I was sad to hear this news: Theologian and religious broadcaster R.C. Sproul dies at 78. I credit Sproul with helping me to understand the difference between ethics and morals with this simple statement: “Ethics are what you ought to do; Morals are what you do.” When I heard that, the light suddenly clicked on. It was not possible to have bad ethics because the standard is set by God. It was, however, entirely possible to have bad morals. In fact, morals in conflict with the ethical standard set by God are bad morals.
Manual Air Pump
SurvivalBlog reader J.M wrote in about shelters. He’s seen pictures of 1950s bomb shelters that had hand cranked air pumps and was wondering if readers knew where he could obtain such a mechanism. Please comment if you know of a good supplier.
Bundy Trial
Whether you agree or disagree with the actions of the Bundy’s over their ranch, there is no disputing the problems that existed with how the government has handled the whole situation from the original disagreement to the conflict and now through the trial. Reader K sent in this article detailing some of the major flaws and lies that the government has participated in and why you should be concerned with that. The rule of law is dangerously close to collapsing.
China
The risk of conflict on the Korean peninsula is the highest it’s been in decades and observers are encouraging china to mobilize its resources for fallout. North Korea is, of course, claiming a defensive posture even while provoking other nations surrounding it and the U.S. continues to poke at Pyongyang. What we can say for sure is that North Korea is a time bomb and it will explode at some point. China, once a key ally of North Korea is losing control of the situation. At a recent conference on the subject, Shi Yinhong, who advises the State Council, China’s cabinet, suggested that at best, China will only be able to stall a full-blown conflict. Thanks to P.S.
Act of Armed Civil Disobedience
Reader F.M. sent in this article profiling the act of armed civil disobedience in Dallas, Texas. In 2014, Dallas enacted an ordinance that made it illegal to serve food to the homeless with bowing to the bureaucrats, paying a fee, taking training classes and supplying written notices. In other words, the government did what it does really well. It figured out a way to tax your charity. However, an organization called Don’t Comply along with dozens of volunteers took to the streets this week to hand out food, sleeping bags, clothing, and tents to the areas homeless. However, there was a twist. They combined this act of civil disobedience with their right to open carry. Interestingly enough, even though police drove by on many occasions, not one person was stopped and arrested under the bad ordinance.
Kalifornia, King of Tax
Speaking of taxing, California legislators are considering a mileage tax in addition to just hiking the gas tax. California is already the number one state for income tax and rising in the ranks for sales tax (currently number 10), but that doesn’t include the myriad of other fees that citizens are subject to. Now the state wants to force you to run an app on your mobile phone to track your mileage. This may require the state to be allowed to track your cell phone without a warrant to monitor and tax your travel. So will you now be required to buy a cell phone in order to drive? What if you don’t own a smart phone? If the technology is installed in cars, what about older cars? They don’t have a tax problem, they have a spending problem. Thanks to H.L. for the link.
Age of Credit Cards May be Ending
Found on MSN by reader H.L.: The age of credit cards may be ending, and that’s a good thing. There are many problems with credit cards, not the least of which are fraud and locked up cards while traveling. However, even though many retailers and banks are pushing for using an app on your smartphone, I’m not sure that’s a wise thing to do. Digital peer-to-peer (P2P) methods of payment have been successful in many places around the world that don’t have a traditional banking infrastructure, but it also means that cash continues to get the squeeze. We still use the envelope system of budgeting around here and every month, when I withdraw the cash to fill the envelopes up, the bank teller gives me strange looks. After years of doing this, you might think that they would be used to it, but they never seem to get there.
