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I knew what Sir James the Bold meant when he asked me if I believe in the Bible. I just tried to dodge the issue. What he wanted to know is whether or not I believe that the Bible is the Inspired, Unchanging, Everlasting Word of God. Here's what I believe. If the Bible really was that Sort of Thing, then it would be forever correct. It would never become obsolete. Every translation of it would agree with every other translation. God would make sure that every time that I picked up my old Revised Standard Version, it would have been miraculously transformed and updated, so that it was immaculately correct, according to the latest customary usage of the words in it. Not only that, it would change if I took it down South with me, so that anybody who read it there would find in it the True Word of God in spite of regional differences in the language. Furthermore, it's presentation of the ideas would change even according to the vocabulary and education of whoever happened to be reading it at the time. If the Bible was the Inspired, Unchanging, Everlasting Word of God, then there wouldn't be any possibility of misunderstanding it. So, I have to say that the answer is "no". Since the Bible exists in many conflicting translations, since old versions of it become obsolete as the language changes, since nobody can agree about what it means, therefore it fails the test. I respect the Holy Bible just as I do any book. It's a useful book. It contains a lot of interesting information, some good advice, and even some inspirational and uplifting material. However, I believe that it isn't the Inspired, Unchanging, Everlasting Word of God. I'm sorry to disappoint those of you who believe otherwise but that's what I believe.
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Abuses
and Usurpations
Sam Aurelius Milam III We've all seen pictures of airliner crashes. The crash of a big one usually scatters debris over about 5 acres of land. Heavy things like engines gouge holes in the ground. Burning fuel scorches the surface. A Boeing 757-200 is a big, heavy, fast airplane. It has a maximum design landing weight somewhere in the vicinity of 100 tons. The fuselage is more than 13 feet from top to bottom. It has a wing span of almost 125 feet and a length of over 155 feet. The tail section extends about 45 feet above ground level. It flies at between 250 mph and 600 mph. From photograph number 2, on page 3, it's clear that the width of the collapsed section of wall in the Pentagon is less than the width of a Boeing 757. The original hole was even smaller. Indeed, it's so small that it isn't even visible in photograph number 1. The vertical dimension of the first floor of the Pentagon is less than the height of a Boeing 757. From photograph 3, you can see that it's about the same height as that of a fire truck. Nevertheless, the initial damage was restricted to only the first floor. The second floor wasn't hit. In the third photograph, you can see that the lawn adjacent to the damaged section of the Pentagon is in pristine condition. There aren't any skid marks, gouged places, or scorch marks. How did such a large airplane make such a small hole, hit only the first floor, and miss the lawn and the second floor completely? Look at the outline of the airplane in the second photograph. The damaged section of the Pentagon is too small for the entire airplane to have disappeared into the building. There should be debris outside of the building. Even if the entire fuselage vanished into the interior, an unlikely scenario, everything else should have sheered off and remained on the lawn. Look at the lawn in photograph number 3. Where's the tail section? Where are the engines. Where are the wings? Where's the debris? If there had been an airplane crash, then there would have been wreckage. Since there wasn't any wreckage, it follows that there wasn't an airplane crash. The claim that the Pentagon was hit by a Boeing 757 is obviously a lie. Since it wasn't an airplane, then what would cause that kind of damage? The most likely answer is that the Pentagon was hit by a cruise missile. There aren't many other possibilities. Letter bomb? U-Haul truck? I believe that the Pentagon was hit by a cruise missile. Who would do such a thing? Consider means and motive. Who had the means? Who could deliver a cruise missile to the Pentagon? Only the U.S. government. What would be the motive? It was the same motive that was attributed to the falsely accused Muslims. It was done for the advancement of a political agenda. Draconian measures like the Patriot act can't be passed unless something like the 911 attack stampedes the sheeple into a fit of panic and jingoism. Thus, the cruise missile and the lie probably came from the same source. Worse yet, the attack required the sacrifice of a commercial airliner loaded with innocent passengers. I'm confident that those people are dead. The perpetrators of the incident can't risk the possibility that one of them might escape and turn up alive somewhere. It's the Capricorn I scenario all over again. The dead victims must remain dead. The arrogance of the plan is consistent with the pattern of callous brutality that has characterized the US government for decades. It's a continuation of the long train of ruthless arrogance displayed throughout most of the history of the U.S. government. Wounded Knee, Bikini Atoll, Ruby Ridge, Waco, and dozens of other incidents large and small, proclaim the monstrous nature of the U.S. Government.
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Pentagon Photographs, September 11, 2001
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I Love My Local TV News Program
Jim Sullivan I can't wait for 6 p.m. to come every day. That's when my local TV news program airs for a whole half hour. It's so darn much fun and chock full of stuff that I can hardly stand it. Usually, therefore, I sit down to watch. That show provides me my daily ration of entertainment. Here's how. First, it has up to a whole 2 minutes of actual news headline coverage. Sure, half of it is sometimes national in scope, which will be shown again on the networks immediately following, but that's only done on the local program for slow news days. During that nightly 120 seconds of news concerning airplane, train, and auto crashes, disastrous explosions, serial murders, and student shootings at elementary schools and high schools, the local program is replete with silly jokes, good-natured ribbing, and inane chitchat between and among news anchors and field reporters. As the entire local news program has only 8 minutes of commercials, a whopping 22 minutes is left over for subject matter. The actual news, mentioned above, cuts the time down to 20 minutes. That's plenty of time, though, for the remaining stuff to be aired. It includes up to 4 minutes devoted exclusively to bake and candy sales for charities, almost 5 minutes of health features for retirees, pregnant mothers, and people with ingrown toenails, and at least 10 and up to 12 seconds for stock market reports. Sports gets a measly 5 minutes. That last mentioned item is often filled with talking heads. Coaches mostly. Seldom do players, for some reason, get on camera. The heads that air (air heads?) are always asked and as often respond to the same "key" question: "What're the keys to winning today's or tomorrow's athletic contest?" Of course, and as ever, the replies are, "The key to winning is for us to outscore our opponents!" Also shown in the sports segment are a total of 17 seconds of video coverage of 8 games. It might be football, basketball, hockey, or baseball, depending upon the season. Some of it will be high school or college, the rest pros. With the remaining 6 minutes of the news program, local weather is reported and repeated 8 times. That, I guess, is to let those three or four people who tuned in late know what the weather was, is, or could be. After the fourth repetition, I, for one, can recite the weather word for word. The beauty of all this is that between the numerous weather reports and the all-too-short sports segment, anchors and special reporters can joke on the air about their favorite topics and gas over completely unrelated matters. After watching the local evening news, I always feel better, light hearted and light headed. By then, my supper is fully digested, too. And then I can do what I have to do. Of course, if I really want to know what's going on locally or nationally, I can, and do, subscribe to a local daily newspaper. Besides providing news headlines, it reports stories in depth, puts them into perspective, gives differing views, covers more subjects, and mentions things never seen on TV, like births, deaths, all crime, local government and school reports, editorials, op-eds, sports with detailed stats, and weather in detail. The newspaper also provides political cartoons, letters to the editor, funny pages, TV schedules, a crossword puzzle, etc. And I can read my newspaper once or as often as I want, whenever I so desire. What's more, when I'm all through reading it, I can use it to line my waste basket. Nevertheless, I sure do enjoy my local TV news program for its rapid-fire humor, shallow, meaningless journalists' conversations, miscellaneous but limited headlines, and information features for women in a family way. Don't forget, then, to tune in daily to your own sparkling half hour of local TV news. It'll give you a relaxing belly full of light and easy entertainment. Stray Thoughts
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Acknowledgments My thanks to the following: Sir James the Bold, SantaClara Bob, Lady Jan the Voluptuous, and Alan, of San Jose, California. — editor
— Thinking About Converting
Dear Thinking About Converting I went to one of them bars once but I didn't eat anything. It was all raw. We cook our fish around here before we eat ’em. Headlines for 2029
New Office Slang Original Source Unknown. Forwarded by Lord Jeffrey the Studious Beepilepsy — The brief seizure people sometimes suffer when their beepers go off, especially in vibrator mode. Characterized by physical spasms, goofy facial expressions, and stopping speech in mid-sentence. Frontiersman Cancellations — If you don't want to keep receiving this newsletter, print REFUSED, RETURN TO SENDER above your name and address, cross out your name and address, and return the newsletter. When I receive it, I'll terminate your subscription. You may also cancel by letter, e-mail, carrier pigeon, or any other method that gets the message to me. Back Issues — Back issues or extra copies of this newsletter are available upon request. Reprint Policy — Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this newsletter in its entirety or to reproduce material from it, provided that the reproduction is accurate and that proper credit is given. Please note that I do not have the authority to give permission to reprint material that I have reprinted from other sources. For that permission, you must go to the original source. I would appreciate receiving a courtesy copy of any document or publication in which you reprint my material. Submissions — I solicit letters, articles, and cartoons for the newsletter, but I don't pay for them. Short items are more likely to be printed. I suggest that letters and articles be shorter than 500 words, but that's flexible depending on space available and the content of the piece. I give credit for all items printed unless the author specifies otherwise. Payment — This newsletter isn't for sale. If you care to make a voluntary contribution, you may do so. The continued existence of the newsletter will depend, in part, on such contributions. I prefer cash, U.S. postage stamps, prepaid telephone cards, and so forth. For checks or money orders, please inquire. For PayPal payments, use frontiersman@pharos.pricelesshost.net. I don't accept anything that requires me to provide ID to receive it. In case anybody is curious, I also accept gold, silver, platinum, etc. — Sam Aurelius Milam III, editor
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