Why I Blog

I have been getting a ration of crap lately from a few people asking me why I blog and why I select the topics that I do. As for blogging, blame Hugh Hewitt’s book, Blog.

My answer to why is simple; I blog for me. When I pick a topic, it’s usually for one of the following reasons.

1. I want to research something and keep the information somewhere that I can access it on the fly. I might blog on a computer issue, how I did a home repair, or some issue that caught my attention.

Example: when I went to my wife’s grave a few days ago, I entered one word in the blog search engine and got my last post about my wife. I sat next to her grave and read my post, pausing to wipe my nose several times as I cried.

2. I want to express my feelings about something that I am experiencing. This blog is a personal blog. I am not trying to earn fame or money from the things that I post. I make it a habit not to name names or give out hordes of personally identifiable information. It seems that lots of folks assume that I take them to task by name, but this is not true. I will occasionally mention my relationship to someone but never their name. Often, it’s as vague as “I know a person who did …”

I occasionally blog about kids and relationships. I make it my practice to only use the names of public people or folks in the news. The only exception is an obituary on my wife that was copied from another source and reposted on the blog.

3. I want to opine about current events. I reserve the right to call people out when I think they are hypocrites or say dumb things. For example, if you claim to be a follower of Christ and defend abortion, transgender folks, or other things contrary to Scripture, I may occasionally say something about you. This includes the Roman Pontiff, a current U.S. Senate candidate in Texas, or someone married to a local church Elder. My solution is to practice what you claim to believe and get a pass from me. I will not fire the first shot but will be happy to return fire if the mood strikes me.

4. I do allow other folks to submit things that they write for publication on the blog. I will even allow stuff to be posted here that I don’t agree with. Occasionally, I have sought out folks that gripe about something that was posted here, but nobody to whom I have offered a chance for rebuttal has been willing to submit a contrary opinion. I try only to edit for grammar and spelling. I don’t always get it right but think my edits improve the understandability of submitted material.

The bottom line is that if you don’t like discussions about religion, politics, or my life then stay away from this blog. If you wish to avoid being mentioned on the blog, try treating me as a fellow image bearer of God, judge me with the same measure that you judge yourself, and if you have an offense against me work it out. As a rule, I don’t hold grudges against people that treat me poorly; however, if you treat others poorly, I reserve the right to call you out on it, perhaps mercilessly.

As I told someone recently, get the beam out your eye first and then we can take a look at mine. I am having way more fun right now blogging on religion than other issues. Lately, if I’m having to take time out to go after you, then you must really be trying to get on my bad side, because I’m not looking for an excuse to take a whack at anyone. I would much rather live in peace with most folks.

Trip to the Once Golden State

I went to the once golden state to attempt to accomplish a few things.

Sadly, a few didn’t materialize. I didn’t visit or have any contact with a person mentioned elsewhere on the blog and the blog staff meeting fell through due to some family issues on their part.

On the plus side, I did get to spend two wonderful days with my father-in-law. He’s a great guy. I also got to pay my respects to my departed wife. It’s a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of her death. While I was in Elk Grove, I visited my wife’s grave and left her a dozen red roses. I read an account of her life which was previously posted on the blog.

Upon reading the post, I did agree to a recommendation previously given to me, to remove a jab at someone that I poked in the narrative. Once I got back to the place where I am staying, the criticism of the individual was removed but their contribution, which was praised, remains in the narrative.

One observation was the high cost of everything under the domain of Newsom. Regular gasoline was $6.25 at a Shell station in Livermore, California. The cost of drive-through food was markedly higher than freedom loving Idaho. Menu choices were fewer as well.

The frogs in the pot of water might grumble a bit but they are generally happy as the water hits boiling. Generally, people think the “other guy” is getting hurt worse than they are. It seems weird traveling through a world built on the pillars of envy and disposability. Seeing masses of people thinking a dystopian world is normal is surreal.

I accomplished another goal; namely, I got my girl the long-promised diamond ring. I was hoping she would want a ruby engagement ring, but I did ask to verify what she expected. Good thing that I did. On the other hand, she already received a gold ruby ring from me last year. Now I just need to pay a few bills and then plan a return trip. Oh, said return trip, if I buy the ticket now, has a $550 fuel surcharge on top of the regular rate for airfare. I might save money if I wait to buy a ticket.

I had an ambitious schedule for this trip and accomplished many objectives. Tomorrow, I need to make a purchase at Ikea and then have another lunch opportunity with a groomsman from my wedding. Once these events are completed, I’m ready to return to north Idaho. I miss my puppy.

Boomer Thinking Smacked William in the Face

Folks William’s blog about the sinless attacking him is par for the course these days.  This is Baby Boomers trying to attack folks through straw man arguments when things do not go according to plan.

This graphic is supposed to represent the Baby Boomer generation

The key is to fight that fire with gasoline!  Here is how.

Folks there are 3 types of parents. 

              Disciplinarian: You chide your kids each time they screw up or go off routine.  This works just fine until said child gets a car or goes off to college.  They rebel and things go south quite quickly as they realize when the parents are not around, they can and will do anything they please with no repercussions.  This isn’t terrible but eventually leads to problems if not corrected.

              Traditionalists:  The parents give their children all the tools to succeed, intervene, when necessary, but mostly are there as “guardrails” as opposed to being a helicopter parent.  This is the category I was in; I positioned myself for success getting a full ride to college, my sister chose a life of crime.  My parents did try; she does not want to change.

              Helicopter parents:  Or “friend parents” as I call them.  These parents want to control their kids’ lives and mold them after what they couldn’t be.  There will be no consequences because if they don’t like the teacher’s grades, they will go to the principal.  If that fails, it’ll be a phone call or letter to the school board.  Coach won’t play my kid, they go to the athletic director.  The parents: defend, coddle, and make excuses for said children at every turn, the kids never hear the word “no.” 

If you still cannot figure it out, options 1 and 3 listed above are the problems in today’s society.  In option 1, the kid will rebel, and if they do not find issues or consequences with their behavior, it will get worse not better.  In option 3 why should your kid apologize?  They did nothing wrong; their entire life has been sheltered and enabled so why apologize?  Rather than choosing things like counseling, let the person go down the path they are going down.  Sure, you won’t like the journey, but in my experience that’s the only thing that can cause someone to wake up.

In the case of my sister, listed above, the reality of the situation was shared with me by my parents.  They stated after the age of 30, people are set in their ways, they won’t change.  They are both dealing with health issues; they have bigger things to worry about.  They fully believe their daughter will come around someday, but she must hit rock bottom.  Folks, for some people, bottom doesn’t have enough rocks to stop them.  My parents shared that they think it’s equally likely she winds up in a ditch and they get a late-night phone call to come “identify a body.”

If you think that last sentence makes me not a real Christian; ok, you are entitled to an opinion. Go ahead try to be “captain save a ho” and spend your years left on earth trying to fix people.  We’ve spent tons of money on homeless solutions…. Nothing has gotten better.  Ditto with mass transit, and other objectives, you cannot fix some people/problems.  They can only fix themselves.  Trying counseling or an intervention just gives that person what they want, it’s not my fault it’s yours. 

So how do you fight fire with gasoline?

Easy, it requires thinking about yourself and your own wellbeing.  Your problem kid wants to move back in?  They do it on your terms.  If drinking, drugs, and not having a job aren’t allowed, they better conform or they can’t return to the house.  It’s your house, your rules, do not compromise.  Once you start deviating, the child catches on and will push more and more.  Remember the book you read as a kid, If you give a mouse a cookie, he will want a glass of milk.  It never ends.

Let history be the judge of your parenting. You can always say “what if” later on in life, a child going off the rails doesn’t mean you are a bad parent.  Look at the negative influence the television and social media has on all young people.  Thank God I am not on it!

The bigger thing to take from this blog is this, why are you letting folks judge you?  It is your life not theirs.  The people judging you are likely miserable.  So your girlfriend is overweight?  What’s it to them?  You aren’t married, have no kids?  Again, are YOU happy?  They make fun of your friends, yet they have none of their own.  Trust me when I say this, their kids are doing worse than yours.  It’s called being shallow and extremely insecure. They are trying to attack someone else’s castle when they have many problems in their own.  Oh, they make fun of your choice in women?  I truly hope they are dating a super model!  News flash; they aren’t.  Make fun of me for not being married?  Sure, I also see you and your wife arguing in public, I wonder what the drive home is like. 

Folks, who cares what your friends think about you, they should always be there for you…. If they are judging you, they are not your friend.  You will be living with the person full-time, not them.  If all they see is looks/financial situation/work title they are shallow as hell.  I guarantee you they are not happy. 

In closing I’ll say this.  William, screw what the Boomers think about your parenting style, who cares? 

Yeah, the 90-day guy attacks me, as do my extended family. I’m 40 now, no wife, no kids.  I will admit I am an easy target for folks who believe in some weird game of life.  Trust me when I say this, the guy who is married making fun of your girlfriend, has a treasure trove of porn on his computer.  Oh, when people make fun of your friends saying they’re fat, spend too much, or what have you, I guarantee such a person is a loner.  Kids do not talk to you?  That’s a reflection on you.  So, am I missing something or inadequate?  No thanks.  I’m good.  My house which I paid 300K for is worth about 600K, my stock picks are worth about 500K,  I have about 150K in cash equivalents. Trust me, I’d take my life over yours.  Money isn’t even a thing to me, I gave away 35K last year.  But trust me, you are doing better than me, I’m the inadequate one, your trophy wife, what happens when she is no longer a size zero?  Better go on one of those weight loss drugs, right?  As she ages, better get a boob job and a butt job, right?  Seriously William, read the blog a few times.  If that discussed above is happiness ….. no thanks.

The Chief

Sinless Person Demands that I Submit and Repent

Excusing People

Train up a child in the way he should go:

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6.

Kenneth Gentry

As Dr. Kenneth Gentry pointed out when commenting on this verse, the training in this verse is not that of following God but the opposite; it is the child deciding how he shall go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Thus, if a child is not taught to obey but is allowed to stay in his rebellion, when he is old then he will not depart from his wayward ways. Thus, such a child will not follow God’s Law but will be ruled by his belly. When he is old, he will decide based on his personal morality which is arbitrary and situational.

When a three-year-old behaves wrongly it might be cute or laughable but when that same three-year-old is thirty and acting the same way, it is a tragedy. It is worse when such a person has family members that make excuses for them as to why they don’t have to grow up during the intervening years.

As stated often and elsewhere on the blog, the Bible teaches that the compassion of the wicked is cruelty. Sometimes parents would rather enable the rebellious child than correct them. They make excuses and justify why Johnny doesn’t have to behave in age-appropriate ways. In our society, enabling bad behavior is often called a disability. With the right form or diagnosis, people get exempted. This pushes them off to the side and out of the way of society. They get to play the sympathy card whenever they are called out for improper behavior.

Once such rebellious children move out of the house, they still expect their family to make excuses for them. They weren’t expected to grow up when living at home so why is that different once they are living on their own.

♬ It’s All About Me ♬ It’s All About Me

Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind …

Leviticus 19:14.

In my own experience, it was the violation of this Biblical Law that was the straw that broke the proverbial back of the camel. My wife had fallen at work and hurt her back. She was only able to move around the house in a walker and with great difficulty. Her adult child claimed that it was too difficult to put her crap in her room and generally keep her stuff picked up. Instead, she threw stuff in the common areas of the house and didn’t care about where they went. She demanded the right to put obstacles in the pathway of her injured mother. When told of her lack of consideration, she threw a huge tantrum. She was OK with putting hazards in the way of her mother and causing her mother to trip. Which did in fact happen.

This child refused any correction and repeatedly rebuffed expectations to act in age-appropriate ways. She demanded to do only the things that she felt like doing, which was close to nothing, and be exempted from all else. Her excuse was that “it was too many rules to learn.” NO, it was common courtesy for others.

It was during this period that her mom decided that since her daughter would not abide by the rules of our household that she needed to move out. I allowed myself to be the villain in this drama. I did in fact oppose the daughter moving out but whenever it was me or the children, I always lost, even when I was right. Note to readers, it’s more important to save the marriage than be right.

Allowing the child to move out was pivotal in destroying the relationship that we once had with her. Sadly, too many years of enabling bad behavior by excusing it had created a firestorm that could no longer be contained.

Emboldened by the newfound independence that she experienced, it was not too long before the pastor of the church summoned me to Nouthetic counseling with said child. I attended several sessions with both the pastor and this child. Oh, with Nouthetic counseling please understand that it was decided ahead of time that I was in sin and had committed some grave error that only they could correct. The weird part was that never once during these sessions was I told why I was there. Neither my wife nor I ever knew. Believe me, I asked my wife more than once.

Anyway, towards the end of these sessions, I was expected to apologize for whatever I had done to said child to cause offense. Again, I was never told, it was just assumed. Folks, I gave her the most sincere and heartfelt apology that I have ever done in my life. I verbally did what the Japanese used to do in real life, I fell on the sword, disemboweled myself, and then removed my head.

In a normal reconciliation situation, once a party apologizes, the other person is expected to confess their sins as well and then having been forgiven, we turn over a new leaf and try restoring the relationship; however … not this child.

Crickets.

One thing this child will not and never has done is apologize for anything. Oh, and for the record, “I’m sorry” is not a proper or biblical apology.

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Luke 15:21.

When her turn came to apologize, nothing. In her mind, she has no faults, shortcomings, or sins. She judges everything by the measure of herself, thus there is no fault. Error is only found in the rest of us for falling short of her glory.

It was the outcome of these counseling sessions that my wife and I forever lost our daughter.

Why Vent now

Oh, why am I venting on this now? Said child recently had a baby. I was hoping to offer an olive branch to her and her husband and go visit the child next week. Nieve me. I was hoping this would be a chance to begin again. However, I was informed via email last night that I am an evil influence and can’t be allowed around her child until such time as she is convinced that I have been rehabilitated and found worthy.

I fired off a response a few hours after I returned home last night. Essentially, I quoted Scripture and said take the beam out of your own eye and then we can attend to mine.

When people think their shit doesn’t stink, there’s not much you can do.

Only when you treat others as fellow image bearers of God can you hope for reconciliation. Scripture wants us to walk a few miles in the other person’s shoes and acknowledge our faults. Some people aren’t willing to do that.

Reconciliation is her choice and it always has been. She is unwilling to forgive. She would rather be angry and offended. I can only conclude that she doesn’t know what love is.

In her letter last night, she mentioned that I talk about her on the blog. I do but only because she doesn’t allow communication with her directly. Please note that I do not use the names of any of the children—all adults—on my blog.

I don’t need a relationship with her, if I had one it would enrich my life just a little but again, it’s not my choice.

Hatred of Mom

What does really grate on me is the lack of love that she showed to her mother. Her mother bent over backwards to do things for her, but all mom got in return was to be despised and discarded. Seeing my wife go through that was inexcusable. There is a verse in the Bible that talks about God saving all our tears in a bucket, if that’s really true then my wife has a whole room of tears in buckets. There were so many times that she wept bitterly over the despicable treatment that she was given by her daughter. So many sleepless nights. So many prayers to God to repair the torn relationship. Sadly, it never got better.

Mom went to her grave without properly reconciling with her daughter. It was mom’s hope and mine that maybe if her daughter became a mother that she might see how horribly she treated her mother. It’s been a year since mom died but her daughter hasn’t changed. The motherhood thing is new for her, but I doubt it will be a catalyst for the hoped change.

My wife died hoping that somehow her death would cause her children to seek God and healing for the things broken in their lives. One year later, I’m still hoping that wish would be reality.

Conclusion

Apparently, some people would rather cling to their trespasses and sin, even some that claim the name of Christ. Love is dying to yourself and putting others first. So is being a parent. Loving a child requires sacrificial love. When your child despises the sacrifices made on their behalf, it’s tragic.

I love my wife’s three children. They all need God’s healing touch but in very different ways. The truth is that we all do.

Attorney Mario Delivers

Attorney Mario has finally written up the necessary documents to get my girlfriend’s annulment underway. He has had the necessary reports that he needed since December 9th of last year, but it wasn’t until earlier today that he got the documents filed with the court.

Folks, we are grateful that Mario is finally moving forward. Our frustration is that he moves with roughly the same speed as John Thune trying to bring the SAVE Act to a vote in the Senate.

John Thune–The Turtle II

So now the Court attempts to notify felon Dennis that his piñata wife finally has the means to dump him. My girl and I are expecting that Dennis will not be notified (for reasons stated below) and will not dispute the proceedings. Last I heard, Dennis, is hanging out in South Korea, except when seeing his new girlfriend. He can’t return to his home country due to an outstanding warrant for hospitalizing his wife when they last saw each other. Yep, you’re a class act when you cheat on your wife, abandon her, and then beat the shit out of her just for fun.

Oh, Dennis does know the annulment is happening because he was convinced to unblock his ex on social media long enough to be told. That was in November. Oh, his reply was that if she gave him the house and two million pesos (~$35,000) that he wouldn’t object. Yo! Dennis, who’s the scumbag in this equation?

Not to be out done, Dennis has a sister or two that is harassing both me and my new girlfriend online via fake accounts of Facebook. The sisters are sending anonymous messages to us via these fake accounts. Oh, the newer accounts are using photos of my girl as their profile pictures. One profile picture is one that my girl put on Facebook in November of the two of us at the beach, and the other is one of her after being beaten; said photo was only shared with the police and her ex as part of the arrest warrant process. It was never posted on social media.

It appears that the sister[s] are upset that my girl will get half of the money when the house, which is jointly owned, is sold after the annulment is completed. We (my girl and I) agreed months ago not to go after the other assets that her ex has hidden just to get this unpleasant mess behind us. Instead of being thankful that we are not attempting to extract every last farthing from him, he and his family are being vindictive that my girl gets a few crumbs off the table. They are mad that she gets anything.

Anyway, after the notification attempted box is checked, then the court process can begin. As of now, it will be three hearing dates spread over a few months. The process is crippled to prevent a fast process. Hopefully, at some point, we are hoping that the judge will issue a summary judgment in my girl’s favor and truncate the process, so we don’t have to go the distance with all the hearings. Anyway, her freedom is coming. It’s been nine years since he was first caught cheating. The marriage cratered from that point. By any metric, the marriage is dead and has been for many years.

Paranoia on Steroids

I was witness to a customer and a colleague talking about things they saw on the television.  As documented in this space, I do not have cable, nor do I partake in watching much more than, call it an hour a week.  I think 90% of what is on said virtual babysitter is propaganda one way or the other.  That includes Fox News. 

They got to talking today, saying there are reports of people impersonating ICE agents and how it is impossible to know what is real and not.  Since all ICE agents are masked, anyone could impersonate them, right?  Right?  The said the agents can bust down your door or shoot you while driving by… because they can!  They can detain you and ask questions later.  They were roused about how the shootings were not necessary and were entirely avoidable.  I had to get up and take a long trip to the bathroom as this was unreal.  But this is a reminder we live amongst the sheep; you view the tv for hours on end and think it is gospel truth.

This is why I am glad to be a libertarian; I will break down how the above is not true at all.

First of all, a warrant is required to enter your house by force (aka kicking the door down.)  ICE agents, while masked, must still present valid ID documentation if asked.  They also cannot enter your property via a locked gate, again, unless they have a warrant or are chasing you (the illegal criminal) on foot or by car. 

If you are stupid enough to open your door for someone you don’t recognize, or feel has dubious credentials, you deserve your fate!  There is nothing wrong with asking for someone’s credentials or flat out not answering the door.  I don’t.  If I’m not expecting you, you either better be dropping something off, or beat it.  I will not allow entry!

Again, they need a warrant to operate.  They cannot and do not operate in a vacuum like the folks on cable TV will have you believe.  When ICE shows up to do a raid, they are usually looking for one or more people, who are here illegally, who have criminal records, and missed their court date.  Read the sentence again.  They do not simply raid the local Home Depot parking lot, that’s a lie.  Also, this may be news to our California readers, but some cities and counties DO cooperate with ICE.  When a person is arrested and it turns out they are here illegally, they can be turned over to ICE that night!  Other times the person is picked up for a crime like; DUI, domestic violence, battery, or theft and when discovered is also turned over to ICE. 

Regarding the statements about people in the home/car also being arrested and deported that is a thing also.  It’s also legal.  Choose your friends wisely!  Folks, if I am in the car with a criminal illegal alien, I too can expect to be detained for questioning, just like if I was hiding someone in my house; in which case you can kick my door down!  See how that works?  I’m shielded from the law if I am doing nothing wrong, such protections do not exist when I am harboring a fugitive from the law!  Folks, no judge will issue a bench warrant for failure to appear if you missed a hearing about a speeding ticket, these people are the worst of the worst. 

Now regarding the part about shooting illegal criminal aliens.  Again, what you are seeing on tv are clips from the incidents are formatted and condensed to fit a narrative.  In the case of the women who tried to make a getaway in her car and was shot 3 times, it is hard to argue that she was a saint.  She was agitating officers all day and was told to exit the car!  She made a choice, that choice was suicide by cop!  The other person who was killed, again, was agitating and out of control. He even brandished what appeared to be a weapon.  I never am happy or will defend the shotting of someone, but come on, in both cases it was extremely avoidable. 

The only commentary I will provide to defend the ICE agents is this.  They have a very thankless job. They are vilified by the news/print/radio media constantly.  They have been doxed (identity given to the public) and had their/spouses/family’s lives threatened by deranged whackos.  They are doing their jobs. Oh, and the current President ran on this exact agenda.  It should not be a surprise.  Folks speaking again as a libertarian, the law gives wide latitude to peace (police type) officers when they are involved in a shooting.  If said officer claims they feared for their life, or thought they saw a gun, they typically have the right to use deadly force, even in a state like California.  It is not smart at all to agitate someone who is wearing a badge and carrying a gun, especially when they can use and apply deadly force as they see fit.  I would not want to be hoping that officer is having a good day while I taunt him mercilessly. 

Last point, I overheard the 90-day guy saying, “how come they can’t just shoot them in the leg?”  This is a typical, highly uneducated response that I have come to expect from a “California Conservative.”  First, you are not trained to shoot someone in the leg. Tell me you haven’t shot a gun before without telling me you haven’t shot a gun before.  No gun range has the ability to get you to shoot someone in the leg, it’s a small target!  Hence you aim for the center mass (the torso).  Law enforcement is trained to only discharge their weapon to protect lives and property; think self-defense. This is the difference between cops and soldiers. The other aspect of a police shooting that he doesn’t have the ability to comprehend is, until the threat is considered neutralized, the medics cannot give the victim medical attention.  So, to lay it out, shooting the person in the leg will likely just cause them to bleed out anyway.  Trust me most of the time when there is an officer involved shooting, the criminal is very well known, and the police planned for this likely happening.

The Chief

2026 Goals and Gripes

GOALS

My big goal for 2026 is to tie the knot with my special lady. Of course, I have a few obstacles to get out of my way first.

The biggest of these is to survive filing my 2025 taxes. Last year was a train wreck in terms of what it cost. I think this year will be better since I upped the withholdings. I will know February 2nd when I visit my tax man.

Then there is “the ring.” “One ring to rule them all …” comes to mind. My girl wants a diamond, I was hoping she would be happy with a ruby but have been overruled. I think I have a plan to get this done, but given the price of gold lately, this might be a pricey transaction. Such is life.

Then comes the ceremony. This will be a frugal event, but it will be great. The biggest issue is how to feed the guests. I have a venue in mind but of course my plan may not be hers.

By the time these things are ready, I figure it will be May. Then my last obstacle will be where to warehouse my dog for about six weeks. I have an idea, but I will see what happens. Frankly, this is the costliest part of going on a trip. If I can do better than $25 per day, then I will be happy.

GRIPES

As of this writing, I still have a few sour people trying to dump all over me and my girl. My mom doesn’t understand why I can’t find a white girl in the U.S. of A. She and some other family members have told me that it is even wrong of me to look. They literally have said that I should ignore seeking another relationship and God will bring someone in my life. I tried that with the first wife, and it took over 20 years. Translation, be alone and happy you’re not married. Why is it that married people keep telling single ones to be happy they aren’t married. Sounds to me like they have impaired judgement in selecting a life partner not me. I loved being married and want to do it again.

As always, zero people have put forth zero suggestions as to who I should pursue for marriage. Even back when my parents asked me to divorce my first wife, they had no suggestions as to who could do a better job. The bottom line is that they just like to find fault, point out what they feel are the shortcomings of others, and tear down others that they find inferior. How this builds them up, I’m not sure.

I had weird conversation with my sister the other day. I tried to explain my relationship with my girl and said that if the church is in charge of marriage, then I am walking on solid biblical ground in our relationship. She got hostile and denied that either the church or State was in charge of marriage. Instead, she claimed it was the Bible. The Bible in a vacuum with no institution underpinning it!

I tried to say that God had put the Church in charge of marriage, and she flat out denied it, stating that I was wrong. (I am most certainly correct. See Ray Sutton’s book Second Chance.) Then, she started to accuse me of adultery and began to lecture me that if I went to a Bible believing church then I would know the truth. She had gone over the logical cliff by then and kept going. I was sure the Roadrunner would pop up any second with the sign reading “Gravity” but he never materialized.

Good grief!

God created four governments and marriage must belong to at least one. Here are the choices of biblical government: Self, Church, State, Family. I believe that Christ has given marriage to the church.

My former church believes that marriage belongs primarily to the government and in a secondary capacity to the church. They would deny this but look at how they act. Deeds are louder than words; especially, when the actions don’t align with the words.

This example is true, but I am changing the names and some minor details because they don’t matter to the point I am trying to make.

Steve and Laura joined the church several years ago. They have three small children. Steve was highly regarded by the clergy and was a promising young guy that they wanted to make into an Elder in the congregation. It didn’t happen but …

As time when on, Steve started seeing Zelda, a coworker, on the side. The wife found out and Steve moved out to cohabitate with Zelda. Laura files for divorce. Then the church holds a trial and excommunicated Steve. Once the divorce is finalized in the family law court, Laura is then pronounced from the pulpit as eligible to remarry as the innocent party in the relationship. 

Why did the church defer to State action? You can only conclude that marriage belongs to the State. The State gives you a marriage license and licenses officiants so marriage must belong to them. The church has a minor and secondary role in marriage. In fact, a church is really not necessary to get married, it’s just a tradition that the State allows.

Thus, a church that gives lip service to Sola Scriptura doesn’t really believe it. If they believed the Church is biblically charged with administering marriage, they would not wait for the State. State action is irrelevant. They would not wait for Laura to file for divorce. They would try Steve without waiting. Furthermore, they would have simultaneously pronounced judgment on Steve and announced Laura, as the innocent party, eligible to remarry.

Biblically, the State has no part in marriage and until about 1900, they didn’t. Only when local governments began seeking additional income did licensing marriage become a thing. It was originally for the purpose of taxing marriage that it began to be licensed. But now that the church allowed the State to take over marriage, does the current situation exist.

Folks, just because this happened doesn’t make it right, but when your church denies the applicability of biblical law to the State, what do they have left? Such clergy agrees with Gavin Newsom that they are nonessential workers. This is how you know, no matter how nice the pastor might be, that in the final analysis that he is a hireling and not really a shepherd.

Once the State takes something away from the Church, it always belongs to the State.

Folks, the devil gets lots of credit in our society for taking stuff away from the church, but the truth is even more sinister, the church simply cedes the ground to the devil and usually without a fight. You know how you always get mad at Republicans for surrendering to Democrats and getting nothing in the bargain, ditto for the church. Unilateral Capitulation.

People that believe marriage belongs to the church are happy that I have found someone to love. Those that think marriage belongs to the State think I’m a notorious sinner because I assert that I don’t need to wait on the government to get their paperwork caught up with reality to date my girl or, gasp, marry her.

Oh, the other issue involved in my situation is that one part of the body of Christ doesn’t recognize any part of the body but their own denomination. The Apostle to the Gentiles was clear that all the parts are knitted together by the Holy Spirit but one body. Again, my former church claims to be Sola Scriptura but doesn’t believe this either. They want the right to sit in judgement over a church in another country because their method of baptism or whatever isn’t the same as theirs. BFD.

Folks, when you impose any presuppositions onto the Bible, be they cultural or eschatological, you will never rightly divide the Word of Truth. Your presuppositions get in the way.

In about a year, this will all get sorted out. When it does, you will find me standing near Charlie Kirk, Mark Steyn, and a few theologians that are or should be household names. I’m not right, I’m Really Right. I’ve stated this before; I have a plan, I’m working the plan, and it will be alright in the end. Just give me the grace to get there.

The Mental Health Card was a Lie

The 90-Day Guy lied. I have irrefutable evidence of his lie.  Mental health is not a sympathy card and f**k you if you are using it as one. 

How do I know he is lying?  An aunt of mine who worked as a primary care doctor, and a surgeon, was over for Christmas.  I asked for her expertise on this subject.

I told her what he had told me, that he told his doctor he was suicidal and had even picked out the knife to kill himself.  She said the doctor is obligated at that point to make a call to the health and human service or related county/state department.  She added that her medical malpractice insurance would not pay out if he had killed himself and she didn’t notify the correct channels.  She went on to say he would be required to see a specialist for an evaluation. I told her he went once or twice then quit going, for money reasons.  It’s always money with him, all the time.  She told me that’s a lie also, as the appropriate channel/group would have forced him to attend, again being suicidal is a big deal this day and age with all the mass shootings done by them. 

I further prodded, William will tell you it’s what I do, and her further responses crystalized his lying.  She said mental health is a huge thing right now and most insurance covers it 100%. This is due to different laws passed as result of these shootings/killings.  She said she had a feeling about what he did, I let her speak freely.  Full disclosure, she is from Illinois, but I feel the laws/regulations on the books are likely similar or the same to California, where I am based.  She said I can guarantee he went to an urgent care doctor, someone who is not his primary care doctor, he went in wanting to be diagnosed with a mental condition, and he won.  Her words and I quote “he squealed to a doctor who is not his own and got put on a pill that will not fix his issue, it’s a here you go drug.”  It’s a cover your butt, here you go, I guess you have a condition because you say you do.  He went to an urgent care doctor because the doctor has plausible deniability, he can claim he sees a ton of patients each day, insured or uninsured he doesn’t know.  It’s a free pass.  That doctor was done with him after payment was processed that day, he got what he wanted.

He claims its anxiety when my phone’s alert for a call is coming in or a text is incoming bothers him; however, the sounds at the local casino do not.  He gets off on things like this; it’s a sympathy card to him.  It’s wild. When things do not go his way, it’s a mental health thing, yet he seeks no treatment.  He is a liar.

There you have it folks, it’s been proven, truth always wins out. If you claim mental health and are lying about it, you are the lowest of the low.  Actually, I’ll use a term the young people use: SYBAU … it’s an acronym for shut your bitch ass up.  People with mental health issues need our help, not people who want to fake it.

The Chief

You never remember the story you told…..

This is an update to my last blog about Covid never going away.

90-day guy is a special creature. The guy will tell you to your face one thing, then decide he is neutral when confrontation hits.  He likes to fancy himself as Switzerland then right afterward claim he had your side the entire time, but it’s about harmony.  Make love not war right?  He is also one of the most gullible people on the planet… but then again what do you expect from a guy who views as much as 12 hours of tv a day at least?

So, he claims he called my colleague to discuss the Covid situation last night, a call that lasted 10 minutes, I highly doubt this to be true.  He proceeded to text me saying “we all need to do a better job of staying home when sick.”  All of us?  Why me?

The following morning my colleague wanted to speak with me about the incident.  I simply stated if you know we both got it at Chipotle, I need to file a complaint, we cannot have a business that allows people to flaunt the Covid 19 laws regarding restaurants.  (For those not in the know, you CANNOT under any circumstances come to work in food service with any symptoms of virus/illness).  I could tell by the look on his face, he knew I was on to his BS, and unlike the 90-day guy, I was going to actually make him prove it.  When he said “we both felt sluggish” yep, but I said how did you know to test for Covid in the AM with no symptoms?  He tried a retort, but I once again called him out saying “if you were Covid positive, why wouldn’t you demand I test? Or warn the other two (he has a temp replacement who comes in when he is out) about me likely being a Covid positive…. Because you know we both got it at the same time, right? 

The look on his face said it all, it’s the same look a married man gives his wife when he states “sweetheart this is the only times you cheated on me right?”  and her “well honey….” Response. 

He knew the gig was up, and it was time to come clean.  He told me he was exposed to it via friends over the weekend.  Not a crime, it happens. Parties/events etc. It’s a thing.  He said symptoms started Monday afternoon, he simply ignored them, figuring this would just go away.  Tuesday it was worse, so he was downing the Robitussin to suppress his coughing symptoms.  He took me to lunch to try to place the blame on me.  When returning to work, he could no longer hide his cough because I sat in the breakroom the entire afternoon so he couldn’t grab said Robitussin.  He tested positive Wednesday morning early, and decided he was going to take the day off.  He continued throughout the day texting me asking if I had any symptoms, since I didn’t, his master plan wasn’t going to work.  You can’t say we both got it at Chipotle when I’m not sick yet. 

He told me that he told 90-day guy the lie simply because he knew he would believe it, much like the second time he gave me Covid and he said I got it at the gym.  He thinks 90-day guy is stupid, I think he is just very gullible.

The real lesson he needed to learn was not that he got Covid and was not exactly forthcoming, it’s that he created chaos.  When you give a very contagious virus like Covid to someone you are also exposing their entire network.  By not being forthcoming you allow said network to be exposed when you are likely highly contagious.  I have always lived by “its better for ask for permission than to ask for forgiveness” having to explain to folks you may be exposed to covid is a hard thing to do.  As a result, I had to burn a day off work, and am out of pocket around $600 for doctor visit, official covid test from a pharmacy, and Paxlovid.  All avoidable.  His temporary replacement was supposed to go to a 1-year-old’s birthday and a family party the following day, out of abundance of caution he stayed away.  He got lucky, he was briefly exposed and did not test positive over the 5 days. 

If there is a lesson to be learned here, I will say this, Paxlovid works.  Really well.  I was over this in about 3 days, as I started feeling better Saturday night.  He on the other hand, waited until the symptoms were so bad Paxlovid didn’t work.  It must be taken at the first sign of symptoms, which I did.  I lost about 7 lbs. over those 3 days, but I came out alright, he did not.

It could have been a lot worse.

Johnnie Does

Editor’s Note: This was submitted right after I went to Europe, but I couldn’t post it until today.

Online Dating Independence Day Update

Folks, as mentioned before, I have been participating in some online dating websites. Yep, I have found fraudulent accounts and sketchy people, but I have found some nice ones as well. I’ve been especially impressed by two young women that live in the Philippines. One is a teacher and the other is, well I don’t recall. These ladies put the rest of the bunch on these dating websites to shame. They are not materialist, career-oriented feminists, but really on fire for God and live to tell people about Jesus. They are as beautiful as any of the fashion models that Donald Trump has on his payroll and the best part is that you know they are more beautiful on the inside. Sadly, they are both in their twenties.

As for the rest of the pack, I am corresponding with a few women; only one of whom is in the age bracket that I really want. The others are old. I can’t get my head around the fact that these ladies are grandmothers and are interested in me.

Warning I’m about to get really controversial so stop reading now or promise not to get angry with me. You have been warned.

Ok, so why the warning? I’m not old. I may be turning 64 later this year, but I’m still a kid on the inside. (My friends here in Idaho think I’m in my mid-fifties.) I’m looking hard at women between 35 and about 50 years old. Had my son made better life choices, I would be making different ones now, but it is clear that I will never have any progeny from him. Dude, Ellie freaking Mitchell had a huge crush on you and then you make your stupid life choices, thou fool. My son, you have made the stupidest life choice since Esha sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew.

I want a proper heir to carry on the family name. There, I said it out loud. I currently have nobody to leave anything to. The thought of all my stuff being reduced to a few neglected boxes that Goodwill or the Salvation Army will reject is not the ending that I hope for. I’d like the family name to continue. To put this in words that you might comprehend, “There is NO other Skywalker.”

I have all the genealogy stuff that my wife accumulated from both sides of her family plus all the good antiques and none of her kids want it. It will eventually find its way to thrift shops or whatever, but what a waste. Nobody wants the fine China, the wedding silver, the tons of photos that I have (currently over 26,000 images and I have much more that needs scanning), her old books, or anything else. The only things the kids seem to have any interest in are the wife’s Hallmark ornaments which I could care less about. Sorry, but Hallmark has never meant Christmas to me.

Anyway, I have been corresponding with this young lady in Brazil. She happens to live in Rio, a place that I have visited twice while in the Navy. She has a two-year-old daughter. I don’t know what will happen, but I am willing to pursue her further. Oh, she is 39. Per Google, if I started paperwork now, by the time I could get her here, she will be about the same age as my last wife when we were wed.

I really like children. I think God put us on the planet to have lots of them, something my wife didn’t let us pursue further. I could argue that her reasons for not having more children were the beginnings of the path that ended with her demise, but I won’t elaborate further in writing. Let’s just say that her decision still has consequences for the living.

My grandfather lived to be 96, and my dad is on track to get close to that age too; so, I figure that I may have three more decades in the tank too. Yes, I know tomorrow is not a certainty, but I at least have some reason to hope for more than the seventy years mentioned in the Bible.

Back to Rio girl. Assuming that she is real and not an AI chatbot which might very well might be the case (see update below), then if we continue on the path that we are seemingly on, I will have her visit in a few months. I think if she visits me for two or three weeks, we can know if we are compatible. My faith is important to me but trying to have deep discussions with someone via text messages whose second language is English is not really fair. Oh, her English seems to be excellent, but still…

So, if it works what’s next? Paperwork, we can’t have a government without lots of paperwork. Then there is the issue of making sure she is cared for if I do shed the mortal coil. Oh, if this does come to fruition, I plan to adopt her daughter as my own, something I could never do with my step kids while their biological dad was still involved in their lives. (Bet they never even thought to ask why that never happened.)

Having a few online friends is helping me be in a better state of mental health. I never have been fond of married people telling me to be happy that I’m single.

I’m also in communication with a nice lady in Oregon. Church wise, we are polar opposites but she is very nice and however things turn out, I’d like to keep her as a friend.

The Other People I’ve Seen Online

On the predominately Reformed Baptist website my general comment is no wonder the people on there are single. The Christian stuff they claim to consume is from the likes of John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul. In other words, they stay within their own bubble of knowledge and know nothing of other views. After consuming “spiritual baby food” for years, they know nothing and think they know it all.

 I’m an equal opportunity kind of guy so I will bash both genders separately.

The guys out number the women about eight to one on this website. The vocal ones tend toward rudeness and want to argue theology until the other party submits unconditionally. They think the way to a mate is to find the perfectly completed female profile and then expect the girl will submit to their leadership without the guy having any track record of accomplishing anything. The other issue is that they have no idea what a biblical marriage is all about. A husband’s job is to die daily for his wife, not be waited on hand-and-foot by his personal handmaiden.

Many of the women on there, having secured their careers, and now wish to add a husband to their life in much the same way as a person adds a new pet to the family or pair of shoes to their wardrobe. Generally, they are unwilling to “leave and cleave” and start a new family.  Alternately, they have child custody or other reasons and/or baggage not to be with their potential man. They erect unnecessary barriers or have unrealistic expectations such as “I want to homestead and home school my children”. They seem ignorant of the fact that their favorite YouTube personalities that homestead are being paid because they can’t earn enough to make a living homesteading unless they continue to generate extra money from social media by having you watch them. Having seen it up close and personal, homesteading is more of a work commitment than having children.

On the other website that I’m using, there is a persistent group of men that harass new female members. They come across as if asking the girl if she is a slut, if so, please call me on this social media account. It’s the same handful of guys spraying virtual graffiti on each account; like a dog urinating on their mailbox.

Both websites have this in common, there is a lot of ‘deadwood” or stale accounts being hosted on the website. I guess content over quality is the motto. One website has accounts that are older than seven years that are still considered people looking for a mate. One website tells you where they last logged in based on their IP address, which can easily be spoofed, but not when they last logged in. Neither website will allow you to sort by paid members to make it easier to interact with actual humans.

Between the two websites, I have hit “Like” on seventy or more different profiles. Generally, nobody even takes a look at my profile in return. I don’t mean they didn’t reciprocate interest by liking me, but that they never even clicked to see who liked them. To me this is more proof that the women I’m looking at don’t exist or lost interest long ago. I know some accounts are fraudsters, but some are not.

Online dating is not for the faint of heart.

My last comment is that the men in the group, and women too, need to read “The Boniface Option” by Andrew Isker. Our youth are stuck in “Trash World” and happy as pigs in their own excrement thinking this is the “normal” state of things. MacArthur and Sproul are safer choices because they rarely touch us in our everyday lives.

Update: I have had time to process (or ponder) some details of my exchanges with Rio girl and parts of her story have fragments of information that don’t flow. Also, in the process of looking at other women’s profiles, I found that AI, instead of trying to translate a profile into English, analyses it and generates a response based on the text that you give it. Just by cutting and pasting, you get instant responses in languages that you don’t have to know. This would explain her flawless English and obtuse details. Her daughter “is named Rose which is a type of flower”. Ok, what human on the planet doesn’t know what a rose is? A person would know but an Artificial Intelligence would not because it’s just another piece of data to it. Also, can you type on your phone in perfect English? She can and it’s a second language to her. Maybe Rio girl is fool me twice. If I hear from her again, which is debatable, (we ended things with me asking for live video chat), then I intend to talk theology. All I have to do is hit her with some misdirection and see if I get away with it.