The View from Right Field

Ascension Day – In a Very Different Country at a Very Different Time

Today is Ascension Day, which commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven.  The date varies from year to year, because it is 40 days after Easter (counting Easter as day one).  It is, therefore, always on a Thursday.  And this year it is on May 9.

In some countries Ascension Day is a public holiday.  Germany is one of those.  Which brings back a memory from an Ascension Day 42 years ago.  We had been driving around East Germany for four days.  It was interesting.  As I said at the time, it was not really a vacation; it was an education.

Stop the Burning of the Koran – By Ignoring It

The Financial Times had an interesting article today on the issue of the burning of the Koran in Sweden and Denmark.¹  Apparently, there is a lot of it going on, especially outside embassies of Islamic countries.  The question is what, if anything, these countries, both of which have a strong commitment to freedom of speech, can do about these actions.

It seems to me there is a simple solution to the problem of Koran burning in Denmark and Sweden.  It is not for those countries to ban it.  It is, rather, for Muslims to stop paying attention to it.  I understand that, for Muslims, the Koran is their holy book and desecration of the Koran is an insult to Allah.  But the people burning the Korans are not Muslim, they do not believe in Allah, and they do not think the Koran is a holy book.

What Christmas Is All About

My annual Christmas Eve post:

Charlie Brown: "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.  Lights, please?

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.  And they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you.  Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.’

"That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

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PS: As I have said before, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is also to be treasured because it is one of the too few places today where you can hear the story of our Savior's birth in the words of the King James Version, which have a magnificence of language that is timeless.

A Christmas to Remember: Berlin, 2010

I recently listened to a podcast that asked the participants for one of their best Christmas memories, which got me thinking.  I have a lot wonderful Christmas memories.  For many years, it was mostly the five of us, my mother, Jennie, Ross, Susan, and me, and they were great.  Then, after my mother passed away, the four of us did some traveling over Christmas: Guadeloupe, Peru, and maybe the best: Berlin in 2010.

We went to Germany in December, 2010, to see the Christmas markets – and Germany in the snow.  And there was a lot of snow in 2010.  We decided to stay until December 26, so we could celebrate Christmas in Berlin. 

On Christmas Eve, we ended our sightseeing early and went back to the hotel for our own Christmas celebration.  Susan bought gifts for everybody at KaDeWe.  I bought what I call “Kindereier” at Kaiser’s, a food store¹ (and brought baseball cards with me – because you always give baseball cards for Christmas).

What Christmas Is All About

My annual Christmas Eve post:

Charlie Brown:  "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.  Lights, please?

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.  And they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you.  Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.’

"That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

----------
PS: as I have said before, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is also to be treasured because it is one of the few places today where you can hear the story of our Savior's birth in the words of the King James Version, which have a magnificence in language that is timeless.

What Christmas Is All About

Things have been a little hectic lately (and I hope to get back to posting next week), but I don't want to miss my annual Christmas Eve post:

Charlie Brown:  "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.  Lights, please?

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.  And they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you.  Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.’

"That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

----------
PS: "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is also to be treasured because it is one of the few places today where you can hear the story of our Savior's birth in the King James Version, which has a magnificence in its language that is timeless. 

Things have been a little hectic lately (and I hope to get back to posting next week), but I don't want to miss my annual Christmas Eve post:

Charlie Brown:  "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.  Lights, please?

Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Be Regulated

Of course, he does, the cynic would say.  It’s the best way to protect himself – and his money.  In an Op-Ed in The Washington Post last week,¹ Mr. Zuckerberg called for regulation of the Internet.  Among other things, he wants “a globally harmonized framework” for privacy and data protection.  He suggests that third party bodies set standards on distribution of harmful content.   And he wants laws on “verifying” those who buy/pay for political ads and political speech.

There will be plenty of legislators willing to take Mr. Zuckerberg up on his request.  There is nothing that many people in Washington like more than passing laws and looking like they are doing something.²  Plus regulating speech on the Internet is a great way for incumbents to protect their jobs. 

What Christmas Is All About

My annual Christmas Eve post:

Charlie Brown:  "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.  Lights, please?

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.  And they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you.  Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.’

"That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

----------
PS: "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is also to be treasured because it is one of the few places today where you can hear the story of our Savior's birth in the King James Version, which has a magnificence to its language that is timeless. 

My annual Christmas Eve post:

Charlie Brown:  "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.  Lights, please?

Masterpiece Cakeshop – Again

On June 4, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission that Masterpiece Cakeshop had violated the rights of a customer who asked Masterpiece Cakeshop to bake a special cake for a same-sex marriage.  The Supreme Court’s decision was narrow.  The Court held that the Colorado had violated the rights of Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, under the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment, by the way it treated him and his claim of religious belief for what he did.  The Court specifically did not say whether, in a proper case, where the state was not hostile to a business owner’s religious beliefs, it might not hold that a business owner could be forced to bake such a cake.  

Guess what.  That case might be coming to the Supreme Court.  Because on June 28, just three-and-one-half weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission found probable cause that Mr. Phillips had unlawfully discriminated in another case, this time by refusing to bake a custom cake (blue on the outside, pink on the inside) to celebrate the seventh anniversary of Autumn Scardina’s transition from a man to a woman.  (Also, here.)  Set-up, anybody?

Cakes for Gay Weddings: The Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision

It will be interesting to see how the commentariat reacts to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which was announced today.  While at least some supporters on both sides of the issue will probably get carried away, the decision itself, at least as I understand it, was fairly narrow.  Specifically, the Court held that the Commission had violated the rights of Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, under the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment by the way it treated him and his claim of religious belief for what he did.  The Court did not, however, say the Commission violated Mr. Phillips’s rights by telling him that he had to make a cake for a gay wedding.  It left that question for another day.  Rather, the Court held that the Commission violated Mr. Phillips’s rights by showing, in the words of the Court’s Syllabus of the case,

“a clear and impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs motivating his objection.  As the record shows, some of the commissioners at the Commission’s formal, public hearings endorsed the view that religious beliefs cannot legitimately be carried into the public sphere or commercial domain, disparaged Phillips’ faith as despicable and characterized it as merely rhetorical, and compared his invocation of his sincerely held religious beliefs to defenses of slavery and the Holocaust.”