This Day in History

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On Sept. 7, 1907, theBritish liner RMS Lusitania set outfrom Liverpool, England, on its maiden voyage, arriving six days later in New York. In 1940, Nazi Germany began its eight-month blitz of Britain during World War II with the first air attack on London. In 1963, the National Professional Football Hall of Fame was dedicated … Read more

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

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Occasion: Proper 18
Sunday, September 06, 2020
Year (cycle): A

The Collect:
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-14 [Alternate: Ezekiel 33:7-11]
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. 4 If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. 7 They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. 10 You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

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Hubble captures gorgeous, delicate supernova blast wave

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NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured many images that look so incredible you almost can’t believe they’re real. The image below definitely falls into that category, especially because at first glance it’s almost impossible to tell what it is. A delicate orange ribbon drifting through space? That doesn’t really exist… does it? Apparently it does, … Read more

SpaceX Starlink Mission

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SpaceX is targeting Thursday, September 3 at 8:46 a.m. EDT, 12:46 UTC, for launch of its twelfth Starlink mission, which will launch 60 Starlink satellites to orbit. Falcon 9 will lift off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A backup opportunity is available on Friday, September 4 at 8:24 a.m. … Read more

This Day in History

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In 1939, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland. In 1976, America’s Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the planet’s first close-up, color photos. In 1978, Pope John Paul II was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. … Read more

Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019

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H.R. 3884 – This bill decriminalizes marijuana.

Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.

The bill also makes other changes, including the following:

  • replaces statutory references to marijuana and marijuana with cannabis,
  • requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees,
  • establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs,
  • imposes a 5% tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund,
  • makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers,
  • prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions,
  • prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction), and
  • establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses.

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The Unlikely Kennedy Who Ended the Kennedy Dynasty

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Rep. Joe Kennedy III speaks outside his campaign headquarters in Watertown, Mass., after conceding defeat to Sen. Ed Markey in the Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary. | AP Photo/Charles Krupa

For most of the 60-year history of the Kennedy dynasty, it’s been easier to imagine its last act as coming in a burst of triumph, a spasm of violence or a dream-shall-never-die promise of enduring hope. On Tuesday, however, what might be the final note of this political symphony was written not in glory or tragedy, but in numbers, the sad prose of politics.

Sen. Ed Markey 55.6 percent, U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III 44.4 percent.

In a Democratic primary. In Massachusetts.

The 74-year-old Markey, who was first elected to the House in 1972, was supposed to be the type of proud, uncharismatic incumbent whom Kennedys routinely dispatch to retirement homes or ambassadorships. Joe Kennedy’s grandfather, Robert, famously ended the 18-year political career of New York Sen. Kenneth Keating, a 64-year-old Rockefeller Republican, without even moving to the state until shortly before the election. In a 1962 debate, Massachusetts Attorney General Edward J. “Eddie” McCormack Jr. told political neophyte Edward Moore Kennedy that if his name had been Edward Moore, his Senate candidacy “would be a joke.” The joke, of course, was on Eddie McCormack, who lost the Democratic primary, 69-30.

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