one scenario where Trump doesn’t go to hell, but his followers do and other comments

The better half gets a bit perturbed when I start making extreme comments, especially when God is involved, but right now I just cannot go much further. I am going to come back to this with an example of something to say that floored her and a discussion on the idea of once saved always saved. And throw in some other thoughts. 

Most everyone knows the Ten Commandments and the first two being I am the Lord thy God and Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. Probably not exactly the Hebrew you were expecting, but according to most scholars this sums it up in the ole English kind of way. So, here is the deal. Way too many followers of Trump treat him like a deity. Some have said or it has been put out there he is the chosen one. Well anyone that even has a remote clue of the above should already recognize the problems for the people who are bat poop crazy for Mr. Trump. They are breaking the first two commandments in one fantastical way. Now Trump isn’t. He hasn’t acknowledged himself as being a God, nor acknowledged he is the chosen one. Sure he basks in the glory of it all, but have you heard him say all his followers are right? So it does beg the question if Trump hadn’t broken pretty much all the other Commandments already; would he not go to hell, but his followers would. Just a thought. 

And so many of his followers also seem to be part of the Christian faiths that believe once save always saved. So I did a few minute internet research on that phrase and based on what I found or didn’t find, there isn’t much in the Bible to support that philosophy. 

I found two that comes close:

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16 And this is a stretch to attribute to always saved.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29

And there maybe a few others, but other than these two that might touch on the idea of once saved always saved, well there were multitudes that read more like these:

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 

1 Corinthians 10:12

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. John 15:6

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. Hebrews 6:4-6

Or can you be saved again?: My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20, yet this isn’t once saved always saved in concept. 

Overall salvation or being saved in general are the primary references, but they do not state specifically that once save always saved. In fact, most follow the most famous John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” which verifies you can be saved, but doesn’t touch on it is a blank ticket afterwards. 

And take heed I am not a Biblical scholar I was doing scatter shot research to find out in general what is said about once saved always saved. So I could be proven wrong, but from what I do know and have learned, I have not seen much evidence that this is what is taught to us by God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit.

So going back to the Trump followers, they might want to reread a bit before they put Trump before all others especially God. 

And I am much more conservative than I lead on most times. You might have read me say pro-life is from conception to natural death. And so many of the actions of people who call themselves pro-life, perturb me. So one day as I was listening to someone speak about Trump and pro-life as if they go together it hit me to say, would you vote for the devil if he said he was pro-life? Just a question. Yet, one the better half had quite a difficult moment with me. 

And speaking of stand up guys, how about: Brad Raffensperger, Brian Kemp, Ryan Germany, Geoff Duncan, Gabriel Sterling and a vast multitude of election officials, all of which should be getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom instead of Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan. All the election officials in the infamous swing states and especially the ones in Georgia. Here they are Republicans, yet still fighting for what is right against their own party leader. These are the men that should earn the highest awards in our country. They deserve it so much more so than those two bootlickers. Sheesh.

And God only knows what is about to happen if Georgia elects two Democratic Senators, no matter how good of a job they do. No one should go through the levels of hell Trump is putting them through just because Trump is anything but a grown man. Again some of his followers need to do a bit of reading before they come out and say anything if they put one man over another and if so exactly what are they doing. (hint see above)

God save the Constitution, the Constitution is dying and by Thursday morning we are going to find out how close is the grim reaper. 

No cheers tonight folks, time to hold on tight and say a little prayer for this country if you are so inclined. 

Trumpism, we know the problem, what is the solution

 Happy New Year all

Millions upon millions of good hardworking value conscious Americans have gone completely bat poop crazy. Why? Actually this has been discussed, primarily on liberal channels but it does need mentioning.

The collapse of real conservatism began decades ago, but really hit it’s stride with the advent of Fox News. Fox News began convincing the conservative audience that only policies that promoted corporate capitalism were the true conservative policies. Sure they promoted a few social positions, but mainly the protection of large corporations and the rich were the protection of conservative values which began a road to cognitive dissonance in a large portion of their audience. And this was intended no matter what Mr. Murdoch says. 

Large swaths of the American people were told by supporting these policies their values and livelihoods would be protected and grow. Well for the working and middle class it didn’t and what is known as the wealth gap grew and grew. Yet day after day these same hard working Americans were fed the same lie over and over again.

Eventually they began to realize things were not getting better for them and slowly were getting worse. The one percent had built a huge firewall of protection with their support for years and the massive lobbying in Congress they had done over the same time. Now this audience understood something was wrong, but because of the constant lies and disinformation they had been fed for years they didn’t know who was their true enemy. The years of hearing the Democrats were  bad, socialism was bad and the Democrats were out to get them added up. Yes, the Democrats are clueless and have not had a new policy idea since the 1960′s, but they are not the enemy. It came to the point where you couldn’t tell a significant portion of Fox News viewers this though. The Democrats being the enemy had become ingrained into their heads. And the word enemy was important. 

Yet they were feeling the disconnect. For all the talk the Republicans spoke of being on their side they were beginning to realize something was amiss. They couldn’t put their finger on it, but still felt it. And then along comes Donald Trump, who basically told them what they were ready to hear. Washington was against them and that was the Democrats fault; the Republicans needed him to drain the swamp and fix what was wrong with Washington; and eventually bring back the promises the Republican party had been saying all along and that Mr. Trump was the man to do it. He had some vague policy pronouncements, understood their anger and went to town.

Now four years later, the disconnect has so destroyed all these basically good people’s brains so completely they are hallucinating that madness is the answer. 

This is not a unique analysis and has been addressed in various articles, opinion pieces and by talking heads for a few years now. And most of these by people more well versed than I, or at least paid like it. The problem is none of these people offer clues as to how to fix the problem. Or at least that I have seen that seem pragmatic.  

And as you know I have been the living experiment of the question if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there, does it make a sound. I have been screaming we need new parties for decades, but apparently I am the tree in the woods and no one is hearing the sound. Enough of my whining though.

We need new parties, however for right now one will do. And yes the obvious is we need a new centrist to moderately conservative party to bring back or maybe for the first time ever produce true public policy that benefits that vast majority of Americans and the country as a whole over the few. This party, along with better public policy, would be charged with two unspoken tasks. 

Slowly but surely start the rebuilding of trust that many of the Trump supporters lost in our government and even in their fellow countrymen. This will not be easy and will not happen overnight. In fact most of the rebuilding of our democracy may take at least ten years to a generation and the faster we can start showing people rational governance is still possible the faster we can start rebuilding this trust. 

And then no matter how good the policy becomes, be prepared to ride out years of absolute madness. The policy should be aimed at building up the economy for the working and middle class and quickly to help overcome the feeling of alienation most Trump supporters were beginning to feel from what was said by the Republican party versus what was happening to them. The madness will continue until enough start to feel this change. Then over time begin to whither away. 

Their cognitive dissonance runs deeper than an alpine lake and is just as cold. Warming them up for new ideas will not be easy. And the best way to do that is to start immediately creating new policies that have immediate impacts on the average Americans’ lives. 

The problems we face are Joe Biden is not an immediate answer as President for change, the Democrats really do not have a strong base to coalesce around (they have always been a hodgepodge of various sub groups), neither party has any practical public policy that effects positively the economy long term for the working and middle class, and the establishment in Washington of both parties has no real desire for change since they are caught up in their own power greed. McConnell and Pelosi both should have been gone as leaders a long time ago. And yet right now, if they step down we have massive Trump insanity on one side fighting to take over and a few Representatives who are pulling the Democrats too far to the left to be productive in fixing our current debacle.

So, we need a new party that is made up of a whole host of people who care more about the future of this country, democracy (okay representative republicanism), and understand they are facing large groups of this country who are brainwashed beyond belief. Yeah, put that in your pipe and smoke it. The air is going to be foul and no matter how many windows we open the stench is going to take a long time to clear. And do not get me wrong, it is not the people that is the stench, but the lies they were told, the power grabs, the greed, and much more that has hung over Washington for so long that needs to go. Basically this new party will need to fulfill the Trump promise of draining the swamp as part of the plan. And those in the swamp will fight just as hard to stay in power as the good Americans Trump and his sycophants fooled are fighting to keep him in power. 

Crazy enough for you yet? 

Yet, if you, like me, still love this country and what it promises, please look to help with the changes and the first is to split off from both major parties and begin the work this country needs to survive. I have written in this blog a whole of host policy ideas. Whether or not they are the best I am not sure, but all of them are designed to change the trajectory of who benefits the most from government policies versus the few that do now. So my challenge to you is: time to put up, don’t shut up and let us find the answers we need. I have proposed a few, lets start looking to see what can work or what better ideas you can have.

Cheers

What!? 2021 didn’t automatically make everything better

 So the fog in Dallas obscured the view of Reunion Tower’s Firework show. Somewhat weird to watch fog turn multi colored from a distance and the flares shooting out from an unseen source.

Have a safe, blessed, prosperous and happy New Year.

Cheers and Merry 8th day of Christmas

Merry fifth day of Christmas

 Well, been extremely busy for 90% of the time and extremely lazy the other ten percent of the time. So guess what gets laid to the wayside.

I hope you had a wonderful, joyful and safe Christmas and I wish you a Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year. 

Things have been crazy and way too many topics to catch up in one day, yet we will discuss all that has happened, will happen, what we didn’t expect or forget it all on another day, for now relax, find a safe spot to chill for the rest of the year and stay out of harms way.

Cheers

Headlines and comments

 Okay earlier today I saw a story that there are people living in Palm Beach who are suing to keep Trump from living at Mar-a-Lago. 

Trump homeless? We all know that won’t happen, but that is hilarious to think about. I am not one to wish bad upon people, but the irony of just the thought is worth a moment.

And then to my amazement there was a story that says Dr. Fauci was making comments about how strange of a virus is Covid 19. And I am looking for a date on this story, yet it was from yesterday I think. We have all known this virus was crazy months ago. Why is he all of a sudden saying we need to study why some people get sick and others don’t? Seriously, they should have started this study in April. Anyway I was caught off guard by him having this epiphany publicly.

Oh and I really want to start a whole of host my own conspiracies. I have made half baked attempts in the past, but conspiracies have gotten so out of hand we should have contest or something. And I want to join in. Apparently they are real easy if you know the right crowd. It is crazy. Which is worst? The virus or the conspiracies and just like the virus conspiracies infect some and not others. That is another study that needs to be done even though most of us already know the answer. Kinda leads to that ole phrase an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

Stay safe, stay warm, stay sane

Just like so many others

 Our illustrious Attorney General William Barr realizes Trump isn’t who he thought he was or wasn’t who he wanted him to be.

I am guessing has realized this a bit longer ago than he is letting on.

Mr. Barr resigned today and even earned some accolades from the President as he heads out the door. All that doesn’t matter though. Mr. Barr joins a growing list of ex staffers, ex supporters who thought they were supporting someone who was going to do something or had a real conservative agenda.

The President never had a clue to what an agenda is and now Mr. Barr can decide how he wants history to judge him. Does he go quietly and let bygones be bygones or do we hear “book deal” in the background? I doubt we see a book though. Mr. Barr is probably going somewhere to lick his wounds and figure out another way to create the ultimate power in the Presidency. Trump let him down as he lets the country down. For Mr. Barr though there had been hope of a new era in the Presidency, now he is looking over his shoulder at the tattered dreams he had as had so many other people who never fully drank the kool aid have realized. 

The next few days will be interesting for Mr. Barr as he winds down to “leaving for the holidays”. When Barr said there was no election fraud, you caught a peek at his resignation and now it is in full view. And again I think he was out the door long before the election. I don’t like his policies, but he is a man with a plan and a brain and he saw the writing on the wall like most of us did months ago. He just couldn’t move because he was holding out hope Trump might turn things around and win. And if so, he could go back to re-imaging the Presidency in ways he has dreamt for years. Now, history won’t be kind and Biden’s Presidency will set back his dreams a few years if not for much much longer. 

Trump ain’t quiting yet, but for Mr. Barr the time has come and gone.

Stay safe

I want to apologize

 for Ken Paxton, I’m not, but I want to, no not really.

I didn’t vote for him so he is not my responsibility, yet those that did vote for him are cheering him on. Why you ask?

Damn good question. I wish I had the answer because it is more than mind boggling the hold Donald Trump has on so many people in this country. 

I am more conservative than Donald Trump and have been for decades, yet “conservatives” seem to think he represents them. Any real conservative knows the truth about him, yet somehow millions of Americans are blinded by something Donald has that no one else seems to have. Thank goodness I do not have it. 

Some need to be told what to do by a strong leader would be one thought or reason, but he isn’t really strong. He whines excessively and makes lots of noises, but he is not strong. 

He has no agenda. He has no pie in the sky ideas. Paul Ryan then Mitch McConnell used him to get a few things they wanted, but Mr. Trump has not produced any public policy. Sure he played with Tonka toys on the border sand and some semblance of a wall exists in certain areas, but policy??? Even his wall is a failed concept and does not actually produce any results. Illegal immigration goes on. So his actions do not benefit his supporters.

So why do millions of Americans believe this crazy notion that the election was stolen from him? There is no proof whatsoever. None or none they have produced, yet these millions of Americans cannot seem to get past this notion there was fraud, the election was stolen and their world is going to fall apart. It isn’t, but that doesn’t stop the belief.

One iota of a factor is they feel downtrodden because the big ole world is out to get them and steal their livelihoods. Now this is a concern, but the real crooks stealing their livelihoods is the same swamp Trump promised to get rid of. Instead the swamp got bigger and Mitch McConnell makes the swamp monster from the 1950′s look like a catch.

So why am I saying the obvious, there is nothing new to say here. Most rational people have watched this develop for the last nine months and expected this madness. So what gives? 

What gives is how do we hold the Trump and his gang of four (plus) responsible for their actions without alienating his supporters or base? Seriously we need to somehow find a way to move them forward. That is one problem, but the more pressing problem is how do we hold Trump responsible? Somehow the Supreme Court needs to hear his cases or Paxton’s case or whatever and read them the riot act on National TV. I mean have them look all these lawyers in the eyes and say put up or shut up and if you don’t put up and then don’t shut up there is a cost you have to pay because that is the root of the problem. They can do all this madness because there are no consequences for destroying democracy. None. Nothing. They can wash rinse repeat this madness forever. 

Someone has to say you can’t burn down the house, scream fire, watch as everyone riots in the streets and not be held accountable. So we need real consequences for these actions. AGs need to be disbarred, Rudy, Jenna and now Eastman need to be disbarred, all these politicians that keep shouting fraud with no proof need to be sued for trillions of dollars, yes trillions, put them in debt to the American public. Heck they aren’t protecting us anyway, might as well have them pay our bills. And this money cannot come from the government, but from their pockets. I know I am exaggerating, but the consequences need to hurt them so it will make future fascists think a bit before they might act. 

The only fraud is the fraud of Trump and his minions lying to the American public about fraud. And that needs to stop and again they need to be held accountable in ways that it hurts them or otherwise they will destroy democracy and for what? One man’s ego. How sad is that? There needs to be razor sharp teeth in the consequences for this destruction of the country we all love, even most of the people that support Trump. Can you spell sadly ironic with capital letters? I am talking money and jail time here folks. 

And on a side note; is Paxton just trying to make sure he gets a pardon since he is under indictment for securities fraud?. How sad is that?

So I won’t apologize for him even though I am from Texas. A true Texan would never have fallen in such lock step. The root of Texas is being independent, not kowtowing to a very weak demagogue. And this last paragraph goes for little Teddy Cruz also. That man is so not a Texan.