A Christmas Wish

The original poem actually has two more verses, but I couldn't find a musical rendition of it, so I will place it here.  

It came upon the midnight clear,

That glorious song of old,

From angels bending near the earth,

To touch their harps of gold:

"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men,¹

From heaven's all-gracious King."

The world in solemn stillness lay,

To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,

With peaceful wings unfurled,

And still their heavenly music floats

O'er all the weary world;

Above its sad and lowly plains,

They bend on hovering wing,

And ever o'er its babel sounds

The blessèd angels sing.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife

The world has suffered long;

Beneath the angel-strain have rolled²

Two thousand years of wrong;

And man, at war with man, hears not³

The love-song which they bring;⁴

O hush the noise, ye men of strife,⁵

And hear the angels sing.

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,⁶

Whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way

With painful steps and slow,

Look now! for glad and golden hours

come swiftly on the wing.

O rest beside the weary road,

And hear the angels sing!

For lo!, the days are hastening on,

By prophet bards foretold,⁷

When with the ever-circling years

Comes round the age of gold⁸

When peace shall over all the earth

Its ancient splendors fling,⁹

And the whole world give back the song¹⁰

Which now the angels sing.

— Original five-stanza hymn by Edmund Sears

Merry Christmas to all!

The Gap

We've been discussing the tax reform that the Republican controlled legislature and President have been pushing.  It is a bill that is in reality geared toward the richest in our country.  Yes, there are tax cuts for the lower income levels, but they "sunset" or expire after eight years.  The tax cuts for the wealthiest do not.  This bill will add to our debt, which will either rob our children of their future or force cuts to spending that will hit the neediest in our country.  It will exacerbate the growing gap between rich and poor. 

I ran across this documentary, which helps to illustrate the positions many people are in, from the wealthy to the not so wealthy.  It covers both the United States and the UK.  I have only watched the first half so far, but I recommend it highly.  The second half follows on the first.

Sweet Home Alabama

In a few days the people of Alabama will go to the polls to select a new senator to represent their state. To vote is probably the highest civic responsibility in our country. It is not something to be taken lightly, especially in today's era of politics. Our current president has come out in support of Roy Moore, the Republican candidate, which in the normal course of events would be understandable. But there have been some questions raised as to Moore's past behavior with regard to sexual conduct towards minors.

At some point in time we are all faced with choices that will test our ethics, our core beliefs, our values. The test now is being posed to the people of Alabama who have the duty to try to pick the best candidate to maintain our democracy and uphold this country's core values. It is a test of what those values really are.

Maybe a voice of experience could remind us. Yes, I know, but Alabama is a Republican state, so the voice should be Republican. :) And it was a good speech, so I had to resurrect him.

And maybe I'll give a plug for his book, as the proceeds are going to a good cause. At least he is doing something with his free time to help others.  It was also a rather amusing interview.  Something we could all use right about now.

Update:

Doug Jones, the Democratic candidate for senator of Alabama, has been projected the winner of the special election.