Random links of interest, concern or curiosity from the past week or so, that deserve at least a SHORT mention:
Happy Birthday, Coast Guard! America’s Often-Neglected Armed Service Celebrates Its 103rd ~
Alexander Hamilton, as our first secretary of the treasury, was given authority to maintain all U.S. aids to navigation in 1789. In 1790, he received congressional authorization to finance and build 10 cutters as a “strong right arm,” a force known as the “Revenue Marine.”
Their mission was to suppress smuggling and to ensure duties and taxes were paid — a mission they achieved by preventing ships from landing in places other than ports with collectors.
The Coast Guard that exists today was officially created in 1915, when the Revenue Cutter Service was combined with the Life Saving Service to create a flexible force with a broad range of responsibilities and capabilities […]
The American public owes this service a debt of gratitude for all of the ways it keeps us safe, and it deserves the full support of those in Congress to ensure it has what it needs to complete its vital missions.
Hawaii’s Sunscreen Ban: A Good Law or More Needless Government Meddling? ~ At first the sunscreen ban sounded like another enviro-wacko overreaction, but according to this article from Cornwall Alliance (which promotes responsible stewardship), it’s not a bad idea – especially if we want to save sensitive coral reefs.
Mizzou Quarterback Apologizes for Offensive Tweets Sent in Middle School ~ Yes, thanks to social media, it’s getting this bad ~
The Columbia Daily Tribune reported it received an email from a reader pointing to several tweets on the first-team All-SEC quarterback’s Twitter account dating back to 2011, when he would have been 14 years old and still in the eighth grade.
No, Jesus Is Not Even Close To A Socialist ~ So stop hijacking his message to serve your own ideology ~
It is true that Jesus condemns greed and warns against the amassing of wealth. He repeatedly makes clear that helping the poor is one of the most fundamental obligations of a Christian. But socialism is a way to avoid this obligation, not fulfill it. In asking the government to be charitable in our place — with other people’s money, no less — we have missed the whole point of the exercise.
‘BE CAUTIOUS’: Dems Threaten Trump In All-Caps Over National Monuments ~ Rather than supporting Trump’s get tough stance with Iran (the world’s number one sponsor of terrorism), House Democrats chose to mock him for undoing Obama’s western land grabs ~
Democrats on the House Committee on Natural Resources told Trump to “NEVER, EVER THREATEN OUR PUBLIC LANDS OR WATERS AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.” […] 😯
Trump signed orders last year shrinking the size of two Utah national monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, that were opposed by state Republicans and many local landowners and officials who said local economies were being decimated through land-use restrictions.
Hysteria Over 3D-Printed Guns – Misconceptions Vs. Reality ~ Bottom line:
(E)very activity pertaining to building, completing, or possessing “ghost guns” by prohibited persons is already illegal under federal law, and heavily regulated under many state laws.
Lucille Ball dished on ‘I Love Lucy’ co-stars to reporter, thought television went ‘downhill’ ~ Was she ever right – 40 years ago! “Lucy” set the bar, appealed to the whole family and stands the test of time. Today we have 500 channels and – with very few exceptions – each show is more vapid and disgusting than the last ~
The world may have loved Lucy, but the celebrated comedian wasn’t in love with the state of television during the final years of her life.
‘Transexual’ mutilates himself to look reptilian, with horns ~ As Dr. Eowyn at Fellowship of the Minds puts it, this is the stuff of nightmares ~
In 1997, Richard Hernandez was living as a man and working as a vice president for one of America’s leading banks.
Diagnosed with HIV, Hernandez changed his name to Eva Tiamat Medusa. He left the corporate world and became determined “not to die a human” but to transform himself into a reptilian.
Check out the pix if you dare.
Documents reveal SHOCKING damage to hotels used to house Syrian migrants ~ (Toronto) Muslim migrants exhibit a total lack of gratitude for their hosts’ hospitality ~
One hotel complained of refugees urinating in the lobby. Another complained that a fire was started in one of the rooms, and yet another complained that microwaves were stolen and furniture was smashed.
Worse still, two separate hotels complained that the Bibles were being destroyed.
Hey, what country wouldn’t welcome these gracious folks with open arms?
FAKE NEWS: ‘Nat Geo’ Photographer Admits Viral Photo Of Polar Bear ‘Dying From Climate Change’ Is False ~ But lies are perfectly acceptable when you’ve got a progressive agenda to push ~
One year later, National Geographic has finally admitted to facilitating “fake news” regarding climate change. The magazine’s most viral video ever, which featured heart-wrenching images of a starving polar bear, perpetuated the narrative that the animal’s imminent death was caused by climate change. However, the climate change aspect of the story is void of any real evidence.
Rent-Seeker’s Nirvana: Ultra-Rich Pocket $Billions in Wind & Solar Subsidies at Our Expense ~ (Australia) How the alternative energy racket rips off consumers ~
The hundreds of $billions paid in subsidies to intermittent wind and solar constitute the largest wealth transfer in economic history […]
There is absolutely no economic benefit in having power generated by wind and solar; delivering power at crazy random intervals, rather than when power consumers actually need it, results in a product with absolutely no commercial value. And that’s the reason that – in the absence of guaranteed Feed in Tariffs, renewable energy certificates and government underwritten contracts – power generated by nature’s wonder fuels wouldn’t find a market, anywhere, anytime, ever.
Internet helps normalize disturbing “Brony” culture of cartoon-pony loving men ~ Ugh. How has western culture devolved to this point? ~
There’s something disturbing about this slice of pop culture, and while I wouldn’t suggest they’re all sexual deviants, it’s baffling that this counter culture has reached enough critical mass that a documentary entitled, “Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony,” was produced about this fan base.
Real men don’t pretend to be ponies, they rescue horses ~ Retired Marine rescues horses from raging California wildfire ~
“I’m just the guy who moves stuff around,” he said modestly. The “stuff” he speaks of refers to the panicked horses and other livestock he wrangles out of harm’s way when they get left behind after the humans have fled.
With a large trailer borrowed from his job selling tractor equipment, Zimmerman has ventured daily into various evacuation zones just as homeowners threatened by the Carr Fire were rushing in the other direction.
Seven Jewish brothers who died for God’s law – and what we can learn from them today ~ The seven Jewish Machabean brothers are a model of true Christian fidelity
This band of brothers is venerated because in them we see the obedience, the trust, the faithfulness to God’s word and will and law, that Adam and Eve failed to show. We see the willingness to suffer and die even for a small matter, if it is known to be God’s will, rather than the practical atheism that cares nothing for God’s will and scorns Him in matters great and small. We see a model of the total dedication of the disciple to the master, the son to the father, the creature to the Creator. In short, we see a pattern for our own attitude when it comes to the commandments of God, over which nothing may be allowed to prevail.
