Wow! Rest in Peace Seattle.

A report from the University of Washington (UW), found that when wages increased to $13 in 2016, some companies may have responded by cutting low-wage workers’ hours. The study, which was funded in part by the city of Seattle, found that workers clocked 9% fewer hours on average, and earned $125 less each month after the most recent increase. MORE

Gingrich & Buchanan helped cause Bush Senior to lose the 1996 election by supporting Ross Perot, dividing the Republican party.

Newt Gingrich was one of the main reasons George Bush senior lost to Bill Clinton.

Congress doesn’t seem concerned over this debt.

DeVos made the comments in Atlanta at a training conference for the Education Department’s Federal Student Aid division, which oversees student loans awarded by the federal government. The department released a text of her remarks. MORE

The nonpartisan Pew Research Center said 10.7 million immigrants lacked legal status in 2016, down from 11 million a year earlier and from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007 before the U.S. economy slumped. MORE

From Lt to Rt – Assistant manager, my manager and me, Joseph

Apocalypse 18: [4] And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Go out from her, my people; that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. [5] For her sins have reached unto heaven. (Heaven on earth is the Mass)

“[Satan] will set up a counterchurch which will be the ape of the [Catholic] Church. . . . It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content.” MORE

Cold snap, dust storm blanked parts of NW China in rare yellow snow. 
A combination of heavy winds and freezing temperatures led to a rare ‘yellow snow’ phenomenon in China’s Xinjiang region over the weekend. MORE

Heavy rains cause deadly landslides and flash floods, turn roads into rivers, Indonesia

She must have gotten a good education in Iran, no?

Democrat Anna Kaplan’s recent victory over Republican incumbent Elaine Phillips helped flip the New York state Senate, long dominated by Republicans, to Democratic control. That’s a very big deal in New York politics but the win is notable for other reasons as well—it makes Kaplan, who came to America as refugee from Iran, the highest ranking Persian-Jewish elected official in the state. MORE

They backed the definition of marriage as the union of a man and woman.

Last year a high court had ruled in favour of same-sex unions, ordering legislation. The government has said it will still press on with new laws but they may now be weaker. MORE

Examine 2018 before our New Years Resolutions

It is always prudent to examine our past as we start off the New Year.

Were we judgmental before knowing all of the facts?

Were we aware that foolishness is sinful?

The month of December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Chosen before time to be the Mother of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, God created Mary perfect and full of grace, preserving her from the stain of Original Sin. Mary Immaculate is the most beautiful fruit of the work of redemption accomplished by her Son, thereby making her the perfect model of holiness for all Christians.
– Catholic Company

This generation shall not pass away. St Mark adds 2 words. 1st Sunday of AdventYahoo/Church Teachings
Just a note to mention that in St. Mark’s similar account of what Our Lord is alluding to by St. Luke, in the Gospel for the 1st Sunday of Advent. We find St. Mark using “this adulterous and sinful generation…..Who shall not taste death. Till they see the kingdom of God coming in power.“