Mike Pence = Christofascist

Trump and Company have been hard at work for all of TWO WEEKS, but the Left is already sharpening their long knives, shaping public opinion for elections scheduled four and eight years away. (To that end, I suspect this article is nothing but carefully crafted agitprop.) The Left is now attacking newly elected U.S. Vice President Mike Pence as a "Christofascist"!

Pence's two biggest "negatives" (in the eyes of the Left) are he's WHITE and he's CHRISTIAN.

(Note how the Left dismisses Trump's professed "Christianity". They rightly suspect Pence is "the real deal".)

Eventually, each of us will have to choose, folks. We'll be FORCED to take sides, even if we don't want to. RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS POLITICS are our future, whether we like it or not. 

Not just here in America, but worldwide.

Even if we couldn't care less about our neighbors' religion or skin color, the Left will FORCE us to care!

The Left's strategy is two-pronged:

First, dethrone "white" and "Christian" as the dominant "color" and "religion" in America. Make ANYTHING BUT "white" and "Christian the "norm". Encourage ALL MANNER of religious persuasions, relationships, behaviors and sexual orientations. DILUTE "white" and "Christian" in the mix until "white" and "Christian" become minorities.

Then, CRUSH those minorities. Make believing in a Christian God ridiculous and practicing and upholding Christian values illegal. (This has already begun with pro-homogamy legislation.) In its white-hot (no pun intended) anger toward "traditional" Christianity, the Left is now championing Muslim immigration and integration into American society, knowing full well that a LARGE PERCENTAGE of Muslims believe that practicing Jews and Christians are "infidels" who ought to be converted to Islam or EXTERMINATED from the planet!

While the Left share ALMOST NOTHING IN COMMON with Islam (except fascism), the Left embraces Islam because of Islam's militant antipathy toward practicing Christians and Jews. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", the Left's concludes (even if bartering with the devil eventually comes back to bite them). The Left's short-sighted calculus will precipitate untold chaos and disruptions in America, almost assuredly leading to civil war.

The Christian White's (not a typo) effort to end abortion, Islamic (and now domestic) terrorism and ACTUAL fascism via legislation will continue to be characterized by the Left as "fascism" itself. (Ironically, the Left never regards its own endless overweening usurpations of personal freedom and responsibility by government edict and control as "fascist"!)

In the end, societies and governments (of whatever stripe) are ruled by those who make the rules. In societies (like ours) where government has been empowered to make more and more of our decisions and choices for us, minorities (or whatever persuasion) are FORCED to submit to majority rule. When the majority choose wisely, the people (by and large) prosper and are happy. But when the majority choose wickedly, the people (by and large) suffer and mourn.

Looking at the current "majority" of economically ill-informed, historically challenged, morally corrupt, logically inept, unicorn-loving, fart-sniffing champions of racial and sexual politics wearing vagina hats while marching incoherently in protest of free and fair elections, I have NO HOPE that America's future will be anything but "fascist" for years to come. EVERY CONTROL OR RELINQUISHING OF POWER by the Christian White will be portrayed as "fascist" by the Left -- even if those policies and practices were initiated by the Left! 

If the Christian White ever again lose power or control of government -- and they will! -- the Left will NEVER let them get it back, except by blood.

I hope I am a false prophet.

How to end the “drug war” and win

More lives have been lost, more careers ruined, more homes shattered and families destroyed, more property stolen, more freedom lost and more money spent and wasted by the phony “drug war” than by all the drug users and addicts in American history.

Each individual has a God-given, inalienable right to do with his or her body what he or she sees fit to do in pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. That being said, children have rightful claim upon their parents for support. Employers have rightful claim upon their employees for labors paid for. And benefactors have claim upon beneficiaries for the fulfillment of certain duties and obligations, among them being the responsibility not to squander the proceeds of that beneficence.

Drug users seldom act without hurting others – and ought to be held accountable -- but not for doing drugs. They should be punished for not taking care of their kids, for not doing their jobs they get paid to do, for not conserving the resources entrusted to them. They should be punished for real crimes – for hurting others – never for hurting themselves.

When we hurt ourselves, we've already paid the price.

Drug users generally are not a problem. People use drugs all the time. People have used drugs since the beginning of time. Drugs will always be with us. We cannot effectively outlaw and eradicate something that, in one form or another, exists naturally, whether as a weed, a mushroom, or a concoction that ferments all by itself in a toilet or old wine skin.

The mere fact that drugs can be bought, sold and used in prison demonstrates that drugs can never be eradicated from an imprisoned society, much less a free one.

Is this not the land of the free? Then how can we claim to be “drug free” except by personal choice?

Power must be returned to the people and to each accountable individual. The nanny state must be dismantled...for our own good and our own freedom.

Here's how:

Retain the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but vastly curtail its powers.

Continue to grant the FDA the discretion (it now has) to define what are “FDA-approved” and “non-FDA-approved” drugs, products and services. These would be drugs, products and services deemed “safe and effective” when used as intended – in prescribed dosages and for specific purposes (like kidney dialysis, open-heart surgery, pain relief and the promotion of health and wellness)...in other words, the system we now have.

Let doctors continue to write prescriptions and legally regulate FDA-approved drugs, products and services.

But grant legal immunity from prosecution (except in the case of fraud and gross neglect) to those who do so. Set at liberty from prosecution every manufacturer, marketer, wholesaler or retailer – heck! – to the purveyors of any substance, product or service that can be shown to be “safe and effective” when used as intended, being granted FDA approval.

Competition will rise and costs will plummet. We will all be better off.

Are cars “safe and effective” when used as intended? Yes. Then they ought to be “approved” and be immune from prosecution. How about guns? Yes again. Knives? Screw drivers? Yes and yes. No arsenal, kitchen or tool kit ought to be without them!

Drugs? Yes! In certain quantities, formulations and for certain purposes, almost anything can be found to be “safe and effective” when used as intended and ought to be available for use by responsible adults (and minors), even if under supervision, by legal prescription.

Things that are “safe and effective” when used as intended ought not be outlawed (even if they are regulated).

How about those things not used as intended? Should they be outlawed? Whose fault is that?

The user should be held accountable. And, in some cases, the manufacturer, marketer, and retailer, as well.

A “safe and effective” car is driven into a farmers' market, killing many. Is the car at fault? Or the driver? Should "safe and effective" cars be outlawed? Or murderous drivers?

A gun is used to defend against a would-be robber or rapist, but an innocent bystander is also wounded. Should all firearms be outlawed for personal protection? Or should the shooter (or, better yet, the would-be rapist and murderer) be held accountable?

Gasoline is used to power a lawnmower, but one's neighbor's house is also accidently set ablaze. Should gasoline or lawnmowers be outlawed?

Must we outlaw everything that is potentially dangerous to us? How then would we be “free”? Free to do what exactly?

Recreational drugs may be used by habit or for pleasure, but drugs may also incapacitate one from doing his or her job effectively. Should those drugs – like alcohol and marijuana – be banned? (We tried that. It doesn't work!)

No, we shouldn't “ban” dangerous or deleterious things. Not in any case. Rather, we should hold people responsible.

Allow people to produce, buy and sell FDA-approved and non-FDA-approved things. Those who “stick” with FDA-approved things, by and large, are protected by law from any claim of liability. (Ford Motor Company, for example, ought not be sued if its product can be shown to be “safe and effective” when “used as intended”, even if someone uses that product to mow down a bunch of pedestrians! Killing innocent shoppers is not the obvious intent of manufacturing and selling a car! Same for guns, gasoline and drugs.)

Certain drugs (perhaps) have no obvious “safe and effective” use or dosage. Certain substances (like cyanide or nuclear weapons, perhaps) may be intrinsically unsafe and ineffective for any conceivable purpose (other than mayhem).

These substances or products can still be bought and sold...but their producers and users must be held strictly liable: the producers and users must bear the full burden of any repercussions from said use. (Fortunately, atom bombs are too difficult and too expensive to build for most criminals to get their hands on them!)

You make or use a non-FDA-approved product that eventually kills someone? You should be held accountable for manslaughter. You sell a non-FDA-approved drug in a form that causes someone to be become addicted or incapacitated? You should suffer the liabilities and consequences of that action.

Given the choice between FDA-approved and non-FDA-approved dealings, people, by and large, will choose FDA-approved deals. It's simply safer and less "risky".

But people will still have the choice. If they believe smoking crack cocaine is in their best interests, then so be it! If they want to make and use crack cocaine for themselves, why not? That's their choice!

But, in all cases, just like it is now, if they “choose” to hurt others, they should be held accountable.

What's stopping someone now from flooding a school auditorium with gasoline and killing thousands? Or driving through a park on the 4^th of July and squashing hundreds? Or poisoning a city water supply with “legal” drugs and harming millions?

Nothing.

Yet it seldom if ever happens. Why?

Only the good will of the people at large preserves our safety and security.

We can never be completely safe. Murder is outlawed but people still commit murder. Laws and confiscations and prohibitions alone can never save us.

Only we can.

We can't "guarantee" anyone's safety.

But we can completely lose our freedom.

The current “drug war” has robbed more people of more liberty than anything else I can imagine. We are not presently free in our persons and effects, but under the guise of "keeping us safe", we have transferred power to a tyrannical government, subjecting ourselves to surveillance, inspection, confiscation and incarceration. And for what? Because we want to get high? Because we have a back ache?

This is silly. Prosecute those who injure, abuse or neglect others. Not for doing drugs, but for injuring, abusing or neglecting others!

If we turn our lawyers loose to find and prosecute those who harm others, who engage in non-FDA-approved dealings, those dealings will naturally dry up, without police or checkpoints or drug-sniffing dogs or people stealing and killing just to "get by" and support their habits or their illegal enterprises.

The world will return to “normal”. To sanity. To personal accountability. There will still be addicts. There will still be drunk drivers. There will still be kids stealing cigarettes and joints and people getting high and even killing themselves or others. 

But when people are held accountable for the harm they do to others and not to themselves, the focus will change. It will return to where it should be: to the rightful exercise of power and control, even good government.

A free people are only free inasmuch as they are left alone to govern themselves.

Be careful what you learn

In ancient times (it is said), men and women lived far longer than they do today. (Adam is reported to have lived 930 years.)

One of the purported purposes of this life is to gain experience. The ultimate objective of gaining that experience is to have joy. (See 2 Nephi 2:23-25.) Gaining experience, for the most part, requires having opposition to work against.

A day without strenuous challenge is a day hardly lived. It's like going to the gym without lifting any weights or playing racquetball without having anyone to play against. Without opposition, we are just "putting in our time". Nothing changes...except we grown a day older and advance a day closer to death.

The old Chinese curse goes: "May you live in interesting times." 

Not "may you live a long life" or "may you have an easy life", but may you have an interesting one! A life filled with drama, intrigue, twists and turns, unexpected outcomes and great opposition -- even horrible, nasty things! -- is certainly interesting. The best books and movies are made from such stuff. 

No one wants to read a boring book or watch a boring movie -- in which nothing interesting happens and nothing ever changes. 

No one wants to live a boring life.

As Rob Smith points out in his new book "Seek Ye This Jesus: (Book 1) The Miracle of Repentance":

In Eden, without that opposition, mankind’s ability to commit sin was incomparably attenuated* compared to the environment in which we live, but so was their ability to acquire knowledge. (p. 18.)

It was boring living in the bush! Our human capacity to acquire knowledge (truthful information) centuries -- even just one or two decades! -- ago was far less than it is today!

Today knowledge practically flows to us in a stream as constant and voluminous as the time we spend surfing the web.

"Book" knowledge is not to be confused with experience. We only know for a surety what we experience for ourselves. Everything else is just "book knowledge": untested, untried (by experience), really just very strong beliefs.

What "book knowledge" we "learn" vicariously through others may even be flat-out false.

However, what we "learn" nonetheless influences what we think and do. We are very susceptible to "programming" and propaganda -- unless we learn for ourselves. We must have our own experiences.

The internet (and other media) provides a "pipeline" of information (and, thus, "book knowledge") to our minds that is unparalleled in human history. We can "learn" more today in less time that at any time that ever was.

I have a friend who taught himself how to do drive a tractor-trailer rig (and thus get his commercial driver's license) in one day by just watching Youtube videos! I learned how to change brakes, replace half-axles, repair suspensions and re-mount tires all by watching videos. (That saved me a lot of time, money and -- potentially disastrous! -- experience. I "learned" a lot faster that way!)

We now enjoy the greatest opportunity to "learn" in all of human history.

What are we "learning" on tv, the internet, our cell phones and Snapchat?

What we "learn" is what we do.

At no time has our ability to learn (and thus do) been greater than it is now. At the same time, in no time in history (that I know of) has the "knowledge of good and evil" been more widely broadcast than it is now. We may drink from the fountains of life whatever pleases us, for good or evil, filthy waters or pure.

But one thing is for certain: we are what we "eat".

The "instruction" of humanity is being greatly accelerated. The "formation" of characters -- by "learning", picking and choosing, taking sides, if you will -- has never advanced so rapidly or so universally as it is now. Just a few decades ago, half our planet had never spoken on a telephone. Today cell phones -- and information -- are ubiquitous.

Soon everyone will have access to "knowledge" and be held accountable for what they "know" and then do.

Adam was warned not to partake of the forbidden fruit. (Even if he didn't "know" better, by his own experience, not to do so, he was still held accountable.) The flood of information now sweeping the earth -- for good and evil -- is preparing the world for judgments to come.

*Attenuated means to weaken or to make thin. Man's capacity to commit sin in the garden was minimized, for he lacked knowledge.

Stop Being a Butthole Spouse

I read "Stop Being a Butthole Wife" -- no, it's not an anti-woman screed, just read it...it has a message that applies to all of us -- followed by "The First Ten Years: How Two Broken People Kept Their Marriage from Breaking".

I know I'm breaking my own New Year's resolution by posting this. 

I also know some things are worth keeping more than resolutions.