It was Not What Jesus Promised. It’s What Jesus Did. 2,020 Years Ago.

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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. December 25, 2020:

It has been approximately 2,020 years since a confluence of bright stars guided three kings to the town of Bethlehem to pay respects to a “newborn king.”

This antique set which has been in my family for 75 years or so, commemorates that night this day.

Since the day the baby, Jesus, was born in a stable, which was provided as a charity by the owner of the inn in Bethlehem, the baby’s deeds He was to achieve and His philosophy of loving your fellow man and woman that took root in a hostile world that was a world of subjugation, genocide, enslavement, and oppression — with violence. A lot like today.

Religious beliefs aside. Jesus may be the most influential man of all time, considering how his message of concern, respect, and kindness towards your fellow man and woman was unique at the time he lived and spread throughout the world without violence.

We would all do well if when considering how to treat each other, make a decision, what would Jesus do?

I daresay the world would be a much better place. I also should like to point out that Jesus’s message was not follow me and you will have eternal life, though he did say that–his main message was to love one another and be compassionate, helpful, and respectful towards those less fortunate than you.

It made so much sense.

I set it up the display this year because I missed it over the years. Remember it is not what Jesus offered…it was what He did that spread his message around the world without violence

There was no CNN, No Fox News, showing live coverage, no internet, no newspapers,radio or television. No Twitter or Facebook. No Instagram,Skype, or Google.

Nevertheless the message of the man who died on Calvary (The Place of the Skull) spread around the world without mass communication.

His followers, twelve of them were so devoted to His message of love and code of behavior they became the first pacifist activists who spread a message the man they called their Lord had preached to them.

He was Jesus of Nazareth.  He had no last name.

Today He is now known all over the world for the message he delivered.

Whether you believe He is the Son of God, or not, He ranks as one of the foremost influences on mankind. More than Plato, more than Socrates, more than any leader or politician, or entertainer whoever lived.

His selfless acts of embracing lepers, the poor, those who sinned were unique.

Such compassion for the downtrodden was unheard of during the time He lived.

It was a time of slavery. No human rights. No care for the sick. When cities were razed and populations slaughtered or enslaved much like the genocides of today.

Jesus of Nazareth introduced a new philosophy that spread throughout the world after because the community leaders of his own people thought him a threat to their power. And that fear that this simple man was a threat should be a lesson to us all.

If you live by His philosophy of forgiveness you are a person at peace with yourself. If you accept those who are different from you without  fear or prejudice, you are a force for spreading His message of peace towards others and good will.

If you help the poor and the sick because you sympathize with them, you are following His way.

If you stand up for truth, point out what is wrong as He did with the Pharisees. You are doing his will.

If you go about doing good for the sake of doing good, you are following His virtue of selflessness.

Jesus of Nazareth’s message whether divine or a code of how we conduct our lives resonated with millions and it spread.

There is no denying He is one of the great philosophers of the human experience, kin to Socrates, the other giant of antiquity thought.

Jesus of Nazareth was a human being who affects us to this day.

One of the great gifts of this man, Jesus of Nazareth, is the celebration of humanity and capacity to care and feel for others that aids persons whether they believe He was the Son of God or not. Or that you will have eternal life if you believe in him.

His philosophies of care, courage, compassion and benevolent action serve their practioners well because they leave a great personal satisfaction in the heart, the mind, and the spirit.

You do not have to second guess yourself, when you do what is right, humane, merciful, and serves the less fortunate without superiority with nothing to gain for yourself. And if you do not do what is right, if you weaken, you always regret it and remember when you failed to do right.

The peace of mind of action is the least of the  great gifts of Jesus of Nazareth whose birth is recognized worldwide this day.

If you act as Jesus did, you will be remembered by all you meet fondly and lovingly, and be comforted that you will live in memories of those you have  touched with your love and kindness and caring  for eternity to the end of the age.

His simple teachings have great power. Use them. Implement them.

They give meaning to our mystery of life.

They give meaning and purpose to anyone’s life.

For 2,000 years He in his sweet, short life made a violent world a better place.

WESTCHESTER INTRODUCES NEW Comprehensive COUNTY COVID 19 “DASHBOARD”

Introducing the all-new Westchester County Covid-19 Dashboard. Viewable at  https://arcg.is/10naWv0

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Department of Communications.December 23, 2010:

County Executive Geo rge Latimer introduced the new County Covid Tracker Map promised two weeks ago, a week early today. The new method of providing Covid-19 spread and control was promised by the first of the and arrived a week early.

The County Executive said:

“This codifies data we receive from New York State. We are trying, and have proven over an extended period of time, that we intended to do the things we say we are going to do. When we say that we are going to try to give you information in a more transparent and accessible way – this is an example of how we deliver it.”

The new Covid-19 Dashboard, which will automatically update, contains:

·       County Active Case Map

·       Covid-19 Test Site Map

·       Total Confirmed Active Cases

·       Total Confirmed New Cases

·       Active, New & Cumulative Cases by Municipality

·       Total Fatalities

·       Total Persons Tested

·       NYS Designated Hot Zones

·       Positivity Rate

·       Various Graphs Outlining Statistics

5.84% INFECTION RATE ACROSS THE STATE. WESTCHESTER RATE: 606 CASES A DAY, 13,340 IN 3 WEEKS AND 1 DAY

WPCNR GOVERNOR CUOMO CORONA VIRUS REPORT. From the Office of the Governor. December 23, 2020:

(Editor’s Westchester County Note: On Tuesday, December 22, 11, 368 Westchester persons were tested and 651 came back positive with the corona virus, an infection rate of 5.7%, as reported by the NYS Covid-19 Tracker website. The Westchester infection rate continues at 6%. Since December 1, 13,340 Westchesterites have test positive, a per day new Covid case average of 606 new Covid Positives a day.)

NOW TO THE GOVERNOR

We’re in a footrace between the vaccination program and the growing spread of COVID. So far, 89,000 New Yorkers have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose.

22,000 New Yorkers received their first dose at 90 nursing home facilities, during just the first two days of a federal-private partnership program in which New York is participating.

As we continue to roll out the vaccine, I remind all New Yorkers to stay vigilant, especially over the holidays—wear a mask, social distance, continue to wash your hands. Celebrate smart. Happy holidays, New York. PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Coronavirus newsletter will not publish tomorrow, December 24th, or Friday, December 25th. We will resume on Monday, December 28th.  

Here’s what else you need to know tonight:

1. Total hospitalizations rose to 6,864. Of the 204,361 tests reported yesterday, 11,937, or 5.84 percent, were positive. There were 1,166 patients in ICU yesterday, up 40 from the previous day. Of them, 633 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 164 New Yorkers to the virus.

 2. The State is working on a plan to allow fans to attend the Buffalo Bills’ first home playoff game in more than two decades under strict COVID-19 protocols. Under the proposal, which is being developed cooperatively between the Bills and the State Department of Health, fans in attendance would be required to receive a negative COVID-19 test result before being allowed into the stadium and contact tracing would be conducted after the game. 

 3. The Department of Financial Services issued guidance that will help expand New York’s hospital capacity. DFS is directing insurers to suspend certain preauthorization and administrative requirements to help hospitals implement New York’s “surge and flex” protocol. With today’s action, hospitals will be able to quickly transfer patients between hospitals, better balance patient load and more. 

4. The New York State Department of Health has authorized the use of extra doses that have been found in Moderna vaccine vials. We have learned that many 10-dose vials of the Moderna vaccine have enough of the vaccine for 11 doses. (The Pfizer vaccine, similarly, found to have extra doses.) The Department of Health issued guidance on administering these extra doses. 

 Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: The legendary Charles W. Howard of Albion, NY, who was one the most famous Santa Claus portrayers in history, will have a road in his hometown named in his honor. Howard, who died in 1966, took up the red-and-white mantle (and beard) after being dissatisfied with existing Santa Claus performers. He started at local department stores and later opened the first Santa School in Albion, where he taught hundreds of Santa’s helpers to look, dress and act like elves—helping spread the season’s cheer to countless children. He played Santa for 18 years in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and even consulted on the 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street.  If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here.

 Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo 
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County Board of Legislators Calls on Kite Realty to Obey the County Displaced Persons Law and Negotiate Fairly with SEIU 32BJ Workers Being Replaced by Non-Union Cleaning Firm

SEIU 32BJ MEMBERS PROTESTING AT LOSS OF UNION CLEANERS’ JOBS AT CITY CENTER TODAY

WPCNR LABOR LAW JOURNAL. From the Service Employs International 32BJ. December 23, 2020:

On Wednesday, Westchester County Chair of the Board of Legislators, Benjamin Boykin and the County’s 17 other legislators sent a letter to Kite Realty which is changing to a non union cleaning service, supporting the Service Employees International 32BJ workers who currently lean the City Center in White Plains, facing loss of their jobs. They called on Kite Realty to retain the current contract. Here is the text of that letter:

“We, the undersigned members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, hereby ask Kite Realty to insure that the cleaning staff at City Center be treated fairly, in accordance with the Westchester County Displaced Workers Law,” stated the letter. ” We further ask that the union contract, which provides that City Center staff earn as much as other shopping malls in downtown White Plains, be duly renewed.”

Carrying signs that said, “Kite Realty: Stop Scrooging Mall Cleaners,” the workers informed shoppers at the busy shopping center of their situation, as they try to retain their jobs in the middle as the holidays approach and as the uncertainty and risk of the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

“I’m so worried about being able to support my daughter, my mother and my sister who has lost her job,” said Maria Baron, a native of Colombia who has worked as a cleaner at the mall for two years. “All my co-workers are in similar situations, and this is not fair to do in such a difficult year.”

Kite Realty Group, which owns the mall, told workers last week that a new, non-union contractor would be starting on January 1, 2021, and gave them no information as to whether they would be keeping their jobs.

Under the Westchester County Displaced Service Employees Protection Act, contractors coming in to a union account are required to offer continued employment to existing service workers.

Earlier this week, the cleaners delivered a petition to the mall owners asking to keep their jobs with the good wages and benefits they have had as members of SEIU 32BJ.

“These essential workers have been keeping the mall clean and safe throughout the pandemic, and been able to support their families during this difficult period,” said Lenore Friedlaender, Assistant to the President of 32BJ and head of the union in the Hudson Valley. “Many of them are supporting multiple family members who have been in distress, and They deserve better than to be booted at the worst of times.”

Kite Realty Group, a real estate investment trust based in Indiana, operates 89 malls and other properties, primarily in the south and Midwest. City Center is its only mall property in New York.

Gladiator, the incoming contractor, has not provided a written job offer to the current cleaners as required by the law, nor has the cleaning company announced whether they will retain all of the workers, or what the employees’ pay and benefits will be. 

In an initial conversation with 32BJ SEIU, a Gladiator representative said the new contractor was planning to reduce the staffing from the current 14 cleaners to six cleaners. The Gladiator representative would not state whether his company would honor the terms of the current union contract in effect at the mall. 

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