Tribute to Phil from his friend Sonja

 Sonja and Phil went through cancer treatment together. She has survived and moved to a lovely 19th century home in central Ohio which she has lovingly furnished with her antiques and pets. She's a huge Civil War fan.  Today is the second anniversary of his death, and I saw this on her Facebook post today, April 21, 2022.

"There is a huge hole in my heart, that was created when God called you home 2 years ago, on this day. It still hasn’t healed yet, and sometimes I feel like it gets bigger.

 
I find myself wishing that I would see a message from “Tripod” (still one of our funniest names ever created for you) pop up with a “can you talk now?” I sometimes cry still, when the 4pm hour rolls around, as that is when you would call after work, and we would have our marathon conversations filled with laughter, sarcasm, and wisdom…what I wouldn’t give to have you rocking on the front porch with me, having one of our conversations, and enjoying our pure, deep friendship. Damnit, I miss you, Phil!

The Bruces gave me the honor of speaking about Phil, at Phil’s memorial service 2 years ago, these are the words I spoke."

 

  

On vacation from Facebook--notes of farewell and good luck

  

Sue Flaherty: I will miss you and your insight. Hurry back!

Sara White Martin: I'll miss you!

Keith Fernanes: I know where to find you!

Kelly Monroe Kullberg: We'll miss learning from your research expertise. And seeing your personal posts, Norma

Anna Loska Meenan: I'll miss you.

Diane McDermott: I will miss you and your wisdom while you are absent. Take care, my friend.

Sue Noll: I don't have messenger by choice, but appreciate your updates and wisdom. Please pop in if needs for prayer occur!

Debbie Hummel Marconi: I log off everyday between 5-6. It has made a great diff in my angst. Enjoy the peace!

Jenny Seely Simoni: Enjoy your R & R.

Mame Russell Drackett: I will miss your calm wisdom! Take care!!

Beverly Miller Meyers: Happy vacation.

Mindy Stauch Newman: I will miss you so I will visit the blog. Thanks for all the wisdom. I loved reading your FB page.

Barbara Martin: I will, but I'm with you.

It's been a chilly April, but today should be warm

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March.”

― Robert Frost

Vaccines were not effective for Omicron variant

"The currently available 2-dose COVID-19 vaccines were not effective in preventing symptomatic disease caused by the omicron variant, as determined according to data from more than 800,000 omicron-infected individuals. . . . Boosters created a short-term improvement in vaccine effectiveness against the omicron variant, but this effect also declined over time."

Read the whole article. It's complex with percentages and number of weeks following the vaccine. But clearly, there is a long way to go.

https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/971927?

A Litany of Compassion for the Sick, by Fr. Peter John Cameron

 We pray with special love and concern for all those who are ill or infirm, asking the Lord for his consoling grace to strengthen the sick in times of trial.

Response: Lord, be close to give your comfort.

When pain or distress is overwhelming:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When the healing process goes slower than hoped:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When terrified by treatments for therapy:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When it’s hard to let go of long-held plans:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When the feeling of alienation arises:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When worn out and weary:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When troubled by impatience and negativity:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When loneliness adds to anxiety:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When sickness makes it difficult to communicate:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When discouragement or despondency sets in:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When fear makes it impossible to face the future:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When the ravages of disease attack self-esteem:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When anger and resentment assail:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When beset by worry or fretfulness:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When it’s hard to rely on others for care:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When envy arises toward those who are healthy:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When pessimism or cynicism holds sway:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When anguish is intensified by the need for reconciliation:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When sickness is mistaken for punishment:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When loved ones are far away:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When sickness causes financial hardship that leads to worry or despair:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When afflicted by the feeling of nothing to hope for:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When weakness makes it impossible even to think:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When friends draw back fearful of disease:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When illness makes those who are suffering moody or irritable:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When haunted by regret and the shame of past sins:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When it is difficult to sleep:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When there’s resistance to necessary change:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When tempted by denial:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When nobody seems to understand:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When bound to home or when restricted in movement:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When listlessness and apathy threaten:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When medication seems to make things worse:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When all that’s needed is a caring touch:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When it’s impossible to maintain familiar routines:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When it’s hard to find the strength to go on:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When it becomes difficult to pray:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When suffering of any sort becomes hard to bear:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

When death draws near:
Lord be close to give your comfort.

https://aleteia.org/2020/04/29/litany-of-compassion-for-the-sick/

Parental rights bills and the battle for the children's bodies and minds

And now U.S. Bancorp? Ethan Peck posed this question at shareholders' meeting:

 
"U.S. Bancorp is a corporate partner of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which has lobbied ruthlessly against Florida's anti-grooming legislation preventing teachers from speaking to children as young as 4 years old about sex and sexuality. In sponsoring HRC, U.S. Bancorp is then, in effect, using its shareholders' assets to fund efforts to indoctrinate young children with radical gender ideology."
U.S. Bancorp CEO Andy Cecere doubled down on the company's sponsorship of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) which is fighting Florida's law giving parents rights to stop the indoctrination of young children.

 I always say "follow the money," and usually it doesn't lead to a bank. However, I'm still asking how this went from a tiny fraction of adults with actual gender dysphoria to a huge political cause involving thousands of corporations, including Disney, which should be kind to families, not blowing them apart with a radical agenda. Who is making the money from the transhoax? It just doesn't make sense. We know there are doctors and mental health "professionals" and academics getting grants and government bureaucrats slogging in the swamp, and fund raisers, and non-profits. It doesn't seem to fit the usual, right/left, fascist/communist, totalitarian/imperialist, race/ethnic, or colonialist/serf model. Seems to go for the beginning of all creation--In the beginning God. . .
They go after the unborn, and when a few slip through their bloody grasp, they try to destroy those little ones too. Who is behind these killing fields?

https://nationalcenter.org/ncppr/2022/04/19/u-s-bancorp-supports-group-that-wants-teachers-to-discuss-sex-with-kindergarteners/

Now we know who is running the White House. The Easter Bunny

 The only people who will understand this are those who saw news coverage of the big jolly rabbit guarding Biden as he tried to talk to someone in the crowd about Afghanistan. The silencer stepped right between them waving his arms (front legs) and redirecting Biden to a "safe space."

Liberal parents

 

ABC isn't telling the truth about inflation

I love (not) what the MSM doesn't tell its consumers! ABC a few days ago was opining on various ways to save money to cope with inflation. They don't even mention Biden. Of course, anyone who is paying attention knows this is Biden's inflation, and we can't blame Putin as he does. He announced during the 2020 campaign that he planned to destroy the fossil fuel industry so he could cave to the goals of the Climate Change hoax pushed by the leftist of the Left in his party. Mr. Putin heard all that too and was rubbing his hands together with glee. More profit for Russia!

We all know how to save money so there's more for the gas tank. We Bruces both have extremely expensive prescriptions that warn no more than one drink a week. We used to order "house brand" Merlot when we went out on our Friday night date. So we can save $15 a week right there, just by following doctors' orders. Cha Ching. That's one tank of gas increase over last summer. Not the cost of the fill up, but the cost of the inflation. Thank you, Joe Biden, but you should accept responsibility for your failures. We have enough fuel in the U.S. to pull us out of this malaise, and to save the rest of the world from Putin's profit on the oil he can sell to buy weapons to invade Ukraine!

 
Stop being evil, Mr. Biden. Stop being a slave to the Climate Change worshipers and cult.

Why the Left fears Musk--who would be accountable for facts, truth, science if they lose that power?

[Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich] argued, Musk’s free-speech agenda would fulfill “the dream of every dictator, strongman, demagogue, and modern-day robber baron on earth.” This is because relaxation of controls over expression would allow the internet to be “dominated by the richest and most powerful people in the world, who wouldn’t be accountable to anyone for facts, truth, science, or the common good.”

What Reich left unstated is to whom Musk and the like are accountable under the current censorious dispensation. The implicit answer is “experts” like himself, who have managed to claw back a certain amount of power over the internet in the past half-decade by prevailing upon major digital platforms to censor and ban. Reich is partly telling the truth when he states, “This is not about freedom. It’s about power.”

Musk’s promise to end Twitter’s heavy-handed speech regime directly threatens the power of Reich’s own class of educated professionals, which depends on being able to silence dissenters and suppress narratives that conflict with their own."

https://compactmag.com/article/twitter-and-the-war-of-oligarchs

https://thepostmillennial.com/elon-musk-gofundme-freedom-convoy

https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-musk-twitter-victor-davis-hanson-silicon-valley-big-tech

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/04/can_anyone_spot_the_hypocrisy_media_outrage_over_musks_bid_to_buy_twitter.html

The hypocrisy and subterfuge of the Left never cease to amaze. We the masses must lose our right to speak, write, assemble and worship so that the demagogues in The Big Tech Alliance with the Democrats can stay in control. And this isn't about Trump or his supporters; Twitter controls the world.

Easter sermon by St. John Chrysostom

I listened to this lovely Easter sermon by St. John Chrysostom, a 4th century Greek Father known for his eloquence, this morning on a podcast, then later saw it posted by a friend. Enjoy!

If any be a devout lover of God, let him partake with gladness from this fair and radiant feast.
If any be a faithful servant, let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord.
If any have wearied himself with fasting, let him now enjoy his reward.
If any have laboured from the first hour, let him receive today his rightful due.
If any have come after the third, let him celebrate the feast with thankfulness.
If any have come after the sixth, let him not be in doubt, for he will suffer no loss.
If any have delayed until the ninth, let him not hesitate but draw near.
If any have arrived only at the eleventh, let him not be afraid because he comes so late.
For the Master is generous and accepts the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour in the same way as him who has laboured from the first.
He accepts the deed, and commends the intention.
Enter then, all of you, into the joy of our Lord. First and last, receive alike your reward. Rich and poor, dance together. You who fasted and you who have not fasted, rejoice together.
The table is fully laden: let all enjoy it.
The calf is fatted: let none go away hungry.
Let none lament his poverty; for the universal Kingdom is revealed.
Let none bewail his transgressions; for the light of forgiveness has risen from the tomb.
Let none fear death; for death of the Saviour has set us free.
He has destroyed death by undergoing death. He has despoiled hell by descending into hell.
He vexed it even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he cried: Hell was filled with bitterness when it met Thee face to face below;
Hell is angered, for it was brought to nothing;
Hell is angered, for it was mocked;
Hell is angered, for it was overthrown;
Hell is angered, for it was put in chains.
Hell received a body, and encountered God. It received earth, and confronted heaven.
O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory?
Christ is risen! And you, O death, are annihilated!
Christ is risen! And the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is risen! And the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen! And life is liberated!
Christ is risen! And the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ, having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To Him be Glory and Power, now and forever, and from all ages to all ages.
Amen!

Down the rabbit hole on Good Friday

Good Friday morning I only read the hymn in my devotional magazine (Magnificat, v. 24, no.2) for Holy Week, for Good Friday. It was "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" I got no further in the April 15th entry. I remembered the first time I heard it. It was a hot summer day, in midsummer 1953 or 54. I was a teen helper in the kitchen at Camp Emmaus in northern Illinois during an older teen camp week. It was very exciting for me--previous jobs had been baby sitting and corn detasseling. I don't remember why the campers were using this hymn in the summer, but a guy about 5 years older than me sang it to me. I never forgot it. That was the first step into the rabbit hole.

 
Then I had to check out my hymn sources. Another rabbit hole. So I looked at the Brethren Hymnal (c. 1951) and "Were you There" was there. Exact same verse and wording as my magazine (unusual for hymns I've learned). Then I checked my Lutheran hymnals and the hymn was in the 1958 (red), the 1978 (green) and the 1982 (blue) versions. My only Methodist Hymnal (1964) I keep at our Lake house. From the evidence on my shelves I'm suggesting that this hymn began appearing in main line church hymnals around 1950. It's now a standard, but it had been sung for many years in black churches.

I always read the information at the top, bottom and sides of a hymn, about the author, composer, collection, notes for the musician, etc. and of course, there's no information on the author and it's referred to either as a Spiritual or Negro Spiritual.

From there I moved on to my favorite source, "Amazing grace; 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions,," by Kenneth W. Osbeck (1990). He wrote: "The Negro spirituals represent some of the finest of American folk music. These songs are usually a blending of an African heritage, harsh remembrances from former slavery experiences, and a very personal interpretation of biblical stories and truths. They especially employ biblical accounts that give hope for a better life--such as the prospects of heaven. They symbolize so well the attitudes, hopes and religious feeling of the black race in America."

Osbeck suggests: "Imagine yourself standing at the foot of the cross when Christ was tortured and crucified. Then place yourself outside the empty tomb when the angelic announcement "He is not here. . . ". Try to relive the emotional feelings that would have been yours. Allow this song to minister to you as you go through the day---. " For Good Friday, there's no better hymn to put you there.

Note: Although the phrase "down the rabbit hole" is from Alice in Wonderland (1865) over time it's come to mean getting sucked into an endless time search in reading or looking at the internet. I still use books, so it happens a lot.

What did F.A. Hayek say about the Leftist agenda?

How should we conservatives think about race and critical theory, CRT; the misnamed gender affirmation or transgenderism; the climate change cult; abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy; free and open borders ; mandates that didn't reduce the toll of the pandemic and had never been tried before? F.A. Hayek had some thoughts.

" Incredible as some of these aberrations [spirit of totalitarianism] may appear, we must yet be on our guard not to dismiss them as mere accidental by-products which have nothing to do with the essential character of a planned or totalitarian system. They are not. THEY ARE A DIRECT RESULT OF THAT SAME DESIRE TO SEE EVERYTHING DIRECTED BY A "UNITARY CONCEPTION OF THE WHOLE," of the need to uphold at all costs the views in the service of which people are asked to make constant sacrifices, and of the general idea that the knowledge and beliefs of the people are an instrument to be used for a single purpose. Once science has to serve, not TRUTH, but the interests of a class, a community or a state, the sole task of argument and discussion is to vindicate and to spread still further the beliefs by which the whole life of the community is directed. As the Nazi minister of justice has explained, the question which every new scientific theory must ask itself is: "Do I serve National Socialism for the greatest benefit of all?"

The word TRUTH itself ceases to have its old meaning. . . it becomes something to be laid down by AUTHORITY, something which has to be believed in the interest of the unity of the organized effort and which may have to be altered as the exigencies of this organized effort require it. p. 178 "The Road to Serfdom; text and documents. F.A. Hayek, 1944, 2007.  https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo4138549.html

Sex is not gender

According to Institute of Medicine, “sex” is a biological construct dictated by the presence of sex chromosomes and in animals and humans the presence of functional reproductive organs. On the other hand, “gender” is a cultural concept referring to behaviors that might be directed by specific stimuli (visual, olfactory) or by psychosocial expectations that result from assigned or perceived sex and therefore can influence biological outcomes.

I'd translate this as "God made sex, and man (specifically left leaning, European males with PhDs working in the social sciences) made gender." By now, you know more about women than Justice elect Jackson. (She is married to a white physician and has two beautiful bi-racial daughters, at least that's apparent.)

In God's plan, each person has as many as 30-40 trillion cells, and each cell has a sex. Men and women should not be competing for the same drugs in disease, nor the same medals in athletics. The amount of oxygen transported to your body parts depends on your red blood cell count and men have many more than women. Diseases that affect the brain, the gut, the skin, the skeleton, etc. act very differently in men and women. Women will be the ones hurt most in my opinion because in the transagenda, they are made infertile, there's no data on the long term effects of the hormones, healthy body parts are amputated and drugs must be taken. Even if they trick the eye to ignore sexual dimorphism and keep their reproductive organs, they aren't men at the cellular level.

Unfortunately, "wokeism" has moved from the social sciences to the STEM, and now this article (2014) probably would not be published.

Males have a Y chromosome as well an an X and females have 2 X chromosomes. That doesn't mean "mistakes" don't happen. Some boys get an extra Y and grow very tall, but may have low muscle tone and widely spaced eyes. Some girls are born with XO--missing one X--and may have numerous developmental problems including no ovaries and heart defects. We don't judge all people based on the needs of just 2 examples of biological misfiring before birth. Before the last 2 decades we didn't encourage systemic body failures with "gender studies" and then ask the rest of the world to pretend things are normal.

That's what is happening in some school districts which want "gender" rather than "sex" taught to very small children in the early grades. Ohio House Bill 616 would ban both instruction and materials about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade in all public and most private schools. I heard on the Bruce Hooley Show (https://989theanswer.com/radioshow/bruce-hooley) that Hilliard students are planning a protest on April 14 (it's not a law, hasn't even been debated) with the administration's blessing, although it is a violation of the state law to do so without being charged with tardiness. To listen start with segment 1 around 20 min. in.

"Do you know the sex of your cells?"
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpcell.00281.2013

The ultimate cultural appropriation--transagenda.

"Trans ideology robs women of their history and takes male privilege to a whole new level—all in the name of women’s rights." Carl R. Trueman

Palm Sunday entrance

Tuesday night in our Bible study (on Zoom) we were discussing the colt/donkey that Jesus road into Jerusalem as king, which fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy. As our group is "older," we do get a little off track, and I mentioned that as a little child I knew about the cross on the donkey's back before I ever understood Palm Sunday because of "donkey basketball" which was popular entertainment in small towns. So I had seen donkeys and ridden one, plus I loved horses and donkeys are equines. Only one person had heard of donkey basketball (also grew up in a small town), and about half had never noticed the markings of a donkey (it fades as the animal ages, and Jesus rode a colt).

Bishop Barron's sermon for Palm Sunday (Luke 19:28-40) is on the passage "The Master has need of it" and he says every baptized person has a gift the Master has need of. Whether you are gifted with music, or art, or math, or hospitality, or financial acumen, or teaching, or a heart for the poor, or any other gift, he says, you are liberated to be of service to Christ and his people. That's an easy phrase to remember or memorize. So the next time you see a donkey, look for the sign of the cross. There is a legend that the donkey followed Jesus to the cross.

https://youtu.be/Jvi9Hmvki0k

Joint Statement Regarding Ohio House Bill 616--A parents' rights bill

 

Interview with Scott Atlas about the BA2 variant

"Since Russia invaded Ukraine, news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic magically disappeared among mainstream media outlets.

But in the last few days, fears surrounding the new BA.2 variant are coming back to certain cable news channels.

Statistics says the BA.2 variant is now responsible for more than 70% of COVID-19 cases in the United States, but Dr. Scott Atlas asserts the variant is nothing to be concerned about.

Study after study has come out proving Dr. Atlas’ to be correct about his outlook of the COVID-19 pandemic since it began in early 2020, but certain health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci have yet to give up, and are once again in the beginning stages of calling for more mask mandates.

Dr. Scott Atlas has always supported protecting the elderly and at-risk individuals, as everyone else has very little risk to the coronavirus, and that assessment is even more true with the BA.2 variant, which is weaker than the original." https://www.kusi.com/dr-scott-atlas-explains-why-the-ba-2-variant-is-nothing-to-be-worried-about/

Includes the video of the interview.

Critical theory, the importance of children

I just watched on TV one of those disgusting "lesson plans" to sexualize American children in kindergarten. I think it was for Ohio, but not sure. If you think this doesn't exist, you're dreaming. The school administrators and state boards of education are flat out lying to you. You can get rid of your Disney stock, but you may have to run for school board. There are many teachers left with good values who are sick about it, but they need their jobs, and unions certainly won't help them.

Critical theory has been in the college classes and faculty publications for over 40 years. Now with so much intersectionality where race and sex, or gender and ethnicity and sexual preference link arms (or other body parts), it is a massive political movement. The children are even more essential today to the cause than they were in the 19th century where this all began.

Carl R. Trueman in his book "The rise and triumph of the modern self," ch. 7, calls it the shotgun marriage between Freud and Marx with Erich Fromm performing the nuptials and many in the bridal party like Max Horkheimer, Wilhelm Reich, Herbert Marcuse, Friedrich Engels, Antonio Gramsci, Vladimir Lenin and other lesser know academics and behaviorists.

Karl Marx thought the working class would triumph over the middle class and replace capitalism with communism and all could be controlled by the state. Sigmund Freud always was about the individual and sex drive. "For Freud civilization was impossible except for a society that was prepared to repress the most fundamental of human instincts, the desire for sexual satisfaction via unhindered sexual activity." It was up to others mentioned above to bring the shotgun wedding to the current left wing ideology (Trueman has articles on the internet which you can check, and many are critical of his ideas). But you can see Freud's belief in sexual expression, especially in children, as front and center of this anti-family 21st century curriculum. To simplify, all the critical theory branches whether feminism, LGBTQxyz, or critical race theory are anti-western civilization, anti-patriarchy, and anti-family. You will get no points for "traditional values" or the traditional family as a societal good. That's hateful in their eyes. This messy cabal see the family as the vehicle to pass down wealth and property, and marriage as the oppression of women. Incidentally, these European and American scholars and "professionals" all had low opinions of women and some abandoned wives and children for mistresses and lovers.

 
As far back as 1936 Wilhelm Reich stressed the importance of childhood sexuality and sexual identity for the "struggle" to destroy capitalism and civilization. That's why their education can't be left up to their parents. All sexual taboos must be lifted. Sex is no longer considered a private activity -- it is social, public and political.

 
There's quite an uproar going on within the Christian "community" these days, and most of the crazies are in the seminaries and universities. But be advised, your church may be on the wrong side.

It's too bad we have such a weak resident in the White House

 Someone else might have known how to get arms to President Zelenskyy so the Ukrainians could fight and farm.

From an investment newsletter: "

There is going to be a worldwide food crisis, but Wall St is just not recognizing it even though it has been very clearly forecast for weeks. There is no avoiding it. Fertilizer is simply not sufficiently available, or costs far too much, and Ukrainian and Russian wheat and corn and sunflower oil are not going to be available. Many less developed nations like Egypt and others in that region and southeast Asia are already having to spend subsidies they cannot afford. There are already some disturbances in Peru, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe that will grow to be riots as food prices climb and shortages become apparent. These countries do not have the ability to continue the subsides for as long as they will be required. Trouble ahead. Other commodities are also headed up. There is no avoiding higher inflation for the next couple of months.

Russia, Ukraine and Ivan the Terrible

It's been 61 years since I graduated from College and I've forgotten most of my Russian language and history. However, today I've been listening to a fabulous podcast on "The Third Rome," which is a term for the history of Christianity through the eyes of Moscow, the Third Rome. Rome fell apart sometime after the 5th c. I think through corruption, mismanagement and invasions by barbarians, and Constantinople (the 2nd Rome) was taken over by the Muslims, so the Russian Christians see the Moscovy empire as the seat of Christianity (the 3d Rome) in the 16th century. I managed 5 miles on the exercycle learning about Ivan the Terrible and Muscovite Russia. Its name is “Paradise and Utopia,” and the speaker, Fr. John Strickland serves as priest at St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church in Poulsbo, Washington, and he is part of "Ancient Faith Ministries." I've only begun to explore the web site and its riches, but the podcast on Ivan reminded me so much of Vladimir Putin. He was a defender of the faith, yet was so bloodthirsty he killed his own son in a fit of rage, had his own priests and boyars (nobles) murdered. He was really paranoid, but believed he was saving the church. If you want to know the symbolic roots of Putin's craziness in attacking another Orthodox Christian nation, listen to this. It was recorded several years ago, before the current invasion, but somehow it all makes sense now. https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/paradiseutopia/the_third_rome_i_ivan_the_terrible_and_the_murder_of_saint_philip