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Posts Tagged ‘Donald Trump’

The Week In Review 1/21/2017 – Trumpocalypse Now

Posted in Politics, The Week In Review, tagged , , , , on January 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during inauguration ceremonies at the Capitol in Washington

Newly sworn in President Donald Trump shakes the hand of Chief Justice John Roberts, 1/20/2017.

In case you haven’t heard, we had this little thing called a presidential inauguration this week. It seemed like a pretty big deal. So for that reason, and the fact that my alternative was leading with a story on Davos, the annual Dr. Evil convention held in Switzerland, it seemed good to me to kick things off this week with a word or two about the Trumpocalypse.

Mr. Populist Goes to Washington

For generations, the Democrats were the party of the little guy, the blue collar worker, the poor. They were the idealist revolutionaries manning the barricades against the oppressive establishment.

The Republicans? Well, they represented The Man. You know, like the top hat bedecked fellow with the monocle from Monopoly. The one who just can’t wait to overcharge you for rent in his hotel on Park Place.

But now in 2017 you can say goodbye to all that.

With his remarkable campaign and unlikely victory in the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump has sent shockwaves through the establishments in both political parties. It is now the Democrats who are the defenders of the New World Order globalist establishment, the representatives of the bi-coastal elites, the champions of privilege.

And the Republicans, it is they who have become the party of the common man.

Maybe there really is something republican about the Republicans beyond just the name. After all, it was the Republicans who fought off the South’s attempt to break up the republic during the Civil War. And today it is the Republicans – not the establishment Republicans, but the rank-and-file conservatives within the party – who have been most effective in defending the sovereignty of American republic against the globalists pushing for world government.

And while I don’t count myself as a populist – populism is a mish-mash of often contradictory ideas intended to benefit the little guy; as a Christian, I believe in limited government, the rule of law, and private property – I’m certainly a lot more comfortable with President Trump than the Wicked Witch of the West the Democrats tried to foist on us.

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Immigration, Citizenship and the Bible Part 8: The Immigration “Debate”

Posted in Immigration, tagged , , , , on January 15, 2017| 2 Comments »

 

Ruth_and_Naomi_Leave_Moab

Ruth and Naomi Leave Moab, 1860, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872).

Among the more frustrating aspects of the immigration debate is that, at least as far as immigration and related issues are discussed in the mainstream press, it is not a debate at all.

 

In general, reporting on immigration issues takes the form of a lecture, in which proponents of keeping and/or expanding the current immigration/refugee/aslyee/migration system are posited as the defenders of all that is just, right and holy, heroically fighting against nativist, racist, xenophobic bigots who complain that current immigration laws do not serve the interests of the American people.

This sort of reporting often has a Kantian undertone to it, by which I mean that in many cases immigration to the US is explicitly or implicitly presented as, on the one hand, a right to which is due to the entire non-American population of the world, and, on the other hand, a duty owed by American people to them. The notion that US immigration policy should serve the interests of the American people – a point that Donald Trump explicitly made part of his immigration platform – is considered beyond the pale of polite discussion. Further, anyone so foolish as to attempt to argue that the interest of the American people should be considered when making immigration policy is immediately scorned and dropped into Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” from which there is no escape.

There is a second annoying aspect of the immigration debate, the tendency of immigration proponents to commit the informal logical fallacy known as appeal to pity. An appeal to pity is where one argues that you should accept his conclusion, not because of any sound logical reasoning requires that you accept it, but because you feel sorry for him. One example of this sort of argument runs, “If this man is given the death sentence, who will take care of his children?” (Norman Geisler, Come, Let Us Reason, 96). And how many times have we heard this sort of thing from immigration enthusiasts? “You can’t deport X, because you’re breaking up X’s family!” But feeling sorry for someone is not a sound basis for making immigration policy. For example, one can always reply, “Yes, but X should have considered the possibility of deportation before electing to enter the US contrary to American immigration law. No one made him violate the law. He chose to do so. Therefore, the breakup of his family is his own fault.”

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2016 Year In Review

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »

2017

Out with the old and in with the new. Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time when we flip over our calendars. For some of us it’s a time of making resolutions. For others, a time for avoiding them. In my case, it’s a convenient time to look back at the prior year in blogging as well as an opportunity to consider the year ahead.

In the first place, I would like to that the Lord for providing me with this wonderful forum for writing. Perhaps because I didn’t grow up with the internet – I’ll be 51 in March, so yes, I’m an old guy! – I’m still constantly amazed at the reach even a small blog such as this one can have. Never before in history has a single Christian had the opportunity to, quite literally, reach the whole world and never so much as venture outside his front door. There is much that is evil on the internet. As Christians, it is our job to be salt and light to the world. And through website, blogs, and podcasts God has provided an amazing tool for believers to fulfill the Great Commission.

Secondly, my sincere thanks are due to you, the readers of this blog. Even though I began writing this blog in 2009, I’m still amazed to think that anyone would take the time to read my words. It has been my honor and privilege to serve you in 2016. And it has been my prayer that this blog has, as the name suggests, helped to bring the light of Christ to the various subjects under consideration.

Now with all that said, let’s take a look at this past year in blogging.

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The Week In Review 12/23/16 – Fake News Alert!

Posted in The Week In Review, Uncategorized, tagged , , on December 24, 2016| 4 Comments »

fake-news

It’s been a while since I’ve written a Week In Review. Too long for my taste. I’ve been a political/economic/world events junkie for as long as I can remember, and I really do enjoy reading and writing about the events of the day.

So, let’s get on with the business at hand…

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Jeremiah, the Madness of King Jehoiakim, and the Judgment of God

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , , , , , on November 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

 

jehoiakim-burns-the-scroll

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll, Caspar Luiken 1672-1708.

What to write?  That’s the question all bloggers must face.  Sometimes the answer comes quickly.  Sometimes it doesn’t. 

With campaign season hitting its big crescendo last week, my mind’s been focused on the election. But now that it has passed, where do I go from here? There’s the series on immigration I’ve been writing. I haven’t forgotten about it. Lord willing, I plan to finish it sometime later this month. But today didn’t strike me as a day to write about immigration.

So back to the question of what to write about. Perhaps due in part to the recently concluded election, the specter of national and civilizational decline is often at the forefront of my thoughts.

Perhaps another reason for this is my Scripture reading. Recently, I’ve been focused on the prophets, Jeremiah in particular. And I never get very far in the prophets before I find myself saying “This could have been written yesterday about America!”

And it’s true, too. Edward Gibbons’ masterpiece of history The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is often cited by writers who want to advance some reason or another for the obvious, ongoing collapse of Western Civilization in our own time.

But there is a far better text to use if we want to gain insight on the problems we face in 21st century America. Of course, I’m referring to the Bible. And in particular the historical books of I and II Samuel,
I and II Kings,
I and II Chronicles and the prophets. Taken together, they could almost be subtitled The Decline and Fall of the Hebrew Republic.

Samuel was the last of the judges and the anointer of the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David. It was during Samuel’s judgeship that Israel made the critical error in asking for a king (big government) in place of the limited, constitutional republic set up by God in the law of Moses.

If we were to summarize the history of Israel under the kings, we could say that the kingdom rapidly grew in power under the rule of David, hit its peak under his son Solomon, then split in two – the northern and southern kingdoms – under Solomon’s son Rehoboam. From there, the two kingdoms followed a centuries long trajectory of decline with the northern kingdom falling to Assyrian in 722 BC, and the southern kingdom to Babylon in 586 BC.

What makes the history of this decline and fall so relevant today is that the reader is not, as he is with secular history, left to decide for himself the reasons behind the disasters that befell Israel and Judah. The Word of God tells him explicitly: the people of Israel refused to heed the Lord and suffered the covenant curses pronounced in Deuteronomy 28.

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The Week in Review 11/11/16 – Election Wrap-Up

Posted in Politics, The Week In Review, tagged , , , , on November 12, 2016| 3 Comments »

election-2016Alright all you Social Justice Warrior snowflakes, listen up! I’m about to discuss a certain election that was recently held in the US, and you’re probably not going to like what I have to say. So consider this your trigger warning. Proceed at your own risk

For the rest of you, I trust you’re all adults who can hear the name Donald Trump without breaking into a cold sweat and the sudden urge to flee to the nearest safe space.

To all of you, congratulations on surviving the 2016 presidential election. As has been noted by many others, this was an election unlike any we’ve ever seen. For my part, I tried to avoid writing about it.

Some of my reticence was the result of not quite knowing what to think. As a constitutionalist out of the Ron Paul mold, I had significant differences with all of the candidates. It was tempting at times to pronounce a plague on all their houses and try my best to ignore the whole thing.

But since one of the main purposes of this blog is to bring the light of Clarkian Scripturalism to bear on contemporary issues, keeping silent on the election was not really a viable option.

Neutrality was an option as well. But the obvious establishment propaganda campaign on behalf of Hillary coupled with a remarkably vicious elite jihad on Trump and his supporters – most of Trump’s backers were regular, hard-working Americans, people like me who had had it with the arrogant, lying, globalist oligarchy that had by means of bogus trade deals, unconstitutional foreign wars, Federal Reserve money printing, bail-outs, etc. run the nation into the ground – went a long way to pushing me, even if somewhat reluctantly, into the Trump camp.

In the end, I wrote far move about the election than I had ever intended. And in retrospect, I’m glad that I did. The 2016 campaign challenged me to think carefully about issues – for example, in light of all Donald Trump’s obvious moral shortcomings, could a Christian in good conscience still vote for him? (in case you’re wondering, I came down on the “yes” side of that question) – that I otherwise would have preferred to leave alone. For that I am thankful.

All that said, here are a few items that strike me as key takeaways.

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Election 2016 – The Big Issues

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

As the current presidential election cycle draws to a close, it seemed good to me to put down in writing what I see as the big issues at that will be determined by the November 8th vote.

It’s not uncommon to hear the upcoming election described in superlative terms such as “the most important ever,” or “the most revolting ever.” For my part, I try to steer clear of such statements, if only because I’m not sure how prove that they’re true.

But if I hesitate to say that the 2016 election is the most important ever in American history, I am willing to go on record and say that it may very well be the most important election of my fifty-year lifetime. I do not recall any previous election in which there were so many major issues at stake, issues, which depending on how the vote goes, that very likely will determine the course of our nation for a long time to come.

With that in mind, today’s post is intended to be more high-level, addressing the major overarching themes of this election, which I have cast in these terms: Oligarchy vs. the Rule of Law, Feminism vs. Patriarchy, and Globalism vs. Westphalian Sovereignty.

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The Week in Review 10/29/16

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on October 29, 2016| 2 Comments »

It’s ten days to go until the big election, but to me it feels a bit like fourth and goal with the clock ticking down.

On the one side you have the establishment interests desperate to shove Hillary across the goal line.

On the other side of the ball, you have the American people, at least the ones who have enough sense not to support a criminal for president, seeking to push back against the onslaught of lies and fraud to make the big defensive stop.

It’s do or dies time.

So how’s this going to play out? Do the American people make the big stop, or does the Evil Empire win the day.

My Scripturalist convictions prevent me from making knowledge claims apart from Scripture and for that reason I tend to shy away from predictions. There’s that, plus I really just don’t like setting myself up to look foolish.

That said, I’m going to take a baby step out on a limb on offer an opinion, not a knowledge claim, but an opinion, and say that come Friday January 20, 2017 we’re going to bear witness to the inauguration of President Trump.

Why do I say this? Well for starters…

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Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton: What is More Important, What is Less Important, and What is Not Important at All, Part 2

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , , on October 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »

trump_clinton_2

In last week’s post, I set forth a framework for helping Evangelicals think through the issue of whether then can support Donald Trump for President. I suggested we ask ourselves the following questions when considering whether we can vote for Trump: What is more important, What is less important, What is not important at all.

Today, I would like to apply that analysis specifically to the issue of the vulgar Donald Trump/billy Bush video that was released a few weeks ago.

That video, showing both men engaged in what has been euphemistically termed “locker room talk”, has threatened to undermine Trump’s support among Evangelicals, who, with good reason, are offended by what was said on the recording.

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The Week in Review: 10/22/16

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , on October 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I know, I know. I’m a little late with the post this week. But just to prove to you I’m not a complete choke artist, I thought I jot down a few thoughts on the news this past week, even if I come in a little short.

Election Rigging, Say It Ain’t So

The biggest story this week has to be the fallout from Donald Trump’s debate comments. His suggestion that the presidential election might be subject to, shall we say, a certain amount of skullduggery by his esteemed opponents was bad enough.

But his refusal to promise to accept the results of an election that has yet to take place? Well, that was enough to send the entire political establishment into a fit of apoplectic rage.

Sounding the part of the good socialist schoolmarm she is, the Evil Pantsuit (EP) immediately took to scolding Trump for his stance on the election results, saying, “Well Chris, let me respond to that because that’s horrifying. You know, every time Donald thinks things aren’t going in his direction, he claims whatever it is, is rigged against him.”

The mainstream media was quick to pick up where the EP left off. The AP reported Trump was, “Threatening to upend a basic pillar of American democracy.”

President Obama commented there’s, “no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America’s elections.”

The local rag (aka The Cincinnati Enquirer) ran an editorial Friday denouncing Trump’s comments. The paper opines, ” Donald Trump’s claims of a rigged presidential election aren’t only unprecedented and irresponsible. They are dangerous.” Trump, it is claimed, is doing his utmost to “undermine our democracy (sic)” and “Faith in the election system is one of it’s cornerstones.”

To all the above I say nonsense.

Given the massive dishonesty surrounding nearly every aspect of the EP’s campaign, it is entirely reasonable to think the fix is in when it comes to the 2016 election.

What are we to think when the former Secretary of State obviously committed multiple felonies in her mishandling of classified information is not charged but that the fix is in? What are we to think when the husband of said former Secretary of State meets in secret with the Attorney General days before the FBI refuses to recommend charges but that the fix is in?

Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced to resign from her post as head of the DNC due to Wikileaks reports that she had been complicit in rigging the primaries for the EP against Bernie Sanders. Is this not rigging? And if the powers that be will rig the primaries, is it unreasonable to assume they will attempt to rig the general election?

And for what it’s worth, the EP’s campaign hired Debbie Wasserman-Schultz right after her resignation. Nothing suspicious here. Move along, folks.

Wikileaks also has revealed that current DNC chair Donna Brazil obtained the exact wording of a proposed town hall question “and possibly shared it with the Clinton campaign.” But why would anyone be so foolish as to think the presidential election might be rigged.

In this writer’s opinion, given the circumstances surrounding this campaign Trump is absolutely right to raise the specter of a rigged election. Doing so puts the riggers on notice and energizes his base.

And just for good measure, we can’t let the EP off the hook without pointing out her own hypocrisy when it comes to questioning election results. For in 2002, Hillary told a fund-raiser crowd in Lost Angeles that George W. Bush was “selected, not elected” president.

When it comes to refusing to accept election results, apparently it’s all a matter of whose ox is being gored.


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