Epiphany

On this day:
871
Battle of Reading: Ethelred of Wessex fights, and is defeated by, a Danish invasion army.
1642
King Charles I of England sends soldiers to arrest members of Parliament, commencing England’s slide into civil war.
1649
English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
1885
The first successful appendectomy is performed by William W. Grant on Mary Gartside.
1959
Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
1965
United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his “Great Society” during his State of the Union address
2004
Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.

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“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”--Buffett 

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A 'world expert' just said that Trump's behavior in Venezuela might embolden Russia and China to behave aggressively in their own sphere, With a straight face!

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Venezuela is the eighth country that the Americans have attacked in the last year. Do people still think Trump is motivated by the Peace Prize?

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There will be rising and organized criticism and resentment over the disruption of the Venezuelan government, of South America, and the international petroleum trade. There will be dark talk of 'international law.' Many will worry about Venezuela's national integrity. No one will discuss the losses American companies incurred in their efforts to improve the country. No one will worry about Venezuela. No one will worry about how the U.S. is hampered by its own ethics and the philosophy that created it, making it a ready victim from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli. No one will talk about how the Americans have been relied upon to maintain the world order, then vilified when they do it.

The Americans attacked Iran in an outrageous example of international vigilanteism, but for the first time, no one complained. Everyone accepted the intervention as necessary for the safety of the world. Venezuela is another example of Trump the Utilitarian, the end justifying the means. But, in fairness, he is just filling a void. Europe and Biden allowed the invasion of Ukraine. America's efforts at communal stability have been sabotaged here and abroad by mobile, hostile ideologies. Ignorance of American principles has been adopted by its supporters.

Safety and direction in the world have been Balkanized. America is just joining late. 

A lot is lost when idealism is sacrificed to counter offense and disregard.

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Epiphany

Shakespeare is famous for encapsulating the essence of a play in his opening scene. And there are many examples in literature where a scene or chapter is a concentration of the larger vision. The Epiphany is such a scene in the New Testament. The Magi--astrologers and dream interpreters--follow thin scientific promptings to Jerusalem and ask Herod for help in the final leg of their journey to find the Christ child. Herod asks his priests to explain who they are seeking. The priests use the Old Testament to explain the Christ prophesies. Then the Magi leave for Bethlehem and Herod plots to find the child and kill him.

So Christ is born, is sought and adored by Gentiles from a metaphysical caste, and is stalked by killers trying to protect their worldly power and position. So far, so good. But the priests are the stunner: They are the academic resource, the intellectuals who know the connection between the Old Testament and the evolving New, the students and teachers of the question. They explain why the Magi are there and explain where they likely are bound. The Messiah may be at stake. And then they, the intellectuals,....do nothing.