#ChristmasEve Mass from the Vatican was really depressing & strange in the way of 2020. Perhaps it would have been unseemly in a year when so many have died to be too celebratory. But Pope Francis seemed deeply sad. And had restricted the gathering, which is usually thousands.
1/
Pope Francis had limited the number of people to 100 with the number of cardinals at only 30. The effect in the world's largest church was sparse and austere. Francis used one of the small side altars. There were none of the intl readings there usually are each Christmas.
2/
There were only a handful of children. None of the delegations from other countries like usual. Pope Francis's homily was about the metaphor of #Christmas as our rebirth in Christ. It was also about his consistent themes of helping the poor, the sick and the vulnerable.
3/
The message of helping one another during this #pandemic was over-arching and appropriate. Pope Francis said repeatedly that Jesus came as a poor baby to teach us to be patient, kind and caring. And to understand our complaints are nothing compared to some others'. It was good
4/
But the sadness of it was painful. And so the whole year with all its losses really was like a scrim over the entire service, reminding us that faith is never easy, that serving G-d through seeing Jesus in the suffering of others is our mission. And that we must do better.
5/
That Pope Francis specifically mentioned the American #COVID dead from the altar was telling. 1 in 4 Americans is Catholic, but it seemed more that he felt someone needed to speak for our dead and their families as Trump never has.
6/
As a Catholic, I felt Francis's words resonate: they were poweful & poignant. It's easy to see G-d speaking through him--the clarity of thought & empathy as he told us "G-d loves us so much." There is nothing we need to hear more than that at this time: That we are cherished.
7/

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More from @VABVOX

20 Dec
#NEW
Also in this disturbing story: pardoned traitor Mike Flynn told Trump that he could impose martial law and "re-run" the election. Which would violate the Constitution.

Trump Weighed Naming Election Conspiracy Theorist as Special Counsel nytimes.com/2020/12/19/us/…
I've written a dozen stories since 2015 on what a dangerous character Mike Flynn is. Obama not only fired him, but also warned Trump about him. And Sally Yates warned Trump about him and was fired. AND Flynn lied to Congress and the FBI. Flynn shouldn't even be allowed in the WH.
Flynn was working as an unregistered foreign agent while he was working for the Trump campaign in 2015. And he colluded with Russia before and after the election. As NSA. Trump and the quisling GOP have normalized all of this, but it is actually putting the country at risk.
Read 4 tweets
19 Dec
The #CNNTownHall, #TheColorOfCOVID, is one of the most critically important hours on TV. It will repeat later tonight and you can watch it online at CNN.com, later. BIPOC are disproportionately impacted by the #coronavirus in cases and deaths, in all age groups.
.@donlemon reports that "even if deemed safe by scientists" as the two approved #vaccines have been, "35% of Black Americans would still not be willing to take the vaccine." But they were willing to take the #vaccine if their personal physician recommended it.
Sandra Lindsay, dir of critical care nursing in NYC, was the 1st person in the US to get the vaccine. A Jamaican immigrant. She says, "The legacy of the past [Tuskeegee] looms darkly over Black and brown people. But in 26yrs of nursing I have never felt so afraid as from covid."
Read 10 tweets
16 Dec
Who is worthy of good food is the question posed here. I have spent long stretches in hospital and as a vegetarian have had to fight the kitchen for anything past salad. This is something to consider.

Vittles 6.9 - The Food of Care Homes by @demarionunn vittles.substack.com/p/vittles-69-t…
Right now 22% of Americans are over 65. How many will end up in nursing homes? How many of the millions with #COVID will become permanently disabled? Also there are 81M #disabled Americans of all ages. How many are in care homes? What is the food like?
When my dad had a sudden catastrophic stroke during lunch one afternoon, he went from being a vibrant, handsome older man with a wife 25yrs his junior to paralysis and a nursing home. The stroke left him completely paralyzed on one side of his body and on a feeding tube.
Read 4 tweets
5 Dec
I have been trying to get a power wheelchair and wheelchair lift for four years--it's day 1,581 of my being trapped since I became paraplegic.

I hope there is a way to track down this child and get her a power chair. It is unconscionable that she doesn't have one. 🎄🎁♿
#Disabled people are the most invisible and ignored on the planet. We are THE largest minority group in the US--81M. EVERYONE knows a #disabled person. Yet the discrimination and lack of concern are crushing.
If you have durable medical equipment you aren't using that is in good condition, I would urge you to donate it to your local Centet for Independent Living or MS Society. Most places will give you a tax credit for these donations.
Read 4 tweets
4 Dec
The most prominent anti-vaxxers are men. And spoiler alert--they are Democrats. Get RFK Jr. and Robert DeNiro to take the vaccine on camera and divest of their long-disruptive anti-vax crusades. Add in the Independents who claim vaccines are just a Big Pharma scam. All are wrong.
The erroneous long-debunked link between vaccines & autism basically stipulates that it is better to have a dead child than an autistic child. I have several friends whose children are autistic who will fight you on that. Stop using your ableism to mask your own irrational fears.
Vaccines have been established science since 1796. If you are over the age of five, you are alive because of vaccines. Stop standing in the way of saving lives.
Read 6 tweets
1 Dec
There's a Venn diagram somewhere of folks who chain blocked me for not supporting Biden and who chain blocked me for not supporting Bernie. It's almost as if those folks couldn't read pieces I wrote endorsing a Harris/Warren ticket back in 2019. But Nov. 3, I voted #BidenHarris.
The false narratives that were spread throughout the primary about the women senators running for president were rooted in the systemic misogyny that helped elect Trump. And it will always be true that Biden and Bernie running sundered any real chances for Harris and Warren.
That same institutionalized misogyny has continued to stalk VP-elect Harris and now has bled over onto the women Biden has chosen for leadership roles in traditionally white male posts. It's stunning that there is more ire for those choices than for any of Trump's actions.
Read 4 tweets

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