Dear KAG: 20200219 Open Thread

Mornin’ y’all. This morning, well….

And now for the obligatory message from our sponsors:

Here at the Q tree we believe in the concept of CIVIL open free speech and the discussion that fleshes out ideas. When commenting and participating in the OPEN discussion on this thread all comments MUST NOT CONTAIN personal threats, baiting, name calling, or other anti-social words fomenting hate, violence or destruction. Our host Wolfm00n has strict rules about that.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

In addition, it is requested that there be no swinging from the chandeliers, celebratory gunfire, messing around with the nuclear weapons, and, please, everyone wash your hands.

Those who have things to say that do not fit the generally accepted limits of “civil” discussion, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. Please, venture over there for any such thoughts and comments. This sort of thing is always a possibility on that site:

A few other vital notes:

Please, review these rules that our host Wolfm00n outlined toward the beginning of the growth of the tree itself. it won’t take long.

Ridiculing the other side, on the other hand…well….

__________________________________________________

From the First Chapter of the Book of James:

Know this, my dear brothers and sisters:
everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
for anger does not accomplish
the righteousness of God.
Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess
and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.
He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets
what he looked like.
But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres,
and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts;
such a one shall be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue
but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.

We ready for more “As the Swamp Turns”?

Dear KAG: 20200218 Open Thread

Welcome to the 15 minute, standing meeting Tuesday Daily thread. With all the winning going on, mood music calls for something less war-like. Time for some battle music:

This site is a celebration of the natural rights endowed to humans by our Creator as well as those enshrined in the Bill of Rights adopted in the founding documents of the United States of America. Within the limits of law, how we exercise these rights is part of the freedom of our discussion.

Guidelines for posting and discussion on this site were outlined by our host, WolfM00n. Please, review them from time to time.

The discourse on this site is to be CIVIL – no name calling, baiting, or threatening others here is allowed. Those who are so inclined may visit Wolf’s other sanctuary, the U-Tree, to slog it out.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

__________________________________________________

From the Book of St. James, Chapter 1:

Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,
for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life
that he promised to those who love him.
No one experiencing temptation should say,
“I am being tempted by God”;
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
all good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome. Via con Dios.

Cultural Marxism Names The Day S.A.D.

Did you know that today is Singles Awareness Day? No, really, it is. Its acronym is, well, S.A.D. The day after the pop culture appropriated the Christian Feast of St. Valentine, a third century Roman bishop and patron of married couples (yes, he really did exist), the people who give us jelly doughnut day, and siblings day, and any number of other emotionally triggered designated days have decided that unattached people need to be singled out for recognition.

As if those of us who are single are not well aware of that fact. In a culture where mothers crave placecards, and dress fittings, and flowers and beauty, we who are single do not need the reminders that we haven’t gone through the rituals of shedding that status regardless of whether or not it was and is intentional.

But the Cultural Marxists have decided to remind us anyway. From a website all about named days:

After a Christmas spent with elderly family members asking when they’re finally going to get married, or at least find a boyfriend or girlfriend to bring home, life does not get any easier for singles after Christmas, either. No sooner have the Santa Claus and snowman decorations vanished from the shops than the shelves begin to burst with cuddly teddy bears, heart-shaped balloons and boxes of cheap chocolates, all in shades of nauseating neon pinks and reds. Yes, Valentine’s Day has become one of the world’s most profitable occasions, yet another marketing scheme that has hit pay dirt more than the original creators of the idea could have ever dreamed….

It’s a humorous holiday to celebrate being single, to share with single friends, to send each other presents or even order yourself some flowers. On this day many people wear green, as it is the complementary opposite of red. Another popular option is an absence of color (black), to symbolize an absence of celebration.

So this is all a joke to the people who name days? That the culture which no longer fosters courtship as opposed to hooking up and is all about personal fulfillment in marriage rather than sacrifice for a spouse is telling those of us who have not found a suitable mate in life that we are, well, S.A.D.?

Frankly, the letters S.A.D. say something other than this is all light hearted fun. This woman’s status is no joke thanks to the cultural marxist overlords of the world.

It would not be hard to laugh off this sentiment if this was the only person making the claim, but this writer and more than one friend over the years have expressed the very sentiment – and one of those people was a married father of four.

Seriously, which way is it supposed to be? The Cultural Marxists need to make up their minds. We who are single are either S.A.D. or being kept out of the marriage market by their arbitrary rules of everybody needs an expensive “education,” and it’s okay to be in debt for most of one’s adult life.

And then there was this in news this week.

Man offers $25,000 to anyone who can find him a girlfriend

While many people are scrambling to find last-minute presents or even a date before Valentine’s Day, this Kansas man wants a little something more: A girlfriend. And he’s offering $25,000 to anyone who can help him find one.

Bachelor Jeff Gebhart told CBS affiliate KCTV that he has grown sick of dating the traditional way and especially abhors online dating. So, he said, he decided to think outside the box.

“Well think about it, if you’re in a happy marriage, what monetary value could you ever place on meeting the right person … ever?” the 47-year-old told the outlet. “My time and frustration and disappointment definitely is worth some sort of dollar figure but that was roughly what I’d spend in dating.”

Oh, hey, there’s a romantic idea. Put a price tag on the dating process. That will certainly make any woman feel special that the cost for dating and wooing a wife is twenty five grand. And then, there’s no guarantee the guy will be serious beyond having a date once a week, or that anything will last. Truthfully, the marriage mart is one risky place to be, and a lot of men (who, frankly, are in the drivers’ seat when it comes to getting married or not) are not willing to take the risk of being bankrupted by a wrathful woman. (Seriously, the way some women use men, this writer can’t blame them.)

But, that’s not all that singles have going against them when it comes to knowing that the culture is schizophrenic about our status whether or not we are. Honestly, thanks to an out of control wedding industry that exploits the vulnerability of the emotional human condition during what should be a joyful time and occasion in life, there really are scenes like this playing out across the fruited plain on a regular basis.

The truth of it all is that there have always been members of families who didn’t marry for some reason. Everyone has and has had maiden aunts. Clergy and lay religious are made up of such people. But never was their status called S.A.D. It was said that being single was what was meant to be. That’s all.

Why it would be S.A.D. now that single people exist and why anyone would need to remind us of our status and call it poking fun when it really isn’t, especially when the culture has shifted to the point that the battle of the sexes has turned incredibly toxic.

Just throwing this out there.

Thanks to the Cultural Marxists for the shout out, but most of us singles will pass on S.A.D.

Dear KAG: 20200212 Open Thread

Mornin’ y’all. This morning, well….

Due to the sheer number of BOOMs in the last two weeks, it’s time to bring out the big guns.

And…a picture I took at Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County, Illinois, a few years back. The bird’s name is/was Liberty and he was recovering from having been hit by a car near Alton, Illinois, not far from the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

And now for the obligatory message from our sponsors:

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

In addition, it is requested that there be no swinging from the chandeliers, celebratory gunfire, messing around with the nuclear weapons, and, please, everyone wash your hands.

A few other vital notes:

Please, review these rules that our host Wolfm00n outlined toward the beginning of the growth of the tree itself. it won’t take long.

Ridiculing the other side, on the other hand…well….

https://grrrgraphics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/trump_clap-tina-toon.jpg

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From today’s Gospel According to St. Mark, Chapter 7:

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”

When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.

Given the rodent discussion earlier in the week, I’m leaving this one here for one more look.

Dear KAG: 20200211 Open Thread

Welcome to the 15 minute, standing meeting Tuesday Daily thread. With all the winning going on, mood music calls for something less war-like.

Guidelines for posting and discussion on this site were outlined by our host, WolfM00n. Please, review them from time to time.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

__________________________________________________

From the First Book of Kings, Chapter 8:

Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,
he said, “LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart.

“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.”

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome. Via con Dios.

Cultural Marxism And The Exultation Of The Seven Deadly Sins

I will confess that I’ve been toying with this post for quite a while. And then over the weekend, when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira put on their symbolic temple dance….

The post became inevitable.

Over the years, while subjected to the vast intellectual and cultural wasteland known as cable television, every now and then a thought would cross my mind…this is like watching one of the seven deadly sins in action. I will say that the concept was most apparent with a reality show about 600 Pound Lives that a member of the household insists on watching, but the more I think about it….

The cultural marxists in control of entertainment these days seem to be exploiting, and glorifying the seven deadly sins, and what’s worse, people who have never heard of them are lapping up the passive messaging as if this is supposed to be the norm for civilization.

It is not. In fact, these are the very vices that need to be suppressed on an individual level in order to live with other people in any set of circumstances.

Just for review, the seven deadly sins are:

Pride
Envy
Lust
Anger
Gluttony
Greed
Sloth

Each of these dispositions, interestingly enough, works to tear against the fabric of social order in its own way. And each has a counteracting virtue that is supposed to correct or at least counter balance the worst of the disposition’s destructive tendencies. And in today’s world, those virtues (humility, thankfulness, chastity, patience, temperance, generosity, and diligence) can be in very short supply.

But still…the people not aware of what they are seeing and consuming in any and all media vehicles are being swayed to accept that which will eventually cause a society to fall.

It has happened. Multiple times in the history of the world on every continent and among every society. Eventually, the weight of no social order becomes chaos and the society falls.

So, that begs the question, why are we bombarded with “experts” who like to hear themselves talk, trying to impress the world with who and what they know that goes beyond self-promotion and into the realm of conceit.

There is also programming of all sorts that has a “keeping up with the Joneses” theme. These programs can be about just about anything, but home improvement, self improvement, and more can give way to wanting what someone else has.

Why is it now acceptable for women to wear what reveals so much skin that nothing is left to the imagination. And why do fairy tales now include bedroom scenes almost compulsively. Frankly, there are no more secrets, Victoria. And networks where modesty is written into the story lines are slammed as being culturally marxist for refusing to sink to the low of using straight up sex to sell.

Why is anger nurtured when it leads to darkness, or in George Lucas lore, the dark side. (At least in the world of George Lucas anger, hatred and the dark side were features of the bad guys, and the good guys defeated it.) This leads to the need for revenge, which is natural, but the channels to achieve it can be harnessed to something that is not violent or destructive to property.

And when it comes to gluttony, I have to ask: What is appealing about eating so many hot dogs, the person doing the mouth stuffing can’t hold it down. And since when are people entertained by humans who eat so much they are bed ridden? Watching a woman go through the drive thru at McDonald’s on a mobility scooter is more sad than it is entertaining, and yet it is out in the open as what is more modest fare than half of what the Disney Channel offers.

Accumulation of wealth has always been a part of life, but how much money and stuff that we just sit on do we all really need? And then to objectify hoarding, and storage lockers that the owners can’t be bothered to empty is just strange. Half of that stuff ends up in landfills.

Sloth in this context is more about spiritual laziness, and just exactly how much of what is consumed as entertainment has any kind of spiritual aspect to it unless the subject is being ridiculed? And what is it with the characters written into a lot of scripts for the last three decades being slackers? Even in communes those who don’t work get kicked out.

For those who no longer consume this programming, it’s a bit out of sight, out of mind. But for those of us who are subjected to it….

It made the halftime show at the Superbowl less than shocking, let’s just say that.

Still, the question remains, why the exultation of the seven deadly sins from the overlords of entertainment? What are they trying to get the American people to become?

Here at the Q Tree, we know the answer. Unfortunately, those being programmed don’t.

Dear KAG: 20200205 Open Thread

Welcome back to the previously scheduled Wednesday Open Thread!

And just because of all the recent BOOMs.

https://youtu.be/Pe8FnYVSX0Y

Okay, so here’s the deal. This is the open thread. This is where we all come to get the news that other Q tree inhabitants think is worth knowing and sharing. Please, post links to any “news” stories quoted, and ask for help if you are stumped as to how to do that. We’re a friendly lot. Someone will be with you shortly, and there is no reason to have to press one for English.

Free speech, and the open exchange and hashing out of ideas is not only allowed, but encouraged. If we all don’t use it, we’re going to lose it. There are, however, limits to civility, and those limits are strictly observed here. We are all on the same team. No personal threats, baiting, name calling and other behavior you would not want someone else to do to you is allowed.

Yes, it can be rough to temper speech. However, those who would like to slog it out from the comfort of the seat behind your keyboard, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. Please, take it there where this is allowed to happen:

And now for some house keeping:

There are a few rules here in the branches of the Q Tree. Our host, Wolfm00n, outlined them in a post on New Years Day 2019. Please, review these rules from time to time, maybe while waiting for the defrosters to get rolling while warming up the car in this global warming climate change deep freeze that’s happening.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

Steve suggests – to be accurate – no shooting at the nuclear weapons, but to be safe about it, don’t event point firearms toward them. I, Deplorable Patriot, bossy chick that I am, request no teasing the animals, pets and wildlife alike. FG&C asks that you wash your hands, wipe down all non in-home surfaces, and take some vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, and get plenty of rest.

And please, pretty please with sugar on top, no celebratory gunfire…at least not indoors. Concealed carry is encouraged though.

Teasing and trolling the lefties and their bastions, on the other hand is a moral imperative. I will say this one aged well.

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From tomorrow’s readings from the First Book of Chronicles:

And the people rejoiced, when they promised their offerings willingly: because they offered them to the Lord with all their heart: and David the king rejoiced also with a great joy. [10] And he blessed the Lord before all the multitude, and he said: Blessed art thou, O Lord the God of Israel, our father from eternity to eternity.

[11] Thine, O Lord, is magnificence, and power, and glory, and victory: and to thee is praise: for all that is in heaven, and in earth, is thine: thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art above all princes. [12] Thine are riches, and thine is glory, thou hast dominion over all, in thy hand is power and might: in thy hand greatness, and the empire of all things. [13] Now therefore our God we give thanks to thee, and we praise thy glorious name. [14] Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to promise thee all these things? all things are thine: and we have given thee what we received of thy hand. [15] For we are sojourners before thee, and strangers, as were all our fathers. Our days upon earth are as a shadow, and there is no stay.

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.

Back to our regularly scheduled swamp watching.

Dear KAG: 20200204 Open Thread

Someday, I’ll post a clip from the opera. In the meantime, here’s a little five four from the Fellowship of the Rings. Standing behind the percussion while this is played live is LOUD. (Earplugs in.)

Guidelines for posting and discussion on this site were outlined by our host, WolfM00n. Please, review them from time to time.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

__________________________________________________

From the Third Psalm:

Why, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me? many are they who rise up against me. [3] Many say to my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God. [4] But thou, O Lord art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head. [5] I have cried to the Lord with my voice: and he hath heard me from his holy hill.

[6] I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me. [7] I will not fear thousands of the people, surrounding me: arise, O Lord; save me, O my God. [8] For thou hast struck all them who are my adversaries without cause: thou hast broken the teeth of sinners. [9] Salvation is of the Lord: and thy blessing is upon thy people.

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome. Via con Dios.

Dear KAG: 20200129 Open Thread

Welcome back to the previously scheduled Wednesday Open Thread!

Mood music for today is inspired by the Psalm of the day, Number 24

If that doesn’t make you feel good….

And now for some house keeping:

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

And please, pretty please with sugar on top, no celebratory gunfire…at least not indoors. Concealed carry is encouraged though.

Teasing and trolling the lefties and their bastions, on the other hand is a moral imperative. I will say this one aged well.

__________________________________________________

From yesterday’s readings and the Second Book of Samuel:

David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom
into the City of David amid festivities.
As soon as the bearers of the ark of the LORD had advanced six steps,
he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
Then David, girt with a linen apron,
came dancing before the LORD with abandon,
as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD
with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.
The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its place
within the tent David had pitched for it.
Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
When he finished making these offerings,
he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
He then distributed among all the people,
to each man and each woman in the entire multitude of Israel,
a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake.
With this, all the people left for their homes.

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.

Back to our regularly scheduled swamp watching.

Dear KAG: 20200128 Open Thread

Still waiting for this to happen in certain parts of the Nation’s Capitol?

https://youtu.be/_k8YpQKzl_k

Battle music, please.

https://youtu.be/vKZPgGbUuX0

Guidelines for posting and discussion on this site were outlined by our host, WolfM00n. Please, review them from time to time.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

__________________________________________________

Some words of wisdom from the Gospel According to St. Mark, Chapter 3:

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome. Via con Dios.