THIS!

I was hoping for a recording of the news release about this discovery in that helium-elevated voice.

Part of the problem, IMO, is found in the deep divisions presently found in our country. Most forward progress comes from the network in which people exist (notwithstanding the myth of “rugged individualists” as the secret to success). Our present society is riven with deep divisions along generational, ideological, political, socio-economic, and racial lines. If we want to break out of the present “us vs. them” trap we’re in, we have to begin to reach across the divisions in everyway possible. (And I am not suggesting that we give up our differences, only that we reference them only when they are appropriate to the overall welfare of our network/society/culture.)

It’s a lengthy quote, but it comes from one of the foremost authorities on democratic leadership, James MacGregor Burns:

"The function of leadership is to engage followers, not merely to activate them, to commingle needs and aspirations and goals in a common enterprise, and in the process to make better citizens of both leaders and followers. To move from manipulation to power-wielding is to move from the arithmetic of everyday contacts and collisions to the geometry of the structure and dynamics of interaction. It is to move from checkers to chess, for in the “game of kings” we estimate the powers of our chessmen and the intentions and calculations and indeed the motives of our adversary. But democratic leadership moves far beyond chess because, as we play the game, the chessmen come alive, the bishops and knights and pawns take part on their own terms and with their own motivations, values, and goals, and the game moves ahead with new momentum, direction, and possibilities. In real life the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons." ~Burns, ‘Leadership,’ (1978)

Edit: typo

Kid in old age, probably: “Yeah, I was working in the Salt Mines at 11. Then they petered out, so I got me a job at the Pepper Mill. By the time I retired, I was first shift at the Olive Garden, doling out shredded cheese like a fiend. Yessir! Them was the days!”

Is it just me, or is The Orange Man looking more and more like an orange version of his pal, Kim Jong Un?

This. Exactly how I ended up married!

(Come to think of it, the honeymoon ran like that, too.) /s

Harry Chapin

Or

Karen Carpenter

(I know, they’re kinda sappy but they were on my Playlist when I was young and in love.)

It’s not an utter fabrication. There are nieces. There are Chinese nieces. There are Chinese nieces who are kids. There are Chinese nieces who are kids and take naps. Ergo, there are Chinese niece kid nappings. There is a George Santos. See? All better. (Santos’s ‘Spinner-in-Chief,’ probably.)

Actually, when quoting this phrase from “the sayings of Jesus,” they would not merely quote “peace on earth” as the saying (above) is rendered meaningless without the entire quote. When Xians (and others) allude to the “peace on earth” phrase (mostly around the Xmas holidays), they are not quoting Jesus but a supposed angelic messenger. Her/His/Its message reads, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” And they’ll fight anyone who disagrees with their “saying.”

I am in agreement with those who thought it was disappointing. Reminded me of a Disney World where all the “rides” looked intriguing until you got inside and found there were no rides. A bunch of brightly colored, sparkly doors leading nowhere to nothing. (And I am a Jamie Curtis slave, so…it was a hard let-down.)