The Question

Those who read my post here know I will sometimes start with a question, and every day all of us should question most, if not all, of what is happening in the world.

And if those who do not start with a question first thing in the morning, it should be. The complacent way of thinking is terrible for us and society. There are better ways to go than going along with the flow of everything and doing nothing.  Can I complete my tasks for the day? What will hinder me from achieving those tasks?  Is there anything I'm missing? What is in the news that will affect me or my relatives, friends, or co-workers?

This thought process is a simple one and can be achieved. Because if not, laws are passed, your job changes, world events affect your country, tasks are moved to a later date, and more importantly, these could affect you directly, all because you didn't think to question why. 

Questions should have answers, and answers should result in action or not, depending on your situation.

Be the action to your questions, and don't become detached from the world.

Photo - pixabay - geralt

Concealed Truth

Why does the truth have to be concealed? 

Who has the absolute authority to conceal it? 

Why does anyone have that much power?

There are a lot of questions here.

Watch the video. Tucker: Here is unseen video from January 6 | Fox News Video

The battle continues for the truth about what happened on January 6th.

The number of people involved on the day is in the thousands. I'm sure a majority of those there expressing their right to free speech and assembly are innocent of any wrongdoing. But with that said, there are also those (progressives) who took advantage of this conservative movement and exploited a situation into an absolute conspiracy, and the January 6th committee took full advantage of their access to videos and carefully edited and selected videos to convince the public that those in the conservative party where the enemy. But now we discover the real truth; the democrats withheld information and manipulated the videos. 

Another investigation will take place and the truth will be known, but time will tell as the battle continues.

Photo - pixabay - OpenClipart-Vectors

Film Friday - TV Series

Here is a list of some of my favorite TV series.

I probably have a few more I would generally watch, but these are the ones I have given a high IMDb rating IMDb: Ratings, Reviews, and Where to Watch the Best Movies & TV Shows. 

And then scanning the channels; if one is on, I'm more inclined to watch it.

In no particular order:

• The Rifleman (1958-1963)
• The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)
• The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1962)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
• Blue Bloods (2010-Present)
• On Patrol: Live (2022-Present)

Photo - pixabay - Pexels

Technology over the Top

What?  Technology over the top

Ford wants to allow your car to lock you out — and even drive itself to an impound lot or scrapyard — if you miss payments (msn.com)

I completely understand why; if someone does not make their monthly payment, they want their car back. I get it, but if this technology is here to stay, how will it be applied to other vehicle applications.

For instance, air quality for the day is bad, and car manufacturers decide to lock you out of your car until air quality improves. And everyone would either walk or take another mode of transportation. This is a step to move more in the direction of all-electric vehicles with even more control over your individual property. The more AI (artificial intelligence) is installed the less freedom. 

The article mentioned having a geofence for the driver of the vehicle. Limiting the travel area so the car would only have a small range of travel. This application could be under government control, and you can imagine the extent of ways to limit one's journey from one place to another. 

The solution is buying a 1990s car and turning off your cell phone.

Photo - pixabay - RyanMcGuire

Get Ready

Watching the news lately can be overwhelming, but I fear it will worsen. If you are following the recent train derailment, this will be a bigger problem than the government officials tell us. The chemicals released into the air and waterways are not going away. This will have a long-term effect for years to come.

And Ukraine is another story where the worst is yet to come for the Ukrainians and the world.  The fact that Russia has pulled out of the nuclear weapons agreement signals that Russia will do whatever it takes to conquer Ukraine.

Getting ready for the ripple effect of these events is a tough issue to resolve when it comes to being prepared because of the unknown. But, at a minimum, everyone should be thinking about the three basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter individually because you should rely on something other than the federal government to help you.

Photo - pixabay - RainbowArt

 

Music Monday - The SteelDrivers - Blue Side Of The Mountain (Official Audio)

First Sunday of Lent

Mt 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert

to be tempted by the devil.

He fasted for forty days and forty nights,

and afterwards he was hungry.

The tempter approached and said to him,

"If you are the Son of God,

command that these stones become loaves of bread."

He said in reply,

"It is written:

One does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes forth

from the mouth of God."

Then the devil took him to the holy city,

and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,

and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.

For it is written:

He will command his angels concerning you

and with their hands they will support you,

lest you dash your foot against a stone."

Jesus answered him,

"Again it is written,

You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test."

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,

and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,

and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you,

if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."

At this, Jesus said to him,

"Get away, Satan!

It is written:

The Lord, your God, shall you worship

and him alone shall you serve."

Then the devil left him and, behold,

angels came and ministered to him.

Have Faith

 

Top news concerns in no particular order:

• Earthquake in Turkey - 46,957 dead
• The war in Ukraine - one year later
• North Korea testing missiles
• United States plans to expand the training of Taiwanese forces
• East Palestine, Ohio (US) Train Derailment disaster

These are just a few troubling news stories we should all be looking at.

I realize there will always be bad news every day, but it's usually just a couple of reports. Today is more than usual, and most of these have been ongoing.  

Throughout history, events like these have occurred and have always come to an end, but not without a cost.  We are at the point where the need for prayer is of the utmost importance.

Prayer is the most powerful act we can do, and when the world prays, change happens. Some might believe it has no effect, and those have little or no faith at all. Well, you cannot pray if you don't have faith and hope; they go together. 

So, if you are concerned about some world news, maybe it's time to start your conversation with God and have a little faith. 

 Matthew 17:20 

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” 

Photo - pixabay - geralt

St. John Vianney Quote

 

No Football

The top news story today is about the Super Bowl.  This is to be expected because of all the hype that traditionally surrounds this major sporting event. Everyone cheers for their team, or they have wagered a bet, and some for the halftime show and commercials.

I, for one, did not watch it.  I am a former fan of the sport, a season-ticket holder, and a fantasy football fan player. Several years ago, I was saddened when all of the wokeness infiltrated the league. I was a fan because of the sport itself but mostly because it was a uniting event with no politics, no agenda, no X-rated halftime show, and an overall patriotic demonstration of two of the best teams in the world of an American sport. America seemed to be united, and political differences were put aside, and for the day, it was about the game of football.

The NFL, the Grammy award show, and other Hollywood liberals are doing their part with those who want to change how America has traditionally viewed the values for which this country was founded.  The Judeo-Christian values have become a thorn in the side of those who want to make America progressive to the point where anything goes; no matter the agenda, there would be no limit to what is said, no limit to what is shown. The one way to fight back is to voice your opinion openly and not give into the woke society pressure just because it's the popular thing to do.

Photo: - pixabay - alessandra1barbieri

Film Friday - Comedy/Romance

Valentine's Day is in a few days. I thought posting my top 8 comedy - romance movies would be appropriate. In romance, you must have a sense of humor. And as always, they are classic films.

Top 8 Romance-Comedy Films:

#8 Holiday Affair (1949)

#7 Living on Love (1937)

#6 The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

#5 The More the Merrier (1943)

#4 The Philadelphia Story (1940)

#3 Marty (1955)

#2 One Way Passage (1932)

#1 You Can't Take It with You (1938)

Earthquake Prayers Needed

The latest report of fatalities from the earthquake is over 11,000.

Syria and Turkey were hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Aid coming into the country has been difficult because of the political borders. It seems the world reacts and wants to help, but politics is getting in the way. Disasters like this always unite the world because of the humanitarian effort to save lives, and time is of the essence. Every minute that goes by, someone is dying under the debris. 

The amount of technology, structural engineers, and First Responders worldwide could quickly speed up the whole process. 

Please pray for the folks in this region. 

A balloon?

It has taken decades for our country to become a superpower, and a balloon has compromised our defense. 

How and why did this happen?

Those in charge of our air defense have clearly failed to protect our nation's airspace. If this situation had been a battleship off the coast, I would hope we would have deterred the advancement of a foreign country into our waters. But I'm not sure this would happen now. 

There should be more updates this week on this failure, but I cannot foresee any reason why this happened.

Photo: pixabay - susannp4

Winter is Lasting How Long?

Photo: pixabay - offroy66

February 2nd 

The Official Groundhog Day

An American tradition for 137 years.

I personally have never been to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. But from what I have seen, it is a big deal and months of planning.

 Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, predicts 6 more weeks of winter (msn.com)

I don't believe in such folklore. But it seems like a fun event to experience.  I wonder if other countries do similar events? Winter is one of those seasons where especially in the South, we are ready for it to end and the Spring season to begin. 

Prayer to St. Francis of Assisi

 

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to be console; 

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Questionable Authority

Before making a post for the day, I'll scan various news headlines for a story I'll have an opinion about. During the search, I have to filter the extreme opinion news articles. I look through all the news media hype, trying to grab my attention. Because we all know how easy it is to be influenced by what we see on any day of the week on the news.

Today there are a few articles about police authority and their actions. I'm not here to question or to give specific opinions about any incident involving the use of police authority, but if video evidence captures a particular event and is complete from beginning to end, I believe it is right to question the actions of those involved from both sides, and that is just at a surface level, it will take attorneys, juries and many court trails to come to a final conclusion. But in the meantime, this will spark a spontaneous reaction from the general public, causing protests and rioting, which causes more police involvement in dealing with potentially hostile environments. Creating a cycle of violence. 

My point is there will always be questionable incidents with those who are law enforcement, and it is right to do so. Justice must be served, and this applies to those in law enforcement and those arrested. And because of a few officers' actions, we should not apply those actions to the whole law enforcement occupation. 

The bottom line, we must trust in our judicial system to do what is right.

 

    

Photo - pixabay - sergeitokmakov

 

Found Documents

What is up with this?

Finding secret documents.

I understand the importance and concern of secret documents being in an unsecured location. 

Did this all of a sudden become the hobby of collecting for elected officials?

This has probably been going on since the founding of the United States. If former politicians took a souvenir series of documents, I would bet they are going through their occupied places and destroying papers as I write this post. And if that is the case, and the DOJ discovers they had documents and destroyed them, this would be a whole new controversy. 

What about those responsible for securing and controlling the secret documents? Where is the chain of custody?

This will grow bigger and involve more people over the next few months. 

Photo: pixabay - TheDigitalArtist

My Top Movie Couples

Film Friday - my top-rated movie couples in no particular order.

Vivien Leigh & Clark Gable

Barbara Stanwyck & Fred MacMurray

Katharine Hepburn & Humphrey Bogart

Elizabeth Taylor & Paul Newman

Myrna Loy & William Powell

Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy

Donna Reed & Jimmy Stewart

Jane Russell & Robert Mitchum

Ingrid Bergman & Cary Grant

Jean Arthur & Gary Cooper

Job Security

In recent news, Microsoft (10,000) and Amazon (18,000) laid off thousands of employees.

There was a time going back to the1950's 1960's you landed a job at a well-established company; you were set until you were ready to retire. But in today's economic-driven environment, it is more prevalent that the bigger the company, the more chance you have of being laid off. And the much smaller business is the one to retire from.  Having a job has always been a necessary part of making a living to pay the bills, but if you're in the job market looking for the perfect job. I'll have to say they do not exist. There will always be a boardroom of decision makers to decide about layoffs or the large, more profitable companies with specialized teams to seek and find another company to buy out. The big fish eats the smaller fish reality, it's a brutal business. 

My generation has experienced excellent companies that care for 20-year employees; I believe future generations will only experience working for a place for about 5 years. 

Job security has been redefined as working at most 10 years in one place. Sad as it may seem, it's the truth.

Photo - pixabay - geralt

God's Freedom

God gives every single one of our freedoms. This freedom is the ultimate freedom, but it comes with consequences. 

The freedom of free will.

Our will is what drives us in our ability to choose to act on what is good or bad. God could easily have made us always be inclined to do good and never evil. But he gave us the freedom of choice of good or evil. Just as He did with Adam and Eve. The choice of good strengthens our faith when confronting the evil we experience daily. But the choice of sin has the consequences of the judgment of God. It also has been given to us internally, deep into our souls; this freedom is within each of us, and no country or government and take that away from you. 

Exercise your God-given right of free will. But be sure it is with deep thought because the wrong choice has consequences. 

Photo - pixabay - geralt