Zorek Richards
July 21, 2022:
Why, if the U.S. is trying to lower prices at the pump back home, would they sell oil from its strategic reserve to overseas companies? If you are a right-winger who is not interested in facts and get more adrenaline pushing conspiracy theories then you will likely blame Biden. You'd be wrong. But that's what motivates a large part of right wing news: "unfounded assumptions." And you can claim that as long as you want and you will still be wrong.
The reason: The U.S. government is obligated to find the highest possible price for assets that it sells, and sometimes U.S. companies aren’t able to handle more oil when the sale is held, leaving foreign companies to buy it.
The oil market operates on a global level. Lower prices are the results of changes to supply and demand on a global basis, not just in the U.S.
A connection between the sales and Chinese investments linked to Biden’s son Hunter is irrelevant and something for stupid people and Tuckkker Carlson to embrace..."..."cuz Hunter Biden" is the right wings new "it's Hillary fault." mantra. The sales were GOVERNED BY US LAW , and no way that the Biden family could have influenced or benefited from the sales.
The fact is that "That’s the law", and that’s how the international oil market works. One batch of oil, totaling 950,000 barrels, was sold on April 21 to Unipec America, a HOUSTON-BASED, Chinese-owned company. Other batches of crude oil, amounting to about 4 million barrels, were sold to companies based in other countries. Companies that wish to bid on the oil sale have to be registered with the Crude Oil Sales Offer Program through the Energy Department, and any company authorized to do business with the U.S. government can register for this. In this case a Chinese company submitted a winning bid.
Why, if the U.S. is trying to lower prices at the pump back home, would they sell oil from its strategic reserve to overseas companies? If you are a right-winger who is not interested in facts and get more adrenaline pushing conspiracy theories then you will likely blame Biden. You'd be wrong. But that's what motivates a large part of right wing news: "unfounded assumptions." And you can claim that as long as you want and you will still be wrong.
The reason: The U.S. government is obligated to find the highest possible price for assets that it sells, and sometimes U.S. companies aren’t able to handle more oil when the sale is held, leaving foreign companies to buy it.
The oil market operates on a global level. Lower prices are the results of changes to supply and demand on a global basis, not just in the U.S.
A connection between the sales and Chinese investments linked to Biden’s son Hunter is irrelevant and something for stupid people and Tuckkker Carlson to embrace..."..."cuz Hunter Biden" is the right wings new "it's Hillary fault." mantra. The sales were GOVERNED BY US LAW , and no way that the Biden family could have influenced or benefited from the sales.
The fact is that "That’s the law", and that’s how the international oil market works. One batch of oil, totaling 950,000 barrels, was sold on April 21 to Unipec America, a HOUSTON-BASED, Chinese-owned company. Other batches of crude oil, amounting to about 4 million barrels, were sold to companies based in other countries. Companies that wish to bid on the oil sale have to be registered with the Crude Oil Sales Offer Program through the Energy Department, and any company authorized to do business with the U.S. government can register for this. In this case a Chinese company submitted a winning bid.
June 7, 2022:
The Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper has endorsed Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., in the June 28 Republican primary. When I lived in Colorado Springs I used to love the Gazette. It leaned Libertarian. Apparently it now endorses the insanity. Colorado Springs has been becoming a bit of a right wing haven for quite a few years now. Appears they have now jumped the shark.
The Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper has endorsed Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., in the June 28 Republican primary. When I lived in Colorado Springs I used to love the Gazette. It leaned Libertarian. Apparently it now endorses the insanity. Colorado Springs has been becoming a bit of a right wing haven for quite a few years now. Appears they have now jumped the shark.
March 14, 2022:
Glenn Beck is a paranoid schizophrenic propagandist. Everyone that has an ounce of more authority then he has is out to get him. He has a flare for drama and story telling...based on the books he has written. Rightwingers love stories about how evil the hierarchy as it gives them a sense of power to see through evil. Doesnt help..but feels good. I used to swim in that faux reality for quite a few years. Reality is better. More peace and no need for a "power' fix.
As a right winger I beat the drum about how executive orders are just wrong or abused, while at the same time I called myself a "Constitutional Conservative." However it turns out that Executive orders have a constitutional basis: They spring from Article Two of the United States Constitution which gives presidents broad executive and enforcement authority to use their discretion to determine how to enforce the law or to otherwise manage the resources and staff of the executive branch. Its a power that comes with being elected President. I dont have to agree with them all, but I can live with it. They have the Constitutional power to do so.
Glenn Beck is a paranoid schizophrenic propagandist. Everyone that has an ounce of more authority then he has is out to get him. He has a flare for drama and story telling...based on the books he has written. Rightwingers love stories about how evil the hierarchy as it gives them a sense of power to see through evil. Doesnt help..but feels good. I used to swim in that faux reality for quite a few years. Reality is better. More peace and no need for a "power' fix.
As a right winger I beat the drum about how executive orders are just wrong or abused, while at the same time I called myself a "Constitutional Conservative." However it turns out that Executive orders have a constitutional basis: They spring from Article Two of the United States Constitution which gives presidents broad executive and enforcement authority to use their discretion to determine how to enforce the law or to otherwise manage the resources and staff of the executive branch. Its a power that comes with being elected President. I dont have to agree with them all, but I can live with it. They have the Constitutional power to do so.
February 6, 2022:
Mississippi candidate Carl Boyanton states on his web site that his "top priorities are family and politics. Specific inspirations of his are President Donald J. Trump and President Ronald Reagan. " So as a supporter of coups and the party that claims coups and murder of policemen is "legitimate political discourse" it makes him an official supporter of the domestic terrorist group that officially goes by the title "Republican Party." This means, however, that both Boyanton and his competition, Steven Palazzo
are both on the same page on the terrorist issue.
Mississippi candidate Carl Boyanton states on his web site that his "top priorities are family and politics. Specific inspirations of his are President Donald J. Trump and President Ronald Reagan. " So as a supporter of coups and the party that claims coups and murder of policemen is "legitimate political discourse" it makes him an official supporter of the domestic terrorist group that officially goes by the title "Republican Party." This means, however, that both Boyanton and his competition, Steven Palazzo
are both on the same page on the terrorist issue.
January 16, 2022:
Politics as a religion is a trend that has been long in the making. Amplified by the internet, social media, and the faux doctrines of many religious people, and especially many fundamentalists and evangelicals, who would naturally believe in conspiracy theories (ie, a poor foundation of Biblical knowledge and reality). Add a worldwide pandemic and it has been a "perfect storm."
The political replacing religion as the single most important motivating factor in many people’s lives as a worldview or even basic theology has been widespread and devastating. However, if we asked most Christians which was more important to them: God, or their political identity?.....the majority would say, “God.” This is the deceiving nature of idols. A person is rarely, if ever, aware what they worship is an idol. On some level, conscious or not, they can mistake a whole lot of nonsense for a "God" or the highest end.
The Israelites who worshipped the golden calf did not blindly believe they were worshipping an inanimate object. They wanted something they could see since God and Moses were out of sight for a duration of time. When Aaron saw this calf, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord." (Ex 32:5). So the people even got a major religious leader to bless them. There's fuel for the fire.
God then told Moses that the people have "sinned against Me." And He punished them with a plague. This was, also, after Moses interceded on their behalf..and plead their case....so the plague was apparently merciful because God's initial reaction was to "destroy" them all.
The American evangelicals and fundamentalists have subscribed to the notion that God established America for His glory..a glory they can share....because, as they say, countries do not grow and governments cannot be established without God's approval? Right? Not right....the prophet Hosea would disagree:
"They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold, they made idols for their own destruction. -Hosea 8:4".
It was because of this religious zeal that these early settlers of this country believed they were simply "doing Gods will" by killing native Americans and coraling them on reservations so the white man could fulfill his God-given destiny to own all of what is now the United States. It was this same religious zeal that made the white men believe slavery was a God-given right and one that they would fight for (and they did).
As did the Israelites, the current right wing fringe embrace golden calves and political whims to give themselves a sense of security. Which is something they apparently could not get with the true God who is there and, instead, sought out a "God" they want to be there. Yes, it is idolatry. It's believing a big lie. The devastatingly horrible thing about it, though, is that whatever their golden calf or political ideology is...it is that the lies are what they truly think is the "truth" and they accept and perceive it all as very very real (in spite of evidence showing otherwise)
Politics as a religion is a trend that has been long in the making. Amplified by the internet, social media, and the faux doctrines of many religious people, and especially many fundamentalists and evangelicals, who would naturally believe in conspiracy theories (ie, a poor foundation of Biblical knowledge and reality). Add a worldwide pandemic and it has been a "perfect storm."
The political replacing religion as the single most important motivating factor in many people’s lives as a worldview or even basic theology has been widespread and devastating. However, if we asked most Christians which was more important to them: God, or their political identity?.....the majority would say, “God.” This is the deceiving nature of idols. A person is rarely, if ever, aware what they worship is an idol. On some level, conscious or not, they can mistake a whole lot of nonsense for a "God" or the highest end.
The Israelites who worshipped the golden calf did not blindly believe they were worshipping an inanimate object. They wanted something they could see since God and Moses were out of sight for a duration of time. When Aaron saw this calf, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord." (Ex 32:5). So the people even got a major religious leader to bless them. There's fuel for the fire.
God then told Moses that the people have "sinned against Me." And He punished them with a plague. This was, also, after Moses interceded on their behalf..and plead their case....so the plague was apparently merciful because God's initial reaction was to "destroy" them all.
The American evangelicals and fundamentalists have subscribed to the notion that God established America for His glory..a glory they can share....because, as they say, countries do not grow and governments cannot be established without God's approval? Right? Not right....the prophet Hosea would disagree:
"They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold, they made idols for their own destruction. -Hosea 8:4".
It was because of this religious zeal that these early settlers of this country believed they were simply "doing Gods will" by killing native Americans and coraling them on reservations so the white man could fulfill his God-given destiny to own all of what is now the United States. It was this same religious zeal that made the white men believe slavery was a God-given right and one that they would fight for (and they did).
As did the Israelites, the current right wing fringe embrace golden calves and political whims to give themselves a sense of security. Which is something they apparently could not get with the true God who is there and, instead, sought out a "God" they want to be there. Yes, it is idolatry. It's believing a big lie. The devastatingly horrible thing about it, though, is that whatever their golden calf or political ideology is...it is that the lies are what they truly think is the "truth" and they accept and perceive it all as very very real (in spite of evidence showing otherwise)
Sept 14, 2021:
Writing is about 70 percent procrastination. The rest is reading every other magazine article, eating peanut butter out of the jar, watching insurance commercials, scanning the front page of a small town newspaper and contemplating life if there were never any Beatles. It's all about perception....it's all about observation. There is far more going on in the world then we give it credit for. Listen. Watch. (swallow a spoonful of peanut butter), and repeat.
Me, you, or the dude on the TV screen right now are not getting out of any of this alive....live accordingly
Writing is about 70 percent procrastination. The rest is reading every other magazine article, eating peanut butter out of the jar, watching insurance commercials, scanning the front page of a small town newspaper and contemplating life if there were never any Beatles. It's all about perception....it's all about observation. There is far more going on in the world then we give it credit for. Listen. Watch. (swallow a spoonful of peanut butter), and repeat.
Me, you, or the dude on the TV screen right now are not getting out of any of this alive....live accordingly
August 8, 2021
Been doing a lot of study on the subject of Christian Nationalism lately. I'm using dozens of sources and last week I had a timeline traced back to Barry Goldwater. Now I'm back to Eisenhower. I am not labeling either of them CN but things they did helped further it. There are people who probably have a timeline but it helps me to understand it better if I do it myself.
Looking at history, It's kind of inevitable that we would be where we are at. I can say that if Trump was a smart person and not such a egomaniacal narcissist we could be in a very different place today. So in a sense we should consider ourselves blessed that Trump needs psychological help. I'll call that God's grace. The danger would be someone who is smart learning from Trumps mistakes in the future. That's why the Jan 6 Commission is so important.
Trump and evangelicals used each other. Trump, who has never exhibited any fruit of being Christian, used Christians to further his agenda (himself manily)...at the same time Evangelicals...fueled by some insane propaganda they devoured which made them fearful after 8 years of Obama, grabbed on to anything they could who they thought would help further their interests and save them from "Communism". Hence, came the dangerous concoction which became Christian Nationalism. Most CN's dont know they are CN. They see their devotion to God as patriotic and believe their patriotic actions have Gods blessings as they attempt to "build God's kingdom on earth." AND they believe God is on their side. God, however, is not an American.
Early in my Christian growth I was introduced to the teachings of JR Rushdoony. If I were to list the most impactful books on my life, for many years it was "The Institutes of Biblical Law" by Rushdoony. Had God not steered me away from CN..it would have been through those teachings that I would have gone full on CN. Rushdoony was only a part of it, but, as a life long culture watcher I have seen the trends the church has taken...and most silly trends fail without doing long lasting damage. Rushdoony's teachings are part of what he called "Reconstructionist" ideology. There are similarities to Calvinism and a lot of Baptist churches share that in their foundations....particularly southern Baptists (which explained a lot of stuff I see down here on that subject). CN combines the energy we give to being patriotic and the energy we give to our Christian duties. That merge becomes a powerful dogma...dangerous...and powerful.
There is nothing wrong with being patriotic. But never is it equal with my duty as a Christian to love one another. CN's have long lists of people they hate and demonize. They claim they do not fear...but it is fear that brought them to CN in the first place. Becoming a CN gave the, an energy which repressed their fear. I have held from the beginning the idea that the covid deniers were deniers because they were motivated by fear. Anger gave them a sense of power over their fear. Still does. And that combination with the insane antics of Trump this last year brought us all to Jan 6. AND to where we are now. I am praying and studying over this all. Not sure where we are going from here... should be interesting but maybe also miraculous.
As Christians we have a responsibility: Love the Lord they God with your heart, mind and soul...and love your neighbor as yourself. Keep those tenants and it will take us all home.
On a final note, I will mention I have had many an email and message from people I have been friends, associates and affiliated with in some way who have been bothered that I have switched my "political position" (Ex GOP) and rail against their "dear leader" (aka...apparently their saviour Donald Trump). I have been called a Democrat (I am not, but I dont see it as bad....which also offends them BTW). I have been called a socialist, a person on the wrong side of "this thing", and a whole bunch of 4 letter words that also come from people who both claim to be Christian and "Constitutional Conservatives.") and I have had friends that I have known personally for many years as far back as South Dakota apparently discontinue our "friendship." And they love to throw around the word "prolife" as a weapon or point of guilt..not sure. C'est la vie. I pray for them any way. Prayer is my Christian duty. Storming the Capitol isn't
Been doing a lot of study on the subject of Christian Nationalism lately. I'm using dozens of sources and last week I had a timeline traced back to Barry Goldwater. Now I'm back to Eisenhower. I am not labeling either of them CN but things they did helped further it. There are people who probably have a timeline but it helps me to understand it better if I do it myself.
Looking at history, It's kind of inevitable that we would be where we are at. I can say that if Trump was a smart person and not such a egomaniacal narcissist we could be in a very different place today. So in a sense we should consider ourselves blessed that Trump needs psychological help. I'll call that God's grace. The danger would be someone who is smart learning from Trumps mistakes in the future. That's why the Jan 6 Commission is so important.
Trump and evangelicals used each other. Trump, who has never exhibited any fruit of being Christian, used Christians to further his agenda (himself manily)...at the same time Evangelicals...fueled by some insane propaganda they devoured which made them fearful after 8 years of Obama, grabbed on to anything they could who they thought would help further their interests and save them from "Communism". Hence, came the dangerous concoction which became Christian Nationalism. Most CN's dont know they are CN. They see their devotion to God as patriotic and believe their patriotic actions have Gods blessings as they attempt to "build God's kingdom on earth." AND they believe God is on their side. God, however, is not an American.
Early in my Christian growth I was introduced to the teachings of JR Rushdoony. If I were to list the most impactful books on my life, for many years it was "The Institutes of Biblical Law" by Rushdoony. Had God not steered me away from CN..it would have been through those teachings that I would have gone full on CN. Rushdoony was only a part of it, but, as a life long culture watcher I have seen the trends the church has taken...and most silly trends fail without doing long lasting damage. Rushdoony's teachings are part of what he called "Reconstructionist" ideology. There are similarities to Calvinism and a lot of Baptist churches share that in their foundations....particularly southern Baptists (which explained a lot of stuff I see down here on that subject). CN combines the energy we give to being patriotic and the energy we give to our Christian duties. That merge becomes a powerful dogma...dangerous...and powerful.
There is nothing wrong with being patriotic. But never is it equal with my duty as a Christian to love one another. CN's have long lists of people they hate and demonize. They claim they do not fear...but it is fear that brought them to CN in the first place. Becoming a CN gave the, an energy which repressed their fear. I have held from the beginning the idea that the covid deniers were deniers because they were motivated by fear. Anger gave them a sense of power over their fear. Still does. And that combination with the insane antics of Trump this last year brought us all to Jan 6. AND to where we are now. I am praying and studying over this all. Not sure where we are going from here... should be interesting but maybe also miraculous.
As Christians we have a responsibility: Love the Lord they God with your heart, mind and soul...and love your neighbor as yourself. Keep those tenants and it will take us all home.
On a final note, I will mention I have had many an email and message from people I have been friends, associates and affiliated with in some way who have been bothered that I have switched my "political position" (Ex GOP) and rail against their "dear leader" (aka...apparently their saviour Donald Trump). I have been called a Democrat (I am not, but I dont see it as bad....which also offends them BTW). I have been called a socialist, a person on the wrong side of "this thing", and a whole bunch of 4 letter words that also come from people who both claim to be Christian and "Constitutional Conservatives.") and I have had friends that I have known personally for many years as far back as South Dakota apparently discontinue our "friendship." And they love to throw around the word "prolife" as a weapon or point of guilt..not sure. C'est la vie. I pray for them any way. Prayer is my Christian duty. Storming the Capitol isn't
Jan 1, 2020:
In spite of all the weirdness that went on in 2020...there is one fear that is profitable:
"This is what the Lord says to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:
“Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.
The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread." -Isaiah 8:11-13
In spite of all the weirdness that went on in 2020...there is one fear that is profitable:
"This is what the Lord says to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:
“Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.
The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread." -Isaiah 8:11-13
Nov 22, 2020:
I recollect hearing as far as back when I was a kid about the Israelites making a golden calf in order to worship it. The message was always that God had commanded that we should not worship any graven image. And then having the idea reinforced by the Charlton Heston movie "Ten Commandments" which, back in the day was a yearly TV event usually played around Easter.
No big deal, on my part, as I always thought I would not ever see any logical reason to worship anything made out of any kind of metal. However, now in retrospect, I realize I have worshipped the "golden image" many times in my life. I was enlightened recently through a 1956 book I have in my personal library called "Bible Fires - Messages on Bible Characters" written by Robert G. Lee (Zondervan Press). At a closer look it does seem pretty odd that these people who had seen such great signs and miracles by God would suddenly dump Him in exchange for a golden calf. But...that was not the message. As Lee writes "Looking upon this golden calf the people said (shouting, I think): "These be thy gods, O Israel!" Rather, thy god....the golden calf gave them false and belittling ideas of God...and thus decreased their faith and hope in Him. .....God was still to be worshipped but in the form of a calf."
Ouch. I have many times experienced the miracles and touch of God in my life...but when things got tough or God seemed far away....I have been very guilty of trading in the real God for an image that made more sense at the time. "So," continues Lee, "the sin of the people was not in a breach of the First but of the Second commandment." They did not wish to repudiate God but simply to worship Him under the similitude of a calf." It was through this initial effort that their morals began to crumble and they began a festival of celebration marked by adultery, drunkenness, and fornication (to name a few things) all while believing they were worshipping God when, in truth, they were worshipping an image of God they had created. It was only through the intervention and pleading of Moses to God on their behalf that He did not destroy them. Shortly after that Aaron's sons were killed for offering a strange fire to the Lord. Aaron was complicit with the creation of the golden calf...and this was something his sons were likely to have been observing. The father is a powerful force and energy in any child's life.
Always seek the God who is there and not the God we want to be there. They are not always the same and one not always real.
I recollect hearing as far as back when I was a kid about the Israelites making a golden calf in order to worship it. The message was always that God had commanded that we should not worship any graven image. And then having the idea reinforced by the Charlton Heston movie "Ten Commandments" which, back in the day was a yearly TV event usually played around Easter.
No big deal, on my part, as I always thought I would not ever see any logical reason to worship anything made out of any kind of metal. However, now in retrospect, I realize I have worshipped the "golden image" many times in my life. I was enlightened recently through a 1956 book I have in my personal library called "Bible Fires - Messages on Bible Characters" written by Robert G. Lee (Zondervan Press). At a closer look it does seem pretty odd that these people who had seen such great signs and miracles by God would suddenly dump Him in exchange for a golden calf. But...that was not the message. As Lee writes "Looking upon this golden calf the people said (shouting, I think): "These be thy gods, O Israel!" Rather, thy god....the golden calf gave them false and belittling ideas of God...and thus decreased their faith and hope in Him. .....God was still to be worshipped but in the form of a calf."
Ouch. I have many times experienced the miracles and touch of God in my life...but when things got tough or God seemed far away....I have been very guilty of trading in the real God for an image that made more sense at the time. "So," continues Lee, "the sin of the people was not in a breach of the First but of the Second commandment." They did not wish to repudiate God but simply to worship Him under the similitude of a calf." It was through this initial effort that their morals began to crumble and they began a festival of celebration marked by adultery, drunkenness, and fornication (to name a few things) all while believing they were worshipping God when, in truth, they were worshipping an image of God they had created. It was only through the intervention and pleading of Moses to God on their behalf that He did not destroy them. Shortly after that Aaron's sons were killed for offering a strange fire to the Lord. Aaron was complicit with the creation of the golden calf...and this was something his sons were likely to have been observing. The father is a powerful force and energy in any child's life.
Always seek the God who is there and not the God we want to be there. They are not always the same and one not always real.
Sept 20, 2009:
All these facebook delay problems and other anomalies lately is making me think Facebook has become a government program. I must have missed the press release (or it has been delayed pending approval by the Federal Department of Facebook Notifications (formerly "Cash for Clunkers"
All these facebook delay problems and other anomalies lately is making me think Facebook has become a government program. I must have missed the press release (or it has been delayed pending approval by the Federal Department of Facebook Notifications (formerly "Cash for Clunkers"
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Richard Zorek; 1985; Rapid City Journal
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