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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Opus 2018-159: Baby Talk: Not What You Think

It occurred to me that some people might get the wrong idea about the title “Baby Talk”.  No, the title does not mean these posts have ideas on how to talk to Democrats.  It comes from all the ideas I get when I am talking to the baby.

I can see how someone might understand this as about talking to liberals though.  There are certain similarities.  Talking to a 10 week old infant can be pleasant when they are in a good mood.  They will respond with smiles and all kinds of fun noises.  It doesn’t mean they understand a word you are saying.  You can say the same words and make the same faces and it they are in the wrong mood it results in blank stares, grumpy faces, loud screams and if you time it right, gas.  This is, again, like talking to someone who voted for Hillary. 

Did you ever think that maybe the liberals are mad because they have poopy diapers?

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-158: Headlines: Deadly Desk Job

The recent shooting in Annapolis was a tragedy waiting to happen.  Hindsight is always better than the risk of a lawsuit but this guy had “trouble” written all over him.  You can read his long history of rejection and harassment but that is not what hit me as I was reading the reports.

I came across a jarring statement.  If you have never fired a shotgun it might not have stood out to you but it shows how ignorance can cost lives.  One if the reporters wrote this,
'There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.'
The key point is this, the killer had to stop and reload.  That is a process that can be slow and difficult in a shotgun.  Most shotguns carry three or five rounds and after that you need to force the new shells through a hole on the side.  It does not always go well.  Perhaps this guy had his shotgun well broken in and it went like clock-work.  The key is that at that moment the people hiding under the desks waiting for the police to arrive had a chance to deal with the problem.  They didn’t.  They stayed in hiding hoping that the next person shot would not be them.

Think back to the guy who shot up the Wafflehouse.  He was taken down by an unarmed man who went for him while he was reloading.  Lives were saved by someone with a little bit of courage.  Okay, someone with a lot of courage.  He did not huddle down while the killer prepared for the next round of mayhem.  This could probably be said of most mass shootings.

By all reports the police were on this very quickly.  They did their job and I have read no reports of them hiding behind their cars while the shooting continued like happened in Florida.  It still wasn’t fast enough to save any lives.  I don’t want to be too harsh on the guys under their desks.  Who knows.  I might have been one of them.  What we need to learn is that it is not always the safest place to be when a killer is intent of killing.

I hope I never need to demonstrate the courage needed in this event but I hope the lesson comes home if I ever face such a threat.

homo unius libri

Friday, June 29, 2018

Opus 2018-157: Baby Talk: Geek Diapers

High tech has come to diapers.  I am getting used to it.

My children were raised old school.  Throw away diapers were available and you could also sign up for a diaper service.  We went with traditional cloth diapers except when we were traveling.  We may have been old fashioned, but we were not stupid.

Cloth diapers have the advantage that you can reuse them.  For the neophytes out there you had to wash them between uses.  They were all natural and if you did your job as a parent, safe on baby’s bottom.  They were also great for playing games with.  I don’t know how many sessions of hide and seek I played.  If you did it right they would also protect you from having your son squirt you in the eye.

Diaper pins were a challenge but gave you a sense of pride when you learned how to do them.  You also had to learn to fold the diapers correctly.

All of that is passe with today’s babies.  They come pre-folded.  It is more challenging to get them spread out than it was to fold the clothe ones, but it can be learned.  They come in an endless supply.  You buy them by the carload at Costco and throw them away after one use.  They have some kind of sticky tabs instead of pins.  It isn’t velcro but it works well. 

None of that is really the high tech.  What they have is a strip that turns blue.  On the diapers we were using there was a vertical yellow strip down the middle.  As long as it was yellow, life was good for you and the baby.  When it turned blue, you knew you had a problem.  Actually it was the baby that had a problem but when baby ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.  It saves you from the process of sticking a finger down the diaper to find out if it is wet. 

It also doesn’t tell you if you are dealing with a number one or a number two.  It is like playing baby roulette.  You never know what you have until you open the package.  In the two weeks my granddaughter was here I changed my share of diapers but we had an understanding, or at least I did.  If it came out a number two I would pass the child on.  I must live right because I never had that kind of surprise.

Welcome to the 21st century.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-156: Headlines: Misplaced Euphoria

I would not get too excited about Justice Kennedy stepping down. 

Everywhere I see that the left is going into the Blue Screen of Death mode and the right is giggling themselves silly.  They assume that President Trump will nominate a judge who believes in the Constitution and will interpret it instead of advancing their own personal opinions.  I believe he will try.  I believe the judge nominated will meet those requirements.  I don’t believe that it means a lock on the future.

I don’t want to rain on our parade.  I have high hopes.  I am expecting a sterling selection.  Then we have to get it past the Flake on the Judicial committee and the McCain on the floor.  Both are big challenges.  We can deal with the Democrats.  What we have trouble with are the RINOs.

Take Chief Justice Roberts as an example.  He met all the criteria when he was selected.  We were overjoyed.  We felt we were holding our own.  Then he stabbed us in the back on Obamacare.  How many other justices have been nominated because they believed in the Constitution but the kool aid they serve in the Supreme Court lunchroom started to do its work?  I could see Roberts stepping into Kennedy’s slot as ego building swing vote.

So don’t stop praying for a Justice to reign up.  Don’t stop being salt and light.  Don’t stop agitating and demanding either, if that is your strong point.  Keep in mind that a faithful remnant can keep God from giving up on the United States.  If not, we face the Sodom Solution.

And as several bloggers say, “Pass the popcorn.”

homo unius libri

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Opus 2018-155: Baby Talk: Babies from YHWH to Moloch

I was holding my sleeping granddaughter and admiring the smooth flow of her cheek.  She is one cute kid.  Then my eye drifted up a few inches and I saw the arm of an old man with old man skin, sagging muscles and grey hair.  What a contrast.

Think about it.  Someone was once holding me and seeing the same contrast.  She will hold a baby some day and possibly notice the same thing.

We think human beings have so much in common.  And we should but there are people and possibly entire cultures that don’t look at it that way.  The Romans saw no problem with taking a child that did not fit into their plans and leaving it exposed on the Forum tiles to die or be picked up by someone looking to raise inexpensive slaves.  The religion of Canaan when Israel entered the land practiced throwing their first born into a blazing furnace to satisfy their gods.  Modern liberals have no problem with late term abortions where the baby is born alive by some miscalculation of the “doctor” then allowing the baby to die from lack of attention.

I rejoice that I follow a God who became human in the form of a baby born without a silver spoon in His mouth.  I rejoice in the knowledge that even this little child was conceived in the image of God.

Suddenly it is time to change a diaper.  Daily life interrupts the philosophical muse.  Let’s hope it is a number one and not a number two.

homo unius libri

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Opus 2018-154: Election 2018: Enforce the Rule of Law

The left is doing everything is can to incite violence.  They keep pushing the envelope.  The past few weeks have seen a rash of abuse on Republicans as they go about their daily lives.  Maxine Waters has openly called for violence.  It is building and there is a temptation we face as conservatives.

We have this feeling that we are the problem and if we will just give them what they want they will go away. 

It doesn’t work that way.  They are demonstrating the classic bullying behavior that keeps thugs in control of neighborhoods.  It is the standard form of negotiating from the progressives.  They demand half of your loaf.  You give it to them and hope for peace.  They realize you are not going to resist so they again demand half of what is left.  You think that will do the trick so you give it to them.  Then they want more.  It goes on until one of two things happen, either you punch the bully in the nose or you are destroyed.  It is part of the bully code.

So the right will have to stand up to the bullies sometime.  They are going to keep pushing until we respond vigorously.  This week Paul Ryan gave the Department of Justice a deadline.  When they did not meet it he blinked and extended the deadline.  It is time to lower the hammer while it can still be done without violence.  The conservatives need to start using the courts and due process to bring the bullies into line.  We need to put the fear of the rule of law in their hearts.  We need to write it loud and long.  We need to not give up until they turn and run and then we need to make sure that they did not hide anything we missed.

The way we can guarantee violence is to keep giving in until we either have no other option or we lose our collective minds.  When you have crowds spitting on government officials have them arrested and file charges.  Such behavior is not allowed.  When a loud group surrounds a conservative as they are trying to watch a movie, call the police, file a complaint and make them hire the lawyers.  When a judge lets his personal prejudice overrule the law, impeach.

And vote the suckers out.  If it is Republicans who want to play nice, let them look for other jobs.

homo unius libri

Monday, June 25, 2018

Opus 2018-153: Baby Talk: Cute

Why do people think babies are so cute?  They don’t have to take them home.

Babies are like those guys demonstrating the cleaning products at the county fair.  It works great and looks easy.  It isn’t.

If you want to know what a baby is like read “Doctor Jeckle and Mr. Hyde.”  That might be a little extreme since the baby can’t roam the streets broadcasting evil but there are parallels.

On the one side you have the public face, the advertizing baby.  When my granddaughter is in that mode she is the cutest, sweetest thing you ever did see.  Big smiles and attempts to share baby wisdom get even mature adults smiling and talking back as if the infant could really understand.  The scrawny neck is stretched out and the head is turning around with wide eyes and chubby cheeks.  It is like a magnet in the sand drawing iron hearts her way.

This bundle of joy can quickly transition into that old cranky boss you once worked for.  The head is hunched down in the shoulders.  If you are lucky, she is asleep but usually you are not lucky.  Either way she looks like Winston Churchill on a bad day.  This is the time when grandparents usually hand them back to daughters and grandfathers go looking for grandmothers.

Watch the crowd dynamic sometime.  If the baby is exhibit A people are drawn in.  If she is exhibit B they are all finding somewhere else to be.  May you never be trapped on an airplane behind, in front of, or beside an exhibit B.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-152: Headlines: Free Enterprise in Action

By now I am sure you have heard about Sarah Sanders being asked to leave a restaurant because the owner did not like Donald Trump.  It is just another example of the hatred that the left has for anyone they cannot control.  Even in this situation it was not the conservatives who were nasty.  Sanders is not even the one that first broadcast the event. 

I think this is a good opportunity for those of us who believe in free enterprise and freedom of speech to show a little class.  It was perfectly within the rights of a restaurant owner to ask someone to leave that she did not want to serve, or it should be.  I salute her for taking a stand on her beliefs as twisted as they are.  It is part of what being America is.  We are talking about a place to eat.  There are options.  If it had been a hospital or the only grocery store in town there might be some issues but not for a restaurant. 

The problem my position presents is where do you draw the line.  If you can discriminate against someone because of their political beliefs then why not because of their religion.  Why could I not refuse service to people who are cheating on their wives?  And of course we eventually get down to issues like sexual identification and race.  It is a dangerous road to travel down.

I also think it is a good opportunity for those who believe in freedom to exercise that freedom by eating somewhere else and encouraging friends to do the same.  My daughter and I went to breakfast for Fathers’ Day.  I could not count the times that we were welcomed and made to feel like we had made the right choice.  I think every employee must have spoken to us at least once and then we were thanked when we leave.  My money will be back.  If I am ever in Lexington I will make it a point to not go to the Little Red Hen which is a shame since my wife likes places like that.

The bigotry of Stephanie Wilkenson makes my life a little easier by making my choices easier.

homo unius libri

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Opus 2018-151: Baby Talk: Rocking Eternity

As I am being thankful I repeat my gratitude for being able to see, hold, and rock my granddaughter.  Yes, I am even happy to change diapers.  My thought wondered to the many people who did not have this opportunity and to those who did not take advantage of it. 

In terms of eternity how do grandchildren fit in?  What we call heaven is beyond our imagination or conception.  It needs to be a place where all the pain and wrongs of millions of lifetimes are made good.  I cannot conceive that.  How will parents who have lost children be able to sit in brotherhood with those who have not?  How will children who endured extreme poverty and possibly died of an easily cured problem be able to embrace children who thought a day without TV was suffering?  I think of Christians suffering under Sharia law.  I think of the historical reality of Christian families watching their sons stolen to be trained as soldiers in the armies of the Caliph. 

Being a parent was awesome.  Being a grandparent is spectacular.  It is humbling to think that God has something in store for us that will make all of this seem mundane. 

I hope to see you there.

homo unius libri

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Opus 2018-150: Headlines: A Second Nut from the Same Tree

Sometimes I laugh at the liberals.  Sometimes I throw up my hands in despair.  I often get a bit angry.  Peter Fonda made me want to riot.  What an evil fool!  In case you missed it he Tweeted that the president’s son should be kidnapped and turned over to pedophiles.  And he is still walking the streets.  If he is willing to publicly say something like this against a man who can call the Secret Service and the FBI into action how would he be willing to act toward your child?

Has he been banned from all the best parties?  Have there been demonstrations outside his house?  Is he shunned by the Hollywood elite?  Are you holding your breath?

The take we need to get from this is Peter Fonda represents a large chunk of the Left.  That chunk is much bigger than we want to believe and the reality of it is nothing new.  Proverbs warns us about this reality.  It has always been with us.  Notice the second part of this verse,
(Proverbs 13:19 KJV)  The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.
Keep in mind that the left would label Fonda the moral giant and give him the high ground because he is speaking against a president they hate.

Earlier in Proverbs Solomon tells us that we should seek wisdom.  Why?
(Proverbs 2:12-15 NAS77)  To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things; From those who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness; Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil; Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;
Peter Fonda does not stand alone but he needs to be sitting alone, in a jail cell.

homo unius libri

Friday, June 22, 2018

Opus 2018-149: Start to Dig

The 4th is coming and it is time to begin to plan to read through the Declaration of Independence.  If you know where your copy is, good for you.  If you don’t, start digging.

Just as it is important to be reading in the Bible all year, it is important for us to remind ourselves about the foundations of this country.  I recommend that you plan on reading through the D of I on or before the 4th of July.

Read it before it is banned or edited into pablum.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-148: Baby Talk: Drool Wisdom

We are about half way through a visit by my daughter and our first grandchild.  It is a grand experience, grand and exhausting.  Why do you care?  Because it means that I will have babies on my mind and it will influence what I write.  I will see glory in a yawn and wisdom in a drool.  I will share those insights with anyone who will listen.  As the pilot says when he is landing the plane and we are almost free, “I know that you have many airlines to chose from”.  If you can’t stand baby talk then I will see you when you get back.

homo unius libri

Monday, June 18, 2018

Opus 2018-147: Foundations of Privilege

If there is such a thing as “white privilege” then it stands to reason that there would also be such a thing as “black privilege”.

What would black privilege be based on? 

It is interesting the racist attitudes that come through in the Tourette responses of the left as they blurt out pet phrases.  (Apologies for the comparison to those with Tourette.)  Notice when they talk about white privilege they seem to think it involves being corporate executives and when they are worried about black privilege it means being allowed to use the bathroom at Starbucks.  The way they try to say that minorities are equal is to give them cheat points.  It is almost like they are trying to cover up their own prejudices rather than give genuine opportunity to people they look down on.  If you can make the masses happy with bread and circuses then they will never demand a voice.

Black privilege should be based on the same thing that white privilege is supposed to be based on:  Hard work, ability and as close to an even chance as can be found in human society.  You don’t achieve that kind of deserved privilege by lowering the requirements for one group.  Are different ethnic groups different?  Probably, no, make that a yes.  When it comes to the individual do those differences have any significance?  No, not at all.  Just because men are taller on average than women does not mean that the random man will be taller than the random female.  And it certainly doesn’t reflect on intelligence or skill.

America is based on individual liberty not group identity.  As the left continues to work to Balkanize us we must work to look at people by what Martin Luther King, Jr. called the content of their character.  For Christians that is summarized in a couple of concepts.  First,
(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
and
(John 3:16 KJV)  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
with a reminder,
(Galatians 3:28 KJV)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
These are the ideas that are at the root of the American Experiment.

homo unius libri

Friday, June 15, 2018

Opus 2018-146: Living in Oz

Do certain spots in our culture get a pass on honesty?  In a recent discussion with my son his proposition was that the news media has always been biased.  He brought up the news coverage of the Boston Massacre, Yellow Journalism and the propaganda of World War II.  Expecting the average reporter to be objective about truth is naive and pointless.  They usually either lie or believe that what they want is truth.  Not only is that consistent with New Age thinking, it is consistent with the Christian view of original sin.  His advice was, “Get over it.”

Should we “get over it”?

Think of the different areas that we are lied to on a regular basis.  Reporters in the main stream media have a hard time seeking truth.  For them the mantra might be, “What are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?”  Whether it is Trump Derangement Syndrom or Global Warming the observable facts seem to be ignored to advance the agenda of the left.  When Obama or Clinton did it, praise.  When Bush or Trump does the same, shock.  I am not sure that the news sources of the right are always innocent of this method of reporting.  I know I never read anything without my baloney meter turned on high. 

Politicians?  I know that if they have a “D” by their name they are just repeating the DNC talking points.  It is depressing how lock step the Democrats are.  The Republicans also have their share of self-serving hacks.  We are used to it and expect it.  Should we?

How about sales and advertising.  Do you believe what you see on the label.  One of my favorites is a bag of lemon drops that advertised it was a “fat free food”.  Yes, but it was all sugar.  Then you have the packages that say “sugar free”.  True, but they often have another sweetener that has just as many calories.  This one I can live with by ignoring it or buying a different product.

Then think about the fiction we read and watch.  Was Homer one of the original liars?  Is the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” deceitful?  I always like the marital arts characters who knock people across the room and they come back for more.  Really?  I can only suspend belief so much.

We have learned to live with untruth.  In entertainment it is suspending reality for the purposes of enjoyment.  Maybe we should accept the news and the news makers as just other entertainers.  Are vocalists crooning about how much they love us really any different than a senator telling us he is concerned about the good of the country.

I would take it all with a grain of salt but they tell me salt is bad for me.

homo unius libri

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Opus 2018-145: Firsts: Enough Is Enough

I never thought I would see the day but it finally arrived.  I had enough bacon. 

Of course great moments never happen in a vacuum.  It was my final dinner at my son’s house.  We had to finish things off because he has a way of not eating left overs.  We started with corn on the cob and a big salad with every bit of vegetable matter that we did not need for BLT’s later.  We decided to wait a few hours for the bacon.

When the moment arrived we had lots of tomato, three kinds of heavy bread, the outside lettuce leaves and, of course, bacon.  It was a feast and I was shocked when my appetite and my bacon ran out at the same time. 

So I had enough bacon.  Anything is possible.

homo unius libri

Monday, June 11, 2018

Opus 2018-144: Japan: Expressions of Polite, Part 11 of ?

In Japan it is considered unacceptable to blow your nose in public.  For all I know it might be unacceptable in private also.

A lot of people wear those surgical masks in Japan.  At first I thought it was people who were germophobes but I was told it was really the people who were sick.  They were wearing the mask out of consideration for the people around them.

A polite people, the Japanese.

homo unius libri

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Opus 2018-143: Fathers’ Day Is Coming



My son asked me when Fathers’ Day was scheduled this year.  I told him the partial truth, “I don’t know.”  The other part of the truth is that I don’t particularly care.  It isn’t that I don’t value fatherhood.  I do.  It has been one of the great joys of my life.  The point for me is that one day where you act like your father is important means nothing if you have not been showing that all year.

We joke about something called “Children’s Day”.  It has to be a joke because every day is Children’s Day.  The fact that I can be perpetually proud of my children makes every day a type of Fathers’ Day.  The fact that they allow me to be part of their life adds special emphasis to certain days.

When my son asked me the question I had been spending a few weeks at his house.  I fit myself around his schedule and entertain myself when he is engaged.  I fix grits for breakfast and we plan the dinners that we like but can’t have when the women are in charge.  That can run from BLT’s to Soylent in Cocoa Pebbles.  We buy weird coffees and act like we are connoisseurs who know the meanings of acidic and balance.  Did you know that you can pay $62 a pound for Jamaican Blue Mountain?  I would say that three weeks living at my son’s place is a good Father’s Day gift.  I would say three weeks in Japan with my daughter, son in law and new grandchild are also great Father’s Day gifts.

It sure beats a new tie.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-142: Headlines: Zimbabwe Reprise Continues

If you have not been following events in South Africa it is not surprise.  No one seems to be covering it.  Recently the parliament of South Africa passed a bill that allowed the government to confiscate the farms of white citizens without compensation.  I wrote about this before.  Keep in mind that the agreement between the previous white controlled government and the new black controlled government contained constitutional guarantees that this would not happen.  The South African farmers had seen what happened in Zimbabwe and did not want a reprise. 

Unfortunately promises are made to be broken and if you are in a country that feels the government gives you the right to property, the government can take away your right to property.  Australia is looking to be of assistance.  Some of South Africa’s white farmers can see the writing on the wall and are looking to get out while they are still alive.  Australia is looking for ways to help them according to the article in The South African.

It seems like a workable solution before the remaining farmers are slaughtered or evicted.  From the article it could be assumed that Australia could use more farmers. 

Let’s hope this is a win for everyone.  Black South Africa has already decided that it wants to follow the route that Zimbabwe pursued, crop failure and famine.  If I lived in South Africa I would be getting out as soon as possible with as much as possible.

homo unius libri

Friday, June 8, 2018

Opus 2018-141: A Pseudotweet

It occurred to me this morning that I have developed the strange habit of “making” my bed each day.  Something which I resisted with all the fervor of youth has now become second nature.  The first miracle is that I notice it isn’t made.  The second is that I straighten it up without an inner struggle of my spirit of liberty yearning to live free.

I don’t know when the change happened.  I am wondering why?  Is my wife a better nagger than my mother?  Did an alien possess my body?  Is it a sudden need for islands of order in my life?  Is it because I am getting old and losing my mind?  I am going to go with modern culture and claim to be the victim.

I am the victim of the modern casual approach to life.  The last wedding I attended had me standing out as one of the few men who wore a tie.  Most guests were dressed like they were going on a date to a local bar.  At church last Sunday the uniform was some sort of worn looking denim and a shirt that was not tucked in.  That spirit has embraced my inner bed maker.

For those of you who are new to this world the making of a bed used to be an arduous task.  The corners had to be neatly tucked in.  The top sheet was to be evenly folded back over the blanket, even though it would be covered by the pillows and bed spread.  The pillows were neatly arranged across the top of the bed and the bed spread was brought up over them and tucked under the front.  The bed spread had to be evenly draped on all sides.  It was quite a procedure.  No wonder I hated it.

Now I just kind of pull things up until they are generally neat.  The pillow goes wherever it ends up and since the bed spread is really a down comforter it covers a lot of uneven sheet wrinkles.  It takes a few seconds.

Am I getting better or are the expectations worse?  Is it a victory for sanity or a sign of disintegration?  This sounds like one of those stereotypical tweets that share how many squares of toilet paper you used this morning. 

homo unius libri

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Opus 2018-140: Headlines: The New Lottery

The Miss America Pageant has decided to do away with the swim suit competition.  If they had just gone ahead and done it with no announcement I would have never known because I don’t think I have ever watched it unless my wife wanted to sometime in the past.  Long ago I found that walking through an expensive bakery was not a good idea for an overweight diabetic. 

What I think was interesting was the idea that the women in the competition should not be judged on looks.  Okay.  Then to be consistent we would need to bring out the burkas and hook up those machines that disguise your voice.  If we are really concerned about doing away with physical responses then we can expect to see further announcements. 

Of course if we are trying to level the playing field we will also need to do away with other areas that some might have an unfair advantage.  Since some people are born tone deaf we could not have any musical talent displayed.  Some people do not speak English so there could actually be no verbal responses possible if we want to be fair.  To be complete we need to do away with anything having to do with intelligence also. 

As we continue down the road of the absurd we need to consider the comments by some that we must be sensitive to those who were born male but identify as female and have not gone public.  In fact, maybe limiting the competition to just women seems to be a bit discriminatory.  It should be open to all 49 gender identifications, or whatever the current number is. 

I would suggest that the only logical future for the Miss America Pageant is to become the Ms/Mr America Lottery.  If that ever becomes a reality and the rewards are good enough I might be inclined to sign up but only if there is no age discrimination.

What a world we are living in.

homo unius libri

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Opus 2018-139: Japan: Paying the Bill, Part 10 of ?

In Japan you do not hand anyone money directly.  You always lay it on the counter for them to pick up.  Everywhere you go they have these little trays like you get in fancy restaurants.  You put your money on the tray.  They carefully count out your change.  They bow.  All is good in the world.

I understand that it is considered an insult to hand them the money directly.  It has something to do with prostitution.  It seems strange to us but that is the way they do it.  Some accommodations are not a burden, just hard to remember. 

homo unius libri

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Opus 2018-138: On the Street: The Return of the Longhorn

The sign said, “Registered Longhorns for Sale”.  It is amazing what happens when society becomes so rich they don’t have time for standards.  If you ever watched cowboy movies in which they were driving cattle to the railhead you know about the role of the longhorn.  The longhorn was a type of cattle that strangely enough had long horns.  The reason the long horns were important is that they became deadly weapons when the animal felt threatened and even more deadly when they were in a bad mood.  That was all the time.  They had run wild and survived in the wild.

Longhorns were noted for their bad attitudes.  It was almost as if they knew they were born to be the central feature at a barbeque.  They were also noted as having tough, stringy meat.  It was considered a great day for steak lovers when the longhorns were cross bred with other breeds of cattle to produce more tender steaks and roasts. 

Now for some reason things come full circle.  What would be considered a cull is now “registered” as if they were really special.  Maybe they are now considered pets.  They do look majestic when the horns spread six feet or more.  Some might even consider them a romantic figure but that is beyond my ken. 

It will be interesting if Longhorn Steak ever becomes an item in expensive restaurants.  My guess will be that they can only be eaten in rooms with no air conditioning.

homo unius libri

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Opus 2018-137: I Find a New Author

How do you know if a writer is a liberal?  There are lots of clues.  I am recently working through the novels of David Baldacci.  He writes an entertaining story.  The first couple I read I enjoyed with no qualifications but as I began to read through the different series he is working on I began to see certain patterns.

In one book he continually used the acronym ISIL instead of ISIS.  As far as I know President Obama is the main one who used this term in trying to push the legitimate cause of Islam in the Middle East.  ISIS stand for “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria”.  ISIL stands for “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant”.  To geographically challenged Americans the question is, “So what?”  Using the term Levant is granting that the Islamic state has a legitimate claim to the land of Israel.  If you question this, Google “Levant”.  When the results come up you will see some maps on the right that include Israel.  When you look at the major cities of the Levant you will find Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  Obama was making a political statement by his choice of words.  I have to feel Baldacci was doing the same.  The other possibility is he only reads the New York Times.

There are a lot of other clues.  The tone he takes on issues like business, medicine and such.  So far the balance between irritating liberal doggerel and a good story are coming down on the side of the story, so I will continue reading.  He seems to have a theme in some of the books.  He dealt with human trafficking in one.  The one I am reading now seems to highlight the problems in foster care.  Another dealt with secret government programs that seemed to be developing cyborg soldiers.  Good topics that need to be highlighted.  Somehow I don’t think he will ever deal with the Planned Parenthood scandal of selling baby body parts or the lack of credibility in the media.  That would be too much to hope for but I will hope anyway.

I continue reading with my baloney meter turned on and my mind in gear.

homo unius libri

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Opus 2018-136: Questions

I have been reading in Judges.  It was a bloody time.  There are chapters that have no purpose or teaching that I can see.  Does that bother me?  Yes, but it is so far down my list I don’t think about it much. 

Some people approach the Bible with the doubt of pride.  They are committed to tearing it apart and proving it wrong.  So they focus on things like the massacre of Ai.  Others approach it from the questioning of faith.  They are looking for answers to life.  I count myself in the latter.

Do I have the answer to some of your questions?  No, not yet.  I will someday.  Until then I am too busy trying to understand the rest.  I may not get to your questions until I have been resurrected for a few millennia.  Of course, by then I might already know the answer from something else I was studying.

Are questions good?  They can be.  They can also just be an expression of a desire to agitate.  What is the difference?  When you tell your children to take out the trash and they ask “Why?”  It might be genuine curiosity about why you want them to empty something they just took out without you asking.  It could also be nothing but rebellion if things are running over onto the floor.

So ask away.  Question.  And be satisfied with a frequent “I have no idea” and an occasional “Because I said so.”

homo unius libri

Friday, June 1, 2018

Opus 2018-135: Headlines: Who Is Tommy Robinson?

If our Progressive (Liberal, Democrat, Socialist, Elite, RINO) leaders have their way the experience of Tommy Robinson will soon come to a community near you.  If you don’t know about Tommy Robinson then you either are not paying attention or their plan has already isolated you in a Nanny State cocoon. 

Tommy Robinson was standing outside a courthouse in England where some Muslims were on trial for rape and assorted other crimes.  He was using Facebook to report on what was happening.  He was arrested for “breaching the peace”.  That sounds pretty serious.  Evidently he had done such a heinous things before and standing in public making comments on his Facebook page was a violation of his parole.  Within five hours he appeared before a judge and was locked up again for thirteen months.  It seems he was locked up in the same prison that contained the Muslims.  Then the judge passed down a gag order telling the news media not to tell anybody about it.  In this country you don’t have to do that because the media is so one sided, but London still has competing newspapers that like to get a scoop.

This is what the English system of justice has become.  It is what the Progressives want to see in this country.  I have often noted that our basic Bill of Rights is based on the English Declaration of Rights of 1689.  One noticeable difference is in the right to what we call Freedom of Speech.  It contains a mention of such but it only applied to members of Parliament.  The common, every day, man on the street had no such protection.

Our Founding Fathers made it clear that they were determined to break from the European model.  Today’s Bumbling Bureaucrats are doing everything they can to repair the damage.  The European Model involved hereditary class systems.  The European Model made common people subjects more than citizens.

Which brings us to the case of Tommy Robinson.  He is in jail because he spoke out against the politically correct desire to cover up and protect the atrocities being unleashed on the British people my the growing Muslim minority.  With his incarceration we are slapped up side the head with an awareness that England is not the land of the free.  It isn’t now.  Maybe it wasn’t then. 

It is time for the United States to renew its commitment to not being like Europe.  If we don’t then many of us will be facing jail time and a lot of misery.  Elections are coming.  Don’t vote for anyone who is not proud to be different from the rest of the world.

homo unius libri