One Monarch Butterfly Spotted

in New York State (won't say where lest the tourists come googling).

It looked good, hovering over a milkweed. Will keep you posted.

Will the Winner Please Stand Up!

Who will win the prize behind the door? Contestant number 1, contestant number 2, or contestant number 3?
The prize behind the door is, of course, to be Trump's pick to fill the seat on SCOTUS which was vacated by Anthony Kennedy. The whole scenario is classic Trump show biz; he is in his element with things like the Miss Universe contest, and game and reality shows. I'm sure he has already decided whom he is going to name, days or weeks ago.
Updated:  Just announced; Brett Kavanaugh is the nominee.

How Can We Read the Gospel Like a Roman?

  The New Testament tells us that God, in His inscrutable way, chose to become human in a Roman province during what later became known as the 1st Century.  Rome ruled through Jewish sycophants, although Roman military prefects kept an eye on them. It partnered with unpopular locals to collect its taxes, and it got its money whether the locals got their share or not. It held the power of life and death over the Jews. But if Galilee, Samaria and Judea had not been on the road between Rome and Egypt, they wouldn’t have interested the Caesars at all. As it was, they didn’t interest them much.

  Most of the spiritual instruction Jesus gave to the Jews turns out to have been good politics, considering their situation. The meek will inherit the earth (and the un-meek will feel the Roman whip). Don’t lengthen your tassels (especially where Herod might see you). If a Roman soldier orders you, as he legally may, to carry his impedimenta for a mile, carry it two. (At worst, you’ll soften him up, and at best you will impress him). Give Caesar his taxes (but remember he doesn’t own your soul).

 We study and reflect on the sayings of Jesus. But they were said to the oppressed Jews.

 We are the Romans now.

Thanks to Jean's Post

Not long ago Jean Raber posted her list of  novels featuring older persons (Old-adult fiction: Go, Went. Gone.). She asked for additions to her list.

That sent me to our shelves to find David Lodge's novel, Deaf, which I reread. While I was there with my dust rage [that should be RAG, but there's probably some truth in the mistake], I took down How Far Can You Go? his 1980 novel covering the fifties, sixties, and seventies among a group of young English women and men. I reread that too, and was quite taken with Lodge's acumen in tackling sex, Humanae Vitae, and English Catholics.. All of Lodge's other novels and all of his lit crit are on the shelf as well (freshly dusted).

The 1968 anniversary of HV coming up made me sit down and write something, now on-line at Commonweal: How Far Have We Gone. 

So thank you, Jean....  Would anyone be interested in co-authoring a novel called Accumulation: Why?  

Lost Boys Found

I have haphazardly followed the story of the 12 Thai boys and their coach who have been lost for 10 days. They are trapped in a cave now inundated with monsoon rains. They were found by divers on Monday, July 2. Today the question is whether to bring them out now, or leave them, perhaps for weeks, until the waters subside. More rains are expected; the boys are in a weakened condition; the swim out is precarious. What to do?
"Monsoon rains may force Thai cave rescue attempt this week." The Guardian.

Maybe I read too many boy's adventure stories when I was a kid: With Henty in Afghanistan, etc. But it is moving to read about the boys, the rescuers, the challenges ahead. Given the state of the world, the victims, refugees, asylum seekers, begging for our help, why is this story so compelling? Comments.

Here is an account by one of the divers who went in: from the Guardian:

AMLO wins

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has pulled off a majority victory in Mexico's presidential election, pushing the long-dominant PRI aside.

Lopez Obrador's vow to give preference to the poor sounds like something right out of the Pope Francis playbook. So does his willingness to confront government corruption and crime.

We must wish AMLO well in these endeavors, as the murder rate in Mexico has jumped by double digits in the past four years, and as Mexico is ceaselessly hectored by an American president who insists it pay for a border wall; who assails its people as rapists, drug pushers, and welfare-sucking louts; and who becomes enraged when companies move "our" jobs there.

This is sad and stupid, especially since Mexico has arguably had more cultural influence on the U.S. than our other nearest neighbor, Canada, and is a market with three times Canada's potential customers. More Americans want to vacation in Mexico than Canada, and more Americans retire to Mexico.  In addition, Mexico strikes me as a natural partner to help the U.S. to address instabilities in Central America.

Some potential good news is that AMLO will have four more years in his term if Trump is voted out in 2020. This may usher in better relations. We can hope.

ICE may mean "I Can't Execute"

  The Canada-U.S. border is a good place to start this. It was there, in British Columbia, where Cedella Roman, a 19-year-old French woman who was visiting her mother, decided to go out for a run. She ran along the beach, and when the tide came in, she ran up onto a path, took a photo and got busted by the U.S.  Border Patrol.

 Whoops, she said, I didn’t realize I crossed the border. Don’t blame us, the two Border guys said, in effect quoting Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, you broke the law. So off she went to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lock-up. She was allowed to contact her mother, who brought her passport and other papers.

 And two weeks later, ICE decided she could go.

 Another fortnight at the world’s longest “undefended” border. Nothing at all like a day at the U.S.-Mexican border. Well, maybe a little like it. A great again nation can’t be too careful.