Smear and Narrative Industries    

   How sure are we that the news we receive is truth? Trustworthy? Honest? 

   Can we depend on people in high places for information needed to cope with COVID-19, to make decisions best for our families, to vote on solid grounds?

   Last week, we focused on the shiny object - equality - socialists/communists use to draw uninformed people into their hellhole. This week, we summarize an interview with award-winning journalist Sharyl Attkisson, author of Slanted: How the News Media Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism.  

   We haven't read her new book. She has a TV show, "Full Measure."

   Attkisson last week told interviewer Virginia Allen, "Over time, I saw what I call the smear industry and the narrative industry. I'm talking about corporations, PR firms, crisis management firms, nonprofits and political people." 

   "And not just to get us (journalists) on their talking points and uncritically report what they want us to report, the way they want us to report it, but I saw them  become part of the newsroom." 

   "There's a trend now," she said, "that I saw, as I left CBS, to try to make stories come out a certain way regardless of the facts. ...the networks and other places were making it impossible to do accurate, fair, honest journalism."  

   She knows executives and journalists in news organizations who are equally as critical about what she calls "the death of the news." They work for ABC, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times and "all kinds of other places." 

Tomorrow: Half truths and lies 

       Jimmy

The Victors Sing

 "Great and marvelous are your deeds,

Lord God Almighty.

Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.

Who will not fear you, O Lord,

and bring glory to your name?

For you alone are holy. 

All nations will come and worship before you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed."

Revelation 15

   Those who kept their faith in Christ when persecuted, threatened or killed by the antichrist, sing the song of Moses, the song of the Lamb. 

   Then John sees seven angels with seven plagues, prepared to pour out God's wrath on the earth, on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.

 

 What's in Our Oven? 

   We hope you appreciated our summary of Mr. Gairdner's article, illustrating the tide of history's failures now repeating across our land. 

   After we digested the article, we began to notice words and methods that sound much like today's American left - envy, cancel culture, equality, enemies, elimination. 

   Do progressive intellectuals not understand the pit they are digging for us, and themselves? Are so-called moderate Democrats morally okay with who it is they're in bed with? 

   In college we learned about figures such as Rousseau and Robespierre. So what? That was then. They were over there. 

   Well, hello! 

   On Monday we wrote of Trump and Biden as heating on the stovetop. But the cake in America's oven is what should concern us most. Will Biden's friends be the icing on that cake? 

   Finally, author Gairdner wrote of "evil." 

   There is no denying that evil requires its own author, that is the spirit, Satan. He was there in the Garden of Eden. In Babel. In Rome, in ages of monarchs and misguided clergy, in France, Germany, Cuba, Moscow, China, Iran.

   Now he has infiltrated diverse institutions of the last hope of Earth. 

   We win by trusting and obeying the One who governs the universe, not humans or human institutions. Whatever is in the oven, our food comes from the bread of life.

      Jimmy

  

IMPOSSIBLE EQUALITY 

PART 4 

   Even Robespierre, the grand theorist of the French Revolution, lost his head. He walked dazed and beaten to the guillotine holding his copy of Rousseau's "Social Contract." 

   William Gairdner does not suggest that the U.S. or Canada will ever reach such a point. But no one thought (nominally Christian) Germany would, either. 

   Prominent Western progressives, he writes, admired Hitler, as did people like Charles Lindbergh, for raising Germany from the ashes of World War by the power of government. The two largest professional memberships in the Nazi party were educated teachers and lawyers. 

   Today, our universities, now secularized, increasingly resort to a mindset that produces evil. We shouldn't believe we are exempt from the worst natural consequences of such thinking. 

   Once a bastion of liberty, universities of the West have become islands of ideological oppression. Observers point out that when fascism comes to America (and Canada) it will come in the name of democracy. (the very word Democrats use in criticizing Trump and justifying their own goodness)

   The author says that the notion of "substantive equality" has become a modern substitute for divine grace. D.H. Lawrence once described a kind of "earthly bread" to be gathered up by our priesthood of social engineers and redistributed as "heavenly bread" to thankful, docile masses. 

                                       Tomorrow: Our comments

      

                                                       Gratitude

O give Thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endures forever.

            Psalm 118:1

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts...and be thankful.

            Col. 3:15

Giving thanks always for all things unto God...in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

            Eph. 5:20

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

            Phil. 4:6

Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

            1 Chron. 16:8

By him let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

             Heb. 13:15

Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding with thanksgiving.

             Col. 2:7

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.

             Ps. 107:8   

  

 IMPOSSIBLE EQUALITY 

PART 3

   The end will always justify the means. 

   French Revolution: Within six months of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" the revolt evolved into an envy-based public rage against all privilege. (You've heard of "white privilege?") The heads of the privileged, the rich and the successful began falling to lynch mobs. 

   People became believers in Rousseau's gospel. Death for unbelievers was the remedy. Believe, or die. (Is this why Democrats want our guns?) 

 ~ William Gairdner, The Epoch Times ~ 

   Maximilien Robespierre applauded the death of a quarter-million French citizens in the name of "equality," which he described as a "virtue." In a 1794 speech he said, "The basis of revolution is both virtue and terror. Terror without virtue is murderous; virtue without terror is powerless. Terror is swift, severe, indomitable justice." 

   The same magic spell is found in all subsequent revolutions - seen in the words of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini, Hitler, Castro and Pol Pot, who murdered millions in the name of equality. Believe, or die. 

   A French writer observed that when one assumes all men are naturally good, one inevitably wishes to kill them all. By definition, under intense desire for equality, no one can possibly be equal enough. 

   So, the bad are labeled "enemies of the state." The privileged aristocrat is targeted, then the baker who sold him bread. (Contact tracing)   

   Eventually, all internal enemies suspected of the slightest privilege must be suppressed, silenced (cancel culture), fined, imprisoned or liquidated. Killing is the logical and cheapest way to achieve perfect equality and social justice. 

   But equality and justice never arrive, because they are continuously redefined (nothing in life is equal). That's why revolutions end by eliminating even their own founding theorists who are "not sufficiently virtuous." 

   Friday: It's in the oven as we speak 

We will observe Thanksgiving, post Part 4

on Friday, and our concluding thoughts on Saturday. 

   

IMPOSSIBLE EQUALITY  

PART 2

   The falsehood at the heart of perfectionism is that all human beings are born naturally good. Utopians by their own logic reject personal responsibility for bad behavior. Therefore they must blame something outside themselves - such as bad social and political institutions and beliefs. 

   Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1762 was wrong to assert that every man is born free. We are born helpless, dependent on parents and others. Most of us become free and independent only as we mature. 

 ~ William Gairdner, The Epoch Times ~ 

   The traditional (and Judeo-Christian) view is that evil begins deep in the hearts and minds of men and women - of which governments are the reflection, not the origin. 

   Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who suffered greatly in a Soviet gulag, wrote that, "evil does not run between human groups. It runs through the middle of every human heart." 

   Those who cannot fathom evil in their own hearts want to eliminate every external evil by force of law. They need targets for elimination - institutions, and individuals who disagree with them. 

   Their notion, if they can make the world more equal - by any means - the natural goodness of all people will flourish and the state will become perfect. This secular "political religion" is their mission to create heaven on earth. A Soviet marshal admitted as much to Time after the USSR fell. 

   The more atheistic they are, the more spiritual or dreamlike their fervor. For if God is really dead, justice needs to be enforced by humans alone. 

   It isn't grace, or personal redemption, but tangible, forced equality provided by law of the progressive state. 

   Tomorrow: The end justifies the means 

 

Coming to a nation near you...

 IMPOSSIBLE EQUALITY 

   Never mind Trump and Biden on the stove top. What's baking in America's oven?

   Over four days we will summarize an exceptional article by Canadian author William Gairdner. You might read Sunday's Views before continuing.

PART 1

   Difference........ is the rule of the universe. 

   The imperfect dream of the West is freedom, effort, merit and self-determination - an impartial law - equal for all. Everyone is born with a different hand, played to the best of one's ability under the same rules. Ideally, there is no distinction.

   Rising to replace that dream is a nightmare rooted in envy, as classes of people believe that differences are manmade, oppressive and discriminatory. So they demand that their lives be improved by laws and quotas. 

 ~ William Gairdner, The Epoch Times ~ 

(Here at Views By the Sea we understand our history is pockmarked with examples of unfair treatment of Natives, Irish, Italians, Africans, etc.) 

   The problem with top-down solutions is that they impose a new, official inequality found in totalitarian states - discriminating in favor of a group that did not earn a reward, against another which did not deserve punishment. 

   Similar failure dates to ancient Greece and Rome and through every collectivist nation. It begins with power-hungry classes of intellectuals bent on forcefully installing their versions of social justice. Equal outcomes is the cry. 

   It is found through the Middle Ages, in 18th century revolutions, in Marx and Engels in the 19th, and among current media, public institutions and law schools. 

   Tomorrow: Are we all born good?

   

 Our Better Angels? 

   Incoming President Abraham Lincoln hoped to avoid civil war by calling on "the better angels of our nature."  

   Marvin Olasky views these "lovely words" as problematic. "Given original sin," he says, "our nature does not have better angels. No, we need to pray for God's common grace, the kind that doesn't give us heaven, but keeps us from turning earth into hell." 

   "In 1770," he continues, "Pastor Samuel Cooke preached that 'the true fear of God only is sufficient to control the lusts of men ... the lust of dominion ... to suppress pride, the the source of wanton and capricious power.'" 

   "In 1790, Pastor Daniel Jones preached to Massachusetts politicians, 'The eyes of God are upon you in your public capacity. He observes what attention you pay to the concerns of the public ... and the cause of virtue and religion. Guard against pride. Lay aside party considerations and private designs. Then you will be blessed.'" 

   Well...approximately $9.4 billion was raised for all national races this year. This includes $1.1 billion New Yorker Michael Bloomberg alone spent to influence voting in Florida.    

   No telling how much this spending will "bless" many thousands of elite people in and out of government for years to come.

   Sorry to be frowny face on a Sunday. We're thinking, the U.S. is about as corrupt as any nation. We just don't poison our political opponents. 

   And this outlook doesn't even take into account widespread voter fraud, real or suspected.  

   As millions of "Christians" abandoned their "faith," virtue and religion declined as well. What else would we expect? 

        Jimmy

   

Random Thoughts   

As of now, we plan to summarize an exceptional article 

on the "Dangers of Equality," beginning Monday.

   Today, some random notes on:

Holiness - Self control, grace, impartiality, reverent fear, sincere love, truth

Strangers - Chosen, obedience, mercy, new birth, inheritance, faith, hope

Suffering - Faith, joy, grace, fortitude, perseverance, trust 

Desires - Emptiness, perishable, temporary, futility, untrustworthy

Holiness #2 - Separation, worship, service, cleansing, renewal, enablement

Faith - Trust, belief, motivation, self awareness, growth 

Sanctify - Set apart, dedicate, legitimize, accredit, cleanse, redeem, absolve

Power - Protection from evil, trials, confession, suffering, victory 

            Jimmy

 And in Pittsburgh...  

   Maxine Bruhns and her husband spent 15 years working with refugees in Cambodia, Greece, Lebanon, Vietnam and other countries. 

   In 1965 she began a 54-year career at the University of Pittsburgh, bringing cultures and traditions from around the world, as director of Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs. Pitt's Cathedral of Learning had 19 rooms on the ground floor dedicated to foreign nations. She expanded that to 31 rooms and mini-museums representing immigrant populations of Pittsburgh, attracting more than 25,000 visitors a year.  

   Before diversity and inclusion became "in," Bruhns wove other nationalities into the culture at Pitt. The chancellor said "She will be deeply missed - her incredible legacy has left an indelible mark, and her love of learning, history and culture will live on."

   Bruhns retired last January at 94, and died in July.

Steroid for Survival

   An international team led by clinician-scientists at Pitt found an inexpensive steroid that improves the odds that very sick COVID-19 patients will survive. The study's lead author says, "It's rare in medicine that you find drugs where the evidence of their effectiveness is so consistent."

   "This is, in many respects, the single clearest answer we've had so far on how to manage terribly ill COVID-19 patients," the professor said. 

   The study pooled data from 121 hospitals in eight countries. The World Health Organization is updating its COVID-19 treatment guidance as a result of the findings.   

       Jimmy

 The America Trump Wants to Restore

                                  Facts as of 2011, Obama/Biden years. 

   The U.S. was becoming "post industrial." America had been first in the industrial revolution. America had shown the world how to mass produce automobiles, televisions and airplanes.  

   It was American manufacturing that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II. 

   By 2011, tens of thousands of factories had already left the U.S. Millions of manufacturing jobs were lost. The U.S. had become a consumer of everything, but producer of increasingly little. 

   Our biggest export in 2011 was waste paper. A bloated, spoiled economy was a shadow of itself.

   Once, America could out produce the rest of the world combined. Then we became the largest consumer in the world. 

   We created the biggest debt bubble in world history in an effort to maintain a high standard of living. This is not sustainable. 

   Between 2001 and 2011, including the Bush years, the U.S. lost about 42,000 factories. For example, Dell Inc. planned to expand operations in China, investing $100 billion over a decade. 

   In 2008, we bought 1.2 billion cell phones - all made outside the U.S. Our trade deficit with China cost > a half-million jobs in one year. 

   Between 1999 and 2008, American companies overseas increased employment by 30 percent to 10.1 million. Meanwhile, domestic employment in those companies declined by 8 percent to 21.1 million.

   At the end of 2009, Americans employed in manufacturing had dropped to its low point of 1941, during the Great Depression. 

   In 2011, our consumption accounted for 70 percent of GDP, and 70 percent of that was for services.  

If you missed us Tuesday, no Views,

we marked our anniversary

with a real view by the sea.

           Jimmy

Changes Are Here    

'Things' That We Own 

   Many possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them. They reside in "the cloud." 

   Our computers had hard drives and we stored pictures, music, movies and documents. Our software was on a CD or DVD.

   That changed with Apple, Microsoft and Google with their "cloud services." When you turn on a computer, the Internet is built into the operating system. 

   If we click on an icon, it opens something in the Internet cloud. If we save something, it is saved in the cloud. 

   In this virtual world, we can access our music or books or whatever from any laptop or handheld device. But do we own any of this, or could it disappear in a poof? 

Privacy  

   Privacy is gone. There are cameras on the street, in most buildings, and built into our computers and cell phones and smart TVs. 

   "They" know who and where we are right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. 

   When we buy something, our habit is entered into profiles, and our ads will change to reflect those habits. 

   Only our memories can't be changed. 

                                        Adapted from "Changes Are Coming"  

                                             an article we saved from 2011 

        Jimmy

 

 Seeking Unity  

   If this is the end times, the church needs to be joined in purpose and passion. Since Martin Luther challenged the ways of the former Roman church, Protestants have exploded into multiple versions of "the" church. 

   What is Jesus thinking? 

   "His will (not ours) be done on earth as it is in heaven."  

   If there is precious, little time to win souls, the church must become one in purpose and passion. A lost world can believe in the One who God sent to unite us under his love for all...if we stop emphasizing our differences and cultivate unity. 

   This doesn't mean, "anything goes." 

   The gospel is clear, and it is powerful. God's grace covers our differences. We need to see each other as Jesus sees us. 

I have overcome the world.

   In 1970 we joined an independent church that went by the Book, but not all of it, and we grew in knowledge. But, most members wouldn't even join a fellowship picnic or sing in a community choir with others who also follow Jesus.   

    There was a joke - St. Peter showing a newcomer around, pointing out where the Baptists worshipped and where Presbyterians gathered. Next they came to a large curtain. 

   He ask Peter who was behind the curtain. "They think they're the only ones up here," he answered. 

         Jimmy

    

A Mother's Body? 

   Often we see women on TV claiming absolute right to control what she does with "my own body." 

   Is her unborn baby really her own body? 

   Chromosomes are DNA molecules with genetic material. There are 23 pairs. The baby's chromosomes are not the same as the mother's. 

   If the father is of a different race, the baby will be of mixed race. 

   There are times when a mother dies, while her baby lives.

   A heart that stops on its own means death. A baby's heart normally doesn't stop on its own. 

   A mother's body initially assumes the baby is foreign material, and begins to react negatively. (We don't know the particulars.) 

A Woman's Surprise

   This week Mrs. Donut and I drove an elderly lady to her doctor appointment, some 40 miles south of us. She was raised in Michigan.

   Along the way she told us of her teaching career, which began in Michigan.

   Until this week, we've only known her as a warm and friendly lady, who loves the Lord and gives God the glory throughout her day. She moved to Florida from Michigan to complete her career and retire.

   So it surprised us to learn she is not only a college football fan, but an Ohio State fan. She thinks former coach Urban Meyer is wonderful. 😀

        Jimmy

Comic Relief 

    Yes, while they continue recounting ballots, we need more comic relief. Check out these headlines:  

Enfield Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide  They may be on to something.

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges  There's something stronger than duct tape?

Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge  Maybe he IS the charge! 

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group  As in heavier? 

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Space  Shouldn't eat beans in space. 

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks  And we thought cannibalism is unlawful.  

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half  Chain massacre for real. 

Hospitals Sued by 7 Foot Doctors  How dare they discriminate by size? 

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead  Hence, "twice dead." 

 Nothing to See Here    

   We are "above it all." So, we won't reveal that our home state used a two-tiered election system. 

   We won't report that Pennsylvania didn't properly verify mail-in ballots, possibly diluting the value of in-person ballots. 

   We won't note that a "supreme" deal allowed mail-in ballots to arrive and be counted three days after the vote. Or that by law, legislators have that responsibility, not courts. 

   Nor will we report that some 25,000 nursing home residents asked for mail-in ballots at the same exact time. 

   We won't tell you that more than 20,000 ballots had impossible return dates. However, we must give a shout-out to the postal service. More than 51,000 ballots were marked as returned just one day after they were sent out. 

   Don't believe me that 35,000 were returned the same day they were mailed out. Or that another 23,000 had a return date earlier than the sent date. Or that more than 9,000 had no sent date. 

   We won't go low on Michigan, either. It must be fake news that a Detroit employee said she was told to backdate mail-in ballots, and was not to look for deficiencies with ballots, and was not to ask for IDs when voters arrived in person. 

   Who would believe election workers would coach voters to choose Biden? And how could tens of thousands of ballots arrive at 4:30 a.m., apparently all for Biden? 

   Using the SSDI Index, Michigan validated 10,000 dead or suspected dead voters. Another 2,000 are 100 years old or more. And operators were adding names and addresses to the poll book, to confirm the ballots? 

   Friends, just forget this blog and come back tomorrow. Nothing to see here.

        Jimmy

   

   

 Understanding the Times      

   Prior to the election, we searched sermons by Kent Christmas, pastor of Solid Rock Church. He has a prophecy - a final outpouring of the Holy Spirit, beginning this January and into 2024.  

   If the pastor truly heard from the Spirit, we wondered, how might this foretell our election? Trump wins: the Spirit is welcome. If Democrats take control, God more likely will touch unchurched people, we assumed, without our political help. 

   About 473 B.C., the Persian Empire of 127 provinces stretched from India to ancient Ethiopia. Xerxes, the king, held a seven-day banquet to celebrate his splendor. His beautiful queen, Vashti, also gave a banquet for women in the royal palace. 

   When the king ordered her to appear (show her off) before the men, she refused. (the world's first feminist?) Her angry husband consulted wise men who understood the times. Esther 1:13 

Commentary: God has a season and time for his purposes and promises. We see this in nature, and also in his kingdom: 

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. Eccl. 3:1-8

O Lord, sit enthroned forever; ...the appointed time has come. Ps. 102:12-13

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:18-19 

Those who supported King David included men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do... 1 Chron. 12:32 

   God's people often are blind to what He is doing or about to do. Judea didn't recognize the Son whom God sent to redeem us. Likewise, too often the church doesn't discern when God is fulfilling an aspect of his purpose. To know is to cooperate. 

   Do we discern the times?   

        Jimmy

Bumps in the Night     

   4 a.m., November 4. President Trump has solid leads in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan and Alaska. Nevada is doubtful. 

   His instincts kick in as vote-counting halts in the above states. The (95-percent Democratic) media, which assaulted him viciously for four years, slams the president for his remarks. 

   Delivering mailed ballots for days after the Nov. 3 "deadline," no questions asked? This despite weeks of early voting by mail that gave Americans more than enough time to vote, on time! 

   Epoch Times: "It's not who votes, but who counts the votes and who watches the watchmen." No clear postmark? No signature? So what? 

   Morning dawns. President Trump has a 600,000-vote lead in Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes). Networks, newspapers and the AP refuse to call the state for him ... likewise North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin, where the president has solid lead.  

   The same "journalists" had no reluctance calling Virginia and California, before any ballots were counted. But they delayed calling Ohio and Florida for the president ... extending the uncertainty until all bumps in the night were safely in the bank. 

   Wisconsin. At 4 a.m., some 170,000 absentee and "early" ballots arrive in Milwaukee. Bump! Now Biden leads by 20,000. It's not the first time elections were won after voting ended...all favoring Democrats. 

   "Halt the vote when your opponent is ahead; find out how many more votes you need, and suddenly find them," writes the columnist. It worked in 1960 when Chicago Mayor Richard Daley delivered Illinois for JFK.

   8:20 p.m., November 9. God knows who won the most legitimate, electoral votes. We don't. But unless somebody fixes "the fix," we'll never again trust close elections. And that is a crying shame for a great democracy.

        Jimmy  

 

 Something Went Wrong   

   You think we refer to ballot counting? Well, that. Yes. 

   But instead we offer a few more headline chuckles ... while we await the hurricane in South Florida. 

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says  Really? Ya' think? 

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers  Isn't that going too far? 

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over  What a guy!!!

Miners Refuse to Work After Death  No good-for-nothing lazy-so-and-so's! 

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant  That's easier than a fair trial.

War Dims Hope for Peace  We can see where it might have that effect. 

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile  We had no idea. 

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures  Who would have thought?  

London Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide They may be on to something.

 

   We have one more batch of tricky headlines, which we'll provide another day when the news is going wrong and you have dim hope for peace of mind. 

         Jimmy

                                       Source: A friend in North Carolina 

    

 The Lord Will Reign   

   Last week we called a security trainer, to schedule a session for our church. 

   Surprise! He no longer trains, frustrated by opposition from churches. Other trainers also have quit, he said, due to resistance.

   One man told him that if a shooter enters the service, "it is God's will." 

   What??? 

   We know...that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 1 John 5:19

   Good luck, worshipers. Guess the Holocaust was God's will. (not)

   God does not impose dominion over sinful people. Yet. Matt. 23:37 

   He does answer prayers in line with his perfect will. 

   God's response to rebellion - it is to come in human form and offer peace by his own blood. John 3:16. Also, see reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

   We have freedom to believe, or not. If we believe, are we still at the mercy of sinful men? Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness... Matt. 5:10 

   Do not resist an evil person (a strike on the cheek). Matt. 5:39. Jesus and New Testament writers did not address the threat of death from an evil person...that we know of. Likely for a reason. Missionaries leave the field when threats loom. 

   God emphasizes qualities he wants in us, far more than worldly success. He gives us government to punish wrongdoers. Romans 13

   Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces in this dark world. Our defense is truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation...and our weapon is the Word of God - the sword of the Spirit. Ephesians 6

   Soon, the kingdom of our Lord will reign, forever.  Revelation 11:15; Psalm 145:13

       Jimmy

 

     

 Are We Waking Up?  

   As we type this Wednesday afternoon, a precious, few votes (or cheats) in competitive states will determine if our country clings to its founding principles, or takes another step toward communism. 

   Catherine Yang writes, "anti-racist training teaches racism; a Green New Deal spells disaster for the environment; diversity initiatives demand conformity; "health care" ends life - with euthanasia, assisted suicide and abortion." She quotes a historian of Marxism, Mike Shotwell, who was raised in a communist family. 

   The Democratic Party has always included socialist politicians, some with openly Marxist or Stalinist ties. But not until 2016 did Sen. Bernie Sanders run as a democratic socialist...and the discussion is now out in the open. 

   Shotwell says the 1948 Progressive Party was in reality a Communist Party, run by communists. They used "patriotism" when they meant "socialism." 

   Communist handbooks call for lying, "anything to promote your cause," and "by any means necessary," a phrase now used by Democrats. The phrase, "If you say something often enough people will come to accept it," did not originate in America. 

   Shotwell adds that "the left puts everything into a morality play, but they have no morals." 

   He notes, "Reality is grounded in objective truth. Western civilization is founded on the Ten Commandments, truths from God, not the mind of man. Communism breaks every one of those commandments and seeks a world with no nuclear family, private property or freedom. With them, words have no meaning." 

   Shotwell sees "antiracist training that looks exactly like the mandatory meetings of communist cells in the Soviet Union." 

   This "cancel culture" isn't new either. But, "the black population is awakening," he says. 

       Jimmy

   

 Proof Readers Needed  

   Need a job? Somebody needs proof readers. At the least, these winners may help us recover from recent political pollution.

In a laundromat: Automatic washing machines: Please remove all your clothes when the light goes out.    

In a department store: Bargain basement upstairs.

In an office: Would the person who took the step ladder bring it back or further steps will be taken. 

In an office: After tea break, staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining board. 

Outside a second-hand shop: We exchange anything. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain?  

In a health food window: Closed due to illness.

In a safari park: Elephants, please stay in your car. 

During a conference: For anyone who has children and  doesn't know it, there is a day care on the 1st floor.

In a farmer's field: The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free; but the bull charges. 

On a leaflet: If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons. 

On a repair shop door: We can repair anything. (Please knock hard on the door - the bell doesn't work.) 

In the San Gabriel Valley Tribune: Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter.  (Think a newspaper editor would know a man shouldn't do that?) 

More to come in the near future

When 6-3 is Really 1-4-3-?    

   They say this is election day. Oh. Okay.  

   Meanwhile, somebody said don't believe the Supreme Court is 6-3 in favor of conservatives. 

   First, there is only one full time originalist: Clarence Thomas. 

   Next, four justices - Roberts, Alito, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch - appointed by Republican presidents - are sometimes originalists, but when original meaning is elusive, they may rule by precedent. Many precedents were set by liberal justices years ago. Plus, these four don't always agree. 

   The threesome are liberals - Kagan, Breyer and Sotomayor - all highly educated, who almost always vote together, seemingly for political purposes. Breyer, it is said, bases his decisions on factors and goals found nowhere in the Constitution. 

   Finally, the ? 

   New justice Barrett, who presented herself an originalist if there ever was one, has not yet established a record on the high court. 

   Note to progressives: Don't burn down the building just yet. 

         Jimmy

 Sure Cure for Police 'Brutality'     

   When police use "excessive force," the community reacts and violence follows. Innocent people and businesses pay a price. Outsiders - like bees after honey - come in and destroy property. 

   There is an easy way to prevent cops from shooting people:

Stop resisting police

 Comply first, complain later 

   So says Attorney General William Barr, speaking to a national police association. He would have zero tolerance for resisting police arrests. 

   We don't expect people incensed by police shootings to heed him. 

   Some 30 years ago before we knew anything about the subject, we happened to hear a former Cleveland cop say, "All they want to do is fight us." If I'm not mistaken, more white men are killed by police than blacks. They don't make the  news. 

   Most people agree that police who dishonor their uniform need to be disciplined or fired...and not automatically hired by another force. 

   Police, often facing personal danger, are the public authority, and they must prevail. 

   The majority of city dwellers want police protection. Politicians, news media and lawyers seem to support the lawless minority. Some push to remove policies that protect an officer from financial ruin. Defunding police is a popular stupidity. 

   We don't know what it's like to be a cop, or black, or to live in the city. With the exception of disorderly men with mental or drug issues, there doesn't have to be a deadly confrontation. Tasers? Sure, unless the dudes are armed. 

   Most of those we've heard about were committing a crime or threatening others, and added resistance ... to their avoidable demise.    

         Jimmy

 Clergy (not) for Biden  

A few of the opinions sent by our Catholic friend in NC

Fr. James Altman: You cannot be a Catholic and a Democrat. Period. 

Fr. John Boye: Such Catholics are wolves in sheep's clothing.

Bishop Thomas Daly: ...how can Catholics vote for a candidate like Biden?

Fr. Stephen Imbarrato: (Biden) is a walking and talking scandal to his...faith.

Fr. Edward Meeks: How dare you present yourself as a faithful Catholic while trampling on the Church's most serious, fervently held moral precepts?

Cardinal Gerhard Muller: It's better to vote for a good Protestant than a bad    Catholic.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann: It is intellectually and morally an incoherent      position.

Fr. Michael O'Connor: (Biden does not) protect life (or) the sanctity and holiness of marriage. 

Bishop Thomas Paprocki: Biden pledged to restore...the policy that mandates churches, businesses, colleges and religious orders to provide coverage for abortion pills.  

Fr. Frank Pavone: You can't kill babies and...authorize anyone else to do so. 

Bishop Kevin Rhoades: Abortion is contrary to...the inalienable right to life of every innocent human being from the moment of conception.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano: (If Biden were elected) we would face an Orwellian dictatorship...in which the rights that are considered fundamental and inalienable would be trampled with the complicity of mainstream media.