Claims And Issues

GIVE THANKS!

(Dennis and Dianne Wall, November 2023)

GO FORWARD

The Long Haul.

Every person wants to share what they think of as their wisdom, I think.  Even if it means "speaking into the void," as I am now, with no-one specifically identified as someone who will hear.

Over the long haul, we will not always win.  I am certain that trying has in it the possibility of being satisfied with that.  I cannot tell you whether you will win enough times to be satisfied.  I am certain of another thing, in any case.

If we never try, we guarantee that we will never win.

GO FORWARD

Image by David Friedrich Caspar, Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog.jpg (Public Domain; Wikimedia Commons)

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2025 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.  Interested in many things including Claims and Issues?  Sign up for a free subscription to my Substack newsletter. 

“Where There is no Faith in the Future, There is no Power in the Present.”

Cardinal Blase Cupich’s sermon, in Chicago, on the Third Sunday of Advent.

Shenandoah.  (Author Photo)

It is remarkable to me how closely this time parallels the readings of Advent.  This Sunday’s Gospel passage, for example, was from Luke about John the Baptist.

The crowds asked John the Baptist what they should do to prepare.  His reply:  Whoever has two coats should share with the person who has none.  And whoever has food should share with the person who has none.

In today’s messaging, I think that it will be a simple thing for anyone and everyone to tell who is preparing for the coming of God in her or his life by the fact that they share with others.  What could be more important to prepare for?   It’s not about us alone, it’s about all of us.  Not some of us, all of us.

Even tariff collectors came to John and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”  His reply to the tariff collectors:  Stop collecting more from the people than what is prescribed in the law. 

In today’s messaging, it seems clear to me at least, that this is such a low bar that anyone can make it, even me:  Stop taking more than what the law allows.

Members of the military also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?’  His reply to the military:  Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.

Again, the message for today seems to me to be such a low bar that anyone can meet it, whether a person is actually serving in the military or is serving in some other way:  Do not abuse anyone, do not take what belongs to them and not to you, and be satisfied with your income without committing fraud to get more money.

After all this, the crowd asked one another if this man John was the Messiah.

That too speaks to the present age.  If the bars are so low that anyone can meet them, we ought to be preparing to meet them; and something more.  We should be meeting them now; we can, and we will.

GO FORWARD.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2024 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.  Interested in many things including Claims and Issues?  Sign up for a free subscription to my Substack newsletter. 

RESPECT LIFE SUNDAY

Throughout the Catholic Church, today is honored as Respect Life Sunday.

          In your zeal to respect the life of the unborn fetus, my fellow Catholics, Respect The Life of Women!

          You can respect both the life of a person and the life of a fetus, you know.  Personally, and as a person myself, in cases of conflict I lean in the direction of respecting the life of a person.

GO FORWARD!

(Photo by Ted S. Warren, Associated Press)

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2024 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

"FREEDOM INCLUDES, but it DOES NOT INCLUDE ..."

"Freedom includes the right to judge; it does not include taking people's fundamental rights away because they choose to live differently from you in ways that do not affect you at all."

--@AdamSerwer

GO FORWARD

WHAT THE COUNTRY NEEDS NOW ....

What the nation needs at this time is the answer of Faith:  Stay calm and believe.

          What the country is likely to get this week is anything but.  Anticipate four nights of angry cries for "Bloody Murder."

          Violence is much more likely to be on display just as it was during the American Apocalypse between January 20, 2017 and January 19, 2021.

          We can count on that. 

          Even as we count on ourselves and, far more than that, count on God (whether or not we call God Muslim, Jewish, Christian, or Whatever).  "Nobody's gonna break my Faith."

GO FORWARD!

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2024 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

GRATEFUL, DIANNE.

I am grateful for work.

          I am grateful for working at relationships.  If we do not work at our relationships, they will die.  (I am sad when things generally just do not work out, not simply relationships.)

          I am grateful for researching.  It keeps my brain active.

          I am grateful for reading.  My eyesight has never been good, but it is getting harder to see.  I am grateful that I can read.

          I am grateful for being able to print from my cellphone.  Our networked printers are going through a network glitch right now, but I can still print everything I need to print (so far) from my cellphone and I am grateful for that.

          I am grateful for rain.  It waters our lawn, our garden, and our flowers.  Rain even waters our hanging baskets, which are not reached by our sprinklers unless they are taken down and put on the ground.

          But most of all, I am grateful for you.

 

GO FORWARD

Inspired by a Tom T. Hall song, "I love ...."  Please read the disclaimer.  ©2024 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

EQUALITY CAN BE A BALANCING.

This does not mean that to give relief to others you ought to make things difficult for yourselves; it is a question of balancing what happens to be your surplus now against their present need, and one day they may have something to spare that will supply your own need.  That is how we strike a balance:  as Scripture says [Exodus 16:18]:  The person who gathered much had none too much, the person who gathered little did not go short.

          --2 Corinthians 8:13-15.

GO FORWARD

WATER ON A HOT DAY, ANY DAY.

I had always thought of workers as vendors.  In my eyes, the people who came to my house to do work got paid for their trouble.  I know.  I was the one that paid them.

          My wife, Dianne, looked at things differently.  She offered the workers water even when it was not a hot day.  Their work might make them thirsty.  That was enough.  It did not have to be a hot day on top of that.

          Now we are living through a time of High Heat.  Every day in Florida it seems is hotter than the last.  That's probably not strictly so, but in my mind, it's close to the truth.

          Even before the High Heat came, I was offering water to workers too.  I do not expect anything in return.  The workers appreciate it, even the ones who have brought water with them in the truck or in the car, and that's most of them.  I feel good just from the offer, myself.  That is enough.

GO FORWARD

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2024 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH.

 

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

--Proverbs 29:18.

 

GO FORWARD

THIS WEEK, THIS LIFE, ALL THE TIME PRAYER.

Dear Lord, steady our pace so that we can see you in the people and challenges that will come our way today.

          --Rev. Herbert Yost

GO FORWARD

A PRAYER TO SEE THE OPPORTUNITIES.

Dear Lord, open our eyes to the opportunities that await us.

From a prayer written by Rev. Herbert Yost, C.S.C.

GO FORWARD

Dear Lord ....

Dear Lord, grant us a grateful heart when we feel discouraged.

            --Modified from a Prayer by Rev. Herbert Yost.

 

GO FORWARD.

"WE ARE THE WORLD." WOULD YOU WALK AWAY? STAY?

"We Are The World" was recorded in a session which included many of the foremost artists of the time.  It was being recorded as a benefit for starving people in Africa.

          There are times when a line is crossed.  Very often in my own life, I have walked out.  It is sobering to think how many times we walk out of a project because we blame somebody else for crossing a line, when it was us that crossed the line.

          During the recording of "We Are The World," Stevie Wonder suggested singing some lines in Swahili.   For Waylon Jennings, this crossed a line.  He walked out, muttering that he would not sing in Swahili.

          The rest of the artists stayed.  They argued that the suggestion to sing some lines in Swahili was not appropriate.  Stevie Wonder was open to their views, and he changed his mind.  The song was not recorded in Swahili.  (Most of the starving people did not speak Swahili, for one thing.)

          We would not have known these things if a documentary had not been videoed and released this year on Netflix.  Watch it.  You will get to see these things and many more things that you would otherwise never know, including watching Stevie Wonder coach Bob Dylan on how to sing the song like Bob Dylan.

          Along the way, think about crossing lines and walking out.  Would you walk away or stay?

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2024 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY: CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION'S PROPOSAL.

The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice has issued a Notice of proposed rulemaking about Nondiscrimination against Disabled people, which has been officially published at 89 Federal Register 2183 (Friday, Jan. 12, 2024).  Here is the pdf format:  Download Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Civil Rights Division Dept of Justice Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability (Jan. 12 2024).

All Comments must be submitted on or before February 12, 2024.  I intend to submit a Comment or two, never having been shy about expressing my opinions, like most people in the United States.

It's quick.  My Comments and yours do not need to be written for lawyers.  Quite the opposite.  Just write your Comments for people.  If you have personal experience to share, please share it.  In any case, feel free to share your thoughts and points of view about the many subtle forms that even well-meaning decisions bring discrimination against the disabled as well.

It's easy.  AND they are required by law to read your Comments!  It doesn't get any better than this.

You may submit Comments, identified by RIN 1190-AA78, on the Federal Rulemaking Website at https://www.regulations.gov.  Just follow the website's instructions for submitting Comments.  No worries.

Besides finding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the officially published Federal Register, you can also find this "NPRM" as the people in Washington, D.C. call it at https://www.ada.gov.

Comments are good!

GO FORWARD

Please read the disclaimer.  This article ©2024 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

GROUPS ARE PEOPLE, MY FRIEND.

Night-Time Chicago Seen From Space (Image via NASA)

I was listening to a podcast about the control of chemicals at the borders.  A team of young reporters had apparently just finished a splendid series writing on this subject for the Tampa Bay Times.

One of the reporters said that since some of a certain chemical was still getting through customs, "obviously, the Federal Trade Commission" does not stop all these imports.

That made me realize that we, myself included, look at groups – be they agencies or teams or other organizations – as entities with their own existence.  Like the reporter, we look at a group like the FTC, for example, as some kind of giant with its own existence, its own personality, its own vision, etc.  That's not true though.

Groups of any kind are made up of people.  It may be a fact that a certain chemical is still being imported into the United States.  But it is NOT "obvious that the Federal Trade Commission" does not stop every one of these imports.  The FTC is made up of people.  It is more likely, perhaps even "obvious" once you think about it, that the FTC does not have enough inspectors.  There may not be enough people inspecting imports for this particular chemical.  It is more likely to be obvious right after you think about the fact that like any organization, the FTC carries out all its operations with people.

Groups are people, my friend.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2024 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

CONTEXT, POLLS, AND YOU.

Context.  The best reporting presents things in context.  Context is recognized as a necessity for trustworthy journalism.  Always.

         An example was given by polling results that were published by The New York Times in November, 2023 about how people said they would vote come the November, 2024 election.  Many people expressed shock and surprise that the results of those polls had Joe Biden losing.  Before we address the most obvious problems with these polls, many observers have already (correctly) pointed out that the results are unreliable for various reasons, including some that are mentioned below.

         In context, the most obvious thing behind the New York Times' November 2023 poll results is that Joe Biden is not popular to begin with.

         In his past runs for the Presidency, Biden has not done very well.  I believe that he had two runs before 2020 and the longest his candidacy lasted may have been a few months; if he earned a single delegate in those past runs, that would be a surprise.

         In 2020, Joe Biden was almost left for dead, politically,  until the South Carolina primary came along.  He had the good fortune to be the only so-called "centrist" candidate left, meaning that the rich and arrogant people that think they are in charge of the Democratic Party had no-one else to turn to.  Then came South Carolina and Biden's fortunes changed such that he got his party's nomination and ran in the general election against someone else who had run for the Presidency before,  had never won the popular vote, and alienated so much of the electorate that Mr. Biden got 7 Million more votes than his opponent.

         Returning to reasons that polls in November, 2023 are unreliable predictors of results in November, 2024:

• Most obviously: Polls have not been correct for the past 8 years.  There is no reason to expect them to be correct now.

• The next Presidential Election is a year away. A lot can happen in the meantime.  (Look for example at what has happened in just the past year.)

• There is a real difference between what people say, and what voters do. Some people lie to pollsters.  People lie for various reasons.  Some are annoyed with pollsters and their polls.  Others are unhappy with the current state of affairs in the United States (for that matter, who isn't?).  Still others don't like the people they have to choose from in this election.  There are a lot of reasons, but there is a real difference between the answers a person is willing to give to poll questions, and the vote that same person casts at the polls.

         All that said, no objective person can legitimately say that this is good news for Joe Biden.  The shock and surprise at poll results from November of last year, about predicted results to come in November of this year, are that if this were a horse race, Biden should be way ahead, leading by lengths:

• The economy is the best it has been in years, the unemployment rate is microscopic, and inflation has been coming way down.
• Workers are enchanted with new-found security and better wages.
• Biden's opposition comes from sources that are the most anti-American since secessionists started a civil war.

         Putting things in context is, to say again, the mark of the best reporting.   Context is a necessity for trustworthy journalism.

          Always.

This marks a perhaps temporary departure from the past several months' of Go Forward articles.  The focus here is still on what's positive in the country, in the world, and in our lives.  Go Forward.

 

VISION WITHOUT ACTION IS A DAYDREAM. ACTION WITHOUT VISION IS ...

A NIGHTMARE.

Adapted from a comment by Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in his guest column titled Nelson Mandela Taught Me This:  Hope Survives Wherever People Come Together,  published on New Year's Eve 2023 in The Guardian online newspaper.

Hands down.  Our time is best occupied by acting on our visions.  We will not always achieve them, of course.  But if we do not act on our visions, we guarantee that they will not amount to anything more than a daydream.

GO FORWARD THIS YEAR.

IT'S CHRISTMAS! MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(Photo by Dennis Wall)

He is come!

GO FORWARD

NEWS OF GREAT JOY WHICH IS FOR ALL THE PEOPLE

(Photo by Dennis Wall)

And you shall go to Bethlehem and there you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger ....

A Child is born to us, a Savior is given to us!  He and we are almost there!  Merry Christmas Eve!

GO FORWARD

CHRISTMAS A DAY AWAY!

(Photo by Dennis Wall)

It's Christmas Eve Day.  Christmas is a day away.  I can't wait (although I'm old enough to know I have to).

GO FORWARD

CHRISTMAS TWO DAYS AWAY!

(Photograph by Dennis Wall)

Christmas is two days away.  Rise up!  Joy is on the way (actually, it's always been here)!

GO FORWARD

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS.

Christmas blessings are for everyone.  Blessings don't disappear or dwindle like water poured from a bottle.  With blessings, it's always a full bottle.

Especially but not just at Christmas. 

Do not pay attention to people who are opposed to blessings.  They did not visit the Babe in the crib either.

GO FORWARD

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

(Photo by Dennis Wall)

Christmas teaches an important lesson:  Home is anywhere you make it and the Holy Days are anywhere you make them.

GO FORWARD

A ZOOM CHRISTMAS.

Like many other people, polio survivors weaken quickly.  Post-Polio Syndrome is often confused with such conditions as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Muscular Sclerosis but all these share in common that, among other things, they make it difficult to meet in person.

Thanks to Zoom and its morally equivalent cousins, such as Skype and Cisco Webex to name two with free versions,  everyone can support anyone else meeting virtually now.  At Christmas and All Year Through.

GO FORWARD

CHRISTMAS IS STRONGER THAN DeJOY.

But why should it have to be?

Liberate the United States Postal Service!

Bring Them Home By Christmas!

GO FORWARD

BETTER THE WHITE DOG AT CHRISTMAS.

(Photo by Dennis Wall)

A white dog at Christmas in Florida.  White snow on the ground.  I've lived with both.  For me in Florida, better the white dog at Christmas.

GO FORWARD

THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE AND CHRISTMAS.

C-47's drop supplies over Bastogne the day after Christmas in 1944.  (Wikipedia)

The Battle of the Bulge began seventy-nine years ago, on December 16, 1944.  Since that time, many cold winters and joy-filled Christmases have come and gone.

The liberation of Bastogne the day after Christmas has not yet been forgotten, though.

Neither has the Birth of the Child in Bethlehem.

GO FORWARD

CHRISTMAS DOES NOT KNOW DISABILITIES.

(Photo by Dennis Wall)

Many of our people go through life with a disability of one kind or another.  Sometimes other people who do not share those particular disabilities do not see them.  Sometimes they do.

Christmas does not know disabilities.  Everyone is equal to everyone else at Christmas, disabled or abled.  This is when we can all bring joy to other people, and to ourselves in the process:   at Christmas and all year through.

Christmas knows no disabilities, nothing that separates one person from any other person.   We should not know disabilities in that sense, either.

GO FORWARD

A MAN CALLED JOHN.

A man called John inspired the people.  He spoke calmly and directly.  The people were not used to that, especially the direct speech right to the point.  John calmly told the people what was coming.  He told them their part was to prepare and to live.

He is an inspiration.

GO FORWARD

WHEN THE PHONE RINGS, ANSWER IF IT'S CHRISTMAS CALLING.

(Photo by Dennis Wall)

Do you remember when the phone rang, your training was to answer it?

Now with the advent of robocalling for money, the training now is not to answer it.  Probably good training to free yourself from the hucksters that want to take your money, but not such good training if the call is for something good.

If it's Christmas calling, answer it!

GO FORWARD