074 Trinity: Own the Thorns
May the Lord bless his people with peace! ~ Psalm 29
Own the Thorns
It's a first person shooter role playing massively multiplayer sci-fi cosmic horror dystopically magical real life.
Stop and take a deep breath. Silence the scoffer. Remember the promise. "All creation waits for the Sons of God to be revealed."
Own the thorns. They're your crown.
Till angel cry and trumpet sound,
The Mad Christian
Clickbait Paradise
Military
We reported earlier this year about the military's embrace of the ideals of Progressivism. Rather than focusing on lethality, the armed forces seem distracted over ensuring women and transgender soldiers are in their ranks, meeting racial diversity quotas, developing maternity flight suits and snuffing out "domestic" terrorism. Peachy Keenan has written for the American Mind saying that many servicemen are afraid to challenge the identity politics that are taking over recruitment, promotion, and training.
It is a plausible claim— speaking openly about the direction of the military can cost you your commission. Lt Col. Matthew Lohmeier, an officer with Space Force, was relieved of duty after writing a book criticizing the creep of Marxist ideology into the armed forces. While Lt Col. Lohmeier was accused of "partisan political activity," he maintains that the military is already being politicized and that he wants to draw attention to that fact.
He could be right. Observe this comparison of a recent recruitment ad for the Russian army next to an American campaign. Notice anything? Like one tweeter commented, "Pick your fighter." "The Calling" recruiting drive is an attempt to make the military relatable for Millennials, many of whom are "ineligible to join the military because of obesity, lack of high school diploma, or a criminal record."
Peachy Keenan worries that woke politics are "driving competent, patriotic men out of the armed forces right when we need them the most." Yet, here we can take encouragement from the example of those who've gone before. Colonel Ralph Puckett Jr., who is 94, received a Medal of Honor from President Biden recently. Colonel Puckett's 22 years of service through both the Korean and Vietnam wars show that even in seasons of political divisiveness, there are those who step up to the plate.
Even if we are never called to serve our country in this way, we can support those who do. We may not be "minute men," but we can train our bodies and alert our minds, so that we are able to help our neighbors if the need arises. We can thank God for the nation he has placed us in—for any good that has been done—and teach our children about what it cost to be free. And we can look forward to the day when wars will cease, and we will dwell joyfully in the kingdom of the Prince of Peace.
Happy Memorial Day to all the Mad Monday readers who serve!
Made in China?
For many months now, anyone who questioned the prevailing narrative about the origin of the COVID virus was accused of being a conspiratorial wingnut. Yet the "lab leak" theory has suddenly become acceptable. During a "festival of fact-checking" (yes that's a thing) last month, Dr. Fauci said he is not convinced that COVID emerged naturally.
Scientists noted very early in the pandemic that Sars-CoV2 had some unusual characteristics for a virus which formed naturally (here's Brett Weinstein on Rogan—11 months ago!) But the story gets murkier... During a recent hearing, Dr. Fauci was questioned about whether American grant money might have been used to fund "gain of function" research in Wuhan.
Dr. Fauci's answers were roughly: 1) We gave money to them but told them not to use it for gain of function research and 2) We know they are trustworthy but we can't guarantee that they didn't lie.
So we have to take Fauci's word for it? Yeah, that's a hard pill to swallow...
Nicholas Wade, a science reporter, helpfully laid out some of the key details of the lab leak theory on Lockdown TV . In his exhaustive post on the subject, Wade documents the evidence for human tampering with the virus. But he also outlines the troubling conflict of interest on the part of Western officials, who funded the Wuhan research, were the investigators of the Wuhan lab and then also advised the scientific community about the pandemic.
Some will say that all this reporting is just cynics spiking the ball, with Wired even suggesting this is a ruse to distract from January 6 investigations (too online, bro). There is no hard evidence for either theory of the pandemic's origin, and possibly never will be. But the implications that a virus escaped and the evidence then papered over while millions suffer is worth making a fuss about.
We are fully aware that we live in a fallen world, and that our elites have lost the ability to lead humbly. While some may simply be believing the available evidence, many of our leaders and experts seem unwilling to admit what they just don't know. Pray for our nation and our world, for good leaders who will humbly seek the good of mankind, rather than their own fame.
But wait, there's more...
There is so much reporting on this big ol' mess.. If you want to read more:
Social media removed posts which claimed human origins of COVID
The Biden administration had quietly shut down investigations into research labs in Wuhan, but has ordered intelligence agencies to ramp up their investigations into the virus' origins.
Dr Fauci argued in 2012 that gain of function research was worth the risk of a pandemic.
ZeroHedge: Here's a video of a Chinese professor, declaring the US has been defeated by their biological weapon.
Speaking of getting the story straight...
It's not an exact science
Matt Taibbi has written a great piece about the rise and rise of fact-checking. He writes that as trust in media has dropped precipitously in the last few years, "many organizations have chosen to trumpet fact-checking programs as a way of advertising their dedication to “truth.”
Time magazine also wrote about how checking has shifted. Once a way of saving a publication from embarrassment by removing errors "before a piece [went] live", the new political fact-checking "usually devotes its attention to careful analysis of an error someone else has made."
Taibbi warns about the limitations of fact-checking and says the public is largely misinformed about the process. The Time article agrees, saying that fact-checking today creates a myth of objectivity. Fact-checking leads the reader into a belief that he is "being informed by an agency above human frailty or human interest.” With a little more snark, Taibbi writes "Good checkers are there to help perpetuate the illusion of competence."
We are not ignorant of the devil's schemes, nor the desire of men to wrap themselves in the fig leaves of a more palatable truth. Mad Christians don't need to fear being corrected, as we rest wholly on God's strong and unchanging Word. It is able to bring us to repentance and also make us wise, for salvation through Christ Jesus.
Money can buy you love
Real Clear Investigations has reported how groups funded directly by the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, "strategically targeted voters and waged a voter assistance campaign aimed at low-income and minority residents who typically shun election participation, helping Democratic candidates win key spots all over the U.S."
We guess he can do what he wants with his money, but making donations under the guise of "COVID relief" to influence electoral officials is pretty sketchy.
In other Facebook news, Project Veritas has interviewed a whistleblower who says the social media platform is using algorithms to drastically reduce exposure to "vaccine hesitancy" in comments. Yikes!
Chillin' with Us, the Chill on Saturday Morning
Every Saturday morning, Rev. Fisk goes live on YouTube to share his nonsense and the Biblical answers to your questions. Send in your questions at the contact page, or drop 'em in the chat. The worldwide chill would love to have you! See you on Saturday!
The world is not enough
Like giant vacuum cleaners, the "streaming wars" have waged on, with various companies sucking up the rights to back catalogs, hit TV series, and movie franchises. While networks are locking in exclusive content to attract viewers in the crowded streaming market, Amazon went one better, purchasing an entire studio, MGM. The acquisition gives the tech giant ownership of James Bond, Stargate, and Tomb Raider, as well as other "intellectual property."
Some news sites worried about the monopolizing ability of tech giants and argued that the buy-out should have been blocked. Like the debate about having multiple small and local stores versus a few major retail chains, the concern is about the loss of competition, creativity, and variety. Their concerns are probably merited, with one industry expert noting, "there are loads of potential sequels, remakes and prequels in the MGM library." Meh.
It's easy to get a bit jaded, but in the end the call is for Christians to be discerning about their media intake, as Rev. Fisk often says. And if you are a creator of any sort, keep at it! When all the fun has been squeezed out of every franchise or everything is engulfed in woke messaging, people will still want to hear a good story.
Cringe Hits from the Woke 😬
👎🏻 Jordan Peterson has challenged white liberals to quit their jobs in the name of diversity
🥈 Being the fastest girl is not enough if you run against transgender athletes
♀️ But this is how you do it: Mexican politicians identify as women to get around government quotas
👮 ICYMI: Police guarding Jeffrey Epstein when he died admitted to falsifying reports.
And because we pasted the wrong link last week...
🔥 Flags burn way faster than you think.
Be vewy vewy quiet... It's Monday...Quick Hits for the Eyebuds
🧀 Hapless: Liverpool drug dealer arrested after police identify fingerprints on his favorite cheese
↪️ After five months at the Capitol, the National Guard is moving out
🐿️ Fancy: A dine in squirrel feeder
⚡ The first electric popemobile
⛳ Putters are a-flutter: New rules for golf flagsticks raise lots of questions
📸 A photo sharing app that doesn't allow selfies
🐝 Co-operation: Bees open a bottle of soda
👶 Two-year old admitted to Mensa society
📚 A group of Redditors are collecting scientific papers in an open source library to make them un-cancellable.
👀 Try this at home: bell peppers with googly eyes
🥪 Disney's $100 sandwich - to share of course...
🍺 Beer-brewing Trappist monks are fighting a chalk mining company in Belgium
👨🚀 A fridge that will work in space
🦈 A fossil of a shark eating squid eating a crustacean
🧠 People prefer adding over subtracting
🌀 Visualizing hurricane paths differently could save lives
🎤 Someone went to great lengths to debunk the President green screen mystery
🚆🦚 The many deliberations involved in how to classify an incident involving a peacock and a train in the UK
Sweetness You May Have Missed
The Catholic Faith
Trinity 202X
Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.