Today in History  On June 4, 1989, the Chinese Communist Party's troops—the People's Liberation Army—murdered protesters in Tiananmen Square. The number of individuals killed, wounded, and taken prisoner by the CCP remains unknown.

Q. 42. What is the sum of the ten commandments? A. The sum of the ten commandments is, to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves. Matt. 22:37-40.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T.S. Eliot

"Nothing is easier than spending the public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." – Calvin Coolidge​, President of the United States from 1923 to 1929

Q. 41. Where is the moral law summarily comprehended? A. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments. Deut. 10:4; Matt. 19:17.

Perfect!

"If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?" - T.S. Elliot

Do both.

Big Bank Boss Urges America To 'Stockpile Bullets, Not Bitcoin' | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

The Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

"Many people die at age twenty-five and aren't buried until they are seventy-five." - Benjamin Franklin

Q. 40. What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience? A. The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law. Rom. 2:14-15; Rom. 10:5

Q. 39. What is the duty which God requireth of man? A. The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will. Mic. 6:8; 1 Sam. 15:22

"Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly." - John F. Kennedy

What's with the jumbled posts, alluvasudden?

"In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is this: Hit the line hard, don't shirk but hit the line hard." - Theodore Roosevelt

"You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be." VADM James Stockdale, USN

Reality Is An Acquired Taste by Michael Quinn Sullivan Most of us don’t like to acknowledge reality. It can be very inconvenient for our carefully crafted ordering of the world. A friend of mine likes to say that “reality is an acquired taste,” and he’s right. Yet, without a clear-eyed assessment of where we are, we’ll never successfully get where we want to go. Usually, we paint for ourselves a soothingly false picture of the world—think about the middle-aged dad with a few extra tires around the middle who still sees himself as the high school athlete he was 30 years earlier! Yet, in the cultural politics of the 21st century, there is a constant push to paint a dismal view that is similarly detached from reality. This is derived, in part, because we have elevated victimhood into a moral achievement. Practically, this has meant that a great many people spend time trying to position themselves as victims. I see it all the time. It is driven by a misplaced view of success in political activism, where likes and shares have replaced human interaction. And so we find ourselves in the curious position of some grasstop leaders wanting to be seen as perpetually victimized losers. Mass marketing doesn’t help. A “call to action” is usually most successful when there is an injustice to be righted or a foe to be vanquished. The bigger the injustice, the greater the foe, the more “urgent” the call, the greater the likelihood for participation. Up to a point, anyway. Consider the example of the spies who entered the Promised Land, as recounted in the Book of Numbers. God had just miraculously led the people out of captivity in Egypt. They had seen wonders beyond description. As they approached the borders of the land God was giving them, they sent in spies to reconnoiter the territory. So far, so good. Several of them came back with exaggerated tales of impossible giants who would be impossible to overcome. They oversold their case of doom to the people. Rather than trust God and proceed to take the land, the people went wobbly and refused to move forward. As punishment for their cowardice, they wandered the desert for a generation. History would reveal those giants weren’t quite so big, and victory was more attainable than those faithless spies reported. The same is true today. In the rush to claim the status of a victim, there are some who prefer to rhetorically snatch defeat from the jaws of victory—all evidence to the contrary be damned. Reality is always more nuanced than a social media post. Extreme victimhood might garner clicks and likes on X and Facebook, but it rarely builds a lasting, healthy movement. For us politically, reality means legislators we don’t like can still pass legislation we do like. Reality means accepting that two things can be true at once: wins can be achieved, with more work still to be done. Acknowledging the one does not negate the reality of the other. For activism to be successful, we must present arguments and provide evidence based not on emotions, but on a clear-eyed assessment of reality. Lastly, it’s exhausting being around perpetually whining losers. At some point, people need to see that they are making a difference when they engage in civic activism. Charting a successful path in our self-governing republic means honestly reporting to each other what has happened: the ugly, the bad, and, yes, even the good.

"Truth carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation; loving confrontation, but confrontation nevertheless." – Francis Schaeffer

“The point of Economics is to create a language for discussing politics that excludes ordinary people.” Matthew Stoller

Q. 38. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection? A. At the resurrection, believers, being raised up to glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity. 1 Cor. 15:43; Matt. 25:23; Matt. 10:32; 1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 4:17-18.