Witchcraft Growing In Popularity? No Big Surprise

It appears that growing numbers of young (Western) women are flocking to witchcraft to give meaning and purpose to their lives. Of course they are. The neo-pagan mindset of most everyone in today's Western society brings with it a recrudescence of those who drop all pretense and self-identify as pagan -- this is a difference of degree rather than of kind, a flash of spume atop the wave. The practice of witchcraft or other "dark arts" is tailor-made for a people who lack introspection and self-control, but rather yearn to bend reality to their sundry impulses.

But there's something different and degraded about the modern variant of paganism. It springs not from a genuine sense of life as developed through shared culture, but rather from the decay of a culture that unleashes everyone to declare himself his own god in a fit of narcissism and hubris. I stumbled on an insightful quote from C.S. Lewis hinting that a neo-pagan is of necessity worse than his forebears:

A post-Christian man is not a Pagan; you might as well think that a married woman recovers her virginity by divorce. The post-Christian is cut off from the Christian past and therefore doubly from the Pagan past . . . .

The Porn Double Standard

This is something I discussed previously with regard to the condemnation of porn for men yet the simultaneous celebration of porn for women vis-à-vis 50 Shades. Dalrock explores the double standard a little deeper and nails it.

Better Late Than Never, Ron Paul

After spending decades in Congress to accomplish little more than to legitimize its rampant unlawful activity, Ron Paul finally has seen the light and observed that states can and will take matters into their own hands to reclaim their sovereignty.

I'm glad Ron realizes that an unconstitutional law is void and should be treated as such by the states, regardless of whatever the self-interested federals say about it. I just wish he'd been beating this war drum for the past forty years rather than lending his support to the very institution the states must now rebel against (and participating in Congress is supporting it, even if one opposes every piece of legislation it produces).

As an aside, it's likely that the stewards of official discourse will chastise Ron Paul in part by citing the Constitution's Supremacy Clause in Article VI, which supposedly gives the federal government absolute power over the states to do as it wishes. Wrong. The Clause reads as follows:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

So only a law made pursuant to the Constitution or under the United States' lawful authority is entitled to supremacy. On this basis it is easy to ascertain that most of the federal laws straddling us are unlawful and unworthy of obedience, for they have no basis in the sparse enumerated powers listed in Article I, Section 8, and they also usurp police-power functions reserved to the states via the Tenth Amendment.

Additionally, if someone is going to rely on the Constitution as the supreme law, he must admit that any action by the federal government contradicting the Constitution is void. To argue that the federal government -- through its judges or otherwise -- may unilaterally decide what the Constitution means and force states to obey that determination is an act of treason, for it elevates the federal government over the supreme law that birthed it.

My Lament

What disturbs me most about my contemporaries is their lack of depth. Not of intellect (the absence of which is perennial), but of sentiment and conviction. No one takes anything seriously. Not their promises. Not their marriages. Not the truth. Not righteousness. Not the law. Not their ancestors. Not their descendants. Not the words coming out of their mouths. Not their dress. Not their work. And certainly not their God.

Most of the people I come into random contact with are disgusting. They are vulgar in speech and appearance. They lie, cheat, and steal. Their highest goal in life is to maximize their own enjoyment, no matter the cost to others. They live entirely in the present, without reverence for the past or concern for the future. They mock what is good and celebrate what is evil. Worst of all, they eviscerate anyone who walks a virtuous path.

The material wealth built by our ancestors has liberated humanity but also revealed it for what it is: an animal.

No God, No America

Vox Day has a good post up concerning an astonishing statement by CNN anchor Chris Cuomo during a debate with former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore concerning homosexual marriage. I've mentioned Roy Moore on this blog in the past, specifically to praise him for refusing to kowtow to an illegal edict from a federal court regarding the fabricated "wall of separation" between church and state. Alabama is again showing resistance to the latest invasion of its constitutional sovereignty by a federal judge, as well Alabama should. The Constitution is supreme, not the federal courts or their tyrannical judges, and Alabama has every right to maintain control over how it and its citizens define "marriage." The federal government was created by and is the servant of the states; it is not the master, and it's long past time to put it in its place.

But as to Vox's post, Chris Cuomo actually said the following: "Our rights do not come from God, your honor, and you know that. They come from man... That’s your faith, that’s my faith, but that’s not our country. Our laws come from collective agreement and compromise." This statement spits on the plain language of the Declaration of Independence and the core of what it means to be an American. This country was founded on the express notion that rights are gifts from our Creator and as such may not be denied by mere men. A lot of men far better than Chris Cuomo bled to make America devoted to such a noble principle. To reject it and assert that rights come from men constitutes both treason and tyranny. It is the spirit of the Old World come back to pronounce victory over its wayward and idealistic child.

I would submit that one cannot be an atheist and a true American. By definition, an atheist rejects all supreme notions of truth, right, and wrong over and above the desires of men. Such an outlook is a threat to public order and security, and for this reason atheists were long prohibited from giving testimony or assuming other important roles that depend on a firm understanding that truth and righteousness are identifiable and non-negotiable.

Alabamians have shown that the Remnant still exists and is beginning to stir. There are only so many insults, indignities, intrusions, and transgressions that will be tolerated by the otherwise quiet souls who form the backbone of this country. When sufficiently provoked, they will not fall on the mercy of a federal court for salvation; they will take matters into their own hands and live as they have the God-given right to, men in power be damned.

Weightlifting Annoyances

After eight years of avoiding lifting for fear of re-injuring my back, I'm at it again, and I do love it so. This time I'm focusing on the number of repetitions rather than the amount of weight; there's no need for me to max out at 375 lbs. on the flat bench anymore, as I already climbed that mountaintop and have nothing more to prove. But my muscles have good memory from all the lifting I did before the injury (twelve years' worth), so much so that it's been incredibly easy to get back into this. Better yet, it's a lot more fun than swimming.

There is a downside, of course, and it has to do with the annoying habits of other people in the weight room. In no particular order, I can do without the following:

• People who walk in front of me when I'm obviously using the mirror for a routine.

• People who lift far more weight than they are capable of, relying on the constant assistance of spotters (who are supposed to be there only just in case).

• On a related note, people who cheat at their exercises, such as by jerking up their knees for pull-ups or severely arching their backs for the bench. You're not doing yourself any favors, and you look silly.

• People who monopolize multiple pieces of equipment rather than simply use one at a time.

• Shouters, unless they are practicing for an Olympic snatch or clean-and-jerk.

• People who don't wipe down equipment after using it and leave it dappled with sweat or mysterious grease stains.

• People who smell as if they haven't showered for a month.

• People who act as though they're in a singles bar.

• People who monopolize the water fountain to fill their gallon-sized jugs.

• People who use lockers without using a lock. It's deceptive because I can't tell where an uncrowded spot is, and it creates an incentive for theft (which I'm sure these same people will complain of whenever it happens).

And Another Thing About The Measles

They really aren't that big of a deal, much smaller a health risk than any number of other activities we engage in every day. The extent to which Americans have become neurotic and wussified about such things is captured in this collection of measles references from television back in the day:



But of course, I've forgotten that the mantra of modern society is that any indignity or transgression is justified "if it saves just one life." Apropos, the California legislature is taking steps toward forcing parents to inject their children with the chemical cocktails prepared by the medical-pharmaceutical complex, verifying the neo-pagan outlook that we are animals and must be kept physically healthy and vigorous (no matter how degraded).

Berkeley Measles Ultimatum A Blessing In Disguise

The recent outbreak of measles in California has everyone in a tizzy, as it threatens their antiseptic lives with risks and dangers that they expect their political masters to shield them from. Demonstrating that people ultimately get the government they deserve, the city of Berkeley has announced a 21-day quarantine of all schoolchildren whose parents haven't mindlessly injected them with chemicals decreed as safe and necessary by the "experts." 

Now, some parents might feel outraged by this, but I say take a lesson from it. Any family capable of thinking critically and forming its own opinions should NOT be sending its children to a government school, whose avowed purpose is to destroy the individual, instill obedience, and churn out reliable workers and voters. There are far greater dangers than measles or mumps lurking in a government school, dangers to the mind and soul. Heather Has Two Mommies. Environmentalism. Globalism. Anti-theism. How to engage in "safe" fornication. Politically-correct redactions of the great achievements of Western civilization. The list goes on and on.

Celebrate the quarantine, not for the children locked away in these slaughterhouses, but for the ones able to get out for a time (and with luck, permanently).

Jeb Bush The GOP Frontrunner? I Rest My Case

Anyone who still believes that voting Republican (or at all) will help rein in the federal government or restore a modicum of constitutional compliance needs to have his head examined. Jeb Bush is yet another elitist, government-approved, open-borders, spineless stooge of the status quo. How anyone other than a die-hard member of the Chamber of Commerce can feel excited at the prospect of this oleaginous insider's candidacy baffles me.

There's a quote attributed to Jeb floating around the Internet, as follows:   

The truth is useless. You have to understand this right now. You can't deposit the truth in a bank. You can't pay rent with the truth. You can't buy groceries with the truth. The truth is a useless commodity that will hang around your neck like an albatross, all the way to the homeless shelter. And if you think that the million or so people in this country that are really interested in the truth about their government can support people who would tell them the truth, you got another think coming. Because the million or so people in this country that are truly interested in the truth don't have money.

Now, it's possible Jeb never said that. Even if he didn't, there is little doubt that it captures both his and the entire political firmament's corrupt belief system, "left" or "right." It is pagan worship of utility over truth, and it infuses every unconstitutional welfare program, corporate bailout, regulation not voted on by Congress, executive order, undeclared war, unguarded border, and every Supreme Court decision rubber-stamping same.

Let us contrast Jeb's sentiments with those of John Adams:

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

I will give Jeb credit, though. He is a fitting representative for a majority of the people inhabiting America today.