tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post8794612165258044636..comments2024-03-28T09:59:13.754-07:00Comments on bionic mosquito: What is Going On? bionic mosquitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-88295608467337014802020-09-06T11:34:51.981-07:002020-09-06T11:34:51.981-07:00Bionic, your reply to my questions was gracious, t...Bionic, your reply to my questions was gracious, to say the least. I appreciate that. And Peg, your reply was like a soft, soothing touch. Thank you, both. <br /><br />Concerning the face mask thing, six months ago I wrote a post on my blog detailing my response if confronted with the issue. See it here: http://poorrogersalmanac.com/2020/03/29/coronavirus-and-accumulated-wisdom/ I have no excuse for the meltdown except to claim a defiant moment exacerbated by a few beers followed by the inevitable shock at what was spoken. My apologies to you all. <br /><br />Concerning Jonathan Pageau. It seems to me that he has no hard, fast rule by which a person or a church can point to and say that this is the line in the sand. As Peg and Bionic have mentioned, this appears to be something which is left up to the individual to determine. Can we decide in advance how far we will bend before we harden our position and refuse to go any further? Shall we be so rigid and hidebound that we will snap and be destroyed if hit with a gale force gust of wind? I do not know and am constantly updating my viewpoint on that. For certain, I am more flexible than I used to be. Some things are just not worth dying for. Some things are not worth destroying others for. <br /><br />I think Pageau is right about the authority thing. There will always be authority, some type of control, and we have to live with it the best we can. I think he was stretching when he says that the church will be "asked" to accept something which may be contradictory to what it teaches as truth. From my understanding, government NEVER asks anyone to do something, it is ALWAYS an order. The question, then, becomes one of deciding to follow the order or to defy it, with all the attendant repercussions. <br /><br />Where do we draw the line? It comes down to one thing: whom do we trust? Is Jesus Christ the source of our salvation or do we place our trust in Man? At the end of the day, this is all that matters and it is the only thing we have to answer for. <br /><br />I think that so many people have the idea that we will wake up one morning to an edict ordering everyone to get a "mark" before evening. Or else! Fact is, the system which will facilitate this has been building for well over a century, bit by bit, and we are already accustomed to it. Whether we give it (the system) total control over our lives is up to us. Rogerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08156823478509665137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-49957189629241877292020-08-30T14:59:30.935-07:002020-08-30T14:59:30.935-07:00Roger, In April I wrote a letter to the editor of ...Roger, In April I wrote a letter to the editor of my local newspaper critical of the Oregon governor for issuing edicts, rather than simply advising or recommending the citizenry to act in certain ways to protect themselves from the corona virus. Here is a paragraph from that letter: "These leaders certainly may advise, recommend, urge, and do their best with the knowledge they have at hand to convince we citizens to use good judgement to protect ourselves and others." <br /><br />I received stunning negative feedback for those words. I admit I hadn’t expected my fellow Americans to roll over to these edicts so easily.<br /><br />Beyond writing letters or articles in protest, I believe we each must decide for ourselves if complying with such orders is more harmful or helpful to those we care about most, our families and loved ones. It’s a matter of deciding which you value most. Peg<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-32249724573845862482020-08-30T07:59:38.953-07:002020-08-30T07:59:38.953-07:00Roger, so many personal issues are wrapped up in a...Roger, so many personal issues are wrapped up in answering these questions. Will standing on principle of X (in this case, masks) place me or my family in financial jeopardy, starvation, homelessness, physical danger?<br /><br />Where is my line of "principle"? A tough question, and sadly, one that I find myself bending on regarding certain issues - getting used to the new normal being normal. Such new normal events have happened dozens of times in my life....<br /><br />Here is something to think about in regards to your question, from Jonathan Pageau:<br /><br />https://youtu.be/pe9DII7Z9TI?t=4008 <br /><br />Now, I am not sure how much his answer helps. He sees that the line is to be drawn when the church is asked to accept something "spiritually" that it cannot accept. As I try to parse out his meaning...when the church is forced to accept (whatever) on the same level as accepting Christ and our salvation (as an example)...maybe this is what he is getting at.<br /><br />But I am not really able to decipher his meaning more than this. Take a listen (the relevant portion is only a couple of minutes) and let me know if you can better interpret this.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-82646913359098142452020-08-29T11:49:10.720-07:002020-08-29T11:49:10.720-07:00I wrote the above comment a week ago and have been...I wrote the above comment a week ago and have been having second thoughts about it ever since. I would appreciate input from others concerning this. <br /><br />Should I hang in there to the bitter end? Should I walk this statement back? How far should I walk it back? Should I simply compromise for the sake of my own welfare and that of my wife and household? If my boss comes to me with an order to wear a mask, should I tell him to "take this job and shove it" or should I work with him on the issue? Pragmatism? Dogmatism? Reality? Standing firm on principle? <br /><br />All these thoughts are going through my mind and I'm trying to sort them out. I'm open to advice and suggestions. Rogerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08156823478509665137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-38742994806700446532020-08-26T08:27:40.595-07:002020-08-26T08:27:40.595-07:00Are you sure they are "powerless", or ar...Are you sure they are "powerless", or are just refusing to use their power? In Beverly Hills, the police made the rioters turn tail and run.Eric Morrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-35303045014144023142020-08-25T10:20:41.239-07:002020-08-25T10:20:41.239-07:00Don't discount the power of an armed populace ...Don't discount the power of an armed populace to force the powers that be to do their jobs to stop the tactics of the Bolsheviks. The most recent examples of this are Portland and Kenosha. In Portland, the police are completely powerless and the riots have moved from downtown areas to neighborhoods. Contrast that with Kenosha where the police are again powerless to stop the looting and arson. But now there is a viral video of a bunch of protestors running back into their vehicles because one resident fired a few warning shots. The end result is that now Law Enforcement has to do something to protect at least this neighborhood to prevent this same person from actually killing someone in defense of their property.<br /><br />Now we have the big question which is: Will Biden or any Democrat be able to get elected on a platform that includes any gun control? I think it is clear to the peaceful, or in the case above normally peaceful, gun owners that the Democratic Party is against you and in favor of rioting.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-50044838887899248202020-08-25T09:31:37.574-07:002020-08-25T09:31:37.574-07:00There is some truth about inertia when it comes to...There is some truth about inertia when it comes to people - it is called procrastination.<br />The main problem of knowing when it is time to take some kind of action and to what degree. After all, none of us is all-knowing. Looking back in history gives us a chance to recognize current events, how people acted/reacted, outcomes and consequences.<br />Santayana stated that "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it," well, one person's memory is composed of personal experience and knowledge gained from others' stories.<br />How would a person know that he is repeating errors of the past if he does not know?JaimeInTexashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729407700850451849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-63457027034756371772020-08-24T17:45:21.265-07:002020-08-24T17:45:21.265-07:00Emigrate.
Lambs to the slaughter.
Choose Franco an...Emigrate.<br />Lambs to the slaughter.<br />Choose Franco and have a chance at survival.<br />JaimeInTexashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729407700850451849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-35692391469790189342020-08-24T15:03:35.338-07:002020-08-24T15:03:35.338-07:00In physics its called inertia. Unbalanced forces c...In physics its called inertia. Unbalanced forces cause objects to accelerate. We have been accelerating for decades. In the 90's I read Robert D. Kaplan's - An Empire Wilderness: Travels into America's Future. Whole sections of the country have nothing in common with other parts (politics, religion, education, social standards, employment, etc). As a matter of fact most states are fractured. Back to Kaplan, grab a copy of his book and turn to page 13. Kaplan quotes a Marine Corps officer, Major Craig Tucker, who points out the ignorance of social upheavals and then goes on to suggest with another officer that there will come a time when .mil will have to go "domestic". Chilling? It gets mo' betterer' as they say on the streets. A Canadian officer chimes up and suggests that the biggest threat to Canada is that the United States will collapse on itself. <br /><br />The now promoted and retired Colonel Craig Tucker had this to say in a 2017 Daily Beast article entitled: The NRA Has Entered the Province of Cowards<br /><br />"As Marines, we fought to defend the U.S. and its freedoms. The NRA's new video campaign is dedicated to a xenophobic policy of violent hatred and intolerance undermining freedom." <br /><br />https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-nra-has-entered-the-province-of-cowards?ref=author <br /><br />From the Daily Beast: Craig Tucker is a retired Marine Corps Colonel and decorated 25-year combat veteran. His combat command of RCT-7 in Iraq spanned 14 months and included the first and second Battles of Fallujah, numerous smaller actions and a Purple Heart for wounds received in combat action north of Husaybah Iraq. <br /><br />From Business Insider who did an article on the 10 most important battles the Marine Corps fought in. Here is a quote by Colonel Tucker on Fallujah: "I was proud of the Marines ... how they conducted themselves in a month of hard urban combat," Col. Craig Tucker, commanding officer of the 7th Marines, said in December 2004. "We did something good."<br /><br />https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-some-of-the-most-iconic-battles-the-us-marines-ever-fought-2018-11<br /><br />Here is my rhetorical question... And what was the outcome for the civilian population of Fallujah? He, the colonel, sounds a bit like Harris and Spatz, no? Or am I being overly sensitive? <br /><br />Back to reality...<br /><br />Like an American't Chinese menu... you have given us a proverbial column 1 and column 2 to choose from. Its kind of like asking what came first: the chicken or the egg? I believe it will be a mashup of both. Balkanization? An armed social revolution? It will make for a very uncivil-Civil War 2.0. Will we get the retired colonel's wish?Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553100259279805857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-68550236157635375812020-08-24T14:54:50.124-07:002020-08-24T14:54:50.124-07:00Jaime, I think about the Catholics during the Span...Jaime, I think about the Catholics during the Spanish Civil War. What choice did they have other than to back Franco, when the communists wanted to kill them all?bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-38625596179463931462020-08-24T12:16:10.654-07:002020-08-24T12:16:10.654-07:00"Anything for peace, even a dictator"
A..."Anything for peace, even a dictator"<br /><br />Argentina under Peron or Chile under Pinochet?<br /><br />Or, maybe a more apt analogy would be choosing between [international] communists and nationalists. (keeping it simple but still accurate).<br />Sometimes not choosing sides makes them decide you are on the other side.<br /><br />The question is not really about authoritarianism but who is going to be the authoritarian?<br />JaimeInTexashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729407700850451849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-44386201647882248922020-08-22T21:13:37.691-07:002020-08-22T21:13:37.691-07:00I am reading How Should We Then Live by Francis Sc...I am reading How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer. He mentions Rome welcoming authoritarianism due to the political disorder of the late Republic. Anything for peace, even a dictatorRMBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13603112499567064214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-5099428950700842212020-08-22T15:15:09.152-07:002020-08-22T15:15:09.152-07:00watch the movie "Battle Of Athens."
That...watch the movie "Battle Of Athens."<br />That is Athens, Tennesse, 1947.<br />It is in youtube.<br />Multiply by tens of thousands.JaimeInTexashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729407700850451849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-80867567252958043312020-08-22T15:13:29.629-07:002020-08-22T15:13:29.629-07:00Codevilla's article is a tough read, just for ...Codevilla's article is a tough read, just for the reasons you mention. What is more stunning to me: while not specifically aimed at America (but the West more broadly), Lewis saw this coming more than 70 years ago, and Chesterton saw it coming more than 100 years ago.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-69353287101262842992020-08-22T15:11:42.784-07:002020-08-22T15:11:42.784-07:00RMB, I define the split of left and right based on...RMB, I define the split of left and right based on a view of natural law - at least reasonably understood. I had referenced this earlier, but not when I made the point regarding decentralization.<br /><br />It strikes me that those favorable to natural law would also be favorable to political institutions at ever more local levels.<br /><br />To your point, that group is rather small: it would include very, very few who describe themselves as left in the current political sense of the term, and only some portion (maybe half??) of those who would describes themselves as on the right in the current political sense.bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-3200850036612276982020-08-22T14:42:16.558-07:002020-08-22T14:42:16.558-07:00I hadn't previously read the Codevilla article...I hadn't previously read the Codevilla article to which you linked here, but was astonished to find it was written in September, 2016. So prescient, and so heartbreaking. I weep for America. The idea of America, however, will never die. PegAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-54170443236326859102020-08-22T12:50:12.625-07:002020-08-22T12:50:12.625-07:00I will not wear a mask. Period!
I have come to th...I will not wear a mask. Period!<br /><br />I have come to the understanding that this may mean the loss of my job. It may mean the loss of my freedom to travel, to associate, to purchase, or even to leave my residence. It doesn't matter. I will not be told to wear a mask. <br /><br />Will this mean arrest? Trial, conviction, fines, jail time? Possibly. If I am consistent, I will go through the farce of a court hearing and refuse to pay any penalty levied, resulting in a warrant issued and probable jail time. Am I prepared to go that far? We shall see. <br /><br />One thing in my favor. I have very little outstanding debt and excellent credit. If I knew that I was going to be imprisoned for any amount of time, I would simply prepay my rent, utility bills, and stack up enough cash for my wife to buy whatever was necessary until I was set free. <br /><br />Would that be inconvenient? Absolutely! Will it be necessary? I hope not. Will I shy away from it? Never!<br /><br />"The servant is not greater than his Master." <br />Rogerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08156823478509665137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-55047750450769928052020-08-22T12:41:12.684-07:002020-08-22T12:41:12.684-07:00Well, no, there really doesn't. All that is ne...Well, no, there really doesn't. All that is necessary is for someone to be willing to lose it all for the sake of what is right, following in the footsteps of Jesus. <br /><br />What does this mean? Take a current example--face masks. <br /><br />When the wearing of face masks becomes mandatory to the point of arrests, trials, convictions, fines, jail sentences, etc., what will we do? Are we willing to risk the loss of our comfortable lives for the sake of conformity in the hope that we will be spared? Are we willing to sit in jail for three months to defy a system which tries to tell us what we shall wear? Will we go along in order to get along?<br /><br />Remember that the road to Hell is a superhighway and "...many there be that find it", while the road to Life is a goat track and "...few there be that find it." <br /><br />Until we are willing to sacrifice our own personal lives (lose them), we will never be free. Most people will never be free. Some, a few, will. I hope I can make the cut. Rogerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08156823478509665137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-61768422109920743932020-08-22T12:32:33.748-07:002020-08-22T12:32:33.748-07:00BM, I really dont think most on the Right are okay...BM, I really dont think most on the Right are okay with secession either. Secession has been so smeared as an action and lied about that there are only a few of us in the Misesian Right that consider it a noble and preferable option.<br /><br />We are called NeoConfederates. A slur that both Left and Right have assigned to those of us who prefer peace and self-sovereignty.RMBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13603112499567064214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-49866380520249777332020-08-22T12:27:55.169-07:002020-08-22T12:27:55.169-07:00Wow Roger. Powerful words. My hope is your hope....Wow Roger. Powerful words. My hope is your hope. But for it to happen there must be a catalyst. Someone to take the first step and communicate that to the world.<br /><br />Them will have to besome kind of militia to help support others. Ijust dont know if the catalyst will come early enough to really matter.RMBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13603112499567064214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-19332921158430917352020-08-22T11:34:23.655-07:002020-08-22T11:34:23.655-07:00We may, like Solzenhytsen said, come to an underst...We may, like Solzenhytsen said, come to an understanding that we have nothing left to lose before we resist and push back with any real, society-changing force. As long as we have any material wealth which we think makes us rich, we will be afraid of having it taken away. Fear paralyzes. <br /><br />Modern-day American Christians are just as susceptible to this as anyone else. We have forgotten that warning from the Scripture that, "Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it."--Luke 17:33, NIV <br /><br />"Would they arrest them all?"<br /><br />Not a chance. The State simply does not have the resources to arrest everyone nor to keep them in captivity for very long. Instead, they rely on arresting a few, highly visible persons with the realistic expectation that everyone else will fall into line and do as they are told. Unfortunately, this results in the vast majority of people "losing their lives" while under the delusion that they are saving them. <br /><br />Until we worship God as God and refuse to tolerate competing idols, we will repeat this over and over again. Rogerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08156823478509665137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-84384706594982270932020-08-22T09:47:15.166-07:002020-08-22T09:47:15.166-07:00Roger, I have thought about this even regarding Ch...Roger, I have thought about this even regarding Christians and churches. Governments around the country are threatening those churches that are open for indoor service - with fines and even jail.<br /><br />What if all churches opened on Sunday and every Sunday, and each was full (I know, a real fantasy scenario). Would they arrest them all?<br /><br />bionic mosquitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12002548958078731031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648884752216444797.post-84437344596514606092020-08-22T09:09:23.272-07:002020-08-22T09:09:23.272-07:00"Either way, there are too many people in too..."Either way, there are too many people in too many towns – especially in what is known as “flyover country” but also in other parts of the country – that are well capable of taking matters into their own hands by defending their own."--Bionic Mosquito<br /><br />“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: what would things have been like if every security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand? [They] would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin’s thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If . . . if . . . we didn’t love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation . . . . We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”--Alexander Solzenhytsen, The Gulag Archipelago.<br /><br />There is a strong tradition in this country of the "Castle Doctrine", which basically says that a man does not have to back down from defending his home and all that it encompasses. <br /><br />Unlike Solzenhytsen's Russia, there are literally millions of Americans who will defend themselves--at their own door--from invasion by either official, armed thugs in uniform looking to enforce compliance or unofficial, random thugs looking to make an easy score or simply exercising violence. <br /><br />The only question is which group will show up first and how many people will die as a result. No matter what, we have to either take decisive action to keep what is ours, including our lives, or we will "...sit there in our lairs, paling in terror at every knock on the door, waiting only to be taken away against our will into a miserable future." <br /><br /><br />Rogerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08156823478509665137noreply@blogger.com