hat motivated White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to bring himself to the White House briefing room October 19, only to perform something like a self-immolation?

He began with abrupt fuzziness:

LIVE CONVERSATION at https://www.facebook.com/doug.pagitt Doug Pagitt talks with participants of the ongoing Texas Journey of Hope who were also fellow participants in the Abolitionist Action Committee civil disobedience action on January 17, 2017 at the US Supreme Court.

Let’s read a New York Times editorial from Monday:

“The United States has been at war continuously since the attacks of 9/11 and now has just over 240,000 active-duty and reserve troops in at least 172 countries and territories. While the number of men and women deployed overseas has shrunk considerably over the past 60 years, the military’s reach has not. American forces are actively engaged not only in the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen that have dominated the news, but also in Niger and Somalia, both recently the scene of deadly attacks, as well as Jordan, Thailand and elsewhere.”

That’s a big “elsewhere” that includes Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, etc.

“An additional 37,813 troops serve on presumably secret assignment in places listed simply as ‘unknown.’ The Pentagon provided no further explanation. There are traditional deployments in Japan (39,980 troops) and South Korea (23,591) to defend against North Korea and China, if needed,”

October 16th marked the 49th anniversary of an iconic moment in sports history, a moment which exemplified the unwavering dedication necessary to the conduction of actions of civil disobedience.

At the 1968 Olympics Games in Mexico City, two black U.S. medalists—Tommie Smith and John Carlos— had bowed their heads, closed their eyes and raised their glove-covered hands into the shape of a fist.  This salute, also known as the “black power salute,” was held for the entire duration of the U.S. National Anthem. These men, in the course of a few minutes, had created waves in the international community and would forever be remembered for their influence on the Black liberation movement in the U.S. This silent protest was orchestrated in order to highlight the rampant racial inequality in the states and bring awareness to the racial injustices African-Americans faced on a daily basis.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Millions of mourners are gathering for the
opulent royal cremation on October 25-29 of Thailand's king who had a
Golden Death Mask placed over his face and has lain, for the past one
year, in a coffin blessed by chanting Buddhist monks and a distraught,
weeping public.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej ("Poom-ee-pon Ah-doon-ya-det"), also known as
Rama IX, died in a Bangkok hospital after a lengthy illness on October
13, 2016, aged 88.

He was still reigning as a constitutional monarch after 70 years on the throne.

Today, his coffin and urn rest atop a tall, glistening, golden
catafalque in the Grand Palace's exquisite Dusit Maha Prasad Hall
under an ornate spired roof.

The hall's porticos feature wood-carved golden images of the Hindu god
Vishnu astride his mythical half-man half-bird winged Garuda, because
Thailand's monarchs are presented as living incarnations of Vishnu.

Bhumibol's passing has left many Thais feeling orphaned in a society
where the late monarch is still described officially and informally as