Don Surber Makes the Case for Christ Without Realizing it

Posted: June 7, 2023 by datechguy in catholic, war
Tags: , ,

The most dangerous thing in the world is an excuse.

Peter Ingemi

If you are a person who pays attention the recent stories of some Ukrainian units having historically Nazi badges is no revelation. The great Mark Felton did a video on it a while back and it was known that many Ukrainians welcomed the Nazi as liberators from the Soviets who had starved and killed them for decades.

Don Surber did an excellent piece on the subject on his substack account ( that you should subscribe to) talking about the subject. I’m not going to dive into the whole piece, although it is certainly worth your time, but for the purposes of this piece just two paragraphs and the final sentence in the second is what we’ll quote

The newspaper said, “Factions from the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and its insurgent army fought alongside the Nazis in what they viewed as a struggle for Ukrainian sovereignty. Members of those groups also took part in atrocities against Jewish and Polish civilians. Later in the war, though, some of the groups fought against the Nazis.”

Some. So not all the Ukrainians wanted the Nazis out. The choice between Nazi occupiers and Soviet occupiers was a tough call because Stalin had starved 6 million Ukrainians a few years earlier in the Holodomor. The older I get, the more I realize how often there are no good guys.

emphasis mine

The moment I read those paragraphs I instantly thought of the admonition of Christ at the sermon on the mount:

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

Luke 6:35-38

And this passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

Well, then, are we better off? Not entirely, for we have already brought the charge against Jews and Greeks alike that they are all under the domination of sin, as it is written: “There is no one just, not one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. All have gone astray; all alike are worthless; there is not one who does good, (there is not) even one.

Their throats are open graves; they deceive with their tongues; the venom of asps is on their lips; their mouths are full of bitter cursing. Their feet are quick to shed blood; ruin and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they know not. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3: 9-18

Why, because of grievance.

Russia believes, (even if others don’t) that they have legit grievances against Ukraine and even legit fears (Hey if you were invaded by Napoleon & Hitler you might have some fears too).

Ukraine believes that they have legit grievances against Russia both current (the invasion) and historical (millions starved by the USSR in the 30’s etc) ones as well. The actual invasion is of course the easiest grievance to understand but it’s also the reason why Ukraine isn’t all that anxious to go to the table to negotiate.

But the reality is that this is not unique. China has grievances against Japan and the west, The west have grievances against China, all kinds of people have all kinds of grievances against everyone else and if you are willing to go back far enough in history you can find grievance. John Cleese might have been joking about how England should demand reparations for being invaded but that really illustrates the point that Surber is making if you look at history very often there are no good guys and that’s why Christ message to forgive and love your enemies is so important because by doing so you don’t hold onto grievance.

Holding onto grievance, on a personal, or family, or clan, or race, or state, or national level always leads to something horrible in the end, because you don’t allow an evil, either real or perceived, to die. And even worse if you hold tightly onto it it goes on for generations even when the people involved are long dead.

Taken to it’s final extent you end up with people taking grievance for something that didn’t happen to them wanting revenge against people who didn’t do it to them.

And believe me the grifter and the demagogues are just waiting to take advantage of that kind of hatred and grievance for the sake of their own power and wealth.

When you instead release grievance, when you love your neighbor as yourself you are being like God and like Christ who famously on the cross declared:

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.“

Luke 23:34

To forgive and to let go is holy but even if you don’t do so for the sake of rightness, do so because of the price for not forgiving as the Lord’s Prayer the Our Father says:

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

emphasis mine

Forgiveness is the right thing, it’s also the smart thing.

Under the Fedora: Felton on D-Day+79, Haiti the future of Chicago et/al, Loomer finds spare time, Stacy on coked up Elementary principal and Dallas answers Pride flag questions.

Posted: June 6, 2023 by datechguy in crime, culture, election 2024, elections, politics, under the fedora
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Today is the 79th Anniversary of D-Day and International Treasure Mark Felton has another new video on the subject, this time about the drop of dummies to decoy the German forces:

There are very few D-Day vets still left, but long after the last one is gone Mr. Felton’s videos will be informing generations yet unborn of their deeds and the deeds of others during world war 2.

It’s not equal to the legacy as those who fought on D-Day but it’s not bad.

Apparently the folks in Haiti have had enough of Gangs and police and pols who protect them for profit and have taken matters into their own hands, rather violently:

The 14 presumed gang members under arrest were arriving at a police station in Haiti’s capital, when a group of people overpowered the police, rounded up the suspects outside and used gasoline to burn them alive.

This has continued to the point where gang members are in hiding in fear of their lives and crime has plummeted.

Coming soon to Chicago , Oakland, Minneapolis and Philly? Let’s both hope not and hope that those cities don’t reach the point where it’s considered an option.

Trump supporter Laura Loomer confronted James Comey in Illinois during a book signing event. Gateway Pundit has the details:

It’s a nice change for her going after someone who has actually done wrong rather than going after Governor Ron DeSantis in an at best unartfully and at worst blatantly false manor.

I have admit while I’m glad Loomer was restored to Twitter the way she has been alienating some conservatives you would think Musk’s move to restore her was an in-kind contribution to the DeSantis campaign.

Trump has in my Opinion been the Best record of a US president since Teddy Roosevelt if it was up to me that would be my focus.

Stacy McCain has a story that has gotten very little press concerning a couple of married elemental school principles who got a tad involved with drugs and hasn’t ended pretty although fortunately nobody has died.

You need to read the whole thing but I want to you catch his close which asks an excellent question :

The school district can’t comment, but I can. More than a month before police found Michael Griffin ranting delusionally at the local grocery store, they went to their doctor because he was already suffering with delusional beliefs caused by his cocaine habit. Here’s a question: How much cocaine does it take to induce paranoid psychosis? And how could two public school employees afford such an expensive addiction?

A cocaine habit is not cheap, and you’ve got to be doing it pretty heavily — like, the Eagles on tour in 1977 — to reach the point where you’re in a grocery store parking lot babbling paranoid gibberish with a pistol in your pocket. How were the Griffins able to do this much coke while functioning as elementary school principals and nobody even noticed?

Finally while I was writing this post I saw Dallas Jenkins finally made a public response to the gay flag controversy that has been dogging the show for a week. It is a first rate response which I’ll post here:

His basic response was he hire crew or cast based on belief or lack thereof nor does he police people’s workspaces as long as they do their job and are committed to the show, nor does he police their social media, although there was a suggestion that temperance and judgement be used in some responses that were made online, which given the crowd funding nature of the show would be wise.

His bottom line is feel free to make up your own mind but he’s going to do what he does the way he does it because he’s not doing any of it for us per se but for God

As Gamaliel once noted time will tell who this work is from but, as for myself his explanation is good enough for me.

This deadly day in history

Posted: June 6, 2023 by chrisharper in Uncategorized
Tags: ,

By Christopher Harper

June 6 is the deadliest and arguably the most important date in history.

As Martha Gellhorn puts it, “It was good bombing weather.”

Most Americans know that the invasion of Normandy was launched on June 6, 1944; a total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself, including 2,501 Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded. In the ensuing Battle of Normandy, 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle — and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities — killed around 20,000 French civilians.

But the carnage of June 6 goes far beyond 1944.

On June 6, 1813, the Battle of Stoney Creek [Ontario] was a turning point in the battle between American and British troops in which an English force of 700 troops defeated a U.S. force twice that size.

On June 6, 1918, the U.S. Marine Corps suffered more than 1,000 dead and wounded in the Battle of Belleau Wood [France] during World War I. Marines finally took the area from the Germans.

On June 6, 1942, the U.S. Navy’s victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway was a turning point in World War II. All four Japanese fleet carriers were sunk—as was a heavy cruiser Mikuma.

On June 6, 1967, Israel captured Egypt’s Gaza Strip on the second day of the Arab-Israeli War. The six-day war resulted in the defeat of the Arab armies and a major reshuffling in Arab government throughout the region.

On June 6, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to force the Palestine Liberation Organization to lead the Levant. According to Lebanese sources, between 15,000 and 20,000 people were killed during the conflict, mostly civilians.

On June 6, 2017, the Battle of Raqqa began with an offensive by Syrian democratic forces to capture the city from the Islamic State.

Although the date included a variety of military battles, a few good things happened on June 6.

On June 6, 1978, for example, ABC News launched 20/20, which became a well-watched venue for news and entertainment. I spent nine good years there as an investigative producer. Alas, today’s program limps along with reports about meaningless subjects.

Defining Woke: The Four Stages of Woke: Delusional, Crazy Batshit Crazy, Fully Woke

Posted: June 5, 2023 by datechguy in culture
Tags: , , , ,

The left has been insisting we define ” Woke” lately. It’s actually very easy and I shall do so here using my favorite example within.

Woke comes in four stages:

Stage 1: Delusional:

Mr. Shellhammer: But… but maybe he’s only a little crazy like painters or composers or… or some of those men in Washington.

Miracle on 34th street 1947

The first stage of woke is delusional. In this respect “delusional” is defined as believing something that is blatantly false.

This is the most common stage and the one where you can function in society normally. If one is deep into this state the delusional person may act on this delusion but only in their private life. It’s worth noting that most delusional people aren’t woke, but ALL woke people are delusional.

Example: If you believe you’re the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, you’re delusional.

Footnote: At this stage except in casual conversation it’s nobody’s damn business and unless brought up in conversation they should be left alone to think what they want. That’s freedom.

Stage 2: Crazy

Babe Heffrom: Crazy Joe McCulsky

Wild Bill Guarnere: What?

Babe Heffrom: This guy who used to hang at the front of Delancy’s you know and just stare at people.

Band of Brothers Bastonge 2001

The 2nd stage of woke is crazy. In this respect “crazy” is defined as acting on this delusion in your public and personal life to be noticed. This person can function in society to a degree but will always attract looks and stares. It is also the stage where their employment options might be limited as they can be at best disruptive and at worst destructive in the wrong job, particularly if such a job involves interaction with the public or one that requires decision making that effects others.

This can also be the most complicated point. Not only do you see people doing this to themselves but if this involves a group of people there are also those who might go into this stage to fit in. If this involves someone you love or care about this is the place to intervene to try and shake the delusion before it becomes dangerous, but if the person declines, the default position must be to respect their right to make bad decisions for themselves.

Again not all people who are crazy are “woke” but ALL woke people are crazy.

Example: If you believe you’re Napoleon Bonaparte, and then dress like Napoleon, speak like Napoleon and or get your self surgically altered to be Napoleon you’re crazy.

Footnote: This is the point of greatest danger to society in the sense that there are those who will go along or even affirm this person’s crazy delusion thinking they are being “kind” or “tolerant” or loving. What you are actually doing is at best being indifferent and at worst cowardly because you are enabling someone’s self destruction either because you don’t care or don’t want to get involved.

Stage 3: Batshit Crazy

The Joker: As I was saying since every fish in Gotham now bears my famous and frankly fabulous face I should get a profit from every fish product sold. Let’s say a nickel per fish sandwich, fifty cents for sardines. Millions of dollars a day to finance my happily hedonistic lifestyle. So which of your copyright forms do I fill out first? You may speak now.

G Guy Francis: No one can copywrite fish, they’re a natural resource.

The Joker: But they share my unique face. Colonel what’s his name has chickens and they don’t even have mustaches!

G Guy Francis: I can’t help it, it’s the law.

The Joker: Oh trying to cheat the Joker are you? We’ll see who has the last laugh. You have until midnight to change your mind Francis or you’ll be the poorest fish of all

Batman the Animated Series The Laughing fish 1993 adapted from Detective Comics 475 Feb 1978

The 3rd stage of woke is batshit crazy. In this respect “batshit crazy” is defined as demanding that others not just tolerate your crazy delusion but acknowledge it as fact rather than delusion. At this stage the person will use everything from, intimidation to violence to force you to acknowledge a reality that isn’t true. This can be the most dangerous of all the stages in the sense that people who do not actually believe the batshit crazy person’s delusion might decide said person can be manipulated and their batshit crazy delusion used and weaponized against their foes for the sake of power and wealth. There will also be a fair amount of joiners who see this manipulation as a way of personal advancement or will be too afraid to speak out. Such batshit crazy people can only function in society within the woke bubble and will do all they can to create and expand the woke bubble to preserve their delusion.

Example: If you believe you’re Napoleon, and then dress like Napoleon, speak like Napoleon and or get your self surgically altered to be Napoleon and demand that people acknowledge you publicly as Napoleon Bonaparte you’re batshit crazy.

Footnote: Under no circumstances should the person at the batshit crazy stage of woke be affirmed! Not only is it an offence against truth but you will shortly discover that simple affirmation is never enough. If this is not stopped and defeated here then it invariably goes to the final stage

Stage 4: Fully Woke

Jesus Christ: “I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.

John 16:1-3

The 4th stage of woke is fully woke. In this respect “fully woke” is defined as using the full power of an institution, the law and the state to not only affirm their batshit crazy delusion as fact but to crush anyone who refuses to do so or publicly calls out their batshit crazy delusion for what it is and encourages others to have the courage to do so. The Batshit Crazy woke person can’t get to this stage without allies or acolytes or immense personal wealth. And because their allies are gaining wealth power and prestige from this batshit crazy delusion there is no limit to the steps they will take to silence you once this state is reached. They will destroy you economically, socially or even physically and do it while proclaiming how virtuous they are being in doing so. They will further demonize any bit of society, an institution, a city, a state, that does not go along with the Woke Batshit crazy delusion because the greatest threat to them at this stage is actual reality. Furthermore if you are a member of the fully woke society you will find that any deviation from the Fully woke batshit crazy delusion, however slight, will cause you to be expelled and considered a non-person.

Example: If you believe you’re Napoleon Bonaparte, and then dress like Napoleon, speak like Napoleon and or get your self surgically altered to be Napoleon and demand that people acknowledge you publicly as Napoleon Bonaparte and use the power of the state and the law to punish and/or oppress any who refuse to shout: Vive L’Empereur!  when you walk by, you’re fully woke.

Footnote: The fully woke person can’t be reasoned with, can’t be debated, they can only be defeated and when defeated must be defeated utterly

Addendum: On very rare occasions a person hitting the fully woke stage or even the Batshit Crazy stage might find themselves shocked into reality. These persons are the greatest threat to the Fully woke and are hated by them even more than those who fought them from the start.

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