In the first second of forever I saw a discarded mask, as if a broken fragment of a child's toy, an epitaph, resting on the tarmac.
In the second second of forever I saw a sign, a prophecy of things to come.
And in the third second I saw a plastic glove, discarded, thumbless in the sun.
Standing on the Runway,
LSP
What's going on in the venerable if shrinking Church of England? Plenty.
In the Diocese of Hereford wayward parson Clive Evans, 62, has been suspended for six months for performing a baptism in his underpants and touching women's bottoms during the "full immersion" ritual.
Recalling the incident, one family member said: "Clive then started to remove his shirt which I thought was fair enough seeing as he didn't want to get it wet. However when he started taking his shorts off I was shocked and thought to myself why is he undressing completely in front of my mother, my sister and I."
A disciplinary tribunal stated that there was “no extreme urgency which might conceivably be imagined to justify a state of semi-nakedness.” The Bishop of Hereford, Richard Jackson condemned the malfeasant cleric: “The behaviour of Revd Evans is completely unacceptable, and we will be keeping all those affected by this case in our prayers.
“Clergy are in a privileged position of leadership. Their congregations and the wider community hold them in trust. The professional guidelines to which they are bound make clear that this is a trust that they must not abuse.
“The behaviour and actions of Revd Evans are in no way reflective of acceptable church practice.”
Who knew that this mind blog would find itself in agreement with the Diocese of Hereford, but that's not all. Again, according to the UK’s Daily Mail, Rev Michelle Bailey, 54, has been accused of savagely attacking her female fiancée, Diane Shaw, 56.
During the alleged attack Shaw suffered two black eyes, a split nose, her ear detached from her head and multiple bruises and bite marks. In court testimony, Shaw stated:
I went over to her and she was lying over the bonnet of my Audi TT. I grabbed her hair back to pull her off of my car. She tripped on a split and fell over on the tarmac. She pulled my glasses off. I picked my frame up. She got in front of me and that’s when she really laid into me. I was punched in the face numerous times, forcefully, between four and six times. I tried to stop her but I couldn’t any longer… I got two black eyes, split nose. My right ear had became detached from my head, bite marks too and bruises to my torso.
Leaving aside the remarkable she was lying over the bonnet of my Audi TT you may have noticed this, "My right ear had become detached from my head." Wow, Bailey bit her girlfriend's ear off.
We're almost impressed, but the Church of England wasn't. Bailey's been suspended from her £40,000-a-year vicar job. What, they get that much money?
Cash aside, beware the gaily colored rainbow and its unicorn's thudding hooves.
Your Old Pal,
LSP
Religious leaders around the world, like Justsin Welby, Pope Francis and Foley improbably named Beach have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Quite right too, we hate war, but consider. Imagine you were Head of State, a veritable Vladimir Putin.
Imagine, and then consider your borders. Would you put up with, if you had a choice, a hostile power financing and controlling bioweapons labs in a neighboring state and threatening to join a military alliance against you?
It sounds weird and preposterous, but that's exactly what we've been doing. Gay Pride Ukraine and big woke Trannie Corp's gonna take down monster Putin and turn Russia into a rainbow utopia.
A utopia in which you will WEF own nothing and be happy because your bathrooms are multisexual. That would be the West and the Zelensky Ukraine we're all cheering for. The Moscow Patriarchate says no, and so do Russia's MLRS which are pounding Karkov tonight with furious abandon.
Maybe the dividing line is simple if not easy. Who do we support, the apostate Rainbow West or its opposite?
Your Call,
LSP
Strive to enter by the narrow gate, says Christ, and woe to those who don't, "I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” Depart and go where? To that place of wailing and gnashing of teeth, to Hell. Terrifying, not least to the wicked pharisees who presumed on salvation by virtue of birthright and letter of the Law, but nonetheless hated God.
"They are enemies of the cross," blasts St. Paul to the Philippians, "Their end is destruction. Their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame." As with the pharisee so with us in what was once Christendom. Dominant cultural orthodoxy (DCO) rejects the crucified Christ, the narrow gate, as far too narrow minded.
So in the interest of broad mindedness, tolerance and liberty we're told there is no one truth, religious or otherwise, only opinion. You know the mantra, I've got my truth, you've got yours. Welcome to the age of narrative and note, narrative and fiction go hand in hand. No wonder we're deluged at every level with a barrage of lies.
That aside, the whole project sounds so rainbow utopia, so listening to John Lennon's Imagine on continuous loop. How very tolerance, I've got my truth, you've got yours. But hold on, there is no truth only opinion translates to, "Reality, truth, is whatever I decide it to be."
Welcome to satanic pride. Reality, truth, is whatever you decide it to be, emphasis on you decide. And what happens. Sure, you're the master of the universe, so get out there and own all the kingdoms of the world, greed. Fill your belly with the surfeit, stones to bread, and while you're at it throw yourself off the Temple and dare the God you don't believe in to do his worst. Reject the narrow way in favor of the broad.
Go right ahead, just don't be surprised when you're locked out of paradise on account of your opposition to it. Wailing and gnashing of teeth? Don't say Yoko Ono. Instead, return to the Lord with a humble and contrite heart.
God bless,
LSP
We all know what happened. Super famous celebrity Empire talent Juicy Smollet was attacked in Chicago outside a Subway, where zhe was getting a sammich.
Yes, at 2 am, in -20* weather, Juicy was savaged by two men in ski masks who put a noose on the world famous screen idol, poured bleach on zhim, hurled racial slurs and shouted, horrifically, "This is MAGA country!" before running off into the freezing night.
What an horrendous hate crime! Except that it wasn't. Leaving aside curious anomalies like bleach freezing at -20, Juicy's story began to unravel when it was revealed that zhir attackers were, in fact, two Nigerian brothers who were Empire extras and physical trainers. Smollett paid them $3,500, by check, idiotically.
Jericho Green gives magisterial commentary on Juicy's faux hate crime here, here, and here, check it out. In the meanwhile, the hapless victim of his own risible screenplay's been found guilty by a Chicago court and has to serve 30 months felony probation, 150 days in gaol and pay a $120k fine.
Here at the Compound, Blue snarled, "I think that lying thespian fraud got off real light." I looked at the aged cow dog, curled up on a Moslem rug with his absurdly spotted tail and replied, "Quite."
As of 2022 Juicy's net worth was an estimated #MillSoc $1.5 million. So utterly oppressed.
Cheers,
LSP
***
UPDATE JUICY SAYS NOT SUICIDAL
If I did this, then it means I stuck my fist in the fears of black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBTQ community. Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this, and I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself, and you must all know that. I respect you, your honor. I respect your decision. Jail time [pause]. I am not suicidal.
What?!? Why would this rich, successful, protected class thesp be driven to suicide? Did Juicy somehow annoy somebody? Magnum mysterium.
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio, contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis, in virtute Dei, in infernum detrude satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo. Amen.
Life at the Compound follows a rhythm, a pattern, and it all starts with a measured stroll to the Pick 'n Steal (PNS) via the Meth Shack. The shack's fallen on hard times, sadly, as you can see from the photo. Gone are the halcyon days of shirtless tweakers in filthy pajama bottoms decorating the porch. They're gone, along with much of the porch itself. Who knows, maybe the crew of Mexicans who've been, ahem, fixing the place up will achieve their goal.
We can but hope. In the meanwhile, a lone picker shuffled in the Shack's pecan grove, searching for nature's bounty. Good luck to him, may your harvest be plentiful. Ag exemption in mind I moved on to the Steal where, lo and behold, gas is only 3.59 a gallon. Get it while you can, kids.
One PNS coffee refill later and a pack of Marlboro Lights I was back at the patrol base and saying Morning Prayer. 1928 BCP version, thank you very much and you can get it online here. Then, no sooner was the Divine Office finished than a barrage of emails from lawyers and realtors came flooding in.
Upshot? Go to a notary, affidavit in hand. But the notary's shut because... who knows, it just is. Drive over to Land & Title, "How you doing!" what a cheery receptionist, "Good! How about you?" "I'm good, what can we do for ya?" Well, they couldn't notarize a document but they sure wanted to and were helpful as they could be. I thanked God for putting me in a Texan country town and headed over to Don Tutor's Bail Bonds.
"Hi, I recognize you from Bible Study at El Con! (an unreconstructed TexMex restaurant) What can we do for you?" So helpful, just notarize this document, please, and she did, free of charge. "What part of England you from?" I replied "London" and learned she wanted to go to Manchester, where she has an email friend. "Watch out," I admonished, "They call it Gunchester," and then felt bad, "Don't worry, you'll be alright." Good for her, so excited to visit England.
UK readers of this important mind blog, if there are any, take note: Many, many Americans hold the Sceptered Isle in very high regard, they really do. So don't scorn your brothers and sisters across the Atlantic, it's an unpleasant, snobbish and beastly trait. Just saying.
Bonds aside, go back to the Compound to regroup, eat a slice of bread because fasting and get blitzed by lawyers and realtors over the information superhighway. Think Russian Shock Army moving on the Karkov Front. We withstood the offensive, nice work team, and then Canada called, "Can you send some... :(" I resisted the urge to ignore this threat in the hope it'd somehow go away and instead replied, "Hold fire, I'm trying to sell a ranch. Offers coming in, good offers."
And so they were, result. Realtor O Group over, head to Walmart and this town's send money to the world desk (please, Canada, work this out online). The young woman who handled the transaction was friendly as you like but aghast at gas prices, "Just seen 4 bucks a gallon, 81 million people voted for that, what's gonna happen when it's $5 a gallon or 8?" I thought about that and looked her in the eye, which was hard because of all the piercings, "Maybe smart people have ammo, right?" She gave a dyed blonde grin and agreed, yet another friendly country person.
Then back to the Compound for Vespers. Question, is it just me or is the tenor of daily life becoming increasingly off-hook?
Stand Steady,
LSP
Well, not me, just the eldest, and I have to say that plate rig's pretty heavy so I gave him a hand as he packed up to return to the Fort. He's all geared up for deployment in a month or so but ticked off about the state of his battalion's Humvees.
"Dad, they go back to the '90s, a lot of 'em are gonna end up as parts vehicles when we get there." I thought about this, "So you'll be useless as a mechanized force?" No, they'll use the working kit of the units they're embedded with and the broken become supply.
In the midst of this knotty supply and logistics issue an experienced solutions provider phoned in and I explained the problem. He thought for a moment, "We had the same thing in Gulf War I. We were running WWII Jeeps, seriously, Jeeps, because the Navy was cheap. I like Jeeps, but nothing has changed."
I passed that on to kid and he felt better. Soldiers like tradition.
Your Pal,
LSP
After his baptism, Jesus goes out into the wilderness to fast and pray, to gain strength for his journey to Calvary and the Cross. Hating this, Satan attempts to divert him by way of three temptations, three "shortcuts from the Cross."
We're familiar with them, if you're the Son of God, turn these stones to bread, cast yourself down from the Temple and the angels will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone and finally, the offer of all the kingdoms of the world on the condition Christ worshiped Satan.
There they are, the sins of the flesh, of pride, and of greed which if Jesus had succumbed to them would have hijacked his mission of redemption. Stones to bread, why go to the Cross if you can win men's hearts by feeding them? What need for the agony and shame of Golgotha when you can perform a marvel, a sign which converts the people? And why endure the agony of crucifixion when you can establish an earthly kingdom here and now?
Why not indeed. Because in all of Satan's beguilement redemption doesn't occur, the people remain in their sin and subject to death and Hell regardless of how well fed, self-sufficient and well governed they are. No Cross, no Resurrection, no life.
I like Fulton Sheen's observation. The first temptation is economic, the second a marvel and the third political; bread and circuses under the aegis of diabolic power. Perhaps this sounds familiar, as it was in the days of ancient Rome so now. But consider the second or in Luke's case third temptation.
Throw yourself down from the Temple, says Satan to Christ, throw yourself away from the Church. Who will catch you? Angels, yes, but surely fallen ones, demons, and will they hold you up in their claws and talons, elevating you above the ground of reality, of God himself? Maybe for a time, until they don't and the Faustian pact resolves on collision with the rock.
Thus warned, we pray and meditate on God's holy Word, practice fasting, abstinence and self-denial, give alms and tithe, repent and confess our sins. All the disciplines of Lent by which we beat back Satan and find unity with the Cross and from there the risen life of Easter.
God bless,
LSP
Imagine, if you can, the threat of a hostile power setting up bioweapons labs on our border with, say, Mexico. Would you feel worried, threatened, outraged? I would and I'd want to see them gone. That in mind, the US is or was apparently doing just that, running biolabs in the Ukraine, at least 11 of them.
They go under the aegis of the US Department of Defense's Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) and the US Embassy in Ukraine makes no bones about it. They're there to "consolidate and secure," but if benign why, on February 26, did the embassy purge documents from its website detailing the labs?
The US Embassy in #Ukraine has just deleted from its website all documents about 11 Pentagon-funded biolaboratories in Ukraine. I have published all these documents (now deleted by the Embassy) here https://t.co/Odc0ermmZe and in the thread below pic.twitter.com/benFmDwguI
— Dilyana Gaytandzhieva (@dgaytandzhieva) February 26, 2022
Regardless, and despite the US Embassy's healthcare euphemisms, see Planned Parenthood, would any of us for a split second expect our government to put up with this at the very least potential threat on our borders. I don't think so. Why, then, should we expect Russia to.
That in mind, it's no small thing for Putin to roll into Ukraine with all the risk that entails. So why invade? Of course he could be an unhinged, warmongering tyrant, a new Hitler if you like.
On the other hand, perhaps he recognized a serious existential threat and moved to neutralize it, biolabs and all. Feel free to disagree, but I'm not so sure Warmongering Tyrant Hitler (WTH) describes Putin.
Your call,
LSP
The Anglo-Catholic Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) was founded on February 28, 1855, and to celebrate the anniversary I drove to St. Andrew's, Grand Prairie for Mass, lunch and an excellent talk by a faithful priest.
"Cult, sacred order," he advised, "transliterates into culture." Well said, and the "culture war," in his opinion, is a misnomer. More a matter of those without the sacral and therefore without culture fighting against those who do.
Better then, thought our speaker, to say we're in a war of anti or no culture versus its opposite. Good call, and it speaks to the nihilist, destructive aspect of our secular orthodoxy.
But I won't preach. It was good to meet with faithful priests and bishops today. A breath of fresh air and Blue enjoyed it too, though he became confused and worried by the unfamiliar expanse of St. Andrew's church garden. So he went back to the truck, where he slept soundly.
In the meanwhile, war drums beat louder.
God Bless You All,
LSP
This story is the biggest political scandal and criminal scandal in US history… John Durham has interviewed 24 people in the Grand Jury to include, CIA case officers, FBI agents and directors, leadership in the Clinton Campaign cycle, and they’ve indicted her lawyer. So this is just starting. It’s how you build a criminal conspiracy case. And they’re not going to be able to ignore indictments once they start coming in… Michael Sussman and Marc Elias were the lead attorneys for the Clinton Campaign. They were paid millions and millions of dollars to perpetuate the Steele Dossier fraud. And now we know they were paid millions of dollars to go out and buy false information from a tech executive… And here’s the worst part. They secured a “sensitive arrangement” with someone in government to gain access to White House servers. That means someone in government gave them permission and paid the contracting tech executive company’s firm to allow that work to happen. That could only have been done with the utilization of the intelligence community willingly. And that to me is the biggest criminal scandal that we have yet to talk about… (on John Durham) He’s going to deliver. This guy is unraveling the biggest criminal conspiracy against a sitting president in the United States history.
