Babel Towers in Texas?

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Oracle Headquarters

Trump announced yesterday that three absolute tech giants were combining to invest $500 billion for AI (physical and virtual) infrastructure in America, so this country could lead the world in AI development. One of the CEO’s at the announcement said AI promises to bring with it a “super-intelligence” that will, ultimately, solve many of today’s problems. Question: Has anyone stopped to do prayerful discernment to see if this AI Revolution is what God wants? That’s what the Amish do before accepting a new technology. They pray and discern if the technology will hurt their relationship with God, with their family, with their community… We, so often, rush madly forward, and call it “progress.” People “…back in the day,” had the technological smarts/architectural know-how to build the “Tower of Babel.” But even though they had that, that’s not what God wanted. Concurrently, our hubris is starting to “play God” with this artificial intelligence (read: “super-intelligence”). A pseudo-Wizard of Oz intelligence (the BIG oracle behind the curtain, if you will) that could well usurp our need for God — in a perceived sense. In fact, if you squint at the photo above, some of those Oracle Co. towers in Texas, might even look like ‘Babel Towers.’ Just sayin.’ Note: Maybe this AI development is, in fact, God’s will. Maybe it’s not. Our mistake? We’re not actually asking God about it, rather just Googling the next thing. And therein might lie the answer. Note 2: As (providential) coincidence would have it, I turned the Bible, at random, to Jeremiah 21: 11-14. Sub-chapter title: “Oracles Regarding the Kings.” [There’s that “oracle” thing again.] The Cliff note is God warns the society to “dispense justice, rescuing the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor.” Or God says “…my fury will break out like fire.” Later, in verse 14: “I will punish you, oracle of the Lord, as your deeds deserve! I will kindle a fire in its forest that shall devour all its surroundings.” Translated, I believe: If the society spiritually screws up in regard to being the right kind of “oracle” for the Lord, well, fire will ensue — physically and spiritually (Hell). So, America was once considered a “City on a Hill,” an “oracle,” if you will, for solid, moral Christianity. Now, much of it is just the opposite. And what’s more, the decadence is being beamed all over the world — from Hollywood/LA. Then came the fire(s).

The “Golden Age,” or the “Golden Calf.”

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Inaugural Lunch

During his Inaugural Address today, Trump said he was going to return America to a “Golden Age.” What’s more, he said that he believed that, not only did he have a “mandate” from the people, but he had a mandate from God. Okay… I just interviewed a local pastor who did a 10-Day-Missions-Trip to Cuba. He said Havana, and the surrounding countryside, were replete with abject poverty. People there, he continued, subsisted on meager portions of rice and beans each day, and little else. (*And this is not to mention the 24,000 people who starve to death worldwide every day. UN figure.) So, let’s start with the Inaugural Lunch today. A gourmet offering of angus beef, crab cakes, potatoes au gratin, and a fancy apple dessert. So, would indulging ourselves lifestyle wise in the First World, while there is so much potentially relievable suffering in the Third World, be spiritually indicative of the “Golden Age,” or, well, indicative of worshipping the “Golden Calf”? Anyone with even a modicum of “common sense” understanding of the Gospel message, would understand (…just for starters) that this gourmet lunch wouldn’t square with part of God’s “mandate.” *That meal should have been rice and beans, with the savings going to humanitarian outreach efforts. That simple. That spiritual.

Who’s the “oligarch”?

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Wikipedia photo

Joe Biden gave his “Farewell” speech last night. During it, he cautioned against a small cadre of wealthy oligarchs taking over the country. And yeah, Trump, Musk, Zuckerberg… could, indeed, be problematic. But here’s the other side of the coin, and it’s a BIG other side of the coin! In the booklet “Something in the Air,” which is published by Caritas of Birmingham, it notes: “We must call for the removal of the growing Oligarchies of our times, who have forced upon us, as a people, abomination. Laws of which, if we don’t revolt against them, will doom us (spiritually).” The author goes on to say that these skewed laws are counter to God’s Natural Law. So… The Biden Administration ‘laws,’ some of them (abortion, gender fluidity, etc…) are totally antithetical to God’s Natural Law. And Biden has been the (Oligarchical) ringleader, if you will. That simple. And that ironic. By the way, our administration would line up, across the board, with God’s Natural Law. See our position papers… Note: God’s Natural Law cuts both ways, in regard to our current, mainstream political paradigm. As another example, Natural Law, as interpreted by, say, the Catholic Catechism, says that: “Rich nations have a grave moral responsibility toward those who are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves, or have been prevented from doing so by tragic historical events.” This is, basically, a First World / Third World thing. So, Trump is coming into office and will, cart blanche, send all illegal immigrants back. Back to what? Dire abject poverty. Intense cartel violence. Dead end desperation. This way of thinking/acting, too, is an “abomination.”

conservation conundrum

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National Geographic conservation article illustration

I was re-reading a National Geographic article on conservation in America tonight. It noted that “conservation works.” For instance, efforts to save the peregrine falcon, the American bison, and the Pacific gray whale have succeeded, notes the article. But the article also noted that in 2021, it was being proposed that 23 species be taken off the endangered species list — because they’re now extinct. These 23 species were part of God’s design for the totality of the eco-system. So, this is no small thing! The article noted that early on in his presidency, Biden signed an executive order setting the goal of “…conserving at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030.” While our administration would not be on the same page with any number of Biden initiatives, we would be with this. Environmental stewardship is key to helping keep the web of God’s eco-system as intact as possible. For more on our stance on the environment, see…

“A Perfect Storm” in Southern, CA?

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ABC News photo

“A Perfect Storm” (with immense spiritual implications): Reports note that Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches of rain since early May — the second least amount of rain ever measured during a similar period, since 1877! Bone dry. Matching, for many in California, their spiritual dryness amidst the collective, progressive lifestyles (abortion, gender fluidity, rampant materialism…) out there. Then, Santa Anna 100-mph winds kick up. And there’s a spark(s). The “Pacific Palisade Fire,” as I’m typing this, seems to be engulfing virtually everything. During an interview, one resident said that between the spectacular homes, the spectacular ocean views… Pacific Palisades is a virtual “…Land of Enchantment.” Maybe, just maybe, God is giving people a glimpse of how ‘enchanting’ Hell, described Biblically as the “Lake of Fire,” is going to be (without repentance). During modern day apparitions, the Blessed Virgin Mary is warning that “materialism” is spiritually blinding people. You see, with some two billion Third World people living in deplorable slum conditions worldwide, while many in the First World are living quite well off, without much of a thought of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world (including in our own inner cities), we have grown WAY out of whack spiritually. These fires could well be a wakeup call — and not just for the people in Southern California.

incomprehensible vastness, yet no Space Program

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National Geographic excerpt

During a recent podcast, author, philosophy professor, and Catholic, Daniel O’Connor, said that it was his belief God created the incomprehensible vastness of the cosmos to symbolically represent the incomprehensible vastness of eternity. What’s more, O’Connor has extensively researched UFO/alien claims from a Catholic teaching angle (compilation of saints and Church fathers takes on this), and he has come to the conclusion there are no aliens. Just demons in metaphysical disguise, if you will… As providential coincidence would have it, the next day I picked up a National Geographic at random and turned to this page, initially. Notice the wording about Venus. “Hades of the Heavens… Brutally hostile, the planet broils at nearly 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit… seethes with fumaroles and glowing lava…” Biblically, Hell is described as: “…a lake of fire.” Apparently, God is giving us a tangible glimpse of this. Note 1: It’s our administration’s contention that we should nix the Space Program, and take the money to help the poor, to help the environment, and so on, on this planet. Telescopes, etc., can give us graphic looks into the cosmos. This is how, for instance, we understand the make-up of Venus.

A new ‘ocean ethic’

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National Geographic article cover

Our administration would push for a strong “ocean ethic.” Staying up on foreign/domestic affairs, across the board, I regularly read. This particular article was tremendously eye-opening. An excerpt: “The oceans are dying. The collapse of fisheries marks the decline, a steady funeral drumbeat: cod in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, anchovies off Peru, salmon off the Pacific Northwest, Patagonian toothfish in Antarctic waters, sharks in all the oceans…” And this article specifically focuses on the Bluefin tuna, which it says is “…the most overfished species on Earth. The stock that spawns on the western side of the Atlantic has been reduced by 64% since 1970.” While the Bluefin is, in a sense, the ‘canary in the coal mine,’ as the article notes, this is happening across the board, ‘er rather across the seas, of late. The essence of this is greed and gluttony. The fishing companies/fishermen want to make as much money as they can. And consumers want the best prices, and the most fish, that they can get. Unbeknownst to many, because, frankly, spiritual leadership is not calling out much, if any, of this, is that this is sin behavior on both fronts. And coupled with this is tremendously bad environmental stewardship. More sin. Our administration would promote guard rails, if you will, to promote an ocean ethic, with moral constraints. God gave us the natural resources to use, but to use in appreciative moderation. *The Native Americans were actually quite good at this. Our environmental platform is replete with examples that bring this kind of stellar environmental stewardship to life. See…

Flying

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Library display

Was doing some research on the Triplett Corp., which was a pretty high-profile, local company during the first part of last century. They specialized in making all sorts of meters. What’s more, during WW II, the Triplett Corp. contracted with the U.S. Signal Corp. to make meters for military ships, tanks, and planes. And speaking of planes… At a Bluffton Community Breakfast, I talked with a man who was an Air Force fighter pilot, and he then went on to volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol. During the Cold War, he and other patriotic volunteer pilots, would fly the coasts looking for enemy submarines, and the like. And staying with flying yet some more… I recently interviewed a former area police chief who has been flying the past 40 years, including being involved with “Angel Flight Midwest.” For the past 10 years, on his dime, he has flown cancer patients, and others, to hospitals throughout the Midwest. (*He had recently flown a boy to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.) He told me that God gave him the talent and ability to fly, and this was his way of giving back.

Federal Art Project, Part II?

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Saturday Evening Post photo

I just read an excellent Saturday Evening Post article on the “Federal Art Project,” which was part of Roosevelt’s WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the Great Depression. Some 7% of the budget for the WPA was allocated to artists across the country to do all sorts of mural projects, and such, in big cities and small towns. Besides helping subsidize “starving artists” (literally) during that time, it gave Americans, across the socio-economic spectrum, access to good art. The most poignant sentence in the article: “Artists painted recognizable subjects — ranging from portraits, to cityscapes, and images of city life, to landscapes and depictions of rural life — that reminded the public of quintessential American values, like hard work, community, and optimism… Our administration would push for a Marshall Plan to rebuild, and rejuvenate, our inner cities, as we would push for downtown revitalization in small towns across America. Creating a similar Federal Art Project, to accentuate this rejuvenation, once again make art accessible to everyone, and give more artists meaningful, creative work, would be an absolutely excellent idea.

Technology marches on. But should some of it?

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RR spike maul

I interviewed local historian Keith Sommer for a newspaper article recently. He has quite a collection of antique artifacts, including a good number of old RR artifacts — including a RR spike maul, pictured here. And he not only collects the artifacts, but he extensively reads up on them. He’s a virtual walking encyclopedia, actually. He told me that he likes to learn about old technologies, because the new technologies are, more often than not, an actual continuation of the old technologies. But herein, at times, lies the rub. That is, before, say, the Amish adopt a new technology, they go through prayerful discernment about whether the technology will get in the way of their relationship with God, their relationship with their family, their relationship with the community… At an Amish Interpretive Center in Shipshewana, Indiana, during our travels, I learned the Amish haven’t adopted motorized vehicles for several reasons. For one, the increased mobility, inevitably, allows for the splitting up of community. How many of us these days say of our grown children: “Yeah, Mary is now living in Des Moines, Charlie is in San Francisco, George is in Houston…” What’s more, the Amish believe to “kill someone” is a serious thing, accident or not. And driving motorized vehicles, to the Amish, increases the chances of, well, killing someone. You know, we often, as a society, technologically rush madly forward (motorized vehicle, or not) and call it all “progress.” But is it really, in God’s eyes that is?