tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58601834910201974862024-03-05T00:17:24.067-08:00Tower of ReasonUnite all mankind through truth, reason and logic.Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-36322890635897760502023-06-12T12:32:00.002-07:002023-07-05T18:34:08.010-07:00The Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxSy2LvY13oWlnyFO44OMAYGg10riCRzBElJ_H38UeqgGXFeWlPlIbpKwDgDQwcpqsNsanqo5mbqBKSVGOwBBJv2EE3Pfnu0pGXzyFb8dIn60F8LLNrvDjQOAs2PU7IxalPRZdNvLaa-B48x8EzoD4e4cArkWkY-cJTuThTeEariifxhrJmaJz4nHcQ/s1280/LEG013_St_John_Chrysostom_Icon%20__84602.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxSy2LvY13oWlnyFO44OMAYGg10riCRzBElJ_H38UeqgGXFeWlPlIbpKwDgDQwcpqsNsanqo5mbqBKSVGOwBBJv2EE3Pfnu0pGXzyFb8dIn60F8LLNrvDjQOAs2PU7IxalPRZdNvLaa-B48x8EzoD4e4cArkWkY-cJTuThTeEariifxhrJmaJz4nHcQ/w236-h320/LEG013_St_John_Chrysostom_Icon%20__84602.jpg" title="St. John Chrysostom" width="236" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Entering into an Eastern Orthodox divine liturgy can be a daunting, confusing experience for most people. It may be quite unlike anything you’re likely to have experienced before. If your background is Roman Catholic, Lutheran or Anglican, some things may be familiar, but there’s still a lot going on and it can be confusing. I’m writing this to try to de-mystify the experience. You’ll appreciate it a lot more if you have some idea of what’s going on, and why. There’s a lot of motion that seems repetitious and confusing at times, but it all has a purpose. I hope you’ll appreciate the solemnity of the service and the seriousness with which the priest and participants give it.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">First, some history</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The normal divine liturgy used by the Eastern Orthodox is the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, who was the Bishop of Constantinople from 398 to 404. It’s derived from the older mass of St. Basil, which was derived directly from the Mass of St. James the Lesser, Apostle of Christ. The changes St. John Chrysostom introduced reflected the matured theology from the ecumenical councils - for example, the inclusion of the Nicene Creed - and he streamlined the complex liturgy of St. Basil to be more accessible and understandable to the rapidly growing Christian mission communities. The essential elements are still present, and first century Christians would recognize their mass in the modern divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. There are many echoes of Jewish worship in it. For example, the altar area is distinctly separate from the rest of the church and only those with business on the altar may go there. The use of incense is prevalent, as it was in Jewish services in the first century.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.patheos.com/library/eastern-orthodoxy/ritual-worship-devotion-symbolism/sacred-space" target="_blank">The Church</a></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When you enter the Eastern Orthodox church, you come in through the Nave, or entryway. From there you go through the Narthex, which is where the uninitiated attendees would traditionally sit, separate from the main sanctuary. That tradition is rarely observed or enforced today. In the Narthex, you’ll have several icons. The iconography style of the Eastern Orthodox is simply traditional – the eastern church never experienced the photorealistic art renaissance that Western Europe did. To the right of the main entry way to the sanctuary will be the Pantocrator, the Icon of Christ the Ruler of All. To the left of the entrance will be an icon of Mary, the Theotokos, or God-bearer. Typically, there will also be an icon of the patron saint of the church, of which the church is named after, and an icon of the saint whose feast day is currently being celebrated. Most Orthodox pay some sort of homage to the Pantocrator and Theotokos upon entry into the church, typically a metanoia, or bow to the touch the ground and a kiss on the icon. The Eastern Orthodox have a solid historical connection to the Seventh Ecumenical Council which held that veneration of an icon wasn’t idolatry, that the honor paid to an image traverses it, reaching the model, and they who venerate the image, venerate the person represented in that image.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Symbolism is everywhere in the Eastern Orthodox church. Compare the icons of the Pantocrator and the Theotokos. Note that Christ wears a red or burgundy tunic, with a blue cloak over it. Red is the color of the divine, and blue is the color of humanity. Christ is divine, cloaked in humanity. On the other side, the Theotokos is wearing a blue tunic, and a maroon cloak. Human, cloaked in the divine. As you enter the church, if you look back and above, you’ll see you passed under a tapestry depicting the burial of Christ. By entering the sanctuary, you are passing through the grave to eternal life. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">You’ll notice that, unlike modern Western churches, the altar is behind a screen or a wall called the iconostasis. The center doors are the Royal Doors, and only ordained clergy may go through them. This is in keeping with the ancient Jewish temple layout, where the holy of holies was physically separate from the main area. There are two doors to either side, for utility and non-ordained acolytes and sub-deacons. Typically, the traffic flows counterclockwise, out the left door and back in through the right. If the priest is speaking on the other side of the screen, he is praying to God. To address the congregation in any way, he’ll come out to our side of the screen.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Responses</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The priest sometimes addresses the congregation in a formulaic statement. If you aren’t familiar with the correct response, well, I feel like an idiot not knowing what to say. The most common, of course is “Peace be with you!” which is used several times in the liturgy. The response, sung by the choir is, “Also with your spirit!” Another common one is “Christ is in our midst!” The response to this is, “He is and always shall be!” During the Paschal season, this will be replaced with “Christ is risen!” and the response is, “Truly He is risen!” This may come in any language, the most common is Greek, “Christós Anésti!” to which you respond, “Alíthos anésti!” In our Arabic speaking Antiochian church, you may also hear, “Almasih qam!” to which you respond, “Haqana qam!”</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Orthodox Christianity is a trinitarian theology, and the trinity is invoked many times in the liturgy. When it’s done so, it’s customary to make the sign of the cross. You’ll see a lot of this during the service.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Standing and sitting</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In many more traditional Orthodox churches, there are no pews. The congregation stands for the entire service. Standing in the East is the position of reverence. Pews are provided in more westernized congregations. Generally speaking, you’ll stand whenever the priest addresses or blesses the congregation, during the Gospel reading, and especially when he brings out the Eucharist.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Music</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unlike Western churches, the choir’s participation is an integral part of the liturgy and prayers, many times taking the form of a dialogue between the choir and priest. All are encouraged to join the choir if you know the hymns and responses. There are no hymnals as such, the liturgical books provided give the responses, if you can follow them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Liturgy</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In preparation for the divine liturgy, there are two other services said. Vespers is said the evening before the Divine Liturgy, and Orthros begins about an hour before the Divine Liturgy and sort of segues into it. So when you arrive at church and walk in a few minutes before the stated time and things already seem to be happening, don’t worry, you’re not late. The Orthros service is in full swing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You’ll recognize the beginning of the Divine Liturgy when the priest intones, “Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever unto ages of ages.” This is the opening line of the actual liturgy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Throughout the Divine Liturgy there are prayers of supplication, praise, and preparation. The priest says these. Some are brief, others are lengthy, and most of the time the priest says them quietly. During these prayers, a deacon will be simultaneously leading an ektenia, or litany, which consists of prayerful petitions, to which the congregation typically responds singing, “Lord, have Mercy” led by the choir. When the ektenia is complete, the priest will say the final portion of his prayer aloud. Most prayer books have both the litany and the prayer, which makes it a little confusing to follow at first, because they happen simultaneously. After the prayer there’s typically a refrain from the choir.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the opening line of the Liturgy, the priest will say the first antiphon while a deacon leads the Great Ektenia. This is a prayer of praise to God in preparation for the Liturgy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then the priest prays the second antiphon while the deacon says the little ektenia. The second prayer is a petition of blessing for the congregation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then the priest prays the third antiphon while the deacon says another little ektenia. The third prayer is a petition of blessing for the liturgy being celebrated.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After these preparatory prayers come the little entrance. The priest and the acolytes leave the altar by a side door and form up in front of the Royal doors, with the book of the Gospel held high. The priest will say the prayer of entrance and will carry the Gospel through the royal doors and place it on the altar. The choir will sing the troparia for the day, which is typically a passage from psalms. This entrance seems unnecessary and redundant in today’s churches, but it hearkens back to a time where the Gospel was kept separately in a side chapel and had to be retrieved for the Liturgy and paraded before the congregation. The old forms are kept, even when not strictly necessary. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the little entrance, the choir will sing the beautiful <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9P0bPnWbnI" target="_blank">Trisagion hymn</a> while the priest quietly prays the trisagion prayer of praise and invitation to God. The hymn is repeated three times. The form varies from church to church, but in our Antiochian church, it’s sung each time in a different language. The first is in English, “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, Have mercy upon us,” then in Arabic, “Quddῡsun Allāh, Quddῡsun al-qawī, Quddῡsun alladī, lā yamῡt urhamnā,” and finally in Greek, “Hagios o Theos, Hagios ischyros, Hagios athanatos, eleison imas.” Many people cross themselves repeatedly while this is sung. At the end, a deacon will call out, “Dynamis!” which translates to strength, force or power, and this call is echoed back from the choir leader.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then the scripture is read. First, a reading from the Acts of the Apostles, one of the letters or epistles. A lay person does this, and it may be spoken or sung, depending on the reader. In our church, the readings are in both English and Arabic. Then a priest or deacon reads the Gospel. During the Gospel, it’s customary to stand in the presence of the Word. After the readings will come a short homily.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The homily ends the liturgy of the word and marks the beginning of the liturgy of the Eucharist. This starts out with a series of ektenias and prayers. The ektenia is, again, a call and response between a deacon and the congregation, while the priest prays quietly. The last line or two of the prayer is said aloud when the deacon finishes the ektenia.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The prayer of Fervent Supplication is a prayer for mercy and compassion preparatory to celebrating the Eucharist. This may be omitted at the priest’s discretion.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then there’s a prayer for the Catechumens, that they may be made worthy to be baptized. This prayer is omitted if there are no catechumens in the congregation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The first prayer of the Faithful is a prayer that all present be made worthy to call upon God.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The second prayer of the Faithful is a prayer that all present be made worthy to receive the Eucharist. Both of these prayers may be omitted at the priest’s discretion.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then begins the <a href="https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2020/02/the-origins-of-cherubic-hymn.html" target="_blank">Cherubimic prayer</a>. This is lengthy prayer that prepares the altar and the sacred space of the church for the performance of the Eucharistic celebration. The priest blesses altar, the icons, and the congregation with incense. All the while, the choir sings the Cherubimic hymn, which essentially places the congregation in the role of the cherubim, singing the praises of God and setting aside all earthly cares in preparation to receive the Eucharist. The hymn is sung slowly, because there’s not much content to it, and the priest has a very long preparatory prayer to say. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">With the altar prepared, the priest, deacons and acolytes perform the Great Entrance. They leave the altar through a side door and process all the way to the back of the church and down the main aisle, carrying the chalice and holy bread. A deacon leads the priest with incense. During the procession, the Priest calls upon the congregation to draw near and attend, and offers blessings to the Metropolitan (Bishop), the civil authorities and the armed forces. Remember that the priest perfoms the liturgy only by the express permission of the Metropolitan. At the end of the procession, before the altar, the priest will pray especially for special intentions for specific people for whom he has been asked to pray. During the procession, many people will touch the priest’s garments in the fashion of the Canaanite woman who was healed by touching Jesus’ cloak. Again, this Great Entrance recalls a time when the bread and wine were kept in a separate chapel, frequently another building.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Having re-entered the altar, the priest quietly prays the ektenia of prosthesis while the deacon leads the litany. This prayer is a prayer of preparation for celebrating the Eucharist, asking God to accept the offering. In some churches, this prayer may conclude with the announcement that “Christ is in our Midst,” to which the congregation responds, “He is and always shall be!” During the time of Pascha, this is replaced with “Christ is risen!” to which the congregation responds, “Truly He is risen!” Either of these is followed by the congregation greeting those around them with the same formula. This greeting can take the form of a cheek-to-cheek kiss, a handshake or a simple bow.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then the priest cries out, “The doors! The doors! In wisdom let us attend!” This was once a signal to doorkeepers that all who weren’t admitted to Holy Communion would be sent away. The congregation follows this by saying the Nicene Creed. The Eastern Orthodox have a different lineage of translation than does the Western Christian world, so the precise wording of the creed may be slightly different than what you’re used to. Take note that near the end the Holy Spirit is declared to proceed from the Father alone, not the Father and the Son as is common in the Western Christian world. This addition by Western Christianity ultimately precipitated the Great Schism.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Priest then says the Anaphora, which is the prayer of mystery of the Eucharist, calling upon the Holy Spirit to descend upon the gifts and turn them into the body and blood of Christ. The recollection of the last supper is taken from the Gospel of Mark, which is unusual in Western Christianity. This series of prayers is lengthy. Some of them are said quietly by the priest, punctuated with proclamations. The belief in the real presence of Christ, foreign to most Protestants, goes all the way back to the mass of St. James the Lesser, Apostle of Christ, whose prayer before communion includes the words, “I believe also that this is truly Thine own pure Body, and that this is truly Thine own precious Blood.” This prayer is still used today.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A deacon will come out from the altar to lead the congregation in the litany in preparation for the Lord’s Prayer. During this litany, the priest will be praying quietly that those present be worthy to partake of the Eucharist, ending with, “. . . and Vouchsafe, oh Lord that with boldness and without condemnation we may dare to call upon thee, the heavenly God, as father and say:” At this point, the Congregation responds with the Lord’s Prayer, which may be done in multiple languages.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the Lord’s Prayer, the priest concludes the Eucharistic prayer while the choir leads the congregation in the Eucharistic hymn. The priest and deacons then prepare the Eucharist for distribution by cutting the bread and mixing it with the wine in the chalice. The Orthodox use leavened bread made of flour, water and salt, unlike the Western Christian tradition, which uses unleavened bread in the form of the Passover feast. The Orthodox believe that Christ provided the leaven for Passover, and that the feast of the unleavened bread has been replaced. The bread is shaved in thin cuts, and with each cut the deacon says a quick, quiet, prayer of remembrance for someone identified by the person who made the bread. This can be a long list. As this takes place, the congregation recites the beautiful prayer before communion.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once the communion is prepared, the priest(s) and arch-deacons begin the distribution. If there are any recently baptized, they come forth first to receive communion, followed normally by the children and the choir. Because the body and blood are mixed, communion is distributed from a small spoon. Acolytes hold a cloth under the chin of the communicant to prevent anything from falling to the ground. When communing someone, the minister will say, “The servant of God [name] partakes of the precious and all-holy body and blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, unto remission of sins and unto life everlasting.” You may see small children and even babies being communed, for the Orthodox believe that baptism makes one a full member of the church, able to partake of all the mysteries. If you aren’t a baptized Orthodox, it’s best to just remain in your place during communion, standing reverently.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After receiving, the communicant may take some antidoron, which is parts of the bread that was blessed but not consecrated, to eat back in their place. They may also distribute this to other members who didn’t receive communion as a sign of fellowship. This bread isn’t consecrated as part of the Eucharist, so anyone can partake.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once everyone has received communion and the priest has returned to the altar, a deacon will lead a short litany while the priest makes a brief prayer of thanksgiving. After this the priest says a prayer for the church and the congregation. In this prayer the Church is meant to include all Orthodox churches. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then the prayers of dismissal are said. The priest leaves the altar and prays before the icons of Christ and Mary the Theotokos in turn, then blesses the congregation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Normally there’s a brief pause here for announcements. Unlike western churches there’s no general dismissal. After the announcements, the priest will stand before the congregation and the people will come forward to be dismissed individually. He will usually have a small cross, and it’s customary to venerate the cross with a kiss. If this is uncomfortable for you, you may simply touch the cross and bow. The priest may greet you, and if he doesn’t know you, may inquire more about you. Orthodox priests take their charge as shepherds very seriously and want to know who’s in their church. A bowl with the antidoron will be available to grab some as you depart.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But wait! The service isn’t over yet! The celebration of the divine liturgy was the community participating in the liturgy, but now the community participates with each other. Coffee and food are normally available in the parish hall for all to partake. Part of the Orthodox preparation for communion is to fast since the night before, so people are famished. If you’re new, or a visitor, a deacon or priest may seek you out during the fellowship and ask more about you and answer any questions you may have. Please don’t leave right after the dismissal, come be a part of the community.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unlike Western churches the whole community gathers to participate in the divine liturgy. Canon law states that a priest may only conduct a divine liturgy once a day, and an altar may only host a divine liturgy once a day. There are no multiple services. The whole community comes together as one.</p><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to review a divine liturgy our Deacon Steve Bambakidis generously livestreams Orthros and the divine liturgy every Sunday on Youtube. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@stevebambakidis4512/streams" target="_blank">You can see the latest services here.</a></div>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-65996896267474344212023-03-31T11:51:00.004-07:002023-04-03T07:14:37.235-07:00Salvation by Belief Alone?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuHH4MtZfZy6w-RyBZBtD-6Naqgy5BzCaZpJtrUT3tjIrlKGnWAv3UkqPbYrpRlNJCchg88C3zmmn7DO7K7gr-F2RZVGb1f-8T9X-p1TodbhktjsnenYiHhViL9T8iT-wLvT5oJwoBh8_Zr11yXK2yK_Y4r_bukHPyjuOzCSQzBYT00aik-my3j8YlQ/s600/575937_125658047625008_1398057222_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuHH4MtZfZy6w-RyBZBtD-6Naqgy5BzCaZpJtrUT3tjIrlKGnWAv3UkqPbYrpRlNJCchg88C3zmmn7DO7K7gr-F2RZVGb1f-8T9X-p1TodbhktjsnenYiHhViL9T8iT-wLvT5oJwoBh8_Zr11yXK2yK_Y4r_bukHPyjuOzCSQzBYT00aik-my3j8YlQ/w298-h397/575937_125658047625008_1398057222_n.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the trendy things that seems to come into vogue
lately among Protestants is the idea that you can be saved by simply professing
faith in Jesus Christ. Protestants use this argument to make the case that
sacraments are unnecessary. No need for baptism, chrismation, regular
participation in the Eucharist, anointing of the sick, or reconciliation. I’m
curious where this idea originated. It seems to have caught on quite recently and
spread like wildfire through the Protestant faith communities. The proof they
provide to support this claim lies in the gospel of Luke and the confession of
the thief that was crucified with Christ.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">And one of the
criminals who were hanged </span></i><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: grey; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">there</span></i><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"> was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not
the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”</span></i><b><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: maroon; font-size: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-text-raise: 2.0pt; position: relative; top: -2pt;"> </span></i></b><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear
God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?</span></i><b><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: maroon; font-size: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-text-raise: 2.0pt; position: relative; top: -2pt;"> </span></i></b><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what
we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”</span></i><b><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: maroon; font-size: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-text-raise: 2.0pt; position: relative; top: -2pt;"> </span></i></b><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You
come in Your kingdom!”</span></i><b><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: maroon; font-size: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-text-raise: 2.0pt; position: relative; top: -2pt;"> </span></i></b><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">And He said to him, “Truly I say
to you, today you shall be with Me in</span></i><a name="_FOOTER_SECTION_"></a><i><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"> </span>Paradise.”<br /></i>- Luke 23: 39-43</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p>As the argument goes, the thief wasn’t baptized and took
part in no other sacraments and yet was saved, so that should be good enough
for us.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p>One of the hallmarks of the Protestant movement seems to
be a complete ignorance of Christian history. There are no new heresies, just
variations on old ones that are often as ancient as Christianity itself. This
particular case resembles the heresy of Pelagius in the fifth century which was
condemned in the Second Council of Ephesus in 431.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p>The salvation of the thief was never intended to be a
model for the salvation of all the faithful. It must be understood within the
context of Scripture. To start with we must consider the story of the widow's
offering:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif" lang="X-NONE">And He sat down
opposite the treasury, and began observing how the multitude were putting money
into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor
widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. And
calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor
widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put
in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all
she had to live on.”</span></i></div><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>-</span> <span>Mark 12: 41-44</span></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" lang="X-NONE" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: X-NONE; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif" lang="X-NONE">The
thief had nothing to provide </span><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif">ex</span><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif" lang="X-NONE">cept his faith. He couldn’t
spread the gospel,</span><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif" lang="X-NONE"> </span><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif">be a living example to others, raise children in the faith, participate in
the Eucharist, or in any way be a member of the early Christian community. His
profession was the final act of a dying man. Should you be lucky enough to be
executed alongside the Christ, it’s probably all you would need, too.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif">We should also consider the parable of the
laborers in the vineyard:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Tahoma",sans-serif" style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif">“For the kingdom of heaven is like a
landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And
when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them
into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing
idle in the market place; and to those he said, ‘You too go into the vineyard,
and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. Again he went out
about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the
eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he *said to them,
‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ They *said to him,
‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You too go into the vineyard.’ And
when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call
the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the
first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a
denarius. And when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive
more; and they also received each one a denarius. And when they received it,
they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one
hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching
heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing
you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ‘Take what is yours and
go your way, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ‘Is it not
lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious
because I am generous?’ Thus the last shall be first, and the first last.”<br /></span></i>- Matt 20: 1-16</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The good thief was most certainly one of the last. His life was at its end, he
would be dead within hours. And yet he would be the first Christian to join
Christ in heaven, and indeed one of the first saints of the church. But his example in the extremis of torture and death is not -
and never has been - the blueprint for salvation. For those who profess that it
is, they ignore Scripture at their peril. Jesus himself commanded his apostles
to baptize the faithful:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<i><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age.”</i></div>
</i><div style="text-align: justify;">- Matt 28: 18-20</div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">The importance of baptism cannot be understated. Even Jesus
refrained from beginning his ministry until his own baptism by his cousin John
in the River Jordan, which is recounted in all four Gospels:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized
by him. But John tried to prevent</i> <i>Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized
by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at
this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he *permitted Him. And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately
from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the
heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Matt3: 13-17</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, Jesus emphasizes this to his Apostles. Are we to put ourselves above the Apostles?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<i><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif" lang="X-NONE">And gathering them
together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the
Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized
with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from
now.”<br /></span></i><span face="Tahoma, sans-serif">- Acts 1: 4-5</span></div></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">The ancient rite of baptism is performed by full immersion
in water, symbolizing death and resurrection. We are born anew in baptism, as
faithful followers of Christ. It’s not a solitary act, but a community event in
which all of the faithful participate to recognize and welcome the newly
illuminated into the church. In the ancient church and today in the Eastern
Orthodox baptism was accompanied by an exorcism and absolution. The Sacrament
of baptism isn’t the final act of salvation, but the first step of a lifetime
of seeking perfection. As we continue to live our lives, it is in our nature to
sin. The purity of the newly illumined in baptism must be regularly renewed by
the sacrament of reconciliation. It’s said that we are purified by the holy
waters of baptism, and that the purification is regularly renewed by the
baptism of tears in the sacrament of reconciliation.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">As members of the Christian community we are obligated to
perfect our understanding of the faith through regular participation in the
liturgy. In the early church the liturgy of the Word was literally preaching
and homilies by the eyewitnesses who had traveled with Christ. As time passed
and the church communities became more numerous in the eyewitnesses succumbed
to their repose, extemporaneous sermons gave way to reading the accounts from
the Gospels, accompanied by sermons to place those gospel stories in context
and relate them to everyday Christian living. The liturgy of the word was
accompanied by the sacrament of the Eucharist which the earliest Christians
understood was the literal transubstantiation of simple bread and wine into the
literal body and blood of Jesus Christ. This understanding survives today in
the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. The celebration of the
sacrament of the Eucharist is not merely a symbolic act. Its source is in Scripture:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p><i>And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He
broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they
had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in
My blood.<br /></i>- Luke 22: 19-20</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">Christ didn’t say that this is <i>like</i> my body, or that this <i>represents</i>
my body. He specifically said this <i>is</i> my body and that this <i>is</i> my
blood. The miracle of the Eucharist is repeated weekly across the world as the
Holy Spirit changes simple bread and wine into the literal body and blood of
our Savior. This is what the ancient Christians believed and practiced all the
way back to the mass of St. James the Greater, apostle of Christ. If you have a
theological problem with that I suggest you take it up with the apostle James.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">The sacraments are a vital part of our Christian life, to
be illumined and to grow closer to God as individuals and participate in play
our role as members of the body of Christ on earth, as described by St. Paul in
his letters to the Romans and to the Corinthians. Salvation is a process, and
faith is a community activity centered around the sacraments. One does not take
a small lump of iron and proclaim, “Behold the sword!” The sword is forged through
a process of cleansing fire and cooling water, shaped by the craftsman to
perfection. Likewise, one does not proclaim oneself a Christian and thereby
claim salvation without participating in the lifelong process of perfection with
the goal of eternal theosis — the unification with our Creator.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><o:p></o:p></p>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-14374077749002536832022-10-10T11:08:00.007-07:002023-01-29T00:31:30.966-08:00Holy Mary, Ever Virgin, Theotokos<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPDptw9JO-QK08oZmWPk_0c78s5T8afSpzHAOmqNIWw_c85G4HksGe4RT4xHX0PIQJfHvZSD0-o9CfW6pnoCoHEQeDwX9jdipi2zx8RMns5Kn4XsrQWCa__EB45l1xy_QS8n1rZduOSc1Kx9tMDchV-ENQYQUtZcWfmdYwE6YC50ooXX9jBMm78fzbQ/s725/2022-10-10%2010-59-31.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Eastern Orthodox Icon of the Theotokos, shows her wearing a blue bloouse, the color of humanity, with a maroon cloak, the color of divinity. She is human, cloaked in the divine." border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="560" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPDptw9JO-QK08oZmWPk_0c78s5T8afSpzHAOmqNIWw_c85G4HksGe4RT4xHX0PIQJfHvZSD0-o9CfW6pnoCoHEQeDwX9jdipi2zx8RMns5Kn4XsrQWCa__EB45l1xy_QS8n1rZduOSc1Kx9tMDchV-ENQYQUtZcWfmdYwE6YC50ooXX9jBMm78fzbQ/w337-h437/2022-10-10%2010-59-31.png" title="The Eastern Orthodox Icon of the Theotokos, shows her wearing a blue bloouse, the color of humanity, with a maroon cloak, the color of divinity. She is human, cloaked in the divine." width="337" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was recently “instructed” by a Protestant to “Read God's word in
His New Testament and God tells us the names of Jesus brothers, biological
blood related brothers and says he also had a sister. Man continues to ignore
God and deny God's word saying idolize the virgin. Mary was a virgin appointed
by God for only one virgin birth. There after Mary had normal births, multiple
normal births. No longer a virgin.”</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">In the same offering, this person called the Catholic church a “cult”, and
claimed that “Look further at worshiping idols, Jesus Christ died, was taken
OFF THE CROSS and buried but catholicism [sic] keeps Christ hanging.”</div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Taking that second screed first, worshipping idols issue was resolved at the
seventh ecumenical council, which took place in 787 AD. Protestants are either
ignorant of this or ignore it because it doesn’t agree with their agenda. As
for keeping Christ hanging, the most important feast of the Roman Catholic
church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox church is the feast of Easter, called
Pascha by most of the non-English speaking world. This is the feast of the
resurrection. The writer clearly knows nothing of actual Catholic teaching, but
instead relies on Calvinist propaganda to inform him.</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I find it disingenuous for Protestants to claim that the Catholic church
innovated doctrines and then almost in the same breath they go on to innovate
their own doctrine. I’m not denying the Roman Catholic church has done some
innovation. The infallibility of the Pope, the Filioque controversy, the
doctrine of the immaculate Conception, which follows from a misunderstanding of
the nature of original sin – all of these are doctrines developed since the
Great Schism of 1054 (except for the Filioque, which was the proximate cause of
the schism).</div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span>But the virgin nature of Mary throughout her life is a
foundational belief among Christians since the dawn of Christianity. It’s interesting
how simple statements of fact to those proximate to the events become beliefs
as generations pass. What Protestants miss in their blinkered sola scriptura
frame of reference is that there is copious documentation of nearly every
aspect of Christianity by the Early Church Fathers, who were prolific writers. Early
Christianity didn’t base their belief or practices on the Bible. That would
have been absurd, since the Church had been established and thriving for
decades before the first Gospel was written. The divine liturgy of St. James
the Greater, from which the modern divine liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
derived, was practiced by the actual Apostle St. James long before Mark wrote
the first Gospel.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As time passes, facts which are taken for granted by the
eyewitnesses become beliefs, and then become articles of faith, which become
doctrine. If there’s a question of whether a belief of early Christians was
correct or not (never mind Biblical), we simply look to the writings of the
Early Church Fathers, and then to the ecumenical councils. The writings of the
Early church fathers provide a touch point of when a belief was first
documented – not necessarily when the belief was first introduced. After that,
if the Early church had a problem with that belief, it was addressed in an
ecumenical council. One need only review the conclusions of the ecumenical
councils to understand that they would debate and establish doctrine on the most
arcane minutia of faith that one can imagine. So if someone popped up and said,
“Hey, I think Mary was ever-virgin!” and it wasn’t generally accepted as a
fact, there would have been a discussion and an article of faith established by
an ecumenical council.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mary is only discussed in the third ecumenical council, the council of Ephesus
of 431 AD, which was convened to address the Nestorian heresy. In this council Christ
was declared the incarnate Word of God and declared that Mary was the Theotokos
– the God-bearer. There was no discussion of her perpetual virginity. Indeed,
in the divine liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which dates sometime between 397
and 407 makes several references to the ever-virgin Mary. This is the most
widely used liturgy today among the Eastern Orthodox. This wasn’t a fringe
concept of Early Christianity, it was a core belief, never called into question
in an ecumenical council.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Where did this idea of Mary having other children come from? The first record was promoted by <strong><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Helvidius sometime before 383, but was soundly refuted by Jerome (The
same Jerome who translated the New Testament to Latin, which became the authoritative
Latin Vulgate, the basis of most modern western Bibles). </span></strong>Jerome
writes that Ignatius (100 AD), Polycarp (150 AD, disciple of John the Apostle),
Justin Martyr (160 AD), and Irenaeus (200) all “held these same views” of
Mary’s perpetual virginity and “wrote volumes replete with wisdom” (in his <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3007.htm">The Perpetual Virginity of
Blessed Mary: Against Helvidius</a>, section 19). No writings from these four
men survive that unambiguously identifies their belief in this doctrine, but we
assume Jerome had access to some of their many works that did not survive until
the modern day. After Jerome’s thorough rebuttal of <strong><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Helvidius, the subject wasn’t raised again until after the Protestant
movement tossed out pretty much everything except the Bible.</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span>In 248 AD, Origen wrote, "Mary, as those declare who with
sound mind extol her, had no other son but Jesus" [Origen's <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/101501.htm">Commentary on the Gospel of
John</a> (Book I), Section 6].</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
354 AD: Hilary of Poitiers wrote, "If they [the brethren of the Lord] had
been Mary's sons and not those taken from Joseph's former marriage, she would
never have been given over in the moment of the passion [crucifixion] to the
apostle John as his mother, the Lord saying to each, 'Woman, behold your son,'
and to John, 'Behold your mother' [John 19:26-27], as he bequeathed filial love
to a disciple as a consolation to the one desolate"” [Hilary's <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2398ZZ9dIQoC&lpg=PP1&dq=hilary%20Commentary%20on%20Matthew&pg=PA45#v=onepage&q&f=false">Commentary
on Matthew</a> 1:4]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Around
360 AD: Athanasius identifies Mary as "Mary Ever-Virgin" in his <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/28162.htm">Discourse 2 Against the
Arians</a>, Section 70.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
373 AD: Ephrem wrote, “Because there are those who dare to say that Mary
cohabited with Joseph after she bore the Redeemer, we reply, 'How would it have
been possible for her who was the home of the indwelling of the Spirit, whom
the divine power overshadowed, that she be joined by a mortal being, and gave
birth filled with birthpangs, in the image of the primeval curse?'"
[Ephrem's <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Saint_Ephrem_s_Commentary_on_Tatian_s_Di.html?id=XPdBAQAAIAAJ">Commentary
on Tatian's Diatessaron</a>]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Around
375 AD: Basil of Caesarea wrote, "...the lovers of Christ do not allow
themselves to hear that the Mother of God ceased at a given moment to be a
virgin..." [Basil’s Homily: On the holy generation of Christ 5; PG 31,
1468 B]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
375 AD: Epiphanius wrote, "For I have heard from someone that certain
persons are venturing to say that [Mary] had marital relations after the
Savior’s birth. And I am not surprised. The ignorance of persons who do not
know the sacred scriptures well and have not consulted histories, always turn them
to one thing after another, and distracts anyone who wants to track down
something about the truth out of his own head.” [<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=tKtzRNP0Z70C&pg=PA620&lpg=PA620#v=onepage&q&f=false">The
Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis: De fide</a>. Books II and III, page 620,
7.1]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
386 AD: Didymus the Blind wrote, "Mary... remained always and forever an
immaculate virgin" [Didymus's <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8qQGAQAAIAAJ">The Trinity</a> 3:4]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
388 AD: Ambrose of Milan identified prophecy of Ezekiel 44:2 as proof of Mary's
perpetual virginity in his <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=deNgAQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA201&dq=%22Who%20is%20this%20gate%2C%20if%20not%20Mary%22&pg=PA201#v=onepage&q&f=false">De
Institutione Virginum</a> 8.52<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
401 AD: Augustine wrote, "A Virgin conceiving, a Virgin bearing, a Virgin
pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. Why do you wonder at
this, O man?" [Augustine, <a href="http://www.dec25th.info/Augustine%27s%20Sermon%20186.html">Sermons 186:1</a>]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
issue wasn’t raised again until the Protestants resurrected it hand in hand
with their Sola Scriptura heresy. The claim that Mary had other children is
based References to Jesus’ brothers (Matthew 12:46-47 and Matthew 13:55, Mark 3:31-32,
Luke 8:19-20, John 2:12, John 7:1-10) Most of these reference the same event,
first referenced in the Gospel of Mark and promulgated in the other gospels
that drew on Mark as a primary source.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">There’s
a romantic modern Western misunderstanding of Mary and Joseph as a young
couple, in love, and Joseph patiently acting as foster-father to the Christ. This
isn’t supported by tradition or the deuterocanonical written sources. The </span><a href="https://www.orthodoxroad.com/the-protevangelium-of-james/" style="font-size: 11pt;" target="_blank">Protoevangelium of James</a><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, which the Eastern Orthodox Church accepts as authoritative, goes into
great detail about the life of Mary and her betrothal to Joseph.</span></div><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">In summary, Joachim and Anna, Mary’s parents, were childless, and pledged their
child to the temple if Anna were allowed to conceive. An angel appeared to Anna
and said, “Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and
shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.”</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Mary was born, and true to their word, her parents consecrated her to the
temple as one of the temple virgins when she was two years old. Years later
when she reached marriageable age, it was determined that she could no longer
serve in the temple and should be married. All the bachelors of Judea were assembled,
their rods were taken and consecrated. When their rods were returned to them, a
dove flew out of Joseph’s and alighted on his head. The high priest proclaimed him
to be chosen by God to take the virgin into his keeping, but he refused,
stating, “I have children, and I am an old man, and she is a young girl. I am
afraid lest I become a laughing-stock to the sons of Israel.” The priests
prevailed, and the betrothal was made.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The Protoevangelium continues in detail about the annunciation and the drama
that ensued when Joseph discovered Mary was with child, the Birth of Christ,
and the murder of Zacharias by Herod. It’s worth reading, but not central to
the issue at hand, as to whether Mary had other children herself.</span></div></span><o:p style="font-size: 11pt;"></o:p></span><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Under
Jewish law and custom, Joseph’s children from his first wife would have been
considered the brothers and sisters of Christ. The last we hear of Joseph is in
Luke 2:41-50 when Jesus was about 12 years old. His death after that went
without remark as he was an old man. His children from his first marriage would
have felt no obligation to Mary as their mother. The plight of a widow with no
children to care for her in first century Israel was dire. This is why Christ
entrusted her care to John from the cross, (John 19:26-27), further indication
that Mary had no other children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Protestant
apologetics claim that the church was corrupted, and that the Protestant
breakaway corrected the error. It would be nice if the Protestant churches
could agree on exactly which Protestant church was correct. This claim is also
based on the assumption that the church had fallen into apostasy. If that
actually happened, then Jesus would be a false prophet, and should not be
followed, for he prophesied that his church would stand and not even the gates of
hell would overpower it (Matt 16:18). Also, if such an apostasy happened, then
the Bible cannot be taken as authoritative, for such apostasy must have happened
before the final canon of the Bible was established. Protestants cannot resolve
this dilemma logically, and they resort to Orwellian doublethink to maintain
their illogical, ahistorical position. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A
fundamental tenet of Protestantism is to reject all “Innovations” by the Roman
Catholic church. While the Roman Catholic church is guilty of some innovations,
when determining if a teaching is an innovation, one need only compare the
Roman Catholic church to the Eastern Orthodox. If the two churches agree on an
article of faith, it’s certain that that understanding is rooted in the earliest
practices of Christianity. Indeed, every church that maintains an unbroken line
of apostolic succession to the twelve apostles, the Roman Catholic, Eastern
Orthodox, Chaldean, Coptic and Thomas churches of India all maintain that Mary
was perpetually a virgin. The writings of the Early church fathers and the
absence of any debate in ecumenical councils on the question supports this. The
Protestant position of Mary having other children is in itself an innovation,
and evidence of why one should not interpret scripture outside of the frame of
reference of the church that wrote and compiled and canonized it.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlDa9eMJR8u56vOEpZ4W7SL1y9XXNklNmyetiEl3QkWodGgNs99rQFMGZbdttGg2-IeojTiDFpf8FoZBeSsdvtFZfwkdMuBWc5IQPHpXrXG8S8D4g7SDeIHph2qqUG8Ul3SVQ0CkA6SAKLM-ylX8UINXkraAgvPS4xbEMt-RorD-b4ZqeltJLnHaOGw/s960/12540777_10154588900154569_3180699490364466662_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlDa9eMJR8u56vOEpZ4W7SL1y9XXNklNmyetiEl3QkWodGgNs99rQFMGZbdttGg2-IeojTiDFpf8FoZBeSsdvtFZfwkdMuBWc5IQPHpXrXG8S8D4g7SDeIHph2qqUG8Ul3SVQ0CkA6SAKLM-ylX8UINXkraAgvPS4xbEMt-RorD-b4ZqeltJLnHaOGw/w394-h394/12540777_10154588900154569_3180699490364466662_n.jpg" width="394" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-34582832065115872082022-01-06T15:43:00.007-08:002022-01-06T16:03:53.597-08:00Washington State to Consider Authorizing Medical Tyranny<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_utKX6I4h_5LjtaQbard8uK5PE5l-K-U_Bt-QtWe2Lke8gunSHkAb3EGob6EIqLbaw6fRpZElUtvLuaEeUd77XxhLpQPZFNBhLNgxe5tavdsfKy-gwaLXiKAvzihMv0X0rxqLAqrIrFFTKzHPsiUrd9ieTPasu4XeO_9h42M2YV7uBKD0RIRq3HTNoA=s550" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="550" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_utKX6I4h_5LjtaQbard8uK5PE5l-K-U_Bt-QtWe2Lke8gunSHkAb3EGob6EIqLbaw6fRpZElUtvLuaEeUd77XxhLpQPZFNBhLNgxe5tavdsfKy-gwaLXiKAvzihMv0X0rxqLAqrIrFFTKzHPsiUrd9ieTPasu4XeO_9h42M2YV7uBKD0RIRq3HTNoA=w286-h194" width="286" /></a></div>On Jan. 12th at 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM, the WA State Board of Health will discuss applying current infectious disease WAC codes to include Covid-19 for all WA State residents. This, if authorized, will allow local health officers to use law enforcement (WAC 246-100-070) to force an emergency order to involuntarily detain a person or group of persons (families) to be isolated in a quarantine facility (WAC 246-100-045) following refusal to voluntary comply with requests for medical examination, testing, treatment, counseling, vaccination (WAC 246-100-040). These specifics come from WAC 246-100. It would also make Covid-19 injections part of school immunization requirements using WAC 246-105. <p></p><p> Citizens are encouraged to comment on this until Noon, Friday, Jan7, at wsboh@sboh.wa.gov. </p><p>To voice your concerns, register for the live webinar here:</p><p><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DjusY10WTj-EyQyDTdyxsw" target="_blank">https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DjusY10WTj-EyQyDTdyxsw</a></p><p>You can also dial-in using your phone for listen-only mode: Call in: +1 (253) 215-8782 (not toll-free) </p><p>Webinar ID: 894 7406 4216 <br />Passcode: 957396</p><p>Location: 101 Israel Rd. SE, Tumwater, WA 98501</p><p>This is my comment:</p><p>I am writing with concern to encourage you to reject the proposal to apply current infectious disease WAC codes to include COVID-19 for all WA State residents, and to reject making COVID-19 a requirement for school admissions.</p><p>COVID-19 is a coronavirus respiratory disease. Unlike many other diseases for which vaccinations are effective, corona viruses are similar to the flu in that they mutate quickly. The vaccine for one variant may have limited or no effect on other variants. There’s absolutely no point in mandating a vaccine for a disease that literally mutates out from under the protection of the vaccine faster than new vaccines can be introduced.</p><p>COVID-19 is no longer a pandemic. Pandemic is a word used to characterize the spread of a disease across national boundaries to previously uninfected populations and suggests that the spread can be mitigated and controlled through strict quarantine efforts. COVID-19 quit being a pandemic months ago, as it is now present in almost every part of the world. It exists at a baseline level among all populations without being infused through external means. COVID-19 is now endemic. Preventive treatments need to give way to palliative mitigation efforts.</p><p>The vaccines are experimental. They have been released using an Emergency Use Authorization. They have not, and cannot have been, adequately tested to normal FDA standards for safety and efficacy. The long-term effects of these treatments are unknown, but preliminary data is alarming. </p><p>The vaccines are not safe. These vaccines have been associated with thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, myocarditis and pericarditis and more than 10,000 reports of death in otherwise healthy people, many of them young, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html" target="_blank">according to the CDC</a>(1). In a study by Columbia University, VAERS data used by the CDC may be undercounting adverse COVID-19 vaccination effects by a factor of 20. <a href="https://www.christianitydaily.com/articles/14298/20211216/columbia-university-study-finds-vaers-deaths-undercounted-by-factor-of-20.htm" target="_blank">Columbia’s data</a> showed that there were over 146,000 to 187,000 vaccine-related deaths in the U.S. alone between February to August 2021 (2).</p><p>The vaccines are demonstrably ineffective. They do not protect the vaccinated against infection. There are many reported cases of vaccinated individuals contracting COVID and even dying from COVID – to the point that one is hard pressed to show the vaccine has any effect at all, except for the reported adverse effects. The CDC itself admits that the vaccines don’t prevent the vaccinated from transmitting the disease.</p><p>The vaccines don’t lessen the severity of infection. Without the vaccines, symptoms range from, “Oh, was I sick?” (The majority) to death. There’s no way to predict the reaction of an individual to the disease, and no way to measure the reaction of an individual with and without vaccination. Group studies suffer from sampling bias, because a majority of unvaccinated infections without symptoms go unreported, and because the COVID-19 infections have become more virulent and less deadly as time goes on – as happens with all respiratory viruses. The measurement errors in these studies haven’t even been identified, much less quantified.</p><p>The deaths associated with COVID-19 have followed <a href="https://www.trillianthealth.com/insights/blog/farrs-law-its-happening" target="_blank">Farr’s Law</a>(3) no matter where the analysis has been applied. States with vaccine, mask and social gathering mandates have shown no deviation from Farr’s Law compared to states with no such mandates. The vaccine and preventive measure mandates are ineffective with regards to COVID-19 outcomes and are deleterious to the physical and mental health of citizens in many other ways that have yet to be studied or quantified. </p><p>The vaccine should not be considered a primary treatment for COVID-19. COVID-19 has adequate and effective active and prophylactic treatments which negate the need for vaccines. The<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33260798/" target="_blank"> National Library of Medicine</a>(4) reports that vitamin D insufficiency may account for almost nine of ten COVID-19 deaths. It has been known for decades that anyone living north of the 35th Parallel suffers from some level of vitamin D deficiency. This is most severe in winter months where there’s little sunlight, and among dark-skinned ethnic groups, who produce less vitamin D in response to light stimulus. Instead of enacting a dangerous and untested vaccine requirement for schoolchildren, it would be cheaper, safer, and more effective to ensure that each child was administered 10,000 units of Vitamin D orally at the beginning of each school day.</p><p>For the clinically ill COVID patient, safe and effective treatments are available. Many doctors have reported excellent outcomes with critical patients who have been administered Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin. The government and CDC propaganda discouraging these treatments borders on criminal, and is indicative that the pharmaceutical industry is spending huge amounts of money to push the vaccine narrative:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>1)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hydroxychloroquine is a well-known and well-understood anti-malarial drug. It’s not dangerous when administered or prescribed under a doctor’s care. In countries where malaria is endemic, it’s been sold as an over-the-counter preventive medication for decades. Preliminary studies show it has been effective in reducing or eliminating COVID-19 symptoms, yet doctors risk losing their medical license for prescribing a safe and potentially effective drug.</p><p>2)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ivermectin won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2015, hailed as a wonder drug, with many applications. It, too, is safe when administered or prescribed under a doctor’s care and has been shown to be effective when treating COVID-19 patients. To withhold this drug from a critically ill COVID-19 victim is medical malpractice forced on our doctors by a government that cares more about the profits of deep-pocket pharmaceuticals than about the health of Americans.</p><p>3)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is no medical precedent for prohibiting doctors from prescribing Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin. Off-label drug prescriptions are a common medical practice and may account for as much as 21% of overall use for 160 commonly prescribed drugs in the United States, and more than 99% of prescriptions for some drugs like quinine sulfate (99.5% of total prescriptions), followed by gabapentin (99.2%), and clonazepam (96.2%) (Radley DC, et al. Off-label prescribing among office-based physicians. Arch Intern Med 2006;166:1021-1026.). The prosecution – nay, persecution – of doctors for prescribing Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin to COVID-19 patients borders on the criminal.</p></blockquote><p>Authorizing the use of law enforcement to involuntarily enforce vaccination and quarantine mandates is totalitarian, prejudicial, and un-American. It specifically targets and makes second-class citizens of typically conservative and liberty-minded citizens who have a well-earned distrust of government and who are known to vote in opposition to the government in Olympia. This authorization will effectively criminalize the very American act of disagreeing with the government. This demographic has been pushed hard in recent years, and some may consider this to be a hill they’re willing to die on. Passing such an authorization may lead to violence and unnecessary criminal prosecutions for a made-up crime. It will certainly lead to an exodus of citizens from Washington State to states where tyranny is not the rule of the day.</p><p>The fact that such an action is even being considered is very disturbing. This is not the Washington I grew up in and love. These measures – and all the unnecessary measures taken by the Washington State government to date – have had and will have no effect on the progression of the disease among the population, will not save lives, and will continue to unnecessarily disrupt our society for years to come. The sad fact that all citizens need to come to terms with is that the government cannot and never could protect them, that it’s the individual’s responsibility to take whatever measures that person deems prudent to protect themselves.</p><p>Notes:<br />(1) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html">https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html</a></p><p>(2) <a href="https://www.christianitydaily.com/articles/14298/20211216/columbia-university-study-finds-vaers-deaths-undercounted-by-factor-of-20.htm">https://www.christianitydaily.com/articles/14298/20211216/columbia-university-study-finds-vaers-deaths-undercounted-by-factor-of-20.htm</a></p><p>(3)<a href="https://www.trillianthealth.com/insights/blog/farrs-law-its-happening" target="_blank"> https://www.trillianthealth.com/insights/blog/farrs-law-its-happening</a></p><p>(4) <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33260798/">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33260798/</a></p>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-35257042502823606482021-11-29T18:38:00.020-08:002023-04-03T10:40:41.408-07:00My Journey to Orthodoxy. Follow Me.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TLFNfvDBNjkfEcUFwQ96u6jixIuXztm8xBm00tNY6EINcVNnIw3Z2wSj_jloaydLu2kXK_VZ0tB41wkx4VyoL9O1_iSsGgXNwW3zvwGk3BxoOKLYPj4LUNS0qIX9xmoRS97s-D2ySFzK/s564/eedd122c35bbeb606c52d12190541add.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="564" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0TLFNfvDBNjkfEcUFwQ96u6jixIuXztm8xBm00tNY6EINcVNnIw3Z2wSj_jloaydLu2kXK_VZ0tB41wkx4VyoL9O1_iSsGgXNwW3zvwGk3BxoOKLYPj4LUNS0qIX9xmoRS97s-D2ySFzK/w400-h300/eedd122c35bbeb606c52d12190541add.jpg" title="The resurrection of Adam and Eve. By lifting The original Man from the grave, Christ redeems all of Adam's posterity." width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The resurrection of Adam and Eve. By lifting The original Man<br /> from the grave, Christ redeems all of Adam's posterity.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I’ve recently been attending a catechism preparatory to entering life in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church. I’m a cradle Catholic and have practiced (often poorly) Roman Catholicism all my life. My mother was an Irish Catholic from the old sod, so I was brought up in a rigidly Catholic fashion that was doing its best to reconcile itself to the innovations of Vatican II. My father was an atheist, or more properly an anti-theist. He wasn’t supposed to interfere in my faith upbringing according to the nuptial agreement, but as a teen, on late nights after Mom went to bed, he would start probing, and I found myself defending my faith at a relatively early age. I would usually lose these philosophical debates, which did nothing but make me study so I could come back better prepared the next time. It also made me think a lot about my faith and why I believed the way I did.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Why am I a Christian? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">History records a man we refer to as Jesus of Nazareth. Like many holy men of history, he has a certain mythology about him, that we could attribute to legend and myth. He taught a unique philosophy, challenged the status quo, performed miracles. Nothing really to differentiate him from numerous other holy men on whom religions have been founded. The unique thing about Jesus, though, was the behavior of his followers. They weren’t the typical people from the fringe of society who gravitate towards the guru du jour. These were fishermen, tax collectors, tent makers, one may have been a minor politician. They were practical men in respected professions.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Had Jesus died on the cross and been put to rest and the Twelve had scattered and made their way to Galilee without being further arrested or harassed, they would have returned to their profession and the memory of the failed teacher they had followed would fade. They would have bounced their grandchildren on their knee and tried to impart some of the Wisdom of Jesus to them, but it would have just been a man they had once known. A man with great ideas, but mortal and flawed like anyone else, and his religion would have died with them or at most their second or third generation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">But something happened, something so profound that it changed these men, opened their eyes, and made them believe. They believed that Jesus was the Son of God and was in fact God incarnate. They believed this so vehemently that they would no sooner deny their knowledge than they would say that the sky wasn’t blue. They didn’t believe it, they knew it, and they went cheerfully to their deaths – all martyred but John – proclaiming this truth with joy with their dying breaths. The Gospels tell us why. After dying a public and humiliating death, Jesus rose from the dead, conquered death so that his followers would know that life is everlasting. And there’s no doubt that Jesus was dead. The Roman executioners were experts at their job. The mode of death in crucifixion is suffocation, as the diaphragm is paralyzed unless the victim can hoist himself upward for a breath. It was clear that Jesus had died because he was no longer breathing.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">The behavior of the Apostles after the recorded account of the resurrection is the evidence for me to accept that the accounts of the Gospels are largely accurate. That Christianity has fundamentally changed the world and every culture it’s contacted is historical fact. The historical evidence is compelling, and the narrative is more consistent than one would expect from a work of fiction. The Shroud of Turin is, for me, a compelling relic. I’ve studied it extensively. I understand how the STURP investigation was adulterated to give the result the director was seeking. There’s no explanation for the shroud. I believe that it is in fact the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. There are too many details that would have been unknown to a forger, too many details that precisely match and even explain some of the Gospel accounts of the passion.</span></p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Why was I a Catholic?</span></h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Growing up Catholic, I wasn’t subjected to many of the myths about the Catholic church that are promoted by Protestants. If everything Protestants said about the Catholic faith were true, there would be no Catholics. Unfortunately for the Protestants, their understanding of the Roman Catholic faith is based on straw man arguments and propaganda promoted by Calvin and Knox to justify their many heresies. I’ve been a faithful Catholic because of what the church is, not what the protestants say it is, which has little to do with what Catholics actually believe.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">If I am to be a Christian, then I naturally want to practice the faith that most closely represents what the first Christians believed. All Protestant sects – every single one – derive their faith and traditions from the Roman Catholic church, either directly or indirectly. They’re either breakaway sects who broke faith directly from Rome, like the Anglican or the Lutheran, or they’re offshoots of those who did. Some are homegrown versions of Christianity who picked up a Bible and tried to reproduce what’s there, but that Bible came to them through the Roman Catholic church. Almost all western Bible translations are derived from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate – the authoritative Latin translation from the fifth century. Why would I be a Protestant – be a branch on the tree – when I could be a Catholic, the trunk from which all branches derive?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">As a Catholic, I celebrate an unbroken line of apostolic succession from the twelve Apostles, particularly the Apostle Peter, to present day. I practice a faith that was practiced for decades before the first gospels were written, and for centuries before the canon was finalized. The Bible is based on the Catholic faith, not the other way around. The term Catholic means “universal” and was first applied to Christianity by Ignatius of Antioch in his letter to the Smyrnaeans in the year 107. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Growing up, the idea of the infallibility of the Pope didn’t sit well with me, but when I joined the military, I began to understand and reconcile myself to it. The idea is that the Pope is infallible by virtue of his authority. It doesn’t mean he’s necessarily right, it just means that if he says something is so, his decision is infallible, because the responsibility falls on him, not on those he’s charged with leading. There are other beliefs that I wasn’t quite so fond of defending. I understood the theology well enough to argue it but doing so felt uncomfortable. It seemed to me that sometimes the church developed its theology by running an idea beyond where it should have ended, like the concept of the Immaculate Conception. The doctrine goes that Christ couldn’t have been born of a woman tainted with original sin, so for Mary’s womb to be sacred enough to bear Christ, she must have been born free of original sin. This brought up a whole slough of uncomfortable questions to me, though. Did Mary have free will, or was she predestined to be the mother of Christ? If she was born immaculately, how could she have been born so if her mother was tainted with original sin? When you run into a question where the answers do nothing but create more questions and paradoxes, something in your understanding has gone wrong.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When I was a teen, the church we attended had a folk choir, with guitars. They were very good, and the music was wonderful, but I realized something was wrong at the end of one Sunday mass when they gave a rousing recessional song, and at the end everyone applauded. That didn’t sit well with me. We were supposed to be there to give glory to God and worship Him, not attend a music festival. As an altar boy I had a behind the scenes view of the liturgy and appreciated the solemnity of the sanctification of the gifts and the sacrifice of the eucharistic liturgy.</span><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Why am I an Orthodox Christian?</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">The break for me came when Pope Francis was seated in Rome. Francis is a small man, not up to the standard of the Papacy. I was dismayed with his political calls to embrace socialism, for the USA to go against its best interests and throw open its borders to foreign invaders. I began to refer to him as the commie pope. The commie pope enacted policies of appeasement towards the arch-enemy of the church, Islam. The commie pope embraced the deviant and anti-family agenda of the alphabet soup crowd, instead of calling them out to repent and return to Christ. The commie pope embraced the manmade climate change narrative and scolded Catholics for generating too much CO2.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Apologists have argued that none of these have been enacted with the Pope’s dogma of infallibility, which is only when the Pope is speaking ex cathedra on matters of faith and morals. Until that happens, it’s just one man’s opinions. Yeah, but. . . . The Pope is the leader of the Roman Catholic faith, and faithful Roman Catholics are obliged to embrace his teachings even when he’s not speaking ex cathedra. I cannot in good conscience do so. I know as clearly and profoundly as the apostles knew that Christ had risen from the dead that Islam is the arch-enemy of Christianity worldwide. I absolutely know that socialism and communism is an evil, bankrupt economic model that’s been directly responsible for the deaths of millions of people and the suffering of countless more in the last century. I know as a scientist who has investigated the claims from the perspective of my particular specialty field that the claims of the manmade global warming apologists are flat out wrong, and that the physics of CO2 spectral absorption are such that adding more CO2 cannot possibly result in increased global temperatures.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">How can I follow a man who’s profoundly and fundamentally wrong on three critical issues like this? And what does that mean for me as a Catholic? Christ prophesied that his church would withstand the Gates of Hell, but I’m watching it melt into an incoherent mess riddled with political corruption and sexual deviancy right before my eyes.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">It's okay, I assured myself. The church isn’t the Pope or the Bishops. The church is and always has been the rank-and-file congregation. All I have to do is ignore the many Obama and Biden bumper stickers on the cars in the parking lot as I make my way into mass.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">My first exposure to Eastern Orthodoxy was when a colleague invited me to the Pascha service. Note to my Orthodox friends: if you want to invite someone to experience Orthodoxy, the Pascha service is probably not the place to start. It was confusing and disorganized to the point of seeming randomness, with a lot of motion and bustle that I really didn’t understand.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">When I married my wife, who’s Eastern Orthodox, we did so on the understanding that our faiths were very similar and that we would respect each other’s faith and beliefs. We attended mass at the local Catholic church, and then also at a slightly more distant Antiochian Orthodox church.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Attending the Orthodox divine liturgy made a big impression on me. It was strange at first, because while all the elements of the Catholic mass are there, they’re rearranged, and out of order. The common prayers, like the Nicene creed are the same (almost), but the translation is slightly varied. The meaning is the same, but in English there’s always at least three ways of saying something, and it’s clear the Orthodox and Catholics didn’t share the same English translators. Then the Orthodox has some parts of the liturgy that are missing in the Catholic ordinary mass, like a beautiful prayer before communion.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Shortly after having attended the Orthodox liturgy, I happened to attend mass at the proto-Cathedral of St. James in downtown Vancouver. The priest there was a traditional curmudgeon who used the building’s status as an historical landmark to remove the free-standing altar and restore the sanctuary to what it had been before Vatican II. It was the first time I’d experienced the mass said ad orientum (toward God) instead of vox populi (toward the congregation). The Orthodox always celebrate the liturgy ad orientum and go one step further by placing the priest behind a screen, with only a door through which to view him. If he’s on the other side of the screen, he’s praying to God. To address the congregation, even to give a peace blessing, he comes through the door to our side of the screen. It was the mass at St. James that made me realize what an insidious heresy it was to say the mass vox populi. By orienting the priest towards the congregation, he quits being the leader of the congregation leading the prayer directed at God, but becomes the focus of attention, removing our attention from God. When the priest says mass ad orientum, we’re naturally inclined to direct our attention at that which the priest is attending, and the focus is on God. Using vox populi, the priest’s attention is either on us or behind us, and our attention is on him, interrupting our attention which should be towards God.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">This then manifests itself in all sorts of undesired behaviors. The priest naturally falls into the role that his position casts him in, and he quits being the liturgical celebrant, but the master of ceremonies, with a retinue of supporting cast, in the form of altar servers, liturgical ministers, and even a live band to provide an appropriate soundtrack to set the mood. Since I was young, I’ve seen innovations of allowing lay persons to distribute the consecrated Eucharist, bringing girls and women onto the altar as servers and ministers. I’ve seen priests invite non-ordained lay people to the pulpit to give a homily. And at the end of mass, I’ve even seen the priests invite the crowd to “give it up” and applaud the altar boys, the band (I refuse to dignify it by calling it a choir), and all those who help produce the show.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Honestly, after attending the Orthodox divine liturgy with my wife, it was embarrassing to go to the Catholic mass. I can only remember once or twice that I attended a High Mass outside of the Easter Vigil, and I don’t even think most parish priests know how to celebrate it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">So I started investigating the differences. The most glaring difference is the Orthodox have no Pope in the way that Roman Catholics understand the Pope. This goes back to the Great Schism of 1054, when the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic church mutually excommunicated one another. The proximal cause of the schism was that the Roman Bishop had made some changes that hadn’t been approved by an ecumenical council. When the question arose if the Bishop of Rome had the authority to do that, four out of five of the Christian patriarchs at the time said he did not.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">The Bishop of Rome has always held a special place in Christianity. He was considered the first among equals by the other bishops. This was on account of his physical proximity to the Roman seat of government, and his subsequent ability to influence legislation and imperial decrees. This never gave him any authority over the other bishops. Catholic apologists will direct you to many historical instances to demonstrate that the Roman Bishop did, in fact, exercise such authority over the rest of Christendom since the earliest days of Christianity, but they wonderfully ignore the many historical times when the rest of Christendom told the Roman Bishop to go screw and he had no recourse but to do anything but mutter about it. Indeed, the Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells us about times when St. Paul called out Peter on something he felt was wrong, and argued him back to parade rest, thus destroying the myth that the throne of Peter is infallible. The doctrine of infallibility is a relatively recent innovation in the Roman Catholic church and would have been quite a foreign concept to the earliest Christian churches. When the Great Schism happened, the Pope claimed ecumenical authority over all of Christendom. Sad for him, four out of five patriarchs disagreed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">The Roman Pope had the secular power to anoint kings, and this made who sat on the bishop’s seat a huge political issue. Consequently, many Popes were pretty rotten people, and corrupt through and through. One Pope turned the Vatican into his personal brothel, and from his position of power pretty much sexually assaulted anyone he encountered, be they male or female. Another bankrupted the Vatican treasury to outfit his personal villa, and resort to the heretical practice of selling indulgences to prop up his flagging finances. Other Popes murdered their way into power, executed rivals, had children by mistresses, pretty much proved the adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and put to lie the doctrine of papal infallibility. These abuses disenchanted many Catholics, to the point that Martin Luthor nailed his thesis to the door of the church (Luthor approached the eastern Orthodox to avoid the abuse of the Roman Pontiff, but was given the cold shoulder, because an Orthodox infringement into Roman Catholic Germany would have started a war).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">By their fruits you shall know them.</span></p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Differences</span></h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Ask any Orthodox and the first difference they’re likely to cite is the filioque. The filioque was the point of contention that led to the great schism of 1054. The Nicene creed, amended by the first Council of Constantinople stated, “[we believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified.” 500 years later the Western church under Rome begin to insert a single word, filioque, which means “and the Son”. Catholics today are used to the creed saying, “[we believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father <i>and the Son</i>, who with Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified.” Part of the reason for this was to address the ongoing Arian heresy in the west, which the Eastern Orthodox church didn’t have to deal with. The question of whether this is correct or appropriate is relatively insignificant, although most Orthodox will disagree. It’s a question that should be addressed in an ecumenical Council. I could make a case from Scripture for either position. The real issue was whether the Roman Pope had the authority to make such a change to the creed without an ecumenical Council. It was the last of a long list of doctrinal issues that the Roman Bishop had unilaterally resolved outside of an ecumenical Council, to the dismay of the other bishops Christendom. It’s not really a doctrinal hill that I’m interested in dying on.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">More significant, to my mind, is the understanding of original sin. The Roman Catholic understanding is that we are all born tainted by original sin, and that this sin is washed away with baptism. The Eastern Orthodox understanding, which is apparently more in line with what the earliest Christians believed, is that we all suffer the consequences of Adam’s original sin, but we are only guilty of the sins that we commit. I’ve never been a fan of the theology of the children bearing the guilt of their parents, which seems unfair and arbitrary. This also results the paradoxes created by the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. Without the guilt of original sin there’s no need to postulate that Mary (Or, as the Orthodox refer to her, the Theotokos or Christ-bearer) was immaculately conceived, and therefore no question whether her fate was predestined. Indeed, it glorifies the Theotokos, in that she was without sin through her life of her own agency. This makes much more sense to me.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Of course, the Orthodox have no Pope in the way that the Roman Catholic church understands it. The Orthodox resolve doctrinal issues through councils the way it’s been done since the earliest days of Christianity. They don’t have to apologize for the infallibility of their church leaders when they do fail.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Culturally, the Roman Catholic church is very legalistic, with a list of rules and prescriptions for punishment if the rules are broken. To the lay person and many clergy these are rigid and inviolable. Do this, or do that, you go to Hell. They say the Jews invented guilt and the Catholics perfected it. The Orthodox church, on the other hand, seems to take the rules and glance at them, then throw them over their shoulder and get to work on saving your soul and keeping it saved. Indeed, it seems the Orthodox priests take their charge as shepherds very seriously, and if you’re seen to be straying, they’re not shy about snapping you back in line. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">If you go to a divine liturgy, everything seems out of place at first. It takes two or three times, but you begin to recognize that all the essential elements of the Latin Mass are there, and then some. The normal first reading from the Old Testament seems to be missing, until you realize that the Sunday Divine Liturgy actually starts on Saturday Evening with Vespers, and the old testament reading is there.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">If Divine Liturgy is scheduled for 10:00am, as most are, you’ll walk in and think you’re late, because the service already seems to be in progress. That’s because Orthros starts about an hour beforehand and segues right into the Divine liturgy. After you’ve been a few times, you realize that the Divine Liturgy actually starts with the small entrance (A holdover from days when the Orthros was often said in a smaller chapel from the main sanctuary). The Creed, the Our Father, and the eucharistic prayers are all nearly identical to the Roman Catholic rite, with a few translation differences that have no impact on the meaning. There’s a beautiful prayer before communion that the Roman Catholic church lacks. Many Orthodox churches in America service an immigrant congregation, so the Divine Liturgies are often bilingual.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">Most Orthodox churches have no pews. You stand through the whole ceremony, in a kind of Brownian motion around the sanctuary. Wear comfortable shoes. More western congregations have pews.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">The decoration will seem strange. The religious artwork is mostly icons. The Eastern Churches never participated in the medieval art renaissance, so traditionally their artwork isn’t as photorealistic as it is in the Western churches, and it certainly eschews the modern look you see in many Protestant and some unfortunate recent Roman Catholic churches. If you know to look, you’ll see that in the icon art, the saints and holy subjects of the art aren’t illuminated, but the illumination seems to come from them. There’s no proscription against statuary or more realistic artwork that you see in Roman Catholic and more traditional Protestant churches (which, after all, derive their sensibilities from their Roman Catholic roots), but it’s just not a tradition that caught on in Orthodoxy.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">The communion uses leavened bread which is mixed with the wine and served to the communicant on a spoon. Very different. No lay people are involved in communion, the Orthodox take the Eucharist very seriously, as the Roman Catholics have forgotten how to do.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">At the end of the liturgy, there’s no recession, and you don’t just get up and leave. The congregation is called forward as in communion to venerate the cross, at which time they’re dismissed individually. Frequently antidoron is distributed either with communion or during the dismissal. This is the bread that was blessed but not consecrated, and all congregants can partake, unlike communion, which is only for the Orthodox who have prepared themselves through confession and fasting.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">If you’re a Protestant, you’ll find the Divine Liturgy strange. The degree of strangeness will depend on how traditional your Protestant background was. Lutherans and Anglicans probably wouldn’t feel too out of place. Baptists and Pentecostals will find it unrecognizable. The Orthodox church isn’t a place you go to get saved, or have your faith jumpstarted by a motivational speaker, or sing and dance and show how happy you are to believe in Jesus. The Orthodox Divine Liturgy is where you go to worship God, admit to yourself that you are a sinner unworthy of His love or Forgiveness, yet by His divine grace you’ve been forgiven and loved. It’s a hospital for the soul, whether you need to heal the hurts of the day or deeper wounds that haunt your sleep at night and make your soul ache. You won’t leave the Liturgy feeling good about yourself and ready to excitedly go out in the world and make it better for Jesus, but you’ll leave with a sense of calm and relief that there’s hope for you but knowing that you face a struggle to stay true to His word and example in the coming week. It’s not unusual to cry at some point during the Liturgy if you’re really paying attention to what’s happening.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">If you’re a Catholic who’s sick of what’s happening in the Church and feel powerless to do something about it, a Protestant who’s realizing that the Sunday services are still leaving your spirit hungry, or a lonely soul looking for a meaning, come to Divine Liturgy a few times. Give it a chance for the strangeness to fade, and you’ll realize you’ve come home.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-41300524537476493592021-08-10T10:48:00.002-07:002021-08-10T11:28:22.619-07:00The Plan for the Soviet Socialist States of America<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ2-nG0kvE3rv3MwgakKkrozaLDGgirHaViP1N7Hwd0kU-3SYE-slHnhw83rJl2qvxAVKI2R9id9exIsbjvrb9vcYGeoxh6UGG4dYAv6EP2fXrR_Vhi98jeUYdENWcTiVbwJ2Zv7vok8M/s474/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ2-nG0kvE3rv3MwgakKkrozaLDGgirHaViP1N7Hwd0kU-3SYE-slHnhw83rJl2qvxAVKI2R9id9exIsbjvrb9vcYGeoxh6UGG4dYAv6EP2fXrR_Vhi98jeUYdENWcTiVbwJ2Zv7vok8M/s320/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You’re being manipulated. In a time where ideology appears
to trump facts in the public discourse, the power lies in the hands of the most
outrageously plausible liar. This puts Conservatives at a disadvantage, because
among their many values, Conservatives believe that adhering to the truth gives
the least number of problems in the long run.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The truth is that the United Sates is and has been for nearly a century the
most prosperous, resource rich country in the world. So why are we experiencing
skyrocketing food prices? Why are the shelves of many stores suddenly bare?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The “pandemic” of 2020 gave the government the perfect
excuse to implement a number of measures. The reason for these measures will become
clear. Stay with me while I lay the foundation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Whether you believe the COVID-19 virus was engineered in a bioweapons lab in
Wuhan, China using American funding and technology transfers or that it escaped
from a reservoir in the local bat population, the initial reports were
alarming. People dying in droves, extreme transmissibility, hospitals
overloaded. Maybe these reports were real. Let’s just say for the sake of
argument that they were.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Highly lethal, highly contagious pathogens burn out pretty quickly. The faster
they kill their host, the faster they reduce the pool of available victims to
jump to. Corona viruses are unstable and mutate quickly. A less lethal form of
a virus has a reproductive advantage over the more lethal strain and will
typically outpace the more lethal strain in the long run. The result will be a
lower death rate per infection as time goes on. The less lethal strains will
confer immunity to the more lethal strains. The pandemic becomes endemic, as
the victim population settles down to learn to live with the less lethal
strains of the virus. This progression has been seen time and again with SARS,
H1N1, Swine Flu and is exactly what we see today with COVID-19. While initial
containment measures were prudent at the beginning of the outbreak in light of
how lethal it was at the time, today they are either worthless or
counterproductive.</div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The lockdowns and travel restrictions from COVID-19 caused
major disruptions to multiple supply chains. In a fit of Soviet-style central
planning, many state governments chose what activities were essential and what
weren’t. The choices were often whimsical at best. In a complex economy, even
essential activities often rely on supply chains that one wouldn’t consider
essential at first glance. The amazing thing is that the economy didn’t come
off the rails altogether with the idiotic meddling the government did.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The lockdowns hit our food supply hard. Unable to get their
goods to market, farmers dumped their produce and it rotted. Livestock was
slaughtered because feed was scarce, and again, getting the meat to market was
difficult and expensive. This rippled through the economy and continues to be
felt. Food prices are skyrocketing, and certain items remain scarce. Meat, especially,
has become very dear.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Need I point out that this suits the Earth-first, incoherent vegan PETA green advocates
who seem to form a major coalition among the current liberal ruling party? Nah.
Coincidence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Stores, merchants, and food service providers are having
problems serving their clientele because they can’t find workers. Under the
guise of “COVID Relief,” the government is paying people more to not work than
they can make at minimum or near-minimum wage. I saw this this summer touring
the Western US, where restaurants were closed or operating for reduced hours
because they couldn’t adequately staff their kitchens. Ask the store managers
why their shelves are empty at Wal-Mart, and they’ll tell you they can’t find
enough people to stock them, and the trucks are unable to keep up deliveries because
of manpower shortages.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Now the Federal government and certain governors (I’m
looking at YOU, Jay Inslee, you ambulance-chasing charlatan) are trying to
enact vaccination mandates, trying to restrict people’s ability to conduct
business or be employed unless they agree to accept the experimental injections
for which the long-term effects are unknown and which killed all the animals in
the preliminary trials. After the last four years of the media continuously
lying to the point where Social Media companies have appointed their private “Ministries
of Truth” to ensure that only state-approved propaganda can be conveyed on
their platforms, it’s little wonder that a majority of Americans are saying, “Thank
you, no.” to getting the experimental jab. This will serve to prolong the
manpower shortage.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The baffling thing to me up to now has been, “Why?”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Why would the government deliberately kill the source of American prosperity? Why
would the government cause food and labor shortages in this land of immense
bounty? Who does this serve?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I’m sure you’ve heard the question asked whether we should take the vaccine
that’s advocated by a group of people who are on record saying that the world
should be depopulated to about 500 million people. You make up your own mind.
One has to wonder if people like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos understand that
their immense wealth is the result of a large population buying their goods and
services. You think they would, but I make it a habit to never underestimate
the power of human stupidity, even from successful people.</div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’m torn between two principles. The first is that it’s a mistake to ascribe to
evil intent what can easily be explained by incompetence. The second is that
once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. The
level of governmental incompetence has been too directed, too focused. I
honestly believe that many players in this farce <i>are</i> incompetent and
have no idea what they’re doing and why. But I also believe that there are a
few powerful people directing action, either directly or through proxies they
control to achieve a desired outcome.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Like I say, the outcome they seem to be driving for makes no
sense at all. Until yesterday, it hit me, and it all fell into place.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p>Today, thanks to university indoctrination and a willful tendency
to either ignore or rewrite history, we actually have a generation of young
people who actually think that socialism and its ruder alter-ego, communism, is
a good idea. Completely oblivious of the history of the 20<sup>th</sup> century
and the incomprehensible misery and death that these ideologies caused, young
people today think that Capitalism is evil, and socialism is the cure. These
useful idiots (If you don’t recognize that term, young person, go read up on
the writings of Lenin) will form the core of the 21<sup>st</sup> century
Bolsheviks.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The key to understanding is the food shortages. Supply has
been disrupted at the source. Transportation is breaking down, and retailers
are finding it difficult to operate. This is designed to get worse. In the
guise of “aid” the government will institute measures to supposedly alleviate
the crisis which will do nothing but make it worse. This is by design.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">But why?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Look at history for the answer. The hard leftist socialists in this country who
hate Capitalism know that they can never enact their policies and agenda
against the American public as long as the people maintain control of the
government. So, the first step is to cause a civil breakdown where the people
themselves abolish the government. Remember, the Russian Revolution was started
because of – you got it – food riots. Stop the food to the cities and use your
antifa fringe as the core to foment a popular uprising among the hungry people.
Run this in cities nationwide and wait until civil order and the government
collapses. Exacerbate this by defunding law enforcement, removing the civil authority’s
prime weapon in suppressing disorder.</div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Once the government has been rendered ineffective, follow
the Russian Revolution model. Move into the power vacuum with your Bolsheviks
and “solve” the problem. Replace civil authority with people’s courts and a
centrally managed economy. Eliminate or imprison those who refuse to play along.
It wasn’t pretty in Russia and sparked a brutal five-year civil war. That’s
okay, they’re ready for that, and they’re not bothered by the bodies they’ll
have to stack to enact their agenda.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzD9tcPgS5U411hSF7Svp4X9VCq-bp1XAIuQmlOUPljjNfNnNqEDO5S0mz2WcPiYkszPKKZhcChuDl37Ul6h6IjIwL7iY1C6n9VhN8yN9BWLnN4xBmopnzvJuS0D9cJ4QTsWzXVAKoqdB7/s720/11953121_501969619968797_276618862776588151_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="441" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzD9tcPgS5U411hSF7Svp4X9VCq-bp1XAIuQmlOUPljjNfNnNqEDO5S0mz2WcPiYkszPKKZhcChuDl37Ul6h6IjIwL7iY1C6n9VhN8yN9BWLnN4xBmopnzvJuS0D9cJ4QTsWzXVAKoqdB7/s320/11953121_501969619968797_276618862776588151_n.jpg" width="196" /></a></div><br />Far-fetched? Go into the coffee shops of Portland and see if the idea doesn’t
get a warm reception. Listen to idiots like Kshama Sawant or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Instead of being the laughingstocks that they are, they’re repeatedly voted
back into office. Believe it or not, there are actually people who don’t think
this is a really bad idea.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To look at this realistically, we have to admit that things aren’t quite what
the Left thinks.</div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">First, the Russian Revolution was a popular uprising that
had nothing to do with socialism. The Bolsheviks just took advantage of the serendipity
to seize power. By contrast the current events seem to be engineered.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p>Second, the bulk of the Russian population were barely
literate peasants with little love for life under the Tsar. In 21<sup>st</sup>
century America, the population is very literate, and a huge number of them are
combat veterans who learned guerrilla warfare from the best in the battlefields
of Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans love the US constitution and the life they
had under it until the idiots began subverting it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Third, Americans aren’t going to go quietly into the night. It
takes a lot to piss off an American, but when you put his back against the wall
and give him nothing left to live for, he turns into a vicious, sneaky,
implacable foe.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does this mean for us today? Recognizing the intent of
the enemy prepares you to counter it. Look for the following: </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Increasing food and retail shortages.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Increasing national debt, which devalues our money and exacerbates
inflation.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Increasing unemployment.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Increasing government corruption – be especially wary of
anything that even smells like election fraud. Election fraud is like cockroaches.
If you see one, you can be sure there’s thousands you don’t see. None of this
can be done if we throw out the perpetrators and take away their power.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Increasing government interference and restrictions on
business and personal activities.</li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All of this is designed to destabilize the country. If and
when the wheels come off and the people take to the streets with pitchforks, be
prepared by doing the following:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;">Have emergency food, water and ammunition sufficient to last at least a month, more like a year if possible.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Establish contact with like-minded
constitutional Americans. Form militias. Develop plans of action for moving into
the power vacuum before the Bolsheviks do when the government collapses.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">
Read Robert Heinlein’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Harsh-Mistress-Robert-Heinlein-ebook/dp/B07CWGBZ4R/ref=sr_1_1" target="_blank"><i>The Moon is a Harsh
Mistress</i> </a>for tips on establishing and maintaining a resistance. </li><li style="text-align: justify;">Develop alternate forms of communication. Expect
to be de-platformed from most social media. Count on your standard
communications not being secure.<o:p></o:p> </li><li style="text-align: justify;">When disorder strikes, seize control of governmental functions and
restore order locally as soon as feasible . Don’t wait for
the government to do it, they’re not coming, and when they do, you may not like
the form they take. Concentrate on security, water, electricity, and food in
that order. </li><li style="text-align: justify;">You’ll know when the crisis is over when the promoters
of the collapse face justice for their crimes.</li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p>I honestly hope I’m wrong, for all our sakes.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-32949836683700193202021-03-28T13:11:00.006-07:002021-04-04T18:21:06.674-07:00Holy Week - Tradition and History.<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9uY2qh4NrwvIKTiBXz_JMZKJok8RhTTBREl_PEwcGD1lD7DnQKpjrLdXIW1CfQJ-225HLSQRXWlxVb8Yd7uetOTD0_xwNAZT-0WUnhRCi9T0_7stoAfSBTSXCXlVuefG1BeySzgaa-8z/s701/holy+week+3.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="701" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9uY2qh4NrwvIKTiBXz_JMZKJok8RhTTBREl_PEwcGD1lD7DnQKpjrLdXIW1CfQJ-225HLSQRXWlxVb8Yd7uetOTD0_xwNAZT-0WUnhRCi9T0_7stoAfSBTSXCXlVuefG1BeySzgaa-8z/w354-h209/holy+week+3.png" width="354" /></a></div>Christians throughout the world are familiar with Holy Week, beginning on Palm Sunday, commemorating the Triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. The celebration begins in earnest with Holy Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper and the washing of the disciples feet. A vigil is held until Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion, and concludes on Easter day, the most important feast in the Christian calendar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And this timeline is all wrong, because of a misunderstanding on the part of gentile Christians regarding the Gospels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What do we know? In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus prophesied his time in the tomb: "But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matt 12:39-40)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But if Christ was crucified on Friday, he would have spent but two nights and only one full day in the earth. There's been a lot of twisting and spinning done on the part of Christian apologists to reconcile this, and none of it has been necessary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nowhere in the Gospels was it said that Jesus was Crucified on a Friday. What is conclusive is that the resurrection took place on a Sunday, the first day of the week (John 20:1). The only other bit of evidence about the day of the crucifixion is that the high priests wanted the bodies off the cross before the beginning of the Sabbath (John 19:31, Luke 23:54, Mark 15:42 ).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To the early Gentiles who had converted to Christianity, the Sabbath meant one thing: Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. Therefore, if the High Priests were worried about the beginning of the Sabbath, then Christ must have been crucified on a Friday, and the entire Holy Week schedule was based on this when the liturgical calendar was established.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The thing to remember, though, is that this was the Passover, a Great Sabbath; much different than the weekly Sabbath, and wasn't tied to a specific day of the week. The Jewish Calendar was a Lunar Calendar. A Jewish month begins at the new moon, and lasts 28 days. Occasionally, they would throw an extra month into the year, just to keep the months more or less in synch with the seasons. They also observed the equinoxes and solstices, which remained constant throughout the year. The first month of the Jewish Calendar is Nisan, and it begins at the new moon closest to the spring equinox. The Jewish day begins at sunset, i.e., Saturday begins at sundown Friday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Jewish Passover feast begins on the 14th day of Nisan, or the first full moon after the equinox (Exodus 12:2-6, Lev 23:5, Numbers 9:1-3). Of course, this can happen on any day of the week, and sundown on that day begins the Great Sabbath of Passover. We are told many times in the Gospels that Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. There is great significance to this, as the day of preparation is the day the Passover lamb is slaughtered, as Jesus was to be killed to atone for the sins of many.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tradition holds that Jesus was around 33 years old when He was crucified. It's generally understood that Jesus was born in 4 BC. The following shows the days of the week that Passover fell on for the years that Jesus may have been crucified, along with the Julian Day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">26 AD Wednesday, March 20</div><div style="text-align: justify;">27 AD Monday, April 7</div><div style="text-align: justify;">28 AD Saturday, March 27</div><div style="text-align: justify;">29 AD Thursday, April 14</div><div style="text-align: justify;">30 AD Monday, April 3,</div><div style="text-align: justify;">31 AD Saturday, March 24</div><div style="text-align: justify;">32 AD Saturday, April 12</div><div style="text-align: justify;">33 AD Wednesday, April 1</div><div style="text-align: justify;">34 AD Saturday, March 20</div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">As we can see, the Great Sabbath of the Passover coincides with the weekly Sabbath on four of these years. But does that square with the prediction of Matt 12:39-40? If Jesus dies on a Friday, that leaves just one full day and two nights in the tomb. But if Jesus was crucified in AD 29, he would have been 33 years old, according to tradition, he would have been Crucified on a Wednesday, the day of preparation, and would have spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the tomb, to be raised sometime after sundown Saturday. Three full days and nights, as he foretold. The dates and tradition align perfectly. The mistake was when non-Jewish Early Christians interpreted the reference to the Sabbath to be the weekly Sabbath, not the Great Sabbath of Passover.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's proper and right that we commemorate the Last Supper and Good Friday. Just keep in mind that the last supper actually happened on Tuesday, and the Crucifixion on a Wednesday. The church isn't going to change its liturgical calendar, but that's of little consequence.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Christian celebration of Pascha, the resurrection (It's only called Easter in German and English), properly occurs on the Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. The Eastern Orthodox religion still calculates the religious holidays off the Julian Calendar, which has slowly been going out of synchronization with the Gregorian calendar in use by the rest of the world. This is why the Eastern Orthodox frequently celebrate Pascha on a different date than Western Christian traditions. Unfortunately, the Orthodox feel that the appropriate change can only come through an ecumenical council, and the Orthodox believe that no ecumenical council can be valid without the Roman diocese being represented. Since Rome and the Orthodox church are in schism, the Orthodox cannot hold what they believe is a valid ecumenical council.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-52454880014535180042021-03-13T15:56:00.012-08:002021-05-11T08:30:13.522-07:00COVID, Vaccines and Hydroxychloroquine<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbS1Hj7yiD7hOUVbRKj5fIFW3g6w6eKui1RV7AbooHhL1n3kvRagAiUS88s0GtsfTSREGRrAUE7QJLf5bS8RI3MrRGKLLY__n1i7ktV3-hXsp-m9LendC8p-GUHimlOu288VrzJAhtGgi/s1084/800px-Hydroxychloroquine-based-on-xtal-3D-bs-17.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbS1Hj7yiD7hOUVbRKj5fIFW3g6w6eKui1RV7AbooHhL1n3kvRagAiUS88s0GtsfTSREGRrAUE7QJLf5bS8RI3MrRGKLLY__n1i7ktV3-hXsp-m9LendC8p-GUHimlOu288VrzJAhtGgi/s320/800px-Hydroxychloroquine-based-on-xtal-3D-bs-17.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I recently got into a discussion about vaccines, the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine when treating COVID19. I was informed I was a conspiracy theorist who got my information from Facebook. It's kind of sad, really, because the person who said this knows me well enough to know better.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Natural hydroxychloroquine is quinine, first isolated in 1820 from
the bark of a cinchona tree, which is native to Peru. It was identified
in 1820 as a preventative for malaria, and they figured out how to
synthesize it in the lab in the 1940's, because so many of our soldiers
in the Pacific theater were catching malaria. Today it's an over the
counter medication in much of the tropical world, referred to as the
Sunday pill, because people take it on Sunday as a prophylactic against
malaria. Its side effects are well known in that part of the world. In
the US it's a prescription drug because we don't have a big malaria
problem here and there can be interactions with other drugs, or side
effects if taken indiscriminately in large doses, like some idiot
gulping an aquarium additive.</div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">HCQ is also used as an
anti-inflammatory
to treat the inflammation related to autoimmune disorders like
rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. This suggests a possible mechanism for
preventing severe COVID19 symptoms by keeping the airway inflammation
under control.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">COVID19 is a particularly
nasty member of the corona virus family, but corona viruses are common
and generally have mild symptoms. See <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/general-information.html&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNFLjzxxcaB9pUGVHRU_qcX51ozqhA" href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/general-information.html" target="_blank">https://www.cdc.gov/<wbr></wbr>coronavirus/general-<wbr></wbr>information.html</a>.
Chances are you've already had a corona virus that you experienced as a
common cold. Like the common cold, there is no vaccine. Corona
viruses mutate very quickly, so even if a vaccine is developed for one
strain, it's efficacy over time is highly questionable - one reason why
the COVID19 vaccine is dubious. One of the problems that's been
encountered is that corona viruses are quite common, and the antigen
test to check for COVID19 doesn't discriminate. It just says you had a
corona virus recently, and it can't tell if it was COVID19 or just your
run-of-the-mill coronavirus.<br /></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">For
what it's worth, I've been lied to by the media since 1972 at least. I
have no reason to trust anything on the news without corroboration.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I don't think 9/11 was an inside job, I
don't believe in chem trails and yes, we did go to the moon. But I've
seen a president railroaded out of office on innuendo and lies supported
by a continuous false narrative promoted by the press, I've seen
America go to war for no good reason, I've seen three years of a false narrative about Russian collusion, I've seen a media tell us that an election was honest when anyone with two working brain cells could see it was rigged, and I've seen much ado made about
things that I've been personally involved in that was nothing like it
was reported.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you look at studies for hydroxychloroquine they're
all over the map. The WHO has come out and decried HCQ, and my guess
this was done to prevent a run on the existing supplies of HCQ, which is
the specific reason India gave for <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gradeup.co/know-about-schedule-h-1-drugs---hydroxychloroquine-i&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNF80YZkeyDfstTUZ6d6_6uQIwhiyA" href="https://gradeup.co/know-about-schedule-h-1-drugs---hydroxychloroquine-i" target="_blank">making it a schedule H-1 prescription drug last year.</a> Remember, in most countries, this is an over the counter medication. We saw what happened with toilet paper here, right?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My
look at HCQ studies seems to fall into two categories: Studies where
HCQ was used as a preventive, or administered when the first diagnosis
was made or the symptoms were first noticed; and studies where HCQ was
used to treat patients with full-blown, debilitating COVID19 as a last
resort. The reports of efficacy seem to break right along these
categories, with the treatment of full-blown critical care COVID showing
no efficacy (duh).<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nypost.com/2020/04/11/doctors-pols-urge-use-of-miracle-coronavirus-drug-cocktail/&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNGChhgxEHAOSarabKKiK6pVFAMLIg" href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/11/doctors-pols-urge-use-of-miracle-coronavirus-drug-cocktail/" target="_blank"> I'm not the only one to notice this.</a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A team at Henry Ford Health System in Southeast Michigan said Thursday
its study of 2,541 hospitalized patients found that those given
hydroxychloroquine <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/study-finds-hydroxychloroquine-helped-coronavirus-patients-survive-better/ar-BB16hifu&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNHR5n4CSbdbOeiI-Vt61HVcDvPvZQ" href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/study-finds-hydroxychloroquine-helped-coronavirus-patients-survive-better/ar-BB16hifu" target="_blank">were much less likely to die</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Yale epidemiologist said hydroxychloroquine <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/yale-epidemiologist-says-hydroxychloroquine-could-save-up-to-100k-lives-if-used-for-coronavirus&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNF7suLgoHEF57NXkEk36WpqI5Nv9g" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/yale-epidemiologist-says-hydroxychloroquine-could-save-up-to-100k-lives-if-used-for-coronavirus" target="_blank">could save up to 100K lives if used for coronavirus.</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The reports of success varied internationally, as well. <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nypost.com/2020/04/02/hydroxychloroquine-most-effective-coronavirus-treatment-poll/&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNGyux_hsUyb2GxFIdfVY2-ZZ3EDnw" href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/02/hydroxychloroquine-most-effective-coronavirus-treatment-poll/" target="_blank">37 percent of doctors internationally said that HCQ was the most effective treatment.</a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was involved with the medical industry for 10 years with a prominent medical device manufacturer. I know what it takes to take a treatment from concept to FDA approval. There is no way in hell they did the necessary trials to declare this vaccine safe. Read the disclaimer before you get it, and see if they don't have some legalese in there that absolves them of all responsibility if you get sick and die from the vaccine. I guarantee it's there, because they didn't do the necessary trials and they know it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">When studies of the effectiveness of a treatment contradict the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2020/04/06/here-are-five-doctors-whose-patients-have-seen-recovery-with-hydroxy-chloroquine-n2566409&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNEyAHxvBL9wYv6tqrsV-hwaNn8stA" href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2020/04/06/here-are-five-doctors-whose-patients-have-seen-recovery-with-hydroxy-chloroquine-n2566409" target="_blank">experience in the field</a>,
I start looking for process errors in the controlled trials. Having
been involved with similar studies in a different field of science I
know how initial assumptions and test protocol designs can give less
than objective results - often the very results you're looking for. I
don't trust controlled trials as the final arbiter for that very
reason. They're not objective. Color me a skeptic, but I've seen it too
many times. I can point you at a couple of books that show how studies
have been engineered to give a predetermined result, especially if
someone in control of that study has a vested interest in the result.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">My question: why the campaign against HCQ?
Yes, if a bunch of idiots act like children and overdose on it, you're
going to have complications and death. You can say the same thing about
aspirin, ibuprofen, Tylenol, Nyquil, or any other drug. Those warning
labels are there for a reason. But the reaction to HCQ has been over the
top, with the media basically saying, "Don't take it at any cost!"
That doesn't pass the sniff test with me. They're not saying it because
of possible health complications. If that were the case, they would
say, "Don't take more than the manufacturer's recommended dosage, and
see your doctor if you are on other medication." But they're trying to
make you think that HCQ is bad and WILL harm you if you take it, which
isn't true at all. Sorry, when a talking head starts lying like that, I
start asking what their motivation is. Are they trying to prevent a
run on HCQ stockpiles? Maybe. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Or maybe they want
you scared so you'll get the vaccine? After all, they can't make money
if the vaccine isn't in demand. And yes, oh yes, they'll make money. <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/11/business/pfizer-vaccine-covid-moderna-revenue/index.html&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNHzBikcICesWxNn6WzOyP-acsggPA" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/11/business/pfizer-vaccine-covid-moderna-revenue/index.html" target="_blank"> CNN business reports a possible $32 billion for Pfizer alone.</a> The <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55170756&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNHypb-xPkMGtIem8RNxZPaKQmf5ag" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55170756" target="_blank">BBC breaks down the players in the field.</a> Even though you're not paying for it, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/12/02/how-much-can-companies-make-from-coronavirus-vacci/&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNH273AAKkjmp9oAfGWcZmvfsCahbQ" href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/12/02/how-much-can-companies-make-from-coronavirus-vacci/" target="_blank">governments are buying it for as much as $40 a dose</a>.
There's a LOT of money out there to be made, and if you don't think
some of that isn't getting kicked back to the politicians and media who
create the market for this, you're pretty naïve.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">So,
to sum up, COVID19 is a corona virus, and as such mutates as fast or
faster than the common flu virus, so any vaccine is of limited
effectiveness. Since, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNEjhiNGhjp6pGbuvEQEc0wQJbFVAQ" href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality" target="_blank">according to Johns-Hopkins</a>, you have a 98.2% of surviving COVID 19 if you catch it, and since, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm?fbclid%3DIwAR2-muRM3tB3uBdbTrmKwH1NdaBx6PpZo2kxotNwkUXlnbZXCwSRP2OmqsI%23Comorbidities&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNFAT_wZLRhnfItCWG5I-OsRPklvMg" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm?fbclid=IwAR2-muRM3tB3uBdbTrmKwH1NdaBx6PpZo2kxotNwkUXlnbZXCwSRP2OmqsI#Comorbidities" target="_blank">according to the CDC</a>, only 6% of the COVID deaths have not involved a comorbidity, a
healthy young American has a 99.892% chance of survival if they catch
it. In a staggering case of medical negligence, numbers on deaths from
side effects of the vaccine aren't being tracked, but if you sift the
news they're not zero.
Aix-Marseille University Faculty Member Dr. Herve Seligmann and Engineer
Haim Yativ have <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.medicdebate.org/files/The%2520uncovering%2520of%2520the%2520vaccination%2520data%2520in%2520Israel%2520reveals%2520a%2520frightening%2520picture-%25D7%2594%25D7%2595%25D7%2593%25D7%25A2%25D7%2595%25D7%25AA%2520%25D7%25A9%25D7%259C%2520%25D7%25A0%25D7%25A7%25D7%2599%25D7%259D_0.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1615765614615000&usg=AFQjCNGZmHCP_8Hbo1ud1ENnnuLGocGdzQ" href="https://www.medicdebate.org/files/The%20uncovering%20of%20the%20vaccination%20data%20in%20Israel%20reveals%20a%20frightening%20picture-%D7%94%D7%95%D7%93%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%AA%20%D7%A9%D7%9C%20%D7%A0%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%9D_0.pdf" target="_blank">done some research</a>
(PDF) with frightening results. The chance of a bad reaction to
the Vaccine may be HIGHER than the natural COVID, assuming the vaccine
can even defend against the COVID strain that you might catch. The risk
vs. reward calculus doesn't make sense.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://welovetrump.com/2021/05/10/cdc-admits-more-dead-from-covid-19-vaccine-than-all-vaccines-from-last-20-years-combined/" target="_blank">CDC Admits: More Dead from COVID-19 Vaccine Than ALL Vaccines From Last 20 Years Combined</a></div></div></div>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-52808856153523071712021-02-21T19:25:00.008-08:002021-02-24T18:46:11.845-08:00Sola Scriptura<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeF56WNtuELbFz2YLcXkeU_L1_8A3JvCap_T8JtjQZ8_eNEf2rRGZ2xqs3ZMs7_1gKGGAMoV81SgOoMHNDHtPxg8z9HzjEFkOu_60H_9uaQ844j4WekOqDC1eIq5HIIsDqW_5VBstHO170/s647/84397546_3140988042589744_7996692960089473024_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="647" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeF56WNtuELbFz2YLcXkeU_L1_8A3JvCap_T8JtjQZ8_eNEf2rRGZ2xqs3ZMs7_1gKGGAMoV81SgOoMHNDHtPxg8z9HzjEFkOu_60H_9uaQ844j4WekOqDC1eIq5HIIsDqW_5VBstHO170/s320/84397546_3140988042589744_7996692960089473024_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a name="_Hlk64826633"></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name="_Hlk64826633"></a><a name="_Hlk64826633">One of the common things I hear from
American Protestants is that they are “Sola Scriptura.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it’s not in the Bible, it’s not part of
their Christian belief, and should be shunned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to this school of thought, the Bible is the foundation of all
Christian belief and practice.</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name="_Hlk64826633">In this article, I’m going to explore the roots of scripture, the roots of the
Christian faith, the origin of the sola scriptura belief and why it’s in error.
If your belief system makes you uncomfortable with dealing with actual history
and facts and reconciling them to what and how you believe, then you should stop
reading right here.</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name="_Hlk64826633">What is the Christian church, and what is its origin?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scripture is very clear; Christ established
his church specifically in Matthew 16:18. In the book of Acts and the various
letters we see many accounts and references to how the church was structured,
with <em><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">episcopoi</span></em><em><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (Bishops)</span></em> being responsible
for multiple congregations, <em><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">presbuteroi or </span></em></a><a name="_Hlk64814760"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;">presbyters </span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;">(translated as elders in many English texts, and the root word for today's "priest" in English)
being responsible for a given congregation, and <em><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">diakonoi</span></em><em><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Deacons being responsible
for assisting Bishops and </span></em>presbyters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the church that Christ established,
and which was promoted by his apostles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ didn’t establish multiple churches, and we're admonished from
thinking divisively like that in 1 Corinthians 1:10-15.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We're taught by Paul that the Church is literally
the body of Christ, and that we are all members of one body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">So the question every Christian must ask is, “Am I a member of the Church that
Christ established, and in communion with that earliest of churches?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another way of looking at this is to examine
your line of apostolic succession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ taught his Disciples, who accepted his teaching and passed it on
to their students as Christianity spread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As generations passed, each generation had its Bishops who had learned
their faith from the generation before, and who agreed with it. Yes, there were
heresies, and some taught a faith that was not what they had been taught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The church had a mechanism for such problems
in the ecumenical councils of Bishops, where questions regarding the faith were
discussed and resolved by the body of Bishops. In this way the church stayed
true to its roots for more than a thousand years, until the Great Schism of 1054
– which was more about politics and egos than it was about dire matters of
faith.</div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">If your faith is
based on scripture alone, then how can you be in communion with the Early
Church, which couldn’t have been based on scripture, as the church was thriving
and growing for decades before the first Gospel was written and for centuries
before the canon was finalized?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
church that Christ established is not, cannot be based on scripture. Rather,
scripture is based on the Church that Christ established.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you see the Bible as the blueprint for
your church, I’m afraid you have it quite backwards.</div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">The early church didn’t operate in a vacuum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It maintained a rich heritage of scholarly works by its elders. The
Bishops of the Early Church loved to write to one another and to the faith
communities of their sees. To understand the Early Church, one cannot rely
solely on scripture, because scripture is a particular type of record
established for a particular purpose and was written within the framework and
the frame of reference of the already established church.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><p></p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><b>
What is Scripture?</b></span></h2><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;">
<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmxQmR7e6dqP65vnKHQ5_hJfg1QDhmIEmvpGxVQRDTmm3Eq9XGk5ryQgcU38ka4JA6KtBZwvk7_7wr76wi3XgznIrz3X_RVJFaM_fC6wkuAIbgVVYZuU938_nSAyagPwVHb-dhyphenhyphenhy9pan/s960/100624273_3134447329910482_7442464702266867712_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="710" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmxQmR7e6dqP65vnKHQ5_hJfg1QDhmIEmvpGxVQRDTmm3Eq9XGk5ryQgcU38ka4JA6KtBZwvk7_7wr76wi3XgznIrz3X_RVJFaM_fC6wkuAIbgVVYZuU938_nSAyagPwVHb-dhyphenhyphenhy9pan/s320/100624273_3134447329910482_7442464702266867712_n.jpg" /></a></div><br />What is scripture and why did the books that we have in the New Testament get
into the bible and other contemporary writings get left out?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before we discuss this, we need to acknowledge that the New Testament was predominantly
written in Greek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the time of
Alexander the Great, Greek was the most common and widely used language in the
world. Yes, the Romans governed that part of the world speaking Latin; the
local common language was Aramaic; and the language of the Old Testament and
the Jewish faith was Hebrew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if you
wanted to write something scholarly and get the widest distribution to the
greatest numbers of people, you wrote in Greek. Greek was to the world of
Christ what English is to the world today.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the earliest days of Christianity, the faith was spread through word of
mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People would gather to hear what
someone had seen or heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
eyewitnesses to the works of Jesus were rock stars and drew crowds wherever
they went. But words are ephemeral, and
subject to misinterpretation as they pass a series of Chinese whispers. As the
Apostles established churches, they would move on after a time, and those
churches would have to learn to operate independently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, there were questions, which were
posed back to the Apostles/Bishops in letters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, posterity didn’t preserve those queries, but only their
responses, which we have recorded in the various letters and epistles found
today in the New Testament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re quite
confident that there were many more like these, but these were retained by
their congregations as having particular significance.</div></span><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The first Gospel texts date back to about AD 70.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t a great deal of time between Christ
and the appearance of the first gospels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ was crucified in approximately AD 32, only 38 years earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many people alive today recall vividly
the Reagan administration or the eruption of Mt. St. Helens?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not that
far a stretch in living memory.</div>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;">Peter was one of the
more prolific evangelizers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wherever he
went, he preached about what he'd seen and heard. Unlike today, where we have
TV and books, he repeated his stories over and over, always to new audiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As anyone who’s told a story many times
knows, you develop a pattern with practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You learn how to best organize your account, convey your experience, and the difference between
each telling of the story becomes less and less, until it’s almost like you’re
reciting it by rote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This happened to Peter,
to our advantage.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Peter had an
acolyte, Mark, who was his scribe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mark
himself was an eyewitness to Christ, even though he was a teenager at the time.
The evidence that Mark himself was a witness and a follower of Christ in person
is in a clue in Mark 14:51-52, a reference that appears nowhere else in scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s widely believed that Mark was referring
to himself in this passage.</div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Note for anyone reading the New Testament, in some cases the scripture refers
to the author themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
considered gauche to refer to oneself in the first person in a narrative, so we
see patterns like in Mark, where he refers to himself as “a certain young man,”
and many times in the Gospel of John, where he refers to himself in a pattern
such as “the disciple whom He (Christ) loved.” Another literary
mechanism that should be noted is Luke’s addressing “Theophilus” in the opening of Acts. Luke isn't addressing a person in this greeting, he’s addressing you
and me. Theophilus means a lover of God, and
this is Luke’s address specifically to you as the reader.</div></span><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, Mark was at Peter’s side when he preached about what he
had seen and heard and about Christ’s life, and he may have heard the story a
thousand times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can almost imagine
Mark in the shadows as Peter addressed a new group of catechumens, mouthing the
words to himself as Peter spoke them. Mark, as his scribe, had the idea that
the message had become rote, and could be spread to more people through writing
it down than one man could possibly address in a lifetime. So Mark wrote Peter’s account down. In many ways the Gospel of Mark is in effect
the gospel of Peter.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Matthew preached primarily in Judea before taking his mission East or South. His
biggest challenge in Judea was the faithful Jews, who were informed by
scripture as to the nature of the Messiah. Jesus didn’t fit their preconceived
notions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mark’s Gospel was a godsend to
Matthew, who took it and expanded on it, but did so in a way to tie the life of
Christ to the many prophesies that referred to him in the Old Testament. Matthew’s
Gospel was an argument to the Jews to demonstrate that Christ fulfilled the
prophesies of the Old Testament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;">Luke may have been a
gentile, or a Jew of Greek origin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
we know is that he was a physician and a companion or acolyte to Paul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a scholar, he felt that the Early Church
owed it to posterity to record the life of Christ and the history of the Early Church.
Using Mark’s Gospel as the foundation, he conducted interviews, including with Mary,
the Mother of Jesus, and did a thorough scholarly investigation of this man
whom he had never met. It was through his scholarship that many details of the
early life of Jesus are preserved in his Gospel. His Gospel was the first of a
planned trilogy that would teach future generations about Christ and the foundations
of the Christian church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately,
his third book was lost or never completed, and all we are left with is his
Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, which end before the executions of Peter
and Paul.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6ALaPjAackrncIaFyayhYV2NJRJyVpJbeF8WH_oXXkxxz3JYeWgxYtqmDkXLkSVkMOZ6vnddbytTF3fjBPmdfTOBm7Agb_Y3ZkxFULP4FYE4s-zcKGM7uUib-sdZYtyeVVP4ffGN3War/s960/66265114_1648518791959857_2003287353761726464_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="683" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6ALaPjAackrncIaFyayhYV2NJRJyVpJbeF8WH_oXXkxxz3JYeWgxYtqmDkXLkSVkMOZ6vnddbytTF3fjBPmdfTOBm7Agb_Y3ZkxFULP4FYE4s-zcKGM7uUib-sdZYtyeVVP4ffGN3War/w278-h388/66265114_1648518791959857_2003287353761726464_n.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>John’s Gospel was written after the other three, and with no real connection to
them. John is the only one of the <a name="_Hlk64818408">twelve to die a
natural death</a>. His gospel is unique in that it traces a journey of
discovery for the reader, to walk the path of discovery that John did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this Gospel, the reader learns about Jesus
the preacher, the rabbi (teacher), the Messiah, the Son of God and finally God
incarnate. John’s gospel was written to lay to rest with finality the question
of the identity of Jesus, and states unequivocally, proven through John’s
journey of discovery, that Jesus was God, walking among us. Without this gospel
of John, Christianity would be a much different faith than it is today.</div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Are these the only works written about Jesus by his followers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course not. Preserved for us today are
copies of the Protoevangelium of James,
the Gospel of Thomas, a Passion narrative that is said to pre-date Mark, a
Signs Gospel that may have influenced John’s writing, the Apocalypse of Peter,
the Apocalypse of Adam, and many others. Because these are not canonical, they often
weren’t preserved as rigorously as the canonical texts, which had been
duplicated in thousands of lectionaries, and thus allowed a historical
cross-check.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">What did it Mean to Be Canon?</h2></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;">The Bible we have
today, on which the Sola Scriptura folks base their faith, is canon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does that mean? To some people, it means
that these books are true and accepted, and all others – the apocrypha – are not.
This is incorrect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What these texts have
in common is that they were – and still are – used in the conduct of the Eucharistic
liturgy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The Christian mass
as conducted by the earliest Christians has a number of elements to it. If you
want to experience the mass as the Early Church did, please attend an Eastern
Orthodox Mass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The normal mass of the Eastern Orthodox is the Mass of St. John Chrysostom, the archbishop of
Constantinople in the 5<sup>th</sup> century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His mass is adapted from, with very few changes, the mass of St. James
the Greater, the Archbishop of Jerusalem and Apostle of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much closer to the source of Christianity
do you want to get?</div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">As the letters from the Bishops and the Gospels became available, the churches
would set aside a time in the mass to read from these works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was done to reinforce the catechizing of
the faithful, and to keep alive the history and record of belief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each community had their own library of
sacred writings that they would use during the mass, and they weren’t all the
same.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In AD 325, Christianity had become acceptable in the Roman Empire, and the
emperor Constantine was a friend of Christians, although not a baptized
Christian himself until he was on his deathbed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christian
community was facing a schism which threatened the peace between Christian
communities throughout the empire as the Arians taught a doctrine concerning the
nature of Christ that was considered heresy among the other churches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;">Up to this point,
there had been ecumenical councils among the bishops, but they were all local
affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the hierarchy of the
church was egalitarian, no bishop considered himself to have the authority to
call an ecumenical coun</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">cil of all
of Christendom. Interestingly, it took the pagan emperor Constantine to exert
his authority and call such a council, which convened in Nicaea in modern Turkey
to resolve the question of the Arian heresy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As long as the bishops had all gathered together anyway, they took this
opportunity to standardize a number of other things, including the creed of the
church, which is still used in many traditional congregations today, even
though it speaks of a universality that most of these churches eschew. They
also set about to standardize the materials to be read during the mass
throughout Christendom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This caused a
great deal of consternation, because each congregation had their own peculiar books
that they were fond of and took poorly to having outsiders tell them what they
should and should not be reading during mass. After much argument and
negotiation, a basic list of works to be read during the mass was established.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This became the canonical list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t set in stone just then and in fact
didn’t actually become final until nearly a thousand years later.</span></span></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnMn2myOnQjud130NBiQHNznuXkIGaAQXJQBWiTqK3Ocxd6gUlOauos8hcoU4aPSJaecDyGdXg85Bf1iNvNGW2Dwz7SPEI9ZzMRyLS3L6wpi2yu-PbYD8X3gpzLxUz7pqdOL72ZHZcolj/s720/100105745_263191171541270_6923130858995974144_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="720" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnMn2myOnQjud130NBiQHNznuXkIGaAQXJQBWiTqK3Ocxd6gUlOauos8hcoU4aPSJaecDyGdXg85Bf1iNvNGW2Dwz7SPEI9ZzMRyLS3L6wpi2yu-PbYD8X3gpzLxUz7pqdOL72ZHZcolj/w370-h257/100105745_263191171541270_6923130858995974144_n.jpg" width="370" /></a></div></span></span></div><p></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The story that they stacked all the books on an altar and left it overnight,
and those that were still on the altar the next morning were canon is just a
myth.</span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This doesn’t
mean that the rest of the rich library of Christian writings and history were
to be consigned to the ash heap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
still formed the frame of reference for the church. The veneration of Mary the
Mother of God in the Roman Catholic world, known as the veneration of the Theotokos
(Christ-bearer) in the Eastern Churches, is practiced throughout every church
in the world that can trace a legitimate unbroken line of apostolic succession
to the twelve Apostles, from the Roman Catholic church, the Orthodox, Copt,
Chaldean and even the Thomas Churches of India</span>. It’s like the
entire Eastern Church doesn’t even exist for the sola scriptura people. I’m
sure the Orthodox Patriarchs in their sundry sees will be grateful to know that
they only believe all that rubbish about Mary because the Pope of Rome commands
them to do so.</span> Likewise, the acceptance of the Eucharist as the literal
body and blood of Christ is practiced in every church that can trace its
origins back to the Twelve, yet it’s not explicitly taught anywhere in the Bible.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The point is that the Bible records the roots of Christianity but can only be
properly interpreted within the frame of reference in which it was written – by
Early Christians, who believed and practiced and taught the same doctrines that
are practiced and taught by the root churches today, such as the Eastern
Orthodox church.</div><p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Sola
Scriptura</b></span></span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So where
did this idea originate that everything you needed to know about Christianity is
in the Bible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For this we need to look
at the history of the Roman Catholic papacy, the advent of the printing press
and the earliest days of Protestantism.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The idea
of an infallible Pope being the head of all Christendom would have been a
strange one to early Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
various Bishops were the heads of their particular patriarchies, but none
claimed authority over another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Bishop
of Rome was considered to be first among equals, not by any hierarchy, but
simply because he was proximate to the secular seat of power and therefore in a
position to influence the secular government more than his brothers in more
far-flung cities. Over the years this de-facto advantage of the Roman Bishop
affected the relationship between Rome and the rest of Christendom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rome regularly tried to assert ecclesiastical
authority over the other patriarchies, who regularly told him where to stick it. Tensions
grew high and in 1054, the Roman Bishop subtly changed the wording of the
Apostle’s Creed without permission by an ecumenical council.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The actual change was of little consequence
in and of itself and would have made an interesting footnote in Christian
history if it had actually been debated in council.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the Eastern Orthodox patriarchs and the
Roman Bishop let it develop into a battle of ego and wills over whether the
Roman Bishop had the authority to overrule an ecumenical council. Things spiraled
out of control, and they ended up mutually excommunicating each other.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Western
Europe was a feudal society and the kings ruled by divine right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Land was not privately owned, it all belonged
to the crown, and the farmers and workers of the land were simply tenants who
paid rent to the royalty who claimed ownership of the land. The linchpin to this
absurd fiction was the kings ruled with the acceptance of the Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was some mutual backscratching which
enriched the coffers of the Vatican, and for that the Church ignored the affairs
of kings for the most part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nevertheless,
the Pope was the de facto ruler of Europe, with the nominal power to say who
could and couldn’t sit on a throne.</div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This secular power was a commodity which was bought and sold by Italian
nobility, and the office of Pope many times ceased to be a religious seat in
all but name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were some horrid
popes, who looted the Vatican treasury for their own enrichment, who were
morally depraved and who defiled the office with sexual scandals, prostitution,
and murder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Roman Catholic church
became a caricature of religiosity and indulged in money-making schemes that
preyed upon the faithful for the enrichment of those at the top of the church.</div>
</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Bibles
weren’t commonly available, as the only way of reproducing a Bible was by
painstaking manual transcription.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
single Bible was the product of years of work, and so only the wealthiest had
personal access to one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most Bibles were
the property of the Church. The cycle of reading in the Roman Catholic church
ensured that if you attended mass daily, over the course of three years you
would have heard the entire New Testament read to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, the practice of attending
daily mass began to fall out of favor, so the exposure of the lay person to the
scripture became somewhat problematic. This is the origin of the myth that the
Catholic church sought to keep Bibles out of the hands of the lay people,
promoted by John Calvin for his own propaganda purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJVg5RVkqJZ4N6MQcwUUceNhfqTwfPRLadsdzONobLB8SsiPqutAlxorR2eWAQ3DigYc8lBxmuOHgCoGPmDZuMvUuQcXRguQB1mYM0HFwPepXFnQDJrSARS5hBONJ51uAFHQ0LkW0fqgB/s616/12509167_936946173054815_3877732758025590870_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJVg5RVkqJZ4N6MQcwUUceNhfqTwfPRLadsdzONobLB8SsiPqutAlxorR2eWAQ3DigYc8lBxmuOHgCoGPmDZuMvUuQcXRguQB1mYM0HFwPepXFnQDJrSARS5hBONJ51uAFHQ0LkW0fqgB/s320/12509167_936946173054815_3877732758025590870_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />When Martin Luther protested the abusive practices of the Vatican, such as selling indulgences, he disobeyed his vow of obedience
to the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He renounced the Papacy,
and set about to establish his own church, faithful to the precepts of original
Christianity, but without the authority that Rome and the Vatican had
usurped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had Martin Luthor been properly
educated in church history, he would have found his home and what he was after in
the Eastern Orthodox church, but as a product of his day and place, he knew
nothing of eastern Orthodoxy except what the propagandists told him.</div>
</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Martin
Luthor’s movement was noticed by many other European congregations who
disagreed with the excesses of the Vatican.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the most influential was John Calvin. Armed with a personal copy
of the Bible and a complete disregard for history and theology, Calvin declared
anything not directly supported by the Bible to be anathema.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his righteous crusade to distance himself
from the papacy, he threw out the entire church, keeping only the books that had
been inspired by, written by, and interpreted by the church as his guide. In
doing so, he divorced himself from the body of Christ, the Church. One can legitimately question whether the
Roman Catholic church is the rightful heir of the claim to be the body of
Christ. That claim may very well legitimately belong to the Eastern Orthodox
church. But there is no logic on Earth than can be tortuous enough to make the
case that a sola scriptura belief promoted by John Calvin that repudiated all
of Christian teachings, tradition and doctrine for the previous 1500 years is
an any way rightful heir to the claim of being the Church that was established
by Christ, evangelized by the Twelve Apostles and other disciples of Jesus, and
which wrote the very texts on which Calvin claimed to base his church.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHo17kVYLPSJ4dyo1Rtwa2yze3Qp90dHv4NFQbLafTqRKymudCm-XNqI-bmUmJ7lMlBuYIuonju4r5v5Tq0HLrWi34Vah3nNPuzXmXmf7CWvyWzgLMcwcto7GjkdoQvfdhGteQHsbt3uWm/s960/12540777_10154588900154569_3180699490364466662_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHo17kVYLPSJ4dyo1Rtwa2yze3Qp90dHv4NFQbLafTqRKymudCm-XNqI-bmUmJ7lMlBuYIuonju4r5v5Tq0HLrWi34Vah3nNPuzXmXmf7CWvyWzgLMcwcto7GjkdoQvfdhGteQHsbt3uWm/w425-h425/12540777_10154588900154569_3180699490364466662_n.jpg" width="425" /></a></span></span></div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk64826633;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-65605286433984932472020-11-06T20:02:00.052-08:002022-06-12T22:35:41.119-07:00Election Fraud<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9QpsK0Ww6dZrKtLmnZ5g5eJuuP6RRtKGlLUXGP5tNueTsTsx2e-XPbm5D_lz0kbnEON31PDSRosY1cxWvu07VnhdC6JJGAxXYdy-XG9za9at6O6rOF-Wkifjyod4ywKkYIbv7YQwVc-b/s686/123908789_10157387781787130_2320213509952468070_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="686" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9QpsK0Ww6dZrKtLmnZ5g5eJuuP6RRtKGlLUXGP5tNueTsTsx2e-XPbm5D_lz0kbnEON31PDSRosY1cxWvu07VnhdC6JJGAxXYdy-XG9za9at6O6rOF-Wkifjyod4ywKkYIbv7YQwVc-b/s320/123908789_10157387781787130_2320213509952468070_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those who spent the last four years convinced there was election interference are now saying there's no way it the election could be rigged.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For more than a century America was the gold standard for participatory democracy. Today, November 6, 2020, the rest of the world is aghast at how inept our election system has become. Countries across Europe shake their heads in disbelief at the idea that you don’t have to show identification to vote in this country. Voter fraud has come out of the shadows has been practiced in broad daylight, as if those perpetrating the fraud are daring Americans to challenge them. Crooked, politically biased judges, law enforcement, governors and secretaries of state either look the other way or actively participate in adulterating the election process to ensure that their favored candidate wins.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The stakes are high, and the reward even higher. United States of America is both the largest economy and the largest military power in the world. The difference between a favorable and unfavorable government could mean hundreds of billions of dollars of profits or losses to foreign interests and domestic corporations. Investing billions or tens of billions of dollars to guarantee a favorable outcome is a cheap price to pay for an unscrupulous stakeholder. The rank-and-file American people cannot compete against the forces arrayed at getting a predetermined outcome from our election.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">“Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty.” This rule of propaganda, popularly attributed to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, is one of the leading tactics of the American left. Liberals and Democrats deny that any election fraud is occurring, try to make the case that it’s insignificant and irrelevant, or insist that it’s the conservatives and Republicans that are perpetrating the fraud.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By the very nature of the crime, it’s very difficult to produce a smoking gun to show that substantial and egregious election fraud is occurring right under our noses in 2020. Taken alone, the evidence would be considered anecdotal and inconsequential. The “fact checker” industry and the news media is quick to dismiss any charges of voter fraud as unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. What I endeavor to do here is consolidate the mounting evidence of voter fraud to make the case that not only is it real and substantial but that it has reached an overwhelming level and threatens the very foundation of our Republic.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://archive.is/RakSt" target="_blank">Vote rigging: How to spot the tell-tale signs</a> (This was from 2016. How many can you see today?)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/06/american-hustle-party-insiders-tell-the-true-story-of-how-philadelphia-elections-work/" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">‘American Hustle’: Party Insiders Tell The True Story Of How Philadelphia Elections Work</a></p><div><a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/voter-fraud-philadelphia-ward-leader-judge-of-elections-domenick-demuro-guilty-plea-20200521.html" target="_blank">South Philly judge of elections admits he took bribes to stuff the ballot box for Democratic Candidates </a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImU5wZWnm00" target="_blank">ELECTION FRAUD ALERT: Nevada USPS Worker Pledges Ballot Fraud To Remove President Trump From Office</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/11/05/lawsuit-at-least-21k-dead-people-on-pennsylvania-voter-rolls/" target="_blank">Lawsuit: At Least 21K Dead People on Pennsylvania Voter Rolls</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://pjmedia.com/election/matt-margolis/2020/09/24/military-ballots-found-in-the-trash-in-pennsylvania-all-were-trump-votes-n964614" target="_blank">Military Ballots Found in the Trash in Pennsylvania—Most Were Trump Votes</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/11/06/wsj-columnist-has-questions-about-wi-turnout-n2579488" target="_blank">WSJ Columnist: These Wisconsin Turnout Numbers Don't Seem Feasible</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://nypost.com/2020/08/29/political-insider-explains-voter-fraud-with-mail-in-ballots" target="_blank">Confessions of a voter fraud: I was a master at fixing mail-in ballots.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/watch-ballot-count-watcher-describes-least-130000-ballots-biden-arriving-three-vehicles-detroit-dead-night/" target="_blank">WATCH: Ballot Count Watcher Describes At Least 130,000 Ballots ALL FOR BIDEN Arriving in Three Vehicles in Detroit in Dead of Night</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://nypost.com/2020/11/06/usps-worker-arrested-at-canadian-border-with-undelivered-ballots/" target="_blank">USPS worker arrested at Canadian border with bin of mail, undelivered ballots</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP5i9ykXRR8" target="_blank">City of Buffalo postal carrier arrest</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evtGCU7rNpc" target="_blank">Project Veritas uncovers vote fraud positioned to swing Texas</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-charges-social-worker-with-134-felony-counts-involving-election-fraud" target="_blank">Texas Charges Social Worker With 134 Felony Counts Involving Election Fraud</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://twitter.com/B__Settle/status/1324734568256200705" target="_blank">120 year old apparently voted via absentee ballot in Michigan</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/11/voter-fraud-in-michigan.php" target="_blank">Voter Fraud in Michigan</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.rebelnews.com/breaking_sidney_powell_alleges_election_software_was_hacked" target="_blank">Sidney Powell alleges election software was 'hacked'</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://pjmedia.com/election/bryan-preston/2020/11/06/breaking-michigan-legislature-to-convene-special-joint-oversight-hearing-saturday-after-glitches-blow-one-election-give-6000-trump-votes-to-biden-n1131066" target="_blank">Michigan Legislature to Convene Joint Oversight Hearing Saturday After 'Glitches' Give 6,000 Trump Votes to Biden</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/11/07/georgia-counties-using-same-software-as-michigan-counties-also-encounter-glitch" target="_blank">Georgia Counties Using Same Software as Michigan Counties Also Encounter ‘Glitch’</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.sarahpalin.com/2020/11/06/attorney-general-bill-barr-receives-criminal-referral-from-nevada-gop-alleges-thousands-of-cases-of-voter-fraud-2" target="_blank">Attorney General Bill Barr Receives Criminal Referral From Nevada GOP, Alleges Thousands Of Cases Of Voter Fraud</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLcG5hnI-rw" target="_blank">Corey Lewandowski on what the Trump campaign believes is a concrete example of voter fraud in PA</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs4gW8SuFXo" target="_blank">Investigation underway over alleged voter fraud in DuPage County</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04N1Rtd1ezM" target="_blank">Mail Carrier Arrested For Dumping Mail, Including Ballots</a> (Orange County went 54.2% for Trump)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWNNgGreCoI" target="_blank">Missing ballots found in sweep in Greensboro</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe5EZWLDRJI" target="_blank">PA Philly - Registered Democrat & Poll Watcher Calls Out The Corruption</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAGkHQfXkiw" target="_blank">Poll watcher in Philadelphia: "We just want a fair election"</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlC769Ewysw" target="_blank">Election worker in Atlanta is seen crumpling up what is likely Trump ballots.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-project-veritas-releases-video-depicting-usps-worker-allegedly-pledging-voter-fraud" target="_blank">Project Veritas releases video depicting USPS worker allegedly pledging voter fraud</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/nov/7/pennsylvania-mailman-says-he-was-ordered-collect-l/" target="_blank">Pennsylvania mailman says he was ordered to collect late ballots</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/11/investigation_shows_new_york_times_covering_for_dead_voters_in_michigan.html" target="_blank">Investigation shows New York Times covering for dead voters in Michigan</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/11/07/detroit-ballot-tabulators-entered-names-of-non-voters-during-count/" target="_blank">Affidavits: Detroit Ballot Tabulators Entered Names of Non-Voters During Count</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.ntd.com/georgia-state-farm-arena-footage-shows-poll-workers-staying-behind-pulling-out-suitcases-with-ballots_535817.html" target="_blank">Georgia Video Footage Shows Poll Workers Staying Behind, Producing Boxes of Ballots</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fob-AGgZn44" target="_blank">Fraction Magic - Detailed Vote Rigging Demonstration</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/11/hammer_scorecard_and_a_venezuelatechnology_election.html" target="_blank">Yes, those 'glitches' are from the same software that made Venezuela's elections so free and fair</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/oct/20/judicial-watch-finds-18-million-ghost-voters-in-29/" target="_blank">Judicial Watch finds 1.8 million 'ghost voters' in 29 states, warns of 'dirty elections'</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://thenewamerican.com/massive-vote-fraud-across-u-s-as-trump-decries-attempted-coup/" target="_blank">Massive Vote Fraud Across U.S. as Trump Decries Attempted Coup</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/statistician-announces-investigation-voter-fraud-az-ga-mi-nc-nv-pa-wi/" target="_blank">Statistician Announces Investigation into Voter Fraud in AZ, GA, MI, NC, NV, PA, and WI</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/11/mathematical_impossibilities_may_be_what_trips_up_democrat_plans.html" target="_blank">Mathematical impossibilities may be what trips up Democrat plans</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://theredelephants.com/there-is-undeniable-mathematical-evidence-the-election-is-being-stolen/" target="_blank">There is Undeniable Mathematical Evidence the Election is Being Stolen</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wisconsin-election-commission-might-have-violated-state-law-by-allowing-clerks-to-fix-ballots-report-says" target="_blank">Wisconsin Election Commission Might Have Violated State Law By Allowing Clerks To ‘Fix’ Ballots, Report Says</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/rod-blagojevich-trump-election-fraud/2020/11/06/id/995796/" target="_blank">Rod Blagojevich to Newsmax TV: Election Fraud Is a 'Time-Honored Tradition' in Dem Cities</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Yt11c3J6o" target="_blank">Democrat Vernon Jones Exposes His Own Party in Georgia for Election Fraud</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.oann.com/alleged-examples-of-voting-fraud-pouring-in-despite-democrats-insistence-of-no-such-thing/" target="_blank">Alleged Examples Of Voting Fraud Pouring In Despite Democrats Insistence Of No Such Thing</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/detroit-election-worker-ordered-to-backdate-ballots-saw-democratic-coaching-at-polls-affidavit-says" target="_blank">Detroit Election Worker Ordered To Backdate Ballots, Saw Democratic ‘Coaching’ At Polls, Affidavit Says</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylNILuKpI48" target="_blank">Audio of Voter Fraud Training In Detroit Michigan</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://thepostmillennial.com/sydney-powell-claims-there-are-450-000-ballots-that-voted-only-for-biden-left-the-rest-blank" target="_blank">Sidney Powell claims there are 450,000 ballots that voted only for Biden, left the rest blank</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/11/09/ex-michigan-deputy-attorney-general-alleges-detroit-counters-assigned-fraudulent-ballots-to-non-voters/" target="_blank">Ex-Michigan Deputy Attorney General Alleges Detroit Counters Assigned Fraudulent Ballots to Non-Voters</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/virginia-democrat-surges-ahead-after-thousands-overlooked-ballots-found" target="_blank">Virginia Democrat Spanberger surges ahead after 'overlooked' ballots found on flash drive</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/sep/16/watchdog-finds-50000-double-voters-350000-dead/" target="_blank">Watchdog identifies 50,000 double-voters, 350,000 dead persons still on rolls</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/nov/8/matt-schlapp-says-whistleblower-saw-biden-harris-v/" target="_blank">Witness says Biden-Harris van unloading ballots at Nevada counting center, Trump campaign says</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://wbckfm.com/a-michigan-city-clerk-has-been-charged-with-altering-ballots/" target="_blank">A Michigan City Clerk Has Been Charged With Altering Ballots</a></div><div><br /><a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/breaking-exclusive-system-glitch-also-uncovered-wisconsin-reversal-19032-votes-removes-lead-joe-biden/" target="_blank">System ‘Glitch’ Also Uncovered In Wisconsin – Reversal of Swapped Votes Removes Lead from Joe Biden</a></div><div><br /><a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/another-glitch-trump-loses-32615-votes-pennsylvania-one-hour-ap-totals/" target="_blank">ANOTHER “GLITCH” – Trump Loses 32,615 Votes in Pennsylvania In One Hour in AP Totals</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/10/i-was-in-philadelphia-watching-fraud-happen-heres-how-it-went-down/" target="_blank">I Was In Philadelphia Watching Fraud Happen. Here’s How It Went Down</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/it-defies-logic-scientist-finds-telltale-signs-election-fraud-after-analyzing-mail-ballot" target="_blank">"It Defies Logic": Scientist Finds Telltale Signs Of Election Fraud After Analyzing Mail-In Ballot Data</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-11-10-nevada-tricked-trump-voters-provisional-ballots.html" target="_blank">Nevada poll workers tricked 60,000 mostly Trump voters into using provisional ballots that were never counted</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.wnd.com/2020/11/maidengate-group-finds-name-changes-used-vote-fraud-scheme/" target="_blank">#MaidenGate: Group finds name changes used in vote-fraud scheme</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.wnd.com/2020/11/wisconsin-republicans-appears-thousands-voters-fraudulently-circumvented-requirements/" target="_blank">Wisconsin Republicans: It appears thousands of voters fraudulently circumvented ID requirements</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/numerous-democrat-led-non-profits-connected-likely-illegal-absentee-ballot-harvesting-georgia-election/" target="_blank">Numerous Democrat Led Non-Profits Are Connected to Likely Illegal Absentee Ballot Harvesting in Georgia After the Election</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/pennsylvania-100000-ballots-with-implausible-return-dates_3572942.html" target="_blank">Tens of Thousands of Pennsylvania Ballots Returned Earlier Than Sent Date: Researcher</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkxa989WBKA" target="_blank">Computer Programmer testifies about rigging elections with voting software</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/happening-mit-scientist-offer-president-trump-proof-computer-algorithm-likely-transferred-69000-votes-trump-joe-biden-michigan/" target="_blank">MIT Scientist Offers President Trump Proof that Computer Algorithm Likely Transferred 69,000 Votes from Trump to Joe Biden in Michigan</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-11-11-michigan-poll-workers-fake-names-vote-twice.html" target="_blank">Michigan poll workers created fake names so people could vote twice</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/arizona-rep-points-number-potential-non-citizen-voters-higher-bidens-lead-state/" target="_blank">Arizona Rep. Points Out That the Number of Potential NON-CITIZEN Voters is Higher Than Biden’s Lead in the State</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd-5Xm5PFmg" target="_blank">Sworn Evidence Of Pervasive Voter Fraud</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://conservativedailypost.com/never-seen-half-this-level-of-fraud-dominion-changed-switched-38-million-votes-across-us/" target="_blank">Never Seen “Half” This Level Of Fraud: Dominion Changed/Switched 38 Million Votes Across US</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wBB8RyOlPg" target="_blank">Michigan Voter Fraud Witness Ann Rudisill Describes Detroit Election Fraud</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2020/11/18/281856-n281856" target="_blank">Affidavits Detail Significant Problems in Georgia Vote Count</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/psGpIuNh_dU" target="_blank">Articia Bomer Witnessed Dems Counting Spoiled Ballots for Biden and Tampering with Machines at Cobo</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/03wJ2oVB8Dg" target="_blank">Mich Voter Fraud Witness Shane Trejo Describes 3:30a.m. Illegal Ballots Arriving in Detroit</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/QZ7D8Myky9A" target="_blank">Mich Voter Fraud Witness Kristina Karamo Saw Ballots Being Given to Biden in Detroit</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF12gZ_mkHQ" target="_blank">Mich Voter Fraud Witness Melissa Carone tells the Inside Story of Dominion Machines in Detroit</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/w3hcC9oDH14" target="_blank">Mich Voter Fraud Witness Patrick Colbeck Describes Fraud in Detroit</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/Pmv1DIDQhkI" target="_blank">Mich Voter Fraud Witness Jose Aliaga saw the 4am Biden Ballot Drop!</a></div><div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/-wBB8RyOlPg" target="_blank">Mich Voter Fraud Witness Ann Rudisill Describes Detroit Election Fraud</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/hKtnYZ8X8UE" target="_blank">Michigan Voter Fraud Witness Hima Kolanagireddy discusses fake, illegal ballots, no Trump votes seen</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/mxLlcITD8m0" target="_blank">Michigan Voter Fraud Witness Barry Doherty describes seeing networked voting machines</a></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://nationalfile.com/whistleblowers-biden-implicated-in-dominion-voting-scam-connected-to-serbia/" target="_blank">Biden Implicated In Dominion Voting Scam Connected To Serbia</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://proudamerican.site/?p=921" target="_blank">Texas Democrat Candidate Mohamed Arrested, Charged With Over 100 Counts Of Felony Voter Fraud</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.wnd.com/2020/11/study-noncitizen-votes-gave-biden-wins-arizona-georgia" target="_blank">Study: Noncitizen votes gave Biden wins in Arizona, Georgia</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://defendingtherepublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/COMPLAINT-CJ-PEARSON-V.-KEMP-11.25.2020.pdf">104 page Lawsuit filed in Atlanta District Court Alleging Election Fraud</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/11/will-kick-ass-detroit-gop-poll-challenger-threatened-violence-offering-check-35000-ballot-dump-middle-night-tcf-center-video" target="_blank">“I Will Kick Your Ass Out of Here!” – Detroit GOP Poll Challenger Threatened with Violence After Offering to Check 35,000 Ballot Dump in Middle of Night at TCF Center</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.wnd.com/2020/11/4873267" target="_blank">CIA cyber-crime expert: Hundreds of thousands of votes flipped to Biden</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.wnd.com/2020/12/postal-service-contractor-delivered-144000-ballots-disappeared/" target="_blank">Postal Service contractor delivered 144,000 ballots that 'disappeared'</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://pjmedia.com/election/tyler-o-neil/2020/12/01/whistleblower-i-drove-thousands-of-ballots-from-new-york-to-pennsylvania-n1184008" target="_blank">WHISTLEBLOWER: I Drove 'Thousands of Ballots' From New York to Pennsylvania</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/12/paul-craig-roberts/mathematician-shows-that-in-arizona-the-dominion-machines-counted-biden-votes-as-1-3-votes-and-trump-votes-as-0-7-votes" target="_blank">Mathematician Shows That in Arizona the Dominion Machines Counted Biden Votes as 1.3 Votes and Trump Votes as 0.7 Votes</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.thebeltwayreport.com/2021/01/democrat-zul-mohamed-arrested-charged-w-109-counts-for-mail-in-ballot-fraud-scheme" target="_blank">Democrat Zul Mohamed Arrested, Charged w/ 109 Counts For Mail-In Ballot Fraud Scheme</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/01/26/virginia-rule-allowing-late-ballots-missing-postmark-was-illegal-court-rules" target="_blank">Virginia Rule Allowing Late Ballots Missing Postmark Was Illegal, Court Rules</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://tennesseestar.com/2020/12/31/doj-researcher-releases-study-indicating-massive-election-fraud-in-georgia-and-pennsylvania" target="_blank">DOJ Researcher Releases Study Indicating Massive Election Fraud in Georgia and Pennsylvania</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://rumble.com/vdp7df-share-unmasked-have-we-uncovered-the-truth-about-the-2020-election.html" target="_blank">Unmasked: Have we uncovered the truth about the 2020 election?</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/judge-orders-new-election-after-78-percent-mail-in-ballots-found-invalid-notary-arrested-for-voter-fraud_3720930.html" target="_blank">Judge Orders New Election After 78 Percent of Mail-In Ballots Found Invalid, Notary Arrested</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2021/03/15/judge-rules-secretary-state-bensons-ballot-signature-verification-guidance-invalid/4699927001/" target="_blank">Judge rules Benson's ballot signature verification guidance 'invalid'</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/michigan-judge-secretary-state-broke-law-absentee-ballots" target="_blank">Judge rules Michigan's Democratic secretary of state broke law with absentee ballot rule</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://trbn.tv/is-joe-bidens-victory-illegal-what-now-mi-judge-rules-sec-of-states-broke-laws-for-bidens-election/" target="_blank">Michigan Court of Claims Chief Judge Christopher Murray ruled that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) broke state law in issuing new rules on absentee balloting before the 2020 election.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://libertyonenews.com/the-scan-the-ballots-effort-is-moving-forward-in-georgia-involving-jovan-pulitizers-technique-of-forensically-reviewing-ballots-from-the-2020-election/" target="_blank">The ‘Scan the Ballots’ Effort Is Moving Forward In Georgia Involving Jovan Pulitizer’s Technique of Forensically Reviewing Ballots from the 2020 Election</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/03/23/democrats-operative-got-secret-internet-connection-at-wisconsin-election-center-emails-show/" target="_blank">Emails Show Democrats’ Operative Got Secret Internet Connection at Wisconsin Election Center</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/03/24/a_river_of_doubt_runs_through_mail_voting_in_big_sky_country_769321.html" target="_blank">A River of Doubt Runs Through Mail Voting in Montana</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://georgiastarnews.com/2021/03/04/four-months-after-2020-presidential-election-in-georgia-no-chain-of-custody-documents-produced-for-404000-absentee-ballots-deposited-in-drop-boxes-fulton-county-one-of-35-scofflaw-counties" target="_blank">Four Months After 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia No Chain of Custody Documents Produced for 404,000 Absentee Ballots Deposited in Drop Boxes; Fulton County One of 35 Scofflaw Counties</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://libertyonenews.com/breaking-audit-of-votes-finds-huge-fraud-plenty-to-flip-the-election/" target="_blank">Audit Of Votes Finds Huge Fraud … Plenty To Flip The Election</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://libertyonenews.com/attorney-confirms-voting-machines-flips-votes/" target="_blank">Attorney Confirms: Voting Machines Flips Votes</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://townhall.com/columnists/wayneallynroot/2021/05/09/heres-how-you-know-democrats-rigged-and-stole-the-2020-election-n2589148" target="_blank">Here's How You Know Democrats Rigged and Stole the 2020 Election</a></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://www.citizensjournal.us/what-the-stunning-arizona-audit-update-means/" target="_blank">What The Stunning Arizona Audit Update Means </a></div></div><div><br /><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/former-us-congressman-and-philadelphia-political-operative-pleads-guilty-election-fraud" target="_blank">Former U.S. Congressman and Philadelphia Political Operative Pleads Guilty to Election Fraud Charges</a><br /><br /><div>Let's review the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQba647SNmM" target="_blank">video of election night</a>.<br /><br /></div><div>At 1:24 am (6:20:41 into the video) Pennsylvania reported 66% in with Trump leading Biden 2,691,960 to 1,994,274. That's a 16% spread, and in any other election the networks would have called it for Trump easily, because the spread just doesn't change that much between 66% and 100%. one or two points, maybe, but 16 points ? Not possible for Biden to make that up. . . unless you cheat.<br /><br /></div><div>Let's do a little math. . .<br /><br /></div><div>At 1:24 am (7:06:09 into the video) Pennsylvania reported 74% in with Trump leading Biden 2,956,791 to 2,283,656. A difference of 673,135 votes. if this vote tally is 74%, then 100% of the voters in PA would be 7,081,685. So there are 1,841,238 votes left to be counted. This means that all the remaining votes to be counted would have to break for Biden 2:1, i.e. for every reaming Trump vote, there would have to be two Biden votes (2.16, actually). In a state where Trump is leading by 12 percentage points? Do you even know the slightest thing about statistics? This is simply not possible.<br /><br /></div><div>At 12:56 am (5:52:00 into the video) Georgia reported 83% in with Trump leading Biden 2,250,565 to 1,976,548. That's a 6% spread, and in any other election the networks would have called it for Trump easily, because the spread just doesn't change that much between 83% and 100%. one or two points, sure, but 6 points ? Not possible for Biden to make that up. . . unless you cheat.<br /><br /></div><div>At 1:20 am (6:17:00 into the video) Michigan reported 60% in with Trump leading Biden 1,827,175 to 1,535,541. That's a 8.5% spread, and in any other election the networks would have called it for Trump easily, because the spread just doesn't change that much between 60% and 100%. one or two points, sure, but 8.5 points ? Not possible for Biden to make that up. . . unless you cheat.<br /><br /></div><div>At 2:00 am (6:55:05 into the video) Wisconsin reported 81% in with Trump leading Biden 1,496,350 to 1,379,913. That's a 4% spread, and in any other election the networks would have called it for Trump. I've seen networks call races with less of a spread and less of a percentage counted, and they rarely if ever have turned out wrong, because trends don't change. Theoretically possible for Biden to make this up, but highly unlikely and historically unprecedented.<br /><br /></div><div>The tallies were slow from the blue urban areas in all these states, where the vote counting was controlled by Democrats, and they deliberately slowed the process so they could see how many votes they had to manufacture to win.<br /><br /></div><div>It was in your face, and the fact that you got the result you wanted shouldn't affect the chilling effect that in the United States of America, the example the rest of the world looks to, a national election was blatantly stolen in front of your face and you don't seem to give a shit. Everything you ever thought this country stood for is made a mockery by this, but hey, it's fine, the orange man with the mean tweets is gone.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-91559122876678783112020-10-01T10:56:00.005-07:002022-08-22T07:46:11.330-07:00The Climate Hoax Continues to Unravel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every day, more scientists are coming out of the woodwork and denying the precepts of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW). Bookmark this page, because as I come across more evidence mounting against the Climate science hoax, I'll be posting it here.<br />
<br />August 18, 2022<br /><a href="https://www.wnd.com/2022/08/1200-scientists-scholars-no-climate-emergency" target="_blank">1,100 scientists, scholars: 'There is no climate emergency'</a><br /><br />May 9, 2021</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://asiatimes.com/2021/05/the-not-so-drastic-truth-behind-climate-change/" target="_blank">The not-so-drastic truth behind climate change</a><br /><br />Oct 26, 2020</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://www.cfact.org/2020/10/26/study-suggests-no-more-co2-warming/" target="_blank">Study suggests no more CO2 warming</a><br /><br />Aug 9, 2020</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://notrickszone.com/2020/08/09/large-increase-in-number-of-sunshine-hours-likely-behind-warming-glacier-retreat-in-alps-since-1980" target="_blank">Large Increase In Number Of Sunshine Hours Likely Behind Warming, Glacier Retreat In Alps Since 1980</a><br /><br />
Feb 3, 2020<br />
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<a href="https://www.porttownsendfreepress.com/2020/02/03/uw-meteorologist-washington-faces-no-climate-emergency" target="_blank">UW Meteorologist: Washington Faces No Climate Emergency</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Jan 22, 2020<br />
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<a href="https://electroverse.net/historical-data-destroys-the-global-warming-myth" target="_blank">Historical Data Destroys The Global Warming Myth, And People Are Waking To It…</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Jan 21, 2020<br />
<a href="https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/01/no_author/climate-change-hoax-collapses-as-new-science-finds-human-activity-has-virtually-zero-impact-on-global-temperatures/?fbclid=IwAR0Yeap7a6hCd1BFsgKP0VrrLs40PlsRDfYz3mGehHHiKhWfKaPxmDW0b3s" target="_blank">Climate Change Hoax COLLAPSES as New Science Finds Human Activity Has Virtually Zero Impact on Global Temperatures</a><br />
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Oct 24, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.city-journal.org/global-warming" target="_blank">Climate Science’s Myth-Buster</a><br />
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Oct 2, 2019<br />
<a href="https://mynorthwest.com/1538309/dori-cliff-mass-uw-racist-carbon" target="_blank">UW Prof. Cliff Mass called racist for opposing carbon tax initiative</a><br />
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Oct 1, 2019<br />
<a href="https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-university-of-washington-should-not.html" target="_blank">University of Washington censors Faculty, denies freedom of speech in favor of Groupthink.</a><br />
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Sept. 29, 2019<br />
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'<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/29/scientists-tell-un-global-climate-summit-no-emerge/" target="_blank">There is No Climate Emergency,' Hundreds of Scientists,Engineers Tell U.N.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Sept 26, 2019<br />
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<a href="https://electroverse.net/another-climate-scientist-with-impeccable-credentials-breaks-ranks" target="_blank">Another Climate Scientist With Impeccable Credentials Breaks Ranks: “Our Models Are Mickey-Mouse Mockeries of the Real World”</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Sept 24, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/in-letter-to-un-scientists-say-there-is-no-climate-emergency_3093580.html" target="_blank">In Letter to UN, Scientists Say There Is No Climate Emergency</a><br />
<a href="https://clintel.nl/brief-clintel-aan-vn-baas-guterres/" target="_blank">Text of the letter here.</a><br />
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Sept 24, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/09/toplevel_climate_modeler_goes_rogue_criticizes_nonsense_of_global_warming_crisis.html" target="_blank">Top-level climate modeler goes rogue, criticizes 'nonsense' of 'global warming crisis'</a><br />
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Sep 23, 2019<br />
<a href="https://climatechangedispatch.com/no-climate-emergency-polar-bears-walruses/" target="_blank">No Climate Emergency For Polar Bears Or Walruses</a><br />
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Sept 22, 2019<br />
<a href="https://videos.whatfinger.com/2019/09/22/my-gift-to-climate-alarmists-climate-alarmists-debunked" target="_blank">My Gift To Climate Alarmists (Climate Alarmists Debunked)</a><br />
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August 25, 2019<br />
Christopher Monckton discusses a verified model by two Irish climatologists that puts the whole AGW issue to rest and why they're not getting any platform to present it. More on this study when it becomes available.<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6iOOuZCE_Y" target="_blank">Christopher Monckton: New Irish study shows greenhouse gas effect cannot cause global warming</a><br />
<br />August 16, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zrejG-WI3U" target="_blank">Global Warming: Fact or Fiction? Featuring Physicists Willie Soon and Elliott Bloom</a><br /><br />
July 12, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.naturalnews.com/2019-07-12-climate-change-hoax-collapses-new-science-cloud-cover.html" target="_blank">Climate change hoax COLLAPSES as new science finds human activity has virtually zero impact on global temperatures</a><br />
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July 12, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.technocracy.news/green-new-deal-scam-destroyed-by-new-scientific-study-on-global-warming/" target="_blank">Green New Deal Scam Destroyed By New Scientific Study On Global Warming</a><br />
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July 9, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.afa.net/the-stand/culture/2019/07/90-scientists-global-warming-is-a-total-hoax" target="_blank">90 Scientists: Global Warming Is a Total Hoax</a><br />
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June 20, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/im-a-climate-scientist-and-i-reject-forcing-climate-propaganda-on-children" target="_blank">I’m a climate scientist, and I reject forcing climate propaganda on children</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">June 19, 2019</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.opinione.it/cultura/2019/06/19/redazione_riscaldamento-globale-antropico-clima-inquinamento-uberto-crescenti-antonino-zichichi/?altTemplate=Stampa&fbclid=IwAR1YAoqulAKKXJTY-uzRfSEaX-G6NRpVOckp3nVE7iiTAgOQu8DMHGUxRnE" target="_blank">90 Leading Italian Scientists Sign Petition: CO2 Impact On Climate “UNJUSTIFIABLY EXAGGERATED” … Catastrophic Predictions “NOT REALISTIC”</a> <a href="https://notrickszone.com/2019/07/04/90-leading-italian-scientists-sign-petition-co2-impact-on-climate-unjustifiably-exaggerated-catastrophic-predictions-not-realistic/" target="_blank">(English Translation)</a><br />
<br />
May 28, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.sott.net/article/413892-Scientists-caught-adjusting-sea-level-data-to-create-false-impression-of-rising-oceans" target="_blank">Scientists caught 'adjusting' sea level data to create false impression of rising oceans</a><br />
<br />
April 1, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/joe-bastardi-climate-change-agenda-is-being-driven-by-hysteria-not-facts" target="_blank">Climate change agenda is being driven by hysteria, not facts</a><br />
<br />
February 3, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/3/scientists-no-evidence-climate-change-causing-cold/" target="_blank">University of Alabama scientists: 'No evidence' climate change causes extreme cold</a><br />
<br />
January 15, 2019<br />
<a href="https://greatclimatedebate.com/co2-is-not-causing-global-warming/" target="_blank">CO2 is not causing (statistically relevant) global warming</a><br />
<br />
October 19, 2018<br />
<a href="https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/how-al-gore-built-the-global-warming-fraud" target="_blank">How Al Gore Built the Global Warming Fraud</a><br />
<br />
October 16, 2018<br />
<a href="https://drrichswier.com/2018/10/16/former-harvard-u-physicist-rejects-new-un-ipcc-report-similar-claims-are-on-par-with-the-spam-about-penis-enlargement/" target="_blank">Former Harvard U. Physicist rejects new UN IPCC report: ‘Similar claims are on par with the spam about penis enlargement’ </a><br />
<br />
October 3, 2018<br />
<a href="https://www.technocracy.news/dr-tim-ball-on-climate-lies-wrapped-in-deception-smothered-with-delusion/" target="_blank">Dr. Tim Ball On Climate: Lies Wrapped In Deception Smothered With Delusion</a><br />
<br />
September 13, 2018<br />
<a href="https://www.technocracy.news/tim-ball-the-evidence-proves-that-co2-is-not-a-greenhouse-gas/" target="_blank">Tim Ball: The Evidence Proves That CO2 is Not a Greenhouse Gas</a><br />
<br />
May 2, 2018<br />
<a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/05/02/is-climate-alarmist-consensus-about-to-shatter/" target="_blank">Is climate alarmist consensus about to shatter?</a><br />
<br />
December 19, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.technocracy.news/dr-tim-ball-disastrous-economic-impact-co2-reduction-policies" target="_blank">Dr. Tim Ball: The Disastrous Economic Impact of CO2 Reduction Policies</a><br />
<br />
October 18, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/climate-change-alarmists-disregard-sanctity-of-human-life-population-expert" target="_blank">Climate change is ‘the biggest scientific fraud ever perpetrated’: scientist</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">June 14, 2017<br /><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/2017_christy_mcnider-1.pdf" target="_blank">Study cannot explain discrepancy between tropospheric models and actual measurements.</a><br />
<br />
May 31, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/dilbert-cartoon-climate-change-prompts-rebuttal-yale" target="_blank">Dilbert Cartoon on Climate Change Prompts Rebuttal from Yale </a><br />
<br />
February 9, 2017<br />
<a href="https://principia-scientific.org/chemistry-expert-carbon-dioxide-cant-cause-global-warming" target="_blank">Chemistry Expert: Carbon Dioxide Can’t Cause Global Warming</a><br />
<br />
April 6, 2016<br />
<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/carbon-dioxide-fertilization-greening-earth" target="_blank">Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Greening Earth, Study Finds</a><br />
<br />
June 23, 2014<br />
<a href="https://www.naturalnews.com/045695_global_warming_fabricated_data_scientific_fraud.html" target="_blank">Global warming data FAKED by government to fit climate change fictions</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">June 17, 2014</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://www.newsmax.com/LarryBell/warming-global-climate/2014/06/17/id/577481/#ixzz355f6L5y2" target="_blank">Receding Swiss glaciers reveal 4000 year old forests – and make it clear that glacier retreat is nothing new</a><br />
<br />
Feb 19, 2014 (video)<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pou3sGedeK4" target="_blank">Freeman Dyson: A Global Warming Heretic</a><br />
<br />
May 26, 2013<br />
<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2013/05/26/to-the-horror-of-global-warming-alarmists-global-cooling-is-here/#324f3e8f4dcf" target="_blank">To The Horror Of Global Warming Alarmists, Global Cooling Is Here</a><br />
<br />
May 11, 2009<br />
<a href="https://www.drroyspencer.com/2009/05/global-warming-causing-carbon-dioxide-increases-a-simple-model/" target="_blank">Global Warming Causing Carbon Dioxide Increases: A Simple Model</a></div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-58171033130856311742020-05-18T21:29:00.003-07:002020-05-18T21:29:27.794-07:00Okay, Time to Stop the Bullshit.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFzWy86uZtJ9hCx0eEih1VZUwATxe00dRww_C0WiHRVBSKAWr-knDowv0-LLzTBPBHGvzhPt5CnCeUwm6qh_8iey0GXtmfO_DGznI8Xbitnd0fI5EegBc4RwRe1SFZT456Xuap62hryt7/s1600/5-18-2020+9-17-59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="757" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFzWy86uZtJ9hCx0eEih1VZUwATxe00dRww_C0WiHRVBSKAWr-knDowv0-LLzTBPBHGvzhPt5CnCeUwm6qh_8iey0GXtmfO_DGznI8Xbitnd0fI5EegBc4RwRe1SFZT456Xuap62hryt7/s640/5-18-2020+9-17-59+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two months ago, things were looking pretty alarming. COVID-19 was getting its feet under it in the
USA, and the growth curve had every indication that it was undergoing a logarithmic
progression. Following the trend
forward, it was looking like as many as ten million people could be infected in
the US by the end of May if the projection went unchecked. You can go back in this very blog and see the
rationale that seemed the prudent thing to do back in March. But then about the first week of April, the
daily numbers of infected in the USA leveled off and have been about 30,000 a
day and slowly dropping.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Back then we didn’t even know what we didn’t know about this pandemic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had the experience of the overloaded
hospitals in Italy, and we were facing a logarithmically increasing number of
infected people. The prudent thing to do was to break the cycle of infection by
social distancing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The purpose of this
was to slow the advance of the virus so that our medical resources weren’t
overwhelmed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does social isolation really save lives?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That depends on whether our medical resources
would be overwhelmed if we didn’t isolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Based on our experience the last two months, the answer to that is an
emphatic no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our medical resources haven’t
been challenged to within 10% of their capacity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This virus is not going to magically go away. As virulent as
it is, your chances of catching it are very good. No matter when they re-open
the world, you're going to see the infection rate jump. Right now, holding the
country in lock-down is probably the worst thing you can do, because you're
providing isolated pools in which the virus can mutate. Think about "flu
season" which is when the school kids come back from three months of
relative isolation and start spreading the flu mutations they acquired over the
summer.<br />
<br />
Here's the fact: You, me, everybody are probably going to catch it at some
point, just like the flu. It's inevitable, it's not going away, and it's very
contagious, and we can't live as hermits forever. Some people will die from it,
just like the flu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the medical
resources aren’t overwhelmed, the number of people who are going to die from
COVID is going to be the same, whether we isolate or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, you’re going to get it, just like
the flu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only way that isolation
would save anyone’s lives is if people were dying because there was no medical
resources available to care for them, and they die when they would have lived
if they got appropriate medical attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We now know that scenario isn’t going to happen.<br />
<br />
The lock-down never had anything to do with stopping the virus or preventing
people from getting it. It was designed to mitigate the rate of propagation so
that our medical resources weren't overwhelmed. It was a prudent thing to do in
the early stages of the pandemic when we didn't even know what we didn't know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have a lot more data now. Our medical resources were
never even challenged to within 1/10th of their capacity. The only lives that
might be saved by locking down are the ones who would have been denied medical
treatment because of an overloaded system. Now we know that's not going to
happen.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now we know that there may be a huge reservoir of people out
there who have been infected, and never became symptomatic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Non-mainstream news has pointed out that the
death rate may have been exaggerated, because there was a financial incentive
to classify deaths as COVID deaths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
know the only country that we can trust less for accurate numbers than China is
North Korea.<br />
<br />
Wearing a mask will do very little to protect you from getting the virus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Masks are designed to protect everyone from
your germs, not you from everyone else’s germs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Think of it like someone pissing on your leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re wearing pants, you’re still getting
soaked, but if they’re wearing pants, only they get soaked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gloves are useful, if you know how to use
them, and dispose of them as soon as you leave a contamination area, to prevent
cross-contamination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of it like dipping
your gloved hands in paint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You wouldn’t
want to touch anything with your paint covered gloves that you’ll later want to
touch with ungloved hands.<br />
<br />
If you’re driving your car or walking down the sidewalk away from other people in
a mask and a gloves, I’m sorry, you’re an idiot, and don’t really grasp the
concept. <br />
<br />
When you see a state lift restrictions and suddenly have a jump in reported
cases, you know you’re being lied to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This has an incubation period of up to two weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You won’t see any increase in infection rates
for at least two weeks after you lift restrictions.<br />
<br />
The left and Democrats are heavily invested in continuing this farce as long as
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes the attention off the
shit show that their presidential primary had become, and Sleepy Joe Biden isn’t
making a fool of himself on national TV on the campaign circuit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they can prolong this to November, they
can push hard for vote-by-mail nationwide, and the ensuing opportunities that
will entail for massive voter fraud that would make even the Democrats
blush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have an idea that they can lay
the blame for the wrecked economy at Trump’s feet and capitalize on it
politically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It shows you where the
Democrats are at when they are joyful at the misery that the economic chaos has
caused, because to them the allure of political power is far more important
than the pain of the average working class American.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They want you to believe they care about you
and are helping you by printing money they don’t have and giving it to you,
devaluing the money in your bank with an invisible tax and increasing the
national debt beyond our capacity to ever repay it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Our supply chains are breaking down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Food isn’t getting to market because the processing plants have closed because
of COVID.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yesterday my wife witnessed a
fight at the grocery outlet over the last remaining bag of beans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The government gets to decide who is essential,
and who is not, who has permission to conduct commerce and who cannot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People are being arrested for being alone in solitary
activities that even in normal times mean getting away from other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s little rhyme or reason for often
arbitrary enforcement, and apparently no common sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one thing this has taught us all is who should
not have been entrusted with the power they were given, who the petty tyrants
are when given the chance, and who among our neighbors will turn you into the
authorities as happened in Germany in the 1930’s and ‘40’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
If people are paying attention, we will rid ourselves of the leftist tyrants
come this November and restore the country to its constitutional
foundation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This pandemic has been a
free trial of socialism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope
everyone, especially the young people, have taken its lesson to heart.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We're nowhere close to challenging our medical resources.
Open the damn economy. Stop the bullshit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /></div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-56708083645927948612020-04-12T12:14:00.002-07:002020-04-20T11:36:58.978-07:00The Mark of the Beast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Revelations, 13:16-18, KJV translation</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Scholars have been scratching their heads about this passage of revelations for centuries, wondering what the significance of 666 is. Is it an anagram? I've seen many attempts to assign numerical values to letters to come up with a "count" for a word that means the beast, which is silly, because the ones I've seen are in English - a language that wouldn't exist for 1500 years after St. John penned this passage on the Island of Patmos.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I recall a comedy about the apocalypse named "668 - the neighbor of the Beast." Nice to have fun with this stuff.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
More people focus on the mark on the forehead or the hand, and ignore the significance of the number itself. They panic when they hear of ideas to implant RFID in people's hands for east recognition - "The mark of the Beast! Noooo!" While I'm ambivalent about the idea, I can see some utility, and I recognize that our current preoccupation with personal privacy is a relatively recent development in human society. Throughout most of history, you were well known within your community and were deemed suspicious if people didn't know you personally, including your history and social standing. No, such an idea is not a harbinger of the beast.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To really understand the Number of the Beast, you have to look at the context. St. John was given revelation in the form of visions, and he faithfully recorded what he saw, even if he didn't quite understand it at the time. He was allowed to see future events, but it wasn't always explained to him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let's look for a second at the original Greek that Revelations were written in:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
ωδε η σοφια εστιν ο εχων τον νουν ψηφισατω τον αριθμον του θηριου αριθμος γαρ ανθρωπου εστιν και ο αριθμος αυτου <span style="color: red;">χξς</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-Revelations 13:18.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've highlighted the "666" in red. The written Greek language had no numbers. They used letters to represent certain numerical values. Below is the table of the Greek numbering system.</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdefUqM02kDSteUj81XWOAMZ0RL7TCmMVA5n4JqcxPMcif8RHBtyAjy8CW1F4OhmV00gZpKuV0snaHAcy9IQCq4dF4WmFS31kizYqByvHWD3Wt7FN6nuOeQJL5uGmS6SbPEcRg6Y4DDjn/s1600/4-12-2020+11-57-48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="492" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdefUqM02kDSteUj81XWOAMZ0RL7TCmMVA5n4JqcxPMcif8RHBtyAjy8CW1F4OhmV00gZpKuV0snaHAcy9IQCq4dF4WmFS31kizYqByvHWD3Wt7FN6nuOeQJL5uGmS6SbPEcRg6Y4DDjn/s320/4-12-2020+11-57-48+AM.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So we see that St. John wrote "chi - xi - stigma." These letters mean nothing in Greek by themselves, so it must be a reference to a number, and that's confirmed by the context where St. John refers to it as a number. Subsequent translations have rendered it as 666.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Was St. John really referring to a number, or just recording what he saw, and his own interpretation? People from all walks of life receive the mark ,and without it, they are not allowed to function in society. What is the mark? "chi - xi - stigma." Three Greek letters. Is it an anagram? If it is, is it in Greek? Is there anything else that can be confused for these letters?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It turn out there is. In a language whose written form would not be recorded for another 600 years from St. John's time, which reads from right to left, instead of left to right as Greek does.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7yBiPbTFXGJDLyUKealZCg7ta1BKbAzaSZoPmrIX7zcCv55opj8YtM8ZUkbJHFUnRwL9og2zPWTITGbWFIRT_D7vtrZwtem_epy0IpHlDqDHP4fBsPSiWhyHJDhonyMcY32EHbIHLAa1n/s1600/4-12-2020+12-03-12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7yBiPbTFXGJDLyUKealZCg7ta1BKbAzaSZoPmrIX7zcCv55opj8YtM8ZUkbJHFUnRwL9og2zPWTITGbWFIRT_D7vtrZwtem_epy0IpHlDqDHP4fBsPSiWhyHJDhonyMcY32EHbIHLAa1n/s1600/4-12-2020+12-03-12+PM.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In Arabic, the words "Bismallah" ("In the name of Allah!") followed by the crossed swords of Islam (remember, Arabic reads right to left) bear a striking resemblance to the Greek letters "chi - xi - stigma."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Did St. John see a vision of the Jihadist movement, where everyone wears a green bandanna on their head or arm ("hand"), indicating their allegiance to Allah and the Quran and chanting death to infidels? Not understanding the Arabic writing (How could he?), he recorded what he saw, and decided it was a number, for it couldn't be anything else.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyone who has studied the Quran from the frame of reference of Christianity understands its Satanic origin. It teaches many doctrines of the Anti-Christ, not the least of which is the denial that Jesus was ever Crucified. We know the Beast is the Anti-Christ. We know the overt, stated goal of Islam is world domination, and the subjugation of all peoples under Islam.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So don't panic when you see people getting RFID chips or invisible barcode tattoos. As questionable as those sound to liberty and privacy minded modern people, they're not the mark of satan or the Beast. The Beast is Islam, and St. John overtly told us what to look for, even if he didn't have the frame of reference to understand what he saw at the time. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-60898554865171733952020-03-18T16:23:00.000-07:002020-03-18T16:26:38.174-07:00Flu Fiction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Essential to review this episode of Mythbusters these days, where Adam and Jamie show how easy it is to spread a virus, and how best to mitigate it. Works best with Firefox. May require you to fill a captcha.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://ww1.1movies.is/series/mythbusters-season-8/26250/33746/B6dUOl1g-watch-online-free.html">https://ww1.1movies.is/series/mythbusters-season-8/26250/33746/B6dUOl1g-watch-online-free.html</a></div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-36690241021039203632020-03-14T20:27:00.006-07:002020-03-18T09:38:22.909-07:00Get With the Program on COVID-19<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaMDhiT98vDnC969wCC9DqOAZovQAWvTDB55gir8_Px4UO_oS-TDzYwckXWiCNmAtWmOyLwmWo7nKO_VK9YTjyRINPgUjdu-pecqRWfEF2S9S3bZ3BlhH7p0eCsT1yyu7di7Dg_C3qnvp/s1600/3-14-2020+4-25-51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaMDhiT98vDnC969wCC9DqOAZovQAWvTDB55gir8_Px4UO_oS-TDzYwckXWiCNmAtWmOyLwmWo7nKO_VK9YTjyRINPgUjdu-pecqRWfEF2S9S3bZ3BlhH7p0eCsT1yyu7di7Dg_C3qnvp/s640/3-14-2020+4-25-51+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">So I asked myself about five times this evening, “How many times do
I have to deal with this bullshit today?”</span></div>
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Here’s a common meme that’s going around that’s trying to assuage everyone’s
fears and claim that this is an overreaction.</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iZfG4jrDE8KVJNFfuQISg0U8lSI3fYzi6oLYC-DHyFkdRzE5-BQT_I51ceclyEaSaqVUjdFhqLvxRZ9y0WuE1_w4rttpkWBBYmQSLAV58VWLxcaRPTm8B2uf9FPRQ9xd24CnJBHqrN7i/s1600/89739886_2589660734635863_351152561866145792_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iZfG4jrDE8KVJNFfuQISg0U8lSI3fYzi6oLYC-DHyFkdRzE5-BQT_I51ceclyEaSaqVUjdFhqLvxRZ9y0WuE1_w4rttpkWBBYmQSLAV58VWLxcaRPTm8B2uf9FPRQ9xd24CnJBHqrN7i/s1600/89739886_2589660734635863_351152561866145792_n.jpg" /></a><br />
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<br />
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Let’s break this down.<br />
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As of this writing ( March 14, 19:20 pacific time), there are 156,169 cases of
COVID-19 worldwide. I’m using the numbers from <a href="https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University.</a></div>
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80,995 of those are in China.</div>
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Which means that since this idiotic meme was published the infection rate outside
of China has gone, well, viral. So the
number of people in China vs the numbers outside of China are meaningless about
your chances of catching it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Yes, there are mild cases. No, if you’re a reasonably healthy person, you’re
not going to die from COVID-19. <i>That’s
not the point</i>! There are a huge
number of at-risk people who can easily die from this. Elderly. Immunocompromised. Asthmatics. People
with COPD. Probably others that don’t
come to mind at the moment.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Taking a single sample from the “worst” day in China is disingenuous, because
China has managed to control the spread by using the power of its totalitarian
communist dictatorship to seal off provinces, impose strict quarantine, and
established curfews. Since they did
this, the infection rate has leveled out and it’s stopped spreading. For a country of a billion people, to have a
mere 80,995 reported infections from something this infectious is pretty damn
impressive. Of course, it begs the
question, can we really trust the numbers coming out of China? I don’t know if we can trust the actual
numbers, but I’m reasonably sure we can trust the derivatives scaled over
time. They might have ten times more
people than they admit, but I’m reasonably confident they’ve stopped the spread
of the virus and held down the number of new infections.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, we need to look at some realities. </div>
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Worldwide, there has been currently 156,169 cases of COVID-19 reported worldwide. Of those, 79,785 have been reported
resolved. Of the resolved cases, 5,830
died. Of the remaining 76,384, 65,594
are outside of China. That means for all
the patients for whom the disease has run its course, 7.31% of them have died
worldwide. Yes, these are mostly old
people or people in high-risk categories. </div>
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The question is, do we disregard the health of these people because we
personally aren’t going to get very sick?</div>
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The Chinese experience informs us that without medical care, the mortality rate
is about 12%. With medical care, this
comes down to about 1%. </div>
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A very conservative estimate based on the rate of infection in the United States,
assuming we take no preventive measures to increase social distance is that we’ll
hit 1 million reported cases sometime in late April. A less conservative
estimate is that we’ll get there in early April. Again, if no action is taken,
we’ll be on track to hit 10 million by mid-May. </div>
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Actual mileage may vary. Personal
habits, sanitation, hygiene all play into this. Americans are a standoffish lot, we’re reasonably clean and we generally
eschew public transportation. All of
these lower our chances of contracting the virus, yet in the last 24 hours the
number of cases reported in the USA have nearly doubled.</div>
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This is the power of exponential compounding. It starts out slow, and then ramps up fast once it hits critical mass.</div>
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And this is why these idiotic memes comparing absolute numbers of flu cases and
flu deaths are meaningless and counterproductive. The seasonal flu is endemic, and the rate of
infection isn’t exponential. COVID-19 is
epidemic, and its rate of infection is exponential. So the next time you see one of these that
tells you how many people contracted the flu and how few died and try to show
how paltry the COVID-19 body count is in comparison, remember that we’re in the
early stages of this, it’s highly contagious, and an order of magnitude more
deadly. It kills the same demographic as
the flu, but it does so with <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/this-coronavirus-is-unlike-anything-in-our-lifetime-and-we-have-to-stop-comparing-it-to-the-flu" target="_blank">ten times the efficiency</a>. The flu is planned for, it doesn't come in a huge wave, we have seasonal models that predict how many people contract it and how many people will need medical care, and we're ready for that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXWeWDhT9EuYeWNrCwud2fHqFd6rGTiuhD5mzQRtVcvwZkaURaYkNhTg1sT6GOyHRH5t1pdsATm10Lpxp7eTZqhvaqVCjuWT_COeAKPXxTZxaGh3a72iBiIR4AXtpy7OILde3yYTL18lc/s1600/20200314-flu-covid19-chart.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1391" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXWeWDhT9EuYeWNrCwud2fHqFd6rGTiuhD5mzQRtVcvwZkaURaYkNhTg1sT6GOyHRH5t1pdsATm10Lpxp7eTZqhvaqVCjuWT_COeAKPXxTZxaGh3a72iBiIR4AXtpy7OILde3yYTL18lc/s640/20200314-flu-covid19-chart.webp" width="556" /></a></div>
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The United States has <a href="https://www.aha.org/statistics/fast-facts-us-hospitals" target="_blank">924,107</a> fully staffed hospital beds. I don’t know, I’m guessing about 50% of those
are in use on any given day. Suppose we
get to the 10 million reported cases we’re expected to get in May if we do
nothing. According to the meme above,
19% of the cases are moderate to critical, and will require medical
intervention to some degree. That’s 1.9
million patients, more than twice the number than we have facilities available to
treat. Based on the numbers from the
epidemic worldwide, this means a death toll from 400,000 to 700,000. And that’s just May. </div>
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Look, as contagious as this is, you’re probably going to get it. It’s eventually going to take its place along
with the common seasonal flu. It will
eventually burn itself out. The thing we
need to work towards is to contain the spread to a manageable rate, to spread
the infections out over time so our medical resources aren’t overwhelmed. </div>
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Eyewitness accounts in Italy tell us that this has overwhelmed their system. Doctors are conducting triage, determining which patients can go home without medical care, which patients will survive with medical treatment, and which are going to die if they get treatment or not. It sounds heartless but it's normal when medical services get overwhelmed. Look, Italy is like the worst possible place to be letting a bug like this loose. They're the oldest demographic in Europe. They greet each other by kissing each other's cheeks. They have a personal space of about four inches. They all smoke. It's a dirty country. Literally everything you can think of to do wrong when there's a highly contagious respiratory disease going around is literally built into the Italian culture. So a LOT of people are going to get sick, and the medical services are overwhelmed. But it's a numbers game. Given an unrestricted contagion, it can happen anywhere. If we don't start isolating people who have been exposed right now, this calculus could be coming soon to a hospital near you.<br />
<br />
<h2>
The Science</h2>
Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year... you get immunity two ways...through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.<br />
<br />
Novel viruses, come from animals.... the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans... then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.<br />
<br />
Now.... sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human... once that happens..we have a new contagion phase. And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, thats what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s gonna be..<br />
<br />
H1N1 was deadly....but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.<br />
<br />
Fast forward.<br />
<br />
Now, here comes this Coronavirus... it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long...but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people. At first, only animals could give it to a person... But here is the scary part.... in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”<br />
<br />
This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). Took off like a rocket. And this was because, Humans have no known immunity...doctors have no known medicines for it.<br />
<br />
And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungs..<br />
<br />
That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza.... this one is slippery AF. And it’s a lung eater...And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L....which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.<br />
<br />
We really have no tools in our shed, with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.<br />
<h2>
The Misinformation</h2>
But why didn't we see this kind of panic with SARS? It had more people infected and killed more than COVID-19 has (so far).<br />
<br />
SARS was easy. It presented with very specific symptoms that were easily identifiable. If you had these symptoms, you reported to medical services, got treated and quarantined. It didn't have a significant incubation period during which you were contagious. There was no reason to disrupt life for most of the country. COVID-19, on the other hand, has a significant incubation period during which it's contagious, and the carrier doesn't even know they're sick. It presents with a wide variety of symptoms, as reported by the Italian medical experience, so most people think they have a cold or the regular flu and don't seek treatment, or necessarily even isolate themselves. This makes the spread extremely difficult to identify and contain, unlike SARS.</div>
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<br />
Another common trope is that we don't know how many cases aren't reported, so the death rates aren't really as bad as they seem. Bullshit. It doesn't matter how many aren't diagnosed. The ones who are diagnosed are showing an alarming trend. Reported cases in the US have more than doubled in the last 24 hours. At the current rate, in the US alone we're headed for a million sometime in April, as many as 10 million by mid-May if we don't quarantine to the level China has. Those are reported cases. Yeah, there might be 20 million more that are unreported and of no concern, but the death rate of all the resolved cases that are reported is running around 7% at the moment. There's no reason to think those absolute numbers are suddenly going to change or that the number of critical cases that are currently going to be reported is going to change if we start counting total infections vs reported infections. The unreported number of infections is a red herring.</div>
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The <i>only</i> way of slowing this down and managing it is to increase social
distance. Communist China did it with totalitarian
efficiency. In spite of what the
Democrats and Liberals would like, we can’t get away with that here in the West. We have to convince people of the seriousness
of the problem, so they’ll self-isolate and get the same effect China did. So
stop the bullshit memes saying this is an overreaction. The numbers say it’s not, for those of you
who can do a basic mathematical extrapolation. Stop
saying it’s no worse than the flu. The
numbers tell us it kills ten times as many people as the flu does. Stop saying it’s a media hoax. It’s not. </div>
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Like a tidal wave in the open ocean, there’s a monster headed our way. I at first thought it was an unnecessary
panic myself, until I started extrapolating the numbers and reading through the
propaganda. It’s real. So for the sake of the elderly, the immunocompromised,
the asthmatics and those with COPD, stop your bullshit, stop saying there’s no
problem. Isolate, watch the numbers,
take precautions when you’re out, and work with society to keep the deaths to a
minimum. You may be safe, but to say that’s
all we need to worry about is nothing but a big “fuck you” to millions of
Americans who statistically are likely to die if we don’t keep a handle on
this.</div>
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Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-17708905912656538042020-03-01T16:44:00.001-08:002020-03-01T16:44:15.301-08:00Electoral Apportionment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtinwCP8Toq7BRddOkvQlt7wOxs9FLbevP24IN1sXTunn3QcC6FUhmJYNzNwHmbfyFYSxUm5tB-oF9pLh8NavTkHVrUI0fS_ti7d3W6sgo_p9NRpfZCH_9BYsBirlMqHQbSiwB5jr-S_V/s1600/320px-2016_presidential_election%252C_results_by_congressional_district_%2528popular_vote_margin%2529.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtinwCP8Toq7BRddOkvQlt7wOxs9FLbevP24IN1sXTunn3QcC6FUhmJYNzNwHmbfyFYSxUm5tB-oF9pLh8NavTkHVrUI0fS_ti7d3W6sgo_p9NRpfZCH_9BYsBirlMqHQbSiwB5jr-S_V/s1600/320px-2016_presidential_election%252C_results_by_congressional_district_%2528popular_vote_margin%2529.svg.png" /></a></div>
A bone of contention these days is the Electoral College. The Democrats want to get rid of it because, well, Democracy. Republicans want to keep it, because it's one of the cornerstones that keeps the country together. The common mantra is that if we went to a direct majority wins election that New York and California would decide the president. That's a little bit disingenuous, but not far wrong. Texas and Florida would also get a say.<br />
<br />
Currently in 48 of the 50 states, electors are chosen by a winner-take-all system. Which ever candidate wins the states gets all the electors for that state. Each state gets a number of electors equal to the number of congressional seats they have in the House, plus two representing the Senate seats for each state.<br />
<br />
Sidebar: Electors for each party for each congressional district are chosen at the party state conventions. That elector gets to cast his vote only if his party wins the overall state election, even if the candidate lost the district that elector represents.<br />
<br />
That's all the US Constitution says about the electoral college. How the electors are chosen by the states is entirely up to the State legislatures. There's no Constitutional mandate that states use the winner-take-all system.<br />
<br />
The purpose of districting to determine a nationwide election is to actually increase the power of your vote. I won't go into the math about how it accomplishes this here, that was done very will in an old article by Will Hively in Discover magazine, called <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/from-the-archive-math-against-tyranny" target="_blank">Math Against Tyranny</a>. The problem with this, though is it only works if the districts are roughly equal size -- like congressional districts. When your uber-districts are states, they no longer are equal size, and in fact dampen the effect of their constituent districts.<br />
<br />
There seem to be a couple of different ways of dividing the electoral votes. The winner-take-all system is one. The problem with this is that it concentrates power in the urban areas of the largest states. Win those urban areas, and you win the state. By this method, California, New York, Texas and Florida together account for 28% of the voting power in the country, and much of that power is concentrated in some very small densely populated congressional districts.<br />
<br />
Then there's Individual apportionment. Under this scheme, Each Elector is selected based on the winner within his own district, without regard to how the candidate did statewide. The two electoral seats for each state would then be apportioned to the statewide winner of the election. Under this scheme, you could easily have a minority of electors from a state that do not represent the candidate who won the state.<br />
<br />
I suggested this recently on a public forum, and was shouted down by conservatives, who acted more like liberals do when you pee in their cornflakes. I was called all kinds of vile epithets, accused of being a liberal and had a whole lot of people who apparently didn't read what I wrote and thought I was suggesting abolishing the electoral college.<br />
<br />
So I ran the numbers. I examined the 2016 election and calculated how the Electoral College would have voted if the Electors were selected by their individual districts, instead of winner-take-all. The results were interesting. Trump would have still easily carried the election with 291 vs 247, but not by as wide a margin. The overwhelming significance of New York and California would have been dampened. Florida's significance disappeared entirely, as it split pretty evenly between the two candidates. Texas' significance also diminish, counteracting the significance of New York and California, as many of the border district voted for Clinton.<br />
<br />
Of most interest was Minnesota, whose 10 electoral votes for Clinton came up 5 and 5 for the two candidates. The pro-Trump districts were weakly for Trump, and the pro-Clinton districts were strongly for Clinton, giving Clinton the state, even though more districts voted for Trump.<br />
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 464px;">
<colgroup><col style="width: 75pt;" width="100"></col> <col style="width: 47pt;" width="62"></col> <col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col> <col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col> <col style="width: 29pt;" width="39"></col> <col style="width: 45pt;" width="60"></col> <col style="width: 38pt;" width="50"></col> <col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col> <col style="width: 38pt;" width="50"></col> <col style="width: 48pt;" width="64"></col> </colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="80" style="height: 60pt;">
<td class="xl65" style="height: 60pt; text-align: center; width: 75pt;">State</td>
<td class="xl72" style="text-align: center; width: 47pt;" width="62">Number
of districts</td>
<td class="xl73" style="border-left: medium none; text-align: center; width: 48pt;" width="64">Voted Trump</td>
<td class="xl74" style="border-left: medium none; text-align: center; width: 48pt;" width="64">Voted Clinton</td>
<td class="xl72" style="border-left: medium none; text-align: center; width: 29pt;" width="39">at large</td>
<td class="xl72" style="border-left: medium none; text-align: center; width: 45pt;" width="60">number of electoral votes</td>
<td class="xl75" colspan="2" style="border-left: medium none; border-right: 0.5pt solid black; text-align: center; width: 86pt;" width="114">winner take all</td>
<td class="xl75" colspan="2" style="border-left: medium none; border-right: 0.5pt solid black; text-align: center; width: 86pt;" width="114">independently apportioned</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td class="xl77" height="20" style="height: 15pt; text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="xl78" style="border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="xl79" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="xl80" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="xl78" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="xl78" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="xl79" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Trump</td>
<td class="xl80" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Clinton</td>
<td class="xl79" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Trump</td>
<td class="xl80" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Clinton</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 1;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama" title="Alabama"> Alabama</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 21px; z-index: 2;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska" title="Alaska"> Alaska</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 3;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona" title="Arizona"> Arizona</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 4;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas" title="Arkansas"> Arkansas</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 5;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/California" title="California"> California</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">53</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">46</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">55</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">55</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">48</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 6;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado"> Colorado</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 20px; z-index: 7;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut" title="Connecticut"> Connecticut</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 8;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware" title="Delaware"> Delaware</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida" title="Florida"> Florida</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">27</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">14</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">13</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">29</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">29</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">16</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">13</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 10;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28U.S._state%29" title="Georgia (U.S. state)"> Georgia</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">14</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">16</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">16</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">12</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 11;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii" title="Hawaii"> Hawaii</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 19px; z-index: 12;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho" title="Idaho"> Idaho</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 13;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois" title="Illinois"> Illinois</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">18</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">20</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">20</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">13</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 14;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana" title="Indiana"> Indiana</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 15;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa" title="Iowa"> Iowa</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 16;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas" title="Kansas"> Kansas</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 17;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"> Kentucky</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 18;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana" title="Louisiana"> Louisiana</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 19px; z-index: 19;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine" title="Maine"> Maine</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 20;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland" title="Maryland"> Maryland</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">
<td align="left" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 21;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl65" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"> Massachusetts</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">11</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 22;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan" title="Michigan"> Michigan</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">14</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">16</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">16</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">12</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 23;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota" title="Minnesota"> Minnesota</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 24;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi" title="Mississippi"> Mississippi</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 25;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri" title="Missouri"> Missouri</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 26;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana" title="Montana"> Montana</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 27;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska" title="Nebraska"> Nebraska</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 28;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada" title="Nevada"> Nevada</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 29;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire" title="New Hampshire"> New Hampshire</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 30;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey" title="New Jersey"> New Jersey</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">12</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">14</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">14</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 31;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico" title="New Mexico"> New Mexico</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 32;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_%28state%29" title="New York (state)"> New York</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">27</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">19</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">29</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">29</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">21</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 33;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina" title="North Carolina"> North Carolina</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">13</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">15</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">15</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">12</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 19px; z-index: 34;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota" title="North Dakota"> North Dakota</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 35;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio" title="Ohio"> Ohio</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">16</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">12</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">18</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">18</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">14</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 36;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma" title="Oklahoma"> Oklahoma</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 37;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon" title="Oregon"> Oregon</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 38;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"> Pennsylvania</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">18</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">12</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">20</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">20</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">14</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 16px; z-index: 39;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"> Rhode Island</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 40;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina" title="South Carolina"> South Carolina</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 41;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota" title="South Dakota"> South Dakota</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 42;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee" title="Tennessee"> Tennessee</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 43;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas" title="Texas"> Texas</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">36</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">22</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">14</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">38</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">38</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">24</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">14</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 44;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah" title="Utah"> Utah</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 45;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont" title="Vermont"> Vermont</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 22px; z-index: 46;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"> Virginia</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">11</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">13</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">13</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 14px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 47;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington" title="Washington"> Washington</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">12</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">12</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 48;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia" title="West Virginia"> West Virginia</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: absolute; width: 23px; z-index: 49;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin" title="Wisconsin"> Wisconsin</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td align="left" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" valign="top" width="100"><span style="height: 15px; margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 3px; position: absolute; width: 22px; z-index: 50;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming" title="Wyoming"> Wyoming</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt;">
<td height="20" style="height: 15pt;">DC</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2</td>
<td align="right" class="xl69" dir="ltr" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none; width: 45pt;" width="60">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">0</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3</td>
</tr>
<tr height="40" style="height: 30pt;">
<td class="xl71" height="40" style="height: 30pt; width: 75pt;" width="100">Total electoral votes</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-top: medium none;">436</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">230</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">206</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">102</td>
<td align="right" class="xl67" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">538</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">306</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">232</td>
<td align="right" class="xl70" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 204 , 204); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">291</td>
<td align="right" class="xl68" style="background-color: rgb(204 , 255 , 255); border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;">247</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
All in all, the net results don't change much. There are a number of red districts in the blue states that have no real say in the winner-take-all system. These are offset by the minority of blue districts in the red states, but there's a lot more red states with one or two blue districts.<br /><br />The net result is a more even distribution of voting power, with the 100 at-large electors who vote according to the whole state creating a bit of a smoothing function. The dominance of the four big states is reduced, as their electoral votes will usually be split pretty decisively. The net result would be that candidates would have to court more widely and consider the rural vote more. Because of the way the electors were defined in the Constitution, I doubt the framers had in mind that Electors would be assigned on a winner-take-all basis from each state.<br /><br /><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/2016_presidential_election%2C_results_by_congressional_district_%28popular_vote_margin%29.svg/3772px-2016_presidential_election%2C_results_by_congressional_district_%28popular_vote_margin%29.svg.png" target="_blank">Click here</a> for a map of the 2016 election by congressional district.<br /><br />Unfortunately, there's no Constitutional prohibition from states casting their electors according to the national popular vote. It's an exceedingly idiotic thing to do, and essentially the states who pass this have disenfranchised themselves. I expect numerous court challenges based on lack of representation within the states who have passed this. I also expect that if Trump quite likely wins the popular vote this 2020 election, you'll see these states falling over themselves trying to roll back the National Popular vote movement.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-9279260534837793662020-02-25T19:02:00.003-08:002020-09-10T17:07:09.174-07:00Range Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5pgrUIv1NpNHJDHYPXnL6IyOGVXAh8ztRweaDBaxg-gDLOmBDS-stZyEvjrkuYdWfVwh4kNRddhy7SePjD3HCP8fkU9fd3zfTwUie6CKOoGT0eMu5HF1W845XBJb4DLdVjq-mDIGFgZs/s1600/Woman-Shooting-at-Range-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="450" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5pgrUIv1NpNHJDHYPXnL6IyOGVXAh8ztRweaDBaxg-gDLOmBDS-stZyEvjrkuYdWfVwh4kNRddhy7SePjD3HCP8fkU9fd3zfTwUie6CKOoGT0eMu5HF1W845XBJb4DLdVjq-mDIGFgZs/s320/Woman-Shooting-at-Range-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I regularly see people posting pictures of their range
targets on their social media, showing what good shots they have become. To all of you who have done so, I say, “Well
done!” Now your range experience is
finally ready to begin.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hitting your target under range conditions is the first step in becoming
proficient. But is it practical in real
life? Here’s what’s going to happen
when the shit really hits the fan:</div>
<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Before you aim the gun, you’re going to have to get it out
of your holster or concealed carry stowage. You’ll have to cock it, turn the safety off, and if you don’t keep one
in the pipe (why not!!??) you’ll have to chamber a round. If you fail to hit or stop your target before
running out of ammo, you’ll have to reload. Your firearm may malfunction and jam, and you'll have to clear it to
continue firing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All of these things require precision movements that have to happen or you won't be able to engage the target to even worry about hitting it. When the actual time comes that you may have
to employ your weapon in real life, you'll be scared out of your wits,
confused and experiencing subjective time compression. None of your precision motor skills are going
to be working.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Daniel Grossman made several key observations in his excellent book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Combat-Psychology-Physiology-Deadly-Conflict/dp/B00FJWP7MK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3Q7C2EXV2WM2A&keywords=on+combat+dave+grossman&qid=1582685807&sprefix=on+combat%2Caps%2C240&sr=8-1" target="_blank">On Combat</a>. Repetition creates muscle
memory, which will be all you have available when the shooting starts. This will not be the time to start familiarizing
yourself with which position the safety needs to be in to fire. You will be incapable of coherent thought,
and your body will not be able to move in anything but gross motor movement –
EXCEPT for the tasks you have performed so many thousands of times that you no
longer even think about them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Grossman cited a case where a large city’s police officers routinely emptied
their revolvers into their hands at the range and placed the spent casings in
their pockets, because they didn’t want to police up their brass after
shooting. In many cases after a live
shooting event, officers would unexpectedly find empty brass in their pockets,
where they carefully placed them in the
middle of a firefight, <i>because that’s what they trained to do</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Your range time is training time. Yes,
be accurate. Learn to hit the
target. But also use it to drill the
rest of the firing task. Load your
weapon with two or three rounds, and practice reloading and resuming fire. This can be a complex set of movements,
depending on your weapon type. Have a few
dummy rounds with no powder load, and have a friend load your weapon for you
using one of those rounds, so you don’t know when to expect it, and practice
clearing a malfunction. I prefer a 9mm, and I sneak a .380 round into the mag occasionally for training. A .380 and a 9mm are the same bullet, but the .380 usually doesn't have the oomph to cycle the action fully, causing a malfunction. </div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tape over your sights. When the shit hits the fan, your vision is going to be one of the
casualties, and you’re not going to be able to see your sights very well. Get used
to being reasonably accurate without them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Don't shoot at target circles. No one has ever had to defend themselves against a target circle. Target circles are great for zeroing your weapon or figuring out what you're doing wrong. Get large targets of people. Not man-shapes, but people. Be used to shooting at people when it comes time to shoot. I know of at least one range in my local area that prohibits the use of targets with faces or people portrayed. Shake the dust off your shoes from places like that. They're not helping you train.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Bring a bunch of pictures of familiar movie stars or some other familiar group of items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While engaging a target, have a friend hold a
random picture to the side of you and slightly behind, so it’s out of your
field of vision, for a few moments between shots or shot groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After you've finished
your engagement, you have to tell him what the picture was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will train you to look around between
shots, not develop tunnel vision, but to maintain situational awareness outside
of your target.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
At home, being very sure your weapon is unloaded, practice
drawing and dry-firing your weapon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
will include the draw, cock, safety and fire motions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do it over and over, until your spouse tells
you to stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ignore them and keep doing
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After you've done it a thousand
times, you’re starting to be ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t
stop practicing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Muscle memory decays.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When life goes pear-shaped and you have to employ your weapon for real, you'll do exactly what you've trained to do. Nothing more, nothing less. After the smoke clears, you'll probably have no clear recollection of what you did.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Another thing you should insist that all members of your
family do:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Place your cell phones in
airplane mode and practice dialing 911.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over
and over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a real emergency comes,
you may<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not have the manual dexterity to
perform this simple task unless you’ve practiced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know someone that this happened to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Always carry a set of emergency phone numbers in your
wallet. In a crisis, you may not be able
to remember a phone number that you dial every single day. You can’t trust your
cell phone to do it for you. It may be
damaged, lost or out of battery. This has happened to me. I had my wife’s phone number memorized and
could rattle it off with no problem. I
had an auto accident – no one was hurt – and my phone’s battery was at 2% and
wouldn’t turn on. I couldn’t remember
her number to save my life.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Stress does funny things to people. Congratulations
on mastering marksmanship. Now use your
range time to train yourself to employ it.</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-70873604485781612062020-01-17T19:47:00.004-08:002023-06-08T10:38:06.612-07:00Were the Nazis Right Wing?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
There’s a multiplayer game out there called “Secret Hitler,”
where players try to guess who the fascist in the group is. From the game
description: “<b>Secret</b> <b>Hitler</b> is a social deduction game for 5-10
people about finding and stopping the <b>Secret</b> <b>Hitler</b>. Players are
secretly divided into two teams: the liberals, who have a majority, and the
fascists, who are hidden to everyone but each other.”</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">See what they did there? Liberals and Fascists. It’s an either/or choice. And
this sort of subtle phraseology feeds into a narrative promoted by world
communists that has been around since 1936. It’s the basis of the ideology
behind groups like Antifa and it colors the rhetoric on the left. By sneaking
this sort of dichotomy into a seemingly innocent game, it subtly colors the
worldview of those who accept it unquestioningly. As a result, it becomes a
matter of course to many young people that the Right/Conservative/Republicans (henceforth
referred to as the Right) are Nazis/Fascists, and the Left/Liberal/Democrats (henceforth
referred to as the Left) are the last bastions against the barbarism of the
Nazi movement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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This is dead wrong.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This dichotomy originated with the Anti-Comintern act of
1936, which was an agreement between Nazi Germany and Japan to resist International Communism. Nazism and Fascism justifiably developed a bad rap after the horrors
of WWII, and the international communist party used that for their own
propaganda purposes by establishing a false dichotomy: Nazis/Fascists were
against the International Communist Movement. Therefore, if you do not support International
Communism, you are a Nazi/Fascist. Capitalists and conservatives are against International Communism, ergo they are Nazis/Fascists. We all
know that Nazis and Fascists are evil, therefore Capitalists and conservatives
are evil. This either/or narrative is promoted by predominantly leftist university
professors across the country.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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This bit of simplistic thinking seems to have caught fire in
the minds of today’s youth, who are politically naïve and historically
ignorant. The lack of an informed counterargument on today’s campuses validates
the idea in the minds of the youth, who usually haven’t been exposed to a
contrary opinion.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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To understand this, you have to first look at the roots of
Fascism. The word “Fascist” comes from the word “fascia” which is a bundle of sticks.
The analogy is that a stick by itself is easily broken, but when collected and
tied in a bundle with other sticks, it’s nearly unbreakable. In the Early 20<sup>th</sup>
century, the world was still coming to terms with the industrial revolution,
and how it would manifest itself in terms of economics and politics. Benito
Mussolini differentiated Fascism from Communism and Capitalism as a “third way”
that was neither Communist nor Capitalist, but drew from what he felt were the
best features of both. Adolph Hitler, who was at heart a socialist, was
intrigued by Mussolini’s ideas, and adopted many of them as his own.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Since Fascism borrows from both the Capitalist and Communist
ideologies, proponents of the Liberal/Fascist dichotomy are quick to point out
the similarities between Fascism and modern Conservative thought, and in a fit
of confirmation bias seem to be blissfully unaware that the argument can easily
cut the other way. To properly address this, we need to look at the
foundational principles of Fascism and the Nazis and compare them to our modern
political spectrum.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We start out with a name. What is a Nazi? What does it stand for? Nazi is short
for the <i><span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">Nationalsozialistische
Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, </span></i><span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">or in English, the </span>National Socialist German Workers' Party. As if
the word “Socialist” in the name wasn’t enough, one needs to look at the party
intent. It self-bills as the “worker’s party.” Which ideology today bills itself
as a champion of the workers, and upholds things like union laws? Liberal or
Conservatives? </div>
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<br /></div>
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World Communism in the 1930’s was a relatively unknown quantity, and an
attractive idea. The details of Stalin’s Great Terror hadn’t found their way
out of the Soviet Union, and the mass murders of millions in China, Cambodia
and elsewhere were still in the future. Around the world, the goals of the
industrialist capitalist seemed to be at odds with the labor that was necessary
to drive the engines of industrialization. The Great Depression coupled with
the punitive war reparations from WWI had caused the German economy to
collapse, discrediting the idea of conservatism and capitalism in the eyes of
the rank and file German citizen. In 1930’s Germany, Hitler’s Nazi Party’s primary competition was with
the Communist party, funded by the International Communist movement. Hitler
believed that some sort of socialism with a strong central authority was the
answer, but he was an ardent nationalist, and couldn’t abide being answerable
to an international political movement. In his xenophobic racism, he proclaimed
that Germans should rightfully only answer to German authority, and thus
painted the International Communist Movement as his arch-rival.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a critical thing to understand. Hitler was not an
ideological enemy of International Communism, he was a political opponent,
vying with the Communist movement for the same demographic as a means to gain
power: the disaffected worker.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So let’s take a look and compare the Nazi/Fascist ideology to today’s political
climate and see how it lines up, both in its stated objectives, ideas and
actions. We’ll start with the <a href="https://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/nazi-party-25-points-1920/" target="_blank">25 points of the Nazi party</a>, outlined by Hitler
in the first mass meeting of the German Worker’s Party on February 24, 1920 in
Munich.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>1.</i><i> We demand the union of all Germans in a Great Germany on
the basis of the principle of self-determination of all peoples.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><i>2.</i><i> We demand that the German people have
rights equal to those of other nations; and that the Peace Treaties of
Versailles and St. Germain shall be abrogated.</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><b><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></b>
<!--[endif]--><i><b><o:p></o:p></b></i></div>
</div>
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<b><i>3.</i></b><i><b> We demand land and territory (colonies)
for the maintenance of our people and the settlement of our surplus population.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These is an echo of the mantra professed by the victorious powers in WWI, where
they paid lip service to self-determination as they redrew national boundaries
after the war. It was a publicity sentiment on the part of the victorious Allies,
ignored for all intents and purposes when it came to Basques, Irish, Kurdish,
Ruthenian Poles and others. Hitler was playing off that to demand that Germans, too, had
the right to self-determination, and as such is pandering to the German
identity. As an ideology, neither today’s Right or Left has an authoritative
claim or rejection of the concept. These three points are irrelevant to today’s
tension between Right and Left.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>4.</i><i> Only those who are our fellow countrymen
can become citizens. Only those who have German blood, regardless of creed, can
be our countrymen. Hence no Jew can be a countryman.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
</div>
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This incoherent and xenophobic rant strikes a chord with the
immigration debates today and is a trigger in the minds of the Left. The Left
believes in open borders, and that there is no downside to unrestricted
immigration. Since the dangers of unrestricted immigration without assimilation
are easily observable in those communities which have been most impacted by
these policies to date, one can only see this as an irresponsible policy to
consolidate political power, since it’s generally believed that immigrants from
underdeveloped nations will predominantly vote for the Left.</div>
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<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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Unlike the narrative the Left would like to paint about the
Right, there is no xenophobic sentiment to halt all immigration, and keep
America only for Americans. The Right, however, insists that immigration be
controlled, that immigrants be screened for contagious diseases and criminal
backgrounds, and that immigrants can be self-sufficient after entering America
and will not become wards of the State. These reasons are encoded in American immigration law. The Right further believes that the
strength of America lies in the love of American values, American culture, and
the adherence to American law. Immigrants must assimilate into American
society, not form foreign enclaves separate from American society. In this
regard they differ greatly from the Left, who believe in Cultural Relativism
and Diversity, and do not see America as culturally superior or exceptional, in
spite of historical and economic evidence to the contrary.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Although the Left would try to make the case that the Right equates to Hitler’s
fourth point, neither side has any real resemblance to Hitler on this point.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>5.</i><i> Those who are not citizens must live in
Germany as foreigners and must be subject to the law of aliens.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Neither the Left or the Right overtly proposes that non-citizens
abide by a different legal framework than that enjoyed by citizens. In a
strange twist, though, the Left seems to be a champion of exempting aliens from
certain laws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left has obstructed
the deportation of known felons who are in the country illegally. Certain
felony activities, including rape, polygamy and female genital mutilation are
tolerated by Leftist judges on the insane legal theory that their culture is
superior to US law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a roundabout way,
the left has in fact allowed non-citizens a more relaxed legal framework than
the average citizen enjoys. The Right insists that all laws apply to all
persons equally, and that you don’t get a pass or leniency for being an
immigrant, legal or illegal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In this way the Left is actually more like Hitler’s point than the Right.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>6.</i><i> The right to choose the government and determine the laws
of the State shall belong only to citizens. We therefore demand that no public
office, of whatever nature, whether in the central government, the province, or
the municipality, shall be held by anyone who is not a citizen.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The US Constitution makes citizenship a requirement for the
Office of the President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
requirement was established long before the ideas of Communism/Fascism/Capitalism
were vying for power. While only the office of President has a citizenship
requirement, the basic sentiment is echoed throughout our governmental
structure: to represent a body politic, one nearly always has to actually
reside in the region to be represented.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Recently, Leftist governments seem to feel that the non-citizen
should enjoy the right to vote, ostensibly in the interest of Democracy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, if the non-citizens were known to
vote predominantly conservative, the Left would be burning the country down at
the very suggestion, so this is little more than pandering for political gain,
and not an ideological stance that the Left is inextricably wedded to.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
While one could make the case that the Right and Left differ on this and that
the Right is aligned with Hitler’s point, it’s pretty clear that the Left’s
position on this is opportunistic, malleable and not based on an inviolate
ideology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the majority of immigrants
were ideologically conservative, the Left would be screaming to close the
borders, deport the aliens and that strict citizenship laws be enacted.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<b><i>7.</i></b><i><b> We demand that the State shall above all
undertake to ensure that every citizen shall have the possibility of living
decently and earning a livelihood. If it should not be possible to feed the
whole population, then aliens (non-citizens) must be expelled from the Reich.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Remember that this was just after WWI, and food shortages
were a reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither the Left or the
Right is proposing deportations to increase the survivability of the citizenry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the first part of this, “ensure that
every citizen shall have the possibility of living decently and earning a
livelihood,” is decidedly a policy of the Left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left routinely panders to the low-wage earner by promising a higher
wage, regardless of whether it’s earned or not, with seeming complete disregard
for the economic consequences of this policy and the subsequent devaluation of
all types of skilled labor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this
point, the Left is decidedly in step with Hitler.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>8.</i></b><i><b> Any further immigration of non-Germans
must be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans who have entered Germany
since August 2, 1914, shall be compelled to leave the Reich immediately.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Neither today’s Left nor Right proposes to stop immigration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left would like you to think this with
their shrill rhetoric, but there a wide difference between stopping immigration
and controlling it to vet who we let in. The Left would also like to you to
think that the Right wants to remove all immigrants, which is also a lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Illegal immigrants are a special class of
immigrant who have broken 8 US Code 1182 (a).(9).(B).(ii).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one is seriously pursuing legislation to
hunt down and deport the millions of illegal aliens to which this applies,
although the Right would like to see laws enforced that would remove the attraction
of these people to stay here and encourage them to self-deport. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The difference is that Hitler’s policy was based on a racist
idea of German superiority, and a desire to avoid diluting the German culture
and blood with foreign peoples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
policy on the Right is to simply exert the sovereign right to control our
borders and immigration in exactly the same way that every other country in the
world does. As I have stated before, this would also be the policy of the Left,
except for political opportunism that unrestricted immigration offers the Left.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<b><i>9.</i></b><i><b> All citizens must possess equal rights
and duties.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This seems like a “well, duh” point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who honestly doesn’t think that this isn’t a
reasonable political position?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well,
believe it or not, the Left doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
left believes that we should observe a number of inequities in our legal system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the Left, certain citizens
should have the right to exclusive colleges, government aid programs and social
clubs based solely on the color of their skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this litmus test was applied to whites where minorities were excluded
based on race, there would be literal hell to pay, and there was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the Left is fine when it’s the other way
around and whites are excluded. They make up all sorts of nonsense to justify
this, but the bottom line is that it’s not equal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hate crimes are established to increase the
punishment for a crime if it’s determined to be driven by racial bigotry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Except that it never seems to apply when the
victim is white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, in the eyes of the
law, is a white victim worth less than a minority victim of the same crime? The
Left champions affirmative action laws that give an unearned advantage to
minorities that they deem to be disadvantaged. This is insulting because it
suggests that these minorities are incapable of achieving success on their own
without a legal thumb on the scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once
upon a time this may have been appropriate, but in today’s economy a minority
doesn’t have to rely on the white man to give him a job or an education, and
probably wouldn’t want to work or go to school there anyway if racial
discrimination really was a factor.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The left is also inconstant about duties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In their Marxist world of, “to each according
to his needs and from each according to his abilities,” the Left is the
champion of a progressive tax rate, and a soak the rich mentality to punish
economic success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The duties of the rich
are far more financially onerous than those of the poor, according to the Left,
no matter what the economic consequences of this sort of silly thinking are.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So we’re going to have to say that the Right is in step with Hitler on this
one, and not apologetic about it in the least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>10.</i><i> The first duty of every citizen must be to work mentally
or physically. No individual shall do any work that offends against the
interest of the community to the benefit of all.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This sounds pretty totalitarian, doesn’t it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t imagine anyone from today’s Left or
Right owning this one. But let’s cast our nets a bit wider, shall we?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In human history, this has happened
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under a communist dictatorship,
people are compelled to perform the labor required of the State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The State dictates what you will study, what
you will work at, what you will produce, and in what quantities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is, and never has been, any such compulsion in a capitalist, free market society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So in this regard, is Hitler more like the
Communists that despise him, or the Capitalists that the communists want to
equate him with?<br />
<br />
The Left makes a lot of noise about people's "right" to health care, and "right" to a certain standard of housing. Health care and construction are the product of people's labor. When you make that product a "right" and regulate what those who produce these can ask for their services, you are making that person a slave of the state, unable to derive the true worth from their labor, and unable to derate their labor to equal the value they're actually receiving.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sorry, but the Left has to own this one.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>11.</i></b><i><b> That all unearned income, and all
income that does not arise from work, be abolished.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I double-dare anyone to say that this is a policy or
position of the Right/Conservative/Republicans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one belongs to the Left, lock stock and barrel. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>12.</i></b><i><b> Since every war imposes on the people
fearful sacrifices in blood and treasure, all personal profit arising from the
war must be regarded as treason to the people. We therefore demand the total
confiscation of all war profits.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Profiteering is outlawed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is definitely the policy of the Left. What Hitler – and the Left --
doesn’t say here is what happens to the confiscated proceeds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">13.</span></i><i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> We demand
the nationalization of all trusts. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">14.</span></i><i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> We demand
profit-sharing in large industries. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">15.</span></i></b><i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> We demand a
generous increase in old-age pensions. </span></b><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Left, Left and Left again. No one stops to think how these
demands are going to be paid for, or why companies will continue to conduct
business with the profit incentive removed.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>16.</i></b><i><b> We demand the creation and maintenance
of a sound middle-class, the immediate communalization of large stores which
will be rented cheaply to small tradespeople, and the strongest consideration
must be given to ensure that small traders shall deliver the supplies needed by
the State, the provinces and municipalities.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Government interference and control in the marketplace is a position
dominated by the Left.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>17.</i></b><i><b> We demand an agrarian reform in
accordance with our national requirements, and the enactment of a law to
expropriate the owners without compensation of any land needed for the common
purpose. The abolition of ground rents, and the prohibition of all speculation
in land.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Government confiscation of property without compensation,
rent controls, and real estate price controls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these seem perfectly reasonable to the Left and are anathema to
the Right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fundamental tenet of the
Right is that private property is sacrosanct.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>18.</i></b><i><b> We demand that ruthless war be waged
against those who work to the injury of the common welfare. Traitors, usurers,
profiteers, etc., are to be punished with death, regardless of creed or race.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Punish the profit makers. Punish the bankers. This is the
clarion call of the modern communist/socialist movement.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>19. We demand that Roman law, which serves a materialist
ordering of the world, be replaced by German common law.</b></i><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Roman law that Hitler is referring to here is the code
of statutes that was observed in Germany at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To understand this, you have to understand
the difference between statutory law and common law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Statutory law is legislated prohibitions and
requirements, with performance and punishments defined in the statute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Common law is normally civil law and is based
entirely on precedent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How judges ruled
in previous similar cases informs how they should rule in any given case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hitler sought to abolish statutory law and
replace it all with common law, removing any shred of objectivity to enforcing
the law, and allowing it to be molded as the powers that be saw fit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is very similar to the Left’s insistence that the US
constitution is a living, breathing document, subject to the whim of the moment in interpretation, as opposed to the Right’s
understanding that it’s an immutable standard that should only be interpreted
in the frame of reference of the intention of those who drafted it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> T</span>his point of Hitler’s leans to the Left, I’m
afraid.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>20.</i></b><i><b> In order to make it possible for every
capable and industrious German to obtain higher education, and thus the
opportunity to reach into positions of leadership, the State must assume the
responsibility of organizing thoroughly the entire cultural system of the
people. The curricula of all educational establishments shall be adapted to
practical life. The conception of the State Idea (science of citizenship) must
be taught in the schools from the very beginning. We demand that specially
talented children of poor parents, whatever their station or occupation, be
educated at the expense of the State.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was this platform that established compulsory public
schools for all German children until the age of 18.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hitler was unapologetic that these schools
would be used for cultural indoctrination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In today’s society, the Right insists that public education be
restricted to the objective teaching of mathematics, history, reading, writing,
science and languages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left,
however, sees nothing wrong with adding political indoctrination, social
re-engineering, and teaching value systems that may be at odds with those
practiced at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since parents are
required to send their children to these schools, they’re for the most part
helpless to stop the schools from usurping their role as teachers of values and
morals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, the Right prefers
that the schools be privatized, with some sort of voucher system that would
allow the parents the ability to choose from the available accredited schools,
to be able to avoid the Leftist indoctrination and social engineering that’s
happening at the schools at all levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The Left resists the privatization movement with every fiber of its being, not because of any concern for the children, but because it will remove their ability to indoctrinate the population at an impressionable age.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In this way, Hitler’s education policy is in step with that of the Left.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUegYDAnVGDdU5NWREdfrpNwZw1oH95Rkk9HsFEFYNyTqHTXMvZ5UB8KY6ILqINRuoEWNrqG849JIg_V7sFcRLD91j0MGp8e5QKvVNXmK7j38Ez-z7YMAsygb9gIBmnFq7aiB5-tfXjCOo/s1600/44967868_1991881724237970_5760169632111525888_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUegYDAnVGDdU5NWREdfrpNwZw1oH95Rkk9HsFEFYNyTqHTXMvZ5UB8KY6ILqINRuoEWNrqG849JIg_V7sFcRLD91j0MGp8e5QKvVNXmK7j38Ez-z7YMAsygb9gIBmnFq7aiB5-tfXjCOo/s1600/44967868_1991881724237970_5760169632111525888_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>21.</b><b> The State has the duty to help raise
the standard of national health by providing maternity welfare centers, by
prohibiting juvenile labor, by increasing physical fitness through the
introduction of compulsory games and gymnastics, and by the greatest possible
encouragement of associations concerned with the physical education of the
young.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Universal health care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that a policy of the Left, or the Right? As someone on the right who
believes the Constitution is the ultimate law of the land, can someone show me
this bit in the Constitution?<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>22.</i></b><i><b> We demand the abolition of the regular
army and the creation of a national (folk) army.</b><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Left always seeks cuts to the military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I’m reminded that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s">Obama wanted to form a
people’s army</a> to promote his vision. The parallel is chilling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> T</span>he Left owns this one.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">23.</span></i></b><i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> We demand
that there be a legal campaign against those who propagate deliberate political
lies and disseminate them through the press. In order to make possible the
creation of a German press, we demand: </b></span></span></i><br />
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b></span></i>
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>(a) All editors and their assistants on newspapers published in the German language shall be German citizens.</b></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>(b) Non-German newspapers shall only be published with the express permission of the State. They must not be published in the German language.</b></span></i><br />
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b></span></i>
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>(c) All financial interests in or in any way affecting German newspapers shall be forbidden to non-Germans by law, and we demand that the punishment for transgressing this law be the immediate suppression of the newspaper and the expulsion of the non-Germans from the Reich.</b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Newspapers transgressing against the common welfare shall be suppressed. We demand legal action against those tendencies in art and literature that have a disruptive influence upon the life of our folk, and that any organizations that offend against the foregoing demands shall be dissolved. </b></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></i>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At first blush, the Left will jump up and down with glee,
because this sounds just like Trump’s “fake news” dismissals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trump is obviously waging a “campaign against
those who propagate deliberate<i> </i>political lies and disseminate them
through the press.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the Right!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Key word here is “legal.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trump has taken no legal action to silence
his political detractors from telling the lies that they do. He simply
ridicules them and makes them look silly, which they are. The position on the Right is, and has
always been, for a free and unfettered press.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the Left has introduced many legislative acts to restrict opinions
with which they disagree. The foremost of these was the fairness doctrine,
which required that if a political viewpoint was given airtime on TV or radio,
that equal time be given for the opposition view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to the cost<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and administrative overhead required for this
to work, most broadcasters chose to just avoid political content altogether.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This gave the networks a virtual monopoly on
what news reached the public, because there was no venue for any opinions except
those of the broadcasters. For example, it would have been unlikely that Nixon
would have been impeached if there had been a right-wing news source that could
call the Left out on the numerous lies they told during Watergate, and who
could have explained the issue in its full context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Fairness doctrine was repealed in 1987, and shortly thereafter a young
fellow named Rush Limbaugh changed the political discussion in this country
forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left has repeatedly tried
to legislate the fairness doctrine back into broadcast law, because the damage
that independent talk-show hosts wreak on their agenda is the biggest threat to
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left has tried to counter this
with a talk-show format of their own, but it just lacks the financial
attractiveness, because it doesn’t draw an audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reasons for this are pretty interesting,
and worthy of a blog article in their own right.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then we look at the behavior of Leftist students on college campuses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a conservative speaker is invited to
address the student body, the Left just lose their friggin’ minds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They demonstrate, riot, protest, boycott,
chant and do everything possible to disrupt the presentation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That this behavior is tolerated and even <a href="https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/02/14/berkeley-teacher-in-the-spotlight-after-condoning-violent-uc-berkeley-protest/">condoned
</a>by the faculty on these universities just shows that the inmates are
running the asylum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>College is supposed
to teach you to think independently, to listen to and acknowledge dissenting
opinions, and to challenge those opinions in the public marketplace of ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the Left was so confident of their
position, they would easily be able to demonstrate why the Right’s arguments
are flawed. But they don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do everything
possible to silence the Right, to ensure that the student body has no exposure
to the Right’s ideas, and in so doing remove the right of the students to
examine both sides of the political spectrum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left has placed itself in the position of defining the Right,
instead of allowing the Right to define itself, and by doing this, the Left
ensures that it can control the narrative.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQI823rqCPKiHJmKNznQqvhvXLFWD8DG4GuH03oz3fTMjtkDLjFPSLi-L_OD1nQQw0hu46dbTAiWMCS2ahKujBwJuZG3J9-ZPG-gIuFW9TSF9i5tWQUYpN1Vn4hMCrCPYdX637No99l01I/s1600/65480761_2792841390731537_3551054625048100864_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="600" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQI823rqCPKiHJmKNznQqvhvXLFWD8DG4GuH03oz3fTMjtkDLjFPSLi-L_OD1nQQw0hu46dbTAiWMCS2ahKujBwJuZG3J9-ZPG-gIuFW9TSF9i5tWQUYpN1Vn4hMCrCPYdX637No99l01I/s320/65480761_2792841390731537_3551054625048100864_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The very act of equating those on the Right with Nazis and
racists is one of the prime tactics to silence the opinion of the Right.
Physical violence is used against people<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-cheesecake-factory-employees-attack-ryan-saavedra">
who wear conservative clothing</a>, like a MAGA hat, even at the <a href="https://abc30.com/politics/9-year-old-banned-from-making-america-great-again/1369027/">grade
school level.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Against welfare
because you think it encourages people not to work? <em><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You
must hate black people. </span></em>We need to cut wasteful government
programs? <em><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You despise poor people</span></em>. You
weren’t in love with Trump, but really didn’t like Hillary, so you voted for
him? <em><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You obviously want to turn America into Nazi
Germany AND you hate women</span></em>. If a local Conservative prayer group
want to have a public rally, show up and be violent, and then condemn the
conservatives as violent if they defend themselves.<br />
<br />
These acts against free speech are completely the tactics of the Left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You rarely if ever hear about anyone on the right
proposing legislation to silence dissent, rioting to stop someone from speaking,
or physically attacking people for an opposing viewpoint.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This point of Hitler’s is owned by the Left.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>24.</i><i> We demand freedom for all religious faiths in the state,
insofar as they do not endanger its existence or offend the moral and ethical
sense of the Germanic race.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Right demands religious freedom, as long as they don’t
violate the law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your religion requires
human sacrifice, it’s probably not going to be tolerated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the Left is far more militant. The Left
is offended by any portrayal of Christianity or Christian values, and actively
seeks to silence Christian voices and remove them from the public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left has condemned and banned overt
expressions of Judeo-Christian values on our coins, in our courtrooms, in our
schools, on our streets and in our day to day speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re not allowed to wish someone a merry
Christmas, lest they be offended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nativity scenes may not be erected on public grounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crosses have to be removed from public
memorials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hitler’s caveat that religious freedom not “offend the moral and ethical sense
of the Germanic race” can easily be rewritten to match the Left’s to say, “offend
the moral and ethical sense of the Progressive Movement.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Left owns this one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>25.</i><i> In order to carry out this program we demand: the creation
of a strong central authority in the State, the unconditional authority by the
political central parliament of the whole State and all its organizations.</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Left is constantly promoting restrictions and
Regulations and governmental oversight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing happens in America that the Left can’t find fault with in some
way, and to which it doesn’t seek to insinuate itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It demands a strong central authority,
whether it be in the field of education, transportation, commerce, energy,
trade or anything else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Right on the
other hand, believes that problems are best solved at the lowest possible
levels, where the stakeholders are actively involved in the decision
making.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Central Authoritarianism<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is the hallmark of the Left.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
----------------------</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That’s the 25 points of the Nazi platform, but we can draw
additional conclusions from the behavior of the Nazis. They routinely engaged
in marches and protests as the Nazis rose to power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their protests frequently turned violent, and
they built up a paramilitary organization to engage in such street violence in
an organized fashion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dissenters were
beaten and their shops vandalized.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Which political movement today is engaging in this sort of behavior?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s ironic that the “anti-Fascist” groups
are acting just like the fascists they abhor.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hitler did not accept the free market economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Businesses continued to be privately owned, but they were prevented by
law from maki<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">ng more than a modest profit, and their production and operations were
directed by the State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All raw materials
were distributed as the State saw fit. Minimum wage laws dictated what
employers would pay their workers. <em><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="background: white;">The German government</span></em><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> and not the nominal private owners exercised all of the </span><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">substantive
powers of ownership</span></em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">: it, not the nominal private owners, decided what was to be
produced, in what quantity, by what methods, and to whom it was to be
distributed, as well as what prices would be charged and what wages would be
paid, and what dividends or other income the nominal private owners would be
permitted to receive. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Which political movement today advocates for tight control of industry, and
interferes with the employment contract between an employer and a worker?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It certainly isn’t the Right.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b>Racism</b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the tactics of the Left is to label the Right as
Racist. Hitler was racist, so the Right is like Hitler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once again, this flies in the face of
facts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Republican party was founded
on a platform of abolishing slavery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Democrats resisted it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From 1869 to
1935, every black elected to congress was a Republican. The KKK was founded in 1865 by Democrats, and
in living memory the late Democrat Senator Robert Byrd was well-known to have been a
grand wizard of the KKK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More Democrats
opposed the civil rights act than did Republicans. Leftists accuse the Right of
racism to fight voter ID laws, ignoring that only a racist would think that
only white people are capable of getting an ID.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Republicans have placed Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on the Supreme
Court, and have run Colin Powell, Frederick Douglas, Herman Cain, Ben Carson, Alan
Keyes as presidential candidates. Michael Steele was the Republican party
leader. Jeanette Núñez, Boyd Rutherford, Jenean Hampton, Evelyn Sanguinetti, Carlos
López-Cantera, Jennifer Carroll, John Sanchez, Abel Maldonado, Michael Steele, Jennette
Bradley, Bobby Jindahl, Duke Aiona and Joe Rogers are among the many minority Republicans
elected as State Governors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Faced with the historic evidence, the Left likes to say that
<i>today’s</i> Republican party is racist, that the roles have reversed since
the civil rights movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry, that
dog won’t hunt. The Right’s stance on Immigration has nothing to do with race,
no matter how much the Left would like to drive that narrative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has everything to do with the rule of
law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not a campaign against brown
people, it’s a campaign against drugs, crime and lawlessness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that the threat of uncontrolled
immigration comes from Mexico and most people coming across the Mexican border
are not white doesn’t logically follow that racism is the motivating factor in
trying to control immigration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Right’s
stance on affirmative action refutes the Left’s racist premise that minorities
can’t succeed without government assistance.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Is it racist to not acknowledge race, but to treat all people as equal
citizens? The only racists in the room are the ones trying to curry special
favors and special treatment for people because of their skin color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not the Right.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b>Gun Control</b></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The history of gun control in Nazi Germany is complex. Hitler didn't start it. Guns were outlawed in Germany in 1920. The upheavals after WWI caused the government to confiscate firearms for pubic safety in 1920. This was repealed in 1928. In 1933, Hitler established a policy to seize all military firearms from anyone who was not a member of the Nazi party to disarm the Jews who were increasingly being targeted. This closely mirrors early gun control laws in the USA, passed by southern democrats to disarm blacks so they couldn't defend themselves. <i><a href="http://www.stephenhalbrook.com/law_review_articles/nazi_firearms_law.pdf" target="_blank">Nazi Firearms Law and the Disarming of the German Jews</a></i> is a comprehensive look at how the Nazis enacted progressively more severe firearms laws that prevented the population from resisting their tyranny.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If the Left were as worried about Trump as Hitler as they seem to be, you would think they wouldn't be trying to enact so many firearms laws, so they could resist him when it became necessary. Which party wants to enact firearms restrictions, the way Hitler did? The Left.</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So let’s see the scorecard:</div>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b>Fascist/Nazi<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b>Communist/Socialist/Liberal<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b>Capitalist/Conservative</b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
1,2,3: German self
determination<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; text-align: center; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
4. Citizenship and race<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; text-align: center; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
5. Different laws for aliens<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; text-align: center; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><span style="color: red;"><b>
Yes
</b></span></td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; text-align: center; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
6. Citizenship and public
office<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; text-align: center; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
7. Welfare and labor<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; text-align: center; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><span style="color: red;"><b>
Yes
</b></span></td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; text-align: center; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
8. Deportation of aliens<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; padding: 0in 5.4pt; text-align: center; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
9. Equal rights<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
10. Labor Controls by
Government<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Yes</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
11. Abolish unearned income<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Yes</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
12. Confiscate profiteering
proceeds<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Yes</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
13. Nationalization of Trusts<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Yes</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
14. Industry profit-sharing<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
15. Mandatory pension increase<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
16. Redistribute Large merchant
enterprises<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
17. Nationalize production land<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
18. Punish profit and banking<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
19. Abolish statutory law<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
20. Public education and social
indoctrination<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 19;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
21. Nationalized health care<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Yes</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 20;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
22. Reduce the military,
replace with civil force<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>No</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 21;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
23. Government control of the
press<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 22;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
24. Freedom of religion, with
caveats<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Yes</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 23; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
25. Centralize government
authority and control<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Yes</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 23; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Gun control<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 2in;" valign="top" width="192"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Yes</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 125.75pt;" valign="top" width="168"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">No</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nazism, Socialism and Capitalism are three completely
different things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To say that one is a
Nazi simply because one is not a Communist/Socialist is disingenuous and nothing
but a propaganda tool promoted by the Communist International since Hitler
effectively declared war on international Communism in 1936. To equate the
Nazis or Hitler to the modern Conservative movement completely ignores the
facts of history, and the glaringly obvious fact that Nazi Germany had far more
in common with the stated goals of Socialism and the modern Left, and almost
nothing in common with today’s Right.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The basic premise and fundamental assumption of “Secret
Hitler” is deeply offensive to conservatives, and does nothing but demonstrate
the historical, political and sociological ignorance of people who accept it
without question.</div>
<br />
And stop equating Trump to Hitler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
just stupid.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYdAQMkA46f21t1jaIosR4qwYD3jDbZkllwaqid4eYDNj4tmgWfXDvXUjqUrS0se8M0eEnZRtCCX2HakU3Lcvsf2IPECF4Yb6xy-BSpLAL2lzwJhzAW4Ku6hFMDjzNCxoMXFPAVjEtdCU/s1600/45044482_1146448018835503_3273314156761055232_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="542" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYdAQMkA46f21t1jaIosR4qwYD3jDbZkllwaqid4eYDNj4tmgWfXDvXUjqUrS0se8M0eEnZRtCCX2HakU3Lcvsf2IPECF4Yb6xy-BSpLAL2lzwJhzAW4Ku6hFMDjzNCxoMXFPAVjEtdCU/s320/45044482_1146448018835503_3273314156761055232_n.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
Additional reading:<br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #38709e; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6bSsaVL6gA" target="_blank">Dinesh D'Souza explains the philosophical origins of Fascism</a><br /><br /><a href="https://mises.org/library/why-nazism-was-socialism-and-why-socialism-totalitarian" target="_blank">Why Nazism Was Socialism and Why Socialism Is Totalitarian</a></span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.7px;">
<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/nazism-fascism-and-socialism-are-all-rooted-in-communism_2549205.html" target="_blank">Nazism, Fascism, and Socialism Are All Rooted in Communism</a></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -0.7px;">
<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: large; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.7px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/09/03/reader-nazis-not-conservatives/622698001/" target="_blank">Reader: Nazis are not Conservatives</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://medium.com/@PaulHJossey/the-nazis-were-leftists-deal-with-it-b7f12cc53b6f" target="_blank">The Nazis Were Leftists, Deal With It</a></span><br />
<br />
<h1 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0.3em; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://reason.com/2007/08/15/hitlers-handouts" target="_blank">Hitler's Handouts</a></span></h1>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/the-original-fascist" target="_blank">The Original Fascist</a></span><br />
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<h1 class="entry-title" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.625rem; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://newspunch.com/woman-hitler-germany-liberals-nazis" target="_blank">Woman Born In Hitler’s Germany Tells Liberals They Remind Her Of Nazis</a></span></span></h1><h1 class="entry-title" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.625rem; vertical-align: baseline;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/10/crying_fascist.html" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Why the Left Cries 'Fascist!'</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GFDDDQ9/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5" target="_blank">Hitler Was a Socialist: A Comparison of NAZI-Socialism, Communism, Socialism, and the United States by Dumitru Sandru</a> </span></span></span></h1><div><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><a href="https://www.capitalismmagazine.com/2008/02/what-is-fascism-and-who-is-a-fascist/" style="font-weight: 400;" target="_blank">What is Fascism and Who is a Fascist? by Thomas Sowell</a><br /><a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/03/eight_startling_and_uncomfortable_ways_the_democrat_party_emulates_the_nazi_party.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><div><a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/03/eight_startling_and_uncomfortable_ways_the_democrat_party_emulates_the_nazi_party.html" target="_blank">Eight Startling and Uncomfortable Ways the Democrat Party Emulates the Nazi Party By Steve McCann</a></div></span></span></span></div>
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Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-33497868580999745422020-01-13T20:15:00.003-08:002020-01-14T10:01:55.927-08:00Putting the Climate Change Refutation Together<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every now and then I have the audacity to point out on a public forum that climate change isn't "settled science" and immediately get castigated by the religious zealots who subscribe to the Church of Man-mad Global Warming. I've had numerous debates on this across the spectrum, and have written here some conclusions I've arrived at through my own study of the science, based on my background in applied physics and general science. Rather than bombard my naysayers with multiple links to my criticisms of various tenets of the Faith, I've decided to compile them here for the ease of the casual reader.</div>
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I'm not kidding when I call it a Church. <a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-heretic-in-religion-of-climate-change.html" target="_blank"><b>I explain why here.</b></a></div>
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Much of the basis for the Church of Man-made Global Warming is the assumption that there's a scientific consensus, and that the science is settled. This is an outrageous lie that has been promoted by the mainstream media, and has no objective basis in fact in any way. <b> <a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2018/03/97-of-scientists-do-not-agree-with.html" target="_blank">I trace the genesis of this lie and show it to be false here.</a></b></div>
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I'm an electromagnetic compliance engineer. It's a physics-based discipline with rigorous scientific reporting requirements. It overlaps the realm of atmospheric physics when you start discussing the electromagnetic (IR) absorption behavior of certain gases. I did an<a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2017/05/will-more-co2-cause-more-warming.html" target="_blank"> <b>overview of the criticism</b></a> of this here, and later <a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2018/04/co2-is-not-driving-global-warming.html" target="_blank"><b>explained in detail</b></a> why additional CO2 won't have a measurable effect on atmospheric temperatures. In the same article I also discussed the historical correlation of CO2 and temperature and shown that the conclusions are exactly backwards of what the climate scientists assumptions are.</div>
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But is my explanation accurate? Unlike a lot of things in climate science, this is one that we can test and draw conclusions. <a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2020/01/testing-co2-assumptions.html" target="_blank"> <b>I explain how to set up and conduct such a test here</b></a><b>,</b> and a little about how to evaluate the results. It's enough for a student seeking a thesis topic to run with, but it needs some more fleshing out.</div>
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I also pointed out with a lot of math how <a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-co2-numbers-dont-add-up.html" target="_blank"><b>ocean temperature controls atmospheric temperature</b></a>, but atmospheric temperature has very little ability to warm the ocean.</div>
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Unwilling to admit that they have a shifting narrative, Man-made Global Warming apologists insist that their message has been consistent and that any suggestion that they really were worried about a coming ice-age 50 years ago is dismissed. <a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2017/05/yes-they-really-were-worried-about.html" target="_blank"><b>I took a little time to research the many peer reviewed papers from the time to bury someone in a coming ice age hysteria.</b></a></div>
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As I write this, I realize that I need to put together a discussion of sea levels that discusses things like continental rebound, tectonic movement, subsidence and measurement uncertainty. Things that are never mentioned when evidence is presented to sustain the hysteria that we're going to be underwater soon.</div>
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Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-77775659538396195152020-01-13T19:37:00.003-08:002021-08-09T09:04:54.238-07:00A Heretic in the Religion of Climate Change<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBhnB17J1qNqo3q9jeqqbhVB6zLTZAPiALrFc1CWY1M_OwcaiICYJofcYqbUCi3TLa5MtRzXrz_YZ_8WrnLMSbRal5IJZJkdbwRf2KNyeTeNyVh35Mvxh4_1_X1uZS8KMP3wLdyi8S1WZ/s1600/s-l1000.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBhnB17J1qNqo3q9jeqqbhVB6zLTZAPiALrFc1CWY1M_OwcaiICYJofcYqbUCi3TLa5MtRzXrz_YZ_8WrnLMSbRal5IJZJkdbwRf2KNyeTeNyVh35Mvxh4_1_X1uZS8KMP3wLdyi8S1WZ/s320/s-l1000.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Man-made Global Warming is a religion. Why do I say that?</div>
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A religion is a belief system based on faith that's not easily provable. The adherents to a religious belief system typically base their belief on the testimony of others who they accept as having superior knowledge. Even though the average believer lacks the means to test and verify the belief themselves, they accept the orthodoxy presented by the high priests of the belief system, and can often quote the tenets of the faith scripture and verse.</div>
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Should someone challenge the belief system, the resultant response is angry condemnation. The naysayer is vilified, condemned as a heretic. The incredulity that anyone could suggest that the religion is wrong results in anger and public mockery. </div>
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Science has never been a popular discipline for the average person. While some people are fascinated by how the universe works and eagerly consume every scrap of investigation on virtually any topic in science, most people neither know nor care, and are unwilling to exert the effort to educate themselves. Just 200 years ago, science and mathematics was the realm of the wealthy, of little practical use to the average person eking out a living from the land. Today, though scientific literacy is much higher in the average person in the industrialized world, most people don't really care <i>why </i>these technological marvels that populate every facet of our existence work the way they do, they just want their cars to go, the lights to be on, their phones and computers to work, and the TV to deliver entertainment directly to our living rooms.</div>
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Scientific discovery has yielded some fascinating results, and the entertainment industry has found a way to monetize this by delivering science to you packaged as entertainment, using flashy, state of the art video production and an entertaining host. Because of this, many people fancy themselves scientific experts with no practical understanding of how to develop a theory, design a test for the theory, and evaluate the results. While a lot of people can probably recite the scientific method, there's a lot to it that's unsaid which you really can't appreciate until you actually practice it day in and day out.</div>
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My background is in a field of hard physics, testing the electromagnetic characteristics of commercial products to ensure they meet industry requirements. To do that, I have to have a laboratory full of sophisticated equipment, and moreover, I have to prove on a regular basis that the results I get are reproducible to those arrived at by other labs with similar capabilities. </div>
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There's an old saying: In theory, theory and reality are the same. In reality, they're not. One of the most difficult challenges in my field is when we have a standardized test article for performing interlaboratory comparisons. These are either objects with a specific emissions spectra, or articles that behave in a certain defined fashion in the presence of electromagnetic fields. Theoretically, each lab should produce the same results when testing these articles to a certain standard. Yet this is rarely the case, and many engineers pull their hair out trying to identify why this is so. The generally understood reason is that this can be a chaotic field - where small changes in input conditions can generate huge differences in behavior. Finding the culprits and correcting for them can be frustrating and educational. If two labs have different results, who's right? Why? Or maybe both labs are wrong? This can lead to heated discussions, and this in a field where all the input conditions can be controlled, and the only thing preventing a rigorous exploration of differing input conditions are time, space and money.</div>
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When it comes to climate science, everything is theoretical. We only have one data point of reality, and we have no way of altering the input conditions to test behavior. We can run computer simulations, but there's no way to know if our computer simulations account for every possible input condition -- and in my experience with practical science, they can't possibly -- or if the simulation isn't just a complicated exercise in curve-fitting. It's not like we can take a perfectly optimum Earth-like planet and pump its CO2 levels up and see what happens, with another identical planet sitting by as a control.</div>
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So what differentiates science from religion? I doubt many people reading this have a firm grasp on quantum mechanics, but we accept that as science, even though most of us - myself included - lack the mathematical background to understand it. If we get right down to it, the lay person's understanding of quantum mechanics is a religious belief, based on what the high priests of physics tell us. The reason it really doesn't fall into the religious category, though, is that if you scoff at quantum mechanics, or propose a different set of rules to govern it, you don't get branded as a heretic. So many people are scratching their heads over the theory in the first place that any hair-brained explanation is no more unbelievable than what mainstream science proposes. People readily admit they don't understand it, and so aren't willing to haul out the torches and pitchforks to defend it against the heretic.</div>
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One could even say that most people have a religious belief in electronics. They don't understand it, lack the educational background to understand it, and take what the experts say about it on faith. The difference is that electronics <i>works</i>. Even if you don't understand it, those who do can demonstrate that their understanding yields predictable results every single time - to the point where we actually get angry when our electronic talismans fail to live up to their billing.</div>
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But climate science is an obscure field of scientific study, not what one would consider "mainstream." It cannot be experimentally tested with rigorous controls in a laboratory environment. There's no way to know if the input variables are accounted for or fully understood. The interactions and feedback mechanisms between the various input variables are complex and chaotic* and poorly understood. Computer simulations rarely come close to modeling previous observed behavior, and so are "tweaked" until they reproduce that which has been observed. This sort of model has some value, but cannot be relied upon for predictive value, as there is no way to quantify how closely the model actually represents reality, or how much the model's behavior is a result of an exercise in curve-fitting.</div>
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As an aside, a classic example of curve fitting can be seen in trading the stock market. If one examines any historical stock chart, apparent patterns leap out. This is partly because the human mind is very good at seeing patterns in chaos - even when no such pattern really exists. These stock price patterns have been retroactively analyzed in a myriad of ways, each of which has many adherents who use them to time stock trades. Moving Average Convergence/Divergence, Multiple Moving Averages, Fibonacci levels, any number of patterns all can retroactively show that if you trade on this or that signal, you'll have a successful trade. Except it rarely works that way as a predictive tool, and when the "signal" supposedly occurs you might as well flip a coin over whether it will be a win or loss. In retrospect most of the signals are false. But you don't see the false signals in the historical charts, because our brains are only geared to see the successful ones. This same problem arises to some degree in any statistical analysis of data, and the more chaotic inputs that drive the data, the more patterns and false signals will likely be observable. There's probably no data set with more interacting chaotic variables than the climate record. Even the stock market with thousands of independent traders affecting stock prices is a model of predictability by comparison.</div>
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Since climate science is based on observation and analysis of a single data set with no mechanism available to perform experimentation and reproducible independent studies (there's only one data set), climate scientists are understandably inconsiderate of such things as uncertainty calculations and identifying sources of error. Since there's only one data set available, the climate scientist has no need to explain discrepancies in the collected data, analyze sources of error that may skew the data or calculate the measurement uncertainty based on multiple independent sources. These exercises are the bane of every lab manager's existence, and even in the most stringent environments often amount to nothing more than a scientific wild ass guess. Climate scientists can make a show of identifying measurement error, and have even used it as an excuse to modify their data. However, an interesting thing is that if all your identified measurement errors only adjust your data in a direction to reach a preconceived result, you're not being objective, you're curve-fitting.</div>
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What differentiates man-made global warming from scientific theory is an intolerance for dissension. Science relies on skepticism and criticism. Science only moves forward when someone says, "Hey, wait a minute!" It doesn't matter how elaborate your theory is, how many peer-reviewed papers its been written up in, how much data you have to support it, if anyone comes in and drops a single fact in your lap that disproves it, then your science is worthless, and you need to start over. A scientist -- well, a reputable scientist -- needs to be able to explain <i>all </i>the data. When someone presents a refutation, it's up to the scientist to demonstrate why the refuting evidence doesn't apply, why it actually fits into the theory, or how the refuting evidence is wrong. </div>
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This can be very difficult for climate scientists who are experts at paleo-climate and historical weather patterns and weather/climate data collection. These people work in a field immersed in data and spend a significant amount of time studying and explaining the data patterns. They're not full-time physicists. They're concerned with patterns and explaining those patterns. They make assumptions that may or may not reflect the actual physics involved. I happen to work in an esoteric field of electromagnetics, not climate science. But when a climate scientist comes to me and makes a statement of how a certain gas acts in response to an electromagnetic input that's the underpinning of an entire hypothesis, I'm certain that I'm more equipped to understand that electromagnetic interaction between the terrestrial IR emissions and the gas than the climate scientist is, and if it doesn't work the way the climate scientist assumes, then I know that the foundation of their hypothesis is flawed.</div>
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You can see the religious zealotry when you honestly suggest that maybe the science is flawed. Try it. Here's a taste of what I have experienced by making such a statement on a science forum recently:</div>
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"Shut the fuck up, boomer."</div>
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"Just because you say so it doesn’t make it so." (Really? That cuts both ways, doesn't it?)</div>
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"u be dumb."</div>
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"Pay no attention to troll bots"</div>
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"only fools and Fox news think climate change is a hoax"</div>
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"are you willfully ignorant? Or just plain fucking stupid?"<br />
"maybe your drugs are cleaner..."</div>
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Of course, this is also accompanied with numerous links to sources to support the man-made global warming narrative, i.e. quoting from scripture. They don't understand it well enough to make the case on their own, so they appeal to the authority of the high priests. One of the leading sources of scripture is the pseudo-scientific blog <a href="https://skepticalscience.com/" target="_blank">Skeptical science</a>, which is neither skeptical or scientific. It's completely on board with the man-made global warming narrative, and neither harbors nor entertains any skepticism at all. Its science is cherry-picked and lacks objectivity. Like any religious screed, it appears to attempt to bury criticism and ironically, skepticism, by sheer volume, ignoring the scientific axiom that it doesn't matter how much data supports your hypothesis, it only takes one fact to topple the whole thing.</div>
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So why do people have the religious adherence to the orthodoxy of man-made global warming? Well, the primary driver of this is fear. Like the ancient pagans, we're afraid of the doom that has been predicted by a select few climate scientists. We seek to stave off this doom by sacrificing as the high priests instruct us, in an attempt to placate the impending doom so that it passes over us and leaves us unharmed. The sad fact is that when you instill fear in someone, there's good money to be made in offering a solution to their fear. Whether the predictions of climate change are real or not, no one can deny that some people have become very rich in the effort to avert it. Whether it's green technology that isn't economically sustainable on its own, or a carbon exchange scheme similar to the stock market where the market makers get a cut of every trade, if you make enough people scared enough, you can make some big money.</div>
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To make this work, you need several things to line up for you: </div>
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You need a population that's basically scientifically illiterate, but not so illiterate that they can't follow a well-considered line of reasoning. People who are capable of understanding the concepts, but incapable themselves of testing the concepts or analyzing the data on their own and formulating their own theories. </div>
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You need a way to control the narrative, and deliver the accepted narrative to the population. Journalism 101: If it bleeds, it leads. Disaster is good news.</div>
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You need to be able to suppress and marginalize dissenting opinions. Many many highly qualified scientists, including doctorates in physicists and climatology from well respected universities around the world, some Nobel prize winners, <a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2018/03/97-of-scientists-do-not-agree-with.html" target="_blank">refute the narrative of man-made global warming</a>. They're easy to find. Why do they never get any air time to present their views to the average news consumer?</div>
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Once you have these three things, the stage is set for you to proselytize your religion without interference. When you have enough converts, you can influence political discussions and political decisions. And someone is going to get very rich as a result.<br />
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How do you know if you're a religious zealot or a serious scientist? If your initial response to a skeptic is to scoff, call names or try to shout down the skeptic and marginalize them by public shame, you're a religious zealot. If you don't understand the science well enough to be able to discuss it in your own words, but insist that your position is the only correct one, you're a religious zealot. If you quote from the sacred scripture of man-made global warming, and dismiss refutations without being able to demonstrate why they're in error in your own words, you're a religious zealot. If you publicly endorse your high priests as oracles of knowledge, and dismiss other dissenting experts - no matter how prestigious or well-qualified - you're a religious zealot.</div>
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What can you do? Educate yourself. Not in a circular reasoning exercise of confirmation bias, but actively seek out dissenting opinions and try to figure out for yourself why they're incorrect, if they are.<br />
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Lose the opinion that only climatologists are qualified to discuss climatology. Science doesn't work like that. All disciplines interact with all others, and a physicist probably has all the necessary qualifications to speak authoritatively on certain aspects of climate science as anyone else (I pick on physicists here because my field is physics-based, and many of the high-profile skeptics upon whose shoulders I stand are physicists).<br />
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Follow the money. Who stands to gain?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* When I say something is chaotic, I'm using the classic definition: tiny changes in input conditions can yield staggering differences in outcomes.</span></div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-1332001889169151242020-01-03T12:03:00.001-08:002020-03-22T17:59:57.270-07:00Testing CO2 Assumptions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Are you, or do you know a college student who’s looking for
a thesis project? Here’s one for you.<br />
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CO2 is purported to be the lynchpin surrounding the theory of manmade global
warming. According to the theory, CO2 is
a very effective gas at absorbing IR radiation, causing the atmosphere to warm
up. Based on this theory, the more CO2
in the atmosphere, the more warming will occur. Computer climate models assume a constant correlation between CO2 levels and atmospheric warming (typically that a doubling of CO2 results in a 1°C change of temperature). The question is whether that relationship is experimentally valid. Let's stop arguing about it and test it.</div>
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To warm the planet, changing CO2 levels must change the net heat balance
between what the Earth receives from the sun and what it radiates back to
space. </div>
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CO2 is a chemically stable, colorless, odorless gas that is
generally evenly mixed with and distributed among other atmospheric gases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an essential gas for life, without
which plants will die, collapsing the ecosystem that relies on plants to
provide the base of the food chain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>High
concentrations of CO2 can degrade respiratory performance and lead to death.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hypothesis: CO2 absorption is so
efficient that atmospheric CO2 absorbs all the available IR energy in its
absorption spectrum many times over before leaving the atmosphere. Since all of the available IR energy in the
absorption spectrum has been absorbed already, adding more CO2 to the
atmosphere will have a negligible effect on global atmospheric levels. Without a source of additional heat, no amount of additional warming will occur by adding CO2 beyond the current levels, because all the available energy in the CO2 absorption levels has already been absorbed and contributed to warming the atmosphere</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Please see my <a href="http://towerofreason.blogspot.com/2018/04/co2-is-not-driving-global-warming.html" target="_blank">other article</a> detailing the physics behind CO2 absorption.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The experiment: On a controlled test
range, measure the spectral loss due to CO2 absorption over a given
distance. Calculate from that how far an
IR emission can propagate before there is no measurable energy in the CO2
absorption frequencies.</div>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p><br />
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</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What you will need: </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1 FTIR spectrometer. You can get these
from E-bay for under $500, and they run up into the thousands</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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1 broadband IR source<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1 CO2 level meter.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(optional) cannisters of compressed CO2 gas.</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A suitable site for the experiment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A large, empty climate-controlled warehouse,
manufacturing facility or aircraft hangar would be ideal. A blimp hangar or gymnasium
would be an excellent location. An open area test site outdoors would be
acceptable, with a change to the test protocol. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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For experimenting in doors, make the facility as cold as possible,
with as low humidity as possible. Have as few people as possible in the
facility during the experiment, as CO2 exhalations in a confined area can
dramatically change the atmospheric CO2 concentrations in an enclosed space in
a very short time. Experimenting indoors provides the opportunity to test
varying levels of CO2 and observe the effects on the spectrum.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If experimenting out of doors, an arid climate area with extremely
low humidity is preferable, and all measurements should be conducted after
dark, preferably in winter or after a cool day, so that IR emissions from the Earth
do not adulterate the measurements. Experimenting outdoors provides the
opportunity for measurements at longer ranges than you would typically be able
to achieve indoors.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Assumptions:</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Only the direct propagation path will be considered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any given point of the Earth’s surface emits
IR radiation in all directions, giving an infinite number of paths for IR
energy to leave the atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
all points are emitting IR energy and contributing to the total energy leaving
the atmosphere in any given direction, the vertical path from an emission point
to the edge of the atmosphere will represent the integrated aggregate of all
points contributing to the measurement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In other words, what is lost because the emission is omnidirectional is
recovered because all the other emission points are likewise omnidirectional
and contribute their emissions to the radiation from any point in the
atmosphere as if those emissions originated as a vertical column.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In any free space electromagnetic measurement, the antenna
factors must be calibrated to accurately measure the signal loss over the
transmission distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the purpose
of this experiment, we can dispense with antenna correction factors, because we
can use the spectrum itself as a control. CO2 is transparent to IR radiation at
13µm and 17µm wavelengths. Range measurements at these frequencies can provide
a range calibration factor for measurements taken across the CO2 absorption
spectrum between these frequencies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Based on data compiled by the National Institute of
Standards concerning the absorption spectrum of CO2, I predict that we should
see a loss of 10dB in the CO2 absorption spectrum at a distance of 166 meters
with CO2 levels at 400 ppm.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Measurement 1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Place the FTIR spectrometer receiver close to the IR source,
to minimize the amount of CO2 between the receiver and the source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If possible, a transmittance path in vacuum would
be ideal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should see no change in IR
emission levels between 13µm and 17µm wavelengths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Record the levels across this spectrum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is your reference baseline.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Measurement 2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Move the FTIR spectrometer to a set distance from the IR
emitter. Measure and record the CO2
levels of the test range and record the spectrum between 13µm and 17µm
wavelengths. You should see a drop
between 14.5µm and 15.5µm. This is due
to CO2 absorption.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Make a variety of measurements at different distances, recording the distance,
spectrum and CO2 levels at each measurement.</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If operating indoors, establish a baseline measurement at
ambient CO2 levels at the longest distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Release gas from the bottled CO2 to double the CO2 levels on the range
and repeat the measurement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use fans to
disperse the CO2 evenly throughout the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pay attention to CO2 levels and the chart above for safety.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If operating outdoors, see how far the FTIR spectrometer
needs to be placed from the IR source to achieve a 10dB loss in the CO2
absorption band.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After all the measurements have been taken you should be
able to graph the signal loss due to atmospheric CO2 absorption by distance and
be able to project the losses to greater distances than those measured. Typically,
the loss in dB will double when you double the distance. Keep in mind that
electromagnetic losses due to distance are logarithmic, not linear. Determine the distance necessary to achieve a
60dB loss in the CO absorption spectrum vs your control frequencies,
representing a measurement of 1/1,000,000 of the original power – effectively zero. Since this will be well below the measurement
threshold/noise floor of your FTIR spectrometer unless you have an
exceptionally hot IR source, you could safely say that adding any more CO2 or
distance will not measurably change your readings.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In your conclusions, be sure to acknowledge that your measurements were conducted
horizontally, and so had a constant partial pressure of CO2 across the
range. Calculate and correct for this in
the vertical atmospheric column, where pressure changes with altitude. If the theoretical model is accurate, you
should be able to draw conclusions well before you have to deal with the
atmospheric pressure step that happens at the tropopause.<br />
<br />
One criticism of this experiment will be that the effect of the nonlinear "skirts" of the CO2 absorption spectrum will get wider as CO2 levels increase. This can be measured and put to rest by calculating the total power density received by the spectrum analyzer at various levels of CO2. Additional experimentation may be interesting using a tube between the IR emitter and receiver, and calculating the spectral density at a variety of levels of CO2. I believe you will find that the assumption that doubling the CO2 levels causes the absorption bandwidth to be wider breaks down pretty quickly as CO2 levels rise.</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-28744169182975108102019-12-08T03:07:00.002-08:002021-02-24T09:29:33.550-08:00A Better Solution than Term Limits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnZdIEh7zg7QsjpalJZSMG6tUrtuqOfkr8u_eHbiAf500DOP6Zj-BQTbXYXE5BzYR7BA9ytwDXRWXnSC1kvUjdwkrIwEnGISXqFQOMXlmzDRp-8zx46TWNgdL3LOvmwCfVe6OBWkWemJU/s1600/external-content.duckduckgo.com.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="640" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnZdIEh7zg7QsjpalJZSMG6tUrtuqOfkr8u_eHbiAf500DOP6Zj-BQTbXYXE5BzYR7BA9ytwDXRWXnSC1kvUjdwkrIwEnGISXqFQOMXlmzDRp-8zx46TWNgdL3LOvmwCfVe6OBWkWemJU/s320/external-content.duckduckgo.com.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
One thing that everyone can agree on is that Congress is no
longer responsible to the people. Our founding fathers never envisioned that a
position in Congress would be a lifetime career. It’s been observed that you
should change Congress like you would change a diaper – and often for the same
reason. It’s clear to everyone that being an incumbent in Congress gives a
politician an almost overwhelming advantage against any challenger. Big ticket
donors won’t contribute as much to an unknown candidate. The incumbent’s party
connections ensure endorsements, access to finances, and networking connections
that are simply unavailable to any challenger.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The standard solution that everyone seems to be putting
forward for this malaise is term limits. By term limiting our Congressman to two
terms in the Senate and three to four terms in the house the assumption is that it
will have a higher turnover of politicians, fresh ideas, and break the power
monopoly of the senior members of Congress.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This is been tried at lower levels. Currently 36 state
governors and 15 state legislatures have term limits. In nearly every instance,
we hear stories of problems that term limits have caused, and in some cases they’ve
been proclaimed to have been a disaster. By term limiting a member of Congress
you're guaranteed that at any given time a certain percentage of your
Congressmen will be lame ducks, with no responsibility and no answerability to
the electorate that placed them in office. With the sure knowledge that their
political career is at an end at the end of their term, they'll be less
concerned with addressing the needs of their constituencies or legislating
responsibly, and more concerned with padding their resume, networking contacts
and cashing in their political capital for lucrative positions as lobbyists or
board members of companies that benefit from government engagement. The
opportunity and temptation for corruption will be nearly irresistible, and no
mechanism could conceivably prevent it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There’s a much better way than term limits to get control of
our Congress.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If you have an employee who doesn't perform the job he or
she was hired for, what happens? The answer is simple, that employee is removed.
If you have an employee who's given financial responsibility within the
company, and that employee wastes money, drives the company into debt and doesn’t
seem to grasp the concept of balancing the company’s budget, what happens? The
answer is simple, that employee is removed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
To make a rule that all employees will lose their job after
a fixed period of time, because some employees are incompetent, corrupt or gain too much
power in the Corporation is a stupid way to run a business. It's an equally
stupid way to run a government. There are politicians and legislators who do an
outstanding job for the people. They work within the budget and stay within the
constitutional limits of their job. These are people that we want to keep in
government and encourage them to do so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This is all we have to do with our politicians: establish a
minimum level of performance, and if they haven't met that performance when
their contract comes up for renewal, they're ineligible to renew. The minimum
level of performance is simple and obvious: the politician must adhere to the
Constitution and may not increase the public debt. If a politician votes for or
signs into law a piece of legislation which he or she has no constitutional
authority to pass, that politician shall not appear on the ballots of the next
election. If the body politic increases the public debt, all those politicians
that supported that debt increase will be ineligible to run in the next
election.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This, of course, will generate a number of consequences, but
they won't be unintended. Who should decide whether a politician has met his
constitutional and fiduciary requirements to appear on the ballot? The obvious
answer would be the state auditors who are responsible for controlling the
elections of each state, with the backing of the state’s attorney generals. Making the auditors the gatekeepers to the ballot exposes them to the potential
of a tremendous amount of corruption. This is where citizen watchdog groups and
the courts play a role. Should an auditor decline to place an incumbent on the
ballot on the basis of their performance, the incumbent would obviously sue.
This would put the auditor in the position of justifying his decision before
the appropriate judiciary body. Should an auditor place in incumbent on the
ballot who has obviously failed to meet the constitutional and fiduciary
requirements, citizen watchdog groups can sue to have that incumbent removed,
and once again the case will be heard before the appropriate judiciary body.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This will have several beneficial side effects. Challenging
a ballot appearance will be an expense for the incumbent, as well as an
embarrassment in a campaign that their opponent could use against them. The
easiest way to avoid such a problem would be to ensure that they are
constitutionally covered whenever they vote for a piece of legislation. I can’t
imagine any scenario where a politician who is constantly looking over his
shoulder is a bad thing. Challenging a politician on increasing the debt would
be much easier, because accounting and the numbers don’t lie and aren't prone
to subjective interpretations as constitutional law may sometimes be. This
allows for politicians to increase the public debt in times of national
emergency, with the full realization that it will cost them their careers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Today, Congress is immune from the consequences of passing
unconstitutional laws. Unconstitutional laws are rarely brought
before the judicial branch because of the expense of litigation and the
necessity to show harm to a plaintiff because of these laws. It also opens the door for Judicial activism when such a suit is brought, allowing judges to strike down portions of a law and leave others in place to suit the narrow confines of the lawsuit before them. Making incumbent
candidates responsible for their legislation in the upcoming election, with the
potential that challenged legislative acts may appear before the judiciary gives a path of judicial review over Congress that's currently missing. This
would be a mechanism to improve the checks and balances between our three
branches of government.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
All of the arguments in favor of this mechanism apply
equally to executives as to legislators. The 22<sup>nd</sup> amendment should
be repealed, and the incumbent president be subjected to the same requirements
for ballot eligibility as the legislators.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
One of the advantages of this idea is that it wouldn’t
necessarily require a constitutional amendment to implement. Article I of the
Constitution gives the states the authority for qualifying candidates. If a
state’s laws allow for the auditor, with the concurrence of the state attorney
general, to disqualify an incumbent candidate on the basis of their performance,
there’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution which specifically prohibits them from
doing so. This theory has been challenged recently with state attempts to require candidates to release their tax returns and has been struck down by the
Supreme Court. That’s not to say that the Supreme Court would not uphold a performance qualification requirement, as performance in a public office as a
matter of public record, and challenges to income tax revelation have been
based on the fourth amendment and privacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It can easily be tested at a state level and, if successful, other
states would follow suit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the event that state laws requiring a minimum level of performance to qualify for a ballot don't pass Supreme Court muster,
the solution, as with term limits, will required article V convention. Should
it go to an article V convention, we should assiduously avoid term limits for
the inherent unintended consequences that they will bring and build in a
performance mechanism such as that proposed here that will force Congress to
face consequences for their legislation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-73869935122780619022019-11-28T01:54:00.000-08:002019-11-28T01:58:01.147-08:00America Doesn't Deserve Our Constitution<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOUNhRuBu3Bi-QJh_tefXhivg-0tqVl3VX_HhoUnt_GJF5b2E_RaM0hDx9Q9_RZLRQlBdB1G4suUN-ij4JbDQ4TwBMdCGDWKiuVs6oXiq4Yj2Ow8w8EvI7ku0MnHJaYQaRx1da4tbHSVL/s1600/75220642_1139679446236743_3086127215574777856_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOUNhRuBu3Bi-QJh_tefXhivg-0tqVl3VX_HhoUnt_GJF5b2E_RaM0hDx9Q9_RZLRQlBdB1G4suUN-ij4JbDQ4TwBMdCGDWKiuVs6oXiq4Yj2Ow8w8EvI7ku0MnHJaYQaRx1da4tbHSVL/s320/75220642_1139679446236743_3086127215574777856_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It’s all over social media. People from left and right are
ecstatic that President Trump just signed a bill making animal cruelty a
federal felony. Who doesn’t love animals and who can object to criminalizing
cruelty to animals?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t about animals. I love animals, and I would
happily string up any low-life that tortures animals for fun. But we have to
step back and ask ourselves, do we care about the Constitution or not?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The US Constitution, Article 1 section 8 lays out the enumerated powers of
Congress:</span></div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1: The Congress
shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay
the Debts and provide for the common Defence[sic] and general Welfare of the
United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout
the United States;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States,
and with the Indian Tribes;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the
subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix
the Standard of Weights and Measures;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and
current Coin of the United States;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
8: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas,
and Offences against the Law of Nations;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules
concerning Captures on Land and Water;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use
shall be for a longer Term than two Years;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
13: To provide and maintain a Navy;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval
Forces;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and
for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United
States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers,
and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline
prescribed by Congress;</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
17: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular
States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of
the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by
the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the
Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful
Buildings;—And</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this
Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or
Officer thereof.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nowhere in there is there a single word that suggests that
Congress has the power or authority to criminalize animal cruelty. Therefore,
under the tenth amendment:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">
<i style="font-size: 10pt;">The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.</i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s an issue for the
states to legislate on.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Recently I saw a comment
about DUI checkpoints, and many people opined that they would be happy for the
inconvenience of a checkpoint if it helps keep drunk drivers off the road. They
don’t seem to have a problem with warrantless searches and seizure without
probable cause, in clear violation of their fourth amendment rights.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our federal budget is
wildly out of control. Congress authorizes spending, and most of the federal
spending today has no constitutional authority supporting it. But nobody asks
our elected officials to account for the constitutionality of their pork
projects, their welfare or their bloated departments. We’ve gone way past the
point where the population has realized they can vote themselves bread and
circuses. The elected officials in Congress have no incentive to uphold the
Constitution. They stay in power buy wielding their governmental influence to
get enough money to buy a propaganda machine to dupe the tax serfs into keeping
them in power.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">If the President doesn’t
like what Congress does or doesn’t do, he does what he wants anyway with
executive orders. Nobody cares if he usurps the powers of Congress. Congress
doesn’t care, because it would be bad publicity to get into a constitutional
face-off with the President, and bad publicity is how you lose elections.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our federal courts issue
injunctions against laws and executive orders they don’t like. The Left has for
decades sought to get from the judicial branch what they couldn’t possibly pass
as laws in the legislative branch. Nobody cares that the Judiciary usurps the
powers of Congress and legislates from the bench.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Once upon a time in
America, everyone knew the Constitution. They understood the limits of the
powers between the three branches of government and understood that the
government couldn’t do anything not spelled out in the Constitution. There was
a nationwide effort to make alcohol illegal, which was a dumb idea, but at
least they had enough respect for the Constitution to know they needed to pass
an amendment that gave Congress the power to do it. But they stopped teaching
our children the Constitution in civics class. They started teaching some
nebulous feel-good history cum culture called social studies instead. The
result is a whole generation who pays lip service to their “constitutional
rights” without having any idea what those rights actually are or understanding
that they do not come from the government. They think the first amendment gives
them the right to say anything they want on Facebook or YouTube, not
understanding that the first amendment only keeps the government from passing
laws about what can and cannot be said. Facebook and YouTube aren’t the
government, and to use these services, you have to agree to their terms.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">People get the
government they deserve. Congress has an all-time low approval rating; but come
the next election cycle most of the bad actors will remain seated. Few people
call them to account for their behavior under the Constitution, and those who
do are shouted down and ridiculed by the masses who apparently care nothing for
the Constitution and the very clear limits it places on government.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you don’t learn the
Constitution and demand that our elected officials operate within its bounds
and remove them from office if they don’t, then you don’t deserve the
Constitution. You honestly deserve to be the powerless tax serfs you have
become, subservient to leaders you think you elect, instead of having public
servants working for you. You rightfully deserve the feudal chains that have
been placed on you by our elected nobility, dressed up with modern terms to
make you think you’re a free man. </span></div>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">You need to demand that the schools and universities stop indoctrinating our children with failed political, economic and social ideologies. Today we spend record amounts of money on education to teach our children to not only be happy little tax serfs, but to openly advocate for it and condemn and attack those who prefer to be freemen who repudiate a government that doesn't even follow its own rules.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We once had a pretty
good thing going here in America, where every man was free to be who he could
be. Now we’ve accepted a crony capitalist oligarchy which exists to fleece the
tax serfs and ensure that the competitive advantage always stays in the hands
of those who can buy the best politicians. You did this. You allowed it, by not
demanding that the branches of government stay in their constitutional lanes.
The American people can take back their government in less than a year, but
first you have to be willing to forego laws that you like and make you feel
good, if they lack a constitutional foundation. We either follow the rules, or
we bow in obedience to our noveau feudal lords. The choice is yours. Learn your
Constitution. Demand your elected officials follow it. Remove them if they
don’t, even if you like them, they’re from your party, or bring the pork home
to your district. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span></div>
</div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-6650536740152305622019-11-15T14:09:00.003-08:002020-07-03T07:35:30.054-07:00The Civil War: Yeah, it was About Slavery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOVcKFqVHKktG3qaFyGmtxXPoGzDQkhQYhyphenhyphen_VWJaeYn4PFOyxau003RY4naUX6TsVl1jddPJFoLy4SI7KuZa9W__adsCAkGBL9bRb40SYFrLoyKjhN4HP_9KRc9u8l_yVHJzty_65i4WY/s1600/scars_of_a_whipped_slave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="363" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOVcKFqVHKktG3qaFyGmtxXPoGzDQkhQYhyphenhyphen_VWJaeYn4PFOyxau003RY4naUX6TsVl1jddPJFoLy4SI7KuZa9W__adsCAkGBL9bRb40SYFrLoyKjhN4HP_9KRc9u8l_yVHJzty_65i4WY/s320/scars_of_a_whipped_slave.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gordon was an escaped slave who joined <br />
and fought for the North in the Civil War</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It’s been 155 years since the Civil War. It’s been going around for years that the
South didn’t secede because of slavery. Revisionist historians have delved deep into the culture, the politics, the sentiments of the day and have
served up well-researched treatises on the causes of the civil war, the
political strife leading up to it and the sentiments that caused it. We’ve had people writing revisionist books
that cherry-pick and take out of context passages from Lincolns writings and
actions, to try to show that he fought the war to keep the country together,
not to free the slaves. We’ve seen
people point out that the emancipation proclamation didn’t free all the slaves
in America, only those in unoccupied confederate states. Ergo, Lincoln didn’t
care about freeing the slaves. We’ve seen
revisionists rename the conflict the “War Between the States”, “<span class="js-about-item-abstr">War for Southern Independence”</span> or the “War of
Northern Aggression.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of this revisionist history is designed to overload the
senses of the casual scholar, confuse the issue, cast doubt on the conventional
wisdom and regenerate the narrative to paint the Southern cause in a more
acceptable light. And it’s all poppycock,
and easily swept aside with one question and one fact.<br />
<br />
The question: <i>Would the Civil War have
happened if there had been no slavery in the United States of America?</i><br />
<br />
This is the root cause. There is a
common technique in Quality Systems theory for discovering the root cause of
any problem called the 5 whys. Ask why
something happened, and then ask why the first reason happened, etc. Eventually – usually within five iterations –
you get to the root cause. If you apply
the five whys to any of the revisionist reasons for the Civil War, you will
eventually always come back to slavery.<br />
<br />
What few realize today was that the road to secession was a long one. The various states didn't jump up one day and all declare their break from the US Constitution. It was a process that took nearly a year from the time that South Carolina seceded until Kentucky seceded. These states that later followed the other's lead cited their outrage that the Union was using military force to enact their will on those states left because of their slaves. The notable point of this oft-cited cause is that it seems that only slave states shared this outrage. If the cause really concerned the rights of states to secede, then whether a state was slave or free should have had no bearing on its outrage over union over-reach.<br />
<br />
The fact: Every single state that seceded from the union published a
declaration or ordinance of secession. Of those declarations that gave reasons for their secession all either cited slavery as the prima facie cause of secession, the election of Lincoln and the fear that he was an abolitionist, calling him a "sectional party." Lincoln's personal interest in freeing the slaves was subordinated to his understood duties and limitations under the constitution. Lincoln understood that he could not constitutionally abolish slavery, and said as much many times both before and after he took office.<br />
<br />
Lincoln was elected easily by 28 electoral college votes, breaking directly in terms of slave vs. free. The fact that he was elected showed the South that the winds of public opinion were turning against them and slavery. The recent admission of Oregon and Minnesota into the union was shifting the political power towards the North, and southern slave states knew they would be soon outnumbered in electoral votes, as the populations of the increasingly urban free states boomed and shifted the electoral power north. Lincoln's election was proof of this, and it became plain that the South would never regain their influence in the House or the Oval office, the Senate would always hang by a thread, and the subtle pressure to punish slave holding states in petty fashions would only increase.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.civil-war.net/pages/southcarolina_declaration.asp" target="_blank">South Carolina, December 24, 1860:</a><br />
</b><span style="color: #cc0000;">“We affirm that these ends for which this Government was instituted have
been defeated, and the Government itself has been made destructive of them by
the action of the non-slaveholding States. Those States have assume the right
of deciding upon the propriety of our domestic institutions; and have denied
the rights of property established in fifteen of the States and recognized by
the Constitution; they have denounced as sinful the institution of <b>slavery</b>;
they have permitted open establishment among them of societies, whose avowed
object is to disturb the peace and to <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/eloign" target="_blank">eloign </a>the property of the citizens of
other States. They have encouraged and assisted thousands of<b> our slaves</b> to
leave their homes; and those who remain, have been incited by emissaries, books
and pictures to servile insurrection.</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<!--[endif]--><span style="color: #cc0000;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">“For twenty-five years this agitation has been steadily
increasing, until it has now secured to its aid the power of the common
Government. Observing the forms of the Constitution, a sectional party has
found within that Article establishing the Executive Department, the means of
subverting the Constitution itself. A geographical line has been drawn across
the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of
a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and
purposes are hostile to slavery. He is to be entrusted with the administration
of the common Government, because he has declared that that "Government
cannot endure permanently half slave, half free," and that the public mind
must rest in the belief that <b>slavery </b>is in the course of ultimate extinction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">“This sectional combination for the submersion
of the Constitution, has been aided in some of the States by elevating to
citizenship, persons who, by the supreme law of the land, are incapable of becoming
citizens; and their votes have been used to inaugurate a new policy, hostile to
the South, and destructive of its beliefs and safety.”</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.civil-war.net/pages/mississippi_declaration.asp" target="_blank">Mississippi, January 9, 1861:</a><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">"Our position is
thoroughly identified with the institution of <b>slavery </b>- the greatest
material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product, which
constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of
the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the
tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black
race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become
necessities of the world, and a blow at <b>slavery </b>is a blow at commerce and
civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at
the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but
submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union,
whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin. "</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.constitution.org/csa/ordinances_secession.htm#Alabama" target="_blank">Alabama, January 11, 1861:</a><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">"<span cwidth="0" eza="cwidth:0px;;cheight:0px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:91px;wocalc:91px;hcalc:1302px;rend_px_area:0;">Whereas, the election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal
Hamlin to the offices of president and vice-president of the
United States of America, by a sectional party, avowedly hostile
to the domestic institutions [i.e. slavery] and to the peace and security of the
people of the State of Alabama, preceded by many and dangerous
infractions of the constitution of the United States by many of
the States and people of the Northern section, is a political
wrong of so insulting and manacing a character as to justify the
people of the State of Alabama in the adoption of prompt and
decided measures for their future peace and security, therefore:"</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">"</span><span cwidth="0" eza="cwidth:0px;;cheight:0px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:98px;wocalc:98px;hcalc:546px;rend_px_area:0;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">And as it is the desire and purpose of the people of
Alabama to meet the slaveholding States of the South, who may
approve such purpose, in order to frame a provisional as well as
permanent Government upon the principles of the Constitution of
the United States,"</span><br /><br /><a href="https://www.constitution.org/csa/ordinances_secession.htm#Texas" target="_blank">Texas, February 1, 1861:</a><br /><span cwidth="0" eza="cwidth:0px;;cheight:0px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:108px;wocalc:108px;hcalc:609px;rend_px_area:0;" style="color: #cc0000;">"WHEREAS, The recent developments in Federal affairs
make it evident that the power of the Federal Government is
sought to be made a weapon with which to strike down the
interests and property of the people of Texas, <b>and her sister
slave-holding States</b>, instead of permitting it to be, as was
intended, our shield against outrage and aggression; THEREFORE,"</span></span><br />
<span cwidth="0" eza="cwidth:0px;;cheight:0px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:98px;wocalc:98px;hcalc:546px;rend_px_area:0;"><br /><a href="https://www.constitution.org/csa/ordinances_secession.htm#Virginia" target="_blank">Virginia, April 17, 1861:</a><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">The people of Virginia in their ratification of the
Constitution of the United States of America, adopted by them in
convention on the twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our
Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, having declared
that the powers granted under said Constitution were derived from
the people of the United States and might be resumed whensoever
the same should be perverted to their injury and oppression, and
the Federal Government having perverted said powers not only to
the injury of the people of Virginia, but to the <b>oppression of
the Southern slave-holding States</b>:</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.constitution.org/csa/ordinances_secession.htm#Arkansas" target="_blank">Arkansas, May 6, 1861:</a><br />
<span cwidth="0" eza="cwidth:0px;;cheight:0px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:92px;wocalc:92px;hcalc:1806px;rend_px_area:0;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Whereas, in addition to the well-founded causes of
complaint set forth by this convention, in resolutions adopted on
the 11th of March, A.D. 1861, against the sectional party now in
power in Washington City, headed by Abraham Lincoln, he has, in
the face of resolutions passed by this convention pledging the
State of Arkansas to resist to the last extremity any attempt on
the part of such power to coerce any State that had seceded from
the old Union, proclaimed to the world that war should be waged
against such States until they should be compelled to submit to
their rule, and large forces to accomplish this have by this same
power been called out, and are now being marshaled to carry out
this inhuman design; and to longer submit to such rule, or remain
in the old Union of the United States, would be disgraceful and
<b>ruinous </b>to the State of Arkansas:</span></span><br />
<br />
Arkansas was adopting the "Hang together or hang separately" paradigm. Having the North win the war that was already being fought would certainly be ruinous to the slave holders of Arkansas.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.constitution.org/csa/ordinances_secession.htm#Kentucky" target="_blank">Kentucky, November 20, 1961:</a><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #660000;">". . .</span>the
President and Congress have treated this supreme law of the Union
with contempt and usurped to themselves the power to interfere
with the rights and liberties of the States and the people
against the expressed provisions of the Constitution, and have
thus substituted for the highest forms of national liberty and
constitutional government a central despotism founded upon the
<b>ignorant prejudice</b>s of the masses of Northern society, . . ."</span></div>
<span cwidth="0" eza="cwidth:0px;;cheight:0px;;wcalc_source:child;wcalc:104px;wocalc:104px;hcalc:2436px;rend_px_area:0;"><br />Yes, folks, the idea that blacks aren't inferior and shouldn't be enslaved was considered an </span>ignorant prejudice.<br />
<br />
Any attempt to whitewash the civil war as being about anything but slavery ignores the context. If there were other causes, they weren't addressed by the requirements that the rebel states needed to comply with to be readmitted to the union. As soon as the Federal occupation ended, many state governments in the South proceeded to pass Jim Crowe laws.<br />
<br />
Yes, the politics leading up the Civil War are fascinating to study, but whether you use the 5 whys method of root cause analysis, or just look at the cited reasons for the secession of the Southern states and their subsequent behavior, no matter how you slice it, it comes up slavery.</div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5860183491020197486.post-90143897312017113562019-10-02T11:42:00.003-07:002020-12-19T13:06:15.020-08:00Democrats Behaving Badly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseZeOspTj5KNbyva6FHRXcKaw_wDeGQqz8Ro4rwaZc7Lk2yMP_1wWoySpAw9bhs67eFGLpjAIFlX6_D9XXV6M1zKMPRUQy0oO8rkqCszGiv_NPuTDhRSk2vgkz8JTHCbUAMLM167qymPJ/s1600/10-2-2019+5-51-04+PM.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="478" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseZeOspTj5KNbyva6FHRXcKaw_wDeGQqz8Ro4rwaZc7Lk2yMP_1wWoySpAw9bhs67eFGLpjAIFlX6_D9XXV6M1zKMPRUQy0oO8rkqCszGiv_NPuTDhRSk2vgkz8JTHCbUAMLM167qymPJ/s320/10-2-2019+5-51-04+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It's no secret that Trump Derangement Syndrome is a real malady. Those who suffer from it have been observed to be completely irrational, and cannot tolerate normal social interactions which may cause them to be emotionally triggered. This has affected our national dialogue. Both sides will freely admit that communication between those with opposing views has completely broken down, but each side blames the other.<br />
<br />
I for one, am not a huge Trump supporter. I think we could have done better, and we had a chance to do better, but were drowned out by louder, less thoughtful voices. That being said, I am immensely grateful that Trump won the election instead of Clinton Crime, Inc.<br />
<br />
If there's a communication breakdown, it's not my fault, nor the fault of anyone I know on the right. I'm quite happy to discuss my points of view with anyone willing to listen, and every conservative I know is the same way. What I see is those on the left demonizing, vilifying, ostracizing and abusing anyone on the right who makes the mistake of publicly disagreeing with those on the left. Does "tolerance" mean only if you agree with the left? What is it that makes liberals think that such behavior - including overt acts of violence - is acceptable?<br />
<br />
Anyway, the problem is that when you mention this to liberals, they immediately deny it, and challenge you to prove it. Okay. Challenge accepted. On this page, I'll keep a running journal of Democrats Behaving Badly that I encounter, to demonstrate that these are not one-off incidents, but a disturbing trend and subculture that has infected our political discourse and needs to be stopped before it leads to open violence.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Nov 3, 2020</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://teapartydailyreport.com/2020/11/biden-supporters-burn-down-apartment-building-in-portland/" target="_blank">Biden Supporters Burn Down Apartment Building in Portland</a><br /><br />Oct 13, 2020</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/democrat-mayor-forces-chief-to-resign-after-pro-trump-comments-by-wife" target="_blank">Democrat mayor forces police chief to resign after pro-Trump comments by chief’s wife</a><br /><br />Sept 18, 2020<br /><a href="https://cnsnews.com/article/washington/lucy-collins/162-democrats-vote-against-amendment-protect-jewish-students" target="_blank">162 Democrats Vote Against Amendment to Protect Jewish Students from Antisemitism at School</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /> Feb 22, 2020<br /><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/couple-used-car-to-run-kids-on-bikes-off-the-road-because-they-had-trump-flags-cops-say" target="_blank">Couple Used Car To Run Kids On Bikes Off The Road Because They Had Trump Flags, Cops Say</a><br />
<br />
13 Feb, 2020<br />
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-hampshire-man-arrested-after-allegedly-assaulting-pro-trump-teen-polling-site.amp" target="_blank">New Hampshire man arrested after allegedly assaulting pro-Trump teen at polling site</a><br />
<br />
12 Feb, 2020<br />
<a href="https://defensemaven.io/bluelivesmatter/news/woman-attacks-retired-nypd-cop-wearing-birthday-hat-mistaken-for-maga-hat-E1vdqL8FOkm-wWmiRxfW1w" target="_blank">Woman Attacks Retired NYPD Cop Wearing Birthday Hat, Mistaken For MAGA Hat</a><br />
<br />
21 Jan, 2020<br />
<a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/21/florida-man-may-have-killed-trump-supporting-boss-over-politics" target="_blank">Florida man may have killed Trump-supporting boss over politics</a><br />
<br />
7 Jan, 2020<br />
<a href="https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/01/07/couple-says-they-were-targeted-by-vandals-for-supporting-president-trump" target="_blank">Couple Says They Were Targeted By Vandals For Supporting President Trump</a><br />
<br />
17 Oct, 2019<br />
<a href="https://alphanewsmn.com/minneapolis-hard-times-cafe-doesnt-welcome-trump-supporters" target="_blank">Video Exclusive: Minneapolis Hard Times Cafe Doesn’t Welcome Trump Supporters</a><br />
<br />
15 Oct, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2019/10/15/leftists-threaten-bring-guillotine-theaters-show-jordan-peterson-documentary" target="_blank">Leftists Threaten To “Bring Out The Guillotine” If Theaters Show Jordan Peterson Documentary</a><br />
<br />
11 Oct, 2019<br />
<a href="https://pluralist.com/trump-supporters-attacked-minneapolis/49999" target="_blank">Anti-Trump Mobs Attack President’s Supporters After Rally — Burn Piles of MAGA Hats in Streets</a><br />
<br />
8 Oct, 2019<br />
<a href="https://pjmedia.com/trending/extortion-liberal-mayor-tries-to-shut-down-trump-rally-with-outrageous-security-fee" target="_blank">Extortion: Minneapolis Mayor Tries to Shut Down Trump Rally With 'Outrageous' Security Fee</a><br />
<br />
1 Oct, 2019<br />
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/fallen-officers-charity-event-on-hold-after-police-chief-withdraws-becuase-republicans-were-invited-report" target="_blank">Police charity event on hold after chief withdraws because Republicans were invited: report</a><br />
<br />
12 Sep, 2018<br />
<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/man-attempts-stab-rudy-peters-republican-anti-donald-trump-comments-1118220" target="_blank">Congressional Candidate attacked by knife-wielding man shouting anti-Republican comments.</a><br />
<br />
1 August, 2019<br />
<a href="https://pluralist.com/jahangir-turan-beaten-maga-hat/49999" target="_blank">Liberals Say Man Brutally Beaten for Wearing MAGA Hat Deserved It: ‘He Shouldn’t Dress That Way’</a><br />
<br />
23 Jun, 2018<br />
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/23/trump-spokeswoman-sarah-sanders-virginia-restaurant/727972002/" target="_blank">Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders kicked out of Virginia restaurant by owner</a><br />
<br />
20 Jun, 2018<br />
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/video-shows-dhs-boss-kirstjen-nielsen-being-heckled-harassed-at-dc-restaurant" target="_blank">Video shows DHS boss Kirstjen Nielsen being heckled, harassed at DC restaurant</a><br />
<br />
5 Nov, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.lifezette.com/2017/11/rand-paul-assaulted-at-his-home/" target="_blank">Rand Paul Assaulted by His Neighbor</a><br />
<br />
14 Jun, 2017<br />
<a href="https://dailycaller.com/2017/06/14/huffpo-pulls-article-calling-for-ultimate-punishment-of-trump/" target="_blank">HuffPo Pulls Article Calling For ‘Ultimate Punishment’ Of Trump</a><br />
<br />
14 Jun, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.lifezette.com/2017/06/gunman-targets-congressmen-house-majority-leader-shot/" target="_blank">Gunman Targets Congressmen: House Majority Leader Shot</a><br />
<br />
24 May, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/05/24/berkeley-college-professor-arrested-as-assault-suspect/" target="_blank">Bay Area college professor used a U-shaped bike lock in beating Trump Supporters </a><br />
<br />
14 Feb, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-rohrabacher-protest-20170214-story.html" target="_blank">71-year-old staffer for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher was hurt during protest</a><br />
<br />
1 Feb, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/us/uc-berkeley-milo-yiannopoulos-protest.html" target="_blank">Milo Yiannopoulos speech at the University of California-Berkeley was cancelled after rioters set the campus on fire and threw rocks through windows</a><br />
<br />
31 Jan, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4175576/Trump-supporter-knocked-airport-protest.html" target="_blank">Trump supporter knocked unconscious during airport immigration protest </a><br />
<br />
20 Jan, 2017<br />
<a href="https://www.glamour.com/story/ralph-lauren-receiving-backlash-for-dressing-melania-trump" target="_blank">Ralph Lauren Is Already Receiving Backlash for Dressing Melania Trump</a><br />
<br />
20 Dec, 2016<br />
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-trump-supporter-beaten-dragged-car-frank-camp" target="_blank">Trump Supporter Beaten, Dragged By Car</a><br />
<br />
11 Nov, 2016<br />
<a href="https://nypost.com/2016/11/11/assassination-threats-against-trump-flood-twitter-after-election-shocker" target="_blank">Assassination threats against Trump flood Twitter</a><br />
<br />
10 Nov, 2016<br />
<a href="http://www.ktvu.com/news/student-trump-supporter-attacked-at-woodside-high-school" target="_blank">High schooler assaulted for supporting Trump</a></div>
Scruffy Sciroccohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08052356705555455175noreply@blogger.com0