Perpetual...

 

The  icon is believed to have its origin sometime during the 13th -15th century.  The image is also known as “Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.” The icon is known for being miraculous; over the centuries countless healings and special graces have been attributed to it, so much so that the image has been honored and venerated by many Popes.

The miraculous icon is painted on wood and measures about 20" in height and depicts the Virgin Mary, under the title “Mother of God,” holding the Child Jesus.

The Archangels Michael and Gabriel, hovering in the upper corners, hold the instruments of the Passion. St. Michael (in the left corner) holds the spear, the wine-soaked sponge, and the crown of thorns. St. Gabriel (in the right corner) holds the cross and the nails.

The intent of the artist was to portray the Child Jesus contemplating the vision of His future Passion.  Frightened by the vision, he runs to his mother for consolation. The anguish He feels is shown by the loss of one of His sandals as he quickly flees into the arms of his Mother.

The icon also conveys the triumph of Christ over sin and death, symbolized by the golden background as a sign of the glory of the resurrection. The royal crowns on the heads of Jesus and Mary also symbolize their triumph as the King of Kings with his Queen Mother.

In a very beautiful way, the Child Jesus grasps the hand of the Blessed Mother.  He seeks comfort from His mother as He sees the instruments of His passion.  The position of Mary’s hands – both holding the Child Jesus (who seems like a small adult) and at the same time presenting Him to us – convey the reality of our Lord’s incarnation, that He is true God who became also true man.

Sunshine...

 

Even “New York’s hometown airline” can’t escape the allure of sunny Florida.

JetBlue, currently headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, is exploring its office options in the wake of the pandemic, a move that could see it ship more corporate jobs to the Sunshine State, The Post has learned.

In a March 11 memo to its LIC staffers, the budget airline said the combination of tougher economic times and more abundant office space has it reviewing its options ahead of the July 2023 expiration of its Long Island City lease.

One possibility, it said, involves flying more staff to Florida, which is home to its Orlando training center and the Fort Lauderdale headquarters of its travel products subsidiary. It could also move to another NYC borough, it said.

Yeah..

 

Zero to...

 

Both U.S. Democratic senators from New York -- Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand – have joined the growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers calling on Cuomo to resign as a seventh woman has come forward accusing the governor of some form of sexual harassment or inappropriate touching.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., repeatedly reaffirmed that she has "zero tolerance" for sexual harassment – but fell short of calling on embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign. 

So to Rep. Nancy Pelosi [Democrat], it is not really Zero Tolerance, It is kind of Zero to Sixty depending of the party association. Some times we ask for resignation and sometimes we just have to hold judgment.

Hostile environment for young women, fudging the numbers of those who passed from Covid virus in the nursing home, mishandling the whole epidemic with 50,000 death in the State...not enough for Pelosi. ...  Just a thought.

Credibility...

 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested that Governor Andrew Cuomo may ultimately answer widespread calls to resign, but only "right before" a state-led impeachment proceeding is complete. On Sunday the mayor discussed what could lie ahead for the governor, a fellow Democrat, amid mounting sexual misconduct allegations and lingering public backlash over his role in New York's nursing home COVID crisis.

"The folks in his state, and the political leadership, don't believe [Cuomo] anymore. He doesn't have any credibility," said de Blasio during Sunday's interview. "So, I think an impeachment proceeding will begin, and I think he will be impeached and, perhaps, right before that, he'll decide to resign. That's probably the most likely outcome right now."

"By the end of March 2020, 87 % of New Yorkers approve of Andrew Cuomo's handling of the pandemic, but his newfound popularity spurred talk of federal office. He appeared on CNN nine times  with anchor/brother Chris Cuomo in the comedy series “Mom Loves Me Better.”  

Who calculated these fake statistics any way?

Clots...

 

Denmark is suspending the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for two weeks as it investigates reports of some patients developing blood clots after being inoculated, days after several other EU countries suspended use of a specific batch of the vaccine.

Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said authorities were looking into "signs of a possible serious side effect in the form of fatal blood clots," though he made clear it was a "precautionary measure," saying it was not possible yet to conclude whether the clots were linked to the vaccine.

"We act early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated," he said in a tweet.

Over...

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,  said that the influx of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border was a “humanitarian crisis.” 

Pelosi’s remarks came one day after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will begin sheltering and transferring children who arrive at the southern border.

“The Biden administration is trying to fix the broken system that was left to them. “The Biden administration will have a system, based on doing the best possible job, understanding this is a humanitarian crisis.”

President Joe Biden’s administration has stopped short of calling the situation on the border a crisis.

On his first day in office, Biden terminated Trump’s declaration of an “emergency” at the southern border, which the former president had used as a legal mechanism to divert extra funds toward the construction of a wall.

During a press briefing at the White House earlier this month, Mayorkas told reporters that he did not believe the situation on the border was a crisis.

“The answer is no,” the DHS secretary said. “I think there is a challenge at the border that we are managing, and we have our resources dedicated to managing it.”

Biden campaigned on a wholesale reversal of Trump’s hardline immigration policies, but a swelling number of children in Customs and Border Protection custody has posed a challenge for the nascent administration.

More than 3,700 children were in CBP custody as of last week, CNN reported, a record number, with about 450 being apprehended every day. Many of those children are being held in facilities that resemble jails, according to the outlet.

 Well, fix it then. Just a thought.

Intense...

 

When you first get to know a partner, everything is new and exciting. Both of you make an effort to impress and charm each other. 

 More and more, you notice imperfections you hadn’t seen before, until you finally realize that the knight in shining armor is just the local village boy, and the beautiful princess on that high balcony is just the girl from the farmer’s market. 

 These intense feelings are not permanent. Good thing, too, because they barely scratch the surface of what is important about loving.

The excitement and thrill has been replaced with a new normal. Your partner might still be the same person, but the feelings are different than they were. As a result, people can begin to wonder if something went wrong. Maybe the reason they don’t feel the same as before is because the relationship is not working out. Eyes begin to wander; breakups loom.

Nothing Changed except the feelings.  Just a thought.

Laugh...

 

Sadly most people fail in their quest for happiness for one simple reason: They seek it where there is nothing to be found. 

Empty success, shallow pleasures, and immediate gratification seem to dominate our culture more and more.

When you laugh, you release happy hormones called oxytocin and endorphins. These are hormones that uplifts us as we share experiences with others.

 Even just making yourself smile will put you in a better place. ... These are things that make you happy.

Butt...

 

The sound of the pandemic, was the sound of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s (D) voice. Between March 2 and May 31, 2020, he averaged one lengthy news conference a day almost all broadcast in full on my public radio station.

 By the end of March 2020, 87 % of New Yorkers approve of his handling of the pandemic, but his newfound popularity spurred talk of federal office. He appeared on CNN nine times  with anchor/brother Chris Cuomo in the comedy series “Mom Loves Me Better.” 

 New York Attorney General Letitia James (D)reported that the state had undercounted Nursing Homes deaths by as much as 50 %,  that the state’s initial policy allowing covid patients to return to nursing homes before they recovered had put other residents at risk.

Then the undercount began to look like a Coverup. Soon after that, a former aide published an essay accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment; . Once the subject of late-night TV fawning, Cuomo has become the butt of its jokes.

Cuomo may have a darker side.    He talked and talked and talked. He asked his own questions and then answered them.... In October: “The fall is here. …  The Virus goes up. The leaves come down.