each act with courage and generosity we can change the world in ways we cannot comprehend. Peace, Roberta
The Dakota Access pipeline has suffered its first leak, outraging indigenous groups who have long warned that the project poses a threat to the environment. The $3.8 billion=etyr6ew oil pipeline, which sparked international protests last year and is not yet fully operational, spilled 84 gallons of crude oil at a South Dakota pump station. ---CLG 5/15/17
In Yemen, officials have declared a state of emergency in the capital over a cholera outbreak that has already killed 115 people. Yemen’s health, water and sanitation services have been severely impacted by the ongoing U.S.-backed, Saudi-led war on Yemen. The Saudis’ seemingly deliberate bombing of roads, bridges, ports and cranes contributes to the death of a Yemeni child every 10 minutes, every day, according to the U.N Unnamed officials say the White House is close to finalizing an arms deal worth $100 billion with Saudi Arabia, ---- Dr. Hussein El Haddad, the director of one of the few hospitals in the capital that is still functioning.
This year, 2017, marks 50 years of Israel’s military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem and 10 years of Israel’s blockade of Gaza. There are thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including children, in Israel. The adult prisoners are now on a hunger strike demanding their freedom. Right now, there are more than 50,000 Haitians in the U.S. who could be deported after July 22. Send a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly asking him to extend temporary protected status for Haitians ---Maryknoll News Notes
************************
Tues. June 13th --- 350 Milwaukee climate change action meeting, 7pm, East Side Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place 350milwaukee.weebly.com
Thurs., June 15 -----NO MORE GUNS VIGIL at Brew City Shooters Supply, 43rd & Lincoln from Noon to 1 p.m.
Tues. June 27 ----NO KILLER DRONES AND AIRCRAFT VIGIL at Volk Field Military Base just outside Maustin WI starting at 3:30 a.m. wnpj.orgwww.wnpj.org
FOR INFO ON OTHER EVENTS, CONTACT DON AT 414-342-0158.
Jesus and friends made their way to Washington D.C. Jane, Ann and Peter, had warned him about coming to D.C., the capital of the US government. However, Jesus said he had some business there that could not wait. On arrival the group took the subway straight to the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Military Services in the USA. This Archdiocese certifies priests to be Roman Catholic Chaplains who then become a commissioned military officers of the United States.
As was his custom Jesus stood outside of the building reminding his followers of the message of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. Jesus taught nonviolent love of friends and enemies and that war was hell. This is in direct conflict with what the US Military teaches. They teach how to kill. Christians cannot justify killing and bombing in any form. A priest or minister being a commissioned officer of the military violates this teaching which is at the heart of Christianity and many other religious faiths. A security officer for the building took notice of the gathering and radioed to security inside to be ready. One of the friends, Devon, told the receptionist they wanted to see the Archbishop of Military Services. The receptionist asked if the group had an appointment with the Archbishop. Devon said no. She then said the Archbishop was busy in a meeting and they would need to have an appointment. Devon said: “We will wait until he has time to talk with us.” They all sat down. Jesus started to talk to the group about why they were there and what they hope to achieve. One of the security guards said “You will need to move outside. This is private property and you cannot wait inside. If you do not leave we will need to call the D.C. police to remove you.” Jesus just smiled and said they would stay. The security guard called the office manager, a priest, about the dilemna. The office manager knew of the reputation of Jesus and his companions and that they were popular with a number of Catholics. He said he would come out and talk with them. He came and repeated again that the Archbishop was busy and they could not wait inside. Jesus smiled at him and said: “We will wait.” The priest asked the group: “Why do you want to speak to the Archbishop?” Jesus said: “A priest or Christian minister that becomes an officer in the US Military is betraying the Gospel message by endorsing the military training to kill, which violates the teaching of the Gospel and love of enemies.” The priest thought of bringing up the Just War Theory but thought that he did not know much on it and that many theologians had said it was not valid any longer. So the priest asks: “Is it not right to minister to soldiers in the military?” Jesus says: “Of course it is right to minister to soldiers; but by becoming officers in the military, chaplains are not able to speak the truth of Gospel, love of enemies. It would be like a prison Chaplin ministering to prisoners condoning the acts of violence that brought the men to prison.” The military chaplain priest then said, “I guess we do not agree, Jesus. We need to agree to disagree. You have your opinion and I have mine.” Jesus said: “The Truth of the Gospel is not a matter of opinion. We can dialog about our opinions of the Truth and the meaning of the Gospel, but we cannot both be correct.” The priest said “Again I need to ask all of you to leave.” They refuse to leave. The priest nods to the security to call the police. While waiting for the police Jesus, Devon, Ann, Jane and the companions continue their discussion of the Gospel teaching of nonviolent love. The police arrive, and the priest checks with one of Bishops upstairs on what to do. The Bishop says to just ignore the group and let them sit there till closing time in an hour. If they do not leave when the building closes to have them arrested. ----Bob Graf, one of the Milwaukee 14 who burned draft cards in opposition to the Vietnam war.
“Jesus marked out the path of nonviolence, To be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence.”----Pope Francis
DON’S JOKES
What do you call dragging a pig from his pen? Pulled Pork! Did you hear of the guy who went into a deli and was looking at the different meats. And then he took a turn for the wurst!
How many Gorillas does it take to change a lightbulb. Just one of course, but it may take a whole lot of light bulbs.
Teacher: And Jesus was very upset with the money-changers and merchants, yelling and overturning their tables.
Student: Oh...So, he threw a Temple Tantrum!
When God challenged Adam about eating the apple, Adam blamed Eve. And Eve blamed the snake. But the snake didn't have a leg to stand on. Sign on a strip tease joint….Sorry, we’re clothed.
Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom? Because the “P” is silent! How did Don get hurt while ice fishing? He was hit by the Zamboni.
If the earth was flat, cats would have pushed everything off of it by now.
A Jewish student was doing well in school in all subjects except for math. So his parents decided to send him to a parochial school so he could do better in math. The student went to the school, and when he came home he got straight A’s in his math tests. The parents were delighted and asked their son, “What made the difference in learning math?” The boy replied, “Well, when I saw on the wall a man nailed to a plus sign, I knew they weren’t fooling around.”
INTERESTING FACTS
In 2011, North Carolina needed 6,500 farmworkers. Only 268 legal Americans applied. Some 245 were hired , but only 163 showed up to the first day. Worse, only 7 lasted until the end of the growing season. ---U.F.W.
The journalistic monitoring group Airwars recently said up to 100 civilians were reportedly killed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq’s Anbar province. Residents say the airstrikes continued for 4 hours and hit an internet hall, multiple homes, a stadium and a cemetery, where a funeral of an ISIS fighter was being held.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says U.S. airstrikes killed at least 30 people, including more than a dozen children, in Syria’s eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. This came after U.S. airstrikes on May 11 reportedly killed at least a dozen civilians, including eight children, north of the Syrian city of Raqqa. Two days earlier, airstrikes on two villages around Raqqa reportedly killed 19 civilians, including at least five children.----Democracy Now, 5/15/17 “ Pres. Trump does not have Congressional authorization to attack Syria, a country that has not attacked US.” ---Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif)
Amnesty International says the Syrian government has executed up to 13,000 people in prison since 2011.
Portion of Oklahoma school districts that have switched to four-day weeks because of budget cuts : 1/5
Portion of U.S. teachers hired today who are projected to pay more into their pensions than they will get back : 75%
Amount awarded to wrongfully convicted individuals for each year they spent in a Texas state prison : $80,000
In a Wisconsin state prison : $5,000
Number of U.S. states in which parents can be billed for the cost of their child’s incarceration : 47 Percentage of invitees from Africa to a U.S. conference on African economic development who were denied visas : 100
Estimated number of songbirds killed last fall in Cyprus for human consumption : 2,200,000 Number of endangered mammal species whose primary threats include being hunted by humans for food : 301
Minimum number of Haitians killed since October 2010 in a cholera epidemic introduced by U.N. peacekeepers : 9,439 Portion of South Sudan’s population that is expected to lack a reliable food source this summer : ½
Number of countries in which U.S. Special Operations Forces were operating in March : 102 The U.S. spent only $35 billion on foreign economic aid last year. Pres. Trump wants to give an extra $56 billion to the U.S. military.
Seventy-five percent of U.S. foreign military financing goes to two countries, Israel and Egypt. .... ----Harper’s Index
NOTES ON 21ST STREET: I am reading Occupy Spirituality by Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox. I don’t get too far because the discussions call me to ponder on what was written. Matthew Fox wrote: “One thing I have learned from seventy-two years of living is that the primary signs of spirit are courage and generosity. They go together nicely because to stand up for justice is always demanding in terms of generosity. It requires giving to those you may not even know personally . Giving to future generations. It also requires courage, of course, because one is always taking on powerful forces when one stands for justice and speaks truth to power. Without courage and generosity we do not have spirituality. With it, we do.” He then went on to give examples such as the civil rights movement and South America when people stood up to dictators at great cost. He then shared a story about an event in San Francisco Bay which reinforces the principles of courage and generosity and caring. A whale was trapped in ropes laid out by fishermen. She was thrashing around which made the ropes tighter and would eventually cause her death. Five men with wetsuits and machetes went out in dinghies to try and free her. One swing of her tail would have killed them. It took 45 minutes to free her. Upon release, she swam in a big circle and then swam up to each of the five men and touched them. The men said afterwards “That was the most transcendental experience of their lives”. This story gives me hope that if we each act with courage and generosity we can change the world in ways we cannot comprehend. Peace, Roberta
The Dakota Access pipeline has suffered its first leak, outraging indigenous groups who have long warned that the project poses a threat to the environment. The $3.8 billion=etyr6ew oil pipeline, which sparked international protests last year and is not yet fully operational, spilled 84 gallons of crude oil at a South Dakota pump station. ---CLG 5/15/17
In Yemen, officials have declared a state of emergency in the capital over a cholera outbreak that has already killed 115 people. Yemen’s health, water and sanitation services have been severely impacted by the ongoing U.S.-backed, Saudi-led war on Yemen. The Saudis’ seemingly deliberate bombing of roads, bridges, ports and cranes contributes to the death of a Yemeni child every 10 minutes, every day, according to the U.N Unnamed officials say the White House is close to finalizing an arms deal worth $100 billion with Saudi Arabia, ---- Dr. Hussein El Haddad, the director of one of the few hospitals in the capital that is still functioning.
This year, 2017, marks 50 years of Israel’s military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem and 10 years of Israel’s blockade of Gaza. There are thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including children, in Israel. The adult prisoners are now on a hunger strike demanding their freedom. Right now, there are more than 50,000 Haitians in the U.S. who could be deported after July 22. Send a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly asking him to extend temporary protected status for Haitians ---Maryknoll News Notes
************************
Tues. June 13th --- 350 Milwaukee climate change action meeting, 7pm, East Side Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place 350milwaukee.weebly.com
Thurs., June 15 -----NO MORE GUNS VIGIL at Brew City Shooters Supply, 43rd & Lincoln from Noon to 1 p.m.
Tues. June 27 ----NO KILLER DRONES AND AIRCRAFT VIGIL at Volk Field Military Base just outside Maustin WI starting at 3:30 a.m. wnpj.orgwww.wnpj.org
FOR INFO ON OTHER EVENTS, CONTACT DON AT 414-342-0158.