On Treasure Chests & Gasbag Buddies

 

On Usefulness, Mattering & Making a Difference for Good

 

Scott Adam's cartoons and books were a blessing to our family, offering humor, direction and insight during the our home school years.  Adams,  Bill Watterson and Gary Larson, were our three favorite cartoonists, and we ended up with all their books in our library.  On Jan 1, 2026, Adams wrote his last message, delivered the day he died, which included his final encouragement and directive: "Be useful".  We experienced him as useful.  And we move forward in the hope that humor, art, thoughtfulness and authenticity matter and make a difference, as it did when we took in what was expressed and revealed by him in his work.  

On Sprouts & Blaps

 

On Seeing & Saying Things

 Here's the series that stood out to me today from Powerlines Week in Pictures, with Minnesota and Waltz in the news in the worst possible ways.

This is what I have against the Protestant Bible

OK we all know the 10 Commandments Chuck Heston brought down from Paramount are not the ones in the Bibles. It's not Thou Shalt Not Kill, but Thou Shalt Not Murder. It's not Thou Shalt Not Steal, but Thou Shalt Not Kidnap (still trying to figure out that one).

Now here's another one. I saw reference to this on another website with guys bragging how their old man beat the Hell (literally) out of them and it made them the swell guys they are today. Having felt my father's hand and sharp tongue for the first 11 years of my life, I can only say the only useful thing I learned was, "Look it up", any time I asked him a question. Even my sister, whom he favored (she looked like his side of the family), later said that I was treated rather brutally.

So it was that I came across an alternative view of the old "Spare the rod and spoil the child" wheeze which has gone down in American folklore as how child-rearing (as opposed to parenting) is supposed to be done. The author makes the point, with the help of the 23rd Psalm context of "thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me" where the rod is the shepherd's crook, guiding and protecting, rather than beating.

I have no kids, but I do have several nephews who are like sons to me. I know most of you have grandchildren.I'm hardly one to give advice here, but this struck me. What we say and do in front of the little monsters does have an impact.

Something to keep in mind.

PS Feel free to disagree.

May not be Fort Sumter

but it could be the Panay.

Another day, another incident. This time, it's the airheads in Portland. 2 people shot after they tried to run down a Federal agent.

I'm not that big a fan of the Feds, but it looks like somebody's declared open season on them. Maybe the idea is to form a Confederation of Lefty cities into no-go zones. This assumes Americans are no different from Euros and that's a big mistake. We generally tend to stand by our lawmen if they're doing their duty as prescribed by law. 

Maybe they think they'll turn those cities into a new 'Nam. Somebody tried that about 160 years ago and their descendants live on government reservations.

Fake News is treating Renee Good as if she's the new George Floyd. I'm sure we'll have a new My Lai, or even Wounded Knee, by summer. I think they forget Kyle Rittenhouse came out the hero, not the creeps who jumped him.

Doubtless, this is intended as a run-up to the midterms. Trump is winning back the black and Hispanic votes in addition to all the illegal votes being deported, so we may see a long hot summer in the offing. If so, they forget the Demos lost big in '68. 

On Feeling, Saluting & Cheering the Warmth

 

Some depth on what's happening in Persia

I gave a little bit of notice on this in my last post, but here's some in depth on the revolution going on in Iran. This is as monumental as anything going on in South America, Canada, Greenland, or Africa. The Islamic Revolution has been the prime mover of instability in Islam for almost 50 years.

If the mullahs fall, a lot of things ease off and let's not forget the last couple of times the Persian people called on America for help, the Zippy/Idiot cartel here sold them out to the tune of tens of thousands dead over there. Which may explain why Trump is playing it sotto voce over here.

I've waited for this kind of Administration all my adult life and, God, I love every day of it.

We have lost our way.....what happened to America First?

On Laundering, Redistribution & Rabbit Ears

 

Happy (Kaboom) Holidays

In the immortal words of Douglas MacArthur, "That's the best thing to do with them".

So, Christmas Day the God Emperor of the Cherry Blossom Throne blows up half of Nigeria in defense of Nigerian Christians (~43%). On New Year's, he blows up half of Venezuela and puts the arm on Maduro.

Can't wait for Epiphany. And then there's Valentine's Day - hearts in the air and all. Madri Grass. St Paddy's Day. Passover (parting of the seas, anyone?).

PS The Demos Inconguous are, of course, all bent out of shape because Trump didn't consult with them (War Powers Act or some other nonsense). The bad guys didn't see us coming and we had no casualties.

Coinkydink?

ADDENDUM: I mentioned Epihany and was floating past Insty where the big topic of Absolute Resolve was sharing the spotlight with what's going on in Iran.

Any takers?

On Blindness & Clarity; Icebergs & Brinks

 

On Silos & Snooze

 

On Visions & Dreams