Opus 2018-082: What Is So Good About Friday?

Most people who bother to read my blog understand the significance of Good Friday.  I will throw in a little explanation in case it might be a mystery to you.

We are now in what Western Christians call “Holy Week”.  It began on Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem on His way to the cross.  Friday is the day that He was crucified.  What is so good about that? 

Christianity and Judaism are grounded in history and have the same roots.  The Bible talks about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and whether you accept it as literal or think of it as some kind of allegory, the fact is that sin became a reality.  Before sin entered the world, God used to come and fellowship with Adam and Eve.  We can infer that from this verse.

(Genesis 3:8 KJV)  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Sin came between man and God and condemned human beings to hell.  Forgiveness was necessary.  This was done by the sacrificial system because

(Romans 6:23 KJV)  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Historically the sacrificial system put animals in the place of the sinner.  Because the blood of animals was not sufficient, sacrifice was an ongoing event.

Than comes Jesus who was called the Perfect Lamb of God.  When He gave up His life on the cross, His death and shedding of blood was enough to pay the price of sin.  Thus, on what was a bad day for Jesus, we had offered to us the hope of forgiveness of sin and restoration in our relationship with God.  It was the ultimate good day for us, thus “Good Friday”.

Good Friday represents the possibility to escape hell and spend eternity in the presence of God.  The second great hope is realized on the resurrection, what has come to be called Easter.  That takes the fear of death away. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-081: Critical Mass: Ceiling Our Fate

Society has many bumps and potholes.  What happens when those potholes become sinkholes?  What happens when a small blip reaches Critical Mass.  Today I want to talk about the Federal budget fiascos.

Where does the rule of law break down?  With me, and you.  We think that the rules apply to everyone else but an exception can be made for me.  The same applies to the rules of economics.  We have a tax system built on exemptions and full of loopholes designed to please the constituents of congress critters.  We have laws that exempt congress themselves.  Everyone is out to game the system.  Law and justice become a joke on anyone without power or influence.

The current Omnibus is an example.  The moderates probably feel that it is good for the country and the little bit they put in for themselves is no big deal.  They come up with all kinds of ways to explain that the deficit is no problem, the national debt is manageable, inflation is a source of growth and so forth.  One such attempt, which I did not read past the title, is found in a column at the Daily Signal.

Then you have the clear bloating that goes on with all of these budget activities.  Rand Paul had a lot to say on Twitter about the current boondoggle.  Since I don’t tweet I have to link you to Louder with Crowder who gives a long list of totally pork barrel items that lard up the latest attempt at “responsible spending”.

So far we are keeping our heads above water as a nation.  The real questions are, “When do we hit the point of no return?  When does our financial situation reach Critical Mass?  When things start to crumble, how far will it go before we start to recover?”  In the Great Depression that began in 1929 there were lots of attempts to deal with the problem.  All of them made things worse.  It took a world war and millions of dead to get the world functioning again.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the politicians would grow up before we blow up?  It has to start with us.  We need to do two things.  First, we need to stop thinking that we are going to get our tax exemption or rebate and others will pay for it.  Second?  The same as always.  Vote the suckers out.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-080: Headlines: Business As Usual in Islam

The headline and the article are full of rage.  According to the Sun a man raped a woman and instead of putting the rapist in jail the families made a deal.  They would let another rape take place to balance the scales.  This is not just an English newspaper exaggerating another scandal.  This is accurate reporting.  According to the primitive world view of Islam, this is justice.

It is an aspect of sharia that the MSM usually does not report on.  In a discussion of the sharia law of Islam, Albert Hourani makes this observation involving murder:

“...homicide was regarded as a private matter between the families of those involved, rather than one in which the community should intervene through the judges;...” p. 161

The concept is rooted in the tribal nature of Arabic Muslim countries.  Their sense of independence and individual honor means that the laws of the nation are second to the loyalty to the clan and family.  When some horrible crime is committed it is not a case for the courts.  It is a matter of family justice and vengeance.  Often a crime can be made right by paying a money penalty.  As long as the families are satisfied, all is well.

This is not just a concept from Islam.  Many cultures in their primitive stages have such a safety valve.  The Germanic cultures called it weregild.  Different crimes had a monetary value assigned.  In a barbaric, warrior culture it seemed to slow down the fighting.  Whether it has a place on modern society, I have serious doubts.

Share this article with some of your friends who are into diversity and multi-culturalism.  I doubt if they will be horrified but you can always hope.

Hourani, Albert.  A History of the Arab Peoples.  Cambridge:  The Belknap
      Press of Harvard University Press, 1991.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-079: Headlines: What Is Good for the Goose...

Impeachment made the headlines again, this time on Yahoo with a quote by Jimmy Carter.  When I saw the click-bait my first reaction was, “Who cares what Jimmy Carter thinks?”  I guess the answer to that is the MSM and the Never Trump sycophants.  I did not bother reading the article but considered the idea.

If the Democrats really want to impeach Trump then they need to be informed that the line forms on the left.  We can start with the earliest known cases of high crimes and misdemeanors.  I would suggest that we limit the pogroms to living presidents, secretaries and judges.  Trying to impeach Thomas Jefferson, Lincoln or FDR would be kind of pointless.  The list of the living is long enough and includes two Clintons, at least one Obama, numerious FBI power-brokers and a long list of judges who have applied their personal opinions rather than the Constitution.

I kind of like the idea.  Maybe we could have some legislation passed so that the general population could vote on the verdict.  Better yet, use the electoral college.  We have had two attempts at impeachment.  The first, by the Republicans, was a trumped up job and justice prevailed by one vote in the senate.  The second was an open and shut case by the Republicans but they didn’t have the testicles to apply the law as justice demanded.  Maybe the third time would be the charm.

Eventually they might get to Donald Trump but by that time he may have joined Jefferson, Lincoln and FDR.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-078: Headlines: We Need More Porn Interviews

I did not watch The Interview.  I do not check the daily stock market reports.  What was of interest to me was that the two big headlines on Drudge at the moment I checked were about those two blanks in my life.  Among the claims for The Interview was claim for the highest ratings of the decade.  Of course you need to keep in mind how low their ratings have been for the last ten years.  People sensed they were the advocates of Fake News years before Trump started throwing the term around.  The stock market claim was for the biggest gains since 08.  For those of you challenged in math, that was also ten years ago. 

I am wondering if The Interview was the cause of the stock market gains.  If so then we might expect to see more interviews like this in the future.  The picture that went along with the blurbs looked like an advertisement for silicone implants.  Actually, judging by the state of the MSM we will probably see more just because they can’t get anyone to watch anything else.

Today gives two good reasons why I don’t watch such things of TV.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-077: The Arsenic of Politics

Arsenic is to the body as socialism is to the country. 

Small amounts of arsenic are not a real problem.  It is often a natural part of the water we drink.  The Nanny State people have made it a bigger issue than it needs to be as a part of the fear campaign to limit our liberty and control our lives.  I believe that one of the last things Bill Clinton did when he left office was to radically raise the “danger level” of arsenic in drinking water requiring perfectly safe water to be treated more extensively.  It is all about control.  Of course if you get too much arsenic it can kill you but keep in mind the same thing is true about oxygen.

Socialism is much the same.  A little bit of sharing does not destroy a culture.  We can survive having the government in charge of the roads although history has had times of privately operated toll roads and it worked just fine.  The problem is that you have a series of politicians who want to increase the involvement of the government in our lives and thus limit our choices and it is all for our own good.  Seat belts are a good example.  By government mandate we have gone from no seat belts to being pulled over and fined if we are not wearing one.  It comes one little step at a time.  Look at the label of a can of soup and consider all of the government regulations that are involved in printing it.  How many times has the nutrition information been revised and made more complicated?  Do the acronyms OSHA, ADA and EPA mean anything to you?  Each one has the purpose of making your world safer and more equal.  Each one seriously limits the choices you are free to make.  Each one carries heavy penalties if you step out of line.

Like arsenic, socialism reaches a point where it kills.  It kills the prosperity of a country.  It kills the progress of a society.  It ends up killing people.  And of course it is all done with the best of intentions.  It is for your own good.  If you want the most recent example look at Venezuela.  This country is incredibly rich in natural resources and at one point had a vigorous working class with good educations.  Now it is a hole where the masses are digging in trash heaps looking for something to eat while the elites live in splendor. 

Stay alert.  It is happening here.  Always vote to keep out people who want to do things for you because ultimately they end up doing for themselves.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-076: Anticipation

As I was celebrating the Lord’s Supper and thoughts were on the meaning of the body as bread.  I often go to Philippians 2 at this point.

How did the perception of Jesus change when He limited Himself to a human body?  Did it seem dull to Him or did He simply find a new level of beauty?  There are parallels in our human experience.

Compare a fine color photograph to the genius of an Ansel Adams.  He is famous for his black and white photographs.  When it comes to color, they are lacking, but they are considered classic works of art. 

I have noticed that a master musician can take a mediocre instrument and make it sound like it is worth a million.  The genius is in the skill of the being not the wood of the violin.  And consider how a mediocre magician and the best might use the same materials and get totally different results.  I won’t even ask you if you would prefer my wife’s creations to mine even though they are made in the same kitchen.

Think of reports of the sense of hearing improving when sight is lost. 

When I think of what it was like for Jesus to take the form of man I also think about what it will be like for us after the resurrection when we put on the uncorrupted and begin to see things the way God intended.  I can’t even imagine what full color vision is like.  I have never seen the world through two good eyes.  I could go on but you have your own limitations to deal with.

Someday.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-075: New Terms: Serial Indictor

Why do we want to limit the power of government?  Why do we need to make sure that the Bill of Rights is kept in force? 

In two words:  Robert Mueller.

He is being paid with our tax dollars to try to lynch a duly elected president.  Since he can’t get anything of Trump he is looking for any little piece of dirt to bring charges against those who can’t afford to defend themselves.  Like the attacks on George Bush and Scooter Libby the charges have nothing to do with criminal activity, they have to do with making the FBI or investigator unhappy.  The plan is to intimidate the lower fruit and hope they will tell you what you want to hear in order to keep from losing everything they have by trying to defend themselves from the Big Barracuda of Government.  Mike Flynn does not have the money to defend himself.  Donald Trump does.  So you go after Flynn.  Not only does it provide a chance for someone to have a weak moment and “confess” but it intimidates other people who might be willing to serve in the government.  I was only an E-5.  If they can drag down a general, what chance would I have?

One part of the Constitution we have not been mentioning is the Eighth Amendment, which reads,

“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.”

The idea behind this was to stop the use torture to get a confession yet that is exactly what Mueller is doing with people like Flynn.

That could be me they come after.  It could be you.  It could be all of us one at a time.  It isn’t that you are guilty, it is because you are available.

Stay off the radar if you can.  If you can’t then stand tall and hope that they move on before you become the target of the Serial Indictor. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-074: New Terms: Inclusive

Did you ever wonder why traditional Americans have such a hard time understanding liberal snowflakes.  The hoopla over Ivanka Trump, in Fox News, having her hair done does not help us get a handle on their values, it just illustrates the rock wall between thinking people and the left.

One Facebook intellectual started with this comment:

“The fact that Salon Spa W was inclusive was always a big A + to me. You put your money where your mouth is as your vote. I loved this salon.”

Notice that she is praising them for being “inclusive”.  To people who speak English that means they will do anyone’s hair.  They are open minded and do not discriminate.  The next sentence shows how rare the air is that this person is breathing.

“I'm so, so disappointed and I can't imagine how your non-cisgender employees/clients feel. Fail. Won't ever be back.”

You can see that the writer’s concept of “inclusive” only includes people approved of on the official PC list of deviant behaviors.  Being the daughter of the president means that you are not included.  When the left talks about diversity and being inclusive they mean only those in the club.  I am sure this same bubble-head was aghast at the baker who did not want to make a wedding cake celebrating diversity. 

It could be ignorance.  It could be stupidity.  In reality it is only hypocrisy. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-073: Firsts: I Powder My Nose

Not really.  What I did for the first time is use the facilities on an airplane.  All my life I have avoided going into that little room.  It didn’t help when I observed a stewardess get stuck in one.  Finally, due to advancing age and a long flight, I took the plunge.

Picture the coat closet by your front door if you have one.  Or maybe a room that is too small for your refrigerator to open its door.  Picture a sloping ceiling that makes you duck.  Ask yourself, “Where does this go when I flush?”  The mystery box became just one more place I have visited.

Needless to say I lived to tell about it.  I am proud to say it was a success and yes, I did wash my hands.  If you are too delicate to deal with it, I am sorry.  Consider it a chance to know how a snowflake feels when someone says, “Donald Trump”. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-072: Headlines: Another Sheriff in Town

According to the Free Beacon another group is emerging to replace ISIS in Iraq.  A few weeks ago that would have been a genuine cause for concern in my mind, but today, not so much. 

I have just finished reading a very thick book called A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani.  From his name and the way he writes I can only conclude that he is a Muslim.  One of the things that stands out in his sympathetic treatment of the Arabs and Islam is that they have always been tribal in their thinking.  Mohammed had a hard time getting them to follow him because the basic Arab mentality is that of independence and personal freedom.  The only allegiance that perseveres is loyalty to the tribe. 

From the beginning up to the present day the history of the countries with a strong Arab influence has been a constant litany of civil war and military coups.  There have been brief periods where a strong leader has brought them together.  He has usually done this by killing everyone who disagrees with him or at least enough of them to give them the idea it would be better to cooperate. 

So when I hear about a new group and see their white flag with a lion on it I have two reactions:  Here we go again and I am glad I don’t live there.  It is just the drama of a barbaric society based on a feudal approach to politics.  In a feudal system your loyalty is given as an individual to an individual and when one or the other dies then the oaths are voided.  When Genghis Khan died the Mongols went home.  When Tecumseh was killed the Indian alliance fell apart.  When Tito died Yugoslavia splintered.

This is the goal of the race baiters of the left in America.  They want us to have a loyalty to our local “clan” and to hate and mistrust anyone else.  It is part of the thinking behind hyphenated Americans such as Irish-American or African-American. 

So we have a new group of Arabs in Iraq raising their flag because they want to do it their way.  Islam has one thing in common with other forces in history, they would be a real worry if they ever could work together.  They can cause a lot of damage but will eventually run into someone with a blue flag decorated with an tiger.

Hourani, Albert.  A History of the Arab Peoples.  Cambridge:  The
      Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1991.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-071: They’re Back

My wife called me to come look.  I never know what that is going to mean so I went in trepidation.  It turns out that she was looking out a window and watching “her” roadrunner.  He was back after being gone for a few months.  And he brought a “friend”.

I thought I would look up “roadrunners” and see if she was solid in her belief that they ate snakes.  What I found really interesting was that the Latin name for the greater roadrunner was Geococcyx californianus.  Evidently that translates as “Californian earth-cuckoo”.  I think that maybe we should replace the bear on the state flag with a roadrunner.  Or perhaps we could print California bonds for the high speed rail with a picture of Moonbeam Brown with the title of “California earth-cuckoo”.

I still have not found out if they eat snakes.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-070: Firsts: Alligator Bites

Finally.  I have been waiting years to sample alligator.  Texas has everything.

When the kids were still young and we were on a trip we went to an alligator farm in Florida.  We did the tour on the boats with the big propellers.   We threatened to throw the kids out of the boat.  A good time was had by all.  One of the things we were looking forward to, okay, I was looking forward to, was tasting alligator.  They were out.  Can you believe it?  We were at an alligator farm in the alligator state and they were out of alligator.  Why didn’t they just go out and catch another one?  Must have been run by Democrats.

So recently we were in a little hick town in Texas.  This was a stereotype of a dead end trap.  It was the kind of place where every building needed paint and signs were hanging from one corner.  It felt like you were at aUniversal Studios ghost town.  You expected a red-neck lynch mob to come around the corner any moment.  We asked a local where to get a meal and they said, “Blake’s”.  It was a very retro place or it would have been in Dallas.  Here it fit in perfectly but the special of the day was alligator bites.  The menu also had prime rib and frog’s legs.  They brought hot bread to the table as we waited. 

And I finally got my alligator.  Of course, it tasted like chicken.

You never know where you will find things.  It was almost like finding a rational conservative in New York City or a teacher that could think in a public school.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-069: New Terms: Robin Hood Drugs, Part 2 of 2

Our society has been conditioned to think that some things are free to us because someone else will pay.  Which brings me to Robin Hood Medications.  We think that there is such a thing as a miracle drug, an elixir that takes the problem away.  Physics and chemistry will not be denied.  When I look at the side effects listed for medications I wonder how we are ever convinced that it would be good to take this stuff.  It is because in the Robin Hood/Welfare way of thinking we believe that all the side effects will apply to someone else.  Sure the generic ibuprofen bottle warns me that I could experience hive, facial swelling, asthma, shock, rash and stomach bleeding.  Acetaminophen is recognized as causing liver problems.  And yet millions of these common pills are taken every day.  I expect that you will be the statistic and I will be the beneficiary.  I want the pain, often caused by irresponsible behavior, to go away, and I want it now.

It doesn’t work that way.  Physics and probability are a dangerous combination.  All medications have side effects.  Even something as readily available as aspirin can cause death in children.  It may be that the side effects are not worth the possible help offered.  Doctors are not gods.  Medications are not elixirs.  All pain cannot be relieved.  All sickness cannot be healed.

And the government cannot take care of all your problems.  Time to grow up.  Time to honestly weigh the benefits with the dangers.  Time to take responsible action and get on with life.  That may mean taking the pill.  It may mean taking the risk.  It may just mean not drinking so much at parties.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-068: New Terms: Robin Hood Drugs, Part 1 of 2

The welfare mentality is infiltrating our thinking at all levels.  It says that someone else will pay for our wants and needs.  It is a way of passing the buck.  The beginning was innocent enough.  We  buy car insurance just in case.  The rates are established by the company based on competition and actuary tables.  Competition in a free market keeps the prices down and profits reasonable.  The actuary tables predict the chances of a claim being made and limit how low they can go and still stay in business.  Then the government gets involved.  When I was a kid boys paid more for car insurance than girls.  Why?  Because teenage boys had a lot more accidents.  It made sense and made a profit.  We understood.  We may not have liked it, but we understood.  Then the early prototypes of the Social Justice Warriors said, “That is not fair.”  The government stepped in and everyone paid the same insurance.  The science of predicting went out the window.  Everyone’s rates went up, just to be fair.

Apply that kind of manipulation to other areas of life and we end up with the welfare mentality we have now.  We are told that health care is a right not a benefit.  In the pre-welfare world if you wanted health insurance you would need to find a way to pay for it.  That usually meant a better job.  The coverage could come as a benefit because you were a valuable employee.  It could come because you went back to school, got an education and got a job that enabled you to pay for what you wanted.  You could have worked hard, get a promotion and a raise and begun to pay for what you wanted.  Now all you need to do is convince your congressman that it is your right.  He will find a way to meet your “need”.  Enter such programs as Aid for Dependent Children, Medi-cade, Medicare and the ultimate, Obamacare.  After all you deserve it.  And the expectation is that someone else will pay.  Since I am now on Medicare I hope you continue to do your part.

Then you extend that thinking to food, housing and any other dream you have.  If you remember one of the goals of the Obama administration was internet for everyone.   Remember the free phones and the video of the woman wondering where her free gas was.  The one thing that is ignored is that someone has to pay for all this.  When the kids at school would tell me health care should be free, I would ask them who wanted to the be nurse who was working for nothing, or if they didn’t want to get an education, would they volunteer to change bed pans for nothing.  Sometimes they get the idea but they have usually been conditioned to say, “Let the rich pay.”

Welcome to Robin Hood thinking.  In the world of Robin Hood the evil wealthy are robbed so that the deserving poor can be rewarded.  It sounds good until you get the modern system where anyone who has worked hard to get a good job and saved their nickels is defined as rich.  It doesn’t matter.  The government can print money.  Tax breaks are okay as long as it benefits me.  Government subsidies are great as long as I get them.  Don’t try to make me pay for any of this though.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-067: Elections 2018: What Is Democrat for Rino?

I hate to say this but if I believed what I was reading I would have voted for the Democrat in the Pennsylvania special election.  What was there not to like?  He sounded conservative and traditional on the important issues:  Pro gun, pro life, anti-Pelosi.  He was a Dino, a Democrat in name only.  At least he sounded like one.  Time will tell how much of that was hot air and how much was genuine.

My hope is that the Democrats are swinging back to being Americans.  My fear is that they are just learning to lie better.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-066: Balkanization Is Bad News

Pray for South Africa.  If you don’t know why, look at my last post.  We also need to pray for our country.

The United States has been divided by the race baiting of the Democrats in general and the Obama administration in particular.  We are witnessing an attempt to Balkanize the country by identity politics.  Look at the headlines of the attacks of something called “whiteness”.  Look at black college students calling for areas that are off limits to whites on campus.  Look at the bigotry of Black Lives Matter.  Racism is on the rise and it is not coming from conservatives or whites.

If America is on its last legs it will disintegrate from within not by attacks from other countries.  It will come because the glue that held us together will be dissolved by the left.  That is made up of most Democrats and all of the closet communists claiming to be moderate Americans.  When we get to the point where most blacks, Latinos and whites identify by their race instead of their commitment to the rule of law, we are toast.  That toast will not go down without a lot of violence and bloodshed.

The best thing that each of us can do is to pray and put feet to our prayers.  Pray because at its heart this is a spiritual battle for the hearts, minds and souls of Americans.  Put feet to out prayers by refusing to be categorized as white, black or brown.  Don’t let the hate mongers turn you against your fellow Americans.  Refuse to put people in slots.  Deal with each person as an individual.  And don’t be shamed into silence because you see evil as evil.

I don’t want to go the way of the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Zimbabwe or any other part of the world that has degenerated into the human tradition of hatred for anyone who dresses different or has a different shape to their head.  We will unless each of us accepts responsibility for our conduct and refuses to be intimidated.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-065: An Solution to White Privilege

It will be informative to see how the land grab in South Africa works out.  In case you have not been following, the legislature in the Republic of South Africa has just voted to amend their Constitution to make it possible for the government to confiscate the land of the white farmers without paying them a fair compensation.  Last time I read about it the first step was the only one taken so far.  It still had to go through committees and more votes but the assumption is on the wall that the whites will soon be booted off their farms in the name of social justice.  One of the conditions that the white minority submitted to an end to apartheid was that there would be provisions in the Constitution guaranteeing that this would not happen.  Laws can be changed and when you are dealing with people of the Communist mind set, promises are made for convenience and are there to be broken.

This movement is loaded with the language we hear of reparations and the social justice warriors.   It also has veiled threats of genocide.  It garnered enough votes to get past the first step.  It remains to be seen if it will continue.

A few questions will influence the long term results:
  1.  Has the government confiscated the guns of the white citizens?
  2.  If so, how effective was that collection?
  3.  Will the whites fight or leave?
  4.  Will they be allowed to leave without a fight?
  5.  We have heard the communist politicians, what does the man on the street say?

Compare it to Zimbabwe, the neighbor to the north of South Africa.  In Zimbabwe the land was taken away from the farmers who were raising the food.  Some was given to poor people.  Some was made into estates for the ruling junta.  All of it stopped producing food.  From feasting, Zimbabwe went to famine.  From exporting food they began to import.  The people began to starve.  Since is was a socialist workers paradise the elite continued to live in luxury.  It was only the common people who suffered.

At independence the white population of Zimbabwe was around 8% of the total and began to decline after that.  In South Africa the current white population is estimated about the same percent of the country.  The big difference is that in Zimbabwe that 8% represented about 300,000 people and in South Africa it is 4 ½ million.  In those millions are the soldiers that made up the South African Army that was feared by the countries around it.  It is made up of the Boers who held off the British Empire.  I am not sure they will peacefully turn over the keys and abandon their heritage. 

There are at least three possible paths.  First, the effort to steal the land will fail.  Second, the whites will give up and leave the country.  Third, there will be a bloody war of a genocidal nature.

Pray for South Africa.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-064: Headlines: Tyranny Takes a Step Back

Finally a president who actually believes in the rule of law and justice.  Kristian Saucier was in the navy.  He served on a nuclear sub.  He made the mistake of taking some pictures inside the sub.  He acknowledged his mistake.  Instead of a slap on the wrist they threw the book at him and he spent a year in jail.  Compare that treatment with a long string of liberals who have violated genuine national security.  Ridiculous.

President Trump has issued him a pardon according to Fox News.  Good for the president.  Good for Saucier.  Good for the country.  Good for justice. 

Guess who was president in 2012 when he went to jail.  Guess who was Secretary of State.  We now have a new sheriff in town. 


homo unius libri

Opus 2018-063: Election 2018: Once in a Blue Moon?

My wife is listening to all kinds of conspiracy stuff on You Tube.  Without getting into a general discussion of all the things they are saying I wanted to look at the danger of listening to the guru’s of the world and repeating what they say without thinking about it.

I was told that the Democrats are on a roll and working hard to turn the nation around.  Texas is one of their primary targets.  I have headlines about this many places but don’t usually click on the link because it would take me to the NY Times, LA Times or Washington Post and we all know what propaganda machines they are.  I will still accept that general premise that the powers of the Democrat party are out spending money trying to brainwash people and win elections.

Which brings us to a specific example.  I was told that the Democrats had brought out one million more voters in this election and Ted Cruz had better wake up or he will lose the election.  I agree with the need to wake up.  That is like one of those statements, “Is it a good idea to stop beating your wife.”  Who can argue?  It was the one million that I had trouble with.  When I tried to reason with her she almost got violent that I would question her sources.  Actually, yes, I would question her sources.  I question my sources.  I even consider carefully the words of the Bible which I consider to be the word from God.  I want to understand not just find ammunition for my theories.

Let me explain my problem.  I voted.  We voted on the regular day and the first report of the day was posted on the door.  At that point I think it said 42 Republicans had voted and 8 Democrats.  It did not look like a landside for the Democrats at that point but one little snapshot does not an election make.  So I went to the official sites by the secretary of state.  It told me that the official, final, all votes counted number of Democrats who voted for the U.S. Senate was 1,037,779.  I did not major in math but I did learn my basics before the new math came in.  What this tells me is that for there to be 1,000,000 additional Democrat voters then there were only 37,779 in the whole state before this.  That is a pretty picture but not too realistic.  So I went back to the last general election where the Democrats had around 4 millions votes for the Senate, and still lost.  Again my math is controlled by my ability to think.  Somehow it seems to me that 4 million then and 1 million now does not add up to 1 million new voters.

Maybe I am missing something, but then again, maybe I am not.  We need to remember that the conspiracy theory people are a lot like the weatherman on TV.  He may be reporting what he sees but he is usually wrong in his predictions.  He also needs to get people excited enough about what he is saying to get them to keep watching the commercials that pay his salary.  Ignoring the weather man totally can cause a rained out picnic.  Ignore the Deep State Chicken Little and you might lose your freedom.

Always keep your thinking cap on, even if it is made of tin.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-062: Headlines: Doubling Down on Foolishness

I have seen the headline at several locations as I check out news sites this morning.  Jeff Sessions is thinking about a second special prosecutor.  Will not people learn?  How well have the last few worked out?  The pattern is that they either do good work and are lampooned by the leftist media or they are witch hunts like the Mueller gang and totally out of control.

Which one do you people calling for a second tribunal want?  It would be much simpler if congress and the Department of Justice would simply man-up, if we can still use that term, and do their jobs.  We should be seeing indictments on a long list of people just on the information that is freely available.  Take the evidence before a grand jury.  File charges and then start the trial. 

We have it backwards.

I say “No,” but no one listens to me except when I make a mistake.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-061: Election 2018: Is Purple Blue or Red?

Is Texas blue or red?  It depends on where you live.  Like the rest of the country, cities tend to be very blue.  They are controlled by the Democrats.  I live outside San Antonio.  San Antonio is the big dog in Bexar (pronounced bear) County and the seventh largest city in the United States.  The election results of March 6 don’t give a breakdown of registration but has 86,313 votes cast by Democrats and 69,284 by Republicans.  Comal County next door does not have any large cities, thus fewer people.  The county site does not break things down the same so I will compare the totals voting in the Senate race.  The Democrats had 4,110 votes cast; the Republicans, 17,546.

Let’s do a little math.  The Democrat majority in Bexar county was 17,029.  The Republican Majority in Comal was 13,436.  In the two counties that gives the Democrats a majority of 3,593.  Notice that the total number of Republicans voting in Comal is less than the margin of victory in Bexar.

Let’s add another county without a large city, Guadalupe.  The Democrats cast 4,003 votes for U.S. Senator; the Republicans, 11, 645.  Some simple math again, the Republican margin of victory in Guadalupe county was 7,642.  If you put it together that means in the three counties the Republicans have a winning margin of 4,049.  Check my math.  Maybe I did something wrong.

I admit this in only three counties.  It is not the entire state.  I imagine if I did it across the state you would find the counties that include Dallas, Houston (forth largest city in the United States) and Austin would all be strongly Democrat and the surrounding counties strongly Republican.  The pattern we are facing is that large numbers of people are fleeing the hell-holes that their left wing politics have created and coming to a land of hope and change that has nothing to do with Obama.  The problem is, they want to bring their disastrous politic with them. 

I am not worried about this election.  I wish I could say the same for ten years from now as California, New York and Illinois continue to implode.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-060: Ode to Old: Wear Out or Rust Out

Part of my daily ritual involves praying for friends and family.  When is comes to some of my friends I find myself asking for health and mental clarity.  To young people those may not be a big deal but when you memory is starting to get hiccups and you body is past its prime they are important considerations.

At what age do we accept that we are getting old and wearing out?  Maybe never.  Someone said they would rather burn out that rust out.  Possibly we can keep going until, wham, it is over.  I accept the fact that I am getting old.  The body keeps ticking.  The first few steps each morning are an exercise in relearning and rebooting but so far I am moving well by the time I get to the coffee pot. 

As for the mental thing, someone else will need to tell me when that time comes.  I pray that I have the grace to accept it when they take my keys and I hope I don’t notice when they lock the door.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-059: Headlines: I Hope It Serves Them Right

Reports coming out of California often catch my eye.  You may have heard about the $1,000 fine to servers who offer diners a straw.  Now we have a suggestion for the menu for that strawless consumer.  The name of the dish sounds healthy, nutria.  In reality they are big rodents, read rats, that were imported into the country to be raised for their fur.  Since fur is out they may now be harvested for the meat under the fur. 

This could be a win for many people.  The hunters would be encouraged because the nutria will destroy the wetlands of the environmentalists.  People who protest the grain fed to cattle to produce prime rib would save even more grain by dining on nutria fillets. 

So next time you visit the People’s Republik you may need to add nutria to the cuisine you are going to sample.  Along with the nuts, flakes, fruits and sushi you can have a nutria taco.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-058: Headlines: 2020 for Democrats Looks Like 2016 for Republicans

I almost ignored the headline on Fox News about the large field of candidates looking at running for president in 2020 in the Democrat Primaries.  My first reaction was, “Who cares.”  My second reaction was, “Who cares.”  Eventually my mind got past that stage and I thought about it a little.

I think this is a really good thing.  It has the small possibility that it might move the Democrats a little back toward being Americans again.  Not much possibility, but any hope is better than none.

If you bother looking at the article and go down the list it will depress you.  It is amazing how many of the names you will know because they have been such visible fools in the last two years.  I can’t believe that Joe Biden still leads the list.  Yes, the same Joe Biden who told us to shoot through the door with our shot guns.  The same Joe Biden who voiced racial stereotypes about the owners of 7-11 Stores.  Then you have Jerry Brown wanting to bring the Miracle of Kalifornia to the rest of the states.  You have to include Elizabeth Warren identifying as an American Indian and Cory Booker doing his Angry Black Man charade. 

Eventually you get down to the names that have never made the CNN line up of socialists.  This is where the hope might be hiding.  I can’t help but wonder if in that pack there might not be one Democrat who still have some moral fiber, patriotism and statesmanship.  It would be so glorious if the Democrat Primaries actually had a choice wider that Left and Lefter. 

I can hope, but I will not hold my breath.  I don’t look good in blue when it is on my face.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-057: Headlines: Racism Is Alive and Well in South Africa

I don’t know if South Africa is on your radar but we are beginning to see Zimbabwe II played out.  Years ago, after its revolution, Zimbabwe kicked out all the white farmers and turned the land over to wannabe farmers.  As a result the country went from an exporter of food to a country in starvation mode.  South Africa is taking the first steps to go the same way according to Newsweek (H/T to Gorges Grouse).  They are beginning to amend their constitution and take out the guarantee of property rights that had been agreed to years ago.  Now they are going to make it possible to confiscate the farms of the white farmers without any kind of compensation.  Can you say “Land theft”.

The article has some interesting comments by a leader in the movement, Julius Malema.

‘Malema also said "the time for reconciliation in South Africa "is over," News.com.au reported. "Now is the time for justice," he said, adding, "We must sensure (sic) that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land."’

The next paragraph is even more revealing,

‘Malema has been a strong supporter of confiscating land from white farmers, saying in 2016 he was "not calling for the slaughter of white people–at least for now."’

All that is disturbing enough but won’t do much to change my personal life.  What got me in regard to recent attempts at censorship was at the end of the article.  The petition referred to in the article was on something called Change.com.  I know nothing about the site but I know Leftist (Progressive, Communist, Democrat, elitist, Rino) talk when I hear it.  Here is what the site spokesman had to say,

‘A spokesperson for Change.org told Newsweek it would look into whether the petitions violate any company policies and whether the website plans to take any action. The website later added a note stating it had "received flags from some Change.org users that facts contained in this petition may be contested," adding: "You may consider researching this issue before signing or sharing."’

In other words, we have a site that is seemly there for people to advocate change and start petitions.  Being revealed as a leftist site it become clear that the desire for freedom of expression only extends to those on the left.

The battle of censorship is all around us.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-056: Headlines: Hope for Parkinson’s Sufferers

I don’t suffer from Parkinson’s but it is one of those conditions that lurk in the wings of life to make us miserable.  I found this article at Fox News to be encouraging.  I woman with severe tremors was given relief by a risky bit of brain surgery.  My hat is off to the doctors.  Also of interest is that this took place in India.  It is good to hear of breakthroughs in what has been called the third world.  I speaks to the progress everyone is capable of making. 

I wonder if this could have been done in the United States.  We have so many laws and regulations and so much fear of law suits that I think there is a lot of progress that is not made.  It may be that this procedure was so risky that Americans in their safe spaces need not apply.  The doctor who performed the surgery said that even a small mistake could lead to a major stroke.  I am not sure of the odds.  There also was no discussion of the long term effects of the surgery.  Would the tremors come back?  How soon?  Would it be worse if they return?

I am guessing that the woman operated on was willing to take the risks.  It could be that being willing to be a human guinea pig is a noble calling.  It could be foolish.  We need to have that discussion in a mature way.  I think of people dying with AIDS who are denied treatment because the drugs have not been fully tested yet.  The same with cancer patients.  Everywhere you look there are federal officers and salivating lawyers waiting for a mistake or a coloring outside the lines.

It is a difficult discussion because once the line of experimenting is crossed the question of coercion and manipulation comes into play.  Would it be a case of wealthy sick people paying large sums to get poor people to submit to experiments?  Would that necessarily be a bad thing?  Ethics is not a strong suit in American decision making.

Hard questions.  Meanwhile, in India, a woman has relief from Parkinson’s. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-055: Grow Up, Move On

While we are on the subject of reparations let’s apply the principle logically and consistently.  We hear the word in relation to slavery in America and all of the nasty things done to black people over the years.  Discrimination of the bad kind was too common and justice of the good kind was too rare.  In modern thinking slavery was an evil institution.  Segregated drinking fountains were a slap in the face of people who deserved more.  We have heard about it so many times that we think what we are hearing is the whole story.  We need to get out of our shells and look at history.  If we are going to get into a memory game and demand that past evils be made good we have a lot of digging to do.

What got me on this topic was thinking about the Middle East and the Arab/Jew conflict.  We need to keep in mind that this conflict goes back a long way.  The earliest record I am aware of was around 1,500 B.C. when the Egyptians (Arabs?) made slaves of the visiting decedents of Abraham (Jews).  It seems the slavery went on for 400 years.  So with compounded interest, how much does Egypt owe to the Jews of the world?

Did I mention slavery?  Keep in mind that historically slavery, until recently, was a normal part of life.  As far back as you go in time people accepted slavery.  They generally did not like it if they were the slaves although there were exceptions.  If you were the master it didn’t seem to be such a bad deal.  What has always amazed me is that warriors who were captured in battle would then submit to being slaves.  They would even become the bodyguards of the person who enslaved them.  There was a mind set that said, “I lost fair and square.  I deserve this.”  We don’t understand that because with the advent of Christianity it became necessary to look at your slave as your brother.

If we are going to look back on history and try to right all wrongs there will never be any peace in the world and civilization will come to an end.  I wonder if there is any self identifying group in the history of the world that could not find something to feel they needed to be reimbursed for.  Take the Irish.  They were pushed into Germany by some other group.  Then the Germans pushed them to France.  The Franks pushed them to Britain.  The Saxons and Norsemen pushed them to Ireland.  The English pushed them to the United States.  Here they were discriminated against by just about everyone.  Who are they going to get paid off by?  Everyone.  When?  Never.

So grow up and live your life.  Take responsibility and play the cards dealt you.  You can’t change the past but you can influence the future.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-054: Being Paranoid

The Nanny State is at work.  I don’t know if you pay any attention to the attempts to shut down Alex Jones and Infowars.  CNN and Google seem to be working to isolate him from his audience.  I am not a fan but he is a needed balance to the nonsense we get in the MSM.

The Nanny State includes all of the deep state people who are working for a World Government, with them in charge of course.  They are doing it for our own good.  Since the elites are, well, elite, they know what is best for us and are working hard to bring us into the promised land.  One of their greatest enemies is the First Amendment to the Constitution.  You have heard about it.  It is the part of our law that says we have the right to speak freely, worship how we want and hand around with whomever we want.

It also says that people can publish whatever they want.  Last time I looked it did not have a qualifier saying only people on the left could speak freely and everyone else needed to be censored.  The left does not seem to accept that.  Even Bloomberg, a source I would never consider conservative, get the point.

The problem is that Google and You Tube are setting themselves up as thought police and trying to filter the content you can reach.  They have always done this.  If you have ever Googled you find adds at the beginning of the list and even the ones who are not labeled as “ads” still paid something to be at the beginning of the queue.  That is business and free enterprise.  Now they are trying to keep political voices that they don’t like from expressing opinions that conflict with their own.

This is probably touching you but you are not aware of it.  A few years ago a site I had visited on occasion was forced off the internet.  I became aware of it because other sites were screaming about it.  It is still gone.  Yesterday I went to one of the political sites I frequent, The Daily Gouge, and was told that it was “temporarily unavailable”.  It told me that if I was the owner of the website to “log in” for additional information.  Did they forget to pay their annual fee for the site?  Did they ask out the boss’s daughter?  Did they say something that the Nanny State did not approve of?  I don’t know and may never know.  My fear is that I am seeing the opening moves of the Google censorship program.  (Now two days later it is back but the content is a week old.)

If my sites disappear or stop posting it could well be that I finally got old and died.  It could also be that the mysterious forces that have removed 1984 and Animal Farm from the schools has gotten around to me.

I should be so important, right?  What about you?

homo unius libri