There Is No Easy Answer

Reflection on the Illegal Immigration Issue


by John Russell Turner, May 11, 2019

Imagine if you will, a story about Ramon, Nora, and their child, Felipe. This family lived in Honduras, a country troubled by violence, poverty, and political corruption. Both Ramon and Nora lost their jobs because of lay offs in the manufacturing plant where they worked. Unemployed, neither one of them could find new jobs because the economy in Tegucigalpa (the capital city of Honduras) is bad. Soon their savings account was depleted, and the family was evicted from their apartment in the city. Desperate, they decided to flee their country and head to the United States, where they heard there is plenty of work. Some people in the city were organizing a caravan of other people who want to work; some for basic survival, others to keep their families together. They joined this caravan, and in due course, arrived at the US border. This is a typical story behind many of the people seen here in El Paso/Juarez, and at Laredo, Nogales, Tijuana, et al. They have no desire to hurt anyone; they only want to work and be with their beloved families. Such is not possible in their native countries, and this saddens them, for who likes to leave the land of their birth, their culture, and their ancestors?

Really Great Classical/Symphonic Music

My Favorite Classical/Symphonic Music Videos

Abortion? That's a Good Thing!

by John Russell Turner
May 9, 2019

Some women and girls who consider abortion do so because they are faced with extreme difficulties, should they carry their unborn babies to term. This does not justify aborting the unborn baby, because that would be murder. There are alternatives, however, and that's been briefly covered in another post in this blog. Today I am addressing another motive people have in choosing and or supporting abortion.

"We're proud to kill unborn babies!"

Some of you may have read the news story about Planned Parenthood supporters crashing a Students for Life event at The University of Texas in San Antonio. For those of you who haven't, very few mainstream news outlets carried the story, but here it is in a nutshell.  Also, here's the story from Breitbart.

Encore: Wolf Alice - Lisbon

Alright, just a few words on this one: the amazing contrast between the lyrics, and the subject of the video. This one is my personal favorite, a song so beautiful, so evocative of positive emotions...but at that same time, profoundly disturbing:



Feel like running, feel like crack
Feel like going out and smashing windows...I'm smashing windows.

And in a black, black hole deeper than death,
I would wait for you there just give me the breath to say it
Back together...

Click here for a great live performance of "Lisbon"

Click here for more info on Wolf Alice, in their own words

Dr. Jordan Peterson

Peterson interviewed by Cathy Newman

The Antidote to Chaos, and Psychobabble

by John Russell Turner

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson is a clinical psychologist, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, author, lecturer, father and husband who has caused, and continues to cause, quite a stir on the Internet. His YouTube channel has over two million subscribers, and most of his videos have been viewed millions of times per day. He has written three books. His most popular book, 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos has sold well over three million copies, but I haven't been able to get a more accurate number from my web research. Most of the figures I did find were around three million, and that seems plausible. Dr. Peterson has toured the world promoting this book, and there are numerous critiques of it available on-line.

I first heard about Dr. Peterson three years ago, when he was embroiled in controversy over his opposition to Canadian Bill C-16, which requires Canadians to use the "preferred pronouns" of transgendered (and other) individuals, or face legally imposed sanctions. This caused a firestorm of controversy, although Peterson's opposition was based solely on the fact that Bill C-16 was and is compelled speech, and as such, antithetical to the concept of free speech. In other words, if you refuse to use the pronouns people want you to use when referring to them, you could wind up in jail. Although jail time was not mentioned in the Bill, but fines were, what would happen if you refused to pay such fines? You'd go to jail.

Dr. Peterson reacting to protester

This infamous "Bill C-16 Incident" was how most people first heard of Dr. Peterson, and he was the subject of a whole hell of a lot of Google searches, and that is how people came to discover the fact that he had, long before the controversy over Bill C-16, posted hundreds of videos on-line about a variety of subjects: the psychology of totalitarianism/collectivism, his fascinating university lectures, the psychology, types, and origins of personality, the psychology of religion/spirituality, rational (common sensical) self-improvement, free speech, male/female relationships and male/female differences. Also, a book titled Maps of Meaning, The Architecture of Belief, which was, in effect, a rational attempt to explain human psychology in terms of ancient archetypes and myths. Suddenly, Dr. Peterson had a large number of people who were intensely interested in his ideas, and many people credit him for helping to vastly improve their lives. In fact, Dr. Peterson's work has been called the "gateway drug to Christianity' by many who were once agnostics or atheists.  I was not an atheist when I first encountered Dr. Peterson on the web, but his work did encourage me to quit being on the fence about it. Millions of people love this man for his incredible passion and intellectual honesty in covering the topics I listed above. The thing that really got me hooked was the point he made about evil living inside of all of us, so to speak, about everyone's ability to do heinous evil, and the peril one faces when this is ignored or not confronted. He asks his students and listeners: what would you have done if you lived  in Germany during the aftermath of World War I? If you were supporting a beloved family, but the only work you could find was working for the Nazis, would you? This thought gave me pause, and got me thinking about true humility and what it entails. As for the majority of his other

admirers, the free speech issues raised with Canadian Bill c-16 was the hook.

As you would expect, Dr. Peterson has many detractors on the Left, and the interesting thing about that is Peterson has become a mirror upon which you can clearly see the vile projections these Leftists unknowingly place on him. In other words, his ideas brilliantly illuminate the evil, twisted rationalizations of most Leftists, especially the post-Modernists. Dr. Peterson's work is sometimes shocking, even astounding, for he reveals the psychological nudity of Leftists who are so wrapped up in The Lie (malignant narcissism) that they cannot see it for themselves. Do you want to change the world? Make sure yours is in order first, the good Doctor advises. Clean your room. Pet a cat or dog whenever you encounter one. Always tell the truth, or at least, don't lie. Sound, solid advice. It's about time! His scathing excoriation of feminists who promote ideas such as rape culture and toxic masculinity is almost embarrassing to witness-many men have claimed that Peterson opened their eyes to the idea that it's OK to be male. Actually, Dr. Peterson's message is that it's OK to be a human being, and that's a message a lot of people need these days.

Watch this interview with Cathy Newman from England's Channel 4, and you will get an excellent overview of the Peterson phenomenon, along with the pathetic nature of his critics. This video was at one time the most viewed video on YouTube.