Christianity

Supreme Court Reputation At All Time Low!

The Supreme Court of the United States once was the most highly honored government institution, with a reputation of having the highest ethics, and beyond politics!

However, the Roberts Court, in place now for 18 years since 2005, has lost all credibility, as it has struck out against basic constitutional rights relating to women, race, and sexuality, and has promoted a gun culture; advocated religion (Christianity) over civil rights; and worked to limit voting rights.

The two Bush appointees—Clarence Thomas (George H. W. Bush), and Samuel Alito (George W. Bush) have become the most horrendous, narrow minded Supreme Court Justices of the past century, more so than Antonin Scalia and William Rehnquist, in their negative influence on constitutional law.

Roberts himself, who is so concerned about the negative image of the Court, has been unwilling to promote the concept of ethics reform, despite the clearcut scandals of both Thomas and Alito, but also including himself and even some by other Court members.

So Roberts, the 17th Chief Justice in American history, will not have a great historical reputation in the future, and the Court’s misbehavior will lead to a move to change the future of the Court, including, possibly, future expansion of the Court; or term limits for future Justices; and mandated ethics reforms when and if the Democrats can have solid control of the legislative agenda in some future Congress, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Roberts, himself, has already served as Chief Justice longer than most of that select group of 17, and it would be a good situation if he, with 18 years; Alito with 17 years; and Thomas with 32 years (12th longest of all Supreme Court Justices) were to retire soon, but that is very unlikely to occur anytime soon!

Hooray! Jimmy Carter Turns 98, An Event To Celebrate! A Much Underrated President!

Former President Jimmy Carter turned 98 today, an amazing age and still with his wife, Rosalynn, alongside him after 76 plus years of marriage!

Not only is Carter the longest lived President, nearly three and a half years older than George H. W. Bush at his passing, but Rosalynn Carter passed both Lady Bird Johnson and Nancy Reagan, as she turned 95 on August 18, only behind Bess Truman, who lived to past 97 years of age!

Jimmy Carter is a true treasure, a man of decency, compassion, empathy, and sincerity, much like President Joe Biden, who was the first US Senator at age 33 in 1976, to endorse Carter for President, at a time when it seemed highly unlikely that Carter would win the Democratic Presidential nomination, and go on to defeat President Gerald Ford, and become the 39th President of the United States from 1977-1981.

Carter has had a retirement nearly 42 years in January 2023, more than ten years longer than the longest retired President before him, Herbert Hoover.

Carter has had cancer since 2015, but he has managed to cope and go on with his life with proper medical treatments and continue to promote Habitat For Humanity, the Carter Center, and to publish more than 30 books in retirement.

He will rate higher in history once he passes, as occurred with Harry Truman, but as it is, he is much underrated,when one considers the Camp David Accords with Israel and Egypt, the Panama Canal Treaty, the promotion of human rights, the advancement of the environment as the best one term environmental President, and the establishment of three Cabinet agencies–Energy, Health and Human Services, and Education as his major accomplishments. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his lifetime of promotion of peace and diplomacy.

Carter has managed to outlive nearly everyone in public office and in his Presidency, with his Vice President, Walter Mondale, passing in early 2021 after the longest retirement of a President and Vice President, more than 40 years as a team staying in touch. And one must realize that Carter utilized Mondale as a closer confidante than any President has had with their Vice President!

A truly amazing man, and someone to be saluted and appreciated for the greatness of this person who exudes the true meaning of his faith, Christianity!

Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott Declares War On The Poor, Women, Education, Immigrants And More!

Florida Senator Rick Scott, former governor involved in Medicare fraud, but winning two terms as Florida Governor and his one term in the Senate by very small one percent margins each time, is clearly thinking ahead about running for President.

It has been said that he resembles the villain Voldemort in the Harry Potter film series in appearance, except that his nose is not punched in as in the films, lol! 🙂

Scott is a miserable human being, who has no concern or empathy for anyone, and is one of the worst of the worst in the Republican Party!

He is now promoting a Republican agenda if they win control of both houses of Congress in the Midterm Congressional Elections of 2022.

If this is not enough to motivate Independents and Democrats to organize and vote in November, then nothing will!

Scott promotes a war on the poor, on women’s rights, on the teaching of American history and government, on immigrants, and on trans and gay people!

Scott also wishes to promote gun culture and make Christianity a part of government as theocracy, as well as violate voting rights, and revive the idea of a border wall with Mexico, that would be named after Donald Trump! 🙁

The code words of “socialism”, “wokeness”, and “globalism” are used as weapons to promote an extremist right wing agenda!

The Civil War “Ended” 156 Years Ago Today, But Actually Has Never “Ended”!

It has been 156 years since the Civil War ended officially, with General Robert E. Lee surrendering at Appomattox Court House in Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant.

It took until the early 20th century for a sense of nationalism to lead to the construction of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

But the South never truly changed, and still has not even now in 2021.

They still promote racism, white supremacy, antisemitism, anti labor rights, nativism, and evoke hypocritical belief in their own version of Christianity.

For a century, it was the Democratic Party spewing forth these ugly views in the South, and now it is the Republican Party, since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Of course, not all Southerners are oriented toward hate and narrow mindedness, and many Northerners have moved to the South and made the South become more cosmopolitan.

But rural Southerners still think they are in the Civil War Era, and are gaining the backing of the Republican Party in trying to limit the voting rights of people of color, and making even white workers to be subjected to limits on their ability to advance and move ahead!

Mike Pence Is A Disgrace To The Vice Presidency, And Assuredly, Has No Future!

Mike Pence will go down in Vice Presidential history as a total disgrace to the office!

Pence demonstrated no guts, no courage, ever to oppose the abuse of Presidential power by Donald Trump!

Pence was a lackey, servile, a sycophant, totally obsequious, even though he claims to be a devout Christian, or better said, “a good Christian”!

But if one was truly, he would show his ethics and morality on the way Donald Trump handled his office, but instead he kowtowed to the point of behavior that would embarrass any man who has a conscience!

Even when he was directly threatened by Donald Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, he just fled, kept quiet for two months, and now defends Donald Trump’s false claims of a fixed election, all for his naked ambition to be President!

But Mike Pence will never gain the backing of Donald Trump, who refused even to call Pence for five days after his close shave with possible harm and death!

Mike Pence is pitiful, a coward, a man who cannot control his own behavior around women and calls his wife “Mother”, indicating deep seated psychological issues!

We have had horrific Vice Presidents come to us from the Republican Party, including Dan Quayle under George H. W. Bush; Spiro Agnew under Richard Nixon; and Dick Cheney under George W. Bush, but with all of their faults, none of them would be perceived as lacking in manhood as Mike Pence displayed in office, and now as a former Vice President who desperately wants to be President, but will, thankfully, never reach that office!

Mary Trump Informs Us That Her Uncle Donald Is A White Supremacist And Anti Semite: Is Anyone Surprised?

The niece of Donald Trump, Mary Trump, in her blockbuster best seller, informs us that her uncle is mentally unstable and has been a nasty person his entire life, and that he learned his behavior from his father, and that Donald Trump has passed on the horrible traits to his children.

Also, Donald Trump is a white supremacist and an antisemite, and the fact that he claims to be Pro Israel has nothing to do with it, because antisemites are Pro Israel, because they see it as the Holy Land, and think they can convert Jews to their sick brand of Christianity!

And the fact that Trump uses the N word regarding African Americans is not only true based on what Mary Trump has witnessed, but also truth based on this author and blogger knowing a young man, now 40, a friend of his older son, who witnessed Trump uttering the N word 20 years ago.

Trump and a businessman were playing golf, and this person I know was a caddy for the businessman, and Trump had an African American caddy. Trump hit the ball, and then said to the caddy, “Go get that ball, Nigger!”

I was informed of this a few years ago, and this is proof of Trump again lying, as he has as President nearly 20,000 times in three and a half years, according to the tally of the Washington Post.

So there are no virtues to Donald Trump, a truly despicable disgrace, who should never have been allowed to do what he has been doing— the total destruction of a century of domestic reform and of 75 years of world leadership in foreign policy since World War II!

It will take years to undo the damage Donald Trump has wrought!

Crazy Religious Lunatics Are Undermining National Security And Health!

In the midst of the most dangerous moment for national security and health in our lifetimes, we are witnessing crazy religious lunatics insisting they have the right to conduct Easter and other weekly services, and Orthodox Jews saying the same for Passover services!

They argue freedom of religion, ignoring the dangers they are presenting to their congregants, who in many cases, seem to think that if a clergyman speaks, it is God personified!

Sorry, but the right to worship is not primary over safety, security, and public health, and it will lead to a massive number of unnecessary deaths!

It has already occurred in the South, where the hold of evangelical Christianity is strongest, and also occurred in Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn, New York, as well as in Israel.

When will common sense finally come to the minds of these congregants and their clergymen? Only when many have died out of pure cultish behavior?

The answer is to shut down all churches and synagogues for worship, and lock the buildings, and arrest anyone who defies this emergency!

Your right to worship exists only as long as it does not affect the public safety and health, as worshiping in large numbers at this time is “a clear and present danger to others”, quoting a Supreme Court decision of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in Schenck V US (1919)!

Can Mayor Pete Buttigieg Gain Support Of African Americans, A Crucial Democratic Voting Bloc?

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg was perceived as having done well in the first Democratic debate, but yet did not gain in public opinion polls, and a lot of it, beyond his being gay, is his inability, so far, to gain African American support, a key voting bloc for Democrats in any national election.

The racial situation in South Bend, where recently a black man was killed by a police officer, has made any attempt to improve Buttigieg’s standing among African Americans ever the harder.

But also, many African Americans are extremely devout Christians, and they have an issue with the idea of a gay President, who also has a husband.

So the question is whether Mayor Pete has any real chance of being the Democratic Presidential nominee if he cannot win over substantial African American support.

That will be a key factor in the turmoil surrounding the Democratic Presidential sweepstakes.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg Is A True Gem, May Be An Inspiring Leader In Future Of America

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a true gem, and may be a new authentic leader for America.

Already, he is in third place in polls behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, both of whom could be his father as they are 41 and 42 years older than him.

His announcement speech in South Bend, followed by his interview with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, and his other public interviews and appearances are inspiring, and present a total contrast to the 45th President (Donald Trump), and the 48th Vice President (Mike Pence).

Buttigieg is a religious man, an Episcopalian, and a man who, with his husband, plans to have children, and he spoke about adjusting to the reality that he is gay.

Meanwhile, Pence and his wife have attacked Buttigieg as not truly Christian, which only demonstrates how their Christianity is totally phony, as they preach a view that is hateful and unaccepting, not the message of the prophet Jesus.

Imagine a future debate between Pete and Mike, if Pete ended up as the Vice Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, assuming his potential for the Presidency might wane. That would be the debate of the century in so many ways, and Pete would win easily over Mike.

Wrong For Vice President Mike Pence And His Wife Karen Pence To Promote A Bigoted, Narrow Minded View Of Gays, Lesbians, And Transgenders, Not In The Tradition Of Jesus, Who Promoted Tolerance And Open Mindedness

It is extremely disturbing to see Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, the Second Lady, Karen Pence, to be promoting an anti gay, anti lesbian, and anti transgender agenda.

Karen Pence is teaching art at a right wing “Christian” school that bans gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual teaching and other staff members, and also bans students of those descriptions or students who have parents of those groups.

They also promote an extreme right wing view of Christianity, including against premarital sex, adultery, and preach that women are to obey their husbands.

What century are we in? This is NOT a Christian nation, as we have always promoted, from the Founding Fathers onward, the principle of the separation of church and state.

We may have a majority of people in this nation who were born to a broad based Christian parentage, but of many different sects and beliefs, and that is not the same as saying we are a “Christian” nation, as we are a nation of all religions, with no favoritism or preference for any one religious belief. Jews,Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, other religious minorities, and even atheists and agnostics are all protected from any persecution, discrimination, or mistreatment by any institution.

For Karen Pence to have such a narrow minded view when she could be the next First Lady is a demonstration of a woman and her husband being so outrageously hateful, discriminatory, and prejudiced, and is unacceptable in a future President or First Lady.

We have never had this before, and if the Pences end up in the White House, and try to impose their theocratic views on the nation, they are in for a massive battle and struggle, as the vast number of Americans will not tolerate such bigotry.