Monday, December 31, 2012

When You Should be Armed

When I grew up, guns were a part of just about every family.  My family went target shooting in the mountains, which was fun. As a kid at a friend's house you might see a gun on the table and you would no more touch it than you would mess with a wallet on the table.  It wasn't so much they were dangerous as they were personal.

I recall seeing people walk into banks armed, merchants depositing the days receipts.  And in the early seventies I saw rifle cases in classrooms at a small Jesuit College that had a competition shooters club.  Nobody thought twice about it, any more than they would a tennis racket or a pair of skis.

I am not armed because I am a conscientious objector, I am not armed because I am a klutz. The first victim in a gun fight with me would be my foot.  The commandment is "thou shalt not kill" not, "thou shalt not game-on."  Jesus sorted out merchants who should have known better, since merchants are the most blessed in society, but he did not kill them.  Malefactors warrant game-on, but not death.

If you have the time to train regularly and the skill to pick a target and hit it without collateral damage, and you are invincibly ignorant regarding the law against taking life, then you should be armed.  All of those conditions mean very few people would be armed. Those few randomly distributed gunners would be necessary and sufficient to deter the cowards who head straight to mandated no-gun zones to kill those who cannot by law defend themselves from these perfectly sane murderers, who rationally pick gun-free zones to conduct their murders.

Although I reasonably feel unsafe when I see "law enforcement" armed I never feel quite as safe as when I see private citizens armed.  There is nothing quite as heartwarming as dropping in on a friend who is cleaning his 1911 after time at the range.  Or interrupting a posse of hunters who are checking their rifles before heading out into the woods.  Armed citizens!  Heartwarming!

Last century 56 million people were killed by their governments in countries that had civilian gun bans.  Switzerland had zero, where civilians are obliged to be armed. Sauerkraut, brats, beer and a rifle and no cops for a hundred miles.  Ach, Gemutlichkeit!

If you believe there is a right to kill aggressors, then it is your responsibility to provide for the killing, and not by paying someone else to do it.  When seconds count, the police will be there in a few minutes.  Those people in the schools depended on the police and the federal gun-free zone law to protect them.  That is the lesson of the Sandy Hook shootings.

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Why Have Police?

So here is yet another example of police thuggery, giving a skull cracking beating to a belligerent suspect (who apparently was not involved in the hit and run of which he was suspect.)  We are told we need police to keep people from getting out of hand in dealing with each other, and to make arrests to let the system deal with criminals.  But here we have judge, jury and executioner times three dealing out street justice.  So the question is, if with cops we just get street justice, why not eliminate the police departments, knowing we will yield street justice anyway?



But when two Seattle Police Officers drive drunk, crash, hit and run and attack fellow officers....  absolutely nothing.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Get an Education, Skip the Diploma

Look at this website that purports to encourage young people to finish high school.  It helpfully has a Spanish version too. It is a powerhouse of website development excellence.   How come the Army is sponsoring the website?

An education is extremely important in life, and education ought to be a lifelong pursuit.  Encouraging people to learn is a very good thing to do.  And to what ends do we want people to be educated?

I've seen other separate ads encouraging you to get your GED.  Careful.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Success in any branch of the Military depends on a good education, and a high school diploma is most desirable. Candidates with a GED (General Education Development certificate) can enlist, but some Services may limit opportunities. It is very difficult to be considered a serious candidate without either a high school diploma or accepted alternative credential. In any case, staying in school is important for entering the Military.
Since the Army cannot take people who do not have a basic education, they have an interest in seeing people complete high school.  So they can take them.  For a coountry that was founded on the ideal of no standing military, we have gotten far off the rails. I find this objectionable.

The army wants soldiers.  It cannot take you (for now) if you do not have a high school diploma or a GED.  Now, it is very possible to have an excellent education without every having a high school diploma.  Or a college diploma for that matter.  So if you desire to stay out of the military, it might help to get your education without every getting a high school diploma.

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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Conscientious Objection to Involuntary Commitment

So the Connecticut shooter acted out when he learned he was to be committed.  So what is so horrible about being committed in USA?  Read Thomas Szasz



Warfare queen Michael Medved say he believes any correlation between psychotropic drugs and mass shootings is urban legend.  He said these drugs are good.  He is a paid shill.

Here is a short list.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Should People Arm Themselves?

I have no objection to anyone arming themselves, especially women.  Conscientious objection is only for conscientious objectors.  If everyone else wants to be free-riders on conscientious objectors coat-tails, that is fine with me.  People forget the one last point she makes. Hop on!



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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

John the Baptist to Soldiers


Luke 3:7-14

King James Version (KJV)
Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

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Monday, December 17, 2012

Fr. James V Schall on Pacifists

A Jesuit priest asks:

When I saw the “War Is Not the Answer” sign, I said to myself, “what is the question to which war is not an answer?” Is there no question to which war is the only sensible answer? Must we be pacifists and draw no lines in the sand? Does nothing ever need defending? Can we choose not to defend what needs defending and still be honorable? If war is not the “answer,” what is? How do we rid ourselves of tyrants or protect ourselves from ideologies or fanatics who attack us with their own principles and weapons, not ours?

Confronting evil is an act we must do, and conscientious objection is in relation to evil.  It is where we start. Our counsels of war are chaired by Jesus. It is odd a Jesuit writes a major piece and refers not once to Jesus.  But what the good reverend is advocating is have someone else confront evil, not himself.  Pass it off to others, as in 1 Samuel 8.

And this curious comment -

The answer to the question of why a Muslim man or woman will blow himself or herself up is not simply political or military. Aristotle said that if someone is willing to die in the process, no one can really prevent him from trying to kill us. Augustine had a similar problem with the fourth-century schismatic Donatists. A Muslim who blows himself up along with 15 others can pretty much rest assured that this type of weapon will not be used against his own people.

If we can simply drone kill from Denver, why would we send in suicide bombers?  In WWII the first people to suicide bomb by crashing their planes into ships were USA pilots who could not otherwise get their risible weapons to work. Frustration drives people to crazy ends.

Now the Jesuit has a unique view of USA weapons:

Nuclear and conventional weapons, in fact, have become so accurate, so downsized, so controlled, that all the elements of the just war theory devised by the most scrupulous moralist are in place and in operation. One might even argue that current American weaponry is constructed the way it is precisely in order to live up to just war concerns. 

So just war is built into the nuclear bomb?  This moralist is too scrupulous for that. We might pardon this line since it was written in 2004, but it is sad this topic is not up for debate in polite circles.  If one sells out, one can expect fame and fortune in this life.

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Saturday, December 15, 2012

10,000 Five Year Olds

How come people shoot up schools?

Because gun control laws outlaw guns in schools.  Cowards don't want to face opposition.

What causes people to do something like this?

The common thread is the psychotropic drugs that were designed to get people to do things they normally would not.  Start there.

We need more gun control laws to stem this violence.

Gun controls laws take violence to enforce.  How does more violence create less violence?

Europe has strict gun control laws, and this does not happen there.

Yes it does. Norway. Australia. France.  Germany. Austria.  Finland. On and on.  Gun control laws don't matter. The common thread is the drugs designed to get people to do things they normally wouldn't.

We must do something!

Yes,  Did you see US troops are massing on the Syrian border?

Did you know our secretary of state said 500,000 dead Iraqi children, which must include at least 10,000 five year olds, was "worth it."


No one here wept for the 10,000 dead Iraqi five year olds.   We must do something.  End the wars that kill so many 5 year olds.

God's patience is ordered to our salvation.  If an when that patience ends, the 27 five year olds in USA might seem to be the lucky ones.

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Friday, December 14, 2012

Day Eight, After Fast

Health care starts in the GI tract, the gut, and as I fast I take a lot of acidophilus and drink probiotic kombucha, etc. Lots of liquids are necessary during a fast since all systems are still go, and they need irrigation to clean out the bad stuff.  Whizzing clear after day three or so is a good sign.

 Day seven I feel strong a revived, with the systems light and energetic.  I bought a couple of drinks at an AMPM minimart, popular electrolyte mineral enhanced designer waters.  I've had these many times and always enjoyed them  On day seven two sips of the first one and I am about to experience toxic shock.  So I put that back in the fridge, and tried the other.  Just as bad.

See, even though I eat organic and hippie and all that, as defined by the state, there is still so much nastiness in our food chain that we just adapt.  So when my system was running clean, it told me those designer waters were not for me.  Now I know.

So here I am on day eight, and as I start to eat, with some regret, a crab salad with oil and vinegar and a hard boiled egg, some pugliasi bread, and coffee, easy does it,  my system responds to the incoming nourishment and delivers all of the nutrients to my system.  I feel like I could kick King Kong's ass.

But at the same time, I am in control of my passions, and would instead sit and chat amiably with him should we meet.

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Day Seven of the Fast

I'd forgotten I'd blogged on fasting just over a week ago, sheeesh, it must be harming my memory.  But it has been a busy week.

I'll repeat a point, and that is one point of fasting is to be able to say no to impulses, and not be ruled by them.

I am reminded of this when reading an article on prostitution and the military (click on his google books link) in which an army officer said "If a man won't f*ck, he won't fight."  Well, it depends on what you call f*cking, and what you call fighting, sir.

People love to believe the military protects our way of life, especially right wing Christians.  They putatively acclaim life and family values, but at the same time offer up their children in "sacrifice" into a service that necessarily condones prostitution, substance abuse, violence, killing and all sorts of other vices.  No wonder more service people die at their own hands in suicide than at enemy hands.

So when the officer says "f*ck" he means, as in the book quoted above, the soldier who frequents the prostitute whose quota is 100 men a day. These are men who if not in the military would be courting a young woman, getting married and raising a family.  But since right-wing Christians are driven to worship the military, their children get steeped in prostitution, substance abuse, violence, killing and all sorts of other vices.  They come back and cause problems "unto the third and fourth generation."

If you want a fight, fight yourself and grow up.  Control your food intake, and then control the lesser drive for sex.  And in so doing, come to see war for what it is.   If we want less prostitution, substance abuse, violence, killing and all sorts of other vices we need to teach our children to fast, not sacrifice them.

The officer was implying that any soldier who did not require a prostitute was a degenerate, as the term was once used, but that is arguing from a definition where prostitution, substance abuse, violence, killing and all sorts of other vices is the norm.

There are people who make love with their wives and raise a family and fight the good fight.  But the officer nows nothing of all that.  Because even though on the books the military defends family values and the American way, it really promotes prostitution, substance abuse, violence, killing and all sorts of other vices.

Otherwise, these two officers would be in jail.


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Monday, December 10, 2012

Bob Costas Doubles Down On Gun Comments

After the Jovan Belcher murder/suicide, Bob Costas said: "In the coming days, Jovan Belcher's actions and their possible connection to football will be analyzed. Who knows? ..... If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today."

After Josh Brent was arrested early Saturday on a charge of intoxication manslaughter because his teammate, Jerry Brown, died in car accident, Bob Costas said: "In the coming days, Josh Brent's actions and their possible connection to football will be analyzed. Who knows? ..... If Josh Brent didn't possess a car, he and Jerry Brown would both be alive today."

And spoons make you fat.  It's not about guns or cars or spoons it is about responsibility.  If you have a gun, match it's power with responsibility, so with a car and a spoon.  Some 8,000 die by guns each year, 40,000 by cars.  Depends on who is counting. But the point is responsibility, which takes human action, not the tool which does nothing but await human choice.

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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Just War

Here is a lesson from one of the experts...
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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Conscientious Objection to Darwinism

Gary North puts it in perspective....

They come in the name of neutral science. Science is never neutral. They come in the name of neutral education. Education is never neutral. They come in the name of neutral civil government. Civil government is never neutral.
Then they escalate their claims. Ever since 1981, it has been illegal for any tax-funded school to teach creationism. This has been extended to intelligent design. So, the Darwinists have used coercion layered on coercion to promote their viewpoint.
The civil authorities make education compulsory: coercion. Then they tax all groups to pay for the schools: coercion. Then they subsidize specific groups' agendas: coercion. Then they ban rival views: coercion. All this is done in the same of science.

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Friday, December 7, 2012

Tufts Caught In Secret Medical Experiments In China

The United States rules on Human Subjects allows the president to issue a secret order to use humans as subjects in secret medical experiments without their knowledge.  This is a crime against humanity, but par for the course for USA.  Nonetheless, such schools as Tufts do their research overseas where they can take advantage of unwitting school children to test out frankenfoods on kids.

Tufts made a mistake when they took a secret experiment to China.  What USA allows, even the Communist Party forbids:


Wang Yin, a section chief of ZAMS, was sacked by Zhejiang provincial health authority.
Yin and Wang were punished for failing to inform the school children and their parents of the fact that the rice was genetical-modified, and concealing the truth from relevant authorities and the school, according to the statement.


When the Federal Government was caught in the infamous Tuskegee Experiments, no one went to prison.  Emboldened, scientists made things worse now in USA.  Until people go to prison for this activity, like they do in China, it will continue.  We need scientists who are conscientious objectors. Feel Free To Email This To Three Friends.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Resistance And Heroes

The good brother Peter Hitchens writes:

Well, some Germans certainly had done such things and worse (though we let most of them off as we needed them to run the country after the defeat of Hitler) , but most of the victims of these incidents were women and children, and some of the others were (for instance) Czech German Social Democrats who had themselves resisted the Nazis. This was a racial purge, combined with a colossal mass theft of property, money , houses and land (those refuges who survived could take almost nothing with them), horribly comparable to German National Socialist Actions. Anyone who (rightly) condemns the German National Socialists as barbarian murderers cannot really, in all conscience, fail to condemn the authors of these actions too. (this point is addressed later)

"who had themselves resisted the Nazis."  Here is the problem: when there is a change of powers that be through, the new powers that be will be no better, likely worse.  And those who resisted the last regime, will certainly resist the next.  The next regime takes its time about taking over, letting the last regime kill off any resistance.  Thus, when they win, they meet little resistance.

The Poles were encouraged to uprise against the nazis, which they did, were denied the promised help, and up-risers were wiped out by the nazis.  These stories go on and on.

This is not unique to any time or place.  Claudius executed the people who assassinated Caligula, and Elizabeth executed those who plotted against Mary, for the express reason that if the plotters would conspire against a ruler they did not like, then they would if and when they did not like Elizabeth.  Off with their heads!

A legacy of our Judeo-Christian origins is we have kings.  We demand kings so they fight our battles for us, in spite of the details God warned us about before he granted the request.  The world can be a wicked place, and that is good to know.  Since kings were created by God, then only by appealing to God can man be free of the oppression of kings.  Violence only gives the next king more power.

Never resort to violence.

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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

OK...

I agree to his proposal.....

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Fasting and Training

I very often am terrified at my personal prospects, what with being self-employed and depending on a wide group of customers and not on a job where I have "employment rights."  Part of training is to accept experiencing terror, acknowledging it, and move ahead anyway.

The ability to deal with this comes from training.  Since we tend to respond to the religion to which we are called, most people find personal transformation built into their faith-system.

Christian and Moslems rely heavily on fasting, Moslems in fact turning it into a holiday season.  Christians do as well, with Advent and Lent.

Fasting is where you train yourself to acknowledge something you want, and deliberately saying "no."  In this way you train yourself to say no to yourself in other ways.

You want to train with something as powerful as possible, so lesser temptations are easily denied.  The most important thing is oxygen, but you cannot give up oxygen for more than say three minutes without dying.  That will not do for our purposes.

Next is water, but giving up water can do permanent harm within 3 days.  No religion advocates suicide or self-harm.  So what is the next most powerful urge?  Eating.  And most anyone can give up food for a week without any problem at all.  Check with your doctor, and see.

But assuming you do not have some dire medical issue, try giving up food for 24 hours.  No food whatsoever.  Plenty of clear fluids, but don't cheat by drinking smoothies. See what happens.  Whatever ill-effects you experience will be completely mental.

Once you overcome 24 hours, go for 40 hours.  See how often you are 'tempted" to eat, and then say no.  Again, your mind will play tricks on you, and you'll get to know yourself better.

Eventually work your way up to a week.    The you realize it's only the first day or two you experience hunger.    After seven days you'll regret being obliged to resume eating.  But you will master the ability to feel anxiety, and any of multiple fears, and acknowledge them, but not give in to them.

I'd think more about working with a spiritual director than a doctor to pull this off, for to be sure, demons await anyone who would train hungry.

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Sunday, December 2, 2012

Scholarships Not Battleships

How about neither....?

An education does not cost as much as they charge, they just charge that much because there are "loans" disguised as free money to be sopped up.  I know from having kids in college that all that money is not going into the classroom.  It is going to administrators triple dipping in wages and pensions and gold-plating smoothie machines.

I see a new student dorm with exercise machines.  That cost has to be covered by tuition.  What happened to low cost jogging?  Or intramural sports?

Scholarships and battleships are both bad ideas.  In each we pay too much for stuff we do not need, and get trapped in debt.  Time to conscientiously object to scholarships and battleships.

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Saturday, December 1, 2012

Conscientious Objection to Force and Fraud

It is widely believed Frank Olson was murdered, not suicided.  Olson was a conscientious objector to medical malfeasance. The case is strong enough that a lawsuit is being advanced.  But wait, murder is a capital offense, with no statute of limitations.  if the offense is murder, why is it being redressed by a lawsuit.  With murder, there is someone responsible.  If you merely "sue" the CIA, then the person responsible escapes.

The Aurora Colorodo movie theatre shooter claims he was brainwashed into doing the killing.  This is the kind of work Olson was doing when he was killed.

We do not want to hear about our government engaging in such acts.  But our president can overrule the "human subjects" laws in the USA, and any group can be secretly targeted for medical experimentation today, just as people of some African heritage were targeted in the Tuskegee experiments, which ended in the 1970s.  There again, there was no conscientious objection to criminal activity by government officers, there was no criminal prosecution for crimes committed, so it continues.

Conscientious objection is not limited to war, it extends to any unjust force or fraud.  We need doctors who object to force and fraud in medicine.

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