There are some pieces that just make one’s jaw drop this one dropped mine:
Behold the killing fields that lie before us: Bob Dylan (78 years old); Paul McCartney (77); Paul Simon (77) and Art Garfunkel (77); Carole King (77); Brian Wilson (77); Mick Jagger (76) and Keith Richards (75); Joni Mitchell (75); Jimmy Page (75) and Robert Plant (71); Ray Davies (75); Roger Daltrey (75) and Pete Townshend (74); Roger Waters (75) and David Gilmour (73); Rod Stewart (74); Eric Clapton (74); Debbie Harry (74); Neil Young (73); Van Morrison (73); Bryan Ferry (73); Elton John (72); Don Henley (72); James Taylor (71); Jackson Browne (70); Billy Joel (70); and Bruce Springsteen (69, but turning 70 next month).
A few of these legends might manage to live into their 90s, despite all the … wear and tear to which they’ve subjected their bodies over the decades. But most of them will not.
This will force us not only to endure their passing, but to confront our own mortality as well.
Until the rise of the Boomers and the 60’s generation the idea that life is finite was a simple norm that was a steadying and centering influence in culture.
But in this post Christian era there is a half of the culture that this piece for whom this piece will be a revelation.
And it is that fact that drops my jaw to the floor.
While I like very much the idea of buying Greenland particularly in the context of keeping China and Russia out I really think there is no percentage in the President canceling the meeting with the Danish Prime minister over her reaction to the suggestion. A lot of these country might not have a lot of power but they do have face and it’s the type of thing people remember when you need a favor.
Of course I’m sure there’s a danegled joke there somewhere.
That’s about the only thing President Trump has done in a while to annoy me, not bad, not bad at all.
I must confess I’ve always thought middle eastern women (particularly Iranians) are some of the most beautiful in the world that I’ve ever met. That’s why whenever I see congresswoman Rashida Talib, who while not in the class of the the women I’m describing is not an unattractive women, a quote from the old Jon Sable comic book from the 80’s comes to mind. “I never did like terrorists, not even the pretty ones.”.
Now given the context that quote might be a tad unfair to congresswoman Talib but given the groups that wanted to sponsor her trip to Israel, only a tad.
Let me put it another way there was a cute story at Powerline about newly acquired Cleveland power hitter Yasiel Puig visit to camp Simcha described as:
“It is the only kosher overnight summer camp for children and teens with cancer, and it hosts children battling other diseases, most of which are terminal.”
After all who the best paying job in the Palestinian territories is killing a jew:
Celebrations and firecrackers have been wildly going off near the home of the car rammer since Friday’s attemped homicide.
When our reporter approached the Harimi home, the dead driver’s family had only one queston “How is the boy that Harimi ran over?”
That concern was a surprising to hear.
Our reporter found out what the Harimi family was really asking .
The Harimi family wanted to know if their son had accomplished the proverbial coup de grace and whether he had actually put this young Jew to death?
Simply put: If Nahum succumbs, G-d forbid, the Harimi family will be honored with cash for life from the Palestinian Authority, and honor would be bestowed upon the family.
They are lucky that they’re fighting Jews and not Sicilians.
You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t get excited about Kamala Harris’ drop in the polls. Or environmental idiot Jay Inslee’s withdrawal from the race. With 20+ democrats running it’s guaranteed that 20 + of them will lose. I’ll save my cheering when the last Democrat loses in November of 2020.
Finally when I was a kid my favorite TV show was the 1950’s British TV show the Adventures of Robin Hood. There was an episode in the 1st season called the Miser which begins with the following exchange:
Lady de Courcier:Good Morning William.
Sir William de Courcier:A good morning did you say? It may interest you to know that I’ve just been down to the kitchens. And you do know what I found our minions feasting themselves on? Dishes of broth. And do you know what was in the broth? Meat, MEAT!
Lady de Courcier:They have to put something in the broth my dear.
Sir William de Courcier:But not meat! Do you know what the price of beef in Nottingham? Why it’s eating money!
I thought that it was a bit of over the top fiction but apparently 800+ years later the elites of our time haven’t changed:
The Economist
✔@TheEconomist
More poor people are eating meat around the world. That means they will live longer, healthier lives, but it is bad news for the environmenthttps://econ.st/2NfwKWd
Yeah who DARE those poor folks get a bit of meat to eat and live longer. If they keep up like that they’ll never win the coveted Wondermark cup for environmental awareness.
My post on Canon Turner’s 1st Mass got a lot of attention considering it wasn’t instalanched and I wanted to make a point that might have been unclear. I have been to the Latin mass before just not a high mass of the type that was on display. Personally I think it would be healthy for both the vernacular and the Latin masses to both be offered in all parishes. It would be a perfect illustration of Christ as fully human and our brother while also fully Divine as our God. I think it’s healthy to remember both.
I don’t see why anyone is surprised that Joe Biden got the decade wrong that RFK & MLK were assassinated. Given the historical ignorance of the young who tend to vote democrat these days and the attempts to re-write history such a mistake makes perfect sense. Of course, maybe 1968 identifies as a year in the 70’s
On a similar subject that’s a pet peeve of mine on twitter this week the subject of Transgenders altering their birth certificates to change their birth sex/name is something I think is very wrong. A birth certificate is a legal document recording an actual event. Namely a person was born of a particular sex to a particular set of parents on a particular date at a particular place. These are all facts and are not subject to the whims or vanity of others. Now if you wanted to create a document that was a “certification of live birth” where a city can certify that a person who has a different legal birth name and a different legal birth sex was in fact born at a particular place on a particular year that would be a fair compromise but we have no business changing the written record.
Finally there is word that Dicks Sporting goods which made a big deal about being woke on guns is considering discontinuing guns altogether. It actually makes perfect sense when you consider the reaction by gun owners to the company’s previous move:
“I’m not furious, not at all. They made a business decision. I get it. They want to step out of their non-political lane and become corporate activists. I can calmly step out of my lane, too. And given every chance I get, I will not use their products,” he said.
If buyers of guns with long memories are still angry and not going to your stores and you have no interest in getting their business back it’s a logical business decision to stop carrying items that might appeal to that customer base, the remaining guns and hunting items in this case, and move to a set of items that appeal to the customers you still have.
It’s the same principle that MSNBC and the NYT is using when moving away from reality why give facts when your remaining base will only pay for propaganda?
The Mass was a solemn high mass of the 1962 rite held at St John the Guardian of our lady Parish at St. John the Evangelist Church in Clinton Ma. I had been invited by his mother who I know from Eucharist Adoration at my parish and attended with my wife. It’s one of the most visually incredible churches in the area and was the perfect setting for the type of mass we were attending for the 1st time.
It was a very long mass, done entirely in Latin chant with a full Gregorian choir singing responses. Only the homily and some remarks by Bishop McManus near the end were in English and when the two hours plus of the mass were complete it took another full hour for all who wished to gain the plenary indulgence granted by decree from Rome to receive the personal blessing of Canon Turner at the alter rail.
Now given the title of this post you might ask: DaTechGuy, what does a very long Latin mass have to do with Election 2020, Donald Trump or even optimism? Well the answer comes from something my wife said to me while there.
The church was not only packed but it was packed with large families this post and I don’t mean cousins etc, I mean moms and dads with five six and seven young kids. The people sitting in front of us had seven and my wife noted not only the number of such kids but her amazement at how well behaved they all were during a two hour service in a language that I presume most of them don’t know well.
Not a kid or even a young person in sight! That’s the image of the dying liberal orders not only in the church but everywhere. How many prominent liberals can you think of with even TWO kids?
Now you might see a lot of big liberal in the news and talked about on social media but they never have a large brood with them do they?
In contrast how many of you are hearing about this mass and the people at it for the 1st time from me?
Now think of election 2020 and President Donald Trump, think of the states he won, think of the successes he is having, think of the extra money in your pocket, look at all the “help wanted” signs everywhere and ponder how hard the MSM tried to suppress that news and their current attempts to create a recession out of the whole cloth.
Don’t you think people working now who weren’t working before will notice?
Or consider all those who reluctantly voted for Trump, how many of those people seeing what he did on Life, on the courts on taxes can’t wait to vote for him the 2nd time around.
Also consider all those the left is trying to intimidate. What do you think will happen once they are in a voting booth with nobody to see them?
And don’t forget the left can’t just hold what they have, they have to expand what they got last time, sure they’ll be stealing more votes since they know they need them but Trump isn’t an establishment republican, he’s a street fighter and he’ll be ready for it.
And you expect me to be worried?
OK in fairness once Trump is out of office I expect to see some hard times, but hard times are not the end times. Think of the last century. We had the 1st world war, world war 2, the cold war, epidemics that killed tens of thousands and yet Evangelicals are worried about the end times based on the last few years, Seriously?
Are there reasons to be worried about the future, of course. The Devil and the left always fight hardest when they’re in trouble and I’d not be surprised to see some horrible violent things come out of the left post Trump or even during a Trump 2nd term.
But I remember that mass and know one thing, in 20 years all those kids at that Mass and many like them will have grown up and perhaps started to have kids of their own vastly outnumbering their counterparts on the left while a lot of those liberal baby boomers will not.
Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog 