The Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel dined with me, and I asked them how they dared so roundly to assert that God spake to them; and whether they did not think at the time that they would be misunderstood, & so be the cause of imposition.

Isaiah answer'd: "I saw no God, nor heard any, in a finite organical perception; but my senses discover'd the infinite in every thing, and as I was then perswaded & remain confirm'd, that the voice of honest indignation is the voice of God, I cared not for consequences, but wrote." —William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Happy holidays from the far left coast! It hardly seems possible but here we are already in the midst of it. The 75-foot tall Pioneer Courthouse Square Doug Fir Christmas tree has been up in Portland's living room for weeks. A few blocks from my home the lights go on in Peacock Lane this evening at 6 p.m. I may stroll over for a walk-through.

I hope everyone is enjoying the season's festivities with an abundance of mirth, good cheer, good friends, good food, good books, good beer, good wine, good hot chocolate! The season will be over before we know it, so let's savor each moment!

Reichsbürgers. I thought about keeping politics out of this issue but the Reichsbürger conspiracy is too absurd to let pass without notice. The headline at BBC News says it all:

Reichsbürger: German 'crackpot' movement turns radical and dangerous.

The Reichsbürgers are a bizarre conglomeration of small groups made up of former military commanders, family doctors, judges, gourmet chefs, opera singers, "wannabe revolutionaries," a former Bundestag delegate of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), and, yes, QAnon enthusiasts. Some print their own currency and identity papers. Some do not recognize the postwar German government and want to bring back the imperial German state that existed between 1871 and 1918. Others go in for a return of Hitler's Third Reich. Many are armed. MGGA (Make Germany Great Again).

Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz, has been termed both a ringleader and a "not particularly dominant figure" in an internally divided movement. Heinrich claims that "his dynasty had been unfairly dispossessed of its belongings through wars brought about by sinister Freemasons and Jewish financiers" (Philip Oltermann, The Reichsbürger plot: sinister plan to overthrow the German state or just a rag-tag revolution?, The Guardian, December 10, 2022). Sinister Freemasons! Jewish financiers! No wonder the prince is aggrieved. The Bavarian Illuminati are no doubt lurking in the shadows. Zut alors!

As far as I know Marjorie Taylor Greene has not yet expressed solidarity with these nimrods. Maybe she was too occupied blathering about how the January 6 insurrection would have been armed and successful if she and Steve Bannon had been in charge. This brought down predictable criticism from my side of the barricades, whereupon Greene played the victim card, persecution! Also predictable. (Aaron Blake, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Jan. 6 ‘joke’ has been building for a long time, Washington Post, December 12, 2022).

Greene is slicker than I thought when she first appeared on the scene. She knows what she is doing.

I am in Portland for the holidays. My spirit is bright with thoughts of Trani and Candace in Tulsa, Tulsa Runner, Tulsa friends Greg, Julie, Pastor Bill the running reverend, and too many others to name. Thoughts too of nieces, nephews, cousins scattered across the country, friends from the Dutch Fork region of South Carolina, Irmo High, the University of South Carolina, the Little 5 Points scene in Atlanta, and of course Portland since 1998, some painters and some poets, scattered across the country, too many to name, all in my thoughts and brightening my spirit in the heart of the holiday season. Let's make it a good one!

New blog post: A Look Back at Allen Ginsberg (Part 1), December 13, 2022. William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008) introduced Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) to the audience at the May 7, 1968, edition of Firing Line as according to The New York Times perhaps the most famous and admired contemporary American poet. Praise from the liberal Times…read more>>

Keep the faith.

Stand with Ukraine.

yr obdt svt

Pictured below: Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland. Dec. 13, 2022.