Europeans Charged With “Disparaging Religious Doctrines” for Criticizing Islam…Could That Happen Here?

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

 

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This Sunday Morning, before I share my thoughts, I would to share the following op ed which I read on ChristianPost.com, written by John Stonestreet and G. Shane Morris. I found it to be very interesting.

We think of Europe as secular, progressive, and confidently post-religious. But try criticizing Islam.

Should governments be in the business of protecting people’s feelings? Most Americans, I think would say no. The European Court of Human Rights, however, thinks otherwise. In a historic move last month, the international court affirmed a conviction by a lower court in Vienna against a right-wing speaker who criticized the prophet Muhammad.

Identified only as “E.S.,” the woman, at a seminar in Vienna in 2009, described the founder of Islam as a “pedophile.” According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was in his fifties when he married his third wife, Aisha, who was six years old at the time. Tradition also says Muhammad waited to consummate their union until the girl was nine.

For describing this relationship in direct though accurate terms, “E.S.” was reported to Austrian authorities, who charged her with “publicly disparaging religious doctrines,” which, believe it or not, is illegal in that country. The Austrian court convicted, describing her statement as “a malicious violation of the spirit of tolerance,” which was “capable of hurting the feelings” of Muslims, and of putting religious peace in Europe at risk.

After a lengthy appeal, the European Court of Human Rights reaffirmed this troubling verdict, ruling that the speaker’s remarks about Muhammad were not only “without factual basis,” but went “beyond the permissible limits of an objective debate,” thereby putting religious peace in jeopardy. So, peace is in jeopardy because Muhammad is critiqued, and not because of how his followers react to the critique?

Set aside for a moment the factual basis of Muhammad’s treatment of his nine-year-old child bride, and the fact that child brides are still shockingly common throughout the Muslim world. The rationale behind these rulings is genuinely scary for another reason.

This idea that speech should be illegal because it threatens “religious peace” is a capitulation to religious violence. Islamic extremists are well known for rioting and even killing whenever they believe someone has “insulted” the prophet Muhammad. Exhibit A: Asia Bibi, the woman who was just acquitted by the Pakistani supreme court and taken off death row, where she sat for eight years after an alleged slight against the founder of Islam. Bibi now faces the very real possibility of retaliation or assassination by Pakistani radicals and remains trapped in the country.

What the European Court of Human Rights has essentially done is enact a blasphemy law like Pakistan’s, only in the West! Extremists who get violent over perceived insults have been granted veto power over citizens’ free speech. This, just a few years after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in which twelve people—including journalists—were gunned down in Paris over cartoons mocking (ironically!) the violent tendencies of Muhammad and many of his followers.

If guarantees to freedom of speech—which Europe has—do not include the right to say offensive things about religion, such guarantees are not worth the paper they’re written on. If anyone can shut someone else up simply by complaining of hurt feelings, your society is a dictatorship of the easily offended, not free. Caving to the threat of violence will ultimately embolden the violent, not appease them.

Protecting members of a minority religion from hurt feelings is unique to the West. Islamic extremists take advantage of Europe’s indulgence, demanding legal penalties against anyone who criticize Islam. They won’t, of course, ever return the favor. In countries like Saudi Arabia—the birthplace of Islam—a Muslim who converts to Christianity still, to this day, faces the death penalty.

Of course, religious tolerance and free speech arise historically from only one religion, and it isn’t the one founded by Muhammad. Those who think giving up freedom of speech will preserve peace in the long term aren’t insulting our religion. Just our intelligence.

Very well written and spot on, isn’t it?

European Leaders have surrendered their countries and culture to Islamic “Migrants”.

They should have listened to United States President Ronald Reagan when he warned that

To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last – but eat you he will.

If America’s Far left Democratic Party had their way, we would be in the same position as Europe.

Lord knows, Former President Barack Hussein Obama tried….but he failed. And, there is a good reason why he did.

Islam and Christianity present two very different Deities, who may share some similarities, but who have different identities and ultimately different standards. To pretend they are the same is not only to be clueless of the faith of 75% of the citizens of this nation, but, to be ignorant of an integral part of our American Heritage, the legacy of Christian Faith, which our Founding Fathers bequeathed us.

Back when he was a Republican Presidential Candidate Hopeful, Dr. Ben Carson, got a lot of attention from hang-wringing Liberals in the Main Stream Media, the Democratic Party and among the Vichy Republicans, also, when he said that a Muslim should never be President of the United States of America., because Sharia Law is incompatible with The United States Constitution.

He was absolutely right.

The Center For Security Policy issued the following PDF, ” “Sharia Law Vs. The Constitution”,

Article VI: The Constitution is the supreme law of the land

  • Constitution: Article VI: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby”
  • Shariah: “The source of legal rulings for all acts of those who are morally responsible is Allah.” (a1.1, Umdat al-salik or The Reliance of the Traveller, commonly accepted work of Shariah jurisprudence); “There is only one law which ought to be followed, and that is the Sharia.” (Seyed Qutb); “Islam wishes to destroy all states and governments anywhere on the face of the earth which are opposed to the ideology and program of Islam regardless of the country or the nation which rules it. The purpose of Islam is to set up a State on the basis of its own ideology and program.” (Seyed Abul A’ala Maududi)

First Amendment: Freedom of religion

  • Constitution: First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ”
  • Shariah: “Those who reject Islam must be killed. If they turn back (from Islam), take hold of them and kill them wherever you find them.” Quran 4:89 ; “Whoever changed his [Islamic] religion, then kill him” Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:84:57.  In historic and modern Shariah states, Shariah law enforces dhimmi status (second-class citizen, apartheid-type laws) on nonMuslims, prohibiting them from observing their religious practices publicly, building or repairing churches, raising their voices during prayer or ringing church bells; if dhimmi laws are violated in the Shariah State, penalties are those used for prisoners of war: death, slavery, release or ransom.(o9.14, o11.0-o11.11, Umdat al-salik).

First Amendment: Freedom of speech   

  • Constitution: First Amendment: Congress shall not abridge “the freedom of speech.”  
  • Shariah: Speech defaming Islam or Muhammad is considered “blasphemy” and is punishable by death or imprisonment.

First Amendment: Freedom to dissent

  • Constitution: First Amendment: “Congress cannot take away the right of the people “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” 
  •  Shariah: Non-Muslims are not to harbor any hostility toward the Islamic state or give comfort to those who disagree with Islamic government.

Second Amendment: Right to self-defense

  • Constitution: Second Amendment: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” 
  • Shariah: Under historic and modern dhimmi laws, non-Muslims cannot possess swords, firearms or weapons of any kind.

Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Amendments: Right to due process and fair trial

  • Constitution: Fifth Amendment: “no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime… without due process of law.”  Sixth Amendment: guarantees a “public trial by an impartial jury.”  Seventh Amendment: “the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.”
  • Shariah: Hadith Sahih al-Bukhari: Muhammad said, “No Muslim should be killed for killing a Kafir (infidel).”  Non-Muslims are prohibited from testifying against Muslims.  A woman’s testimony is equal to half of a man’s.

Eighth Amendment: No cruel and unusual punishment 

  • Constitution: Eighth Amendment: “nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
  • Shariah: Under Shariah punishments are barbaric: “Cut off the hands of thieves, whether they are male or female, as punishment for what they have done – a deterrent from Allah.” Quran 5:38; A raped woman is punished:”The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication – flog each of them with a hundred stripes” (Sura 24:2).

Fourteenth Amendment: Right to equal protection and due process 

  • Constitution:  Fourteenth Amendment: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. “
  • Shariah: Under dhimmi laws enforced in modern Shariah states, Jews, Christians and other non-Muslims are not equal to Muslims before the law.  Under Shariah law, women, girls, apostates, homosexuals and “blasphemers” are all denied equality under the law. 

Given this incompatibility between Sharia Law and the Constitution of the United States of America, which our Freedom and our System of Laws are based upon, if given the choice, which would Muslims currently living in the Land of the Free and the home of the Brave choose to be faithful to?

Back on June 23, 2015, the Center for Security Policy released the following findings for a poll they took of 600 Muslims, who current live in America.

The numbers of potential jihadists among the majority of Muslims who appear not to be sympathetic to such notions raise a number of public policy choices that warrant careful consideration and urgent debate, including: the necessity for enhanced surveillance of Muslim communities; refugee resettlement, asylum and other immigration programs that are swelling their numbers and density; and the viability of so-called “countering violent extremism” initiatives that are supposed to stymie radicalization within those communities.

Overall, the survey, which was conducted by The Polling Company for the Center for Security Policy (CSP), suggests that a substantial number of Muslims living in the United States see the country very differently than does the population overall.  The sentiments of the latter were sampled in late May in another CSP-commissioned Polling Company nationwide survey.

According to the just-released survey of Muslims, a majority (51%) agreed that “Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah.”  When that question was put to the broader U.S. population, the overwhelming majority held that shariah should not displace the U.S. Constitution (86% to 2%).

More than half (51%) of U.S. Muslims polled also believe either that they should have the choice of American or shariah courts, or that they should have their own tribunals to apply shariah. Only 39% of those polled said that Muslims in the U.S. should be subject to American courts.

These notions were powerfully rejected by the broader population according to the Center’s earlier national survey.  It found by a margin of 92%-2% that Muslims should be subject to the same courts as other citizens, rather than have their own courts and tribunals here in the U.S.

Even more troubling, is the fact that nearly a quarter of the Muslims polled believed that, “It is legitimate to use violence to punish those who give offense to Islam by, for example, portraying the prophet Mohammed.”

By contrast, the broader survey found that a 63% majority of those sampled said that “the freedom to engage in expression that offends Muslims or anybody else is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and cannot be restricted.”

Nearly one-fifth of Muslim respondents said that the use of violence in the United States is justified in order to make shariah the law of the land in this country.

In conclusion, I am not saying that every Muslim is on a jihad against “the infidels”, and, wish to invade our Sovereign Nation and over-throw our Government.

However, there is a difference between being an average Christian American and a Muslim, living in America.

When Christians become “radicalized”, we want to share the testimony of what God has done for us through His love, with everyone we meet. We get involved in our local church and we become better fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and American Citizens.

When Muslims become “radicalized”, they want to “kill the Infidels” in the name of “Allah the Merciful”.

In the case of the Chechen Muslim brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon, their immersion into Radical Islam led them to “kill the infidels” that horrendous day.

In the case of the barbarians of ISIS, it turned them into doppelgangers of the Nazi Butchers of Dachau.

For Liberal leaders in both Europe and America to deny that, is disingenuous at best, and just plain dangerous at worst.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

Trump Leads Charge Against UN’s Migration Agenda as Other Nations Withdraw From Compact

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

U.S. President Donald visits St. Louis, Missouri to speak about tax reform

“When do you see the United Nations solving problems? They don’t. They cause problems. So, if it lives up to the potential, it’s a great thing. And if it doesn’t, it’s a waste of time and money.” – United States President Donald J. Trump

FoxNews.com reports that

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. is leading the charge in pushing back against the U.N.’s migration agenda — a move that is picking up support from other countries and giving political cover to those seeking to join them.

The Trump administration announced last December that it would withdraw from the U.N.’s Global Migration Compact — due to be adopted by an intergovernmental conference in Morocco next month. Then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson argued last year that the compact could undermine America’s right to enforce its immigration laws and secure its borders.

“The United States supports international cooperation on migration issues, but it is the primary responsibility of sovereign states to help ensure that migration is safe, orderly, and legal,” Tillerson said.

The U.S. was the first country to withdraw, but it was soon followed by a stream of other countries pulling out of the non-binding compact, officially called the “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.” Hungary, Poland, Austria, Australia and Israel have all since announced they will not sign the accord, citing concerns that it will limit the ability of countries to set and enforce their own immigration policies.

“We are committed to guarding our borders against illegal migrants,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week. “This is what we have done and this is what we will continue to do.”

“We believe that the Compact is inconsistent with our well-established policies and not in Australia’s interest,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement this week. “The Compact fails to adequately distinguish between people who enter Australia illegally and those who come to Australia the right way, particularly with respect to the provision of welfare and other benefits.”

U.N. General Assembly President Maria Espinosa on Wednesday defended the compact and said it also gave countries flexibility to shape their own migration policies.

“The Compact allows enormous flexibility for countries to use the parts of the compact that can be adapted to their sovereign decisions and existing legal frameworks…it is a cooperation instrument,” she said at a press conference this week.

The accord consists of 23 objectives for managing migration at “local, national, regional and global levels.” But many of those aims are vague, including objectives like: “enhance availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration” and “address and reduce vulnerabilities in migration.”

James Jay Carafano, a national security analyst at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News that the U.S. is right to be skeptical of global compacts that may seek to establish broad global norms, like a right to migrate, in part because they can encourage further dangerous migration and international instability.

“I think it’s actually a courageous act of American leadership where America is not just looking out for itself for but the world as a whole,” he said.

Carafano pointed to the recent migrant caravan moving through Honduras and Guatemala, and through Mexico toward the U.S., which the Trump administration has been eager to block from entering the U.S., and also forced migrations out of countries such as Syria and Libya.

“Now people want to create a right for anyone to have a right to global migration, which could create all kinds of problems,” he said.

Just as back in Washington, President Trump is calling for action against the incoming migrant caravan, at the U.N, the U.S. is expressing concern about the direction of a separate global compact — this time on refugees, over fears it too could infringe on a government’s sovereignty to control its own borders.

“The United States believes it is the primary responsibility of sovereign states to ensure that migration is managed consistent with each nation’s domestic laws and policies, and its international obligations,” a U.S. official told Fox News. “A government’s first duty is to its citizens – to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values.”

Isn’t it great to have a President stands up for America’s rights as a Sovereign Nation against the tyranny of the United Nations?

While Barack Hussein Obama held the Office of the President of the United States of America, he was bound and determined to make America into just another nation, assigning American Exceptionalism to the trash heap of  history. His pure ignorance to America’s place in the world was overwhelming. Obama’s bowing and scraping, like a leader of a country who occupied a subservient position to nations filled with barbarians, who would slit every American’s throat, if given the chance, was a stunning example of this naiveté and downright ignorance.

After terrorists murdered four Americans at the US Embassy Compound in Benghazi, Libya, Obama stepped in front of the General Assembly of United Nations, like a little school boy, repeating the lie which he and his staff concocted, that it was some little unwatched Youtube Video that caused the Muslims’ actions over there.

There is a reason that the Headquarters of the United Nations is in New York City in New York State in the United States of America.

We are not their servants. In fact, the United Nations would not exist if not for America.

Obama’s acquiescence to the United Nations emboldened that body to believe that THEY were our, forgive the term, “Masters”.

The United States of America is a Sovereign Nation, created by the blood, sweat, and tears of men and women, who rise above those who do not believe in American Exceptionalism and our Sovereignty as a Free Nation, in stature, honor, integrity, and courage to the point where those who are the enemies of our country, Foreign and DOMESTIC, are not even fit enough to tie their boots.

We are an “independent state”, completely independent and self-governing. We bow to no other country on God’s green Earth. We are beholden to no other nation. America stands on its own, with our own set of laws, the most important of which is The Constitution of the United States, which guarantees us, as a Free People, the right to determine our own destiny, both individually, and, as a free people.

We are Americans.

We man up and we handle our own problems.

These illegal migrants are being purposefully sent to “radically change” America, just as the Muslim Migration into Europe has overtaken several countries’ cultures.

Only by standing up to the thug nations represented at the UN, like President Trump and Ambassador Haley have, will America be respected, and left alone, as the Sovereign Nation that we are.

Instead of bowing and scraping before the United Nations as his predecessor did, President Trump is leading by example and other nations are finding the courage to stand up for their own sovereignty against the U.N., as well.

America is no nation’s doormat, nor should we be their piggy bank.

It is a breath of fresh air to have a President who is putting AMERICA FIRST.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Hillary Lectures Europeans About Immigration, Says “Rightwing Populists” “Want to Be Told What to Do”

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

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We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked and circumventing the line pf people who are waiting patiently, diligently and lawfully to become immigrants in this country,” – Senator Barack Hussein Obama, (D-IL), 2005

FoxNews.com reports that

Hillary Clinton has issued frank advice to European leaders: If you want to stop the rise of rightwing populists then get a handle on your immigration crisis. 

Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, said during an interview with The Guardian that the one million migrants and refugees that have flooded into the European Union since 2015 have thrust immigration into the spotlight and fueled the rise of hardline leaders around the globe. And while she praised German chancellor Angela Merkel for her compassion, she cautioned that countries can’t leave the door open forever.

“I think Europe needs to get a handle on migration because that is what lit the flame,” Clinton said regarding the rise of rightwing populists like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.

Clinton added: “I admire the very generous and compassionate approaches that were taken particularly by leaders like Angela Merkel, but I think it is fair to say Europe has done its part, and must send a very clear message – ‘we are not going to be able to continue provide refuge and support’ – because if we don’t deal with the migration issue it will continue to roil the body politic.”

Clinton was one of three politicians interviewed by the Guardian, along with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, about the rise of rightwing populism and what center-left politicians are struggling to combat it.

…Clinton singled out President Trump’s use of immigration as an issue to rally his base of support on the campaign trail and as one of the reasons she lost to him in the 2016 presidential race.

“The use of immigrants as a political device and as a symbol of government gone wrong, of attacks on one’s heritage, one’s identity, one’s national unity has been very much exploited by the current administration here,” she said. “There are solutions to migration that do not require clamping down on the press, on your political opponents and trying to suborn the judiciary, or seeking financial and political help from Russia to support your political parties and movements.”

The three former world leaders also argued that rightwing politics was able to rise not just because it latched on to an anti-immigration agenda, but because of its disruptive style of politics that highlights divisions. Blair said that more mainstream politicians will struggle to get heard over the simple, emotional language used by populists and that they need to find a way to cut through the soundbites that make the headlines.

And while the three global figures said they believed that populism was near its peak and people were beginning to see its faults, none could pinpoint a reason why populist leaders have been so successful over the past few years.

“The whole American system was designed so that you would eliminate the threat from a strong, authoritarian king or other leader and maybe people are just tired of it,” Clinton said. “They don’t want that much responsibility and freedom. They want to be told what to do and where to go and how to live … and only given one version of reality.”

She added: “I don’t know why at this moment that is so attractive to people, but it’s a serious threat to our freedom and our democratic institutions, and it goes very deep and very far and we’ve got to do a better job of shining a light on it and trying to combat it.”

Evidently, “rightwing populists” is Liberal-speak for “nationalists” or “patriots”.

Liberals like Hillary have got to be the most naïve people on God’s green Earth.

Either that, or they want to see nations fall to barbaric invaders.

Europe has learned a hard lesson about letting “the snake” came into your house to live with you. Liberals like Germany’s Angela Merkel have become hated within their own countries for allow the Muslim Migration which started in 2015 to run over their Sovereign Nations to the point that European women are literally afraid to go outside.

I realize that Liberals like Hillary and Merkel look down their noses at average patriotic citizens in their respective countries, but even they could not be stupid enough to believe that barbarians with strange customs and a lack of morality and personal hygiene would be welcome to invade Europe or America and radically change our countries into the ones they left behind.

And, where does she get off saying that “rightwing populists” “want to be told what to do and where to go and how to live … and only given one version of reality?”

That’s the biggest case of deflection since the movie “Deep Impact” where the spaceship knocked the meteor headed toward Earth off course.

Oh, and Hillary…reality is not subjective.

They really need to adjust your medication.

You and your fellow Far Left Democrats need to start smelling what you’re shoveling.

What average Americans and Europeans, as well, are using is called in the Bible “a spirit of discernment”.

And that makes perfect sense because…

Heaven has a gate…and a vetting system.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

Thanksgiving 2018: A Time for Americans to Count Our Many Blessings

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

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Thanksgiving Day.

Simply saying the words to myself brings back a flood of precious memories…memories of Thanksgivings past, as a child, surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins, my sisters, and my Mother and Daddy…smells of sage dressing and oven-roasted turkey…followed by the feeling of having an over-stuffed stomach…all topped by the sounds of laughter and the sight of my aunts and uncles, all members of America’s Greatest Generation, being led in a penny-ante poker game after the Thanksgiving meal by my Daddy, the finest man I have ever known…all of them enjoying each other’s company as they reveled in the wonderful completeness of being a family.

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American Holiday…as unique as the nation which celebrates it.

In 1621, a small group of Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared a feast celebrating the autumn harvest. This is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

However, Thanksgiving is much more than this.

Thanksgiving is a day when Americans thank their Creator for the blessings they have received during the year, while holding hope and expectation in their hearts for the blessings yet to come.

The Father of Our Country expressed his thankfulness concerning God and America, when he announced this holiday in 1789:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor – and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be – That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks – for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation – for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war –for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed – for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions – to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually – to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed – to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord – To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us – and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789. – United States President George Washington.

On November 15, 1985, in the first year of his second term, President Ronald Reagan issued the following proclamation…

Although the time and date of the first American thanksgiving observance may be uncertain, there is no question but that this treasured custom derives from our Judeo-Christian heritage. “Unto Three, O God, do we give thanks,” the Psalmist sang, praising God not only for the “wondrous works” of His creation, but for loving guidance and deliverance from dangers.

A band of settlers arriving in Maine in 1607 held a service of thanks for their safe journey, and twelve years later settlers in Virginia set aside a day of thanksgiving for their survival. In 1621 Governor William Bradford created the most famous of all such observances at Plymouth Colony when a bounteous harvest prompted him to proclaim a special day “to render thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings.” The Spaniards in California and the Dutch in New Amsterdam also held services to give public thanks to God.

In 1777, during our War of Independence, the Continental Congress set aside a day for thanksgiving and praise for our victory at the battle of Saratoga. It was the first time all the colonies took part in such an event on the same day. The following year, upon news that France was coming to our aid, George Washington at Valley Forge prescribed a special day of thanksgiving. Later, as our first President, he responded to a Congressional petition by declaring Thursday, November 26, 1789, the first Thanksgiving Day of the United States of America.

Although there were many state and national thanksgiving days proclaimed in the ensuing years, it was the tireless crusade of one woman, Sarah Josepha Hale, that finally led to the establishment of this beautiful feast as an annual nationwide observance. Her editorials so touched the heart of Abraham Lincoln that in 1863 – even in the midst of the civil War – he enjoined his countrymen to be mindful of their many blessings, cautioning them not to forget “the source from which they come,” that they are “the gracious gifts of the Most High God…” Who ought to be thanked “with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

It is in that spirit that I now invite all Americans to take part again in this beautiful tradition with its roots deep in our history and deeper still in our hearts. We manifest our gratitude to God for the many blessings he has showered upon our land and upon its people.

In this season of Thanksgiving we are grateful for our abundant harvests and the productivity of our industries; for the discoveries of our laboratories; for the researches of our scientists and scholars; for the achievements of our artists, musicians, writers, clergy, teachers, physicians, businessmen, engineers, public servants, farmers, mechanics, artisans, and workers of every sort whose honest toil of mind and body in a free land rewards them and their families and enriches our entire Nation.

Let us thank God for our families, friends, and neighbors, and for the joy of this very festival we celebrate in His name. Let every house of worship in the land and every home and every heart be filled with the spirit of gratitude and praise and love on this Thanksgiving Day.

In accordance with this tradition, on Tuesday, November 20th, President Donald J. Trump, issued his own Thanksgiving Proclamation to the American people, in which he said…

This Thanksgiving, as we gather in places of worship and around tables surrounded by loved ones, in humble gratitude for the bountiful gifts we have received, let us keep in close memory our fellow Americans who have faced hardship and tragedy this year. In the spirit of generosity and compassion, let us joyfully reach out in word and deed, and share our time and resources throughout our communities. Let us also find ways to give to the less fortunate whether it be in the form of sharing a hearty meal, extending a helping hand, or providing words of encouragement.

We are especially reminded on Thanksgiving of how the virtue of gratitude enables us to recognize, even in adverse situations, the love of God in every person, every creature, and throughout nature. Let us be mindful of the reasons we are grateful for our lives, for those around us, and for our communities. We also commit to treating all with charity and mutual respect, spreading the spirit of Thanksgiving throughout our country and across the world.

Today, we particularly acknowledge the sacrifices of our service members, law enforcement personnel, and first responders who selflessly serve and protect our Nation. This Thanksgiving, more than 200,000 brave American patriots will spend the holiday overseas, away from their loved ones. Because of the men and women in uniform who volunteer to defend our liberty, we are able to enjoy the splendor of the American life. We pray for their safety, and for the families who await their return.

The intestinal fortitude that is our heritage as Americans…along with that still, small voice which still resides in each and every one of us, will continue, I pray, to guide our nation, and spur us on, to stay vigilant and protect our American Freedom, just as my Parents’ Generation did, against the enemies of that freedom, foreign and domestic.

This Thanksgiving Day 2018, I’m thankful for Americans who are still making a difference.  “Average Americans” who still love God and country, and stand on principle with their feet planted on a Solid Rock, and not on shifting sands.

The “Average American”, the 9 to 5′er, working himself into the grave to try to provide for his family.

It was this same “Average American”, who fired the shot heard around the world and began the War for American Independence, who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in World War II, who waded through rice paddies in Vietnam, and who swallowed sand in Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

The same “Average American” who, as a New York City Policeman or Fireman, ran up the stairs of the World Trade Center on 9/11/01, instead of running down them.

The same “Average American”, who simply wants things to be easier in this life for his children and grandchildren, than he had it.

It is this same “Average American”, who takes family and friends in, when they are in the midst of a life-altering tragedy.

The same “Average American”, who volunteers on a soup line or at a Senior Citizens Home, or, who begins a successful business in his basement.

And, it is this same “Average American” who, being fed up with the Democratic Party’s Far Left Crusade against anything and everything traditionally American, went to the voting booth and elected Donald J. Trump, a Citizen Statesman, as our 45th President.

They are the reason we remain, in spite of all that has befallen us as a nation, the Greatest Country on the Face of the Earth, despite what a certain Former President said this week.

They are also the reason that we will Make America Great Again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until He Comes,

KJ

Trump Sends Written Answers to Mueller…When Will We Investigate The Dems’ Collusion With Russia?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics1 Comment

 

Trump-Mueller

FoxNews.com reports that

President Trump on Tuesday submitted written answers to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s questions in the ongoing Russia investigation, marking a major milestone in the long-running probe as it seemingly nears its conclusion.

“The President today answered written questions submitted by The Special Counsel’s Office,” Jay Sekulow, counsel to the president, said in a statement. “The questions presented dealt with issues regarding the Russia-related topics of the inquiry. The President responded in writing.”

Added Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani: “It has been our position from the outset that much of what has been asked raised serious constitutional issues and was beyond the scope of a legitimate inquiry. This remains our position today. The President has nonetheless provided unprecedented cooperation.  The Special Counsel has been provided with more than 30 witnesses, 1.4 million pages of material, and now the President’s written responses to questions. It is time to bring this inquiry to a conclusion.” 

Outside the White House Tuesday afternoon, Trump told reporters the announcement was coming, shortly before he departed to Mar-a-Lago in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“They’re all finished…. The lawyers have them,” Trump said. “The written answers to the witch hunt that’s been going on forever. No collusion, no nothing. They’ve been finished. Finished them yesterday. The lawyers have them. I assume they’ll turn them in today or soon.”

Speaking exclusively to “Fox News Sunday” this weekend, Trump told host Chris Wallace that he had personally dictated his responses to his team, who was “writing what I tell them to write.”

Trump emphasized, however, that he probably would not sit for an in-person interview with Mueller, amid fears voiced by his attorneys that the could be tricked into a so-called “perjury trap” in which, even if the president is honest, his version of events differs from other witness accounts enough to trigger a criminal prosecution.

“We’ve wasted enough time on this witch hunt and the answer is, probably, that we’re finished,” Trump said.

He continued: “We gave very, very complete answers to a lot of questions that I shouldn’t have even been asked, and I think that should solve the problem. I hope it solves the problem, if it doesn’t, you know, I’ll be told and we’ll make a decision at that time. But probably this is the end.”

Earlier this year, some of Mueller’s questions for Trump at the time leaked to the media and were obtained by Fox News. In one question, Mueller asks what Trump knew about campaign staff, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, reaching out to Moscow. Manafort has since been convicted on unrelated tax and bank fraud charges.

The questions also covered Trump’s motivations for firing former FBI Director James Comey a year ago, as well as his reaction to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from overseeing the Russia investigation.

They also inquired into Trump’s handling of former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, who lied to federal authorities probing his contacts with Russia concerning sanctions during the presidential transition period.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump defended Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker against Democrats’ calls that he should recuse himself because he has written critically of Mueller’s probe, which he said in 2017 was at risk of becoming a “political fishing expedition.”

Trump added that he “would not get involved” in Whitaker’s decisions as he oversees Mueller’s probe in his new role as head of the Justice Department. The DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion affirming the constitutionality of Whitaker’s temporary appointment without Senate approval.

“Look he — it’s going to be up to him,” Trump said. “I think he’s very well aware politically.  I think he’s astute politically.  He’s a very smart person.  A very respected person.  He’s going to do what’s right.  I really believe he’s going to do what’s right.”

The president announced on Friday in the Oval Office that he had completed his written responses and was looking over them before sending them in.

“I was asked a series of questions. I’ve answered them very easily,” Trump said, adding one has to “always be careful when you answer questions with people that probably have bad intentions.”

I wish I had as good a feeling about Special Counsel Robert Mueller as President Trump appears to.

I still believe that the Trump Russian Collusion Fairy tale was actually a False Flag Operation designed by the Democratic Party Hierarchy, their Propaganda Arm, the Main Street Media, and their operatives on Capitol Hill and within the Trump Administration itself, to keep the nation’s attention diverted to the Trump/Russia Lie, when in reality the Uranium One Treasonous Operation by Hillary Clinton WAS AND REMAINS THE STORY.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed FBI Director by George W. Bush, whom he served under for 10 years.

When Barack Hussein Obama became President, Mueller served under him for 2 more years. During that time, he acted as a “mule” for Secretary of State Clinton, carrying a sample of the before-mentioned seized uranium BACK to Vladimir Putin via the Russian Embassy.

Mueller’s past, plus the fact that he recruited 16 lawyers who were large  Democratic Donors to fill out his “Investigative Staff” led me and others to throw up a red flag about this guy from the get-go, knowing that he was another Establishment Political Weasel like James Comey, who followed Mueller as Director of the FBI.

Trump’s “Russiagate” is an invention of the Democratic Party in more ways than one.

Not only was Hillary Clinton guilty of nefarious dealings with the Russians when she was Obama’s Secretary of State, she and her Campaign Staff attempted to work with the Russians in an attempt to sabotage the campaign of Donald J. Trump in order to overcome her own shortcomings and win the Presidency.

When that didn’t happen, she, along with the Democrat Elite, made up the version of “Russiagate” which the MSM and Liberal Political Activists (but, I repeat myself) have been bombarding skeptical Americans with for the entire presidency of Donald J. Trump.

Mueller and the former members of Obama’s Administration, including Hillary Clinton, who have been so vocal about the Trump-Russia Collusion Fairy Tale have known the truth all along…that they were the only ones guilty of “colluding with the Russians”.

There are several players involved in the Obama Administration who knew about Uranium One and they ALL need to be heard from, including Obama, Hillary, and Holder.

As I have written before, this whole massive misdirection play which I call the Trump-Russian Collusion Fairy Tale is going to go down as one of the biggest “nothingburgers” in American History.

And, if Whittaker is left in place as the Attorney General, the Obama Administration will be known as the most corrupt Administration in American History, with Hillary Clinton being the most corrupt Secretary of State.

That, gentle readers, is the reason that the Democrats want Whittaker to recuse himself, as his predecessor, Jeff Sessions, did.

The Democrats known that there was no collusion by Trump and his staff.

They also know that if all of their political chicanery during the Obama Administration is brought out into the light of day, they won’t be able to run candidates for dog catchers in local municipalities and win, much less have a chance at regaining the presidency any time soon.

If this all comes to light, Obama will leave a legacy, alright. A legacy of corruption.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The MS Senatorial Runoff Election – Of Memphis Democrats, Robo -Texting, and “Open Progress”

On By kingsjesterIn Politics1 Comment

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On Tuesday, November 27th, there will be a special Runoff Election for Thad Cochran’s former Senate Seat in Mississippi between Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Former Clinton Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy.

Living in the Northwest Corner of the Magnolia State, I have a very special interest in this race. And, being the political junkie that I am, my ears perked up when I came across this story posted about a week ago by the Memphis NBC Affiliate, WMC-TV…

Democrat Mike Espy might be getting some help from across the state line in his bid to defeat Republican Cindy Hyde Smith in a runoff election for US Senate in Mississippi in two weeks.

Corey Strong is chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party, a party that likely will be working in Mississippi until a runoff election for US Senate on November 27.

“North Mississippi and Memphis are connected at the hip,” Strong said.

Strong said Shelby County Democratic leaders met with Mike Espy’s team Monday and have already been phone banking and writing post cards to try and secure a victory.

“We are looking at potentially having a day of action for members of Shelby County and a concerted effort to go down and support Mike Espy in that race,” Strong said.

Shelby County Democrats were successful this year in a sweep in August of county-wide offices.

“Shelby County Democrats have really come a long way,” said WMC Action News 5 political analyst Michael Nelson. “Certainly their advice or assistance can’t help but benefit Espy in some way.”

Hyde-Smith was appointed by Governor Phil Bryant earlier this year and secured the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

“Connected at the hip”, you say?

Well, that’s only because Northwest Mississippi is populated by Former Memphians, like myself, who were invited to leave our Hometown by Former Democrat Mayor W.W. (Willie) Herenton, who was a crooked as a dog’s hind leg.

But, I digress.

About the “phone banking” mentioned in the above article…

Yesterday afternoon, while I was at work, I received, in error, a text message directed at my wife from an organization named Open Progress, asking her who she was going to vote for and asking her to vote for Mike Espy. I texted back asking them to not contact this number again.

Who is “Open Progress”? I’m glad you asked.

One part of the organization is a 501 Non-Profit.

The other part is VERY profitable.

According to their website, openprogress.com,

Open Progress created OPro by Open Progress LLC to serve the needs of candidates that traditional agencies serve poorly.

We have no interest in hoarding our knowledge — Our goal is to empower great progressive candidates and campaigns with a strong digital vocabulary, sophisticated methods, and exceptional data.

OPro cuts the clutter of traditional communications like direct mail, robocalls, and TV ads. All of these methods are expensive and, data show, minimally effective. Instead, we utilize modern, efficient, and effective ways of reaching people. These include on-point social media strategies, human-to-human texting campaigns, and exceptional volunteer recruitment and utilization techniques. We’re passionate about both demystifying social media strategies and empowering our candidates and campaign managers with them. By building better and more transparent digital coalitions, campaigns can focus on getting their message out to voters, not just chasing donors.

When it comes to texting, we believe that real conversations are what change hearts and minds. By engaging in direct discussions, committing to finding answers when we don’t have them, and really taking time to listen, our texters are given the ability to create real change. With efficient and precise data collection, moreover, we allow for future gains for our campaigns. What we learn about voters isn’t left on the cutting room floor, but stored for use in the next election. Our 2,000-member (and growing!) Text Troop gives you the means to reach more people than knocking on doors or calling phones ever could. Not only do we create new human connections, we make sure they’re for keeps.

So, just what is this “Text Troop”? Again, per openprogress.com,

The Open Progress Text Troop is a diverse community of committed volunteers from across the country who are engaging in issue-focused conversations with voters via person-to-person text messages. We encourage citizens across the country, whether English or Spanish-speaking, to register to vote. We even work to persuade and identify their support for our causes and candidates. We also help them find their polling locations. Our volunteers are trained by the best in order to create rich conversations with a better informed electorate. And we want YOU to join us!

Worried you don’t have time? Even just 2 hours a week will allow you reach 1000 people.

Open Progress’ co-founder is Elizabeth Haynes, Founder and President of a specialist market research and analytics firm which employs a data-driven approach to solving questions in the consumer, retail, and media sectors for the buy-side.

Open Progress worked on both the Doug Jones Campaign in Alabama and the Conor Lamb Campaign in Pennsylvania.

As the Church Lady would say, “Isn’t that special?”

So, gentle readers, let me break this down for you. A Former Secretary of Agriculture under Bubba Clinton has the whole weight of the Democratic Party at his disposal leading to a bunch of outside political hacks and celebrities becoming involved in a Senatorial Race in Mississippi.

…Just like failed Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams had behind her in Georgia.

Cindy Hyde-Smith has a fight on her hands.

Gosh. I wonder who could advocate for her against the Democrats?

Oh, wait!

President Trump is going to be holding two more rallies in Mississippi before next Tuesday’s runoff.

Pass the popcorn.

This is getting good.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

 

 

3,000 From “Migrant Caravan” Facing Hostility in Tijuana…Mayor May Call for Referendum to Boot Them Out

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

Another-3300-Caravan-Migrants-Arrive-in-Tijuana-Says-Mexico

FoxNews.com reports that

In blunt contrast to the warm reception thousands of migrants received as they made the arduous journey through Central America to Mexico – getting food donations and well wishes from locals – the nearly 3,000 people who reached the Mexican border with California in recent days have been met with marked hostility.

The majority of migrants, who have been on foot for more than a month, are sleeping on a dirt baseball field at an outdoor sports complex in Tijuana by the newly-fortified barbed wire fence that separates Mexico from the United States. A truck parked on the street is providing showers for women, while the men are told to use newly established outdoor showers near the field.

Reports of insults being shouted, rocks being hurled and even physical fist-fighting has escalated over the weekend.

The reception has left many in limbo – afraid to return to their homeland, which for the vast majority is Honduras, yet unwelcome in Mexico and uncertain if their U.S. asylum requests will be granted. The U.S is said to be processing around 100 claims per day.

Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum has referred to the arrivals as “bums” and questioned whether a referendum in the city of 1.6 million is needed to determine whether or not they should be allowed to stay.

“Human rights should be reserved for righteous humans,” Gastelum lamented last week.

The Mexican Interior Ministry announced Friday that just under 2,700 Central American migrants have applied for asylum in Mexico under a program that was launched late last month that pledged to provide them with work and living permissions faster.

Yet officials anticipate that the migrant caravan will soon swell in excess of 10,000 – and will need to be housed for more than six months – which the Mexican government claims it lacks the resources to do.

Alden Rivera, the Honduran ambassador in Mexico, told reporters during a visit to the sports complex on Saturday that he is working with local officials to secure additional funds.

“These are our people, we want to do what we can for them,” he said. “In Honduras, we respect human rights.”

Yet his visit also drew visceral responses from many who blame the U.S.-backed Honduran government for their own dire financial and security situation – which prompted them to make the journey in the first place.

Despite a lull in covering the issue post-midterms, President Trump again expressed his grievances at the new arrivals in a tweet on Friday.

“Isn’t it ironic that large caravans of people are marching to our border wanting U.S.A. asylum because they are fearful of being in their country – yet they are proudly waving their country’s flag,” he wrote. “Can this be possible? Yes, because it is all a BIG CON, and the American taxpayer is paying for it.”

In anticipation of the caravan reaching the U.S. periphery, authorities put in place new coils of razor wire and Border Patrol officers are manning in full-force, stretching down through the beach strip of Border Field State Park alongside Tijuana’s famed Playas de Tijuana.

And while many locals have expressed anger and frustration at the new arrivals, scores of others have shown their support and sympathy. Church groups and other Tijuana locals are donating food and clothes to the new arrivals, and remain on standby as hundreds more pour into the already crowded facility by the day.

“In Honduras, we respect human rights.”

Really?

Then why are your citizens attempting to force their way into OUR country, instead of staying in yours?

As I’ve said from the beginning, something just does not smell right.

And it’s not the “migrants” personal hygiene.

All of the sudden, out of nowhere, caravans began forming down in Central America to basically attack our Southern Border.

Sure, they claim that they want to seek asylum but they have passed places where they could do that all along their travels.

Their journey has been documented by the Main Stream Media, which more and more includes Fox News, which seems to be beginning to visibly slant to the Left.

But, I digress.

Back in October of 2015, Europe began to experience an out-of-control Muslim Migration from Syria. Ben Shapiro, writing for Breitbart News, asked and answered the following question…

Who Are These Refugees? That competition to accept refugees would be fine if we knew that the refugees plan on assimilating into Western notions of civilized society, and if we knew that they were indeed victims of radical Muslim atrocities. Unfortunately, we know neither. It is deeply suspicious that major Muslim countries that do not border Syria refuse to take in large numbers of refugees, except for Algeria and Egypt.

…These fears are not without merit, as even Obama administration officials have acknowledged: back in February, director of the National Counterterrorism Center Nicholas Rasmussen called Syrian refugees “clearly a population of concern.” FBI Assistant Director Michael Steinbach explained, “Databases don’t [have] the information on those individuals, and that’s the concern. On Tuesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that terrorist infiltration was “a possibility. I mean, you can’t, you can’t dismiss that out of hand.” He then added, “Obviously, if you look at those images though, it’s pretty clear that the great majority of these people are innocent families.” (Sound familiar?)

Actually, images show a disproportionate number of young males in crowds of refugees. And those images reflect statistical reality: according to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, Mediterranean Sea refugees are overwhelmingly male: just 13 percent are women, and just 15 percent are children. The other 72 percent are men. Compare that population to the refugees in the Middle East from the same conflicts: 49.5 percent male, and 50.5 percent female, with 38.5 percent under the age of 12. Those are wildly different populations.

All of the video footage taken by the media of the “caravans” show that the overwhelming majority of these current “migrants” to our Southern Border are young males, as well.

Of course, our Liberal friends in D.C. and on the Cable News Programs are telling us that this is a “Humanitarian Crisis”.

Maybe.

However, I believe that it is more likely that certain wealthy Democratic Party Donors are financing the transportation of these people to our Southern Border in order to “Rock The Vote”.

As the political graft and corruption of the “recounts” of the last two weeks since the Midterm Elections have shown the nation, nothing is beneath those who want to “radically change” our Constitutional Republic…

…”By any means necessary”.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

 

In an Era of “Celebrity Pastors” and Megachurches, Perhaps It’s Time to Return to “The Little Brown Church in the Vale”

On By kingsjesterIn ChristianityLeave a comment

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Those outside the church expect followers of Christ to live differently, yet today many in church are chasing after the world – not to win them, but to be like them. – Reverend Billy Graham

ChristianPost.com reports that

In recent years, a number of high-profile evangelical church leaders have fallen from their pedestals — and the landing has been anything but soft. Often, the story goes like this: A “celebrity pastor” with a wide sphere of influence falls prey to sin, leaving in his wake a trail of chaos and disillusionment.

From sexual impropriety to alcoholism, these moral failures are met with shock and disbelief from many in the Christian community. What exactly went wrong?

Jimmy Evans, senior pastor of Gateway Church, a multi-campus church in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, told The Christian Post that the problem often begins when pastors isolate themselves — from others, from accountability, and ultimately, from the truth.

“We’re all human beings, and I believe pastors who fall put themselves in a position of secrecy,” he explained. “I’ve never met a pastor that didn’t have the same basic temptations as the other guy. The difference is how we deal with it.”

Isolation, Evans contended, is one of Satan’s greatest weapons.

“The devil works in the darkness,” he said. “As pastors, we need to not put ourselves in a position of living a private life away from the eyes of others. That’s why pastors fall, and it can happen to any pastor. It’s the way we carry ourselves, the way we relate to people around us, whether we’re honest or dishonest.”

Scott Sauls, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of From Weakness to Strength: 8 Vulnerabilities That Can Bring Out the Best in Your Leadership, told CP that pastors become more susceptible to isolation as their ministry grows.

“The bigger your church becomes, you begin to have more fans and admirers than you do actual friends,” he said. “It’s really important to be surrounded by people who are close enough to you, that they can express concern with you and your character and help steer you toward toward Christ. Pastors need to welcome this kind of friendship, community, and accountability.”

Thanks in part to the rise of social media, the “celebrity pastor” phenomen is relatively new. And while the Gospel is able to reach formerly uncharted territory, so, unfortunately, are scandals within the body of Christ. What once remained within the four walls of the church are now able to creep into a watching, scornful world.

Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church of Northwest Arkansas, explained that humans are made to worship. It’s no surprise then, that in a celebrity-obsessed culture, worship is often directed toward an influential pastor or charismatic church leader. But when congregants put their pastors on pedestals, he warned, the results are disastrous.

“There is always the danger to idolize a pastor,” he said. “But they are men. And that’s what the country and church is being reminded of — pastors are just men. We live a very fast life today, and when we’re not careful, we become careless in the way we live. We can’t let our guard down. That’s why God says, ‘Guard your heart.'”

Sauls clarified that the problem doesn’t necessarily lie with the “celebrity” aspect. There are, he said, healthy “celebrity pastors,” adding, “That’s why we have the Francis Chans and Tim Kellers and others of the world.”

But sometimes, people who attend well-known churches aren’t committed to Christ or His Church; rather, their allegiance lies with the engaging, influential pastor. Unfortunately, he said, these leaders may have extraordinary gifts — but questionable character.

“And that’s why we see a lack of humility and sometimes even a moral collapse, even among well-known pastors,” Sauls explained. “Staying anchored in the truth and the simple ordinary aspects of daily faithfulness, I think, is much more important than chasing spectacular sermons and spectacular worship events.”

I have been a church member for as long as I can remember.

Whether it was attending Sunday School as a child, being a part of a youth group when I got older, or teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School and singing in church choirs as an adult, I have had the pleasure of being friends with Christians from all walks of life, including pastors.

One of my family’s best friends was “Brother George”, a warm, wonderful man who worked as Sears during the holidays to help make sure that his family had a Merry Christmas.

I can remember as a child holding hands with my family around my grandmother’s deathbed in our home as Brother George led us in prayer.

The pastors I have known throughout my life were all strong in the faith and were men “after God’s own heart”. Like David himself, they were far from perfect. However, when you were around them you knew that they loved God, His Holy Word, and His people.

The growth over the last couple of decades of these so-called Megachurches with their “Celebrity Pastors” has not only puzzled me but concerned me as well.

While Megachurches, such as Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, Tennessee, can accomplish great and wonderful things in the name of the Lord, I’ve just never found attending one to be my cup of tea.

The reason being, I want the Man of God presiding over my funeral to actually KNOW me.

Not only that, but I want him to shake my hand on Sunday morning and ask me how things are going in my life. And, if I, my wife, or one of my family are in the hospital , I want him to come by to visit.

If I was attending a Megachurch, the Pastor would not know me anymore than President Trump knew that I was sitting in the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi for his MAGA Rally in October.

Sure, I may get to know some of the people in the church and that is fine. I love being in the company of fellow Christians.

And, come to think of it, I could accomplish that by staying at home with my wife in our matching recliners watching a church service on television.

I may be old-fashioned but I believe in the concept of a “Church Family”, not a “Celebrity Pastor” being adored by thousands in a church the size of a concert venue.

The size and notoriety of a church and its pastor are not as important as their heart for God.

After all, one Good Shepherd and 12 disciples changed the entire world.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Why Did the Republicans Lose the House?

On By kingsjesterIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Elephant question

Why did the Republican Party lose their majority in the House of Representatives?

It is an interesting question. Let’s try to figure out an answer.

With less than a month to go before the Midterm Elections, OpenSecrets.org reported that Republican Funding Sources had begun to pull their backing from certain candidates.

While this is a normal practice as election day nears, it signals that Republican groups are scrambling to move funds to districts where their dollars will count more — even though many of the abandoned campaigns are in Republican-leaning districts. “It’s highly unusual for the party to pull money from an incumbent,” Billet said. “Incumbents generally have a better advantage in subsequent elections, but this is one where they may not. That makes it doubly unusual for them to be pulling money from these races.”

Meanwhile, Democratic funding has yet to abandon any races in Democrat-leaning districts. Democratic candidates have been polling well and raising lots of money, Billet said.

CLF, a super PAC backed by major Republican donors, is spending far more this election cycle than the NRCC. CLF is relatively new to conservative political funding. When it formed in 2012, it only spent money on a handful of races.

So far this cycle, CLF spent $87 million on 51 races, averaging $1.7 million spent per race. Meanwhile, the NRCC spent $47.4 million on 33 races.

This is dramatically different from the groups’ spending just two years ago. The NRCC more than doubled CLF in 2016, doling out $39.7 million to CLF’s $14.3 million.

On the other side, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has spent nearly the same amount as the NRCC. So far, DCCC spent $60.4 million on 53 races, which is more than what the committee spent in 2016.

“People are making tough decisions now when resources are extra tight,” Billet said. “They have to do it now to make sure that the money they shift around has an impact. [Republicans] are really concerned, maybe close to desperate to hang on to the majority in the House.”

The NRCC and CLF did not respond to requests to comment.

Of course.

However, the New York Times concluded that, like everything else, the loss of the House was Trump’s fault.

Even before Mr. Trump began thundering against an “invasion” from Latin America — spurning with finality the moderate swing voters that Republicans desperately needed — his party’s facade of election-year unity was crumbling.

Panic mounting, Republican factions began looking out for themselves: Mr. McCarthy, currying favor with the right as he positioned himself to succeed Mr. Ryan, revived a push to fund Mr. Trump’s border wall. On the weekend before the election, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a far-right rival of Mr. McCarthy, began calling colleagues to gauge their interest in supporting him for minority leader in a Democratic-led House.

As Mr. Trump swallowed the already-faint Republican economic message with deafening appeals to right-wing nationalism, Republican campaign chiefs began expressing discomfort with his turn toward raw racial politics. Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, head of the Republican Senate committee, expressed anxiety to allies that Mr. Trump’s obsession with a migrant caravan could harm his Senate re-election in 2020.

Among White House aides, improvisation and favor-trading overrode any semblance of political strategy. Even Vice President Mike Pence, aides noted, appeared less than deliberate in his approach: When conservative media began rippling with interest in John James, a long-shot Senate candidate in Michigan, Mr. Pence phoned the president from the state and urged him to campaign there. The same day, a public poll found Mr. James losing by 17 points to Senator Debbie Stabenow.

Johnny DeStefano, counselor to the president, told an associate he used “every ounce of capital” to keep Mr. Trump from visiting Michigan and other states where his party was sure to lose.

And in a move that baffled their political peers, both Mr. Pence and Mr. McCarthy visited Kansas City on the Friday before the election to campaign with Mr. Yoder, among other Republicans — more than a month after the N.R.C.C. concluded Mr. Yoder could not win.

Did you notice how the Times did not refer to him as “President Trump”?

That is because it is still too painful for them to even type the words out of a computer keyboard.

But, I digress.

It was not the President’s fault.

This country has never seen a sitting president work harder on behalf of Republican Candidates in a Midterm Election than Donald J. Trump did. His MAGA Rallies were phenomenal and truly fired up the Republican Base.

I feel like the loss of the House occurred for a couple of reasons.

The first one being that the Republican Founders pulled their money from candidates who were trailing with one month to go. While this is a normal practice in politics, we are not living in normal times. The Democrats stuck beside their losing candidates to the bitter end. The Republicans should have, also.

The second reason is more of an extrapolation than anything else.

After watching the graft and corruption of the Democrats in Arizona, George, and Florida in their post-election scrambling to “find” lost votes, one has to surmise that the Democrats’ corruption was also occurring in other states, as well.

I truly believe that the only way that the Republicans could have held on to their majority in the House of Republicans would have been to completely and unabashedly join the President on their Campaign Trail for Republican hopefuls in every state in the Union.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I saw a lot of excitement coming from the President. I even went and saw one of his rallies when he came to my state.

However, except for a select few, I did not see the Republican Hierarchy (Moderates) descend from Mount Olympus, I mean Capitol Hill, to push worthwhile candidates like John James, who was defeated by Debbie Stabenow in Michigan.

The Republican Elite are going to have to develop the “Eye of the Tiger” and go on the offensive against the Democrats for the next two years if they wish to regain control of the House in 2020.

It is time for those “Moderate Republicans” who haven’t before, to jump onto the Trump Train.

If all of the political shenanigans in Arizona, Georgia, and Florida 2018 were “trial runs” to see what the Democrats could get by with in the 2020 President Election, then we will need every single Republican Lawmaker on Capitol Hill to support President Trump in order to overcome future Democrat Corruption and secure the re-election of Donald J. Trump.

Because, as was just demonstrated, the Democrats will stick together even after Election Day, doing what ever they can in order to achieve victory, even if it means that…

One lies and the other swears to it.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Broward Misses Recount Deadline by 2 Minutes…An “Oops” or Was It Intentional?

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

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FoxNews.com reports that

A Broward election official said late Thursday that the county had uploaded the results of its recount two minutes after the state’s 3 p.m. deadline – making its machine recount tally void. Instead, the county’s results from last Tuesday’s election will stand until manual recount totals in the state’s closely contested Senate race come in Sunday at noon.

In another direct accusation of deliberate misconduct by Florida election officials, GOP Senate candidate Rick Scott’s campaign accused embattled Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes of intentionally submitting late results to invalidate them. In the recount, Scott’s Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, lost more votes than Scott — a net gain of 779 for Scott.

The news of the bungled ballot count comes after Snipes boasted about never missing a deadline.

“We are excited to be at this point,” she said Thursday afternoon.

Later, Snipes acknowledged that “the results were in progress when I came out and made” that statement.

“An election like the one we just finished almost has so many moving parts and so many components,” Snipes said. “I’m pleased that we were able to accomplish what we did accomplish in the period of time that was available.”

Meanwhile, in the Florida governor’s race, Republican candidate Ron DeSantis holds a sizable 33,683-vote lead over Democrat Andrew Gillum following the machine recount, a margin high enough under state law to avoid a mandatory manual recount. Gillum, who gained only 1 vote on DeSantis in the recount, still has not conceded in the race.

As of the 3 p.m. deadline for a machine recount of three close statewide contests, nearly all of Florida’s 67 counties —except Palm Beach and Hillsborough counties — had reported updated results.

“Basically, I just worked my ass off for nothing,” said Joseph D’Alessandro, Broward County’s election planning and development director.

D’Alessandro said he had a hard time uploading the results because he wasn’t familiar with the website used to send them to the secretary of state.

“We uploaded to the state two minutes late so the state has chosen not to use our machine recount results,” D’Alessandro said in the surprise announcement. “They are going to use our first unofficial results as our second unofficial results.”

Broward has been under the microscope since the recount was ordered Saturday, and Thursday’s mistake is just the latest in a series of missteps for the largely Democratic county. Last week, a judge sided with Scott’s campaign in a lawsuit in which he alleged Snipes had violated state public records law and the Florida Constitution by withholding critical ballot information.

Earlier this year, a judge found that Snipes had illegally destroyed ballots in a 2016 congressional contest, leading the secretary of state’s office to assign election monitors to supervise her office.

“It would have been both surprising and shocking if they had actually started [the recount] on time and completed it on time,” Cathy Lerman, principal of the Lerman Law Firm in Florida, told Fox News.

…Since the recall was officially ordered on Saturday, Broward elections staff have had to sort through more than 3.5 million pages of ballots before they actually started to count votes. Several counties, like Miami-Dade, planned ahead and finished much faster than Broward.

…Now that the machine recount deadline has passed, counties will have until noon on Sunday Nov. 18 to submit results from a manual recount in the Senate race between Nelson and Scott.

“We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election,” Judge Mark E. Walker, the Obama-appointed chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, said Thursday. “Yet we still chose not to fix it.”

There is a reason for that, Judge.

The Democrats do not want it fixed.

They are masters at “winning elections” by “any means necessary”.

Case in point, the 1991 Mayoral Election in my hometown of Memphis, TN…

Willie Herenton is elected mayor – the first African-American elected mayor in Memphis history. Herenton upsets incumbent Dick Hackett by 142 votes, the closest margin in a mayor’s race under the mayor-council form of government, but not the closest in the much-longer history of Memphis mayoral elections under various forms of municipal government.

The election also sees the election of an African-American majority to the 13-member Memphis City Council. It is a tumultuous election night in which the vote count goes past midnight. The Shelby County Election Commission before and after this election had always released absentee votes first. In this case, the absentee vote totals are not added until the election day totals had been tabulated. The delay prompts several hundred Herenton supporters gathered at The Peabody to come to the Downtown offices of the election commission. They follow U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr., with a Hackett team of advisers arriving as well to oversee the absentee vote count. Herenton went on to become the longest-serving Memphis mayor, resigning July 30, 2009.

…with the FBI in the middle of a huge graft and corruption investigation of the Mayor and his Administration.

Under Herenton, the Memphis Municipal Government grew faster than Rosie O’Donnell at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

And, my hometown has never recovered.

The bad thing is…Dr. W.W. Herenton has announced that he plans to run for mayor again in the next election.

Do you see a pattern here, gentle readers?

Do you remember the word that Democrats have loved to use for decades now, “disenfranchised”?

Democrats use it to describe a group of American citizens whom they feel they are being left out of the mainstream or have had their rights violated, on purpose, usually by the big bad Republicans.

In the case of extending elections past Election Day, the Democrats use the word “disenfranchised” in order to make sure that every vote counts, even if they have to manufacture them.

The fact of the matter is that what the Democrats are doing by extending these elections and discovering new votes, does not make all voters equal, it gives the Democrats an unfair advantage.

The Democrats are actually disenfranchising those American citizens who have voted legally by showing up to the polls on Election Day or voting early.

Not that they care, of course.

Just as they did during the Kavanaugh Hearings, the Democratic Party, whether their actions in Florida Georgia, and Arizona are actually all part of a dry run to prepare for the 2020 Presidential Election or not, are showing Americans who they really are.

Democrats are not the party of the Middle Class anymore. Not by a long shot.

They are a political party of Far Left Socialists who believe in the words of the Russian Tyrant Joseph Stalin, who said,

“It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.”

And that, gentle readers is the difference between Socialism and a Constitutional Republic. Under Marxism, those in power decide. Under our form of government, WE DECIDE.

Or, at least we are supposed to.

Until He Comes,

KJ