The 8th of January

The United States tried to take advantage, of a Britain engaged with Napoleon, to expand militarily. With mostly failed endeavors: Canada repulsed an invasion and the District of Columbia was attacked and the Executive Mansion burned, the man who commanded that campaign, Admiral George Cockburn, would later be Napoleon's jailer at St. Helena.

After the peace treaty was signed, but a month before the news reached the field, Andrew Jackson, a man without military training, commanded a great victory over a superior force at New Orleans on the 8th of January 1815. A fiddle tune, which came to be called, Jackson's Victory, and later, The 8th of January, was played.

James Corbett Morris was born in Mountain View, Arkansas. Nicknamed Driftwood as an infant [remember we are talking Arkansas here] grew up within a lively musical culture. His father was a local folk singer, and his grandfather gifted him a carved fiddle by his own hand. Jimmy graduated Arkansas Teachers College and taught history to the disinterested. He came to write the song, Battle of New Orleans, to teach his high schoolers history in 1941. The tune he used was The 8th of January. This was before Summerhill and inquiry, discovery and other John Dewey folderal. He blended his talents with historical accuracy and poetic creativity. After a time he came to notice in Nashville and his first album, Newly Discovered Early American Folk Songs, came out in 1958. Johnny Horton heard Driftwood's song, on the radio in 1959, and went on to cover it and reached number one with his version. Jimmy Driftwood went on to a successful musical career.

Battle of New Orleans

Well, in eighteen and fourteen we took a little trip
along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans,
And we caught the bloody* British near the town of New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, I see'd Mars Jackson walkin down the street
talkin' to a pirate by the name of Jean Lafitte
He gave Jean a drink that he brung from Tennessee
and the pirate said he'd help us drive the British in the sea.

The French said Andrew, you'd better run,
for Packingham's a comin' with a bullet in his gun.
Old Hickory said he didn't give a damn,
he's gonna whip the britches off of Colonel Packingham.

We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, we looked down the river and we see'd the British come,
and there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
while we stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
if we didn't fire a musket til we looked 'em in the eyes.
We held our fire til we see'd their faces well,
then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave hell.

We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, we fired our cannon til the barrel melted down,
so we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind,
and when they tetched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

We'll march back home but we'll never be content
till we make Old Hickory the people's President.
And every time we think about the bacon and the beans,
we'll think about the fun we had way down in New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin,
But there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Well, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast the hounds couldn't catch 'em
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
But there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
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* words in bold sometimes censored

Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund (H.R. 1921)

Recently the gentleman, who queried me on an earlier question, has given me another: whether I have an opinion on the following matter ― John Lewis has reintroduced the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill (H.R. 1921) in the 110th Congress. To quote from a press release:

This legislation establishes a governmental trust fund into which designated conscientious objectors will pay their full federal income taxes.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

(b) Military Purpose- For purposes of this Act, the term `military purpose' means any activity or program which any agency of the Government conducts, administers, or sponsors and which effects an augmentation of military forces or of defensive and offensive intelligence activities, or enhances the capability of any person or nation to wage war, including the appropriation of funds by the United States for--

SEC. 4. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM PEACE TAX FUND.

(b) Use of Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund- Monies deposited in the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund shall be allocated annually to any appropriation not for a military purpose.

At first, I saw under 4b that money would NOT be used; then I reread slowly and saw his point under 3b. So, it comes down to grammatical interpretation of one word, at first glance ― augmentation, but no! ― and. Mathematical logic suggests, that 'and' means: satisfies BOTH conditions. Language is logical, but mathematical logic is not its programme. The appropriate principle would be of congruent agreement. Here 'and' means: ALSO.

I could see someone, especially of the weaselly and malicious sort, that we have now to try to play trickster. The sponsors of the said bill are against this war, such was not their intent.

Being lazy, instead of cracking a good dictionary, I used a search engine for the word 'augmentation' and got a page of references for breast surgery. Computer algorithms do not use language logic either. So I cracked the book, put it under the lamp, found a pair of spectacles and augment(ation) does only suggest increase.

But, even though Quentin Quaker's denarii won't enrich the merchants of death, it will be for something else in addition to death and violence, so that others will outfit and armour the red steed that carries War, none-the-less. In this regard, it is a sham. The dogs of war will not be chained and Mars will not atrophy. There will be more money in the coffers to spend. It will function as an additional publican to gather tribute from the conscientious tax resister.

+ 20 + G + M + B + 08 +

Today by happy circumstance Epiphany Sunday and the feast of the Three Kings (Magi), Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, share the 6th of January. Traditionally, since the Magi came to see the Christ manifested and help announce him to the world, today the announcement of the date of Easter and the other movable holidays were proclaimed. Easter comes early this year, on the 23rd of March. Western Lent is the 6th of February, meaning the last possible date to be within the Christmas season is February 5th. The colors of gold, purple and green of the gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh, are the colors for Mardi Gras.


Isaias lx.6
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: and shewing forth praise to the Lord.

Psalms lxxi.10-15
The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall offer presents: the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring gifts:
And all kings of the earth shall adore him: all nations shall serve him.
For he shall deliver the poor from the mighty: and the needy that had no helper.
He shall spare the poor and needy: and he shall save the souls of the poor.
He shall redeem their souls from usuries and iniquity: and their names shall be honourable in his sight.
And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Arabia, for him they shall always adore: they shall bless him all the day.

Matthew ii.11
And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

the continuing electoral process

Of those seeking the nomination from the party rival to the Democracy, Ron Paul is a true democrat. He actually believes in the Constitution, including both the first and fourth amendments. For this alone he stands apart and above his field. And because of that, he will not be permitted the nomination or airtime, and he will be scurrilously attacked. If Mr. Paul does well, he will still be ignored. The corporate press is selective in presentation and in framing questions. The motto of the Murdoch, propaganda, television network is so telling in a freudian manner. The New York Times motto is, also, self-promoting flim-flam. All of this is contrary to, the historian, Leopold von Ranke's manner: "wie es eigentlich gewesen war".* He said that history should be written as it actually had happened without directing commentary.

Huckabee won Iowa to the great dismay of his party. There is a professor, who has an excellent site: http://electoral-vote.com/. He writes the following today:

It's the Republican establishment that hates Huckabee. The reason is clear but the media are scared to talk about it. The truth is what the current administration really cares about is tax cuts, expecially big ones for the rich. What was the first thing George Bush after Jan. 20, 2001? Tax cuts, including lowering the top marginal rate from 39.6% to 35%. If you are making $10 million a year, that's $460,000 extra in your pocket. After Bush's 2004 victory, he said that the election gave him political capital and he intended to spend it. So what did he do? He spent two months traveling around the country trying to sell a plan to privatize (read: phase out) social security. He didn't spend two months trying to get a constitutional amendment banning abortions or forbidding same-sex marriages. He could have, but didn't want to spend his political capital that way. Even when pleasing the Base was cheap he didn't do it. Remember that his long-time friend, Harriet Miers, was his first Supreme Court nominee, and he asked her to withdraw only after the Base protested loudy. The Republican party's dirty little secret is that upper management really doesn't care much about the social issues; they care about taxes. They trot out the social issues just before each election to whip the Base up into a frenzy and conveniently forget about them after winning. Huckabee is a real threat because he sincerely believes in the Bible. He's not just making it up to get votes. He's become their Frankenstein monster and must be eliminated.

I do not have the tradition, where I shout, "Amen", in agreement to propositions and arguments, as some religious believers do, but, "Amen", "Amen", "Amen", "Amen", "Amen", and "Amen". I still would not vote for Huckabee, but he is far better than the "approved" candidates of the Republicans. The worst currently available is Romney. He is the Stepford candidate. He is a panderer, a dissembler, oh, he is a politician, I am being redundant. He has been publicly maneuvering for the presidency since his involvement with the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. He has a feeling of entitlement to the position.

The capturing of the governorship of Massachusetts was a brilliant stroke: a mormon being the governor of a state that is vilified for electing liberal Democrats for two generations, a state with a catholic population. The boy is from Michigan and the press does not seem to know, they don't realize that the Bushes are from Connecticut and Maine. They are recognized by territories they conquered.
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*in the 1824 preface of Geschichten der Romanischen und Germanischen Volker von 1492 bis 1535
postscriptum: On ABC television Saturday night on this day, 5 January, Romney, and also Giuliani attacked Paul on so called ― foreign security matters; showing that Paul is rational and the other two are fearmongers and hairy chest beaters, Romney being especially repellent and wrong.

Parade the Constitution

At the end of the Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena, California there appeared citizen marchers: the White Rose Coalition.* These people marched with a banner of the Constitution. In many parades, people freely join the march at the end of the "official" line up. I remember doing this as a child at the end of a St. Anthony of Padua parade.

This is more patriotic than carrying flags. It is a grand gesture and a great idea. This should be done all over the land. It would be most appropriate in Independence Day parades. We know they had a more specific reason than general patriotism, but what american could object. The 4h of July announced the Declaration of Independence, it is even more à-propos and germane for that day and parade, naturally, the Declaration should be front and center, and with the Declaration, the Constitution. These banners should be permanent, national, parade elements. To object to this, would be akin to objecting the presence of the bible in church.
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To-day is the Iowa Caucuses. The press with both obsessiveness and narrow focus has covered this. It was accident that I found out about the action and photo of the above. The corporate national press restricts and dismisses news―effectively censors.

Opposition to the war and impeachment of bushcheney have been hidden from the public and has not been covered or shown. Some issues are manufactured and displayed; others are suppressed. Report after report says there is a virtual three way tie at the top of the Democracy's list: Hillary and Obama. I am for the seldom mentioned third ― Edwards.

Hillary is the the most Republican of the group, and she shows it. She has that air of presumption and entitlement that is so inherent among the anti-democratic party, and are we not experiencing the down side disaster of nepotism? She was president of her college's Young Republican club. I remember these people from university, so smug, so confident, so ignorant. Mrs. Clinton is reluctant to be seen "soft on defense" and is most welcomed by the moneyed powers and yet, republican voters say they like her the least. Win or lose she is the favorite candidate of the Republicans [as the candidate for the Democracy].

Huckabee crossed the picket line to appear on a talk show last night, broadcasting what he thinks of collective bargaining and unionism. There are worse in his party: Romney, Thompson, Giuliani, Hunter and some congressmen that have departed the hunt and chase. We are fortunate, that the worst fell on his own petard, georgeallenjr. Senator Webb protected the nation from that travesty and idiocy as he is now doing in keeping the Senate open against the machinations of the other buffoon george.
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*in reference to a group of christian german students at the University of Munich, executed by the government for criticizing the government for its shameful behavior.
"We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will not leave you in peace!"― motto of the White Rose resistance

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Today the Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen are commemmorated. Lesser known in the western church is St. Seraphim *1759 †1833. As a monk he lived as a hermit in the woods. Once a nun came to see him and she spied a scene similar to the illustration above.

Dostojevskij's character, the Starets Zosima, in The Brothers Karamazov alludes to Seraphim:

...Yonder," said I, "in the forest wanders the bear, fierce and menacing, and yet innocent."
And I told him how once a bear came to a great saint who had taken refuge in a tiny cell in the woods. And the great saint pitied him, went to him without fear and gave him a piece of bread. "Go along," said he, "Christ be with you." And the savage beast walked away meekly and obediently, doing no harm....

Theotokos, Mother of God

Theotokos Fresco at Visoki Dečani Monastery. Kosovo, Srbija.

Θεοτόκος , Богородица, Dei genetrix, God-bearer

"I am amazed that there are some who are entirely in doubt as to whether the holy Virgin should be called Theotokos or not. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how is the holy Virgin who gave birth [to Him], not [Theotokos]?" ― Cyril of Alexandria †444

“If one does not acknowledge Mary as Theotokos, he is estranged from God.”— St. Gregory of Nazianzus 382 in an epistle to Cledonius

alternate translation: If anyone does not believe that Holy Mary is the Mother of God, he is severed from the Godhead.

Proclaimed to all the faithful at the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431. An article of faith, that, logically, necessarily follows the propositions that Jesus is truly God and was born of Mary. Mary is the Mother of God. To-day, in this solemnity, it is observed.