Lifecycle

The other day a friend shared what was thought to be a microscope photo of a cell and I was stricken by it. “This is a universe,” was my comment. Thus, has the photo has been on my mind since.

 As it turns out, it was not a photo. My friend shared it from a third person who called it a photo of a human cell. Google Images revealed, however, that it’s an illustration – a cross section of an animal cell. The illustration is a creation of Russell Kightley, an Australian designer and author. And as someone who cares about getting paid for what I create, I bought his work. Still very fascinating. 

Of late, however, I am skeptical of almost anything on the internet; pictures, photos, illustrations, documents, stories, studies, assertions -- everything out there. And it’s a good thing. The main reason that I took a break from writing this: to stop and reassess how I think and what I’m doing, if I’m doing anything, and … 

To become less of a part of the kingdom of lies. 

It is certain that I am less certain of where I stand on the things of this world and now, when I put forth my opinions and views, I’d like to be more careful of the processes to which I come to conclusions rather than stressing the importance of the conclusion itself. That applies even to the one thing I’m 100% certain of: that Jesus the Christ is Lord. 

A lot of the “facts” we’ve taken for granted since well before our births (mine was almost 60 years ago) are lies. Are bullshit. And this mountain of lies erupted like a volcano last year. All the things we thought we knew were bullshit. And not just since 2020, but maybe in the last 20 or 30 years the purveyors of bullshit have become super bold. They realize that it’s very, very easy to pull the wool over the eyes of not just the American public, but the entire world – the eyes of every human being. 

With all of that in mind I present my theory spurred by Mr. Kightley’s illustration. 

I was thinking about the fact that if every cell is a universe, that means every cell in our bodies, every cell of everything is some kind of universe. 

What if this universe is a cell of someone’s body and the lifecycle of this cell has been outlined in the Bible? What if everything we are seeing right now is merely the sloughing off of a defective cell ready to be washed down the drain like your dead skin cells during a warm shower?

And what if the means to save the redeemable parts of this dying cell are outlined in the Bible also?

Is your brain exploding? I hope not. 

Body of Christ indeed. 

(Thanks to Rick E.)  

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Baldy and Baldilocks Talking

I'm broadening my horizons and talking with Patrick Gunnels about the topic that occupies my life the most: God. Take a listen. 

We had fun and will make this a regular discussion.

You'll notice that this isn't on YouTube but on Odysee. Patrick's Reading Epic Threads is a regular and popular live show on YouTube but he has been dinged for wrong-think several times. And, trust me, there's plenty of wrong-think in our conversation.

There are several alternatives to YT; Odysee is merely one of them. 

The Woke Guardians may succeed in shutting down all discussion that does not have the Woke Stamp of Approval, but until then, let the words and the Word go forth.

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Pat Scopelliti: The Local Patriot's Reading List

Help Me Save my Landlords' Building

 ... and my unit, too

Since 2015, I have lived in a 16-unit apartment building -- the first time I’ve rented since the early 90s. There have been some downs, but mostly, ups. My landlords – a married couple – have been very understanding during my downs. There have been times in which I was not able to pay the rent for a several months, but I’ve never seen an eviction notice. 

And, though I’m late again now, I haven’t seen one this time. 

But my landlords have confided in me; they are at risk of defaulting on their mortgage. Should that happen, we all lose and that includes the other tenants. 

And the primary reason that I haven’t been able to pay my rent this time is that my bank account was hacked, and the bank hasn’t reimbursed me yet. 

I know that I fundraise a lot. I’m honest about it and don’t pretend to be altruistic and totally unselfish. The money I raise here is for me as much as it is for my landlords. 

And we all know what is happening right now in California. Vast transfers of wealth and property to (further) enrich the big guys and girls and lockdowns to screw the little ones. 

That’s the big picture. But in my little picture, I’d hate to see my landlords’ lose their building and I'm asking you to keep that from happening.

And if you can’t give – I know that many are in dire circumstances – please make mention of us to God in your prayers. You know my name. Their names are Sharon and Carlos. 

When I told them that I would raise the money, they were incredulous. "How?" Sharon asked.

I smiled. "Trust me," I said.

I'm asking you to do that, too. The target is $5000 and I will probably wage this campaign on multiple platforms -- at least the ones from which I'm not yet banned.

Thank you and God bless us all.

UPDATE: I want to stress that I am protected from eviction due to the COVID lockdown, but my landlords are not protected from losing their building.

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Baldilocks Top Traffic Magnets in 2020

Usually at the beginning of a new year, I repost my most trafficked missives from this blog and from Da Tech Guy blog. This year is no different, but I had fewer choices.

Due to the craziness that was 2020 -- the combination of the Wuhan plague+lockdown, California’s AB5 and the insanity of the presidential election -- I lost the desire to write even here. 

And, honestly, I can’t say that I’ve regained it. But here are my most read offerings in 2020 from both blogs. 

Peter (Da Tech Guy) wants me back in in the saddle. We’ll see.  

By the way, as a result of the Great Conservative De-Platforming, you'll notice that I don't feature Twitter or Facebook in my posts anymore. I've downloaded my data from both platforms and you should, too.

BALDILOCKS BLOG 

How to Defend Yourself 

I’ve been praying this to God almost every day since I memorized it. While doing so, I try to keep in mind that I’m talking to a person and when I find myself merely reciting the psalm, I stop and begin again.

 The Illegal and/or Unconstitutional Actions of President Barack Obama, Part 1 

 The Illegal and/or Unconstitutional Actions of President Barack Obama, Part 2 

 The Illegal and/or Unconstitutional Actions of President Barack Obama, Part 3 

 The Illegal and/or Unconstitutional Actions of President Barack Obama, Part 4 -- Finale  

The Obama series was far and away the top traffic magnet for the year and probably for the site. The title speaks for itself; no need to excerpt.

Trump, Hydroxychloroquine, and Hope 

As I have observed continuously during this pestilence, certain corners of our republic – usually governmental and media-related -- don't want the people to have hope and will say and do anything squash and quash even the whispers of it.

And if that hope comes from Orange Man Bad, those corners will lie repeatedly, even when the truth is right in front of all our faces.

Leaders and Soldiers of the Escalating War  

I must stress again that this is a spiritual war and that we – human beings -- are proxies for this war.

Black Americana and Historical Perspective  

Well, if you are afraid of being guilt-tripped, then I don’t know what to tell you, because anyone with a strong sense of self and strong attachment to truth can refuse inappropriate guilty feelings. And that same devotion to truth should make such people hungry for both the good and uncomplimentary history of a group people who are the most American of Americans.

 

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Still Here

 Just too much chaos and uncertainty in the world. But God is still in charge. 

I'm concentrating on improving my physical health -- lost 22 pounds since August! Halfway point to the goal.

Oh and I'll probably be back at Da Tech Guy Blog next week. Go check him out; he has been very prolific of late.

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Open Warfare

 

Originally posted with a different title on June 15, 2019 at DaTechGuy Blog.

Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him.

— Sun Tzu 

In 2018, I said this: 

A lot of people – even some Christians — discount the existence of satanic spiritual forces and ridicule the material-world advocates of these forces. The latter count on this. For the record, I’ve seen some of those forces in action. 

From 2019, by Tara Isabella Burton at American Interest: 

For an increasing number of left-leaning millennials—more and more of whom do not belong to any organized religion—occult spirituality isn’t just a form of personal practice, self-care with more sage. Rather, it’s a metaphysical canvas for the American culture wars in the post-Trump era: pitting the self-identified Davids of seemingly secular progressivism against the Goliath of nationalist evangelical Christianity. 

 The biblically-literate will note the irony of that last comparison. 

There’s the coven of Brooklyn witches who publicly hexed then-Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh to the acclamation of the thousands-strong “Magic Resistance”—anti-Trump witches (among them: pop singer Lana del Rey) who used at-home folk magic to “bind” the president in the months following his inauguration. There are organizations like The Satanic Temple —newly featured in Penny Lane’s 2019 documentary Hail Satan—a “nontheistic religion” and activist group that uses its religious status to demand for its black-robe-clad members the same protections afforded to Christians in the hopes of highlighting the ridiculousness of faith-based exceptions (Satanic prayer in schools, say). There are dozens of Trump-era how-to spellbooks that blend folk magic with activist practice: the 2018 anthology The New Arcadia: A Witch’s Handbook to Magical Resistance; Michael Hughes’s 2018 Magic for the Resistance: Rituals and Spells for Change; David Salisbury’s 2019 Witchcraft Activism: A Toolkit for Magical Resistance (Includes Spells for Social Justice, Civil Rights, the Environment, and More); and Sarah Lyons’s forthcoming Revolutionary Witchcraft: A Guide to Magical Activism. There are hundreds of thousands of users of witch-popular blogging platforms like Tumblr and Instagram, which at the moment boasts 8.5 million photographs hash-tagged “#witch.”

You'll want to read this whole thing. 

Burton says that this is fair, since much of rightism has Christianity overtly embedded in it. And guess what: she’s right. And, more than that, it’s a Good Thing in that clarifies the spiritual sides and the attendant stakes. 

You want the enemy’s servants to be open about their identity. This indicates arrogance — a fatal flaw.

I’d say that the Democrat Party – now one with the Organized Left – de facto and de jure pledged allegiance to Lucifer when, during the 2012 Democratic National Convention, its delegates loudly booed the (re-)admission of the word ‘God’ into the party platform. (And, in the 2016 platform, “God-given” appears three times, but “God” by Himself, not at all.) 

Probably, many ignored this back then, and will keep on doing so. 

But, consider this: great forces for both good and evil have begun in the highways and byways of societies — in homeless shelters … or on Tumblr. Zealots of any sort begin as a remnant, later gathering followers, acolytes and resources. See: Christianity. 

And the Devil is a copycat. Everything he does is in parody to the works of God. Christ is building His kingdom and, therefore, the Devil is building his among these people who hate God and who hate their parents – especially their fathers. 

However, those who mock these worshipers do so at their peril. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul acknowledges the existence spiritual rulers of dark places and of their power. Again, in imitation of God, the Devil gives powers to those who worship and serve him. 

And he won’t make them wait around for it and try to teach them anything, like God does with His servants. 

Also in Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul also provides the defense against these forces.

The fact that these people are so open about whom they serve is not only good for God’s servants, but for those who have a foot in two boats. 

Choose one boat or the other or, as the boats continue to move further and further apart, end up in the water. 

And forget about walking on it.

*****

September 2, 2020:

Can anyone deny that all the terrible things we've seen this year have supernatural sources? Well, I suppose they could, but I adamantly disagree.

I also think that these have been and will be the time of God's greatest miracles.

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Some Blogging You May Have Missed More Than Once

The Rutgers Scarlet and Too White Knight

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I've been using the Facebook note feature to blog. All of these are public, so you don't need a Facebook account to read them.

Regular readers may find some of these familiar. I do repackage and recycle content and I will do it again!

Here ya go.

******

Ordering My Thinking

Chaotic thinking can disguise itself as ordered: the inability to think the unthinkable. We all do this, too. We wall “crazy” ideas and approaching disaster out of our consciousness, and, because of that mental block, we refuse to prepare ourselves for the bad stuff. Many who do this habitually, lose their sanity when the bad stuff can no longer be ignored.

Refusing to Let Others Pull Your Strings

Each sentient adult not encumbered by physical, mental or emotional pathology is fully capable of refusing to be shamed and, therefore angered, by another.

Equality is often a choice.

The Electoral College and the Three-Fifths Compromise

Thus, was the infant USA not born the perfect USA; it was born with a birth defect—an “original sin” just like every other nation on earth. (The Organized Left always wants to talk about “original sin” even when they don’t believe in real sins -- at least not those committed by their ideological allies.) 

If the North had not compromised, one wonders what would have happened.

Tribalism is Natural

The natural man has no knowledge of God and feels more kinship with other human beings who look like him – starting with his immediate family and branching out to his ethnic tribe. And it doesn’t end there.

Recon: The Gates of Hell and The Matrix

This world is the Devil’s matrix -- a place in which complex falsehoods are constructed, not to mention, large-scale thievery and massive destruction. Both God’s kingdom and the Devil’s kingdom have the terrestrial characteristics I’ve already pointed to, but I have not yet pointed to the most important dimension: the spiritual one. 

The Purpose of Media-Planted Lies

[W]e are inclined to believe (...) information if it coincides with what we already believe. And here is an irony: we tend to believe things that validate our fears instead of those things which assuage them.

Rutgers to Black Students: “You Are Inferior”

Hardcore white supremacists are more honest and less dangerous than these academics. At least the worshipers of white carcasses will tell you up front that he hates your black ass and wants nothing to do with you.

These credentialitarians are far worse.

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A History Lesson and the Chief Topic on My Mind

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Today at Facebook: The Electoral College and the Three-Fifths Compromise.

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About That Other Virus

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The Organized Left has been building America up for overt communism/socialism/Marxism/progressivism -- henceforth called leftism -- for a long, long time.

Most educational systems have long ceased to educate their charges properly, having ceased to objectively define the concepts of leftism, small-l liberalism, capitalism, basic economics and, of course, history. Specifically, educational systems stopped calling leftist concepts and ideologies by name. This made it easier to present these principles as good and necessary -- to present them as rights.

The accepted and assumed “truth” that leftist principles are rights is virus-like. It has become so pervasive that, when those who are properly educated, formally or otherwise, try to explain how and why such principles aren’t rights guaranteed by the US Constitution and how the implementation of these “rights” has bankrupted this nation and how it has radically altered life in this country for the worse, explainers get labeled adversely: racist, Nazi, Uncle Tom, fascist, Aunt Jemima, sexist, tool of the Patriarchy, or some combination thereof, depending on the coating and plumbing of the Cassandra in question.

And these labels stick for the same reason -- because the definition and history behind those epithets isn’t taught either. So, for example, instead of a Nazi being defined as someone who oppresses and murders a set of persons, a Nazi is defined as someone who stops another from oppressing and murdering a set of persons.

And, in the wake of the sowing of these seeds, the human emotion of covetousness has further softened the ground for leftism. The idea of profit beyond a certain limit being morally wrong stems from nothing but envy.

Therefore, if the regular Jane knows nothing about government or economics or history except for the distorted versions dispensed by the average public educational system, the average university system and the seven o’clock news, she can be convinced, for example, that nationalizing the oil industry will bring down the price of her utilities.

She can be convinced that corporations are the enemies of the worker and that their money is her money -- stolen out of her pocket.

She can be convinced that all profits accrued by other individuals and by corporations belong to her and those who look like her.

She can be convinced that all whites are racists and all blacks are victims of white racism -- and be unmindful of the implications of these assertions.

She can can be convinced that tearing down and burning down representations of her country's history is just and moral -- even a representation of a great black American freedom fighter.

And, ultimately, she can be convinced that the senile servant of King Hope and Change can and will make all of her dreams come true.

And so it is that all the Cassandras warning about the miseducation of average Jane, eloquent though they may be, went unheeded for the most part -- until 2020, when the feces hit the propeller and Janes (and Joes) went on a nationwide rampage.

But ...

It is my opinion that we will have one more opportunity to pull back from the abyss, to be healed of this virus. That will happen in November.

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Representing

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Originally posted at DaTechGuy Blog on February 28, 2017.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

I understand the importance of representation for some, but I don't need to see faces that look like mine in order to strive for greatness.

— Chidike Okeem (@VOICEOFCHID) February 28, 2017

When Former President Obama was still Senator Obama, I talked to a lot of black people who knew next to nothing about him but still planned to vote for him because they wanted to “see one of us” become president. One of my friends -- a black man, fellow former USAF linguist and a conservative -- even said that he wanted his two sons to be able to look at a president who look like them and, thereby, believe that they might become president also, one day. (I retorted that Barack Obama’s persona, politics, policies and actions, conversely, might have made it that much more difficult for another American of black African descent to become POTUS. My friend didn’t listen.)

I understood the mindset more when the opinion came from a person who had personally experienced the Segregated South and the Black Coded North and West. But for those my age (58) and younger it seemed more akin to an indoctrinated mindset. Black Americans have become so accustomed to celebrating the “First Black This” and the “First Black That” that it’s almost as reflexive as breathing.

And it also seems like a form of narcissism; a way which points to self and boosts one’s own pride -- which is why I find it so troubling. Feeding pride is always a mistake and I can’t say that black people are the only group to engage in it. But, the key to breaking a mindset is to point to it and to be always wary of it.

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Stupidity and How to Recognize It

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Originally posted at DaTechGuy Blog on January 9, 2016.

Many, many people have wondered whether the Internet has made people more stupid than was so in generations prior to the Internet Age and I’ve wondered about this also. I still think that the answer is both ‘no’ and ‘yes.’

No: In the Internet Age, we not only have access to more information, but also access to a greater amount of people, and therefore, access to a greater amount of stupid people. They were always there; you just have awareness of more of them.

Yes: Many mistake large amounts of information for large amounts of intelligence and the Internet has provided many stupid people with the illusion of intelligence. But be advised: stupidity is not defined as limited information; it consists of the limited ability to interpret information, coupled with the refusal to acknowledge the need for the ability to interpret. Ever known an idiot who was full of hubris and arrogance about some information she has that you don’t have?

Thus, a stupid person is the inverse example of Harry Callahan’s timeless axiom.

In action, this state of affairs is demonstrated by a false dichotomy I’ve seen all over the place for a long time now. To wit: why do non-Muslim observers judge Islam for what some Muslims do, but do not judge Christianity for what some Christians do?

A variation of that question was repeated yesterday [sic]. Here was my answer.

Both Christians and Muslims have individual standard-bearers. The standard-bearer for Christians: Jesus of Nazareth. The standard-bearer for Muslims: Mohammed. 

When observers attempt to determine whether self-described Christians or Muslims are true believers in their respective faiths and are acting as such, the logical thing do is to measure the words and/or actions against the teachings of the appropriate standard-bearer and, then, come to a cogent conclusion [about the doctrine and the people in question].

From the subsequent part of our conversation, the inquirer had no comprehension of either standards or standard-bearers and wasn’t inclined to consider the definitions or implications of either. We all know he’s not alone. However, he did seem proud of the amount of information he was able to call forth about the Bible. There, he had me.

But the Devil is able to quote scripture better than any of us, so that’s a contest I don’t care about. (And, yes, I can see it now: “she called that man the Devil because he disagreed with her.” To infer that would fall under the stupidity umbrella which I described earlier.)

I predict that we will see more of this, since stupidity is easier than interpretation and the stupid are prone to taking any route which makes them appear to be intelligent -- even if that route ultimately leads to their demise and that for many others.

Fredo unbound.

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On Destruction

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Around the right side of the political blogosphere, one can read years of posts and comments by many who excoriate Former President Obama for his displayed “stupidity” during his tenure. These people don’t get it.

Those who viewed the Obama Administration’s policies and programs and who observed President Obama’s obliviousness and lack of empathy in the face of on-going national crises and, as a result, made a summary low judgment of the president’s intellect do so with the premise that the man really was trying to improve economic, social and racial conditions in the USA.

That premise is wrong.

This is what people need to realize about destruction: it is the total opposite from building/improving. It seems like an obvious truth, but when comparing the concepts, we must take it further.

Construction of anything requires carefully ordered planning and implementation. For example, when constructing a solid, stable building, the architect recommends proven construction methods, using the right materials, and on a solid foundation. But before doing these things, the builder gains certain knowledge of the future purpose(s) of the building and, from there, makes his decisions on how to proceed.

Destruction, however, is not only opposite in purpose; it is so in methodology. (We’re talking malicious destruction here.) Using the building analogy again, think of what happens when someone blows up a building -- or flies an aircraft into it. Are any orders or rules to be followed for the goal to be achieved? No. In fact, the more chaos perpetrated by malicious destruction, the faster a building disintegrates. The same is true for a nation.

President Obama, the Democrat Party, and whoever sits behind the scenes sow method after method of chaos. And, in some cases, inaction is the chaos sowed.

They stab the giant known as the United States of America repeatedly, hoping that it will finally fall, hoping for utter destruction.

And remember: Former President Obama was the wrecking-ball, not the wrecker. The attempted takedown of America began way before he came on the scene. He is merely doing what a century of Gramscian infiltration designed him to do.

What we are seeing before our very eyes is merely escalation. And desperation.

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