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  • God + Country: Big Eva’s Collaboration with Those who Hate God

    I came across this draft I had started in late January 2024. I started it because names I’ve heard for years, including Russell Moore and David French, were in on it. Those guys have been names that people at my completely normal church have trusted. I would have listened to them, oh, five years ago. Sadly, many honest believers are still as in the dark today as I was in 2019. Anyway, on to Ye Olde Draft…

    If you’re a Christian and haven’t heard about Rob Riener’s film, God + Country, and the sinnanigans surrounding it, you aren’t paying attention. The film, to release soon, purports to be a documentary on the dangers of Christian Nationalism (CN).

    If you don’t know, Reiner’s an avowed atheist. An enemy of God. Why would supposed Christians team up with an enemy to attack other Christians? That’s not just rhetorical, I would challenge you to answer that, out loud, to yourself.

    I noted in 2020 that the growing chorus against CN seemed to be a term that would be used to attack people that hold normal CHristian values and I remain more convinced of that today. A couple of other thoughts from folks are below.

    My advice is that you not watch this movie, or that you watch it with discernment, because it will offer a look at what is coming for uncompromising Christians.

    EDIT: I’m glad to say that this movie was a complete failure and I pray to God that he emboldens his people and confounds the efforts of his enemies.

  • First Time Brewing Beer

    I’ve made a couple of ciders, some ginger beer, and a wine or two. They’ve been fun to make, and relatively easy.

    I have stayed away from beers because, quite frankly, I found it a bit intimidating.However, I am giving it a try today. The first thing I can say about it is that when my kits instructions included “brew day” steps, they weren’t kidding.

    The second thing I will say is that when I pulled the grains out of the water after they had steeped for 20 minutes, it was a very pleasant smelling liquid (wort) they left behind. It was slightly nutty with a hint of a corn smell. The grains were carapils and caramel. As I write this, I am waiting for the wort to begin boiling so I can move to the next step. More later.

    As I wait, watching the pot for it to boil, I begin to think it never will. My mind is going over the next phase. After all the warnings about letting the LME (liquid malt extract) carmelize on the bottom of the pan, I find myself wondering if maybe I should have stayed away from beer after all. It seems this must be a fairly regular occurrence.

    I am fairly certain that I prevented any of the first batch of LME from carmelizing. However, I learned tongs are useful when making beer if you drop your spoon into the wort while trying to lay it across the pan.

    At this point, I’ve added the first LME and noticed that the wort basically smelled neutral afterward. Just a slight hint of the smells I noted earlier were left. I’ve also added the Willamette hop pellets. Gave them a sniff before adding them into the wort and immediately recognized how beer gets its flavor from hops. Funnily enough, adding them to the wort made it smell like I was boiling hay.

    The first 45-minute boil is over. I just finished adding the second bit of LME and the spices. The spice packet had a very nice citrusy smell. I will be very pleased if I end up with a clean, crisp beer. It needs another 15 minutes of boiling, a cold bath, and then into the fermenter for a while. A few minutes into this last phase, and the wort smells grand.

    Done. Well, sort of.  I’m done for a few days anyway. I got the wort cooled down and transferred most of it to the fermentation container.

    I use “most” for two reasons. One, pouring out of a giant pot into a 5″ opening is hard, and it didn’t all make it. Two, some of the wort came out with the trub, left-over solids. But, I got it in there and got everything sealed up. Now, the first wait.

  • We Need to Stop S. 3589 

    We Need to Stop S. 3589 

    An interesting bill has been filed in the Senate, S. 3589, also known as the “Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act of 2024” aims to prohibit unauthorized private paramilitary activity in the United States. Sounds good right? We don’t necessarily want or need Wagner Group-style armies running around in the U.S. Or do we? 🤔 That’s another discussion for another time. What caught my eye while reading this was that Section 9 of this legislation includes an interesting definition, it incorporates a “security services unit” within the broader category of a “private paramilitary organization” (PMO). 

    The bill provides the following as the definition of a PMO: 

    This term encompasses any group of three or more persons who associate under a command structure. Their purpose is to function publicly or train to function publicly as a combat, combat support, law enforcement, or security services unit. 

    link to section

    Why That Matters 

    As a retired peace officer, I remember at times seeing how broadly written laws can be broadly and selectively enforced. That, combined with the need for churches, or any other organization for that matter, to be able to protect themselves in this society where violence is on the rise, caused me some concern. 

    Is Your Church Security Team a PMO? 

    Do you know if your church has a security team that trains to protect the congregation during services? Does it have a team lead or person considered “in charge” of it? Under the bill’s definition, this security team could be classified as a “private paramilitary organization” due to their structure and focus on security services. 

    Effects 

    Now, what could be the impact of this bill if this team acts during a service to neutralize a potential threat (such as an armed intruder)? If the bill becomes law, their actions might be considered “unauthorized private paramilitary activity” unless their activity has been sanctioned by federal or state authorities. 

    Despite their good intentions, and rightly honorable actions, the security team could face legal consequences. As written, this bill leaves open the possibility that they could be held liable for engaging in paramilitary activity without “proper authorization.” 

    Their training and commitment to protecting the congregation could lead to imprisonment if the law is strictly enforced as written now. A violation of the law that results in death carries this penalty, “the person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years or for life.” Imagine the hero in the opening photo being sent to prison for his actions.

    Now, under exceptions we find the law does not apply to the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard, state militias, military re-enactment organizations, veterans in a parade, and:

    “members of an organization that is authorized under Federal or State law to provide paramilitary, law enforcement, or security services training or to engage in paramilitary activity, law enforcement, or security services when performing the functions authorized by law and, in the case of paramilitary activity and law enforcement functions, when under the direction and control of a governmental authority [emphasis added].”

    I included this section because there has to be a specific reason for that emphasized language to be in there. Why would it specify that law enforcement members can only do that when under the “direction and control” of a governmental authority? Would the feds consider an off-duty officer providing security for a church, movie theater, a Quinceañera, etc. as being under the direction and control of a governmental authority? I “know” that they are, but this language making it explicit makes me wonder.

    The only halfway good thing about this bill is that it recognizes it’s limited by the Commerce Clause so if one can manage to outfit their team with all in-state equipment, including ammunition, it is of no effect at all. But I would urge people to contact the people in D.C. that are supposed to represent them and ask them to oppose this bill.

  • Hmmmm… Homeschool Socialization

    So, my wonderful wife and I had the occasion to be around a large group of kids a few years ago. The energy level among the young people was exceptionally high. One of the things we noticed while there was lots of disruption, a slight bit of disrespect, and just general noise going on was that two kids in particular were doing exactly as they should do and we’re not being disruptive, disrespectful, or loud. After my wife pointed out the two kids, I couldn’t help but notice that they were the two home-schooled children in the class.

  • Merry Christmas 2023

    It’s Christmas morning. The sun is still down. Our kids are young adults for all intents and purposes. There is a slight chill in the air. I sit alone in the living room, in the soft light of the Christmas tree and the glow of the screen I am writing this on, and wonder.

    I wonder if we have given our civilization away. On this day that millions of people in the west, and around the world, celebrate the incarnation of God himself, we see stories of another religion, being allowed to disrupt our celebrations. People disrupting Christmas carolers with, “No celebration, ’til liberation,” as if they get to decide when we celebrate our Lord. People telling us, “No Christmas as usual,” unless we bow to their demands. There were plenty of others.

    For the record, I’m not real keen on bowing to the demands of any other human. It’s never been one of my strengths. I am, however, keen on acknowledging the Lordship of that child born in a lowly setting two thousand years ago. I am keen on my children and grandchildren having smiles on their faces, joy in their hearts, and their eternity sealed. As our faith in the Lord goes, so goes our civilization. Western society is unravelling to the joy of our enemies. We mostly sit by a watch it happen, and console ourselves with word, “Oh, what a pity.”

    I do however take solace in the fact that our Creator isn’t limited by our abilities to remain faithful individually or as a nation. Regardless of the status of our nation, or the West, in the future, Christ is King. Even so, I cannot and will not willingly give in to the destruction of my children’s future.

  • Defenders of the West

    Cover of Defenders of the West by Raymond Ibrahim

    I am about one-third of the way through the book, “Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam” by Raymond Ibrahim. I’m going through it as an audio book, which isn’t my favorite but, when you commute several hours during the week, it isn’t too bad. It’s made me realize a few things.

    I’ve already come to the conclusion that, even though I’ve thought this for a while, we’ve become exceptionally soft. I had no idea of how soft until I hear the accounts of some of the battles of the crusades, from both Christian and Muslim chroniclers. Men their enemies say looked like porcupines due to the number of arrows in them who continue to fight. Men who cry to God to take their blood and their life for His glory. Some of that about one’s own king could obviously be hagiography but, I don’t think it is likely for an opposing scribe to write an idealized version their infidel enemy’s accomplishments.

    The account of Ferdinand III includes two events where he was encouraged to enter battle with others who opposed/threatened him but happened to be Christian. He refused. He claimed he would never do battle with another Christian unless there was no other option. We’ve, well, some at least, have seemingly lost this ability as well. Log on to Twitter, or X, and you will find Christians gleefully attacking each other over Christian Nationalism, baptism, election, or more, all while the world burns and people who are damned to hell for all eternity are dying.

    We’ve lost our way. I’ll proclaim now, I won’t fight another Christian. Some have made me wonder what is wrong with their thinking, but I’ll not fight a brother or sister in Christ. Caveat that if I think you’re a false teacher, fighting you isn’t fighting another Christian.

    Finally, it has made me rethink Islam and how we approach it these days. That, however, is for another time.

  • Texas isn’t selling enough fishing licenses

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    Texas isn’t selling enough fishing licenses

  • Generative AI. Funny Not Funny.

    I’m doubting the “Intelligence” part of AI right about now. I went for a little outing today and not far away I took a picture looking down on a monument currently in progress. With it being “in progress” it obviously wasn’t great for presentation, and I got the following image.

    Original Image

    This is a fair representation of what is there. However, it’s okay to visualize what it will look like when the grass fills in. Those patches of dirt are definitely unattractive. Perfect job for AI right? That wonderful time-saving tool everyone tells us we need to rave about.

    Okay, so I give it the prompt, “Fill dirt areas with grass and leave everything else alone. The result?

    Not Even Joking

    This particular instance is humorous to say the least. This is the result produced by software from a massive, well-known, private sector company. That’s important because I think in general; most people accept that the private sector performs better than the public sector. It quits being humorous when you consider these results in light of the fact that, “The Pentagon is Moving Toward Letting AI Weapons Autonomously Decide to Kill Humans.“

  • No More Patrol For You!

    Years ago, I gave up my lieutenant bars in the jail to go to patrol. I loved it! About six years in, I get called into the Sheriff’s Office. The then Sheriff told me about a plan he had to resolve some problems in the jail. The jail had gotten less than stellar marks for the last couple of visits from TCJS. He had been approved by the Commissioners for a new lieutenant spot and he wanted me to take it.

    I told him I was deeply appreciative of his confidence in me but went on to tell him how much I enjoyed what I was doing. Serving search warrants was always exciting. Patrol officers really don’t come into their own until after about five years. He told me he really thought I was the person to do what he needed done. I declined again and saw something I only saw twice in my career there. The Sheriff tiled his head down and looked over the top of his glasses (the second time has its own story for another time). He said, “Let me put it another way, do you ever want to have rank in this agency again?”

    My reply? “It sounds like a wonderful opportunity sir!” And back off to the jail I went.

    He explained I would remain on the Special Response Unit (our tactical team). I would get to keep my take home car and when I wasn’t tied up with jail issues, I could go out on patrol. The issue he wanted resolved was fixed in a couple of months. It turned into one of the best times I ever had at a job. It led to me being the PIO (fun), responsible for two small sections in the Sheriff’s Office, and pretty much free to find things to fix and to do what I wanted.

    Looking back, it turned out that what I least wanted at the time was a tremendous blessing to me and to my career.

    I was thinking about this time the other day. I couldn’t help wonder how many times I may have missed out on something better because I was happy where I was.

  • Brief Video. Are transwomen actual women?

    Thank you for watching.