Steve Holden's Blog

Ideas & Freedom Matter

I recently learned that one of the authors of The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living -- Ryan Holiday -- had his Naval Academy lecture cancelled:

For the last five years, I've been reading this book as part of my daily morning devotion practice (MORE INFO).

I am so sorry this happened. 

Ideas matter. Freedom matters. Freedom of speech matters.  Critical thinking matters. Learning matters. 

Sticking your head in the sand is stupid.

Banning books is a sign of weakness and fear.

While you can't watch the planned talk, here is the video of the talk that Ryan recorded later:

TIP - EPUB format for Kindle

The last couple of days, I've encountered several situations where I wanted to quickly send content to my Kindle Paperwhite via the Amazon send to Kindle email service.

They support several formats (PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF, HTM, HTML, PNG, GIF, JPG, JPEG, BMP, EPUB).

One piece of content I update weekly in Obsidian is in MD file format.

I converted that content to a graphic, to text, to PDF, and then to EPUB.  

I found the EPUB to be the best for me.

The conversion was simple: I cut and pasted the content in Obsidian to an open document in Google Docs and then "Download" (from the File menu) the EPUB version.

Once downloaded, I use Google Gmail to attach the EPUB to an email to my personalized Kindle email address.

Truths vs. Lies

Mike Cosper (director at CT Media) recently pointed out in his podcast "The Bulletin - Gimme Some Truth" a paraphrase of this Kevin Williams quote -- "It takes 400 words to correct one stupid sentence."

A "lie" requires much "truth" to refute it.

And who has time for that? Especially when the lies per post on X or Truth Social are tens per hour. [Tracking Elon Posts - Tweets]

And if all people want to do is fight, bicker, and shout down each other, what is the point?

This is a key part of this podcast, "DOGE and the Mystery of the State Department Teslas" by Search Engine.

More news on the "Flood The Zone" strategy is going on.

 

Some Facts & Opinion About Ukraine & Current Foreign Policy Moves

Since many seem to be fast and loose about facts concerning Ukraine & American Foreign Policy, here are a few facts from the podcast "The Bulletin - Gimme Some Truth" & "The Bulletin - Acts Of Man" from Christianity Today:

• Russia started the war by invading Ukraine.
• The Russian leadership has personal internationally recognized sanctions leveled against them for their actions in this war.
• Russians have kidnapped Ukrainian children from their homes & families and are de-programing them during their imprisonment in Russia.
• Russians have committed war crimes against both soldiers and civilians during their invasion of Ukraine.
• Putin has ordered attacks against civilians, churches, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure (power, water, gas, transportation, etc.).
• America has not spent $350 billion on Ukraine.
• America has spent $183 billion in defense of Ukraine.  Europe (as a whole) has spent $202 billion:
  • 70% of the money has gone to American weapons manufacturers and the U.S. military (buying back stocks of armaments sent to Ukraine).
  • This means the U.S. Military is getting "new" armaments with a longer shelf-life.  If we hadn't sent the "old" armaments to Ukraine, we would have also had to pay to have them disposed of or sold to our other Allies (not guaranteed).
  • American weapons manufacturers have been increasing employment and infrastructure improvements in response to increased demands.
  • Keeping Ukraine in this fight causes Russia to continue to use up its resources (making it weaker).
• The Russian leadership has convinced the current North Korean dictatorship to send soldiers to fight and die in Ukraine.
• REMEMBER: The Russians were paying $200,000 for each dead American/Allied soldier during the Afghan War.  They paid out over $30 million during the war.

Here are my personal opinions:

• Putin and "Putinism" are a clear and present danger to the world order and peace. America should not create a "business deal" with this tyrant.
• Recent voting in the UN to not hold Putin accountable is morally outrageous.
• It is also ethically disgraceful and shameful to withdraw support to Ukraine and Ukrainian Refugees (legally protected) in America.
  • Deporting Ukrainians at this time is against Christian-values of hospitably and support of refugees.
    • If this annoys Putin, then so be it.
  • Freedom is not free.
• President Reagan was right with his "Peace through Strength" strategy.
  • Isolationism will not work.
  • The Cold War is still on.
  • We must check the Kremlin's objectives.
• America must support NATO and keep our agreements, commitments, & promises to Ukraine and our Allies.
• President Obama "kicked the can down the road" in 2014 when Russia illegally occupied Crimea.
  • Continuing this conflict is just an extension of that Putin land grab (which, if Ukraine falls, will include the Baltic States and, more than likely, Poland).
• The Russian propaganda machine is conducting "information warfare" against American citizens and leadership (deception, influence operations, false flags, cyber, etc.) to change, discredit, contradict, confuse, etc. facts and truths to match their false narratives.
• Canada, Mexico, Panama, Greenland, etc., are sovereign countries.
  • America should treat others as we would want to be treated. 
• President Zelenskyy is the war-time President of Ukraine.
  • He governs honorably within the laws of Ukraine and is not a coward.
  • He is a hero, a patriot, courageous, and a principled leader.
• Appeasement never works with a bully, blackmailer, or authoritarian leader. Did it work in 1938? No.
• China is watching our actions with Ukraine/Russia to determine what they are going to do with Taiwan. They are signaling they are willing to conduct both economic and kinetic warfare against America and the rest of the Free World to achieve their future goals.

Next step - watch "Darkest Hour: Never Give Up, Never Give In."

• "You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in his mouth." - Winston Churchill
• Learn + Study + Practice + Act = Resist

How To See The Humanity In Anyone

I got forwarded this link, "How to see the humanity in anyone" (Practicing a form of ‘deep curiosity’ can help you connect with yourself and others, even if they’re on the ‘other side’) by Scott Shigeoka.

Here are the key points from the end of the thoughtful article:

• Practicing deep curiosity can help you connect with yourself and others. It’s not just intellectual; it’s about searching for understanding in a way that can stir your heart and spirit.
• Let go of your assumptions, biases and certainty. Deep curiosity is a muscle you can strengthen, beginning with detaching yourself from the mental shortcuts that you usually rely on.
• Prepare your mindset and setting. Planning ahead for how you will act and speak in social situations can help you practise deep curiosity with greater intention.
• See the dignity of every person, including yourself. One way to do this is to ‘turn toward’ people – notice their bids for your attention and invite them to tell you more.
• Welcome the hard times in your life. It’s easy to fight or withdraw when you’re feeling overwhelmed. By learning to slow down and embrace your negative emotions, you’ll be better placed to recognise your own needs, find meaning in your experiences and connect with others.

More info at Greater Good and TED.

Bad EV Charging News

From Wired: "Feds Halt the National Electric Vehicle Charging Program - The US government has ordered states to retract their plans to build hundreds of federally funded EV charging stations."

Here is a link to the memo: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/nevi/resources/state-plan-approval-suspension.pdf.

And more coverage at Washington Post.

Free New Public Domain Books

Google Books has made available the following books that recently went into the public domain available for free:

1. "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
2. "All Quiet On The Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque
3. "God's Man: A Novel In Woodcuts" by Lynd Ward
4. "Toad of Toal Hall" by Alan Alexander Milne

I have read and recommend #1 and #2.

Surprise! President Trump Didn't Follow My Jan. 6 Reflections

On Jan. 6, I posted my January 6 Reflections In 2025 (which has gotten me canceled and applauded).

On Jan. 20, President Trump issued pardons:

• GRANTING PARDONS AND COMMUTATION OF SENTENCES FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES RELATING TO THE EVENTS AT OR NEAR THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6, 2021
• Washington Post article "Trump pardons almost all involved in Jan. 6 riot, commutes remaining 14 sentences: Trump ordered those still incarcerated to be released immediately from federal prison." #national_security
• Trump Pardons Nearly All January 6 Convicts (AllSides)

Unfortunately, these "mass pardons amount to an endorsement of election denialism and the use of violence for political gain."

And it does significant harm to the law enforcement heroes who had to endure the violence of these insurrectionists during the January 6, 2021, Capital Riot.

Only the brave should watch the documentary "Four Hours At The Capital" (YouTube, HBO) to see what these fine Americans were subjected to.

Updated (1/22/2025):

• The GOP’s stunning response to Trump pardoning those who assaulted police (Washington Post)
• Pardons from Biden and Trump flout the rule of law (Washington Post)
• Clemency for Oath Keepers, Proud Boys fuels extremism threat, experts say (Washington Post)
• What Are the Implications of Biden's Preemptive Pardons? (AllSides)

Recommendation - Burning Beard Brewery

I highly recommend Burning Beard Brewery in El Cajon, CA. Outstanding crafts beers and excellent food:

Two Devotions I Need More Of In My Walk

These two devotions came back to back. The first was on January 18 (Saturday):

And the second was from January 19 (Sunday):

These are from "You Can Count On God: 365 Devotions" by Max Lucado.