One Cʘsmos: Until Further Gnosis

Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Until Further Gnosis

A spontaneous remission of blogorrhea. So yes, I do ever shut-up.

157 comments:

julie said...: Not that anyone was wanting you to shut up :)

Every once in a while one must stop and take a breath or two. My littlest one has mastered the art of talking while breathing in, but I really don't recommend it...; 1/05/2016 10:56:00 AM
ted said...: How was that "Up with Authority" book by Austin? Looked interesting, and unique.; 1/05/2016 12:55:00 PM
Gagdad Bob said...: In a word, lame.; 1/05/2016 01:13:00 PM
ted said...: Fine with me. One less book to read.; 1/05/2016 01:17:00 PM
Gagdad Bob said...: Conversely, I really enjoyed the D'Souza book on What's So Great About Christianity. Worth every penny -- which is what they're going for used. He is a gifted apologist and lively communicator. Plus he has the high distinction of being an actual Enemy of the Regime and former political prisoner. Now I'm reading his book on the afterlife, and it is equally entertaining. Nothing we don't cover here, but still, it's fun to see him shoot down the atheists.; 1/05/2016 01:26:00 PM
julie said...: Good to know. There was a post about him at Ace's a week or two ago, talking about the time he spent in prison and how it affected his perspective; sounded really interesting. I don't seem to have much time for reading these days, but next time I pick something up it might well be by D'Souza.; 1/05/2016 01:32:00 PM
julie said...: How do you taunt a raccoon? Give it cotton candy. Doh!; 1/05/2016 03:32:00 PM
Joan of Argghh! said...: I was just about to post that, Julie!!; 1/06/2016 03:33:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: Drat.; 1/06/2016 09:59:00 AM
ted said...: Rubio impresses me with his theological acuity.; 1/08/2016 05:08:00 PM
julie said...: David Bowie, RIS. Don't know why it should be surprising, but it is.; 1/11/2016 01:14:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: There goes another piece of my childhood. I wore out Ziggy Stardust in high school. Didn't care much for his later incarnations, though.

That reminds me. Last night I dreamt that I shared an apartment with Bowie's friend and collaborator Iggy Pop....; 1/11/2016 07:32:00 AM
ted said...: Yeah the Bowie thing got me too. But living with Iggy? That's got me a nightmare.; 1/11/2016 07:50:00 AM
ted said...: At least heaven gets to hear this duet now.; 1/11/2016 07:59:00 AM
Joan of Argghh! said...: Possibly this is more likely? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADbJLo4x-tk; 1/12/2016 04:12:00 AM
julie said...: I have to spout this somewhere: Scrolling through Facebook just now, without a hint of irony, revealed the following: "Save America! Jump into the race, Joe Biden!!!!!"

God help us; there is no hope in man.; 1/13/2016 02:07:00 PM
Gagdad Bob said...: Maybe after he cures cancer.; 1/13/2016 02:28:00 PM
Van Harvey said...: And if he can't cure it, he's always got his wife's shotgun....; 1/13/2016 02:32:00 PM
ted said...: Ha. Trump and Bernie. What a year. Heard an interview for the author of this book today. It compels me. Far out predictions. Makes sense somehow.; 1/13/2016 03:18:00 PM
Van Harvey said...: Alan Rickman too. This year's off to a really crappy start.
http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/alan-rickman-british-actor-known-harry-potter-role-has-died-n496346; 1/14/2016 01:26:00 PM
ge said...: [Not that guy!] Well 'mourning' can bring
old connec's together
http://fulcanelliott.blogspot.com/
= my Bowie tribute
personal nutty and cosmic natch!
i see they had Bowie-Nomi appearance on SNL last nite; 1/17/2016 06:42:00 AM
EbonyRaptor said...: Now Glenn Frey.; 1/19/2016 03:05:00 PM
EbonyRaptor said...: I keep checking to see if Bob is back and I'm starting to get worried. I hope all is well.; 1/19/2016 03:07:00 PM
Gagdad Bob said...: All is well. Just no impulsion whatsoever to inflict my cosmic musings upon the world.; 1/19/2016 03:13:00 PM
Van Harvey said...: The times, they are a changing.; 1/19/2016 07:00:00 PM
ge said...: Late period just discovered Bowie that is must hear--
if unmoved by this, well our thoughts & prayers
will be with ye...'Slip Away':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFtNAXxwn-I; 1/20/2016 07:29:00 AM
EbonyRaptor said...: Glad all is well Bob. Ya can't force inspiration. It will be worth the wait.; 1/21/2016 02:53:00 PM
Gagdad Bob said...: Just in case anyone has tried to reach me, we changed internet providers a few weeks back, so I have a new email address: earthtobob99@gmail.com; 1/23/2016 08:40:00 AM
julie said...: This sounds promising. I wonder, if they can protect the islet cells from the immune system, can the same treatment be used to prevent rejection of other types of tissue or organs?; 1/25/2016 05:15:00 PM
swiftone said...: Sigh. And I thought my RSS feed was just bugged and bogged with the latest trumptasticness. I'm not sure what to make of his run. Glad he's opened a few unPC topics. But hasn't our appetite for narcissists been sated? I miss the cosmic view I found here. Sigh.; 1/27/2016 07:36:00 AM
Joan of Argghh! said...: Just following my habitual Raccoon trail and thought I'd sniff around for tidbits.

*Stands on hindlegs, looks around, wrings little paws. Ambles away.*

I miss Ben, too.; 1/30/2016 08:59:00 AM
julie said...: Yeah, me too. I emailed him on Thanksgiving, and he replied a couple days later that he had been with friends. I've been hoping that he hasn't been online because he's been too busy having a life, but it would be really nice to hear from him now and then, just to know if he's okay.

Re. tidbits, I almost linked a piece this morning. Might as well: At USC, it now requires five steps to kiss someone without sexually assaulting them. It's interesting that this time, instead of the usual sex-positive bacchanalia being preached on campus, it's more like a page out of the Jr. Anti-Sex League handbook. Though of course, there's no reason to think the event didn't feature both. They are so schizophrenic: "kiss all you want, but remember to use a safe word!"; 1/30/2016 09:14:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: Ah, good to hear about Ben. I've been concerned too, but didn't want to rouse him into feeling he had to reply to a comment, if he's just wanting to relax. Everyone needs to relax until further gnosis, Once in a while.; 1/30/2016 10:58:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: This book on the Indian Wars is really informative, well written, and entertaining. The Comanches were pretty much like the ISIS of their day. The diabolical creativity of their sadism astonishes.; 1/30/2016 01:11:00 PM
ted said...: Hmm, that looks good! Just saw "The Revenant" which depicts the violence of the time well between the Indians and the fur trappers. Great film with a transcendent quality to it.; 1/31/2016 12:01:00 PM
Gagdad Bob said...: About the campus anti-sex league alluded to by Julie, I just read a passage in this book on Aquinas to the effect that "the devil is not a fornicator nor a drunkard nor anything of the sort," since he is a spiritual and not corporeal being. Therefore, he can only enjoy perverse spiritual pleasures, in particular, pride and envy.

This would explain why, like our campus lefties, communists and Nazis were such prudes but so envious.; 2/01/2016 01:24:00 PM
julie said...: Interesting observation. And how easy it is to drive people to acts of pride and envy by way of misdirected sexuality.

I've often had occasion lately to consider the decline of the West and also of places like Japan, where relatively high intelligence combined with a rejection of faith has resulted in so much cultural suicide. One of the ways this happens is by sterilizing sexuality - at the same time making it almost omnipresent and nonexistent. It's talked about everywhere, omnipresent in advertising and entertainment, but (apparently) relatively few people are doing it, and far fewer with any sense of its proper end. Those who are seem not so much interested in making long-term commitments, as engaging in mutual onanism with strangers. In Japan, it seems, almost anything can be sexualized, while fewer and fewer people are choosing to even interact with the opposite sex, much less procreate.

Conversely, populations with relatively lower intellects have no difficulty reproducing. Nobody needs to explain to them why it's a good and worthwhile endeavor to have children, and since they tend not to think their way out of faith, they don't need an existential examination in order to reassure themselves that it's really okay to pass on their genes.

It's almost like intelligence absent faith is an evolutionary dead end.; 2/02/2016 07:32:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: I would say that intelligence absent faith is an evolutionary dead end because the ultimate end of intelligence can ultimately only be known via faith. Absent faith, intelligence is just a closed circle, a la Godel.; 2/02/2016 08:29:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Blogging update: writing is even less in the offing than it was a month ago, since Mrs. G is laid up with a bad back, so I have to do all the driving, shopping, and general running around. There is no slack in the forecast.; 2/02/2016 08:32:00 AM
ted said...: It's good to know you are attending to what is needed most, although we miss your slacksights.; 2/02/2016 08:44:00 AM
julie said...: Re. intelligence, yes. It's almost like a cosmic joke: so many people seem to earnestly believe that higher and higher intelligence is an end in itself. It is, just not in the way they think...

Re. Mrs. G, she - and all of you, since her suffering affects the whole family - continues to be in our prayers.; 2/02/2016 08:47:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Scientists discover slack: why spacing out and goofing off is so good for you.; 2/02/2016 06:56:00 PM
Leslie Godwin said...: Thank you for your prayers for me and especially for Bob and Tristan. It means a lot to me and I do feel a great deal of strength from that.
Blessings, Mrs. G; 2/02/2016 10:11:00 PM
Van Harvey said...: What Julie said, Re. Mrs. G, she - and all of you, since her suffering affects the whole family - continues to be in our prayers.

My wife took a tumble down the stairs last year & hurt her back. After all the MRI's and such were done, it turned out that we lucked out and it was only bruising and she was ok once it healed up... but very scary for all. It's all too easy to imagine (though probably short of the actuality) what we all would've gone through had it been worse.; 2/03/2016 09:24:00 AM
will said...: Leslie, hope you're feeling better soon. Add my prayers to the prayer airlift coming your way. Re back probs - before I had a back prob, I used to think that back pain was a mere annoyance. I'm sure its uncomfortable, I thought, but c'mon, how bad could it be? Then I got a back prob and it was a long red sheet of agony that rendered me virtually helpless. Couldn't get out of bed without help. So now I'm all contrite about my previous attitude and am wishing you speedy recovery.; 2/04/2016 08:42:00 AM
Rick said...: I wish Gary and Jerry were here.They'd know what to do.

Enjoy: Bob, Leslie, and the diaspora.; 2/04/2016 02:04:00 PM
Leslie Godwin said...: All Brothers Under the Pelt:

Thank you for the prayer airlift, as Will put it. It feels miraculous, but I didn't have to take anything stronger than advil yesterday and til now after months of daily, stronger pain meds.

I so appreciate your prayers. And I wanted to let you know that I am feeling better in many ways. I have also recently started an online Master's Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville that will give me the background and credentials to help with children's faith formation. So I'm reading God's Word most of the day, most days. If not for the deadlines and structure of the program, I would be reading here and there, but now I am immersed in it. And that has been a huge blessing.
Thank you so much! I still pray daily for many of you, and you know who you are ;)

~~~
WILL! It's really you!! Thank you so much for your kind words. I know what you mean. So happy to see you on 1C again!
Blessings to you and keep in touch,
Leslie; 2/05/2016 09:37:00 AM
will said...: Leslie, great news re the pain alleviation! The prayers will keep coming in tiny parachutes, hope you don't mind the clutter. Actually I drop into OC frequently as an invisible presence, sometimes disguised as a Chinese vase or an ashtray. Btw, Tristan should be reporting to Dodgers training camp soon, eh? Can't wait for his insights re the '16 season! I have new theories re the new power-pitching era that I want to bounce off T when the time is right. Also, I don't think I can stand the Super Bowl anymore, but I'll prbly watch anyway. Lets go, old Caucasian QB!; 2/05/2016 12:26:00 PM
julie said...: Leslie, so glad that you are feeling better! I hope it continues and that you heal quickly.

Also, how cool that you are getting your Master's in children's faith formation! Sounds like a wonderful study.; 2/05/2016 01:40:00 PM
Joan of Argghh! said...: Just now seeing this and wondering if God, dwelling outside of time, will apply my prayers in arrears (or back-wards!). Glad you are doing better!; 2/05/2016 05:40:00 PM
ted said...: Okay Curb Your Enthusiasm fans, SNL hit one out of the park last night! Very funny.; 2/07/2016 12:57:00 PM
EbonyRaptor said...: The Sultan had a nice essay worth a few minutes to read.

Leftist movements begin with rebellion and end with conformity. No Utopian movement can tolerate rebels for long because there is no room for dissent in paradise. An ideal society, the goal of leftist political movements, not only has no room for war, racism, greed and all the other evils the conformist paradises of the left hope to eliminate, it also has no room for disagreement.

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-traditionalist-rebel.html; 2/08/2016 08:03:00 PM
baldilocks said...: Prayers, G family.; 2/09/2016 05:17:00 PM
julie said...: "Science": Mystical experience is just brain damage.

They really, truly can't bear the possibility that there is anything real, much less true, about God. Or mystical experience.; 2/10/2016 05:14:00 PM
Gagdad Bob said...: Scientistic experience is just soul damage.; 2/10/2016 05:28:00 PM
ted said...: That is soul sucking.

Much like today's university students.; 2/11/2016 09:19:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: Julie, they can't even bear the possibility that anything is real about reality; to expect them to entertain the possibility of God, or even an inkling of him... would require a miracle.

:-); 2/11/2016 09:27:00 AM
will said...: Take heart!The New Angry Atheists/Rationalists may be angry, but they ain't new. In the past, "Ages of Reason" have sprung up in virtually every literate society, Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Chinese. (see Oswald Spengler).The rationalists declare a new age of reason that's going to lay waste to the crippling, outmoded notions of gods, God, the mystical experience, etc. For a time, they hold sway, but new faiths, religions enter - because people can't live by bread alone - and thus the hyper- rationalists wither away. Seems to be part of a cycle. Today's hyper-rationalists are particularly obnoxious because we still live in the age of the Myth of Eternal Scientific Progress, but they too, will disappear, and all the prediction of the last several centuries re the final disappearance of religion will vanish with them.; 2/11/2016 03:17:00 PM
will said...: Actually, the original Buddhism was something of a rationalist philosophy designed to strip away the "superstitious" notion of Hindu gods and goddesses, but in time Buddhism turned into a religion itself with a whole panoply of gods, goddesses, devas, etc.; 2/11/2016 03:24:00 PM
Petey said...: The gods are like invisible spores that you can never eradicate. Drive out (super)ature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.; 2/11/2016 03:49:00 PM
will said...: Church of the Invisible Spore.; 2/11/2016 04:26:00 PM
Magnus Itland said...: Scalia, too, has left the house.
Almost looks like it is harvest time.; 2/14/2016 06:02:00 AM
ted said...: What do you suppose Scalia and Bowie are talking about?; 2/14/2016 06:51:00 AM
will said...: If Scalia is the paisano I think he is, he'll be giving Bowie legal counsel and may even represent him when DB goes before the Really Supreme Court.; 2/14/2016 07:35:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Scalia will no doubt recommend that he put forth an Aladdin Sanity defense.; 2/14/2016 08:20:00 AM
Joan of Argghh! said...: In the early 70's some thought Jesus was returning when gas hit 75 cents a gallon, abortion was made legal, inflation was off the charts, and Iran's supreme burrito had captured American hostages. We had riots and violence on campus and off, and a weak President.

Today we prayed the Great Litany, a phrase from which was, "from sudden death when we are unprepared, deliver us, O Lord." So I prayed for Scalia, more prepared than I, and myself, and took on the sobriety of the moment: no man knows the day or the hour. Still, I think we are closer than 40 years ago, by orders of magnitude. The beginnings of birth pangs in a society that seeks to eradicate birth.; 2/14/2016 11:20:00 AM
julie said...: Sobering thought, for what manner of infant might be brought forth at such a time?; 2/14/2016 11:24:00 AM
Christina M said...: will, Scalia, Faith Formation...wow!

Good to see you all again.; 2/14/2016 01:01:00 PM
will said...: Christina - hiya!

Julie - you can bet there's a batch of potential warlords a'comin.; 2/14/2016 09:27:00 PM
will said...: Anagram for Bernie Sanders - brand eeriness; 2/17/2016 09:57:00 AM
ted said...: Interesting interview with Jonathan Haidt. Here's an excerpt...

Nowadays, a mob can coalesce out of nowhere. And so we’re [professors] more afraid of our students than we are of our peers. It is still possible for professors to say what they think over lunch; in private conversations they can talk. But the list of things we can say in the classroom is growing shorter and shorter... It’s really scary that values other than truth have become sacred. And what I keep trying to say — this comes right out of my book The Righteous Mind — is that you can’t have two sacred values. Because what do you do when they conflict? And in the academy now, if truth conflicts with social justice, truth gets thrown under the bus.; 2/18/2016 08:46:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: " It’s really scary that values other than truth have become sacred."

Sorry, but from Haidt, that's almost funny.; 2/18/2016 10:59:00 AM
ted said...: Haidt seems like a former lefty going through a conversion of sorts. But I do think it's interesting that looniversity professors are now running from the monsters they have created.; 2/18/2016 11:33:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: Fittingly, just like Dr.Frankenstein.; 2/18/2016 12:36:00 PM
Van Harvey said...: Hey Gagdad, curious, have you noticed any differences in your days, since stopping writing about the morning raids?; 2/19/2016 10:34:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Besides feeling useless, not much.; 2/19/2016 10:48:00 AM
ted said...: Useless, but slackful; 2/19/2016 12:19:00 PM
Gagdad Bob said...: Not really slackful. More like a space for demonic aggressions.; 2/19/2016 12:33:00 PM
julie said...: Sorry to hear that.

I'd offer a helpful platitude, but seem to be fresh out. Anyway you've heard them all before: crosses, battles, patience, trust, yada yada yada. Whatever happens, I hope it all bears good fruit. Or maybe it's that good fruit is being borne.

Suddenly, I wonder if trees experience labor pains when they produce seeds...; 2/19/2016 01:32:00 PM
ted said...: I'm not sure if Badfinger is ideal for the demonic phase.; 2/19/2016 02:24:00 PM
Van Harvey said...: Gagdad said "Besides feeling useless, not much... Not really slackful. More like a space for demonic aggressions."

I suppose that stands to reason, as becoming unemployed from your vocation feels that way, becoming unemployed from your avocation would feel as, or more so.

Looking forward to our favorite 'OC Pub & Watering Whole' reopening its doors... in one form or another.; 2/20/2016 07:10:00 AM
Kurt said...: I stop by everyday, just to see what everyone is up to. I am very fond of this blog. From it and through it I found a lot of truth. But a season for everything. Prayers for you and yours, Gagdad.; 2/20/2016 09:50:00 AM
Joan of Argghh! said...: It's good for our ears to hear our own voice, be it praising or praying or sorrowing.

"Give ear to my words, oh Lord," says the Psalmist.
To which I respond "Give words to my ears, oh Lord!"
To which He says, "Open thy mouth and I will fill it."

All the wrestling is between the ears. The only way our heart can get through our skull to do battle is through our "hearing."; 2/20/2016 08:15:00 PM
Leslie Godwin said...: Guy submits nonsense abstract to postmodern academic conference and is invited to speak there.

The field of psychology is just as bad. I got in just before the field was totally ruined. Yesterday I received a mailer for the annual conference of the California Psychological Association, where the keynote speaker will discuss Addressing Microaggressions in Everyday Life: The Role of Psychologists in Social Justice Advocacy.

Another featured speaker will address Using White Racial Identity Theory to Avoid Re-Traumatizing Survivors of Racial Trauma. "Effective mental health service providers must be able to acknowledge racial traumas and ethnoviolence as real and overcome their own reluctance to talk about race..."

Okay, lets talk about it. Why are young black men so disproportionately prone to violence?

Another one: Building Best Care for Gender-nonconforming and Transgender People Across the Life Span.

Amazing. In one generation the role of psychology has gone from trying to cure these sick souls to enabling them.

The speaker claims that "Gender health is the ability to live authentically in one's affirmed gender free from aspersion or negativity from the surrounding culture."

What epic bullshit! It defines health in terms of how others see the sick person, and wants to force others to adapt to the patient, instead of the patient adapting to reality. Beatings will continue until morale improves.; 2/24/2016 08:10:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: I have no idea how the wife got credit for that. That was me.; 2/24/2016 08:12:00 AM
julie said...: lol - I was just thinking, that's some awfully strong language from Mrs. G!

But yeah, if I were a young person today interested in psychology for the purpose of actually helping sick people (as opposed to social justice or simple projection), I don't know what my options would be. Maybe spiritual counseling?; 2/24/2016 08:17:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Maybe drug dealer.

I remember a while back, someone tried to start a philosophical counseling movement. There's a wiki entry on it.; 2/24/2016 08:22:00 AM
Rick said...: "I got in just before the field was totally ruined."
~Adam; 2/24/2016 09:23:00 AM
julie said...: Re. What epic bullshit! It defines health in terms of how others see the sick person, and wants to force others to adapt to the patient, instead of the patient adapting to reality. Beatings will continue until morale improves.

I'm suddenly reminded of feminist Tumblrinas, who proudly list on their "about" pages the assortment of mental health problems they believe they suffer. Rather than seek help to better adjust to reality, they demand praise, coddling, and protection from any negative opinions.; 2/24/2016 12:01:00 PM
maineman said...: You could always become Catholic like I did, Bob. Once that happened, I was forced to drop out of my state psych association and APA on that grounds that membership would no longer be just annoying and expensive but also a violation of the Faith.

Prior to that, the only excuse I had was that I was surrounded by mental health professionals who had suddenly gone batfeathers nuts.

I hope I can retire without being put in front of a firing squad for diagnosing some "T" with a Delusional Disorder.; 2/27/2016 11:10:00 AM
maineman said...: And I had meant to post this as well, from an essay by T.S. Eliot, c. 1930:

"The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save The World from suicide."; 2/27/2016 12:02:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi everyone. I just wanted to drop by and let everyone know I'm ok. I apologize for taking so long to do so. I have been very busy.
I hope everyone is doing well.
Ben; 2/27/2016 12:06:00 PM
Van Harvey said...: Ben! Good to hear!

And Maineman, that's a quote that really needs to be taken to heart by many a folk.; 2/27/2016 12:44:00 PM
Joan of Argghh! said...: *Waves to Ben!* Thanks for checking in. We miss you!; 2/28/2016 02:40:00 PM
Allena-C said...: Thank you Van and Joan! "Waving back." It's good to see you! :); 2/29/2016 08:43:00 AM
ted said...: I'm having dissonance over Trump. Find him boorish, crude, and shallow (albeit he is amusing at times). But Hillary is worse. I think I may sit this one out. Can we have a do-over?; 3/01/2016 05:51:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: Ted said "can we have a do over?"

No, we can't. I'm no fan of Trump, but even if he becomes the nominee, there's a distinction to make, and a choice to be made.

Your vote can be cast in two ways. The preferred mode (which I haven't had the opportunity of enjoying for about 30 years now) is to vote For the candidate that will most benefit and preserve our Liberty and laws. The second mode, is to vote Against the candidate who will cause the most harm to our liberty and laws. The supposed third option, a hopeless write-in, or not voting at all, can only benefit the greater threat to Liberty and law, and is no viable option at all.

Even in the worst case scenario, given a choice between a tyrant representing no ideas but himself, and a tyrant representing a 'coherent' set of evil ideas, the second represents a far greater threat to life, liberty and law than the first, and I can find few reasons to excuse not doing everything in my power to oppose that.

Doesn't mean bad things won't happen under the first, but it does mean they will in all likelihood be less bad than under the second. Also, it is far more likely that we can shake ourselves and recover from a tin pot dictator, than from an ideological pro-Regressive Marxist/Socialist.

Forget the parties altogether, concern yourselves with what matters most.; 3/01/2016 06:26:00 AM
julie said...: The guy you vote for will be the worst possible candidate, except for all the rest.

If the choice boils down to "douche" or "turd sandwich," at least the douche is occasionally useful.; 3/01/2016 06:36:00 AM
Leslie Godwin said...: Van speaks the truth. Not fighting evil is always the wrong choice, even if the other option is a narcissistic clown. Van, thank you for explaining that better than I ever could. This is the most important election in my lifetime because the window is closing on counteracting Obama's policies.; 3/01/2016 06:39:00 AM
joseph said...: The immigrant question is, in fact, the only important question, and conservatives have failed to take notice, except for a few.
Im so weary of hearing "this is the most important election...."
1964 was the most important election. Multiculturalism has dominated ever since. Obama was the fruit of that, not the originator.
At least Trump seems to understand that.; 3/01/2016 06:48:00 AM
will said...: Ted, I regard Trump as revolutionary karmic blowback - our corrupt, elitist, PC-driven political class created him. At this point, people will accept anything, even a narcissistic, rambling meatball like Trump, as long as he's outside the grid. I have no clue as to what kind of prez Trump would be, but I'd vote for the devil I don't know than the devil I do (Hillary).

I'm sure you've seen all the editorials - pundits wailing, "have we gone insane, are we a nation of idiots?", etc. Wrong question. They should be asking, why do people feel so betrayed by the political elite and the system they created that they would vote for a performance artist like Trump?

One thing I'm sure of - if Trump is upended, either by the GOP Establishment or by Hillary in a general election, he'll be back in one form or another, and soon. Conditions are ripening for a revolution.; 3/01/2016 06:58:00 AM
Leslie Godwin said...: It's almost always a case of the stupid party vs. the evil party. It is our cosmic duty to go with stupid.

Besides, stupid is non-linear. You never know what might come out of it.; 3/01/2016 07:01:00 AM
julie said...: Will, exactly.; 3/01/2016 07:02:00 AM
Gagdad said...: It's almost always a case of the stupid party vs. the evil party. It is our cosmic duty to go with stupid.

Besides, stupid is non-linear. You never know what might come out of it.; 3/01/2016 07:04:00 AM
julie said...: Leslie, lol.

Someone needs to make an "I'm with Stupid" t-shirt for Trump's campaign,; 3/01/2016 07:04:00 AM
julie said...: Er, Gagdad - should have known.; 3/01/2016 07:05:00 AM
Allena-C said...: Van, good points. I suppose one could make the argument that Trump would be bad for conservatism in general, and I think he will be, but he is probably the lesser of two evils. That's not to say that many of the elitists aren't also bad for conservatism, or classical liberalism.

Will, I don't believe Trump is as out of the grid as most seem to think. He has called many of the PC driven, corrupt class his friends and even supported some of them. I have seen no indication he is anything but pro big govt and pro govt helping big businesses with taxpayer dollars.

Regardless, the anger is very real, and he has learned how to tap into that. However, unlike Reagan he is not a man of vision, cares little or nothing for our liberties, and he's maybe as divisive as Obama. Of course, Hillary is most likely worse. I can only hope Trump doesn't win the nomination.; 3/01/2016 07:20:00 AM
Allena-C said...: "It's almost always a case of the stupid party vs. the evil party. It is our cosmic duty to go with stupid."

"Besides, stupid is non-linear. You never know what might come out of it."

That pretty much sums it up, lol.; 3/01/2016 07:23:00 AM
ted said...: "stupid is non-linear"

Explains how I landed on my feet. :); 3/01/2016 07:33:00 AM
will said...: Btw, Oswald Spengler nailed this back in the '20's: When, in the course of historical cycles, a political class becomes parasitical and unresponsive to the "little people", a figure inevitably arises to speak for and represent them. Spengler called this "Caesar-ism", after Julius Caesar who was the Trump of his time. Interestingly, Caesar, like Trump, was from a moneyed family, but he had a distinct talent for relating to the general population who had entirely lost faith in Rome's governing class.

Without Caesar, Rome would have likely dissolved in a series of civil wars. As it was, Caesar allowed the Empire to continue for another 300 years or so.

Point being, if we continue with biz as usual under a Hillary presidency, we will likely see a violent revolution. Trump, on the other hand, is a one-man, non-violent revolution.; 3/01/2016 07:39:00 AM
Allena-C said...: Joseph said...
The immigrant question is, in fact, the only important question, and conservatives have failed to take notice, except for a few

I don't think it's the only important question. Liberty should be taking the spot of most important, but that's not to say we don't have immigration problems.; 3/01/2016 07:43:00 AM
will said...: Allena, that may be true re Trump, but he's perceived as being off the grid, a complete political anomaly, and that's what is carrying him. Seems it doesn't matter what he says, its the freewheeling, performance art way he says it that people find appealing.; 3/01/2016 07:47:00 AM
Allena-C said...: Point well taken Will. :); 3/01/2016 07:59:00 AM
Rick said...: I realize this is terribly simplistic, but I get the sense that Trump loves this country. The sense seems genuine. How a leader treats that feeling within himself, of course, is another matter. I forget already when I started to believe Obama really didn't like this country. Certainly, if he did like it, even, it is not in the way I do. Can you treat a thing you love the way he's gone about it? There seems more to it than simply saying Obama's a narcissist. Trump is one also (or merely vain). I think I have more in common with Trump in the love of this country-sense than any on the other side. I don't think Cruz will win against the other side. He's too reasonable. We may need a battering ram at this stage of the fight.

I'm reminded of Friedman Law - I'm not sure if it fits against Trump, but it might in the sense I'm talking about:

"I do not believe that the solution to our problem is simply to elect the right people. The important thing is to establish a political climate of opinion which will make it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing. Unless it is politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing, the right people will not do the right thing either, or it they try, they will shortly be out of office.”

I'm curious to see if Trump changes from "battering ram" in the general (if he makes it that far).; 3/01/2016 08:00:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: I've been trying to write a quick post on this for... about three weeks now - the shortest I've managed to whittle it down to is 12 pages. For every word or comma I cut it by, five paragraphs more of html bleed out in to it.

But aside from definitions, distinctions and arguments never made, or evaded, what it comes down to is that we have become a pragmatic nation. On the whole, there are no virtues or principles that can be involved in such a people's decisions, and so no, as we know it, no intelligent choices will be made. There will be calculations and passions, but no deicisions.

Funny thing is, neither Trump, not most other people, are consciously pragmatic... they simply have an absence of principles, flavored by a mostly pro-Americana-ish view. They will do things that will, or won't, "work out", and react to the results as if they were unforeseeable one-offs that must be dealt with as isolated instances. Sooner or later, they will begin to realize that the weirdo 'principle' people seem to be foreseeing the results before they happen, and will begin to wonder how 'that works'.

That is the point where we may begin to begin again, building on truth, virtue, principle, and so on.

That opening WILL NOT happen, under the 'devil we know', the deliberately, 'knowingly', pragmatically evil, pro-regressive Marxist/Socialists, sick as Hillary or Bernie. Their are deliberately seeking the destruction and elimination, of truth, virtue, morality, justice, and every last vestige of America, The West, and Christianity.

The devil we know, Knows what it's doing, and I know that I don't want to knowingly help it accomplish that, in any way, shape or form.; 3/01/2016 08:04:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: ...as always, Thanks auto correct.; 3/01/2016 08:07:00 AM
julie said...: Sooner or later, they will begin to realize that the weirdo 'principle' people seem to be foreseeing the results before they happen, and will begin to wonder how 'that works'.

Van, you are such an optimist.; 3/01/2016 08:09:00 AM
Rick said...: "That opening WILL NOT happen.."

I think we agree.; 3/01/2016 08:10:00 AM
joseph said...: Allena,
In theory, I agree, but until we solve the demographic problems of the West, liberty won't even be a possibility. Very few saw this coming.; 3/01/2016 08:13:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: Implied in that, is that Trump isn't the problem - remove him and those supporting him remain, as do their expectations. How much deeper and darker they can be driven down, and who is more likely to realize those possibilities, is the point.; 3/01/2016 08:15:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: Julie said "Van, you are such an optimist."

Heh, nope. I'm a realist, and realize that deep down, Power, Evil, are substanceless, meaningless, powerless, incapable of any real triumph over even 2+2=4, let alone "In the beginning was the Word...", or in other words, this too shall pass.

Whether or not that happens in My life time... I'm making no predictions on.; 3/01/2016 08:26:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: The demographic issue is indeed yuge. The left needs a permanent underclass of low skill, low information, low IQ, government-dependent voters in order to blow up the constitution, and with it, our liberty, so that's what this is ultimately all about.

It's all about the Supreme Court.; 3/01/2016 08:27:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: The one wild card about Trump is that he may be able to pick off a great many white middle & lower class males from the Democrats, as did Reagan.; 3/01/2016 08:29:00 AM
julie said...: Yep. I get the impression that is already happening.; 3/01/2016 08:33:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: What normal man could ever want Hillary as his leader?

It's exactly like the inmates in Cuckoo's Nest who voted with Nurse Ratched against showing the World Series on TV.; 3/01/2016 08:35:00 AM
RPM said...: All we need's one vote. Just one vote. Just your one vote!

Just raise your hand up and your buddies can watch the baseball game.

Which one of you nuts has got any guts?; 3/01/2016 08:39:00 AM
Rick said...: I think Jim Taranto the other day (was it him?) who said Reagan wouldn't win California today. Maybe it was VDH who said it. Anyway, would Trump? Haven't seen polling there..; 3/01/2016 08:53:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: I'm pretty sure California is too far down the toilet.; 3/01/2016 08:58:00 AM
joseph said...: Had demographics been the same in 2012 as they were in 1980, the listless Mormon Mitt Romney would have won in a landslide.
And yet, RINO's tried for amnesty, thinking the less fortunate (yet state defendant) will vote for them.; 3/01/2016 09:00:00 AM
Rick said...: Trump can speak toilet.; 3/01/2016 09:01:00 AM
ted said...: I do worry that we don't have great exemplars with our leaders. Not that we should look for that in our politicians, or even (unfortunately) our spiritual leaders. But there is a sense of loss with this. If we are to recover truth in the world, we need people to embody it. Maybe it can only come in aggregate by the unknown "saints & sages" living simple lives.; 3/01/2016 09:18:00 AM
will said...: The white middle and lower classes are Trump's voting base. Same folks who've been losing their jobs to immigration, legal or otherwise, and outsourcing of jobs, the two issues Trump hammers on. Same folks who the Dems used to represent until the Dems decided they were a buncha ignorant crackers who clung to their guns and religion and threw them under the bus. Same folks who the Repubs won't help because theyre too frightened of being called raaaacist. Same folks who have the second highest rate (Native Americans first) of suicide and drug addiction in the country.

These people are desperate. Of course they're going to turn anybody who seems outside the corrupt system that belittles them, marginalizes them. Consider Trump a temporary firewall against violent revolution.; 3/01/2016 09:37:00 AM
Van Harvey said...: Anyone read Isiah lately? More on point than the News. I've always said, a minimum of 50yrs to bring Americans back to America, and I'd hoped to do it under the mostly benign habit of Americana... that's been so pummeled under Obama as to make Ozzie & Harriet seem closet to Sophocles, than anyone's parents or grand parents.

Out of the ruin of Athens came Rome, and out of the ruin of Rome came England... and out of the ruin of Alfred's England, eventually, came Locke's, and out of that came America. Out of our present day may come another form of us, or another. The baking timeline has been speeding up, but... that's about as optimistic as I get.

:-); 3/01/2016 09:51:00 AM
julie said...: Will, yes. Also, Trump seems to genuinely like and appreciate them.

Van, agreed. Also Judges. The OT saw all this happening many times over, which is both depressing - mankind never seems to learn the lessons for much more than a generation, if that - and reassuring, because in spite of ourselves sometimes we do get the leadership we pray for, and not what we deserve.; 3/01/2016 09:56:00 AM
will said...: Right, Julie. He even sounds, talks like a working class guy, not some mewling, upper crusty white liberal.; 3/01/2016 10:17:00 AM
joseph said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/01/2016 10:24:00 AM
julie said...: I found it useful to actually take a look at his positions page, as well. Seems pretty forthright; there may be a lot to disagree with, but the overall view appears to come from a place of love for America and ordinary Americans. These days, that counts for a lot.; 3/01/2016 10:31:00 AM
Rick said...: It could just be because I've been binge-watching it the past couple days, but has anyone seen "Making a Murderer"? If we look at it as simply "Power vs Working Class" it's understandably very popular right now.
Very popular!; 3/01/2016 10:52:00 AM
ted said...: Charles Murray's "Coming Apart" clearly drew out how these class distinctions have been unfolding. Trump has tapped into one side pretty well. Oddly, it is not the side he resides in or surrounds himself (NYC, entertainment, wall street/business tycoons). Maybe that's why only Nixon could go to China.; 3/01/2016 11:05:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Forget talk. Forget rhetoric. Forget party. What is the past behavioral history of these candidates, regarding proven love of and benefit for, America? I'd suggest we keep it simple and real. Bulleted facts, good bad ugly lists... Include everything.; 3/01/2016 12:54:00 PM
mushroom said...: Tomorrow's March Forth. Just sayin'.; 3/03/2016 08:06:00 AM
mushroom said...: My view is that the United States has to become the Untied States.

Even if their intentions were good, how could the teeming masses of LA or NYC have any idea about life where I live? They are motivated by self-interest, as I am.

Communism works on the level of a family. Socialism probably works up to about fifty people. Democracy works on a small scale, too. That's why there was no direct election of Senators and Congressional Districts could not be anywhere near as large as they are now in the original formulations.

Self-government cannot be scaled up indefinitely. California is too big, let alone the whole of the fifty states.; 3/03/2016 08:20:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Yes, how about giving time to the existing millions of immigrants to learn our ways and become American? Otherwise they are Democrats for life.; 3/03/2016 08:22:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Otherwise they will turn us into an image of what they left behind -- a second or third world hellhole.; 3/03/2016 08:25:00 AM
Rick said...: I can't for the life of me understand how that could ever be viewed as an offensive, unreasonable or unacceptable concept.; 3/03/2016 09:16:00 AM
will said...: Hmm, not sure if the millions of existing immigrants can ever be culturer-ized (is that even a word?) to American ways, considering they came here for American social service largesse. Most of them are def not here to exercise entrepreneurial skills and rise up on the ladder of success.

Kind of an intractable prob, which is why I am inclined to think a breakup of the union will be in the works before too long, a division into various republics and leagues. Some will hue to the ideals of the original American Republic, some won't. But I venture to say that none of them will be taking orders from central command in DC.; 3/03/2016 09:23:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Yeah, I guess that train has left the station...

Might as well get accustomed to being part of The Remnant.

That, by the way, is what Ratzinger predicted: a return to "catacomb Christianity." Hunker down for a new Dark Age.

Oh well. It is fun to be a counter-cultural outlaw.; 3/03/2016 09:51:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: You know the apocalypse is near when kids on my son's baseball team have to miss games because they conflict with their soccer schedule.

{shudder}; 3/03/2016 09:57:00 AM
julie said...: The horror!; 3/03/2016 10:11:00 AM
julie said...: But speaking of culture, I saw an article yesterday about some town in Minnesota where candidates for the DFL (that's "Democratic Farmer Labor") party caucus in one district gave all their speeches in Somali.; 3/03/2016 10:16:00 AM
julie said...: Notably, very few people in that audience look like farmers.; 3/03/2016 10:18:00 AM
will said...: In the Republic faction where I will live, soccer will be outlawed on pain of death.

Memorization of baseball Hall of Famer stats will be mandatory.; 3/03/2016 10:31:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: When I was a kid everyone knew what numbers like 714, 191, 61, 56, and 2,130 meant.

Speaking of 191, I read somewhere that Hack Wilson wore like a size 5 shoe. Any smaller and wouldn't have been able to stand upright.; 3/03/2016 10:52:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: Check out those little feets. Looks like an optical illusion.; 3/03/2016 10:55:00 AM
julie said...: How funny - I could never draw someone with feet like that, it would look too silly and unbelievable!; 3/03/2016 10:56:00 AM
Gagdad Bob said...: They could have called him Bluto.; 3/03/2016 10:58:00 AM
will said...: Ha! So if you wield a big bat you don't necessarily have large feet.; 3/03/2016 12:18:00 PM