Hennessy's View

Rent-seeking doesn't add any national value. It is coerced trade and benefits only one side. Rent-seeking can include piracy, lobbying the government or even just giving away money. — David John Marotta, What Is Rent-Seeking Behavior in Forbes There are two kinds of lobbyists. One kind of lobbyist is necessary to keep legislators and executive-branch bureaucrats informed and on notice. These lobbyists protect the interests of special interest group, but often their special interest needs protection because it is at the mercy of the government.

Parson will sell everything that isn't nailed down. When the media, crooked businessmen, and corrupt politicians were in the midst of their coup against Eric Greitens, a friend told me, “If they get rid of Greitens, Parson will sell everything that isn't nailed down.” My friend was wrong. Governor Mike Parson (who may or may not have been a conspirator in the coup) is selling everything in Missouri, but he isn't stopping at the loose items.

Satan's grip on the world is tightening, but this video shows a group of boys rescuing their dog from a boa constrictor. These kids are way tougher than I am. Not all heroes wear capes.😇 The things we do for our dogs, bruh...💪🐶😍 pic.twitter.com/25xei1sLVw — Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) September 26, 2019 Though the video ends well, its lasting effect is less than pleasant. Our minds supply the dialog, the sub-plots, and the clichés.

I changed the commenting system to Commento from Disqus. For my frequenty commenters, this may require you to re-authenticate. (Sorry, but security, ya know.) I did this for two reasons: Disqus sells user information, and Commento does not. Commento, therefore, respects your privacy more. Disqus slows down my pageload time, and Commento does not. Commento, therefore, respects your time. I have migrated all the old comments to the new platform, so anything you posted previously should appear.

Quid Est Veritas? Sometimes I think Pontius Pilate gets a bad rap. Sure, he was ultimately the slithery politician who sentenced Jesus to death, but he was also the only person on earth who offered Jesus something of a defense. When the Jews first presented Jesus to Pilate, Pilate told them to try Jesus themselves. But the Jews argued that they could not lawfully put Him to death (John 18:31).

Scott Adams says Donald Trump lives his life like a movie or television series. (See Looking Ahead to Season Four of Trump for a complete explanation.) Being New Year's Eve, it's time to look back on Season Five (2019) and, then, look ahead to season six (2020) of Trump. Season Five: Mueller Report and Ukraine Hoax Going into 2019, the Fed had slowed the incredible Trump Economy with aggressive interest rate hikes.

Jerry Garcia Was Wrong Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead was famous for saying “It's about the journey, not the destination.” Garcia was wrong. There are two possible destinations: Eternal perfection. Eternal misery. It's all about the destination. The destination is all that matters. The journey matters only insofar as it determines the destination. If you know and pursue the right destination, the journey will be difficult, often painful, often lonely, often frustrating.

A celebrity priest fired up Twitter today by endorsing same-sex “marriage” and by comparing a same-sex couple favorably to the Holy Family. Let's assume that the good father is not malicious but so poorly educated into reason and Church teaching that his embarrassing tweets make sense to him. Let's pretend Fr. Sichko thinks he's right. To help educate the ignorant priest (and educating the ignorant is one of our Christian duties), I'll pose some questions to Fr.

“There’s no point at which you’ve cleaned yourself so well that you never have to shower again.” —Eric Greitens, Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life” “I don't walk my dog anymore.” I walked him all at once. — Comedian Steven Wright “Get in line in that processional / climb into that small confessional / there the guy who's got religion'll / tell you if your sin's original”

A Frenchman named Michel Chiron was possessed by demons for decades. His story of exorcism revealed something remarkable. In an interview with Solène Tadié for National Catholic Register, Chiron said the demons possessing him mocked Jesus but feared “The Woman.” About Jesus: They told me he did exist in the past but that he should be forgotten, as nowadays human beings no longer needed him. They even said that he was with their king now.