Archive for May, 2025

The #Unexpectedly Chronicles Worshiping the Narrative over Christ South Africa Edition

Posted: May 13, 2025 by datechguy in Uncomfortable Truths
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If the goal was a prosperous and well fed South Africa that advice and example from history would be noted but for Marxists and Socialists the goals are not a prosperous and well fed South Africa but a South Africa governed by prosperous and well fed Marxist Socialists.

DaTechGuy March 2018

There is a lot of news out there this week from the China deal to the release of the final American hostage from Gaza.

But for my money the biggest news is the decision by the Episcopal Church to terminate its entire refugee program rather than resettle 5 dozen South African white farmers.

Why do I think it’s a big story? Just this.

The story of what South Africa has become since the death of Nelson Mandela is one of the most ignored stories in the world. How a country with incredible mineral wealth, a strong farm system managed to peacefully transfer from a system of apartheid under Mandela but when he retired fell into kleptocracy and corruption to the point were it is one of the most unsafe nations in the world with unemployment huge, rape a norm and lack of electricity and infrastructure all brought to you thanks to the Marxists of the ANC. The MSM hasn’t touched this story but I’ve been covering it for years.

While whites are now down to 9% of the population and dropping and it’s been over 27 years since Mandela has left power the ANC is till blaming whites for all the problems due to their quarter century of stealing to the point where their political leaders are literally calling for the death of these farmers publicly.

Now if the Episcopal church was an actual Christian church whose primary mission was to follow the teachings of Christ resettling these people would be a no-brainer particularly given the tens of thousands they have dealt with in the Biden years and before.

But the reality here is that their loyalty is to the politics of the left and to Marxism and because the failures and the violence of the ANC can’t be acknowledged by the left nor can any move by Donald Trump be considered legitimate their church is choosing to end their refugee program rather than help resettle these 60 people, not because this violates Christian values, but it violates their political values.

C. S, Lewis had these types pegged in Screwtape 7:

“Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing. Provided that meetings, pamphlets, policies, movements, causes, and crusades, matter more to him than prayers and sacraments and charity, he is ours – and the more ‘religious’ (on those terms) the more securely ours.”

That what was one a mainline protestant faith has now fallen to this is not a huge surprise to me, those who were interested in actually belief left long ago but that it should openly reject charity is a critical turning point that speaks volumes about those who have made politics their religion.

I recommend worshiping and following Christ over worshiping leftism and political ideology, the former is very merciful and forgiving and the later demands vengeance for the slightest infraction.

Pro Tip on the Catholic Faith

Posted: May 9, 2025 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine
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Let’s be very blunt. I have no idea how Pope Leo XIV is going to work out, I can make a guess or two but that’s all it is, a guess.

If he wanted to be a Francis clone he could have taken the name Francis II, he didn’t.

If he wanted to be another John Paul II he could have taken the name John Paul III, he didn’t.

Until he actually does something we don’t know how the spirit will work in him, what his past will say about him or anything else.

At the age of 69 we’ll likely have many many years to judge how good a job he does, it’s also very possible that he will be the last pope I see in my lifetime.

He could be a saint, he could be a disaster, he could be an ordinary average pope (we haven’t really had one of those in my lifetime) or he could have a huge footprint on the world and the church for good or ill. I don’t know which it will be. Nor do I know how much his experiences as an Augustinian & a Canon Lawyer (both positives to me) will effect how he does things.

What I do know is this:

He’s the Pope, the head of the church elected by the college of cardinals per the laws of the church. He can trace a direct line from his pontificate to St. Peter. He’s the man in charge and if you’re going to start attacking & condemning the new Pope less than three hours after he’s been proclaimed, you’re doing the faith wrong.

There is a word for a Catholic that doesn’t respect the decision of the college of cardinals: “Protestant”.

Let’s not fall into the spiritual pride trap that the enemy wants, instead let’s both pray that we avoid it and pray for the new pope because if you think the enemy has you in his sights that goes 1000 times for any pope.

For the record it’s my belief that a Pope has two primary functions:

  1. Keep the faithful on the right track toward Christ
  2. Nudge the unfaithful or the non-Catholic on the right Track toward Christ

That’s the job.

What’s our job as the faithful? This:

Be a good catholic, pray, go to mass, receive the sacraments regularly and love your neighbor as Christ commands. Keep being and doing that and you’ll be fine no matter who the pope is.

That’s the secret.

I’m Old Enough to Remember When the Idea of Mississippi Schools Being Top Notch Would Be a Joke

Posted: May 8, 2025 by datechguy in education
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Not anymore:

Mississippi has become the fastest improving school system in the country.

You read that right. Mississippi is taking names.

In 2003, only the District of Columbia had more fourth graders in the lowest achievement level on our national reading test (NAEP) than Mississippi.1 By 2024, only four states had fewer.

When the Urban Institute adjusted national test results2 for student demographics, this is where Mississippi ranked:

  • Fourth grade math: 1st
  • Fourth grade reading: 1st
  • Eighth grade math: 1st
  • Eighth grade reading: 4th

And they’re not alone:

Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama climbed the charts because they focused on core academic instruction when much of the country used ESSA as an excuse to focus on anything and everything else. It paid off.

So how did this happen?

How did Mississippi go from 49th in the country a decade ago to near the top today? And what can other states learn from it? 

According to a recent piece by Grace Brazeale, a policy associate with the advocacy group Mississippi First, the state implemented a series of changes starting with the 2013 Literacy-Based Promotion Act. That law funded the state department of education to hire, train and deploy literacy coaches to the 50 lowest-performing schools. It also required schools to administer universal screenings to identify students with reading deficiencies early and to communicate those results to parents, and it required schools to hold back students who were not reaching a certain threshold by third grade. 

Remember for all my life Mississippi was a punchline now it’s a success story for education. Amazing what can happen when you don’t focus on being woke and deal with reading and writing. I’ll give Glenn Reynolds the last word:

To be fair, for nearly all those years when Mississippi was a joke, it was ruled by Democrats.

Five Quick Thoughts Under the Fedora Trump Completely Unafraid, Unexpectedly again, Anti Catholics Upset, A Minority View and A Big Baseball Surprise

Posted: May 4, 2025 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, economy, fun, under the fedora
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It’s amazing watching Donald Trump constantly owning the MSM during hostile interviews.

What a difference when you don’t need them for exposure.

During the Biden years it was constant that various figures kept coming in lower than “expert” expectations, and then were revised down months later.

We’re only 3 months into Trump and already we’ve had two months of Trump beating “expert” expectations.

And no I’m not sick of winning.

The funniest thing about the Trump as Pope thing isn’t JD. Vance’s excellent response to Bill Kristol.

The funniest thing about the Trump as Pope thing is the people acting the most insulted are those who hate the church the most.

Not any outrage over Washington state passing a law to violate the seal of confession but a Trump as Pope image, vapors!

I might be in the minority here but I think this season of Doctor Who has been surprisingly good.

There hasn’t been a lot of preaching or woke just stories and when Davies team decides they want to tell a good story they are certainly capable of doing so.

Let’s hope this continues.

Finally I haven’t written much about my 1973 baseball league but with 57 games to go I find myself two games up leading my division thanks to a 7-3 run by me and a 1-9 run by the team that was ahead of me.

In the 5 years of our league no team has ever repeated as a division winner although a few have managed to make the playoffs in multiple years in a row. This difficulty is by design is VERY unusual for a team to repeat in this league

Mind you every other division winner has a better record than me as do 2 wild card teams so if I hold on I don’t know if I’ll get anywhere but still, not bad at all!

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