Opus 2019-022: The Real Fake, part 2 of 2

Modern science has sold its soul to the god of political correctness and federal grants.  Leftists in government wave a checkbook and “science” declares that we need to stop global cooling.  A few years later they wave it again and we are stopping global warming.  Every time they warn us that the end is near they pass more regulations that take away our liberty.  You may have heard the declaration recently of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.  I found it many places but am using part of the title from Real Clear Politics.

"The World Is Going To End In 12 Years If We Don't Address Climate Change"

The claim is ridiculous.  One reason is that it has been repeated again and again for years and it is based on lies.  It isn’t flawed science, it is lies.  The scientists who produce the data know that they have faked it and are only doing it to advance the left’s political agenda.

So I would agree that the end of America as we know it is near.  It will not be because of any type of climate change.  It will not be because of obesity, water pollution, extinction of an insect or any of the other things we worry about.  It will be because we have swallowed the pill that fake science has produced for us.

There is still time to get it right but I am not seeing it happen.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-021: The Real Fake, part 1 of 2

I am not overly concerned when I hear that we live in a post-Christian culture.  Since I believe in God and believe that Jesus is God, the current trends in society are just that, current trends.  We need to understand the difference between the organized church and the church as the body of Christ.  One is a legal entity which may or may not be necessary.  The legal institution can exist with no believers as a part of it.  There are many immense edifices today that have signs declaring them churches but they contain noone who believes in the physical resurrection of Jesus or His divinity.  They exist because somewhere in the past lot of money was invested and the interest on those investments keeps the doors open.  The real church is made up of believers whether they have a brick and mortar structure or meet in a park.  The true church will endure until the end.

What really concerns me is that we are living in a post-science culture.  The value of science is the scientific method which salutes a theory proved wrong almost as much as one verified.  True science it is never “settled”.  There will always be questions and experiments based on the three foundations:  Observable, repeatable, measurable.  Those who don’t understand that have a long history of declaring things like “you cannot go faster than the speed of sound” and “You can tell intelligence by the shape of the head”.  The world of real science and honest investigation is passing away.  What is now called science has become a pawn in the hands of left wing politicians who want to use the respect science has earned as a tainted club to force people into socialism and government tyranny controlled by a small elite. 

To be concluded...

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-020: The 400+

I keep hoping that we as a people will learn.  I am not sure I am seeing it yet.

Cases in point:  The Covington Boys, the three week extension on the wall, the latest headline in almost any venue that has headlines. 

In each case the media paints a picture, people buy it, and then we find out it isn’t true or is nothing to worry about.  With the smear of the Covington Boys it was clear that even people who claim to be on the side of conservative values are part of the problem.  I am not sure which is worse Catholic leaders who jump to judgment or National Review writers who condemn without a thought of their own.

I keep remembering the 400 FBI files that disappeared under the Clinton watch.  I would love to have a list of the names and see how those people have caved at key times.  Of course the 400 were small potatoes compared to what Obama made available.  It makes me wonder what they have on me.  I think of the cameras and microphones in almost every piece of electronics we now have in our houses.

I am too old to go to camp.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-019: Show Some Respect

Rodney Dangerfield has become the avatar of the 21st century.  We have come to the point where nothing gets any respect.

I remember I used to respect the police.  I thought FBI agents were noble servants of the republic.  And judges, what could be more worthy than a judge?  Pastors were awesome.  Teachers were the best. 

But what did I know?  Have I just learned to be more observant or have things changed?  I think it is both.  As I get older and have a broader pool of knowledge I find that things I used to accept now get me to raise my eyebrows.  I know that when I listen to the music I enjoyed as a kid I wonder how I survived the sexual innuendoes and suggestive pictures.

As a teacher I came to realize how lacking the profession is.  Part of that is the change that has gone on since I was a kid.  When I was in school being a teacher was one of the few professions that women and minorities could expect to use their talents, so if I had a black teacher it was someone who today would qualify to be a doctor or senior vice president if given the chance.  Today, with a few exceptions, we get the leftovers.  Principals were objects of awe.  Being sent to the principal was something to be avoided at all costs.  Now kids are on a first name basis with them and they side with the kid against the teacher.  Little respect needed here.

I have watched the FBI and court system become objects of derision rather than respect.  Top law enforcement has been using their power to destroy patriotic Americans based on political party.  You may have seen the FBI swat team that conducted a pre-dawn raid to arrest an elderly man who was accused of process crimes.  Judges ignore the Constitution and precedent to mold society when the left can’t succeed in the legislative process.  The ultimate was when the people of California passed a constitutional amendment and the state supreme court ruled it unconstitutional. 

As for pastors, I was one.  I have seen men put their wives to work so they could do their thing.  I have seen the egos.  I have watched as they have had affairs and embezzled funds.  I have watched the unworthy promoted and the worthy ignored.

I am sure none of this is new.  It doesn’t mean I have to like it.  I am an idealist at heart.  I hope I always remain one even though my eyes are more open.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-218: Headlines: It Ain’t 1776

At this point I am not impressed with the “revolt against socialism” in Venezuela.  Socialism is an addictive form of welfare.  It is a conscience drug.  People begin to believe that they deserve something.  When they revolt, I am not so sure it is against socialism as much as it is that they don’t think they are getting their share.

Revolutions as a whole don’t always make things better.  One of the things about the United States is that it’s revolution was led by people who were genuinely interested in liberty.  They wanted it for themselves, yes, but they also wanted it for their fellow citizens.  The final words of the Declaration of Independence should be taken literally.  I have quoted it before, I offer it again.

“And for the support of this declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

They believed in “Providence”.  That means they bought into the Christian understanding of God, what He expects and how He works.  They were fenced in by that.  It meant that George Washington refused to be made king and that a succession of presidents turned loose of power when they left office.  I think we were unique in history because of those leaders.  I wish we had more like them today.

I am not sure the revolutionaries in Venezuela understand it that way.  I would hope I am wrong but the history of revolutions is that when the dust settles, those with the biggest dust pans start becoming the tyrants they replaced.  I am afraid that those marching are simply looking for someone else to step up and promise to make life better with bigger handouts.

I could be totally wrong.  I hope so.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-217: Father Figure

I am seeing a lot of confusion on recent history.  I keep seeing Walter Cronkite held up as the example of what American Journalism should be.  I think that a more accurate memory would be that he is the one who built up trust and then betrayed the country.

Keep in mind he is the one who lost the Vietnam War.

Why do I say that?  It goes back to the Tet Offensive of 1968.  For years all the antagonists of the Vietnam war had observed a truce during Tet.  It was an important holiday to the Vietnamese and was honored as such.  About the closest we in the West can come to the Tet Truce was the Christmas in World War I when the two sides came out of the trenches and sang Christmas carols together.  It is hard to believe, but it happened.

In 1968 the South Vietnamese and American forces were on stand-down to recognize the day.  The Communists decided that this was their chance to win big.  They infiltrated large numbers of North Vietnamese troops and gathered up all the Viet Cong they could find.  Then, when the allies were totally unprepared, they attacked.  They expected to have a walk over and bring the war to a screeching halt. 

It didn’t work out like they planned.  In spite of being totally unready the Americans and South Vietnamese rallied and cleaned the Communists’ clock.  What was supposed to be a slaughter of Americans turned out to be “the only good commie is a dead commie”.  There were a lot of good commies after there failed attempt at an atrocity.  It was the biggest defeat that the invaders had suffered.

You would not have known that from watching the news.  “Uncle” Walter took the lead in coming on the evening news and declaring that the war was lost because the Americans and Vietnamese had been so severely mauled.  It was the original Fake News.  And because he had built up such trust with the American public, he was believed.  He lied.  He deceived.  He lost the war because it took a long time for the public to be able to discover that we had won the battle, hands down.

So please.  Don’t act like Walter Cronkite was a virtuous icon.  He was the father of Fake News.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-216: Being Cheeky

One of the hardest lessons for me to learn about life is that some people have a need to be yelled at.  I was raised on the principle of turning the other cheek.

(Matthew 5:39 KJV)  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

I understand it and apply it on a regular basis.  Unfortunately there are many people who are so locked into their style of aggression they look at it as an invitation.  They have been taught that the way it works is you keep pushing until you meet resistance, then you back off and search for another victim or begin to communicate.  Think of them as scavengers such as jackals, hyenas or vultures.  They are looking for the weak and infirm.  They do not go for the healthy and robust.  In fact, I think it is the same way for lions and other predators.  They don’t chase the strongest.  They drag down the weak.

The principle of turning the other cheek is that we are to avoid conflict and give people the benefit of the doubt.  They may be having a bad day.  Cut them some slack.  The hard part is discerning who the total aggressors are. 

When I am driven to the point of screaming back at someone I always feel guilty.  What always amazes me is how mellow they can become after I stop yelling.  It should not be my default.  The Bible is full of admonitions to not fly off the handle.  I am still thinking it needs to be a tool in my repertoire. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-215: The Spoiled System

One of the great reforms of the past is considered to be the switch from the spoils system to the Civil Service.  You may have read about this in regard to the federal shutdown. 

The spoils system meant that to the victor goes the spoils.  When a political party won an election they could replace any employee of the government that was below them in the pecking order.  Thus when a Democrat was elected president, he could fire everyone working for the federal government who was a Republican and replace them with his supporters.  If a Republican was elected it worked the other way.  All systems have problems and give opportunities for corruption.  In the spoils system the corruption took the form of using your position to get rich until the next election and also the probability that you had no qualifications for the job.

In 1883 the Pendleton Civil Service Act was passed by congress which changed the way government employees were chosen and how they were dismissed.  The Chinese had come up with the idea centuries earlier.  It was based on taking a test to show you were qualified rather than just listing your political party or whom you were related to.  You could not be fired for political reasons.  It gave continuity to the job of government.  Today it effects almost all government employees.  States have the same type of system. 

This system also has its problems.  It is almost impossible to get rid of incompetent or corrupt government workers.  You have experienced this if you have ever gone to get your license renewed and the person behind the counter is more concerned with their cell phone than you getting to work.  It is the kind of problem that leads to a government shut down having 800,000 people stay home and no one notices the difference.  If being gone does not make a difference, why are they being paid in the first place?

I don’t know the actual law but what I am reading and hearing is that if the shutdown goes long enough then the people who are furloughed can be dismissed through a reduction in force.  Sounds good to me.  It is must another reason to keep the shutdown going.

Of course this will be hard on those laid off but it seems like they are not needed anyway.  This might be a way to get rid of the Department of Education and the EPA.  The good news for all those getting laid off is that there are a lot of jobs available in the private sector.  The bad news is that they might have to actually work and produce. 

The adventure continues.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-214: Grave Spinning

Having the media celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday has a lot in common with Democrats remembering the birth of George Washington. 

For starters the left has watered down the contributions of George Washington so much that we now celebrate Presidents’ Day instead.  That means that we lump Jimmy Carter and Barak Obama in with George Washington and Calvin Coolidge.  That pretty much makes it a joke.  It is like taking the world’s finest chili and turning it over to a committee made up of a vegan, an anti-salt crusader and someone into organic foods. 

Did MLK make a contribution to America?  I am sure he did.  I only have sound bites but the ones I have are very much in the spirit of what America should be.  Do the people who claim to be champions of civil rights stand on his shoulders?  No way.  They have abandoned the principles that he espoused and sold American blacks back onto the plantation.  To reach the same level that we reached on presidents we would need to rename it Civil Rights Leaders’ Day and lump in KKK leader and Democrat Senator Robert Byrd with King.

If America continues to move toward a socialistic workers’ paradise like the Democrats seem to want there will be a few of us who remember leaders like Washington and honor their memories.  I trust we can now do the same for Martin Luther King Jr.

I hope they both are able to someday stop spinning in their graves.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-013: Baby Talk: Tear Attack

I have always thought of myself as someone who is not influenced by tears.  As a teacher I would have students and parents who could turn them on at will.  I was not impressed.  My daughter used to get a look like she was about to break out and I would ask her, “What’s the matter?  Indigestion?”  So I thought I was impervious.

Then came the granddaughter.  Even there as a general rule I would simply check to see if any of the Big Three were a problem.  Babies usually get cranky for one of three reasons:  Wet, hungry, tired.  I could deal with that.

Then we were enjoying our granddaughter on Facetime.  We were playing peek-a-boo on the screen and she was into in until she started trying to look behind the screen to see where we were.  When she could not find us she got this look on her face like the world had betrayed her or she had found out that her grandparents had voted for a Democrat.  You know the look.

I found out that I could be influenced by tears.

She will get over it.  I am not sure I will.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-012: Headlines: I Didn’t Know Gillette Was Still in Business

I have avoided watching the much talked about ad from Gillette.  I have enough nonsense in my life to pollute my mind and raise my anger level.  Besides that it might trigger anxiety.

I have not bought a blade in years.  I have no idea what brand I bought.  All I can tell you was that it had three blades and was on sale at Costco.  Years ago I moved to an electric because I got tired of the nicks a blade gave. 

I don’t expect to buy any more blades.   My reason is that I now take a blood thinner and they recommend using an electric.  If I did change back I would try to avoid Gillette.

I think the ad was really trying to attract the metrosexual crowd.  The current cool look in the millennial age group is to appear to have gone three days without a shave.  They get that look with an electric, not a blade.  Maybe Gillette was trying to win over that crowd.  I also notice a lot more guys wearing beards than when I was young.  To a dwindling market they may have felt they needed to be extra virtuous.

My sympathy to the workers who will be looking for new jobs because of a loss of sales.  Maybe Schick is hiring.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-011: Shot or Hung

One of my recent posts on my other blog was “Pick a Side”.  Before I proof read it my mind jumped to the experience of restaurants.  When we get a steak we are told we can pick two sides.  I began to think that maybe I should approach this the way many approach politics, let the server pick for me.

I hope you aren’t saying, “That sounds like a good idea”.  We already have too many people telling us what our choices will be.  I have no plans on buying a new car.  One reason is the cost.  Another reason is that new cars want to make the choices for me.  It drives me crazy when I am in a rental car and it locks the doors for me or, even worse, unlocks the doors when I put the car in park.  What genius assumes that I want to unlock my doors in a strange part of town just because I stop the car?

Then there are the “choices” which I label “Do You Want to Be Shot or Hung” choices.  We used to get those all the time when I was teaching.  We were always being given two bad choices and told that was all we could do.  I remember one bit of software we were supposed to work with in one of our faculty meetings.  The problem was that in order to use it you needed to check the box saying you gave the software developer permission to use all of your personal information.

Give me real choices.  Don’t tell me you will do it for me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-010: Headlines: May Day Rejection

Maybe there is hope for Great Britain.  Parliament has rejected the sell out that their prime minister had “negotiated” with the EU.  Now she might face a vote of “no confidence.”

Most Americans don’t understand what that means so a little lesson in civics might be in order.  In the American system people are elected for a set time and serve until the time is up unless there is an impeachment.  Impeachment is a difficult hill to climb so most elected officials feel pretty safe from repercussions.

The parliamentary system is different.  When elections are held the victors meet and they elect the chief executive.  For them that is the prime minister.  The political party that wins control of Parliament gets to choose the head dog.  One of their checks and balances is that the person chosen must be approved by the monarch.  They are elected but there is a curve ball in the mix.  At any time new elections can be demanded by two methods that I know about.  The first is that the members of Parliament can have a vote of “now confidence” in the prime minister.  That means at least that there is a vote for a new prime minister.  It might even mean all of Parliament faces a new election.  The second method of cleansing the pool is that the monarch can send Parliament home and that forces new elections. 

So this is not like the American congress passing a non-binding declaration that the president is not a nice person.  This could cause a major shuffle in the British government.

Stay tuned.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-009: Organic Twitter

I had a sudden insight into why social media applications like Twitter have no appeal to me.  Maybe it occurred to you long ago.  I live in a world of organic Twitter.  I constantly run into people who do not know how to have intelligent conversations.  They just ramble on about everything that pops into their head.  Thus you will get a recital of everything that has happened in their life since the last time you saw them.

It is possible that the masses of people who are addicted to Twitter and Facebook have lived their lives in that kind of environment.  We used to have a caricature of the Valley Girl.  The adjectives would be boring, insipid, and self centered.  Conversations were liberally salted with “like” and “you know” and “just”.  For these kind of people the inane nonsense of the social media is a warm fuzzy blanket of familiarity. 

Of course even on Twitter there is a scattering of pithy comment and important information.  It is simply a matter of not caring about how many squares of toilet paper you used today.  I don’t want to wade through the vapor to get to the meat.

In personal relationships I need to be polite and often I can learn to avoid certain people.  With the social media all I have to do is ignore it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-008: A New Kind of Social Justice

Someone simply identified as “a New York man” died in prison and it sounds like a desirable outcome.  He was in for a 40 year term for child pornography according to It Ain’t Holy Water.

I have a suggestion.  If they can identify the seven inmates who beat him to death they should send the names to President Trump.  It might be impossible to give them a pardon and set them free, but they might at least be allowed to have two scoops of ice cream as a reward for their public service.

It is a sad day for America when the criminals in jail understand justice better than the judges that sentenced them.  Child pornography destroys lives and makes life dangerous for anyone who has children. 

Or maybe it is a good day.  Justice was done.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-007: The Murder Race

Most of us have heard about the murder of Jazmine Barnes.  As a parent I can only begin to feel the horror such an event would generate in me.  The murderer needs to pay.

What is even more sad is the racial politics being employed.  Since it has been discovered that the murderer was a black man instead of a white man that is supposed to make it less brutal.  Suddenly it is not a “hate crime”, whatever that is, but just a shooting. 

We need to discard this hate crime nonsense.  Of course it was a hate crime.  That is what murder is.  You don’t shoot a seven year old child because you love her.  You don’t attack people to show your affection.  Of course it is hate.  We are allowed to hate.  We are not allowed to murder.  The crime is in the killing, not the emotion. 

I hate liver.  That does not mean I can break into a meat market and attack the display.  I hate mosquitos.  That does not give me the right to get a flamethrower and start shooting it off at the picnic.  I hate hypocrisy.  That does not give me the right to burn down the houses of all the Democrats in the neighborhood.

Crime is crime.  It is behavior.  Stop making it worse by trying to attack a color.  A child died.  The villain should be prosecuted because he killed not because of race.

Grow up America.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-006: Joining the Masses

For years we were spoiled by having a Cadillac health insurance plan.  We knew it but knowing and experiencing the difference are two different things.  As a teacher I was forced to be a union member and if there is any group that has the government in its pockets, it is the teachers’ unions.  We were taken care of.  For instance, dental insurance.  I think we paid $10.00 in a co-pay the first year and nothing for the next 29.  Now we pay cash.

Then I finally retired and moved to Medicare, Plan D and supplemental policies.  It has taken us a time to start hitting the bumps.  We have found that the specialists that we have seen are on top of things and give excellent care.  Since my wife wants the best we signed up for the best and bought the top supplemental plan.  The GP and the Medicare “Wellness checks” I have written about already. 

She is in the hospital again.  We have had not problem getting into emergency rooms, getting in to see the specialist she wanted and scheduled for surgery. 

Then we come to the prescriptions.  We already found out the difference between private insurance and the government when my cost for a 30 day supply went from $20 to $400+.  When I went in to fill her latest, an antibiotic cream, it cost me $117 and the other prescription, if it had been in stock, would have cost us $600. 

We will make it.  We will not starve, go naked or freeze to death.  At least, not yet.  I don’t consider the pharmaceutical companies to be the enemy.  They are entitled to a return on their investment.  I understand that in extreme cases they have plans to help the genuine poor.  What frustrates me is the crony capitalism, socialism, that stifles competition and keeps costs high.  I don’t want a government program to subsidize my medications.  I want the government to get out of the way and let the free market generate the kind of competition that makes companies more efficient and leaner.  I know how to price shop but I can’t do that if the government colludes with the drug makers to limit my choices. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-005: The Body Snatchers Are Here

We are already seeing a lot of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and we will be seeing more.  The more I see of Democratic leaders the more I become convinced that there are large areas of our country where the body snatchers have congregated.  How do these people get reelected?  Do they send every voter a check?  Do they have FBI files on every citizen in their district?  How could anyone with any tiny bit of integrity and decency vote for them?  Add to the list such role models as Maxine Waters and Diane Feinstein.  I guess it explains a lot that these people are elected by residents of California and New York.

There are Republicans I don’t trust at all, such as Mitt Romney, but at least he gives the appearance of decency.  John McCain was able to pretend that he was a hero because he had been a prisoner of war.  I can see how they pull the wool over people’s eyes.  What excuse do the people of California and New York have?

I pray that sanity will win out.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-004: A Kinder, Gentler America

By now you have heard the remarks of a new congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib.  She has been glorified as the first Palestinian woman elected to congress.  If I were into racial politics I am sure that would impress me.  I am more interested in what kind of person she is and her priorities for the country.

She has shown herself to be a genuine Democrat by making her first priority to impeach president Trump.  We may be approaching the time when being a Republican is enough grounds for impeachment.  We have already reached that point in indictments and government coercion to intimidate people into making false accusations, witness Mike Flynn, et al.  We see Flynn facing jail time for what was questionably a lie while Comey runs free after admitting to turning over classified documents to a friend so the friend could leak them to a reporter.  We see Hillary running free after breaking numerous laws in the use and elimination of e-mails.  Since they are not Republicans, there are no trials.  So maybe the Democrats can make a case.

At the same time, Tlaib, a representative of the party of tolerance and kindness, decided to reveal what Trump will really be accused of.  She accused him of having sexual relations with his mother, or possibly other mothers.  I don’t recall him using that offensive word against political rivals.  I want the left to know that I am triggered and feel offended.  I am going to apply for a snowflake card.

I would scratch my head if it wasn’t already bloody.  The Democrats and their sycophants in the media like to attack President Trump because they consider him vulgar and not nice.  Then one of their new shining lights uses language like this.  It is nothing new.  This has been going on for at least a decade.  Remember how they accused conservative talk radio of inciting violence when it was always the left calling for it?  Remember Hillary and the “vast right wing conspiracy” when the conspiracies are all on the left?  The pattern continues. 

And now a Republican Shining Light, Mitt Romney, joins the circus.  I wonder if it is too late for him to re-register as a Democrat. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-003: Hats Off for the New Year

I barely got started when the wind blew my hat off.  That is kind of strange since the weather report said 1-2 mph out of the north.  It was as cold as they said it would be.  So I put my hat back on, pulled it as low as it would go, hunkered down and continued.

Eventually the wind died down and as the Psalmist directed, I lifted up my eyes.  What a glorious day.  It was cold, yes, but I had a heavy coat, a scarf, gloves and a warm home waiting for me.  It was brisk and invigorating.  I admired the clouds stretching across the sky and the sun shining through.  And then I said to myself, “If it is this good now with my bad eyes and ringing in my ears, what will it be like in eternity.”  I know that young people don’t think about it much but when you get to my age you start expecting the Great Transition, sometimes called death, at any time.

I am not expecting any big change and plan to make the best of the time I have here, but I am ready to go.  If it is this marvelous now it will be truly awesome then.  And I then am aware that I can’t even begin to comprehend the awesomeness of what is to come.  If I could then it would not be something created by the God of the Bible.

I compare my expectations with what little I know of other religions.  Since I am not a warrior and don’t plan to die with my sword in my hand, Valhalla is out of the question.  The supernatural perversion of the afterlife that you find in video games makes no sense.  The reincarnation of Buddhism and Hinduism leading to being absorbed by the Force seems depressing.  Reclining under a palm tree with dates, wine and 72 virgins seems like it would get very boring, very fast.

I prefer the eternity that is created by the God who created the world I can see.  I can’t understand it but then I couldn’t understand BLT’s when I was born either.  Maybe eternity is long enough for me to like sushi.  Because I accept the meaning of Christmas and Easter, that God became man in Jesus and died to pay the price for my sin, I am looking forward to finding out what is to come.  As one wise person put it, if I am wrong I have nothing to lose. 

I guess this is my way of saying Happy New Year and hoping for a glorious eternity.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-002: Sometimes I Feel Like a Genius, part 2 of 2

We also need to develop some voices and authorities that we can trust.  What do we look for in such people?  First is integrity.  Do they live their lives in such a way that they show they believe in right and wrong?  When someone sets themself up as an expert on marriage and family and they have failed at both, I have some questions.  Do they fudge the truth to advance their point?  Second, they should have some reason to be an authority.  If someone has a degree in physics they are not the best source for biology.  It amazes me how many people with a Ph.D. in a physical science make pronouncements about the universe or evolution.

Keep in mind that some disciplines are so complicated that even the experts don’t know what they are talking about.  Next time you have your taxes done ask a CPA if you can look at the IRS tax code.  If it is print it will take up shelves.  It contradicts itself and it open to interpretation.  That is why the government usually nails criminals on tax issues rather than the real crime they committed.  That is why people who do money laundering make sure that they pay taxes on the illicit funds they are dealing with.  They fear the IRS more than the DOJ.  So being “stupid” about some subjects is just the way it is.  Things like government regulations from the EPA are deliberately done that way.

And some people are just ignorant.  I was recently watching a video from Prager U that had a guy on a university campus asking questions about Pearl Harbor Day.  It was amazing how many did not know who attacked us or where Pearl Harbor is located.  I used to ask my class, “Who won the American Revolution?”  And of course you have all hear the one, “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?” 

Pay attention.  You may never become a meme on the internet but you don’t want the neighborhood commenting on how out of touch you are.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-001 Sometimes I Feel Like a Genius, part 1 of 2

How do people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deal with being memed as stupid by the entire internet?  Since I have not listened to her speak I don’t know if it is true or just a conception she has cultivated.  She has a lot of competition.

Remember the congressman who thought Guam would tip over if it got too many people.

Remember when a certain presidential candidate said he had not visited all 57 states yet.  He won.

I can excuse ignorance in the young.  It is harder to accept the way in which people who know nothing keep putting themselves in a position where they feel they are special enough to tell us how to live our lives. 

Are we any better if we accept what we are told without looking into it.  I realize that we cannot investigate everything.  There is too much going on and too much effort to confuse the issues.  But we need to do some basic research.  Dig a little.  You have heard the concept of a Baloney Meter.  You have heard of common sense.  When people tell me things with a serious face that conflict with everything I know, I have a few questions.  It is amazing how many valid conclusions we can make if we just take a moment to think and compare what they are saying with what we know. 

One of the scares that is easy for the masses to believe is the concept of overpopulation.  For decades the fear mongers have been telling us that we only had a few years before massive starvation would hit us and the world would go to war over food.  If you lived in the middle of any large city this would hit a chord with you.  You would look around and say, “Yes.  It is crowded.  We need to do something.”  Since a majority of American live in large cities they are easy to fool.  When they bring it up I ask them if they have ever been out of Southern California.  Most have no idea that you can drive across a thousand miles of mid-America and see few people.  Picture the drive from Denver to Kansas City.  Picture going across Montana and Wyoming.  Can’t picture it?  You need to get out more.  A few years ago I did the math and the entire population of the world could fit into Texas living in single family homes.  Texas might object but it is still a fact.

To be concluded...

homo unius libri