A Couple More Random Thoughts

Yes, More Random Thoughts

Continuing the practice of just ruminating out loud, how about ….

The Debt

Okay, this is what I think we should do about the debt. Every year, the U.S. takes in so much money through taxes and whatnot. Let’s just say that’s 4 trillion dollars. Just so you know what that looks like, it’s $4,000,000,000,000. That’s a lot of zeroes. At the same time, the government spends so much money – usually significantly in excess of what it takes in.

All our politicians in the government earn a pretty penny from their salaries. Let’s just say, they each earn $200,000 (it’s actually a little less, but we want easy math here). I say that we deduct a percentage of their pay equal to the percentage by which the spending of the U.S. exceeds the amount it takes in. And, vice versa.

So, if they spend 5 trillion dollars or, 1 trillion more than what the country takes in, that amounts to 20%. So, they should automatically lose 20% from their salaries for that year. So, instead of making $200,000, they’ll each make $160,000.

Although the amount by which they are penalized won’t add up to anything with respect to the debt, it may disincentivize at least the majority of junior statesmen from spending too much money. And, we can do the reverse. If they spend 1 trillion less than the amount the U.S. takes in (they spend only 3 trillion instead of 4 trillion), I’m all in with rewarding them with a 25% bonus for that year.

So, instead of $200,000, they will, instead, make $250,000. Again, that probably won’t influence the uppity-ups like Schumer, Pelosi, and McConnell who, I’m sure make oodles of money through other channels and perks that come with being in power, but it may incentivize junior statesmen to get those yearly deficits under control.

Anyway, those are my 2 cents on the U.S. debt, deficit, and budget stuff.

Progress?

I think I can report some progress with my antichrist issues. I have, at varying times, been convinced that other people are actually Satan in disguise. After all, Satan is a shape-shifter and can assume any form he likes, right?

In light of that, I have been convinced that Obama was Satan, Trump was Satan, and a few other people here and there were Satan. I’ve also encountered people who I was convinced were possessed by Satan. In fact, I had at least two different conversations at different times with my father, before he passed away, in which I was convinced he was possessed by Satan and I was talking to Satan instead of my father.

More recently, I had an associate/friend who I was convinced was Satan. However, after ruminating for a while, I came to the conclusion that the possession explanation was far more likely than the incarnation explanation (She was possessed by Satan was more likely than she was the incarnation of Satan). Further, I reasoned that since I’m the antichrist,  if anyone were to be the incarnation of Satan, it should be me. And, basically, if I’m looking for Satan’s hand in any events, I might want to start by looking in a mirror.

Anyway, the long and short of it is, I am convinced that the possession thing is far more likely than the incarnation thing. As a result, I am less paranoid about other people being Satan (the incarnation of him) and me not knowing.

In fact, I think I may even be able to vote for the President in 2024. I haven’t voted for the President since before Obama (or maybe it was before Obama’s 2^nd term) because I didn’t want to inadvertently vote for Satan. This a long side story and explanation in that that I won’t get into. Anyway, I’m calling that progress. Yeah.

The Virgin Mary, Hell, and Me

Because of my antichrist issues (and probably just because I’m me and I like weird stuff), I have a fascination with apocalyptic prophecies and such, including apparitions of the Virgin Mary. I stumbled across one (I think it was a Youtube video – to which I lost the link) in which the Virgin Mary described the sufferings of sinners in hell.

One of the sufferings was something like: a ceaseless burning fire that scours the soul within, never ending, never relenting, and causes perpetual spiritual agony. Or something like that. Anyway, when I heard the narrator’s voice describe that as such, I recognized the description. That is what I experienced when I was in hell. Yup. Me and the Virgin Mary are in agreement about what hell feels like – at least as far as words can convey.

We do disagree in one regard (Yes, I know, I’m disagreeing with the Virgin Mary). She says, and I’m sure, believes, that the fires of hell are the work of God. God is punishing the awful sinners that He has damned to hell.

I, on the other hand, think that the awful sinners are being punished by Satan, who is impersonating God as the Being of Light. Because any “God” who would inflict such terrible punishment on anyone for any reason (including Hitler, Stalin, and Mao – or, for that matter, some bizarro compilation of all three) isn’t worthy of the title of Deity.

There is legitimate parental punishment. Then there is twisted evil cruelty. Hell falls into the latter category. And I don’t care what the “sinner” has done. He/she does not deserve hell. Anyway, I could go on for another 50 pages on that, but I’ll stop here.

Several Comments

A Few More Thoughts

Just a few more thoughts on a few more random topics.

Secret Police at the FBI

I heard on Glenn Beck a couple days ago, that an investigative reporter by the name of James Gordon Meek appears to have been “disappeared” by our very own FBI. Crap like that is NOT supposed to happen in the United States. Maybe there is something going on … like he’s sick or something. But I think anyone who knows anything about Mr. Meek or his whereabouts, including Mr. Meek himself, should make that information known to some large media organization. Glenn Beck. Fox. Someone. Because our country can’t really be that far gone, can it?

The Degrowth Movement

Dear degrowthers, you really should reconsider your plans to arrest and reverse the technological development of society. A few years back – I forget my reasoning – but I mowed my lawn on several occasions with one of those human-operated push lawnmowers. You know, the ones that simply involve you pushing the mower with physical effort. No gasoline. No battery. Just sweat and toil. It took like twice as long as a gas-powered mower. Consistently. Spending two hours on a job that should only take one is not something I would recommend.

I did learn something from the experience, though: I don’t want to give up all our technological advances for the sake of a “simpler” life. I might want to slow tech advancement somewhat so that we can adapt and adjust a little more effectively without getting overwhelmed by change. But reverse? Nope.

You Eat Bugs

Dear World Economic Forum: I’m not going to eat bugs. You eat bugs. I happen to like the taste of chicken and beef and ham and other meats. Eating bugs is gross. So, you and the alien overlords I’m sure you answer to can go pound sand. Take that.

I guess that’s enough for tonight.

Saving Face in a Nuclear Age

The Politics of Nuclear War

This is going to be a short post. I want to examine the merits of saving face vs. losing face and starting a nuclear war. We have two major world powers, the U.S. and Russia, fighting a proxy war in the Ukraine, more or less.

Somehow, we have the notion that backing off from something results in losing face. So, if Putin admits defeat and retreats from Ukraine, he loses face. In order to save face, he should escalate and start a nuclear war. Let’s evaluate that….

Hmmm. Lose face? Annihilate the planet? Lose face? Annihilate the planet? Oh, dear me, I can’t decide.

Maybe I shouldn’t be sarcastic. But really? I don’t understand how Putin (or Biden, for that matter) can even consider the idea that going down in history, if there is even a history to be recorded afterward, as the man who destroyed the planet is somehow better than suffering some embarrassment and just call it quits on the war.

Of course, as I’m the antichrist and I almost did something much, much worse than bring on nuclear annihilation, perhaps I shouldn’t be too critical. And, of course, as I always say, I suck at politics. So, feel free to ignore me. I’m in no position to lecture anyone on hubris, arrogance, ego, or any other such related issue.

Not So Deep Thoughts

Just Some Random Thoughts

I haven’t posted here in some time. I’ve wanted to, but, as my means of making money involves writing blog posts for other people, my inclination to do the exact same thing for myself in my free time suffers considerably. Anyway, I started another post a few weeks back, but didn’t finish it. It had a specific topic, was going to be structured, and detailed, and so on. However, I simply lacked the energy required to structure the post properly.

Some Issues Swirling Through Society

Anyway, in light of that, I’m just going to hurl into the Internet void a whole series of thoughts on a variety of different subjects.

Sex and Government

I’ve written a couple posts on sex and morality a few times, now (although why anyone would consult me on the topic is beyond me). My general position is that I do not think that sex outside of marriage is morally evil. Nor do I even think that sexual hedonism is morally evil. I would classify sexual hedonism as morally pathetic. However, in my previous posts, I neglected to stress one very important aspect of the discussion: Sex and the Education of Children.

I’m not a parent, so feel free to disregard my opinion in its entirety, but I think adults and teachers have no business encouraging teens or, really young children, to have sex and experiment with sex. At that point, I think it may be crossing into the region of morally evil. Less so with teens, but definitely with children.

I would say that teens are not developed enough emotionally or in terms of their financial status or just general life-state to handle all the responsibilities and consequences that come with having sex. I don’t think they should be inculcated with the belief that they will burn in hell for all Eternity, but, at the same time, like I said, I don’t think adults should encourage adolescent sexual recreation.

Transgenderism

I do not think that transgenders should be mocked, ridiculed, or, God forbid, physically attacked. Having said that, there are biological characteristics of men and women. They are determined at conception. Genitalia determines biological gender. If you want to argue that there is also a psychological gender that may not agree with one’s biological gender, go ahead. But I’ve heard people asked, specifically, if a biological man can get pregnant. The answer to that is “No.” A trans-man is not a biological man. Maybe you can make the case that he/she is a psychological man, but not a biological one. Seriously. This is just stupid.

Pronouns

Calling someone who identifies as a he a she or vice versa, if it is an error, it is such a trivial one, it really isn’t worth mentioning. The Left gets bent out of shape over pronouns and doesn’t bat an eye over abortions. Really? A couple letters versus cutting a feeling fetus up and sucking the pieces out of the uterus with a vacuum … and you can’t figure out which is the more significant moral offense? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Politics and Cooperation

Being, basically, a Platonist, I am remarkably inept at politics. However, I do want to say that the notion we should cooperate with our political enemies, I think is a good idea if done wisely. However, I would warn against giving your enemy the knife with which he may cut your throat.

Like, uh, letting Iran develop nukes … uh, I think that’s a bad idea. If you want to earn their goodwill and cooperate with them, why don’t you do something a little less dangerous like help the Iranians develop a desalination plant? I mean, it’s a desert country. They might be a little friendlier if we make a friendly gesture. But that friendly gesture doesn’t need to be letting them develop weapons to kill everyone!

Again, I’ve never studied politics. So, feel free to ignore me.

As for Ukraine and Russia … I really hope we are not on the path to WWIII. There are no winners in such a war.

Acceptance and Repentance

I think this is the crux of the problem with the Left’s “Acceptance” agenda. “We must accept everyone as they are without judgment or criticism in the name of diversity.” So, we accept gays, transgenders, and so on. Well, we are starting to get a push for accepting pedophiles. Do we really want to go there?

I think it is one thing to accept someone as a fellow sinner with the understanding that one should be trying to overcome their personal sins and progressing along the road of moral improvement. That’s not the same thing as just accepting everyone as is.

I mean … on the one hand, there have been ex-terrorists and murderers who have reformed their lives and made a positive impact after their change of heart (at least, I think that’s true). But I think that change of heart combined with the notion of repentance is critical.

I don’t think the “acceptance” tenet really holds up unless paired with repentance in cases like pedophilia, murder, rape, abortion, etc… Homosexuality? … I don’t care. Transgenderism? Provided they are adults when they make the change … I don’t care.

I guess my point is that the “Acceptance” agenda alone is insufficient. You can’t throw morality out the window in the name of acceptance. We are all sinners (me, more than most).

Truth

I am absolutely, positively 100% certain that “I am not omniscient.” Go ahead. Refute me. I’ll wait.

The Arbiter of Truth

Having established that truth, and even absolute truth, is real and exists, the question arises …. How do you determine what is true and what isn’t? Who is the arbiter of truth? I think this is the point that relativists and nihilists inartfully struggle to express. There is no mortal arbiter of truth. It’s not me. It’s not anyone. The only true and final arbiter of truth is God.

It’s not the government for the reason stipulated by the Founders of the American government. If the government is the arbiter of truth, it can change such on a whim and you will quickly become its slaves. It’s not the process of science because science is constantly proving itself wrong and updating itself.  It’s not the scientist because the scientist’s job is not to be my puppeteer, but rather to explain the situation that affects me the best he/she can, and then leave me with the right (and responsibility) of informed consent.

It’s not some cadre of intellectuals meeting in dark, smoke-filled rooms or what-have-you … You still have the right to informed consent.

It’s not even the collective population of a country or even the world. People and nations get things wrong sometimes.

How about you, yourself? Nope. Not that either. You can make mistakes. And you can be wrong. You are ultimately responsible for determining what you believe to be true, but that doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Other people influence you, sometimes positively, sometimes negatively.

As I said above, in the end, God alone is the arbiter of truth.

Conclusion

As I said, just a collection of random thoughts. Hope you enjoyed them.