I think we have to consider what "unity" means.

In the most foundational sense, unity exists whether we want it to or not. Our fortunes are tied together. We all impact each other. That form of unity carries risks, benefits, and, mostly, responsibilities. /1

The trouble with calling for "unity" after you, say, abused a procedure to jeopardize and break trust and invite violence in the foundation of representative government, is that it sounds like a shield, not a shared responsibility. /2
It sounds like "we are all one, so there can be no critique of each other." But then saying, "and actually THOSE PEOPLE are the REAL problem" which turns it into "we are all one, but I am the best, so there can be no critique of me." /3
Living into our unity means that we absolutely have to look at each other sometimes and say "you are sorely wrong about this, and you must accept responsibility for your wrongness for the sake of all of us." /4
That does not equal "you should no longer exist and we hate you forever." If you are a United States Senator (for example) and you translate "there must be accountability" to "I've been banished along with 70+ million others," you're being immature and purposely disingenuous. /5
Unity means "I love you as fellow human being, but you cannot be a United States Senator anymore, and you cannot have a show on cable news. We need you to learn a new, quiet skill, and we need you to quietly reflect on how you have impacted the whole." /6
And that call for accountability and reflection does not have to come from a place of perfection in order to be legitimate. Unity means that we sit here together as equals, and we look to our behaviors as guides for when someone needs to lead and sometimes else needs to follow./7
Unity often means "get your own people" for the sake of the whole. I read a beautiful piece about how birds in a murmuration pay attention just 7 other birds. This is how the whole works--by care in parts. https://t.co/z78xZGuIcN /8
So if Republicans in leadership want unity in a meaningful way right now, I suggest looking inward--finding their seven relationships and figuring out what responsibility to the whole means right now. /End -b

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So, as the #MegaMillions jackpot reaches a record $1.6B and #Powerball reaches $620M, here's my advice about how to spend the money in a way that will truly set you, your children and their kids up for life.

Ready?

Create a private foundation and give it all away. 1/

Let's stipulate first that lottery winners often have a hard time. Being publicly identified makes you a target for "friends" and "family" who want your money, as well as for non-family grifters and con men. 2/

The stress can be damaging, even deadly, and Uncle Sam takes his huge cut. Plus, having a big pool of disposable income can be irresistible to people not accustomed to managing wealth.
https://t.co/fiHsuJyZwz 3/

Meanwhile, the private foundation is as close as we come to Downton Abbey and the landed aristocracy in this country. It's a largely untaxed pot of money that grows significantly over time, and those who control them tend to entrench their own privileges and those of their kin. 4

Here's how it works for a big lotto winner:

1. Win the prize.
2. Announce that you are donating it to the YOUR NAME HERE Family Foundation.
3. Receive massive plaudits in the press. You will be a folk hero for this decision.
4. Appoint only trusted friends/family to board. 5/
Imagine if Christians actually had to live according to their Bibles.


Imagine if Christians actually sacrificed themselves for the good of those they considered their enemies, with no thought of any recompense or reward, but only to honor the essential humanity of all people.

Imagine if Christians sold all their possessions and gave it to the poor.

Imagine if they relentlessly stood up for the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner.

Imagine if they worshipped a God whose response to political power was to reject it.

Or cancelled all debt owed them?

Imagine if the primary orientation of Christians was what others needed, not what they deserved.

Imagine Christians with no interest in protecting what they had.

Imagine Christians who made room for other beliefs, and honored the truths they found there.

Imagine Christians who saved their forgiveness and mercy for others, rather than saving it for themselves.

Whose empathy went first to the abused, not the abuser.

Who didn't see tax as theft; who didn't need to control distribution of public good to the deserving.

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I hate when I learn something new (to me) & stunning about the Jeff Epstein network (h/t MoodyKnowsNada.)

Where to begin?

So our new Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was "longtime lawyer and confidant of...Robert Maxwell," Ghislaine Maxwell's Dad.


"Pisar was one of the last people to speak to Maxwell, by phone, probably an hour before the chairman of Mirror Group Newspapers fell off his luxury yacht the Lady Ghislaine on 5 November, 1991."
https://t.co/DAEgchNyTP


OK, so that's just a coincidence. Moving on, Anthony Blinken "attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York City"...wait, what? https://t.co/DnE6AvHmJg

Dalton School...Dalton School...rings a

Oh that's right.

The dad of the U.S. Attorney General under both George W. Bush & Donald Trump, William Barr, was headmaster of the Dalton School.

Donald Barr was also quite a


I'm not going to even mention that Blinken's stepdad Sam Pisar's name was in Epstein's "black book."

Lots of names in that book. I mean, for example, Cuomo, Trump, Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bill Cosby, Woody Allen - all in that book, and their reputations are spotless.