31 Oct: Daily Homily (#MuellerTime) and Tweets

by | Oct 31, 2017 | Tweets | 22 comments

As you can imagine the Twitterverse is full of tweets about two things today: Halloween and the arrests resulting from the Mueller investigation. I predicted a couple of days ago that Paul Manafort would be the first arrest. Yesterday, though I didn’t say it anywhere publicly, I began to think there would be a second person. I had no idea who it would be though.

Now Manafort and the second person, who we now know is Rick Gates, have both pleaded Not Guilty. Manafort’s bail is US$10 million and Gates’s is US$5 million.

On Fox News, they’re saying Mueller will have a hard time getting a guilty verdict. Their opinion is it’s easy to get a grand jury in Washington DC to charge Republicans. The legal advisors on CNN though have been saying for some time that Mueller would not bring charges unless he was sure he could get a conviction, and that conviction was safe from appeal.

However, we also have the news that George Papadopolous pleaded guilty earlier this month. I would speculate that means Papadopolous probably has a deal to flip on a bigger fish. He’s described as a “cooperating witness.” Apparently that phrase can mean he was wearing a wire. If that’s the case, it may mean there are a lot more shoes to drop.

If indeed there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, there must be many people in the White House who are very worried. CNN says:

Watching the developments unfold on the large television screens installed in his private residence, Trump was “seething,” according to a Republican close to the White House.

We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next. Legal processes move slowly, and they seem to move even more slowly when you’re waiting on the outcome.

 

Political Tweets

As someone who replied to this tweet said, it could also be a Tory, or anyone else who still adheres to the fallacy of trickle-down economics!

 

Donald Trump on Vladimir Putin.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Just sayin’.

 

Mueller Time Tweets

I tweeted this yesterday, but the joke is going to keep working!

 

This is the first tweet in a thread that provides extensive information about the Papadopolous charges.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Says it all.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Human Rights Tweets

If you go to the first tweet, you’ll see a whole lot more great replies to Kate Harding’s tweet.
(Via “Archie Debunker”)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religion Tweets

Nailed it!

Science Tweets

What’s that light?

 

Quite apart from anything else, the dollshouses are very cool. Fantastic work!

 

Comedy Tweets

Read it again!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Scenic Tweets

Even if I could afford it, I wouldn’t go to Myanmar at the moment because of what they’re doing to the Rohingya Muslims. But if they ever sort themselves out, it would be a great place to visit.

 

Marine Tweets

Who knew?!

 

Very cool!
(Via Ann German.)

 

More very cool stuff from the sea!

 

Bird Tweets

Now that’s style!

 

I’m glad I found Paul Bronks! His tweets are great!

 

Other Animals Tweets

When your best friend is a cow.

 

Did that guy really think shooing it away would work? Clearly stopping horses from getting in is not his area of expertise!

 

This time, the animal is the security guard it seems!

 

Bathing a hedgehog!

 

They can move really fast when they want to!

 

Dog Tweets

This is why I prefer big dogs. Little ones like this so often have a bad attitude.

 

That’s what happens when you leave a pet alone with paper!

 

Dog owners have this thing about humiliating their pets.

 

Cat Tweets

Hilarious!

 

Strutting its stuff!

 

Hilarious as well!

 

When you have to get your eighteen hours are day in, your staff are not going to stop you!

 

Don’t laugh at me! Bubbles are scary!

 

Isn’t she cute?!

 

And a real sweetie to finish on! This is the kitten I want!

 

 

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22 Comments

  1. j.a.m.
    j.a.m. on 31st October 2017 at 4:28 pm

    Okay, I’m sure I’m missing the sophisticated irony, but I’ll bite: Why do you say there’s no commandment against lying (since plainly there is)?

    Reply
    • Mark R.
      Mark R. on 1st November 2017 at 3:41 am

      I think that’s false witness, right? I must admit I was confused by that as well.

      Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 1st November 2017 at 3:54 am

      There is no commandment against lying, there’s one against bearing false witness. It’s not the same thing.

      Reply
      • j.a.m.
        j.a.m. on 1st November 2017 at 5:13 am

        Of the many zany or downright bizarre pronouncements on the general topic of religion that we encounter on this site, I must say with all due respect that that one takes the cake.

        Reply
        • Steven in Tokyo
          Steven in Tokyo on 2nd November 2017 at 12:57 am

          “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

          That is a very small sub-set of lying, is it not? It’s OK if it’s not your neighbor, is it?

          I would say that you are the one bearing false witness here.

          Reply
          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 2nd November 2017 at 9:58 am

            I take it this is some kind of feeble attempt at apostate humor. I don’t get it, but I don’t need to.

          • nicky
            nicky on 2nd November 2017 at 2:07 pm

            Let me spell it out for you j.a.m.
            ‘Your neighbour’, even if not taken literally, would be interpreted as ‘your own tribe’. Hence, one may lie to the infidel.

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 2nd November 2017 at 5:31 pm

            @nicky: Uh, no. See above.

  2. Mark R.
    Mark R. on 1st November 2017 at 3:44 am

    Yay, I knew dioramas could be more than just eye-candy! 🙂 Right up my alley, those were excellent, esp. since they were done so long ago, before sophisticated kits. Almost all scratch-built it seems.

    I have other comments, but in a hurry. My wife broke her arm last week, and we’re going to get a cast put on this morning.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 1st November 2017 at 3:58 am

      Sorry about your wife! I hope everything’s okay.

      Reply
  3. Lee Knuth
    Lee Knuth on 1st November 2017 at 5:28 am

    Waiting for the next shoe to drop by Mueller. We do live in interesting times.

    Reply
  4. nwalsh
    nwalsh on 1st November 2017 at 7:59 am

    Something about the boy with the cow that made my day.

    Reply
  5. Steven in Tokyo
    Steven in Tokyo on 2nd November 2017 at 12:31 pm

    WHy do you assume anything about me being an apostate? I was never a member of your brainwashed multitude.

    Reply
    • j.a.m.
      j.a.m. on 2nd November 2017 at 12:49 pm

      It’s just a genre. I try to avoid wasting time making assumptions about dull strangers.

      Reply
      • Heather Hastie
        Heather Hastie on 2nd November 2017 at 12:51 pm

        If we’re so dull, why do you spend so much time trying to needle us? Is your time on this site some kind of missionary work that you do as a penance?

        Reply
        • j.a.m.
          j.a.m. on 2nd November 2017 at 5:46 pm

          Not trying to needle anyone, just trying to offer a badly underrepresented perspective. I assume that lively debate is the point. I assume others participate for similar reasons. Besides, it’s not even a choice, right, so what am I supposed to do?

          Reply
          • Heather Hastie
            Heather Hastie on 3rd November 2017 at 7:40 am

            Offering a different perspective is one thing, but sometimes you carry on ad infinitum when you are simply wrong. You can have your own viewpoint, but not your own facts. We don’t have a problem with the fact that you believe in God for example. The problem comes when you insist that your belief is fact and everyone who doesn’t share it is wrong.

            The same with the Ten Commandments. They come from the Bronze Age when the world of the Bible was divided into warring tribes. They were commandments for the Jewish people of the time. It is only modern interpretation that has given them the meaning you apply to them. In our modern society, most are no longer the law. Even those that are, theologians from your own religion have spent centuries debating when they don’t, such as the Just War doctrine.

            Translation is a big problem too. Most think of the 5th Commandment as “Thou shall not kill” and that’s even the way it’s written in most places. However, the correct translation is murder, not kill, which puts a whole new meaning on it. Personally, I think a prohibition of all killing is better, but that’s not what the Bible originally said. It also clearly didn’t have a lot to do with reality at the time since there’s a helluva lot of killing in the Bible, most of it by, or ordered by, God himself.

          • Steven in Tokyo
            Steven in Tokyo on 3rd November 2017 at 3:28 pm

            Have you ever lived or even travelled extensively outside of the US?
            I think a spell in Japan, or any other fairly successful non-Chrisitan country, would serve very well to widen your perspective.
            But then again, what would I know? I’m just a “dull stranger.”

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 5th November 2017 at 5:00 pm

            @HH:I regret giving offense. What I will say on my own behalf is that I don’t believe the host and other guests pull any punches when they state their own opinions in the strongest terms, and strongly condemn those they disagree with or disapprove of. I don’t claim to be right about anything. However, when someone tells me that I’m wrong, I don’t apologize for asking them to provide an argument that holds water.

            The premise of the cartoon — the implication that the Jewish and Christian traditions somehow countenance deceit — betrays such a shallow and foolish ignorance that exegetical quibbling over a few verses of scripture is almost beside the point. But here goes.

            “It is only modern interpretation that has given [the Ten Commandments] the meaning you apply to them.”

            No, the facts don’t bear that out. For one example of pre-modern interpretation, St. Augustine wrote in “De mendacio” ca. 395: “On the other hand, those who say that we must never lie, plead much more strongly, using first the Divine authority, because in the very Decalogue it is written You shall not bear false witness; under which general term it comprises all lying: for whoso utters any thing bears witness to his own mind. But lest any should contend that not every lie is to be called false witness, what will he say to that which is written, The mouth that lies slays the soul: and lest any should suppose that this may be understood with the exception of some liars, let him read in another place, You will destroy all that speak leasing. Whence with His own lips the Lord says, Let your communication be yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil.”

            More importantly, the Gospel itself has Jesus explicitly reject cramped legalistic interpretations of the commandments: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” And of course Jesus goes so far as to say that the “whole law” of Moses and the prophets rests on love.

          • Heather Hastie
            Heather Hastie on 5th November 2017 at 7:32 pm

            395 was multiple centuries after the Ten Commandments were written. They were originally just for that tribe, What Jesus said only applied to his small corner of the world, and was for the Jews, not the Gentiles.

            You state that God is real. That is where we get pissed off. There is absolutely no proof of that and until you can provide some, God is not real. You just believe He is.

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 5th November 2017 at 5:05 pm

            @Steven: Been there, stayed in a Zen monastery and visited Ise, fwiw. Not sure what that has to do with the price of tea, since there’s been little discussion here of Buddhism, Shinto, or the Japanese.

            A broader perspective is better than a narrower one, and all of us could do with a little broadening. But in the end there’s no substitute for actually knowing something about the topic at hand.

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