Donald The Deplorable on Display
Watching the interview with real reporters, it is clear. Donald is a pathological liar. When confronted with the truth, he becomes unhinged. Donald final answer, lost in his cesspool answer is “Could be.” Donald was confronted with SOME his past racist attacks and his answer is “Could be,” America is better than Donald Trump.
The reporter’s questions expertly laid out the facts, and Donald attacked her.
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Rachel Scott, Correspondent ABC News: Mr. President, we so appreciate you giving us an hour of your time. I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today. You have false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former president Barack Obama, saying they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told congresswomen of color who were American citizens to go back to where they came from. You have used words like animal and rabbit to describe black district attorneys. You have attacked black journalists, calling them losers, saying their questions are stupid and racist. You have had dinner with a white supremacist at your resort. My question, now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you — why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?
Donald Trump
First of all, I don’t think I have ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, first question. You don’t even say “hello, how are you.” are you with a fake news network, a terrible network? I think it is disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country. I have done so much for the black population of this country, including employment. Including opportunity zones with senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, which is one of the greatest programs ever for black workers and black entrepreneurs. I have done so much. I say this — historically black colleges and universities were out of money. They were stone cold broke. And I saved them and I gave them long-term financing, and nobody else was doing it. I think it was a very rude introduction. I don’t know exactly why you would do something like that. Let me go a step further. I was invited here and i was told my opponent, whether it was Biden or Kamala — I was told my opponent was going to be here. It turns out my opponent is not here. You invited me under false pretenses, and then you said you can’t do it with zoom. Where is zoom? She is going to do it with zoom and she is not coming. And then you are half an hour late, just so we understand. They could not get their equipment working or something was wrong with the video feed. A very nasty question. I have answered the question. I have been the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln. That is my answer.
Scott: Better than President Johnson, who signed the voting rights? Donald: you are 35 minutes late because you could not get your equipment to work. In such a hostile manner, I think it is a disgrace.
Scott: let me ask a follow-up and we will move to other questions. Some of your own supporters, including republicans on capitol hill, have labeled vice president Kamala Harris, the first black and Asian American woman to serve on a major party ticket, as a DEI hire. Would you tell those supporters to stop it?
Donald: how do you define DEI?
Scott: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Donald: is that your definition? Could you give me a definition?
Scott: I am asking you a question, a very direct question.
Donald: Define it for me.
Scott: I just defined it for you. Do you believe that Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a black woman?
Donald: Now it is a little bit different. I have known her a long time, indirectly, not directly very much, and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I did not know she was black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn black, and now she wants to be known as black. Is she Indian or is she black?
Scott: She has always identified as black. She went to a black college.
Donald: She obviously does not. She was Indian all the way, and all of a sudden, she made a turn and became a black person. I think somebody should look into that, when you ask — you continue in a very hostile –
Scott: Do you believe that vice president kamala Harris is a DEI hire? Hire?
Donald: Could be. There are some.”
The Christian Vocation
If you are a Christian, Jesus told you your “vocation.” It does not matter if you are a man or a woman, an American or a Mexican, a worker or a CEO, straight or gay. Your actions speak louder than words. Your behavior shows what you believe, not the Church you attend. You can have a GED or a PhD. Whether you believe you are saved or not, you still have to face the Last Judge, the Final Boss. Are you going to listen to an NFL kicker or the Son of Man? Change my mind.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Trump Has the Reich Stuff
The Trump campaign propelled discussions of NAZIs into the news again. It released a video with a fake newspaper reporting a fictional Trump landslide and the future “creation of a unified Reich.” Overtly mimicking NAZI language is essential to Donald Trump’s appeal. Many Americans don’t want to face this reality.
What then is a NAZI? You need to look no farther than the words of Adolf Hitler. Hitler created the National Socialist Party and explained its platform in Mein Kampf (My Struggle, 1923). He wrote Mein Kampf in prison after he was convicted of leading a failed coup against the Weimar Republic.
Hitler designed National Socialism to destroy the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic was a representative, parliamentary democracy. It rose from the ashes of World War One.
The Second German Empire (Deutsches Reich) had committed suicide by joining Austria’s war against Serbia in 1914. The Reich found itself trapped between Russia and France. The Reich army collapsed under the weight of total war, and the Emperor (Kaiser) fled to the Netherlands.
In 1919 German parliamentary leaders were left to pick up the pieces and created a new constitution for a defeated Germany. The new constitution rested on multiparty elections, freedom of speech/press, and religious toleration. Feminists also gained rights for women to vote, earn money outside the home, and overall legal equality with men.
Hitler hated the Weimar Republic. His NAZI party sought to restore the traditional German Reich, a Third Reich. Restoration required National Socialism. Hitler’s “socialism”, however, had little in common with the Marxist idea of public ownership of resources, production, and distribution. In fact, Hitler blamed the Marxists and the Socialists for the collapse of the Empire in the First World War.
Hitler redefined “socialism” by combining it with “nationalism”. His definition is pretty simple to understand. It had nothing to do with economics and everything to do with racial purity.
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1923
Donald Trump’s lies about immigration tap directly into this NAZI rhetoric. Trump’s language is the Reich Stuff.
Donald Trump, December 2023
Trump, like Hitler, hates democratic institutions. He hates multiparty elections. He hates freedom of speech. He hates a multiethnic, free America. Trump scapegoats immigrants. Trump wants your permission to turn back the clock just like Hitler turned back the clock. Will you let him?
When is Easter?
Easter is a festival rooted in the Gospels and Exodus. In the Gospels, the Romans execute Jesus during the Jewish Passover feast. The Greek name is Paschal feast. The German word is Easter.
Exodus tells the Jews to celebrate the night the Angel of death “passed over” the Hebrew houses smeared with the blood of new born lambs. This was the last of the plagues and convinced the Pharaoh to liberate the Hebrews from slavery.
Since the Jews follow a lunar calendar, their year does not follow a regular patter like the Julian/Gregorian calendar. The Julian/Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar and more regular except for leap years. Muslims also use a lunar calendar. That is why Ramadan moves too.
The Jewish year begins with the first new moon after the Vernal equinox. Astrologers used to carefully watch and predict this celestial event. Sundown on that night begins the day of Nissan. It does not happen on the same day every year. It can be almost a month off.
Exodus requires an annual sacrificial lamb on the 14th of Nissan. That night Hebrews share a Seder meal and reflect on captivity and liberation. Three of the Gospels say that Jesus shared a Seder, broke bread and was betrayed. The next day the Romans hung him.
The fourth, and “youngest”, Gospel claims that Jesus was crucified on the 14th of Nissan, or the day of sacrificial lambs. This is a profound theological statement.
Jesus is the pascal lamb. He defeated death, not for a night, but for eternity.
The Catholic Church set the celebration of Easter as the first Sunday the Spring Equinox. After the Roman and Greek Orthodox Churches split, the Greek Orthodox Church refused to recognize Pope Gregory’s updated calendar and the days of the two calendar’s don’t line up anymore. They don’t have the same “Sundays”. For both Churches, it s a moveable feast.
Bonus: The Church in Jerusalem also created celebrations for Holy Week. These rituals follow the last week of Jesus. There are specific sites associated with these event.
Shrimp Tacos
Mixed about 1 1/2 cups plain Greek Yogurt
1 table spoon chili powder
1 table spoon garlic powder
1 table spoon paprika
1/2 table spoon chipotle powder
1/2 table spoon salt
1/4 table spoon cayenne
1 table spoon agave “gel”?
This was all late in the day. I put the shrimp in a zip lock for about 1 1/2 hrs
Grilled about 6 mins each side. high heat. .
I call it Indian/Cajun/Tex-Mex fusion
Civil War and Reconstruction
It seems there is a fundamental lack of knowledge about the American Civil War and Reconstruction.
*Why did the relationship breakdown? Slave owners wanted the right to EXPAND slavery. US voters elected Lincoln because he promised to stop the EXPANSION of slavery.
*Why did most of the Slave states attack the USA? They were the loser in the election, and they feared Lincoln would take away their heritage. White believed Lincoln and the Federal government would discriminate against them. They fought to preserve white supremacy. The slave owners designed the to protect white supremacy and slavery.
*What was the result of the Civil War? The USA strengthened the Union and diminished the power of state governments. To enter the Union, states that participated in the the insurrection had to A) give up race based slavery B) allow all men, including slaves, the same voting rights C) treat all persons born in the USA as a citizen with equal rights and due process D) bar insurrectionists from public office.
Feel free to watch a series of my lectures on the Civil War and Reconstruction. After watching, feel free enter a conversation.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQmKIT8SNRRZkgKuK0k4ChvTrCxkmNRiN&si=yk6ahU2yu_GJ-Sew
Trust
One of the big questions about “faith” is the modern use of the word. It has come to mean, especially in the Non-Darwinian states, “belief”. These Bible Belt Christians will whip you with the Bible and proclaim their own salvation because they believe Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior.
One of my favorite songs is Amazing Grace. It is beautiful and moving, but it also helps spread confusion about theological words.
It begins with “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!” Grace saves, but what is Grace. The word come from the French word “mercy.” God is kind and merciful.
The second verse takes it into a slightly different direction. “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!” Here we have two new paths to salvation: fear and belief. If you believe, grace will relieve your fear.
This emphasis in belief entered the Christian debate early. At the Council of Nicaea, the Roman Emperor Constantine wanted to use Christianity as a political force. He couldn’t use them if the Christian communities argued about beliefs.
Constantine called Christians together at Nicaea, and the leaders of the “Catholic”, or universal, church agreed on a creed. The English word comes from the first word of the Latin document: “credo”. It began with “I believe in one God…” and then introduced a whole heavenly host of complicated theological concepts.
Accepting the creed was the first step to entry into the Church and path of salvation. If we fast forward to the Twentieth Century, American evangelicals shortened this creed to “I believe Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior.”
The “faith” of the scripture, on the other hand, means “trust.” God told Abraham to leave Ur, and Abraham trusted God that it would turn out better. This life would be materially better not only for him, but his family and his descendants.
Jesus came from this “trust” tradition. He emphasized a radically different part of that tradition. Following in the footsteps of Amos, Jeremiah, and Isiah, Jesus preached that God heard the cry of the poor, the sick and the stranger.
The Jesus of the Gospels emphasized the trust commandments and asked his followers to self-sacrifice. If Christians sacrifice themselves, their lives will be better. This is the mystery of the cross. Feed the Hungry. Cloth the naked. Be kind to the stranger and immigrant. Love your enemy.
Your life might not get better immediately. In fact, you may suffer more in the short run. Christianity is NOT a prosperity message. Trust leads to a better eternal life. There is no way to prove what happens after death. You simply must trust. Love you neighbor.
Kissinger Paid for Nixon’s Reelection
Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon, like W Bush and Dick Cheney, lied about wars. They all threw American lives away to advance their political careers. They were deplorable before it wore a Red Hat.
Nixon and Kissinger conspired to prolong the war in Vietnam War. Their reason? Win an election. They traded American and Vietnamese lives to win an election.
Cost of Veteran’s Day
Western Europe hasn’t seen a war between states in 78 years. The United States hasn’t seen a war between states in 158 years. Peace is possible once politicians and people stop trying to control each other, stop trying to steal from each other and stop trying to cheat each other.
Liberty and Justice for all, not guns, create peace. Millions in Europe had to die to accept this lesson. Can’t we just learn from the dead? Your duck god and my chicken god might need to live off of our blood, or your duck flag and my chicken flag might demand a fresh grave, but Justice and Liberty allow us to Live, not rest, in Peace.
Please remember when you vote, you either Live with Liberty and Justice, or you die with control and bigotry. We can have a happy veterans day when there are no longer families grieving their dead relatives. Until then, we should allow remember what it costs to be a veteran.
