Stones Cry Out

Two films recently have been very similar (and this afternoon I saw the second, even though it’s been out for some time). Elysium and In Time are very similar. Both feature a totalitarian control on magically efficient health care. In both access to this is highly restricted. In both of them health (or immortality) access is highly restricted. Why? Population pressure is explicitly mentioned on one, but it is not clear that this is the problem they might pretend. As an extreme, Michael Moorcock’s Dancers at the End of Time are all immortal by a technology long lost and long forgotten. Our hero in that story is unusual, he’s the only person alive who was “born”.   Read the rest of this entry

Ms Clinton trumps everyone on the stupid-meter.

If there is any justice, listen to Ms Clinton. This has to be one of the top 10 stupidest things said by a politician, “business doesn’t create jobs”. Honey, the only thing creating jobs are businesses.

And she doubles down with “trickle down doesn’t work”. Uhm, “trickle down” is Democrat slang for growth. And if you think growth doesn’t help, then why aren’t we all stone age subsistence farmers? Oh, we’re doing quite a bit better. Why? Hmm, that would be that growth thing.

If anyone votes for her now, they’re deluded.

Change of plans. I was going to write about Mr Yannaras next essay. But on reflection I ended my remarks on his essay prematurely last night. What were some of the points he made (discussion below the fold): Read the rest of this entry

So. In the next few essay’s I’m going to begin a small series commenting on my reading the book (of essays coincidentally enough) by Christos Yannaras titled “The Meaning of Reality: Essays on Existence and Communion, Eros and History”. My plan is to go through this book essay by essay. Some essay’s I’ll separate a precis post (summary) and follow that with one or more posts with remarks refering back to that post. What follows (below the fold) is the remarks on the first essay titled, “A Reference to Alyosha Karamazov”. This is short (3 1/2 pages) and I’ll perhaps to combine summary and remarks in one post. This opens with a quote from the Brothers’ Karamazov (from which, obviously, the character Alyosha is drawn).

• I understand it only too well: it’s the innards and the belly that long to love. You put it wonderfully, and I am terribly glad you have such an appetite for life,” Alyosha cried. “I have always thought that, before anything else, people should learn to love life in this world”
• “To love life more than the meaning of life?”
• “Yes that’s right. That’s the way it should be; love should come before logic, just as you said. Only then will man be able to understand the meaning of life.”

And so we begin (below the fold) Read the rest of this entry

This coming Sunday, every Bible believing pastor, priest, and rabbi in the U.S. should preach on what the Bible has to say about homosexuality, and then send a copy of their sermon (anonymously) to the city of Houston.  #AnniseParker #Houston #PastorsSermons #BathroomBill

At long last, more links.

1. More CO2.
2. Yikes.
3. I have to say, vis a vis corn, that comparing corn grits and cream of wheat and how hungry I am four hours later in the morning, corn beats wheat hands down.
4. The minority leader and doing self parody right. Man, she has teh stupid in buckets, eh?
5. Some politicians around the globe, however, are make Ms Pelosi look less worse.
6. Neat interior design.
7. Tranadol found in trees, or more precisely, not found in trees. Interesting though.
8. ‘cuse me, any “theory of tattoos” has to include “alcohol was involved in the decision making”.
9. Heh.
10. On banning prayer at games. Reminds me of the Soviet era story of the pols proclaiming to the crowd how religion in the USSR was dead and gone … somebody in the crowd shouted “Christ is Risen” and the whole crowd responded back automatically “He is Risen Indeed”.
11. Looking into the near future crystal ball, optimistically.
12. Relics of the Cross.

Whoo.

1. Ms Bathory was close.
2. Human’s are nothing if not adaptable.
3. Remembering 9/11 and something about it you probably didn’t know.
4. Max-Sec in the deep south.
5. Yikes.
6. More yikes.
7. Constitutional authority … but don’t worry, Mr Yoo is for it.
8. Unintended consequence (but … easily predicted consequences should not be unintentional. So is it an intentional consequence then?)
9. The wrong air force.
10. Mr Kerry, “if you don’t study” … comes back to haunt, eh?
11. Let’s see, it is “regrettable” that a guy who thinks it OK to offer that the Israeli Prime minister would wear the teeth of Palestinian children publicly doesn’t get tenure … Hmmm. What’d that site offer on various conservative remarks that lost people jobs or positions?
12. Incoherence from the left, noted.
13. We’re waiting for the really really cool lightning bolt.
14. Liberal much? Geesh. So, do you think that next week they write an essay comparing Mr Obama to Joseph Kony? ‘Tis about as logical and as outrageous.

Yet another hotel.

1. Some theology.
2. Some things the police has for which they have no reasonable need.
3. Some history if you follow the linked link.
4. Well, TR said (I think) “walk softly and carry a big stick.” Our knucklehead in chief has a variant of that phrase, which alas, is stickless.
5. More here.
6. Some jokes all with the same punch line.
7. Crime and punishment.
8. Global warming.
9. Cool. (probably literally as well)
10. Nature’s beauty (and the beast).

For those involved with college students, take a look at this promotional video about a campus outreach project run by a local Presbyterian church (and the students themselves!) near Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo, California. It’s a coffeehouse which also serves as a study hall / gathering center where people can interact at all levels. My friend Keith Plummer has dubbed it “L’Abri-Like”. 

#LAbri #outreach #evangelism #21stCentury

Imagine if being a “Deadbeat Dad” received the same level of national publicity – and scorn – as, say, the publication of private conversations where one sport’s team owner made racist and homophobic statements? From Joe Carter’s article,

Men who have the ability to provide financial support for their children but refuse to do so should be among the most shamed groups in America. Yet there isn’t much stigma attached to being a “deadbeat dad”—and in some communities there is no disgrace at all to being an absent father.

Last March, two pro-life female high school students, in a free-speech zone [sic] on the campus of UCSB, had their display board stolen right in front of them by an associate professor. They were then assaulted as they attempted to retrieve their property. In August, the professor was convicted and given a slap-on-the-wrist sentencing (imagine, if you will, the results if it had been a conservative professor assaulting two underage gay-rights protesters).

You can see video of them following the professor at the following link. Note the sophomoric attempt at logic some of the university students hurl at the girls (e.g., “you don’t attend this college” or “you don’t pay to attend here”).

Take off your cultural blinders… This is the thinking of the next gen.

#prolife #freespeech #abortion

Concealed Carry permits are up in O.C. after the sheriff quickly followed the court’s recent ruling on the matter and began issuing permits. Interesting to note, however, 

“According to the analysis, permits are spread throughout the county, but certain cities — including Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Yorba Linda — have a higher concentration of licensees. Others, including Santa Ana and Garden Grove, have had much fewer approved permits.”

For those not in the know, the cities comparison above is an excellent “affluence” variance demographic. Therefore, one reason for the disparity could be the added costs of classes and permit fees required by the county before issuance of a CCW. If the courts have ruled that 2nd Amendment rights extend beyond self-defense in the home, and if the gov’t is forbidden from “infringing” on said rights, then isn’t the requirement of classes and fees essentially an infringement / tax on what the courts have ruled is a right?

#2ndAmendment #SecondAmendment #CCW

Good, err, day.

1. A post sort of against profiling. Profiling is racist when the criteria chosen are inappropriate. if race is a factor predictive of crime then race is not an inappropriate criteria. In setting a defensive line, you put your forces where the bulk of the attacks are expected. This isn’t “profiling”.
2. Rape culture.
3. Scraping the ugly barnacles from the underside of civilization as a job.
4. The prior reality is why “slower to draw” is a death sentence for many.
5. Fun and snow.
6. Somebody fulfilled their photographic bucket list.
7. Government waste examined.
8. ‘gainst mines and IEDs … a tool.
9. The constitutional right to be an ass. Wonder if the left would be defending that U of I Urbana professor if he wore that in public (and not at work).
10. Apparently 83% of American’s are out of their freaking minds. Or the poll is just another damn cricket race. I’d rather the law went the other way.
11. Embrace your coming disrespectability. There’s even a beatitude about that.

G’day, hump day (of my 15 day workweek) is over.

1. More grist for the Ferguson discussion.
2. Here too.
3. Some silliness. Signs like this are pertinent, when people who accidentally do this roam the earth.
4. Film.
5. I’d go with #10, #9 and #1.
6. Some basic points in theology which everyone should agree, here and here … but a whole lot of people get stuck on them.
7. Piketty points.
8. Confused about the outrage. So ‘splain it for us, eh?
9. Well, you always have the two choices, are they stupid or evil?
10. I don’t see what’s wrong with being liked because you are smart. Do you?
11. Very cool.

Travel travel.

1. So. I sorta missed a lot of Ferguson kerfuffle. Aside from the “we’re angry, scared, and affronted … therefore let’s loot lots of innocent bystanders shops” logic fail. Very few facts are out so most noise and nonsense seems to me to be just that. This however, may give some useful information going forward.
2. In the context of Ferguson, liberals still striving to keep the black man down.
3. Of course, she’s waiting for the GOP field to flesh out. (or not)
4. Mr Perry was indicted apparently. So, if the GOP was not behind the indictment … explain why since everyone (pundits and others) “knows” that an impeachment of Mr Obama would (a) not lead to a conviction and (b) aid the Democrats in 2014 midterms, why do the similar (presumably Democrats) think that a weak indictment of Mr Perry which (a) would not lead to conviction and why the don’t think the “b” supposition is also not true.
5. The wisdom of our press.
6. An answer to the eagles in book one LOTR question.
7. I ordered the book … (see item 2 above … alongside the why do liberals hate Asians?)
8. Well, guesses 1-10 are wrong, and likely somewhat bigoted. The right answer is “one who forgets (a) “judge not lest you be judged” and from which follows the question who is the righteous judge, to which we know the answer.
9. The greatest sentence? The Orthodox Christian answer would be the Jesus Prayer. A physicist would say Emmy Noether’s theorem.
10. Drones on the move.