Friday, May 30, 2008

Monday, May 19, 2008

Davidian Warfare

"And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling [was] in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.", ~1 Samuel 17:40

"And the Philistine said unto David, [Am] I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods." ~1Samuel 17:43


I always thought that when Goliath says “…that thou comest to me with staves,” he was simply referring to the rudimentary weaponry that David carried with him, but recent discoveries on my part have put two and two together and I realized that David may have taken a staff-sling into battle instead of an ordinary hand held sling.

Staff-slings were in use from very ancient times onward to the gunpowder age, though they were mostly used in warfare.
They consisted of a staff to the top of which was tethered a pouch. It would be slung like a lever over the head.

The projectiles could be quite large, so the range was somewhat diminished, but the power and surprising accuracy behind it was likely unmatched. A blow to the head would be absolutely lethal.

For transport, the staff-sling may have been dismantled in such a way which kept the sling attached for quick assembly while avoiding tangling the tethers for use of the staff as a normal walking or herding device.

An amazing little quirk about the staff-sling is that it is difficult to hit a close object your own height, as it tends to send the projectile upwards. That could be helpful when trying to down a giant!

Another observation by a modern day slinger is the possibility that a running shot would give it a greater range and impact, which is what David did in an apparent Kamikaze attack.

I suppose this feature could be used in regular warfare to have a wide angling arch to smash enemies behind a wall or over the heads of your comrades in arms.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Thomas Jefferson: In Heaven or A Heathen?

A very confusing thing: one minute I could swear that good ol’ Thomas Jefferson was a bona fide Christian, the next minute he looks like a Deist, and then again he looks like an all out Heathen! I find such a trend with several of the Founding Fathers.

Heaven knows I have no lack of respect and admiration for the men that instituted such an unrivaled system of governance (despite the state of peril it is in today), but it is a discomforting feeling to think that the very men whom (nearly) every citizen of the United States admires could have possibly been in direct personal rebellion against God. Here’s how I’m looking at it.

It seems to me that Thomas Jefferson was not a Christian for the most aggravating of reasons: he saw little to no difference between the Catholic Priesthood (read: Monopoly, or Monarchy, or Despotism), and the truly Bible-Believing Christians. I see this non-distinction a lot today. These are a collection of quotes that lead me to this conclusion about him:

“But a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing their oppressors in Church and State." --- Thomas Jefferson to S. Kercheval, 1810

In this quote, I thought, when he says “those who professed to be his special servants,” he was speaking of the apostles, but I now wonder if he was directly referring to the Catholics, especially when he uses the term “special servants,” and, certainly, the apostles never referred to themselves as anything other than “glorified dust,“ if you will.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It is too late in the day for men of sincerity to pretend they believe in the Platonic mysticisms that three are one, and one is three; and yet that the one is not three, and the three are not one. But this constitutes the craft, the power and the profit of the priests." --- Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1803

Here, I am still quite puzzled, as the Trinity is quite biblical, and not a specifically Catholic held belief. This shows, clearly, that Jefferson was not a reader of the bible, therefore, not a true Christian. Again, he was so blinded by a dislike of Catholicism that he removed himself from that area of his life to the point of disbelief in God, so I assume. I think he could have understood the Trinity by this simple analogy: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial; three branches, one Government.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose." --- Thomas Jefferson to Baron von Humboldt, 1813

Obviously speaking of the Catholic monopoly over men’s very lives. I share his opinion.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"But the greatest of all reformers of the depraved religion of his own country, was Jesus of Nazareth. Abstracting what is really his from the rubbish in which it is buried, easily distinguished by its luster from the dross of his biographers, and as separable from that as the diamond from the dunghill, we have the outlines of a system of the most sublime morality which has ever fallen from the lips of man. The establishment of the innocent and genuine character of this benevolent morality, and the rescuing it from the imputation of imposture, which has resulted from artificial systems, invented by ultra-Christian sects (The immaculate conception of Jesus, his deification, the creation of the world by him, his miraculous powers, his resurrection and visible ascension, his corporeal presence in the Eucharist, the Trinity; original sin, atonement, regeneration, election, orders of the Hierarchy, etc.) is a most desirable object." --- Thomas Jefferson to W. Short, Oct. 31, 1819

Well, this sums it up in a nutshell; Jefferson was apparently morally upright, apparently well intentioned, and apparently misled by his own worldly mind. This, to me, shows that without the Bible, no one knows God’s truth from Man’s untruth. As far as I can see, he never believed in Jesus as the Son of God, he only admired him as a man.

While Jefferson was not a Christian, at least he was good enough to help make it a law to allow others to be Christians.

Good man morally, Great man politically, pitiful man Spiritually.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Claustrophobia

Is Santa Claus an Illegal Immigrant? Let’s review the subject.


First of all, the man officially is a resident at Santa Claus Village, Finland, but for those in Canada, his address is simply “North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada”, which would put him somewhere in Montreal.


Anyway, can he simply ride his flying sled into U.S. Airspace without repercussion of some sort?

No one inspects his luggage as he crosses the Canadian border, no one asks for ID, he could be Kris al-Kringle Nickbar al-Sinterclaus for all we know! If it were up to me, he'd be sitting in a tent in the Southwest eating green bologna right now.

I say we make a choice, either give him diplomatic immunity or deport him.

And, PeTA should have him investigated for animal cruelty, as he whips his caribou, and I don’t think it’s legal to own a caribou.

******************************************************

Next, is Santa Pontiff apparent?

Friday, May 02, 2008

The Gadsden Flag

In 1775, two battalions of Continental Marines were recruited in Philadelphia, in accordance with an act of Congress.

The first Continental Marines that were recruited there carried yellow drums depicting the soon to be famous coiled rattlesnake and the words "DON'T TREAD ON ME".

In the same year, one Colonel Christopher Gadsden, a member of the Marine Committee tasked with organizing the first mission of the newly formed Continental Navy, presented to the freshly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Commodore Esek Hopkins, a flag with a field of brilliant yellow, its charge, a coiled rattlesnake of thirteen rattles, below it the infamous words of defiance.

The flag was given with the intent of being the Commodore's personal standard.

The yellow ensign was also presented in Charleston, South Carolina, where it often flies to this day.

Though mostly forgotten, the butternut banner is as old as the nation itself; many men fought and died under its sempiternal phrase. Shamefully, the Betsy Ross flag coaxed it out of history books as the flag of the Revolution.

Not many Americans know what it is or means.

Old Glory remains the flag that symbolizes the Union of States, but the Rattler Flag stands as an emblem of the ideology and aspirations of the Nation thereof.

That is why I fly one of America’s very first flags.

Websites That Make This One Possible

Ideations of a Jayhawker: Blog Policies

Comments
No vulgar, obscene, vile, or inappropriate language or insinuation may be used, and comments are subject to editing or deletion at my own discretion.

Please use proper spelling, following the rules of grammar of the English language.

The elimination of comments due to an objectionable account image may also be used at my discretion. Links given in comments that direct one to a website containing evil or unsightly content will also be deleted at my discretion.

Advocating or promoting specific acts of violence isn't allowed, but the vitriolic spewing of rants and ravings is encouraged.

Content

Content found in this blog is public domain, and it may be used freely; permission to recreate is automatically given, I only ask that I be informed when it is copied on another website; though this is not required, it would be considered a kind gesture.

Content found at any other website that was linked to from this page is beyond my control. I strive to put out as little objectionable content as possible here, but if you do find something that you feel is inappropriate, please contact me via comment, and I will duly edit it to a degree I deem appropriate.

Quotes you may find are all sic, including spelling, grammar, etc.

Following
Followers of this blog are more than welcome, but if you have a website that routinely displays content that you wouldn't allow a child to view or read, do not follow this blog unless you have a blogger warning previous to entering your website.
Failure to do so may result in being blocked from the followers list.

A follower may also be blocked if your account image is found to be objectionable.