To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value than the real thing. —Wikipedia

What if the reason so many of us feel like we don’t know our country any more is because it isn’t?

If I were a veterinarian I’d give serious consideration to offering gender affirming care to pets.  I could offer an array of services that might include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary animals.  

Do you think this might be a profitable form of veterinary practice?  Where would be the best place to locate a practice like this?  

The text of the Torah, describing the cherubim on the Ark, says each “man is facing his brother.” Why is this important? Because these words are first found in Genesis, and in two adjacent verses referring to the very first relationship that went wrong!

Now Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said, ‘I have acquired a man as did G-d.’ She then bore his brother Abel. (Gen 4:1-2).

I highly recommend watching What Is a Woman? on Twitter if you have never seen it. It’s free through the weekend. I started watching it just to stick it to the left and intended to play it in the background while I did other things, but it turned out to be really interesting, so I quit doing my work and gave it my full attention.

Matt Walsh asks good questions of both advocates and opponents of gender confusion. I didn’t feel like he was asking gotcha questions or trying to trap his opponents, although I realize he controlled the editing. He had a good variety of pro and con voices, and there are a number of funny situations when the subject of the interview is so obviously uncomfortable with Matt’s simple questions. The interviews with the Maasai tribesmen in Kenya are worth the whole show – they are very clear on the differences between men and women, and at one point they have to be bleeped as they explain it.

I was concerned there would be a lot of graphic descriptions of child mutilation, which I can’t stand, but there was only one point where I was a little uncomfortable, and even that was not bad.

So one of my best friends recently had a hip replacement. A few weeks later, he developed severe pain in the hip along with redness, tenderness, and drainage from the wound incision. He thought he had a wound infection and called his surgeon’s office to see what he should do. The receptionist he spoke to told him the next available appointment was six days later. So he took it! He didn’t tell the phone operator that he needed the doctor or his assistant to call him back as soon as possible. It is hard to believe, but many people are afraid to argue with the peons paid to block access to medical care.

So he fell the night before his appointment and couldn’t get up. He crawled to his cell phone and waited while the EMTs called a locksmith to drill his door and take him to the hospital next to the doctor’s office. He had a severe joint infection and, as I write, is in surgery for removal of the hip prosthesis and replacement of a new joint.

A fascinating Rasmussen poll was cited by Powerline today (emphasis mine):

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 71% of American Adults agree with the statement that “there are two genders, male and female,” including 57% who Strongly Agree.

So a little more than half of American adults strongly agree that there are two genders – men and women.  I wonder what that poll would have looked like five years ago?  What about ten or fifteen years ago?  Those American adults would have had blank looks on their faces, and would not have understood the question.

Because of my kids, I’ve spent a lot of time around basketball coaches over the past 15 years or so.  Their coaches, opposing coaches, head coaches, assistant coaches, recruiting coaches, and so on.  I talk to all of them, ask about their lives, ask them what drew them to coaching, and try to understand how they make decisions.  I’ve learned a lot, as I generally do when I ask questions and then shut the heck up.  I’ve learned that you can learn something from absolutely anybody.

I’ve learned that coaching is a difficult profession.  First of all, teaching anything is hard.  Secondly, coaches make very, very little money.  Only the top few can earn a living at it, all the rest of them need other jobs to support themselves.  Which is difficult, because coaching takes an enormous amount of time – nights, weekends, holidays, and so on.  Lots of travel, which means lots of time away from family.  Plus, the pressure from the school administrators who hired you, the kids you’re trying to coach, and worst of all, their parents.

So why would anyone go into coaching?  Having spent a lot of time with a lot of coaches, I’ve reached the conclusion that there are three types of people who go into coaching:

Leftists believe that people are not naturally inclined to be monogamous. They claim that being faithful to only one other person goes against our instincts, our desires for variety and danger … forbidden fruit, and all that.

Leftists are entirely right.

Tarzana Joe is always profound, and I particularly like this poem that appeared today on Facebook. To save you looking it up (although you should, to see some pictures), Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by emphasizing the cracks with gold inlay. It’s not hard to realize that the piece looks better now than before it was broken… and it is a hopeful metaphor for our society.

Starting off the month of June right… audiobook #75 is released, #76 is being recorded, and #77 is under contract.

Did you know there was a shootin’ war between Pennsylvania and Maryland before the Revolution? More than one, actually. That’s why Parliament sent over Mason and Dixon to draw the line.

Frontier Country is a study of colonial Pennsylvania politics from the standpoint of the people on the frontiers, largely from their own words. “Frontier” had a different meaning in those days. We think of a frontier as a place where adventure and expansion can take place, as in “Space: the Final Frontier.” To a colonial, a frontier was not a place you wanted to be. It was a conflict zone, a place where you needed protection and support from your colonial government or everything you worked for could be wiped out in hours…and not necessarily by Native Americans. Colonial settlers often had excellent relationships with native groups, from whom they bought land and with whom they had an active trade. It was a fragile thing, however, and outsiders from another colony could easily destroy any comity and pick up the pieces afterward. The English government was too far away and generally too disinterested to help. Colonial governments were often ineffective. Pennsylvania was unique in that the proprietors, the Penn family, had to contend with a legislature full of Quakers who didn’t want to raise militias to protect the frontiers. Settlers felt cheated; they were supposed to get protection in return for their loyalty (and taxes). A lot of these disputes didn’t get settled until the Continental Congress fixed the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Connecticut, and set up the Northwest Ordinance.

Just your friendly reminder this first day of June that rainbows are wonderful things and according to Scripture a great promise. It’s not about race or sexuality.

From the book of Genesis chapter 9:

Any half-wit can kill themselves. There are a myriad of ways that are pretty much instantaneous. Some are messier than others, it is true, but one does not need to be a genius to end one’s own life.

So why is there such demand (see Canada) for a medical professional to do the killing? Is there something about the blessings of the state that somehow make suicide a much more attractive life choice? Or is it the attraction of having someone else – even a stranger – helping? Do we prefer the engagement and touch of another human even at the moment of death?