January: Keep Moving
"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice." - T.S. Eliot
NOTES: Winter is Maine requires a ton of focus and coffee and determination to keep moving. As Montaigne wrote, "Not being able to govern events, I govern myself."
Right now, defenders of the nation of Ukraine are fighting Russian invaders in winter conditions with our government's further support in question. They need grassroots support. When I give what I can afford to their struggle, it helps me move forward.
There are no words to describe the grief of those who lost loved ones, pets, their homes, and other treasured possessions in the LA fires. The firefighters, police, aviators, and other first responders have shown nothing but courage and incredible stamina during this tragedy.
Search "Charity Navigator" to choose dependable and effective charities to assist residents of Los Angeles and Ukraine.
BOOKS: "Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church" by Gareth Gore
This book is important to me for personal and professional reasons. The personal reasons I will not go into here, but professionally, I worked for Catholic Social Services for many years. We did good work following the simple admonitions I was taught as a child at St. Bernadette's:
I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothes me. I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.
Today, it is clear to me that Opus Dei is a cancer on the body of the Catholic Church and, if not contained, will become the church itself. And beyond that, this cult, this favored Catholic order of the murderer Francisco Franco, is a clear and present danger to democracies all over the world.
The following four paragraphs from Simon and Schuster describe "Opus."
A thrilling exposé recounting how members of Opus Dei—a secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sect—pushed its radical agenda within the Church and around the globe, using billions of dollars siphoned from one of the world’s largest banks.
In 2017, Banco Popular collapsed overnight. When investigative journalist Gareth Gore was dispatched to report on the story...he uncovered decades of deception that hid one of the most brazen cases of corporate pillaging in history, perpetrated by a group of men sworn to celibacy and self-flagellation who had secretly controlled the bank and abused their positions to spread Opus Dei to every corner of the world.
Drawing on unparalleled access to bank records, insider accounts, and exclusive interviews with whistle-blowers from within Opus Dei, he reveals how money from the bank was used to lure unsuspecting recruits—some of them only children—into a life of servitude. He also tracks the ascent of Opus Dei within the United States, exposing its role in bankrolling many right-wing causes, including the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
In an era of disinformation and deep fakes, here is a real-life conspiracy which hid in plain sight for more than sixty years. Gore tells a shocking story of money and power that spans decades and continents. Documenting Opus Dei’s secret history for the first time, this thrilling work of investigative storytelling raises important questions about the dark forces that shape our society.
Do you remember this guy?
This is Robert Philip Hanssen, who died in prison for selling secrets to the Russians that caused the deaths of American agents. His espionage was described by the U.S. Department of Justice as "possibly the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history."
Gareth Gore, the author of "Opus," discovered that after the first time Hanssen sold secrets to the Russians, he confessed to his Opus Dei priest. The priest told him to turn himself in to law enforcement in the morning, but before morning came, the priest talked to his Opus Dei superiors who told the priest to tell Hanssen to keep doing what he was doing, but be careful. So the priest called the spy in the morning and told him not to turn himself in.
Where were the thousands of dollars that Hanssen received from the Russians? The money was donated to Opus Dei. Because, well, democracy is annoying.
Hanssen often attended daily Mass at the Catholic Information Center in Washington D.C. where it is believed he was in contact with the director of the center Father C. John McCloskey.
"The revelation that in 2005 Opus Dei made a nearly $1-million settlement for sexual misconduct with an adult victim of Father C. John McCloskey left many of his admirers shocked and shaken." – National Catholic Register
And how about this man?
This is Leonard Leo. Hero of the Federalist Society. The next four paragraphs are quotes from an article in Rolling Stone magazine that Gareth Gore authored:
Leo and his ilk would soon become a bridge connecting the prelature with important people on Capitol Hill — and the world of dark money populated by secretive billionaires with a deeply conservative agenda. Together, they would form a coalition — unified by their political connections, religious fervor, and money — that would reshape American society and destroy many hard-won civil rights.
Within weeks of Scalia’s death in February 2016, he began to mobilize hundreds of millions of dollars to make his dream of reshaping the Court — and wider society — a reality.
Pope Francis has issued two motu proprios in the past three years effectively giving Opus Dei a chance to recognize its own failings and do better. Both times it has failed to do so. The Vatican could launch a formal intervention in 2025.
If and when it comes, American Catholics cannot plead ignorance about the abuses of Opus Dei. Whatever spiritual benefits the organization brings individuals, no Christian can justify such personal gains if they are based on a system of abuse and manipulation towards others.
There is so much more I could say about this book. It is shocking and maddening. Whenever Opus Dei has been previously written about, sued, or included in works of fiction, they have launched publicity campaigns and moved money around in a series of nonprofits so that they appear innocent. There is a real evil at work here. Young people taken from their families and not allowed to ever see them again.
Read the book or listen to it on Audible. This revealing book is worth every second of your time.
MUSIC: Juke Box: Keep moving.
Music saves my life over and over again. Next month I will include the new artists I am listening to. The choices that follow here lift the heart and encourage.
Maybe somewhere down the road a ways (at the end of the line)
You'll think of me and wonder where I am these days (at the end of the line, of the line)
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (at the end of the line)
Purple haze
You used to ride on a chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal?
Staring blindly into space
Getting up to splash my face
Wanting just to stay awake
Wondering how much I can take
Boy you sure took me for one big ride
Even now I sit and I wonder why
That when I think of you I stop myself from cryin'
I Just can't waste my time I must get by
I got to stop belivin' in all your lies
Because there's too much to do before I die
SCREEN: Series: "Lie to Me" streaming on Hulu
I love a good Sherlock Holmes rip. This series is one of my favorites of all time.
There are distinct pleasures in a long-form TV series. This one ran for four years. That amount of time allows for entanglement in the details of characters' lives that even a doorstop novel cannot provide. And there is the overall mystery of every series, the consistent problem, how are they going to keep the series fresh and unpredictable/predictable.
BTW: Tim Roth is perfect in this role. The best he has been since he played the villain in the film "Rob Roy"--a performance that sneaks into my nightmares.
Screens: "Life" My Favorite Cop Show now streaming on YouTube
This series has the Elmore Leonard humor and a killer two-season arc. There are only ten episodes total. Originally aired 2007 to 2009. There are a couple of bad episodes in the first season. It feels like some executives got involved and then let go. If the final season does not kick your tail, you are not meant for TV watching and need to do something more complicated.
My feelings about this series could be considered controversial as the final season was completed during a writer's strike. The producer and writer Rand Ravich wrote the final series. He may have had help. Who knows? One way or the other, it works for me.
NOTE: Novels
If I read a novel and it does not work for me, I don't review it. Life is too short. I will only say as I wrap up here that I read two bestselling genre novels and quit reading two others. I have nothing to report. Nada. Zero. Zed. It was time I will never get back. But when I do find one that gleams, you will be the first to know.
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