Consequences of Malevolence, Part One

 

People sometimes speak with fake authority whenever they are discussing insects, disease and germs. Over the years, I've heard that bedbugs can fly, carry diseases, and can not be fully eradicated. I've also heard that food that's fallen to the floor won't be contaminated right away (usually they say 5 seconds), that you can get germs from sitting on a public toilet seat, that you can prevent Covid infection by wearing a mask...all said by individuals expressing absolute certainty, acting (and fully believing), as if they have the final answer. This reminds me of the more passionate climate change/global warming alarmists, who believe with typical absolutism that Man is causing it, and must be stopped. It's like saying 2+2=5, not only building your entire world view on that false premise, but requiring others to agree, and actualizing it with passion and conviction.

I Remember

    I remember your smug, sanctimonious preaching to me that I should wear a mask, for the safety of my society, my city, my community. Because it's the right thing to do. I remember you saying things like unvaccinated people should be refused medical treatment, or even allowed to die. I remember you requiring children to mask up, even young infants. I remember the businesses closed down as "non-essential", while liquor stores, well-connected businesses, and porn shops stayed open. I remember your willful lies, told under the guise of public safety.  I remember being forced to wear a mask at work, or lose my job. You had a load of self-righteousness to inflict me on to me, and the rest of the world. I shall not forget, and I'm sure everyone else will, too. 

Trust Issues?

    I have heard that Jesus can do great things for me, if I put my trust in him.  No, not by winning the lottery, getting a good paying job, girlfriend or wife, etc., but truly great things that will grant me peace, transform me in any number of positive ways...really, I'm not sure what trust in this matter entails. These rewards or gifts are desirable indeed, but how do I trust Jesus? 

    It's a question I've only recently dealt with, largely due to critical thinking, and a desire to be precise and clear. So when a pastor of a church says "Trust Jesus/God", I ask myself, what does that mean for me? How do I act this out? 

    Pastors also say you have to trust with your entire being that God has your back. Here's another idea that sounds good, but is vague nevertheless. What does "entire being" mean? Usually people mean "mind, body and soul" to refer to one's entire being, and that's vague as well. What does it mean to love God with your soul? What is a soul? How do I love God-or anything-with all my soul? 

Pro-abortionists: You Sanction Murder for Convenience

1. There was never a "right" to abortion in the US Constitution, neither explicit nor implicit.  A right to kill an unborn child? Where in this document does it say this is OK, or that abortion is a right that the government should defend? 

2. In the case of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, many people feel that the woman-or girl- involved should not be saddled with carrying such a burden and restriction on their lives. Time and money at her expense, an interruption of her life, etc., etc., as well as the psychological damage this might cause her. All of these arguments simply state that a human being born from rape or incest does not have the right to live, if the mother so chooses. Of course all of this is horrible, a hideous thing to happen to a woman or girl. Does that mean that the baby should die? The pro-choice people say "yes". 

The Fall

        Jesus overcame death. This is a cardinal, fundamental belief in Christianity. My first question was, why did God create us with mortality? Why do we have to die in the first place? Why did Jesus (the son of God, mind you) have to die, and then be resurrected? Could it be that's just what God had to work with, with the instability of organic compounds? Probably not, because I'd imagine that the creator of the world-and the universe-could overcome it. No, there's a reason personal to God here. According to the Bible, God did this because of Adam and Eve's disobedience by eating fruit from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil"' and also, the "tree of life". It's vitally important, since this story comes right after God created Adam and Eve. Watch the video below for a thorough covering of these subjects.

Perspective

Can we ever reach the stars by conventional ships? No, it's not conceivable, except for the words themselves describing the actual thing: the nearest star is 24.9 trillion miles away from the Earth.  It would take close to 79 million years to reach this star at the average speed of a rocket ship. Other notable places in the known universe are much farther. Travelling at the speed of light, it would take "only" about 4.4 years to reach the nearest star (Proxima Centauri). Physicists claim, based on our current  knowledge, that matter-all matter-becomes infinitely massive as it approaches the speed of light. A ship, therefore, would not only become infinitely massive, it would require an infinite amount of energy to maintain it's speed. In other words, interstellar space travel for humans is either outright impossible, or insanely impractical and expensive as to be impossible. 

The same physics would apply to alien races on alien planets, if they are out there. 

Trump Haters

and other scum

Consider this: the stealing of the 2020 election, combined with the Covid masks-social distancing-lockdown insanity, has caused death, suffering, and even the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. This has become well documented and well known.

Also consider this: many of you will remember the malicious spite, the glee which the Biden administration dismantled Trump’s border policies.

While Trump was president, America prospered. We withdrew from useless wars abroad. America had real deterrence power all over the world. The southern border was secured. Russian and Chinese aggression was kept in check. Unemployment in America reached an all-time low.

Trump was one of the most successful and effective Presidents in American history. Trump is also one of the most successful and effective leaders in world history. His record demonstrates this unequivocally. Millions of people love and respect him for his leadership, and policies.

Recovery and Geographical Change

 "Nothing changes inside us because of a change in landscape."

    --12-step program (Alcoholics Anonymous, et al) proverb, commonly heard at the meetings.

One day, it happened that I noticed I was living permanently in a beautiful place, in an area of town I adore with all the elements of my dreams of such matters, dreams going back to the middle 1980s and beyond. In fact, that day is today, Christmas Eve at my home, and all is well with everything, including my family and health. As usual, I did not take the time to truly appreciate what I had come to in my life. I looked around me and was astounded that I had, in fact, succeeded in this area of my long and eventful life. I was living my dream. I had arrived. 

But...

Apocalypse

Turning and turning in the widening gyre   

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst   

Are full of passionate intensity.

This snippet of poetry is the first stanza in William Butler Yeat's famous poem "The Second Coming". Written in 1919 as a response to the horror of World War I, it is a bleak, dark poem with absolutely no optimism for the human race at all. Looking at the numerous news reports of thousands of people demonstrating in favor of the Hamas terrorists, who butchered, tortured, raped and killed thousands of innocent people, I am inclined to agree. 

Morning Thoughts, December 11, 2023

What do you think when you see someone who passionately believes something which is false? Do you think maybe there is some sort of mental illness involved? Or is it because of the effect of social media and it's distortion and erosion of reality? Witness hundreds of thousands of people who believe Israel is a brutal conqueror, an occupier of stolen land. Even more people believe that climate change is an imminent threat that must be addressed now. Both of these beliefs are false, but just look at them with all their passionate intensity. Notice the self-righteous scorn they use whenever their beliefs are challenged.

The Rise of Naked, Smirking Evil

 Israel uses rockets to defend it's people; Hamas uses people to defend their rockets.

What we are seeing these days is Jew hatred, sometimes called anti-Semitism, on blatant display. All across the western world, university students are angrily displaying their Jew hatred by calling for the gassing of all Jews, chanting the "from the river to the sea" slogan of Hamas, and showing open support for the Hamas terrorists. Some of these students have been filmed tearing down the posters of kidnapped or missing Jews, placed there by distraught family members desperate to find their loved ones. After the mass slaughter on Oct. 7, 2023 of men, women, and children in Israel by Hamas terrorists, emotions have run high all over the world. Therefore, the objective facts need to be highlighted and brought to everyone's attention. 

Human Stupidity and Arrogance

NEVER underestimate the power of human stupidity. Why? Here are some examples:

The Covid hysteria with it's unnecessary, harmful lockdowns, social distancing and masks, also unnecessary and harmful.

The large number of people who hate Donald Trump.

The Salem Witch Trials.

The alien invasion scam of 1938.

Hamas terrorists thinking that the way to salvation is through murder, mayhem and destruction.

The American left who supports Hamas.

People who think that men can be women and vice versa. No, really.

The Jonestown mass suicide.

The prohibition of alcohol.

The Y2K bug panic.

The belief in a global warming catastrophe right around the corner.

The Banality of Evil in the Middle East

 by J.R. Turner, 2023

The people of Jewish faith have been killed, persecuted, harassed and ridiculed for over a millennia, and more. Why? Is it because they claim to be God’s chosen people? Is it because Jews sent Jesus to the Romans to be crucified? Is it because people believe the Jews unjustly displaced the Palestinian Arabs? Or perhaps because there are a disproportionate number of them who are affluent and prosperous? This hatred of Jews is perfectly illustrated by the name given to the land by the conquering Romans: Palestine. This was done to mock and humiliate them, because the ancient enemy and foe of the Jewish state were the Philistines (Latin, Palestina). Now, the rebellious Hebrews lived in a land named after their enemies. Apparently the Romans thought this was cute, but the name stuck over the ensuing millennia, but only to refer to the region.

Expensive Medical Costs

Recently, I came down with an umbilical hernia (a distinct bulge in my navel). The pain from this was occasionally severe, and one day I decided to go to the emergency room at the hospital where I work. They told me that the hernia was not an emergency, despite the pain, and therefore they could not do anything unless it became "strangulated". In the meantime, I would have to go to a specialist and get referred for surgery. I was in the emergency room for no more than thirty minutes, they did nothing except draw two vials of blood, and check my vital signs. An MD talked with me for five minutes during this process. I repeat: they did not treat me at all. Total bill: $275.00. The MD sent me a bill as well, this one for $600.00 dollars. Neither the hospital nor the MD informed me that I would not only be charged for the emergency room visit, but also for the MD's brief consultation with me. An interesting side note here is that had I not been an employee of the hospital, the bill for the visit would have been $1,200. 00 (plus the 600 for the doctor to talk to me for five minutes). Who makes $3,600.00 an hour? Why, doctors, of course. How is it that this MD felt justified in charging me 600 bucks for seeing me for five minutes, and did nothing? I don't have medical insurance (but I will next month during open enrollment). 

Having experienced this gross overcharge, I started thinking about our medical system here in America, about how many can afford to pay cash for medical services. Insurance is the only practical solution to the burdensome cost of medical care. Why? Granted that nurses and doctors should be paid well, but $1,800.00 for thirty minutes of their time? That's how much I would've had to pay if I were not an employee of the hospital. I still owe a total of $875.00, and that's way too much money to charge anyone for not doing anything to help at all. 

The solution to overly expensive health care is tort reform, in order to make it difficult to sue a doctor for malpractice. As it stands, a lot of people resort to this type of lawsuit in order to avoid paying the bill, or to enrichen themselves. Any health care professional that injures a patient due to incompetence should be sued, but the law should restrict those who game the system by calling for a high standard of proof for any claim to malpractice. I haven't mentioned the fact that another reason health care is so expensive is the myriad regulations and mandates put on the industry by the government. Along with tort reform, there should also be an environment where the market-and the market only-determines what doctors can charge their patients, or risk losing customers. 

Is Using ChatGPT a Form of Plagiarism?

This morning I've got a bad case of writer's block. "Write about anything", I keep telling myself. So I sit down at my desk and instead of thinking of what subject to write about, I click on the ChatGPT tab and entertain the idea of letting artificial intelligence do all the thinking, and typing for me. "That's lazy", or, "that's really a form of plagiarism" says my inner voice, and so here I am, writing directly out of my own mind, for you today. Here is what the search engine Google says about the matter: 

"ChatGPT content is not plagiarism insofar as it is not copying the work of someone else outright. However, it is somewhat questionable from an academic integrity standpoint, in the sense that if you use an answer or essay generated by the chatbot, you have not created the work yourself."

And asking chat GPT about it:

"While I can provide assistance and generate text based on your instructions, it's important to use the generated content as a starting point and then add your own ideas, insights, and personal touch to it. This way, you'll be using the generated content as a tool for inspiration rather than a direct copy. "

There are two major reason why plagiarism against a human being is bad: it's a form of theft with legal consequences, and it's dishonest; a self-aggrandizing lie, if you will. However, if you "plagiarize" an AI program like ChatGPT, no one is harmed in any way. The lie, however, still remains. A new word needs to be coined to describe this sort of semi-plagiarism. It's a fraud, yes combined with laziness. Oh wait, there's the word charlatan: a person falsely claiming to have special knowledge and skill, a fraud.

Here is an article from Mozilla on the subject.

Focus on Frank Herbert's "Dune": The Spice Melange

In Frank Herbert's iconic science fiction novel "Dune," the spice melange stands as a central and pivotal element, its significance reaching far beyond mere commodity. The spice, found exclusively on the desert planet of Arrakis, serves as the lifeblood of the universe, possessing extraordinary properties that shape the destiny of both individuals and entire civilizations.

The spice, also known as melange, is a highly sought-after resource due to its numerous valuable attributes. It grants extended life, enhances mental capabilities, and augments psychic abilities. Moreover, it enables space travel by facilitating the navigational calculations of the Guild Navigators, who rely on its prescience-inducing effects to safely guide spaceships across vast distances. Without the spice, interstellar travel would be severely limited, stifling the expansive ambitions of humanity.