I guess on Saturday (June 14, 2025) there was a nationwide demonstration (by the Democrats, of course) called "No Kings Day".  

Now, there has never been a king at anytime during the history of the United States.  The closest we ever came to having one was a Democrat by the name of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a.k.a. "FDR".   He died in office, much like a king, after serving for nearly 16 years.   

Anyway, as is often the case with Democrats, they like to protest things that have no real existence.  Since we haven't had anything like a king govern the USA since before the Revolution, protesting kingship is a rather worthless activity.  

But you know who really hates the idea of kings?  God.  He told the Jews that kings were a really, really bad idea, and they should NEVER have one...but of course, they didn't listen.   

Want proof?  Here's a conversation that God had with the prophet Samuel:

1 SAMUEL 8 - The New Living Translation

As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel.  Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba.  But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.

Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.  “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”

Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance.  “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.  Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.  Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”

Samuel Warns against a Kingdom

So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king.  “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots.  Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment.  The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him.  He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials.  He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants.  He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use.  He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.  When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.”

But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said.  “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”

So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said,  and the Lord replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.

- Pseudo Boethius 

FYI: The land that the Philistines of biblical history occupied, is almost exactly the same as that of today's Gaza strip.  

1 Samuel 7:5-15 New Living Translation:

Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”  So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.

Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”  So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the Lord. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)

When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching.  “Don’t stop pleading with the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel.  So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.

Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them.  The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way.

Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!”

So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the Lord’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines.  The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.

ACTUAL FORTUNE COOKIE FORTUNES:

"From error to error, one discovers the entire truth."

"Accept no other definition of you life, accept only your own"

"Hallelujah!"

"Failure is the tuition you pay for sucess"

"If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job"

- Pseudo Boethius 

MUSIC / JAZZ / TOKYO GROOVE JYOSHI

Yet another example of the incredible jazz coming out of Japan!   

PB 

MUSIC / JAZZ / JULIAN LAGE

Quite simply the best jazz guitarist alive right now, aside from Pat Metheny.   

PB

Yes, the Japanese do jazz better than almost anyone on the planet.   

My all-time favorite crackers.  Excellent base for cheese.  Can be purchased at most supermarkets, or online.

Here is the link to purchase them online: https://www.marysgonecrackers.com/collections/original

Impact & Water-Resistant, Aluminum, Includes Battery, 300 Lumens, Strobe Mode

MUSIC / MUSICALS / SOUND OF MUSIC

2024-12-16 Monday

The song "Edelweiss" was written by two Jewish guys in New York City for the musical "Sound of Music."  They knew the flower was important to Austrian culture, but the song itself was an American creation, not Austrian.   Hence, it's not sung in Austria.

So it was very surprising to see two very talented Austrian girls singing a beautiful duet of Edelweiss!    They do a huge number of great American songs on their channel.   

- Pseudo Boethius 

MUSIC / JAZZ / ANDREA MOTIS

2024-12-16 Monday

Well, it's nearly winter time here in the midwestern United States, but that doesn't mean I can't listen to one of the great jazz standards of all time: "Summertime" by George Gershwin.   And the best rendition of that particular song is by Andrea Motis in collaboration with Joan Chamorro Quintet.  

Here is Andrea playing LIVE at the Jamboree Club in Barcelona, Spain back in 2013, and making this song all her own.  

Absolutely incredible! 

- Pseudo Boethius