Lou Florio

Here we stand: The Holy People of God Image: Charles O’Donnell, Detail from “Ancient city of Jerusalem with Solomon’s Temple,” ca. 1871. Public domain, via Wikimedia commons. The below sermon was preached on Ref…

My recent sermon from Reformation Sunday 2025 - "Here we stand: The Holy People of God." 2-penny-blog.com/2025/11/10/h...

I’m not going to take the turkey out of the freezer until it’s defrosted.

note how the messaging has shifting from "we're targeting criminals" to "we're deporting everyone"

Q: "Trump authorized military strikes...in the Caribbean. 20 people have been killed in six different strikes. Do you believe these strikes are legal?"

Sen. Rand Paul:" "No...These people have been blown up without us knowing their name or any evidence of a crime."

So no terrorism then?

This Story is Still Unfolding: Trump Admin Blowing Up Boats and Killing People in the Caribbean. Silence in Washington. Why Admiral Alvin Holsey’s Exit May Be the Loudest Story of the Year

The Trump administration has been blowing up boats in the Caribbean. People are dying. At least 27 confirmed. And Washington? Totally handling it… by pretending it isn’t happening. Bravo, round of applause for selective attention.

Pritzker: "Stephen Miller is clearly ordering people to break the law. So he should know that yeah, it may be three years from now that he is held accountable, but I think it's important for them to know that whatever they do now, it's not like we're going to forget."

GOP turns Schumer print quotes into AI-generated video of him saying shutdown good for Democrats Senate Republican campaign leaders are using artificial intelligence-generated video to falsely depict Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer appearing to say on camera comments he made in a print pub...

Fraud is on-brand for the Republican Party, which has created a fake AI video of Chuck Schumer and says without shame that it's the wave of the future.

The Pope tweets: "The poor are not there by chance or by blind and cruel fate. Nor, for most of them, is poverty a choice. Yet, there are those who still presume to make this claim, thus revealing their own blindness and cruelty. #DilexiTe" Someone replies: "I was so hopeful I could be a Catholic again after the disaster that Francis was, guess we just get Francis 2.0 now and I am heartbroken. How do I stay a Catholic now...I don't want to lose faith but I am. You belong to someone else, not God."

heartbroken to learn the pope sympathizes with the poor. how can i continue to believe in god

Himes: If you've got the capability to blow a boat out of the water, you've got the capability to interdict it, arrest everyone on board, interrogate them, and find out where it was going, where it came from, who the bosses are, and what the distribution networks look like.

Gov. Pritzker: "Anyone who is protesting and not doing so peacefully or is committing a crime when doing so should be held accountable for their actions...We have so many peaceful protesters, and you're going to see it on Saturday."

Pritzker: "You just heard a tidal wave of lies from the VP. It's a bit shocking. And you heard over & over him just making things up. There's a reason why the judge here in federal court said that they admin lacks credibility and why even the Nobel committee chair said the admin lacks integrity."

Doh!

Chicago priest Fr. Larry Dowling describes procession to ICE facility: “No one had the courage to speak directly to us. No one from Homeland Security could stand in the presence of the Monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. No wonder. Evil is repelled, recoils in the presence of Christ.”

There’s no legal reason for this.

Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat.

For the crime of … complaining about government policy.

Core 1A speech.

With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.

Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned to support public TV stations after federal funding cuts Thirty paintings by Bob Ross are set to be auctioned to support public television stations. The Bonhams auction is to begin Nov. 11 in Los Angeles with three of the paintings.

The Bob Ross Estate has agreed to sell 30 of his paintings at auction, with all proceeds going to local public television stations. [AP]

Kristi Noem confronts enemy combatants in the Portland war zone today.

Holy Ground (Sermon) Image: VMI Cadets on House Mountain, from House Mountain Reserve and the Virginia Military Institute. They retain all rights. The words below are my own, and do not reflect the views of these or an…

When God is with us, life transforming holy ground can be found almost anywhere - on House Mountain as a VMI cadet, in our vocations, every single day we seek to answer our call to love and serve others. This was my sermon for September 28, 2025. 2-penny-blog.com/2025/10/07/h...

Oo! Oo! I know! I know! 🙋‍♂️(Heaven help us.)

Procedural justice & police legitimacy is not part of ICE culture. They institutionally don’t have the history of working on the street with people & it shows. They have quickly hired people which makes it likely poor vetting is at play & they admit shortening training. Disaster waiting to happen.

I’ve seen sloppy things (putting themselves & others at risk) & the disregard of decades of LE research & practice indicating being part of a community, respect, being nonanxious helps reduce resistance, builds trust/cooperation. Sadly, it about speedy numbers by ill trained & poorly vetted folks.

Pritzker is also furious: “Should National Governors Association leadership choose to remain silent, Illinois will have no choice but to withdraw from the organization.”

Gov. Pritzker: "[ICE] killed an unarmed person just a couple of weeks ago in Franklin Park...They killed somebody...They are just putting out their propaganda and then we've gotta later determine what actually happened."

Fully MAGA-fied Christianity Politics, especially culture-war politics, now provides many fundamentalists and evangelicals with a sense of community and a common enemy.

Excellent analysis. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Some people fiddle. Some play golf. The stench from smoke is the same when Rome burns.

Nearly 80% of Americans want Congress to extend ACA tax credits, poll finds Without the extension, premiums for plans on the ACA Marketplace will more than double.

"Nearly 80% of Americans want Congress to extend ACA tax credits, poll finds. Without the extension, premiums for plans on the ACA Marketplace will more than double." arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

After Declining to Give Trump a Sword for King Charles, a Museum Leader Is Out

Maybe show a sign of support Dr. Arrington by buying one of his books? He deserves more than that, but at least its a start. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/a...

Tweet from the VP: Joy Reid has had such a good life in this country. It's been overwhelmingly kind and gracious to her. She is far wealthier than most. Yet she oozes with contempt. My honest, non-trolling advice to Joy Reid is that you'd be a much happier person if you showed a little gratitude

Weaponized gratitude is a key tool in the abuser's toolkit. The goal is to convince the victim that they owe the abuser so much, they should feel guilty for wanting to complain.

FBI agent suspended over James Comey perp walk plans FBI leadership is reportedly in discussions to stage a showy arrest of the bureau's former director next week.

FBI agent suspended over refusal to 'perp walk' former director

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...