Opus 2020-105: Headlines: Shortage

Do you see a pattern in the media?

They showed pictures of cartloads of toilet paper and suddenly there was a run on toilet paper.

Lately we have been hearing about a meat shortage.  I keep seeing headlines about plants being shut down.  I am expecting there to be a big shortage of hamburger soon. 

Yesterday I saw despair that there would be a shortage of CO2.  The concern focused on beer and soda but evidently the gas is used to purify water also.  I guess these people have not been in contact with the global warming lobby.  They are claiming an excess. 

I saw a headline in an English newspaper about a coffee shortage.

The population responds accordingly.  When people hear about a shortage they panic and go stock up.  It doesn’t matter how much they really need or if there is any real reason for concern.  Because of their panic a real shortage develops.  Remember the gas shortage of the past.  There was no lack of gasoline but because people kept filling up their tanks every time the needle flickered the lines went around the block.

The media thrives of this kind of manipulation.

It reminds me of my brother dealing with my hypochondriac mother.  He and his wife would start talking about some symptom they had and see how long it took her to have the same problem.  It was amusing but also sad.

If the headlines are right I will run out of soda and coffee soon.  It will be the end of the world.  I will have to drink water.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-104: Baby Talk: Enjoy the Moment

I am not sure which is better, following or carrying.

Walking behind a toddler is a delightful experience.  They bounce and weave.  They seem to be going over one way and then the other.  If they were an adult you would think they were drunk.  Such energy.  Such a lack of self awareness.

But when you pick them up you enter another world.  You get to hug and tickle.  You can buzz ears and count ribs.  You get to experience wiggles first hand and hold the squirming mass upside down. 

I am not sure which is better but I don’t need to decide.  I will just enjoy them while I can.  Some day the baby will be a teen aged embodiment of embarrassment and certainly too big to pick up and hang by the heels. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-103: Caveat Emptor

I am not sure we will ever learn. 

I was scrolling through Instapundit.  I prefer to do that on my computer rather than my I-pad because I can see what the links are and avoid nonsense from the NYT and WP.  I saw a link to Amazon with an offer of face makes.  It seemed to be there were 50 in a box.  I don’t feel the need but I thought I would see if mask are finally available.

First off, the add made no claims to be effective blocking a virus.  Finally it said they were made in China.

I don’t know about you but if I were in the market for masks to block the Chinavirus, I would not want to buy some made in China.  A case of handsoap might be a better deal.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-102: On the Street: Where It Is Happening

You may have noticed empty parking lots as you drive to the local drive through.  My son noticed that the parking lot at his apartment complex was also empty last Saturday.  Where are all the people?

At the hardware store.

Last week I drove up into hill country to an Ace Hardware store that swore they had what I needed.  When I got there I had a hard time finding a parking place.  This was a large hardware store in the middle of nowhere and the parking lot was full.

Tuesday I went to the local Lowe’s.  I had a hard time finding a parking place.  I would submit that although the banks may foreclose on a lot of homes after the Chinavirus panic destroys our economy, the houses will be in good repair.  I am guessing that most of the improvements are being put on the credit cards.

It is ironic that a virus that comes to us from China drives us to the big box store that sells things made in China.

Wash your hands and be alert for unicorns projecting viral rainbows.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-101: On the Street: MADD Crisis

Tuesday I made a run to the hardware store.  The only issue was standing in long lines.  Since I am convinced there is no unusual danger from the current virus hysteria I didn’t even try to wear a phoney, makeshift mask that is nothing but cosmetic.  I paid for my arrogance.

The first indicator of the sheep mentality was when I stopped on the way at a dollar store.  I was going to check on tissue and a snack item they stock.  At the door I was greeted by a handmade sign saying that in order to protect the employees everyone coming into the store must wear a mask.  I did not enter the store.  I turned around and left with no feelings of animosity toward the store.  If they were that fearful they should be able to reject my business.  I am not sure it was working for them as a business model because the parking lot in front of the store was empty.

I went to the hardware store.  As I said, no issues.

I decided since I was already out I would go by the local Walgreen’s to pick up some items that were on sale.  When I got out of the car and approached the door I was greeted by a sign that informed me that because of government regulations it was mandatory for me to wear a mask if I went into the store.  This puzzled me because I was not aware of any government agency in that area that was so stupid.  It wasn’t the Feds.  I was in Texas so I knew it wasn’t the state government.  I knew that the next county over had drunk the kool aid and pushed the panic button but that did not apply where I was.  It certainly didn’t apply just up the street at the hardware store.  I wondered if it was some regulation of the city or just applied to pharmacies so I went down the street a few blocks to the CVS.  If there was a government mandate they did not seem to know about it.

The panic is working.  So far I have refused to wear a mask.  I can’t shop in the next county but I can still meet my needs closer to home. 

This is getting ridiculous.  I am in more danger of dying in a car crash going for groceries than I am of being exposed.  I am more in danger of dying in a car crash than being infected if I am exposed.  I am in more danger of dying in a car crash than having symptoms if I am infected.  I am in more danger of dying in a car crash than having serious symptoms if I have symptoms at all.  I am in more danger of dying in a car crash than dying of serious symptoms.

Maybe this is all just a plot by MADD.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-100: Headlines: Watch Out for the Christian Zionists

You really need to be careful what you read and keep your mind turned on.  In my search for news I have book marked a number of sites that might give news without the filter of the American MSM.  One of those was the English version of the Korea Times.  I have read a few articles and felt they were a source to consider.  That changed today.  I am getting tired of the constant hype of the Chinavirus so I thought I would see what the Korea Times thought was interesting.  It all looked pretty standard until I saw a headline, “above the fold” as they say, along the right side that announced,

“Rise of Christian Zionists in US government and collapse of chain of command”

That got my attention.  My wife is into conspiracy videos and has been known to express anger at the “Zionists”.  She has no awareness of the history of the term.  All she knows is what her guru has told her, filtered through falling asleep halfway through the video.  I don’t remember her using the term “Christian Zionist”.  I started reading.

I did not get far before I started wandering what the author had been smoking.  It was a fascinating bit of left wing propaganda.  To be honest I could not read it but I did skim a little bit.  One paragraph I read that gave me some insight into the philosophy of the author.

“This system worked well, and it allowed for the ideas of freedom that were proposed in the constitution at the founding of the republic to be reinterpreted so as to apply to all citizens. This ideology of the "New Deal" promoted by Franklin Roosevelt survived in a modified form until the election of George W. Bush in 2000. But it had already been weakened considerably at that time.”

He is praising the Progressive/socialist programs that FDR foisted on the American people.  Notice that it was FDR who forced the reinterpretation of the Constitution to apply to us common people.  And then there is the implied back-hand at Ronald Regan who had already “weakened considerably” the efforts of the Progressives.

I also noticed mention of how the military was murdering black officers who showed too much promise.  At that point I had consumed all I could take.

I consider myself a Christian and I am very supportive of Israel.  I have never run into these Christian Zionists that are working hand in hand with the uber rich to control our country and make lots of money.

What these people never explain is where these rich people are supposed to spend there money if they destroy the economy.

Maybe I will look somewhere else besides the Korea Times.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-099: No Point in Adding Variables

I think I am about through watching the numbers given on the Chinavirus.  It is becoming increasingly clear that we cannot believe what we read.  Part of the problem is faulty reporting and incompetence.  That I can deal with.  The coup de grace has been the open statements of deliberate falsification by medical and political leaders.

First we had the doctors from CDC admitting that their guidelines deliberately counted people under the virus that did not die from the virus.  Deborah Birx is quoted in Real Clear Politics as finishing a long quote with, “if someone dies with COVID-19 we are counting that as a COVID-19 death.”  What she seems to be saying is if they died as the result of a stroke and tested positive for the virus it was listed as a virus death.  It is hard to make reasonable decisions about my life when the people charged with giving me information deliberately lie for their own reasons.

Now we have New York saying they are going back and reclassifying deaths that were not from the virus as being caused by the virus.  Most of the links are to the New York Times so I won’t bother with them because you know how reliable that is.

I have always felt that the numbers of “cases” were too low because many people were infected with no symptoms so how would they know they were sick?  I have also taken the numbers of deaths with a grain of salt because I could tell they were inflated from the beginning.  I still thought I could get a feel, but no more.

It is like trying to decide if Ronald Regan or Donald Trump had a chance to win their first elections based on the polls and the pundits. 

Keep washing your hands.  It is a valuable habit to have even in normal times.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-098: Silver Linings: Libraries

One of the benefits I am experiencing from the Chinavirus hysteria is the closing of the libraries.  The library is one of my big hang outs.  If allowed, I will go at least once a week.  When they closed down they had it set up so you could check out books on-line and pick them up curb side.  That has been cancelled also.  The website tells me that the employees are still working remotely and are available to answer my questions.  My only question would be why are they still getting paid when all the small businesses are being forced to go bankrupt.  Could it have anything to do with most librarians being Democrats?

But I digress.

The benefit of closing the libraries is that it is forcing me to look at all the books on my shelves that I have been intending to read someday.  Someday has arrived and I cannot put it off any longer.  So far I have finished two histories of World War II by Stephen Ambrose, Slouching toward Gomorrah by Robert Bork, a book on theology, and a book on Islam by Bernard Lewis.  To show the depths of desperation I am now working through some philosophy by David Hume.

I keep hoping the nonsense will cease and we can get back to not work.  If not, I still have several shelf feet of books to read.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-097: Election 2024: Platform, Voter Fraud

I am ready to hear some campaign promises from Donald Trump.  I am ready because it seems like he did that strange thing called Keeping His Promises.  I believe he has mentioned the need for voter ID but I don’t know if he has declared that it must happen.

I think we need to really push voter ID as an election issue.  It may be too late to get it done in 2020 although I would like to see it.  On the primary ballot in Texas the Republicans expressed overwhelming support for purging illegal voters and making sure that new registered voters were citizens.  It is a start but we need to go further.  I would suggest the same requirements that you have at your local bank to cash a check.  My experience is that if the teller recognizes you there is no request for ID.  If you are a stranger to them then they want to see you driver’s license.  It used to be that when I voted the people behind the table knew me by name.  I can live with that.

We also need to get our laugh tracks in order.  What laugh tracks?  The ones we will play for the Social Justice Warriors who accuse us of being racist for wanting the same level of evidence to be given a ballot that we expect for cashing a check, getting on an airplane, buying a gun, or purchasing cigarettes.  If you express such opinions you will be called a racist.  Get ready to laugh at them and continue on the path to integrity in our elections.  Lighten up.  It is only verbal bullying.  You might turn the tables by asking why they are such racist that they think you are concerned about black people voting.  Do they think that fraud only comes in one color?  Sounds racist to me.

We also need to stop this “discovery” of unknown ballots days after the election is over.  If unknown ballots are found in a back room them we need to see someone indicted for election fraud before we count the ballots.  They didn’t just get there by themselves. 

If we cannot make our elections more honest then there is little reason to vote.  The only way left to bring about change involves violence.  When violence rules everyone loses.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-096: Election 2024: Platform, Twitter Legislation

Thinking Americans, both of us, were aghast at the words of Nancy Pelosi when she said we need to pass a bill so we could find out what was in it.  Come again.  What this reveals is that members of congress rarely read the laws they are passing.  On one side that is understandable.  I understand that one current bill was 1,400 pages long and they got it just as they were expected to vote.  On a more rational side, why in the world would they consent to vote on something they had not read.  It defies logic, but that is way our government is now working.

I would propose for a plank in the Republican party platform that we follow the example of Twitter.  Understand that I am not on Twitter.  All I know is what people tell me and I observe.  My understanding is that a Twitter post is limited to a certain number of characters.  In that regard I have seen a lot of posts quoting someone from twitter and it is a string of short statements you are supposed to follow.

I think there is wisdom in this for congress.  All legislation should be limited to a certain length and required to be voted on as a stand alone bill.  I don’t know how long that would be but it would be far short of 1,400 pages.  This might cripple the process because people would not be able to get deals and add endless pork through amendments but in my mind that kind of crippling would be very healthy for the country.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-095: Prophecy from the Past

I just finished a book called Slouching Towards Gomorrah by Robert Bork.  I don’t tend to read books when they are hot off the press.  First the price needs to go down to where I am willing to spend the nickels rather than dollars.  Then the theme needs to endure.  This book is now twenty-four years old so it was time to read it.

As I came to the end Bork was looking for things that might bring the country back to its roots and allow us to continue living in liberty.  Current actions by the government made this bit stand out as prophetic.

“What may be feasible is a moral regeneration and an intellectual understanding capable of defeating modern liberalism.  It a discussion of that possibility with friends, we came up with four events that could produce a moral and spiritual regeneration:  a religious revival; the revival of public discourse about morality; a cataclysmic war; or a deep economic depression.”, p. 336

The current panic over a virus has caused the passing of a multi-trillion pork bill with more in sight.  People are not working.  A depression is being foretold by the doomsayers.  We look at it with fear and trembling, fearing that it will bring on a police state.  It is also possible it will drive people back to the values that made us the land of the free.

My hope is for a genuine religious revival.  Of course financial hard times might cause that to happen.

We live in interesting times.

Bibliography
Bork, Robert H.  Slouching Towards Gomorrah.  New York:  Regan Books, 1996.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-094: Nursing Homes, part 5 of 5, No Surprise

At a church I pastored we came in contact with a woman who had nothing going for her.  She had spent all her money, alienated her family and refused to cooperate with anyone.  When we came in contact with her she was already at the bottom.  We found her a place to stay and saw to it that her needs were met.  Needless to say it was not top of the line but we were able to find a place that was a long way from the bottom.

What thanks did we get?  None.  In fact she got mad one day and checked herself out of the facility.  Then she came to us expecting us to solve the problem for her.  We managed to get her in another place but it was not near as pleasant.  She ended up dying alone and angry.

I don’t expect to end up like her.  One of the standard jokes around our family is to be nice to the grandchildren because they will pick our nursing home.  Maybe, maybe not.  Both my parents died at home.  One was unexpected.  The other had gotten to the point where hospice was involved.  If I end up in a home and my mind is still solid I hope to be the cheerful room on the floor where a lot of laughing is going on.  If my mind is gone then I may still be laughing but at my own jokes.

Kind of like now.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-093: The Assurance of Hope

As the non-Orthodox Christian community looks at Easter we find that the message is more important than ever.  What is being celebrated is the physical resurrection of Jesus after He was crucified and buried.  He had been dead for three days and now was alive again.  The promise of the cross is that sin has been paid for and we can have eternal life.  The hope presented by the empty tomb is that death has no terror for those who are trusting in the power of Jesus as a substitute for our death penalty.

That is double true for Christians as we are being bombarded by panic over a virus that might kill us and a government that might enslave us.  Both might happen.  The good news is that neither will negate the promise of the cross and the hope of the resurrection.

I am currently reading through the Old Testament book of Jeremiah.  I just finished Isaiah and next in order is Lamentations.  There is a lot of doom and gloom.  There is a lot of pestilence and death by the sword.  That is all some people take out of the prophets.  That is because they are not paying attention.  There is also the constant message of hope.  I noticed that when the southern kingdom was carried off into captivity the poor people were left behind.  I keep reading about the promise of restoration of the faithful remnant from the captivity.  There is no promise that everything will always be angel food cake and chocolate chip cookies.  There is a promise of hope.

For Israel it was and is a promise to a group of people.  For Christians it is a promise to individuals.  If you are a believer, cheer up.  Read the book.  Find out who wins.  Take a deep breath.  Relax.  Keep in mind that on what we call Good Friday, Satan was celebrating and the disciples were hiding in fear.  Both were mistaken. 

If you don’t celebrate Easter because you doubt the date then celebrate the resurrection like you should be doing on a daily basis anyway.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-092: Nursing Homes, part 4 of 5, Cause and Effect

Then there was the family member who came up deficient in every category except finances.  When she could no longer live on her own she was put in a kind of mother-in-law situation.  Because of her personality she was hard to deal with but her daughter did the best she could.  That went well for several years.  She was even allowed to continue after almost setting the building on fire.  What drove her into a nursing home was a broken hip. 

She had the surgery and it went as well as could be expected but she was so hard to get along with she did no therapy and ended up losing her mobility.  She was one of those people who was a real jewel if you were in a short term social situation and a genuine witch to family.  As she lost more mental ability she retained the shell of banter.  If you only saw her for a few minutes you would wonder why she was in a nursing home.  Spend a little longer and you would realize that she was out of touch with reality.

Family visited regularly, kept up on her laundry and made sure she was taken care of but this situation was more typical of what people think of as a nursing home.  When you walked down the halls you had rows of people sitting in wheel chairs and just staring.  Some would smile and respond to greetings but many were lost in their dreams. 

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-091: Unintended Consequences

I think that the threat of the Chinavirus and the MSM induced panic may actually lower the death rate in the United States.

One interesting chart is found at Watts Up With That.  Actually there are a lot of interesting charts.  If you go to the site click on “Skip to latest plot” and you will go direct.  If you scroll down to something dated “2020-04-05" you will see a chart that shows a significant decline in flue deaths this year.  If I understand it correctly, on April 5 we had experienced 4,266 fewer deaths from influenza than is normal. 

I can see two possible reasons.  The first is that the CDC and their co-conspirators have been labeling everything that stops moving as a Covid-19 death.  In other words, they are lying to us.  The second is that the increase in hand washing has reduced the transmission of the flue virus.  Or it could be a combination of the two. 

We will never know but I wonder if all of the hand washing, staying at home, not getting in the face of strangers and need for numbers at the hospitals will result in lives being saved even with the new virus.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-090: Nursing Homes, part 3 of 5, Beyond Control

We had a family member who went through a string of different situations.  She started her decline living on her own.  Physically she was strong but began to develop dementia.  It came to the point where she needed people around her to keep an eye on her so she went to an assisted living facility that was mainly studio apartments with no kitchens.  It was not a lock down facility and she and family had free access but there were people checking to see if she showed up for meals and would check on her if she did not.  They had someone making sure that medications were taken.  I could have lived there as far as the room and general appearance is concerned but it was already taking on that smell that is so often associated with nursing homes and I would hate being required to go to a dining hall for meals.

Her mental condition deteriorated.  She could remember if you planned to take her out to eat or shop.  She knew she had a daughter but could not remember what she looked like.  She knew she was declining and it really bothered her.  From there she was moved to a place with a bit more supervision and shared rooms.  That went well until she attacked the other lady in the room.

Her final stop was what you might call a group home.  Her family was not willing to dump her in a bottom level nursing home.  They found a place that was a normal home with a live-in staff that cared for about six people.  They were very kind and kept a constant eye on their residents. 

She had family that cared and enough income to provide.  Eventually her body caught up with her mind and she passed away.  At no time was she in what most people would think of as a nursing home.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-089: Should-a-Beens: Fantasy Jobs

We live in a fantasy world of easy answers.

One of the cries we have heard is to stop having China make everything for us.  Wise voices call for moving the factories out of China.  I like that idea, but they make an assumption that is not necessarily true.  They assume the factories will come back to the rust belt of the United States.  It probably won’t happen.  Some will return but the question will be for how long?  When the environmental whack jobs start in with the lawsuits it won’t take long to look for not so green pastures.  When the regulators and unions step up there will be other options.  Keep in mind that Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand would love to host all of these factories.

American workers could make money for the company but American job killers don’t really want that to happen.

So get out of China.  That is a win.  But don’t assume that the jobs will be coming to an empty field near you.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-088: Nursing Homes, part 2 of 5, Best Case

Housing for the old comes in many forms and levels.

Let me start with the kind of place that I would not mind living in myself.  They have a lot of different names but they are basically full service apartment complexes that only rent to the elderly.  We had a friend of the family who ended up there in her final years.  It was her choice.  She did not want to be a burden to her children and refused to live with them.  She was not rich by any means but with the money from selling her home and social security was able to set herself up in a nice place.

The complex had a variety of accommodations.  The lower end were studio apartments and choices graduated up to two bedroom apartments with a dining room.  They were all big enough to not feel cramped.  A central dining room with linen tablecloths was set up with tables for four people and a combination of waiting staff and buffet tables.  You could pick your meal plan or do your own cooking.

Spread throughout the buildings were reading areas with well stocked book shelves.  There was plenty of parking because many people were still driving.  They also had a shuttle bus that made regular runs for people who did not drive. 

I believe they had a nurse on site but they were not set up for people needing extensive care.  Our friend was able to live their until the end.  She had a form of cancer and at one point decided to decline further treatment.  It was sad to see her go.

If you look at the factors that determine what a final residence is like, she was positive in every area.  She was a delightful person who planned well and retained her mental faculties until the end.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-087: Nursing Homes, part 1 of 5, Factors

One of the “mentioned in passing” items we read and hear in the reporting on the Chinavirus is the deaths took place in “nursing homes”.  At first I assumed that people knew what nursing homes were and then I realized that most people don’t get out much.  “Nursing homes” is a term that is often used as one-size-fits-all but is anything but.  Over the years I have visited people in all kinds of nursing homes.  There are a number of factors that determine what they are like.  For the facility itself the key item is money.  Places that charge more tend to be much more pleasant.  The unmeasurable is attitude.  I would much rather stay in a home run by Mennonites than one ran by day traders.  As with much in life, you can’t judge a home by its publicity. 

There are many factors that determine where we might end up if forced out of our homes.  Let me suggest a few:  Physical limitations, mental acuity, personality, family, finances and a combination of choices and planning ahead.  Some of these factors you have little control over.  Although you can do everything possible to stay in good health, if you get run down by a car or tripped by a grandchild you might not be able to remain on your own.  If you are hit with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia then you need to be surrounded by locked doors.  Some of the factors are totally up to you.

Long term investment in life can make a difference.  If you have a rotten personality and don’t care much about it you stand a good chance of being dumped in a dump.  If you left your kids in day care while you went to the gym and never made it to the kid’s baseball game then there is a good chance that you will have few family visits.  If you lived high and made no plans for retirement then you will take what the state will pay for.

I have seen all kinds.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-086: On the Street: School’s Out

I am hoping that we survive the shutting down of the economy.  At the same time there is at least one shut down that I heartily approve of:  Schools.

Full disclosure:  We home schooled our children.  They never attended a formal school until they enrolled in college at 13 and 16.  I also taught in a public school for almost 30 years.  I can speak from experience.

Home schooling can work.  It is the way education was done for most of history.  It might be that all you could learn was how to farm but it gave you the skills you needed for life.  We have friends who did not home school.  Their children usually turned out okay but that was because they had parents who worked with them after school. 

Home schooling is almost always going to be better than public school.  I say that because public school is a charade.  We used to have students in 8th grade who could still not do basic math or write a complete sentence.  That is not because they are too dumb.  It is because they had not been taught anything except recess and how to tattle on bullies. 

Home schooling can be a disaster.  The reason I say this is because I am not sure how many parents love their children enough to put in the time and effort to home school.  I am not talking about the teaching part.  That really does not require years of education and specialized classes in education.  All it requires is that you know more than the student or know how to find information.  I would hope parents qualify on the first and the child who understands the internet can help you with the second.  Can you picture a child coming to kindergarten and not knowing his colors?  It is common.  It reflects a failure of parenting.

Fifty years ago I was involved in an inner city church.  In Sunday School I found that some kids could read well and others didn’t have a clue.  The ones who could read had learned at home.  My point with this is that home schooling will have to work hard to do worse than modern public school.  We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by keeping the schools shut down.

It won’t happen of course because parents don’t want that kind of responsibility.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-085: Socialism Doesn’t Work

We keep forgetting that.  We need to adopt a free market approach to the Chinavirus.

In a free market each individual makes a choice of what they are willing to pay for a product or service.  The market quickly adjusts to demand and price.

What we need is a government and media that will give people honest information and let them decide for themselves how to respond.  Are you worried enough to stay at home?  Do so.  If you are a business then let part of our offering be a chance to socially distance.  Recently I saw a headline saying that Walmart was going to only let a certain number of people in their stores based on square footage.  If that is Walmart’s choice, then more power to them.  I might prefer to go to Target where I can walk in and get what I need.  Have you ever wondered how convenience stores like 7/11 stay in business?  Their prices are ridiculous.  What keeps them going is service.  I can get in and out in a hurry as long as it isn’t the day the lottery is closing.  Even if there is a line, it moves quickly.  People make choices.

Government cannot make decisions like this.  Socialism has tried many times.  It always fails because even with the best of intentions it cannot grasp the wisdom of the market place.  There are too many factors in play.  People need to make their choices and accept the consequences.  It is called liberty.  Keep in mind that a large part of liberty is responsibility.  Socialism lets the elite feel needed at the expense of the masses.  Too many in the masses are content with being taken care of. 

Eventually we will need to get back to life.  Will the virus disappear?  The same way that flu and cold have disappeared.  It will become a factor of life and we will learn to deal with it.  Or maybe we can start standing in lines for toilet paper and dying anyway.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-084: The Age of Lego

It is time to walk carefully.  The Ago of Lego is approaching.  If you never had children in the house you may not understand that, or you may think that means it is a time of fun and creativity.  It is that, but it is also a time of great danger if you walk barefoot.  Stepping on a Lego in the dark is one way to wake up but I do not recommend it. 

At this point we only have the giant ones.  They are easy to see.  I have been able to avoid them.  In the future are the boxes of standard Legos that my son stored up to pass on to the next generation.  That generation has arrived and soon it will become dangerous to walk in the house again.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-083: Ode to Old: Fat Chances

There are times when I find encouragement in verses read out of context.  When I am serious about Bible study and wanting to understand real truth I dig a little deeper.  But sometimes an isolated verse just settles in and lights up.  Here is one:

(Psa 92:14 KJV) They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

The context relates to people who live righteous lives.  It is a promise to us in the over-the-hill gang that maybe there is another peak to master or that there will be things to do on the way down. 

My study Bible tells me a couple of things.  It says that the idea of bringing forth fruit could also be “thrive”.  I like that.  The fat part I could live without but we need to understand this was written in a time when the only people who had the luxury of extra weight were the successful.

So to paraphrase Mister Spock, “Live long and grow fat”.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-082: Getting as Close to Primary Source as Possible

My main source for information on the Chinavirus is a site called World Meter.  It has a chart that can be manipulated to see how the states compare.  I am not sure how often it is updated or how much it can be trusted but compared to the media it is solid gold in a world of compost.

The site has a wealth of information that is good for comparison purposes.  To get to that info use the link below or click in the upper left hand corner where it has the logo for WorldOMeter.  Once you get there scroll down a bit and you begin to come across a lot of statistics labeled “this year”.  You have to look through it but it will give you a lot of numbers about deaths this year from different causes.  It starts of by giving the total deaths this year and today.  It is an antidote for panic by looking at these numbers and getting a feeling for what is normal.

I could not find any listing of unicorn sightings.  Don’t forget to wash your hands. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-081: An Ounce of Providence Is Worth a Pound of Panic

I am having a hard time finding the panic button over the latest media scare.  Like many of you I remember the recurring theme that this time it is going to be the next Black Death.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I am willing to go to the extreme of washing my hands for 20 seconds to keep myself safe.  To put other people at rest I am willing to reduce my trips out into the world and keep my distance when I go out.  As an introvert that is no problem. 

There is another reason I am not freaking out about this:  Providence.

We don’t use the word much any more.  My wife likes to talk about “the God thing”.  Even those who are serious about their faith in Jesus tend to forget that God is in control.  Sometimes it comes jumping out at me.  Yesterday was one of those times.

I was reading in Psalm 91.  The first few verses got my attention.

(Psa 91:1-3 KJV) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

For those of you who went to public school, “pestilence” means a disease of epic proportions.  Now I don’t know about you but that sounds like a promise.  Now I am not worried much about “the snare of the fowler” or the arrow that flies by day mentioned in verse 5 but verse six uses that word again.

(Psa 91:6 KJV)  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

Then we have a different word in verse 10,

(Psa 91:10 KJV) There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

Verse 11 gives us a part of the reason.  I am going to use the NASB because it uses the word “guard” instead of “keep”.

(Psa 91:11 NAS77) For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.

This is a clear mention of guardian angels.  It sounds like certain angels have been assigned to keep an eye on you.

Does this mean that I will not get sick and can’t die.  No.  God has His purposes and plans and my demise might be part of that plan.  What it means is that as a general rule I can expect to be protected from a lot of the “chance” happenings that go on all around us.  Why do some catch the latest virus?  Why do some die?  Why do others sail through?  At the heart of it is Providence. 

So I will wash my hands to make it easy on my guardian angel.  I will keep my distance to make my family feel better.  I will change my clothes when I come home.

Ultimately I will continue to dwell in the shelter of the Most High.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-080: The Cure

Warning:  Theology ahead.

The Biblical God is a just God.  We are sinners.  Sin must be paid for.  We cannot pay.  The death of Jesus paid the price for our sin. 

Let me give you an example that relates to the modern economy.  Take a silver dollar made after the silver was removed.  Beside it put a silver eagle with an ounce of silver.  Beside that put a gold eagle which is also one ounce.  The two dollar coins proclaim the same value.  The two bullion coins each have the same weight.  There is no comparison in buying power.

If you take the modern silver dollars you can trade them for a dollar bill.

If you take the silver-silver dollar you can trade it for up to 20 dollar bills depending on how desperate the buyer is.

If you take the gold 50 dollar coin you can trade it for almost 2,000 dollar bills.  Even at that rate it is getting hard to find anyone willing to sell their gold.

Than consider taking a one-of-a-kind collectors coin and you may find at auction that it is worth millions.

The modern silver dollar is basic, everyday metal.  The bullion coin is rated as 99.9% pure.  It makes a difference in what it will pay for.  The collector’s coin is valuable because it is unique.

Your regret and good works can never come close to paying for your sin.  The “only begotten”, 100% Perfect Lamb of God is the only one worthy of making that transaction. 

Mark it “Paid in full.”

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-079: A Kindred Spirit

One of the sites that I enjoy reading is Filthie’s Thunderbox.  He tends to be a bit bar stool in his language but his points are well put.  He is a Canadian with a mind like a Texan.  Recently as he was responding to all the panic in the media he had a few quotes on responding to the hype.

“I think critically, I can read and I can do math.”

“If you start with the assumption that the media and politicians are lying, generally you are off to a good start.”

“Obviously our stats depend largely on who’s gathering them.”

He sums it up with something I heartily agree with,

“Sorry dude. It’s just the flu.

“Yes, under the right conditions it can kill you. You can also fall down the stairs, get hit by a bus at the crosswalk, or fall while getting out of the tub.

“For what it’s worth, I live and die at the whims of Darwin, Murphy (and, dare I say it), God. Same as everyone else. Okay, I’ll wipe and wash my hands, but that is where it ends.”

The only thing I can add is watch out for unicorns.

homo unius libri