Cardinal Vigano's Letter to President Trump

The election tomorrow is about more than Trump vs. Biden, according to the Cardinal:

From Gerard's American Digest.

Easy, Simple Voting Decision Tool:

 Why Did it Have to be … Guns? by L. Neil Smith

Over the past 30 years, I’ve been paid to write almost two million words, every one of which, sooner or later, came back to the issue of guns and gun-ownership. Naturally, I’ve thought about the issue a lot, and it has always determined the way I vote.

People accuse me of being a single-issue writer, a single-issue thinker, and a single-issue voter, but it isn’t true. What I’ve chosen, in a world where there’s never enough time and energy, is to focus on the one political issue which most clearly and unmistakably demonstrates what any politician — or political philosophy — is made of, right down to the creamy liquid center.

Make no mistake: all politicians — even those ostensibly on the side of guns and gun ownership — hate the issue and anyone, like me, who insists on bringing it up. They hate it because it’s an X-ray machine. It’s a Vulcan mind-meld. It’s the ultimate test to which any politician — or political philosophy — can be put.

If a politician isn’t perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash — for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything — without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn’t your friend no matter what he tells you.

If he isn’t genuinely enthusiastic about his average constituent stuffing that weapon into a purse or pocket or tucking it under a coat and walking home without asking anybody’s permission, he’s a four-flusher, no matter what he claims.

What his attitude — toward your ownership and use of weapons — conveys is his real attitude about you. And if he doesn’t trust you, then why in the name of John Moses Browning should you trust him?

If he doesn’t want you to have the means of defending your life, do you want him in a position to control it?

If he makes excuses about obeying a law he’s sworn to uphold and defend — the highest law of the land, the Bill of Rights — do you want to entrust him with anything?

If he ignores you, sneers at you, complains about you, or defames you, if he calls you names only he thinks are evil — like “Constitutionalist” — when you insist that he account for himself, hasn’t he betrayed his oath, isn’t he unfit to hold office, and doesn’t he really belong in jail?

Sure, these are all leading questions. They’re the questions that led me to the issue of guns and gun ownership as the clearest and most unmistakable demonstration of what any given politician — or political philosophy — is really made of.

He may lecture you about the dangerous weirdos out there who shouldn’t have a gun — but what does that have to do with you? Why in the name of John Moses Browning should you be made to suffer for the misdeeds of others? Didn’t you lay aside the infantile notion of group punishment when you left public school — or the military? Isn’t it an essentially European notion, anyway — Prussian, maybe — and certainly not what America was supposed to be all about?

And if there are dangerous weirdos out there, does it make sense to deprive you of the means of protecting yourself from them? Forget about those other people, those dangerous weirdos, this is about you, and it has been, all along.

Try it yourself: if a politician won’t trust you, why should you trust him? If he’s a man — and you’re not — what does his lack of trust tell you about his real attitude toward women? If “he” happens to be a woman, what makes her so perverse that she’s eager to render her fellow women helpless on the mean and seedy streets her policies helped create? Should you believe her when she says she wants to help you by imposing some infantile group health care program on you at the point of the kind of gun she doesn’t want you to have?

On the other hand — or the other party — should you believe anything politicians say who claim they stand for freedom, but drag their feet and make excuses about repealing limits on your right to own and carry weapons? What does this tell you about their real motives for ignoring voters and ramming through one infantile group trade agreement after another with other countries?

Makes voting simpler, doesn’t it? You don’t have to study every issue — health care, international trade — all you have to do is use this X-ray machine, this Vulcan mind-meld, to get beyond their empty words and find out how politicians really feel. About you. And that, of course, is why they hate it.

And that’s why I’m accused of being a single-issue writer, thinker, and voter.

But it isn’t true, is it?

Permission to redistribute this article is herewith granted by the author — provided that it is reproduced unedited, in its entirety, and appropriate credit given. lneil@lneilsmith.org

(HT:  Gerard at American Digest on OCTOBER 15, 2020)

Justice Ginsberg

I never really followed the goings-on at the Supreme Court. The last confirmation hearing whs quite the to-do and I followed it, but that wasn't so much court, as Congress. I know very little about any of the Justices, except what I read news.

I gather Justice Ginsburg tended to vote Liberal, which I suppose is why the Democrats are in Yet Another Meltdown over what President Trump may do. 

That said, I have raised, as a resource, my very own lawyer in the family, and she has put together her thoughts at Justice Ginsburg's passing.They are up on her new blog, to which I kindly refer you: 

I know I'm her Dad, but, in my humble opinion, the kid can write.

Buy A Nun A Book Day

...is approaching again - September 17.  Once again, I will be sending books to the good Holy Names Sisters who taught me in my callow youth.

It's a nice way to say "Thanks"!

Kamala Harris, Before After, and After After

This photo of Ms. Harris that is making the rounds has me a bit ticked off. Not because it is making fun of her, which I'm very OK with, but because the picture itself is so obviously not a good, publication grade pic.

The story is that sometime in the last month or so, she had 'some work' done. No bi deal. But many Tweeps are passing this pic around, claiming that this is her 'new' face.  (A face only The Joker could love, IMHO.) But it stinks to high heaven.  Her face is significantly out of focus.

In particular, look at the colors below her right cheek. The transition from light to darker (shaded) skin is way too grainy to have come directly from a studio camera, or, for that matter, a decent phone camera. Ether the image was captured with a 640x480 camera, or it has been 'de-rezzed', i.e., the pixle per inch value reduced somehow. 

(I make no call about the' how', just the 'what'.)

This one was taken over Joe Biden's shoulder, as he is calling Harris to offer her the VP job.  It looks like a real person's face. His res image of a high res image.

My point isn't to go off about 'poor Kamala'. She's a big girl, and should be able to take care of herself. Both sides do this - find a pic of a candidate that makes them look goofy, dumb, or evil, and run with it.  How many times have we seen the picture of AOC with her mouth in the bid 'O'? Ms. Omar looking smugly like the cat who just swallowed the proverbial canary. Or Ms. Talib just looking plain evil?  

I know that's done to support the story and the narrative. But the editorial decision to use such a bad quality image and promote it as ac accurate representation is editorial malpractice.

Our side, we, need to be better.

Newsweek Article on Hydroxychloroquine

The Newsweek article on hydroxychloroquine:

This, plus I've seen too many write-ups by local physicians who say uneguivocally that hydroxychloroquine, with the zinc adjunct works. Just about 100% overall.

Liberty or Death

From Gerard:  (Warning - a bit NSFW...)

Coronavirus Prep

UPDATE: Due to the uncertainty of the virus'  incubation period, there are recommendations to be prepared for four weeks of staying home. This means no grocery shopping, and I doubt the grocery delivery services will be available. Check the Coalition and CDC web sites below, for a thorough lesson on being prepared. (2/25)

I've been keeping an eye on the progression of the coronavirus of the Johns Hopkins map:

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus map

It focuses on Mainland China, but you can scroll the list on the left to select another country.

Meanwhile, over on Twitter, @BryanDeanWright is (rightfully) grousing that the CDC is saying "Get prepared" without saying about the 'how'!

So, as a public service, I am posting a link to @TreeHuggingSis' blog post on hurricane prep. While you don't need to board up the house, it's got tons on infor for all of your prep needs.

Coalition of the Swilling Disaster Prep

I did mention to Bryan that the CDC does have prep info on line, at the Zombie Apocalypse page. So here is a link to that:

CDC Zombie Apocalypse Page

Because you never know!

Family

I just got the following from my daughter. Please, prayers for her uncle.

Hi Dad,
IMPORTANT NEWS.
In the last two weeks, my Uncle Kevin has been in and out of the hospital. He had a stent put in for a other than heart organ issue and went home. During that time other issues were found and he was in pain and weak. As of the other day, he is currently back in and is facing a diagnoses of pancreatic cancer. As you know, that is what my Grandpa was diagnosed with, and passed from, in 1995.
He is at Hoag Hospital where both Grandma and Grandpa were at before they passed.
As of news today, Kevin is in good spirits and joking, much better than the last few days. More tests to happen this week. Due to his health, chemo and radiation versus surgery are his options.
Please keep Kevin, and all of us in your prayers. We will know more this week to know what's possible but it is pretty scary and devastating.
I especially ask for your prayers and kindness for strength for my Mom. She is the go to sibling. And, as I imagine, very difficult to be again at Hoag where she lost her parents.
I ask for your prayers and strength for me as well.
Love,
Jennie

Thank you all.

Project Veritas vs Google

Both Google and Vimeo have taken down James O'Keefe's video on Google's manipulation of results so that someone like Trump is never elected again.

Video:



Story:

Project Veritas

But I Couldn't Prove It In Court

This was on Drudge today: Hospice Death Dreams Study  It found that dying patients have similar "dreams that aren't dreams" of being visited by loved ones who have previously passed.

What I 'know' about this comes from reports of people who were at a person's passing, and a 'similar-but-different' experience of mine, and that of a friend.

The first time I heard of anything like this was when my Grandpa died. I remember mom remarkinmg that he seemed at pease, and was smiling when he went. She said she thought it was because he could see Grandma and relatives waiting for him.

When I was about 13 or 14, Mom and I drove up to to see her cousin's daughter take vows at the Immaculate Heart Sisters' novitiate in Montecito. (And I'm pissed that I don't remember her name.)  We met, and started walking up the hill to the ceremony. My Novitiate cousin and I were chatting, and the subject turned to an end of life experience she had heard of. An aunt was dying, and her husband was racing to get to her before she passed. He saw, as the house came into view, light streaming from all of the windows. When he got into the house, he found his wife had passed just about the time the house came into view. And everyone there swore that most of the lights in the house had been off.

After her sister passed away, my friend Carole had a dream of her. As she told me, the dream wasn't a dream, she was talking with her sister about how she had passed.

And finally, my own experience - some time after my mom passed, I had a dream of having a conversation with her. It was short, and the only thing I remember was her telling my that I was going to be all right.

When I awoke from that dream, I realized that it was not like any other dream I had ever dreamt. It wasan actual conversation with Martha.  It felt "different".

I have had 'premonitions' that were true - a friend had called, and I "knew" it as I got a block or so from the house. When I came in, mom mentioned that my friend had indeed called.  This happened twice, and I have no explanation for it. All I knoew is that I was dead certain that my friend had called. I'm relating this just to show that the kind of certainty I experienced when mom visited me was neither unusual, nor surprisingly new.

I know that some medical profesionals have said that the 'moving to the light' experience can be explained by chemicals produced in the brain when a patient is near death or dying; and that it's just a function of physiology.  I do not know if this is just musing, conjecture, or is being studied. But I won't be surprised when someone uses it to explain what is documented in the Hospice Buffalo study.

Me, I have some conjectures and beliefs about it.  One conjecture: assume there are chemical processes in the brain associated with near death/dying, and that they are common phenomena. What if, instead of the chemical process causing the experiences the dying have, the chemical processes are caused by the "dreams that aren't dreams"?

Is my conjecture ameinable to evidentiary proof? Possibly, but I have no idea how go about it. Is my conviction that my conversation with mom wasn't a dream provable?  Same answer - I hve no idea how to prove it.

All I can say about my conversation with mom, and the other stories I've been told is I believe it. I spoke with mom.

But I couldn't prove it in court.

(Bumped, Now More Than Ever!) Happy Holidays...

...by which I mean:

Happy Thanksgiving

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year!

And, this:

I am told that this is President Eisenhower's recipe. Go. Enjoy!

Justice Kavanaugh Update With More Funny

I've followed the hearings the last couple of weeks, on Twitter. It was akin to watching a giant, pustulent boil burst, and the turn into an ope, weeping sore.  I confess that I felt a tremendous lightness when I heard the news (Drudge).  Twitter has opinions up the wazoo, as usual, and some pretty clever images.

but these two are what the whole furrball was about:

 Judge Kavanaugh swearing the Comstitutional Oath.  It's being administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, with his wife (holding the Bible) and daughters.

Here, he is taking the Judicial oath, being given by Retired Justice Kennedy, whom Justice Kavanaugh is replacing.

The to pics above  were taken  by Fred Schilling via the Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States.  HT @JusticeKavanaugh   (Not really Justice Kavanaugh)

OK, the funny:

This was posted w/ the caption stating Judge K. heading to his swearing in, which was a private ceremony.  He and Mr. Grassley are obviously going to have their own kegger, probably with 'Cocaine Mitch' and 'Take-No-Prisoners' Graham.

That's all, folks!

Well, not quite.

UPDATE:

This one for the historical, yet cynical humor  I'd love to be a fly on the wall when they are sitting out on the patio by themselves, have a beer or more, telling confirmation hearing stories.

Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh on the bench Tuesday:

Kavanaugh: “Dude…”
Thomas: “I know, Brah. I know.” pic.twitter.com/euhplXuFDI

— Fuzzy Chimp (@fuzzychimpcom) October 6, 2018

Buy A Nun A Book Day

...is approaching once again - September 17.  Once again, I will be sending books to the good Holy Names Sisters who taught me in my callow youth.

It's a nice way to say "Thanks"!

Ranty Nurse Amy - Updated!!

Update: We reached the goal for Amy!!  Thanks to everyone who donated!!

I didn't realize what a horribly rough patch @RantyAmyCurtis is going thru. Her story popped up in my Twitter timeline, and I got myself involved in the conversation about it. It got a tad heated (not between Amy & me), I was behind a couple of really nice chocolate stouts, and thought to myself, "Self, we gotta do something about this."

Amy wants to get her marriage annulled, and the Church's ecclesiastical court fee to process it is $500.00, which she does not have.  That, plus other debt I know nothing about, have her in a tight bind.

Did I mention she is raising three boys?  By herself?? While she went to nursing school, graduated, passed her boards, and went on to qualify for a specialization as well.  All of this reminds me of Martha, and what she went through to adopt and raise me.  (Story here, if you're interested.)

So. I said to myself, "Self, I can stay online here and try to talk my ginger friend down."  That, as you might expect with a ginger,  didn't exactly happen, but it at least stopped. I knew that there was really nothing I could say to Amy that would make it all better, so what could I do? "Self, I said, let's go set up a gofundme for her. She can get the annulment, and have a life free from the ton of spiritual baggage of not having it."

So, I did.

From about midnight last night until just before I posted this, the fund is at $200.00.  Wouldn't it be great to have the $500.00 funded by tomorrow night? Once that happens, I'll ask her if she wants to continue to raise money to help w/ her debts or not.

So, click the link, and make a donation so Amy can freely get on with her life!

P.S. To my ginger friend:  I have a great deal of respect for you as a person of faith, a successful business woman, and as a person.  I have found that, without intending to, I manage to step on your toes from time to time. In our conversations, it is never my intention to cast things in concrete. Last night, all I was trying to do is describe what Amy is up against, not defend it to you. I am sorry that I didn't make that clear to you.  I can describe a bunch of things about the Church petty well, even though I disagree with some of them.

Again, I am sorry for the misunderstanding.

Updated: Thumper and Me (Cross posted from the 'Window' blog)

Update: So, off we went to the vet last week.  Thumper was knocked out, blood drawn, and X-rays taken.  X-rays came back clean.  Initial blood word showed that, yes, his thyroid numbers are low.  Vet wanted to do a more specific test, which I ok'd.  There was enough blood from the draw to do it, which was good.

Bottom line: his thyroid is low, so he is now on a thyroid med.  After a month, the vet wants do do another test to see what's happening.

Started them med last Friday (7/20). He seems to be a bit calmer.  He's hopped into my lap a few times, letting me pet and scratch him. He also comes up to me for attention. If he's focused on something not me, I can get his lead off without lighting him up.  It's very clear that he is uncomfortable if I bend down and reach for him. Potentially hazardous to me. He seems to improve a tad every day, so patience and caution are the most important things for me to bring to the game.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About a month ago, the day after my second cataract surgery, Thumper decided that he didn't want me touching him. I've talked with two dog trainers, who have done some informed speculating, and the consensus is, get him a physical.

So tomorrow, we are of to the vet. "How", you may ask, "can he get a physical when no one can touch him?"  The answer is, anesthesia. He will be knocked out, poked, prodded, x-rayed, and assessed.

And then we'll know if he is salvageable. By which I mean, 1) can he and I somehow get along better, being a happy, fun dog; 2) do I take my loss and return him to the shelter; or 3) is he so far gone physically that the only answer is putting him to sleep.

To recap, I lost Baxter, Benny, and Griffin last year. I've been depressed since Thanksgiving.  (I'm just figuring that out, and yes I have a Dr's appointment scheduled).

This truly and deeply sucks.

Site Tweakage...

...has happened.

That is all.

They're At It Again. (Updated)

UPDATE:  Alfie has passed on.

“My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30,” Evans, 21, said in Facebook post decorated with a broken heart and crying emojis.

Via Weasel Zippers

* * * * * * *

Didn't we fight a war to stop this? WTF happened??

Happy Birthday, Kiddo!!

Publicity still from one of her speaking engagements.

Didn't See This Coming!! (Updated & Bumped)

Update: I had it in my head the the young woman at the rear-right in the picture of the kids was Grandma George. No. It has to be Florence because That. Is. A. Picture. Of. The. Kids! And that  is NOT Grandma George. Duh!

I chatted with Jane and Ed, after I managed to locate them on the north (dry) side of Huston where all is well with them. Jane mentioned that Richard has his family's Bible, and has mentioned an older brother as well. I still need to contact Richard.

Wilma and I had an e-mail exchange, she and her husband Earl are still living in the same house. Both of them are in their 80s. Jane and Ed are in their 70's as is Richard (and possibly his wife).

This is from an e-mail thread I had with my daughter Sunday. The simple backstory is, I have an account with Ancestry.com, and I get their promotional emails from time to time.  Last week, they were offering free access to employment records (census pages). Since I'd poked around there the last time they had a free trial, I didn't pay much attention to it, although I kept the email, and therefor the link. What  I found was startling, and prompted email to my daughter and family.

Email #1:

OK. Lazy Sunday AM, can't stand the insanity  that is the news, so I hopped on to Ancestry just for grins and giggles, since they have their free trial weekend going on.

Was looking to see if I could track down Martha's employment history, and the first record of hers that I found was the 1920 census. First thing I noticed was that Fred Hansen was listed. He was Grandma George's brother, Martha's uncle. (I recognized the names of her two aunts.)

To my utter surprise, the listing for Grandpa Rafe's family showed that Martha had an older sister! She was, according to the report, the first born of the six kids. She not listed on the 1930 census, and I have no farkin' clue about what happened to her.

I have no memory of mom ever mentioning her, so I assume that she passed on sometime in the 20's. She was listed on the 1910 census for Gramp's family. I took a swag at her birth year as 1906. I tried looking her up, but didn't find much. There is a Ancestry time line for herb that I can look at, but I have to sign up to do that.

I'm going to see if I can get in touch with my cousin Richard, to see of he knows anything.

Now, this is an interesting surprise.

Here's a screen cap of the relevant section of the census page:

I grew up with three uncles - Ralph, Han, and Clarence, and an aunt - Margaret, along with three cousins - Wilma, Richard, and Jane. I have an address for Richard ("The net is vast and infinite." Maj. Kusanagi), so I'm going to ping him.

Later that day, I called Jen, and, as noted below, we spent some time poking around on said web. The e-mail below followed:

Jen & I had a long chat yesterday, and part of it was spent banging on the interweb to track this down a bit more.

Mom's older sister was named Florence, born in 1906. (Martha was born 6 years later, in 1912.) She passed away in 1923, at the age of 17. We don't have any more information than that, other than she is buried at the cemetary in Albany, Il., which (is) a town on the Mississippi upriver from Moline.  Mom's dad and mom are buried there as well. I visited there in 1994, when I took a long weekend from Detroit to go over to Moline and Sterling to visit mom's younger brother and sister. (I have no recollection of seeing her grave.)

I guess I'll ping my cousin Richard, and try to locate my cousin Jane as well, to see if they remember their parent mentioning Florence at all.

So far, no luck locating Jane. Her husband is a retired marine, so I reached out to @treehuggingsis who is also a retired marine, for some guidance:

That's as far as I got about Jane yesterday. I'll give Facebook a try later.

I also poked around for vital records in Rock Island county, and the remembered that, unlike Los Angeles, many places keep vital records at the state level. I got a copy of the request for the State of Illinois, filled out what I knew, and sent it off to Jen, who was able to get more info out of Ancestry than I could, mostly dates which are needed on the form. When she populates that info and returns the form to me, I'll print it out and send it off.

Finally, the only photo I have of the family as kids is this one:

Grandma (back row, right), and five kids. Now I know that  this was taken after Florence passed away, so no no earlier than mid-1923.   

The six George kids, back row, L => R, Ralph ('Doc'), Hans, and Florence. Front row L =>; R, Clarence ('Tuffy'), Margaret, and Martha. From my conversation with Jen, this had to have been taken before Florence passed on in July, 1923.

What a surprise.