Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

On October 16 2004 the Boston Red Sox , down 2 games to nothing against the New York Yankees suffered one of the most, if not the most lopsided defeat in their playoff history as the Yankees demolished them by a score of 19-8.

Boston briefly left 4-3 after two coming back from a 3-0 deficit and when the Yanks took the lead in the top of the 3rd tied it back up in the bottom of the inning so the two teams were even at 6-6 after 3. At this point the Yanks scored 5 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th, and four in the seventh to take a 17-6 lead. The token two runs Boston managed in the 7th were counted by two more Yankee runs in the 9th.

Not only did the Yanks score 19 runs on 22 hits but all of those runs were earned. Every sports expert declared the Red Sox Season Over.

Then came David Ortiz and Curt Schilling and history was made.

On May 21st 2024 he Boston Celtics the prohibitive favorite in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, with the second best record in the league played the Miami Heat in game three of their best of seven series for the right to go to the NBA finals. Miami had shocked everyone by winning the first two games in Boston and delivered a beating for the ages winning 128 to 102.

The Celtics were down by 8 after the 1st quarter. They were down by 15 at the half after 3 and down by 30 after three in a game that was considered a must win. The only players with a Positive +/- rating were Payton Prichard, Luke Kornet and Sam Houser who all played 12 minutes in the 4th quarter and were a +4 against the Heat’s subs cutting the final lead to 26 from 30.

Tonight every sports expert is declaring the Celtics dead and on Tuesday we will find out if they are as dead as everyone has declared them to be or if there is any pride left in the team.

But what would really be interesting would be to discover that there is an Ortiz or a Schilling on that team just waiting to emerge.

Miami doesn’t seem like the type of team to let this happen but there is a reason why you actually play the games.

After all who picked the Patriots when they were down 28-3 to Atlanta with 8:31 left in the 3rd?

For this command which I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, ‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’ Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’ No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.

“Here, then, I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.

If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live,

Deuteronomy 30:11-19 Moses final speech to the Children of Israel

Today is the final Sunday before Pentecost and as I look at our nation where the those in charge of enforcing the law are letting violent attackers go while persecuting those who defend the public. Who encourage the mutilation of children for profit and pleasure and who use the power of the government against their political foes and against those who would defend the unborn I’m reminded of the words of John Adams concerning these United States:

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

You see if you have a moral and religious people then the rights of others and the wellbeing of others are taken into account. The preservation of the next generation is taken into account and the cost of hedonism is also taken into account. All of this takes place because those involved realize there might be a reckoning for all that is done.

But when all is utility, when there is no God and the idea is that we become our own God, then all around us, including the people are a plaything to be exploited to the fullest of our desires.

Now that isn’t to say there were not people who did not think like this 20,50,100, 200 or even 247 years ago when the Declaration of Independence was signed. All of us are human and have a fallen human nature, nor does that mean there are not places in this land where the ethic expressed by Mr. Adams is not expressed and acted upon.

What I am saying is that we are seeing the wages of the choices we have made collectively as a nation, both in terms of actions to destroy the next generation for profit and normalizing evil and in inaction for seeing evil in front of us and pretending it is not so.

All of these have costs to a society and now those costs are being paid and the only people that we can blame is ourselves.

That is what is most depressing.

Let me leave you with this closing passage which proclaimed the start of Lent which led to the Easter and the season that closes at the end of this week:

Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, Offerings and libations for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast, call an assembly; Gather the people, notify the congregation; Assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast; Let the bridegroom quit his room, and the bride her chamber.  Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep, And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?'” Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people.

Joel 2:12-18

And a reminder of a Cardinal who didn’t realize he was prophesying when he said:

 “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history.”

Cardinal Francis George 2010

Cardinal George died 8 years ago (2015) Given the action of the FBI lately we’re well on the way to the 2nd part. God willing we’ll get to the rebuilding part eventually, it only remains to see how long we remain in the stages before it.

The answer to that question, as always, is up to us.