Fascinating Relics From The Henry Ford Museum

Located in Dearborn, Michigan, The Henry Ford Museum is one of the premier history museums in the United States. Founded by Henry Ford in 1929, it reflects his passion for American industrial and technological progress.  Collections span transportation, power, manufacturing, home life, design and quirky bits of Americana such as the Ku Klux Klan.  Pictured above is an authentic Klan costume.  Below is an authentic slave auction poster.  Note lot #22, it was legal back in the day to purchase a handsome 15 year old mulatto girl.

Next we have a Klansman's Creed.  I'm sure whites used to give it careful consideration.

Look at this beautifully preserved issue dating to 1924 of the Klan's weekly news magazine The Imperial Night-Hawk.  Was it the Boys' Life of its day?  I wished I could have opened it and read a couple articles.

Next we have an early edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin.  Note the beautiful illustrations.  This type of artistry, of course, has long since vanished from American Literature.

I'll show off more fascinating relics from The Henry Ford Museum in tomorrow's entry.

The Last Of The Mohicans

Michael Mann is one of the greatest film directors.  He has made some of my favorite movies, masterpieces Thief, Manhunter, Heat and The Insider.

One of his flicks I had never seen: The Last Of The Mohicans.  I have seen it on many peoples' favorite movies lists. I watched it last night.

What a corny fucking movie!  I can't believe that tomahawk soap opera was made by Michael Mann.  Can not believe it!

If you haven't seen it, it's based on a famous 19th century romance novel of the same name by a guy named James Fenimore Cooper (I haven't ready any of his books, and the movie certainly isn't a good advertisement).  The story is set in 1757, during the French and Indian War, and tells the story of white man (pale face Daniel Day Lewis) who is adopted by Mohicans, and who must protect two limey sisters as they get caught in the cross fire between British, French and Indian fighters.  Along the way there plenty of battles, betrayals, and, of course, faux interracial love, all set amid a vanishing Native American world.

Shit was just too corny for me.  One of the white broads almost instantly falls in love with the fake Indian, as doesn't seem too disturbed when her pappy and sister die.  She's just happy to be with her counterfeit savage.  

There are some decent names in the cast, but the only actor who didn't seem too lightweight was Wes Studi (who must be in every movie that has an Indian character) as the Huron villain.

I'll repeat: can't believe this oater was made by Michael Mann.

How Is It?

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect--Matthew 24:24

Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness--II Thessalonians 2:9-12

We don't remark upon these two scriptures (of which there are many more similar) to shout the end is near!  Self-proclaimed prophets of the Judeo-Christian tradition have been predicting the end for over 200 years.  It's a prophetable business, even though their track record shows only one embarrassing failure after another.

Indeed, the great Catholic French poet Arthur Rimbaud issued a more accurate vision of the end in his Illumination IV:

The paths are rough. The hillocks are covered with broom. The air is motionless. How far away are the birds and the springs! It can only be the end of the world ahead.

No, I don't remark upon these scriptures in attempt to reveal the future.  But something has greatly troubled my spirit the last many months.  

How is it?

How is it possible for so many millions of self-proclaimed Christians in America, England and Australia** to support Israel's rampage of Satanic violence against Palestinians, of whom thousands are also self-proclaimed Christians, and therefore could be brethren?  And not only support Israel, but take pleasure in the carnage?  And even if none of the Palestinians were Christians, how would any person claiming the faith of Christ justify reveling in human slaughter? 

Is it really necessary to provide some scripture to suggest that the Spirit of Christ would be grieved by such enthusiasm for the rape, torture and murder of tens of thousands?

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law--Galatians 5:223-23

Of course, I am not the one to judge who belongs to Christ.  I can't testify even for my own self.  But I wonder, when there are scriptures that suggest those who truly have the faith of Christ could not be so deceived, so bewitched, how a follower of Christ could accept and bless the Judeo-Christian Zionist genocide against the Palestinians?

Listen to the Christian zionist apologist and US Congressman Brian Mast, a typical example of so many American self-proclaimed Christians:

I would challenge anybody in here to point to me, which Palestinian is Hamas, and which one is an innocent civilian? I would encourage the other side to not so lightly throw around the idea of ‘innocent Palestinian civilians.'

Senator Tom Cotton: As far as I’m concerned, Israel can bounce the rubble in Gaza.


Congressman Andy Ogles: You know what, so, I think we should kill ’em all.

These are shameless people who take pleasure in unrighteousness.

How is it that a soul supposedly born from above, a soul indwelled with the spirit of Christ, can be so deceived, can believe such a lie that Almighty God wants every Palestinian annihilated?

LOL!  This isn't even a sin of the flesh!  These spiritual freaks don't even have to say 'no' to themselves!  It's not as if they are that poor soul tortured in the flesh who lusts after his neighbor's wife or daughter and struggles to say 'no,' to deny his own lust.  No, these people cannot even deny Israel's blood-lust!  How is it??

It is not unreasonable to doubt the faith of self-proclaimed Christians who unequivocally and enthusiastically support the Israeli death campaign in Palestine.

These bizarre *Christians* no doubt believe Palestinians are devils, but there may come a day of great regret:

Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity--Matthew 7:21-23

**the Anglo Axis of Evil, and of course, other self-proclaimed Christians in the west also participate.

Shedeur Sanders Drops To 5th Round

Football is one of the few pleasant distractions in this miserable world.  During the season I sit on the couch and watch football from noon to midnight every Saturday and Sunday, as well as the Monday and Thursday games.  I don't leave my council flat, I don't interact with people.  I don't want to be bothered with the fucking mess you all made.  Just let me watch the University of Michigan and the Detroit Lions in peace and quiet.  Is that too much to ask?

The NFL just concluded their annual draft.  The big story was the *shocking* slide of Deion Sanders' kid, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who was expected to be a first round draft pick, and who was widely considered by football *experts* to be a Top 20 talent.  

But stories leaked out that the Sanders boy has a monstrous ego, is a blame-shifter, and is so unlikable that none of his Colorado teammates attended his birthday party.  The blame is placed on Deion, Neon Deion, Prime Time, Coach Prime for raising such an entitled, insufferable brat.

I certainly don't know how awful of a human being Shedeur Sanders is.  BUT. . .

I did see him play quite a few games in college.  He's not without talent.  He is a very accurate passer, can absorb a hit, doesn't panic, and keeps on slingin' it for the full 60 minutes.  It's true he holds the ball too long, takes too many sacks, and is not much a running treat.  But from what I saw, he was the best of the draftable QBs.  I think he is better than the #1 overall pick Cam Ward, who is far too reckless with the ball.  But I can see how some talent evaluators might prefer the more athletic Ward.  And perhaps even Alabama's Jalen Milroe.  But Sanders was unquestionably better than mediocre QBs Jaxson Dart, Dillon Gabriel and Tyler Shough who were also drafted ahead of him.

Quarterback is the most important position in football, by far.  Did NFL teams really think Shedeur Sanders was such a spoiled prick, such a possible locker room cancer, they ignored his skill and just told him to go kick rocks?

Not one team thought they could *manage* him?  *Rehabilitate* him?  This is a League filled with teams that thought they could behaviorally modify wild child QB first round picks like Jeff George, Jay Cutler, Johnny Manziel, Jamarcus Russell, Jameis Winston, Dwayne Haskins.  I mean, Sanders has to be an All-Time Punk that nobody would risk a pick on him until the 5th round.

Anyway, for football nerds, here are my favorite sleeper picks, players I think teams got at a real bargain price (must be a 4th rd pick or lower):

Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants, 4th Round

C.J. West, DT, San Francisco 49ers, 4th Round

Gunnar Heim, TE, Tennessee Titans, 4th Round

KeAndre Lamber-Smith, WR, Los Angeles Chargers, 5th Round

Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Los Angeles Chargers, 5th Round

Miles Frazier, OG, Detroit Lions, 5th Round

Kalel Mullings, RB, Tennessee Titans, 6th Round

Robert Longrbeam, CB, Baltimore Ravens, 6th Round

R.J. Mickens, CB, Los Angeles Chargers, 6th Round

Jay Toia, DT, Dallas Cowboys, 7th Round

Damien Martinez, RB, Seattle Seahawks, 7th Round

Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs, 7th Round

Luke Lachey, TE, Houston Texans, 7th Round

Happy Chernobyl Day

Today is Saturday, April 26, 2025.  Reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant blew up on this day 39 years ago.  That, or the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant electrical grid failure in March 2011 in Japan, is the worst nuclear power accident in human history.

HBO made a riveting miniseries about the Chernobyl disaster in 2019.  The Soviet Union's corrupt bureaucracy enabled the shoddy design which led to the explosion, but then Russian will and fatalism formed the foundation of a near-miraculous response and clean-up, saving untold tens of thousands of lives.

The miniseries had a fantastic cast, with only Emily Watson's fictional lady character hitting a false note.  One of my favorite actresses, Jessie Buckley, plays the wife of a first-responder who suffers an excruciating radiation death.  It's a secondary role, but Buckley makes the most of it, and her character's fear, confusion and anger always seems genuine.

If you haven't seen Buckley in the folk horror movie Men, check it out.  She is also going to star in a remake of The Bride of Frankenstein.

Also on this day, in 2004, the great American writer Hubert Selby, Jr. died.  I read Last Exit To Brooklyn when I was a teenager.  I remember thinking: Damn, gay people really do all this shit?  Crazy!  A great novel, though.  Really captures the grimy lives of the American lower classes.  

What A Wonderful World

This is maybe the saddest photo I have ever seen.  This little boy, hand raised, "I'm here."  An Israeli bomb blew him out of the wreck of his apartment onto the rooftop rubble of a nearby building.  A corpse lies a few feet behind him.  In a different area on the roof, visible in the video from which this still was taken, are the mangled remains of a girl. 

Nobody outside of Gaza in a position to do anything to help this boy, as well as the hundreds of thousands of other miserable Palestinians, will lift a finger.

I can't do anything, other than donate a few dollars out of my meager living to the PCRF.

Of course there are probably sadder, more horrible scenes we never see.  Scores of them.  Every day.  And the planet keeps spinning.  The price of eggs in the US drops 87% every day.

I can only pray God sees the boy with the raised hand.

I Wished I Hadn't Read It

I Wished, by Dennis Cooper. Over the years I’ve come across a few articles and YouTube videos mentioning what a genius underground or outsider or avant garde writer Cooper was. All the articles and videos made a big fuss of him being a homosexual. That always set off a literary alarm that warned ‘the guy is not a writer, he’s a homosexual who types.’

I finally decided to read one of his books. This one. I Wished. Yup. He’s a homosexual who types. This thin work, 127 little pages, is about an old boyfriend who killed himself decades ago. About 20 of the 127 pages are interesting, the rest are tedious or worse. Particularly difficult to get through was the chapter in which Cooper has Santa Claus struggling with what gift to give Cooper’s old boyfriend. Apparently this task is so monumental, it triggers an existential crisis in Santa. Or something like, I could barely bother trying to read with comprehension. Most of this (Cooper grappling with his old boyfriend) just isn’t interesting (as the author admits on the book’s last page. . .”how do I make you care, since no one cares that much about another’s love”), and to hide this, the author uses literary gimmicks like Santa and talking dogs and craters (yes, craters, big hole-in-the-ground craters) and sex fantasies of 15 year old Rob Piest (uh, Cooper tries to persuade John Wayne Gacy to let him ‘make love’ to Piest before Gacy kills him. . .yup, outsider lit at its finest!). Maybe Cooper’s other books are masterpieces. This one was so bad, I don’t want to try any of the others.

Dust To Dust

Wednesday, 23 April 2025. At this point in space and time. Alive. Exist in the present. What has happened, the past, let’s be honest, was not good enough. That’s being charitable, to say not good enough. Pretty bad. Nothing of merit. All right, but what about the future? Can that time be redeemed?

Is there anything this speck of cosmic dust can do that would bring meaning to its existence?

If circumstances aligned just right, it’s possible I could save somebody’s life, and if they went on to do something meaningful with that life I would gain some small credit. Barring that, this speck of cosmic dust just swirls around until it is blown into the grave.

Probably being too hard on myself. Is not all human life just static?

This, of course, is just from the temporal/material frame of reference.

If we look back to Golgotha, we reconnect to an Eternal Soul. Everything looks different. The past, the present, the future do not matter. We see through a glass, darkly. Our confusion, our failure, therefore makes sense, and is completely understandable. We can see that we would be pitied for our weakness. So we can say then, yes, Death where is thy sting?

Pope

Barack baloney. Nobody has listened to a Pope in decades. Their messages have been ignored. Obama saying the Pope shook him out of his complacency is the most dishonest flattery. The Pope’s death is being used by all sorts of scoundrels to make themselves appear ‘religious.’

Obama warmed the pews of Pastor Jeremiah Wright’s church for over a decade. But as soon as the media discovered some of the Pastor’s *controversial* statements, including his famous “I say ‘God damn America’” sermon, Obama denied Wright faster than Peter denied Christ.

But anyway, the larger lesson of the Pope’s death is there hasn’t been in the world a powerful advocate for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in at least the last two centuries. The powers that run the world, whatever their ideology, share this in common: they are all anti-Christ. All the kingdoms of the world are diametrically opposed to the Kingdom of God. The weak are oppressed, the poor are exploited, life has been stripped of all sanctity.

Media will cover the papal conclave like some sort of Survivor reality show, and will air the next Pope’s first comments, then promptly kick him back into his Vatican corner to collect dust like the last handful of Popes, all his gospel exhortations will be ignored by the powers of the world.

Some might say the world is no more wicked now than it was when Popes had influence. That may be true. God always has His remnant, there are a few, among the weak and the poor, who have the faith of Christ, but by and large, faith of Christ Christianity has vanished.

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

How much more “falling away” is possible? Christianity is nearly nonexistent in Europe, and in the Anglo countries, America, England, Australia, the church is dominated by the doctrines of demons promoting prosperity and nationalism instead of the gospel. The Anglo church is run by false prophets, the ministers of Satan.

Pope Francis was ignored, only his death is observed. When we understand the Pope’s gospel message isn’t even given lip-service by the powers of the world, we recall these words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?

Chuck Baldwin

I posted the above on Twitter yesterday, Easter Sunday. . .

I did a disservice to one American pastor who did speak out for the Palestinians in his Easter message.

Well done, thou good and faithful servant, Pastor Chuck Baldwin.

Here is the link if you want to listen:

Easter

How do you celebrate Easter?  

Churches the world over, of all Jesus-flavored varieties, are observing holy week and planning their Annual Big Easter Production. . .

What are they celebrating?

What are the (ever-declining numbers of) attendees putting on their nicest clothes for?

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. . .

Well. . .

There already was a kingdom when Jesus came. . .

There was a world order in place when Jesus came. . .

Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. . .

Jesus rebelled against the kingdoms of the world. . .

Let's see if you can connect the dots:

Can you put on your finest Sunday suit and sing Amazing Grace and feel sad when imagining Christ being beaten and crucified, and then live in agreement with the kingdom of America?  Or any of the lesser kingdoms of the world?

There is Jesus' Kingdom, and all the kingdoms of the world. . .

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.

There are millions of Americans who will tell you they are *Christians*. . .and *proud Americans.*  They are proud they support *Israel!*  They think they serve God every time one of the bombs they send to *Israel* blows up a tent of homeless men, women and children.

There are similar proud people all over the world, placing the interests of their kingdom over the interests of the Kingdom of God.

Which master do these people love?  And which master do these people hate?

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.

These are simple concepts. . .

You cannot warm a pew Sunday, your accepting heart cuddling Jesus, and then pray to the Father for the kingdom of America's troops.

Do not say the Kingdom of Heaven is still to come. . .

It's already here. . .

Jesus instituted His kingdom 2000 years ago. . .

And it grew for a three centuries. . .even atheists do not dispute this.

That Kingdom, that Christianity, has nothing in common with today's Christianity. . .

Today's Christianity was born in 313 AD when Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity *legal.*  

Jesus rebelled against the Kingdoms of the World. . .

Christianity became the Kingdom of the World in 380 AD when Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. . .Christianity has served two masters ever since.

The Christianity of today has been reduced from a Kingdom to an individual soul.  It's a tool used to beat down the individual soul with an obsession so consuming over its own guilt, it allows the Kingdom to commit every wickedness imaginable without dissent.

Huh?

It means the Christianity of today lashes the man who fucks his neighbor's wife, while praying for the soldiers of its kingdom to kill the women and children of its supposed enemies. . .

The crucifixion and resurrection were meant to change the world, not browbeat the individual sinner. . .

How small the Kingdom of God has become. . .

Strong Delusion?

Thesis: If we are near *the End,* all the events Christian zionists believe will happen to *Israel* are now happening to the *Palestinians* (Gaza + West Bank + East Jerusalem). 

Have the Christian zionists been deluded?

Revelation 16, Zechariah 14: Who are the people who have been in what today the Christian zionists call *Jerusalem?*

Christian zionists believe Revelation is a forecast of *the End.*  What do they make, then, of Revelation 2:9 and Revelation 3:9?

If we look with honesty at the world in its present state, no Christian zionist could believe *the End* is near, for what they worship as *Israel* is in no foreseeable harm.  It is impossible at present, and for the foreseeable future, for *Israel* to experience anything remotely like Revelation 16 or Zechariah 14.  The entire Western world would have to abandon *Israel,* particularly America.  

Do the Christian zionists believe a lie?  I do not know.  Anybody who claims to be an *expert* on so-called Bible prophecy is a huckster.  I do know, however, that if a person wants to believe *the End* is near, the only people on earth experiencing Biblical level tribulation are the Palestinians, and certainly not *Israel.*

My opinion, opinion, not faith, is that Jesus could return at any time, there is no schedule of world events that must occur first.  If there were, these events all concluded with the destruction of Jesus' Jerusalem in AD 70.

But Christian zionists do believe there is some prophetic blue print that must be followed before Christ returns.  And yet they are being willfully ignorant if they believe the current events in *Israel* signal *the End* according to their premillennial dispensationalist bent.  

My opinion is if one wants to believe in dispensationalism, at least be genuine, at least apply some logical interpretation.  If we are near the dispensationalist *the End,* then Matthew 24:22 (And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved) certainly does not apply to *Israel,* but to the Palestinians in Gaza.

Today

Today is April 18, 2025. Location: planet Earth in whatever this creation of God’s is.

What is this fucking place? You’ll never get me to believe we’re here by accident. This was created out of some Imagination or whatever you want to call God.

We are subject to forces we don’t understand. We’re not in control of anything. We know we are going to die. That's it. How long have people been around, and nobody knows what’s on the other side.  Anything?  Nothing?

I listen to Jesus because He came back from the other side. Most people don’t believe that, but the most logical explanation for the eyewitness testimony of Jesus' resurrection is that it's simply the truth. Any other explanation requires an unbelievable torturing of logic. But anyway, that’s not what this is about.

Everything is explained in the book of Ecclesiastes, anyway. Nothing has happened in the 2500 years of human history since it was written that would force the author to revise his position. It was the first and remains the best existential text written, exploring the meaning of life (or lack of meaning), and highlighting life's fleeting nature and the futility of worldly pursuits. The author concludes our purpose here is to find God and try to figure out what He would want us to do.

Sounds simple, until you’re in the middle of all this shit, subject to forces natural and supernatural.

I would guess most people in the world are sick and tired.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Some Books

Some books that really influenced me in my youth:

Journey to the End of the Night, by Louis-Ferdinand Celine. I imagined myself a future of writing back in my youth, and this novel was the first one I read that demonstrated the writer could say whatever the fuck he/she/they wanted. You could be you, you could be authentic, literature didn’t have to be artificial. You could tell it as you saw it, the good, the bad, the ugly, the filthy, the shameful, the hateful.  You could also exaggerate it for effect, if that was warranted, but just tell it your way, no matter how hard it goes against the grain.

The Stranger, by Albert Camus. This one showed me that the only plot worth a damn is the narrator trying to make sense of human experience.

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. This one told me there’s a difference between an author and a writer. Nabokov was an author. Lolita was an immense intellectual construction. Nabokov was a literary architect. He created colossal literary edifices, built on symbol, metaphor, myth and narrative hocus-pocus. James Joyce was another author. These guys could devote their entire lives to the pursuit of literature, the study of literature.  They were scientific, formulaic, their books were almost equations. Whereas an author was somebody like Jack Kerouac, a literary painter, an impressionist or expressionist.

Trump Iran Yemen

Random thoughts:

1. Remember in Trump’s first term, when Covid hit? And Trump called the virus the Chinese flu? How he belittled the Chinese at every turn? Now look at the situation today: China is bending Trump over and giving it to him hard in his little tariff war. It is evident China can cause more pain to the American economy than the US can to China’s. More importantly for the long-term, China has improved its global reputation more in the last three weeks than at anytime during my entire lifetime. All because of Trump’s stupidity. Trump has turned the Made In China label from a symbol of disrepute to prestige.


2. We will know very soon if America is a ZOG or not. If Trump attacks Iran, the USA is undeniably a ZOG. There is no reason for America to kill thousands of Persians other than to appease its Israeli masters and their blood-lust for a Greater Israel. A war with Iran would be a disaster. The actual so-called war will go well for America and Israel. It is without doubt the Great Satan and the Little Satan can bomb the shit out of Iran, kill plenty of people and degrade significantly their military capabilities. But after the dust settles, I am positive Iran will respond with so-called terror attacks on US soil. And no doubt ignorant Americans will cry like babies ‘why do they hate us?’ This circle of violence will not end until the American government is freed from its zionist masters.


3. Apparently the US is about to send its Isis and Al-Qaeda mercenaries to overthrow the Houthis. Again, this is only for the benefit of Israel. May God bless and protect the Houthis, may they all be converted to Christ, for they have stood for the weak and oppressed Palestinians, many of whom belong to the Lord.

Jesus' Greatest Miracle

Even though I’m retired, I work two or three days a week at the mall to pick up a little extra pocket money. I run a little kiosk that sells candy and snack foods. I watch the people stream past.

Yesterday a kid, a boy probably six, seven years old saw the pickles pictured above. He was with his dad and his mother. His dad had a hard look stamped on his face.  The boy asked his dad if he could get one of the pickles. The dad loudly barked NO! The boy says why n— and is interrupted as the man barks even louder I SAID NO! The boy slinked away, beaten down. Six or seven years old.  I saw the look on his face.  Beaten down by life, already.

I am beaten down, too. It was all I could do to control myself. To stop myself. From beating the boy's dad with my bare fists. I wanted to beat him until he asked me for mercy, then I would spit in his face NO!

NO!

The shit most of us hear our whole lives. NO!  From parents, teachers, bosses, banks, anybody we have to ask something from. Fuck them all.

The greatest miracle Jesus ever performed was convincing us that He actually loved people, cared about them, wanted to bring them into His kingdom.  This biological garbage?  Us?  The Word became flesh to serve this scum?  

There is nothing in the historical record that would make one question the sincerity of Jesus' mission.  

What a miracle!  What a nearly unbelievable miracle!  That He would leave the Throne of Heaven to recycle this human garbage!

Jesus said whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

I’ve been angry for all the days of my life that I can recollect. 

I would like to believe I have the faith of Jesus Christ, but, of course, I am not fit to judge, that judgment is left to Christ.

Dear Laura

Dear Laura, by Gemma Amor. Laura receives annual letters from a mysterious pedophile who abducted and murdered her childhood boyfriend. The pedo makes increasingly bizarre demands (a pair of her dirty panties, a used tampon, etc.) in exchange for information that will lead her to the location of her dead boyfriend’s body. Of course, she doesn’t go to the police for all the usual fiction reasons (who would believe her?, the pedo has threatened her and her family, etc., etc.). 118 large print pages, this thing is more of a sketch than a novel. Laura’s character is decently filled out with a believable psychology, but the pedo is a total blank, almost nothing is revealed about him, in comparison, Freddy Krueger seems like a Henry James character. Almost zero dialogue. Light horror, a decent beach read that will quickly be forgotten.

In Dreams

Most dreams I’ve had, or at least the ones I remember, are of extremely poor quality in relation to waking reality. They’re like children’s drawings of reality. And the content is usually trivial and/or absurd. The vast majority of my remembered dreams are poorly rendered, illogical, shallow scripts.

However, when I was a teenager and into my early twenties, I had dreams that were so vivid, not only in the setting, the stage, the world, but also emotionally and psychologically, so much so that these dreams seemed more authentic than my waking life. In these dreams I had memories that were clearer and deeper than in my waking life.

It’s hard to express just how authentic these dreams were, there was nothing dream-like about them, and the effect was that when I woke up I felt I had now fallen asleep and entered a dream, so called real life now seemed like the children’s drawing of reality.

I didn’t have these dreams every night, perhaps once a month. In the dreams I was in high school and college, as I was in my real life, but I had a different family, different friends. I knew these people better than I knew the people in my waking life.

The one disturbing element of the dreams was I was aware I had murdered a girl. I would often in these dreams visit the spot where I buried her body. I had already murdered the girl when the dreams began, but I could remember what she looked like. She was similar in appearance to Gidget-era Sally Field.

When I woke I was convinced I had murdered a girl. As I said, the dreams stopped when I was in my early twenties. Yet the dreams were so hyper-authentic, all the remaining years of my life I have waited for the police to show up at my door and arrest me for murder.

It’s been forty years since I’ve had one of those dreams. I miss that world. I had a better life. I was happier, even though I was a murderer. Yes, in the dreams I remembered the reason I murdered the girl, but I won't say because most people would probably think it reflects an aspect of my *real* personality, which it doesn't. Anyway, I’ve done worse things in this life.

Ranking The Female Characters From The TV Series Dexter

Dexter is definitely one of my Top 10 All-Time Favorite television series.  I suppose some people who stumble across this may not be familiar with the show, although why somebody would want to read about some dope's rankings of female characters from a show they haven't seen seems unlikely, but just in case you are such a person, I will provide a bare-bones outline of the show:

Airing from 2006 - 2013 Dexter is a psychological crime drama that follows Dexter Morgan, a forensic blood-spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who leads a double life as a vigilante serial killer. Adopted as a child by a police officer, Dexter was taught *the code,* a way to channel his dark urges by targeting other murderers who have escaped justice. While outwardly charming and socially functional, Dexter struggles to feel genuine emotions, constantly pretending to fit into normal society. Throughout the series, Dexter juggles his secret life with personal relationships, especially with his sister Debra, a police detective. As the show progresses, his internal conflict deepens, challenging his moral code and sense of identity. With its dark humor, moral ambiguity, and suspenseful storytelling, Dexter explores themes of justice, duality, and the human psyche.

OK.  That won't help anybody understand any of the female characters, except perhaps Debra, so these rankings still won't mean anything to the uninitiated.

1. Lila: The übersexy pyromaniac Dexter meets at his 12 step meetings in season two, she should’ve been Dexter’s soulmate.  She understood him, and refused to judge him, and shared Dexter's scorn and bewilderment of the square's life.  It made no sense why Dexter was so quick to dispatch her when he had the patience of a saint with other antagonists such as Miguel Prado, Arthur Mitchell, Travis Marshall.  The showrunners or whatever the fancy term is for the people responsible for the series made a huge mistake killing her off.  She should’ve been a recurring character, she could’ve saved the show's disastrous final season if her character had been the one steering Dexter to the self-revelations necessary to end his character arc, instead of Charlotte Rampling's character.

2. Debra: Dexter's potty mouth tomboy sister, played by actress Jennifer Carpenter, she should really be ranked #1, but, man!, Lila was so hot, and that limey accent!  Anyway, Carpenter did the finest acting by anybody in the entire series, convincingly portraying every fucked-up emotion Dexter put her through.  

3. Hannah: Only ranked this high because of actress Yvonne Strahovski's looks.  She would have been a perfect Hitchcock blonde.  A serial poisoner, she's nearly killed by Dexter, only to become the great love of his life.  Alas, there are ZERO sparks between Strahovski and Michael C. Hall, the actor who plays Dexter.  Their relationship is never believable.  I've seen Strahovski in The Handmaid's Tale, and she seems devoid of personality and charm.  But she looks terrific in shorts and sleeveless shirts!

4. Lumen: In season five Dexter rescues her from a member of a gang of rapists/murderers, and then he helps her to hunt down and kill the remaining members.  Eventually they become lovers, but when she and Dexter kill the last rapist, she realizes she can move on with her life, leaving Dexter once again all alone to plow his killing fields.  Lumen may not have broken Dexter's cold heart, but she at least cracked it a little.  Well-acted by Julia Stiles.

5. Rita: The only reason I rank her this high is because her death was so satisfying. I know she was generally considered a fan favorite, but to me she was a repellent ball-and-chain, exhibiting all the worst traits of the stereotypical American housewife, the kind of soulless nag that would provoke the Stepford Wives experiment.  My favorite moment in the entire series was the look on Rita's face when, after nagging Dexter into going to 12 step meetings because she attributes his erratic behavior to a drug problem, she sees Dexter's sponsor Lila for the first time.  It's that frightened, insecure look that says "she's way hotter than me!"  At least the actress who played her had a nice body.

6. Camilla: Police department records clerk and long-time Morgan family friend, she helps Dexter learn the truth about his early childhood and the events that led to his adoption by the Morgans.  Her cancer death in season three provides for one of the series better subplots, including Dexter's quest for the perfect key lime pie.  Well-played by veteran character actress Margot Martindale. 

7. Rebecca: Trinity Killer Arthur Mitchell’s daughter, so abused and traumatized she offers to be Dexter's jailbait girlfriend if he will take her away from the Hell that is the Mitchell home.  

8. Christine: Arthur Mitchell’s other daughter, the Trinity Killer's secret love child, she sleeps with Detective Joey Quinn to gain info on the investigation of her father. Nice-looking actress who also appeared in True Blood and Supernatural.

9. Sally: Arthur Mitchell’s wife, the anti-Rita, the perfect doormat housewife who will let her husband be as vicious and degenerate as he wants, so long as he only beats her to within an inch of her life, and not all the way to her death.  Played by the actress who was the mean girl in Romy And Michelle's High School Reunion.

10. LaGuerta: One of the show's main characters and Dexter's boss, she will do anything to climb the police department ladder.  The power-hungry Cubana had a mad crush on Dexter in season one which mysteriously vanished in season two.  By the end of the series she becomes obsessed with proving Dexter is a serial killer.  Too many dropped threads in her character arc, she was more plot prop than authentic character, also unattractive and *thick.*

11. Nadia: Detective Joey Quinn's stripper girl friend in season seven, her goal in life was to save enough money to open her own dog walking business.  Played by attractive Swedish actress Katia Winter, who played Little Nina on The Boys.

12: Niki: Dexter's co-worker Vince Masuka's sperm donated daughter turns up in the lousy final season in a failed subplot.  She has a nice topless scene in episode four.  Played by the girl who played Becky on Friday Night Lights.

13. Lisa: Travis Marshall's sister, who ends up as his Whore of Babylon.  It's a small role well-played by Deadwood's Alma.

14. Sylvia: Miguel Prado's wife, she becomes Rita's best friend, and they both nag their husbands into trying to kill each other (not really. . .but almost). The actress who plays her would also later appear on True Blood.

15. Evelyn: The showrunners brought her character out of the cosmic television void for the sorry final season.  With nary a hint of her presence in the first seven seasons, she appears as a neuropsychiatrist who just happened to help Dexter's adoptive father devise *the code* by which psychopath Dexter navigates life.  There are too many *supension of disbelief* requirements surrounding her character to take seriously.  To make matters worse, she is played by European art film actress Charlotte Rampling, and she sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the TV show cast.  It would have been like casting Catherine Deneuve on Dallas.

16. Sonya: Dexter's son's Irish nanny in season five, no explanation given why she has been replaced in season six.  Well-played by Maria Doyle Kennedy.

17. Jamie: The Dexter swiss army knife character, she plays Detective Batista's kid sister, then Dexter's kid's nanny, then Detective Joey Quinn's girlfriend.  Horribly played by a charmless actress named Aimee Garcia, who I guess we were supposed to believe was pretty, considering how often she was scantily clad.  Not to my taste, however.

18. Esmée: The least believable character in the series.  She is given LaGuerta's job in season two, and is so emotionally retarded, with the maturity of a second grader, LaGuerta is able to steal her job back before the season even ends. 

19. Barbara: Undercover vice cop, she becomes Batista's girlfriend in season three in one of the most forgettable subplots of the series after she busts Batista in a prostitution sting.  Nothing about the relationship was believable.  Worse, the actress was ugly.

20. Astor: Rita's daughter, Dexter becomes her step-dad and she's just a cardboard cutout character meant to put Dexter through stereotypical domestic situations (oh, look, psychopath Dexter doesn't understand Astor is growing up and no longer wants to wear little princess clothes!  If Dexter were normal he would know this shit!).  The child actress who plays her is no Tatum O'Neal, that's for sure.

Beatty, NV

I've visited many of the major American cities.  New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa.  New York and Chicago are ugly, dirty, horrible places.  The people in Tampa suck.  The other locations listed are OK to varying degrees, though I must say post-Katrina New Orleans is much, much less congenial than pre-Katrina New Orleans.

My favorite American travel destination is Beatty, Nevada, a small unincorporated town located in Nye County, about an hour-and-a-half drive on the peacefully desolate US-95 from Las Vegas. Known as the "Gateway to Death Valley," Beatty lies just seven miles east of the Death Valley National Park, making it a perfect stop for travelers exploring the region. The population is about 500.  500 humans.  There are dozens of burros that wander freely through the town, one of its chief charms.  The burros move together in friendly little posses.  Friendly to each other.  They just stop and stare at humans, much like I do, with much the same contempt.  You have to watch where you step in Beatty.

I enjoy the barren landscape and extreme heat.  The place always seems exotic to my midwestern soul.

There's a surprisingly lively night scene in Beatty.  There is a small casino, but most of the action takes place right out on Main Street and the four or five little streets off of it.  People hangout in various stages of undress and drunkenness.  The little Nye County Sheriff's substation stays busy after sundown. 

I cannot recommend Beatty, NV highly enough for those who want to *get away from it all.*  *It all* being typical drab America.

They Stink

Nothing disgusts me more than the American self-proclaimed Christian.

I am speaking generally, of course. I’m not speaking of every single American self-proclaimed Christian. Some of the American self-proclaimed Christians do have the faith of Christ, and are faithful servants. Some of the American self-proclaimed Christians do have the faith of Christ, but are simply simpletons, or in error in one or more matters of the gospel.**

But the majority of American self-proclaimed Christians do not have the faith of Christ, and are, in fact, anti-Christ. These are the ones who disgust me. They are more repellent than the most depraved pedophile rapist/murderer. Their sin is greater and more destructive.

Most of the MAGA crowd fall under this umbrella. They stink of the worst, the most Satanic idolatry. They worship Trump and his kingdom. Not only do they refuse to call out the wickedness of Trump and America, they are revel in it, they wallow in the filth of it.

Their hearts are full of hate and murder. They lie without shame. They lack all compassion.

They strain at the gnat of abortion and pat themselves on the back as defenders of life, while swallowing the camel of every murder of their government and the governments they arm. They rejoice with demonic glee when their bombs drop on the poorest, most downtrodden people on the Earth.

They hate even the weakest and most despairing of their own kind, their own neighbors. Americans are the most mentally disturbed people on earth, crippled with anxiety, neuroses, psychiatric maladies, every form of addiction from carnal to chemical. Some of the American self-proclaimed Christians' neighbors are so lost, they don’t even know whether they are male or female. What do the American self-proclaimed Christians do to these hurting people? They despise and persecute them.

These are not Jesus' sheep. They do not and cannot hear His voice. They are the children of Satan. Most of them are hardened past the point of redemption.

The great shame of the American church is that the church leaders who have the faith of Christ lack the courage to condemn America’s wickedness. They know their flocks are made up of Satan‘s children, they take their money, they live their personal lives, on the demon money.  They know if they dare criticize Trump or America their livelihood will be taken away. So they say nothing.  For filthy lucre's sake. They are despicable cowards.

**[Of course, all people, whether they claim any faith or not, will err in their mind and body, the comments in this message are in regard to those who claim to represent Jesus, and yet the gospel they promote is contrary to the Kingdom of God.]

The Guilty

There are days when a person is so sick of living. . .sick and tired. . .lightning falling from Heaven would be mercy.

People make judgments they have no authority to make. . .judgments based on *knowledge* plucked from thin air. . .yet they are convinced of them.

A person cannot protest. . .

Yet a person is guilty, nonetheless. Nobody standing accused is innocent. A person may be innocent of the crime detailed in an arrest warrant, yet the person is guilty of something, for the person accused has done something to attract the attention of the Law.

A person, let us call him what he is, a bum, did not steal a loaf of bread, but he is accused because he is guilty of looking hungry. . .had the bum accepted his hunger with a clean and shining face, he would today be free. . .

Recent TV Shows

Daredevil: Born Again is quite a drop off from the 2015-2018 Daredevil series. The story line is not only extremely thin, but what little is there is rushed through without much context or character development. I doubt the villain Muse had even 5 minutes of introduction before being elevated to both Daredevil's and Wilson Fisk's #1 enemy and then being dispatched in a single episode.  Daredevil's love interest is as exciting and bland-looking as a clam. Wilson Fisk and Vanessa go to couples therapy (boy, the therapy stuff that seemed so cool in The Sopranos has become oh-so-tired in the last 25 years) and spout cliché after cliché.  Huge disappointment. . .although I will say episode 8 was very good, and gives hope season two will be a return to form.

Yellowjackets season three continues the downward trend from season one, it's more comedy now than horror/mystery, but it's still enjoyable nonsense with a great cast of (mostly) actresses, with Melanie Lynskey continuing to steal the show.  Lynskey is that rare overweight actress who still seems sexy enough that all genders could fantasize about while masturbating.

Severance season two just ended, and it fell off the cliff from season one. A lot less screen time for Patricia Arquette, John Turturro and Christopher Walken, and way too much screen time for the fat character and his fat wife.  Plus, the story makes less sense now even though most of the big mysteries have been explained.  The one character who had a bigger presence and delivered was Mr. Milchick, well-played by actor Trammell Tillman.

Watched a horror series on Peacock called Hysteria. I don’t know how long ago it first came out, but it got steadily better as the season progressed.  Set during the late 1980s Satanic Panic era, three teenage outcasts form a fake Satanic metal band, inadvertently inciting a witch hunt amid mysterious disappearances and supernatural events in their small Michigan town.  Surprised that this was actually watchable for an entire season, and was actually mildly amusing, with a cast featuring some decent B listers (Anna Camp, Bruce Campbell, Garret Dillahunt and Julie Bowen) and a young actress, Jessica Treska (playing an amoral teen antagonist) who I would not be surprised to see become a *star.*

Tried to watch a spy series called Lioness about a covert CIA program where elite female operatives go undercover to infiltrate terrorist networks, but it was so bad had to quit after 3 episodes.  Gawdawful acting by the two female leads (Zoe Saldana and somebody named Laysla De Oliveira), they were so bad they seemed even to infect Nicole Kidman, who I've never seen give a bad performance before. One of the worst shows I've tried to watch this century.