12/11/20

Taking Care of Families in Need

By: T.F. Stern | T.F. Stern’s Rantings

Several years ago, there was a story printed, or perhaps I might have heard it from the pulpit; some of the details have left my memory so I’ve taken ‘creative license’ to replace that which I’ve forgotten. Accept my apology for not remembering the original author.

A congregation was asked to donate an extra portion during the Christmas Season to help families that were struggling. The challenge was given the week of Thanksgiving with the intent of having enough money collected before Christmas to offer relief for several families; a fine meal with all the trimmings, new clothing, and shoes, some toys for the children, and such depending on how much money could be collected.

One family had a meeting when they got home from church to consider various ways they could help with this wonderful project. The father said that after getting home from work he’d collect firewood and sell it. The mother would take in laundry and use that income to add to their contribution. Their son said he’d collect empty soda bottles and redeem them at the store while the daughter would babysit.

They did this for the entire month of December leading up to the final week and collected a little over fifty dollars which they proudly handed over to their minister. The father knew their contribution was probably smaller than most since he wasn’t one of the more affluent members of their congregation; but he wanted to know how much had been collected, thinking perhaps he could figure out a way to make up the difference by cutting down on some of his regular expenditures.

The minister sat quietly considering the moment as he tried to explain the situation in a way that would make sense. “We’ve received just over forty dollars in contributions so far, you being the only ones to have taken up the challenge.” The minister sat silent for a few more moments before continuing his thoughts.

“You see”, he looked heavenward for assistance as he struggled to further explain, “…your family was on my shortlist of those who could have used a little help during the Christmas Season.”

I’m sure there are many among us who could use the message contained in this story as we approach the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

11/21/20

Is it really over?

By: T.F. Stern | Self-Educated American

I read a comment issued by an old friend who happens to be a Biden supporter. She was gloating, as if her intellectual superiority in assessing issues had prevailed, prematurely I might add. “The election process is over; the final count had been done in Georgia.” I have a great deal of respect for this individual and so rather than go for her throat, a rather crude way of saying we disagree; instead, I remained silent, temporarily, which is why I’m writing now.

There is room to wonder what she meant with her remark, it’s over. In all likelihood a reference to the vote count in Georgia as reported by the major news media outlets, those honorable individuals who’ve presented their propaganda as is if it were factual information. She believes that Georgia’s vote count assures Biden of the number of Electoral Votes needed to win.

Perhaps she was unaware of those individuals counting the votes in Georgia, the state where several batches of uncounted votes continue to surface, supposedly minor errors in the care and custody of presidential votes that had been cast on, …or even after November 3^rd. Never mind that the Senate seat, which has yet to be determined in Georgia, whose outcome will determine which party holds sway for the next several years.

I’d like to think she was selectively ignorant of yet another possibility, that our constitutional republican form of self-governance was over. I say this because if we as Americans, regardless of which candidate we would prefer to win; if we allow the corruption which has tainted this voting process to stand then we are accepting corruption willingly and without regard for the consequences.

Many on the Biden side are asking for proof of any wrongdoing, any at all. They have some kind of unrealistic idea of how to identify corruption, the intent to manipulate and control the outcome of this election.

I’m reminded of the scene from the movie, A Few Good Men, the courtroom scene where the now-famous line is uttered, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!”

Let’s work on the idea that there is a ‘preponderance of evidence’ which would indicate to a rational individual that something seriously wrong has, in all probability, occurred in the voting process. We’ll save having to prove ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ for later. In other words, is it possible that the statistical mathematics pointing out voting irregularities just happen to match with algorithms built into a machine intended to count votes, that these 20,000 Dominion machines were not intended to alter the outcome of such a count?

(Image of Eric Coomer found on Facebook, quote verified)

Never mind that the irregularities occurred in several states around the same time of night after it became clear that Trump was not only in the lead, but was projected to win based on the vote count prior to the unexplained ‘shutdown’.

If your answer is a flat out, No; then you’re not being honest. Why would anyone design a machine that could be accessed from the internet by way of hidden backdoor passwords, have the ability to discount certain votes while at the same time award a higher percentage to the opponent? Worse, why would any honest person consider using these machines, their ability to alter an election’s outcome wasn’t exactly a secret?

The machines in question have been used to assist the outcome of elections in other countries. The CIA and other ‘three-letter government organizations’ are on record as having used them to disrupt elections in other countries. To say this is new information is beyond believable. Some states refused to use the machines in question because the results offered could not be verified, thereby being unreliable and corrupt. But this could never happen in America…

So why did 30 states, to include so-called battleground states authorize the use of Dominion machines that were capable of altering election results, changing the outcome in favor of whoever had been pre-ordained to win?

But you say, that hasn’t been proven in a court of law… I respond with, “If you’re walking along and see a pile of mushy brown substance, you wipe it with your finger, hold it up to your nose and take a whiff, then stick out your tongue and taste it. After having puked on the sidewalk you say to yourself, Glad I didn’t step in it.” Are you that hard to convince that something is amiss?

Or…are you willing to accept corruption, move on because the outcome went the way you’d hoped it would, your candidate won?

If that’s how you feel, then you’re probably right; it’s really over.

Self-Educated American, Senior Editor, T.F. Stern is both a retired City of Houston police officer and, most recently, a retired self-employed locksmith (after serving that industry for 40 plus years). He is also a gifted political and social commentator. His popular and insightful blog, T.F. Sterns Rantings, has been up and at it since January of 2005.

11/18/20

Your Mother is on the Roof

By: T.F. Stern | Self-Educated American

(Image of Biden’s Miraculous Vote Count courtesy of theredelephants.com)

My father had a library of stories and jokes that he’d share, usually when we were a captive audience while on a long drive. What has this got to do with anything… I’ll get to that after sharing one of dad’s stories.

While getting ready to go on vacation Fred stopped by and asked if my dad would feed his cat and look in on his mother from time to time. He left a key to the house along with a phone number to call should he need to get in touch.

Two days later dad found the cat had been run over while crossing the street. He called Fred and told him, “Your cat’s dead, got run over by a car”. Fred could hardly contain his emotions; but at the same time explained to dad that he might have softened the news a bit instead of blurting out, “Your cat’s dead”.

Fred suggested that it might have helped if, perhaps, on the first phone call dad might have said something like, “Your cat’s on the roof and I’m having trouble getting it down. Then on the next call, you could say that the cat fell and you took it to the veterinarian. That way I’d have been more prepared for the bad news about the cat dying.”

Dad listened carefully, aware that often times he didn’t consider the feelings of others. He apologized and told Fred to enjoy the rest of his vacation. Fred asked how his mother was taking the loss of the cat. Dad’s response, “Your mother’s on the roof and I’m having trouble getting her down.”

So what has this odd story got to do with current events?

If you’re only paying attention to how the results of the presidential election are being reported by major news media outlets, Twitter and Facebook then you’re in for one heck of a surprise.

These folks have already awarded the Oval Office to Biden/Harris even though not one state has officially certified the vote count. In the meantime, they are ignoring what may be the biggest news story of the century, that being the use of computerized voting machines to steal an election. They are not only ignoring the evidence of fraud, they are stifling anyone who says otherwise, censoring and containing the spread of facts.

Biden/Harris voters are thinking all is well, that their side has won. The news media is telling them, “The cat is just fine, enjoy the trip”; not even a mention that, “the cat is on the roof and we’re just waiting for it to come down”…so to speak.

“There isn’t any evidence of voter fraud. Trumpsters with their whacked-out conspiracy theories are only clinging on to hope. The news media certainly would have reported something, that is if there had really been corrupted voting machines.”

But the news media has ignored the truth; swept it under the rug believing the courts would side with the news media’s having already “called the election for Biden”.

There’s little to nothing being reported about corruption which has been identified and graphed, mathematically and statistically impossible results have been referred to as ‘glitches’, baseless claims, rather than the result of intentional programming intended to steal an election.

There is irrefutable evidence that millions of votes for Trump were flipped and magically given to Biden, and this happened simultaneously in several machines at the same moment in battleground states giving Biden a presumptive lead and the presidency; but as with Jedi mind control, “Nothing to see here, move along”.

The impossible has occurred and yet the news media refuses to enlighten the public.

This will be painful to watch as it reaches the highest court. Trump will be declared the winner, as he should; but what about the public that thought and actually believed the lies which the news media promoted? They’re going to be told Trump stole the election by having a stacked Supreme Court because that’s the story the media has been repeating over and over.

Can you see where this will further divide the nation? The propaganda outlets, having long ago given up reporting the news, continue telling the public Biden/Harris have won.

Dark days are ahead as the media sews discontent and chaos, all the while claiming we should all come together and Unite under Biden/Harris. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Biden/Harris are on the roof at this very moment.

11/8/20

Avoid the Appearance of Evil

By: T.F. Stern | Self-Educated American

Call me ‘Old School’ if you wish, but certain principles of conduct from another era seem to have been lost along the way. Let me explain…

Several years ago I was given the assignment to check up on a woman from church whose husband had recently died. She moved into our area and was still in the middle of grieving for her loss while at the same time she had nobody locally to lean on when her emotions got the better of her.

I made it a point to drop by regularly during the month, no scheduled appointment; just a neighborly check by to let her know someone was thinking about her. She would invite me into the house, but this is where avoiding the appearance of evil comes in. Instead, I’d suggest we sit on the front porch where her neighbors could see that nothing inappropriate was going on.

That brings me to the handling of votes and the appearance of impropriety, whether it exists or not, can be proven in court or not; red flags of danger have caught the public’s attention. Perhaps that should be re-worded, red flags of danger have been ignored by those whose motto is, “Win by any means and to hell with anyone who says otherwise”.

I realize that being a supporter for your political party means hoping your candidate wins; but does that mean ‘at any cost’, to include destroying the fabric which holds your nation together as a constitutional republic?

When I watched a news clip showing poll workers covering up the windows so nobody could see them counting the votes, ignoring the protocols which call for members of the opposing party to be in attendance while the votes are counted, refusing to allow poll watchers during the election and other actions which would lead a critically thinking person to wonder if possible voting irregularities were being carried out.

When I was in college taking a course in Insurance which involved actuarial statistics to determine risk factors along with other issues that comprised that industry, it became fairly clear that some statistics form the limitations of reasonability and allow for the determination of what is unreasonable. That’s why people over eighty years of age don’t purchase life insurance; the cost would be prohibitive, that assumes you could find a company dumb enough to sell the policy.

The use of statistics is important when looking at votes. Certain polling places shut down in the wee hours of the morning following the election and then opened up a couple of hours later proclaiming they’d found thousands of votes…all for one candidate; the laws of statistics chimed in and proclaimed in unison, “Male Bovine Excrement!”. There’s no way, statistically speaking, that all the votes which mysteriously appeared during the night were all cast for the same candidate, at least not legally.

That said, there are folks jumping up and down cheering for their candidate’s presumptive win, closing their eyes, ears, and minds to the likelihood of massive voter fraud; instead, euphorically caught up with, “He did it! We’ve won the White House!”

I’m having a difficult time congratulating the presumptive winners and those who’ve sold out this nation’s constitutional republican form of government for a cheap copy of a banana republic complete with bought and paid for election results.

Some might claim ‘sour grapes’ because my candidate hasn’t been re-elected. My gut reaction tells me I’m watching an election process that steals a victory at any price and a public that will not only tolerate evil; but blindly congratulate those involved.

Putting it all in perspective with lessons learned from the Come Follow Me home study course, which only this past week covered Mormon’s witnessing the destruction of his people, a people ripe with iniquity who delighted in flaunting their evil ways rather than repent. I had to wonder, did the Lord know this week’s lesson would be a duplicate of what is going on in America nearly two thousand years later?

The idea occurred to me that regardless of the outcome of this election, the steady downward spiral our nation has taken towards socialism along with accepting, tolerating, or even so many of our fellow citizens boasting of their evil ways; in spite of all these warning signs, we must place our faith in Jesus Christ and find joy in our knowledge of the gospel. We have enjoyed the easy life; but the refiner’s fire proves us in our trials, whether we endure to the end is us to us.

10/20/20

Mister Trump Goes to Washington

By: T.F. Stern | Self-Educated American

A curious dream awakened me this morning, tying an old Jimmy Stewart movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, with current political situations. Wiping the sleep from my eyes it occurred to me how President Trump and the fictional character Jefferson Smith, newly appointed Senator, have much in common.

(Mr-Smith-Goes-to-Washington-image-courtesy-of-silverpetticoatreviw-dot-com)

The corrupt political machine run from behind closed doors by a mover and shaker named Jim Taylor, had the puppet strings on just about everyone in their state, to include long time Senator Joseph Paine, played by Claude Raines. Jefferson Smith idolized Paine, his having been a close friend of his own father. Little did Smith know the underhanded dealings that were being pushed through by Senator Paine and his buddies, legislation which would greatly enhance their financial holdings by selling out their constituents.

With a little effort, very little effort, it would be easy to insert George Soros’ name for Jim Taylor and then trade out the Clinton Crime Syndicate/Obama Crime Syndicate along with Joe Biden and Son Criminal Enterprises. So, we’d have former Senator Hillary Clinton and Former Vice President Joe Biden taking the place of Senator Paine. Remember, we’re making a movie, purely fictional, just a silly movie for entertainment purposes only. (Yeah, right)

The plotline would have to be altered a bit; but basically, the corruption would easily work the same way. President Trump, upon taking office was unaware of exactly how much corruption was involved as his every move to clean up Washington was under fire. Those involved in moving taxpayer’s money overseas to corrupt politicians so those politicians could line their pockets; but in return would pay huge kickbacks to the Clinton Foundation or to Biden family members to launder that money; all this was done to enrich the crime syndicate members.

The Obama administration “allegedly”, have to remember to include allegedly, had moved a large number of munitions illegally from the U.S. Government to our enemies, arms which eventually were used to take out one of our helicopters. Unfortunately, the serial number for the ordinance which took out the helicopter was identifiable and belonged to weapons that were supposedly still in U.S. military possession. Long story short…an arrangement was made whereby those weapons would be transferred back into our hands in a place called Benghazi.

It was supposed to have gone smoothly but as they say in the Middle East, “Shiite Happens”. Those friendly terrorists murdered the U.S. diplomat (arms smuggler) and three unexpected special forces heroes who defended the embassy for a couple of hours. The Obama administration claimed the terrorist attack was the result of a YouTube video and arrested the maker of that video in order to distract the public. Hillary Clinton, then-Secretary of State, erased thousands of email entries from her illegal server to eliminate any connection with illegal arms sales to Islamic terrorists and the FBI and Justice Department, “allegedly” working under the direction of President Obama, turned a blind eye to the entire incident.

Meanwhile, Vice President Biden “allegedly” set his son Hunter up as a bag-man between corrupt Ukrainian government officials and the U.S. taxpayers. Money was handed over to the politicians so they could line their pockets and the Ukrainian crime bosses “allegedly” hired Hunter to a high paying position which only existed on paper in order to launder money back to the Biden Crime Family account. This process was “allegedly” duplicated with the Communist Chinese government with even more U.S. taxpayer money being laundered back and forth.

Had Donald Trump been defeated and Hillary Clinton become president the American public would never have known about any of the criminal activity that was being covered up with a phony FBI investigation followed by the Justice Department sweeping any left-over dust under the rug. Hillary Clinton, as we have recently found out, didn’t want the public looking into all her email transactions. What better way to throw off the spotlight than to cook up a phony document making it look like Donald Trump had violated his office by asking for an investigation into former VP Joe Biden’s crooked dealings over in Ukraine?

The Democrat Party was then given the task of making the phony Ukraine investigation look legitimate which included the 40 million-dollar Mueller Investigation which led up to the phony impeachment hearings. At one time those involved in an attempted coup would have been rounded up, charged with Treason, and tried for their crimes; but that has not happened.

It can be officially called an attempted coup, we now have a ‘smoking gun’, the information found on Hunter Biden’s laptop computer. Apparently, the FBI had this information for over a year and kept it from the public’s view, hoping that Biden would win the Oval Office and this whole mess would blow over. But the information got out before the November elections and, even with the help of the major news media outlets refusing to share the story along with Twitter and Facebook censoring stories linked to the Biden’s corruption…the public can now connect the dots.

Unlike Senator Paine in the movie, whose conscience caused him to break down and admit his own corruption there on the Senate floor, there are no individuals with any honor left in them; referring to the Obama Crime Syndicate, the Clinton Crime Syndicate, and the Biden Crime Family. They are content to remain silent as to their “alleged” involvement; instead, ramping up their attacks on President Trump, hoping the November elections will make this all go away.

It isn’t much different than the original movie; thugs pushing young boys carrying their home edition newspapers into the ditch and stealing away any news of the Shadow Government’s involvement while their own big-city newspapers unleash all manner of lies about President Trump. “Your Comment Violated Community Standards”, oh, and Trump must be destroyed or we’re all going down!

The only thing that matters is holding onto or obtaining power. Secret Combinations are made between those willing to sell their souls for a piece of the pie.

10/18/20

Appreciating the Moment

By: T.F. Stern

These last few weeks have been fun as I’ve been able to improve the audio-video capabilities of our modest home theater system. We updated the audio quality by switching to an optical digital cable that’s now hooked to our television, and anything that goes through the television to the soundbar speakers. I had no idea the difference would be that noticeable, speaking as a half-deaf senior citizen. We also changed out the RCA type cables that run from the LaserDisc player to the back of the television to ‘Monster Cables’ that are supposed to have the better transfer of information.

But that’s not why I’m writing today…

One of the laserdiscs enjoyed this morning was Horowitz in Moscow. There were images of various patrons soaking up the music produced by this world-class pianist. There was a camera shot from the balcony seating area where someone had placed their personal cassette recorder hoping to capture the experience so it could be played again once they’d gone home.

Here I am on the other side of the world watching and listening to a command performance given many years ago as if I were there. I’m fortunate to own a laserdisc that captured each moment visually along with crystal clear reproduction of music. It’s a good bet the audio reproduction on my copy far exceeds anything that was on the cassette recording made from the balcony.

The image shown includes a couple of items of importance. Center stage is Horowitz as his fingers carefully and methodically move across the keyboard; but secondarily, as the laserdisc progressed, are images of those in the audience taking in the performance. It occurred to me that I was among those in the audience, no different than if I’d purchased a ticket to sit among them as my reflection ghosts in from my vantage point on the sofa, nearly invisible until you study the image looking for that ghost.

Do we express our appreciation for the gifts we’ve been provided? Perhaps we should say Thank You more often, not only for the things which are pleasing; but for the challenges that make us appreciate when things aren’t quite so hectic. Gratitude is our way of paying for those moments, tears of sorrow for the passing of someone close, someone who was part of our world and made a difference, tears of happiness that they’ve gone home to continue their eternal progression.

Think I’ll put on the laserdisc with Harry Chapin’s Final Concert, the one that has Cat’s in the Cradle; yeah… “but he smiled as he did and he said, I’m gonna’ be like him, yeah, you know I’m gonna be like him”.

It dawned on me, my father passed away four years ago, those tears must be for the beautiful music I’ve been enjoying; yeah, must be the music…

10/13/20

Safety Issues Tied to Police Cutbacks

By: T.F. Stern | Self-Educated American

The public is starting to realize that using the Police Department as a ‘whipping boy’ for all the ills of society has consequences. An article by Melanie Torre of CBS Austin relates some of the safety issues associated with cutbacks to police services.

“The Austin Police Association says understaffing is causing 911 calls to go hours without a response.

According to APA president Ken Casaday, Saturday night some shifts were staffed at just 50 percent.”

A little further in the article more information was shared:

“Casaday says — on the shifts he’s worked– the department has enough officers to respond to Priority 0 calls. According to Casaday, Priority 0 includes shootings, stabbings, assaults and serious crashes. He explains, Priority 1 calls are where there’s been a delay. Priority 1 calls include criminal trespass, simple assault and non-active burglaries.”

Citizens requesting police service might see this as a minor inconvenience since really important calls are being handled in a timely manner. Being told that you’ll have to wait an hour to file a burglary report or some other non-life-threatening incidents might not be as bad as all that.

The City Council in Austin decided to cut-back police services and payroll; and, after all, slower response time goes with the territory. These measures were taken to make a bold statement, that police brutality, shooting suspects without cause and such won’t be tolerated. Other major metropolitan cities like Portland, Oregon have taken a similar stance.

To be sure, those municipalities which are making such drastic cuts in police services have turned their police departments into political footballs with little regard for either the safety of their law-abiding citizens or for the police officers performing these important services.

Several years ago, prior to my retirement from the Houston Police Department we were considerably understaffed; perhaps matching the observation made by APA president Ken Casaday, working with roughly 50 percent of the number of police officers needed.

One Friday night prior to the beginning of our shift several of us were in the kitchen area of the police sub-station enjoying ice cream bars donated by the local Borden Creamery. An Assistant Chief of Police entered and I recognized and welcomed him informally to the younger officers who might not have known who he was since he wasn’t in uniform. I asked if he was here in an official capacity or was it simply a casual visit.

His answer was polite; but hinted at something he had on his mind. “I’ll wait until Roll Call when I can address everyone at the same time.” He smiled as if he had been dealt a winning poker hand, not wishing to tip his cards just yet.

I responded directly, “Then you might as well tell us now; this is the entire shift you’ll be addressing.” There were only six of us in the room. Consider the area we were assigned to patrol on a Friday night in Houston, Texas, an area that stretched from the 610 Loop out to the city limits between the I-10 corridor and Highway 290. That’s a two-man unit and a one-man unit in Four District and the same in Five District, four police patrol units to cover the area equal to Rhode Island. In layman’s language, don’t get into any situation that requires a back-up unit, there won’t be any, none.

The cheerful countenance the Assistant Chief had upon entering quickly vanished as the reality of our being understaffed well below anything reasonable landed on his mind. Originally, he’d planned to give us some kind of Pep-talk; but we’ll never know since he changed his remarks, sounding more like an apology for putting us in harm’s way without sufficient manpower should anything, anything at all go badly.

My retirement date came up a couple of years later and it’s with great pride that I display a shadow-box hanging on the wall of my office, a small reminder of my twenty years of service as a police officer. I also am well aware of the dangers each police officer faces, a danger multiplied to an unacceptable level when those they work for don’t like police officers in general or appreciate the hazards that go along with that job.

One line that most officers are familiar with is shared at the end of each Roll Call prior to hitting the streets. It’s both a warning and a reminder, “Y’all be careful out there”.

09/5/20

Irregulars and Militias – Are Militias Still Legal in Texas?

By: T.F. Stern | Self-Educated American

(Image: The Concord Minute Man of 1775, a monument created by Daniel Chester French)

The most uncomplicated definition of Militia – military force composed of ordinary citizens.

The question has been asked, “Are Militia groups legal in the State of Texas”?

“From 1903 to present, following the Militia Act of 1903, the Texas Militia is legally empowered by Title 32 of the United States Code and Article 4, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Texas to “execute the laws of the state, to suppress insurrections, and to repel invasions”.

Wikipedia addressed the topic of Unorganized Reserve Militia as follows:

“Militias thus can be either military or paramilitary, depending on the instance. Some of the contexts in which the term “militia” can apply include: forces engaged in a defense activity or service, to protect a community, its territory, property, and laws, the entire able-bodied population of a community, town, county, or state available to be called to arms…

a private (non-governmental) force not necessarily directly supported or sanctioned by its government, (emphasis added)

an irregular armed force that enables its leader to exercise military, economic, or political control over a subnational territory within a sovereign state, an official reserve army composed of citizen soldiers known as the militsiya, a select militia composed of a small, non-representative portion of the population…

The definition is wide open for interpretation; however, that one line, “a private (non-governmental) force not necessarily directly supported or sanctioned by its government”, leaves such an interpretation up to the individual rather than leaving that interpretation up to the government.

Wikipedia went on to include:

“Within the United States, since approximately 1992, there have been a number of private organizations that call themselves militia or unorganized militia. In states such as Texas, the state constitution classifies male citizens between the ages of 17 and 45 to belong to the “Unorganized Reserve Militia”.The Texas constitution also grants the county sheriff and the governor of the state the authority to call upon the unorganized reserve militia to uphold the peace, repel invasion, and suppress rebellion, similar to the early “Texas Rangers”.”

It should be noted that the age limitation mentioned as 17 to 45 represent those individuals who can be drafted according to the mandates of the Governor of the State of Texas; however it does not preclude the involvement of individuals who are younger than 17 or older than 45 from being able to serve voluntarily if they so desire.

Other points of interest brought out through further links provided include the following statement:

“Most militia organizations envisage themselves as legally legitimate organizations authorized under constitutional and statute law, with reference to state and federal law of an “unorganized militia”. Others subscribe to the “insurrection theory” which describes the right of the body politic to rebel against the established government in the face of tyranny. (In the 1951 case Dennis v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the insurrection theory, stating that as long as the government provides for free elections and trials by jury, “political self-defense” cannot be undertaken.)”

Bare in mind much of the article related to militia groups focused on those groups formed to respond against governmental tyranny, real or perceived rather than on citizen groups organized to maintain law and order being threatened by domestic terrorists such as Antifa and/or BLM thugs.

So…If a group of local citizens living in a small community organized themselves into an Unorganized Militia for the purpose of defending their lives and property from those who would violate the laws of the State of Texas, such a non-sanctioned group would be within their Second Amendment Rights as protected by our Constitution’s Bill of Rights. Since their militia does not fall into the “insurrection theory” aspect alluded to in the above paragraph, that portion does not apply (even though the Supreme Court got that one wrong; but that’s a whole other article).

The Lone Star Watchmen Militia is an unorganized militia group in Texas which apparently fits the legal parameters which other communities might consider as they work to protect each other’s lives and property. The following was copied from their website:

“Lone star Watchmen is a Texas Mutual Defense Group. We are Second Amendment based (first and foremost) and are sworn supporters of the United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution. Our Mission is clearly defined as providing for the protection and survival of our families, communities and ultimately Texas through medical, tactical support/security and survival training.

First and foremost we are your average American citizens. We are your citizen soldiers who are always ready to serve. We are doctors and lawyers; firemen, EMT and police; teachers and tradesmen; retirees and young families like everyone else in your local community. We come together as a group united by our moral beliefs, and our loyalty to our Constitution and Texas. We live by and support what the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights decrees.

We are not revolutionaries. We are not a hate group. We are not Anti-Government. We are, however, in favor of promoting education and resources for the protection against Tyranny and the corruption of Government officials, bad and unconstitutional legislation.

The word Militia has been linked to many negative groups in the past so now is a good time to learn the truth. We are not a militia- because you are already a part of the Militia.

Everyone is welcome regardless of age, race, religion, gender or political affiliation provided you believe in our great country and the Constitution being the supreme law of our land. We are a diverse group of ordinary citizens with a love for our Country and for Texas. We promote the Constitution as a way of life and the only medium for our lives. Our forefathers fought for us to have this Constitution and we will carry the torch of liberty they lit for us and our future generations.”

That should be enough information to validate the legality of forming a militia group as long as their stated purpose is to uphold the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas.

08/31/20

The Alvin York Solution

By: T.F. Stern | Self-Educated American

(Image from the movie, Sergeant York, courtesy of Amazon.com)

I’ve been watching the chaos created by the BLM and Antifa movements as their scorched earth policy march across our nation, destroying businesses and lives everywhere they go. Governors and mayors in some states have refused to put an end to their lawless actions while some have even come out in support of these anti-American domestic terrorists.

Portland, Oregon comes to mind first as one of the cites where the streets are no longer safe. Even after police officers have arrested criminal combatants in the act of looting, attacking random citizens, trying to injure and maim police officers, burning businesses, police stations, and courthouses; the District Attorney refused to file charges and released them back on the streets.

If you enter into a discussion in one of the social media forums such as Facebook there is a wide variety of opinions on the topic of how to deal with this civil unrest. Many have fallen for the LIE that the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement is exactly what the words proclaim, a grassroots attempt to raise awareness of the injustices which have in the past been directed towards individuals living in Black communities.

The sad fact that must be recognized; the BLM movement has absolutely nothing to do with that last paragraph. They are a communist front group created with the intent of destroying our constitutional republic and replacing it with a Marxist totalitarian state. You don’t have to take my word for this, Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement is proud to exclaim, “We are trained Marxists”.

An article in the Washington Times explained the actions of Antifa, those individuals the left-leaning media continues referring to as “peaceful protesters”, those violent, faceless cowards hiding behind black shirts and masks as they mingle with useful tools marching to avenge some dead criminal shot dead during his last act of heroism by racist cops who supposedly wear the badge so they can kill Black people. (I love a good run-on sentence now and then)

“What makes the shadowy group unique is its willingness to use of violence, what Antifa organizers and sympathizers call “direct” action in support of the anarchist and Marxist-Leninist agenda. That often involves setting fires, looting, throwing bricks and bottles at police, and in one case the apparent use of a milkshake laced with quick-dry cement in attacking an opponent in the face.”

Did I paint the picture accurately?

How are we as a civilized society supposed to confront this abnormality, this semi-declared war on our way of life? Many of my Christian friends are at a loss to give an opinion, fearing any response other than “love your fellow man as Christ would”; any response other than that shows you haven’t really been converted, that you’re still acting as the ‘natural man’ would act.

My own answer is fairly straight forward, if you catch someone looting, setting fires, or attacking others during one of these “peaceful demonstrations”, shoot them and leave them on the street to scream and die as a warning to others. Yes, that’s about as cold a response as is possible; but is it really the wrong response?

That brings me to the title of today’s article, The Alvin York Solution. They made a movie, Sergeant York, about his life with Gary Cooper playing the lead role. It told the tale of a backwoodsman whose life was changed from being a no-good hard-drinking hooligan into a God-fearing Christian after having been struck by lightning while on his way to go kill a fellow who’d done him wrong. Alvin gave up drinking and living in sin, devoting his time to bettering himself and supporting his widowed mother by farming as best he could.

This all happened while WWI was going on and the military draft found its way down to Alvin York. He was determined not to become involved in the war effort. He told the government officials about his being a conscientious objector, that he saw any killing, even in war, as violating the teachings found in the bible; he was inducted into the Army anyway.

He was an expert marksman and needed no training on how to shoot, but remained doubtful of his ability to serve as it went against his deepest feelings. His superiors let him study American History to sort out his feelings; expressing their belief that he would make the right decision when the time came.

That time came soon enough and Sgt. Alvin York rose to the occasion. According to York’s fellow soldier’s exaggerated version of what happened, those who’d been pinned down by enemy fire and couldn’t help, Alvin single-handedly took out the “whole German Army”. When his superior officer asked him why he’d been able to kill so many of the enemy, his answer was more than he could have expected.

“Well I’m as much agin killin’ as ever sir. — But it was this way Colonel. — When I started out I felt just like you said, but when I hear them machine guns a goin’ and all them fellas are droppin’ around me — I figured them guns was killin’ hundreds maybe thousands and there wern’t nothin’ anybody could do, but to stop them guns. And that’s what I done.”

This movie came out in theaters at the beginning of WWII and had such a patriotic effect on many young men that they walked over to the Army Recruiting Station directly from having seen the movie. The movie affected me in a similar fashion; the way I see the destruction and mayhem being inflicted on the country I love so much.

Maybe it’s time to incorporate the Alvin York Solution, take out the immediate threat in order to save the rest of this great country. I don’t think my Savior would hold it against me for having stated my opinion on the matter.

08/20/20

Windows 10 Reboot August 19, 2020

By: T.F. Stern | Self-Educated American

The past couple of weeks I noticed some of my Apps weren’t functioning properly; but the one that stuck out as most annoying was having to restart the computer each time rather than simply touch the screen and it comes back on from sleep mode. All this happened right after one of those auto-updates that come during the night to ‘fix’ some issue you didn’t know you had.

(The image was from our trip to New York City where we rode in the front car of a subway train, standing with the camera pressed against the glass while zipping past a lighted station.)

I wanted to repair the issues by going into the control panel back to a date when I knew the computer was working properly. If you haven’t guessed by now; I’m not a computer geek. I know about some things; just don’t know what they’re called or where to find them when I need them.

Anyway…I looked for that important location only to be informed that since the computer was recently updated that function was no longer available. There was a suggestion that I reload Windows 10, that along with a cautionary statement that some of my Apps might be lost during the process; but that my data files would remain intact.

So, yesterday evening I committed to jumping off that cliff; I instructed the computer to shoot itself in the head, using only a small-caliber pistol that would knock itself out but not permanently damage or kill. A screen flashed letting me know the process would take about twenty minutes.

Three hours later…another screen popped up letting me know there had been some issues; but that it would only take a little longer.

It was about 11:30 when the computer actually appeared to be in working order. Several Apps had vanished leaving only ghost icons to let me know there was plenty of work to do if they were to function again.

Having been through this with other computers over the years I had one thing on my side; I’m old fashioned and had the original CDs containing the Apps along with the activation codes taped to their sleeves. The first to be inserted was the one that protects from Internet viruses and things like that.

Some technician probably saw a light come on at the office alerting them that a dinosaur version of their program had just been activated, again.

“Hey John, look at this. Someone has a version created before either of us were even born.” They can laugh all they want, but it’s paid for and I don’t like paying for the same stuff twice.

Next was loading the CD containing Microsoft Office, the one I bought back in 1998. I only use the part containing Word so it’s not all that much different than the newer versions…and as you can see, it still performs nicely.

I did have an issue with Dropbox when it showed my old email address, the one that got hacked. He did a good job of trying to establish his newly cloned identity so that account has been closed for years. Thankfully, I still had an index card showing the old password as I typed in the information.

“Our records indicate your Password has expired. We are emailing you a temporary password at this time”. Wonderful, some hacker is getting a temporary password so he can download the updated version of Dropbox; but I don’t have access to that information. Breathing out slowly I decided it might be wise to put this off until I’d gotten some sleep and start off with a clear head.

This morning I found there’s a cubbyhole with the ‘bodies’ of all the Apps that vanished. Some of them included links where the only action needed on my part was to click and reestablish the App as if it hadn’t died and been swept away. Acrobat Reader was one of those along with…no, that was the only one that was easy to fix.

I tried several ways of getting my LDS Library and LDS Tools to come back, but that hasn’t worked out so far. Both of those Apps are on my cell phone and each time I tried to download them onto my laptop the App store reminded me that the program had already been downloaded. Breathing out slowly again…

I suppose I can always have my cell phone next to me while on the laptop, at least until one of my computer geek friends stops laughing long enough to show me how to get these apps back up and running on my laptop.

Lastly, and this is important; the simple version of Solitaire has to be downloaded. An easy task or it should have been. Before letting go of state secrets like Solitaire Microsoft needed to know the serial number of my laptop?

I just downloaded the President’s Atomic Football access codes and all they wanted to know, “Do I want to Make America Great Again?”; but for Solitaire they needed my laptop’s serial number.

(Image of MAGA ball cap courtesy of eBay)

I looked for the 12-digit serial number that was supposed to be on the bottom of the unit or in the recess for the battery. I found lots of numbers, some with Chinese letters next to them; but none of them had 12-digits. Looks like I’m not playing Solitaire for a while either.

It’s time to take a break, and for the record; Yes, I do want to Make America Great Again.