I want to tell you about a time that I used racism to my advantage.

...

I was helping a young couple buy their first car. They were members of my parish who had taken one of my finance-literacy workshops and they wanted me to make sure they didn't get fleeced. They already knew the make and model of the car they wanted, so we went to the dealership (in LA) to negotiate a price.

We get a salesman who, for whatever reason - probably b/c I was asking the questions, assumed that the couple (Anglo) was helping ME to shop for a vehicle.

Now that block bot has had time to do its thing, here's a dispassionate look at the Twitter deal.

The purchase price was north of $44b. That amount was raised w/a combination of $12.5b in financing, $21b in equity, & the remainder from a loan secured against his Tesla stock. A few notes:

First, the loan is secured on stock that is down from $361 at the time of the original deal to $228 yesterday, a 37% drop.

Why is that drop important?

As the loan is secured AGAINST Tesla stock, he had to commit MORE stock than he originally negotiated.

I have a terrible habit, something I've done over a lifetime, of not accepting thanks w/grace.

I work hard & I'm good at what I do, but when I receive thanks, I minimize & deflect.

"Thank you!" - "It's just my job"
"Great job!" - "I could have done better"
"Well done!" - "Meh" For the longest time I convinced myself that it was humility, or an attempt to focus on the WORK & not the thanks, but REALLY it's a deep-seated fear that

"I don't know what I'm doing"
"they're just being nice"
"everybody knows I'm incompetent."

It's imposter syndrome.

Do a thought exercise w/me.

Think of:
- All those in Trump's inner circle

- Of those, the ones who remained in favor after he lost

- Of those, the ones who would visit Mar a Lago

- Of those, the ones who would be trusted enough for Trump to show them the documents We've now got a pretty small circle of people. Most of them are heavily invested in seeing Trump either return to the White House or remain a force in the GOP.

So whoever tipped off the FBI about the documents must have something GREATER to gain than his continued coattails.

Quick Primer: "Affidavit"

You're probably going to hear about affidavits over the next few weeks & it's crucial that you understand what they are and, more importantly, AREN'T.

Affidavits ARE evidence that can be presented in court.

They AREN'T, by themselves, proof. An affidavit is a written statement, under oath subject to penalty of law in the case it is determined to be an untruthful attestation, that can be submitted as evidence.

However, the existence of an affidavit by itself is not proof that the attested action actually happened.

Something to remember about Catholicism & the "Traditional Latin Mass"(TLM):

In September 2007, w/his apostolic letter "Summorum Pontificum", Pope Benedict allowed greater freedom in celebrating the sacraments in their pre-Vatican II forms. This was in response to concerns that some, who grew up pre Vatican II, were being denied the sacraments in the form that had brought them into the Church.

Yes, the Church believes as it prays.

Yes, the Church needs unity.

But that doesn't preclude compassion.

I watched "2,000 Mules" so you don't have to.

tl:dr

The filmmakers posit they have proof that thousands of people were paid to harvest and deliver fraudulent ballots across swing states.

Their evidence is based on cell phone location data that they purchased. Their methodology was simple:

Check the cell phone location data around each ballot box, & again around nonprofits the filmmakers considered conspirators.

They then marked every unique cell phone that was near a ballot box & those conspirators.

Reminder:

Flynn was convicted of lying to the FBI about sabotaging sanctions against Russia.

One of POTUS Trump's first actions was attempting to remove US-Russian sanctions.

One of his last actions was to degrade US-Russian intelligence by ending the "Open Skies Treaty". Don't let anybody tell you that "this"⬇️ wouldn't have happened if Trump was in office.

This IS happening b/c when Trump was in office, he put US interests below those of Russia.

bbc.com/news/av/world-…

Roger Miller & his wife walked through downtown Newport (CA) & hurled invective at Asians:

- blamed them for COVID
- called them communists
- told them to go "back to China" (They weren't Chinese)

She lost her job at a Christian school, he was suspend.

coronadotimes.com/news/2022/01/3… They're rightfully going through some things, but the bigger issue for me is:

... these weren't their words.

These are things that they've heard over and over from their political (and probably religious) leaders.

It's in the news they watch, & the entertainment they consume.

Today is the start of "Black History Month"

... According to the @GOP, it is terribly disrespectful to all the other months to call it "Black", so they're going to burn it. Meme source:

news.yahoo.com/ted-cruz-says-…

When I was younger, I was a hardcore Republican.

It's possible I would have been MAGA had it been around.

I started questioning the @GOP ideology in the 90's, but it wasn't until W Bush's presidency that I started voting independent.

Why?

Let me share two stories of many. This is a photo (from the Reagan library) of the former president's meeting w/Mujahedeen he invited to the White house in '83.

We gave them weapons & training.

At the time, these men were leading the fight against the "evil USSR" in Afghanistan, so I was entirely on-board.

Most everybody knows the story of the Good Samaritan: a man who goes out of his way to help a fellow traveler in need when the people who SHOULD have helped, refused.

I once wondered what kind of people wouldn't help.

Then the pandemic struck

... & I don't wonder anymore. A traveler is robbed, beaten, & left for dead by bandits on the side of the road.

He's passed by a Priest, then a Levite - both of whom SHOULD have helped the man - before a Samaritan, a despised foreigner, picks him up, puts him on his horse, & pays for his care.

There are a lot of people who wonder how CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Newsmax, etc. can remain on the air after so much public outrage (depending on their political preferences) & the subsequent advertiser pullouts.

The answer is simple: cable package bundling. Over the past decade cable-cutters (CC) have pushed for unbundled programming.

If I want "Discovery", I shouldn't have to buy a package that includes 30 channels I have no intention of watching.

The CC community has wanted "a-la-carte" (ALC) pricing to break that bundling.

Genocide: "The deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group."

But here's the thing... Genocide doesn't need war. It doesn't need an army, guns, bombs or knives.

Genocide is patient. Genocide can be quiet, disguised as "keeping the peace."

Genocide can happen with a military campaign, but it can just as easily happen over decades by dehumanizing a people: taking away their land, restricting water for farms, arbitrarily telling them where the can & cannot go.

One of the core beliefs of the MAGA/Q folk is that Democrats, and the inner circle of their leadership, are running a child-sex trafficking ring (& drinking blood to stay young), and that the MAGA/Q leadership, and THEIR inner circle, are fighting to root them out. I understand the sense of betrayal that is coming.

Growing up, I was convinced that we could root out the priests/nuns/others who were doing unspeakable things... only to find that some of the leaders I trusted had covered up - or ENABLED - those same horrors.

Aside from the fact that the first available COVID vaccine DIDN'T come from "Operation Warp Speed" (which mocks Trumps 'a vaccine would take infinity' claim, yes?), remember when he promised $765 million to Kodak (the film company) to develop a vaccine?

bbc.com/news/business-… Or how the CEO of Kodak bought 1.75 million options the day before the deal was announced?

reuters.com/article/us-usa…

The Trump years have taken a heavy toll on me personally.

Not the corruption, incompetence, or the outright grifting of a man who used our worst inclinations against us

... but in that his rise has shattered the respect I had for a generation of family and friends before me. Loved ones & friends, people I hold dear, who who made me who I am today.

They gave me life-lessons & taught me to live as I would want others to live. To give for the greater good.

They EARNED my respect by living what they taught.

... Then they threw it away for a shyster.

Ok... I sat through the "Absolute Proof" video, so you don't have to.

Here are the main claims: (And the Truth)

Claim:
* Dead People Voted in Michigan *

Truth:
Epoc times based their report on voters w/similar names or typo'd birthdates.

michigan.gov/documents/sos/… Claim:
* PA illegally counted Biden ballots three days after the Election

Truth:
B/C of issues with USPS service (crippled by the Trump-appointed head of USPS), the PA Supreme Court allowed ballots for ALL candidates to be counted up to 3 days later.
pacourts.us/assets/opinion…

To address the "TAX THEM NOW!" folk.

(Respectfully... I fully understand why it makes sense to them.)

Consider that the Catholic Church's various entities operate as non-profit organizations under 501(c)(3) of the IRS tax code.

To tax the Church, you'd remove that exemption. Here's the thing... the Catholic Church is a SMALL part of the non-profits in the US.

Quick facts: (2016)
- There are 1.54 million+ non-profits in the US
- These non-profits generate $1T+/yr (5.6% GPD) to the economy
- 501(c)(3) contribute HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS in services/yr

Dear @GOP (& @SenatorCollins),

We know what you're doing.

Delaying COVID-relief in the hopes that it will become politically advantageous for you to denounce the delay.

You're justifying your actions by saying you want to look at "the numbers."

So, here are some numbers: 66% of Americans have been forced to raid their retirement savings during the pandemic.

kiplinger.com/web_docs/kipli…

Early on I, like most of the tech press, framed privacy concerns of the Internet economy as "trading advertising for services."

I was slow to realize that our private info wasn't being used for advertising

... but as a way to SHAPE how we see the world.

wsj.com/articles/apple… - THEY had internet services that could entertain, connect, & enable ME.

- I had personal information THEY could sell to companies wanting to target goods & services to a receptive audience.

Not only was it a consensual transaction, but it SEEMED as if we got the better deal.