America is cursed with affluence. We live in a nation where the tradition of free enterprise has not yet been destroyed by the socialists. They are getting close, but still no cigar. Couple that with our concept of Christian compassion and concern for the poor and you have a nation where the poverty classes live at a level that is the envy of most of the world. You have heard the litany before about A/C, HD TV, cars, I-Phone, etc that are common in even welfare homes. We are an affluent nation.
It will bring us to our knees eventually. Material wealth and comfort has a strong attraction. It gives us an excuse to do things that are culturally suicidal. I had another example this week. We were talking to a tradesman and he commented that child care was eating him up. Since keeping children in the home is one of our bully pulpits we recommended home schooling and only one parent working. The discussion went on but eventually it came out that his wife had a good job that rewarded her not only financially but personally and she “likes the finer things of life.”
There it is, the American curse: We like the finer things of life and they are in reach. All we have to do is mortgage our children and compromise our values. The destruction of our children is not just a matter of sending them to day care so we can have a new car. It goes on all the way to college.
We send our children to colleges because they need a degree to be considered successful. I don’t know if you are paying attention but professors and administrators in our university system tend to be godless, left wing pagans who are evangelistic in their desire to brainwash the next generation to submit to socialism and one world government. I am not exaggerating. Look at the classes they are forced to take as freshman that deal with diversity and multiculturalism. Even “Christian” colleges are submitting to the New Age world view. Much of the compromise comes because they want government grants and federal money never comes without strings.
Take it down to the secondary level and the foundations are being laid. History is rewritten and key facts are left out. People are included in books because of their gender or lack of it. People who did nothing are mentioned so that the publisher can claim a quota of different races and cultures. Significant figures are ignored because they are white and/or male.
And don’t get me started on nursery school.
We have more to fear than ebola and AIDS.
homo unius libri
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Friday, December 14, 2018
Opus 2018-299: The 17¢ Revolution
France has been putting on their yellow safety vests and rioting in the streets. We keep hearing it is over a gas tax and that gas in France is now $7.00 a gallon. We hear about how this increase is forcing the working classes to give up their cars and destroying their life styles. It sounds serious until you start hearing the actual numbers.
I had heard other numbers but today I read that the increase in the gas tax in France was about 17 cents a gallon. What that means is gasoline was already about $7.00 a gallon and they added a few cents more. This is hardly a cause for revolution. It could be that someone finally leaked the information that here in Texas I am paying less than $2.00 a gallon and that blew the lid off. It has to be more than that. I am guessing that the reporting we see in the MSM is deliberately ignoring deeper reasons for revolution in France. And the uproar is spreading to other countries.
I would suggest that the rioting has other roots. One might be the kid gloves being used in dealing with the Muslim invaders that are slowly taking over the country. I don’t think the rioters went into the areas that are Muslim no-go zones. Another might be the almost total lack of voice that the common people have in France as well as the rest of Europe. The EU is a powerful group of unelected bureaucrats that regulate the lives of the common, unwashed masses to the point of tyranny. It could also be that their socialistic life style is finally catching up with them and they are having a tantrum. It could be that the labor unions have such a lock on the matter of life-time employment that the young people who can’t get jobs are unhappy.
It could be many things. Maybe they are just rioting because they do not share a border with the United States that they can sneak across. For France we don’t need a border, we have an ocean.
homo unius libri
I had heard other numbers but today I read that the increase in the gas tax in France was about 17 cents a gallon. What that means is gasoline was already about $7.00 a gallon and they added a few cents more. This is hardly a cause for revolution. It could be that someone finally leaked the information that here in Texas I am paying less than $2.00 a gallon and that blew the lid off. It has to be more than that. I am guessing that the reporting we see in the MSM is deliberately ignoring deeper reasons for revolution in France. And the uproar is spreading to other countries.
I would suggest that the rioting has other roots. One might be the kid gloves being used in dealing with the Muslim invaders that are slowly taking over the country. I don’t think the rioters went into the areas that are Muslim no-go zones. Another might be the almost total lack of voice that the common people have in France as well as the rest of Europe. The EU is a powerful group of unelected bureaucrats that regulate the lives of the common, unwashed masses to the point of tyranny. It could also be that their socialistic life style is finally catching up with them and they are having a tantrum. It could be that the labor unions have such a lock on the matter of life-time employment that the young people who can’t get jobs are unhappy.
It could be many things. Maybe they are just rioting because they do not share a border with the United States that they can sneak across. For France we don’t need a border, we have an ocean.
homo unius libri
Opus 2018-298: Line-Up
Have you seen the pictures from the funeral of George H.W. Bush? In the front row you have a lineup of presidents and spouses. In between the worse president in history and the second worse president in history you have a wife who had never been proud of America until her husband was elected, A president who deserved to be impeached and his gansta moll who has a long line of dead bodies behind her. In the context of what has gone before people get upset that the current president is not as smooth as they want.
When I look at that picture I realize how the hand of God has been on our country. We have survived all of them. If you don’t believe in miracles then just accept it as an early Christmas present. If you are a “never Trumper” then rest in the assurance that if the country can survive that group, it can survive Trump.
homo unius libri
When I look at that picture I realize how the hand of God has been on our country. We have survived all of them. If you don’t believe in miracles then just accept it as an early Christmas present. If you are a “never Trumper” then rest in the assurance that if the country can survive that group, it can survive Trump.
homo unius libri
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Opus 2018-297: Eternal Questions
Will we brush our teeth in eternity? Will we have teeth? Will we need to wash our hands? Will we have hands?
My wife often asks me what I have been doing. I don’t have the courage to share with her all of the deep pondering that is going on in my head as I stare out the window. The only reason I share it on the internet is that very few of you know who I really am and most of you are embarrassed to admit it.
Keep in mind that just because the questions are silly, it does not mean they don’t have answers.
homo unius libri
My wife often asks me what I have been doing. I don’t have the courage to share with her all of the deep pondering that is going on in my head as I stare out the window. The only reason I share it on the internet is that very few of you know who I really am and most of you are embarrassed to admit it.
Keep in mind that just because the questions are silly, it does not mean they don’t have answers.
homo unius libri
Opus 2018-296: Cornerstone Considerations: BRI, Two Edged Speech
To those who did not vote for Democrats in the last election it is clear that the immense platforms provided by Facebook and You Tube are being used to censor and control the information available to those who believe what they see on MSM. Actually they are trying to silence the rest of us too, but that is a bit harder at this point. We tend to be outraged that they would do this. At the same time we pay lip service to freedom of speech.
The significant part of the Bill of Rights reads,
We need clear lines between what is allowed and what is not. We need clear penalties for crossing those lines. We need to enforce the law and be willing to put up with everything that does not break it. The sword must cut both ways in limitations and liberty.
The real checks will be found in culture, not in government. Notice that the First Amendment says that “congress” is not to limit our speech. That does not mean that social pressure cannot make a difference. It used to be you could watch a movie or listen to the radio without a constant stream of F-bombs and smutty language. The reason was not so much legislation as pubic outrage at such lack of decorum. The industry policed itself because people demanded it. You just did not do such things. I know what locker room lingo is like but the mouthy adolescents who were showing how tough they were knew that they had better not talk that way in public. Why did that worry them? There mother would find out. Now their mother is teaching them.
We as Americans need to start drawing limits. That means we start with ourselves. We need to start talking like we are on 1950's TV during family time. And we need to start giving people the “look” when they use such language. One thing I used to do was point out that I didn’t need to pardon their French because the word they used was Anglo-Saxon.
Like many things necessary to make life better, we tend to want liberty for ourselves and for others to toe the line. If we don’t want to have laws enforcing speech codes in our homes like they are doing on University Campuses we need to start setting the example.
homo unius libri
The significant part of the Bill of Rights reads,
“Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;”Are there limits to freedom of speech and the press? Society has said, “Yes”. The courts have said, “Yes”. So what are those limits and how do we determine them? We have fancy words like “defamation”, “libel” and “slander” but what do they mean? Actually there are two factors that come into play: Truth and intent. The place where the law is clear involves making a statement you know is false in such a way that it damages someone who is not a public figure.
We need clear lines between what is allowed and what is not. We need clear penalties for crossing those lines. We need to enforce the law and be willing to put up with everything that does not break it. The sword must cut both ways in limitations and liberty.
The real checks will be found in culture, not in government. Notice that the First Amendment says that “congress” is not to limit our speech. That does not mean that social pressure cannot make a difference. It used to be you could watch a movie or listen to the radio without a constant stream of F-bombs and smutty language. The reason was not so much legislation as pubic outrage at such lack of decorum. The industry policed itself because people demanded it. You just did not do such things. I know what locker room lingo is like but the mouthy adolescents who were showing how tough they were knew that they had better not talk that way in public. Why did that worry them? There mother would find out. Now their mother is teaching them.
We as Americans need to start drawing limits. That means we start with ourselves. We need to start talking like we are on 1950's TV during family time. And we need to start giving people the “look” when they use such language. One thing I used to do was point out that I didn’t need to pardon their French because the word they used was Anglo-Saxon.
Like many things necessary to make life better, we tend to want liberty for ourselves and for others to toe the line. If we don’t want to have laws enforcing speech codes in our homes like they are doing on University Campuses we need to start setting the example.
homo unius libri
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Opus 2018-295: Second String
I have become the second string, the back up quarterback, the pinch hitter.
When my wife came home after being gone a few weeks the cat would have nothing to do with her. That lasted as long as it took the cat to realize that I was no longer the source of food. The cat disappeared from my room for days.
Now she is appearing again on occasion. When she does I can conclude that my wife is asleep or has left the house. It is a good thing I don’t care about cats that much or I might get my feelings hurt. As it is I know the cat has a need so I pet her when she gets in range.
We both seem to be able to live with that.
homo unius libri
When my wife came home after being gone a few weeks the cat would have nothing to do with her. That lasted as long as it took the cat to realize that I was no longer the source of food. The cat disappeared from my room for days.
Now she is appearing again on occasion. When she does I can conclude that my wife is asleep or has left the house. It is a good thing I don’t care about cats that much or I might get my feelings hurt. As it is I know the cat has a need so I pet her when she gets in range.
We both seem to be able to live with that.
homo unius libri
Opus 2018-294: Why Trump?
I have moved from an “anybody but Hillary” Trump voter to almost unquestioning support of the man. It has been quite a journey and it is fueled by just about everything I see going on in our popular culture. So why have I become one of those people who believes he is the man of the hour?
Trump represents the best current chance for a return to the rule of law. I hear the stuff the conspiracy nuts are throwing out about military tribunals and thousands of sealed indictments. As in any conspiracy there is probably a grain of truth. The problem is you don’t know which grain it is. I look at them the way I look at Biblical prophecy: You won’t know until it is too late. My confidence is that one reason Trump is moving slow on certain things is because he respects the Constitution, the rule of law and due process.
Trump demonstrates the total prostitution of the news media and the “watchdog” press. Remember the story of the little boy who cried, “Wolf”? Remember the story about the kings new clothes? In both cases, people caught on. I think our public is more like Charlie Brown repeatedly trusting Lucy to hold the football no matter how many times it is ripped away. It is simple: The MSM lies, about everything.
Trump really cares about America and what it means to be an American. That may be one reason why the elites (Democrats, Rinos, Progressives, Communists, Socialists, liberals, etc) hate him so much. What else do they need? They hate the common man having liberty, thus, they hate Donald Trump who actually believes in America.
Trump really cares about the common folk. It is not just talk and manipulation like we get from socialists who are “for the people”. It is not just using the children for an excuse to push any perversion or limitation of our freedom. We see countless examples of his caring when no one was paying attention.
Trump is hated by all the forces that want to turn the United States in Venezuela.
The things that disturb me about Trump are really minor: A tendency to locker room talk, a tendency to exaggerate, and he gets two scoops of ice cream. They are minor in reality and when compared to the flaws of the people attacking him they become minuscule.
The condiment that pulls it all together is the reality that you can’t believe anything the press tells us at this point, and I do mean anything. It really doesn’t matter if they are deliberately lying or just ignorant and delusional, the results are the same. Deceit, fraud and deception are the standards for the MSM. They hate the man so much that they are quite willing to cut off their nose to spite their face.
As a Christian I know that the final solution is not political but spiritual. In spite of that I believe that God can work through Donald J. Trump and seems to be doing so.
homo unius libri
Trump represents the best current chance for a return to the rule of law. I hear the stuff the conspiracy nuts are throwing out about military tribunals and thousands of sealed indictments. As in any conspiracy there is probably a grain of truth. The problem is you don’t know which grain it is. I look at them the way I look at Biblical prophecy: You won’t know until it is too late. My confidence is that one reason Trump is moving slow on certain things is because he respects the Constitution, the rule of law and due process.
Trump demonstrates the total prostitution of the news media and the “watchdog” press. Remember the story of the little boy who cried, “Wolf”? Remember the story about the kings new clothes? In both cases, people caught on. I think our public is more like Charlie Brown repeatedly trusting Lucy to hold the football no matter how many times it is ripped away. It is simple: The MSM lies, about everything.
Trump really cares about America and what it means to be an American. That may be one reason why the elites (Democrats, Rinos, Progressives, Communists, Socialists, liberals, etc) hate him so much. What else do they need? They hate the common man having liberty, thus, they hate Donald Trump who actually believes in America.
Trump really cares about the common folk. It is not just talk and manipulation like we get from socialists who are “for the people”. It is not just using the children for an excuse to push any perversion or limitation of our freedom. We see countless examples of his caring when no one was paying attention.
Trump is hated by all the forces that want to turn the United States in Venezuela.
The things that disturb me about Trump are really minor: A tendency to locker room talk, a tendency to exaggerate, and he gets two scoops of ice cream. They are minor in reality and when compared to the flaws of the people attacking him they become minuscule.
The condiment that pulls it all together is the reality that you can’t believe anything the press tells us at this point, and I do mean anything. It really doesn’t matter if they are deliberately lying or just ignorant and delusional, the results are the same. Deceit, fraud and deception are the standards for the MSM. They hate the man so much that they are quite willing to cut off their nose to spite their face.
As a Christian I know that the final solution is not political but spiritual. In spite of that I believe that God can work through Donald J. Trump and seems to be doing so.
homo unius libri
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