Opus 2019-256: Baby Talk: Deja Vu

Grandchildren are a mixed bag of joy and fear.

The joys are a mixture of memory and anticipation.  So much of what I see reminds me of when my children were small.  I remember chasing my children and now get to chase my granddaughter.  Her screams of joy are enough to wake the neighbors.  We keep going until one of us gets worn down.  Changing diapers is a time to develop new games.  At least I don’t need to worry about getting squirted in the face.  Feeding her breakfast is a daily treat.  When she is in the mood she will settle down on my lap.  She will at times condescend to give hugs.  Every moment is cherished. 

The fears also return.  I remember when our children were young.  I remember how often I wondered if the latest expression of Original Sin meant that all was lost.  I remember wondering if I could return my son to the hospital and get a refund.  I remember when there were threats that I could do nothing about and the feeling of helplessness. 

I have the same concerns about my granddaughter.  She is a free spirit and always in motion.  I don’t think she will be a librarian, maybe a gardener.  Meanwhile I am getting older.  I am thankful that God has provided her with excellence in parenting, not to mention the fine grandparents.

And don’t forget the guardian angel on special assignment.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-255: Double Fake

By now I am sure you have heard a Trump cameo appearance was removed from a film by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  My first reaction was to laugh at the pettiness of the left.  Then I read somewhere that the change was made in 2014.  The reason was to remove short sections of the film to allow more advertizing time and focused on parts that were not necessary for the plot.  Except for the delusions of grandeur that Home Alone 2 would have a plot that could be damaged, it made commercial sense in 2014.  In 2019 it would appear purely political, thus whoever reported it was giving us fake news.  It was fake because it implied a political motive that would fit today instead of a profit motive that applied then.  If the original reporter knew the dates then they were offering fake news even if they were conservative.

The double fake comes from the media’s response.  At one place I read conservatives are frothing at the mouth about it.  I am not sure what conservatives they are talking about.  Conservatives have a sense of humor.  Even Donald Trump responded in a light hearted way.  We also have a set of priorities that doesn’t let us fly off the handle every time the left gets childish.

So it was non-news being presented at significant.  Was it true?  The basic facts check out.  Was the intent to deceive?  Yes, thus it was fake.

We can do better than this people.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-254: Calling Trump

What was Donald Trump’s original name?  Did he change it? 

I ask this because he seems to be able to trump just about any hand that is thrown at him.  Some card games have a color that is called “trump”.  It can change depending on the rules and who gets to decide what it is.  Playing trump at the right time was a move that would take out supposedly stronger cards.  As an example, if someone plays the king of hearts and clubs is trump, a two of clubs will take the hand.

Donald Trump seems to have picked the name because he has that ability.  It is too much to just be coincidence. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-253: Trumping Kanye

I was recently killing some time at the local library.  I was looking through the magazines and noticed one that I used to read, National Review.  I can’t remember why I stopped but I did.  It has been years since I have opened a copy.  Since it is now in the ranks of Never Trumpers I don’t feel a real need to subscribe but I notice the cover featured an article about Kanye West.  I decided to read it.

It was a waste of time.  Since West seems to be getting along with Trump the hatred was transferred and there was nothing good to say about either of them.  The look-down-the-nose attitude was almost humorous.  The writer was trying to sound open minded and honest but he could not resist all the little digs.  What it boiled down to was Orange Man Bad so Kanye West Bad Too.  Or maybe it was Kanye West Orange, too.

It will be years before I bother looking at National Review again and since I don’t have many left it may never happen.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-252: The Mary Question

Sunday, as part of the celebration of Christmas, a couple of young girls sang a song called “Mary, Did You Know?”  The words go through various events in the life of Jesus and after each episode Mary is asked if she knew.  That was the part of the worship that the Lord decided to bring to mind as I left the service.

I got to thinking about how much Mary had been told.  She had an angel appear to her.  She had the statements of Elizabeth.  Joseph shared what he had been told.  She had a baby knowing she was a virgin.  Then you have the shepherds, wise men and angels all coming to pay tribute to this baby.  Go forward a few years and you have the trip to Jerusalem where Jesus stayed behind to teach the scholars in the temple.  With all that going on she seems to be a bit surprised about how it all turned out.  In Mark 3 you see how his friends thought He was crazy and his mother and brothers came to collect him.  How could Mary not know?

We see the same pattern with the disciples.  Jesus taught them for three years.  At the end of that time they still did not have a clue.

Humans have an awesome ability to hear what they want and ignore the rest.  We see this with our toddler granddaughter.  It is amazing how much she understands.  It is just as amazing how she can’t seem to comprehend the simplest words if it does not fit her plans for the next two minutes.  At the other end of the spectrum we see it in people who smoke cigarettes that come in packages labeled to inform them that the contents will kill them.  Then they sue the tobacco companies when they get sick.

God has this same problem with us.  I imagine that when judgement day comes there will be a heartbreaking number of people who will say, “I didn’t know.”  They may even believe it.  God will know different.  He will remember all the times they refused to listen.  For us believers He will remember all the times we refused to listen also but will also remember how we eventually came around and got back on track.

One of the great things about our major holidays is that they are times to reflect.  We celebrate.  We feast.  We frolic.  We also can use red letter days as days to stop and consider where we are going and how we are going to get there.  Thanksgiving is past.  Advent is in progress.  New Years is approaching.  God is speaking.  Are we listening?

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-251: Yes, I Know

Merry Christmas.

Yes, I know that it is an arbitrary date.  The Bible gives no indication of the actual day of the Incarnation.

Yes, I know that the pagans celebrated the winter solstice around this time.

Yes, I know that there was no Christmas tree near the manger. 

Yes, I know that we don’t know the actual location of the stable in Bethlehem.

Yes, I know that there may have been more or less than three wise men.

Yes, I know that there is no indication that Mary rode a donkey.

I know.

It doesn’t matter.

(Gal 4:4 KJV) But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Jesus was born.  Picking December 25 is at most a 1/365 chance of being correct but I also know that the odds of getting into heaven without Jesus are much worse.

If you have a better day then pick it and I will be glad to encourage you.  The Orthodox churches have decided to celebrate in January.  More power to them.  If you like a summer celebration, go for it.

And Merry Christmas or whatever you choose to call it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-250: Sign of the Times

I was reading a post about the midshipmen who gave the okay sign and were labeled as racist.  What got my attention was the one who said, “We didn’t know it was a racist sign.”  Or something to that effect.  The reason they didn’t know it was a racist sign was because it isn’t a racist sign.

Just because the social justice warriors say something is, does not mean it is.  In fact the truth is probably the opposite.  Social justice warriors have a prime goal of destroying Western culture in general and America specifically.  Anything they can do or say to make you back up and throw you off balance is a real plus. 

So feel free to signal okay with your circled fingers.  It is a time honored way of non-verbal communication.  The use as a game was a regular feature in the middle school that employed me and there were few white students on campus.  OK knows no boundaries.  If anyone has a problem then the proper response might be to close your hand and only extend one finger toward them.  I would not do it but it would certainly communicate something they need to understand.

“Racist sign”.  What a bunch of (explicative deleted), piled high and smelling strong.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-249: Should-a-Beens: New Records

I think that Donald Trump is going to go into the record books.  He will be the first president impeached twice because we know what will happen as soon as this one is in the books.  Maybe they can start on the next one before this is done.  That is what they did before.  They started to impeach before he was inaugurated.

That is something he has in common with Obama.  Obama was awarded his peace prize before he did anything.  Trump was impeached before he did anything.  The difference is that Trump eventually did something and it is driving the Democrats wild:  Made America Great Again.

Come to think of it, if the Democrats get to work Trump could be the first president to be impeached three times.  How about four?

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-248: Headlines: Hypocrite Counties

I am reading many posts referencing the counties of Virginia declaring themselves Sanctuary Counties in regard to the Virginia State Legislature and governor making moves toward confiscating the guns of Virginians. 

I find it a bit hypocritical of conservatives who think this is a good idea after condemning cities for declaring themselves sanctuaries.  Where were they on election day?

I also am puzzled.  I read that 90% of the counties have declared themselves as refusing to cooperate.  Did I miss something?  My memory tells me that in the last election these same “patriots” voted a bunch of Democrats into control of the state.  Are they living in a state of cognitive dissonance?  Can they not connect the dots?  What happened to the rule of law.  They are trying to do the same things that the Progressives have been doing to destroy our republic.  You elected these fools.  Unelect them.  Have recalls.  Start to impeach.  Mimic Antifa.  You made your bed.  Either lie in it or change the sheets.

Sanctuary Counties indeed.  We need to decide whether we believe in the rule of law or not.  If we do then we need to apply the law in its fulness to those who try to do end runs.  That would mean the Progressives trying to invalidate the 2016 election, the liberals in Virginia trying to do an end run around the Second Amendment, and, yes, the counties that think they don’t have to enforce the laws that their elected leaders passed. 

If you look at statues of Justice you will notice that the balance has two sides and the sword is doubled edged.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-247: Headlines: Impeachment

My clock radio woke me this morning to the announcement that the House had voted to impeach the president.  My first thoughts were a combination of rage and despair.  Neither of these are based on fear that the country is doomed but an emotional response to a group of people who are so blind to the rule of law and honesty that they would do something like this.  A sports announcer used to claim, “No harm, no foul.”  The way the law is supposed to work is, “No crime, no trial.”  The Democrats have decided that simple things like due process and following the rules are only for the rubes, not for the elite.

As I looked over a few headlines I noticed that Pelosi is going to spit again on justice and possibly not send the impeachment to the Senate.  Then, in true projection form, they have the nerve to say they don’t trust the Senate to be fair.  If we ever move the portion of the homeless population that is insane back to mental institutions we need to send the Democrats in congress back with them.

We shall see how this will unfold. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-246: The Search for Non-Fake News

I keep searching for a substitute for what I used to get in a good newspaper or weekly news magazine.  The fact that I can’t find it makes me think there is still a place for the old form.

If you are like me you have a lot of sites bookmarked for news.  They act like they are newspapers but in reality most are just click centers.  You think you are onto something, you click to read more and either they take you to another site or they have a long quote and don’t tell you it is just a link unless you really look hard.  When I was still paying attention to the Drudge Report I learned to hold my cursor over the title and look in the corner of my screen to see the actual source.  I could screen out the Fake News sites that way but as time went on it got harder and harder to find something that did not come from the L.A. or N.Y. Times or Washington Post.

One thing I find amusing is that the Babylon Bee is getting cited like it is a serious newspaper.  When the title just does not make sense I get suspicious.  It is a sad day when you can’t tell the difference between satire and Fake News.  It is even sadder when the Fake News people can’t tell the difference.  And then you have the Babylon Bee headlines that eventually become prophetic.

Diogenes I am not but I would like to channel him.  Too bad I don’t believe in that.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-245: Should-a-Beens: The Perfect Leader

I don’t think I ever want to see a candidate that I trust totally.  If I ever reach that point, I will become a mindless Democrat.  Please excuse the redundancy.  I look at Donald Trump, and for the most part I like what he is doing.  I am not sure about everything such as his endorsing letting convicted criminals out early.  I am not sure about some of his appointments.  That is encouraging because if I could agree with everything I would wonder what was wrong with me.  I am not sure I even agree with myself all the time.

I mentioned “mindless Democrat”.  It is not the only redundancy possible.  There are a good number of them that are totally aware of what they are doing and what the consequences will be.  In some cases I guess for “mindless” I would need to substitute “immoral” or “evil”.  They might be very intelligent and talented.  Their joy is to spread diseased ideas through the culture.  Proverbs has several mentions of this kind of person such as,

(Pro 2:14 NAS77) Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

You wonder how someone like Adam Schiff can live with himself.  You wonder how Joe Biden can stand to be in the same room with Joe Biden.  How do the corrupt traitors who have been in charge of the intelligence agencies justify their lust for power?  How can they justify trying to destroy the liberty of millions for their own power and ego?  Simple.  They “delight in doing evil”.

Of course this does not only apply to Democrats.  The RINOs also answer to the call.  Remember that we would have decimated, if not done away with, Obamacare if it was not for John McCain.  And many of the never Trump people call themselves conservatives.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Trust, but verify.”  Some times we are forced to cross our fingers and move ahead but we should be as alert as possible. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-244: Nightmares

Do you ever have nightmares?  They hit me every once in awhile.  I don’t know why.  Maybe it is bad pizza.  My nightmares seem to have a common theme over the last few years.  I find myself back in the classroom.

There are certain things that present themselves in various scenarios.  I never have a role book.  I never have any way to know the students names.  Usually there are no doors and often no walls.  I can’t find my keys. 

There are times when the students keep changing.  In some the principal will come walking in and start making demands.  I have suddenly realized that I vomited all over my clothes and I have a clean set in the car but I can’t remember where the car is.  And then I can’t remember where my room is.  I remember one time when all of the usual were in place and outside the room with no walls the rest of the school was on lunch break or something.

Sometimes I come out of it when I remember that I am retired and so this doesn’t make sense.  Sometimes I just wake up.  One of the great things about these nightmares is that in real life it is over. 

Maybe this is payback for the way I laugh every time I drive by a school that is in session.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-243: R.O.E.

In regard to latest terrorist shooting at Pensacola, I pick up that the guards were not armed.  In fact, like all military bases within the United States, firearms are not allowed.  This is why we had the tragedy at Fort Hood and other shootings on bases that have highly trained warriors in residence.  I am not sure what the logic is except for misplaced political correctness that has reached the level of the absurd.  Maybe it is from misplaced fear of a military coup or some such nonsense.  This is a recurring problem in our military.  You can’t protect yourself from a guy with a gun if you only have a smile.  We see the same type of thinking in our schools.

It comes down to a problem with ROE or rules of engagement.  Soldiers, marines and airmen have carefully worded rules and parameters that determine when they can respond with force and how much force is allowed.  Police have the same restraints.  Notice I said “carefully worded” not “carefully thought out”.  They are not carefully thought out.  Usually they are political statements of convenience. 

When I was in Vietnam, we were not allowed to load our rifles on guard duty.  If we were caught with rounds in the gun the best we could expect was what was called an Article 15.  This is the lowest level of court marshal.  Understand, we were in a war zone.  We were on guard duty.  We were not allowed to load our weapons.  In fact our ROE started off with calling the command bunker if we were being attacked and ask for permission to load and fire a few rounds into the air.  I remember toward the end of basic training I was assigned guard duty at an all night laundromat that had a machine that vended candy and snacks.  My orders were to keep anyone from using the machine after 10:00 at night.  That is 22:00 for you military types.  Really?  Really.  I dealt with this threat to national security by walking around the corner any time someone approached the candy machine.

Or take Iraq.  We hear a lot about the surge and how that changed everything.  It certainly helped but even more important was a change in the ROE.  Our soldiers were suddenly allowed to defend themselves.

Pensacola was a tragedy that did not need to happen.  It was terrorism by invitation.  It is the result of the forces of the progressive, anti-gun culture.  It will happen again as long as our military bases continue to be gun free zones.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-242: Ode to Old: Shop for Life

I have never been a great shopper.  I can do a good job on groceries and necessities, but when it is birthday time my mind goes blank.  It look at shopping as a cruel form of torture.  I need to change my thinking.  Shopping is an affirmation of life.

I find myself saying things like, “I won’t need to buy any more sox.  I have enough to last me until I die.”  Same about hats.  I have more guitars than I can play and pens coming out of my ears.  Buying more is a waste of money. 

How limiting is that?  How defeatist.  How pessimistic. 

This is a good time to put it to the test.  It should possibly effect my Christmas shopping.  I am going to make it part of my pattern to walk through stores and ask myself, “Who do I know that could use this?”  I tried it once and found a great gift for my wife for Christmas.  She may return it but it is still a great gift.

I need to learn to make sure I know where receipts are because my perfect gift may very well be nothing but a dust magnet for the recipient.

But I am looking to the future in a different way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-241: Election 2020: Limit Some Terms

Term limits are a two edged sword.  We would not only get rid of the trash but would throw out the baby too.  Although it would see the back side of Pelosi and Schumer it would also say goodby to Nunez and Jordan.  It is something we need to talk about and to do so without calling names.  Of course, you can say that about a lot of topics.

Keep in mind that if we pass term limits the only ones who will follow the guidelines will be the traditional conservatives.  First we will see the progressives find ways to work around them.  Have you ever heard of someone running their spouse and serving through them?  How about if the governors of California and Illinois agreed to switch places.  Remember that creativity is part of the American psyche.  Also remember the progressives will throw them out when the time is right.  They seem to be able to do this by executive order is they can’t get the votes in congress and don’t forget all the judges that are bought and paid for.

We already have term limits anyway.  It is called an election.  I often wonder how people can keep electing someone like Nadler or Waters.  How can you vote for Pelosi when you walk the streets of San Francisco?  We have at least three possible answers:  Stupidity, on the dole and voter fraud.  We already have term limits on the president and people still reelected Clinton and Obama.

The consideration of term limits is part of the sickness of our society.  We want someone else to pull the weight so we can party on.  Instead of paying attention and holding elected leaders accountable we want a law to take care of it for us.  People want the congressman who brings home the bacon to their district.  It is the other guys who need to be thrown out.  Or take the parent who wants the schools to raise their children because they want to be buddies instead of mothers and fathers.  Republicans like to protest things like voter fraud but when are they going to do something about it?  They enjoy the fruits to much to chop down the tree.

When someone else does the heavy lifting we can claim innocense and join the condemnation of those evil people.  Thus we have people who enjoy the benefits of our liberty and security but want to attack the soldiers who stand as a bulwark.  We complain about people using EBT cards at fast food joints and expect the government to keep raising the benefits of Medicare. 

Each of us needs to accept the burden of limiting terms.  We need to get serious about watching the people in positions of power.  We need to write down their failures if our memory will not cooperate.  And then we need to get busy using the liberties we still have.

2020 is coming.  Vote the suckers out.  If enough people vote then their cheating won’t work.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-240: Baby Talk: Determining the Nature of the Falling Nut

Children are born.  Adults are made.

It may be that some children automatically become readers.  That has not been the case with our granddaughter.  Of course she is still a toddler but personalities develop early.  She would rather run around the couch than sit with a book.

My daughter is working on that and is planting the seeds.  She lets the toddler run but there are times when she restrains the baby until she calms down enough to look at the book being read.  It isn’t easy.  It takes time.  It reflects a commitment to a goal.  In time the habit is established and we see an increase in times when the child will pick up a book and look through it.  Will she become a reader?  I don’t know.  Some people just don’t like to read.  They would rather go out and turn a tree into a cabinet than read a book about trees.  Still, the seeds need to be planted to keep the options open.

Why do children turn out the way they do?  We often talk of heredity and environment.  What the modern culture ignores is free will, choices.  It goes beyond the choices of the child.  Parents make choices in how they spend their time.  Often the key question is, excuse the word, selfish or sacrifice.  It is much easier to plop the kid in front of an electronic device so you can do your nails than to engage them and help them to grow.

Even the best, progressive day care cannot make up for the attention of a mother.  We always laugh when some official child education organization publishes something as a great tool of learning and it is something that mothers have been doing for centuries.  Grandmothers could have written the books but they don’t have Ph.D. behind their name or government funding.

I realize it is easy to judge and my point is not to condemn single parents who are doing the best they can but they need to realize that when they have a choice it will have consequences.  We were surrounded by mothers and fathers making those kinds of sacrifices and the results we see are gratifying. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-239: Pandora’s Hit List

My daughter has the Pandora ap working in the living room.  It is on a Christmas channel and I am hearing songs I had never heard before.  After listening once I can see why.  The great voice of Bing Crosby recorded a lot more than White Christmas.  The blessing is that most of the songs died a natural death. 

As I was feeding the toddler and listening to the music my mind went on a tangent.  It isn’t that I don’t enjoy a conversation in which one side consists of empty shrieks and nonsense syllables.  I have had conversation with progressives and survived without violence.  It isn’t that I don’t enjoy making faces and acting excited when she gets the spoon in her mouth without dumping the oatmeal in her lap.  There are situations though that make it possible for even this male mind to multi-task.

I was giving 3/4 of my mind to listening to the words and I realized that the non-hits of Bing Crosby have a lot in common with the majority of modern secular Christmas music.  One thing I noticed is that you could take the word Christmas that is inserted on some kind of ratio and replace it with another word, say Tuesday, and the song would have just as much meaning and staying power as it does as a Christmas song.  I recently enjoyed an old post by the Babylon Bee that has the exchange going the opposite way as Justin Bieber replaces “baby” with “Jesus”.

https://babylonbee.com/news/praise-the-lord-justin-bieber-just-retroactively-inserted-the-word-jesus-into-his-entire-catalog-and-this-is-everything

Most modern Christmas songs reject any possible reference to the real catalyst for Christmas and become expressions of a desire to express themselves sexually.  In modern productions you hear about the breaking of a heart instead of the breaking of the power of sin.  The result desired is a one night stand as opposed to the eternal relationship promised by Christmas. 

I am a supporter of free enterprise so I have no problem with everyone who has every recorded a song producing a Christmas album filled with gruel.  I do have a problem with it being the only stuff that seems to be broadcast any more.  I like White Christmas and Jinglebell Rock but they are simply enjoyable, not meaningful.  They do not change the world and did not establish the season.

Merry Christmas and long live redeeming Christmas music.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-238: Baby Talk: Conversations

It is great having my daughter and granddaughter staying with us.  There are down sides though.  One of those is the topics of conversation.

I just finished a discussion of baby turds.  It was like a mystery of who-done-it.  We were trying to figure out why the consistency of the feces was different this morning.  Was it the diet?  Was it teething?  Is she sick?  Has she been watching CNN?

At the time these topics are of interest.  I am not sure that I would want a chapter in my biography to spend much time on them.  We have discussed why car seats are hard to adjust.  Why do babies like to run around naked?  How long were the naps for the last week?  Why does she pick their nose, on both sides at once? 

In those times when there is little to discuss there is always time to chase a toddler around the house and wonder where they get their energy.

Where will I get my energy?

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-237: Thanks Thoughts: Cinnamon

If you want to see something that is truly awesome in a historical context, visit your local dollar store.  Find the section that has the spices and look at what you can get for a dollar.  What got me going on this was the cinnamon I was adding to my oatmeal.  I could go to the shelf and pull off other modern wonders but one illustrates the point.

Before the discovery of America cinnamon was something that only the rich could experience.  Yes, I know we hear about pepper, but cinnamon came on the same ships from around the same world.  As a teacher I used to talk about the search for a short route to the East.  I would illustrate that you could send out ten ships and if one made it back there was enough profit, after expenses, to set you up for life.  I can buy it for an inflated dollar bill.

It is great to be thankful for all of the big blessings:  Family, security, health, a new video game.  Don’t forget all of the things that are now common place.  Rejoice that you live in the 21st century in America.  That is unless you enjoy oatmeal with no sugar or cinnamon.  It was called gruel and it tasted like it sounds.

So be thankful.  Make it a habit, even after Thanksgiving Day.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-236: Official Announcement

It is now official, Thanksgiving Day is over and you can listen to Christmas music. 

I know you have been hearing it in the stores for days, if not weeks.  They are playing it to get you in the mood to spend.  You will notice that I have no “tip jar” or advertising so my motives are pure.  Insert the CD, hook up your Pandora, start your Ipod, if you have them spin a record.  It is now culturally appropriate to listen to Christmas.

Enjoy. 

Merry Christmas.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-235: Hatred, by Any Other Name, Be It Oh, So Sweet..., part 5 of 5, Limitations

Should we use what we know about genetics to breed people like we do dogs and apples?  Evolutionist and atheists should be all in on breeding a master race.  It is consistent with their view of the nature of humanity.  One of the science fiction themes that comes up is cultures in which people are bred to be members of certain classes or functions.  Some are warriors; some, librarians.  If you believe in evolution then it should be a challenge to see what you could come up with.  If you don’t believe in God then you can develop the ethics to suit your current desires.  You would call it progress.

They may have moral objections but it is purely subjective.  Their opinion is no more valid than Stalin’s.  We tend to forget that the current crop of Progressives began with a group that were big into eugenics.  They had no trouble sterilizing “inferior” people.  It was for the good of the race.  Often they start with what seems logical, if you have several generations of severe retardation, why not make it so the defect cannot be passed on?  The immediate immorality is punishing people for the condition of their ancestors.  The problem that eventually emerges is a sliding scale of inferior.  The Progressives of today who control the social media have decided that being conservative is a defect.  They are trying their best to destroy that evil gene.

Why not breed people for specific results?  One of the things that stands in the way is people who believe in the God of the Bible.  We believe that we are created in the image of God.  The technical term is Imagio Dei.  We believe that life begins at conception and that God instills a unique soul into each human being.  That makes them different from the animals.  That means we are not tomatoes that can be altered to be easy to harvest or wheat that can become resistant to drought.  It puts limits on what is acceptable.  The anti-Christian crowd does not like that.

That means hatred based on superficial characteristics is not allowed.  Can you hate evil?  Yes, but keep in mind that evil is defined by God and not by the latest broadcast of the View or by your favorite celebrity.  Evil exists.  The first step to fighting it is to admit it exists.  Sometimes you can separate the person from the thing you hate.  Other times in is who they are.

Christianity teaches that man is inherently sinful.  That does not mean that they are nasty and kick puppies.  It means that they are focused on themselves instead of God.  It means that they reject the God of the Bible and want to establish their own right and wrong.  It means that morality is relative and based on consensus rather than objective truth.  Evil is a problem.  The atheist says that the cause is a faulty society and the right government programs can fix it.  Christians believe that what is broken is man himself and he can only be fixed by God, but it can be fixed.

Hatred will always be with us.  Maybe we should look at ways to deal with it, ways that really work.  You won’t find them in science or philosophy unless they are in submission to the God of the Bible. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-234: Thanks Thoughts: Dentists

There are times when I am glad I live in modern America.  Actually I am always glad but sometimes I think about it.  Each morning I try to start the day with a time of gratitude.  I thank God for my blessings and use objects in my room to stimulate my awareness.  Everywhere I look is a catalyst of thanks.  Thus I am reminded of the blessings of my children when I see an item they gifted me with.  I think of the heritage I have when my eyes rest on my grandfather’s desk.  Our flag leans, rolled around the pole, in a corner. 

While thinking about the blessing of living in modern times in a land that still has some liberty my mind went on a tangent that brought dental care to mind.  Could you picture living in the ages when the only dental care available was a pair of pliers in the hands of someone willing to pull?  There were no fillings, root canals, implants or free tooth brushes.  There also were no reliable anesthetics.  Just the thought of pain in the tooth is enough to make me swear off time travel forever.

So be thankful.  Make it a habit.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-233: Hatred, by Any Other Name, Be It Oh, So Sweet..., part 4 of 5, Should We?

Are different groups of people actually different?  It is a question that we don’t seem to want an answer to.  How much does it matter about differences?  We confuse difference with value judgement.  If your unit of measurement is thin or fat and your value centers on size of feet then your measurement has nothing to do with your hierarchy.  If we can accept that individuals are different then why do we have a hard time accepting that groups of people are different. 

We acknowledge that breeds of animals have certain characteristics.  I am not an animal person so I really have no insight into most but I have noticed a few things about dogs.  We had a beagle.  We only had it for a short time because the beagle had only one purpose in life, to get out and seek the impossible dream.  If the door was open a crack the beagle was gone.  She was a good dog in a general sense and got along with us just fine but she was a roamer.  Later we got a lab.  She was our dog.  If she somehow got left outside she would sit by the front door waiting to get back into our aura.  Were these characteristics of the dog breeds?  I think so.

Can you say the same thing about people?  I really don’t know.  Most subcultures of North American Indians were nomads or semi-nomads.  Was this a racial characteristic or just a stage.  You had a few tribes, such as the Pueblo, who were stationary.  In Europe you had tribes that started out as nomads and eventually settled down.  Could you breed for wanderlust in people, you know, make them beagles.  It would be a long range project because people live so long and take so long to develop.

We have seen increases in how tall people are in a few generations.  We can see that some genes are combined and others remain a selection.  What could be bred for?  How much of what you see is learned and how much is genetic?  And of course the big question that science forgets to ask, “Just because we can does that mean that we should?”

To be continued...

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Opus 2019-232: Hatred, by Any Other Name, Be It Oh, So Sweet..., part 3 of 5, Reasoned Prejudice

We all have prejudices.  Sometimes those are based on past experience and make sense to us.  Back when Cadillac was the luxury car of choice I had a hard time accepting people who drove Cadillacs.  I considered them snobs and spendthrifts.  Then one day I got to know a couple that drove a Cadillac.  I was forced to reevaluate my prejudice.  I still have no use for Rolex, but give me time.

What is one man’s prejudice is another man’s reasoned response.  I hate liver.  I am sure I have said that before.  It is not a prejudice, it is a reasoned response.  I was forced to eat it as a child.  I have smelled it for years.  I know of what I speak.  When people tell me I have just never had it prepared right I give them a recitation on the role of the liver in the body.  When I see bins of chili peppers in a Latino market I am interested but leery.  I will admit that my previous experience with peppers have not always been pleasant so I am a bit prejudiced.  Does that mean that I reject the peppers?  No, it means I proceed with caution, willing to learn.

When I see a guy with tattoos out the wazoo I have the same concerns.  If I see him in the park pushing a two year old on the swings I realize my prejudice needs to be adjusted.  If I see him wearing an Antifa shirt and carrying a stick I have a different reaction.  A man of reason can recognize his prejudices as emotional reactions and compensate for them.  That is the way most of us are made. 

We need to understand the difference between prejudice and sound judgment.  One is based on emotional reaction and the other is thoughtful response. 

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-231: Hatred, by Any Other Name, Be It Oh, So Sweet..., part 2 of 5, Viva la Difference

Are there differences based on race?  It is a question that needs to be asked.  The simple and obvious answer is, “Yes”.  People with dark skin tend to resist sunburn more than light skinned people.  I understand that some groups have differences in their teeth so that skeletons can be identified.  I had a doctor tell me that some have different ways in which their muscles connect to their bones.  A better question is, “Are there any differences that should make a difference?” 

In order to answer that you need to learn a little about statistics and the used of data.  You need to understand the difference between stereotype and generalization.  Stereotypes can be accurate but usually are used to reach erroneous conclusions.  As an example look at the popular statement that women are more emotional than men.  Someone said that.  It wasn’t me.  I am just repeating what I heard.  Don’t get upset ladies.  The fact is that it is true but doesn’t really have much application in things like hiring taxi drivers or engineers.  Stereotypes are usually used to manipulate and control.  Don’t get them confused with generalizations. 

Generalizations are useful statements of trends.  They are statements that are true over a large group of people but are useless in application to individuals.  Thus men are taller than women but it does not mean that any one woman is taller than any one man.  They might be useful in deciding how many bathrooms to install but not in determining quotas in hiring nurses.

We need to stop being afraid of differences.  There are so many variables in life that we get really confused if we think a few superficial similarities are significant.  There is nothing wrong with liking people that like what we like.  And even that changes.  I have met people that I could have a great conversation with over coffee but if we were near a bar I would want nothing to do with them.  I had a friend that was always trying to get me to learn a song by Nirvana.  He made the mistake of giving me a CD with the lyrics inside.  One look at the words and I lost all interest in his music.  He was still a friend as long as he didn’t try to play his music. 

Why are things like skin color so significant?  They aren’t unless you happen to be a racist or very simple minded.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-230: Hatred, by Any Other Name, Be It Oh, So Sweet..., part 1 of 5, Grow Up

One of the hot buttons today is what is called “racism”.  One way to shut someone up and make them go into denial is to yell, “Racist!”  It is similar to touching the eye stalk of a snail, boing, it is gone.  I believe racism is like gluten intolerance, autism, ADHD and Democrats with integrity:  It exists but not near as much as claimed.  With racism, the ones making the accusation are usually the most guilty.  You know the old line about not pointing your finger because there are three more pointing back at you.

One of the hypocrisies of the left is that they accuse people of being racist while they are blatantly anti-Semitic.  Al Sharpton, Mr. Race Baiter himself, has the hubris to talk about racism.  Remember how he stirred up riots targeting Jews on a false story.  While there are still a few Democrats who recognize the moral difference between a freely elected government in Israel and the PLO, the party as a whole is joining with the voices of Islam.  They seem to hate Jews.

Anti Semitism is a misnomer.  It is really Jew hatred.  Technically the Arabs are Semitic.  It is more than one group of people but the term caught on and is now part of the meaningless jargon of the left.  Like so many important focal points in life we tend to mimic them as if they really had something to say. 

It seems to be perfectly fine to hate white males for being white but racist to arrest black men committing crime on black men.  We need to be able to have a discussion of race without all the name calling.  A place for many of us to start is to approach the discussion like adults.  We need to ask ourselves, “Am I a person who automatically puts people of different color in a category lower then myself.”  I didn’t ask if you like menudo or rap music.  I didn’t ask if you can polka.  We are entitled to our personal opinions and preferences.  That does not make us racist.

Once you get that question out of the way is where being a grown-up comes in.  Grow a pair.  When someone tries to silence you by yelling “racist” you need to react the same way you would if someone said you had cooties.  Their accusation is about on the same level. 

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-229: Will the Real Trump Please Stand Up

Is President Trump our David, Ahab or Tiglath Pileser?

I come to this question because I am currently reading through the life of the Biblical David in First and Second Samuel.  I read this with another phrase in mind that comes from the New Testament.

(Act 13:22 KJV) And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

David is called a man after God’s own heart.  As I read his life I find that a genuine mystery. 

David does not stand out as a paragon of virtue.  One of his early acts as king involved adultery with Bathsheba and the following murder of her husband.  He had people killed in what we would consider murder.  He looked the other way when a son raped a daughter by a different wife.  He was a miserable example of a father. 

And yet God thought he was special.  God used him as the leader of Israel. 

Ahab is best known as the husband of Jezebel.  She was a notorious piece of work.  Literate people today still know that being called a Jezebel is an insult.  Tiglath Pileser was instrumental in bringing down the Kingdom of Israel.  They don’t get much good press but David is lifted up as a great man of God.

I see possible parallels with President Trump.  He has a lot of sin in his life.  So did David.  He rubs a lot of people the wrong way.  So did David.  Yet I think in his heart of hearts he is a man who loves America and is committed to doing his best for her.  I believe that it is possible that he recognizes his flaws and is working on them.  That is between him and God.  I obviously am not a part of the conversation.

Yet it is that heart that might match up with David.  Both are a long way from perfect and yet each has a heart that is committed to what is right.

Possible? 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-228: Chick-fil-a Goes Progressive

I first picked up the Chick-fil-a story in a Power Line post.  I traced it back to the next step at the Daily Wire but it went at least one more layer.  The final link was to an article at a site called Bisnow.  I am now convinced that it is true:  Chick-fil-a has taken the first step in what will be a “progressive” move to the left.  If you have not heard, they are stopping contributions to charities that have taken a stand against the homosexual agenda.  Two big names that are being crossed off their list of gifts are the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and The Salvation Army.  Chick-fil-a still has a way to go but the first step is the hardest. 

The Chick-fil-a chain was established and built by S. Truett Cathy.  I had always assumed that he was a serious Christian because of the obvious “closed on Sunday” decision.  Evidently he also required employees to agree with some of his moral positions.  He was still alive when the homosexuals and liberals targeted his stores with a boycott.  For those paying attention it became clear that the boycott was a joke because the lines at the restaurant got longer.  I believe that his no-compromise stand on moral issues was a large part of the growth of the company.  His attitudes permeated the chain.  If you went to a Chick-fil-a you found a higher caliber of employee and the best service you can image. 

Or at least you used to.  I think that is going to change.  Truett Cathy died and the torch was passed.  It seems that in the passing it was snuffed out.  It is no longer a business run by people with Christian priorities.  Now it is a successful business running on the good will accumulated among a lot of families.  That good will is going to begin dissipating.  The new attitude was found in an interview with Bisnow about the decision.

“There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos said in an interview with Bisnow.

It was a business decision.  It seems that there was some question about who they are.  People thought they knew, after all they closed on Sunday, but evidently Cathy was not able to pass on that awareness to the people now in control.

“But after years of “taking it on the chin,” as a Chick-fil-A executive told Bisnow, the latest round of headlines was impossible to ignore. This time, it was impeding the company’s growth.”

It was a bit misguided but still a business decision.  It ignores the surge in profits when the company took a strong stand on moral issues and sells its future in the hope that the homosexual community and their allies will suddenly become fans of a chicken place that has made its mark on families as repeat customers. 

We have seen it before.  Many of the early businesses that became family words were started by Christians on Christian principles.  Somewhere along the way the first generation dies and the next just didn’t get the message.  I don’t expect to see an overnight transformation in Chick-fil-a.  I do think you will soon see them opening on Sundays.  It will start in the airports and one day you will realize they have all followed suit.  More obvious will be a decline in the quality of the employee. 

The anti-Christian lobby has another notch on their revolver.  They will not be satisfied.  They will soon be demanding quotas of gays, lesbians, transgenders and any other group that the left has in their pockets.  The Chick has been filleted. 

Who will be next?

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Opus 2019-227: Monday Pulpit: Sick Excuses

The pastor looked around the sanctuary.  He commented on how many people were not with us.  He said something to the effect that he hoped people were not missing because they were sick.  I am not sure I agree with the reasoning.

If people are absent because they are sick then they had a legitimate reason to be home.  When I was teaching it was called an “excused absence.”  It is good to stay home when you are sick.  Not only does it speed your healing but it keeps things that are infectious from spreading of others.  Staying home is thoughtful and considerate.

Other reasons are not so good.

Sometimes people are gone because of an emergency.  It could be anything from car trouble to a death in the family.  In many cases I would prefer to hear that they had chills and fever than that one of their children was rushed to the hospital.

Sometimes people are just skipping worship to pursue personal interests.  They may have had some shopping to do.  Perhaps there was a sporting event they watched or went to.  Maybe they decided to mow the lawn.  None of these are evils but when they come as more important that corporate worship it is not a good sign.

So, no, I actually hope they are sick.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-226: What is a moderate?

The classic idea is someone who is not extreme, in the middle.  We have a lot of people claiming to be moderates whom are anything but.  The issue is how you determine the middle.  Statistics has three different ways of determining that spot:  Median, mode, mean.

Median is what I would consider the best way to determine the middle in politics.  To find the median you need three positions.  You start by identifying the farthest points on the left and right.  Then you find the middle.  That is the moderate position.  If you have a spread of incomes and the top income is a million dollars and the bottom is twenty thousand dollars then the median is $520,000.  That is the average I think of when I say I am right of center.  I know I am not a moderate.  I also know I am not at the extreme.

What the liberals mean when they say moderate is the mode.  The mode is a type of average that says the middle ground belongs to the largest group.  The liberals in this country actually seem to think that most people agree with them.  It is certainly true that all members of the fourth estate and academia agree with them.  To them that means that they are in the center and thus moderate.  In this example if you had one millionaire and his servants then the mode would be the servants wages.

What pollsters mean is what most people think of as the average.  You take all the responses, add them together and divide by the number of responses and it gives you an average.  It is possible that no one is even close but it is the middle.  If you have someone with a million dollars and another with none then the mean if $500,000.  True but meaningless if you will.

So what is a moderate?  It depends on how you are figuring your idea of average.  It is another case of distorting without actually telling an untruth.  And there is also the assumption that you are seeking to communicate truth.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-225: Then There Were Three

We have always had lots of liberals and Calvinists.  Often the only thing they have in common is denial.  It is almost impossible to get people to admit they are liberals.  They are sometimes so isolated that they call themselves moderates.  The ones who know they are liberal are going with Progressive now.  The same type of behavior is found in Calvinists.  They like to call themselves Reformed now.  Visit a church where it is clear that you cannot fall from grace and the will deny they are Calvinists.  The pastor will make all kind of statements about how you had no choice in being saved and deny he is a Calvinist.  It is kind of like the person who keeps telling you they lost three pounds but doesn’t tell you they gained five the week before.  There are still a lot of liberals and Calvinists.

Now we can add the Never Trump crowd.  They don’t seem to exist either.  A few might admit it but there are large numbers of people who see every imagined flaw in Donald Trump and believe it no matter how much he does that agrees with where they claim to stand.  They may even act like they are being positive about him but the “but’s” overwhelm the narrative.  I recently wrote a comment about a mistake I felt Trump made.  You might miss it because it was a simple opinion, not a major indictment.

I can think of others that might never admit to what they are.  RINOs come to mind.  We might add reporters to the list.  How about scientists?  I better stop there or my title will become meaningless.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-224: Baby Talk: Curiosity

Curiosity does not denote intelligence.  We think so in a child.  When they are always sticking their nose, fingers and entire body in places where they do not belong we talk about how they are curious and learning about their world.  I know it is true of my granddaughter but I am not sure about yours.  Being curious does not mean you learn anything.

Take the cat for instance.  It is always getting into every opening and gap.  It does things over and over and, to be honest, never seems to learn a thing.  It certainly does not get more intelligent.  Of course this could just be the fact that I am not a cat lover but how many times does a cat have to jump on my feet in bed before it learns it cannot fly?

Intelligence is what makes it possible to learn from experience.  My hope is that someday I will learn not to walk through the house in the dark.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-223: Vigilante Horizon

Is the day of the vigilante scheduled for a rerun?

Vigilantism is a scary prospect.  What often starts off as citizens trying to subdue crime and violence has a tendency to segue into kangaroo courts and personal vengeance. 

The problem we are facing is that much of our justice system is turning into a long running joke.  “Lawmakers” seem to be in competition to find reasons to let convicted criminals out on the streets again.  Even President Trump has bought into the concept.  Federal judges are ordering people released.  Daily we see headlines about murders committed by illegals who are out on bail or released for humanitarian purposes.  What it does is put violent criminals back on the street. 

What are law abiding people to do?  We have depended on the police and other law enforcement to protect us.  We have expected the courts to deal with criminals.  We build jails to keep them away from the general population.  Yet here they are out on the streets.

Why are left wing mobs like Antifa allowed to continue their reign of terror?  Why are so many Trump supporters worried about being vandalized if they put up a yard sign or a bumper sticker?  Why do liberals feel free to attack anyone wearing a MAGA hat?

My fear is that people will begin to take the law into their own hands.  I am not worried about criminals and corrupt officials being killed.  What I worry about is the fact that there is rarely any happy ending to such violence.  If it were an irate father who gives the murderer of his child their just reward and fades into the neighborhood, then civilization will resume.  If it is someone defending themselves and their family from home invaders, by them some more ammo.  If it is large crowds pushing what borders on revolution, then everyone loses.  Revolution and civil war usually destroy more than they remedy.

There is a reason why laws are to be enforced by a duly established government with due process and checks and balances.  There is a reason why the wheels of justice grind slowly.  It keeps the balance and allows justice to be done without destroying the weak.  Our problem is that so many of the people in positions of punishing evil have become evil themselves.

I hope the judges, clerks, police officers, politicians and anyone else with a responsibility to serve the public and advance justice wake up before we see vigilantes again because street justice will not stop with the rioters.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-222: Headlines: The Star Chamber

I saw it again today, a reference to “Star Chambers”.  Those of you who are lacking in a sense of history may think this has to do with Luke and the force.  No.  It is also not that dome in the observatory where you go to watch the show about the planets.  It actually goes way back in our struggle against the forces of fiat power.

The Star Chamber was one of those political ideas that started for a useful purpose and became a tool of tyranny.  It started in the late 1400s as an assist for a king who felt he was overloaded with all the appeals to justice.  It was a council that could hear cases when he was not available.  It ended in 1641 because of the abuses of James I and Charles I of England.  The reason those names are significant is that they were the monarchs that drove the English people into civil war.  Think of Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Roundheads opposing the Cavaliers of the soon-to-be-beheaded Charles I. 

The Star Chamber became a secret court with no checks or balances.  They would drag people in and proceed to railroad them.  If you are familiar with the concept of Kangaroo Court then imagine one with absolute power, meeting in private with no responsibility to report to anyone except the king.  People would just disappear into the night.

The term is now coming up with regard to the Democrats impeachment proceedings.  They are being held in secret with arbitrary rules.  In this case Nancy Pelosi replaces the king.  The reason we should worry about this is because it sets aside all of the checks and balances that we fought the American Revolution to establish and puts an unelected aristocracy in power. 

Fear the Star Court of Impeachment.  Keep in mind that today they come for the president.  If they can destroy him in secret just imagine what they can do to you.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-221: Baby Talk: Squirrel

Baby watching fills a lot of cracks in the day.  Maybe it should be called “Toddler Watching”.  Her attention span reminds me of a lot of adults I know.

Baby’s are easy to distract.  That is one of the great points when it comes to dealing with a tired toddler throwing a grump.  We get her to look for her kitty.  We ask her where her baby is.  She totes a doll around with her all the time.  She rocks it, wraps it, pats it and does everything to it that has been done to her in her 18 months.  Recently we got her going to get baby and suddenly, “Squirrel”, she saw something shiny and forgot all about baby.  You could see the transformation of focus.

We see this in our adult world.  Remember the movie “Wag the Dog”?  The idea was to distract the public from a presidential scandal by faking a disaster or military attack.  If you notice, every time the Democrats are faced with any kind of scandal that the news can’t ignore there is a new announcement that tells us Donald Trump is meeting his downfall.  And the general public looks.  They forget about baby and focus on shiny.

I have hopes that the toddler will develop a longer attention span.  I am not sure about the general public.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-220: Reform Illusion

I love it when famous people agree with me.  Jonah Goldberg writes (before he became a Never Trumper),

“Those yearning for a ‘Muslim Martin Luther’ don’t realize there are Muslim Martin Luthers all over the place, and they’ve been fomenting religious oppression and cruelty in the Middle East and terrorism abroad for generations now.”  p. 238

I have always been mystified by people who call Islam a religion of peace.  They obviously have only read the Readers’ Digest translation of the Koran which was prepared by undercover Muslims for gullible snowflakes.  The only peace that Islam offers to the world is a peace based on submitting to slavery or accepting death.  The idea is that the grave is very peaceful. 

And I have wondered what carousel people fell off of when they claim that Islam needs to be reformed.  That is what the “kill the infidel” of jihad is all about.  Those involved in the violence are the reformers.  They feel that Islam has drifted into the state that Christians feel about the United Methodist Church.  They think the average Muslim is a Muslim in name only and a clone of the dominant culture.

So don’t root for the reformers of Islam.  They want sharia to be your next experience in law.

Goldberg, Jonah.  The Tyranny of Cliches.  New York:  Sentinel, 2012.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-219: Baby Talk: Monkey See...

It is amazing how much children see and how much they mimic our actions.  Our granddaughter sees us taking a tissue and blowing our nose.  She grabs anything including the hem of our clothing and makes the noise with her mouth.  She then will wad up the receptor and throw it on the ground. 

The one that got me yesterday had to do with the dishwasher.  When I am through putting things in I will use my foot to raise the door up to old man stoop level.  As I was pushing in the racks and getting help from the toddler I was ready to close the door when she raised up her foot under the edge.  She didn’t catch the entire effect so she did not move the door but she was obviously doing what she had seen the monkey do.

Children watch us.  I don’t think it ever stops even when they grow up.  People watch us.  We need to live like it makes a difference because it does.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-218: Karma Questions

As a Christian I must confess that I do not understand Buddhism or its teachings.  One of the beliefs is called “karma”.  What brought this to mind was this quote from The Tyranny of Cliches,

“Under karma we are rewarded for our good deeds and punished for our bad ones, in this life and our next lives as humans or grasshoppers or carpet mold.” p. 256

I think the basic idea is that your current life in the cycle of life is a result of how you lived your previous life.  In a nutshell, you get what you deserve.  That is as objective as I can be about the doctrine.

My mind goes on tangents whether it is engaged by a sermon, an advertisement or Buddhist doctrine.  So I ask myself, “How would you evaluate the life of a grasshopper to determine if it would move up or down the order of life in its next incarnation?”  What is right and wrong to a grasshopper?  Do Buddhists debate such things?

My life is not going to be transformed by the answer.  I don’t wait on pins and needles.  In fact I will probably move on as soon as I exhale, but for now it is a genuine question that I have no idea what the answer could be.  I expect that a Buddhist would feel the same way about the trinity.

Goldberg, Jonah.  The Tyranny of Cliches.  New York:  Sentinel, 2012.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-217: To Poll or not to Poll

Should we participate in polls?

A few times in my life I have received a phone call asking if I will participate in a survey.  Usually it is clearly a sales gimmick and I routinely hang up.  I am polite but I hang up.  We need to remember that as hard as it comes, be polite.  Once it seemed like a genuine survey so I started to answer questions.  It didn’t take long to once again politely hang up.  After a couple of questions I could tell what the results were going to be by the wording.  I tried to reword the question but they were having none of that nonsense.  I tried to explain how loaded the questions were but got no where.  They were the anointed reading their script to the unwashed masses. 

I used to think we should put in our opinion so that they poll would not be so skewed.  After paying a little attention I realize it is pointless.  They know what they want to declare and you cannot get between them and their conclusions.

So my answer is generally, no.  I also don’t bother filling out those questionnaires from the RNC asking my opinion.  The only part they are interested in is the contribution form at the end.  If they didn’t know what I thought they would not have sent me the form.

I have more productive things to do like take out the trash.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-216: Should-a-Beens: Want Ads

Wouldn’t you like to see it?  “Wanted, Investigative Reporters”

I keep wondering why the wealthy conservatives don’t get their act together and start a news source that stays reliable.  Maybe they could buy a local paper in a medium size town and start to build a following.  Drudge had a moment.  Fox made a try.  Both have gone to the dark side.  The anointed of the internet seem to have a set agenda of manipulating the dialogue.  I think there is a lot of pent up desire for a voice that links facts with truth.

This will require a new type of staff.  I can see three types of employees who will gather the news, each with a different focus.

Class A:  Basement Geeks (BG) to follow links and arrive at truth.

These would be your stereotype computer guy who does not get out much.  It needs to be someone who likes to follow links and look for obscure connections.  He lives to click.  This is necessary because so much of what is presented as news is just boilerplate that comes from a single source and then is spread around so it looks like it a trend.  It doesn’t matter if this guy has piles of pizza boxes around him.  It is okay if he lives of Soylent.  He has the skills.  Let him use them.  Reward him with more Soylent.

Class B:  Street Smarts (SS) to do physical investigation

This is your classical reporter.  He is expected to go out and talk to people, go through physical files, interview, observe and so forth.  This needs to be someone who is the opposite of the basement geek.  He needs to like people and getting around.  Previous experience as a reporter should ring alarm bells but would not necessarily disqualify him.  I understand that somewhere in North Dakota there is still an honest reporter.

Class C:  Office Nerds (ON) to put it all together

This is what used to be an editor.  It could still be an editor but it needs to be someone who is not pre-programed to present only one slant.

Think about how this could effect the public.  I don’t know if you stay in hotels a lot but many of them have piles of USA Today in the lobby for free consumption.  I notice that there are big piles even at the end of the day.  The reason is that they are not worth reading.  They are written at an elementary school level and tend to toe the progressive party line.  If I could find something like USA Today with genuine reporting I would subscribe.  I would buy it even if each page was divided in two columns and one side was liberal. 

We tend to accept the popular wisdom.  We accept that newspapers are doomed.  I keep hearing how books are going out of style.  We are warned that Amazon will put the box stores out of business and the box stores put mom and pop out of business.  It does not have to be.  Books keep being published.  Small stores that provide excellent service still survive.  I think that a newspaper that actually supplied news could do very well.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-215: Baby Talk: Here, Fido

Those of you that have pets are familiar with the magic of the shaken food bowl.  It can be a life saver with cats who don’t want to come in from the cold.  You stand at the back door and rattle the food bowl and it is amazing how often the independent minded cat will come running.

It works on toddlers too.  No, I don’t shake the cat’s food bowl to get my granddaughter’s attention.  What we do is rattle the pacifier.  It is amazing.  She is totally deaf one minute and the next comes running.  I would not believe it if I did not see it.

I am sure that there are political applications.  I will leave those up to you.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-214: Pollish Jokes

I keep hearing about polls in which people express their desire that President Trump be impeached and removed from office.  It doesn’t mean a thing as long as people are expressing a wish.  It is the implementation that becomes a danger to our republic. 

If I had been asked a carefully phrased question about removing President Obama from office I would have been in favor of it in an emotional way.  The idea was a fantasy.  If the Republicans had tried to impeach him because he played too much golf I would have laughed at them for their foolishness.  He won the election.  It may not have been fair and square when you take into consideration all the voter fraud and media bias, but he won under the rules in play and the Republicans did nothing to resolve it under the rules in play.  We lost.  We lived with it.  Like it or not he was our president.

The polls on impeachment don’t really represent a democratic movement to impeach.  They are a Democratic fantasy that cannot be fulfilled in a free society.  I would hope, and my fear is it is a vain hope, that if it came to a real vote most of these dreamers would wake up and smell the elites desire to destroy the liberty we have by suborning an election.  The reason it is a real threat is because the left has brainwashed a generation and we are reaping the results.   And don’t forget that the polls said Reagan had no hope and that Trump didn’t have a chance.

Freedom cannot exist if the only rule is “Head I win.  Tails you lose.”  That is where the left is today. 

Freedom cannot exist if we allow ourselves to be swayed by public opinion.  Part of the problem is that the public tends to be ignorant and the other part is that the media that informs you about public opinion took their poll in the newsroom.

Freedom cannot exist if the Republican party does not grow a pair and start enacting the rules of law that we are supposed to be living under.

So don’t worry about the polls.  All they do is give you a window into the dreams, and nightmares, of the Democrats, Socialists, Communists, snowflakes, elites and RINOs of the world.

I don’t care if the polls show strawberry is the favorite flavor.  I prefer rocky road if they still make it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-213: Headlines: Shocker, Democrat Resigns

By now I am sure you have heard that Congresswoman Katie Hill has resigned.  This is a shocker, not because of what she did but that she resigned.  It must have been much worse than the media is letting us know.  Keep in mind that she is from California and a Democrat.  What would it take to shame such a person?  She is leaving while Pelosi, Schiff and Feinstein remain. 

Before you get excited keep in mind that she may be replaced by someone picked by the governor of the land of fruits and nuts, Gavin Newsom, or by a special election among the same people who elected her.  If you think the warm-up act was good then buckle up for the main show.

I am tired of getting the government that other people deserve.  I read that somewhere and I agree with whomever said it first.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-212: The Joys of Isolation

I live in a world of isolation.  I don’t watch TV except when traveling with my wife or relegated to a waiting room.  I rarely turn on the radio.  I only go to movies when my family makes it a command performance.  I don’t recognize the people on the trash mags by the check out line.  Modern music is an excuse to claim you have a headache.  Some people might claim I need to get out more.

So when I read something like the list Jonah Goldberg gives I find it interesting.  Not shocking.  I have been around enough to be hard to shock.  Maybe you are out of touch enough that these are new details to you.

“Jennifer Lopez bars people from photographing her elbows.  Mariah Carey has an assistant whose only job is to hand her towels....  John Travolta ...demanded that his person chef be retained and he wanted approval of the catering staff for the rest of the cast and crew.” p. 175-6, (Emphasis in original)

He goes on but you may spend enough time watching daytime TV or reading in the grocery line that you already know this and much more.

I will stick with being isolated, thank you.  I am not sure the world is ready for my ridicule. 

Goldberg, Jonah.  The Tyranny of Cliches.  New York:  Sentinel, 2012.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-211: Monday Pulpit: Lessons from Joseph, part 2 of 2, Slavery Sidetrack

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers.  He was sold to Ishmaelite traders, distant relatives on their way to Egypt.  This is a good time for another aside.  The tangent is slavery which is a hot topic for us in the United States.  Reparations anyone?

Americans don’t know history.  Part of that is deliberate.  People who know history tend to vote different than people who are ignorant.  Take slavery.  The average American feels like slavery is an American problem, a blot on the soul of a nation.  It is the American Sin.  Such an attitude feeds into the manipulation of the elites but has nothing to do with reality.

Slavery has been a normal part of society throughout the history of mankind.  It was common in every culture on every continent except Antarctica.  It was considered normal.  The only people who were against slavery were the slaves and even most of them accepted it as normal.  Slavery still exists today in its standard form.  Even more people are enslaved in trappings that we don’t think of as slavery, such as prostitution and sweat shops.  Far from being an American problem the stand against slavery was an area that America took an early interest.  The eradication of slavery should bring pride not the guilt demanded by the left. 

Joseph’s experience is a good illustration of how slavery works.  His brothers were mad at him so they got together, imprisoned him and then sold him.  A good number of the slaves that ended up in the Western hemisphere got there start that way.  As a slave Joseph prospered.  He was given responsibility and power.  Of course he was still a slave but if you follow his story through you find that eventually he was second in power only to Pharaoh. 

Does that make slavery a good thing?  No, not in our modern way of thinking.  It just makes it something that was considered normal until modern times. 

Making slavery some kind of test of worthiness of guilt is nonsense.  Keep in mind that the slaves that came to America started their journey being enslaved by other black Africans.  They might have gone through several black slave traders before they ended up on a European ship.  Keep in mind that the slaves were going east into the Arab world for millennia before they went across the Atlantic.  Look up Kush and Axum.  One of their main trade goods was slaves.

In fact it was the Christian gospel that began a serious examination of slavery.  It is hard to hold someone as a slave when they are created in the image of God and are a brother in Christ.

We need to continue the discussion without phony guilt trips and political manipulation. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-210: Monday Pulpit: Lessons from Joseph, part 1 of 2, Being Salt

The pastor made a good point:  God was with Joseph in spite of his situation.  God prospered him.  Good enough.  Encouraging.  My brain went into tangent mode.

If you have not read it recently the basic focus was Genesis 39.  Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers and the slave caravan took him to Egypt where he was purchased by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s body guards.  He was quickly promoted to run Potipahr’s entire household and Potiphar prospered greatly.  Then the wife falsely accused Joseph of trying to rape her and he was thrown into prison.  In prison he was almost immediately appointed by the chief jailer to be in charge of all the prisoners.  You can see how this goes.

Thus the pastor observed that no matter what curve balls life threw at Joseph, God caused him to prosper.  My tangent noticed that Joseph was also a blessing to those he came in contact with.  God does bless us but the Bible has a strong theme that we are blessed so we can pass the blessing on to others.  It would be possible that God would even direct us toward hardship if there was a desired result. 

Culturally we would see this in terms of a Christian, or Jewish, minority being a real asset to the dominate culture.  They will often fill positions in medicine and the sciences.  They provide a framework of honesty and hard work.  I think of it in terms of being salt.  Believers can season the entire social structure if they are faithful to their calling.  It is frustrating to hear people talk about the Golden Age of Islam and have them ignore that most of the gold was produced by Christians and Jews or by recent converts. 

As I look at our current culture I think in terms of critical mass.  How much salt does it take to preserve a fish?  How much to save Western civilization?  Remember the dialogue between God and Abraham in Genesis 18 where God finally said he would preserve Sodom for 10 righteous.  How many will it take for America?  Are you part of the salt or the putrefaction? 

As followers of Jesus we have the hope of eternal life.  If we stop there then we have stopped too soon.  We are called to be a blessing to the world in which we live.  Joseph was a good example.  We should follow it and be part of the solution.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-209: The Blame Game

I always enjoy it when someone whom people actually read agrees with me.  One of the sites I view regularly is Powerline.  One of the writers is Paul Mirengoff.  I often find him hard to take because I view him as a struggling Never Trumper.  He fights it but seems to delight at any little barb he can throw Trump’s way.  In spite of that he still has some interesting insights at times.  One of them came in his comments about a new study on the opioid crisis.

What hit home with me is his comments about how it is politically correct to lay the blame on big business for all of the things wrong with the country.  The study he sites seems to be saying that the opioid crisis is not because of unscrupulous drug companies but the same old drug culture of the streets.  He draws a parallel with the housing crisis of ten years ago.  I am sure he could have gone on with things like the credit card crisis and other popular themes of “blame the rich”.  When politicians and lobbyists get together to pull the wool over the eyes of the public then we have bad results. 

The problems we have in society are not the fault of Facebook, Amazon or the Deep State.  They are caused by people who refuse to be responsible for their own lives and discipline themselves so that they can be independent.  People want Uncle Sugar to take care of them.  He will but the hidden price is usually liberty and a healthy pride.

I have yet to see a gun jump out of a drawer and shoot someone.  I still am waiting for my credit card to crawl out of my wallet and charge something I want but don’t need.  And of course the last time I looked that Snickers bar did not unwrap itself and force its way into my mouth.

If we refuse to grow up we will always have a curfew.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-208: New Laws: Semi-Free Enterprise

I am wondering if it isn’t time to start putting limits on how big a company can get.  If you look at all of the social engineering going on you see that much of it is being done by people with a big piece of the pie.  Recently Walmart joined the chorus.  They don’t have a monopoly on anything but their long run of success has made them the only option in some parts of the country.  When you don’t have to compete you can become a Social Justice Warrior.  We keep hearing how You Tube, Facebook and Google blatantly discriminate against their political opponents. 

The wake up call should have been Alex Jones.  I didn’t know much about him except he had a powerful marketing program.  For a time on my new smart phone I would swipe left and see what the big stories of the day were.  It seemed like most days the first three were Alex Jones.  I only listened to a few minutes here and there and came to believe that if we could put aside the bombast and hype I would probably agree with him on most big issues.  They went for him and got him out of the limelight.  How many others have they done this to.

The problem is that we don’t want the government to pass laws and hire regulators to deal with the issue.  Although the target is irresponsible corporations it will only get worse if we give the government more power.  At least it has in the past.  So no, I don’t think we need more laws.  What I think we need is a groundswell of public opinion in which people look up from their smart phones and uninstall the apps.  We need to make it a similar situation to what Hollywood is facing.  They make $40,000,000 blockbusters and no one buys tickets.  Eventually they will run out of money.  Eventually the people subsidizing them will stop bailing them out.  The same goes for Facebook.  What would happen if every business run by someone who cares about liberty would remove the icon from their website? 

Until we are willing to change our behavior we need to understand the government cannot save us.  I guess the new law we need is a law against making new laws.

Meanwhile 2020 is coming.  If you are willing to vote the suckers out then don’t forget to vote.  If you are going for samo-samo then stay home and tweet.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-207: The Promise

Barak Obama made a promise.  He was going to fundamentally change America.  His promise was real.  In this case he was not lying but he was counting on our desensitization to political promises.  He assumed we would hear what we wanted to hear.  It was our understanding that was lacking.

We thought in terms of changes in application.  Thus our desire for health care was approached by Obamacare.  How bad can it be?  As he said, his goal was fundamental.  He promised we could keep our doctors and have lower premiums.  His goal was total socialized medicine and the first step to that was to destroy the current structure.  He stated that his advent would transform the environment.  We tend to think in terms of cleaner water and air.  His goal was to cripple the industrial sector and make us believe that we would all die if the government did not take away our cars and air conditioning.  You can continue in this theme.  He wanted to replace the rule of law based on the Constitution with the fiat declarations of the socialist elites who knew what was best for us. 

We were thinking of philosophical change in terms of Reagan following Carter.  He meant a revolution on the level of October 1917.  He was going after the fundamentals.

He is still working on fulfilling his promise.  If you follow the tracks of the attempts to drive Trump out of office you find Barak prints on everything.  It may be that he is a puppet of the older deep state operatives but he has been a willing puppet. 

I don’t know that we are facing the end of the world as we know it but we are definitely at a crossroad.  I am not sure whether to rejoice I am old enough I won’t have to see what happens or regret that I won’t live to see it work out.  On the other hand our world may come crashing down tomorrow.

Interesting times.  I would love to read the history books of the future except that if the Barak revolution succeeds it will write the story. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-206: Free Enterprise in Trash

A new company is making an attempt to penetrate the trash market on our hill.  It is competition at its finest.  We already had three companies that I know of and now we have four.  I remember getting their flyer in the mail and now I am seeing their distinctive trash cans.

You might ask why we need four.  A better question is how many is enough.  When we first moved in we went with one company but their service was a mess.  We switched to number two and have been happy with they way they run their business.  So I would say you need at least two but I welcome all comers. 

Some might argue that one provider is more efficient.  It might be for the provider but not for the consumer.  In a city near us all the trash is picked up by a city truck.  I guess it works but there is nothing to keep the price down.  Knowing that someone will come along and charge less is a good stimulant. 

Service is important in competition.  I never even considered the new company because I am happy with the one we have. 

You have seen the pictures of cities with trash piled up everywhere.  New York is famous for their garbage strikes.  Outside the United States it is almost a given.  I would be willing to guess that in all those places it is the government’s responsibility, not free enterprise.  We have heard people ask those who want government run health care if they like the way the post office works.  We might also ask them about the monopoly city trash service. 

Freedom pops up in unexpected places. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-205: Romneyaches

I find myself becoming more embarrassed by the day.  I am glad no one was paying any attention a few years ago when I had good things to say about Mitt Romney.  I once thought he would make a solid president.  I thought of him as a good man. 

Now he is almost enough to make me a Buddhist and believe in reincarnation.  I am almost ready to believe that he is John McCain come back to haunt us.  I am not sure if karma moved him up or down.  Actually the timing is bad.  Maybe we are looking at Woodrow Wilson II.  Maybe Benedict Arnold.  He was a hero first and a traitor later. 

I can only hope that his Trump hatred is a bit isolated.  We have judges to approve and a country to run.  I think of how McCain kept us from getting rid of Obamacare.  Does Romney have a similar bit of treachery in his future?  Does he think he has a shot at 2020?

I would hope the people who elected him are paying attention and looking into a recall vote of some kind.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-204: Smart Fools

I continue to struggle with the idea that Democrats have any intelligence or integrity.  It is an ongoing mystery I have had with the world at large.  You know how it is, how can anyone have a clue if they disagree with me?  I talk to people who have a grasp of physics and chemistry but don’t understand that global warming and cooling are historic realities that have repeated time and again.  Math gurus can’t seem to understand that more carbon dioxide means that plants grow better and produce more oxygen.  Biologists who think cow farts are going to ruin the world but ignore the wall to wall buffalo herds that used to cover the great plains.  And, yes, I know they are bison not buffalo.  Why do they turn off their brains when it comes to socialism?

Since I am in a benevolent mood I am looking for explanations.  One thing that strikes me is that we all filter a lot of things out.  I will concede that Donald Trump has ways of speaking that would not be considered parlor parson parsing.  I concede that, knowing very little of what people complain about.  You see, I don’t listen to the hysterics of the Progressives.  I don’t follow anyone on social media.  I don’t even bother checking Drudge since he has gone to the dark side.  All I get are segments of his better lines that are repeated on various sites I visit.  Most of what I read from Donald Trump is either short and specific or downright funny.

Those who hate Trump are a lot like those who hate Rush.  They never really listen to what they say.  All they hear are edited comments and totally false accusations.  They claim they have listened but obviously they don’t because of what they say.  At the same time I have a hard time believing that Democrats are really listening when you have repeated calls from the left for assassination.  I wonder where the supposed decency of the Trump haters is when a member of congress stands in front of a microphone and urges everyone to get in the face of any member of Trumps team when they go out in public.  Do you really think it is cool to wait outside a trump rally and attack happy people on their way home?  Do you really think it is okay to call for the presidents son to be locked up with pedophiles?  There is a lot of filtering going on.

So I filter.  They filter.  The difference is that I go on and look at what the actual results are.  Barak Obama divided the country on racial lines.  He dragged the economy down.  He made the United States the laughing stock of the world.  Billions in cash sent on pallets to Iran was given just a ho hum by those who only saw his creased trousers and figured a brown man could do no wrong.  Under Trump I see judges who believe in the Constitution being appointed, an economy on the rise, China and Korea doing some real talking, NATO starting to man up, regulations being erased and a wall being built.  All of this is done with no help from the Democrats and a lot of foot dragging by Republicans. 

Who in their right mind could support Bernie Sanders with his plans to turn us into a socialist state?  Who would vote for Elizabeth Warren when the only thing she promises is free stuff?  How can anyone even look at Joe Biden without seeing corruption and sleaze?  And what can you really say for the rest of the pack.

Yes we all filter.  Some of us then think.  I guess that may be the difference.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-203: On the Street: Gurney Wisdom

I was forced to watch.  I tried to tune it out but it kept probing.  I speak of the ubiquitous TV in our culture. 

I was confined to the gurney in preparation for the routine of a colonoscopy.  Since it is an assembly line process and profit is based on productivity, we were expected to be ready when they called.  I am guessing I laid there over an hour.  I tried to take a nap but the TV on the far wall kept trying to bring me into modern culture.  I asked about getting it turned off but it was shared by several beds.  I had them pull the curtain but the voices were molded to penetrate and deaden at the same time.  I learned that closing your eyes does not shut off your hearing.

I mourned over a new series of books that I should have had to teach my children to cooperate.  It would have kept them from their fighting in the back seat.  I am sure that bullying and whistle-blowing were discussed.  The idea was to develop modern leaders.  One of my questions on things like this is, if everyone can be a leader, who is doing the following? 

I learned about how to make Christmas ornaments out of old thread spools.  That comes as a real relief because I have all these drawers full of old thread spools.  If you don’t have that resource I learned you can go to craft stores and buy them ready to go.

One that puzzled me was DYI antique jewelry.  How can it be antique if you are making it yourself.  I guess it falls into the same category as Classic Heavy Metal. 

It seems there is a new exercise in town called spinning.  Since I only saw the trailer I don’t know if it was a new government program, an infomercial, a blatant advertisement or just something to fill the empty lives of people on the dole. 

To add to the drama of the hour I was able to listen to the “looking for love in the wrong places” laments of the lady in the next bin.  I gathered she was a rich widow that all the Casanova types thought was good for a few bucks.  Her current squeeze, whom she has known for several months, does not know where she lives.  How that works since he was there to take her home from the procedure is a mystery to me.  Maybe her car was stashed at his house.  I did get the TMI that he is really hung well.  All this without ever seeing her or him.

Medical procedures can be educational.  I am reinforced in my opinion that TV is a waste of electricity and people’s lives are a mess because they are into themselves.  And since you are wondering I seem to have a colon that is in wonderful shape.  I will not share the photos with you because you might be jealous.  We can’t all have a great colon.

homo unius libri