(from Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction – Wikipedia)
I use to think that the scientists and the folks with the technical skills in academia were most likely Conservatives. Maybe, but the guys who operate this website are not Conservatives, Current Time – 2021 – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (thebulletin.org). They are:
- Reeking insane with COVID-19 fears.
- Scared of weapons instead of bad people.
- Freaked out by “climate change”, AKA Global Warming.
- Frightened of conspiracy theorists. This sentence explains itself: “False conspiracy theories about a “stolen” presidential election led to rioting that resulted in the death of five people and the first hostile occupation of the US Capitol since 1814.”
- Terrified by disagreement. Disagree with them, and you are a “science denier.”
- Bereft of serious solutions. Their “solutions” don’t solve anything. They just tie the USA up in knots with foolish, unenforceable treaties. At “best,” their solutions shut up their opponents.
Years ago, before Ronald Reagan finally took it out of the hand of NASA’s high priests of space technology, I worked in the space program. Even before the catastrophic failure of the Challenger Space Shuttle, I had become frustrated with our government-run space program. Even though I am thickheaded, the truth had finally dawned upon me. Our space program was a Socialist Space Program. To many politicians, bureaucrats, and government contractors, NASA was just another example of pork barrel politics (Pork Barrel Politics Definition (investopedia.com)). Politicians often have no interest in either space exploration or technical innovation. In fact, since progress tends to upset the status quo (and their donors), politicians are often against progress.
Aren’t scientists special? Doesn’t scientific truth have a special place in their hearts? Not really. Scientists are people too. Just like the rest of us they can be ethical, or they can be tempted into become slave owners. Slave owners? Throughout most of human history, some people have schemed to enslave “other” people. The “other” people who became slaves did not object to the concept of slavery. They just objected to being slaves instead of being slave owners. It wasn’t until enough people had studied the Bible carefully enough that slavery became an unpopular concept. Unfortunately, most Americans now know little about the Bible. Although most Americans still abhor slavery, they don’t see anything wrong with Socialism, with the GOVERNMENT owning the people. Naively, they think that even if the government owns the People, the government can still be controlled by the People. Naively, they don’t realize that being owned by EVERYONE, that is, the government, would be even worse than being owned by one person. People care more about their personal property than they do about what belongs to someone else. When EVERYONE is responsible, no one gives a damn.
Still, is it possible that article, Current Time – 2021 – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (thebulletin.org), is right? Are we approaching doomsday? Are we about to see an apocalypse, widespread destruction from nuclear war, virulent disease, global warming, and who knows what else? Only God knows.
What do I know? Nothing special. I just look at the people we have elected, and I grow sad. I would like to believe I have helped to leave a better world to my children and grandchildren, but I cannot.
- Our leaders are spending recklessly. They have used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for Deficit Spending (investopedia.com). See US spending on COVID-19 relief poised to hit $6T with passage of Biden stimulus bill | Fox Business. Now they want a $3 trillion dollar infrastructure bill? See DC Spits Out Monopoly Money As Biden Is Poised to Outspend the Gargantuan Covid Relief Bill by Brad Slager (townhall.com).
- Our leaders are trying to fundamentally transform us for their own convenience. They would have us change so that we: judge others (each other) by surface characteristics instead of by content of their character, define marriage as any kind of relationship we wish, and treat our children as expensive pets. They want to make self centered Pagans out of us so that we worship stuff, sex, science, the state, and our self. So that they can easily divide, conquer and manipulate us, they want us to be self-centered and selfish.
The founders of America knew better. Consider the significance of this Bible passage.
Luke 22:24-27 New American Standard Bible
24 And a dispute also developed among them as to which one of them was regarded as being the greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 But it is not this way for you; rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27 For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
Not long ago American still understood the importance of service to others. Consider these words, words spoken in 1961.
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility–I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it–and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.
Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961 | JFK Library
Only a few generations? In that I believe President John Kennedy spoke in error. In every generation each man, woman, and child fights a personal battle all the days of their lives. Will we follow the example of our Lord Jesus, or will we sin and seek to make others our servants? Will we love our neighbors, or will take advantage of our neighbors?
In Kennedy’s day, at least, our government still paid lip service to the idea of service to others. Instead of trying to buy our votes with empty promises, there were still politicians who held up the vision of a better life for future generations. These leaders called for PERSONAL sacrifice, not making others sacrifice what they have for our sake. Now? Now we load our children and grandchildren with heaps and mounds of debt and brag about how we are fundamentally transforming America.
What is the immediate problem with slavery? Look what happened to the South. To preserve their peculiar institution, the slave owning class threatened to tear apart the country, and eventually they did tear apart the country. Why such insanity? When we grow up foisting all our difficulties upon slaves, that tends to become habit forming. We lose or never properly develop a capacity for self examination, the ability to properly ascertain whether our own conduct is moral and sustainable. We don’t have to. As much as possible, we make slaves bear the consequence of our foolishness. Hence, the South paid the high cost of losing a bloody war. Even then that generation did not learn. With Jim Crow laws the South sought to reenslave the blacks that Northern armies had freed.
Thievery, stealing the freedom of others, doesn’t require either wisdom or hard work. Thievery requires audacity and the pitiless exercise of brutal strength. Hence, when we elect thieves, politicians who buy our votes with other people’s money, we elect incompetent people whose only “virtue” is the audacity to exercise power brutally. We elect people who will eventually lose, lose badly, and we will all suffer because we let them buy our votes and did nothing to stop them.
Citizen Tom 
Reblogged this on boudica.us.
Thank you!
Tom, Salvageable
Tom’s comment “To them it is just a way of hiding a tax increase” brings to my mind Biden’s proposed increase on Corporate taxes from 21 to 28 percent.
What the Corps will do is increase their prices accordingly and if it is a consumer commodity, the taxpayer paying a higher price will be the party who is affected by the Corp tax increases.
If the Corp exports part of his products, he will adjust to increase his prices to the American buyers to amortize his higher tax rate.
Sad way for American consumers “ of hiding a tax increase:”.
Regards and goodwill blogging.
Raising taxes and big government spending also jacks up the cost of doing business in the USA. When the government spends money, even when it does not raise taxes to cover the spending, that spending raises the costs of labor, capital, and material goods for private businesses. That leaves less money for private investment. When government raises taxes to cover excessive spending, what is spent on taxes is unavailable for other, more important purposes.
Does that mean that deficit spending is better? No. The inflation it creates is a cost too. Increasing the money supply with a proportionate increase in goods and services results in a hidden tax.
“Thievery, stealing the freedom of others, doesn’t require either wisdom or hard work.” This is so true Tom and our nation right now is filled with ignorant and lazy policy makers whose MO is to tear down people in order to supposedly benefit their voting base. It’s just ugly politics masking as virtue. The sad thing is so many people fall for it.
@Tricia
I think most people know voting for such ugly politics is wrong. They just prefer to accept the bribes politicians offer them, not wise enough to see that when they accept such bribes they are selling their souls.
I don’t know Tom. I think that’s part of it for sure, but many who continue to vote for this nonsense really do believe they are on the side of angels.
@Tricia
Admittedly, I don’t read minds, but there is a point where we have to become suspicious.
Why would the people voting for the likes of Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton believe they are on the side of angels? They are ignorant? They are convinced that Trump is the greater scoundrel? After the last five years? How many times does mainstream news media have to get caught lying before anyone with half a brain begins to wise up?
I suppose it is possible that some people really do believe that when they vote Democrat they really are on the side of angels. The young and most thoroughly indoctrinated? Perhaps.
Some years back I wrote https://citizentom.com/2008/07/07/i-stand-corrected/. When we willfully choose to remain ignorant, ignorance is no excuse.
@ Tom, Tricia.
We certainly seem to be spiraling toward doooooom, but there are some hopeful signs in the midst of all the uncontrolled insanity going on. And the reason for that is that the biggest problem the Marxist left have is reality.
I heard an interview on PragerU with Amala Ekpunobi, who was raised as a leftist activist atheist by her mother, but got “red-pilled” when she started to question her ideology. This almost always happens to the brainwashed left when they begin to question their position because it’s so frail and anti-reality, which is another reason they must shut up any opposing view instead of engaging in honest dialogue.
@Mel Wild
We are in a race. Will we succeed in exposing Democrats before they shut us up?
@Tricia
It occurs to me that there is a reason why the answer to your question matters. Our form of government, where the people rule themselves, can only work if the people care about the welfare of their neighbors. Why? Let’s use the Civil War as an example. That war started because the white people of the South insisted upon enslaving their black neighbors. Did the white people honestly believe that blacks were better off as slaves? Well, that is what the whites said, but they also made it against the law to educate blacks. That is, they were talking out of both sides of their mouths.
We have a republic instead of a democracy because we don’t trust each other, and we have good reason to not trust each other. However, because Democrats want power, they don’t want us to remain a republic. Instead, they want to get rid of rules that impede the speed of change, like the filibuster rule. That is why they call themselves the Democratic Party. They willfully refuse to recognize just how sinful they are. They are happy to call Republicans names, but they think quite highly of themselves.
That’s very true Tom, well said.
I find it interesting that with all the “God-fearing” spirituality you mix into your posts as to the fallacy of mankind and that man needs to embrace God and the Bible far more as that is the way and the life, you ignore the things that occur like in Boulder… but you spend copious posts defining your cynicism toward government and politics and politicians.
Religion, of all kinds, does an immensely poor job explaining death.
Actually Doug I think things like the Boulder and Atlanta shootings only strengthen Tom’s positions on the need to embrace God and the Bible. Aside from the mental illness aspect of mass shootings, don’t you think moral and spiritual rot play a rather large role?
I am likely a tad more cynical about death having been in the funeral business for five years… and having stood at caskets while the family clergyman tried to provide compassionate spirituality to grieving parents that their dead child from a mangled car wreck out on I-10 “is in a better place.” or “God needed them in heaven.”.
In regard to my remark to Tom…. I was making the point that for all his religious remarks mixed inside his political commentaries… he finds nothing religiously political, or politically religious, to say regarding yet another mass shooting. I may be a bit cynical toward organized religion.. but in the same vein, Tom is very cynical about mankind in general… where I am more an optimist. Doesn’t make me “better” in any way…. just making the observation on the context of his crusade against a “socialism” he imagines will take over the land.
Mental illness is the entire problem. I’ve expressed all that before. But I am curious….. simply for discussion, not to judge… in what context do you see where a moral and spiritual role might be conveyed in a larger role as it relates to the Boulder tragedy?
That’s a great question Doug which could be answered many ways. Personally I think spiritual rot plays a big role in mental illness, which can involve factors like drug/alcohol addiction which warps the brain, being sexually and/or physically abused, trauma and a whole host of other things that stem from sin. There is also societal spiritual decay to consider like we have here in California where mentally ill and addicted people are free to continue killing themselves on the streets while wreaking havoc in the community because you know, it’s the compassionate thing to do is leave them alone.
Mentally ill or not, it would be interesting to learn the motives of the Boulder shooter. As Tom said he was a Trump hating Muslim so I doubt the media will dig in to it much further.
I am thinking you are suggesting that along with the clinical prescriptions toward dealing with mental illness comes the idea of interjecting a level of hope through faith… in something broader than self, which “self” seems the entire essence of mental illness in general. One is consumed with self in trying to gain control of emotions. A spiritual reference, or re-engaging a former spiritual belief from a past life, becomes part of a psychological balance.
Strange response, Doug.
I’m hard pressed to think of a more secular, government-edict-loving city than Boulder.
One of our sons attends the University there.
@Doug
All you are doing is changing the subject with a whataboutism, as Liberal Democrats love to say.
1. We need to wait to find out what happened in Boulder.
2. If the killer was mentally ill, then what am I supposed to say about that?
3. You are aware that the fellow the police have arrested for the crime is “a Syria-born Muslim who came to America as a child, is a former high school wrestler who scorns former President Donald Trump, supports refugees, and has a history of losing his temper.” (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/23/ahmad-al-issa-charged-10-first-degree-murder-count/) If the murderer is a radical Islamist, what am I suppose to say about that. I am not inviting such cracked pots into our country. Am I supposed to blame The Washington Post?
No, Tom… was looking more for your spiritual thoughts on death as a happen-chance with no apparent meaning. I think we can all agree to some measure that reading the Bible certainly would not hurt society as a whole… not just politicians.
@Doug
Why is there death? Look at Genesis 3. Sin. So, death has meaning. Death, the rot of the grave, tells us just how much God abhors sin.
There are a few men and perhaps some women that God has taken straight up into heaven, but that seems to be an extremely rare occurrence.
Since virtually all of us will die, we cannot give ourselves meaning through death. We give our lives meaning because of how we choose to live. We can choose to live in terror, or we can hope and trust in our Creator. This is the example Jesus gave us.
Jesus obeyed God perfectly. That was His life. Therefore, in His death He became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus’ death mattered only because His life gave His death meaning.
Yeah.. all that is fine and wonderful Biblical “academics”… but if your loved one went off to the grocery store for a carton of milk and they died in a hail of gunfire…. or ended up in an auto accident, burning up in a fireball… who do you blame or hold accountable in your grief?
@Doug
Who do I blame or hold accountable in my grief? Ultimately, everything that happens happens because God permits it to happen. God is not the author of evil, but He does permit evil to occur. So, I hold God accountable, but I don’t hold God guilty of anything except loving us enough to save us from ourselves.
Why? Consider.
We turn to God because through death and all the evils caused by sin we begin to understand the wrongness of not obeying God, of not returning His love for us. Don’t we suffer most from our own sins and the sins of others? Don’t we commit our sins in disobedience to God?
Think about this passage from the Bible. Pay particular attention to verse 28.
Would I grieve at the death of a loved one? Have I grieved? Yes, but our suffering and death is a small thing when compared to the love of God. Hence, knowing each of us will die some how, some way, I grieve most for those who never accept the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ offers us.
“So, I hold God accountable, but I don’t hold God guilty of anything except loving us enough to save us from ourselves.”
A remarkable statement in my opinion. Although one might assign that one who is accountable does in the least share some guilt. I’m not challenging as I have no answers. Just never heard a Christian submit to that.. but times do change and evolve in Christendom as with anything else. It’s like the current “explanations” of the meaning of “Thou shalt not kill.” In my youth I was taught it meant just what it says. Now we have vast interpretations and semantics to allow for doing just that and spiritually getting away with it, presumably in the eyes of God as well.
To your last paragraph… no debate from me. One either believes or they do not. It’s not my business.
@Doug
The commandment you are talking about is: you shall not murder. That is not ambiguous, but we often make excuses to do whatever it is to do what we want to do.
Was my statement especially remarkable? I just try to go with what the Bible says. Consider what Genesis 3 says about Adam and Eve. They wanted to be like God, as wise as God. God created you, me, and everyone else. He created the universe from nothing. We were made in the image of God — in His likeness –but our wisdom
@Doug
I suppose I should add one thing about that commandment: you shall not murder. The old King James Version (KJV) uses the word “kill” instead of “murder.” When the KJV was written, kill may have conveyed the correct meaning. I checked an etymological dictionary. It is not clear. However, only pacifists think the Bible prohibits killing in self-defense. Killing in self-defense is not murder.
The KJV is beautifully written, but the meaning of words changes with time. In addition, we have sources (manuscripts from the past) that the English did not have in the 16th Century. So, it is a good to compare the KJV with more recent translations.
I guess you make my point that Biblical interpretations tend to “change” over time. Many Catholics didn’t much appreciate the changes as a result of Vatican II. But change is inevitable for organized religion to maintain membership.
@Doug
Did I make your point? No. I said our language changes. That is why we have the etymology of words.
Does our interpretation of the Bible change? Yes. There are a couple of good reasons for that.
1. We each perceive things from our own point of view. Hence, when we hear someone say something or read their words, we each come away with a different understanding. Sometimes we may even have a deliberate misunderstanding. Over time, when the subject is as controversial and inconvenient as the Bible, we can acquire quite a few misunderstandings.
2. From time-to-time we repent of foolish misunderstandings and reform. That has happened quite a few times with respect to the Bible. What people do then is that they study up and try to understand each book of the Bible as its original audience would have understood it. The principle involved is that the Bible was written for us, but it was not written to us.
So, what is the point? The Bible is not the problem. We cannot perfectly understand all of it, but we can understand enough of it to know what we need to know. The reason we find that difficult is that what the Bible says is an offense to our pride.
An offense to our pride? Why should that be? That comes from what the Bible says about God. The Bible says that God really is God. The Bible says God is completely in charge of everything. The Bible says God is Holy and that He loves us and that we must love Him with all our heart, strength, mind, and soul. That kind of commitment is difficult to accept.
I think you make the point that religion itself is needlessly complex because humans are complex.
@Doug
Define “needlessly complex” and explain what you are calling “needlessly complex.”
One reason the massive government spending seemed so attractive in 2020 and 2021 is that interest rates have been incredibly low, making it easier for the government to borrow money. When interest rates increase, the debt will be a bigger problem. What could cause interest rates to increase? One of the biggest factors would be a large new tax, especially one imposed on corporations. How does President Biden propose to get hold of money to pay the current debt, caused by the massive spending? A large new tax, imposed especially on corporations. This is not good news for any of us. J.
@Salvageable
The people who run our country, our so-called elites, don’t care much about inflation. To them it is just a way of hiding a tax increase. In addition to kicking us up into higher tax brackets, they get to spend our money at its current value before inflation takes effect. Moreover, their investments are relatively safe from inflation. When the money supply increases, there is more money chasing stocks. So the stock market goes up.
The rich don’t even care much about increasing the tax rates. Their lobbyists will get them loopholes.
They might make a short-term gain, but they are risking another recession or worse if they let higher taxes, higher interest rates, and inflation feed each other and mushroom. In the end, that will create a voter revolt like the Reagan Revolution of 1980, the Republican Congressional successes of 1994, and the Trump surprise of 2016. They might think they have their hands on the wheel now, but it won’t take much to throw them out. J.
@Salvageable
The Democrats are trying to rig our election system. Look up H.R. 1: For the People Act of 2021. If they can get pass the filibuster, they will not allow themselves to face anything close to a fair election.
No.. the Dems are not trying to rig a thing. You conveniently skipping the fiascos going on with election suppression laws based entirely on the election lie in Georgia and the other swing states?
Here’s an explanation of HR. 1…. “myths”
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/25/politics/fact-check-hr1-s1-for-the-people-hearing-voting-elections/index.html
@Doug
I cited your CNN article in this post,
https://citizentom.com/2021/03/25/only-democrats-can-save-the-republic-the-sequel/, the day it came out. Do I think CNN tells the truth? No. Do I trust politicians?
Look at the legislation. You don’t have to read the whole damnable bill to figure out Congress has not business passing it. Consider the first part of Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution.
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.Obviously, the States are suppose to run the election process, and Congress is supposed to keep the states in sync. Originally State legislatures selected Senators, which was supposed to be a check on CONGRESS, but we screwed that up.
HR 1 has one purpose, make it easy for Democrats to steal elections. It violates a simple principle. We should make it easy to vote, but we should not make it easy to cheat.
Democrats are using racism as an excuse for making election fraud easy. At the same time they are literally inviting unknown numbers of illegal aliens across our southern border. Nobody knows just how many criminals and terrorists will enter our country. We can only guess how many more will become addicted to illegal drugs. All we know is the same people who rioted over the death of George Floyd last year, who died from an overdose of fentanyl, think all this crap is a great idea.