Sunday Stealing, with a side of Politics.

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard of the expression, “honor amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we also have our rules. First, we always credit the blog that we stole it from and we will “fess up” to the blog owner where we stole the meme. We also provide a link to the victim's post. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") We do sometimes edit the original meme, usually to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, sometimes to select that meme's best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from either this new meme or recently asked questions from a prior featured meme. 

Let's go!!!

A Christmas Meme

From the archives!

1.The Christmas song I can listen to even in June is...
"The  First Noel"  There's just something about it that stays with me all year. 

2. Hot Chocolate, Egg Nog or Mulled wine?
My drink of choice is hot chocolate.  I can't drink Egg Nog anymore and Mulled wine isn't something I've ever liked.

3. When do you put your decorations up?
The day after Thanksgiving is the beginning of decorating for me but this year, I'm keeping some out and up all year.  This way it will motivate me to MAKE things, and create new decorations.  I want  to turn 2014 into  a Santa's Workshop sort of year.

4. What are you having for Christmas dinner?
We are having a vegan roast - which has an amazingly delicious flavor- sage gravy, mashed potatoes, candied yams, green beans,and apple pie.

5. What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
You've got me there.  I don't really have a favorite thing.  I like it all- the music, making gifts, the decorating, the baking, I think I'd even like midnight mass if I were a Catholic. 

6. Have you ever gone Carol singing?
When I was in  school, our choir did have an ensemble that went caroling.  I miss that.

7. When did you learn the truth about Santa?
What is the truth about Santa?  That he's really too fat to get down a chimney?  That the reindeer can't really fly?  "Santa Clause" explained all that for all the world. 

8. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We decorate with hand made ornaments made by ourselves and our daughters,  old ornaments  some of which are treasures from childhood trees on both sides of the family, and even some from my grandmother's Christmas tree that  mother saved.  We also have glass icicles that were made by a friend from my craft show days.  Around all these ornaments go a wrapping of the tree with curled ribbon, and then we put the angel on top. 

9. What's the best thing about Christmas?
People smile more and are even more friendly than the rest of the year.  San Diego is a friendlier place to be in - this occured gradually each year but this friendliness happens with more intensity during the Holidays.  You really do notice it.

10.  All I want for Christmas is...
Safe travels for everyone who is going somewhere, and happiness and Peace for all of God's creation.  Someday, I'm hoping this will really be a World of Peace and Compassion.   For me, there is nothing more important than these things to wish for.


And now the "Side of Politics":

Sorry if that last bit above sounds very preachy but I had just finished watching a documentary about the take over of all the good intentions of the Tea Party by very wealthy, vested interests.

Since I am a Quaker and also a Progressive, I come from a different place in this dialog, but many of my core issues are about Constitutional degradation and the invasive reach that several out of control quasi governmental/industrial entities have had regarding our civil rights.  This is over and above their money stuffing up the shirts/skirts of politicians.   You, being smart and aware, know that I'm talking about Revolving Doors here, which is only slightly off topic.

I'm old and not only that, I've been politically active since my teens.  I'm old enough to remember that human rights were involved in the South, not only for Political equality, but for wage equality, too.  I remember that Industries banded together to use the RACE card, and keep it in everyone's face when the real issue had since become  WAGES.  They played white workers off against the black workers.

Divide and conquer was the watchword for Industry (textiles for one) in the South.   Now, it's the same thing.  If Industry or Big Business can keep half the country at the throat of the other half, then who is going to be watching "The Man (Men) Behind The Curtain"?  Americans who care about rights are on both sides of a political divide the elites have created, which has caused so much ill will that it's scary.  Trying to remember that elites will stop at nothing to keep us divided might be a good starting place to end this dichotomy.

The documentary is called The Billionaire's Tea Party.  In reading the reviews, I'm not the only one who has recognized the age old tactic of "divide and conquer" used by the Koch Brothers (and others of their ilk) who are so deeply invested in Libertarianism that they would do this without a thought to the hurt it causes the people they are using.

I just watched another movie, German, called "Barbara"
We don't ever want our children this powerless.