#893 + 15 January 1997 + My Mom told me THREE things: “Of ALL my children…” + Be WONDER + Be AWE + Be OPEN

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Mom and the Doris/Dick Johnson children Lynne, Bill, Catherine – not born yet: Blake

– and, much later Anne Omlie!

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My Mother designed / cast this earring while a University student.

I wear it as a pendant when I need her near.

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My Mom believed in the boundless / bountiful gifts / sacred offerings / vital lessons of Nature.

My Mother was an adventure in living / thinking / creating / loving.

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My Mother

My Mom

My Genesis

Doris Eileen Cottor Johnson Omlie

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HEAVENINMYMOUTH                                                                           Catherine L. Johnson   2012

Private collection: Dorothy Darr + Charles Lloyd

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My Mom loooooved my JOY.

My Mom loooooved my resilience.

My Mom looooved my integrity.

My Mom loooooved my  adventure.

My Mom looooved my independence.

My Mom looooved my passion.

My Mom looooved my moral courage.

My Mom looooved my inquisitive mind.

My Mom loooved my creativity.

My Mom loooved my radical hope. 

My Mom looooved my perseverance.

My Mom loooved  – in her words: my ‘sparkle’.

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My Mom ‘gardened’  me

–  me,

the unique

BLOOOOOM

of my

Daddy’s love for my Mom,

(her beloved husband of only 10 years – an intimate forever love story)

 of my

Mom’s love for my Daddy,

and

of their

testament, 

their story of prevailing

pure love

for

EACH

other.

 

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We shared the childlikebloodheartfirewonderawe of the quote below!

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The soul

should always

stand ajar,

ready to welcome

the ecstatic experience.

Emily Dickinson

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The fifteenth of January 1997

was my Mother’s,

my Mom’s,

Doris Eileen Cottor Johnson Omlie’s

last day on Earth.

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My Mom told me THREE revelations

that she had held tight,

unfolded,

like a

rosebud

[ rohz-buhd ]

in her heart.

My Mom told me to bloooom me.

The next morning my Mom was dead,

and

the unfurled, opened, petals of her rose

were now an incandescent alive constellation

within me

to inspire

the continuous

unfolding / revelation

of

who I am.

Momentous.

Revelations that stated:

I SEE YOU.

I LOVE YOU.

YOU WILL RISE.

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I think of the experience

of that night,

twenty-three years ago.

I can see her turning toward me.

I can see her face.

I can hear her voice: slow, firm, declarative.

Her revelations were distilled, spare.

No embellishment.

A sacred telling.

Urgent.

I listened – rapt.

I wept with its gravity and release to live me.

I thanked her.

I kissed my Mom

goodnight.

 

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TODAY’s DailyOM:

“…Nearly every revolutionary change

in the history of human progress

came about because someone questioned

some time-honored belief or tradition

and

in doing so revealed a new truth,

a new way of doing things,

or

a new standard for ethical and moral behavior.

 A commitment to staying open and inquisitive

in our own individual lives can lead us

to new personal revolutions and truths,

truths that we will hopefully,

for the sake of our growth,

remain open to questioning.”

http://dailyom.com/

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YES.

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Thank you Gina dear

for bringing me to resplendent beauty today

– Como Park Conservatory

and

sharing joyoUS laughING ING ING –

to honor my Mom:

15 January 2020

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Mom in her garden with her Abby (left) and Winston. August 1997.

 A crystalline moment that captured her spirit.

I took this picture.

 

My Mom loved loving

what is life:

all the vicissitudes of life – the joys and sorrows,

all that laughed, cried, bloomed,

barked, explored, achieved,

failed and tried again,

hoped for

and

blue skies where bluebirds fly.

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Mother believed

the dreams that you dare to dream

do really

come

true.

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rosE: FIRE VI                                                                                    Catherine L. Johnson 2018

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#892 + YES! LIGHTLUMINOUSRADIANCE + YES! GREENFIREHANDSFEETDANCE + TURNINGTURNINGTURNING

WE 

ALWAYS

ARE IN THE

CRISIS / OPPORTUNITY / GIFT / STATE

OF

R/EVOLUTION.

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WE EACH TRULY HAVE CHOICES!

WE CHOOSE TO PRACTICE / ACTUALIZE

OUR VISION,

OUR RADICAL HOPES.

 

OUR PERSONAL CHOICE

TO

PRACTICE

  STEP UP / BREAKTHROUGH / SPIRAL UPWARD

as to

ACTUALIZE

the

 LANDMARK  RISK / RADICAL HOPE /  MAVERICK VISION

of

COLTRANE’S

‘GIANT STEPS’

IN OUR OWN LIVES

IS

OURS.

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COLTRANE

LISTENED TO HIS DIVINITY

FOLLOWING THE LIGHT OF HIS NORTH STAR.

INTEGRITY.

FEARLESS.

HE WAS WILLING, DISCIPLINED,

PRACTICED THE COURAGE

IN

ENTERING / SEEING / EXPLORING / NURTURING

THE FLIGHTS

WHERE ONLY ANGELS

DARED TO TREAD.

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GENIUS HAS TO FLY

 –  THE TRUE VOYAGE

IN

ART / LIFE / LIVING LOVE.

 

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COURAGE IS A PRACTICE, 

SUMMONING

THE BRILLIANT ENERGY

OF OUR DIVINITY

– OUR SACRED LIFE FORCE

  KNOWS

OUR TRUTH

AND

OUR NORTH STAR.

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RESURGENCE!!!

RISE!

YES.

YOU.

CAN!

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1 Corinthians 12:21-26 

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand,

“I don’t need you!”

And the head cannot say to the feet,

“I don’t need you!”

²² On the contrary,

those parts of the body

that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable

we treat with special honor.

And the parts that are unpresentable

are treated with special modesty,

²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment.

But God has put the body together,

giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it,

²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body,

but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

²⁶ If one part suffers,

every part suffers with it;

if one part is honored,

every part rejoices with it.

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RELATIONAL / COLLABORATIVE / IMPROVISATIONAL

ACTIONS

to / for  / with

the universe

of

WONDER + AWE

in each other

opens

our sky.

Our 

expressed / shared

vulnerabilities

swing open the gates

to

rejoicing.

 

 

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EACH

of my

surgeons

were / are

IMPROVISATIONAL GENIUSES

CREATING

‘GIANT STEPS’

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ARTISTSURGEONS

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YES.

Passionate Visionaries

Compassionate Brilliance

Elegant Mavericks

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Each

of my

surgeons

and

physical therapists

could SEE my soul.

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My re-created body

was made possible

by their hand

is the story

of

their

sacred divinity

+

their

radical hope

+

their

elegant

ACTIONS.

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born WITH – congenitally dislocated

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created on 27 December 2019 by Dr. Coetzee

Surgical procedure #55 since my birth on 29 December.

 

Please open link below:

http://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2019/12/29/890-%f0%9f%8e%82-29-december-%f0%9f%8e%82-r-evolutionary-new-feet-for-my-birthday-thank-you-dr-coetzee/

 

BlesSINGS

BlesSINGS

BlesSINGS

YES! YES!

to / for

Rob Carlson* + Sherrie Brings Flora**

( *my since childhood amazing friend WHO nicknamed me DQ aka DANCING 👑 – Dancing Queen

** my first friend in my first full year in a public school – FIFTH grade 10 years old!)

+

to /for

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ARTISTSURGEON

Dr. J. Chris Coetzee

&

Larry Nilsson, PA

 

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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The

NEW COETZEE OS*

*OPERATING SYSTEM

will be followed by

writing / CREATING

a

NEW UPGRADED PROGRAM

to train / re-wire

my brainbody.

ALL the muscles /soft tissue

in my feet,

and,

in turn, 

ALL my muscles / soft tissue

throughout my entire body

will be chorographed

by the

creative genius 

of

TCO  Physical Therapist

Lisa Richardson. 

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ALL ways

my beloved

Dr. Mark B. Coventry / Mayo Clinic

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/13-july-look-to-this-day-for-it-is-life-the-very-life-of-life-dr-mark-b-coventry-promise-me-two-things-only-let-those-who-honor-and-respect-you-come-near-and-always-remain-an-art/

called me

his

SPITFIRE!!!

We collaborated + elegantly danced together.

 

 

 

 

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Bare feet

have come to symbolize

innocence or childhood

in a glorifying perception of

freedom.

 

The

connection

is to

childhood and innocence,

as well as the

simple

joys

of

life.

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Thank you Mom and Daddy.

Doris Cottor Johnson Omlie + Richard Harold Johnson *

* Daddy was killed in a car accident when I was six

– leaving my Mom, and my sister and brothers: Lynne, Bill + Blake.

Daddy navigated bi-polar and his love/fight for me infuses the light in my North Star.

I am fine.

I accept. 

I rise in honor of you –

and

for  my beloved life mentor

Dr.  Mark B. Coventry / Mayo Clinic

and

for ALL who SEE me

and

for ALL who called me to

adventure

and

exclaimed:

COME OUTSIDE to PLAY

with

me!

You know

who

you are!

I prevail because I practice the radical HOPE of LIVING love.

Thank you.

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IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE LIFE + THE LEGACY OF:

Ryan William Cottor

Gracie Olivia Reyelts

Connie Cates Shella

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AWCBEHOLDINGCELEBRATINGYOUME

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#891 + I C A N S E E 2020 + CLEARSIGHTED visiON + 1 JANUARY 2020

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A

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N

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S

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N

 

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 SEE

 
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2020

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clear-sighted

[ kleer–sahy-tid ]

adjective

having clear or sharpeyesight.

having or marked by

keenperception or soundjudgment:

a clear-sightedapproach.

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2020

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 BE AWARE / WILLING

TO

ACKNOWLEDGE / admit / ADDRESS / accept

Y/OUR

BLIND SPOTS

https://youtu.be/BFcjfqmVah8

Our brains are wired

to make assumptions,

which can sometimes be off base.

We think it’s an honest mistake;

science calls it

a blind spot.

 

 

 

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FAIR PLAY

https://www.amazon.com/Fair-Play-Munro-Leaf/dp/0397300662

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2020

@)@)

IMAGINE___ACT___!

IMAGINELOVEACTLOVE!

IMAGINETRUTHACTTRUTH!

IMAGINEHONESTYACTHONESTY!

IMAGINEKINDNESSACTKINDNESS!

IMAGINEVICTORYACTVICTORIOUS!

IMAGINEADVENTUREACTADVENTURE!

IMAGINERADICALHOPEACTRADICALHOPE!

IMAGINECREATIVEGENIUSACTCREATIVEGENIUS!

IMAGINEIMPROVISATIONACTIMPROVISATION!

IMAGINESOCIALJUSTICEACTSOCIALJUSTICE!

IMAGINERESURGENCEACTRESURGENCE!

IMAGINEGRACELOVEACTGRACELOVE!

IMAGINEFREEDOMACTFREEDOM!

IMAGINESERENITYACTSERENITY!

IMAGINECHOICESACTCHOICES!

IMAGINEBEAUTYACTBEAUTY!

IMAGINEALIVEACTALIVE!

IMAGINELIFEACTLIFE!

IMAGINEJOYACTJOY!

IMAGINE___ACT___!

@)@)

2020

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Yesterday

I received the essay

(please click on the link)

below

from my dear cousin

Holly Cottor:

https://hbr.org/2014/01/how-to-have-a-year-that-counts

Received with GRACE LOVE and luminous gratitude...

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AWC<>RADICALHOPERESURGENCETRUTHFREEDOM<>CLJ

#890 + 🎂 29 DECEMBER 🎂! + R/EVOLUTIONARY NEW FEET for MY BIRTHDAY!!! + Thank YOU, Dr. CoetZEE!!!

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29DECEMBER29

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My Mother created my birth announcement!

Note: my Mother’s expert hand: continuous paper cut out!!!!!

AWEmaZING!!!

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My Mother lost most of her amniotic fluid

at 20 weeks in her pregnancy.

I was born full term.

 I was born with congenital dysplasia of the hips, right knee, and feet

– as well as other joints.

My right leg was twisted around my neck.

Surgical reconstruction began at 6 months.

My body is a dynamic testament,

actualized visions,

the blooms,

of remarkable creative medical genius.

My life story has been a unique,

treasured story of collaboration

catalyzed by my

congenital complicated complex orthopedic equation

met with

the pioneering creative genius of orthopedic surgeons

and

physical therapists.

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My story is an improvisational story

steeped in abiding trust;

tuning fork of recognition;

moral courage;

sacred listening;

mutual dedication;

the divinity of the brilliant light in creative genius;

and

RADICAL HOPE.

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Please click on link below for further information:

HIP HAND HEART

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/hip-hand-heart/

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ALL of my toe joints were congenitally dislocated.

Yes, they looked like a lioness’ clawed paws.

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On 27 December ,

TWO days ago,

Dr. Coetzee reconstructed each toe!

I was prepared to meet the post-operative pain

and

prevail through the 8 weeks of recovery.

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My ensemble of friends are remarkable templates of character

– as are my selected orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists!

They all know I am a RISE UP action figure

– NOT a potato chip planted/stuck onto a sofa.

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TEAM – GOODNESS OF FIT!

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Dr. J. Chris Coetzee

https://tcomn.com/physicians/chris-coetzee/

http://mspmag.com/locations/J-Chris-Coetzee-Edina/

 

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Above: a close visual approximation of my right foot…

 

Note: look close at my baby 6 month foot!

ALL my toes were congenitally dislocated

– as were my hips, right knee. both feet and other joints.

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Above: the visual reality of the post-op reconstruction of ALL ten toes!

ELEVATE!

ICE!

WHEELCHAIR!

KEEP POSITIVE

– NO DHA* welcomed!

 

* Drama Hysteria Actors

– narcissists: the binary gaslighting/manipulative I am a victim ‘players’!

 

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Yes,

for my birthday

the AWEmaZING Dr. Coetzee

gifted me

with

NEW FUN/ctional

paws!!!!!

 

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YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

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#889 + HAPPYmerryHAPPYmerryHAPPYmerryHAPPYmerryHAPPY + Practice RADICAL HOPE!!!!!

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HAPPYmerryHAPPYmerryHAPPYmerryHAPPY

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The

GIFT

of 

committing/ dedicated

shared quiet time

to/ for/ between/ with

beloved ones

is

the beautiful sweet experience

of

LOVE

– the nourish/nurture of actual intimate presence

is

HAPPY

WONDER + AWE!!!

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BE KINDNESS

BE GRACE LOVE

BE AWEthentic

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YES

practice

RADICAL HOPE!!!!!

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HOPE

HOPE

HOPE

[ hohp ]

noun

the feeling that what is wanted can be had

or

that events will turn out for the best

a particular instance of this feeling:

the hope of winning.

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verb (used with object), hoped, hop·ing.

to look forward to

with desire and reasonable confidence.

to believe, desire, or trust

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verb (used without object), hoped, hop·ing.

to feel that something desired may happen:

We hope for an early spring.

Archaic. to place trust;

rely (usually followed by in).

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Pine Tree: HOPE                                                                                       Catherine L. Johnson  2005

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Please click on link for further information on

Pine Tree: HOPE 2005

– created as a prayer for all lives who suffered Hurricane Katrina.

http://www.mnartists.org/artwork/pine-tree-hope-2005

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#888 + 21 DECEMBER 2019 + WINTER SOLSTICE + “THE SUN NEVER SAYS” + ELEgancE #3 Catherine L. Johnson 2018

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafez

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ELEgancE #3                                                                                         Catherine L. Johnson  2018

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Please click on link below for further information on the ELEgancE series:

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2018/12/21/841-winter-solsoul-stice-elegance-3-4-5-2018-catherine-l-johnson-dedicated-to-the-bountiful-grace-luminosity-of-holly-cottor-on-her-birthday/

http://www.mnartists.org/artwork/elegance-3-4-5

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The

winter solstice

occurs

when the sun is

directly over

the

Tropic of Capricorn,

or

23.5° south latitude.

 

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The

winter and summer solstices,

the seasons,

and

the changing length of daylight hours

throughout the year

are all due to one fact:

Earth spins on a tilted axis.

Above is a time-lapse demonstration of the phenomenon

shot over the course of a whole year from space.

In the video,

you can see how the line

separating day from night

(called the terminator:

https://sos.noaa.gov/datasets/daynight-terminator-daily/)

swings back and forth

from the poles during the year.

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HOLLY IS GRACE LOVE.

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2018/12/21/841-winter-solsoul-stice-elegance-3-4-5-2018-catherine-l-johnson-dedicated-to-the-bountiful-grace-luminosity-of-holly-cottor-on-her-birthday/

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AWCSILVERLUMINOUSFIELDISUSYESYESYES

#887 + 18 DECEMBER 2019 + 🇺🇸 + U.S. House of Representatives VOTED to IMPEACH – upholding the principles/vision of the United States of America’s CONSTITUTION

Constitution of the United States of America

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PLEASE WATCH / LISTEN:

Donald Trump Takes

Oath of Office

for

President of the United States

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PLEASE WATCH / LISTEN:

 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

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The Senate’s oath of impeachment reads:

”I solemnly swear (or affirm)

that in all things appertaining to the trial of ____, now pending,

I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws,

so help me God.”

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The Senate’s oath of office is:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm)

that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States

against all enemies, foreign and domestic;

that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

that I take this obligation freely,

without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;

and

that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office

on which I am about to enter:

So help me God.“

 

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Trump

is

impeached

and

joins the

‘losers’

of

presidential history

Protesters in support of Trump’s impeachment gather outside the Capitol on Wednesday.
(Sarah Voisin/The Washington Post)
NOTE:
My friends and I were at the IMPEACH rally

on the steps of Minnesota’s state Capitol.
Of course.

By

Jennifer Rubin 

Opinion writer

Dec. 18, 2019 at 7:43 p.m. CST

On an almost entirely party-line vote, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump on two articles of impeachment. He is only the third president to receive that black mark on his record. Understandably, he hates it. His fury is uncontrolled. He coughed up a warped, incoherent letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that all but the most deluded Trump sycophants view as disturbing.

Even Trump knows he will be lumped in with the “losers” in the presidential history rankings such as Richard Nixon and Andrew Johnson. Impeachment will define his presidency, dwarfing any other foreign or domestic action. No wonder he rages against a speaker he is powerless to stop. His worst nightmare is to be humiliated, and if not now, history certainly will regard him as a pitiful, damaged man utterly unfit for the role he won through a series of improbable events (thanks to a hostile foreign power and an undisciplined FBI director).

The facts Trump now dismisses and contorts (in contrast to the propaganda delivered to him by the Kremlin via right-wing media and useful idiots on the right), are as easily verified and as unassailable as the details of Watergate. In comparison to Nixon’s impeachable acts, Trump’s are likely to be viewed more harshly. Trump betrayed the country’s national security and continued his affront to the Constitution by authorizing Rudolph W. Giuliani’s ongoing effort to scrounge up “evidence” from Russian-backed operatives to use against a political rival

The transcript of Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky preserves Trump’s multiple references to “Biden” in black and white. (“There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it…”) It has become and will be seen historically as Trump’s smoking gun.

Also preserved in the transcript is Trump’s demand to a foreign leader to assist his political interests — “I would like you do us a favor though” — which will be reproduced in history books along with the testimony of witnesses such as former White House expert on Russia Fiona Hill, who called out Republicans’ parroting of Russian propaganda. Trivia contests will feature such memorable phrases as former national security adviser John Bolton’s remark: “I am not part of whatever drug deal [U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon] Sondland and [acting White House chief of staff Mick] Mulvaney are cooking up.” (History may come faster than you think, as Bolton cashes in on his book advance in what is sure to be a self-righteous recounting of the scandal and, ironically, a reminder of Bolton’s cowering behavior, emblematic of those unwilling to tell the truth in service of the Constitution.)

Just as Watergate figures then-Sen. Sam Ervin (D-N.C.) and then-Reps. Barbara Jordan (D-Tex.) and Peter Rodino (D-N.J.) were lionized as defenders of the Constitution, so too will Pelosi and House Democrats Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), Eric Swalwell (Calif.) and Jamie B. Raskin (Md.) be among those admired for their lucidity, intellect and character. There is no shortage of patriots, if you know where to look. If ever you needed an illustration for your children, here is an episode vividly demonstrating that doing the right and difficult thing, sacrificing for a cause greater than oneself, has its own rewards. (We have no doubt which side the late senator John McCain would venerate and which he would disdain.) For every clownish, contemptible, screeching and dishonest House Republican, there is a sober, admirable, restrained and honest Democrat.

Meanwhile, in hundreds of gatherings around the country on Tuesday night, American citizens turned out to defend the Constitution and support impeachment. The same day, a band of Republicans unveiled the Lincoln Project to work on dislodging Trump and his accomplices from office in 2020. One after another, brave freshmen Democrats decided duty to the Constitution was far more important than political calculation and announced their support for impeachment. They put to shame Republicans such as Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) who know all too well the danger Trump poses yet cannot muster the courage to put country above party.

Unlike Republicans of the past who are credited with getting Nixon to resign — including Barry Goldwater, House Minority Leader John Rhodes and Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott — no Republican save for ex-Republican Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) and the Never Trumpers outside of Congress has secured a place in history. So far, out of political cowardice or calculation or both, we lack even one Republican willing to denounce Trump’s actions let alone support impeachment or a lesser penalty. (No matter how badly House members conduct themselves in the future, at least we will be able to say, “Hey, he’s no Jim Jordan — or Devin Nunes — or Doug Collins.”)

No letter, no tweet, no Fox News spin can repair the reputations of Trump enablers. The right-wing media that cheered them on will, like outlets that rooted for Jim Crow and demonized Freedom Riders, be shunned by decent, freedom-loving people who reaffirm objective reality. The Republican Party will be known not as the Party of Lincoln but the Party of Trump, a quisling party that lost its bearings and its soul to defend an unhinged narcissist. Psychologists and sociologists will study a mass cult phenomenon, seeking to explain how a con man and his greedy media accomplices duped millions of Americans.

Perhaps some small number of Senate Republicans will decide to separate themselves from the pack of Trump worshipers. Some might demand a real trial with witnesses or even vote for impeachment. And if not, they, too, will join the other moral weaklings who failed their country when it needed them to do their jobs.

I do not mean to make light of the real and lasting damage Trump and his henchmen have inflicted on our institutions and national psyche, but we survived a Civil War, economic calamities and eras dominated by corrupt and disloyal politicians. As scarred as our democracy is, we now have a new pantheon of patriots to inspire and teach Americans about honor, courage and intellectual rigor. When your children or grandchildren attend Nancy Pelosi Elementary School or win a Jamie Raskin scholarship, they will remember who distinguished themselves. When they see Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Hill and Marie Yovanovitch receive accolades and honors, they will know what gallant public service looks like.

As demoralizing and infuriating as this presidency has been, it is now within our power to wipe it all away and to vindicate the heroes, punish the villains and reset our democracy. We have 321 days until Election Day.

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