MoU on the Iran War: Final Result Unknown

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

Today, Friday, June 19, 2026, the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US to begin negotiations to end the war will be officially signed in Versailles1, France. Note that this does not mean that the war is over, as many people assume, but only that the parties are going to talk about an end to the conflict and work toward an agreement which both can live with. This MoU is the prelude, so to speak, with the intention of allowing a truce to exist for the next 60 days, while they discuss the situation. At any time and for any reason, either party can withdraw from the negotiation, completely derailing the “peace” process. It is too early to determine if an actual cessation of the war can be achieved, but, at least the principals are talking to each other, which is a good thing.

Following is the complete text of the MoU as I have seen it.

1. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MOU, declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other, and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon. The final deal will confirm the permanent termination of the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and other provisions of this paragraph.

2. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran undertake to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs.

3. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in a maximum of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent.

4. Immediately upon the signing of this MOU, the United States of America will begin the removal of its naval blockade and any disturbances or impediments against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will fully end the naval blockade within 30 days. During this period, the traffic of vessels will be in proportion to the numbers of pre-war traffic being restored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America further undertakes to remove its forces from the proximity of the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days after the final deal.

5. Upon the signing of this MOU, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman, and vice versa. The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start, and considering the need for removing the technical and military obstacles and de-mining by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will be instated within 30 days. The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in discussion with other Persian Gulf littoral states, in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.

6. The United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalized as part of a final deal within 60 days. All required licenses, waivers, and permissions needed for the relevant financial transactions will be granted by the United States of America.

7. The United States of America undertakes to terminate all types of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the United Nations Security Council resolutions, IAEA Board of Governors resolutions, and all unilateral U.S. sanctions, primary and secondary, in an agreed-upon schedule as part of the final deal. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America acknowledge the critical importance of the sanctions termination issue above-mentioned and expressed their intentions to immediately address these issues in the negotiations, in order to achieve mutual agreement on them.

8. The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpiled enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon in accordance with the schedule mentioned in paragraph seven with the minimum methodology to be down-blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA. The two parties also agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment and other mutually agreed matters related to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs based on a satisfactory framework being agreed upon in the final deal. The final deal will confirm the provisions of this paragraph. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran acknowledge the critical importance of the nuclear issues above mentioned and express their intention to immediately address these issues in the negotiations in order to achieve mutual agreement on them.

9. Pending the final deal, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran agree to maintain the status quo. The Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program, and the United States of America will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region.

10. The United States of America undertakes that immediately upon the signing of this MOU and until the termination of sanctions, the U.S. Department of Treasury will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and derivatives, and all associated services, including banking transactions, insurances, transportation, etc.

11. The United States of America undertakes to make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran upon the implementation of the MOU. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will mutually agree on the procedures related to the release of these funds during the negotiations. Such funds, whether retained in the original account or transferred, shall be made fully usable for payment to any ultimate beneficiary designated by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America undertakes to issue all necessary licenses and authorizations accordingly.

12. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran agree that an executive mechanism will be established to monitor the successful implementation of this MOU and the future compliance of the final deal.

13. After signing this MOU and subject to the beginning of the implementation of paragraphs 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11 of this MOU, and the continuing implementation of these measures, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will start negotiations regarding the final deal exclusively on the other paragraphs.

14. The final deal will be endorsed by a binding UNSC resolution.

The most important section of this document, in my opinion, is the first one, which explicitly calls for an end to the fighting everywhere in the Middle East, including Lebanon, which is under constant attack by Israel. Notably, Israel was not privy to the terms of the MoU before it was announced and had no veto power over it, which produced intense fury within its government.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hardline-israeli-politicians-livid-over-iran-deal-want-netanyahu-out-so-they-can-do

As I understand it, the MoU is a declaration to Israel that their hostile and aggressive actions will no longer be tolerated, which, if the decree stands, will be the first time since the country was imposed on the world that they have been ordered to refrain. The main responsibility for enforcing the rule will fall on the shoulders of Donald Trump, who cannot be trusted to hold the line. I am extremely skeptical that he will do so, which opens up the possibility that Iran will attack Israel if the hostilities in Lebanon do not stop. If Iran does this, then Trump will have to make a decision as to whether to retaliate against Iran and open up the next phase of the war, or to stand down and allow Israel to take a well-deserved beating. If the kinetic war resumes, it will, more than likely, become an all-out battle with every possible weapon used, regardless of the destruction, up to and possibly including nuclear bombs. The end result may be the complete destruction of the entire region and, consequently, the loss of twenty percent of the world’s oil, which will drive the price of energy into the stratosphere and the world into an economic depression. This, of course, is a worst-case scenario, but it never hurts to have a clear understanding of the possibilities and to prepare for them, hoping that something better comes out of it.

https://forumgeopolitica.com/article/iran-defeats-the-us-reflections

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2026/06/no_author/trumps-art-of-the-debacle/

Out of the remainder of the sections, it seems clear that Iran will gain the most without having to give up much ground, as in:

  • The Strait of Hormuz, which was open before the war, will reopen to ship traffic and Iran will retain control and negotiate terms of passage with Oman. Iran will be primarily responsible for the removal of mines. The US will remove its blockade and clear its ships out of the area completely.
  • No tolls will be charged for 60 days, which is the length of the MoU, but may be imposed after that pending the final accord.
  • Iran promises not to pursue nor develop a nuclear bomb, which was its position before the war, so it is not giving up anything on that count. The status of the enriched uranium will be negotiated and will probably come under the purview of the IAEA, but this was already in place with the JCPOA agreement which Trump tore up in 2019. No net loss for Iran, no net win for Trump.
  • Sections 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 are huge concessions by the US and can be seen as victories by Iran.

If this is maintained all the way through to a final agreement and the war ends, the conclusion must be made that Iran has emerged as the regional hegemon, Israel has been demoted to a nasty, quarreling neighbor, and the US has lost an expensive war, costing it a fortune in dollars, reputation, good will, demonstrating to the world that it can be resisted and beaten.

The world will never be the same.

  1. Versailles is the same city where Germany was forced to surrender to Great Britain and France to end WW1, the war to end all wars. The terms of the surrender were so onerous that Germany was financially destroyed, creating social conditions so severe that Adolf Hitler was able to rise from the ashes and begin the march toward WW2. ↩︎

Is The Iran War Over? What Can We Expect Now?

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

As of this writing, Monday morning, June 15, 2026, it seems that the US and Iran are about to sign off on an agreement to stop the fighting between them and come to an understanding about opening the Strait of Hormuz to traffic once again. Whether this actually happens is still up in the air, as there are too many variables in the mix which could cause one side or the other to pull back from the negotiating and approvals necessary to implement the agreement. Nevertheless, the possibility that this latest escapade on the part of Donald J. Trump on behalf of the Empire might come to an end seems plausible and optimistic.

If the situation unfolds positively, the price of oil will tumble (has already tumbled in the futures markets) and the world will catch a collective break…for the moment. However, just because the shooting and bombing MIGHT stop and the strait MIGHT be opened (with or without tolls paid to Iran and Oman) does not mean that everything will simply revert back to the “normal” state of affairs. That is not going to happen. Too much damage has been done to the world economy and, even if the oil flows start as “authorized” by Trump, it will be months before inventory levels and production stabilize, and, in the case of rebuilding infrastructure (LNG facilities in Kuwait or Bahrain, for instance), this may very well take years. In the meantime, the US energy production behemoth will benefit enormously, as will Russia’s, due to higher energy costs and the removal of competition on the world scale.

This brings me to wonder. Was all this planned out meticulously beforehand? Was the intention to destroy the Middle-East capability to produce cheap oil and concentrate control into the hands of a few mega-oligarchical structures? Was Israel used as an “attack dog” to facilitate the destruction of world-wide economies to force them into the mold envisioned by an Uber Alles trans-national elite, determined to bring everything under its control. Has Israel been allowed to run amuck for years to effect a higher-level change and, if so, will it be allowed to self-disintegrate and implode into nothingness?

Or, has everything gone badly for the Planners? After all, many US military bases in the Middle-East have been destroyed and are no longer usable. American “protection” has proven to be a farce. Israel (Zionism) is rapidly bleeding support and its most ardent believers are inexorably dying off, replaced by younger generations who do not believe the religious narrative that Jews are God’s Chosen People and that everyone else has to play second (or third) fiddle. What will be the final outcome of the time period between February 28, 2026 and today? What can we expect in the near future?

I can only speculate and, in making guesses about our future, I will bring in another voice–Karen Kwiatkotski, who writes:

“In a strange way Trump will bring the troops home, and end US wars of choice, and like the captain of the Titanic, he will ride the ship, damaged by arrogance and overreach, into the deep.” — https://www.lewrockwell.com/2026/06/karen-kwiatkowski/the-us-empire-is-retrenching-bringing-imperialism-home/

In other words, the American Empire abroad is done. It has struck an iceberg and is going down, with numerous casualties, including the establishment. However, before it sinks under the waves, never to be seen again, its power, arrogance, hubris, and disdain for individual human rights and freedoms will be brought home, implemented against its own people, those unknowing and unthinking people who believed in the god-like status of the American Dream and Ideal, that is, a false god which will end up devouring, like Saturn, its own children. The average person in America today has no idea what it means to have the full force and fury of a totalitarian, despotic State unleashed against them, but I am quite certain that they will find out. Once foreign conquests abroad lose their allure (and their profitability), and empires are forced to retrench, everyone at home, both supporters and detractors alike, suffer the consequences and pay the price of manifold sins practiced…as it should be. We are part and parcel of The System and will pay the Piper for following the hypnotic tune of patriotism, nationality, and prideful arrogance.

Because America is The Exceptional Nation, of course, all of which we gladly believed. Because it made us feel good.

How times have changed. How they will change. Get ready. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

USS Liberty: 59 Years of Official Silence Broken

Roger Mitchell2 Comments

On December 08, 1941, the day after the Japanese “sneak”1 attack on Pearl Harbor, which heavily damaged the fleet harbored there and killed approximately 2, 400 servicemen and women, President Franklin D. Roosevelt went before Congress and asked it for a formal declaration of war, which it gave without hesitation. This has been the last time that Congress has declared war, although the US has subsequently waged major wars in Korea, Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and currently Iran, plus numerous smaller conflicts which often barely raise a blip in the news. Guatemala, Haiti, Venezuela, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Serbia, et al. In all these, the Congress has hardly raised its collective eyebrows to question the need for war, let alone gotten off its collective ass to restrain the president and the military-industrial complex (MIC) which profits mightily from the destruction and killing.

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”, Roosevelt thundered and Congress immediately gave him the authority to prosecute the war, which he did until the day he died and Harry Truman took over, bringing it to an end by destroying two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, through the (alleged) use of atomic bombs, one uranium and one plutonium.2

June 08, 1967, was a date which also lives in infamy, but instead of an enemy attacking US ships and killing US servicemen, this came from the direction of America’s staunchest “friend and ally”, also known as the State of Israel. 34 sailors died and 171 were wounded, some grievously, yet, officially the incident was swept under the rug and nothing of any significance was ever done about it. President Lyndon Johnson did his best to squelch the story and his administration actually ordered other Navy ships in the area not to interfere nor make any attempt to rescue the survivors. At the first sortie of fighter jets scrambled to help, US Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara ordered them back to their aircraft carrier, and at the second, Johnson himself gave the order with this cold-hearted, treasonous comment.

“I don’t care about a few dead sailors. I will not embarrass our ally, Israel. Return to base immediately.”

Eventually, the attack was called off and, on questioning, Israel claimed that it had been a matter of mistaken identity. The official narrative was that they had thought the ship was Egyptian, even though it was a clear day and the American flag was flying in plain sight. It is widely presumed that the ship was meant to be sunk with all hands and the the Egyptians blamed for it, causing the US to enter the six-day war on the side of Israel. Talk about a false flag! It is notable that Lyndon Johnson was also complicit3 in the false-flag incident of the Tonkin Gulf off the coast of Viet Nam, embroiling the US into the quagmire of that war which resulted in the deaths of more than 58,000 American servicemen and unknown millions of Vietnamese, both military and civilian.

“Remember the USS Liberty!”

Yesterday, June 08, 2026, 59 years after the incident, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY., took to the floor of the House of Representatives and delivered a blistering speech which thoroughly condemned the incident, the way it was handled, and the treatment the survivors have received over the years. Many of them were in the audience with him. One of them, Philip Torney, has done an interview with Candace Owens, which can be seen here, during which the statement that, “God saved us from God’s Chosen People.”, was made. Massie, who lost a recent primary to Donald Trump’s chosen candidate whose campaign was funded to the tune of $30 million by “special interests”, namely Jewish groups and billionaires, has only a few months left in his term and it seems as though he intends to make the most of it.

“Remember the Liberty!” “Release the Epstein files!” “Massie for Precedent!”

Watch Thomas Massie at his best here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7bRtT1xjJI

The times, it is said, they are a’changing. The mood of the country toward Israel is rapidly shifting and with the impending die-off of the Baby Boomers, most of whom (probably including myself) will be dead in twenty years, many of whom are “true believers” that the Jews really are God’s chosen people, the State of Israel has, in my opinion, just about reached the end of its miserable existence. It has been a blight on world affairs for far too long and it is time for it to enter the dustbin of history, court reporters notwithstanding.

Donald Trump could learn a few things from all this. Being a headstrong boomer himself, it’s not likely that he will change his religion.

  1. Because the US government won the war over the Japanese government, it has been able to write history according to its own viewpoint. History, as the saying goes, is written by the victors, and the official history is that the attack was completely unprovoked and even surprising and unanticipated. However, as time goes on and skeptical people keep digging in the dirt, a “conspiracy theory” has developed which postulates that Roosevelt wanted to get into the war and manipulated the Japanese via sanctions, boycotts, and blockades to lash out against the American fleet from sheer desperation. Whether this is true or not is not the focus of this article. Do your own research and make up your own mind. ↩︎
  2. Even this is open to question. See https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/the-nuclear-deception-2026 ↩︎
  3. Johnson was also perfectly positioned to take advantage of the situation on November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX. Once is an anomaly. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern. He has been consistently rated as one of the worst, if not the worst, president in US history. Joe Biden might dethrone him. We’ll have to wait and see. ↩︎

The Unabomber’s Dilemma

Roger Mitchell4 Comments

I have been reading Ted Kaczynski’s book1, Technological Slavery, over the last few weeks and thinking about his assertion that the techno-industrial society and system spawned by the Industrial Revolution which broke out a few hundred years ago are destroying humanity and the freedoms we take for granted. Uncle Ted, as he is affectionately known by his admirers, claims that another revolution is necessary to break mankind free from the technological “chains” which are increasingly binding us into a System which will eventually control everything we do and say, perhaps even think. A disaster, as he repeatedly calls it. Sounds like an AI driven narrative, doesn’t it, and judging by what we see happening today, it would be reasonable to say that he was not far wrong in his predictions.

https://www.unz.com/kbarrett/was-the-unabomber-right-all-along

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2026/05/martin-armstrong/the-grocery-store-is-becoming-a-surveillance-center/

https://dailysceptic.org/2026/05/20/authoritarianism-doesnt-arrive-with-a-coup-it-arrives-with-a-login

Technology and the modern machine-powered society we live in today is unavoidable. Unless you live in the most remote parts of the Amazon rain forest in a hunter-gatherer mode of survival, there is no place on Earth where it does not reach. For nearly everyone, modern life is a necessity, not just a convenience. Even if we were to revert back to the days before the digital modernization, to the days of analog life (remember that black box on the wall which had to be “hung up” to break the connection?), the invention and production of machines, methods, and patterns to make life more tolerable would still be with us and still demanding our attention to maintain, repair, and keep up. Just because we abandoned digitization (computers, cell phones, surveillance systems, self-driving cars, credit cards, etc.) does not mean we would have broken the hold which the technology of the Industrial Revolution imposed on us.

How far back should we go? How far would we go? For myself, if the entire world was suddenly removed to the early 19th century, without electricity, internal combustion engines, and all kinds of labor-saving devices, I wouldn’t have a problem living with that. I would have been eager to cross the prairie from the East to the Rocky Mountains or beyond with nothing more than what I could carry on my back or my pony. I might have even become a mountain man after the manner of Jim Bridger or Joe Meek. Nevertheless, there would always be the temptation to improve my life by adopting and using new ideas and inventions, perhaps even creating some myself.

This is nothing more than human nature and, like matter, it cannot be destroyed, only changed. The desire to improve one’s life and world is built into us and has been part of what we are since the days of Adam and Eve. We naturally gravitate in that direction.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion…” — Genesis 1:26a

It is not the technology which we should be opposed to. Technology, like everything else which has been created and used by man, is only a tool and, like every other tool, can be used for both good and evil. A hammer can be used to drive nails in the construction of a house or it can be used to kill someone by smashing in their head. It is not the tool which is evil, but the manner in which it is used. To fight against modern technology on the grounds that we are becoming enslaved to it has some appeal, much like the Luddites who destroyed looms and steam engines because they were perceived as dangerous to one’s livelihood. If the Luddites were around today, they would be going after the manufacturer of Roomba, on their way to the factories of Tesla and Microsoft. Or, maybe they are, just not in a physical sense. Destructive hacking is on the rise and there is no telling what might happen when AI data centers scarf up all the electricity and water of local regions.

Nevertheless, Uncle Ted had a point…to a point. We actively engage in the technological marvels which accompany modern life and become disturbed whenever that interaction is threatened, yet we know, deep down, that it only drives us deeper and deeper into the depths of dependency on our machines and systems. We have forgotten (or never learned) how to live without them. We simply cannot live without what exists today and are (usually) more than willing to give up our “rights” and freedoms so long as we are, more or less, left alone. Unfortunately, we are never left alone, not completely, and the trend is toward greater and greater immersion and incorporation into the web of the spider from which there is no escape.

“Come into my parlor”, said the spider to the fly.

Most definitely unfortunately, Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, went about proclaiming his message the wrong way, sending bombs through the mail in packages which exploded when they were opened. He wounded many people and actually killed three over a multi-year spree of terror until found out, arrested, and incarcerated in a super-max prison in Colorado. At least, that’s what we’re told. At any rate, the bombings ended. We are also told that he committed suicide by tying shoelaces around his neck and hanging himself off a safety grab bar three feet off the floor, in a super-max prison where inmates are not allowed shoelaces, but that’s another matter entirely. A conspiracy theory, if you will, which may or may not be proven true at some future date.

“At 12:23 a.m. on June 10, 2023, Kaczynski was found in his cell unresponsive, with no pulse, after hanging himself from a handicap rail with a shoelace.”2

Technology is not going to go away. If it was destroyed completely, sending us back to the Stone Age, or destroyed partially, sending us back to the Middle Ages, the desire would always be there to improve our lives by inventing items which break us out of the Hobbesian model of “nasty, brutish, and short.” Obviously, the answer to our current dilemma does not lie in outright prohibition. We couldn’t do that anyway. Human society will not tolerate that and anyone who tried would not even get a first hearing, let alone build a movement. Blind denial of the problem, burying one’s head in the sand and hoping the threat will go away, will not work either. That strategy has never succeeded in the past and is a conscious, deliberate refusal to engage in the controversy. Neither can we simply (and passively) allow “advancement” without making some sort of effort to bring it under control. How, then, is this to be accomplished?

I’ll be honest. I can’t recommend a ten-step program or a government initiative. I have no simple solutions to an increasingly complex problem, but I suspect that, eventually, an answer will arise which incorporates the practice of love, Christ-like love as its beginning point. When Google actually practices its erstwhile motto instead of using it as a sentimental touchy-feely slogan, then we will be on the right track and headed in the right direction.

“Don’t be evil. We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served—as shareholders and in all other ways—by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains.”

Even if we forgo some short term gains. This is the sticking point. Getting beyond the drive for corporate quarterly profits is going to be difficult.

“When the power of love becomes greater than the love of power, then the world will know peace.” — Jimi Hendrix

When the power of love, real love, becomes the abiding principle of the general pool of mankind, then technology which concentrates power into the hands of a few well-connected oligarchs and the system they own will no longer be used to hold people hostage to it. Perhaps. It is a real stretch to even imagine such a system, however, there may come a time when data entered into a website is NOT used in an offensive manner against the person who has logged into the system. There is absolutely no reason why this cannot be done except that the love of money (and everything which accompanies it) is still the dominant paradigm, the root of all evil. When people stop trying to use money and power over others to benefit themselves and start using money and power to help others within the context of sacrificial love, then we have a shot at resolving this issue.

Technology is not the problem. Human nature is and, if the message of Christianity is valid, then we have a King Who specializes in correcting human nature. The length of time it takes to bring this about is irrelevant because He has all eternity to work with.

  1. Notice that even here, we are bound under the spell of the dilemma. It is so easy to go to Amazon to buy a book which attempts to explain the reason why we shouldn’t go to Amazon to buy a book. Yet, it might be similar to the principle of jiu jitsu: Use your opponent’s strength against him. I’ve got no better explanation. ↩︎
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski ↩︎

There Will be Wars…And Peace

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

End of May, 2026.

The war with Iran which erupted on February 28 in an attack by America and its “stalwart” ally, Israel, (is it the other way around?), seems to have ground down into a stagnant affair of threat and counter-threat, occasionally punctuated by a missile strike on a facility by Iran or a boat sunk by the US. Israel doesn’t appear to be an active part of the conflict at this time, but is concentrating on destroying southern Lebanon in an attempt to eradicate Hezbollah in the same way that it has with Gaza and Hamas. The Strait of Hormuz is still restricted to traffic with only a few ships squeezing through the stranglehold imposed by Iran and the blockade imposed by the US. The Trump administration produces nothing but sound and fury, headlined by his incessant Truth Social posts, while the Iranian side posts its own version of the “negotiations”, refuting and denying everything which comes from Washington.

The war, which we were told would last only a few days (or a few weeks at the most), is now three months along and there seems to be no end in sight to the hostilities. Each side appears to be hanging on with determination, expecting to outlast the other and win by default. In the meantime, the world situation concerning the supply of oil gets worse and worse, with the dread day of “tank bottoms” looming closer and closer all the time. Even if the strait were to be completely opened to shipping tomorrow morning, oil inventories would not begin to be replenished for at least a couple months due to infrastructure damage and the length of time it takes to move oil from wellhead to gas pump. The chances that the strait will be opened soon, however, are still quite slim, so the shortages caused will probably continue to worsen, along with world-wide economies which are highly dependent on the free flow of oil. Severe, even catastrophic financial collapse is well within reason, bringing with it its own troubles.

All the while, the war in Ukraine still grinds on, one day at a time, with no clear end in sight and the distinct possibility that the European nations of NATO and Russia will officially come to blows in a hot war, potentially including the use of nuclear weapons. Donald Trump continues to blow up fishing drug-running boats and make noises about invading Cuba. The Taiwan issue is simmering on the back burner, but could explode at any moment. International tensions are rising everywhere, it seems, with peaceful life on Earth becoming more and more tenuous all the time.

There will be wars and rumors of wars. It’s the end of the world, at least as we knew it. What are we to do?

Is it really the “end” of the world? Are we doomed to violent extinction? Will we be enslaved in an AI-driven system of machine control with robots doing all the work while useless mouths are eliminated in one fashion or another? Are we rushing headlong into Armageddon? Will Jesus really come back to snatch rapture us, that is, the “true believers” out of the chaotic mix just before condemning all the others to a state of eternal punishment? Who knows? ¿Quien sabes?

Life can be peaceful once certain things are understood. I am going to die. I have no control over geo-political issues. Some things are certain, anything is possible. The pension promise from the US government, a.k.a., Social Security, could be wrecked at a moment’s notice…or without any notice at all. An EMP or massive solar flare might take out the entire electrical and electronic grid, forcing me to carry water from the local river in five-gallon buckets–just to survive. Yes, anything is possible, yet, in all this turmoil and unknowing, there is peace because I am learning to simply put my faith in Almighty God, trusting that whatever happens, I will be all right and I do not have to worry about how I’m going to pay the bills.

That being said, I intend to continue on as I have been, reducing my debt load, building personal and neighborhood relations, working in my garden, developing my CAD skills, preparing my household for the future in the only way I know how, and encouraging others to act in the same manner, in their own way, with what resources they have. And, perhaps more importantly, I am going to speak the truth as I see it, even if I do run into resistance from others or encounter a bad case of writer’s block, as has happened recently.

After 67+ years of inner strife and turmoil, I am learning what peace, real peace, is all about. It is a good thing and life is beautiful.

Bridging the Gap on Abortion

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

I wrote and posted this article in 2019 on another blog which is no longer in service. Only slight editing has been done. My views have not changed.

Abortion is a polarizing subject. I do not know anyone who claims to have “no opinion” on the issue. Instead, most individuals are vehemently in favor of abortion on demand OR they are adamantly opposed to it.  The argument is almost always one-sided: a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy OR the right to life of the unborn child. Very few people ever bother to ask, though, why do we have to choose between the woman and the child. Why does it have to be one or the other?

Abortion, as it is practiced today, pits the woman against her child and the child against her mother. For women considering abortion, the unborn fetus can easily become an enemy. What are the reasons WHY a woman would bring herself to the point where she is willing to destroy her own offspring. Here are a few examples.  

  1. Women of color comprise a huge number of abortions performed each year in the US. Perhaps as many as 40 out of 100 black pregnancies end in abortion. The odds are good that these women are unmarried, reliant on food stamps and HUD to survive, and already have other children which they are trying to raise.

“Minority women constitute only about 13% of the female population (age 15-44) in the United States, but they underwent approximately 36% of the abortions. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, black women are more than 5 times as likely as white women to have an abortion. On average, 1,876 black babies are aborted every day in the United States.”—( http://www.blackgenocide.org/black.html)

  • Another group which is represented disproportionately is college age women, who are attempting to gain an education in the hopes of being successful in a chosen career. Pregnancy is a roadblock to that hope. Most colleges do not have any program to help them maintain the academic load and carry a child at the same time. The woman’s “choice” is between her career and her child.

“No woman should be forced to choose between sacrificing her education or career plans and suffering through a humiliating, invasive procedure and sacrificing her child. We refuse to choose®. Abortion represents a failure to listen and respond to the unmet needs of women.”—(https://feministsforlife.org/herstory/)

  • In addition, we need to consider the number of times that a woman is coerced and pressured into undergoing an abortion by her boyfriend, husband, or father.  Men have a huge influence in this decision. 

“If legal abortion has given women more choice, it has also given men more choice as well. They now have a potent new weapon in the old business of manipulating and abandoning women…. That men have long coerced women into abortion when it suits their purposes is well-known but rarely mentioned.”—(http://www.theunchoice.com/articles/howcommoniscoercion.htm)

It is undeniable that many women face huge obstacles as they consider their options when they find out they are pregnant. We need to start seeing them, not as selfish murderers, but as they truly are—probably young, maybe alone, less than rich, confused, afraid, unsure. They may not believe they have any other “choice”. They may not have the means and personal strength to carry the pregnancy to term and then adopt the baby out. The chances are that they are not aborting out of pure selfishness, but out of perceived necessity. This does not excuse the abortion in any way, but it does help to explain it.

Not only do we have to consider the women who abort, but also those who are killed and thrown away—unborn human beings who never asked to be conceived in the first place. Most abortions do not occur because of fetal deformities or the physical health and well-being of the mother. Statistics from the State of Florida in 2018 show that out of 70, 083 abortions, only 1, 004 were done for the reasons of rape, incest, fetal deformity, or to save the life of the woman. The rest were elective—by choice.1

These instances do occur, but they are rare. They constitute a very small number of abortions and should not be used as justification to allow the killing of unborn babies by anyone for any reason. The blanket allowance of abortion is even more cruel than a blanket prohibition would be and there are millions of reasons why a pregnancy should not be terminated—all of them live human beings.

For too long, this issue has been framed in a confrontational way: woman vs. child. One, but not the other. Either/or, but not both. We must change the way we debate this issue. We must recognize that for every abortion, there are at least two victims—the woman and the child. We must not only save the life of the unborn, but also give the woman the means and support she needs to continue the pregnancy, give birth, and either raise the child herself or turn that responsibility over to someone else. We must become a society which honors and esteems human life at all ages—19 weeks from conception or 19 years from birth. If this means we are inconvenienced ourselves, so be it.

Abortion is a symptom of an underlying disease, a reflection of the fact that, as a society, we have not met the needs of women. It also shows us that, as a society, we would rather address our problems violently than face them responsibly. The most defenseless members of our human family suffer and die as a result. Both the woman and the child deserve better.

  1. The original citation could not be found, but you can find similar numbers here. ↩︎

Cleaning up Our Own Junkpile…First!

Roger Mitchell5 Comments

Generally speaking, I agree with most of what Jacob G. Hornberger writes and posts on his Future of Freedom Foundation blog and I appreciate the impact he is having in this chaotic world we live in. Sometimes, though, I am compelled to poke a stick at it, as in this case.

“But the fact is that neither Republicans nor Democrats are the root cause of America’s fiscal woes. Instead, the root cause is a systemic one — the welfare-warfare state, regulated-managed economy system, and national-security state system that have come to characterize our nation.”

Hornberger is correct in that neither Republican nor Democrats are the root cause, but then he errs when he lays the blame squarely on the system, the system that has become a monster, which threatens to destroy everything that we prize and possess as freedom-loving and free people, and which the average American votes to endorse and continue every two years without fail. Unfortunately, it is seen in the way he describes it by far too many people who ought to know better and, maybe do, but prefer not to notice. After all, their way of life might be threatened if they did notice and acted on that knowledge.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” — Upton Sinclair

No, the system is not the cause of the disease, it is a symptom, a manifestation of the sinful nature of mankind which demands to have more than what is rightfully gained and given. To put it bluntly, greed, and when people give in to the greedy impulse (temptation), it does not matter who pays so long as they get what they want. This is nothing more than a continuation of the sin committed by the First Couple, Adam and Eve, who had everything they needed, but were not satisfied with that and grabbed for more. Whether the story of the Garden of Eden is true or only a metaphor is irrelevant. The principle is the same and people today still operate in that mode and pattern.

Consider what is offered here. The system teaches us from the get-go that it holds the key to life, liberty, and prosperity. All we have to do is engage with it, make our requests known (either through political action and agitation or by filling out the proper forms), expect that it will hear our prayers and supplications (by delivering to us what we ask for), and sending the bill to someone else we don’t even know. In essence, this is very similar to a person, an obese, lazy, irresponsible person who refuses to live in a healthy manner, but depends entirely on the advice of licensed medical practitioners who tell her to “Pop a pill and make an appointment for your next visit on the way out.” After which, of course, the bill for the “service” is submitted to Medicaid or Medicare, and while the “victim” patient may be required to pay a small portion, the bulk of it is paid by everyone else. The system we live in today, from stem to stern, is shot through with this kind of thinking and there is very little done to counteract it or change it. We have become, as a society and culture, dependent on the system to provide for us and we reward it by surrendering our lives to it, body, soul, and spirit.

It is a Beast and we are marked by it.

In the beginning (see Genesis 3), God told Adam and Eve that they were not allowed to take a bite of the apple, the forbidden fruit, but were expected to take Him at His word. However, as soon as they found out that there was another option available to them which promised more, they took it without question and the consequences of that decision are still with us today. In a very real sense, the Serpent still whispers in our ears the same thing which was spoken to Eve. “Do you lack for anything? Seems like God isn’t really being fair by keeping that from you, doesn’t it? Don’t you deserve to have whatever you want or desire? Well, then, just put out your hand and take it. After all, someone else will pay the bill.”

And we do. In fact, politicians are elected, not because they are incorrupt, uncompromised, and honest, but because they promise to deliver more than their opponents, who are running flat-out to give us what we think we want. It is not so much a question of voting for the lesser of two evils, but more along the lines of voting for the one who promises to give us the most. And who promises to send the bill to someone else, preferably someone who is richer than we are.

Greed. Envy. Covetousness. Perhaps even a dollop of malice and a desire for revenge. Not a good base on which to build a country, a society, a world.

Hornberger continues,

“So long as Americans choose to continue this dysfunctional way of life, federal spending and debt will continue to soar, regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in charge.

This is where the soul-searching has to take place among the American people.”

I completely agree with this and have been saying this for a long, long time, but the method I propose does not begin with a community agreement, but with the individual person, at the very bottom of his soul where he lives and, afterward spreads out into the society at large, affecting that in a positive manner. Like ripples spreading across a pond after a stone has been thrown into it. Or, perhaps, more personal, like yeast which is mixed into a lump of bread dough causing it to turn from an inedible mass into a delicious loaf, preferably eaten straight out of the oven and dripping with butter.

We are saddled today with a warfare-welfare state, a regulated-managed economy system, and a national-security state system, not because it has been foisted on us involuntarily, but because that is the route we decided to travel. Because we, as individuals, bought into the idea that we can have what we want without personal responsibility, that taking from those we don’t know to support our lifestyles is not a moral wrong, that force, fraud, and violence are to be preferred over the clear order given and expanded on–“You shall not… You shall not eat the apple. You shall not steal. You shall not worship anything besides the Truth, which I AM.” Changing this to a corrupted form that “You shall not steal, except by majority vote” does not invalidate the basic truth that every sin, all the time, is a form of theft in some way or another and this society and culture are fully complicit in the practice of it.

“And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” — 1 Samuel 8:18

Your king. The one you chose for yourselves. The one you begged to have. The one who promised to give you everything you wanted so you voted for him. Or her.

We, the People, live in a society in which nearly everything has been brought under the control of government. We are nearly completely dependent on this “king” for our protection, our sustenance, our health, even our very lives. The worst part of it is that the system we have built is the one we have built. Our king, which we chose for ourselves. Exactly the way we wanted it.

And there is no relief. God, no matter how many prayers we utter in anguish and heartache, is not going to hear us because we have not learned yet what it means to worship a false god. We are not likely to until we have been wrung out so there is nothing left to turn to — except God, Who has been there all the time, patiently waiting until we get our heads out of our collective ass and significantly change our ways. — https://poorrogersalmanac.com/2022/07/03/we-want-a-king-give-us-a-king/

The only way to exterminate the system which rules us is to change ourselves, to root out the mendacious impulse we have to take from others to benefit ourselves. The root cause, as Hornberger calls it, stems from our own soul and that is the first place to begin correcting the problem, to begin the healing process of a mortal disease of which only the symptoms are usually addressed and, if they are, always blamed on someone else.

“We have met the enemy and he is us.” — Pogo Possum

A Tale of Two Programs: Socialism in Action

Roger Mitchell3 Comments

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-announces-expansion-trumprx-600-new-generic-drugs

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/mamdani-touts-first-city-owned-grocery-store

OK, let’s take a step back from the geopolitical situation which pushes the Iran war to the forefront and condemns us to continual nervous anticipation as to what will happen next. The two articles linked above are related to each other in a way that most people will not immediately see, but the connection is there.

Question: What is the difference between a government which promises to push drug prices down by starting up and managing State-operated venues and a government which promises to push grocery prices down by starting up and managing State-operated venues?

Answer: Not much, only its size.

Donald Trump–“We’re going to drive drug prices lower by forcing manufacturers and suppliers to cut their prices by getting with the program. That way more people can buy the drugs they need at a fraction of the price they would have to pay if I didn’t stand up for them. I did that!” [Fabricated quote. Yeah, I know, I’m putting words into his mouth, but he would have said something like that if someone had asked him.]

Zohran Mamdani–“We are going to use the power of government to lower prices and make it easier for New Yorkers to put food on the table,” [actual quote]

This, of course, is socialism from both the Left and the Right. Both stem from the same delusion, i.e., that intervention in the marketplace of supply and demand by government regulation and force will cause the average consumer to catch a better deal, saving him more money than if the market had been left alone in the first place. Both programs will eventually be scrapped for one reason or another, either from running out of supply due to producers being unable to meet their expenses and realize a profit for their trouble, or from running out of money which has been thrown into a losing venture. Remember that saying of Margaret Thatcher years ago,

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

The problem with all of this is that we have forgotten or never learned another famous saying, “Laissez-faire, laissez-passer”, which basically means, “Let it alone.” Or, we might expand that a little further to say, “Leave us alone.” When governments come calling with the message that they are here to help, this ought to be our first thought and the first words out of our mouths, with the second being, “Get off my property! Right now!” But we don’t. Instead we ask them in for a cup of coffee and invite them to sell us on their wares which any right-thinking person would discard as unworkable, but because we want to get something for nothing and make our neighbors pay for it, we swallow the line and demand the product. Because human nature tends to focus on the present and discount the future, we see the immediate benefit, but do not understand that there is a price to pay sometime down the road.

Laissez faire, telle devrait être la devise de toute puissance publique, depuis que le monde est civilisé […]. Détestable principe que celui de ne vouloir grandir que par l’abaissement de nos voisins ! Il n’y a que la méchanceté et la malignité du cœur de satisfaites dans ce principe, et l’intérêt y est opposé. Laissez faire, morbleu ! Laissez faire !!

Let go, which should be the motto of all public power, since the world was civilized […]. [It is] a detestable principle of those that want to enlarge [themselves] but by the abasement of our neighbours. There is but the wicked and the malignant heart[s] [who are] satisfied by this principle and [its] interest is opposed. Let go, for God’s sake! Let go!! – René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy d’Argenson [Quote taken from Wikipedia]

Mamdani’s venture into retail groceries will almost certainly fail before Trump’s foray into pharmaceutical marketing for one reason–New York City doesn’t have as much money as Washington, D.C., and the federal government can print up as much money as it wants while cities and states cannot. Trump can play this game until all the other players have gone broke.

What is the difference between federal socialism and local socialism? Only the scale and scope. The principle is the same, but even size will not protect the federal government from going broke. Sooner or later. Eventually.

I don’t think…Trump

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

By now, you have probably heard that Donald Trump, when asked by a reporter about the impact on the American people’s financial situation would have on his willingness to cut a deal with Iran, said, “Not even a little bit. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.” If you haven’t heard it, you should take a look, because this is the man who, more than any other person alive, should be watching out for America’s interests which ought to coincide with those of the average American. Like you and me, but he has basically said that he doesn’t care about us at all. See the link below.

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/2054262313788768765/video/1

And, to follow along in that train of thought, it appears that Trump also does not care what it costs to build his new, fancy, grandiose ballroom as an annex to the White House, pitching it somehow as a matter of national security. Don’t you feel safer now, knowing that a bazillion or two dollars are being spent on this monument to self-worship? I wonder how much of this money will be spent on a statue, gold plated, which shows him in his triumphant pose surrounded by Secret Service agents (who are not trying to pull him down) from the supposed assassination attempt in Butler, Pa. 

"Well, the shots rang out and then the cries,
And he went down, but to my surprise, 
Came back up with a fist and blood all over his ear."

Anyhow, moving on. Recently, I posted an article about the dialogue between Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping when they meet, which they did this last week. So far, I haven’t seen anything at all which might tell me how close I was to the conversations which transpired. Everything coming out of the two respective capitals seems to be quite vague and I won’t go beyond that until I can point to something definite. However, looking at these two photos and seeing the body language of both men, I might be tempted to say that Trump has finally met his equal. He simply does not look comfortable nor appear to be on top of his game. Whether this means anything or not is debatable and I leave that to your own discretion.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I don’t need to write any more.

Trump, Xi, and the Iran War: A Look Ahead

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

I woke up this morning at 3:00 a.m. with a thought firmly fixed in my mind and had to write it down before I forgot it. Comes with gray hair, you know. The forgetting, I mean, and the more I practice it, the better I get at it. Or something like that.

Anyway, right off the bat, let me stress that this is pure speculation and nothing more. I don’t have a crystal ball nor access to the halls of power. While I hesitate to openly guess at what might happen in the US/Israel/Iran war in the next few weeks, it seems better to me that a “hope for the best, consider the worst” mentality is the best way to go. Therefore…

It’s only a few days before Donald Trump lands in Beijing to meet with his counterpart, Xi Jinping, over red carpets, state dinners, and very large tables, in what could be the most important head-to-head conference of the 21st century to date. They will have a lot to discuss over the next three days and many important decisions will be made with more postponed for further discussion and review. Nothing they talk about, however, will be as prominent and important as the war which has resulted in the near-total cessation of shipping into and out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. The world is waiting with anticipation to see what these two world-movers/shakers produce to resolve that issue and it’s a better than even bet that action toward that end will happen within a few weeks after they shake hands for the last time in the obligatory photo-op.

I am certain of a few things. Xi will bring up the dire consequences which the closure/blockade of the strait has already had on the world economy and will urge that it be brought to an end without further delay. Trump will bring up all the reasons why he has to stay the course and bring Iran to the point of total capitulation, not least of which is his overweening pride and ego which cannot tolerate loss. Benjamin Netanyahu will be there, in spirit, at least, perched on Trump’s shoulder or maybe his cell phone, whispering into his ear constantly about pressing the issue without giving up any ground. All in all, I expect that the whole discussion will be one of intense negotiation to open up the strait and exactly how that is to be done.

I am also certain, even more so, that the warring parties (US/Israel/Iran) have spent the last few weeks of relative calm stocking up quickly and feverishly on their weaponry, getting ready to go at it again as soon as the light turns green, with the likely result being that Iran will be hit harder than ever before and will strike back with even more ferocity against Israel proper, the remaining US regional bases, and oil/water infrastructure in the “cooperating” GCC statelets, most notably United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Carnage, destruction, and death on a massive scale is expected.

As to the Xi-Trump process, I can imagine both parties laying out their respective cases in detail and, in the final summation, Xi turning to Trump and telling him in diplomatic couched language to “Do what you have to do, but get it done”, with reference to the opening of the strait. Trump, of course, in his own way will, as Simon and Garfunkel sang so beautifully, “…hear what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”

And then the phone call will go out with the order to “pull the trigger”. I hope I am wrong. I hope to God that I’m wrong, but it’s hard to be optimistic about this.

What are the possible scenarios which might play out in this high-level meeting?

  1. Xi persuades Trump to cut his losses and vacate the war (and the region) for the good of the rest of the world AND Trump actually pays attention and follows the advice. This has about as much chance of happening as a snowball in hell retaining its shape and character.
  2. Far more likely, Trump ignores the advice and launches the next wave of attacks, immediately or soon thereafter. This has numerous sub-scenarios:
    • Iran suffers an Iraqi-style “shock and awe” defeat and is bombed back into the Stone Age, leaving the US totally triumphant. The strait is opened forthwith and the pent-up traffic jockeys for position.
    • Iran hits back so hard that the US/Israeli tag team sue for peace and quit, surrendering the field of battle on Iran’s terms, and leaving the entire region in a state of chaos and disarray. The strait is opened forthwith but every ship passing through pays a toll to Iran.
    • After a few days, weeks, months of intense struggle, all sides are exhausted and have to stop and begin negotiating in earnest because the damage is too great, not only in the immediate region, but economically and financially world-wide. The upside to this is that humanity might actually learn something and take steps to avoid conflicts like this in the future. The downsides to this are:
      • Israel would be put into an existentially dangerous position and could invoke the “Sampson Option”, meaning that if it goes down, so too will its adversary. Nuclear bombs. Mushroom clouds over Tehran, in other words. I have no doubt that if this were to happen, the state of Israel would disappear from the map and might even be the catalyst ushering in a nuclear war between the states who possess the bombs.
      • Both Trump and Israel have a sordid record of negotiating in “good faith” while planning and executing duplicitous attacks, therefore, Trump would probably have to be removed from office and replaced by someone whom Iran could see as “more trust-worthy”, someone who could be depended on to act as promised, at least until the ink dried on the paper the agreement was written on.
  3. Of course, in the end, we cannot discount the “conspiracy theory” that Xi and Trump are in cahoots, along with the behind-the-scenes puppet masters, to manipulate world events and that they will spend the time together hammering out the details, regardless who gets hurt in the process.

Whether I am right or not is debatable, but however it plays out will determine the course of world history. This is the last dance of the evening. No matter what happens, however, one thing is abundantly clear: Jeffrey Epstein is still smiling, like the Cheshire Cat, in the background.

The Future (and Past) of an Uncertain World

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

It’s been relatively quiet this week on the news front. The war in Ukraine seems to have settled into a slow advance and retreat with most of the action coming by way of long-range drones. The war on Iran by US/Israel has become like a boxing match with the combatants ducking, bobbing, and weaving while only an occasional punch is thrown, with the damage loudly disputed. “Did too!” “Did not!” At this point, I’m not sure what to believe, except that the price of gasoline keeps going up, in my area now at about $4.50/gallon for regular.

How long this will continue is unknown. Iran is supposed to be controlling passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, allowing some in and out, while denying others. The US is supposed to be blockading the southern end of the Strait to prevent any Iran/China affiliated tankers from moving into the open ocean, but, once again, everything about these moves is questionable. Perhaps by design.

The warnings are piling up along with the timelines. Iran will have to shut down its functioning wells due to a lack of storage space next week…or is it next month? The world economy is going to descend into chaos and financial recession (depression) unless the Strait is opened immediately…or will it? Supply chains, fertilizer shipments, and LPG tankers are at risk to countries which need them. It’s likely that some version of these will manifest quite soon, almost certainly before the end of summer, and none of it is looking good for the average person regardless where they live in the world.

But life goes on.

I’ve just finished reading Immanuel Velikovsky’s book, Worlds in Collision1. It was quite a slog and toward the end, I started skipping over the repetitive parts. Still and all, it was an interesting read which sought to explain many of the unexplainable things which “regular” science has not been able to. Mammoths in Siberia flash frozen with fresh flowers and grass still in their mouths. Extreme floods all over the world at the same time. Solar and lunar movement stopped as described in the book of Joshua. The plagues of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea at the time of the exodus by the Hebrews. Sodom and Gomorrah. The annihilation of Sennacherib’s army of 185, 000 soldiers in a single night. And more, a lot more.

Some of his assertions seem plausible, others are completely outlandish and raise an eyebrow. Or two. For instance, the theory that the planet Venus was once a comet which almost collided with Earth could be correct. His extensive research and footnotes posit that Venus was not counted among the planets until late in the B.C. era, but showed up suddenly everywhere around the world in extremely diverse cultures. I mean, it is quite possible that this could have happened. Yet, the claim that Venus came so close to the earth that their atmospheres actually touched and created huge electrical sparks and storms does seem a little far-fetched. Further, the position that during this “close encounter”, Venus dripped naphtha and petroleum in such great quantities that it seeped into the earth and produced our current oil fields also is questionable. At the same time, the manna from heaven, ambrosia, also was a product of Venus, but in a highly edible, nutritious, and tasty form, completely unlike the naphtha which destroyed.

Call me open to the potential but quite skeptical about the claims. Nevertheless, Velikovsky, who had been consistent with his treatment of science, archaeology, and religion throughout the book, all at once veered off into a philosophical thought at the very end, in fact, the next-to-last page before the epilogue.

“The average man is no longer afraid of the end of the world. Man clings to his earthly possessions, registers his landholdings and fences them in; peoples carry on wars to preserve and to enlarge their historical frontiers.” — Velikovsky, Worlds in Collision, pg. 356

The average man alive today carries on because the events he described happened as much as 3000 years ago and no longer pose a threat to life on Earth, but he is wrong in one respect. Many people are increasingly afraid that we are living on the brink at the end of the world and that life as we know it (knew it) is going to end in a cataclysmic catastrophe of some sort or another: all-out nuclear war. The imminent return of Jesus Christ2 with its attendant “rapture” and appearance of Anti-Christ. Climate change which has apparently changed now that the Big Boys have seen the need for massive amounts of electricity to power their AI data centers. Extensive famines. Unheard of diseases, like the “newly mortal lethal, and deadly” hantavirus which is being prepped as the New Covid Dampanic, er, pandemic. And on and on and on.

But life goes on and I’m planning to live until I die. In the meantime, a friend gave me a book to read, Technological Slavery, by none other than Ted Kaczynski. Yes, that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. Oh, dear, from Velikovsky to Revelation to Kaczynski. Who knows what I might pick up next? Nostradamus? Or a virus caught by accidentally swallowing a mouse turd which can only be cured by subsequently swallowing rat poison?

Oh, dear!

  1. Download a free copy here. ↩︎
  2. See my recent article on the meaning of the Mark of the Beast. ↩︎

Mark of the Beast: Trying to Make Sense of It.

Roger Mitchell9 Comments

This is a long post, but hang with me because I have arrived at an understanding which most people will automatically reject…unless they stop to think about it. I think.

Revelation, the last book in the Christian Holy Bible, is a fascinating narrative and many people find themselves lost, bogged down, confused, unable to understand it. Some, probably not a few, simply refuse to explore it for the reasons listed above and may not even try because it leaves them terrified. However, since it is part of the Bible and God expects us to gain knowledge through the written, revealed word, we should, at the very least, make an attempt to sort it out, always thinking about it, always moving ahead, never afraid to discard one theory, opinion, or belief we might have held for a long time as long as we have something better to replace it with. It is my intention to try to shed some light (feebly, of course, on the scale of a flickering candle) on one of the most anticipated events of the book, e.g., the emergence of the mark of the beast, the explanation of which consumes an enormous amount of time in Christian circles today.

A little background here: I grew up in a family which held to Baptist, evangelical, and dispensational viewpoints and subscribed to the Rapture theory of pre-millennial eschatology. I learned that the world is going to become increasingly evil as time goes on. The only thing which believers can truly hope for to stop the total destruction of the world is the physical return of Jesus Christ, Who will snatch (rapture)1 His true followers out before He sets up a physical throne in Jerusalem from which He will rule and reign for a thousand years. According to this teaching, that thousand year reign (millennium) will be a time of peace like the world has never known, but at the end of it, Satan will once again be able to exercise power over mankind and this will end in the final battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell. The result will be that Jesus and his followers will prevail, Satan and his followers will be thrown into the Lake of Fire to burn for eternity, and time and history will cease.

The doctrine also teaches that a “great tribulation” will fall on the Earth in which God’s people will experience massive suffering. This is split into three different categories: Pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation, depending on whether the Rapture happens before, during, or at the end of the Great Tribulation. In the pre-trib belief, the true believers in Christ will be removed from Earth and will not experience it, but the mid-trib and post-trib believers will have some or all of the full weight and fury of the Anti-Christ (different topic, future date) thrown at them. My family held to the pre-trib view and I can remember a couple times when I was young and afraid that I had missed the “blessed” Rapture because I didn’t see anyone else around for a few minutes.

Then my momma called me and relief flooded my soul.

This is a pretty simplistic explanation. I could go into much deeper detail, but most of you probably have some understanding about the details and there is no end to the topic in bookstores, podcasts, and online. If you’re interested, research it for yourself.

Full disclosure: I abandoned the “faith” when I was about 18 or 19 after I learned about post-millennial doctrine, specifically the dominion branch of it as espoused by Christian Reconstructionism. I have never looked back and never will. I might have some sympathy for really honest pre-millennial thought, but I have none at all for the Rapture variant and will be happy to see it ended. The sooner, the better. Jesus is not going to take us out of the mess we have created so that we don’t have to be responsible for it. I am more than willing to engage in conversations and debates with anyone who shows an interest in learning, but will not discuss it if an arrogant, stubborn, willfully blind attitude is displayed. There are many people out there who live by the saying, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” Well, multitudes evinced that mindset during the Covid years as well, except that they elevated Anthony Fauci to the place of God and we can see in hindsight where that got us.

End of discussion. Settled science. Except that science, like accrued knowledge, is never settled and there is always more to learn. Even when we think we know it all. Let’s move on.

Mark of the Beast.

If there is one thing about Revelation which stirs more debate than anything else, it would be the identity of the Anti-Christ. Unless it might be the Mark which the Anti-Christ forces everyone in the world to get, carried on their foreheads or back of their right hands. Redundancy, you know, just to be sure. No one knows what this “mark” might be or how it will be implemented, but it is usually assumed that it is a secure and certain method of identification of individuals. Maybe Elon Musk’s vision of chip implants will do the trick. Maybe laser tattoos which can be read with a scanner. Maybe, this, that, or another thing. Who knows what technological marvels will be used against us tomorrow?

I can remember the hysteria among Christian groups of my youth (before I went my own way) when bar codes emerged and became ubiquitous. Similarly, those long lines of numbers, all computer generated, at the bottom of checks which are used to route money the check represents to the proper account. QR codes? Everywhere, and everyone is being encouraged to sign up for one, especially if you are in business in any form of selling to the public. And I have probably only scratched the surface. Add in facial recognition and retina scan technology, the increasing use of AI and quantum computers to instantly sort through millions, billions, and trillions of data points, and the propensity of human beings to follow the crowd, which is being told to “stand over there so we can snap your photo” and to shop in the direction the arrows are pointing. Doesn’t look good for privacy of any kind, does it? Especially the financial kind and, with the up-and-coming CBDC digital currency which is programmable and will be used to “socially control” populations, it really looks like personal individuality is screwed. Oh, and don’t forget the American system called Social Security numbering, which is implanted instantly when a new baby arrives on the scene.

So, what is this “mark”? Here are some scriptures from Revelation which mention it.

  • “He [the second beast] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name…His number is 666.” — chapter 13:16-17
  • “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” — chapter 14: 9-11
  • “So the first [angel] went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.” — chapter 16: 2
  • “And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” — chapter 17: 5

The first scripture says that he [the beast] causes all, that is everyone to get the mark, meaning that this will be universal. No one will be exempt, no one will be left out. Yet, the next quote lays out the possibility that acceptance of it is not universal, using the word, if, which implies that there is at least some measure of choice, some resistance, in receiving the mark. And, when the first angel poured his bowl over the earth, it was only those who had the mark of the beast who were affected, not those who had refused it. Clearly, there is more here than just a simple, “this means that”.

Revelation also has scriptures which describe those who had not submitted to the marking.

  • “Then I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.” — chapter 15: 2
  • “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” — chapter 20:4

Evidently, the system of beast-marking could be overcome and resisted, although it may mean death to those who travel that road. Which means that although the beast ordered universal acceptance of the mark, he was not able to fully implement it. And, then, there is this scripture which shows the mark from a completely different perspective.

  • “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” — chapter 14: 1

What are we to make of all this? Wouldn’t it be wise and prudent to examine where all this symbolism and imagery originated instead of just throwing speculative guesses about its meaning? Yeah, I thought you might agree with that, so let’s get into it.

Note: I am not a scholar nor highly educated in this field. I do not know Hebrew nor Greek. I am only taking what I can read and have considered, then developed this thought logically. I could be completely off base and am open to differing opinions and any correction which might be necessary.

“It [an annual ceremony to celebrate and remember the deliverance from Egypt concluding in the Exodus] shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes…” — Exodus 13:9a (full context, 13:1-15, or more narrowly, 13: 3-10)

“You shall bind them [laws, statutes, commandments, ordinances of God] as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” — Deuteronomy 6: 8 (full context, 6: 1-25)

Sign on your hand, frontlet between your eyes. These were meant to be reminders that the people would not forget the manner in which God brought them out of slavery in Egypt and gave them a new code of conduct by which they were supposed to live in a state of freedom and liberty. As long as they followed the rules, they would be blessed, but if they abandoned this law, they would reap the consequences of their sinful behavior.

Furthermore, according to Exodus 28:36-38, Moses’ brother, Aaron, who was the first high priest of Israel, was to wear a plate of pure gold tied to his turban so that it rested on his forehead. This plate was engraved with the phrase, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. He (and all other high priests following) were to wear this continually while ministering to the people. It was always there, always prominent, and could not be missed nor mistaken for anything else. A sign, a mark, visible for everyone to see.

The High Priest was to wear the “mark” continually as part of his uniform, but the common people were only required to manifest it once a year, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, although they were commanded to keep the commandments of God in their hearts and minds throughout the entire year. If I am reading Exodus 13: 9 properly, the feast itself was to be the mark of their remembrance and obedience. “It shall be as a sign…” As a symbol, a representation and reminder of the exodus event, perhaps not dissimilar to the practice in Christian churches today known as Communion, which signifies the Last Supper of Jesus and his twelve disciples.

“Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” — Deuteronomy 11:18

Side note, short detour:

It is interesting, but not surprising, that Jewish tradition and rabbinical rules have corrupted this beyond the point of original meaning. Today, men and boys over the age of 13 wear phylacteries with scraps of parchment inside which have the relevant scripture verses written on them. They wear these daily during morning services, but never on Sabbath or holy days. In addition, instead of binding it on one’s hand (John mentions the right hand), they tie it to their upper arm, on the bicep facing the heart, their left arm if they are right-handed, but on the right arm if they are left-handed. As soon as the morning service is over, they are taken off and put away until the next morning. The rules regarding phylacteries, their manufacture, and their use is mind-boggling and Jesus referred to these when he called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites who were more concerned with enlarging their own phylacteries so others could more easily see them.2

What is even more interesting is that these same men can wear their phylacteries as a part of their morning worship to Yahweh, take them off, pick up a weapon, and two minutes later kill an innocent person who is not Jewish, without ever batting an eye. This shows how closely they hold the commandments of their god in their hearts and minds, especially the one which says, “Thou shalt not murder”, which they have contorted to mean that they are only forbidden to kill fellow Jews. The goyim are fair game and no meaning is attached to their murder. These are, according to too many Christians, God’s Chosen People and everyone else plays second-best. Jesus loves us all, but He loves them more than He does me.

What a shame!

IF the concept of the Mark of the Beast, as so many understand it today, would not be viable nor possible for more than two millennia, then it seems quite odd to me that John would have written Revelation and sent it out expecting his colleagues to read and understand it. The people alive at that time and for many centuries afterward, right up until the last 100 years of so, would not have had a clue IF the “mark” was dependent on computers, electronics, telecommunications, digital surveillance and banking, etc. Yet, John wrote this at the very beginning, clearly expecting that they would understand it.

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” — Rev. 1: 3

What good would it do if they read it and heard it read, but couldn’t understand anything about it because it didn’t apply to them, but to generations two thousand years and more into the future? However, people at that time would have instantly known what he was referring to. They were thoroughly steeped and trained in the Hebrew tradition and would have understood that the “mark” he mentioned was to be taken in a symbolic and spiritual sense, not necessarily in a physical one. Those 144, 000 believers who had the name of the Lamb’s Father written on their forehead were seen as HOLY TO THE LORD, faithful to His Word, and “marked” as off limits3 to the Anti-Christ Beast. It is not that they carried an actual, physical marker on their head, although they may have done so, but that their lives were sealed in the service of the Lamb.

Likewise, those who “took” the mark of the Beast did not necessarily submit to a physical brand, tattoo, implant, or other device, but they were sold out to the anti-Christian system which worshipped power and control over the lives of others. The ones who receive the mark of the Beast believe fervently in the statist system of satanic government which views people as nothing more than something to be used in furtherance of a political program, to change society to a specific mindset, to gain wealth, to gain social significance, etc. In John’s day, they would have been those who bowed before the Roman authority, not because they were afraid, but because kowtowing had advantages and blessings. They would have been those who actively worked, not to love their neighbors and enemies, but to subjugate them to the “rule of law”, as interpreted by those who hold power. More importantly, however, they were the ones who would have put their faith and trust wholeheartedly into the system of the day, believing that salvation and life spring from it.

In other words, the “mark” is not so much a physical or electronic means by which a person can be identified, supervised, surveilled, and controlled, as much as it is a spiritual attitude. It is one in which loyalty, fealty, submission, and worship is given to an anti-Christ figure and/or system. Those who receive the mark are true believers in the system and will not tolerate any other. They are totalitarians who insist that everyone participate in the system whether they want to or not. They embrace it from the heart, voluntarily, and demand that those who won’t must be forced to accept it.

They don’t have a clue.

I have barely scratched the surface here, but this is enough for now. Therefore, in conclusion:

  1. The “mark” is universal, always has been, always will be, and those who wear it (everyone) must make a choice to worship Jesus the Christ as Messiah and Savior OR worship the anti-Christ false messiah and ungodly, worldly system.
  2. The “mark” is, more than anything else, an attitude and belief from the spiritual depths of our hearts. It may be forced on us as an outward sign, but God looks at the heart, not the tattoo or one of Elon Musk’s chips.
  3. There may be a governmental order and drive to “mark” everyone on Earth, but it is not guaranteed that this will be successful. It is not a fait accompli and resistance to it is not futile. In fact, the more people who push back, the less likely it is to reach its goal.

Looking at it from this perspective, there is no reason at all to be afraid. Even if (and it is entirely possible) that the entire world population is ordered to “line up and get the mark”4, we need to keep in mind that a physical system does not overrule a spiritual one. Granted, even though it seems that we are being overwhelmed by a godless state which wants to control every aspect of our lives and is speedily developing the means to do that, it is not what the body is “marked” with, but what the content of the heart is.

“For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” — 1 Samuel 16:7

If our heart is focused on God and aligned with His Spirit, we are secure even if every square inch of our body were to be covered with man’s marks. An apt analogy would be the concentration camps in Nazi Germany at which every prisoner was tattooed with a number for identification purposes. Many of the people gave up and died there, but there were some who refused to let their circumstances dictate how they should live and die. One of these, Viktor Frankl, wrote that,

“…everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms–to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”5

As Christians, we should be living in faith, believing that God will take care of us no matter the circumstances, and working to bring our lives into conformity to His Word. We should NOT be driving ourselves crazy trying to swallow the crap which some deluded or deliberate preacher, teacher, and cab driver tells us is the coming future.

  1. Remember Star Trek? “Beam me up, Scotty.” Get me out of here. ↩︎
  2. Matthew 23:5 ↩︎
  3. The first time this happened in history according to Genesis 4: 15, tells of the Lord setting a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him, i.e., putting a supernatural personal shield over him to protect him. See also Ezekiel 9: 4, 6. We could go back even further to the Garden of Eden when Adam was told by God that he would earn his bread by the “sweat of his brow”–a mark on his forehead to remind him of the bad choice that he had made. ↩︎
  4. Remember Covid? “Mask up and get your shot!” ↩︎
  5. Frankl, Viktor: Man’s Search for Meaning, 2006, Beacon Press, page 66 ↩︎

Nuclear Weapons and Iranian Missiles: A Speculative Comparison

Roger Mitchell2 Comments

I just finished reading an article by Larry Johnson on the Unz Review, at the end of which he linked to an interview with Lena Petrova on the current conditions in both Iran and Ukraine/Russia. While watching this, a thought came to me and I posted this comment at the article.

Watching the interview above with Lena Petrova, this thought came to me.

After the Soviet Union collapsed and disintegrated in 1991, there was an enormous effort made to pull all the nuclear weapons, which were dispersed throughout the various republics, and transfer physical control of them to either Russia or the United States. This was done for one reason alone–to prevent any rogue individual state to attack or threaten to attack any other state with the weapons under their control. As far as I know, it was a successful mission.

At the time, Russia and the other former Soviet states were under tremendous pressure to open their economies to the predations of oligarchic businesses affiliated with the West to pillage and steal natural resources and bleed them dry, all for the profit and benefit of the West. Remember Mikhail Khordokovsky of Yukos, et al. When Putin came to power, he put a stop to that and demanded that Russians of all stripes work together for the benefit of Russia, regardless of the wealth temptations which existed and broke the back of the oligarchs. Russia was in an existential crisis then and it took desperate measures to survive and move beyond that. Today, it is in a far different, far better position.

Now, transfer that scenario to Iran with this question in mind.

Keep in mind that Iran’s missile/drone inventory is its equivalent of the Soviet nuclear arsenal. Suppose, just suppose, that the US/Israeli push to defeat Iran actually is successful and Iran splinters into numerous small, disjointed, fractious statelets. Considering that the missile inventory which Iran allegedly possesses is spread all over the country, not concentrated in any particular area, the question arises as to who will control them and how they will be used. How would they be collected and placed under direct US control?

Further, since it is common knowledge that Iran has decentralized its command structure and military decisions are now being made at lower and lower levels, what is to prevent any one single commander or group from simply blasting off its missiles at any time toward any perceived enemy? What if the target is the Dimona nuclear plant in southern Israel, regional water desalinization plants, or major oil terminals? An aircraft carrier which has just steamed into the Persian Gulf? How would the US and Israel respond? With another bombing campaign? Sanctions? Blockades? Assassinations of top leadership which would further lower the chain of command?

It is quite certain that Israel’s goal is to destroy the Iranian state and introduce a chaotic and powerless political vacuum into the area for the purpose of allowing Israel to become the regional hegemon, but we have to consider the possibility that this chaos, if brought into being, might also mean the potential destruction of Israel itself, especially if Dimona is hit. It is also quite certain that the US goal is to seize control of the oil production and use it to squeeze the ultimate target–mainland China.

As you give, you will receive. Visit hell on others, hell will be brought to you. This might be termed a natural law of reciprocity and God works in mysterious ways to maintain the consistency and continuity of The Law.

This is pure speculation on my part. I am not making any forecasts.

I have a question for the big-shots and power-brokers who run US military and foreign policy. Have any of them considered this possibility? Have they run war games bringing this potential scenario into play? If not, why not? Aren’t they getting paid $$big bucks to look at all the risks? If they have thought about it, why have they decided to push ahead anyway and run the risk? Is this what they actually consider to be tolerable? Or, conversely, is their arrogance and trust in overwhelming military and economic power so great that they cannot conceive something so “laughable”?

If I was wearing the Iranian shoes, you can bet that I would contemplating this avenue of action and I’m willing to bet that there is someone, somewhere, in that country who already is planning it. Or something similar. Human nature being what it is, it is impossible to tell what might transpire, except that it will not be pleasant.

All is fair in love and war.

The Warlord of my Dreams

Roger Mitchell2 Comments

“The Roman Empire officially began in 27 BCE when Octavian was granted the title Augustus, ending the Roman Republic, and its Western half fell in 476 CE when the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by Odoacer. 
 The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire survived until 1453 CE, when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire.” — from a Brave search

There has been an incredible amount of ink spilled and books written about the Roman Empire, its beginning, duration, and ending, and anyone who wants to learn about it only has to get started. I found this timeline on Wikipedia1 which has important dates and links from the alleged date when Romulus first founded the city of Rome in 753 B.C. The empire “officially” began in 27 B.C, with Octavian’s ascent to full dictatorship and lasted in one form or another until Constantinople was overrun by the Ottomans in 1453 A.D.

The current American empire is often compared with the Roman empire and with good reason. There are a lot of parallels between the two. For instance, looking at the timeline linked above, I found that a large part of Rome’s existence was taken up with waging war, much like the pattern America developed since its successful separation from the British Crown in 1776. Without getting into the debate over what constitutes a “war”, it is certain that in its growth stage from violent inception to the current war from Iran, the American State has often been engaged in battle with someone. Speculative lists of active shooting engagements run as high as 92% or more.

There is also the comparison of Rome’s eventual decay and decline over centuries to America’s slide from “top of the heap” and, while these are valid and hold some significance, I believe there is a more appropriate comparison with a different state, one which might bring the penchant for violence into clear focus–the civil wars in Tsarist Russia at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Consider this. In 1917, Russia had:

  1. A tone-deaf elite which held virtually all the wealth of the country and which held the common people in contempt.
  2. A massive population which was on the verge of starvation.
  3. A vivid memory of a major military defeat in 1905 vs. Japan.
  4. Active engagement in WW1, from which the State had to retreat due to the chaos of revolution at home.
  5. Huge philosophical and political differences among the populace.
  6. A large number of factions at grassroots level who were willing to battle with each other at a moment’s notice.
  7. Inability of the State to maintain control and order.

Much of this can be applied to the West in general and the US in particular. Granted that widespread starvation is not a problem (yet) and that the State is still able to squelch any viable threat, nevertheless the strong possibility exists that America will break down into an armed struggle between the various factions: Red vs. Blue, conservative vs. liberal vs. progressive, urban centers vs. rural holdouts, gun owners vs. gun grabbers, etc., and all of these fighting against the extremely wealthy who are struggling to maintain and tighten their stranglehold over the economy and government.

A long-standing Christian moral tradition degrading into feminist, homosexual, abortionist, and transgender camps. The trend toward euthanasia. Corrupt politicians everywhere at all levels of government. An entitlement attitude which supposes that no one has to earn anything. Success defined solely by the number of views a podcast receives. Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote, unless you think you can get away with it. Murders of young girls on subways for no sane reason at all. Anything goes, you name it.

What would it take for America to follow the path which Russia blazed a century ago? Are we already entered on that road? What will the country look like if we travel (continue to travel?) that direction? Or, is it more likely that we will follow Rome’s example of continual petty, internal squabbling over power and squandering of resources as if there were no tomorrow, while outside forces chip away at the infrastructure until everything collapses?

I’m no expert on this, but I think I understand human nature fairly well and I’m betting on civil war which hits close to home, the scale of which most Americans do not understand and cannot imagine. Once it is over and the smoke and dust have settled, nothing about America will be the same as before.

Interestingly, the other day I found an article which described three different types of persons who emerge as “warlords” when governments collapse and society devolves into chaos:

  1. Those who try to hold onto the previous system and do whatever they can to resurrect it,
  2. Those who try to construct a new system mirroring the previous system, and,
  3. Those who are opportunists taking every advantage to solidify their power regardless of the system which comes out of it.

Reading this, I found myself thinking which type of warlord I would be if the opportunity presented itself. #1 is completely out. I am not interested in maintaining the status quo at all and am committed to replacing it with a better option. #2 is tempting, but my libertarian and anarchic philosophies and principles preclude that. That said, #3 would probably be my choice given the fact that, in understanding human nature, I know myself better than anyone else and, given my history, all other things being equal, I would not hesitate to use any method to gain supremacy, except for one very major obstacle: my relationship with Jesus Christ and tutelage under His Spirit which I will not surrender for any amount of worldly power.

Which brings up Option #4: None of the above. No warlordism. No support for warlordism, active or passive. No trying to hang onto the past. No trying to repeat the past. No trying to grab for whatever I can get at anyone’s expense. Naaaah! I think I’ll just carry on in the model set before my by the Master (perhaps looking to Gandhi for encouragement along the way) and doing nothing more than trying to love my neighbor, who might very well become my enemy, in the best way that I can.

  1. Yes, I know it’s Wikipedia, but the fact remains that there is an enormous amount of data here which can be used. Don’t throw out the baby because the bathwater is dirty. ↩︎

Corruption, Incompetence, Insanity, and The Cure

Roger Mitchell3 Comments

“You can’t have corrupt, incompetent, and insane leadership without a corrupt, incompetent, and insane base. Or a corrupt, incompetent, and insane support system.” — https://donaldjeffries.substack.com/p/psychos-in-charge-of-sinking-uss

I admire Donald Jeffries. Whenever I see one of his posts, wherever that might be, I try to read it. He gets long-winded at times, but his work is always relative and hard-hitting, as is the one linked above. In it, he lists a long line of characters, political, social, financial leaders and describes one or two, maybe three of their very public failings, most of which have never had any form of real justice acted upon and which were quite likely swept under the rug.

Typical.

However, toward the end of the article is the line quoted which I thought was quite appropriate. We live in a society and culture which tends to point fingers, tries to blame others for our troubles, tries to squirm out of responsibilities controlling our own lives. Jeffries hits this on the nose…and draws blood.

It would be impossible for those at the top of the heap to be corrupt, incompetent, and insane, unless those who comprise the base layers of the support system were not also corrupt, incompetent, and insane, to some degree, which basically means nearly everyone alive today. In a culture which prized integrity, honesty, and personal responsibility, anyone who tried to siphon off the cream would be quickly called out, examined, found guilty, and sentenced severely, severely enough so that it was actually painful and sufficient to act as a warning to others to avoid copying that behavior.

If the shoe fits, wear it.

Think about it this way. Most people, if they had to directly lie, cheat, and steal from their neighbors and friends to achieve a financial gain, would probably refuse to do that. However, because government steps in, promises them whatever they want, and convinces them that the burden will fall on someone else, indirectly through a proxy, they do not hesitate to sign up for the program and the promised benefits, even though they know, deep down, that the action taken will eventually catch up to them. Or, maybe they really do believe that Utopia can be achieved on Earth: a pain-free, luxurious lifestyle without cost–courtesy of the ruling authorities, the voting proletariat, income tax withholding, and the FED based fraudulent economy.

There are only four types of persons on this planet.

  • Those who are blind. Completely blind with no chance of seeing.
  • Those who are blind willfully because they refuse to open their eyes to the light of truth.
  • Those who open their eyes to the truth but make every effort possible to justify their actions which are opposed to the truth.
  • Those who open their eyes to the truth, understand it is truth, embrace it as truth, and put it into action.

The first group is hopelessly lost. It is a waste of time, effort and resources to try to reach them. The second group is simply obstinate and stubborn, preferring to wallow in the pit of ignorance rather than open themselves up to the possibility that they could escape it. The third group understands but acts rebelliously and with determination in order to maintain the facade of deceit.

It is only the fourth group which has potential to change the world by recognizing that no amount of gerrymandering or groping about in the dark will change anything for the better. It is the members of this group, understanding that personal change must be initiated and accomplished by self-introspection and adaptation where necessary, who will change the world in a positive way because they have changed themselves first in the light of the truth.

Our world’s future depends on these. The present system is dying. The likely successor (at least, temporarily) is a system based on AI and Palantir-type surveillance and control. Ultimately, they, too, will pass on and, like Jeffrey Epstein1, the truth will still be there, waiting calmly and patiently for anyone who is willing to pick up the pieces and begin building a new reality for themselves, their families, their friends, their neighbors, their societies and cultures, even their enemies.

“You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” — Galatians 5:14

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” — Galatians 5:9

Need I say more?

  1. Every time I see a photo of Jeffrey Epstein, I see his sardonic, sarcastic, sneering smile. This reminds me of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, which would slowly disappear with the smile the last to fade from sight. Jeffrey Epstein waits…and smiles. ↩︎

End of the Ceasefire: Reality Approaches

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Today is the end of the two-week ceasefire in the war between Iran and the US conglomerate. Presumably, this was entered into to give the warring parties time to work out a satisfactory solution but because each came to the table with unconditional demands about which they would not compromise, nothing was accomplished. However, just the other day, Donald Trump unilaterally extended the “ceasefire” by an indefinite amount of time while issuing blustering threats about what would happen if Iran did not come to its senses and knuckle under, which really amounted to just another unconditional demand which was rejected immediately. No diplomacy there, no genuine desire to see the war ended, just more pompous, bully-pulpit Truth Social thundering denunciations and proclamations.

In the meantime, the Strait of Hormuz is still off limits to free passage by ships carrying oil, natural gas, urea, and multiple other products, all of which are essential to the continued health, wealth, and well-being of the entire world and may result in economic depression on a scale never before seen, eclipsing even that of the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Whether this happens or not remains to be seen, but it is virtually certain that there will be very serious repercussions and consequences which may not be apparent now but will be evident in the near future.

“When disruptions strike the deepest layers of the global economy, their consequences do not arrive with spectacle but with delay. The most destabilizing feature of a systemic shock is often not its immediate violence but the deceptive calm that follows it. Cargo vessels already underway continue to reach their destinations, warehouses continue to dispatch inventory manufactured months earlier, and supermarket shelves remain stocked with goods produced in a previous season under conditions that no longer exist. This temporal inertia creates an illusion of stability at precisely the moment when the foundations of that stability are eroding. In the case of escalating conflict affecting energy infrastructure across the Gulf and maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the world is experiencing this quiet interval between cause and consequence, a period in which daily life appears normal while the logistical arteries of the global system are progressively constricted.” — https://billkloss.law.blog/2026/04/20/the-global-economy-is-closer-to-collapse-than-anyone-wants-to-admit/

It is not my intention to try to predict how the war will progress. There are more than enough experts and pundits who will do that. I can only guess (and am often wrong) as to what Trump, Netanyahu, & Co. will do next and can only speculate how the IRGC, Mullah, Inc. will respond, but I am certain of one thing. Like the Covid regime fraud and catastrophe which recently occurred (you haven’t forgotten that already, have you?), this instance of force and violence will not simply revert back to normal once the “dogs of war” are leashed and kenneled again. The consequences will be with us for a long time and it is simply foolish and naive to believe and act in a Pollyanna-like fashion. The future IS going to be different from what we are accustomed to and we should be focusing our attention, not on who wins the next election, but on getting our own personal affairs in order because we know that there’s a bad moon rising.

In the parable of the ten virgins, five wise and five foolish (Matthew 25: 1-13), Jesus gave fair warning that we should be alert, ready, and prepared for the eventual arrival of the bridegroom. This is taken by many people as a reference to His second coming and (presumed) Rapture of the Church before, during, or after all Hell breaks loose on Earth, which I will admit can be seen that way if you lean toward that theology. However, there is another interpretation which has nothing to do with that, but is extremely relevant to our situation: the “coming” mentioned in v. 13 can be seen as the natural and logical progression of events as seen from the perspective of a courtroom trial in which judgment is declared on actions already taken, guilt or innocence pronounced, and a sentence rendered on those found guilty. It is not necessary for the “bridegroom” to be physically present at all, but does promote the truth that there will be severe consequences for those who refuse to accept the truth that “…your sin will find you out…” and that we can live any way we like without dire repercussion. Put more simply, if you do this, that will happen. The Law of sowing and reaping cannot be ignored nor circumvented forever.

As individuals, cultures, societies, and nations, we have become accustomed to “falling asleep” and allowing situations to drift while we dreamed, more concerned with the promise of future benefits than with the reality of present-day living which guaranteed that devastating conditions would arise because of our preoccupation with the “good life” and worship of a System which proposed to give us anything we wanted if we would bow down and worship it. Which we did, for years, decades, and centuries. That System is now crumbling and will, in all probability, be replaced by something which may be far worse.

The upshot of this is that we cannot view this parable exclusively from a pie-in-the-sky sense of spirituality, but must consider what it means in the here-and-now. As a world, we have spent our time, treasure, and wealth, trying to gain power and control over others, regardless what it cost, and are now finding out that the verdict is not going to be issued in our favor. Everything we have done to build a McMansion for ourselves, a Tower of Babel from which we can never be dislodged, a prosperous future based on a sea of lies, is now collapsing into a quagmire of quicksand which is threatening to suck us under and there is nothing we can do about it, except to be personally prepared for it, filling our reservoir of “oil” so that we will not be caught flat-footed nor absent when the full effect of the sentence imposed falls on us.

Jesus is not coming back to snatch us out of the sinful mess which we have created for ourselves. There is not going to be any supernatural “rescue” of those who hold to a particular religious ideology and viewpoint. We are going to experience the full weight and consequences of our own rebellious actions against the Word of God which compels us to love our neighbors and our enemies as much as we love ourselves. Because we have refused this order, Judgement Day is upon us and what is coming is going to hurt. It is going to be painful It is going to cause enormous difficulty to our preconceived notions of what it means to be Christian and we can either submit to it in faith and trust, believing that our Father, Who administers the “spanking” has our best interests at heart OR we can continue to believe that a rich “daddy” will bail us out of any conceivable disaster which we have brought upon ourselves.

We can bear the suffering and change our ways OR we can fight back and resist which will only result in a more severe beating. This is the choice before us and we will make a decision–one way or the other. Choose wisely.

Destroying the Village to Save It: Modern Version

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

In just a few days, the two week cease-fire in the Iran war will come to an end. What happens then is anybody’s guess, that is, if you’re not politically or militarily connected to the power-brokers who call the shots. What is certain, however, is that all the warring parties have been feverishly restocking their depleted stores of bombs, missiles, drones, planes, and other assorted war-waging materiel just in case the shooting starts all over again. I am quite sure it will. This time around, if it does, I would expect an all-out, no holds barred, assault on Iran and a reciprocal fire aimed at Israel, the GCC, and any US assets in the region.

Whatever happens, shoot or go home, there is one serious side-effect to this war which is not going to go away anytime soon, i.e., the shortage of oil around the world which has been caused by the Hormuz Strait closure and which will not be restored to any former sense of normalcy for months, at the very least. Larry Johnson sums it up quite well in this interview with Danny Davis. Donald Trump might put it like this, if he was to think about it.

“Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz which was open before the war cannot be tolerated. It was closed by Iran because we attacked them and now we’re going to attack them again to force it open. This war has already caused immense financial and social damage world-wide, but we have to continue it because Iran is at war with us.”

In other words, we have to wreck the world economy to save the world. Shades of Viet Nam.

The Strait was closed to traffic at the start of the war and, except for a few isolated instances, no oil tankers have transited it since then. Now, assume that a fully loaded tanker leaves the Strait headed for China or Japan, a voyage of 6500 +/- miles and travels at an average speed of 15 miles per hour, 24 hours per day. The voyage would take 433.33 hours or about 3 weeks to complete the trip. This means that all the tankers which left the Strait at the start of the war have already reached their port destination and unloaded the cargo. Plan a week to offload and another three weeks to make the return voyage means that a round trip could be made in seven weeks, or just about the length of time of the war so far.

The problem, under this scenario, is that there are no more tankers en route with cargo since none are allowed through the Strait and, even if these tankers could reload and ship out immediately, say another week to turn around, it would mean four more weeks before they arrive again in China or Japan. This means at least two months with no oil shipping from the Persian Gulf which will be absolutely disastrous to these countries (and all others dependent) and the effects will be felt around the world, including the US which (supposedly) is self-sufficient in oil. Not exactly true, but that’s another story. For a good description of how this affects the societies on the ground around the world, see here. Even if the Strait was fully opened immediately, there would still be that time lapse when no oil moved and the consequences of that will linger for a long time. If the active shooting restarts, the problem will only get worse.

Net result: cost of oil going through the roof and everything else which is derived from it rising in lockstep. We may very well see gasoline at $10 or $12 per gallon before this is done, which will basically cut the foundation from under the world economy and it will fall like a stone. A very large stone. Recall the lyrics which John Fogerty of CCR sang in the classic, “I see a bad moon rising. I see trouble on the way.”

Well done, Mr. Trump.

Massive dislocations in society, both public and private, are coming, like the predicted return of Jesus by so many people, soon, real soon. Those changes will probably get here first and will result in major alterations in the way the average person lives. They will drive the switch in thinking from “What can I buy which will make me feel better about myself?” to “How can I stay alive and feed my family today?”. In short, a paradigm change in the consideration of what is truly important. We need to be ready for that, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and the best place to start our preparations is found in this. 

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart 
And do not lean on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."
-- Proverbs 3:5-6

Weekly Wrap-up: War, Peace, Church Tradition, and Pure Speculation

Roger Mitchell4 Comments

The ongoing war between US/Israel and Iran, with all the permutations and angles this possesses (Hezbollah, Strait of Hormuz closure, potential Bab el Mandeb closure, etc.) is set to resume on Monday after the temporary two-week “cease-fire” expires. I hope that it will not and that the belligerents involved will be able to talk through their differences, but I expect that they will pick up their guns and begin firing again, this time with all-out fervor until one of them knuckles under and cries, “Uncle!”.

Col. Douglas McGregor lays it out quite plainly in this 30 minute video. See here.

Tucker Carlson has a lengthy video out concerning Donald Trump and his blatant mockery of Jesus Christ, Christianity, and Islam. I watched the first fifteen minutes, then shut it off to work on this post, however, I am in complete agreement, at least, so far, with his argument. Like I said, I only watched fifteen minutes. See here. For good measure, read my recent post on the same subject.

For the last few days, I have been reading Immanuel Velikovsky’s book, “Worlds in Collision”, in which he posits that the planet we know today as Venus was once a comet which nearly collided with Earth and was then captured by the sun’s gravity. He claims this occurred near the same time as the Biblical story of the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt and the conquest of the “promised land” about 1500 years before Christ. It is fascinating reading and for serious scholars (unlike myself) is heavily footnoted. His argument is compelling and, even though I am only about a third of the way through, I intend to finish it. It explains a lot in a logical manner (sometimes it appears to be quite far-fetched) about past happenings which we tend to disregard as myths and pooh-pooh as ancient religious beliefs.

Traditional religion and modern science ridicule his hypothesis as bunk, delusional, and unscriptural, but the question remains. What if he is correct and everyone else is wrong? After all, the saying, “Athanasius contra mundum.”, originated because a leader in the early Christian Church stood virtually alone in his defense of the divinity of Jesus Christ against the doctrines and beliefs of the Arian teaching. Athanasius was eventually vindicated and his teaching accepted as truth.

Just because you’re the only one doesn’t mean you’re wrong.

If you’re interested, download a free .pdf copy here.

Just war? What exactly is just war? Is there such a thing as a “just” war? Apparently, according to the recently anointed Pope, Leo XIV, this is open for discussion. And some hate him for bringing up the subject.

“God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.” — https://x.com/Pontifex/status/2042588417578668338

This does not sit well with some Catholics, however, who prefer tradition, interpretation, and doctrine over the actual teachings of Jesus, who spoke very plainly about the need to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us. Instead, we prefer to “do unto others, but do it to them first”.

Notice that the author of the article linked to, Matthew McCusker, leans quite heavily on Old Testament scripture to reinforce his position, but when he shifts to a discussion of the topic according to the New Covenant, there is absolutely no New Testament scripture quoted. Instead, he resorts to a history of the Catholic Church calling for wars and blessing wars in the name of the Christ. For instance,

‘The Sacred Scriptures, which are divinely revealed and free from all error, make it clear that (i) God commands war, (ii) war can be justified by reference to God’s commands and revelation, and (iii) He listens to the prayers of those who wage war.

Indeed, the waging of war at God’s command, and with His blessing, is one of the major themes of the Old Testament. Throughout the history of Israel and Judah, from the time of Moses down to the Maccabean revolt of the second century BC, God blessed those who fought in His name and He answered their prayers.”

And, without any reference to New Testament approval or blessing,

“The Church has also shown that God approves of fighting and leading just wars by repeatedly canonizing soldiers and military commanders.”

God approves of wars and fighting because the Church has repeatedly canonized soldiers and military commanders. I mean, my goodness, if this is the way to life then, by all means, let’s kill them all and let God sort them out. The problem for McCusker is that we do not live under the Old Covenant and are not obligated to its demands, but a New Covenant which has different rules of living. There is no such thing as a “just” war. Wars always result in the deaths and sufferings of innocent individuals, many of them women and children, who have done nothing to deserve what they are getting. McCusker needs to come up with a better defense of war than church tradition and papal bulls.

I am not Catholic and never will be, but I have to say that I think the Pope is on the right track and, given that he is on Donald Trump’s “naughty” list, makes me even more convinced that he is worth supporting in this.

“Tradition, tradition!” “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth!” “That way, the whole world will be blind and toothless.” — from the musical, Fiddler on the Roof

Dr. Trumpenstein’s Monster: Mocking the Master

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

No good will come of this.

You may have seen the photo of Donald Trump posing as Jesus healing a sick man (bringing a dead man back to life?). If not, feast your eyeballs…or turn away cringing in shame that this poseur and charlatan represents America to the world.

It would be reasonable to assume that this was created by one of his enemies to discredit him and to cause discord among his groupie following, but this was actually posted on Truth Social by THE MAN HIMSELF, and then taken down just a few hours later because of the ruckus it caused. Too late, however, since it had already been seen, downloaded, Photoshopped, AI rebuilt, and reposted by others. The version below is probably far more accurate. Notice that none of the figures shown has six fingers, although it is impossible to tell about Benni Nutti Yahoo since he is keeping his hands well out of sight. Notice also the figure above Trump’s left shoulder which was in the original and has not been manipulated.

Then, to top it all off, when asked by a reporter about it, Trump explained that, yes, he posted it because he thought it presented him as a doctor, a healer, someone who makes people better, and blasted the “Fake News” for pushing the idea that he was putting himself into the role of Jesus.

I mean, like, Wow! Does the arrogance of this man know any bounds? Or is it only limited by his own mind? I do have to admit, though, that Melania looks as soft and caring as I have ever seen her and the sight of Ghislaine praying and giving thanks for the miracle about to happen just really warms my heart and gives me hope that any or all of them might actually have a “coming to Jesus moment”. Except Epstein, of course, because he’s been “dead” for a lot more than four days.

For more information, check out this BBC article which has the video and this line.

“Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump did not apologise.”

Of course not! The unmitigated gall! The effrontery!! Trump does not apologize. Trump does not admit wrong. Trump does not ask forgiveness. Which is too bad because, unless he changes course in a hurry, he will go to his eternal grave guilty of the charge of trying to make himself equal with God. He may not know it, but he is following in the footsteps of King Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:21-23) who was struck down by an angel because he did not correct the people when they said that he spoke with the voice of a god, but accepted their worship and praise as if it were true.

Herod, you’re fired!

This is the man that a lot of American Christians voted for, the man they put into the White House as their Dear Leader, the one they trusted to straighten out the condition of the nation AND the world, the one they expected to save them from the cesspit in which they live. The man who lies to them constantly about everything, yet they hang onto his every word as if it were gospel. For some, if Trump had shown blood dripping from his right ear1 onto his white robe, it would have been as if God Himself had drawn that picture. They worship a false god who cannot heal their disease, but are convinced that the snake oil he sold them will work.

“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (II Timothy 3:2-4)

Doesn’t this fit Donald Trump to a T? And Paul’s advice?

“From such people turn away!” (v 5)

How many will take this counsel? My hope is that many who have hoisted him on a pedestal will drag him off it of their own volition and change the way they think about the man and his politics. I would be quite happy if they would also think about their own politics while they’re in a repenting mode.

  1. Shortly after the Butler incident, I created a “fake” rendition of Johnny Cash’s hit, A Boy Named Sue, and applied it to the situation.

    “Well, the shots rang out and then the cries, And he went down but to my surprise, He came back up with a fist and blood all over his ear.” ↩︎

Don’t Cross These Red Lines

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

From an article on Zero Hedge:

Trump’s 6 Red Lines

Fox News reports that Vice President Vance’s final offer delivered to the Iranian delegation in Islamabad includes the following “red lines.”

  1. End all uranium enrichment
  2. Dismantle all major nuclear enrichment facilities 
  3. Retrieve highly enriched uranium 
  4. Accept a broader peace, security and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies
  5. End funding for terrorist proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis
  6. Fully open the Strait of Hormuz, charging no tolls for passage

Needless to say, Iran refused to agree. 

Oh-kay! Translation below.

Trump: “End all uranium enrichment.” Iran: “Not acceptable, not negotiable.”

Trump: “Dismantle all major nuclear enrichment facilities.” Iran: “Not acceptable, not negotiable. Besides, we don’t have any nuclear enrichment facilities anymore since you “obliterated” them last year in the 12-day war. Remember? Do we need to play the clips?”

Trump: “Retrieve Surrender highly enriched uranium.” Iran: “Not acceptable, not negotiable.”

Trump: “Accept a broader peace, security and de-escalation framework that includes regional allies.” Iran: “We have already proposed this as a condition, but that will have to include Israel as well. Without Israel, this is not acceptable, not negotiable.”

Trump: “End funding for terrorist proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.” Iran: “What funding is this? We can’t even afford to pay our own people since our currency is worthless. We know this because you are always bragging about destroying it.”

Trump: “Fully open the Strait of Hormuz, charging no tolls for passage.” Iran: “Not acceptable, not negotiable. That is our trump card (pardon the pun) and we intend to play it to the max. Someone is going to pay for this war and if you refuse to pony up for the damages caused, then the rest of the world will. Besides, and we hate to belabor the point, but before we were attacked, the Strait was fully and freely open to anyone who wanted to transit it. We did not start this trouble, but we are going to finish it.”

Needless to say, Team Trump got up and walked out.

Next move: Donald Trump. “Blockade the blockade.”

Resumption of War: Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

There was, supposedly, a two-week ceasefire in the war between Iran and the US/Israel tag team for the purpose of “negotiating” an end to the shooting. I say supposedly because the shooting never really stopped completely, but was only diminished to a fairly low degree. The negotiations (if you can call them that) occurred between the US and Iran because Israel refused point-blank to participate and, if an actual ceasefire had been adopted, probably would have refused to cooperate.

Nevertheless, the US team (led by vice-president J. D. Vance and his “minders”, Witkoff and Kushner) apparently could only stick it out for less than 24 hours before they determined that the talks were fruitless and walked out. This tells me that they came into the arena with a pre-determined set of demands (as did the Iranians) which they were unwilling to alter for any reason (as were the Iranians). However, since US/Israel were the aggressors in this conflict and had unilaterally attacked Iran, without warning, it seems logical and fair that they should have been the ones to soften their stance first. Since this didn’t happen, the only way to look at the situation is that the ceasefire was implemented, not out of a sincere desire to arrive at a resolution, but for strategic purposes, that is, to allow time for a breather and an opportunity to re-arm in preparation for Round #3.

The war will resume and continue until one side or the other has had enough and calls it quits:

  • Israel will not do this, continuing to the very end, fighting with everything it has, up to and including the use of nuclear weapons if it is deemed necessary, which will probably be its death knell. No matter, suicide is better than being beaten to death.
  • Iran is in an existential position. Defeat for it means submission to and subjection under the heel of the US hegemon, the destruction of its society, and the loss of control over its resources, similar to other countries within living memory: Iraq, Libya, Serbia, Syria, Somalia, etc. It is not likely that Iran will capitulate and surrender, until or unless surrender becomes preferable to death. In this, Iran is more reasonable than Israel.
  • This leaves the US as the only possible dropout, with serious international repercussions and harm to its unipolar status and empire, not to mention personal humiliation to the pride of Donald Trump who cannot admit wrong in anything. However, American wars since Korea have not produced anything approximating a clear and sustainable victory, virtually guaranteeing that this one will be no different and the longer it drags on, the more resistance it will generate at home, perhaps even culminating in a vigorous anti-war movement a la the Vietnam era.

As I said, the war will resume and continue, probably escalate into a region-wide conflict far beyond the current locations, and may very well result in the large powers (US, Russia, China, EU) flinging nuclear tipped missiles at each other, threatening not only each other but the entire planet.

Why do we have wars? Why can human beings not live without trying to kill each other? Why does destruction of “others” hold so much fascination for us? What would it take for this tendency to be eliminated from our pattern of living? Why are we not willing to attain that?

This morning, I replied to a comment on the Unz Review in which the commenter took exception to the conclusion of the article which sought to explore the reasons for war, basically arriving at the conclusion that money (profit, interest, financial gain) was behind all wars. The commenter in question disagreed with that, stating that most wars, the large majority, were due to differences in tribal identity, ethnic interests, and religious viewpoints. While I cannot argue that these contribute to the hostility between people, they are, in my opinion, symptoms of the disease and not the cause of it. I concluded my comment with this thought.

“The winner takes it all. Gain (call it profit) is all that counts. In animals, this is instinctual and they can do nothing about it. In humans, it is a spiritual matter (call it greed, covetousness, selfishness, hatred, etc.), springing from the depths of the personal soul and it can be countered, overcome, and changed for the better of everyone. It must be conquered if we are to survive.”

https://www.unz.com/article/all-wars-are-bankers-wars-iran-and-the-bankers-endgame/#comment-7579938

There is only one solution to war. It has nothing to do with money, power, the “greater good”, better and more destructive armaments, political savvy and machinations. Instead, it begins within the individual human soul, the admission that the hatred, anger, selfishness, greed, covetousness, and desire to see others harmed, is not beneficial to oneself and is to be repented of. The absence of war might be achieved by states, powers, and societies temporarily, but the absence of war is not equivalent to the “peace which passes all understanding” and which can only be gained by the admission of sin in one’s soul, the humbling of personal pride, the earnest request for help, and the alteration of the way a person thinks about his relationship to God, to himself, and to those around him. Without this spiritual level paradigm shift, there simply is no peace and, as a consequence, wars arise, not because one person can create wars, but due to the fact that societies and cultures are built by the agglomeration of individuals, many of whom have not made that shift and who seek power for its own sake, using all the techniques known to sinful man in the process.

If you would change the world, change yourself.

Getting at the Root of the Problem

Roger Mitchell2 Comments

I’m writing this with dirt under my fingernails as I have been working in my garden and have not cleaned my hands thoroughly. This is clean dirt, after all, as opposed to dirty dirt. Clean dirt is good. Dirty dirt is not. Auto repair work produces greasy dirt which is the worst of all. Some might be inclined to argue about that. They’re welcome to their opinion.

I planted mint in one of my garden beds years ago with the intention of harvesting produce which I could dry and brew later as tea and, doggone, it worked. Unfortunately, mint is a very aggressive plant and it wasn’t long before it started showing up in places where it was not supposed to be and I’ve spent a considerable amount of time working through this trying to eradicate it. Not good. Tip: If you plant mint, put it in a location which can be mowed around, 100%. Otherwise, you’re asking for trouble.

Anyway, I was out there today digging through it, picking it over, removing all (or as many as I could see) of the roots so as to clean the bed for planting “good” seed. Before this year, I would have simply turned the soil over with a pick, taken out the roots which were visible, and left it as it was, good enough, probably due to lack of time. Since I am now semi-retired and spending most of my days at home, I have time on my hands, so I started sifting it by hand, getting dirt under my fingernails, when all at once, I realized that this is the way God expects me to sort through the soil of my life, identifying and eliminating all the aggressive, invasive parts which, if left alone, will sprout and choke out the blessings of other plants which are desirable.

Mint is potentially good, it is disastrous if uncontrolled, and if even one small bit of root is left in the soil, it will sprout and spread. So it is with the “bad” habits of our lives, our sins, the defects which keep us from attaining the spiritual purity which God demands we strive for. It is relatively easy to dig them out superficially, at the surface level, and some can be conquered that way due to their character, but the deep-rooted ones which do not die because their strength and vitality lies in their root are not easily beaten. Anyone who has struggled to dig out dandelions knows what I am saying. It requires persistent dedication to go back over and over again, without ever being able to relax our vigilance in the battle.

I will spend the rest of my life eradicating sins. Digging out mint roots might not take as long.

Whose Voice Will You Hear? And Follow?

Roger Mitchell2 Comments

News Flash: There may have been a negotiated cease-fire in the war. According to this, Iran, the US, and Israel agreed to stop shooting at each other for a period of two weeks and Iran agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz for the same two weeks. Whether this will hold or not is debatable, but if the destruction and killing ends, even temporarily, that will be a good thing.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/political-theatre/power-politics-the-iran-war-john-j-mearsheimer/

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I may have read Donald Trump wrong the other day when I said he was a madman. After a few days of reading other commentary and thinking about it, his childish, foul eruption on Truth Social may have been because he was simply irate with the way things were going on the ground in Iran. In other words, angry and raging. Mad man! Not necessarily insane nor off his rocker (that possibility still exists, BTW), but definitely upset. His antics resemble those of a pampered, spoiled child who has been told that he cannot have the thing he wanted and has thrown a hissy fit.

What appears to have set him off was the horrible loss of aircraft taken in the (supposed) mission mounted to rescue the second airman who was stranded in Iran after his plane, an F-15E was shot down. Speculation is rife that the official story is a smokescreen and was designed to mask the real operation–a bold attempt to grab the enriched uranium stored near Isfahan by Special Forces, which, if successful, would have been a major victory for the Trump administration. Unfortunately, for him, it was not and resulted in a major disaster.

This is reminiscent of the hapless military maneuver ordered by Jimmy Carter in 1980 to rescue the 53 kidnapped hostages from the American embassy following the revolution which ousted the Shah and replaced him with Ayatollah Khomeini. Carter’s reputation took an immense hit over the incident and he lost the presidential election to Ronald Reagan by a landslide. It is interesting that the Iranian regime released the hostages almost immediately after Reagan took office.

To be sure, Donald Trump’s outbursts are important as they help to shape and manipulate the world situation and have extraordinary power to mold events and happenings in real time. What is more important, however, is how we perceive, not the message, but the messenger. Do we see him as The Answer to all our troubles? A messiah who will correct America’s problems and reverse her downward course? Are we consumed with the concept of American Exceptionalism which teaches that we are better than the rest of the world? Is Trump our Glorious Hope and constant Source of Strength? Are we trying, perhaps without even realizing it, to live vicariously through him?

Questions like these matter greatly because they shine a brilliant light on the faith in our lives, where we actually live and what we actually believe to be true. As Christians, professed believers in Jesus the Christ, the Prince of Peace, we have to make a decision as to the course we will follow and will be held responsible for any deviation from the truth. Consequently, when our man Trump makes a declaration or takes an action which is contrary to the teachings of Jesus, we are put into a position of decision: Which version of truth will I hold to and whose word will I follow?

Thinking about it this way brings the Gospel message home, personally close, and we simply cannot avoid it. Attempting to shove it under the rug, to make excuses, to justify our actions only creates confusion and controversy. In the end, we must admit that the Gospel reigns supreme or a political paradigm based on violent force and selfishness does. There is no middle ground here, no neutrality, no fence-straddling. It is either one or the other.

As a lifelong skeptic, I am forced to concede that neither of these positions may be true and that both may be false, however, it is certain that both cannot be right. Either the Gospel is correct or…it is not. Either Trump’s method of “kill, steal, and destroy” is the way to go…or it is not. Either of these might be right, both might be wrong, but both cannot be right. It is my responsibility as a son of God, Who is Truth, to determine which of these two is proper and to forsake all others or, if in deciding that both are wrong, to find something else to pursue. In the event that you hold to neither philosophy, then it is up to you to point the rest of us in a different direction, because without that, your version of truth is worthless, null, and void.

This holds significant authority in the lives of modern-day American Christians who are instructed constantly to live like Christ, to exemplify His pattern on Earth, yet still worship and exalt the religion of violent power. How can this be? Jesus, love him or hate him, spoke constantly about sacrificing one’s own life so that others would benefit, yet, today there are many who claim to believe in this way of life who do not hesitate to loudly and persistently seek to rain death and destruction on others so that they might personally benefit from the loss that others experience.

I cannot tolerate that.

If you proclaim your faith in Jesus, this is for you. You have a choice to make. You can follow the message of the Gospel of Peace, learning what it means to love your neighbor AND your enemy at least as much as you love yourself, OR, you can follow the path of violence, vengeance, and hatred toward others that you don’t even know.

The status of your eternal future depends on the way you respond.

Easter Morning Message of Death and Destruction

Roger Mitchell5 Comments

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116351998782539414

“Praise be to Allah.” ???? Just two days ago, Trump gave glory to God in posting about his ultimatum to Iran over the Hormuz Strait. Either he can’t make up his mind which god he worships or else he’s covering all the bases. Which god does he actually represent? Certainly not Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who teaches us to love our enemies, not kill them.

I am not a psychologist but I can read into this. Things are going horribly wrong and Donald Trump is at his wit’s end, pulling his hair out, over this Iran debacle which he foolishly injected himself and America into. No, wait! Let’s make that, himself and the United States1, not America, because the two no longer are synonymous. The vast majority of America is against this conflict and wants him to pull out–win or lose. Just get out!

Back to the point.

No one, including US presidents who can do whatever they want, who have no restraints placed on their power and will except their own mind, would talk like that if things were going their way. If Trump was getting everything he wanted out of this war to destroy Iran for the sake of Israel and Bibi Netanyahu, then he would not make threats and demands in such strident and crass language. These are not the words of a diplomat making attempts to resolve a critical situation. Instead, they reflect an understanding in his soul that his wants and desires are being thwarted and that his vision of a speedy victory of accomplishment is rapidly receding into the rear-view mirror. They are the words of a passionate madman, an extremely dangerous madman, and all of us should be concerned because of, not so much the words themselves, but the irrational, incoherent actions, orders, and consequences which they foretell, a potential Armageddon, so to speak. If you think I’m being too hard on the man, see these responses from far more prominent and powerful persons than I will ever be.

Consider one of these Armageddon scenarios, as mentioned in Ryan McMaken’s thoughtful article on Lew Rockwell.

“We possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets and can launch them at targets in all directions, perhaps even at Rome. Most European capitals are targets for our air force. Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: “Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.” I consider it all hopeless at this point. We shall have to try to prevent things from coming to that, if at all possible. Our armed forces, however, are not the thirtieth strongest in the world, but rather the second or third. We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that that will happen before Israel goes under.’” — Martin van Creveld, a prominent Israeli military historian who spoke these words in 2003.

In layman’s terms, this is called the Samson Option.

“Strategic literature has long discussed what is sometimes referred to as the “Samson Option” — the idea that Israel could resort to nuclear weapons if faced with defeat. Whether or not such a doctrine formally exists, the logic behind it is clear. If a state genuinely believes its existence is threatened, the pressure to escalate dramatically becomes far greater.”

In van Creveld’s quote above, he referenced Moshe Dayan. “Israel must be like a mad dog…” Today, we can clearly see that Donald Trump is talking and acting like a mad person, virtually foaming at the mouth in his insane remarks and, considering the close relationship he has with the string-pullers who support and back Israel, it is not far-fetched to expect that the world will soon be bitten and savaged by this “mad dog” mentality. In the real world, rabies (the official term) is treated by a vaccine before the symptoms appear. In the political world, especially one in which Congress refuses to act as any kind of restraint on Trump’s behavior, it may be too late to “inoculate” the victim, which only leaves two options: remove him from office via the 25th Amendment or allow him to continue “biting” in a furious rage until everyone who is affected (the entire world) meets a logical, horrible end.

It’s the end of the world as we knew it and tomorrow will not be the same as yesterday.

Clearly, the most obvious rational move would be for JD Vance and Trump’s cabinet members to declare him unfit to rule and depose him with the assent of Congress. In this, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth would also have to be shown the door, shaking up the entire power structure and ushering in a new dynamic which might, actually might, restore a sense of balance to foreign policy.

However, being that this is Washington, DC, all bets are off and there is nothing to do except make noise, hope for the best, and wait to see what comes out of it.

  1. Defined as the entire government structure, the military-industrial complex, the mass media, the neo-con warmongers like Lindsey Graham, the major banks and money-changers, and the sycophantic, delusional believers in Christian Zionism. ↩︎

Fired Up! Who Holds the Greater Power?

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I am fired up! Fired up at least as much as Chuck Baldwin, the pastor of Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, MT, who just preached this message to his congregation on Sunday, March 22nd. Trigger Warning: Do not watch this if you are not interested in hearing the truth. If you are only concerned with the way you have always believed and do not want to hear another view which may be different than yours, this is not for you. DO NOT OPEN!

For those who seek truth, there comes a time in our lives when we have to question what we truly believe. What am I staking my life on? What am I staking my eternity on? Do I really believe what I am saying is the truth? Are there questions and doubts? If there are, how am I addressing them? Am I willing to admit that I don’t know everything and that I might be wrong?

Heavens, no! God forbid that I should be wrong!!!!!

Here’s a question for you.

According to your beliefs, is the Word of God more powerful, less powerful, or only equal in power to Donald Trump and the MIC/Deep State/Establishment/Blob/Banks which supposedly rule America today? According to Donald Trump, “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me,…”

“One thing. Only one thing that can stop me and that is myself. I control myself. No one else controls me. I am the master of my own destiny and if I decide to destroy all of humanity and Earth itself for the sake of my own desires, who is there to stop me?”

Well, he didn’t really say that. I just made it up, but between what he did say and the way I paraphrased it, there is virtually no difference.

So you have three choices, only three:

  1. More powerful
  2. Less powerful
  3. Equal in power.

Now, if you answered that the Word of God is less powerful than Mr. Trump, then you have just acknowledged that he really can do anything he likes and there’s not a doggone thing you (or anyone else) can do about it. There really are no limits to his reach and grasp. What you have done is to admit that power and truth are relative to the situation and, in dealing with human beings, the situation always revolves around who is the strongest and who can control others the most. You have no hope that things will get any better, unless, of course, you manage to elect a new “king” to replace him. No Kings, except the one I want!

If, perhaps, you think the Word of God and The Donald are equal in power, then it is a simple matter of the two jockeying for position and advantage all the time, except of course, those times when the Word aligns with Trump’s words. This is really as ludicrous a position as anyone could conjure up and I’m almost embarrassed to mention it, but, well, let’s just close the chapter on that option and not say anymore about it.

However, if your answer is that the Word of God is more powerful than Trump or any other government, institutional, or corporate official, then you have to take this into consideration. If his politics, words, and actions do not align with the Word, how far are you going to go to support him? Will you have to bend your own beliefs and principles to conform to his? Wouldn’t this make him a false god in your eyes? Wouldn’t this ambivalence on your part be considered idolatry? As a firm believer that the Word reigns supreme in the lives of men and that God sets up “kings” and takes them down again when their role is finished, aren’t you supposed to speak the truth to those around you, whether it is popular or not, regardless as to the trouble it might land you in? Even if Kamala Harris were elected to represent America on the world stage? Or, as the ancient saying goes, “Shall we vote for an evil person to lead us so that another even more evil person doesn’t?”

Actually, I just made that up, but you can quote me on it.

Nevertheless, as Christians, believers in the supremacy of Jesus the Christ, our allegiance and loyalty is to His kingship and when the rules and behavior of men who would be kings does not conform to His authority, we have to make a choice. Do we live as these men (women) order us to even though we know it is wrong OR do we refuse to submit and follow the example of Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego? Jeremiah? Stephen, who was stoned to death and became the first recorded martyr of the early church? Peter, who denied his Lord three times in one evening, but was crucified upside down because of his unwavering stand? Paul, who persecuted the early Christians, but completely changed his attitude, groveling in the dirt at the feet of his future master while on the road to Damascus?

Or, are we more concerned with the creature comforts of home and try to justify the killing and destruction of those around the world who are labeled “enemies” of the American way of life?

This is something we need to make up our minds about because the demons are coming out of the woodwork everywhere and it is becoming evident that something is changing–big time. The life we once knew is behind us, in our past, and we can no longer depend on it (or the Constitution of the United States) to keep those demons in check. If we do not know who holds the Real Power, then life is just a bouncing back and forth from one extreme to another, all of which seek to diminish us as individuals created in the Image of God, with all the rights and honors which come from that.

Broken, but Still Defiant

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By this time, you have probably seen Donald Trump’s recent address to the American public and the world on the situation in the Middle East. If you haven’t, watch it here.

I only watched the first half of this, about nine minutes, then I turned it off. I couldn’t take any more. I actually felt compassion for the man, which is something different for me, because I have never had anything but contempt for him before this.

Trump is broken. He’s done. He walked in as if he was about ready to collapse, head down, without any life in his step. During the time I watched, he never let go of the lectern and never took his eyes off the auto-prompt, reading everything on it in a mechanical manner quite unlike his usual self. Eyes straight ahead, monotone voice. Body language defying everything he said. None of the usual bombastic, flamboyant behavior. Even when he took credit for all the “good” things which have happened, it was as if coming from a robot.

I’m not surprised. After all, the Word promises that those who exalt themselves shall be humbled, and there is no question about Trump exalting himself. “I’m the president. I can do anything I want. The only limit I recognize is my own mind, my own will, my own morality. Look at me. Look at me. Look. Look. Look.”

Trump is broken. He’s run up against something which he can’t control and it has done him in. This is probably the first time in his life where he experienced something like this, with negative repercussions directly and visibly in front of him and no way to avoid the accounting, which is disastrous. No matter which way he turns, no matter what he does, he loses. Loses, loses bigly. He is in uncharted territory.

I could easily expound on the Iran war, but that is not necessary. There are more than enough pundits eager and willing to analyze and write about that. Instead, I’m going to psychoanalyze Mr. Trump’s position and his mentality, from a distance, of course, as I have never met the man and I have never had any training in the profession, but I have had a lot of experience from life.

Trump is in a very bad position, between Iran and a hard place.1 If he withdraws from the battle because it is beginning to cost too much, then he will be seen as a loser, a quitter, someone who can’t stand being punched in the nose. If he stays in the fight, he has to escalate in order to “win”, a subjective perception which might or might not play well at home with his fan base. If he escalates, he runs the risk of generating even greater losses than already incurred, i.e., the lives of hundreds or thousands of American servicemen/women which will not play well at home. If this war drags on very much longer, it runs the risk of becoming a Viet Nam type engagement, which will not play well at home. If he resorts to the use of nuclear weapons (or consents to the use of Israeli nuclear weapons), he runs the risk of world-wide condemnation, including from his home base. He can’t quit and he can’t continue. Is it any wonder that he appeared as he did last night in the speech he presented? Old, broken, and unwilling to admit failure and defeat.

God, please, please have mercy on that man. He needs it.

  1. Pardon the pun. George W. Bush was in the same predicament more than 20 years ago. Caught between Iraq and a hard place. The saying goes, “caught between a rock and a hard place”, in other words, in a position where everything you do turns out badly because you made a stupid, a really stupid mistake to start with. ↩︎

Closing Churches: For the Sake of Safety

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Here’s one example of “foreign” policy in which we can be glad that Donald Trump did what was right. Right?

“Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre was closed by Israeli authorities earlier this month after Iranian missile fragments hit Jerusalem, with restrictions also being placed on who can enter the walled old city – home to all of the most sacred religious sites.

This has resulted in outrage among Christians, however, Israeli officials have said that Al Aqsa Mosque was also closed, and limitations were placed numbers of people visiting the Western Wall – and claimed that all of this was being done as a safety precaution.”

Apparently, after The Man leaned on TPTB over the controversy, Israel rescinded the order and allowed people to once again enter the church. In Israel’s defense, however, it must be noted that the closure was done for “safety’s sake” so that no one would be killed or wounded while worshipping God at the site, one of the most “holy” in all of Christendom. Israel, after all, pays special attention to ensuring that its citizens, visitors, and neighbors maintain good health and are free to come and go as they please.

Notice the heavy application of sarcasm in the last sentence.

“But closure of the Holy Sepulchre for Lent and Easter is basically unprecedented in recent history, and Church leaders say it violates the church’s historic autonomy under an arrangement called the ‘status quo’.”

Wait! What? Unprecedented in recent history? Well, this may be true of that particular building, but it was only a few years ago, 2020, to be exact, when churches in America were “strongly urged” to close their doors at Easter because there was a new, highly contagious, extremely lethal virus making the rounds and, if we didn’t isolate behind our face masks and bedroom doors, millions upon millions of people would have died. Thank God that Donald Trump intervened in that situation as well, protecting America’s citizens, visitors, and neighbors from almost certain harm and horrible death.

More sarcasm, a double helping. I’m on a roll here, people, bear with me.

I had started writing about the Covid Aberration in mid-March, but really got fired up when the “order” came down and countless churches, run by spineless men who didn’t know which King king they worshipped, but picked the one close to hand, especially since their 501(c)(3) tax status might have been questioned. I actually published a Letter to the Editor in a local paper, blasting the decision by churches to follow the “advice” of the State, but it didn’t seem to make much of an impact. However, for me, that was the final straw and I waded into the battle over Covid with full force and strength, and occasionally still do publish work which is not complimentary to the “defenders of the faith”.

Anyway, it seems ironic to me that Trump, who sat in the Oval Office at Easter time in 2020, who presided over the worst, most insulting scam and psy-op in recent years, and who may have actually given the order to close the churches (certainly he approved of the matter, since he has declared that as President, he can do whatever he wants, which means he could have overruled the order, but didn’t), put pressure on Israel to draw back from its heavy-handed tactics against worshippers at this time. After all, this is a “holy” time and no one should be restricted from a full recognition of their right to exercise their beliefs in the way they want to. Especially in Jerusalem, the most holy city in all the world.

Right? Of course, right!

All of this has brought back memory of that earlier time, six years ago, and the remembrance of the craven, obsequious, fearful actions of church leaders everywhere still has the power to enrage me, so I went digging in my archives and dredged up the original article to reprint. Nothing in it has been changed except for one very small editorial comment. I still stand behind my words. You can read the original here.

Corona, Churches, and Easter

April 12th, 2020 is Easter Sunday. It is considered the most important date in history by the Christian religion. It is universally celebrated as the day on which Jesus Christ rose up out of the grave in which he had been placed after his death the Friday before by crucifixion. He had been declared dead, was entombed, and came back to life immortal. This is the message that has been proclaimed for 2000 years.

Today, in America, that message will be muted considerably because churches have been ordered by the State to close their doors because of the Corona virus panic, er, I mean, pandemic.

If the State can tell churches to shut down over a ‘bug’, then this can happen for any reason at all. In fact, history shows that the more totalitarian a State becomes, the more prone it is to shut church doors. America is not immune.

In defiance of this order, churches everywhere ought to throw open their doors, welcome everyone in, and get on with the joyful worship of the One Who was dead, but now lives. Pastors and church boards ought to ‘gird up their loins’ and tell the State where to get off. After all, as the Apostle Peter said so eloquently when called up before the Jewish Court, “We ought to obey God, rather than men.”

Will this happen? Not likely. Today, in America, worship of the State has trumped worship of the King. God help us!

Note: The above was submitted as a Letter to the Editor [paywalled] to the Ravalli Republic, in Hamilton, MT on April 4, 2020 and printed April 5.

I fully expect to receive blowback because of this, but it makes me angry that the US government, our government, can simply issue a ‘guideline’ (thinly veiled threat is more like it) to churches and other places of worship, which is then taken as law by those same assemblies. It is not my intention to disparage or minimize the danger posed by Coronavirus, but I will not be quiet when a governing official (whoever that might be—elected or bureaucratic) orders a church to close its doors. No government should be able to dictate which church can practice its faith, when it can be open, when it must close, how many people can attend, who can attend, how much distance there must be between attendees, etc., ad infinitum.

Most churches today are more concerned with maintaining their 501(c)(3) tax exempt status than with proclaiming the truth. Threaten the run-of-the-mill pastor of today with ‘sanctions’ for disobedience of State rules and he will probably cave, thus watering down the message of the Good News. More than likely, he will trot out the argument that, according to Romans 13, we are supposed to obey the civil authority in everything we do, without ever considering that Christians in Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia were under the same mandate and subject to the same standard.

Where will we draw the line against the encroachment of the State? If the various churches refuse to stand up to its edicts and dictates, what chance do any of us have?

We must not be quiet or we will be silenced.

The Narrow Path and Consequences of Walking in It.

Roger Mitchell2 Comments

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are may who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult it the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” — Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:13-14)

I’m getting better, because instead of going to my Brave browser and typing in the search words, I opened my bible to the appropriate section and almost immediately found what I was looking for. Familiarity may breed contempt, but it also produces results, that is, reliance on memory.

Think about it this way. Life/Death. Good/Evil. Heaven/Hell. They are both constantly with us and we are always made aware that we live in one or the other. It is as if a tableau is laid out before us where the scene is split down the middle, one side blazingly white, the other impenetrably black, with an invisible barrier, an unseen fence between them. This barrier cannot be climbed over, penetrated through, dug under. We cannot, as Jim Morrison advocated, break on through to the other side. It is absolute, except that there is one entry point, one location, one gate which allows those who live on the dark side to enter into the light, and all of us live on the dark side until we go through that gate.

This is the gospel in a nutshell. There is only one way to transfer from the realm of darkness into the realm of light, and it is through the narrow gate, which most people never find. Incidentally, the narrow gate only allows one person at a time to pass through, i.e., you, as an individual. It is not possible to go through it with your friends, family, or society. You make the passage by yourself, completely alone. All it requires is that you suck up your gut and squeeze through, admitting that you cannot do this on your own power and in your own strength.

The immediate benefit is that a whole new world opens up before you–light, clarity, knowledge, understanding, etc., and you find yourself on a road which exposes itself before you in whatever direction you choose to go. The whole world is your oyster, so to speak, and there are no restrictions as to which way you turn, besides that of the overall goal of reaching the Holy City, which is burned into your soul. The qualifier, however, is that you cannot see any further than one step ahead of you and the road itself gets narrower and narrower, no matter which way you turn, until you are forced to shed baggage which you carry in order to move ahead.

Let me be perfectly clear. When you suck up your gut and squeeze through the narow gate, you drag all, that is, ALL, your baggage with you, and it is this baggage which you are given the option to reduce as you travel down the increasingly narrow road: Shuck it as it hangs up on the guardrails and move on, or fight to keep it, which only stalls your progress. The fact is, that the longer you stay in one position trying to hang on to what you are sure is yours, the less mileage toward the goal you will traverse. Lesson: If something is holding you back, leave it behind and move on. How many pianos were dumped and abandoned on the Oregon Trail because of the mountains ahead (reality) and concern for the horse team or oxen which pulled the wagon?

Obviously, this goes against our human nature and requires personal sacrifice, but, is anything worth having unless it has cost us something? How many of those “covered wagon wives” who refused to leave their beloved pianos behind would have preferred to stay with them while their husbands and children, along with the rest of the wagon train, passed out of sight…forever? Looking back on it six months later, after crossing the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains, would those same people have regretted and mourned the loss of their beloved possessions? I doubt it. More probably, they would be looking forward toward their future where they were at, with what they had at the moment.

Ultimately, as human beings on the road of life, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, which is worth holding onto in our pursuit of our future, our own “promised land”. In the pursuit of spiritual life, nothing we possess and drag along with us can be held sacred and incapable of being discarded. Quite honestly, the narrow gate which leads to life is only the beginning. Once we enter into the realm of pure light, everything which we carry casts a shadow and must be considered suspect and a hindrance in our quest to find the holy grail, which is Truth.

Why, then, do we struggle so much to retain the little that we have? Is it not because we do not understand what is available to us in the eternal because we are focused on the physical present?

Immigrant Children or Aborted Children. Where is the Love?

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Originally written almost six years ago. While circumstances have changed, the principle has not, at least in my opinion.

It’s been all over the news the last few days. You probably know what I’m alluding to, but if you haven’t heard about the young immigrant children held in detention camps in Texas, without access to showers, soap, or toothbrushes and toothpaste, then I’ve linked to some sites to bring you up to date.

See here, here, and here.

Don’t worry. I’m not going political on you. Instead, I want to point out some hypocrisy and double standards between the way people think about this issue and that of abortion. I intend to zero in on two distinctly different camps. I will be fair and even-handed in my criticism.

There are those who express anger and outrage at the way the federal government has treated these immigrant children, bringing up all the arguments as to why the United States should welcome them in, if not with open arms then, at least, a food stamp voucher, a driver’s license, and voter registration, along with any other ‘freebies’ we can give them. After all, they are poor, destitute, and hungry. We should have compassion on them because we have so much to give and, oh, by the way, did you happen to see that picture of the man who drowned while trying to save his little daughter, who also drowned? Just tears my heart to pieces, it does!

These same people, however, will argue long and loudly about the ‘right’ of a woman to abort her unborn child, to literally rip it to shreds and throw it into a wastebasket or use it in some scientific experiment on rodents. They never stop to think about the hypocrisy they espouse—kindness, compassion, and pity for one group of youngsters, but cold-hearted, callous, cruelty towards another which is even more defenseless than the first.

Where is the love?

And, at the polar opposite are those who get all lathered up about ‘abortion on demand’ which destroys untold millions of innocent unborn humans before they get a chance to live, yet express hateful, hard-hearted, attitudes toward the unfortunate, poverty-ridden immigrant children who just happened to show up on our doorstep. Why did they come here anyway and why should we have to pay so that they can have a toothbrush and a hot shower? Don’t we have enough trouble of our own without inviting more from outside? The double-standard here, obviously, is to agitate for a society which forbids the killing of an unborn child, while holding a political position which demands that ‘our’ government turn ‘those others’ away at The Wall, er, I mean, the border.

Where is the love?

Both the immigrant children and the unborn children are equivalent [in one respect] however, they are all human beings who need assistance, sustenance, and security in order to survive and thrive. Both groups need to have love, compassion, and kindness shown to them, along with a safe place to sleep in and adequate nutrition and care. Both groups are completely unable to resist or overcome the ill treatment which they receive at the hands of more powerful people, who are only interested in their own self-interest.

This is a spiritual question, a human question. What are we supposed to do about others who are in a desperate situation, regardless of how they came to be there? It’s not political nor popular and will not receive widespread support, but it is the only answer I have.

“Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, who are my brothers and sisters, you have done it unto me.”—Jesus the Christ (Matthew 25:40)

No Kings!! Second Verse, Same as the First.

Roger Mitchell4 Comments

The first verse in this chorus can be seen here. Below is the second.

Today, 3/28/2026, was “No Kings” day in Missoula, in conjunction with multiple like events all over the country. I attended the local protest along with a few of my friends and had a relatively good time, talking with passers-by, none of whom could be bothered to get into in-depth conversations, and would-be politicians, all of whom were making a show of concern, letting the public know that they were, of course, not Donald Trump. I would estimate the crowd as numbering at least 5, 000, but there may have been twice that many there. Good turnout, but then this is a deep blue city in a red state, so I’m not really surprised at the size of the crowd.

I tried to get a video of the participants as they paraded past, chanting their slogans and holding their signs, all of which were designed to show opposition to Trump. Unfortunately, my phone shut down in the middle of the take and I lost everything, so I can’t give you that. What I can show you are the signs I had printed up specifically for this occasion, which got a fairly decent reception, a lot of thumbs up, and head nods.

The main problem I have with people like these is that they are inconsistent with their professed creed–No Kings! What they are really saying is that we don’t want Donald Trump to be the king. The whole shebang, nationwide, was not a protest against rulers in high places but a massive show of TDS, Trump Derangement Syndrome. I think it is a fairly safe bet that if Kamala Harris had won the Oval Office in 2024, there would not be anything of this nature cropping up, at least not from the left side of the bed. The fact of the matter is that most, probably an extremely large percentage of the crowd, would be considered leftists, progressives, and liberal. In other words, Democrats, who would be completely happy to serve a king (or a queen), as long as he (or she) had no connection to Trump. It’s not that they don’t want a king, they just want one they agree with.

Caitlin Johnstone recently wrote about this phenomenon and, while I disagree with quite a lot of her political philosophy, she was dead on the mark here.

Trump is not some freakish aberration; he is the product of the same American political status quo as his predecessors. He became president the same way they did, and the powers he now wields were given to his office via mundane executive, legislative and judicial decisions and precedents before he was ever elected.

But because the “No Kings” protests are organized by liberal defenders of that same political status quo, the demonstrations cannot address any of this. The whole thing is designed to be as large and inclusive as possible while also ensuring that it doesn’t disrupt the established order in any meaningful way. They make no real demands. They coordinate the demonstrations with police and government officials. Protesters show up for a few hours with their brunch signs and their orange guy shirts, and then they go home without inconveniencing anybody.

They are not protesting against the US empire. They just want a more polite, photogenic empire.

For a couple years during the Covid years (2021-2022), a small number of us spent a lot of Saturday afternoons on the streets and sidewalks of Missoula demonstrating against the “regime” of the time. It is quite probable that many of the people who were protesting “NO KINGS!” today hated us, flipped us off, shouted obscene remarks, etc., and refused to treat us decently because we were proclaiming a different message than what they wanted. It is not far-fetched to believe that, if they had had the control of the state then, we might have spent more than a few days in the county jail, yet here they are telling anyone who will listen that they don’t want to be ruled…by anyone. Especially Trump. And, to further make the connection, there was then virtually no unified, significant outcry over the Covid thing, in the same way that there is no real protest over the Iran war. As long as Covid and its ramifications didn’t touch daily lives, people ignored it, and, until the war “collateral damage” starts hitting close to home, people will ignore it.

I can’t be bothered, let the king handle it.

This is not a question of “kings vs. no kings”. It is a question of which king or whose king. A question of who will be king. Kings speak of authority and the concept of authority is inescapable. There will always be an authority figure, always someone who will exercise authority over others. Whether they are called kings or presidents (as Johnstone points out) is irrelevant. You could call them Smokey the Bear or the Grand Ayatollah and it wouldn’t matter. Persons in positions of power, from parents of children to leaders of great nations, have authority and they use it to advance and further their agenda. Unfortunately, sometimes this authority is used to harm those who are subject to it and, in this, even parents of young children are not exempt, because they can (and do) abuse it to the detriment of their children who are unable to defend themselves. The greatest abuse of this power is, in my opinion, that “freedom” known as a woman’s right to choose, a.k.a., abortion, in which an unborn human being is destroyed forever simply because she decided to kill it. Authority, but perverted and lethal.

The slogan I presented, “No law but love, no kings but Christ”, is a paraphrase on the popular saying from fifty or so years ago, “No law but love, no creed but Christ”, which, like every other popular fad and fashion flared for a little while, then died away. The principle, however, remains as true today as it was then: If we, as individuals truly lived in the way that Jesus taught, “Love your enemies” and “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”, then there would be no need for a political king to force everyone to subject themselves to his rule. If we were to acknowledge Jesus as our King, which He is, and live according to the truths that He spoke, then we would love our enemies and our neighbors as He loves us. There would be no need for a political king because society would be made up of self-controlled individuals who did no harm to their neighbors. This would be an enormous change from the world of today in which most people are out to get whatever they can for themselves and they are willing to take it from someone else. We operate in a world, based not on love, but selfishness, greed, and hate.

This will go on and on until people quit looking for a savior to impose their desires on the world, but find a Savior who works miracles in the human heart and transforms the sin nature we all possess into one conforming to the Spirit of God. This is not done through political action nor is it done through ritualistic practices of religion, but is accomplished only through a continual surrender to the Spirit and constant repentance of our sinful lifestyles. This, rather than depending on the whims of a “king”, is the only way to freedom and liberty, and, because it requires a radical change from the way we are means that it is usually discarded out of hand.

“…wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” — Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:13

This is the political solution. Choose a leader, make him responsible, and then, when you don’t like him, agitate for a replacement. And it never works. Never.