In the urban areas, the one place you need a means of defense most, is the one place that it is most difficult to have a gun legally. It is also the one place it is easiest to get a gun illegally. Think that over, please.
If you live in an urban area, it sounds more and more like a good reason to leave. I did. I am beginning to think I didn’t move far enough south.
I did have all this planned out on what I was going to say and how I was going to say it. However, when I did my little bit of research, I realized that facts got in the way. (frustrating things, those facts) It would have been little more than guessing.
As I looked, one article would say this. One would say that. There were even doubts it would seem, within the individual writings. It seemed simple when I started. They drank beer to avoid getting sick. It was what I heard from several sources. Now, I don’t know what is true about it. I read one article, which says one thing. Then I read another that says something else.
Let’s try to at least start with what is commonly accepted by one and all. Beer was put on the Mayflower before they sailed. I think we can assume from that that they drank beer before they left. Whatever they did after they arrived was likely close to what they did before they left.
It is said that the reason they landed at early, at Plymouth Rock, because the ran out of beer. I have no idea. Some say one thing. Some say another. You are welcome to do your own research.
It is generally accepted the children drank the beer too. Also, no one drank to access.
Finally, it is true that in the day, people did get sick from the water. It contained all kinds of microbes they knew nothing of. It would stand to reason that if they drank water, they might get sick. When they drank the beer, they remained healthy. It would stand to reason that they avoided that which seemed to make them sick.
As an aside, I also heard that the Roman soldiers boiled water as a religious thing, It greatly attributed to their health which made them stronger and faster soldiers. I don’t know if that is true either. It does sound logical. People who are sick can’t fight as well. However, I don’t know. I suppose it might have been because they drank beer as the pilgrims, instead of water.
Fact is, when making the brew, the water must be heated. That would kill the microbes. The fermentation has nothing to do with it.
At any rate, we no longer have that reason to drink beer. We have perfectly safe water, most of the time. Staying healthy is no longer a valid reason.
Those that know me; those that have read most of my posts, know that I don’t like alcoholic beverages. When people find that out, I get these sayings, “The pilgrims drank beer,” as if that makes it okay. They they find out I am Christian and they say, “Jesus drank wine.”
Let’s get this straight. You want to drink, then drink. Don’t try to justify it. Regardless of anything else, the alcohol is still the one most society damaging drug, no matter the reasons.
This one fact I know. I have seen it all my life. I have even experienced it myself. If you want to do something badly enough, you can think of a reason. So, let’s get it straight. You drink alcohol because you want to. You say you can stop any time you want to. However, of course, you don’t want to. You can always find reasons. But the one truth you don’t want to admit. You want to drink. There is no force on earth that will change that.
As for Jesus drinking wine, I am not about to try to defend that. Some say the wine was weaker back then. I don’t know.
My reason for being against alcohol started a long time before I was saved and has little to do with my belief in Jesus. It was from a personal experience in my family. My belief has only been fortified over the years. Moreover, it is backed up by the numbers today. One third of fatal accidents are caused by drunk drivers. Think about that the next time before you drink before driving.
Let me throw this at you. If you come home and find your babysitter drunk, you would fire her and refuse to pay her. Yet, you get even more drunk than she while watching your kids, and never think a thing about it.
As I said, you want to drink, you will drink. If you want to get drunk, you will get drunk, no matter who else it endangers. I know. I’ve seen it. You think it over a little. You’ve seen it too.
The fact is, excuses are easy to come up with. We are all well practiced at it, myself included. It just is, I had different things I wanted to excuse.
One excuse I did find most remarkable was Mickey Mantle’s. He admitted it. Those in his family died early in life. So why not drink? Well, he did die early, because of the alcohol, not because of the genes he inherited. He came on TV and admitted he made the mistake. And so it was that his liver failed him. That’s a real shame. Mantle really seemed to be a great guy, the type most would like to know.
Well, at least he didn’t use the old excuse that pilgrims drank beer. He made the mistake. He knew it and he owned it. I guess I need to recognize him for that.
I have no idea how many others have discovered it, but my somewhat new computer has a little symbol down in the lower left corner. It’s kind of slick. Whenever I have the yen I move my mouse over it and a bunch of stuff pops up. Most of it I have no interest in but there is so much of it that some of it has to be good, really. If I’m not careful, I could just look at them for hours.
Some of it are excerpts from news programs. I’m careful to stay mostly to FOX news articles. However, now and then I will watch one from some other stations. Mostly, it will make me repentant.
Some are just of interest. I watched two men build an underground house quickly with not much more than shovels and axes. This in just a few days. After, the house was pretty nice, but they sort of missed plumbing and electricity. There are many others that make things in more conventional ways, but also very fast. A few men built a bungalow with not more than a chain saw that looked very nice.
Then there are the neat little ideas. One was made from a plastic tube and magnet in the end of it. The maker used the thing to hold nails while he hammered them in. If I had thought of something like that, I would have saved myself many a sore thumb.
A lot of the ideas are very good, but I can’t use them. They use welding. I saw one guy use his welding skills to rebuild car’s broken CV Joint. I had to really admire the guys skill. However, I would have had to just buy one.
They have a lot of stuff on planes and electric vehicles. Not all are videos but most at least have a photo or two and a short article to read. I guess in a way, it is something like an electronic news/magazine.
I do have to be careful though. I can end up looking at it for hours, sort of like I did with TV, you know, when was it was still informative and entertaining.
When I was a lad, I played a lot of chess. I was pretty good, though I’m pretty rusty today. Okay. I am very rusty today.
Back in the day, I did play a lot, I really liked it when I won, as I did frequently. You might find this odd, but also felt badly when I won. Okay. That doesn’t make an ounce of sense.
Let me explain. Mostly, when I played, my opponent, was a relative or friend. I knew how it made me feel when I lost so I hated to see my opponent lose. I never threw a game. It would not be right to do that. It would be disrespectful. Still, especially as I grew older, it did kind of spoil the win.
Then they came out with computers and they came out with computer chess. I didn’t have to feel bad about beating the computer. It has no feelings. Besides, unless I kept it on he lowest level, I usually lost. What an ego buster.
I watched the professional sports, in which of course, there were also winners and losers. I really liked it when the Dodgers won. When the Rams lost won, I was unhappy, for a while anyway.
And so it is, there seems to always be those who win. Then too, there is also a loser. The winners always loves it. The losers always feel dejected. I think that was true more at the college level than at the pros. Think about it. Loyalty really isn’t so important in the pros. While it is always still good to win. While it always feels bad to lose. The player might actually end up playing for that team they just beat so greatly last season.
If we go back to the chess for a while. The loyalty thing isn’t an aspect there. I don’t know of too many cases where chess is a teem event, though I suppose it is possible. It might even make things interesting.
I think most realize that chess is actually a game based on real war. If nothing else, the names of the pieces makes that plain, right? Actually, many board games are base on wars, though I guess one of the most popular is based on business and real estate.
In chess, each player sets his pieces in array. Then while following the rules, the player tries to capture the opponents king. In many ways, it is the way battles of old were fought.
You wonder why the soldiers back then wore bright uniforms. It was so the officer, the one moving the pieces, could tell his men from his enemy’s soldiers. While the men charged each other, the officers sat on their horses on a high place so they could see what was happening and issue their commands.
When it comes to real war, for sure, no one wanted to lose. All the soldiers, from the private to the generals wanted to win. Rarely did they feel bad for the loser. Those that might, often lost. To be sure, if it is decided that war is a must, then it is imperative that you fight all out to win. As loose quote- it is not good to give your life for your country. It is far better that you make sure the enemy soldier gives his life for his. (Thank you General Patton for making sure we get the right perspective.)
I was a marine. I never faced an enemy face-to-face. Though I hate killing, if I were ever put in the position where I were on a battlefield, I would not hesitate to pull the trigger, over and over. I wouldn’t like it but I would.
Sargent York didn’t want to go to war during the first big war. He tried to be a coconscious objector. Yet, when it came down to it, he killed several Germans and took many more captive. When his CO asked why? York basically said it was to protect those he was fighting with.
In most cases, soldiers don’t fight against men but monsters. During their training they are taught those that they are fighting are subhuman. It helps to avoid feeling bad about pulling the trigger. Truth be told, I don’t think York ever thought as his enemy sub-human. He might not have ever shot at the Germans if it were just him. However, they were killing his friends and fellow soldiers. He felt he had to stop them. Moreover, he never felt like a hero for doing it.
Not all wars are fought on the battle field. Some would say we are in a battle of ideas. A few decades ago, maybe I would agree. Nowadays, it is a battle of deception. I am convinced that if people really knew Trump they would vote for him. If people really knew Kamala and her liberal friends, very few would vote for her.
And so it is, Trump is trying to expose the truth. He knows if he does, he will win. On the other hand, Kamala is trying to hide the truth. She knows if you learn who she is, she will lose. Personalities aside, if you vote for someone that is two bits different than a communist, you are helping the deceit. The hitch is that this is real. If the dems win this battle, all future votes will likely be nothing more, nothing less than a show. The outcome will always be predetermined as it was in the Soviet Union. It will be as it today in China. And our Constitution will become nothing more than old paper and ink. No one will respect it. Actually, not many respect it now. Many have no idea what it means.
I found it thoughtful that Jesus said that wars must be. He said there will be wars and rumors of wars. No atheist will ever be able to deny this little bit of prophecy. Speaking of wars, he said that these must be. He could see the end from the beginning. He knew what would happen.
But why did he say that about wars, as something of an afterthought, that the wars must be? I know it is not because He liked war. It is simply because, Jesus, knowing what He knew, saw that there would be wars, not in general, but specifically. He knew every man that would die and how.
Occasionally, He would intervene. Had he not helped us during the Revolutionary war, our primary monetary amount would be the pound. Hitler slept through the landing at Normandy and the Nazi’s reserve tanks could not be used to repulse the allied troops. By the way, even the weather helped. It was stormy before the landing, but cleared just in time for the successful landing.
Millions of Arabs surrounded Israel with their planes and tanks. Yet, greatly outnumbered, the Israelis sent them all running. God has his hand on the Jews. Better all take note. I can’t speak for God, as I am not a prophet. But this one thing I know for sure. No mater your weapons. No matter the size of your army. Unless God permits it, no foreigner will put one foot in Israel. If you decide to attack Israel, you might as well figure on being on the losing side.
Then too, I know I am on the victorious side. It has been foretold. It is there for all to read. I am not talking about chess or Monopoly. When it is time, Jesus will ride His white horse and he will destroy evil, all of it.
All battles on earth are temporary at best. When Jesus comes, the outcome will be permanent and complete. Jesus and those He has saved will will live with Him forever. Those that refuse to take Jesus as their savior will spend eternity in hell. They will be the losers.
For sure, I will feel bad for those losers, but I assure you, I don’t want to have any part with them. Those who fight against God, deceive themselves. They will be on the wrong side.
Remember these two things. If you do become one of those on the losing team, it will be permanent and it will be horrid. No one is going to be trading you to another team, unless it is before you die. Up until that point, there will always be room on on
God’s team. It just is, you must accept His payment in full. You cannot make any effort to pay in full or even in part. You must have faith in Jesus as your savior. If you take any other stance, you will spend eternity on the wrong side. You will be the eternal loser.
The dems want a law to stop ghost guns.
Really! Did they think this one through? This is akin to that old TV show, Mission Impossible.
Let’s say we give you the law you want. You sit down and write it. Then we manage to get it through both houses of Congress and signed by the president; all unchanged. This, of course, is already a minor miracle.
Now it’s passed. You have your law. Good luck enforcing it.
One of the basic logical things to remember about making laws is, don’t make laws that can’t be enforced. It’s a big waste of paper and ink.
It seems every time I see the news, they are broadcasting that interview. You know the one on 60 minutes where she says that they have decreased the flow of illegal aliens over the border by half lately.
Well, let’s make sure she gets that straight. That is only after her and her boss increased the flow by at least 4 times. So now the flow is only double what there was when they took office. As a side note, had Trump stayed in office for just one more month, he would have had the wall done and the illegal alien flow would have been far less.
How-some-ever, I just found out, Kamala and Joe have nothing to do with the recent decrease. The gov of Texas decreased the rate of illegal border crossings into Texas by about 80%. My guess is that covers the 50% decrease that Kamala brags of and then some. If Calif, Ariz and NM had done the same, we might not even have any crossings at the border, certainly not what we have now.
It might not even be worth mentioning, but I really don’t like it when dems take credit for the work the Republicans do. It just isn’t right and you know that.
As a side note, it has been suggested a possibility that Old Joe was so upset about being pushed aside by Pelosi that he chose to put Kamala in there as his sub. It likely wasn’t that difficult being as she was already VP. Just maybe Old Joe figured she’d not be able to beat Trump. The way the polls are drifting, the way that Kamala is starting to panic, maybe he had it right. In which case, Old Joe might still have his revenge yet.
We were on the way home from eating and we were listening to the USB connection on my one year-old Nissan. The recording we were listening to was by Anne Murray, one of my moderate favorites artists. I mentioned to my wife that I have misplaced our copy of one of our favorite recordings of hers, Snowbird.
That did it. She didn’t remember it. I tried without success to describe it. So, determined as I was, the first thing I did when we got home was to look up the recording on the Net. In minutes, we were listening to it. I’m glad as I have not heard it for a while.
Then I mentioned that that I really liked yellow bird by Lawrence Welk, which she did not remember. Before I was done listening to various recordings of Yellow Bird, all awesome, 20 to 25 minutes passed. Perhaps the best or nearly best was by The Brothers Four. While listening to that, I noted they had a copy of The Green Leaves of Summer. (Theme from the Alamo, 1960)
I must admit, they did do a good recording of it, no surprise to me. They are good singers and they know how to sing. That might sound redundant, but there are people that can sing good but they don’t know how. The reason I know is have heard some of them.
At any rate, it reminded me that I have a copy of the original somewhere. Guess I’ll have to search for it. It is worth the effort. Well, I do know where my original record is.
At any rate, before the chain of recordings was over, I played 3 more versions of it, one which was accompanied by the scenes of the movie. That one brought tears to my eyes. After that, I figured it was time for me to quit. Before I ever look up another song on the net, will make dead sure I have time to listen to 50 songs, at least.
When Kamala was running against Old Joe, quickly the nation decided that Kamala was far worse than Joe. She never even truly got a start. The Kamala became VP. Then the dems decided that Old Joe wasn’t going to win. So, in panic, they put Kamala in there. Who knows if that is even legal, let alone right.
Now, they have started letting Kamala out of the basement. She is permitted to speak. And now that she is speaking again, we know that which we knew before. Kamala is worse than Joe and it would appear she is out to prove it again.
Their only hope now of winning is simple. Destroy the orange man some how some way. Did you happen to notice that all of a sudden, the attacks on Trump have increased quickly and drastically. Did you notice the new book released in time to effect the election, but not soon enough to allow Trump to counter it.
They, the dems, started the ide of early voting. They knew it would give them the 4 or 5 points they needed to win the elections. Now, maybe they are wishing they could stop it. With all the early voting, they have even less time to convince the nation that that Trump is a monster.
Most of us older folks grew up seeing the logo, a picture of a dog looking into a an old wax cylinder recording machine. I wanted to use it as a springboard into this current post. However, I figured I should at least make half an effort to get things right. So I looked it up and must admit, I found out a lot.
First of all, let me say I love the logo. I think it is among the best ever made. Not only was it interesting but it had a story behind it, though I had no idea how much until a short time ago. It is an interesting story and I would encourage y’ll to read about it. Just look up “his master’s voice” on the internet. You’ll have to dig through some of the more modern stuff, but the original art was in the late 1800s by Frances Barraud and was later picked up by other recording companies through the years, finally with RCA.
The story, briefly is that Mark, Frances’ brother, died and left many things to Frances. Among those things: a fox terrier named Nipper, a grammar phone that used wax cylinders and a number of wax cylinders with Mark’s voice on them. Frances noticed that that nipper always stationed himself where he could hear the recording and looked down the cone, possibly curious.
So Francis, being an artist, decided to paint it. The rest is, as they say history. The trademark has changed many times over the century but it remained basically the same. Moreover, most of them have the words, his master’s voice.
The truth of the matter is, dogs in general, don’t take long to learn their master’s voice, especially when the dog and the master become very close. It is just the way things are and no one doubts it. In this case, however, the dog is deceived. It is not his master’s voice but a man made copy.
If we look at John 10:27, we find something remotely parallel. Jesus said “My sheep hear My voice, I know them and they follow me. “
It was a long time before recording machines. Yet we learn that the sheep learn the sound of their master’s voice and they learn to follow their master. It does go without saying, if the sheep does not follow the shepherd, it probably is not the master of the sheep. The sheep likely belongs to someone else and follows him.
We modern folk might have a little problem with this. Most of us have little or nothing to do with sheep. However, we do know a thing or two about dogs. If ten men call a dog, it will likely only go to his master. The dog knows his master’s voice and he is obedient to his master.
It is a poor example. A dog is a poor example to a sheep. However, the principle is the same. Jesus has His sheep and He knows them all by name. Moreover, his sheep are obedient to Him. He watches over them and protects them. He makes sure they have food and water.
It is probably a good idea for us to become one of His sheep. Most people chose not to. So, they never know his voice and they go off somewhere else. They have no protection from the wolves and they may or may not get water and food.
Nipper listened to a dead man’s voice. We sheep who are of Jesus’ fold, know our master’s voice and we know He lives. We know He has given his life for us, and yet He lives. And we live, because He lives. And though we die, we will live forever. It is what the master said. And we believe it because He said it. We have no need to know anything else.
However, Jesus is the Good shepherd that cares for His sheep. He provides, protects and leads us as only He can do. Might I remind you of the twenty-third psalm, which is a picture us His sheep and him the Shepherd.
The story of Nipper is a story that pulls at our heart strings. Moreover, it is true. Unfortunately, Nipper today has died. The story of Christ is true. Fortunately, Jesus also died. By doing so, He died for us, paying for all the wrongs we ever did or thought of doing. Then the Good Shepherd rose from the grave to lead his sheep. Most important, the voice we hear is not a recording of dead man, but the living savior.
It is your choice. God has given us the chance to chose Him or death. Those who do not chose Him have chosen death. Those of us who chose Him and accept his Son as our savior, are the sheep of the 23 psalm. For those who are not his sheep, the 23rd Psalm does apply to them. The words provide comfort only to the saved.
I guess I have lost track of the number of ways a person can make a wager; and that’s just the legal ones. In the regular casinos, there must be at least half a dozen ways. Then there are the horse and dog tracks. You can legally make wagers on, I guess, any sport. You can even bet on the outcome of elections. There isn’t a day goes by that I am encouraged to make bets over the internet.
I don’t have any part in it. There is one thing I keep in mind at all times. The odds are always against me.
If you go into the casinos in Vegas, you will see big lavish surroundings. They are expensive, you know. They are paid for by people not like me. The lavish surroundings are expensive. They are air conditioned and well lit, which costs money. Each table takes up space and requires someone to operate it. Besides them, there are people that monitor the area, probably one for every 3 or 4 tables.
The places generally have at least a camera on every table which is likely monitored from who knows where. I would suspect most casinos are kept spotlessly clean. Someone goes around making sure it is kept that way 24 hours a day, you know. Someone pays for that. It is not paid for by the casinos. If it were, they’d go broke. Those that pay are the ones sitting at the tables buying the chips and dropping the tokens in the machines.
It is true, some people who enter those casinos come out with more than they come in with. It is true and they have it down to a science. They can tell you on that day how many will win and how many will lose. They know how much the house will win and and how much they will lose. They also know the winnings will exceed the losses.
Well, I guess there is one situation in which the casinos lose. If no one goes in and makes bets, the casino will close down and declare bankruptcy. I don’t just know this from theory but observation. One of the casinos that originally opened in Tunica, name Splash, closed up and went away. The customers stopped going in there. They went to the big ones that are still there.
Now let me see, one of the casinos implied with their ads that if you went there and gambled, you could, you might somehow become a Hollywood movie star. They actually showed pictures of a woman lying on a bed and clicking her ruby red heels. I wonder were they got that idea. I don’t know if the advertising worked, but they did have a bunch of visitors dropping off their earning for which they worked so hard.
Invariably, every year near the end of basketball season, the places I worked had pools. Every year, that is before I retired, they asked me to take part in it. I never did. I told them I worked to hard to throw my money away on such things. They never let it go at that. They generally tried for about five minutes to talk me into it.
I have no idea why, but it is something the alcoholics share with gamblers. They never want to do it alone. They always encourage others to join them. I never made a dollar off the pools, but then I never lost a dollar either. I made more than one person angry with me over it.
Before you make that bet, you might remember, “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Proverbs 21:20. Even if you are a staunch atheist, you must admit the proverb is rock solid true. (actually, the Bible has a bunch of truth in it, aside of the religion. For instance, a society will be better when it does not allow robbery and murder.)
Hence, invariably the world of gambling consists of fools and those wanting to take advantage of their foolishness.
Even so, the world would not be as it is today without those willing to risk what they have. Even the farmer gambles. Large advances in technology only took place by those willing to take risks. You know them and their invention, Edison and his light, Bell and his phone, Marconi and his radio, for a few.
Certainly for this reason, I cannot completely put down risk takers. It just is, when you put that bet on 23 on the roulette table, you pretty much know you may as well toss that money in the trash. When you buy that lottery ticket, you know you’ve seen the last of that little bit. You are joining the world of fools that keep giving your hard earned money to those who make their living off of fools.
bfrhodes99 