Opus 2020-271: Whither Privilege?, part 4 of 6

Monotheism was a big step forward for civilization.  Instead of everything being caused by a disgruntled gremlin or a sexually frustrated Zeus you could count on the consistent behavior of the wind and waves.  There was room for miracles and God moving outside the rules but you could count on water always running down hill and the pot getting hot when put on the fire.  Superstition became something to mock instead of the guiding force of life.  You might still knock on wood or not step on a crack but you knew it was childish.

This intellectual wealth matured under the spread of books and the thinking that went along with it.  The first book printed with movable type was the Bible.  Now people could read it and make up their own mind.  This led to the multiple denominations of the Protestant Reformation and even forced the Catholic church to rethink a lot of policies.  If you examine a few dividing lines you see that the prosperity on one side is much higher than the other.  Draw a line between Christian Europe and the rest of the world and you see the difference.  Draw a line between the Protestant areas of Europe and the Catholic realms and you see the same difference.  

This is the religious aspect of privilege.  What you think and what you believe makes a difference.  

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-270: Whither Privilege, Interlude

This morning I had a brief time span of Grandparent Privilege.  My granddaughter was asleep.  My daughter was trying to get a shower.  My wife was asleep.  I had the boy.  My grandson is about nine months old and quite mobile.  I was able to watch and interact with him without interruptions.  It was a glorious time.

My first response was thanksgiving.   I know it is a month early but I have so much to be thankful for that I start the day after the feast.  When the world goes shopping, I start thanking.

Then I got to thinking about what a blessing the boy had by having me as a grandfather.  I guess I would include the rest of the family because I am not the one who bought all the toys on the floor or arranged the room and I certainly did not carry him in my womb for nine months.  But I watched him on the floor soaking up the privilege, totally unaware of all that went into giving him a head start in life.  

It is not a matter of race.  Any child can reap the benefit of investment by parents and grandparents.  The blessing, i.e. privilege, comes from having such people in your life.  If I found myself on my I-Pad or reading a book while he roamed the room, they would be put aside when he turned his attention toward me.  The electronics get put on boring print mode when the young ones come over.  No cartoons or graphics, just articles getting them used to the idea of reading.  That is an important privilege.

I looked at all the toys in the room and realized it isn’t a matter of money.  I saw nothing that was bought for full price by us.  Yard sales, thrift stores, close out racks and hand me downs are the source of everything not received as a gift.  I can’t let me wife go out unsupervised because when she does she brings back boxes of child friendly materials.  Actually it doesn’t do any good to supervise because she just uses me to haul it all to the car.  Fiscal responsibility is an other privilege available to all.  

Children are meant to be a blessing.

(Psa 127:3-5 KJV) Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Of course an important way to make them a blessing is to be a blessing to them.  Pass on the privilege.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-269: Whither Privilege?, part 3 of 6

White privilege is an idea that might sound like it had traction if you were looking for excuses.  The privilege we had was something other than the color of our skin.  All of the advantages that are associated with white privilege are now freely available to anyone who is willing to work for them.  There are a lot of factors that go into the recipe for privilege but they are the kind of forces that are freely available.

It can’t be whiteness because that is not true historically.  At different times in history you have had people of different ethnic types as being advanced and dominant.  Look at what were called the Cradles of Civilization.  None of them would be classified as white today.  At one point China was the most advanced and powerful nation of the world.  At a later date the Muslim empires dominated the known world.  What we are looking at today is a historical trend that probably began around 1492.  That was the date the Moors were expelled from Spain and Columbus opened up the world to exploration.  Europe has not looked back.

European privilege became a real force.  Modern inventions such as movable type spread the intellectual wealth.  This intellectual wealth was rooted in the past.  The heritage that Christianity had in Judaism had the paradox of an almighty sovereign God which was shared with Islam and the ability to argue with God and the encouragement to think that was not.  There is a lot of false advertising about the intellectual growth of Europe.  The lie is that it was resisted by the Christian faith.  In reality,

“The cosmological pioneers of the scientific revolution (Copernicus, Galileo, Tycho, Kepler, Newton, and others) were all devout men.” Ross, p. 22

And if you heard that the sailors with Columbus were worried about falling off the edge of the world then you need to find a new source of information.  People knew the world was round.  They even had a good idea how big it was.  What the sailors were worried about was running out of water and getting home again when they did not know the ocean currents or wind patterns.

Ross, Hugh.  The Fingerprint of God.  Orange, CA:  Promises Publishing Company, 1989.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-268: Whither Privilege?, part 2 of 6

I have not lived a privileged life.  I don’t know how you define privilege but in my book it has a financial peg.  You are not considered privileged in any meaningful way if you are not wealthy.  I remember vividly the Christmas my brother and I got one toy to share between us.  You would also need to be related to people of influence.  Having an aunt that died an alcoholic does not count.  It might mean being tall, good looking and athletic.  While I am often accused of being tall I keep asking people, “What about good looking?”  They just smile and look away.  In sports I was always the last one to get picked.  

I have, however, lived a blessed life.  As a child we never had health insurance.  On the occasions that we had issues that could not be dealt with by sleep and aspirin we ended up on the county.  I didn’t know it at the time, but looking back that is what I see.  We were privileged to live in a country that had a very real safety net and medical professionals who gave of themselves.  We never had much money but we had library cards.  Of course that only worked because we had been blessed with parents that taught us we had to return the books on time.  We always had plenty to eat even if it meant bread and gravy as a second course.  I loved bread and gravy.  I would stack it up, bread, gravy, bread, gravy, bread....  You get the idea.  I didn’t know it was unprivileged food.

In spite of that I have been blessed.  It wasn’t because I was white.  

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-267: Whither Privilege?, part 1 of 6

When I see the term “white privilege” I don’t know whether to cry or laugh.  It is the kind of a concept that could only be brought up by professional manipulators who know they are dealing with ignorant masses.  It is an obvious attempt to destroy the culture of the West which has produced the greatest amount of freedom from political tyrants in history.  It is a way of thinking that is totally immersed in the evil type of racism that these Progressives* keep accusing whites of radiating.  As most of the declarations from these Marxist elites, it does not stand up to any test involving real facts and the ability to think.  Maybe that is why so many suck it up and spew it out.

White privilege is a fantasy dreamed up by people looking for someone to blame for their failures and shortcomings.  It is a philosophy that was offered as satire in Lake Wobegon Days.  You remember how all the children were above average.  It should not take you long to realize such a thing is impossible.  In case you need a clue let me point out that average means half will be above and half will be below.  It is the philosophy of Karl Marx.  I have heard it translated, “From each according to his ability and to each according to his need.”  Notice there is nothing in that about working harder or delaying your gratification.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-266: Election 2020: The Big Lies

I missed the first 20 minutes of the debate because they changed the starting time.  Two things stood out to me:  Biden’s lies and the moderator’s attempts to support Biden.  

Biden told so many lies and distorted so many facts that it is hard to pick one out.  Most of them have been emphasized in what I have read but one seems to have been overlooked.  It had to do with the question on minimum wage.  I believe Trump pointed out that when the minimum wage is raised employers lay off workers.  I believe this is well documented as well as common sense.  Biden said it was false.  No one has called him on it and they should.  

The second big lie came from President Trump.  It slipped by, I almost missed it.  In the midst of the kibitzing Trump told the moderator something to the effect of, “You are doing a good job.”  I almost gagged at that.  Maybe compared to the previous moderators, but the pattern was still there.  I noticed that when Trump would fire back at Biden she would always ask the VP if he had a response even when she was pretending they were running out of time.  I don’t remember her ever doing that to Trump.  He was forced to demand to be heard.

Both men should be ashamed of themselves.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-265: There’s the Problem

I was on a Zoom meeting with a bunch of old guys.  One of the questions we were throwing around was how people could do the things they do.  Look at the media types that blatantly lie about everything and still go home and sleep at night.  Watch Nancy, Chuck and Adam set out to manipulate the political process and they still get reelected.  No one seems to have an understanding of why.

It is simple:  Evil.

We as Americans have lived in a sheltered world.  The warlords of history have walked softly around us because our robust republic was anchored in Biblical values.  Even people who did not believe in the God of the Bible were willing to stick in the ballpark with the values it taught.  That has been withering for years and we are seeing that we are returning to the days of early Israel:

(Jdg 17:6 KJV) In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

People today all want to do their own thing.  Church attenders reject the parts of the teaching that limits their self gratification.  People have turned away from God.  The book of Proverbs tells us what is motivating them.

(Pro 4:16-17 KJV) For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.  For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

When you watch the talking heads on TV and listen to them on the radio remember that they are only going to be happy when they drag you down.  This is what goes on in the riots we see being portrayed as peaceful protests.  They steal what they can carry and destroy what they can’t.  The object is to ruin everyone else and then go back to their lair and party.  Tomorrow there will be new victims.

They thrive on it.  It is called evil and it is rampant in our society.  The question is are there enough good people left to sway things right.

Let’s hope so.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-264: Progressive* Education, part 2 of 2

The San Diego School Board made it even more clear that they had no idea what the students are like.

“Academic grades will now focus on mastery of the material, not a yearly average, which board members say penalizes students who get a slow start, or who struggle at points throughout the year.”

I could have done that.  I could have based all of my grades on tests or other tools that showed the student knew something.  If I did that I would have been forced to fail almost everyone.  In my early years of teaching I gave tests with 100 questions.  The first four questions were, I kid you not:  What is your first name?  What is your last name?  What is the date? (Which was on the board), What period is this?  What chapter is this covering? (It was on the top of the test).  I had students who got only four questions right on the entire test.

The idea of mastering the material sounds good but you need to realize that during the days of Common Core we had high paid consultants coming in to help us excel.  One of their suggestions was to lower the passing grade to 20%.  Yes, that is not a misprint.  They wanted us to consider mastery as two in ten.  The sad part is I would still have to fail many students at that level.

I am sorry, but these kids are not going to master much of anything except thinking up excuses to get out and walk the halls.  They have no reason to work at learning.  By the time I got them in eighth grade they already understood that they were going on to the ninth grade no matter what they did.  They knew that there were no standards that would be kept in place to make them perform.  I used to have a line, “Where else can you go that you can harass adults all day, do what you want and pay not price for your behavior?”  I was not joking.

They are not through.  They are still investigating the corners of Fantasy Land,

“After Patterson expressed concerns at this week’s meeting, the board will also review potential student disparities stemming from its zero-tolerance disciplinary policy on cheating in the coming weeks.”

Patterson is a member of the board who is a high school student.  The “disparities” they are talking about must be that more of their target demographic was being caught cheating than in the other groups.  The solution is to allow cheating.  

Before you write it off as something from Crazy California I would suggest that this same kind of thinking is going on in a school near you.  These are your future Antifa members.

*(Liberals, educators, socialists, communists, elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, Antifa, etc)

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-263: Progressive* Education, part 1 of 2

As an ex-teacher who enjoyed the students I worked with but still held them accountable, I find it painful to read about the foolishness that is going on as public schools try to find a way to pass students who will do nothing.  Usually I skip over articles about education but this one linked from Instapundit hit me with both education and the self-destruction that is going on in California.

The post linked to the NBC affiliate in San Diego and the spin involved a school board making changes to combat racism.  It sounds so noble but the problem they are combating is not racism in the classroom but the perpetual Progressive* racism which thinks minorities are too inferior to compete.  Their answer to everything is to lower the standards.  It makes them feel good and makes success less likely for their victims.  

When I was teaching I put in place a lot of measures that made it possible for anyone to succeed if they were willing to try.  Most teachers I knew had their methods of doing the same.  I can honestly say that no teacher ever failed a student who was really trying.  Almost everything I did would be outlawed by these school board policies and I would end up failing more students than ever.  Let me give you a few examples.  I assume you would be too depressed to read the nonsense in the article.

When you consider that many of the students I received in 8th grade could not read on grade level or write a complete sentence, one of the things I did was give a lot of credit for trying.  So if I had a student who had been shortchanged for years by developing no skills, they could still pass with a consistent effort.  The San Diego School board would take that away from me.

“... teachers can no longer consider non-material factors when grading. Things like turning work in on time and classroom behavior will now instead count towards a student's citizenship grade, not their academic grade.”

While academic skills are important so is the ability to be on time and to know how to behave in a social setting.  I agree it is important to citizenship but until the citizenship grade becomes part of the requirement for passing a class it will not matter.  Picture trying to get a job if you can’t show up on time or get along with anyone else.

*(Liberals, educators, socialists, communists, elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, Antifa, etc)

To be concluded...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-262: Election 2024: Platform, Regulate the Regulations

One of the accomplishments of President Trump is in the area of regulations.  He has been reducing them at a brisk pace.  We need to speed the process.  We need to make it unnecessary.  We can approach it a few ways.

Sundown all regulations.  This would be simple to legislate either with a final paragraph required for each bill or a general bill passed separately.

Get congress to do its job.  End all regulations not specifically approved by legislation.  This would require our elected officials to actually read the bills.  It would hold them accountable.  

Limit amendments to the above bills to items that actually have something to do with the bills.

This should become a part of the Republican platform for 2024.  I think people would respond.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-261: Designer Bodies

I have always thought of the world being created for man.  As I was thinking about our immune system and how it works it occurred to me that it was the other way around.  The heavens and the earth were created first.  Man was created after the fact.  While I am sure that God had it all planned out it would seem that the proper order is that man was created with the world in mind.

Set aside gravity, oxygen/nitrogen balance, temperature and a host of other designer features.  The world was full of germs.  Thus we have that our defenses were designed to operate in a world of bacteria and viruses.  We have an immune system that starts at the oils on our skin and proceeds through the white blood cells custom designed for what ails us.  

And note that the world was a wild and crazy scene.  Adam was tasked with “subduing the earth.”  It was not the pristine nature that we imagine.  It was the Garden of Eden that needed to be brought under control.

The best defense against disease is not a mask and social distancing but eat right, exercise and get plenty of rest.  And of course wash your hands.  Many other dangers we face can also be countered by simple behaviors and a moral life.  And of course the hope of eternal life is based on a free gift from God.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-260 Fear Factored

It is so easy to drift into fear mode.  It could be the China Virus panic or the Election chaos but we have a tendency to succumb to fear.  

Intellectually I have no problem.  I accept that there is a virus but nothing I have seen makes me think it is any worse than the normal range of annual sickness.  What do I do in flu season?  Wash my hands, don’t visit people who are sick and get plenty of rest.  What do I do about the China Virus?  Samo-samo.  The recent experience of President Trump just reinforces that understanding.  And yet, emotionally the fear tactic keeps getting a foothold.  Just like my experience in talking with someone who is clever is deviant theology, I need to keep going back to what I know to be true and grab hold again.

Politically it is the same.  I listen to all the conspiracy theories.  I try to get an intelligent answer from a Democrat.  I hear the rumors.  I know they are going to cheat and violence is just a standard tactic.  I sometimes allow the fear tactic to get a foothold.  Then I have to remember how many people seem to understand and force myself to act like God is in control.  Does that mean Trump will be reelected?  No.  I can’t know the mind of God as He works in the politics of man.  What it does is remind me of the promises and those promises include providence in the time of trial as much as the time of celebration.

So, fear not if you have a genuine faith in God.  If you don’t then hope that the ones that do have a strong enough faith to carry the country through.  Remember that if Abraham could have found ten righteous men in Sodom then the fire would not have fallen.

(Gen 18:32 KJV) And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

So look around you and count.  We don’t have the same promise of ten but God still has some people.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-259: Save the Republic

Really people?  You are still on Twitter and Facebook?  

Full disclosure requires that I inform you I have never used either.  I have only been tempted to go on Twitter to keep in contact with one person in the younger generation but so far have not given in.  I have nothing to lose by what I am going to say.  It is like a post condemning liver and onions.

If you are paying attention you have heard about Twitter doing everything it can to deep six all information about the corruption in the Biden family.  The New York Post evidently came out with some information they have had for months, organizations like the Trump Campaign have tried to inform the public through their Twitter accounts and have been shut down.  This has happened to others also.

Twitter is trying to destroy the country by managing the information you receive.  If the government were doing it we would call it criminal censorship on the level of the Soviet Union or Communist China.  Some people say that since we have a First Amendment their actions are legal and protected.  In a sense yes but the First Amendment says you have the right to speak and publish what you want, it does not say you have the right to stifle someone else.  I am not a big fan of more government regulation and control so I am not so sure about the government clamping down on the social media commissars.

I say, let the market decide.  You are the market.  If you really resent what these billionaires are doing to keep you ignorant then stop using their product.  Have you noticed how the NBA is changing its tune about its childish social justice warriors?  That is because people used their remote controls to walk away from the NBA.  That hurts them in the pocketbook.  That makes them change.  You have the power to do the same thing to Twitter and Facebook.

So quit griping and write a note, dial a number or drop by their house.  Save our republic.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-258: The Fall

What date will history give to the fall of the American Civilization?  I don’t want to get too dramatic but, will it be November 3, 2020?  Perhaps in the light of history we will be able to look back to some event like John McCain putting on his turncoat and refusing to vote for the repeal of Obamacare.  It may be something that was totally under the radar such as the abortion of the child that was to turn things around.  One of the problems we have is living in the middle of interesting times.

When people ask for a date on the end of the Roman Empire we come up with A.D. 476.  Was that the date that the barbarians sacked the city?  No, it was the date when an emperor took power who was German instead of Italian.  If you had been going to work that day you would have noticed no big difference.  The Eastern Roman Empire would exist for another thousand years.  In the West their would continue to be Emperors of Rome.  Historians have picked that as the significant date.

What will happen on November 3?  Will the American people rise to the occasion and preserve the republic for another four years?  Will the Democrats find a way to destroy the system through lies, corruption and legal ploys?  Keep in mind that their total goal is the power to run your life and stop this experiment with people pursuing their own goals for happiness.  

And keep in mind that the battle will not stop on November 4.  

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-257: On the Street: Confirmation Concerns

I work at not being an eavesdropper.  It isn’t just that most conversations bore me to tears but I don’t think it is any of my business.  I got drawn into one for a few minutes the other day.

Two women were discussing the confirmation hearings for Amy Barrett.  Can you guess what their biggest concerns were?  First, she dressed like a frump.  I am not sure that frump was their word but that was the implication.  Whatever she had on was not as stylish as it should have been.  Second, she needed to spend more time on her make-up.

Now I will concede that the statements being made by the Senators were not worthy of much attention but it would seem to me that there are more important things to evaluating a potential Supreme Court Justice than wardrobe and makeup.  

I would suggest it is time to repeal the Nineteenth Amendment but I am not sure that the thinking of the men is much better.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-256: Headlines: A Warning Shot

I was reading a link from Rantingly, a news aggregate site, about a man who fired the first shot in the Kyle Rittenhouse case.  It was found at the Gateway Pundit.  If you watched the video of the incident there was a muzzle flash off to the side before Rittenhouse did any shooting.  It was natural for him to assume that he was being attacked.  Evidently the man who fired the shot has been identified and had admitted to firing “a warning shot” into the air.

I am wondering if this is a new pattern we are going to see.  You have someone on the fringes who decides to fire his gun at an opportune time to initiate violence and then they walk away.  If you are caught, the way this guy was, you face a small charge.  Meanwhile you have instigated a riot.

The Marxists in our midst have shown us that they are well trained, well organized and well supplied.  They know exactly what they are doing so don’t ever assume that something going on in front of you is a coincidence.  

Stay safe.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-255: Election 2020: Six Reasons to Vote for Biden

I have a question I keep asking.  Voters for Biden can’t seem to answer it so I thought, as a public service, I would give them some ideas.

The question is, “Without any comments synonymous with ‘Orange Man Bad’, give me one reason why you are voting for Joe Biden.”  I have yet had anyone do anything but sputter or stare blankly.  So let me give you a few.

1.  You believe it is moral to kill your unborn child.  Even better, once the baby is ready to be delivered you can have the doctor turn him/her for a breach delivery and kill it when everything but the head is out.  You can vote for Joe because he agrees with you.

2.  You have a deep secret hatred for Jews and want a candidate who will do everything he can to destroy Israel.  You think suicide bombers are heroes as long as they are killing Jews or Republicans, better yet, Jewish Republicans.

3.  You believe that everyone who owns a gun is a maniacal killer and that the government should be the only group in possession of firearms.  Of course you also want to defund the police so that they won’t even have firearms.  Antifa doesn’t need guns, they have fire-bombs, lasers and clubs.

4.  You believe that everyone’s taxes should be raised and the extra cash should be distributed to people like you who don’t work or pay taxes anyway.  Joe has promised to do that.  He is sincere.

5.  You want more government regulation.  You want the government to make you safe in every area of your life.  Joe is willing.  He knows what is best for you.  That includes...

6.  Doing away with fossil fuels.  That sounds very important to you, after all, why do we use fossils for fuel anyway.  You may not realize that means gasoline, oil, coal, kerosene, natural gas, propane and any other source of power that comes out of the ground.  It means you will be riding a bus to work if you have a job.  Keep in mind that oil is also the basis of all the plastic products you use and some of the clothes you wear.

You get the idea.  There are many reasons to vote for the Biden/Harris ticket.  I could go on but if that doesn’t give you any fuel for your next discussion maybe it would just be good for you to close your eyes, cover your ears and chant, “Orange Man Bad”.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-254: Headlines: Trust the Scientists

Those English newspapers are the comedians of science.  As I was rolling through Instapundit I came across a link that read, “ These 24 planets may be more ‘habitable’ than Earth, astronomers say.”  Interesting.  I am a science fiction fan but also a realist.  I had a suspision that we were looking at an English source so I hovered my cursor over the link and found out I was wrong.

It seems the source was the New York Post.  The article was mainly nonsense though.  It seems to feel that some of these would be better than earth.  One point of nonsense was,

“Not only does the right surface temperature matter for the existence of water, but a surface temperature about 41 degrees warmer than that of Earth would be more suitable for life, thanks to the combination of higher temperatures and the presence of moisture.”

I don’t know about you but an average temperature 41 degrees higher might be great for mold in the shower but not for humans, at least not his human.  And have we forgotten how terrible global warming is?

Then there was this gem,

“Plus, one that has even 1.5 times our planet’s mass means it can keep its interior heating longer through radioactive decay, and would also have even stronger gravity to sustain an atmosphere (and hold down moisture) for a longer period of time.”

My understanding is that if the planet had 1.5 times the mass it would have 1.5 times the pull on my arches.  

Keep in mind that these science wizards are the same people who bring you alerts on global warming and enhanced hysteria over the China Virus.  I guess it helps circulation.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-253: Headlines: Geared Up for Break Down

Eventually conspiracy theories break down.  They are like modern toys:  Showy, fun, creative and made of cheap plastic parts that fail at key moments.  Or they are like the education poster that you may have seen with three gears and the caption, “Education works best when all parts are working.”  It showed teachers, parents and students as parts of a mechanical movement.  Obviously it was designed by someone who knew nothing of machines.  Someone on line pointed out that if you look at the way the three gears mesh there would be total disaster.

It was a cute idea.

My wife dragged me in to watch a breathless Glenn Back talking about the War Room scenarios of the Democrats.  They war gamed out different possible results of the election from a Trump landslide to a strong Biden win and then came up with ways to deal with each.  The ultimate result was the destruction of our republic but the important thing to them is they would hang on to the power.  The Democrats got the idea from the military.  That is where you get wild headlines about how the Army is making plans to invade Mexico.  They probably war gamed it in a time when they were desperate for threats to worry about.  There is probably a folder somewhere with the plans.  

Nothing he shared as an expose was really new to me.  I have read most of it in various places. There was one part I had not heard before.   In one scenario they were going to get the left coast along with selected blue states to secede and let fly over America stew in its juices.  The new detail was that California would be broken up into five states.  Here is where Fantasy Island begins to sink into the sea.  They also planned on doing away with the electoral college.  Now I ask you, if they are going to secede why would they care about the electoral college and why would they need four more states in California?  

It also says they don’t know much about California expect what they here in CNN.  All I can say to that is “Make my day.”  Californians have been putting that on the ballot for years and the Democrats keep slapping it down.  If you pull out a few counties from any ballot issues you will find that most of California would either be red or purple at best.  To divide it up into five states might produce three Republican and two Democrat.  Even students of Common Core should be able to figure out that is not a winner.

There are conspiracies but this is one I am not sure we need to lose any sleep over.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-252: On the Street: Ready When They Are

I have been doing some volunteer work at our county Republican headquarters.  In the process of getting donations for signs, T-shirts, masks, flags and whatever else they can come up with I get a chance to talk to some people of character.  Since I am by nature a recluse this is a change for me.  I can enjoy talking to people, it just is not necessary.

We had an old man of character come in a few days ago.  He was barely mobile.  First he tried to con me into giving him a hat.  Eventually he had his wife spring for it.  What was fun was that during the conversation the antisocial behavior of Antifa, which Joe Biden informed us is just an idea,  came up.  He said they better not mess with his car.  At that point he patted his pocket.  I assume that meant he was packing.  His point was that if they thought they could get away with their rioting in his neighborhood he was ready to debate the issue with them.

He could hardly get around.  He had two canes.  He had to leave his oxygen in the car.  He still wasn’t willing to be messed with.  

Welcome to Texas.

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On the Street, Second Amendment, Terrorism

Opus 2020-251: Headlines: Numbers

At the moment I am not paniced about POTUS, FLOTUS and a staff member testing positive from the China Virus.  There are a number of reasons why and most of the numbers say, “Don’t worry”.

First, keep in mind that there are a large number of false positives.

Second, The odds are in his favor.  The latest numbers from Worldmeter give a 96 percent survival rate.  To give you a bit of perspective, if you are a baby in the womb and your parents allow the doctor to do an amniocentesis you only have a 98 percent chance of surviving the side effects of the test.  At least those were the numbers when my children were born.  

Third, the numbers are fudged.  When they say that 96 percent survive you need to remember that many of the people who died did not die from the China Virus.  The CDC admits to a 30 percent falsification.  If they will admit to that you know it is more.  I have seen some speculation that only 9 percent of the reported deaths were actually caused by the Covid 19 virus.  Hospitals got an automatic payment if they reported a patient with the virus.  In spite of all that still 96 percent come through it.

Four, keep in mind that the president is a bit of a germophobe.  He does not drink or smoke.  I would imagine he did not do “recreational” drugs.  He lives a clean life and is in top health.  He is able to go day after day on four hours sleep.  He is not some tragic case of an abused life.  Most of the death are people in nursing homes with lungs eaten up by nicotine, livers destroyed by alcohol, hearts clogged with cholesterol and who knows what other problems caused by a life lived in the fast lane.  

Five, he has the nation praying for him and by that I mean the ones that God will be listening to.

Is all this a guarantee?  Of course not but remember the odds they gave him for winning the election in 2016.

homo unius libri

Headlines, Health Care

Opus 2020-250: Election 2020: Time Out

Take a deep breath.  Relax.  Yes, there are many attempts at voter fraud and to corrupt the election process.  At the same time there are still many people out there trying to make sure that the process works as designed.  I came across this video clip at Gun Free Zone.  It is a news report from a Florida station telling about a man who mailed in a vote application for his dead wife.  That is a felony in Florida and possibly other places.

The police showed up and arrested him and now it works through the court.  That is bad news for him and good news for the citizens of America.

It is only two minutes and if you need a bit of encouragement you might take time to watch it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-249: Positive about Change

I was reading a comment at Ace of Spades regarding the results of all this turmoil we are experiencing.  

“He games out the two scenarios of a Trump loss or a Trump victory and, like me, comes to the same conclusion that the America we knew, or thought we knew prior to 2008 or for me 2001 is gone.”

Let’s assume for a minute that he is right.  Is it necessarily a bad thing.  Change happens.  Remember how black and white TV went to color.  Can you remember the first time you heard stereo sound?  How about self adjusting brakes on your car?  Progress happens and when it does things change.  We need to get a little excited about the prospects for change and step up to see that the change is for the better.

The Progressives* have a dream for the future.  It is a dream in which they are the elites living in palaces and we are the peasants out plowing the fields.  Since we are so inferior we will really be happier that way than if we had air conditioning, flush toilets and microwaves.  They know what is best for us.  If we do nothing that is where we will end up.  If you don’t believe it take a trip to Venezuela or Cuba and get away from the tourist spots.

Our dream is better and it is not a matter of going back to 1950 or 2008.  Our dream is to implement our liberty and improve our lives.  In the process we will make the entire boat rise on the tide.  We will influence the world for better.  We will make the differences between free enterprise and a controlled economy glowingly obvious.

Change is not coming; it is here.  The only way we can make it good change it to be part of the momentum moving it forward.

homo unius libri