March Ends with Horrendous PET Scan
The best thing about March was a four-day visit by the stepdaughter and her husband. The next best thing was the baby show that was supposed to happen months ago. It was put on hold because the mom decided to have her baby a week before the shower. What nerve!
The rest of the cancer story for March was one of decline.
My wife is no longer cooking. The meal tasks have fallen on me. I’m getting really proficient doing poached eggs, but please don’t ask me to eat one. Yuck!
Bathing is another task which has become more complicated. My wife has been experiencing pain in her body; especially, her back. The best temporary relief she can get is from taking a bath. The tub is upstairs. For the last two weeks, she has had to climb up the stairs on her hands and knees. She claims that she is unsure of her balance going up the steps. Afterwards I must help her down the stairs.
She sleeps for much each day and her energy is very low.
Eating is from a limited menu. The last few days have been poached eggs for breakfast and dinner. Juice popsicles, cheese sticks, and yogurt are occasionally consumed as well. Contrary to what we hoped, the esophageal stint has not increased her menu options, only her ability to vomit has improved.
Last Friday, was the PET Scan that would show if her chemotherapy and immunotherapy was working. The results arrived yesterday. The results were even more dire than I could imagine.
Despite treatment, the cancer has spread significantly. My wife has cancer in her saliva glands, her neck, chest cavity, spine and lower back, and pelvic region. She also has cancer in both the left and right lobes of her liver. There are so many places with cancer that they are not listed by occurrence any longer.
I’m not a doctor, I just play one on this blog, but it seems that she has little time left. I think she has two to four months remaining.
Between the cancer and the starving game that she is enduring, it seems just a matter of time before something breaks. I’m trying to persevere and not dwell too much on what’s happening. I can mourn later or at least that is what I’m telling myself. How long until we have to rent a hospital bed and park that in the bedroom?
Update just prior to publishing: Physician’s Assistant says that the doctor told her that treatment is ineffective and is therefore ended. Chemotherapy was cancelled today and forevermore. Also, my wife’s white cell count was too low, and she couldn’t get treatment with that kind of result anyway. We are now on hospice. Clearly a new chapter in this cancer saga.
Also, I contacted the middle child and told him that it’s time for FMLA. He needs to make arrangements to see his mom towards the end of April or first of May.
Mental Health Blarney Part 2 (Older People)
One disturbing trend occurring lately is the number of older people getting diagnosed with mental health issues. I work with someone who squealed like a piglet to his urgent care… yes, urgent care doctor, and got put on a pill. At first, he couldn’t be prouder of himself. He got what he wanted… unfortunately for him, he has no idea that if you mention mental health issues to your doctor he/she/they (for you CA republicans out there) is required to put you on something. It’s a “cover your butt” for the physician in case you go postal. I found out later that he told the doctor he picked out the knife to kill himself with.
Welp, that’s one way to get on a pill. I think they should have held him for several days for a psych evaluation, but oh well. He then found out he had to see a psychiatrist a handful of times, and obviously this angered him as his healthcare plan didn’t fully cover this. My suspicions for this center around his likely sighting what he “saw on tv or read somewhere online” as his reasoning to be diagnosed. If it sounds fishy to you, it likely sounded fishy to his provider, thus he was going to pay for part of it. I overheard a couple phone calls regarding upcoming appointments and him trying to weasel his way out of them. Again, he probably read about it or saw it on a fictional tv show but hey, it worked so why not try it right?
Like anything else that generation has become famous for, they want their cake, want to eat it too, then when the bill comes, claim there wasn’t enough frosting, and they shouldn’t have to pay. It’s pathetic, but here we are.
I do not really get it. When I was young, you didn’t want to be labeled as being mentally unstable, but now it is like a badge of honor or some weird sympathy card. It’s the latter. They want to play that card when things do not go their way. It’s wild watching him play the card whenever there is trauma in his life, or he feels like avoiding something, but when things are well, he never mentions it. The number of people in general claiming to have mental health issues is staggering. As I mentioned in part 1, its literally the go to… like a get out of trouble-free card.
My favorite part in the saga was when he magically declared himself totally fine and healed and was going to go to this urgent care doctor and get off the pill. I keep labeling the doctor because, in my humble opinion, the urgent care doctor seems to be a “take this and call your primary care physician if this continues” doctor, not someone who should be prescribing things. Especially not prescribing/diagnosing mental health issues. So, I feel this whole thing was an act to begin with. He went there armed with plenty of internet articles and knowledge gained from various tv series episodes. His plan likely would have worked, except for the detail about how he had planned on killing himself. They don’t speak about this in fantasy TV land… no doctor will let you stop taking the pills when you admit that. Risk is too high in this litigious society we live in. Imagine the look on his face upon hearing that. I have a feeling he went doctor shopping after that looking for a yes, but unlike on the latest tv episode, he found no one willing to play ball.
In closing this part, I will say this, how the mighty have fallen! The same generation that called mine; crockpot kids, dumb, stupid, addicted to their phones, social media whores etc. is now going to be known for trying to get on mental health pills. It’s bad. I didn’t think they would go out like this but here we are. The generation that was all about self-individualism, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, make something out of nothing, is now trying to get free government pills. What the heck happened?
The Chief
You Don’t have Mental Health Issues Part 1/3
Disclaimer: This blog is targeting people who “doctor shop” to get diagnosed with a mental health issue, not the good people who actually have a mental health issue. If you have a real issue, I hope you are able to find affordable help or services for your condition. I wish only the best for you… to the folks who shopped around for a diagnosis, you are the worst type of people.
I remember as a child growing up, there would be maybe one student/child at school with a learning (mental health) disability. Again, one whole child at the entire school! I was always enrolled in private school, which tends to attract more special needs kids because class sizes are smaller, and they usually have a program specifically for them to tailor to their needs.
As I grew older (High School & College years), suddenly more and more students were taking a pill. It was typically Adderall which is prescribed to people who have a hard time focusing. While this could be true, I always thought it was tied to being declared a “mental health issue.” See, in High School and College, if you had any type of learning disability/mental health issue, you got added benefits other students didn’t enjoy. Typically, the rules didn’t apply to you anymore. If you were late for class, acted out, etc., you were excused because you were considered a special needs student. You also got unlimited time on tests/quizzes and got extended deadlines on reports. It birthed the idea of an IEP (individual learning plan) and lowered an already low bar for education even lower. Now having a special need is not seen as a liability, it’s seen as having benefits. The number of “special needs” kids at my high school went from a couple to classrooms full when it came to final exam time. At first, I thought it was just my generation trying to work the system… boy was I REALLY WRONG!
In my years since graduating, the special needs fraud has gotten far worse. If you are accused of a crime, it’s now a priority to be declared special needs. Not only does it guarantee leniency, but it also likely results in dropped or dismissed charges. If you want a medical marijuana card? Just go doctor shopping, hell my sister got a doctor 3 counties over to issue her a diagnosis for a medical marijuana prescription for her monthly visitor. NO one in this county or the surrounding ones would issue it, but head to Modesto, swipe your insurance information, and viola here you are. Smoke and toke like Cheech and Chong, you’re good to go.
Lastly, in the last 10 years, I have no idea what happened. The people old enough to be my parents started getting in on this. They see it as the new “race card” that needs to be played when they are cornered. Suddenly people in their 60s are claiming mental health or “brain fog.” They shop for a doctor and get put on a pill.
In the next installment I’ll speak about the older generation and “mental health.”
Part 1/ 3.
We’re Really Right About Gaza
As far back as November of 2023, we were saying that folks in Gaza had the choice to be bombed into extinction or moving to another country. The Israeli government has finally said that their goal is to depopulate the region and then develop it as an economic improvement zone.
The final stage of Israel’s war on Gaza is underway. While initially presented as a mission to recover hostages and dismantle Hamas, its underlying objective is now being openly stated: Depopulate Gaza and bring the territory under Israeli control.
After cutting off the supply of food, electricity, and humanitarian aid in early March, Israel now vows to intensify its campaign on an already devastated population. The message to Gaza’s survivors is unmistakable: leave or die.
Last Friday, [Israeli Defense Minister Israel] Katz issued an unequivocal statement. According to The Times of Israel:
In a statement, Katz says: “If the Hamas terror organization continues to refuse to release the hostages, I instructed the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] to capture additional areas, evacuate the population, and expand the security zone around Gaza for the protection of Israeli communities and IDF soldiers, through a permanent hold of the area by Israel.”
“As long as Hamas continues its refusal, it will lose more and more land that will be added to Israel,” Katz says.
Katz also invoked U.S. support for population removal, stating Israel would use “all military and civilian pressure, including evacuation of the Gaza population south and implementing US President Trump’s voluntary migration plan for Gaza residents.”
Trump’s Vision
Trump’s so-called “voluntary” migration plan referenced by Katz is neither voluntary nor humanitarian. Announced in early February, it envisions the permanent relocation of over 2 million Palestinian residents to neighboring countries, with the goal of transforming the territory into a “Riviera” “owned” by the United States.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed the proposal, describing it as a “bold” and “fresh” strategy that could lead to the reconstruction of Gaza. Katz has instructed the IDF to prepare plans facilitating the departure of Gaza residents.
Israel no longer hides its intention to take full control of Gaza. A Sunday report from The Times of Israel confirmed that Israeli officials are now actively discussing a plan for full military occupation of the Gaza Strip with U.S. counterparts.
The office was planned in coordination with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Earlier this month, he said Israel could expel up to 5,000 Palestinians per day. As a result, Gaza could be “cleansed” within just a year.
The practical problem, for now, is where to send the refugees. According to multiple reports, Israel and the U.S. have approached Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan, and Syria to accept Gazans — so far, without success.
Still, the policy now has a home, a budget, and an office sign. The machinery of expulsion is no longer theoretical. It’s operational.
In the not-too-distant future look for ads reminding you to make plans to frolic like a Philistine on the beach in the land of Goliath. If Israel has its way, Gaza will become what Lebanon once was before the Muslims took over and ruined the place in the 1970’s.
Last thought:
Why is it that Evangelicals in America, by and large, support the Israeli government and the military incursion into Gaza. Most of the Christians in Israel live in Gaza and are dying at the hands of both Jews and Muslims. Sadly, they don’t care. Since their Dispensational/Premillennial theology teaches that 2/3 of the Jews will die anyway, I guess what’s a few thousand more Christian deaths if it ushers in the Return of Christ. What a horrible, evil, and defeatist theology dominates the minds of many American Christians.
Hair on Fire Conspiracy Theories Debunked
I have to give Trump a lot of credit, he somehow, someway, he brought all the conspiracy theorists on the right out of hiding. When you scream “fake news” “false” or “wrong” these are the people you tend to attract.
Full disclosure: I do agree with the theories he is putting out there; however, I do not feel they are at the level of fraud that his supporter’s project.
Social Security Fraud: Yes, I firmly believe it is occurring, but not the type that the conspiracy theorists think. If you think (like they do) a 350-year-old is drawing a check each month, you are crazy. That is easily caught, and BOTH parties will demand a full review from top to bottom. The fraud is also not being done in the 80–100-year-old group… again this is too obvious. To perpetuate large scale fraud, you need a large group spanning several ages. It cannot be too obvious, or you will get caught. Get caught and the operation will unravel quickly, the long arm of the IRS and DOJ would love the chance to catch you. Also, what is never discussed is someone (s) on the inside is/are very obviously involved as well, likely even a couple managers/supervisor types. Again, this type of large-scale fraud needs to be done with precision, making up/taking over the payments going to 100 something year olds is a good way to get caught. Oh, by the way, the government really doesn’t like it when you steal their money. Additionally, no judge or jury will like you stealing from someone’s dead relative. Use your brain, it might be there, but it is likely not happening at the levels you think it is.
Medicare Fraud: Musk and his crew should get carte blanche on this, there is a TON. As laid out earlier, between fraudulent billing schemes and LLC’s, PO Boxes, etc. there is plenty to be found here. I actually think this should be where they focus. Pam Bondi (a Troll favorite now btw) is likely all in to go after these characters as well. This could be a gold mine as the characters committing this fraud tend to be the real bad guys.
Voter Fraud: The biggest hair on fire conspiracy theory going right now is this. Had a gentlemen come into my work and claim “California voted for Trump. This person claimed that it was voter fraud that gave California to Harris.” Yes, read that sentence again. Yikes! Then a person who works here claimed “Gavin got recalled, but the voter fraud saved him.” These two are far too old to know better. They reside in the over 65 group, who in my opinion should be put out to pasture. I agree we have voter fraud here, but not millions, not even hundreds of thousands, it’s likely low 4 figures by my estimation. Think about it, in California we may be the largest state by population, but it is so concentrated. Sure, you could drop ballots in; Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, maybe San Francisco and Alameda, but outside of that where? Same thing in other states, it’s happening but again at what numbers? Not nearly what they think.
If you want to go after voter fraud, do not go state by state, it needs to be county by county. Example: if Sacramento County has 1.2 million people but has 1.5 million registered to vote, that is a problem. Then drill deeper, after you get access to voter rolls on a “view only” basis, look for an obvious anomaly. For example, an apartment with 8 registered voters with different last names all with high voter propensity… this would indicate a problem. Ditto with the house with the same issue. The key here is to find a crack in the fraud and use a pry bar to open the crack to expose the fraud. No judge will let you have carte blanche over the voter rolls, this is the only way to try to expose fraud unless we get a Secretary of State that cares about the issue. It’s been put to me in some counties nationwide there are more registered voters than actual people. Go to town here, there is your opening. Once you find a little, it will lead to more.
Most importantly, understand that screaming voter fraud will do nothing. Just look at what happened to Rudy Guiliani, John Eastman, and “The kraken.” They are done. National laughing stocks. You look foolish claiming CA is ground zero for fraud. The democrats always win big here. If you think Gavin won the recall due to fraud, there may be no hope for you. If you think a 340-year-old is getting a social security check and so are many others who are 140 years old or older, then you might want to check into a clinic. It’s happening, but declaring it’s happening on the levels you claim is silly and makes you look like a whacko.
The Chief
MSN Lies and Distortions About Social Security
I wish to take issue with some of the statements in an article on the Microsoft Network news site. As usual, their content is from other websites. Anyway, this article is by a person named Andrew Lisa.
First, here’s part of the article.
In 2024, before he was elected for a second term as president, Donald Trump declared on Truth Social, “SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY!”
That might sound like a blessing for retirees on fixed incomes — who happen to be one of the country’s biggest and most reliable voting blocs — but how much would seniors really benefit if Trump were to succeed in eliminating the tax on Social Security benefits?
It turns out that what appears to be a proposal to help the most vulnerable populations would actually benefit wealthy retirees the most — and the cost in lost revenue could threaten the program’s future and lead to reduced benefits for all.
Trump Wants To Eliminate Social Security Taxes: Here’s How Much the Average Retiree Would Save
The assertion that eliminating federal income tax on Social Security will bankrupt the system is nuts. Supposedly, the money paid out to Social Security recipients was withheld from their checks during their working years. If it accrued interest at market rates, it would be enough to last old folks for many years. The truth is that there is no segregated fund of money invested for Social Security. The claim that there is a coffee can buried on the White House grounds with an I.O.U. inside instead of money is basically true. Congress has been syphoning off the money for decades and spending it as it comes in. Taxing it is just a gimmick to gin-up class envy. Thanks Bill Clinton.
Let’s look further at the claim that wealthy retirees would benefit the most.
The article then claims that eliminating Social Security taxes will only benefit the rich making over $5,000,000 per year.
According to the Tax Policy Center, “The biggest winners would be those in the top 0.1% of income, who make nearly $5 million or more. They’d get an average tax cut of nearly $2,500 in 2025.”
However, elsewhere in the article it says,
“Right now, up to 85% of Social Security benefits can be subject to taxes, which feels like an extra burden when you’re already managing a fixed income,” she explained. “For instance, if you’re receiving $30,000 in Social Security benefits and are currently taxed on half of that at a 12% rate, you could potentially save $1,800 if these taxes are removed — a relief that could go a long way in your budget.”
So, in one spot this article says you need to make five million dollars to benefit $2,500 from this tax cut but two paragraphs prior it says someone making $30K could benefit $1,800.
Both statements can’t be true, but both are treated as equally valid and factual.
Folks, there is another issue related to retirement that this article doesn’t touch. My wife and I get a modest pension and last year I started on Social Security. We did our taxes last week for 2024. We walked out the door with the largest tax bill we have ever had in our lives and yes, last year we did have tax withholding equal to our tax bill for 2023.
Our tax bill breaks down into three buckets.
- State tax was five times higher than last year.
- Social security was taxed.
- Obamacare tax. Yep, did you know that if you’re on Obamacare that you get to pay healthcare premiums every month and then get an additional tax bill for April 15th?
Obamacare
We are too young to be on Medicare which by law you must be on at age 65—even Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are on it too!
Since we retired from work in California and live in another state, we can’t get health insurance directly from our old employers. Thus, we must buy our own policy. Since we are retired, the best deal we can get is being stuck with Obamacare. Obamacare requires that you estimate your income for the coming year, and they then use that estimate to calculate a monthly premium. Well, we guessed wrong, so we got hit with what amounts to an Obamacare penalty. In our case $4,500. The penalty is added onto your tax bill with the federal government. Failure to pay by April 15th gets you penalties and interest from the IRS.
Most of this tax mess is the result of taking some money out of my wife’s IRA. The effective tax rate of this withdrawal was about 35 percent including the money withheld by the fund manager.
So, with less than three weeks until the tax deadline, we are struggling to pay a five-digit tax bill on a fixed income. Meanwhile, my wife is dealing with stage 4 cancer and its related medical expenses. She is not getting any better. Talk about piling on.
Bottom line: eliminating the Social Security tax will benefit many people. Obamacare punishes those on fixed income that are honest about their circumstances.
Lastly, please note that this article on Social Security mentioned nothing about the people that benefit from the bill Biden signed in January which allows teachers, firefighters, and others to get more money from Social Security. Biden’s increasing the benefit to others seemingly has no consequences to the long-term health of the program but Trump cutting a tax is going to bankrupt the system. WTF?
Michael Heiser and the Unseen Realm
Almost a year ago, I heard an interview that Gary DeMar did with Brian Godawa. Brian was promoting his book Cruel Logic. As a result of the interview, I purchased the book.
I enjoyed most of the book except for a side character named “Danny”. Danny had nothing to do with the main plot and I skipped much of the interaction that he had with this babe that was the ringleader for the campus chapter of Black Lives Matter. This storyline pushed an otherwise PG story into R Rated territory. Brian had a point in putting the character into his book, but I can’t gripe too loudly about it without spoiling this part of the story. Let me just say that it left me very uncomfortable on a lot of levels.
Anyway, I decided to get another Brian Godawa book that was about the biblical character Noah. Frankly, I didn’t like it all that much. Brian took what I felt was the weasel way out and opted for a local instead of a global flood. On a key plot point, he cheated by doing this. I will get into this more shortly without mentioning this book. However, what I did like was in his appendix to the book. He discussed a different view on Old Testament cosmology. Each novel that he writes has extensive background material in the book’s appendix that is arguably better than the novels.
Brian and some of his fellow travelers are big on understanding the Bible within the context of the surrounding cultures. As they see it, much of what the Bible does is subversion of other culture’s mythologies. He makes a good argument that the Bible does this in many passages as it puts down the gods of other nations and exalts the God of Scripture.
Much of this cannot be seen in English translations because the translators didn’t understand the references, or the translators believed the manuscripts to be correct. Much of the supernatural view of Scriptures relies on the Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Godawa and others make the argument that the Jews tinkered with the Hebrew translations of the Old Testament in the second and third centuries after Christ to minimize passages that benefitted Christian efforts to proselytize Jews. They also lean heavily on extrabiblical writings between the Old and New Testaments.
In addition, some of their arguments get into the literal jots and tittles of the Hebrew text. Originally Hebrew was written entirely in consonants. Vowel markings were added later and, in some cases, may have been incorrect. Likewise, they occasionally take exception with how the Greek was handled. A check on some of the translations relies on the Dead Sea Scrolls as an independent voice on which translation is correct.
The most famous mistranslation in the Bible is the word, “Armageddon.” As written, it means “mountain of Megiddo”; however, Megiddo is a plain and there are zero mountains there! They and others say that the correct rendering is “mountain of assembly” which is in Jerusalem not Megiddo. Frankly, this makes more sense but is clearly less sensational.
There is a myriad of both small and great tweaks that they believe need to be made to the English translations. Once you start down this path, it is clear that Moses and the prophets, were bashing pagan gods and their practices on a regular basis. It is our ignorance of the historical context and surrounding pagan religious beliefs that prevents us from seeing references to them on the pages of the Bible. In reality the Bible is neither safe nor tame if you start digging into it.
Believe me, unicorns are easy to explain compared to spirits, Tartarus, Satyrs, Lilith, vampires, and a variety of other biblical references that have been papered over in English. Talk about making the Bible, come alive, Michael Heiser’s “Unseen Realm” came make it anything but routine.
One controversial aspect to the supernatural view of the Bible is its reliance on books such as First Enoch. I Enoch is quoted by New Testament writers like Peter and Jude and is even referenced by the Apostle Paul.
One of Heiser’s books has an extensive list of familiar (to the original audience) noncanonical works quoted in the Bible. You’d be surprised how much in the Bible is a direct response to the pagan cultures surrounding ancient Israel.
Some passages of the Bible are clearly about supernatural entities be they demons or angels. Psalm 82 is one example.
Recently, my pastor did a sermon on this Psalm and totally missed the point. He did a whole sermon on the passage assuming that it was talking about human judges. It is not. It is clearly speaking of supernatural beings. Otherwise, how do the last few verses make any sense?
6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
My pastor skipped these verses in his sermon. If you assume this Psalm is about men, I can see why this part was passed over. Why would it be bad to tell a human judge that he will eventually die and fall like a prince? For a judge to be equated with a prince in the above context seems to be a bad thing, but equating a human judge to a prince seems like a promotion to me. The “Ye are gods” in verse 6 should be familiar since Jesus quoted it as proof of his divinity. If Jesus is using the verse to prove his divinity, how can my pastor be using this same verse to prove that it is applied to men? (John 10:34)
However, if I was to tell a supernatural being that he was to die like a man and fall like a prince, that would be about the worst outcome a supernatural being could be promised. Please note that God is not threatening those in Psalm 82 with this outcome, God is proclaiming their judgement.
This Psalm is messianic. God is taking the rule of nations away from angels (supernatural beings) that have failed to govern men justly and that rule is being given to Him. Jesus inherits the nations as a result of the Resurrection and Ascension.
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.
Psalm 82 has zero to do with human rulers.
Another passage that Heiser and others show is mistranslated is Deuteronomy 32:8.
When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
This verse makes zero sense if you read it. How could God divide the nations according to the children of Israel when this was done centuries before Israel had been born? God divided the nations after the Flood. There were 70 nations.
A traditional understanding is that Genesis 10 enumerates some seventy original nations. This number is often symbolically significant in Scripture, indicating completeness. Later in biblical history, the concept of “the seventy” reappears in various contexts, such as the seventy elders of Israel (Numbers 11:16) and the sending out of the seventy (or seventy-two) disciples by Jesus (Luke 10:1). This recurrence underscores the unity and diversity of humanity under divine providence.
Israel has twelve sons, not seventy. Heiser and other say that this passage should read as “the sons of god” not “children of Israel”.
So, what Deuteronomy 32 is saying is that the nations were ruled by angels—probably of the fallen variety—but God was going to create his own nation and call a people for himself. Enter one guy named Abram then Isaac, then Jacob, add four hundred years, and here we are wandering through the desert.
Heiser’s motto is something to the effect that if its in the Bible and its weird, then its important.
There are some weaknesses in parts of what Heiser says.
- He and his followers don’t seem committed to a young earth interpretation of the Bible and allow more years into the past than most Creationists believe.
- Heiser and many of his supporters are not sure if the Flood of Noah was global. This is due in part to the next point.
- Heiser believes the Nephilim are giants—half breed offspring of angels and human women. (See Genisis 6) This unholy crossbreeding was the main reason there was a Flood. The Bible is clear that the children of Nephilim were alive after the Flood. No explanation is given as to why the Nephilim would be the cause of a Flood but that their offspring would still be alive after it occurred. Both the Bible and extrabiblical texts are silent on this question. Did angels insist on fathering children with human women anyway?
- The traditional understanding of Satan and the fallen angels is wrong. There were three angelic rebellions.
These three rebellions are: (1) Satan’s initial rebellion against God, (2) the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 leaving heaven to take human wives, and (3) the divine council abusing their territorial rule over the nations and turning it into a sort of rivalry against the true God. For Heiser, this threefold framework explains the majority of the Bible’s spiritual-warfare passages, and it clarifies the difference between Satan, false gods, and demons.
One strength of Heiser’s ideas is that of explaining why during the conquest of the Holy Land by Joshusa that some cities were razed and others just conquered. Those cities held or ruled by descendants of giants were totally destroyed, those with no association with giants were just taken militarily. This completely diffuses the claim that Joshusa was all about genocide. The only genocide was for half-breed offspring of angels and women not normal humans. Thus, the conquest was really a type of spiritual warfare.
Heiser also adds some depth and background to the mission and ministry of Jesus. Heiser uses the location of events in Jesus’ ministry to show that the backdrop of many events was a type of spiritual warfare. Jesus was challenging the pagan gods and claiming superiority in a number of familiar stories related to walking on water, casting out demons, the transfiguration, and many more events. The idea that His spiritual warfare was only 40 days in the wilderness is a far cry from reality.
The thing that does go too far in my opinion is adding Heiser’s ideas to the Pre-mil, dispensational nonsense that has permeated much of Christianity. Unleashing Heiser on a future understanding of the book of Revelation creates a whole new genre of science fiction and speculation that knows no bounds. Even Hal Lindsey and Tim Lahay would roll over in their graves if they heard some of the wild speculation that is being published today as a result of mashing up Heiser with the Scofield Reference Bible.
Heiser is about 85 to 90 percent correct but I’m skeptical on the last little bit. Perhaps there are some texts out there which have yet to be translated that might convince me of the remaining part. I believe in demons and that there were giants, I’m just not sure Heiser can fully explain them with an appeal to I Enoch. On the other hand, nothing he advocated is related to whether we get into heaven or not. He does liven up Scripture reading and that is something very few can say. Once you read his book, the Bible will be a more lively place to explore your relationship with God and your understanding of its historic and cultural context.
Brian Godawa and some others do a podcast almost every month called Iron and Myth.
It is an exploration of Heiser’s ideas, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and current archaeology. Currently, there are 38 episodes that are each just over an hour each. The last 15 minutes is a solo segment by Derek Gilbert. Gilbert is one of the folks that has crazy ideas about Revelation. He is usually OK when talking about history. He drives me crazy because he can’t see that Revelation (for the most part) was fulfilled in 70 AD. Godawa liens Reformed and Calvinistic. I tend to agree with him more than the others. Doug Van Dorn is a Reformed Baptist pastor. Judd Burton works in the field of archaeology.
Last note is that episode one of Iron and Myth is audio only. Derek Gilbert has an app called GilbertHouse that is available for Apple or Android phones. This app can download either audio or video of episodes of this podcast and others as well.
Trump Winning is the Left’s Fault
You may have seen the far and center left in shambles lately. They have no leader. It’s a rudderless, captain-less ship. He is driving them absolutely bonkers. He attacks from every angle so well it would make Sun Tzu (Art of War author) jealous. They have no way to defend. The second they go on; MSDNC, CNN, or any other network, he and Musk have moved on more than once. Schumer just caved on the government shutdown that he wanted. 9 other democrat senators followed. AOC and others are losing their minds. Trump is living rent free in their heads.
It didn’t have to be this way.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy he was elected. Anyone but Biden or Harris, but if you’re a realist, Trump likely loses to a mentally stable Joe Biden. Calm usually beats chaos, and Trump is literally a walking daily drama series that evolves minute by minute.
Here are the real reasons Trump won.
- The continued arrests and perp walks. Sure, the far left and the folks who think Palestine exists and the folks who don’t know which bathroom to used loved this. You know who didn’t find it funny? Non-white folks. They already have an inherit distrust of the police…. and to some extent our government, this didn’t help. They likely saw the goings on and said, “if they can do that to a rich white man imagine what they will do to us.” Folks who normally cannot afford a good lawyer. Check out how Donald did with black voters.
- Baseless threats about deporting all non-white folks. Again, baseless fear mongering. I do not want illegal immigrants who are picking produce, doing lawn care, etc. being rounded up and sent packing, I want the criminals rounded up. News flash, most minorities want this too. Trump isn’t a Nazi… neither is Musk. Sure, they do/say/associate with odd characters but look up what the real Nazi’s believed.
- The love/defense of transgender people. This one baffles me even to this day. Transgender people make up a fraction of 1% of the world’s population, let alone the USA’s, yet the media and democrats bend over for them. Tampons in the boy’s room? “Leah” Thomas competing against women swimmers and winning by a landslide? Pronouns in an email signature? Reasonable people do not think highly of transgendered people… minorities even less. The only groups who support transgendered folks are old white men and women. Think about it… the group that is likely to vote GOP.
- Allowing blatant antisemitism. Between the college “protests” I use air quotes since we here believe the protestors were mostly paid actors. And the media/Ilhan Omar peddling their BS about Israel, they painted themselves into a corner. Trust me, Israel is not blameless but allowing college Campi to be turned into ground zero for these whackos did no favors to their cause.
- The economy and inflation. When you cannot afford food and staples, yet the democrats say, “suck it up,” the other party looks more palpable. Trust me, Trump is no saint, and his lack of transparency with his “plans” is somewhat disturbing. He comes off as someone who will get the job done. Kamala just cackled and gave word salad answers that would stump even someone with no intelligence.
- Attacking white men. This was a likely reason she lost the popular vote. It was said in this space, and repeated, I thought Trump would not win the popular vote… I am happy to be wrong. I think this had more of an effect than people want to believe. Suicide among young white men and women is the highest it has ever been. Trump went on Joe Rogan, a very popular podcast with young people, and connected with them. They feel left behind and hopeless. Saying you shouldn’t hire white men makes people feel left behind. Young white men, and likely their not white friends, supported Trump. Check it out. Gen Z may have saved the country!
- Throwing a coup on Joe. First, they wouldn’t let anyone run against him in the primary (check it out, there wasn’t one) then when it became clear he had to go, they went into the smoke-filled room and chose Kamala. Believe me, these are the things you see in a third world country with a dictator (an actual one) not in the USA.
In conclusion you may not agree with each point above, but it’s obvious. If they stuck to traditional talking points, spoke about the economy, and wars in Gaza/Ukraine, and made it about them…. Trump likely does not get nominated. Instead they rigged the GOP Primary and got their guy… only to lose in the end.
The First Cuts are the Deepest (DOGE)
The Department of Education buildings in DC and some other regions will be closed for security reasons 3/12. They will re-open on Thursday. The security reasons are mass layoff notices are going out tonight, as much as 50% of the department will be cut. This marks a sharp departure from the earliest cuts at DOGE which focused on USAID.
Things are now going to get extremely real.
USAID was the low hanging fruit to be cut. USAID traces back to around 1961 but I think it has roots even before that. USAID exists mostly to be a conduit to bribe other countries. We do this to police the world and have our way around the globe. You may have noticed when we bombed Iraq and Afghanistan that most other countries looked the other way. We bombed Doctors without Borders, Hospitals, even families but that was ok because we paid off the neighboring countries. Notice how when Israel attacks Gaza, or I guess “Palestine” for those who are living impaired that may be reading; Jordan and Egypt are silent? Bribery. Also, Trump in his executive order exempted those countries from the ban mind you. To be clear I had/have no issue cutting all USAID money… and I never want to hear about us paying to build a Sesame Street replica anywhere again.
The cuts he wants to do at Social Security and Medicare are a more difficult sell. He talks about fraud and I’m willing to give some credit here… some. In the Medicare part, yes, I believe it’s rampant, but mostly on the “billing side.” I remember watching an American Greed episode years ago that focused on this. Shell corporations existing only as a PO Box billing for services never rendered. The government pays since unless you can prove its fraudulent it’s hard to argue against paying a medical bill in court. Maybe changing billing laws helps here? I have never liked the idea of not being able to tell who owns a corporation, and some of these cheaters create layers and layers of LLCs to mask the entire identity of the entity.
On Social Security, he needs to be careful here. I like the idea of identifying fraud, but I do not think they will actually find much. I for one do not think people who are “345 years old” on paper are receiving a check each month…. trust me, if there were, folks like Senator Rand Paul, would be all over that. Hell, even Lyin’ Ted may have weighed in by now. Cutting the Social Security check to someone who is actually alive is not only a terrible look, but the political ads write themselves. Social Security is not like voter fraud… it’s all some people have got and quite a few older American’s aren’t getting 4 figure checks. Trust but verify, and use caution here.
In conclusion, I know I only touched on a couple of points here, but we as a society, have needed this to happen for a while. When we have the national debt at 36 trillion, we do not need any more Blue Ribbon Committees, or deficit committees. We do not need commissions, meeting groups or bi-partisan congressional groups… it’s too late. These groups, while putting together a valiant effort, have never produced anything deliverable at all. Kind of like a central committee meeting, we go to war with each other…. go in peace to serve the world, and reconvene next month for the next edition of the circular firing squad. I’ll give it to Musk, he is trying, and he is being attacked by everyone, which is good… there should be no sacred cows.
The United States must realize, we run our government the same way we run our lives, we may flip out the credit card, and as long as we make the minimum payment, we are good for one more month. I noticed each household’s share of the debt is about $105,000, could you write a check for your share? See us for who we really are, we are the morbidly obese patient about to go into cardiac arrest pleading with our doctor to approve us for a weight loss drug… we do not need a diet, we need a lifestyle change. Musk isn’t perfect…. he is trying.
Sac County GOP is Soft
It’s a group I used to be a part of….key word used to. Sacramento County used to have a vibrant Republican operation. They had great volunteers, a really good precinct coordinator during election season, then they changed.
In 2016, when Trump ran for office, and they screamed bloody murder…. he was a fake Republican, took money from Democrats etc. My favorite was when they decided to endorse and go all in on Ted Cruz when it was essentially mathematically impossible for Cruz to get the nomination. The California GOP establishment (including those here in Sacramento) wanted a brokered convention to block Trump from the Presidency.
Check out the news regarding the Sac County GOP from this past month.
The incident happened last Thursday evening. As captured by surveillance video, someone drove up to the building in Rancho Cordova and started casing the property.
After finding a large rock, the person then threw it through the front window – smashing the glass.
No one was in the building at the time.
Here is a statement from the party chair Christian Forte
“The County Republican Party regularly receives angry, if not threatening, phone calls harassing our volunteer staff,” said Sacramento County Republican Party Chairman Christian Forte in a statement. “But never have we been the victim of such a violent attack.”
He sounds pretty angry? You would agree right? Nope
Apparently, the thug returned to the scene of the crime a day or so later.
A suspect in the vandalism came back to the scene of the crime when the building was open and reportedly asked questions about the incident. This prompted staff to close the office for the day and call authorities.
On Tuesday, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office revealed that the suspect – a 20-year-old man – had come forward and apologized.
According to the sheriff’s office, the group no longer wants to press charges.
So let me understand this better. It was a violent attack; volunteers were scared and fearing for their safety were sent home and the office was closed. The perp came forward and rather than calling the authorities, Sac GOP choose to forgive and forget. I was disappointed at first but then it hit me, the party that doesn’t have a spine… lacks a backbone.
The same party, whose members used to puff their chests out and say how conservative they are, is too scared to pursue a 20-year-old punk. The folks who idolized Ronald Reagan (I swear everyone at the meetings worked for him at one point) couldn’t stand up to a criminal. The people who now worship the ground Donald Trump walks on do not believe in law and order, apparently?
It’s actually comical. The party that says we need to stand up to the democrats and hold them accountable quite literally could have done that…. and didn’t. Just like the Russian army, they talk a great game and think they are something…. then the war starts and we find out they are a paper tiger.
I looked at the Sac GOP website and looked at the “leadership” page…. I saw a couple familiar names. 1 person I greatly respect and looked at as a mentor, I doubt he sees me the same way anymore. Another who is quite literally a figurehead masquerading as a leader. So, I should not be surprised they folded like a cheap suit when confronted with adversity. These guys would rather fight with themselves than the democrats; it’s an odd thing.
Just remember folks this is the same group of people who had no problem with chronic drug/alcohol abuser Jorge Riley acting a fool at their meetings. No problem with Jorge literally drinking high-octane adult beverages from his backpack with a siphon while attending their events and meetings. Jorge who has a criminal record a mile long with domestic violence in there by the way. All of that behavior was fine until he made a video of himself on January 6th…. and then, reluctantly he had to go.
The Chief