Our mission, as God-fearing and God-loving patriots, is to defend this Constitutional Republic and to increase its greatness, in all good things and ways, by using our voices in free but courteous speech, by discussing the happenings of the world and coming to a profound understanding of those things, and by sharing and promulgating these Truths on both this platform and others.
IF they were wise and not given over to sinful pursuits of the world;
Matthew 5:45
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (KJV)
Jesus taught us to be as kind as possible to everyone we are in contact with in our lives because that emulates God the Father and how he treats all of us. He shares the sun, the rain, and the harvest with everybody regardless of them being good or bad, or that they are a believer or unbeliever.
Were those who reject Him wise, they would look to the beautiful creation around them and praise God for His love.
Were they wise, the unbelievers and skeptics would look to the endless heavens and see the magnificent intelligent design of something far too beautiful and complex to fully understand and explain with our limited minds; and then praise an Almighty God for His creation.
Were they wise, all of the heathen, narcissistic, and self absorbed people in the world would stop and thank God for their beating hearts, breathing lungs, and thoughtful brains.
God’s goodness is displayed openly for all to see. Many people go through life blind to Him, missing the gifts while thrashing about wildly seeking what they believe will satisfy the unquenchable thirst in their beings.
These are the people who need kindness the most. They need to see and hear us give God the praise for His power and love. Yet, standing for God and pointing out His goodness to an unbelieving world can be more of a challenge, especially when we have close relationships who seem to reject it.
The opposed to God and His ways need to discover for themselves the error of their choices through how the believers live around them. In that manner they may grow wiser and might recognize and acknowledge they have been wrong and repent.
In The Days Of Noah
It may seem a stretch to consider that the current path of the world has led to conditions that were present when God declared He had seen enough and brought the sin and evil to an end. Yet, here we are and no, it does not appear to be a stretch. The drumbeats of war, disease, natural and unnaturally caused catastrophes, sexual perversions, perceived gender dysphoria, child abuse and sacrifice, human trafficking of slaves, lovers of money, drug addictions, hatred and violence against groupings of people and cultures, worshippers of false and and pagan gods with their religions, and on and on and on. The evidence of wickedness is spread throughout the world and everybody is touched by it to some extent. Some of us on here lament the choices that even family members and friends make that we know will bring pain or even their destruction.
God chose Noah and members of his immediate family for a restart of mankind and a cleansing of the earth. For this story if you do not remember it or have not read it, please read the scripture found in Genesis 6:9 – 9:17. You can change the version from NKJV as you prefer.
Noah was not like Jesus. He was not sinless. However, he was judged by God as righteous. So what is the difference between those two terms? We probably need to know since no human being beyond Jesus, who was both God and man, has been sinless. He who was without sin was sent to earth for the purpose of reconciling mankind to God. As The Word tells us, He desires that none be lost. That demonstrates how much God hates sin, yet, loves us, His created beings.
Being judged righteous by God is something all believers should seek, that Noah was in spades. Place yourself in his position. You are living and located in an incredibly evil region of the world that has no belief and understanding about the God you worship. You are the middle aged patriarch of a family that includes a wife and three sons along with their wives. The Biblical account does not tell us if the sons and their wives also had children prior to The Flood.
One day, in great detail down to materials and measurements, you receive a clear instruction from God to build a huge float boat without propulsion of any type, a covered animal party barge of sorts. You learn that God, whom you have always trusted and worshipped despite the ridicule and wickedness around you, is over it all with mankind. He tells you that with the exception of who and what you are to bring aboard the ark all else are going to die. He makes a covenant that you and your family will survive.
Upon hearing this, you decide you better get started. Why? You do so because you completely believe and trust God, whom you have worshipped, believed and walked with during your life. You know from His words He means business. You tell your sons and the wives who then begin to do what you instruct from His instructions to you.
I can just imagine the stank eyes they gave you when you explained the task and who commanded it to be done. But they get busy and do as instructed.
Next, think about how long that project took using tools and methods from the period and using a limited labor pool. Mind blowing. Scholars are not sure, but the overall consensus time range is that it took 40 to 100 years. That meant decades of ridicule and scoffing from the wicked area population toward the village idiot, Noah, along with his family for building a huge boat on very dry land.
Noah could later claim he who laughs last, laughs best, especially as they came running to convince him to let them come on board as the heavy rains fell and the flooding began. However, his blameless life tells us that it was doubtful that he laughed and none were allowed to join him.
That is some major league faith exhibited in an evil world that had grieved God to the point of bringing about the near extinction of life. Noah’s response is a perfect depiction of the righteousness that God ascribed to him.
Righteousness as defined in Merriam-Webster for this application:
“acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin“
That would fit Noah except he was not without sin and that was even demonstrated post flood as the story in Genesis unfolded. We see from this that using secular sources to define God things is not necessarily the way to go. Below is a good description of the term from a Christian sense.
Post death and resurrection of Jesus, we who accept Him as our Savior are judged to be righteous in God’s view. But how does that square with the condition of a sinful Noah being judged righteous in times prior to Jesus?
It lies in the interpretation of the term in the Hebrew Torah, known as the Pentateuch to Christians, which is the first five books in the Old Testament of our Bible. Noah was deemed righteous by God as the one who was blameless in the wicked period in which he lived. It appears he did not speak out against the evil around him, however, he did not participate in it and walked with God daily. The full measure of righteousness of God did not appear on the earth until thousands of years later in the person of Jesus Christ.
From the times of Noah forward the faithful remnant of followers of God becomes a theme concerning the Hebrews throughout the Bible and has continued throughout world history.
Which leads to the heart of man. For us, post Jesus, that means how our heart is turned toward God and accomplishing His will. It’s personal. In short, do we love and trust Him? Do we accept the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus for our own salvation from the flood of our sin? Do we respond to our belief and salvation with actions that reflect the relationship?
Donald J. Trump
Some may say, “Trade, you are losing your mind here.” That’s OK, I get accused of that often. 😂
Honestly, in your lifetime have you ever witnessed anything like you are now seeing on the world stage or in the history books? Peace making through strength that is unparalleled in magnitude is occurring.
Go back in time, would all of the evil we have seen in the world in more recent times have existed if our world leaders had adhered to Godly principles and lived under God’s providence? We know the answer.
Donald J. Trump appears to be a man chosen by God to accomplish His will for America and the world. We can debate whether he is an instrument or a servant of God. However, it seems America has seen this happen before in its 250 years and the same debate about instrument or servant could be held. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and others have all been raised up when the times demanded it, yet, had questions, detractors and enemies.
I contend that We the People made a covenant with God at our founding. Our founding fathers were not like most of the more recent crop of politicians. The current bunch most closely resemble the unprincipled, evil politicians of the ancient Roman Senate during that body’s more darker periods. Our founders were serious people who had real skin in the game. They quickly hit the enemies list of the then world superpower, Great Britain.
Which is just like Donald J. Trump has in our times; except his listing on enemy lists is far more wide ranging and includes a larger number of traitors and seditionists within our own borders.
In essence our founders asked for God’s dominion over us. His obvious responses through the years have proven He honors the relationship, the covenant. The evidence is in the raising up of leaders and movements when our choice has been to remain faithful. It is also in the discipline we received when collectively most did not and turned from him. This is similar to what has happened with His chosen people of Israel. I am not suggesting He is equating or replacing them with us. Instead. it appears that we have been taken into His care by our faith and dedication of this nation to His Providence. He accepted our intent and hearts then, He continues to honor the intent and hearts of the faithful We the People today.
Once again, please take time to read the last paragraph of our Declaration of Independence.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Do not fear.
Think about it.
Remember Wolf’s site rules. Note and label all AI. Please be kind to one another, we are all in this together. May God richly bless America and all of you.
Before all things and people – In God We Trust. Also, trust Trump and the plan.
Joe Biden never won. This is our Real President – 45, 46, 47.
AND our beautiful REALFLOTUS.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the Week:
scribable
adjective
capable of being written
capable of being written upon
something that can be written, marked, or inscribed
surfaces, materials, or objects on which writing or marking is possible and which allows for the application of ink, pencil, or other writing instruments
Used in a sentence
Something that is said to be scribable implies that it cannot be indescribable, since saying that something is scribable proves that it can be described.
Shown in a picture
Shown in a video
MUSIC!
Indescribable!
THE STUFF
Do you miss Charlie Kirk? Thankfully, he left a lot of content for us! Enjoy.
Wheatie Wisdom. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone. No running with scissors. No food fights.
AI stuff posted, requires a link. Please use spoiler, for longer posts.
Wolf Speak. No obnoxious behavior towards fellow QTreeper(s). Freedom of Speech is honored here QTree. But Do Know, every poster, IS personally responsible for what they post.
Veteran of the Normandy invasion, Jim Radford sings his own composition in remembrance of his crew mates and the thousands more who died on D-Day.
The Shores of Normandy – Jim Radford (D-Day 70 Years On)
4:44
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Sam Elliott pays tribute to SGT Ray Lambert on the 2019 National Memorial Day Concert
6:50
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2,510 Americans died June 6, 1944 in D-Day Operations.
1:04
Grok. (Emphasis mine.)
Broader Normandy Campaign.
If you’re asking about the entire Battle of Normandy (June–August 1944, not just D-Day), U.S. forces suffered far higher losses. American battle casualties in Normandy and northern France from June 6 to mid-September totaled around 135,000, including roughly 29,000 killed.
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D-DAY: THE ALLIED INVASION OF NORMANDY
The Allied assault in Normandy to begin the Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Western Europe was code-named Operation Overlord. It required two years of planning, force and logistics build-up, and extensive training by the United States and Great Britain in the British Isles. Overlord was one of the most heavily guarded secrets of the war, and it benefitted from a sophisticated Allied deception effort to fool Nazi leaders of the true Allied objective. In the leadup to the operation, a combined Anglo-American air campaign and liaison with the French Resistance helped set the conditions for the operation and ensured that the Allies would control the skies over the front in Normandy and delay German counterattack forces.
With the build-up complete, Allied forces were poised for the assault at the start of June 1944, but poor weather caused a delay. Finally, on the morning of June 5, 1944, in a meeting with his American and British subordinates, U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, announced, “O.K. We’ll go.” The “departure day” or D-Day for the operation was set for June 6.
General Eisenhower’s decision put into motion an armada of over 7,000 naval vessels, including 4,000 landing craft and 1,200 warships, to cross the English Channel toward Nazi-controlled Normandy, France. That night 822 aircraft, carrying parachutists and towing gliders, deployed the airborne troops of one British and two American divisions over landing zones in Normandy. Intended to be the vanguard of the operation, the landing of those 23,400 airborne troops just after midnight, early on June 6—D-Day, proved a tremendous success, protecting the flanks of the landing forces and facilitating their continued advance.
From the sea, after preliminary naval bombardment and bombing attacks by Allied aircraft, amphibious assault troops began to land on the beaches of Normandy at 6:30 in the morning. American divisions landed at beaches code-named Utah and Omaha, British divisions at Sword and Gold, and the Canadians at Juno. Although caught by surprise, the Germans fought fiercely, but on four of the five beaches, casualties in the assault echelons were less than some Allied leaders had feared. On Omaha Beach, American troops suffered the heaviest casualties and had a difficult fight to break through German defenses on the bluffs and move inland; despite the tough fight, however, over 34,000 Americans came ashore at Omaha alone on June 6.
Whether by parachute, glider, or amphibious assault craft, in all, nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy on D-Day. By nightfall on D-Day, Allied assault troops across Normandy had suffered over 10,300 casualties—killed, wounded, and missing— of which approximately 2,400 were on Omaha Beach.
In addition to the massive naval armada, supporting the operation were about 12,000 Allied aircraft. In addition to major forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, 12 other Allied nations or contingents were part of the largest and most complex amphibious invasion in history.
Allied assault troops gained a foothold on the Continent of Europe on D-Day and fought to gradually expand their beachhead. By the end of June, the Allies had landed over 850,000 troops, 570,000 tons of supplies, and nearly 150,000 vehicles across the beaches of Normandy. There would be months of hard fighting in Europe before the Nazis finally surrendered in May 1945, but the D-Day invasion gave the Allies the success they needed to initiate the campaigns that would lead to the liberation of Occupied Europe.
10yo granddaughter had no idea what D-day was. Fifth grade, I prolly should not be surprised. She is actually a very bright and inquisitive youngster. Lots of questions. 15yo grandson, rattled off depression, holocaust, WWII, something…
They are both now well aware of D-Day, including why “D” in D Day.
Smacks of another opportunity, with July 4th, in four weeks. 🙂
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Secrets of D-Day: The Great Invasion (Full Episode)
47:22
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The Wounded Cameraman Who Captured D-Day’s Deadliest Moment
24:32
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June 6, 1944, D-Day, Operation Overlord
1:40:18
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Worth repeating…
Image AI. From American Thinker
“Civilizations die from suicide, not murder.” Arnold Toynbee.
We, can NOT allow America to go the way of Europe and England. Down the…
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More recently…
Never, Ever Forget…What the bastards did to us during Covidiot, the Poisonous Jabs…
This man, making Christmas calls from the White House, believes the world is a sphere. And he has even flown around it! So has our beautiful FLOTUS, who happens to be his wife!
Truth and common sense must be valued by us, as individuals, in order to lastingly disempower the authoritarian fake news media. This includes the perniciously smarmy science media, which never answers for its errors and lies. I believe that the media has been responsible not only for leftist pathologies like scientism, medical fascism, and radical gender ideology, but also for reactionary movements like modern flat Earth, rejection of all medicine, and Biblical geological literalism.
Just as Wheatie’s Stormwatch Monday Open Thread was created as a place for people to openly express their thoughts and opinions, so, too, is this Thank God Thursday Open Thread, where honest but civil discussion of all topics is encouraged. This thread is also to be known as Theistic Evolution Thursdays, due to the author’s expected “pontification” about his scientific, religious, and political opinions. You are welcome to pontificate back! Free speech matters!
Please label all AI-generated content as being such, unless it is patently obvious (e.g., humorous AI images). It is important that we as individuals not begin to pretend that socially derived artificial intelligence is actually our own, as this form of stealthy social information averaging and feedback would be one more pretense and deception between people, in service of stupid Marxist socialism, and of those who wish to substitute their communally protected lies for actual truth.
The source of alleged truth matters, not for the truth itself, but for validation.
And yes, it’s THURSDAY…again.
And that’s it. We’re done stealing from Wheatie.
OK – maybe her rules need to be posted.
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Other rules may be derivable from these, and that conjecture is left for discussion.
If there is nothing beyond the “W” below, then this is a placeholder. For health reasons, I can’t always post a timely opinion before each Thursday, but I will try. Otherwise, you have this placeholder post, where YOU provide the content. Enjoy!
W
Jay Bhattacharya vs. Regressive Democrat Science
The recent May issue of Imprimis from Hillsdale College just hit my mailbox, and this issue is extremely interesting.
IMO, this is one of the best philosophical take-downs of modern “regressive” prog-commie science. I urge you, if you have not yet read the article, to click on the above link and download the PDF of the essay.
There are Important Notifications from our host, Wolf Moon; the Rules of our late, good Wheatie; and, certain caveats from Yours Truly, of which readers should be aware. They are linked here. Note: Yours Truly has checked today’s post for any AI-generated content. To the best of her knowledge and belief, there is none. If readers wish to post any AI-generated content in the discussion thread for today’s post, they must cite their source. Thank you.
Do not forget to LABEL AI articles video and such.
Jeff points out the major failure feature of the Fake News.
…Editors should have: separated real evidence from allegations, resisted parroting the framing of biased sources, brought in neutral independent forensic and archaeological voices, and updated headlines as the picture changed. In other words, basic journalism vanished like the alleged mass graves.
It was a complete failure of what is supposedly the media’s most important function: to separate interested gossip from facts. Maybe I should say, that used to be media’s most important function. Now, corporate media’s most important function appears to be distributing clever propaganda that destabilizes countries, spurs stochastic terrorism, and permits politicians to effect massive wealth transfers…
…Government researchers enrolled extremely vulnerable infants in an experimental RSV trial, did not obtain informed consent, continued dosing even as severe cases emerged, and two children died. Nobody was prosecuted or even fired. This is serious iatrogenic harm (injury caused by medical treatment) and a research‑ethics failure on its face, full stop.
The Times did its absolute best to cloak that very disturbing and all-too-familiar story in race. The two boys were black. “Most, if not all,” of the 31 kids in the trial group were black. Thus, the Times concluded: racism. What the Times didn’t say was that by the late 1950s and into the 1960s, Washington, D.C. had become a majority‑black city; black residents were the single largest racial group, and by 1970 had peaked at about 71% of the entire population.
That’s one problem for the Times’ unfounded racial hypothesis. Second, the NIH’s RSV trial was deployed through government-run or funded clinics. Both because blacks were in the majority in DC, and because of basic economics, most patients at these public clinics were also black. So we needn’t dream up some conspiratorial racial animus to explain the trial’s demographics.
Black folks were just unlucky enough to be living in DC in large numbers at the time. That’s it.
So, once again, the NYT’s dumb, woke narrative collapses with the most trivial inspection. But more interesting is why the Times leaned so hard into the race angle, despite having not a scrap of evidence. It’s because the last thing the big health agencies need right now is more scandals.
This is exactly the institutional reform RFK Jr. and Jay Bhattacharya were hired to deliver.
🔥 At some point during the Cold War, our big health agencies contracted a deadly disease. They are infected with a mind-virus called utilitarianism. The scandal here is not that the NIH gave experimental RSV shots to black infants without informing their black parents. The real scandal is that the NIH believes you can’t make a public health omelet without breaking a few babies.
In other words, the NIH’s secret trials of experimental vaccines would not have been more acceptable if the babies had been white, orange, or green.
Classic ethical philosophy based on Judeo-Christian principles says: “You may not use people purely as a means, not even for a huge benefit to others.” Utilitarianism rudely inverts that: if the benefit is big enough, and the expected risk is small enough, almost any use of human bodies as means can be rationalized.
At some point in the recent past, our public health agencies quietly slid from “we are here to protect people” to “we are managing a herd, sorry, a population,” and those are not the same posture. In other words, instead of thinking of themselves as healers, they think they are ranchers.
The Lot 100 episode illustrates this problem perfectly. Severe harms and even deaths of infants were tolerated by elite managers because the perceived collective value of “staying the course” was so high. Even fudging the numbers to hide the harms was considered virtuous.
Stalin’s stats were great too, until they weren’t.
In classic public‑health utilitarian fashion, the stated good was enormous —preventing a leading cause of infant mortality worldwide— so the “cost” of experimenting on a few dozen vulnerable infants in D.C. could be rationalized as small in comparison.
The reason progressives and public health types (but I repeat myself) stick like limpets to utilitarianism is that it is technocratic. The philosophy —which is a necessary foundation for communism— presumes it is possible to quantify, in hard numbers, the numeric value of human lives and flourishing. That makes it possible to compare political policies: which ones produce on balance the most human flourishing?
It is both sensationally attractive and completely perverted…
In the Lot 100 case, we find scientists who explicitly or implicitly calculated that infants were less valuable than adults, and that poor folks were less valuable than more economically privileged ones. After all, the NIH investigators recruited from public children’s clinics, not from the private practices their own children or colleagues might have used.
Put even more simply and uglier: the NIH bureaucrats didn’t experiment on their own kids.
🔥 I will say it: utilitarianism is an evil, reprehensible ideology that all good people should root out and shun.
Utilitarianism isn’t a neutral “science of compassion.” It’s a license for elites to convert other people’s lives into numbers and then quietly decide which ones are expendable. Once you agree that it’s acceptable to harm a few innocents to buy hypothetical benefits for the many, you haven’t elevated morality— you’ve simply replaced “thou shalt not” with “let’s run the model and see who dies.”
Lot 100 was not a tragic mistake; it was utilitarianism doing exactly what it promises: sacrificing powerless babies in a D.C. clinic for the supposed good of a population they never got to join. [It continues]
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), the “Father” of Modern Utilitarianism and progressive saint. His preserved head, anyway.
What is interesting is I had already put the following together about the philosophies of ‘value’ because I like Mises and Gary North. Gary passed away in February of 2022, at the age of 80 due to complications from prostate cancer.
…He was by training an economic historian and had a strong commitment to Austrian economics. He greatly admired Mises and Rothbard. He once asked Mises how he had been able to publish his famous article of 1920 on socialist calculation in a journal edited by Max Weber. Mises answered, “Well, I knew him, and I sent it in.” Gary wrote a notable study of Marx, Marx’s Religion of Revolution, and a long and learned commentary on biblical economics. He was also a founder of the Christian Reconstruction movement, along with his father-in-law, R.J. Rushdoony.
He was on Ron Paul’s staff in 1976, and he and Dr. Paul were close friends. For many years, he spoke at Mises Institute conferences, and he was the best debater I have ever heard. In his speaking style, he was highly organized and relentless; but he was in conversation kind and friendly. When I saw him at conferences, we would exchange stories of the old days. Now, alas, I cannot do that anymore.
Gary’s Mises on Money is well worth the read. I featured it in an article called APRIMERONMONEY. The following article by Gary is another excellent read as he identifies the problems that are metastasizing in American thought.
The philosophical bases of Marx’s thought were laid early and remained unchanged throughout his life. As a student, Marx accepted the philosophy of Hegel as the only sound and adequate explanation of the universe. According to this philosophy, “the only immutable thing is the abstraction of movement.” The one universal phenomenon is change, and the only universal form of this phenomenon is its complete abstraction. Thus, Hegel accepted as real only that which existed in the mind. Objective phenomena and events were of no consequence; only the conceptions of them possessed by human minds were real. Ideas, not objects, were the stuff of which the universe was made.
If Objective Reality does not exist, than a little girl can become a boy or a cat or a dog. The people pushing this insanity are not going to tell you that it is based on Marxism but that is where it comes from.
Old timers will recall this title as a memorable line in a memorable comedy album, Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume 1….
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO “PROPERTY”?
The phrase, “life, liberty, and property,” does not appear in the Declaration. The phrase is incorrectly attributed to John Locke. It was implied in Locke’s Second Treatise on Government (1690), but it does not appear. Locke used the word estate rather than property. He subsumed all three words under property.
Man being born, as has been proved, with a title to perfect freedom and an uncontrolled enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of Nature, equally with any other man, or number of men in the world, hath by nature a power not only to preserve his property, that is, his life, liberty, and estate, against the injuries and attempts of other men, but to judge of and punish the breaches of that law in others, as he is persuaded the offence deserves, even with death itself, in crimes where the heinousness of the fact, in his opinion, requires it (Sect. 87).
Protection of all three — life, liberty, property — is guaranteed in writing by the United States Constitution. This guarantee appears in Article 5 of the Bill of Rights, which was ratified in 1791. It has proven as reliable as other government guarantees of its own performance.
A similar phrase appears in Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). Burke wrote this of the revolutionaries:
To those who have observed the spirit of their conduct it has long been clear that nothing was wanted but the power of carrying the intolerance of the tongue and of the pen into a persecution which would strike at property, liberty, and life.
But there is no question that Jefferson substituted “the pursuit of happiness” for the more common term, “property.” Was there something ideological in this substitution? Was Jefferson a proto-socialist, as numerous contemporary historians argue?
Had he inserted “property,” this would have saved defenders of private property a lot of time and trouble when dealing with statist scholars, who are always searching for support for their position in the writings of famous defenders of democracy.
The pursuit of happiness is for modern academic man what the pursuit of truth is: a way to avoid the responsibility for discovering anything final. There is no objective truth for modern academic man, other than the truth against objective truth. Similarly, there is no objective happiness. There is only the subjective pursuit of such lofty goals by individuals. In this, as in virtually everything else, academics substitute process for objectivity. Defending the process is holy communion for modern academics. There is officially no holy grail, which would be much too objective.
Why this commitment to pursuit, trivial or otherwise? I suggest two reasons. First, academics do not officially believe in objective truth, which implies objective responsibility, which is decidedly old fashioned and even vaguely suggestive of the Christian doctrine of final judgment. The concept of objective responsibility implies objective standards and objective performance. Academics prefer to avoid both.
Second, modern academics control access to salaried participation in the process of the great search, especially in higher education. They control the implementation of the officially objective standards of tenure, institutional accreditation, and the flow of departmental funds. What Daniel Klein has described so well in the closed, self-certified world of Ph.D. economists operates in every academic discipline.
In contrast, “property” implies enforceable titles to identifiable units of ownership. This is altogether too objective for modern defenders of the political defense of the pursuit of happiness. They defend the democratic process, which affirms, “Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.” They want to believe in Jefferson the democrat, not Jefferson the defender of free market capitalism. They want to eradicate political restrictions on the confiscation of property by the State. The suggestion that politics exists so as to defend private property is only marginally less welcome than the suggestion that the Second Amendment to the Constitution actually means that civilians possess the right to keep and bear arms.
JEFFERSON WAS NOT ALONE
It was not only Jefferson who neglected to spell out in official detail his personal adherence to the private property social order. It was also Adam Smith, whose Wealth of Nations (1776), four months earlier, had placed the division of labor at the forefront of its economic attack on mercantilism, an attack that Jefferson made political in the Declaration. Smith’s pedagogical strategy backfired for the next 150 years. By failing to specify in Wealth of Nations the moral and philosophical foundations for private ownership, Smith handed the seemingly high moral ground over to Godwin and the socialists. The consequences of this decision have been chronicled in considerable detail by Tom Bethell in Chapter 7 of his book, The Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity Through the Ages (1998).
Jefferson was the supreme follower of Adam Smith among the American Revolutionaries. But by failing to specify property as the third pillar of the justification for civil government — a mistake Locke had not made — he made more difficult his ideological heirs’ defense of the private property order.
The pursuit of happiness is open-ended and non-specific. Liberty is just too vague to be defended systematically. What was needed in 1776 in both of those legendary documents was the insight made by Frederic Bastiat in 1850, in the midst of a European revolution that had begun in early 1848, a few weeks before Marx and Engels’ anonymous tract appeared, Manifesto of the Communist Party. Bastiat wrote in The Law, “Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” Or, in the words of a previous defender of objective private property, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16b-17)
Gary North Mentions Bastiat. Here is part of an article about Bastiat and his philosophy.
Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) was one of the leading advocates of free markets and free trade in the mid-19 century. He was inspired by the activities of Richard Cobden and the organization of the Anti-Corn Law League in Britain in the 1840s and tried to mimic their success in France. Bastiat was an elected member of various French political bodies and opposed both protection and the rise of socialist ideas in these forums. His writings for a broader audience were very popular and were quickly translated and republished in the U.S. and throughout Europe. His incomplete magnum opus, Economic Harmonies, is full of insights into the operation of the market and is still of great interest to economists. He died at a young age from cancer of the throat.
LAW, Spoliation by
LAW, Spoliation by. What is law? It is the collective organization of the individual right of legitimate defense. Every man certainly has received from nature, from God, the right to defend his person, his liberty and his property, since these are the three constitutive or conservative elements of life, elements which complement one another, and which can not be understood, one without the other. For what are our faculties but an extension of our personality? And what is property but an extension of our faculties? If every man has the right to defend, even by force, his person, his liberty and his property, a number of men have the right to concert together, to agree and to organize a common force in order to provide regularly for this defense. The collective right has its principle, and its reason of being, and bases its legitimacy upon the individual right, and the common force can not legitimately have any other end or any other mission than the isolated forces for which it is substituted. Thus, as an individual can not legitimately make any forcible attempt against the person, liberty or property of another individual, so, for the same reason, a community can not legitimately make use of force to destroy the person, liberty or property of individuals or of classes. For this perversion of force would be, in the latter case, as well as in the former, in contradiction to our premises.
Which brings us to capitalism which TradeBait2 discussed yesterday. This is looking at Capitalism from the point of view of an Atheist. For those who may not know Ayn Rand grew up in the Soviet Union.
Laissez-faire capitalism, according to Ayn Rand, is not just an ideal but an unknown ideal. Few grasp its meaning, history, economics, or moral justification. In Capitalism, Rand sets out to remedy that.
Rand argues that capitalism is “a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.” In practice, this means that a capitalist society is one in which the government performs a single function: it protects individual rights by banning “physical force from human relationships.”
Pure capitalism, she concludes, has never existed: but in the countries that approached it, with America in the second half of the nineteenth century leading the way, the individual was able to flourish. This is because capitalism is the only system that fully recognizes that man is the rational being who “has the right to exist for his own sake,” free from coercion by others.
There are, in essence, three schools of thought on the nature of the good: the intrinsic, the subjective, and the objective. The intrinsic theory holds that the good is inherent in certain things or actions as such, regardless of their context and consequences, regardless of any benefit or injury they may cause to the actors and subjects involved. It is a theory that divorces the concept of “good” from beneficiaries, and the concept of “value” from valuer and purpose — claiming that the good is good in, by, and of itself.
The subjectivist theory holds that the good bears no relation to the facts of reality, that it is the product of a man’s consciousness, created by his feelings, desires, “intuitions,” or whims, and that it is merely an “arbitrary postulate” or an “emotional commitment.”
There are, in essence, three schools of thought on the nature of the good: the intrinsic, the subjective, and the objective. The intrinsic theory holds that the good is inherent in certain things or actions as such, regardless of their context and consequences, regardless of any benefit or injury they may cause to the actors and subjects involved. It is a theory that divorces the concept of “good” from beneficiaries, and the concept of “value” from valuer and purpose — claiming that the good is good in, by, and of itself.
The subjectivist theory holds that the good bears no relation to the facts of reality, that it is the product of a man’s consciousness, created by his feelings, desires, “intuitions,” or whims, and that it is merely an “arbitrary postulate” or an “emotional commitment.”
The intrinsic theory holds that the good resides in some sort of reality, independent of man’s consciousness; the subjectivist theory holds that the good resides in man’s consciousness, independent of reality.
The objective theory holds that the good is neither an attribute of “things in themselves” nor of man’s emotional states, but an evaluation of the facts of reality by man’s consciousness according to a rational standard of value. (Rational, in this context, means: derived from the facts of reality and validated by a process of reason.) The objective theory holds that the good is an aspect of reality in relation to man — and that it must be discovered, not invented, by man. Fundamental to an objective theory of values is the question: Of value to whom and for what? An objective theory does not permit context-dropping or “concept-stealing”; it does not permit the separation of “value” from “purpose,” of the good from beneficiaries, and of man’s actions from reason.
GOOGLE AI: Ayn Rand intrinsic value
Value Requires a Valuer and a Purpose
Rand asked the fundamental question: Of value to whom and for what? [1]
Because she rejected intrinsic value, she maintained that an object cannot have value without someone to value it.
For a thing to have value, it must play a specific causal role in achieving a goal for an individual. [1, 2, 3]
The Ultimate Standard of Value
Rand argued that the concept of “value” only makes sense because living organisms face the alternative of life or death. Therefore, the ultimate standard of value is an individual’s own life. An object or action is considered “good” or “valuable” if it serves to sustain and further that specific individual’s life. [1, 2, 3]
Explore the Intrinsic Theory of Values in the Ayn Rand Lexicon to read her exact definitions and arguments. [1]
With the support of the Democratic Socialists, his prediction is coming true.
Also, I remember him beating his shoe on the desk in the UN saying,”We will bury you”….
A reminder of Khrushchev comments September 29, 1959: THIS WAS Russian Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev’s ENTIRE QUOTE from that day:
“Your children’s children will live under communism, You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright; but we will keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you will finally wake up and find you already have Communism. We will not have to fight you; We will so weaken your economy, until you will fall like overripe fruit into our hands.” “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
Do you remember or know all of what Russia’s Khrushchev said in 1959?
How do you create a Socialist State?
There are 8 levels of control; read the following recipe:
1) Healthcare – Control healthcare and you control the people.
2) Poverty – Increase the poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them.
3) Debt – Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.
4) Gun Control – Remove the ability to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state.
5) Welfare – Take control of every aspect (food, housing, income) of their lives because that will make them fully dependent on the government.
6) Education – Take control of what people read and listen to and take control of what children learn in school.
7) Religion – Remove the belief in God from the Government and schools because the people need to believe in ONLY the government knowing what is best for the people.
8) Class Warfare – Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. Eliminate the middle class This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to tax the wealthy with the support of the poor.
Fast forward to 2021.
Is this parallel to the Democrat Socialist Agenda????
With an open mind, you can draw your own conclusions.
One last historical fact that needs to be remembered: In 1964, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Democrats held the longest filibuster in our nation’s history, 75 days. All trying to prevent the passage of one piece of legislation. You guessed it: THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.
Amazing how the CIA reading room hides all of this:
As a Christian citizen of America, I am a devout supporter American capitalism. Below you will learn why I feel that way. Feel free to post your own opinions and thoughts.
American Capitalism
American exceptionalism prevails in most endeavors. One of the chief ways is through our adherence to capitalistic principles. The definition of capitalism per Wiki states:
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and its use for the purpose of obtaining profit.
They go on to explain it is a socioeconomic system that developed historically in several stages.
Investopedia defines it as,
Capitalism is an economic system where private individuals or businesses own capital goods, and the free market controls the production of goods and services.
Merriam-Webster,
An economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.
I tend to agree with them. The definitions complement each other.
With #47 restoring our economic engine that is being driven primarily by energy, manufacturing, tech and agriculture; it took less than a year to become the “hottest country” after decades of languishing in the consumer driven service sector world of retail, restaurants and lodging facilities. Meanwhile Chyna had ascended on the worldwide stage while buying our uniparty politicians.
This gave enemies of capitalism the opening they needed. They love to point to the excesses and abuses while ignoring the far worse excesses and abuses of the other systems they support. Those detractors will never support America because there has never been a more powerful, successful economy in world history. It is interesting that we find many of the detractors in the halls of formerly trusted academia. Hence, PDT hammering their own misdeeds with the legal tools made available to him by the law.
When one considers our relatively short life as a nation, our economic performance during periods when we got serious about it is nothing short of astounding. In the current period, over $18 Trillion Dollars in capital investments invested into our nation is the tale of the tape.
That is a big deal.
The economic needs of mankind have historically been served best when participants are incentivized to perform at their highest levels. In no other economic system does that occur more successfully than in capitalism. The economic performance, innovation, and quality of life in our country are unmatched anywhere when we remain true to the principles of it and our founding documents. So it seems we only need to check and see what The Author of The Book has to say about it to defend against all other challenges.
Next, we should focus on applicable scripture. Credit to biblehub.com as well for their take on the issue. NASB is used for scripture clarity.
Godly Direction
Genesis 1:28 – God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 2:15 – Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it.
Proverbs 10:4 – Poor is one who works with a lazy hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
The three verses above establish what God wants man to do with His creation. He first placed mankind in control of all of the earth. The assignment was huge and it would require mankind to do as commanded by God. For now, ignore the result that surfaced later in the Garden of Eden. The original assignment was to populate and subdue the planet. To do that man had to go to work. Man was then assigned to tend and cultivate the Garden. It was a direct assignment. Fast forward thousands of years later and we read another scripture in Proverbs that confirms diligent work produces riches while being lazy makes one poor. In that we also learn that some people are rich and some are poor along with everything in between. Everybody is not the same when it comes to earthly wealth.
All of which tells us it is a directive of God to work hard. Gaining wealth is an offshoot and the amount is determined by God’s will. We are to share the bounty in God’s way. There is nothing inherently wrong with gaining wealth by working hard and smart. It is a much more preferable result over being lazy or undisciplined, which are conditions opposed to God’s will.
Private Property
Note that private property exists in a temporal sense. Individuals and governments do not own everything; God does. He makes the rules.
Leviticus 25:23 – The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, because the land is Mine; for you are only strangers and residents with Me.
Exodus 20:15 – You shall not steal.
Matthew 25:14-30 – The Parable of the Talents. The reader is invited to review the linked scripture as it is too long to restate here.
In Israel during the time of Christ, a talent was a unit of measurement used when weighing gold or silver for use as money. A talent weighed about 75 pounds. That’s a lot of gold and great wealth.
With these verses we learn we own nothing. God owns it all. While working we are instructed not to steal another person’s property, which first implies people own rights to property that has value. We also learn people work for others who have amassed wealth, who entrust their workers to increase their assets (profits) that aligns with responsibility toward God. So, wealth multiplication from what God has provided is an expectation. When we do so we are being accountable to Him and meeting our responsibility.
As stated previously while here in this world, we hold rights to property. For example, the promise of land was a covenant God had with ancient Israel. In ancient times, there were even provisions (ex. – the year of Jubilee) for families to receive property back that had been sold or mortgaged or otherwise lost in previous years. The lesson to buyers and investors was the property should be held loosely and for the purpose of providing necessities of life, that God has the ultimate ownership. In the business world in America today there is an old expression that is still true, never fall in love with real estate. Always be prepared to sell it or lose it. Times change, values change, conflicts happen. Bankruptcy courts, divorce courts and cemeteries are filled with people who ignored this principle.
Work
Deuteronomy 8:18 – But you are to remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, in order to confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Proverbs 12:11 – One who works his land will have plenty of bread, But one who pursues worthless things lacks sense.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 – For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.
Again, gaining wealth is given as a worthy objective, just remember from whom it originates. To have, you must work. However, the degree of success you have while doing so is determined by the will of God. This is followed by the admonition that if you have the ability to work and are not willing to do so, you receive nothing. We need more pandering, power seeking politicians to take that last one to heart as they are circumventing direct orders from the Almighty. Giving away wealth to unworthy people or stealing the wealth God has permitted His people to accumulate is probably not what He wants to see done per scripture. There will repercussions for doing so.
Gaining, Sharing, Social Responsibility
Leviticus 23:22 – ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the LORD your God.’”
Deuteronomy 24:19 – When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you are not to go back to get it; it shall belong to the stranger, the orphan, and to the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Acts 2:44-45 – And all the believers were together and had all things in common; and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.
I Timothy 6:10 – For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
We know from many scriptures that Abraham and Job among others were very wealthy. We know that both were faithful to God and did not become greedy and selfish. We know a number of followers of Jesus also had wealth that was used to support Him in His ministry. They shared their wealth and never turned away from Him even in bad times. We learn God expects those who have food, shelter and wealth to share it where there are needs. It is a condition to receiving His continued blessing of their work. We also see that when it comes to going into the world and sharing the Gospel, we should be willing to part with our worldly possessions if needed to support and make it happen. Add in that we must never love money, that it can become the cause of much grief and sorrow. Money is a tool to be used in accordance with the will of God.
Ethics
Proverbs 20:23 – Differing weights are an abomination to the LORD, And a false scale is not good.
James 5:1-4 – Come now, you rich people, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of armies.
This one is simple – don’t cheat others and don’t think your wealth will save you from judgment. You screw people over and it will backfire on you bigly. Deal with others fairly or face the wrath of God.
Capitalism Is Supported
This is just a sampling. There are many more scriptures that establish personal ownership of property and working to materially increase wealth ethically and to further God’s kingdom on earth. It seems the philosophy of win-win in economic dealings prevails in the Bible. All who are able to work, should work for the common good when it comes to the interconnection of capitalism and Christianity.
Without question capitalism as an economic system has been around going back into Old Testament Biblical times. Archaeological digs and historical documents reveal fair dealing matters. They used standardized weighting systems as an example. Wealth was easy to measure and observe through possessions and status in society. Ancient manuscripts describing work, wealth and stewardship are detailed and accurate.
There are no stated prohibitions in scripture concerning a capitalistic system, only against evil and sin committed while doing it. One potential conflict is relating to usury, which is charging exorbitant interest for loans. The Old Testament prohibits charging interest, the New Testament notes its use and prohibits excessive interest charges. The difference is simply related to the evolution of economic systems over many centuries. The intent was to prevent people from taking excessive advantage over one another.
Work and rewards for doing so well were expected. There are serious admonitions against greed, abuse of workers, cheating, laziness and putting wealth before God and others. The expectation is stated to do well with what you have and been charged to do while being compassionate with others, support the work of the Lord, and always be righteous and ethical in dealings.
As a result we can conclude that capitalism as a system in America and possibly in other nations around the world typically complies with Biblical principles. Forces that work against are not compatible with America or Christianity. Capitalism was the economic system of America at its founding when our nation was defined by the founders as being under the providence of God. It has become a growing force for good throughout the world. Americans are the most giving, charitable people on the planet and it is not even close. Our nation is not without faults and errors, but correcting them is The American Way.
This understanding tells us to challenge and remove anybody or anything that stands in the way of its fruitful exercise. Pocahontas, AOC, Mamdani and Bernie can kick rocks. For us to be providentially restored we must isolate and remove the forces aligned against us by remaining faithful to God and country. Other systems and beliefs are not compatible with The Way or The American Way, which has yielded the greatest nation in world history.
The will of God be done.
Just a reminder,
Remember Wolf’s site rules. Note and label all AI. Please be kind to one another, we are all in this together. May God richly bless America and all of you.
Before all things and people – In God We Trust. Also, trust Trump and the plan.
Please consider becoming an author of a Daily Thread on The QTree. I informed Wolf sometime back that my days of doing this will be ending in mid July. I will be out of time due to other demands and commitments. I will continue to be an active member and post here. Please do not think you need to bring extensive content to help out, just things that may be of interest or are fun. It is your opportunity to create and communicate your thoughts!
Joe Biden never won. This is our Real President – 45, 46, 47.
AND our beautiful REALFLOTUS.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the Week:
gammacism and gammicism
nouns
gammacism
inability or hardship in pronouncing letters ‘g’ and ‘k’
a speech defect characterized by the substitution of the sound “g” for the sound “k”
stuttering over “g” and “k”
not to be confused with gammicism, although, ironically, the spellings are often switched
gammicism
speech or writing characterized by use of archaisms or outdated expressions, often in a style that is overly elaborate or pretentious
Used in a paragraph
The exercises in the case of diagnosed gammacism are aimed at improving the work of the language. Exercises involving lifting the tongue, moving it to different parts of the mouth, sticking it out, licking the teeth or tapping the lower teeth with the tip are of great importance.
Shown in a picture
Shown in a video
MUSIC!
Gamma wave jazz! It’s a thing!
And if that’s not your thing, try this song…
THE STUFF
Don’t remember what Steve taught you about gamma rays? Here you go!
And here is where that knowledge is useful – some older, younger, Veritasium!
Veritasium. Useful stuff. Although, not necessarily, while fixing stuff around the house.
Wheatie Wisdom. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone. No running with scissors. No food fights.
AI stuff posted, requires a link. Please use spoiler, for longer posts.
Wolf Speak. No obnoxious behavior towards fellow QTreeper(s). Freedom of Speech is honored here QTree. But Do Know, every poster, IS personally responsible for what they post.
America, needs to embrace the following TRUTH…
In No Particular Order, The House AND Senate MUST.
Impeach Activist Judges & Fire Activist Magistrates.
Pass SAVE Act
Pass, Ban Sanctuary States and Cities
Trash Filibuster
Trash Blue Slips
Confirm Trump Nominations.
Codify Trump Executive Orders.
Ban Sharia Law.
Progress unlikely, until R-Cons GROWASET.
growASet
Speaking of embracing…THIS.
Alysia Liu. pure Joy!
America IS Back!
If nothing follows KK below, Night Crew, you are on your own.
Prices pulled last evening. Gold $4,555.40. Silver $76.03. Bitcoin $73,500.
America 250 delivered another video.
12:07
—
Stuff…
A Pretty Good Analysis of the Recent Oreshnik Use
This is a video from the “Millennium 7 * History Tech” channel. I can’t quite place his accent, so not sure his biases. The “Description” text places him in the UK, but clearly as an immigrant. Not quite Russian, not German, but seems somewhere in the Slavic / Germanic family (I lean toward a non-Russian Slavic language). Perhaps some digging would surface more information. In any case, his analysis seems unbiased. His focus (per the video library) looks to be military history and technology, not politics.
What he finds is that 2 Oreshnik missiles were used, but one was near the front lines so was not noticed by folks focusing on the Kiev area.
Other than that, much of his video is showing the impacts from available recordings, and some speculation about the missile & warhead “bus” construction along with speculation about the likely targets.
As for many other creators, he does a plea to subscribe but then says he doesn’t know why people do not. Well, I can tell you why. You MUST have a EwTube sign-in to subscribe. This signs you up for a load of specific monitoring and history gathering. I prefer to watch anonymously and NOT be tracked, packaged, and have a history to be sold to the highest bidder AND handed over to “authorities” on demand. Privacy, it’s a thing.
But back at the Oreshnik…
I can’t see any way to intercept this. It is approaching at Mach 10 (or so). There is insufficient time to detect it AND get an interceptor launched on the needed trajectory to hit it before the bus has done the job of dumping the impactors. Then, you have 36 objects to hit. That would take 36 perfect ABMs (anti ballistic missiles) or more likely 72+, all capable of hitting a Mach 10 projectile.
The only hope I can see of ever doing that would be with a laser system. But even there, a hard chrome mirror surface would deflect a lot of the energy and it already can take Mach 10 atmospheric heating. Then there is the problem of producing 36 megawatt scale pulses in short order OR having a beam stay focused and coherent through a lot of turbulent atmosphere to high altitude AND stay on a Mach 10 target at distance long enough to disrupt the missile or buss before separation… which still leaves you with a load of passive impactors doing Mach 10 whacking into something in the rough area of their trajectory…
Not going to happen any time soon.
My best guess is that the Russians have about a decade of “nobody can stop it” before the first decent attempts at stopping it show up.
Here’s the video:
But what was it shot AT?
There’s 2 mysteries here. What was at that airbase outside of Kiev? My guesses would be either some kind of hidden command and control facility for the attack that took out the Girls Dormitory in Russia; or perhaps some kind of drone development center (use of airport runway for testing?). I lean toward command & control.
The other use is even more of a mystery. What could it be that was close to the line of contact that needed this energetic perpetrator? Again my best guess: Either some hidden underground “whatever” of importance, OR the impactors have different types and one of them doesn’t dig down deep but dumps energy on impact and is useful against surface troop concentrations.
In any case, mysteries that may unfold over time when “someday” Ukraine lets us see what actual damage was done.
Update & Add-On:
Military Summary Channel does a good job of unbiased reporting of “just the facts” on the battlefield. In this video they cover 2 very important points.
1) Some Russian drones ended up dropping on a Romanian (NATO) city.
was this a Russian FU to NATO for their very active participation in this war? Another channel (Glenn Diesen? or maybe someone else on Neutrality Studies channel? I’ll have to look for it again…) had suggested that Russia might do a trivial “attack” on a NATO site to act as a bit of a slap on the face for their “bad targeting” assistance (subtext of maybe deliberate provocation of Russia…). So was this that deliberate “slap” to measure NATO “attitudes”? To find out if NATO ignores it in fear or starts and “Article Five” process and puts NATO in the war obviously (as opposed to covertly).
Or was this a NATO “GPS” (or Russian alternative) Spoofing to redirect the drones into a False Flag attack? So NATO can get more actively involved…
2) Expect more activity in the ground war. A LOT more Russian advances on more fronts with more troops involved.
It does look like Russia is on the move from North to South all along the line of contact. Prior to this they tended to a “Ripple” offensive style. The active spot would move along the line of contact as then Ukraine would shuttle their few remaining good troops back and forth across the line of contact (wearing out men, equipment and resources) while various Russian groups had a sporadic engagement and then a nice rest & refit.
This looks more like a “hit everywhere and push forward where you find softness” approach. I think it feels like a formal Big Push to just take out what remains of the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) along with crippling the government in Kiev… and perhaps with some “Bloody the NATO Puppet Masters in Ukraine too”
My Speculation
IMHO there’s a couple of loose ends here.
First off, the killing of young girls in their dormitory was a BIG mistake. It has royally pissed off the people of Russia. Both Lavrov and Putin are clearly P.O.’d about it and more importantly, they were holding back the army to a sedate pace hoping for a Ukrainian agreement / surrender.
Now, per their own words, Putin & Lavrov are going to do what The People wanted for months now (years?); and that is “Get ‘er done!” by wiping out Ukrainian authority & military. IF NATO decides to get actively involved, just deal with it and whack NATO too since the “proxy” part of this war has become at best a “polite fiction” and at worst a public farce. NATO IS IN THIS WAR and in fact has spent 11 or so years trying to get it going hot with Russia. But Russia out-played them and never gave them the justification. That’s over.
The Russian People and the Russian Government are now ready, willing, and able to end it with NATO.
Why the dorm?
Was it deliberate provocation? Or an error? I heard one report that NATO was picking targets with the aid of some A.I. programs. A question I’d like asked: Did this school have uniforms? IF so, does the A.I. understand the difference between MILITARY uniforms and civilian School Uniforms? Eh?
So either a deliberate FU to Russia to show how much Ukraine can do (not much but piss on their shoe…) OR perhaps a simple mistake by the NATO Target picking masters (or a big FUBAR by their A.I.)
Ukraine Long Range Drone attacks:
The use of longer range drones to harass Moscow is just stupid. There’s isn’t enough payload to do big damage to any one site, and there are not enough drones getting through to damage many sites. So why do it? The self-deception among NATO “Leaders” that this will Piss Off the Russians AND THEN they will dump Putin. That is in error in a very critical way. Unlike EU Nations & UK: P.O’dd Russian Citizens do not then seek peace via surrender or quitting; P.O.’s Russians just push to “go kill the attackers”. They expedite and escalate Putin & Lavrov.
Furthermore, demonstrating that a drone or two can get to Moscow just tells Moscow that MORE of Ukraine needs to be turned into a Buffer Zone between them and NATO. Russia will know from where these drones were launched. Then the planners will draw a line on the map some many kilometers behind it and label that line “Buffer Zone border objective”. Perhaps with a footnote saying “Must assure any land east of here is NEVER in a NATO country where a nuke could reach Moscow on a drone”.
The more attacks done further into Russia and close to Moscow, the more of Ukraine WILL be incorporated into Russia at the end of this NATO / Russia war.
Anyway, here’s the present state of things in far too much detail and with a thick accent; but with good accurate reporting:
Mosques are popping up like a fungus in every city in the U.S. Yet so many Americans are asking why are they stopping traffic to “pray” in the streets. It’s not about prayer, folks. It’s a declaration of war. The invaders are declaring their ownership.
This man, making Christmas calls from the White House, believes the world is a sphere. And he has even flown around it! So has our beautiful FLOTUS, who happens to be his wife!
Truth and common sense must be valued by us, as individuals, in order to lastingly disempower the authoritarian fake news media. This includes the perniciously smarmy science media, which never answers for its errors and lies. I believe that the media has been responsible not only for leftist pathologies like scientism, medical fascism, and radical gender ideology, but also for reactionary movements like modern flat Earth, rejection of all medicine, and Biblical geological literalism.
Just as Wheatie’s Stormwatch Monday Open Thread was created as a place for people to openly express their thoughts and opinions, so, too, is this Thank God Thursday Open Thread, where honest but civil discussion of all topics is encouraged. This thread is also to be known as Theistic Evolution Thursdays, due to the author’s expected “pontification” about his scientific, religious, and political opinions. You are welcome to pontificate back! Free speech matters!
Please label all AI-generated content as being such, unless it is patently obvious (e.g., humorous AI images). It is important that we as individuals not begin to pretend that socially derived artificial intelligence is actually our own, as this form of stealthy social information averaging and feedback would be one more pretense and deception between people, in service of stupid Marxist socialism, and of those who wish to substitute their communally protected lies for actual truth.
The source of alleged truth matters, not for the truth itself, but for validation.
And yes, it’s THURSDAY…again.
And that’s it. We’re done stealing from Wheatie.
OK – maybe her rules need to be posted.
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Other rules may be derivable from these, and that conjecture is left for discussion.
If there is nothing beyond the “W” below, then this is a placeholder. For health reasons, I can’t always post a timely opinion before each Thursday, but I will try. Otherwise, you have this placeholder post, where YOU provide the content. Enjoy!
W
Perhaps the only good thing about AI slop is that it has made me more aware of human slop, which isn’t much better.
This guy’s videos are moderately interesting, but they tend to be predictable, repetitive, and low-density on the critical information.
I hope Memorial Day weekend brought enjoyment, remembrance and peace for all. We remember our fallen military heroes who gave all for every American. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Providential restoration is well underway in America. Patriotism and God have reentered into the conversations of We the People in major ways without reservation. You see it in the enlistment ranks swelling and in the return to church pews. One way we also see it openly displayed is our overwhelming economic success with the return to America First principles. That includes the vanquishing of many criminal operations in the country, which is also well underway.
However, today’s daily is a lighter take on where we are as a country. We will attack the remaining items on my America First agenda in the coming weeks.
It is kind of amusing to me at least to state the following. I always can tell when the economy has turned and the average American is ignoring the fake news. Everybody is well aware why fuel prices have temporarily soared and increased the cost of the usual stuff they buy. They also know there are no shortages of fuel in America at all. So instead of hunkering down and buying into fake news media fear porn they are going about their lives, which includes having fun. How I know all will be fine is due to golf balls.
😄
Golf And Prosperity
Yeah, I know, it is the usual TradeBait BS. Bear with me, I have a point or two to make… eventually.
I love golf. I play it when the ole back lets me even as I grow more and more “elderly”. I taught the game and a good swing to Daughter, grandkids, other young people through the years. Wifey gave up trying to play, however, enjoys watching the sport with me. I have followed the PGA Tour on the tube since my youth. Being a former Middie, I grew up idolizing golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear, as my sports hero. Our family could not afford the cost of playing the game much during those days, so my opportunity to play regularly had to be deferred until I became a young adult.
Over the years that followed I have played many quality courses in many states. I have played in pro-ams locally. At one time I was a member of an area golf club (not a country club) whose family that owned it had a club pro son who qualified and played in the U. S. Open and PGA Championship a couple of times as well as some events on the PGA Senior, now Champions Tour. A local retired former Senior Tour pro helped me work on the swing of Daughter as a young child. She had a natural swing as a 3 year old with great hand/eye coordination. She just needed to work on basic grip, stance, etc. stuff.
As I stated in a previous BIMD story, Daughter played in high school events that included a future tournament winning PGA Pro (now medically retired), Scott Stallings. A female teammate of Daughter’s in high school played for America in the Junior Ryder Cup. Other male teammates of hers went on to compete on area college teams.
This love for golf led to us buying our current home in a small PUD along a public golf course in our area as I semi-retired and Daughter entered community college and later joined the workforce. Over the years a few other retirees and I got together and formed an Old Farts Foursome. We played a couple times per week until the other guys hit their 80’s and their bodies said no more. All three are still able to do about anything else they want and I attribute part of it to being active in the sport all those years while being outside in the sun having fun with buddies.
I am now teaching grandsons #1 and #2 to play. When I am unavailable Daughter can teach them equally well. Daughter and I could still go to about any course in America and each shoot under 80 for 18 holes. After retirement with more free time available my personal golf handicap dropped to a 2 in my early 60’s even playing from the tips (back/championship tees). Daughter has been busy having and rearing babies in more recent times, but she can still pick up a club and rifle the ball down the fairway without a warm-up or practice. When the granddaughter gets a bit older and less dependent, Daughter and I plan to hit the links more often together as long as my health holds up.
Did I say I love golf? Yeah, pretty sure I did. A lot of people do in America. Which leads to…
Golf Balls
I have 50 years of experience hitting golf balls. I have seen the evolution of the ball over the entire time. Yes, I know the difference in a two piece solid core, three piece wound ball and balata balls of yesteryear compared to the current four and even five piece balls with various mantles inside and Surlyn or Ionomer covers. I know compressions and who should play which compression. Even dimple patterns to reduce drag and increase/decrease spin have evolved until more emphasis was placed by the rule makers to standardize. All of which has led to discussions today about more limits on golf balls since their improved performance has led to many golf courses become too easy for better players. It is easier and far less costly to rein in golf ball performance than it is to add distance and course enhancements to keep the challenges necessary for the game to be challenging. My sports idol says to address the problems through the golf ball, not through the costly golf course design changes. He knows, all of the pros and better amateur golfers know.
For example, Wyndham Clark won the CJ CUP Byron Nelson PGA tournament this past weekend at -30. That means he shot 30 strokes under par, which is 30 better than the course layout indicated it should be played by a scratch (0 handicap) golfer. That was after the course ownership commissioned changes and paid millions of dollars to the course to lengthen and make it more difficult the previous year. To some degree that happens because of the players being better trained and prepared than yesteryear. However, primarily it is because of greatly improved tech relating to equipment and especially the golf ball.
As a result of my experience and understanding I know who makes the best golf balls and why most tour pros still play Titleist Pro V-1 balls over the other quality pro level balls on the market. I like that ball, however, my favorite today is the Callaway Tour Chrome because it adapts better to individual swing speeds, especially for older golfers, while still providing exceptional performance around the greens.
But Titleist Pro V-1 balls are still the gold standard for pros and amateurs alike, partially due to their performance and consistency as well as partially due to international marketing of the brand. Amateur golfers who can not break 100 play them due to their excellent marketing and promotion. However, the same is true with other expensive, pro level golf balls made by Taylormade, Srixxon, Bridgestone, Maxfli, Callaway, etc. Why pay for and play a pro level ball when you are a mediocre to poor weekend golfer who loses them in rapid succession? I honestly do not know why some people are that dense in the head.
Which leads to why golf balls reveal the real condition of our economy in TradeBait’s mind.
Golfing And Economy
When times are tough and the economy is struggling, golfers still play the game when they can. It becomes an addiction. Hit one great golf shot in a round and you HAVE to come back another day and do it again or even hit more than one. You are chasing that dream of one day being a guy or gal who can shoot par or better for 18 holes at least once in your life. Or maybe you are chasing that dream of someday hitting a hole in one. You dream of making that one perfect swing and watching the ball flying through the air, fall to the green and roll straight into the hole. For us oldsters, a worthy goal is to shoot your age or lower. If any of those events happen it is heaven on earth for golfers!
But assume troubling economic times and the cash being in shorter supply. So you go to Wally World and buy the $10-20 a dozen specials or a bag of renewed former water balls. You may even dig out the old scuffed or found balls from other times you played. You head to the course, pay your not so cheap green fees. If they allow it, maybe you choose to walk the course instead of paying for that rental golf cart. You just need to get your fix in. What happens next is what is revealing.
Living along the fairway in very close proximity to our local course has led to our home being struck by golf balls routinely over the past couple of decades. We and many of our neighbors even had to add super screened cages to protect our windows along with a netting along our top deck to prevent from getting hit when on it. The course is public play and there are golfers who play it regularly who are beginners, duffers and rank amateurs. Some grab beer at the clubhouse and begin firing away indiscriminately. It is a price we have paid to live here and have the convenience of a low cost, decent course to play at our back door; while enjoying the peace and beautiful sunsets over the course and scenery every evening after the course closes.
These experiences have led to the following observations.
The first indicator of the state of the economy is how often our houses gets hit in golf season. More is better for the economy. It means Average Joe and Jane can afford to play. Quieter times are worrisome.
The second indicator is how many golfers use rented carts versus walkers. The more carts that are rented the better the economy. Average Joe and Jane are generally overweight and not in sports fitness shape. They want to play faster, drink more beer, and get home to that NASCAR race. They have the cash to pay the cart fees, which are not cheap. The course we live along uses gas carts, not battery carts. They are not obnoxious, but we do hear them fire up as they make their way around the course. The more we hear them, the better the economy. The less they are used the more troubled are the economic times. So a quiet golf course is not good.
The third indicator is the type balls the golfers play. When times are tough they play more recycled, scuffed up and off brand balls. They cut costs as much as they can. When times are good it is the opposite. We know by the brand and type of ball we find. The top balls are expensive, some topping $5 a ball. It is a ball that can disappear or become unusable with one bad swing of a club, yet, average Joe and Jane are willing to play and lose them in good times. Of course Average Joe does not really believe he is as bad as he is. It’s a guy thing. He gets some beer in him and thinks he can take on Tiger Woods. Maybe he can when Tiger is busy extricating himself from his latest car wreck.
The fourth indicator is the clubhouse parking lot. There are less golfers when times are bad and when they do come they do not tarry at the clubhouse. They play faster and drink less beer. The opposite happens when times are good. The parking lot is filled with vehicles more hours of every day. They hang around the clubhouse shooting the shit, play the video golf swing training simulator equipment, drink more beer, etc.
The fifth indicator is how many balls we residents find in our yards. Golfers are not supposed to go on private property, but some do anyway. When times are tough we see more of them on properties looking for their and other balls. They can be very testy if we ask them to vacate the premises. More than once the deputies have been called when things escalated with a drunk golfer got belligerent who thought he could do whatever he wanted including hitting their golf balls from our yards. When times are good, they are pleasant to talk with and just move on without even looking for an errantly struck ball. Some pretend they did not hit it in a yard. As a result we find many more quality balls in our yards. Which means ole Trade doesn’t have to go to Wally World or anywhere else to buy them.
🤣
The Verdict
Over the years it has become obvious to me how golfing relates to the economy. Golfing is something people can live without during tough times unless the golfer is hooked deep. So more golfers and good golf balls bouncing off our house that we find in our yard to go with slightly noisy cart usage means a better economy. In my opinion the same scenario would be how it plays out across the country with golfers and the economy. It helps that I have golfed in over 20 states and simply observed things. Nothing scientific and built into a data base, just using my eyes and knowing human nature over time.
Currently, we are getting hit often, sometimes multiple times per day. That means more bad golfers have money to spend. More golf carts are firing up and less walkers are playing in proportion. They are playing some of the best balls we have ever found on our properties. Bad golfers are playing $5 golf balls in bunches, even the cheaper folks are playing brand new $3 balls. We are seeing very few of the old scuffed up types. We are also finding more than we have ever seen with very few golfers wondering on to our properties looking for them. The parking lot has stayed full of vehicles even on week days when most people are working. The retirees and youth are there during those times.
Needless to say, with our location in flyover, hillbilly country this is a great sign about the economy. Now if PDT settles the Iran thingy and the fuel prices drop, we will probably have to wear helmets when we venture into our yards during daylight hours.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!
So, how was the economy during Brandon’s time pretending to be in office? In rapid decline. I rarely found an expensive golf ball in our yard and we did not get hit nearly as often after four years of getting hit often with #45’s term. Most of the balls were terrible and old – like Brandon. A lot more of the golfers were walkers and the carts generally sat unused at the clubhouse parking lot. I even found range balls in our yard that had been stolen and used on the golf course instead of regular balls.
How has it been since #47 won? I have found more brand new Titleist Pro V-1’s than ever before. I have filled up three dozen egg cartons of them along with Taylormade and Callaway pro balls without a blemish on them since March. Add in five dozen more of other brands. With that happening with a war in Iran going on and spiked fuel prices in play – it speaks volumes. Which tells me that Average Joe and Jane like how things are going and trust POTUS and our economy.
That leads me to believe that America First and MAGA are going to triumph in the midterms.
And it is happening all because of golf balls. Well, maybe with a little assistance from the beer. It’s science. Trust me.
If you have actually read and considered this, you have now entered into the mind and world of TradeBait. And just like Hotel California,
“You can check-out anytime you like, but you can never leave…”
Remember Wolf’s site rules. Note and label all AI. Please be kind to one another, we are all in this together. May God richly bless America and all of you.
Before all things and people – In God We Trust. Also, trust Trump and the plan.
