Tear down that John Wayne statue

The next step.  Take away the names and images of those deemed enemies of the progressive state.  The Left's Brownshirts, raising a generation of Bolshevik youth, will not stop, if that's what you're wondering.  An entire generation has been raised to hate 1) Christianity, 2) the Christian West, and 3) the American experiment.  Being inspired, however loosely and lazily, by Marxist, Communist and even Bolshevik style tactics and philosophies, we can pretty much bet where things will go.

The problem, of course, is that the Left's "fringe" is the mainstream.  Certainly the Right, like any group, has its bad apples, its zealots, its fringe types wallowing in whatever evils they can muster.  But they are outcasts at odds with the Left, and almost anyone to the Right who seeks any level of credibility in our society.

But the fringe of the Left is the Left, it is mainstream, endorsed by progressive politicians, media outlets, pundits, scholars, religious leaders, and the whole cabal of progressive leaders who get invited to the best parties in Hollywood and Manhattan.  That's why I'm wagering that by the time the Tricentennial rolls around, there will not be many relics of America's past left to frame the celebrations, if there are any celebrations at all.  After that, of course, will go the churches. 

An anniversary shout out to my lovely wife

Sometimes I forget it's been 26 years.  After four boys and me for two and a half decades, you're still beautiful and as cute as ever.  But sometimes it's nice to look back and remember why I was beaming from side to side in that church all those years ago.

Happy anniversary.  I'm looking forward to the next 26 years.

Meanwhile in India and Pakistan

While the press, along with the Democrats and leftist pundits (but I repeat myself), hope for a miracle in Cohen's testimony, and everyone is trying their best to spin Trump's N. Korea summit Part Deux, there appears to be a real crisis brewing in a forgotten corner of the world.

I'm not ready to go all panic.  That part of the world has a history that makes the worst of European history seem tame by comparison. I took some classes in my undergrad days that focused on the lands east of the West, and it was like Game of Thrones without the restraint.  One of the worst stupid evils of leftist propaganda and multi-cultural spin has been to implant the tendency to think The West is the only real source of problems in the world.  Smack Europe down and get America in line, and it will be love, joy, free sex and John Lennon songs all day.

A fatal error to be sure.  Nonetheless, that region's long, tumultuous history is also the best bet for a non-nuke resolution.  They're used to coming to blows and then backing away.  It's like those who have actually lived in other parts of the world who realize that there are places where corruption and dishonesty are almost the glue that holds the culture together.  Their ways, to quote the good count, are not our ways.  And what they are used to is not what we are used to.

So I'd say pray.  Unless Cohen pulls an actual piece of real evidence out of his pocket, nothing he is saying will matter.  Trump's enemies want him gone, because he's guilty by virtue of not having a (D) in front of his name.  This is Cory Booker's Democrats, after all, where guilt and innocence no longer matter.  Trump's supporters, therefore, will cling to any glimmer of hope no matter what comes out about Trump, because they know if he is taken down, they're next.

But the big story right now is one where things might just return to normal as they often do, but if not, there could be serious problems and threats in the not-too-distant.

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, You said to Your disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.”  We come before You in humility and ask that Your peace which surpasses all understanding will descend upon all people around the world, especially those currently in conflict and at war. Increase understanding and forgiveness between nations.  Awaken the longing for a peaceful life in all those who are filled with hatred for their neighbor.  Extinguish every dispute and banish all temptations to disagreement. Grant wisdom to civil authorities.  Free those held captive, protect those in danger, and comfort those who are suffering and displaced.  Implant in all of us reverence for You, and confirm us in love for one another.  Make us worthy to celebrate the feast of Your holy nativity and to join with the angels in chanting: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.” For You are the King of Peace and the Savior of our souls and to You we give glory together with Your eternal Father and Your most-holy, gracious and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Poll suggests most Americans say Mitt Romney was right

Russia is, in fact, the greatest threat to the US.  I know, I know.  I met the Leftist answer to this back at Patheos: When Romney made the claim in 2012, it was bogus because Russia was no big deal, reset buttons and John Lennon songs, and all was right with the world.  But then - BAM! - somewhere around Trump it became the great threat to America in the world!

It's stupid, of course, as is most that is used to defend the manifold evils, stupidity and failures of the Left.  In fact, in a 2017 news series on PBS documenting how horrible Trump's collusion with Russia is, the cat got let out of the bag.  Per the news special, Russia had been a grave threat to the US ever since that rascally Putin took over.   Which, by the way, was well before 2012. 

Yet that''s what we deal with.  To defend the Left, you say whatever.  Doesn't have to be true, real, accurate, sane or even what you said yesterday.  It just has to shout down whoever is daring to challenge the Leftist state.  It's also why all of Trump's falsehoods, lies, errors and exaggerations are met with yawns by so many Americans.  At worst, he's as bad as the rest of his opponents in both the press and Washington.

But Americans are finally realizing the wisdom of Romney, even if they miss the fact that he was mocked for pointing out the obvious in 2012.  If you decided to side with Obama's snark and childish contempt the night of the presidential debate, you could be forgiven.  After all, almost the entire national media was willing to ignore the obvious and side with Obama just the same, whatever impact it had on America's security.

Nothing new with the North Korea summit coverage

Just a brief note.  My boys noticed how the press was covering Trump's meeting with North Korea Kim Jong Un.  I told them this is nothing new.  In 1980, I became interested in politics when our mainstream culture assured me we had just elected a bumbling fool war monger who was going to nuke the world.  I wondered how this great country could do such a thing.  I knew my parents had departed from their Democratic ways because they felt Jimmy Carter was a weak and ineffectual president, sparking much discussion with my extended family who remained loyal Democrats.  But how could they, and America, make such a stunning and foolish mistake as to doom the world?

So I became interested in politics.  By 1984, noticing that Reagan hadn't nuked the world and the economy was, in fact, improving, I began to wonder how so many important people who were smarter than me could be so wrong.  Plus, I had the single greatest teacher in my life, our American Government teacher, inspiring me to become even more invested in political life.  Technically he told me I might be a good lawyer after a stint with the old Mock Trial, but I preferred the strange world of politics.

In 1985, my freshman year of college, I was very invested in following as much of the political news as I could.   I followed the news that Reagan would be meeting with Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, with much interest.  I can say the coverage then was the same as the coverage of Trump now. 

Reagan was a buffoon, a moron, a B-Movie dolt; he was a warmonger; he would screw up the hope that Gorbachev heralded; he would set progress back a generation; he would embarrass America (that was repeated many times); he would compromise America's position in the world.  All of these were the predictions made by pundits and the best and brightest in our media.

We all know the history.  We all know what actually happened in Geneva all those years ago, and the resounding success that even former Soviets attribute to Reagan. The point is, I told my boys the idea that the press suddenly has become this or that is false.  The press has been this for some time.  With some minor adjustments, you could overlay the way the press and pop culture dealt with Reagan and how they now deal with Trump without missing a beat, despite what they say today.

When did it happen?  I don't know.  When did the media culture become what it is?  Somewhere following WWII, the press joined Hollywood in aligning with the emergent Left, and encouraging hostile attitudes toward America, its heritage, and those who are not progressives.  By now, it's not new.  In fact, as President Trump meets with Kim Jong Un, it's becoming one of the things as ancient as Korea's own civilization. 

Well done African United Methodists

In some ways, either Africa or Asia remain the best hope for the Christian Faith. Here is a grand example.  There is some hope in other areas like Indonesia, which has a fast growing Christian community despite barriers and obstacles put in by the Islamic dominated goverment. 

Nonetheless, as ones on the front lines of Islamic expansion, or wrangling with life and death issues at the core of survival, they don't seem to have much tolerance for compromise just so everyone at the best parties will think we're swell.   Since that seems to be the biggest weapon used against Christians today - the fear of not being liked by all the beautiful people - it seems that Christian communities in these locations might be the best hope for the future. We'll see. 

A bridle of silk thread

"It is impossible!" replied Cedric, starting. "Fearless and wicked as they are, they dare not attempt such open and gratuitous cruelty!" "Alas!" said the Jester, "to restrain them by their sense of humanity, is the same as to stop a runaway horse with a bridle of silk thread.

Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott

The traditions and values of, if not all of, Western Christian civilization are doomed.  There is no stopping the inevitable.  Rod Dreher demonstrates why.  Please read the entire piece.

Get that?  The whole piece is about the obvious racist, bigoted, and politically driven farce that Smollet is accused of trying to pull off, from which he received round the clock adoration and praise and sympathy from across the Leftist spectrum.   Now, I should mention that he's still innocent of the crime he's accused of committing, and I'm willing to afford him the consideration that the modern Left is working overtime to eliminate.

Nonetheless, let's say he's guilty as charged.  Let's say he played off of the prejudice, bias, arrogance, self-righteousness, racism and bigotry, not to mention the lust for power and desire to destroy all opponents, of the Left in order to falsely accuse an entire segment of the population.  Let's say that it was all wrong, and everyone who used this against white conservative male Trump supporters the way the Nazis used the Night of Long Knives, is exactly how it happened.

What do we think?  Will the Left say, "Gee everyone, we're sorry.  Clearly we jumped the gun and wrongly and unfairly condemned an entire group of people based on lies and false accusations"?  Do we dare think they could stop and say, "Wow, we suppose it's true that bigotry and hate and hate crimes exist in all people groups (perhaps rendering the concept of hate crimes redundant), and that blacks, homosexuals, liberals, women and other designated minority groups are quite capable of hate, hate crimes, bigotry, discrimination and even violence against others"?

Don't hold your breath.  At best I'm hearing nothing but silence from those who jumped on the latest 'Destroy the enemies of the Left' bandwagon.  At worst, I've actually heard some float the idea that if this is all true, and he did make it up, he's still the victim because we're such a vile and evil Nazi nation filled with millions of white skin racist bigots just itching to kill them some minorities.  So while he certainly overdid it, we should be sympathetic to his victim status as a hapless minority surrounded by such hatred and violence on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, look at Rod.  Rod is hardly a stranger to this tendency I'm talking about, nor is he unique.  In fact, I'd say Rod represents the majority opinion among opponents of the Left.  He spends the lions' share of the post rightly pointing out the ugly, obvious truths that this case, if true, expose.  That should be where it stops.

But then he joins the MSM in jumping on the story about a coastguard officer who is charged with wanting to perpetrate horrific crimes against various minorities, Democrats and media personalities.  That proves conservatives can be evil too!  That's your white skin racist hate mongering Trump fanatic butcher for you!  They're out there, we admit it!

Of course they're out there.  The sin of the Left isn't that it points out the obvious, that conservatives, like any group, will have their bad apples.  The sin is that it tries to act as if such bad apples, such evil, is only capable of occurring in such groups as those the Left deems to be its enemies.  If one person in any of the white, right, male, Christian, or American demographic wants to commit a crime, it damns all in those demographics.

But if someone in a Leftist designated demographic of worth commits a crime?  A black man sets out and does kill multiple police officers for being white? A Muslim kills dozens in the name of Islam?  A woman molests an adolescent in a school, or uses power to get sex from a subordinate, or falsely accuses a man of rape?  A homosexual seduces teenage boys or abuses a partner?  Or a black homosexual falsely accuses entire swaths of society? What do these mean?  Not a damn thing.  At best, it means they're villains that have nothing to do with anything, and it's time to turn our backs on the perpetrators.  At worst, it means they're still somehow the victims, and while murder, rape, hate and slander are never good, let's not be hasty.

Meanwhile, let a white, male, Christian, Republican, Conservative, heterosexual American do, or even think of doing, anything wrong, and you have Conservatives stumble over themselves to say, "Yes! Yes!  A thousand times yes!  There are evil Conservatives, Republicans, Men, heterosexuals, and Americans who are all the Left says they are ... just not us.  We're the kinder, gentler, compassionate ones who care.  No worshiping Jim Crow instead of Jesus for us, that's those baddies over there.  We're all about finding ways to compromise, and changing all that old time thinking that clearly is behind those [other] right winger baddie types."

And to prove the sincerity of this good faith gesture, we change, modify, compromise, alter, smooth, and sometimes jettison old values and views the Left insists are evil, all while thinking this time it will be enough.  We've admitted that those others in our demographics are the baddies, and we've modified everything we think will do the trick.  We've admitted the Left is correct regarding what it says about our demographics, but it's only right about all those others over there.  We're the good guys.  We admit there are bad apples in our barrels.

And it's not just this type of identity politics issues that brings out Right wing acquiescence and appeasement.  Let a Stanford Professor, in the wake of the Covington High debacle, come out against Christians schools, and what do you get?  Christians running about saying, "Sure, some are bad, but a lot aren't!  We're the good schools!  We're nice."  Are you kidding me?  In our nation we are gong to let ourselves be preached at by advocates of America's train wreck of a public school system?  I'd turn it around and shove it back at them with a candle on it: 'You have the audacity to lecture Christian schools just because we don't conform to your intolerant  beliefs? You, who are advocates of the hot mess camps of chaos, ignorance, violence, and everything failing in our schools times ten, have the gall to criticizes anything?'  And yet what do the conservatives do?  They do their best Dr. Smith from Lost in Space, on their knees pleading, "Sure, some area real bad like you say, but not all of us!  Some are good!"

Blech.  Makes me want to retch.  Talk about losers playing a losing game.  We act like the football team that is down nine touchdowns with a minute left in the fourth quarter.  We assume we'll lose, and we're just trying to avoid anyone getting hurt - especially us.  Maybe make a field goal or even a touchdown, then it won't look so bad.  The problem is, the other team - the Left - has not put its fifth stringers out.  It's got its starters out, because it has every intention of grounding the opposition into dust.  If it can make five or fifty more touchdowns, it will gladly do so.  All the while we're just hoping they like us, they really, really like us, once the game is over.

But that is the opposition to the Left.  Always thinking that if we just accept some of what they propose, concede some of what they accuse, or jettison some of what they attack, we'll find that middle ground of compromise; that appeasement after all those nasty little Czechs have been tossed under the bus like they deserve.  That is the silk thread trying to stop the Leftist horse.  The Left smells blood, and isn't about to stop, slow down or admit defeat.  It will do no such thing.  It doesn't have to.  The agencies and institutions meant to keep in check those forces which threaten a free society - the press, arts and culture, education - are firmly behind the horse, beating it on.  After all, they're riding that horse to the finish line, and they can see that line on the horizon.

When, after all, was the last time the Left conceded anything?  When did it ever say, "We were wrong"?  When did it say something from the old, traditional model of the world was right?  When did it ever give so much as millimeter, much less an inch?  Never, that's when. Never.

And the conservatives?  Those in opposition to the clear vision that the Left has put out for the future, one that seeks to be a weary but dangerous reflection of the other Leftist revolutions of the last century?  What will they be doing?  Probably the same as Rod.  Playing like the game is lost, compromising or blaming others, or trying to accept as much of the Left's narratives as will keep their feet in the door.  Why?  Don't know.  Are they biding time, hoping it blows up after they've gone onto their heavenly reward?  Hard to say.  I just know that, at the rate we're going, we're barely putting up a resistance at this point.  Lots of sound and fury, but signifying nothing.  It won't be with a bang, or even a whimper that the resistance to the Left's revolution will go out.  It will likely be with a yawn, as if the game's outcome was so obvious, it was so boring, that it was no longer worth playing.

The American Conservative mindset in scoreboard form

That moment when you realize you don't know what is happening in the world

So the morning news casts ran with the story: hate groups on the rise!  The source?  The near hate group, leftist Southern Poverty Law Center that defines hate as almost anything that doesn't bow before the altar of the Left.  Why don't they consult Breitbart for an opposing opinion?  I think we all know why.

By now, only partisan hacks, slavish thralls and the willfully ignorant (because nobody is actually that ignorant) try to insist our press is anything other than the ministry of lies.  In a mere month, how many false stories, false accusations, debunked hysteria, has blown up in the press's face?  And that doesn't include the clear and obvious bias one sees in the reporting, in the tone, the manner, the word choice of the press and reporters. 

When thinking on this, I realize I have no clue what is happening in the world.  Things of utmost importance are likely ignored, things of little to no importance are hyped, things are told in ways to be contrary to the actual truth.  It could be I know less about current events than an average Medieval peasant.  I mean it. I have alternate news sources, Conservative news, but they can be as shaky at times as any others.

Social media?  That's like trusting the barber shop - possibly less reliable.  The barber shops of old were likely more reliable.  Some blogs are reliable, but then they only have the sources I've learned to be skeptical about.   So there you go.  Alive and unaware in the 21st century - the legacy of mass media.

A day of fun and snow

Since the whole family got snowed in, we figured we’d run out and make a snowman before it rained, while Mom watched from the cozy confines of our hobbit hole.  I’m not given to posting pictures of myself online, much less taking selfies.  But there are times when you want to be part of the collage, especially if by design or chance it will document when the whole gang got to spend an impromptu bit of frivolity together, courtesy of Ohio weather.  So there you go, family fun including me, 2019.

The problem with hate crimes and the lies they breed

John C Wright did the homework and came up with a list of now fewer than over 200 reported cases of false accusations and lies about supposed hate crimes in America.  Whew.  Think on that.  As National Review points out, the idea that America is Nazi Hitler, and minorities are spending every day being attacked and murdered by the billions by white skin Jesus freaks with MAGA hats and pants that say 'Grab Me', is about as accurate as the old narrative that Germany's problems were all due to a vast conspiracy by Democrats, Communists and Jews.

Of course us old timers can remember when the very idea of 'Hate Crimes' was highly controversial, and more than just hard line right wingers saw problems with the concept.  One, all crimes could (should?) be seen as the result of hate, so it could be argued to be redundant.  Two, it's awfully difficult to prove, and doubly easy to fake (see above).  Three, you can't help but notice the rather subjective, and often inconsistent, manner in which 'hate crimes' terms are applied.  And finally, it could lead to the idea that some people are just more important than others, more likely victims, more likely the bad guys, or variations on 'they do or they don't have stars on their bellies.'

Given the hot mess we've seen, given that we've watched people insist that wrongly accused people with the bad skin color deserve what they get; given that we've seen people insist that the right, victimized skin color can be forgiven for killing the bad skin color; given that we've seen people insist that this gender can always be counted on to rightly accuse that bad gender; given that we've watched a growing sentiment that our very laws should only apply given a certain ethnicity, national origins, religions or nationalities; I'd suggest it's safe to say the old concerns about where hate crime mentality could lead were justified.  After all, how many things did liberalism of the 20th century promise would never happen that have happened beyond what the most paranoid detractors of old were worried about?  This would hardly be a first in fulfilling the 'worst case scenario' predictions of liberal ideals.

There comes a time when you do have to ask just how many more times we'll be fooled and yet continue to do nothing, before we have to say we deserve what we get.  Actually, we deserve what our posterity will get.  But that's another rant.

RIP George Mendonsa

Who?  Him:

A man who was part of the American psyche as I grew up.  I was that generational bridge.  I'm old enough to have grown up hearing about That President on the Dollar, God Bless America, and of course that legendary Greatest Generation.  America was great, our heritage a blessing, and though we had our bad parts - as all civilizations do - our heart and soul was in the right place.

I'm young enough to have watched that be dismantled and destroyed.  Our racist founders, genocidal imperialists all, our evil and racist government, all white Americans who are necessarily all racist, our military industrial complex funneling money into our baby killing soldiers to oppress the world for oil, and a generation whose soldiers were probably no better than the Japanese or Nazis they fought.

But Mr. Mendonsa was from a different, saner and better time.  A generation that rose to the challenge and rescued the world from real, not made up or imagined, terrors.  Back then, Mr. Mendonsa expressed the exuberance and relief that came with the end to that most horrible of all wars. 

Today it would be a #MeToo moment.   Back then everyone smiled and rejoiced with him, even as they would mourn those hundreds of thousands who experienced the ultimate loss.  Today we'd have lawsuits and protests and social media warriors pushing to have him destroyed for being part of the great Evil Nation or the guilty gender; a generation accomplishing nothing but destroying the civilization it inherited, and justifying it through a near addiction to self-righteous contempt for doing anything but criticizing others.

Nonetheless, thank you Mr. Mendosa, for what you and your peers actually did in the real world.  You were better than us.  Perhaps we are your fault, I don't know.  Maybe the greatest generation was the worst parents.  But for stopping the actual evils of the time, you rose to the occasion.  May God bless you and keep you, and give strength not only to your loved ones, but for the hurting country you leave behind.

Prayers for the Aurora victims

Another mass shooting, another upset employee.  We all know - or should know - that what plagues our country is not guns or access to guns.  It's the heart and soul of a nation where people have been sold a lie, and when that lie is pulled away, they have nothing left to cling to.  Sure, crime has always happened.  There have always been the poor, there have always been wars and rumors of wars.  That's what comes from life in a fallen world.

But what we see today, the rampant drugs, drug addiction, drug dependency, random and pointless killings and mass shootings, and off the scale suicide is the result of a nation that was sold a bill of goods that to anyone's way of seeing should now be revealed as the fraud it was.

Sadly, more had to die in Aurora as we double down and refuse to admit the obvious.  These poor individuals were merely going out, trying to earn an honest living, and do the right thing.  And yet the demonic, whose presence is almost essential for the lies and ignorance we peddle to ourselves, was able to seize the heart and soul of another victim and turn him into a killer.

God bless the loved ones of those who were killed, and give them all rest in your loving and gracious arms; give strength to those who will grieve, and cover the hearts and minds of all who will never fully overcome the loss.  Forgive, also, the heart that soured and became an instrument of Hell, slaying the living and depriving that most precious of all gifts you first give each one of us. Prayers all around on this one.  Something about it hurts as much as they all should.

I found the following apology from New Prolife Catholics who wrongly attacked the Covington High School students:

That's all I've found since the third party investigation cleared the Covington students of any wrongdoing.  Thanks.

But then I've found little in the way of apologies from the various Indian activists, leftists and celebrities who joined in the racist based attacks and false accusations.  So there you go. 

Parkland, Covington and what Jesus said

Today we remember 17 of the people killed a year ago by violence in our country.  Being in a school, it naturally has more 'umph' than your average violence between gangs or criminals or even random victims on the street.  Like a plane crash has more of a gut punch than a hundred car crashes with fatalities.

Since Parkland, however, we've seen the rise of activists who have an interesting blend of activism with 'in-your-face/we want our enemies destroyed' tactics.  Many appear to have no problem calling out those who disagree, dropping plenty of f-bombs and contempt aimed at anyone who disagrees, charging those on the other side with being baby killers and even musing over the idea of gun owners doing themselves with their own guns.  That's just the youngsters.  The rhetoric across the board is often no better, making it clear that failure to fall into line with one particular set of ideas or solutions means you deserve what you get, since you're beneath contempt anyway.

Of course many who have brains as well as hearts know that the problem isn't guns, or even school shootings.  Access to guns was far more liberal 40 years ago when we didn't have routine school shootings.  Oh, we can pass this or that law or restriction, but most people know there is something wrong behind the scenes in our society that is likely the real mischief.  The shootings, connected with the pandemic of drug addiction, drug dependency, rampant depression and off the scale suicide - especially among young people - says there is something grossly wrong with the heart and soul of our nation; a nation built for decades on endless theories, studies and self serving ethics.  Recognizing that is likely the hope for our nation, not more gun laws that could, as happened at Parkland, fall through the cracks.

On this same day, we also find out what anyone with a shred of common sense also knows, that the Covington kids - who were subjected to threats, mocked, received death threats and hopes for them to be physically beaten within an inch of their lives - were falsely accused.  Nothing they were accused of was true.  They were slandered and verbally attacked, their lives, futures, and physical well being all threatened, all while they were mocked, ridiculed, and their concerns dismissed - even by fellow student activists out pounding the pavement since having survived the Parkland shooting.

So that got me to thinking, as I am wont to do.  I notice my boys are correct about the Internet and Social Media.  The Internet can be really good, but can also be really bad.  Social Media, however, is mostly bad, with very little good.  And as I notice how people interact and behave on social media, as I notice how youngsters raised on social media conduct themselves beyond the digital world (think some of the Parkland activists), and as I watch and see how people deal with each other over issues like the Parkland shooting, I'm reminded of something Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.  Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.   Matt. 5:21-22.

Being pro-life isn't about protecting the physical health of biological life forms known as human beings.  It's about the whole person: mind, heart, body and soul.  On a practical level, Jesus merely points out the obvious: usually you have to get past raca and fool to get to the shootings.  As Parkland made clear, even by the testimony of some of the very activists pounding the pavement, the shooter had been ostracized, bullied and received his fair share of raca and fool.  Perhaps he returned those sentiments in kind long before reaching for a firearm.   

But on a Christian level, we care about the physical bodies because they house the spiritual bodies as well (not to mention being temples of the Holy Spirit).  That's what Jesus is getting at.  People are more than a hunk of cells, despite what our betters have been saying for the last 150 years or so.  We abhor murder because of all it takes away from a person.  But we abhor raca and fool because it does only slightly less, and is the logical step one must take before pulling the trigger. 

I think we're a culture that has become comfortable with raca and fool as our first method for dealing with others.  The much dismissed Golden Rule has long been removed from being our default standard for interpersonal relations.   And that counts for Christians, too.  As I remember looking at some Catholic sites following Covington, it wasn't hard to see the raca here, and the fool there, not only when dealing with the Covington students, but when dealing with anyone who disagreed with them on the Covington issue, or Parkland, or any one of a thousand (usually) political or social issues.

I think Jesus was right.  Not just because He's Jesus.  But because it's common sense.  Long before the trigger was pulled, there was plenty of hate to pass around - by the testimony of the very students out pushing for more gun laws.  Those laws won't help.  To think Jesus was so stupid as to think it's something like the heart and soul of our relations, rather than government policies based on limiting this or that gun purchase, suggests a certain lack of basic sense in our time.  Especially when we've been ditching those silly old notions of respect, Golden Rule behavior and thinking about people beyond objects of our convenience for some time, and the results don't appear to be encouraging.

I say this is a day to put the puzzle pieces together and look for the real problem with the shootings, violence, suicides, drug addiction and drug dependency that is sweeping our nation.  As I consider all who are sooooooo worried about school shootings and demand action, and yet how many of those same ripped into other [read: Covington] teenagers on cue, without remorse, and haven't apologized or try to make things right since we've found out those same teens were falsely accused, I can't help but think those individuals are closer to the problem of school shootings than all the guns they're trying to regulate.

BTW, none of this is to say you can't be passionate, or call out evil, or even call out those who are party to evil.  But given the high amount of raca and fool flying around, it makes you wonder if there are really that many people completely immersed in so much evil in so many different categories.  Or, could it be we've just become lazy and sloppy and see such tactics as a speedy way of shutting down debate?  Even if the end result is something we're so upset about?  Sort of like being upset about diabetes, but refusing to give up the donuts and the pastries and the candies.  Something has to give, and it isn't more regulations on bakeries.

An old post on the importance of laws

In light of our growing move toward new forms of bigotry, racism and discrimination.  In an age where people have no problem saying 'I don't care about or I don't want that many white men around', it's not hard to see why the mentality behind supporting illegal immigration is a recipe for disaster.  When you say 'laws only matter depending on your nationality, ethnicity, religion or skin color', it's not hard to imagine once you discover a new skin color or ethnicity you can proudly dismiss, the next step of applying laws accordingly won't be far behind.

Anyhoo, here is a link to it.  I don't know why but sometimes an old post will suddenly be hit with a wave of page-views.   That's when I notice these old thoughts.  It's amazing how prophetic some of them turn out to be, if I do say so myself.  I look at some of what I was worried about only a couple years ago and see we're already well past where I feared we would be by this point in history. I can't imagine what the next ten years will hold.

Oh, and speaking of laws, you just can't have a discussion about their importance without this famous clip from a classic movie:

The Left understands free speech

The way the Soviet Union understood religious freedom.  Or, as the Soviets used to say, freedom of worship.  That means hunker down, barricade yourself in a dark room, speak only in whispers lest you be discovered - and it's all freedom and liberty from there!  Likewise, the Left sees diversity and freedom as anything that is allowed insofar as it conforms 100% to the dogmas of the Left - or else. 

Again, let's be honest.  The Left is a force of evil that is going to cause grievous harm and terror in the upcoming years if people of goodwill don't band together and say enough.  Right now, unfortunately, those people of good will can hardly agree on the color of an orange, let alone come together for anything like defending the Faith (or any faith for that matter) or preserving liberty and freedom for our posterity. 

Democrats in leg irons

Yep:

That's the image that came to my mind.  That, and the old tale about everyone continuing to applaud during a Joe Stalin speech because nobody wanted to be the first to stop clapping.  I kept wanting if they would respond to Pelosi if she commanded them to roll over or sit.  And then I remembered, she is commanding them to sit.

I love how the Left is now about flagrant racism, bigotry and discrimination based on race, gender, religion and national origin; about how those in the Left visibly must tow the line and do as commended (I don't remember a House Speaker ever treating those of the respective party like puppets who must continually dance on the strings according to command); it is the party of infanticide, debauchery, hypocrisy and one that makes its hatred of both America and, worse, the God of Christ and Christ's Church clear and obvious - and yet how many are still dancing around the obvious, trying to find ways to compromise, or even throwing up their hands and joining the club (ahem, John Kasich).

Go figure.  Nonetheless, it was good for a laugh watching Pelosi command the peanut gallery.  Creepy in a sort of police state sort of way, but funny just the same.

Oh, and  bonus laugh for everyone who caught the Dems all dressing in white.  I'll leave you to figure out the historical basis for those jokes, if we're allowed to joke anymore.