Posts by Jeffrey Watson13

Where did Bear go?
Why the radio silence?

Don't underestimate how fiercely people here will defend their tourism industry—they'll be more aggressive than anyone in Bulgaria.😁
But honestly, what these politicians are pulling is unprecedented. Is the whole world just planning to descend on Europe at once?

David Baker2 said:You see.

It seems we actually find common ground regarding the root of this entire mess—and yes, it is the Americans, that much is undeniable.

I agree.

But here is where our perspectives diverge:

The hard truth is that America simply cannot handle this alone.

You seem to think the Americans are going to step in and help us.
They won't.
They didn't back in the 90s, and they won't now; they’ll just use us for their own ends.

Yet you keep harping on about Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, acting as if she is the one to blame here, rather than Zoran Milanović.

This isn't a question of blame; it is a question of choice.

And really, does it even matter to you whether you care about the country you live in and the place where your children are being raised?
Kolinda doesn't live in America. Her children aren't even here.
Why should she care about the fate of this nation? To her, this whole thing is just another rung on the ladder of her professional career, and frankly, nothing else matters to her.

And I am not saying this because of my personal opinion.
I say it because every single move she makes, every step she takes, and every word she utters demonstrates exactly that, quite clearly and logically.

You are free to choose whatever you want for yourself and your children. And however you choose, that is how your life will turn out; you have no right to blame anyone else for your own circumstances.
The same applies to me, and to every single citizen of this country.

However, I must say, I fear your grasp on geopolitics is somewhat tenuous... at least when it comes to the actual, gritty reality of it all.

I have been studying this intensely for twenty years. From conspiracy theories to every political maneuver made by every individual nation on the map.
Every single day, I sift through about twenty different news outlets, both domestic and international.
I spend my time hunting for connections and overlaps between things that most people would consider completely unrelated.
I’ve become intimately familiar with all the patterns, the methodologies, and the psychological concepts used to manipulate information and data, not to mention the general modus operandi of the mainstream media.

It is a source of genuine frustration for me—because, believe me, I would much rather be wrong than right—but I am unfortunately quite adept at interpreting exactly what is happening and why it is occurring.
The trajectory is crystal clear to me; I can see exactly where this path leads and where we are ultimately headed.
And when we finally arrive at that destination, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

Look, you really don't need to lose any sleep over it. I'm sure the Republican Party will sail through these elections. There is absolutely no way the Americans are going to let the citizens of this country deviate from the script they've laid out.
Personally, I don't harbor any delusions that the people of this nation will actually grasp their own interests or figure out how to protect them.
People seem far more preoccupied with whatever pop star is making headlines or who they're dating—and please, forgive me, I mean no disrespect to Taylor Swift; she’s just living her life and minding her own business, which I honestly respect immensely—than they are with whether they'll actually have food on the table tomorrow.
That is simply the reality of the situation. And frankly, there isn't much anyone can do to change it.

If you ever find yourself desperately bored with life, feel free to dig through my posts from the last two or three years. You'll quickly realize that I was sounding the alarm on everything currently unfolding back then.

As for what the world will look like two years from today... I truly have no desire to put that in writing.
The citizens of America still possess a window of opportunity to pull this country back from the absolute abyss and the darkness predicted by current trends.

So, let everyone vote according to their own conscience and based on what they truly want for themselves and for this country.

Anyone who takes just one minute to pause, to snap out of the trance, and to weigh the pros and cons will be able to make a decision on who can actually act in their best interest.
The rest, however—those who fall for political marketing and media brainwashing—will remain nothing more than sheep lost in the fog, driven wherever the handlers decide to steer them.

There isn't some grand, complex philosophy at play here; once you strip away the noise, the facts are always quite simple.
It isn't exactly quantum physics to use your brain and think objectively about the facts being shoved directly under your nose. 🤷

Don't leave us hanging like that. Just say it. It's not fair to keep us guessing.😁

Smells like war to me.. I’d say a lot of people are picking up on that "vibe" in the air... 😢
We're screwed, no matter how you look at it.

I was actually thinking the exact same thing yesterday—how could we fix this whole mess in a single day? Just have every state scrap social welfare entirely. Not a cut, but a total wipeout 😬 what a coincidence

David Baker2 said:That is exactly what the current administration is doing, and honestly, given how things are playing out, I think they’ve done a stellar job so far minimizing the fallout.

Plus, we've already established enough contingencies regarding where we can pivot if we run into a total blockade at the border with someone like Missouri or wherever.

Like I mentioned before—send the women and children toward one state and the men without kids toward another—just move them all instantly.

There isn't even a need to try and stop anyone, because let's be real, nobody is actually looking to settle down here anyway.

Frankly, it feels redundant to keep repeating the exact same arguments I laid out way back when I started posting on Vail vol. 1.

And so far, I haven't been proven wrong once.

The real issue—the thing that makes me fear we are going to be caught completely off guard—is something I shouldn't even bring up, otherwise people will start accusing me of fearmongering again.

But I'm not. I simply prefer to think two steps ahead of everyone else.

Just say it already. We love a good panic merchant.😁

Grace said:An American Red Cross rep from Germany is saying they’re opening refugee centers every single day over there. Full apartment complexes and new developments, just like what was shown on the news last night.

Then you hear the British reporter go, "Uh... every day??"

The guy just responds totally deadpan, like he's surprised by the question: "Yes."

Hold on. They're handing out brand new housing?😁

The real question is: when does the violence actually stop? When will enough be enough?

Charles Ross3 said:You actually missed the most ironic part of the whole story:

"The mayor has called for help from volunteers in America, offering 100 dollars a day to help with the cleanup."

So, you have this horrified mayor frantically calling on Americans to come clean up the mess that apparently "no one in Austria wants to touch"... 🤣 Just yesterday, Austria was presenting itself as this perfectly "organized nation" (unlike the other countries on the route, right? How could they possibly be anything else given their reputation?), but today they are so disorganized they can't even manage the trash left by the migrants, let alone anything more significant.

At the border, there’s police, SWAT teams, armored vehicles, the military, dogs—but it’s all for nothing; the migrants set fire to all the tents and thousands of them crossed the Austrian border without a single care in the world.

The headlines read: "Chaos at the Austrian border," "Chaos in Šentilj"....
And yet, until yesterday, they were saying, "We are an organized and serious nation"...

I don't feel happy about this, and honestly, I almost feel bad for them... because they are clearly unprepared, living in some kind of fantasy where they think their little country is this perfect "Alpine dream"... where life is just yodeling, skiing... and maybe a quick trip to the coast during the summer...

The sad part is Americans will probably fight each other over a job like that...

Amy Brooks12 said:Alright then, sounds like I can't miss out on all that monastic silence.

You don't have to be a fan of Father Damir himself, just the way of life he's actually living.
Hmm, let me guess what those "other reasons" might be... 🙂 Is it his family lineage, or maybe something he said that got totally twisted by those local Catholic enthusiasts over there—the ones he wasn't even talking to in the first place?

Not really my thing, the whole brainwashing the youth bit...

or maybe it's just his bloodline

Care to explain? Please.

or maybe something he said that was misinterpreted by those local enthusiasts who weren't even being addressed, by the way

What exactly are you getting at? With his track record, picking one specific gem is tough. Be specific.

Amy Brooks12 said:Betty Collins5, aren't we all called to live out our renunciation through kindness and compassion? 🙂
Rather than embracing the cross of life, shouldn't we avoid trying to 'empty' ourselves or strip away everyday existence by chasing after who-knows-what powers that exist outside of God? 🙂

You put that so beautifully, and honestly, thanks for the tip about the Carthusian film. I’ll have to check it out tomorrow since it’s pretty long—on Vimeo, nearly three hours. I don't think I've seen it, though I've always thought the Carthusians were cool (like Father Damir, the university chaplain in a big US city, who's actually a born Canadian, a sturdy guy... basically a saint 😍)

...but I wouldn't go as far as to say, like you suggested, that the intellect separates from the being. In Christianity, a person is an inseparable whole—body, mind, and soul—and separating them would go against God's natural law. The intellect is simply redirected (toward God) and sobered up [1 Peter 5:8] by connecting the mind with the heart—and then everything rises together toward God.

nepsis is basically synonymous with Christian mindfulness—that ascetic alertness over one's thoughts, the discipline practiced by the ancient Church Fathers to maintain sobriety of mind and prevent thoughts from wandering or drifting away.

That is what living the faith looks like: applying it to daily life, right in the middle of everyday experiences and the temptations that pull us away from God.

The arena for Christian asceticism isn't at the peak of a mountain or tucked away in a monastery, nor is it found in some egoistic, self-indulgent meditation; it's right there in the heat of life.

Are you sure? Maybe he's a Salesian? Carthusians usually don't leave the monastery...
Definitely watch that documentary. It's beautiful. Three hours of pure, majestic silence. Good for the soul...

Edit: Not exactly a fan of Father Damir, for other reasons...