Unless you're living under a rock, you know that Charlie Kirk, conservative Christian activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was murdered by a gutless left wing radical -
- on Wednesday, September 10th.
This animal is in a cage now.
Apparently he's so stupid he actually believed he'd get away with it.
All his devious planning and subterfuge, arranging a drop point for his weapon, his craven act, then slithering away like the snake he is.
Elapsed time from his murderous act until his incarceration:
33 hours.
I'd list his name here but it doesn't matter; he's a dead man walking at this point.
"The coward" will suffice until he's executed, which in Utah - appropriately - can be by firing squad.
Charlie Kirk was at the Utah Valley University campus holding one of his immensely popular "Prove Me Wrong" rallies -
- where he invites people who disagree with him to ask questions and challenge his beliefs.
A born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, he valued responding to people directly - eye to eye - about their doubts, disagreements and questions, and used these interactions to spread the gospel while encouraging civil debate.
It was in this setting that Charlie was murdered in cold blood.
The coward's intent was clear - not just killing one man, but silencing the viewpoints of all conservatives who agreed with Kirk.
To put it mildly, <he failed>.
Spectacularly.
Instead of silencing us, he unleashed a tidal wave of Charlie Kirk videos online, proclaiming the gospel of Christ;
and an outpouring of support, of love, of commitment to continuing Kirk's ministry.
It has been 6 decades since a <high profile political activist> has been assassinated in this country, and it's certain this will be remembered as a watershed moment:
How appropriate is that?
A Turning Point.
I'm reminded of what Jesus told His disciples as the time of His sacrifice approached:
"24 Verily, verily I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
"25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."
- John 12:24,25
Evil fails; God prevails.
Rest In Peace, Charlie Kirk.
What a week.
Right after an assassination, we're gut punched with the 24th anniversary of <9/11>.
Never Forget.
In a faint hearted effort to take a swing at normalcy, here's the essence of this week's HGU:
Almost, but not quite.
With my summer 3 day weekends now in the rearview, I'm scrambling to fit in hickory golf whenever I can.
So I uncharacteristically booked a 4:30 pm tee time; never again.
It was like playing golf in a conga line, and I let the distractions of waiting for people ahead of me and being pushed by those behind me throw me way off my game.
Nothing went well; nothing at all.
When I got home I went back to the drawing board, aka Harry Vardon's book, and studied his swing:
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| Harry Vardon, circa 1913 |
That's about 3/4 speed, so slower than real life.
But what do you notice about his swing?
In his book, "The Gist Of Golf", he says "...there should be no tautness in the muscles at all".
That's what I see in his swing: complete relaxation and an easy rhythm.
He doesn't look like he's trying hard to crush the ball.
He's not gripping the club tightly and swinging for the fences with all his might.
Quite the opposite; he looks smooth, relaxed and rhythmic, almost unhurried.
Vardon toured the U.S. back in 1900 and was largely responsible for the rapid growth of the game here in the states.
He was met with large and enthusiastic crowds everywhere he went, all wanting to watch and learn from the world's best golfer.
After one particularly good shot, a fan rushed up to him and asked, "Which arm did you use to do that?"
Vardon recounted this incident with amusement, because in his mind there was no distinction.
Once you have the correct grip and stance, the club is simply an extension of your body.
Left arm, right arm, club - they form one unit, moving smoothly back then forward to strike the ball, like a balanced machine.
You can clearly see that in the video, but in my world that's very difficult to mimic.
It sounds oxymoronic, but I have to consciously take a breath, loosen my stranglehold on the club and force myself into a relaxed and rhythmic swing.
When I do achieve this state of golf nirvana, the improvement in my game is amazing.
At least while practicing.
We'll see how it goes on the links this coming week - Lord willing - at my usual early morning tee time.
We've staggered to the end of this somber week; let's 23 Skidoo:
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| lazy evening at the command center |
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| a reminder from Larry that his views are better than mine |
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| Silas Scarecrow, auditioning for a spot in our Walk of Fear |
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| a walk through a local park revealed these guys escaping the muck pond |
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| not a great pic, but that's a blue spruce we planted in 2018... |
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| ...and that's our baby today |
It has been discouraging to see the sickness in our nation bubbling up like overflowing sewage in the septic tank of the internet.
That there are so many sub-humans actually celebrating and cheering the assassination of Charlie Kirk is disturbing, to say the least.
Even a relative posted online that while they don't approve of his assassination (really? how noble!) yet they're happy his voice has been removed from the public realm.
Translation: sorry he was murdered in cold blood, but yeah...not sorry.
What was the cause of this relative's ire?
He'd watched a deceptively edited video online that appeared to show Charlie using the racial slur "chink" toward an off camera Asian person.
Only problem?
In reality that off screen person was this man:
Uygur is a well-known leftist and creator of <The Young Turks>, a "progressive" podcast, who regularly calls Trump and his followers nazis.
Since his first name is pronounced "Chenk", the quick jump cut made it appear Kirk was a racist.
This relative readily believed the intended deception - because it agrees with his leftist world view - and without any actual research into the life and views of Charlie Kirk, pronounced his murder justifiable.
Let's be clear - you cannot cheer the result of evil and distance yourself from the act of evil.
In that case you have no moral high ground.
You’re not just part of the problem, you ARE the problem.
The irony is people like our relative who celebrate Kirk's death are precisely the ones Charlie invited to debate him publicly.
Do you see the glaring contrast here?
Charlie was so strong he welcomed their dissenting viewpoints in a free exchange of ideas.
He gladly handed them the microphone and gave them their say in public, and then shared his Bible based viewpoints on whatever their issues happened to be.
Tragically, they're so weak they can't tolerate any views other than their own and so resort to violence.
As always, darkness hates light, and so they did their evil worst to extinguish that light.
They failed, of course, though they did inflict a grievous wound on the collective psyche of our country.
We are grieving, not just for the loss of Charlie Kirk, but for the sobering realization that kind of evil exists and in some quarters is even celebrated.
So, does time heal all wounds?
As a wag once countered, time wounds all heels.
Let us hope so in the case of the coward who assassinated Charlie Kirk, and yes, for all those who cheer and approve of this dastardly deed.
Praying that justice will be both swift and sure.
In the meantime, we soldier on.
How?
By heeding the encouragement of Jesus to all who follow Him:
"33 These things have I spoken unto you, that in Me you might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
- John 16:33
later, mcm fans...
