Monsters

Ikey gets a little bit nervous about the basement sometimes and he'll come shooting out of the kitchen (where the basement steps are) saying he's heard a noise or that he's nervous because the basement door is open but the lights are off down there. He wonders if the noises he hears are monsters which is funny because those noises come from our cat Ari, she's such a fat kitty you can hear her thunking around down there. 

There's no monsters in our basement, but monsters do walk amongst us. I'm not sure how you could describe the executive order on immigration as anything less than the action of a monster. And if you do want to defend these actions, go ahead and rid yourself of all religious affiliations because if you condone these actions and you profess yourself to be a religious person, especially a Christian, then you are lying to yourself and you are lying to your God. Do not convince yourself that God condones these actions: borders do not exist, racism does not exist, hatred and discrimination do not exist, turning away from children and from desperate mothers and fathers does not exist in a faith that has Jesus as it's savior. If you believe that it does, I hope you will question your faith and yourself, I hope you will read your Bible with an open heart, I hope you will seek guidance from someone outside of your circle because you need to hear from someone else. We can do better than this we just have to, it's not an option. 

• You can read this NYTimes article describing a handful of atrocities committed against immigrants just since yesterday (Friday 1/27/17), they're terrible and they're heartbreaking and there's so many more stories stacking up behind these with every minute that passes. 

• And we can never hear enough from Malala Yousafzai: 
• "I am heartbroken that today President Trump is closing the door on children, mothers and fathers fleeing violence and war. I am heartbroken that America is turning its back on a proud history of welcoming refugees and immigrants — the people who helped build your country, ready to work hard in exchange for a fair chance at a new life. I am heartbroken that Syrian refugee children, who have suffered through six years of war by no fault of their own, are singled-out for discrimination."
• More from and about Malala here. 

• Oh and what do you know? Here's an article about the Pope's thoughts on it as well:
• "Pope Francis condemned the hypocrisy from Christians who are merciless to refugees and people of other faiths... Francis rebuked 'the contradiction of those who want to defend Christianity in the West, and, on the other hand, are against refugees and other religions.'”