Monday, July 7, 2025

The Bible Makes Clear Accepting Foreigners Should Not Be a Suicide Pact

 I want to highlight today a post by Andrea Widburg at the American Thinker entitled No, the Bible does not say conservatives must support illegal immigration. Whenever I have encountered Leftists attempting to use the Bible against conservatives, it is usually by taking an isolated verse disconnected from the whole passage around it and from the rest of the Bible itself. In this case, it is an isolated verse in the book of Leviticus. Widburg does a masterful job of taking into account the entire context and placing the verse in question into that context.

Widburg sums up the analysis with:

What’s fundamentally important here is that the Bible makes it clear that welcoming foreigners into one’s land must not be a suicide pact. Old Testament-era immigrants are welcome only to the extent that the Jewish nation thrives.
That’s the same way that conservatives, including those who take the Bible very seriously, feel about immigration to America: It’s not a suicide pact. Just as God told the Israelites that sojourners were to be treated well if they were not a threat to the institutions, we conservatives accept legal immigration, which, when properly applied, ensures that America is not conquered.
Thus, legal immigration means that we’re not swarmed by 10 million unvetted people in four years. It means we don’t give student visas and green cards to people open about their loathing for America and their loyalty to other nations and values. And it most certainly means that we don’t give people like Zohran Mamdani citizenship. Criminals, freeloaders, communists, caliphate-seeking Islamists, etc. all threaten our values and national security and today, as was the case approximately 3,400 years ago, they need to leave.

Just so. People who want to come here, pursue the American dream, and follow the Constitution are welcomed here with open arms. People who come here with the intent of destroying the United States, people like the anti-ICE rioters waving foreign flags, or, frankly, like Mamdani who is an avowed communist, should leave. One could argue that these people have loyalties to other nations and therefore should be deported. There are plenty of places in the world to practice their particular politics. In fact, anywhere else. America is the one last hope for humanity. It is truly exceptional, as was ancient Israel.

Please go read Widburg's post as you may encounter such stupid arguments yourselves.

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Note: There are certain sects, for lack of a better word, of "Christians" who famously use isolated texts as so called "proof texts" for their own peculiar doctrines. One should not read the Bible this way. Instead, one should take the whole of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments together to determine God's will for us. Understand that He seldom directs people specifically. Thus, asking Him to tell you what to do is not the way to go about it. Instead, as an intelligent human being, you are to derive the right course of action from the whole text of the Bible.

For this reason, I suggest that one takes the entirety of the Bible and break it into bite size chunks every day such that at the end of a year, one will have read the entire Bible. There are many apps that will give you each day's reading, though of course you have to actually read it. Pick one and begin. I unfortunately started my journey late in life, but better late than never.

One other thing. The Bible is not a scientific text, nor is it a historical book in the sense of modern history, though archeology continues to show that the things mentioned in the Bible did truly happen. Rather, the Bible is a theological text, a narrative wherein Jesus truly is the main character and the hero of the plot. To make sense of the Bible, one must read it through the lens of faith. It makes no sense otherwise. And there are many odd things about daily life in ancient times that are not mentioned, so finding a church and a pastor who can fill you in on the social context can be important.

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Americans Need to Wake Up

 Today, at the American Thinker Richard C. Crandall asks a very good question, to wit: When It Comes To Islam, Are We In The West Too Stupid To Survive? It often seems so as we keep electing Muslims to offices where they can more easily discriminate against those they consider "infidels." It must be understood that Islam is not the "religion of peace" for Jews, Christians, or for people who don't believe in any god. All of those are to be destroyed, or converted at the point of a sword. Even other Muslims are to be destroyed if they don't adhere to the Koran as interpreted by some. Thus, Islam is at eternal war with the rest of the world. And Islam, which means submission, is not compatible with the Constitution. How stupid, then, are we to allow another ideology that wants to destroy us into our country.

Putting aside the damage leftism does to American culture, we are also at risk from Islam, about which we still remain appallingly ignorant 24 years after 9/11. Instead, we have adopted the myth of “Moderate Muslims.” Before elaborating on Moderate Muslims, we must ask, “What other groups get to use the prefix “moderate?” During WWII, were there moderate Nazi members of Congress who claimed to only believe in the “good” parts of Mein Kampf, such as free health care. Were there moderate members of the KKK who only went out occasionally lynching, burning, and raping? And where are the moderate wife beaters who avoid hitting the face and who don’t leave visible bruising?

Crandall goes on to show how the supposed "moderate Muslim" does not really exist because to be what he calls "cafeteria Muslims" will bring death upon them by more observant Muslims. Throughout, he uses the term "Islam's god," which is entirely appropriate. For the "god" of Islam is not the same person as Christians and Jews worship, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. I do not know enough of demonology to be sure, but I suspect that the god of Islam is the ancient demon Baal, called Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron in 2 Kings and later Beelzebub in the New Testament. He is the snake who tempted Eve in the Garden and pretends to sit on the Throne of Yahweh.

Muslims say prayers because no one likes to be praised more than the Islamic god. Humans were only created so they could worship the Islamic god.

This is in contrast to what we find in Genesis, where God created the world and man in the world in order to have a relationship with us. Too bad that we broke that relationship by listening to that evil snake. But God has not abandoned us, no. He sent his only begotten son to repair that relationship. That is the Christian faith, and how joyous it is. In comparison, how miserable it is to be Muslim.

Exposing Islam’s evil is complex because it has splintered into many branches and schools, each of which accepts its version of the Quran, school of sharia, and specific hadith. According to Muhammad, Islam would splinter into 73 sects, only one of which would go to paradise, so the right choice matters. In his last speech in Mecca, Muhammad said that if Muslims looked to and followed his behavior and words, they would never go wrong, and reiterated the necessity of a jihad until there a global Islamic conquest. His own behavior in Medina showed that he meant it. The Arabs were forcibly converted. The ancient Jewish tribes ere slaughtered, enslaved, and expelled.
Islam is following Muhammad’s behavior and words. Moderate Muslims are either apostates going to hell or engaged in Taqiyya, which forgives their sins.

There can never be peace between God and the devil, between God's people and the devil's minions. If we do not wake up, the Republic is lost. Either we must convert them, or they must be deported to somewhere else. The same goes for Europe, which seems lost now.

Friday, July 4, 2025

Why July Should Be Firearm Freedom Month

D. Parker, at the American Thinker today reports that the American Revolution began because of an attempt by the British government to confiscate our firearms in Celebrating the firearms freedoms that made independence possible. Parker sets the stage for his discussion using the recent stripping of the Hearing Protection Act and the SHORT act from the Big Beautiful Bill as a point of departure:

It should be clear by now that we're fighting an uphill battle against the fear and falsehood tactics of the gun-grabber left.
These were their go-to techniques in defeating legislation that would help protect people's hearing and right a wrong in the arbitrary regulation of barrel lengths.
It didn't seem to matter to this ghoulish lobby that they were lying outright in several instances or that they exploited fear to defeat these measures.
It only matters to them that they maintain their power over the people.
So, consider the case for celebrating our firearm freedoms in July and start reclaiming our rights.
Remember that they want to boycott or even cancel the holiday, so they shouldn't mind if we make it about guns for the whole month, right?

After setting the stage for his essay, Parker starts by recounting the history of the shot heard round the world in Concord, Massachusetts and its immediate after effects. Let's just say that the Redcoats retreat to Boston was, shall we say, unpleasant, as it should have been. He then notes that the Revolution started over firearms freedom, and that firearms freedom has remained as the guarantor of the rest of the Bill of Rights.

The revolution was sparked by firearm freedom, and these were essential in the attainment of independence. It's vitally important to remember that firearms made independence and the 4th of July possible in the first place, as well as keeping us independent and free.
Firearms are the backbone of the Bill of Rights; they put the steel in a document that could easily end up being ignored. This is why it's incessantly attacked on every level of government by the left.
Strangely enough, they don't even know of this constant assault on freedom. For example, a leftist recently posted a short video, with full-on TDS and talking of some of the rights she thought were being threatened, when she then blurted out something on what if they 'started' coming after the Second Amendment.

Started? As an old fart I well remember the lead up to the 1968 Gun Control Act (GCA) and have studied the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA). The Left has been coming for our firearms at least that long, and as these two laws have proven, they have succeeded far beyond what they should have done. The Bible tells us that Beelzebub (actually Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron in 2 Kings) rules this world, so it should not surprise us that he is always trying to undermine our ability to defend ourselves.

Noting that the revolution that brought us independence and eventually the Constitution started because of gun confiscation, and our Second Amendment was written expressly for the purpose of keeping our Bill of Rights under the Constitution, Parker proposes that July be firearm freedom month. I can't think of anything better.

Showing that the left knows that our firearm freedoms are the backbone of the Bill of Rights. They know that if these were gone as in other nations, the Bill of Rights would be nothing but flowery words on old parchment, and they would ignore them as they do elsewhere
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Therefore, it's time that we start pushing back on the culture and the fear tactics, and the lies of the left to maintain and advance our freedoms.
Thus, the point of celebrating our Firearm freedoms in July.
Note that this started as 'gun pride month' but we're way beyond that now.

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

The Trannies of the Left Misgender, Conservatives Tell the Truth

 You can read about Megan Kelly's take down of one Benjamin Ryan who writes for the New York Times here. She is absolutely right about the use of preferred pronouns. They are dangerous, and we conservatives should never knuckle under and use them.

One thing she doesn't say, and it needs to be said loud and clear is that when we tell the obvious truth about some poor misguided soul who thinks he is a she or vice versa, we are not misgendering, or dead naming or whatever they holler at us. The so-called "transgendered" person is the one misgendering himself or herself. It's the standard game the Left plays on conservatives, accusing them of doing what they themselves are doing. So, they misgender themselves and then complain when we tell the truth.  Color me shocked.

A Win-Win For the Human Race

As we approach the 4th of July, and the celebration of our independence from Great Britain, how about some good news for a change.  No, not about politics, which always seems to be bad news.  Instead, how about some good news on the natural front.  At the American Thinker today, Vijay Jayaraj has a post entitled CO2 sustains greenhouse farming revolution.

Jayaraj asks if CO2 is such a dangerous gas that it is literally killing the planet, why would farmers deliberately pump it into their greenhouses at levels far greater than the atmospheric amount of 400 parts per million? What do they know that the climate alarmists clearly pretend not to know? Remember, the more crops, and the higher quality of those crops that a farmer grows, the more money he makes.

Carbon dioxide -- the gas branded as public enemy number one -- is not destroying the planet. It’s enhancing life on it. Across the globe, elevated CO2 levels are supercharging plant growth and delivering bountiful crop harvests at unprecedented rates.
Why does this matter? Because future generations could benefit from rejecting the hysteria and embracing common sense and well-established facts.
Since the start of the 20th century, atmospheric CO2 has risen from around 300 parts per million (ppm) to over 420 ppm. If you believe some headlines, this is tantamount to a death sentence. But if you're a farmer -- or a scientist focused on plant physiology -- this increase looks like a gift.

Gentle readers who are interested can read about the success of greenhouse farming around the world. China, it turns out, is a global leader in greenhouse farming. Israel has quite a bit as well. I just wanted to point out that even here in North Carolina, where agriculture is big business, greenhouse farming is also big business:

The Metrolina Greenhouses in Huntersville, North Carolina, consists of eight million square feet of heated indoor growing space, making it the largest single-site, heated greenhouse in the U.S.

The Meteorologists on the news keep telling us that we need to be careful because of the heat. I don't know though, I remember running in temperatures reaching into the 100 range in Huntsville, Alabama in my 20s, and I am here to tell you about it. It has been hot lately, I will give you that, but I have managed to keep up with my jogging. Meanwhile, the higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere make pasture and meadow grasses grow better, which feeds cows and sheep to provide tastey meals for us. Seems like a win-win to me.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

An Old Man Jogs

Something different today.  I am 71, almost 72 years old.  In my twenties, I started running in an effort to get my weight down.  I was then around 200 pounds.  I read a book, can't remember by whom, but some Australian guy made the claim that if you could run a mile in 10 minutes, you were fit.  That got me thinking, and while I had not run much before, I started jogging, and within a month or so I was running 1 mile in 10 minutes.  I went on to running 3, then finally 5 miles in 8 and change minutes a mile. Of course I wasn't going to win any races, but I lost weight in the process down to 165 pounds.  Today I find myself wanting to get down to 200 pounds, and running again seemed like it might help.  

Now, all this running was done without any coaching or technology of any sort.  I wore Addidas indoor training shoes, because that is what we wore on my high school track team, rather like the one on Jim Fixx's book The Complete Book of Running.  I realize that the shoes Fixx is wearing are not Addidas, but my Addidas were very similar in the amount of cushioning.  Namely, there ain't much there.  I quit running and started cycling.  But quit that as well to concentrate on motorcycling and other pursuits.  In the process, I gained weight...a lot of it.

After my cancer surgery last October, which I admitted took a lot out of me, I have been slowly recovering, but Mrs. PolyKahr has noticed that my balance was less sure than before.  I noticed that climbing stairs was now requiring that I hold the railing.  What to do...what to do.  I started walking, since balances is largely an issue of muscular strength.  Now one of the great things I have today, that I didn't have 50 years ago is the interwebs.  One can find pretty much anything on the internet if you go looking for it.  There is now something called Zone 2 training. 

The various zones, there are 5, are defined by the amount of effort that is required to operate at that zone.  Zone 1 might involve very light exercise.  Zone 5, by contrast is an all-out effort that taxes the body at close to the maximum heart rate.  Zone 2 is enough that you can carry on a real conversation, but you work up a sweat.  The benefits of zone 2 are:

a) As you jog in zone 2, you slowly build up the speed at which you can run and stay in zone two.  In other words it has excellent effects on cardio-vascular health, building out the vascular system and cleaning out the arteries.

b) As you jog in zone 2, you build up the number of mitochondria in each muscle fiber.  Mitochondria supply the ATP that powers the muscle.  You slowly get faster up to a point.  Your muscles also become more efficient at oxygen uptake, so you can run faster and stay in zone 2.  You also build up the strength of the bones.

c) It trains the body to use fats as a fuel source, which becomes really important once you begin running really long distances, say 10 miles to the ultra-marathons.  Yes, people run continuously as much as 100 miles!

d) You are unlikely to injure yourself if you stick to zone 2 religiously.  You can get fit and not suffer injuries that competitive runners often suffer and sideline them like knee injuries, shin splints and various fractures.

None of this is really new.  Joe Henderson first coined the term "long slow distance" in 1969 which is the same as zone 2.  80% of a runner's efforts should be at a pace that fits in zone 2.  More recently, in Japan, Professor Hiroaki Tanaka has written a book called Slow Jogging though I think Tanaka is being too kind. I call it the "old man's shuffle" though it seems to be working. When I started a month and a half ago, it was very slow going. But the speed is creepy up, imperceptibly.

For Father's Day, Mrs. PolyKahr got me a heart rate monitor, a Wahoo TICKRfit that you strap on your arm as you run, and you can keep track of your heart rate as you exercise.  I can keep my effort in the zone 2 range pretty easily with this technology and it has been an eye opener.  I start with a quarter mile walk, at the end of which my heart rate is only 96 bpm.  Then I start the "old man's shuffle" and my heart rate slowly rises to 135 at which I start walking again until it is down to 120 bpm, where upon I start jogging again.  I do this for a total of 1.25 miles. 

As for the problems I mentioned at the start, those have both improved.  I am more sure footed and am having less problems with balance.  In addition, I can now climb the stairs again while holding grocery bags in both hands and do not need to hold onto the rails.  Maybe the young can walk faster than I can jog, but I haven't felt as well in a long time.  Oh, and I am losing some weight too.  So I tip my hat to the young and keep on jogging.

Friday, June 13, 2025

It Makes Your Blood Boil

 I have taken a break for commenting in part to have more time for other parts of my life that I have neglected.  As Mrs. PolyKahr has noted, I am an old man, and my influence has faded.  My life has become small, and there is very little I can do about anything.  For me, I will eventually leave this earth.  Still, I must at times alert gentle readers to dangers and lurking situations that may affect the lives of people in the prime of life.

I don't remember who said it first, but it is true that the cause is never the real cause of all the commotion.  That is just a convenient excuse.  The real cause is the revolution.  The real cause is grabbing power.  J. B. Shurk, at the American Thinker yesterday nailed it for us at Our Fiery but Mostly Peaceful Invasion. Before I get into Shurk's piece, however, I must make some explanation about the term "Democrat." Mrs. PolyKahr is concerned that the term paints everyone who votes for the candidate with the "D" behind his name with the odious Communist/Socialist/Marxist label. I don't mean to do that. People have all kinds of reasons for voting as they do. My concern is with Democrat politicians, who darn well know what they are doing. Mrs. PolyKahr also likes to make the moral equivalence argument that there are some "good" Democrats and some "bad" Republicans. While this is true, the difference lies in party platforms. The Republicans still give God and country at least lip service.

Shurk starts out by explaining how our government, other Western governments, in coordination with globalist elites and others (think CCP) have brought about "color revolutions" all over the world. The Los Angeles riots follow the same playbook but are different in that this is really a foreign invasion.

Across the West, the Establishment wages war against national populations that reject the politicians and bureaucratic tyrants running their countries into the ground. Western “elites” undermine democracy in the name of democracy and throw anybody who objects into jail. It’s insanely totalitarian...and entirely predictable.
For months, every American with two brain cells and a pulse has understood that Democrats were preparing for a 2020 “summer of love” reunion tour now that President Trump is back in the White House. Just as they took advantage of fentanyl fanatic George Floyd’s death by railroading four Minneapolis police officers and kicking off a months-long rampage of arson, looting, and murder in Democrat-run cities across the U.S. five years ago, violent Democrats have been salivating at the chance to turn the summer of 2025 into a bloody, fiery nightmare for law-abiding Americans. It’s what Democrats do.
This season’s production of the NGO-financed, Intelligence Community–choreographed, Chinese Communist Party–supported, and Democrat party–organized “color revolution” has a new theme. Instead of bringing back Black Lives Matter for an encore performance of its widely acclaimed 2020 race riots (despite five-star reviews from the Establishment, that “fiery but mostly peaceful” theatrical production turned off much of the public), 2025’s murder spree will celebrate criminal illegal aliens’ war against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Forty million foreign nationals will prove why they should be allowed to break America’s immigration laws and bilk America’s taxpayers by burning down American cities, attacking America’s law enforcement officers, and endangering American lives. California governor “Gruesome” Newsom sure is excited. The same tyrant who sent armed enforcers after Christians who refused to mask toddlers over two years into the COVID pandemic (another Democrat-sponsored theatrical production that the press and politicians adored but the public despised) is doing everything he can to help illegal aliens set his state on fire.

It is teeth grinding to realize that the taxes paid to the government have been used against us. Shurk puts it this way:

First, powerful government officials conspire to aid and abet a foreign invasion. Then those government officials cover up the dangers and injuries to American citizens. Finally, the same government officials whose actions have caused real harm to Americans denounce Americans as “immoral” for daring to oppose the government’s malicious, criminal, and damaging conduct.
It’s as if the people who have been “running” this country for decades hate the people whose families have long lived here and love the foreigners who just sneaked in. Perhaps we Americans are a nation living inside a nation being constructed around us! That would certainly explain why the Constitution (and particularly the Bill of Rights) seemed to stop operating sometime over the last century.
But we know why this is happening. Too many Americans have rejected the Marxist globalists and their borderless “New World Order.” So we must be made to pay.

I don't want to be the only one whose blood is boiling, so go ahead and read it for yourselves.