Intellectual Rigor and the Church

The reason modern-day religion is in trouble is that modern-day man is better educated, and intellectual rigor substantially higher than the Middle Ages. Yet most religion remains mired and pretty much unchanged since the Middle Ages, with but a few concessions for say, sex and sexuality. All things must evolve with the race, religion is no exception to the rule. Our understanding has increased, yet the Church treats its adherents like children, and its priests exploit the children, not merely for sexual gratification but for money, power, and influence.

I resent the Church of my youth. They didn't teach me zip about spirituality. They were havens for bullies, really. Nothing spiritual about them, in no way, shape or form could they bring anyone closer to God by a dust mote. They just said, God is love, so pray a lot. How to pray? Just clasp your hands together, close your eyes, and talk to Jesus. Oh, and memorize all the names of the Books of the Bible. Study the Bible a lot. Well, you know what, the Bible is primarily a history and not really that great as far as spiritual instruction goes. A whole lot of Thou-Shalt-Nots and Fear-Me-For-I-Am-All-Powerful. Well, if God's such a Bad Ass, then I guess he doesn't need the likes of me to support him. The truth is that all of the truth is simply not present and accounted for in that book. It is partial. There is a lot that is missing. And much is open to misinterpretation. The Bible has opened the door to as much mischief as good.

I don't think modern Churches have much to do with spirituality. I sense only a very dim background hum in a Church. It is nothing like what can be known directly. True religion seems only possible on an individual and private level. The minute people start talking about God, there seems a dilution. Something goes wrong. Money and greed become big factors. Then people try to out-do each other in outward piety. There is a lot of posturing. Social games are played. Real growth just does not happen. Instead, once a week, lectures on rather mundane topics. Nothing to really enhance spiritual power. No real methodology, nothing that works on a personal level. All is designed simply to enhance the power of the institution. As for the individuals, screw them. Get their money, their allegiance, even their genitals, apparently.

Problem is, modern man is smarter than he used to be, so all the things that the churches got away with in the past, well, they can't get away with them anymore. The jig is up. People see. Things get reported.

Sad that churches have profaned what is really beautiful and profound. Real religion should be maintained on a personal level. Those incapable of doing that, due to stupidity or immaturity, I suppose they do need churches, as it is better than nothing. Perhaps there should be a catch-all last resort for the morons.

We May Need Trump

One thing Americans need to consider is that we may need Trump.

Alone among the Washington politicians, only Trump has awoken to the fact that the world is eating our lunch.

The trade deficit, the Federal debt, and the fact we provide free security for the whole world means that our people suffer and die. Say goodbye to Social Security, and health care in this country is just a bad joke, a chess game of multiple insurance policies. The people as a whole are in debt either for education, which the Europeans and the Chinese get for free, or health care, which those foreigners also get for free.

My views are reflected in this essay on CNBC. I think Obama and all the ones who came before him, Republican and Democrat alike, were asleep at the wheel. They did not realize that America's Sun was sinking. They got us involved in all these damn-fool foreign adventures, ballooning for Federal debt for no good reason and with zero return on investment. Meanwhile, other countries were not asleep at the wheel. They invested in infrastructure, medicine, and education.

What we need is fair trade with other countries. Zero involvement in the military conflicts of other countries. Let Europe pay for its own defense, for once. If they fail, too bad. Maybe they can fight in resistance underground movements against Russia for the next five hundred years and see how they like it. What is needed in this country are not just jobs, but really good jobs, and real manufacturing and production. Companies like Apple that betray the United States do not actually need to exist in the first place. They can move over to China, relocate and spend some time in Chinese prisons getting reeducated.

Trump is right to question why the U.S. foots the bill for security for the rest of the world. He is right to question why other countries get to take our jobs, our factories. These are questions other Presidents simply didn't bother to address at all in any meaningful and concrete way. It is almost worth putting up with the atrocious behavior of the Trump Administration in order to see some action on the trade front, and put these so-called "allies" on notice that their behavior is not without consequences.

GoFundMe

I always thought GoFundMe was a bad idea from the get-go. Sending anonymous money to anonymous strangers. What could go wrong?

Looking at the photo of the couple involved in the latest GoFundMe scam, I think that the photo alone would have been enough warning for me. Much can be deducted by the expressions on the faces, the clothes, the body language. No words needed. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, by golly, it might just be a duck.

Poaching, Of Course

A people with zero intellect certainly is going to kill all the elephants for their ivory, as we see in Africa today. Expecting those people to program computers or do any kind of brain work is precious. They know how to shoot a gun, saw off a tusk. That's it, for all time, ever. Just say goodbye to the elephants already. They had the misfortune to live in Africa, land of the know-nothing savages. Between quick money and working for a living, guess which one they choose? The only hope for the elephant is in the Western zoos, where the elephants are appreciated for what they are. I will remember the beautiful elephants in video documentaries and figurines. As for the amount of tax money we should send over to Africa, that amount is $0. Just a worthless waste of time and energy is Africa. Despite what some people think, not every problem can be solved with money.

The Only Thing Trump Hasn't Done

Trump is such a LOSER! He hasn't done the one thing he needs to do to complete the United States' transformation into a banana republic. ARREST ALL THE DEMOCRATS! Yep, every one, from both houses of Congress. Then, we will really have a civil war on our hands, and Trump will have WON!

The Next Democratic President Gets a Blank Check

Next time the Democrats are in power in Washington, D.C., they get to play by the same rules Trump does:

-just abandon any agreements signed by previous Administrations, Congress
-don't enforce any laws that aren't liked
-huge tax cuts for the middle class, 50+%
-zero concern over the deficit, spend the Treasury like it's monopoly money
-push through Supreme Court nominees any which way
-set trade policy by Executive order
-set immigration policy by Executive order
-free pass on conflicts of interest
-free pass on hiring family, friends with no experience to do official jobs
-free pass on lies/deception
-free pass on all past, present and future business dealings
-appoint department heads purely as payback for loyalty, no qualifications needed or wanted
-free pass on sexual history
-free pass on bribery/payoffs
-free pass on accepting, soliciting help from foreign governments to win elections
-OK to comment on all legal/criminal cases, influence juries/judges
-replace FBI, other department heads, gut any federal agencies not particularly liked
-fire law enforcement agents deemed friendly to "the other side" due to a text message or stray comment
-quid pro quo for foreign governments--payola=influence


So, the Democrats can enlist Russia or China. Then they can lie about it, accuse the Republicans of enlisting the foreign power, and that's all O.K. by the Trump playbook.