A Godly Pastor’s View of a Trump Rally.

Flaming word Trump in front of American flagI had read an article in the Washington Post yesterday about this man’s experiences at the ridiculous, nauseating 2020 Trump campaign rally that took place last weekend. (With his Presidency in utter turmoil, don’t ya think maybe Mr. Trump should, like, stay at the White House and read his briefing books?)

The Milo Mess

Milo Yiannopoulos lecturingphoto taken in 2013; credit: Wikipedia

​I don’t know, folks. This is all so completely weird that I can’t help but think I must have wandered over to an alternate political universe. Apparently not, though–unfortunately.

So, back last March when I first became interested in the current political scene (only a year ago! It seems like a decade), I went onto the Breitbart News website, since I vaguely knew that they were right-wing, or alt-right, or some such. There on the home page was a video embed for something called “The Milo Yiannopoulos Show.” The picture looked sorta . . . campy, like he’d just put on a fresh coat of lipgloss. Who on earth is that? I wondered. Why is he on this self-proclaimedly-conservative (whatever that may mean any more) website? His vibe seemed totally at variance with what I thought Breitbart was all about.

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Rush’s Rant about Michael Flynn

I mentioned yesterday that Rush Limbaugh had given a tortured defense of Michael Flynn. So I decided to analyze it somewhat, as it contains some classic ways to defend the indefensible. In short, it’s simply a piece of propaganda. I’ve gotten this material off of Breitbart, and since I’m using/quoting extensively from it I do feel I have to give the link, which I will do at the end of the article.

Let me make a general point first: You can tell a lot about the motives of someone by their tone and vocabulary. If you have to talk about “chum in the water” and being “”pig-sticking mad” and “political assassinations,” then you’re probably not on the side of sweet reasonableness.

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Spin, Spin, Spin!

​I’ve been thinking since the inauguration took place, and it started to become clear that this Presidency was in deep, deep trouble, that there was no way for Trump to last for four years. As the inimitable David Brooks has said, “After all, the guy will probably resign or be impeached within a year.” So, I thought, the AlwaysTrumpers will have to admit that they were wrong, right? And then maybe we can go about the business of rebuilding the tattered remnants of the Republican Party, or perhaps start a whole new one built upon true conservative principles.

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Yes, This IS Appalling.

Ronald Reagan must be spinning in his grave. I would encourage anyone who still thinks that we haven’t entered into some kind of alternate universe to read the following articles. Let me point out that this is on video and is an interview with a noted Water Carrier for Trump. There is no possible defense for these statements from our President.

Dangers of Whataboutism, Pt. 2

The subject for today is another episode concerning Whataboutisn, a fast-spreading disease that is eroding our ability to think logically and rationally.

Let me start with a hypothetical example. Let’s say that you went into a store planning to steal something. Just as you tuck the item inside your coat a security officer comes up and nabs you.“Wait a minute!” you say. “I’m not the only one who steals! What about that guy over in the next aisle? I just saw him take something, too!”

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The Source of Our Religious Liberty Is Not the President.

 

In his address at the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday morning, President Trump made one clear policy declaration: “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment.”

There are multiple issues with this one sentence from this woefully ignorant man we have so unwisely elected President.

1. He seems to think that he can just “get rid of” a law, not seeming to understand that he is in the executive branch of the government, not the legislative branch.

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Neil Gorsuch seems to be a great guy.

 

Too bad he’s been nominated by Donald Trump. And too bad he’s the replacement nominee for Merrick Garland.

The Trump administration is shaping up to be such a flaming disaster that anyone associated with it is going to be tarred with the same brush. In addition, Republicans are now going to pay the price for the hissy fit they pitched about a year ago when they refused to give Garland a hearing. What nonsense! They didn’t have to approve the guy, but they did owe him, and the President, an up-or-down vote. Now the question is, Will the Democrats respond in kind? It would be great if they didn’t, if they decided to act like grownups, but good luck with that!

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My Own Experience with Trumpism

As I look on the current political scene, mouth agape, I’m reminded of a similar situation I found myself in over 25 years ago when I was a teacher at a Christian school. Some of my readers will know perfectly well who the players involved are; there is nothing confidential in what I’m going to say. I think it’s instructive to look at an analogous situation and draw some lessons from it for the wider mess that is now enveloping our country.

We had had an excellent principal at this school who had served faithfully and well for 20 years. He was one of the finest Christian gentlemen it has been my privilege to know and the best boss I’ve ever had. But 20 years is a long time to deal with the constant headaches of being in his position, and he had wisely and proactively made plans to go on to a second career, that of college history professor. So the day came when he announced that the current school year would be his last. The hunt was one for his replacement.

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