Facebook UOJ Stormtroopers Are on High Alert

I seem to be the only one posting about the irony of
Luther's 500th Anniversary being ignored
and his doctrine being opposed at every opportunity.

The Two Best Summaries of Objective Justification

Do You Affirm the Thrivent Pledge, O Ye of Little Fellowship Principles?

Thrivent says, "All your base are belong to us.
You have no chance. Mark Jeske your time."

I know this snippet will create a sardonic chuckle.

Thrivent farms out the management of its matching donations to YourCause.

YourCause requires, as a condition of receiving matching donations, the following: 

The Den of Thieves

 The Wolf of Wall Street -
just the man Thrivent wants as a speaker.
See below.

LCMS-ELS-WELS
all whore for Thrivent's money,
which comes from their members.
ELCA gets a lot of it, but so does everyone else.

Loss of Critical Thinking - British Heritage Forgotten

Sent by a reader, aimed at ELDONA.
There is a story that Wescott or Hort said this, "In chess, too,
a bishop moves obliquely."  The cartoonist knows that
few can define oblique today.

I bought a History of England from Folio Books and read many of the volumes. One time, I read a section to Mrs. Ichabod (nee Jackson) - about the typical Englishman of the 17th century. I said, "This is me!" I enjoyed the part about joking around and devotion to gardening. I even had a part in my front teeth, until the dentist fixed it.

LI said that a shovel appears as soon as we arrive in a new location, and plants are put in the ground.

Terry-Thomas stole my earlier look;
I am not sure if gap teeth are especially British.

Our country owes a vast debt to England and its history of law and justice. For example, to oppose tyranny by those in power, no one had the authority to arrest, try, and execute a supposed criminal. Arrest, prosecution, and execution were separated. If someone asked for a jury trial, he was entitled to be judged by his peers, that is, from his own class. The jury tries the facts in the case.

Critical thinking is directly related to our system of justice, and lawyers help in protecting the vulnerable from the tyrants of today.

I have noticed that many students have no concept of critical thinking in the classroom. Opinions and feelings are sacred, not to be bruised or offended in class. As one plagiarizing student said in anonymous comments, "All he cares about is plagiarism."

Some basic elements in arguing a case, an opinion, a thesis are:

1. Stating the actual argument clearly.
2. Gathering research for and against the argument.
3. Using research to back up the argument.
4. Stating the opposite side fairly and providing a reasonable refutation.
5. Summarizing the argument and ending with the conclusion.

England did not invent this, as we can see from Thucydides, who practiced this in his analytical history of the Peloponnesian Wars. Pericles argued this way too, so this is the fruit of the Athenian foundation for Western Civilization. The English knew this, because education meant studying the Greeks and Romans, not coveting the Kardashians.

A theory or argument may be entirely wrong, but a good presentation of it helps everyone understand the issues involved. That is what debate societies do. The American legal system assumes there are two sides to every case.

Compare the Low State of Lutherdom

Lutherans do not debate issues, but simply start with what the bosses are promoting. There is only one position. As the French Emperor said, "One king, one law, one faith." It rhymes beautifully in French. WELS and Missouri would modernize this as, "Ein Reich, Ein Volk, Ein Fuehrer!"

UOJ is true because Pope John the Malefactor, Matt the Fat, and Mirthless Mark say so. Therefore, gather all the arguments for absolution without faith and dismiss Luther, misquote the Book of Concord, and laud Bishop Stephan's pimp, CFW Walther.

Define Lutheran orthodoxy as those who teach Halle Pietistic rationalism. No need to bother with the issues, Luther, the Apology, or Chemnitz. As Jon-Boy Buchholz solemnly declared, UOJ is "settled doctrine." 

 We don't know what we believe and teach
until the Bishop has spoken. One priest had a question.
He has since disappeared.

 The Chief Article did not mean anything
when ELDONA was schmoozing with the Rolf Synod.

 Here is a woman preaching to Jay Webber's alma mater,
the online seminary run by ELCAts and Romanists.

 It was good enough for Walther
and it's good enough for me.
Gimme that old time adultery,
Gimme that old time adultery...

 This is a Jay Webber Facebook page.
UOJ facilitates all kinds of contradictions and nonsense.

Labor Day Chores Were Fun

 Beautyberry is often used to keep away insects.
The root system kept me from digging it up with easy,
so I moved on.

Do I believe one weather website or its competition? We could have a thunderstorm Tuesday afternoon, or not. Accuweather seems to be optimistic about rain happening, most of the time. Weather.com seems to be against it. In fact, Accuweather has a wet week ahead, starting with Tuesday, but Weather.com declares us dry until the weekend.

Monday started early. Sassy wanted her breakfast and a walk. I let her inside while I aimed at a few gardening chores. The dead KnockOut had to go, and I wanted to move Beautyberry there from the backyard.

Monarda, Purple Bee Balm, or Horse Mint.

Step One - dig the Knockout, roots and all. That went well because I let the plant shuffle off this mortal coil (Hamlet, by Oxford), over the winter and spring. No, I will not say that watching the KnockOuts fade was the "winter of our discontent."
Step Two - dig up the Beautyberry under the tree in the backyard. That proved to be more daunting than removing the KnockOut, so I gave up. Next to it was a very healthy Bee Balm, which came up easily and soon soaked in a rain-barrel. I soak plants, bare roots, and transplants in rainwater as long as 24 hours.
Step Three - rake grass up and pack it around the Butterfly Bush I want to thrive this summer. Grass and clover are quick to decompose and feed the soil creatures. I covered the thick layer around plant with cardboard, weighed it down with old logs, and watered it.
Step Four - retrieve the soggy Bee Balm from the barrel, wheelbarrow it to the front, and plant it with peat humus and rainwater. I left some of the Bee Balm behind in the backyard, so another plant will fill in, to be divided later.

I question the scary gardening theme of plant shock. Perhaps a new plant is just trying to get its roots in sync with the fungal community after transplanting. Mints are thirsty plants and respond with great energy to watering, so I expected a mid-afternoon droop in the heat. Instead, most of the Bee Balm looked happy, healthy, and ready to grow.

Looking across the rose garden, I saw the Mountain Mints, no longer barely there, as they were last year. I should have known - the one buried and lost under the mulch popped up and grew anyway. Mountain Mints love sun and water. Three of them are rising tall, ready to bloom, but not quite blooming. They are scattered among the roses to provide beneficial bug support for the roses.

Buckwheat Again!
This non-grain is now my favorite all around, and easy to sow. Buckwheat is already blooming all over the yard. My only regret is not covering the rose garden mulch with even more seeds. They bloom early and attract a lot of beneficial insects. Even better, they elbow weeds aside, so the gardener can pick his weed, Buckwheat, instead of tearing weeds out of the ground. Buckwheat is shallow rooted and easy to remove, but why pull it? The plant will bloom in the shade and thrive in the sun.

 "Stop lying about me."

Everyone Lies about Hosta
When I think about a plant category, I look up several articles about it. Hosta is widely known as a shade plant, perhaps because it blooms well in deep shade and also spreads through its roots.

However, Hosta loves the morning sun and the afternoon shade. And who doesn't? Roses are similar, except they must have more sun to bloom. And they do not spread on their own. And they have thorns.

"We like the sun."