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FourScore
FourScore's Journal
FourScore's Journal
December 18, 2013
This kid thought his parents were about to break up...He was so wrong...
December 17, 2013
by B.J. Wrights
It happened in the kindergarten class,
Right at the table where they were having snack.
Joanie asked the question and they all sat back:
“Mr. Slater? Can Santa Claus be Black?”
Poor Mr. Slater didn’t know what to say,
Christmas vacation was twenty days away.
There were snowflakes to cut and wreaths to be hung,
Christmas cards to paint,
Christmas songs to be sung.
He hadn’t time to think
What Christmas was about,
In twenty more days,
School would be out.
Why couldn’t they wait
And ask their questions then,
When mommies and daddies
Were home to answer them?
Mr. Slater? Can Santa be thin?
“Is Santa Claus always a him?”
Mr. Slater looked at twenty pairs of eyes,
Twenty children of every shape and size.
He ate a bit of cracker and finished his drink.
“Children,” he said,
“I’ll need some time to think.”
As soon as class was over,
He ran down the hall,
Skidded ‘round a corner,
Crashed into a wall.
Ran up the steps to the second floor,
Rapped on the window of the principal’s door.
“Ms Frazer, Ms. Frazer, what can I do?
The children asked these questions
That now I ask of you:
‘Can Santa be black?’
‘Can Santa be thin?’
‘Does Santa always have to be a him?’”
“Mr. Slater, it’s a difficult task
To find answers to the questions you ask.
I think with these I’ll need some assistance,
But I’ll get you the answers with a little persistence.”
Ms. Frazer turned in her swivel chair,
Picked up the phone and dialed Mr. Dare
Mr. Dare was the head of the PTA,
He called for a meeting the very next day.
“Thank you for coming,”
He began with a greeting.
“I’d like to get right to the point of this meeting.
Mr. Slater, in charge of the kindergarten class,
Needs some answers to some questions
And he needs them real fast.”
“Can Santa be black?
Can Santa be thin?
Does Santa always have to be a him?”
The parents didn’t know what to say,
Christmas vacation was nineteen days away.
There were cookies to bake and lights to string,
Gifts to wrap and carols to sing.
They hadn’t time to think
What Christmas was about,
In nineteen more days
School would be out!
Why did children have to ask questions when
Parents had no time to answer them?
“Well Parents?
Are there any suggestions?
Do we have any answers
To these difficult questions?”
“Who know best
What Christmas is about?
Let’s ask Santa!”
Someone called out in a shout.
The secretary of the PTA
Sent a letter to Santa the very next day.
The reply came back very, very fast,
Addressed to Mr. Slater
And the kindergarten class.
* * *
Dear Mr. Slater, Dear Girls, Dear Boys,
Once a storywriter caught me bringing you toys.
The year he spied me opening my sack,
my skin was white, my boots were black.
You probably know how that story goes…
I laid a finger aside my nose?
All these years, needlessly,
that story worries children who don’t have a chimney.
All year long I listen to the news,
read people’s thought, see people’s views.
At the end of the year, when I see what’s needed most,
I take that shape, like a Christmas ghost.
I can pass through keyholes, windows and locks,
apartment buildings, hospitals, tents, and trailer lots.
One year I used a wheelchair in place of my sleigh,
Once I was blind and had to feel my way.
It’s hard to understand when I don’t leave a toy:
you can’t unwrap a gift like hope, or health or joy.
My skin has been black, white, yellow, red, brown;
my eyes have been slanted, crossed, and round.
Sometimes I have been a she:
all these things are part of me.
You may not believe all this is true,
but that’s okay, boys and girls, because…
I believe in you.
A poem: Can Santa Be Black?
Can Santa Be Black?by B.J. Wrights
It happened in the kindergarten class,
Right at the table where they were having snack.
Joanie asked the question and they all sat back:
“Mr. Slater? Can Santa Claus be Black?”
Poor Mr. Slater didn’t know what to say,
Christmas vacation was twenty days away.
There were snowflakes to cut and wreaths to be hung,
Christmas cards to paint,
Christmas songs to be sung.
He hadn’t time to think
What Christmas was about,
In twenty more days,
School would be out.
Why couldn’t they wait
And ask their questions then,
When mommies and daddies
Were home to answer them?
Mr. Slater? Can Santa be thin?
“Is Santa Claus always a him?”
Mr. Slater looked at twenty pairs of eyes,
Twenty children of every shape and size.
He ate a bit of cracker and finished his drink.
“Children,” he said,
“I’ll need some time to think.”
As soon as class was over,
He ran down the hall,
Skidded ‘round a corner,
Crashed into a wall.
Ran up the steps to the second floor,
Rapped on the window of the principal’s door.
“Ms Frazer, Ms. Frazer, what can I do?
The children asked these questions
That now I ask of you:
‘Can Santa be black?’
‘Can Santa be thin?’
‘Does Santa always have to be a him?’”
“Mr. Slater, it’s a difficult task
To find answers to the questions you ask.
I think with these I’ll need some assistance,
But I’ll get you the answers with a little persistence.”
Ms. Frazer turned in her swivel chair,
Picked up the phone and dialed Mr. Dare
Mr. Dare was the head of the PTA,
He called for a meeting the very next day.
“Thank you for coming,”
He began with a greeting.
“I’d like to get right to the point of this meeting.
Mr. Slater, in charge of the kindergarten class,
Needs some answers to some questions
And he needs them real fast.”
“Can Santa be black?
Can Santa be thin?
Does Santa always have to be a him?”
The parents didn’t know what to say,
Christmas vacation was nineteen days away.
There were cookies to bake and lights to string,
Gifts to wrap and carols to sing.
They hadn’t time to think
What Christmas was about,
In nineteen more days
School would be out!
Why did children have to ask questions when
Parents had no time to answer them?
“Well Parents?
Are there any suggestions?
Do we have any answers
To these difficult questions?”
“Who know best
What Christmas is about?
Let’s ask Santa!”
Someone called out in a shout.
The secretary of the PTA
Sent a letter to Santa the very next day.
The reply came back very, very fast,
Addressed to Mr. Slater
And the kindergarten class.
* * *
Dear Mr. Slater, Dear Girls, Dear Boys,
Once a storywriter caught me bringing you toys.
The year he spied me opening my sack,
my skin was white, my boots were black.
You probably know how that story goes…
I laid a finger aside my nose?
All these years, needlessly,
that story worries children who don’t have a chimney.
All year long I listen to the news,
read people’s thought, see people’s views.
At the end of the year, when I see what’s needed most,
I take that shape, like a Christmas ghost.
I can pass through keyholes, windows and locks,
apartment buildings, hospitals, tents, and trailer lots.
One year I used a wheelchair in place of my sleigh,
Once I was blind and had to feel my way.
It’s hard to understand when I don’t leave a toy:
you can’t unwrap a gift like hope, or health or joy.
My skin has been black, white, yellow, red, brown;
my eyes have been slanted, crossed, and round.
Sometimes I have been a she:
all these things are part of me.
You may not believe all this is true,
but that’s okay, boys and girls, because…
I believe in you.
December 3, 2013
It's not surprising for the Pope to do things like this. As it turns out, in his prior life as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, he often broke bread and sat for hours at night ministering to the downtrodden on the streets of his native Argentina.
Nocturnal wanderings for a pope are not completely unheard of. Pope John XIII is said to have occasionally popped out of the Vatican to appreciate the benighted beauty of Rome. And, reportedly, Pope Pius XII was said to shed his robes and dress as a Franciscan to help smuggle Rome's Jewish citizens to safety during WWII. More recently, Pope Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican unannounced to visit an art exhibit.
Like I said before, I have no use for organized religion. I don't need a church to feel spiritual. But if a holy man in a hierarchical position such as a pope can truly care, console, comfort, and ultimately inspire the least among us... I say that man is doing good work.
Works Jesus himself would be proud of.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/03/1259763/-Pope-Francis-Reportedly-Leaving-Vatican-at-Night-to-Minister-to-Homeless-of-Rome-Anonymously
Pope Francis Reportedly Leaving Vatican at Night to Minister to Homeless of Rome Anonymously
Tue Dec 03, 2013 at 01:47 AM PST
Pope Francis Reportedly Leaving Vatican at Night to Minister to Homeless of Rome Anonymously
by markthshark
Frankly, I lost faith (so-to-speak) in all types of organized religion long ago. I have given up on expecting good deeds and magnanimous gestures toward the poor coming from the Vatican. But after hearing the unorthodox outreaches to those less fortunate in the world by Pope Francis, lately, I've been reconsidering the time-worn, idealistic notion that one man can indeed change the world.
I think Pope Francis truly has the potential to be a transformative pontiff.
We've all heard about his washing the feet of the poor, his warm, unsolicited embrace of a gravely disfigured man, and about a dozen other diverse attempts to reach out and help common people around the world. His declarative statements about income inequality and corporate greed are legion.
Well, the Pope Da MAN has struck again!
Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the "Almoner of His Holiness," (a distributor of alms to the poor) recently gave an interview that "raised speculation that the Pope joins him on his nightly trips into Rome to give alms to the poor." And apparently, there's a good chance that the rumors are true.
From the HuffPo.
A knowledgeable source in Rome told The Huffington Post that "Swiss guards confirmed that the pope has ventured out at night, dressed as a regular priest, to meet with homeless men and women."
Krajewski earlier said, “When I say to him ‘I’m going out into the city this evening’, there’s the constant risk that he will come with me," and he merely smiled and ducked the question when reporters asked him point-blank whether the Pope accompanied him into the city.
Krajewski earlier said, “When I say to him ‘I’m going out into the city this evening’, there’s the constant risk that he will come with me," and he merely smiled and ducked the question when reporters asked him point-blank whether the Pope accompanied him into the city.
It's not surprising for the Pope to do things like this. As it turns out, in his prior life as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, he often broke bread and sat for hours at night ministering to the downtrodden on the streets of his native Argentina.
Nocturnal wanderings for a pope are not completely unheard of. Pope John XIII is said to have occasionally popped out of the Vatican to appreciate the benighted beauty of Rome. And, reportedly, Pope Pius XII was said to shed his robes and dress as a Franciscan to help smuggle Rome's Jewish citizens to safety during WWII. More recently, Pope Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican unannounced to visit an art exhibit.
Like I said before, I have no use for organized religion. I don't need a church to feel spiritual. But if a holy man in a hierarchical position such as a pope can truly care, console, comfort, and ultimately inspire the least among us... I say that man is doing good work.
Works Jesus himself would be proud of.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/03/1259763/-Pope-Francis-Reportedly-Leaving-Vatican-at-Night-to-Minister-to-Homeless-of-Rome-Anonymously
December 3, 2013
A fake health care site. A fake health care site intended to discourage the people on their own mailing lists from getting health insurance because fuck them, that's why.
Other bits of logic include explaining to young people that by getting insurance they'll be subsidizing sick people, the goddamn leeching bastards. (On the other hand, if you cannot grasp that the central point of all insurance is pooling a little money from a large group of people in order to insure some level of security for those people in the pool that have something very bad happen to them, including for example you, perhaps removing you from the gene pool is not entirely a bad thing. If you are so nasty a person that you can't live with the thought of insuring yourself because it means some other person might get healthcare using one one hundredth of a cent of your money, the world will certainly not be missing you much after you are gone. Godspeed!)
This is yet another of the reasons the current incarnation of the Republican Party is little more than a political oozing sore. There is probably a downside to trying to kill off your own voters to score a momentary political point, but let's just say the members of the party brain trust in my state could meet in a closet and still have enough room for the vacuum and boxes of Christmas decorations.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/02/1259641/-California-GOP-creates-fake-healthcare-website-to-discourage-constituents-from-obtaining-insurance?showAll=yes
California GOP creates fake health care website to discourage constituents from obtaining insurance
Mon Dec 02, 2013 at 04:55 PM PST
California GOP creates fake health care website to discourage constituents from obtaining insurance
by Hunter
Republicans are horrible people. Period.
California Republicans are desperate and shameless. In the past two weeks, GOP Assembly members have sent mailings out on what appears to be the state's dime to their constituents about health insurance. Only, they don't direct those people to CoveredCA.com to sign up. Instead, they send them to their own astroturf version with the url CoveringHealthCareCA.com.
On their version, there are links to negative articles and twisted messages intended to sour people on signing up for health insurance before they ever land at the official health exchange site.
On their version, there are links to negative articles and twisted messages intended to sour people on signing up for health insurance before they ever land at the official health exchange site.
A fake health care site. A fake health care site intended to discourage the people on their own mailing lists from getting health insurance because fuck them, that's why.
If you click on the "Don't have health insurance" tab on the front page, you're taken to a page that puts all the focus on the penalty and none on the benefits. In fact, they have a "penalty calculator" on that page, rather than a premium calculator.
Other bits of logic include explaining to young people that by getting insurance they'll be subsidizing sick people, the goddamn leeching bastards. (On the other hand, if you cannot grasp that the central point of all insurance is pooling a little money from a large group of people in order to insure some level of security for those people in the pool that have something very bad happen to them, including for example you, perhaps removing you from the gene pool is not entirely a bad thing. If you are so nasty a person that you can't live with the thought of insuring yourself because it means some other person might get healthcare using one one hundredth of a cent of your money, the world will certainly not be missing you much after you are gone. Godspeed!)
This is yet another of the reasons the current incarnation of the Republican Party is little more than a political oozing sore. There is probably a downside to trying to kill off your own voters to score a momentary political point, but let's just say the members of the party brain trust in my state could meet in a closet and still have enough room for the vacuum and boxes of Christmas decorations.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/02/1259641/-California-GOP-creates-fake-healthcare-website-to-discourage-constituents-from-obtaining-insurance?showAll=yes
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