Once again, links keep finding me (though more slowly than they did when I was online all the time, so some of these are a few days old) … Mohamed Noor, the cop who murdered Justine Damond, has been sentenced to 12.5 years in prison. (H/T F) Scot Peterson, the school resource officer who cowered in safety while students died, has been arrested and criminally charged. Eric Peters writes of human veal calves and the end of America’s teen romance with cars (and the freedom they represent). Not quite as absurd as the Vatican waiting 500 years to apologize to…
5 CommentsLiving Freedom Posts
Part I here —– I’ve always disliked Jesus’ three-part statement in Matthew 7:7 containing the phrase, “Seek and ye shall find.” This strikes my literal-minded self as such a blatant untruth I don’t know how anyone can read it without cynicism or outrage. Sure, many people seek and DO find some specific, definable, solid Truth (in religion or outside it). More power to them. More power to YOU if you’re such a fortunate soul. Many other seekers (I’m one) search, search, and search some more, and find only falsehood, error, contradiction, endless and extremely colorful fearmongering, and an excess of…
8 CommentsThe gnostic understands Christ’s message not as offering a set of answers, but as encouragement to engage in the process of searching … — Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels Trust those who seek the truth but doubt those who say they have found it. — Andre Gide (and many others) You cannot reason with a tiger when your hand is in its mouth. — Winston Churchill, In Darkest Hour —– Political freedom is (almost!) an oxymoron. All freedom is personal. A thoughtfully constituted government like the one these formerly united States started with can for a time slow down the…
14 CommentsI seem to keep collecting them without even trying …
- How much is a dollar worth? Depends on where you live. Even then a 100 miles could make a difference. (Tip o’ hat to MtK)
- ‘Nother good backgrounder from Ammo.com: “Island Gun Control.” (About Australia and New Zealand.)
- Never fire a warning shot — or an aim-to-wound shot — at an angry mama bear. (Short video H/T Shel) 5 Comments
An author gone sadly astray I was thinking about trust when I picked up two books by David Paulides. Trust has been on my to-blog list for weeks now. Paulides had never entered my consciousness until the library put eight of his paperbacks on display next to the main door. The series is called Missing 411, with each thick tome containing the author’s “investigations” into missing persons. Lost mountaineers and wandered-to-doom children make sad but gripping reading. I had no idea at the time that Paulides is the guy who dubiously “proved” Bigfoot exists. I also had no idea that…
10 Comments… the talking heads are talking about the U.S. going to war with Iran? Since February, as you know, I’ve worked at becoming blissfully ignorant of “news.” This doesn’t come naturally to me, having been taught at Mama’s knee to Care Deeply any time some politician or anchorperson anywhere on the globe blows his nose. So I occasionally tune in NPR on the car radio while running errands. The last couple of days they’ve abandoned their standard “immigrants good,” “guns bad,” “hate Trump all the time.” routine and are talking war-war-war-war-war. With Iran. Why war? Why Iran? In all the…
14 CommentsA few links for a change. Some are new, a few I’ve been saving for you … So-called Modern Monetary Theory will be a Modern Monetary Disaster, as anybody beyond the pink unicorn stage of development can see. Speaking of which, the NYT reports that Venezuela’s inflation is now worse than Zimbabwe’s. They still can’t bring themselves to use the “S” word, though they admit that the “economic policies” of Chavez and Maduro may have something to do with the problem. John Wick Part III, aka Parabellum was released last Friday. Seems everybody, including Rolling Stone has high praise. Seen…
8 CommentsWritten Sunday evening; posted Monday morning from my car, grabbing a few minutes wifi. —– I’ve beat my brains this weekend trying to come up with something brilliant for you. I’ve got nothing. But aside from feeling guilty for the nothingness between my ears, having nothing is a blessedly pleasant state. I’ve been sewing. And cleaning junk out of the laundry room in preparation for the next round of serious minioning for The Wandering Monk. And buying fabrics for $1 a yard from one of the local thrift stores, which just inherited 20 boxes of sewing supplies from some woman’s…
5 CommentsRealizing my readership is mostly male, I hesitate to post the following. But don’t tune out on me, guys. Or at least not instantly. Don’t assume from the topic that this post is too girly for your macho selves. Think of this like finding a box of old gun or car parts or fishing tackle, all from one guy’s garage. —– Behind one of the local thrift stores are boxes of freebies — loaded up every morning, then tossed out at the end of every day. These are newly donated items that are almost trash, but Chris the manager hopes…
28 CommentsMy “guardian” dream from late last month continues to haunt and puzzle me. Though I’m no closer to understanding it (and it demands understanding and perhaps action), I’ve had some help along the way. I’ve already mentioned Commentariat member Shel leading me to Jung — actually two Jungs, Carl and his wife Emma. Then yesterday I found an unexpected gift in a locker at the post office. That up there at the top of this blog is a framed and bejeweled print of a 15th-century Russian icon of a (or perhaps the) guardian angel. Or as the handy translation sheet…
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