Reading Psalm 38 was extremely helpful today in considering the proper posture of our hearts when we come and confess our sins. We don’t say merely, “Lord, I made some mistakes, but I know You still love me.” No, rather, in these verses read the way David speaks of his own depravity to the Lord, despite knowing the Lord is for him:
Update: here is a quicker, possibly more delicious recipe 
https://davidwesterfield.net/2019/06/easy-delicious-summer-sangria/
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- 1 Bottle Llano Sweet Red Table Wine (or comparable)
- 1/2 Cup Vodka, or more to taste
- 1 Bottle Pellegrino Sparking Water
- 1 Large Orange (2 small)
- 2 Limes
- 1 Large Lemon (2 small)
- 1 Green Apple
- 3/4 Cup Sugar, add more to taste after putting everything together before chilling.
- A large, preferablly glass pitcher for presentation (you eat and drink with your eyes first :] ).
The ‘D’ word is being uttered in the mainstream now. Despite whatever the media says concerning the ‘jobless recovery’ we’re in (which is a complete oxymoron) or the ‘summer recovery’ we’ve begun that Obama touted as truth last month, all indicators are pointing to the fact that the US is officially entering an era of economic depression, something not seen in my or my dad’s generation.
The numbers tell the story. A couple of articles in particular are pointing to this fact. One on CNBC, the other by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Telegraph. In addition, even liberal, Keynesian economist Paul Krugman from the New York Times is calling this the beginning of the Third Depression, as I talked about in my last entry. He is dead wrong on how to fix it, but his diagnosis is correct.
It seems this message is becoming more mainstream these days. It’s about time. Max Keiser is right to call this financial terrorism, especially in light of the fact that we, the tax payers, have bailed them out while everyone else is suffering from their dealings, and as a result, they have had record profits this past year. Unbelievable. I’m pro-profit, pro-free-market, pro-conservative, but Max Keiser is also right to call this Rigged Market Capitalism. I can’t think of a better term for it.
Anyone else find it odd the “flash crash” (1000 point dow drop within a matter of minutes) happened right when Congress was negotiating rules regulating derivatives? Oh and oddly enough now, the rules around derivatives have been completely gutted as I understand it. There is rampant corruption and looting going on within the government and the larger corporate world, particularly the monolithic banks. This is not a free market but an oligarchy.
More generally, here are Davidowitz’s views on the economy at large. Even Paul Krugman from the New York Times is calling the Third Great Depression, though he’s completely wrong about the remedy (even more spending).
“What happens to a society that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion?” (Hat tip: roryking)
I know Carl Trueman from Reformation21 would appreciate this article. I don’t agree with every point, assumption or conclusion in this article (try to guess). But the broader, general points about American society being completely oblivious to the things that matter as far as democracy and our society is concerned are right on. I really sympathize with how this guy feels looking out over American society and seeing the utter banality of so much of what people are devoting their lives to. I don’t say this as one looking out and feeling better about myself, but one who mourns what is happening to society as a result of sin. It is immensely saddening to witness. You start talking about things going on in the news that matter and affect us collectively and privately and eyes glaze over, in general. Most in our society, even confessed Christians, are obsessed with their image and their “brand”. Or if they’re not obsessed with themselves, they’re obsessed with the next new fad or movement or whatever. And this thinking greatly influences the church in negative ways. A few good sections from the article:
The United States, locked in the kind of twilight disconnect that grips dying empires, is a country entranced by illusions. It spends its emotional and intellectual energy on the trivial and the absurd. It is captivated by the hollow stagecraft of celebrity culture as the walls crumble. This celebrity culture giddily licenses a dark voyeurism into other people’s humiliation, pain, weakness and betrayal. Day after day, one lurid saga after another, whether it is Michael Jackson, Britney Spears or John Edwards, enthralls the country … despite bank collapses, wars, mounting poverty or the criminality of its financial class.
As expected, President Obama exploited the worst environmental disaster in our nations history for the primary purpose of promoting his and the far lefts’ cap and trade energy bill. Sure, he buttered up the masses with some warm sentiments about how upset he was concerning what he has seen and the justice that must be rendered. Then he got to his real agenda: politicizing a catastrophe currently in process for energy policy.
With that said, here’s what I gathered from the President’s speech tonight on the oil crisis: in the words of our friendly, radical, self-admitted Communist, former Green Jobs Czar (appointed by President Obama I might add), Van Jones, “This movement is deeper than a solar panel! Deeper than a solar panel! Don’t stop there! Don’t stop there! We’re gonna change the whole system! We’re gonna change the whole thing. We’re not gonna put a new battery in a broken system. We want a new system. We want a new system!” (from Van Jones’ Powershift ’09 Keynote Address, Part1, Part 2, Part 3)
In the words of Rahm Emanuel, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before.”
Well, our President is certainly wasting no time to push through draconian climate and energy legislation, that’s for sure, while millions of people and a coastline are in the middle of suffering from the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.63a128958094fb519016d188cf557e83.101&show_article=1
“‘In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11, I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come,’ he told Politico.com.”
“Obama said he would be making a fresh bid to get Congress to pass a major energy and climate bill.”
Good yet odd timing, I must say, Mr. President.
Trademark dispute over blog name pits Ping against ‘Ping’ – Star-Telegram
The Star-Telegram is reporting on a good friend of mine, Kent Pingel, whose site PingWi-Fi.com, appearing on the bottom of the menu column at the right, has been requested by Ping, Inc. to give up his site name and brand because they claim it conflicts with theirs. I mean the big guys can’t have anything that even comes close to their own name and brand right, so the exec’s can keep playing, well, golf? As the article reports, when Kent Pingel filed for a trademark on his site name and brand, he was immediately flagged down by Ping, Inc. and legally pursued to change the site name. The big guys against the little guy. There’s a lot of that going around these days. You can read the rest here.
Matt Drudge makes great points on journalism in this speech he gave to the National Press Club in DC on June 2, 1998. Just think of what the main-stream media has become the 12 years that has passed since this was recorded: a pure marketing outlet for governments and corporations to spin things however which way they deem necessary to suit their agenda. And it’s no wonder the new media, the very thing he envisioned in this speech, is taking off. And it’s no wonder the Federal government (FTC/FCC) wants to squelch it. All his points still apply, and then some.