The Watch is On

   And, the watch is on. Now that former President Trump has been indicted, will it bring the "death and distruction" that he promised would come should he be indicted?

   We watch for the words that might indicate that.

  “They are agitating for unrest . . . I’m ready for whatever’s next. And I hope that every other man watching this is ready for whatever’s next,” says podcaster Jason Whitlock. Veiled language saying he is ready for violence? Who knows.

  Former Vice President Mike Pence called the indictment "an outrage." Will such language stir up indignation that could swell into violence?

  "The rule of law is suspended tonight," Fox commentator Tucker Carlson pronounced. “What you’re seeing now is lawlessness – the question is who can stop it?"

  “It almost feels like they’re pushing the population,” Carlson said. "Pushing the population"? Pushing people to do what? Could that be a suggestion calling for unrest? because if some Trump supporters believe it is their call to respond that way, they will do it.

At the Scene of Murder and Mayhem, Satan Leaves His Calling Card

   Too many guns out there? The words will hardly get out of your mouth before someone will angrily remind you guns are a Second Amendment right and don't you dare suggest taking guns away from the people. 

   There are so many, they are even falling into the hands of children, you will try to reason with them, reminding them of the 6-year old who got hold of one and shot his teacher months ago. And then you'll note that now there is a 12-year-old boy who got hold of a gun and killed the 34-year old he played video games with.

   Does that matter?

   He will look back at you with anger, the mental image swirling in his head of Americans losing their freedom as the government comes and takes their guns away. Then he will march out of the room as if he is marching off to the Battle of Lexington.

  Bless him -- he thinks it's a conspiracy. 

   And, perhaps it is -- but it just might be that it is not the government conspiring against us, but Satan. Conspiracies are authored by Satan as often as they are by anyone. Hear me out. Murder and mayhem are of the devil. The gun is an instrument of death; that is why it was created -- to kill. If Satan can spread guns across America like gravy over potatoes, he can wreak all the murder and mayhem he wants. Murder and mayhem is his calling card, and he leaves it at the scene of every murder and mass murder there is. We ought to be able to pick it up and realize that if he leaves his business card, it means he was behind it. And he isn't above doing his work by conspiracy. 

   Conspiracy? There's just as great a chance of evil forces conspiring to destroy America not by taking our guns away, but by making them so readily available. 

   I'm not saying we should not allow anyone to have guns. But, we need to realize too many guns is too many guns, and if they are falling into the hands of people who shouldn't have them, we should do something about it. Call it gun control, if you will, but when the gun is not controlled, it's called murder and mayhem.

  

   

Could Utah do Its Part in Afforestation?

   The unsolved mystery. 

   There was that famous report in 2019 from the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich, saying 0.9 billion hectacres could be forested. That's an area the size of the United States. That's enough space to plant a trillion trees. That's enough to capture 32 percent of all human carbon emissions since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It's enough that -- if it is true -- it is perhaps the greatest single thing that could be done to combat climate change.

   But, wait, how much of that could be done in Utah? How much land is available here?  I did go to the crowtherlab.com website, hoping an interactive map that could answer the question. Alas, the map listed tree varieties that could be planted here, but didn't identify how much land is available, nor how many trees could be planted.

   That mystery remains unsolved. 

   Utah has about 7.6 billion trees. Would there be room for, say, 3 billion more?

   And, if yes, could we -- with all our drought -- have enough water to raise them? It is said forests actually attract more water. Is that true?

   Next up: Perhaps I will have to check with the Arbor Foundation, or with the Trillion Tree Campaign. 

(Index -- Climate change info)

The Statue With No Clothes

There once was an Italian art gallery whose owners loved nothing better than to display a famous statue of a person wearing no clothes at all.  Throughout each day, the statue portraying David standing naked was viewed by throngs of people, and it was explained that when he went to fight Goliath, David went with nothing but his faith and a sling. Many statues are made to honor great men who have fixed problems in the land.  Not this one!  It was made to attract tourists from all over the world to view a naked body and praise it as a great work of art.

The only problem was that occasionally people thought it was pornographic! What with his clothes nowhere to be seen and everything else completely to be seen!

One day, two advertising officers came to town.  They said they were experts in public relations.  They said they would convince more people the statue was simply a work of art.  But in fact, they were not only public relations officers – they were deceivers. 

These fake weavers of supposed truth said they would advertise the statue as being more beautiful than any other statue in history. BUT it could not be seen that way by just anyone.  Only people who were smart and the most excellent would actually understand it was just art, and not pornography.  People who were not smart and not excellent – well, they would walk away wondering if it was just an expensive piece of pornography.

Soon, word reached the gallery owners about these two weavers of falsehood and their fine way of presenting the statue.  The owners thought, "We are most smart to own such an excellent statue!  Anyone can tell by how grand and naked it always looks! We do not need to worry about silly clothes. Clothes only hide the magnificence of the body."

So the gallery owners went to see the two weavers of falsehood.  These clever deceivers ran about their office, pointing at other naked works of art.  They said with pride, “Look at these fine pictures!  Surely you have never seen pictures and statutes so bright, naked and wonderful as these! Aren't they beautiful!”  The gallery owners were excited – there was not to be seen clothes on any of them! 

The gallery owners thought, “We cannot let anyone discover that this is pornography!  Who knows what they would think of the statue then!”  So they agreed with the advertising agents. “Indeed!  These works of art showing naked people are magnificent -- and in our gallery we have the most beautiful work of art anyone has ever seen!” 

As it turns out, the gallery had been closed for remodeling and was about to reopen.  This would be a special day in which tourists from all over the world would return and again line up to admire the statue and cheer him as he stood naked in the hall. For the reopening, the gallery owners wanted to increase the advertising announcing how great the statue was so no one would dare call it pornographic. Only a weaver of falsehood could help them with this.

Yet there was very little time.  Could they advertise enough before the grand reopening?  The two advertising agents frowned, as if they could not be sure.  Then they smiled and said yes, they could advertise so much that everyone would surely want to come to Italy to see the naked statue unveiled again. But it would cost much extra money for the public to be persuaded in time. 

The gallery owners paid it all.   The two deceivers held the money tight to their chests.  They produced a wave of new advertising. They bought new ads not only in the larger tourist magazines, but also in the small ones.  That way everyone would say, “Look at these great pictures of the statue of David!  It is a magnificent work of art that should always be admired and never be  considered pornographic!"

On the morning of the grand reopening, the owners of the statue came to the advertisers' office and thanked them for all they had done.  They felt sure that with this great amount of new advertising, no one would ever again see the statue as anything but a great work of art.

When it was time for the statue to be unveiled again, the gallery owners threw back the veil as they thought to themselves, “This is so magnificent a display that no one can ever call it pornographic. No one will dare suggest it is wrong for him to be wearing nothing at all.”  And indeed, that is how it seemed!

The gallery owners brought in mirrors so the public could examine every ripple of the statue's magnificent muscles. He really must be art to have been carved so well. Surely, it should be clear that to put clothes on him would only ruin the work. 

At the unveiling, the statue stood tall and proud.  Each person who saw him standing there thought, “I cannot believe what I am seeing! The statue wears no clothes!”  But each person said nothing, preferring instead to simply enjoy it.  They knew that only people who were smart and excellent could enjoy such a work of art without thinking it pornographic.  So instead they cheered, “There stands the statue of David!  Doesn’t he look fine!”

All of a sudden, one little boy from a grade school in Florida called out, “Look!  The statue has no clothes!”  Everyone gasped.  Then another child called out, “Look at him!  He has nothing on at all!” 

Then someone gasped.  And someone else.  Then more and more people started to gasp.   Someone said aloud, “Would you look at that? The statue has no clothes!”  Soon, everyone was calling out and gasping.

“Oh dear!” thought the owners of the statue.  “Now everyone knows it is pornographic!  They will know we decided to call it art just to convince them to adore it. What will they think of it now?” 

But the show had to go on, so the statue continued to stand.  And the Accademia Gallery of Florence continued to insist the statue wasn't pornographic at all. 

(Index -- Stories, My stories)

Netanyahu Wants More than just to Be Prime Minister

 

   Danger in Tel Aviv? Danger in Isreal? Is the nation teetering into falling into the hands of Benjamin Netanyahu?

   The nation boiled over yesterday with people pouring into the streets to protest Prime Minister Netanyahu's firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, after he spoke out against the overhaul of the judiciary system.   

   It is the judiciary overhaul that has the people angry. And when somebody finally stands up against the changes, as Gallant did, they get fired? If the people fear the overhaul is designed to give Netanyahu autocratic control, the silencing of voices that speak against it only furthers their concern. If you disagree with a dictator, yes, that's the way it works. If dissent is not allowed, that's the way it works. But, it shouldn't be that way.

  Just as we worry about the possibility of autocratic rule taking over America, so should we be concerned about it possibly happening in Israel.

To Ban the Gas Stove or not to Ban the Gas Stove, that is the Question

   To cook with natural gas, or not to cook with natural gas, that is the question. Is it a health hazard? Does it contribute to greenhouse emissions? Will commercial restaurants be able to survive without it? Will food ever taste the same if the day comes it cannot be cooked on a fire-heated grill?

   All important questions for our day, right?

   Saturday, Fox Business brought in a chef and restaurant owner, Andrew Gruel, who announced that "all this is junk" and "absurdity." "We're living in a tragic comedy," he said, lamenting the thought that new gas stoves could be outlawed in New York.

   "We've completely lost our minds," Gruel said early in the interview. He explained that with the move to make energy renewable, "they are going to create as many stories as they can, and try to piece together statistics that really have no connection."

   With apologies to Gruel, yes, a quick search of the Internet does reveal that natural gas can be a health hazard. And, I don't think even he believes it is not a greenhouse gas. Instead, he suggests that if you take away gas heat, you will be left to rely on fossil fuel-powered energy, which is worse.

  Fox Business and its guest, Gruel, were speaking mostly of New York, which is considering furthering its restrictions against natural gas. Will it have to be replaced by fossil fuel-fired plants? Will it be? New York City's largest fossil-fuel plant, which generates 20 percent of the city's electricity, is coming off line. It is being replaced by offshore wind power. So, the move to reduce natural gas is not being done in a void without a cleaner source to replace it. 

  Which brings us to the question of what becomes of restaurants. "You cannot commercially cook food without gas right now," Gruel said.

   The alternatives to gas stoves is what is called induction heating. And, as fine of establishments as Michelin three-star restaurants The French Landry in Napa Valley and Alinea in Chicago have vowed to switch to energy-efficient electric.

(Index -- Climate change info)

Is Trump Blatantly Calling for Violence?

   When he warns of "death & destruction" if he is arrested, is Donald Trump calling for his supporters to kill and destroy if he is arrested?

   Read this Friday post by the former president on his social media site:

“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States ... and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?”

   Who would arrest me knowing that the if they do so, my supporters will unleash death and destruction? Is that what you are saying, Donald? And, with that tone, aren't your supporters going to feel a call to administer death and destruction? 

   This was not his first suggestion of violence. A week ago, he decried that the country is being destroyed "as they tell us to be peaceful!" The tone of that is as if to say, No, we will not be peaceful. We will not stand peacefully by while our nation is being destroyed. 

   There has been concern that Trump might have incited violence in the past -- Jan. 6. To read his words now, he is certainly being no less blatant, but is perhaps being more so.