258 Epiphany 2: Opening Gambit: Shall We Play?
“Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways.” ~ Psalm 128
Opening Gambit: Shall We Play?
Chess is a masterpiece. A reflection of life, chess is a parable played out over 64 squares.
Games come and games go, but chess remains. Every piece has a purpose. Every move matters.
The pawns, the knights, the mighty king —each piece has character, a role, a story. As Scripture reveals the unfolding of God’s Word—chess unfolds in natural orders, phases, that parallel all creation.
Everything starts in order. But then the battle gets messy. Conflict tests strategy.
Where is the King?
In chess, as in faith, salvation comes through sacrifice.
The board narrows, the moves are clear. You cannot win with power alone. Patience is not what meets the eye.
To be a pawn is to be underestimated.
But not in the Kingdom of Jesus. Here, the first is last. Here, the King dies for the slave.
The King calls the purpose, but the pawns enact the plan. Slow. Steady. One day at a time. Plenty of life to go around.
Being ignored is its own form of superpower. You know that the King has his eye on you, even if no one else does.
So, you can only move forward? So what?
That's faith.
Till angel cry and trumpet sound,
R.J.M.F
Legacy Burnishing
The end of Joe Biden’s presidency is almost here. The last few public appearances in his role as commander-in-chief were farewell addresses and interviews with fawning media. You can understand an outgoing president tending to overstate his record (which he did) and downplay his failures (which he did). However, there was quite a bit of fanciful hypocrisy – but given that reports have just revealed that six key people shielded him from bad news and public opinion throughout his tenure, perhaps he really believes his own press.
In his farewell to the nation, the President warned against a rising oligarchy in America (it’s safe to say that horse has bolted with that one) and insisted that members of Congress should not be allowed to make themselves wealthy by insider knowledge. (Also, a horse that’s bolted..) What’s more, presidents should not be immune from prosecution for crimes they commit in office. Perhaps he will live to regret saying that.
So much for a peaceful transition! President Biden has been furiously busy during the last couple of weeks of his administration. While the president insisted he was leaving the Trump administration with a “strong hand to play”, his exit certainly looked like a “drunk asked to leave a nice restaurant”, as one commentator put it. What will be associated with the Biden years? An influx of illegal immigrants? The deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan? Inflaming of racial tensions, censorship of conservatives and climate madness? What about the devastating covid mandates, wanton government spending and corruption? Or a geopolitical scene in tumult? Even his own party is in disarray due to his lack of leadership and honesty about his inability to govern. It’s a sorry end to a long political career.
However, the President seems pleased with his record and seemingly wants to set as much in amber as possible. But recent weeks spent laying trip wires for those who come after, a lot of which can be undone with the stroke of the next president’s pen. (Reason wondered if a shorter period between certification and inauguration might make the lame duck season less excruciating.)
The President commuted the sentences of 2,500 more drug offenders and canceled more student debt. He removed Cuba from US’ list of states that sponsor terrorism. He even tried to ratify a 28th Amendment, declaring the dreadful Equality Rights Act to be the law of the land. The ERA, which has been resuscitated by liberals since it expired, has failed to garner support from the requisite amount of states to become an amendment to the Constitution.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has dramatically relayed his recollection of asking the President not to run again last year. Senator Schumer says he was dreading the conversation but told Biden, “If you run and you lose to Trump, and we lose the Senate, and we don’t get back the House, that 50 years of amazing, beautiful work goes out the window. But worse — you go down in American history as one of the darkest figures.” Well, part of that request was granted, but as Arthur Dent once said, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain…’ Maybe, Biden was too long in Washington. For many, good ol’ Scranton Joe will only be remembered as bitterly Dark Brandon.
TikTok Block
The Supreme Court of the USA last week upheld a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok. The Justices said free speech concerns did not factor in to their consideration of Congress’s divest-or-ban Act from 2024, but agreed with Congress’ assessment that “that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
While the risk of TikTok’s data being used by the Chinese Communist Party for nefarious purposes is currently theoretical, “ByteDance's only defense to [the concern] was that Beijing hadn't yet demanded access to their data and they thought it unlikely to happen.” But as many have said in other places, China is in no hurry when it comes to using the troves of data it collects. Information about Americans’ lives may seem inane and useless, but AI-driven analysis could weaponize it.
And yet, arguments about a more systematic approach to foreign-owned tech companies are worth having. In response to the unanimous ruling, ByteDance voluntarily made the app unavailable in the US. American TikTokers reportedly scrambled to download alternative apps, especially the Chinese-owned apps RedNote and Lemon8 which seems to highlight the greater problem of divesting ourselves of China – “a migration of US users to them certainly appears to defeat the entire purpose of banning TikTok.” However, online outrage ensued as users of RedNote learned that it doesn’t allow LGBT-related posts or sexual content.
Speaker Johnson told reporters that Congress would enforce the ban but users could have saved their rage posting. A few hours after it went dark TikTok was back. Donald Trump said he’ll issue an executive order after he is inaugurated today to give TikTok more time to sell, pitching the idea that he’d like the US government to buy at least 50% of the platform. Strange days, indeed.
In this edition:
The porn industry argues against verification
Chik Fil A’s lemon-squeezing robots
President Carter’s not-so-great playlist
and more!
Births, Deaths and Marriages
Republican lawmakers have passed a bill which would ban transgender athletes from participating in womens’ sports. The bill would reverse President Biden’s extension of Title IX provisions, which categorized athletes by gender identity not sex. A couple of Democrats joined the GOP but the bill faces an uncertain time in the Senate. (The Hill)
The Congressional Budget Office has projected that American deaths will outstrip births by 2033, a few years earlier than previously predicted. While the fact that the birth rate is rapidly falling is no secret, the CBO’s report says the US’s population will start to drop unless immigration is increased. (Ground News)
Attorneys for the pornography industry have argued before the US Supreme Court, contending that forcing sites to verify their customer’s age places an undue burden on them. Laws in a few states require proof of age, ostensibly in order to protect children from accessing illicit content, but this lawsuit argues that proving who they are introduces online security risks for adult viewers. (WNG)
New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy has promised to stockpile Mifepristone in case the Trump administration was to change the rules about accessing abortifacient drugs. (WNG)
A bill introduced to the Virginia’s Senate would see homeschooling banned unless it can be proved to be on religious grounds, and excluding any “political, sociological or philosophical views or a merely personal moral code.” (The Federalist)
Crime and Punishment
LA police have arrested four people suspected of starting fires. Crews are still battling to contain the worst blazes, with warnings that fierce winds are forecast again this week. 27 people have been confirmed dead. (The Blaze, CNN)
Former Navy veteran, Zachary Young, has been awarded a $5 million settlement after a Florida jury agreed that CNN had defamed him. During his show, Jake Tapper painted Young as part of a black market scheme that extorts desperate Afghans who want help to move out of war zones. (New YorkPost)
A judge is mulling arguments against the Louisville Metro Police Department which posit that officers made civil rights violations during a no-knock raid which resulted in the accidental death of Breonna Taylor in 2020. The defense argued that the consent decree that the LMPD agreed to last year contained appropriate reform and should be enough. Representatives for the police say this case is an effort to impose national oversight of local PDs by way of the judiciary. (WNG)
A federal appeals court is sticking by its guns (pun intended), ruling that 18 to 20 year-olds can carry firearms. The court said a Pennsylvania law which banned under 21s was unconstitutional. (Reuters)
Coming to America
As lawmakers argue over amendments to the Laken Riley Act, Democrats have baulked at a report which projects that the cost of enforcing it will cost &80 billion. A separate Republican-sponsored bill which makes provision for the deportation of illegal immigrants who commit sexual crimes has passed in the House. Sixty Democrats voted with the GOP Reps, but many opposed it. Progressive commentary called the bill “redundant” since illegals can already be deported. They say the language of the bill is vague and could be weaponized by predators or punish survivors of abuse who are seeking refuge in the US. (Semafor, The Hill, The New Republican)
Plans by Trump’s new border czar for raids to round up criminal illegal aliens in Chicago have been leaked to the media. Incoming border boss Tom Homan says he will review their options and make a new plan. (PJ Media)
Politics
Ohio’s governor Mike DeWine has nominated Jon Husted, his lieutenant governor to take J D Vance’s senate seat, and in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has tapped his attorney-general, Ashley Moody. (The Blaze, The Hill)
Minnesota’s legislature is in chaos after a series of events lead to a disagreement over who is the Speaker of the state’s House. A judge ruled that an elected Democrat should be removed since he doesn’t live in the district he represents, as per the rules. Democrats then boycotted the speaker vote, which the GOP says they won fair and square. (Town and Country Today)
The Digital Age
An analysis of Meta’s fact checking policy changes concludes that Mark Zucerkberg’s change of heart might not be solely driven by politics. Worthwhile factchecking is hard to scale, hard to do in real time and is rarely trusted. (Better Conflict Bureau)
The OG AI doomer? An English sheep farmer in 1863. (ArsTechnica)
A guy used ChatGPT to control a nail gun which can be instructed to shoot at specific colored balloons. People were a little worried. (Not the Bee)
Money, Markets and Jobs
President-elect Donald Trump has said he will set up an External Revenue Service to collect debt money owed by foreigners. (Fox)
The Biden administration and two states are suing John Deere for its monopolizing repair policies. The farming equipment giant has faced ongoing class action from farmers over the “right to repair” machines, but this new suit claims the company has too much power over the repair process. Waiting for genuine parts and approved technicians can put farmers out of action for days. (404 Media)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing Elon Musk who “allegedly failed to properly disclose that he had acquired a major stake in Twitter” not long before he bought the platform. (Politico)
A federal judge in Texas has ruled that American Airlines stiffed its employees by following ESG guidelines when investing employee retirement plan funds. Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that following Environmental, Social, and Governance ideology did not maximize returns on employee’s retirement savings, meaning AA failed in its fiduciary duty. (Investment News)
Chik-Fil-A has opened an automated lemonade factory in California. An army of unmanned machines squeeze juice from 1.6 million pounds of lemons per day. The juice is shipped to store locations, saving hours of lemon-squeezing labor for staff. (The Byte, Bloomberg via YouTube)'
JP Morgan has had to shut down comments on an internal message board after employees flooded it with angry posts. The bank announced that it was ending remote and hybrid work, mandating a full-time return-to-office policy. (New York Post)
Religion and the Church
Pastor Fiene suggests that President Carter could have picked better hymns for his funeral. “Imagine if the Carter family gave the world the words of eternal life instead of John Lennon’s ode to nothingness.” (The Federalist)
Just this from Pastor Wolfmeuller: Worship is Faith fighting Despair. (Wednesday What-Not)
A reminder that a love of Divine Service can and should be inculcated in children. Though many have bought into the idea that children are a distraction to the adults who doing the worship, “children, just like adults, must be trained in the worship of God; and that starts by including them in it.” (The Critic)
How the other pagan half live: A Thai rice farmer has used his paddies to make a huge mural, invoking local gods to help protect from flooding. (Reuters)
Arts, History and Sport
Medieval crowns and scepters have been found in the walls of a Lithuanian castle. The stash was known to have been hidden during WWII but its whereabouts was unknown. (Smithsonian)
After the woke hat tip at the beginning, this article has an interesting tribute to the men who invented the TV’s color test pattern. (Tedium)
They know it’s not a documentary, but Montanans don’t like Yellowstone. (Ambrook Research)
The handwriting of famous authors. (Flashbak)
Speaking of handwriting, the US National Archive is asking for volunteers who can read cursive to help out with transcribing millions of documents. (New York Post)
Why has hat-wearing declined? (warmbru curiosity via YouTube)
Cinema buffs are commemorating the death of David Lynch. (The Federalist)
Last week in history:
1777 Vermont declares independence from Britain and New York. (History)
2001 Wikipedia is founded. (Britannica)
2009 US Airways flight 1549 makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River, with the actions of quick thinking Capt. Chesley Sullenberger III saving the lives of those on board. (Britannica)
Health, Medicine and Food
The US House Oversight Committee has disbarred EcoHealth Alliance and its former president Peter Daszak from receiving federal funding for five years. EcoHealth and Daszak were instrumental in funding dangerous gain-of-function research at the now infamous Wuhan laboratory. (Just the News)
The US Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of use of Red No. 3, a synthetic dye found in many foods. Use of the additive in cosmetics was already banned. A video about why it took so long to ban it. (NBC, Fox via YouTube)
Worth taking note: A British columnist warns that the US Surgeon-General’s recent wish for cancer warnings on alcohol is part of a larger tyrannical Prohibition movement, pushed by self-aggrandizing public health officials. (The Critic)
Since Monsanto developed “Roundup Ready” crops in the 90s, the argument over genetically modifying food has been an especially fractious one. “Genetically-modified” has been used as an umbrella term covering old school selective breeding through to actual splicing and adding genetic material. Readers will need to decide for themselves how to proceed when making decisions about nutrition. But changes are being made to our food whether we like it or not, so it’s worth doing some homework and joining the conversation. (Ambrook Research, Canadian Tree Nursery via Facebook)
From the Mad☧Tank
Mad☧Mondays is your go-to round up of news that matters with a Mad quirk. If you like what we do, then please show your support by signing up as a subscriber! Or support Frisby’s efforts with an amount of your choosing here.
Great stuff from our archive:
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.
Hearts and Minds
Ladies, men love quests! (Not the Bee)
Strangers subconsciously guess things about other’s character based on their face. (Vice)
Tricks to beat back your inner critic. (Upworthy)
More ways to think about getting things done: Dailyish (Oliver Burkeman) or the MTO goal setting framework. (Aaron)
God’s Green Earth
A plea from North Carolina charities for Americans to not forget the folks still living in tents and trailers, months on from Hurricane Helene. Reports from the disaster zone claim that FEMA is not renewing vouchers for hotel accommodation for many residents whose homes are still uninhabitable. (ZeroHedge)
How to drive through flames. (Guernica)
A fire-fighting plane has been damaged by a drone. Police are trying to find the operator as it was flown without authorization over California fires. (CBS)
Wyoming is burying decommissioned wind turbine blades in old coal mines. (Wyoming News Now)
While this article is peppered with climate change rhetoric, it also argues for the environmental benefits of hunting. (Food Print)
Sea Sith: A ‘supergiant’ isopod sea bug found off Vietnam has been named after Darth Vader. (Oceanographic)
Science
After glitches early in the week, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has successfully launched its New Glenn rocket into orbit around the earth. “Although founded 25 years ago, Bezos’ company had yet to begin flying to orbit — with its much smaller New Shepard rocket only flying people and research on short jaunts to the edge of space.” In other space news, the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket while it investigates why one exploded during a test flight. (CNBC, BBC)
The scientific wonders of the Palace of Versailles. (Smithsonian)
War and Rumors of War
Much has been made of the hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar, Israel will release 1900 prisoners in exchange for 33 hostages, a number of whom might be dead. President Biden noted that the deal was the one he devised months ago, but commentators say there are some key differences, including Israel maintaining control of the corridor between Gazan and Egypt. While the ceasefire will last for six weeks, Israel reserves the right to resume fighting if Hamas breaks the deal. Palestinians have begun to return to their homes in Gaza and reports say that Hamas is jubilant. Fears of Hamas regrouping and even staging another attack like October 7th have been expressed, but President Biden dismissed concerns that would happen. Perhaps President Trump’s threats and his [reportedly] harsh negotiator clinched the deal, but others have also pointed to the fatigue with the situation within Israel as well as Netanyahu’s local political troubles and poor health as reasons to take this deal now, even though it is not great. (ZeroHedge, Front Page Mag, RedState, Washington Examiner, BBC)
DJI, China’s largest manufacturer of commercial drones, has announced in a blog post that it is removing geofencing data, which will allow drone owners to fly their machines over “no-go” zones, such as military installations, power plants, active wildfires, or the White House. Drones often have pre-installed positioning systems that won’t let the drone fly close to airports or the like. Geofencing is not required by drone manufacturers but many have questioned the timing of the announcement, given today’s presidential inauguration and the fact that DJI is facing a possible ban from the US market. (ZeroHedge, The Verge)
Ukraine’s President Zelensky says he is willing to trade captured North Korean soldiers for Ukrainian fighters held in Russia. (The Independent)
Venezuelan usurper Nicolás Maduro has threatened to invade Puerto Rico to “liberate” it from the USA. (New York Post)
Stories from Far Away
🇷🇴 Romanians have taken to the streets in droves to protest the overturning of election results by the nation’s highest court. (ZeroHedge)
🇪🇺 Former EU commission Thierry Breton has told French TV that the European Union is happy to put its thumb on the scale when it comes to keeping right-wing governments out of power on the continent. Breton, who has no love for Elon Musk hinted that Musk’s posts in favor of Germany’s right-wing parties could be used as a pretext for intervention by the Commission. Then again, he says a lot of things. (ZeroHedge)
🏴 The governing body for field hockey in England has ruled that transgender athletes will not be allowed to compete with women. (Not the Bee)
🇪🇸 Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has said he intends to levy 100% property tax on homes brought by foreigners. Spaniards have grown increasingly angry over being priced out of the housing market as tourists buy holiday homes, often turning them into short-term rentals in the most popular cities and districts. (Sky)
🇧🇷 Brazil has banned students from using smart phones at school, joining several other nations that have already set bans in place. (Yahoo)
🇬🇧 Britain’s Princess Kate has announced her cancer is in remission. (NBC)
⛸️ One of the weirder things you’ll see today: figure skaters dressed as big ice skates
📏 How is the height of mountains measured?
🛁 Why do fingers get pruney in water?
🧀 This coyote may have a taste for Aldi cheese
🔪 A foolproof way to test if your knife is dull
Catch Starfall2029 with Rev Fisk for discussion of chaos management and Christian LARPing in an age of godless narratives. Watch on YouTube or Rumble, or listen here.
This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
You can also make a one-off or recurring donation here. Thank you!
Keep moving forward God's peace to all