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Good News of a Day in History, Replete with Ponderings and Bemusements [1]

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Date: 2023-01-19

"God has given wine to gladden the hearts of people." Psalm 104

Good Thursday Morning to the Gnusies and all ye seekers of the Good News here at DailyKos! Thank you so much for swinging by….or dropping in….or accidentally clicking on something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…..or stumbling in looking for coffee, black tea, something-something breakfast OR at least an invitation to mimosas. This DailyKos Good News diary (posted Every Single Day by a dedicated host of hosts and hostesses) appears on this political site for mental renewal, spiritual refreshment, emotional relaxation, and intellectual reflection. Once a month my handlers here let me out of my padded quarters to let me “triptoe” through the tulips, land face first and invite you to read, comment, clarify, extend, correct, expand upon, condense to a wisdom nugget, all sorts of positive and Good News items floating across your pixels, news feeds and general Internet surfing.

Top of the Morning Good News

Having officially, financially retired recently myself (Yesterday marked the arrival of the second Social Security check evah! But…..I mean…...that’s for OLD PEOPLE. ME? I”m still young! I still got it! I’m just better than ever…..) it is still a wonder. I have tried to do some planning, but it is still something of a wonder (“I wonder what I should do first? I wonder what I should do next? I wonder if that thing needs to be done at all?”)

(As a pastor, we, like other professions, have inside jokes. One day a pastor paid a home visit to an elderly member of the church. He served her Communion, then chatted a bit. Carefully phrasing things to maybe open a religious topic (so more than just a social call) he asked, “Given the number of years you’ve put behind you, do you think much about the HereAfter?”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, pastor. As a matter of fact I do.”

The pastor nodded in a quiet way. She continued. “You know, there’s hardly a day doesn’t go by when I walk into a room and I stop and say to myself, ‘Now what am I here after?”)

But now comes Golden Ager inspiration: use the talent you have, add new ones, decide on something and…..go for it. If the neighbors are…..taken aback…..that’s not your problem. So seems the attitude of Stuart Grant. He puttered, sawed, fitted, trimmed, hefted, hoisted, stained, strained…..and used his carpentry skills to enjoy himself and bring delight to others. At 90 years young, THIS STORY notes Mr. Grant’s pride: his very own, built-by-himself, Hobbit House. Let the Shire folk of the Good News Round Up Rejoice (...and click through….)

>>>>>>>>The computer age has changed things. It has taught us about data…..lots of data. Good Data. Bad Data (the Lor Phenomenon). Incomplete Data. Misleading Data. SEAS of Data. Computers are very good at absorbing and piling up data. Granted. But mere data is not yet…..Information. By the same token, information by the ship load (see Gish Gallop) is not yet…...knowledge. And knowledge is not yet…….wisdom. Study, insight and pondering are all required, and often these are not yet enough to produce wisdom.

But sometimes the data heaps of information stacked up a certain way or displayed in a fresh way DOES get you thinking and pondering. I came across THIS STORY that I thought was just a list, like “10 weird things the Greeks Used to Do” or “15 things never to stick in your Ear Canal” that are part of the flotsam and jetsam of the Internet. But these? Not every one of these 18 maps are a show stopper. But I have to admit at least a couple were worth a long pause. Your mileage may vary…. but for once, maybe worth a click…..

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As the Good News resident keeper of the History Corner (“The Good and the Goofy that happened THIS DAY in history”) you will see the LONG view on display for edification and amusement, interspersed with more current nuggets for your Good News pouch…….

Good News in Politics and Religion

Yes, yes those are the 2 topics our parents told us NOT to talk about in polite company. But….this IS a political site…….and God has been whispering in my ear…….so I guess its OK.

We have all looked on at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with disgust, sadness, and great empathy for the Ukrainian people trying to resist being erased from being Ukrainian. Lately (as in for a good 8 or 9 months) we have looked on we a certain grim satisfaction, a pugnacious attitude, and some growing hope that Russia/Putin will definitely end up on the short end of this stick, and not just militarily. This “strap our shields together” motif is especially pronounced all across Eastern Europe, one that I share. (Growing up as the son of 2 WWII Estonian refugees will do that for you.) All sorts of nations and nationalities have done all they could to cheer on and prop up and help the Ukrainians, knowing their fight is our fight.

The roots of this go way back. Ukraine was a glowing light of civilization for a couple centuries when the Mongols ran their horses over all sorts of tribes and the boyars of Muscovy had a collection of huts they called ‘Moscow.’ Poland, Lithuania, various German speakers, even Sweden have all marched their troops from Finland down to Carpathians, while Magyars (the Hungarians), Bulgars, Romanians and all sorts of Southern Slavs have traded conquests. And, since the mid-1500s, there have been the Russians…...ever numerous, ever seeking defensible borders, ever showing a gnawing envy of what others have……...sigh.

(Duda of Poland and Zelenskyy of Ukraine, with their respective colors…..and is that a dog behind them?)

Now, in the living of these days, the emergency of invasion has focused everyone’s attention and yet also obscured some of the darker strains running through Eastern Europe. Orban in Hungary has been a half-baked pariah through all of this. And, while Poland has been stalwart supporting Ukraine and jawboning the rest of NATO and in particular Germany to do “more”…..and “more”……. domestically there are some more than annoying currents. OTOH THIS PIECE in The Atlantic is over 4 years old, but it still gives a good background and baseline of where things were and maybe what is changing in Warsaw.

* * * * * * * * * *

The header here promises religion to go with politics, and this day delivers on this matter as well. Being of the ordained persuasion myself (and once again scheduled to preach next month at the local Lutheran congregation) today is worth noting from a world religious standpoint. On this day:

570 (A three-digit date….for us. For our Muslim friends, I think this is 632-570= Minus 62? Or 62 BP (Before the Prophet? Something like this…..) Mohammad, "The Prophet", founder of Islam and speaker in the Koran. His birthday is known as Mawlid-al-Nabi. Impact to this day on the shape of the world. Born into the Quraysh tribe, he was orphaned at an early age and found steady work in a trade caravan. His marriage to a wealthy widow gave him opportunities to retreat annually to Mount Hira. Wisdom nugget from Islam (perhaps the Koran; I’m not sure) “Before any thought is spoken, it should first pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it kind?” ________________________

Mind you, if we’re going to go to the religious shelves of the Internet as well as human history, it is painfully true in nearly all times and all places that religions have been used to justify truly nasty stuff. OTOH, if your religion is worth anything, it recognizes humans screw up BADLY, yea verily, in EPIC proportions……and yet a religion worthy of being a religion offers a way back.

Now comes this heartening story from the Church of England. The British Empire reached far and wide, and rotten things were done repeatedly with the blessing, or encouragement, or at least the acquiescence of the leading branch of the Church. Tragically, the Church was silent far too long on the matter of slavery throughout the Empire.

But now comes THIS OPEN GESTURE: The Church of England is not only repenting of the evil they did with the slave trade, they are setting up a fund of 100 million pounds to serve as a gathering point for reparations for the descendants of enslaved people. No, its not enough. Yes, it is a long time late in coming. BUT……...it is here, and it is a Good Thing.

Good News in Arts, Literature and Music

C’mon! Being human HAS TO BE more than considering the existence (or not) and actions and nature of God/gods/goddesses/ right? And it has to be more than what the chief, prince, pharoah, satrap, Queen, lord mayor, Caesar, goddess on earth, horde leader, bishop, baroness, earl, duke, governor, president, captain regent, strongman, ward heeler, sheriff deputy, is thinking up/planning for/touching off/ for everyone on their turf, right? (Let alone somebody else’s turf…...)

We do NOT want to be bothered by relentless religion or endless politics. We just want to live…….life; to live the life of humans with the things that make life worth living. So let there be words…….and let there be delights for the eye…...and let there be dulcet tones for the ear, aromas for the nose, and delights for the tongue.

On this day:

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/19/2147768/-Good-News-of-a-Day-in-History-Replete-with-Ponderings-and-Bemusements

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