206 Epiphany 1: Demonology 101
Note from Frisby: We're late but in earnest! You might want to sit down... it's a monster. God’s peace!
“Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.“ ~ Psalm 29
Demonology 101
When I first saw the tweet on Muskvison about something big like aliens at the mall in Miami on a Friday night, I thought, “I am right. They are seeding the alien story for when the climate change story doesn’t work.” I have been thinking that for some time but earlier this week, I was also fed the Muskload (if you will); a trove of recounts, all of galactic significance. First, a woman claiming to be a former Project Paperclip administrative assistant. She worked under Mr. UberBadMensch for four years, once upon a time, but now “yadda-yadda”.. She has more or less escaped to tell us all that AFTER the stories of communism, terrorism, pandemic and climate fail to enable a new world order, the next two tall tales to portend, accelerate then harness the masses into a global world unity will be... 1. aliens and … wait for it … 2. Asteroids. (Yeah, I also saw on Muskvision that the biggest asteroid ever to have a chance of hitting the earth and ending all life is headed for us in 2029....) But I'd put Miami Vice: ET Edition out of mind until yesterday when Auntie Anne (or something), who I’ve never seen before on Muskvision, suddenly shouts into my feed (where I'm hunting for info on BRICS and the Red Sea situation) with her TikTok, all bleached-blonde Carol Burnett and obviously reaching for a younger male audience. Ugh. Whoever put AI to subtitles was brilliant, if wicked. Yikes! She’s screaming about how NO ONE ANYWHERE will cover the story about the ALIENS in Miami, but she has done the work and THEY’RE HIDING SOMETHING. Now, don’t get me wrong. I like Auntie Anne just fine. I'm only, like, 30% thinking she's a CIA or CCP or PYF (Pick Your Federation) plant: a. produced b. researched c. boosted. All to shout at me about how NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT ALIENS...Right before a stream of Muskvision randoms promoting Miamigate tweets about aliens coming, reminding me that no one is reminding me. Here’s the one from tonight. It includes:
The footage I originally saw.
A couple videos of people who "aren't allowed" to talk about it.
The Miami Police public update stating a Citywide 3, to which every officer responded. According to them, the call was for some fifty juveniles using fireworks to assault people, including resisting containment by the original responding officers.
In the Chapel of the Holy Apostles, around the square stone altar marked with the five wounds of Christ, at the foundation of Luther Tower, high beacon of the flagship Concordia Seminary in St Louis Missouri, a very peculiar and specific set of prayers went unanswered. So the story goes….More on that soon. The most important thing to know about demons is that they do not truly communicate with each other. They are driven by fear. The devil, on the same hand, appears ruthlessly logical, as legalism is strictly reasonable. But do not be fooled. The only calculations he makes are those of rage and malice intertwined into instinctual hate. He cannot escape this cage of his own making any more than the demons can organize beyond the formation of a mob. It is only the proximate awesomeness of tyranny that keeps them in line, and that only for a time. For evil, the lines are always meant to be crossed. At the cross, the enemy is exposed for what he is: the most fanciful of liars. “What I say to you, I say to all. Watch!” 'Til angel cry and trumpet sound, The Mad Christian
The Blitz
Presidency
Former President Donald Trump will contest being taken off the ballot in Maine for this year’s presidential election. Maine’s Secretary of State and Colorado’s Supreme Court decided Trump is an ineligible candidate after “engaging in insurrection” although he has never been charged with that crime nor convicted. Trump has asked the SCOTUS to intervene over Colorado’s decision which was first. California’s Lieutenant Governor, Eleni Kounalakis, wanted Trump removed from its ballot but the Secretary of State has declined to do so. (NBC, Reuters, The Hill)
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested that President Biden could easily be removed from his state’s ballot “for allowing 8 million people to cross the border” since taking office. (The Hill)
Robert F Kennedy, Jr. has qualified for his first presidential ballot in Utah. (CNN)
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say Donald Trump’s businesses received millions of dollars from foreign entities while he was president. (ABC News)
Ever wonder how Average Joes become wealthy while serving as lawmakers? Well, now you know. (X)
Births, Deaths and Marriage
Ohio’s Republican Governor, Mike DeWine, has vetoed a bill which would have banned transgender procedures on children and kept biological men out of women’s sports. Governor DeWine said he changed his mind about the bill after speaking to “physicians and impacted families”. Clearly, he’s never spoken to any de-transitioners...(Just the News) Just in: Governor De Wine must have heard the backlash, signing an executive order to ban transgender surgeries on children.. (Not the Bee)
A Michigan mom graduates with 10 day-old baby tucked into her gown. (The Hill)
Obituary:
Austrian gun maker, Gaston Glock, has died aged 94. (Not the Bee)
Coming to America
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) has called on President Biden to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy which he dissolved when he took office. Speaker Johnson believes that policy and putting an end to “catch and release” would “stem 70%” of illegal border traffic. He went on to say that the President has the power to change the situation which is a “disaster of the President’s own design”. For his part, President Biden has asked Mexico to help on their side of the border, but only days ago, his Administration sued Texas for its deportation policies. The request comes as a caravan of almost 8,000 migrants is making its way through Mexico to the southern border. (Just the News, ABC, NBC)
One data wonk says that illegal immigrant “encounters” are now outstripping the amount of babies born in the US. (X)
Politics
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized for several days without the White House knowing it, according to reports. Secretary Austin passed authority to his deputy but reportedly did not tell her why. (Politico, USA Today)
The Biden Administration was aware of China’s spy balloon last year and was attempting to surveil it, before it came to the attention of the public. The balloon was using an American internet service provider to send location and navigation data back to China. The connection was also used by the US to track the balloon. (NBC, CNN)
The US Department of Homeland Security has been funding tertiary programs to brand the “manosphere” as an “anti-feminist terrorist threat”. (Reclaim the Internet)
Religion and the Church
Pope Francis has reversed a 2021 Vatican policy and will allow blessings to be given to same-sex couples, as long as doing so doesn’t cause scandal or look too much like a wedding. He also warned the Roman Curia (the Vatican’s administration) that it should not be too “rigid” about church teaching because that would “separate us from reality.” To which we say, the only reality we should focus on is Christ! Don’t forget the warning about those who add to the eternal unchanging word of God! (NPR, WNG)
The Methodist church in the UK has issued guidelines advising clergy to steer away from the terms “husband” and “wife” as they are now deemed offensive (to sinners?) as those words assume something that is not “the reality for many people”. You may remember that a senior Church of England cleric said last year that “Our Father” was also harmful to folks who had nasty fathers. (The Christian Institute, GB News)
Pastor Wolfmueller has adapted a rite for blessing a new house. (World Wide Wolfmueller)
Crime, law, courts
You will likely know by now that documents containing lists of associates of pedophile businessman Jeffrey Epstein were unsealed last week. The release was much anticipated, though many of the people listed were already known. A number of celebrities had already told on themselves when they had made attempts to clarify their relationship with Epstein when he was arrested in 2019. Some on the list are still fighting to remain anonymous. We intend to write more on this next week.. (ZeroHedge)
New California legislation requires that police must use the suspect’s preferred name and pronouns when they share mugshots on social media sites. (Reclaim The Net)
Climate and the Natural World
General Motors has bought out about half of all Buick dealers. Around 1,000 Buick dealers cashed out rather than “invest” in selling or servicing electric vehicles. (WNG)
The strange idea of branding apple. (Food Institute)
“Green colonialism”: Norway’s indigenous deer herders and the march of wind power. (The Dial)
Get outside for some winter birding! (National Geographic)
The Digital Age
Facebook has introduced a feature called “Link History” so you can see where it has tracked you on the internet and, in theory, opt-out. Steps included in the article. (Reclaim the Net)
Large Language Models (AI) may make process of Bible translation “more efficient, ensure the quality of Bible translations, and help researchers create high-quality resources for Bible translators.” (Biblical Archaeology)
The Social media platform, Parler, is under new ownership and planning to return this year. (NBC)
Stanford researchers have found child pornography among the images used to train AI image generation tools. (The Hill)
The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for training ChatGPT on its copyrighted content. “The lawsuit contains an appeal to the ‘vital’ importance of the Times’s independent journalism to democracy, arguing that it is ‘increasingly rare and valuable.’” (The Guardian)
From the Mad☧Tank
Fresh posts are now unlocked! If you believe clear voices are needed in the white noise and like what we do, then support Mad☧Mondays! You can sign up through Substack or support us with any amount here.
This week:
Recent stuff from our archive:
Do you have a poem? Book review? Parenting advice? Theological treatise? Then send it to us! If you would like to submit your writing to be published in our Tank, please reply to this email. We would love to hear from you.
Education
Harvard’s embattled president has stepped down. See Frisby’s write up below. (The Harvard Crimson)
New study concludes that people who “do their own research” are more likely to be conspiracy theorists. (Forbes)
Economy, Markets and Jobs
The US debt just reached $34t. Net interest repayments for last fiscal year reached $659bn. It’s mind-boggling sometimes.. (CNN, CNN)
Toyota is recalling 1 million cars over airbag issues. Honda is recalling 2.5 million cars for a fuel pump defect. (CNN, NPR)
Ships and planes
Shipping giant Maersk has suspended maritime traffic on Red Sea shipping routes “until further notice”, after attacks on ships by Houthi militants. Helicopters dispatched from US Navy vessels in the region sunk three Houthi boats which were attempting to attack a merchant container ship. (CNN, Reuters)
Long read: The choke-point politics of global shipping. (The Dial)
The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9’s to undergo inspection. The action comes after an Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a panel on the side of the plane blew off out mid-flight. (CNBC)
A new religion
TESCREAL: Silicon Valley’s new religion is a weird mix of transhumanism, altruism and rationality. Some are characterizing it as a “rightward turn” but it’s really not. It does help to explain the contradictions in the ideologies of some tech elites and also the divide that is forming between the “boosters and doomers” – those who think AI will enhance humanity and those who think it will wipe us out. (Washington Spectator, Truthdig)
An interesting podcast about Bill Gates explores the “myth of the good billionaire”. Investigative journalist Tim Schwab portrays Gates as a self-righteous meddler, describing how Gates’ hubris and wealth has allowed him to impact vaccine development, climate policies, pandemic policies, the tech sector, education and agriculture in astonishing ways. “By hubris [I mean] he believes that he is right and righteous in everything he does, the smartest guy in the room and a man born to lead…I don't doubt that he's well-meaning in the sense that he thinks he's helping the world but he's helping the world the only way he knows how which is by taking control and so, in his mind he is the best person to take control of these institutions…He's not giving away money he's exercising political influence.” Gate’s charitable activities often use taxpayer money secured through government grants, but are not subject to much scrutiny. One of Schwab’s solutions is to cap individual earnings at $1bn, but unless you have better people, we suspect the problem may remain. God save us from the charity of megalomaniacs! (Podcast, Video)
Speaking of billionaires doing strange things.. Hermès billionaire wants to leave half his fortune to his former gardener. Nicolas Puech is fifth-generation from the luxury handbag brand’s founder and wants to cancel his succession agreement with a charity which supports “public-interest journalism”. (The Guardian)
What's new, copycat?
Health, Medicine and Food
There has been a rise in overdoses of the weight loss drug Ozempic. (Futurism)
Just want the recipe? Cut to the chase with this website.
Europe’s stockpile of Pfizer’s Paxlovid drug worth $2.2bn is about to expire. (Bloomberg)
How listening to new music is good for your brain. (Inside Hook)
Arts and History
Copyright on Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse has expired and content creators are having a field day. The House of Mouse was able to extend copyright on the character a few times since he was created 95 years ago, but he’s now apparently a “right-wing meme”. (Time, Not the Bee)
A German Jew hiding from the Nazis in an attic in the Netherlands produced a satirical ‘zine which was circulated to others in hiding by a network of trusted couriers. Sequestered Jews produced lots of publications but this one is unique as all 95 editions survived. (Open Culture)
Classic paintings that appear to depict UFOs. (Weird History)
This week in history:
1933: Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge. (History)
1521: Martin Luther was excommunicated by the Pope. (Britannica)
Hearts and Minds
Six hungers of a man. (Art of Manliness)
The Duolingo effect: how maintaining a “streak” changes people’s behavior. (Fast Company)
Screen-free? In the process of “unmachining”? Add before you subtract. (The Public Discourse)
War
A Hamas official and two commanders have been killed in a drone strike in Beirut last week. Saleh Arouri had been on Israel’s watch list for some years, but no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP)
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two bombings last week in the Iranian city of Kerman. The attacks which killed 84 and wounded over 280 were carried out by suicide bombers at an event held to commemorate Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the US military in 2020. (NPR)
Israel said it will fight charges of genocide brought against it by South Africa. (WNG)
Malaysia has banned Israeli-flagged cargo ships from docking at its ports. (The Diplomat)
Stories from Far Away
🇳🇬Christmas Day attack on churches in regional Nigeria leaves over 140 dead. The number of Christians killed in the country last year is estimated at 6000. There will be no marches or protests for them, but they are known to Jesus Christ. (Not the Bee, Church Times)
🇯🇵Japan has agreed to sell Patriot missiles to the US, breaking with its policy of only making weapons for its own self-defense. (The Hill)
🇯🇵An earthquake measuring 7.6 on Richter’s scale has hit Japan, leaving at least 60 dead. In a separate incident, a passenger jet and smaller plane have collided on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. (BBC, WNG)
🇮🇶The US military has carried out a drone strike in Baghdad, killing Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari who is reportedly responsible for masterminding attacks on American personnel. The United States currently has 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq. (Reuters)
🇮🇱Israel’s judicial reforms – the subject of many weeks of protests last year – have been struck down by its Supreme Court. (BBC)
🇹🇷The Turkish government has voted to advance Sweden’s bid for NATO membership. (WNG)
🇨🇳During a recent summit in Beijing, President Xi Jinping told President Biden he intends to reunify Taiwan to mainland China, preferably without force. (NBC)
🇨🇳China has been placing mystery objects in space. (Space)
🇻🇪The US has arranged a prisoner swap with Venezuela. Ten Americans wrongfully detained by Venezuela have been released in exchange for notorious money launderer Alex Nain Saab Morán. (BBC)
🇦🇴 Angola has announced it is leaving the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after a squabble over output quotas. (Yahoo)
Quick Hits for the Eyebuds
🚜 Marvelous harvesting machines
⚓ Why bodies have never been found on the Titanic’s wreck
🤯 A 13 year-old wins Tetris by breaking the game
📆 Apparently you can use 1996 calendars this year
🤷♂️ There is now a Golden Book about Taylor Swift
👗An embroidered dress connects women all around the world
🎹 A cleverly-disguised organ in a Pink Floyd song
⛪ A bazaar of icons: “1,000's of Pre-Vatican II items available” (HT to Lakonischer Elch for the find!)
🪺Watch a tailor bird sewing its nest
☕ If all the coffee mugs in the world were placed end-to-end they may well circle the planet. Several times. But apparently there is always room for one more..
A Good Word: Links from the Show Notes
The show went on! There were a few rounds of Stop the White Noise (YouTube, Rumble) since we last wrote, so we won’t attempt to cover every recommendation, but here are some highlights:
What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton
Love the House You're in: 40 Ways to Improve Your Home and Change Your Life by Paige Rien
Brené Brown’s thoughts on shame
The Hammer of God by Bo Giertz
The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse by Fernando "Ferfal" Aguirre
Psalm 57: for all-round awesomeness
1 Peter 2:18-25: Wives can pray for a good master/husband
For young men waiting for marriage:
Get the Girl: How to Be the Kind of Man the Kind of Woman You Want to Marry Would Want to Marry by Douglas Wilson
You Have What It Takes: What Every Father Needs to Know by John Eldredge
For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women by Jeff and Shaunti Feldhahn
Our disclaimer: These are some resources the Fisks have found edifying, but when dealing with human-authored texts, apply discernment liberally!
Sweetness You May Have Missed
This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.