Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Report from Louisiana: Turmoil in the Church

Posted: July 26, 2021 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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By:  Pat Austin

SHREVEPORT – Few things have the potential to divide a church congregation more than a change of leadership. This sort of thing can be so complicated.

Full disclosure – I was born and raised in the Episcopal church, married there, but then life happened and for no single reason I can name, I quit attending. Then it just got easier and easier to sleep in on Sunday and I did not attend for many, many years. Even still, my rector was right there when I needed his services for my mother’s burial. That meant a lot to me.

Just under a year ago my husband and I started attending church once again; he had always been more avid about going than I had been, and he really missed church.

The second Sunday we attended the assistant rector announced he was leaving; he’d been offered a church in another state and he and his family decided to accept the offer. We were crushed: this fellow is young and is smart as a whip. But we wished him well and forged ahead.

The very next Sunday, our rector of many, many years announced his retirement. Vowing not to take this exodus personally, we took the news with some trepidation, knowing how tumultuous a decision on a new spiritual leader can be.

To assist with services, our Rector Emeritus was called back into service. This is a man who served as rector of our church for years before the current rector and the word “beloved” barely describes how much everyone in the church loves him. He is a kind, gentle soul. He has a voice that resonates and absolutely instills joy and comfort. Just hearing his voice restored calm and consistency to our services while the rector search committee does its work.

So, the date came for our current rector to leave. We gave him a lovely sendoff, shed some tears, and wished him well. Though he remains in the area, by the rules of the diocese, he cannot attend services with us for one year. Theoretically this rule aims to give any new guy a fighting chance to build his trust and rapport with his new congregation.

But we don’t have a new guy yet. Priests are in short supply, apparently.

We’ve been working with our beloved Rector Emeritus and a series of fill-in guys – guest preachers from various churches. The first guy who came was very different from what we have been used to and while he is not a candidate for us, we are grateful that he did come to lead our services.

We had yet another guy this past Sunday – one we know and like, but also not a candidate. Just a guy helping out.

Now we have heard from a very credible source that our beloved Rector Emeritus has been asked by the bishop to disappear because he “was trying to run things in the church.”

Devastated is too soft a word for how I took this news.

But, after I calmed down, I have to realize that however credible this source, it is still just a rumor. I don’t know for certain what transpired. But our beloved guy was not there Sunday. The congregation was told “he is taking some time off.”

Maybe.

But to leave us completely without a rector? None? That’s not like him.

Speculation is dangerous and I am working very hard not to do that. We will know more in the coming days.

There has been a great deal of turmoil in the Episcopal church in recent years as liberalism creeps in more and more. When the church codified and approved gay marriage in 2015 many conservative members left. Some were even outraged when women were allowed to become priests. Theological changes and doctrine has changed as well.

And there is still the search for a full-time rector. Inevitably someone will be unhappy with the choice. It’s all very upsetting, especially for someone who doesn’t do change well!

If you’re the praying sort, say a little prayer for our little church in Shreveport as we go through difficult times.

Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and at Medium; she is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation. Follow her on Instagram @patbecker25 and Twitter @paustin110.

We interrupt this blog to shop for a Used car in the $3500 to $4500 range

Posted: July 23, 2021 by datechguy in Uncategorized

My plans for another post were interrupted by my mechanic that it will not be cost effective to bring my 1999 Buick LeSabre up to snuff for the rigorous Massachusetts inspections standards for when the time for my next inspection comes.

Frankly I’d like another LeSabre as I”ve had three and liked them all but as they stopped making them in 2005 that might be a problem so let me put it out there. Who has a car they want to sell me at this price range?

A LeSabre or a 2003-2004 Avalon will get preference as I like both models and years (Don’t like the later Avalons) but if you have a car that will pass Mass Inspection and will not rust away on my I’d be happy to talk (you can reach me in comments. Any car considered will have to pass a check by my mechanic (located in Fitchburg MA)

And yes I know that this is a low budget but thanks to COVID complications my wife has been out of work for six months and with AFLAC coverage about to run out I’m not in a position to put our cash reserves at risk for a better car.

Ok folks let’s hear what you’ve got!

Update: Looks Like I found something if my mechanic gives me the thumbs up we’re all set.

The Biden Regime has officially instituted a Ministry of Truth

Posted: July 22, 2021 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
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Ever since Joe Biden was illegitimately installed in the White House his administration has demonstrated a very remarkable disregard for the Constitution of the United States.  This was on full display last week when Biden’s press secretary announced that the Biden regime has deputized Social Media corporations formally as the official Ministry of Truth for the federal government of the United States.  This is in direct violation of First Amendment.

This New York Post article White House ‘flagging’ posts for Facebook to censor over COVID ‘misinformation’ fully documents the shameful business.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday the Biden administration is identifying “problematic” posts for Facebook to censor because they contain “misinformation” about COVID-19.

Psaki disclosed the government’s role in policing social media during her daily press briefing after Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on companies to purge more pandemic posts.

It absolutely not up to the federal government, or any level of government, to stop the flow of any type of information, whether it be disinformation or not.  Far too often governments label truthful information they do not like or is inconvenient to them as disinformation.

Censorship is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and is also a serious violation of the founding principles of the United States.  During the conference Biden’s press secretary and Surgeon General admitted to the censorship.

“We are in regular touch with the social media platforms and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff and also members of our COVID-19 team — given as Dr. Murthy conveyed, this is a big issue, of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic,” Psaki said.

Murthy said “we’re asking [social media companies] to consistently take action against misinformation superspreaders on their platforms.”

This quote by the Surgeon General pings the irony meter,  The only way to ensure individuals can make informed decisions is if they have access to all of the information from all sides of every issue.

“Misinformation takes away our freedom to make informed decisions about our health and the health of our loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health misinformation has led people to resist wearing masks in high-risk settings. It’s led them to turn down proven treatments and to choose not to get vaccinated. This has led to avoidable illnesses and deaths,” Murthy said.

Those on the political left have been proven wrong over and over again during this pandemic when it comes to science and medicine.  They have been distorting science for decades now to create a climate of fear so they can strip away the freedom and rights of all people.  Their response to the Coronavirus pandemic is the latest installment of this.

The political left has a very long history of labeling any information contrary to the progressive ideology as misinformation.  Something that is well documented in this Federalist article Democrats’ Definition Of ‘Misinformation’ Is Whatever Hurts Them Politically Today

Psaki maintains the government has “a responsibility, as a public health matter, to raise that issue” of people allegedly dying en masse because of uncensored Facebook posts that don’t comport with the White House’s vaccine messaging. This isn’t a caricature of the White House’s position either. When a reporter asked President Joe Biden directly last week what his message is to sites like Facebook, Biden replied, serious as a heart attack, “They’re killing people.”

What’s going on here isn’t really an attempt to save Americans from disease. It’s a desperate attempt by the ruling class to save their own rear ends from information that threatens their ideological goals.

Democrats at the helm of the executive and legislative branches aren’t looking to squash so-called misinformation because it’s the only way to keep people from dying (which still wouldn’t justify their authoritarianism, by the way). Biden, Psaki, and their friends in Congress and Silicon Valley are working to snuff out their opponents’ speech because not only do they think it will help them politically, as it likely did in the 2020 election, but because they believe they can get away with it — again, as they did in the 2020 election.

Marsha Blackburn is often on the right side of issues.  She is with this statement Marsha Blackburn Slams ‘Authoritarian’ Joe Biden for Working with Big Tech to Censor Americans

These revelations are deeply concerning.  The blatant actions by your administration to work with big tech companies to censor Americans’ free speech are shocking – and arguably a violation of the First Amendment.  Communist countries such as Cuba are currently taking away their citizens’ right to use the internet to communicate; the U.S. government should be standing up to, not looking to mirror, authoritarian regimes such as these

My Advice to those trying to push the Vaccine

Posted: July 21, 2021 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Saw this tweet from old friend John Hawkins before I hit the sack:

While good advice it in my opinion didn’t summarize what needs to be done so I rephrased the advice for him:

Here is the text so this post can still work after I’m eventually banned from Twitter:

Or to put it another way:

  • If you want people to trust you act in a trustworthy way.
  • If you want people to believe you, don’t lie to them
  • If you want people to think you have their best interests at heart don’t take actions to harm them.

This is simple and straightforward advice that would be a good idea for any section of government.

Unfortunately while it’s true that with God all things are possible given that we have an administration that is in power precisely because they were willing to violate all of these rules the likely hood that they will change their ways is slim at best.

But if you want to regain trust and confidence this is the way to do it.

As the post says, no charge but as I have to buy a car in the next month or so any tip jar hits will be happily accepted.

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