Mark Schaefer

Of all the late-inning, last-minute heartbreaking losses, the most devastating has to be losing the Cold War three decades after thinking we had it in the bag.

Some intersectional theology for a Sunday afternoon:

God is spirit (John 4:24) and has no physical, biological essence, DNA, or chromosomes.

People call God “he” based on revelation—God uses 'he' to refer to Godself. God does this despite any biological/genetic basis.

God has preferred #pronouns.

Huh.

So we're supposed to accept that the appropriate replacement for a "Vast Unelected Bureaucracy" is a "Vapid Unelected Billionaire"?

When I was a Hill staffer in 2009, a Dem trifecta was trying to pass universal healthcare. In response, Senate GOP released a memo detailing all of the tactics they in the minority could use to delay the effort as much as possible. I'm recirculating that 2009 GOP memo here. Take inspiration from it.

In World War II, the German #resistance movement, the White Rose, realized that the only way for the Nazi dictatorship to be defeated was for Germany to lose the war. I see no reason that that logic should not apply to trade wars as well.

Oil painting of the Buffalo Skyline by Benedict Schaefer

The hardest part about the results of that game is the heartbreak felt in the city of my birth and home to so many wonderful people.

But, as surely as blue cheese goes with wings and horseradish on beef on ’weck, the @buffalo-bills.bsky.social will rise again.
(image: Buffalo Skyline, by my dad)

Bishop Budde's Plea for Mercy, Annotated - Some, uh, Theologica Bishop Mariann Edgar Budee made a plea for Christian mercy in her address that was a prime example of Christian witness

I made an annotated version of #BishopMariannEdgarBudde’s plea. The TL;DR version—she addressed ancient Jewish/Christian values, defended the marginalized, and spoke truth to the powerful humbly, fully aware of the risks.

It was Christian witness par excellence.

sometheologica.com/culture/bish...

So, if the Romans did have a salute, it was more likely this, which looks a hell of a lot more like, "Oh, hey! Hi there!" (Lat. O heus! Salve!) h/t romanempiretimes.com/the-roman-sa...

Jacques-Louis David, Le Serment des Horaces

In case you're wondering, the belief that that is a "Roman legion salute" comes from one single painting from 1784, the "Oath of the Horatii" by Jacques-Louis David. So, yeah, it's not a Roman Legion salute.

“Is it good?” she said, “or bad?”—to help him. “Bad,” he answered. “We are quite ruined?” “No. There is hope yet, Caroline.” “If he relents,” she said, amazed, “there is! Nothing is past hope, if such a miracle has happened.” “He is past relenting,” said her husband. “He is dead.” She was a mild and patient creature if her face spoke truth; but she was thankful in her soul to hear it, and she said so, with clasped hands. She prayed forgiveness the next moment, and was sorry; but the first was the emotion of her heart. ... “To whom will our debt be transferred?” “I don’t know. But before that time we shall be ready with the money; and even though we were not, it would be bad fortune indeed to find so merciless a creditor in his successor. We may sleep to-night with light hearts, Caroline!” Yes. Soften it as they would, their hearts were lighter. The children’s faces, hushed, and clustered round to hear what they so little understood, were brighter; and it was a happier house for this man’s death! The only emotion that the Ghost could show him, caused by the event, was one of pleasure.

Apropos of nothing, I keep thinking about this passage from Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in which the Ghost of Christmas Future takes Scrooge to the home of a family living under huge debt to an unnamed creditor just in time to see the husband come home to tell his wife how asking for leniency went.

Precisely. So the final score would be 30–27 instead of 27–25.

After a great playoff football Sunday, I’m looking forward to “I was wrong” Monday on sports talk radio. #BuffaloBills #BillsMafia #GoBills 🦬🏈💙❤️

Lucky socks on. Wings, blue cheese, and Labatt Blue on the menu. 🦬🏈💙 #gobills #bills #billsmafia

This... Stay angry people! The enemy are oligarchs!

The entire Sermon on the Mount is about the unity of faith and action—putting #faith into action. I'm not knocking prayer, but if someone has genuine physical needs and you can do something about it—DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Saying "prayer is the most crucial way to help" is a cop-out to avoid acting.

Not only is it trite, but it is *completely* at odds with the Biblical tradition. I can't help but paraphrase James 2:15–16: “If a brother or sister loses their home from a #wildfire, and one of you says, ‘I'll pray for you,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?”

An organization I work with sent out an email to its members supporting those affected by the #wildfires. One member felt constrained to respond: "Prayers are the most crucial way to help. The org needs to get over its sophomoric political correctness. 💙💙💙🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙"

I hate this theology so much. 🧵

Warms my heart every time Damar Hamlin makes a play. #buffalobills #billsmafia

I always liked the name "iGen," but I could get behind the name #GenZ if the Z stood for "Zoom"—that way, we could have Boomers and Zoomers. But seriously, how bad does our cultural stagnation have to be for Z, Alpha, and Beta to be the best ideas we have to describe emerging generational cohorts?

Folks, the X in #GenerationX doesn't represent the 24th in a series. It's the 𝑥 in mathematics, i.e., "unknown." Gen Y was a placeholder until "Millennial" came along. Stop naming generations with successive letters of the alphabet—it's lazy & says literally nothing other than "next!" #GenX

An olive wood ornament in the shape of a peace symbol with the symbols of the Star of David, the Crescent and Star, and the Jerusalem Cross nested within, next to a ceramic dreidl Christmas ornament, all on a Christmas tree.

A very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays to all, with prayers for peace, justice, love, and grace in the coming year and always. #christmas #hanukkah #holidays #christmastime #peace

And ad with copy reading "Nostradamus' Most Terrifying 2024 Warning Revealed" placed just above an image of the DVD cover for The Polar Express

I found this accidental juxtaposition particularly amusing. #Nostradamus #PolarExpress

That sounds a bit like the Nomar clubhouse issues.

Just before the trade deadline in 2004, the Red Sox traded Nomar Garciaparra—a star of the team—much to everyone’s shock. In return, they got Orlando Cabrera, Doug Mankiewicz, and Dave Roberts—and a World Series ring. Could letting Diggs go have done the same thing for the Bills? #BillsMafia 🦬

The last time I used WordPerfect was in law school 30 years ago!

Well, the @buffalo-bills.bsky.social managed to let the game get closer than I was comfortable with, bit still snatched the win! The Bills have given KC their only loss and Detroit their second. Go Buffalo! #BillsMafia ❤️🦬🏈

C'mon, @microsoft.com — Word for Mac is otherwise a great product. Can this be improved?

I can type Command-F, but that brings this window up, requiring me to click first on the three dots and then on the "Replace..." option. It's super inefficient, requiring two extra steps, and it strikes me that it should be a first-level option.

I don't think WordPerfect is available for the Mac anymore. I remember having to download some kind of emulator even to try it.