Archive for the ‘Current Events’ Category

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Rogue One

Dec

27

2016

Mini movie review here. Went and saw Rogue One, or – as I like to call it – Star Wars episode 3.5.

Not a full review, because it’s Christmas break and I don’t feel like spending much time writing here.

Summary: It’s Star Wars-y. It has a lot of lasers shooting things and people. A bunch of people (and other beings) die, but without gore (as in true Star Wars fashion).

It is a better story than some other Star Wars movies, and it is told better than some other Star Wars movies. I liked it better than the recent Episode 7, as that had nothing really original whereas Episode 3.5 has an actual plot and good characters to go with it.

Of course, there were some parts that were hard to believe, even within the Star Wars universe. And that one near the end was particularly grating on one’s brain. But overall, it was much better to watch than Episode 7 and Episode 3 and Episode 2. Plus, it explains a number of things in Episode 4, which I won’t list here so as not to spoil anything.

As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; He devises wicked schemes To destroy the afflicted with slander, Even though the needy one speaks what is right.

Isaiah 32:7

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Life as a Simulation

Dec

22

2016

I’ve noticed a number of news items or recent articles highlighting the belief that our lives as humans here on planet Earth are merely part of a giant computer simulation.

While many have wondered how we got here and what is the purpose of life, this particular answer does not really fulfill any of life’s great questions.

There are a number of ways one could go about analyzing the meaning of all that, but the main point that I see is that it is pointless. If life is a simulation, then someone is running (or has setup) the simulation. To say that our life is a giant computer simulation gets us nowhere. There is still a reality outside the simulation.

So one cannot cause reality not to exist by claiming that we are just part of a simulation. And if one is inside a simulation, there is no way to break out of it. Again, it’s pointless to believe this. It does make for an interesting diversion, and some entertaining movies have been made on that or a similar premise, but I think that belief is bad for us. Morally, socially, physically, spiritually – the negative implications of that belief outweigh the positive outcomes. Especially for those of us who live in reality.

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7

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Happy Thanksgiving

Nov

24

2016

I’m not posting anything today – I’m too busy doing Thanksgivingy stuff.

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

1 Chronicles 16:34

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Post-Election

Nov

10

2016

It is weird seeing the words “President Trump”. Two movies come to mind.

First, Back to the Future:

“You mean Ronald Reagan, the actor?”

image of Doc Brown from Back to the Future

I feel like Doc Brown – “You mean Donald Trump, the reality TV guy?” It seems odd that Trump will be president because he’s not presidential. But I suppose that was the point – he was elected because he is not a politician.

Second, Rocky III:

image of Rocky Balboa fighting Hulk Hogan

This one is a little more of a stretch, but it has to do with what happens during the election (the fight in the ring) and what happens afterwards (the photos and small talk). If you remember the movie, Hulk Hogan is pretty brutal during the match, but then friendly afterwards, much to Rocky’s confusion. I see the American public (mainly the non-Trump supporters) as Rocky after the fight – having experienced Trump’s battle for the election in which he has been rather rough towards various people, they are wary of anything different from him.

If you’re not familiar with those scenes, then never mind.

Another thought that came to mind when I was debating which non-Hillary choice to make: the ballot needs another option. My proposal: You still get one vote, but you can choose to vote for a candidate or against a candidate. There were plenty of people who wanted anyone but Hillary, and plenty of people who wanted anyone but Trump. With the option to vote against someone, that would count as -1 for the candidate. In other words, it would take away a vote from the candidate.

This has two benefits.

One, it allows people to more accurately express their desires at the polls, and then pundits and analysts can better tell if the winner won because of popular support for him or because of the unpopularity of the other candidate.

Two, it might allow a third-party candidate to win some electoral votes. For example in a given state, if half the Trump supporters voted against Clinton instead of for Trump, and half of the Clinton supporters voted against Trump instead of for Clinton, then Clinton would receive approximately -6,000 votes and Trump would receive +6,000 votes, and they would have been beaten by Gary Johnson who received 170,000 votes with nobody voting against him.

I think that’s a much better change than what those crazy popular-vote-instead-of-electoral-vote people are trying to do.

As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable.

Proverbs 25:3

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Supporting the President

Oct

6

2016

While I’m on political topics… I was disappointed with Trump’s answer in the recent debate when asked if he would support his opponent were she to be elected president.

His answer: “I would absolutely support her.”

And there was someone a few years back who caught flak for not supporting something President Obama was doing. I forget the topic, and I think it was someone local so it wasn’t in the national media coverage. The charge against the local person was that he was not patriotic because he didn’t support the president. But I remember thinking at that time that, politically speaking, my allegiance is to my country, not to the president. So if the president is doing something that I feel is bad for the country, I (and any other good citizen) should not support the president but rather oppose the president. Within the realms of the constitutional process, of course.

So the same thought went through my head when I heard Trump’s answer – “no, you shouldn’t automatically support her.” An answer I think would have been better: “I will acknowledge and respect her as president, but if she’s doing something that is bad for this country then I will not support that.”

I think some people confuse “support the president” with “agree with his decisions”. What if you disagree with all of the president’s decisions? How can one support the president while opposing his direction for the country?

I think the “support the president” question is a loaded one, or at least poorly worded. And I must question how someone could “absolutely support” one’s political opponent.

Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, Nor will He support the evildoers.

Job 8:20

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Don’t Not Vote

Oct

4

2016

I’m in danger of falling below my quota of political topics, so I need to post something related to the election.

Please vote for president this November.

But do not vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. I’m voting for Gary Johnson.

Some people have expressed their plan to not vote (I split that infinitive on purpose) because they are unhappy with both candidates. But there are more than two candidates!

Not voting because you don’t like the candidates is the best way to ensure you will be unhappy. Because the only way someone other than those two can get in to the White House is if people vote for someone other than those two candidates.

I’m not a fan of Gary Johnson, and I’m voting for him with the hope that he will not win. More on that later.

I’ve noticed there are two schools of thought regarding how to prevent Hillary Clinton from being elected. My parents’ generation (if you’re the type who likes labels, you can put them in the Baby Boomer category) seems to be locked into the 2-party system and they are voting for Trump because he’s not Clinton. My generation (X) doesn’t follow that thought and is considering options outside the democrat/republican duopoly.

I can’t, in good conscience, vote for Trump. And I can’t, for the sake of humanity, vote for Clinton. The way I see it, we need a third-party candidate to take enough votes to cause nobody to win the election.

And that’s my point of this post – to get enough people to vote for Johnson. Not so that he will become president, but rather that he will win some electoral college votes and allow the congress to pick someone reasonable.

And, in the off chance that I and my compatriots are successful beyond expectation and Johnson somehow wins the presidency outright, then I still think that is less of a risk than either of the main two candidates winning it.

There’s my 2 cents.

Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.

1 Samuel 8:9

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Not So Easy

Jul

12

2016

image of Uncle Sam talking about Brexit

Kids these days have it so easy.

Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their power.

Psalm 106:42

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