Casa Cry, Oct 2017 issue of Casa Maria CW, Milwaukee news letter ........ message from Don and Roberta Thurstin.
Frank Cordaro
CASA CRY October, 2017
During one of our vigils at the Marquette U. ROTC, one student belonging to ROTC Air Force, asked me why I opposed the program. I explained to him that Marquette U. professes to be a Christian school, but by sponsoring on campus the ROTC, it is approving the opposite of what Christ taught….to ” love one’s enemies, and do good to those who persecute you” His response was that Jesus is God, and God approves of killing one’s enemies, as seen in the Old Testament. I explained to him that the Old Testament is the Hebrew belief. The New Testament is the Christian belief. I asked him to read chapter 5 of Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus said “In the past you were told an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. (Old Testament) But now I tell you to love your enemies, and do good to those who harm and persecute you.”(New Testament} Jesus was clear about not following the violence of the Old Testament. The young man said he is not changing his views, still sees himself as a Christian and sadly walked away. How sad indeed. Who taught this young student the message of Christ? Whoever they were they totally missed Christ’s message. If you condone killing your enemies you cannot be a Christian. This needs to be said in the schools, pulpits and in our homes. You cannot love and kill your enemy at the same time. We failed this young man at M.U. ----Don Timmerman
“Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope.” ----Cornel West
DON’S JOKES
I love owls, but they don’t give a hoot. In a podiatrist’s office: “The agony of de feet”. My favorite exercise is didly squats. If you are less than 10 years you’re so excited about aging you think in fractions. “How old are you?: “Six and a half!” You’re never 36 and a half. Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100 you become a kid again, “104 and a half!” I have never spanked my kids. I found waving a gun around has the same results. American colonialists said, We discovered new lands and territories.” Hey, if you believe that, I can go to court and say, “Your honor, I was exploring some fire escapes and discovered this man’s apartment. I planted my flag in his living room, and now all his stuff is mine. He and his wife came home, and I had to shoot them. They were savages!” The people with brown skin were here first. The rest of you are lucky that the Indians did not ask Columbus for his Green Card. I find that ducks’ opinion of me is greatly influenced by whether or not I have break. I have been getting into astronomy, so I installed a skylight. The people who live above me are furious. What do you get when you cross an elephant and a rhino? Elephino!
INTERESTING FACTS
Saudi Arabia, with the assistance of U.S. armaments, continues its war and blockade of Yemen. Yemen is suffering famine and the worst cholera outbreak on record. Every 10 minutes a child in Yemen dies of preventable causes like malnutrition and diarrhea. The way to stop this is to stop the war. ----UNICEF
The NRA and their congressional allies are working behind closed doors to prop up lagging gun sales by making it easier for gun companies to sell silencers Gun safety advocates say that silencers make it easier for criminals to operate, and put the lives of police officers at risk. Recently, American Outdoor Brands, which is the new name for the venerable gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson, recently acquired Gemtech, a company that sells silencers, -----AlterNet, 9/13/17
One-third of all countries do not charge tuition for public institutions, and 10 countries have public tuition costs that average less than $4,000 annually, but in the U.S. generally tuition runs about $8,202 a year. The closest competitor on that front is Chile, where public college costs average $7,654 annually. The total cost of student debt now stands at $1.2 trillion. Students have to pay 6 times more interest on federal loans than banks do.---Mother Jones, 9/3/17
There are still about 800 U.S. military bases in 135 countries. The Pentagon seeks to dominate all land, sea, and sky. The 17 intelligence agencies, at a cost of $80 billion a year, are sweeping up all data on Planet Earth. In short, America’s troops are out everywhere and winning nowhere . ---Tom Dispatch, 9/17/17
In a Michigan state prison, you may not see your family member if you have outstanding debt. .---The Marshall Project 9/17/17
Since a Rohingya militant attack on Burma on Aug. 25 Burmese troops have driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya across the border to Bangladesh by systematically burning scores of villages and terrorizing their residents. Recently, 380,000 people were reported to have crossed the border, and many thousands were still waiting to pass. An estimated 240,000 of the refugees are children. -- .-----Washington Post, 9/17/17
Coca-Cola Sucks Wells Dry in Chiapas, Forcing Residents to Buy Water. This forces people, who have so little, to buy Cokes. The people are still trying to put their lives together after the recent earthquake. ----TruthOut, 9/13/17
President Trump wants to hire Israeli companies to build the wall between Mexico and the U.S. ---TeleSur
Where were the pundits and elected lawmakers who complain about the cost of providing healthcare to all Americans when the Senate voted to spend $700 billion on the military? ---Common Dreams 9/20/17
As of 2010, 3.5 million tons of solid waste were generated per day and will rise to 6 million tons by 2025. 10% of that waste is plastics. Less than 10% of plastic is recycled. ---Earth Day Network
One in three Americans lives within 50 miles of high-level nuclear waste. There is 71,000 tons of Nuclear waste from 104 reactors with no permanent storage. ----NukeWatch and EcoWatch
In the Amazon, gold miners came across 10 men of a tribe, killed them and cut up their bodies in pieces before throwing them into the Landiatuba River so that they wouldn’t float. ---Washington Post
Factor by which the rate of imprisonment for indigenous Australians exceeds that for nonindigenous Australians: 13
Percentage of judges working in New York State who do not have law degrees: 38%
Amount awarded to Michael Brown’s family in their settlement against the city of Ferguson MO: $1,500,000 Amount awarded to a Maryland family whose dog was killed by Anne Arundel County police: $1,260,000
Number of terrorism defendants who have been prosecuted by the Dept. of Justice since 8/11: 807
Number who have been tried and acquitted: 2 Value of military equipment that the Pentagon gave to a fictitious law enforcement agency created by the GAO (U.S. ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE): $1,200,000 ---HARPER’S INDEX
Omar and Irma Sanchez, both of whom are undocumented immigrants living in Texas, were arrested while awaiting a serious surgery for their two-month-old son, highlighting the excruciating human cost of President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant crusade. ---.RSN 9/22/17
The entire 2017 safety net is about $850 billion, compared to over $1.5 trillion for tax subsidies. A recent analysis found that the poorest 20% of U.S. households get up to $3,000 each in tax subsidies The richest 20% of U.S. households get at least $18,000 each in tax subsidies The richest 1% of U.S. Households get over $120,000 each in tax subsidies ---Common Dreams The 85 richest people on earth hold as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion.—Space alert The U.S. Army has 315 General Officers. Generals comprise 0.06% of the Army. There is 1 General for every 1600 soldiers . As of March 2017, there are 271 admirals in the U.S. Navy ---Fact Find
Request for Resources from Dodge Correctional Institution The prisoners need the following items: paperback books, new/used, Papal Articles, Books, Literature, sheet music, choir music, DVDs, CDs, Catholic Bibles, greeting cards, magazines (old or new), Musical Equipment, Bookmarks, Tracts, Altar/Mass accessories, Rosary. Please contact Terry Sherman (630-405-8902).
Questions still remain on what happened on 9/11. It is impossible to have two planes implode three buildings yet people are afraid to believe it The Saudi Embassy in Washington financed a dry run for the pilots flying the planes, and 15 of the 19 people involved with the attack were from Saudi Arabia, not Afghanistan nor Iraq. Yet the U.S. continues to spend billions on weapons for Saudi Arabia to destroy Yemen. ----WSWS.org
Last week a swarm of ground bees suddenly attacked a mother, child and volunteer outside the children clothing shed. It was frightening as they all screamed, swatted and ran from the onslaught. I am glad to say that after a visit to the hospital for the child and ointments and antihistamines for the adults all is well. The pest control people took care of the ground bee nest. Lately I feel like I am being attacked by a swarm of bees. Stinging bees that hurt people, whether the sting is reducing health care for certain people, blocking people from entering the country or pushing others out of the country, threatening the use of nuclear weapons, the unending wars in the Middle East, avoiding the issue of climate change, violence against black lives, etc., etc., etc. I wake up trying to find a way to take the sting away. The hospital I go to has to be my faith in the good our Creator put within each human being. Also the ointment is action to point out the hurt that results from these stings. May our Creator give us strength. Peace, Roberta