The Fat Lady Sings?

In the spring of 2011 I wrote an article titled “Trump Psychosis!” Therein I chronicle the rise of the Trump voter scourge, likening it to the same sort of mental abnormality as the “Hope and Change” voter. I had no idea then how virulent the malady would prove to be.

I’ve written less this election cycle than in cycles past, more out of disillusionment and the desire to interact more directly on social media than a lack of subject matter. I feel however,  it is necessary to pen something on the eve of the 2016 election.

I am astonished not so much by the idea people truly think the openly corrupt Donald Trump will be useful in supplanting the oh so obvious corruption of Hillary Clinton. The troubling thought is the gyrations my fellow conservatives use to contort their brains, so they can rationalize supporting Donald Trump.

I’ve seen the religiously recalcitrant Donald Trump compared to the Biblical King David, Moses, the Apostle Paul and lately, King Cyrus II of Persia due to impressive examples of Scriptural eisegesis. All of which highlighted much to my chagrin, either the right’s epic Biblical ignorance, or the depths folks will go in soothing their spirits when they know Trump is tragic at best, or more likely a democrat shill who conned them. Too invested, they hunker down.

The Hillary voter falls under the auspices of the willingly/unknowingly ignorant and the knowingly wicked—There is no third thing. Hillary Clinton is the most unrepentant, loathsome creature ever to be nominated for President. There is not a shred of decency in a person who can stand before victim’s families and lie to their faces for no other reason than political expedience. Unfathomable shame should fall on anyone who supports her.

The only argument for Trump I can almost understand is he has the virtue of not being Hillary Clinton. If people stuck to this line of reasoning in supporting Trump I could partially relate. All the other rationalizations though… The saddest is the, we must protect the Supreme Court from Hillary appointees! Even though Trump is a congenital liar, we should trust he will appoint conservative Justices as he sort of promises—Never mind not too long ago, Trump stated his über liberal and pro abortion sister, would make a great Justice.

I can think of no better example than the Roe v. Wade decision to illustrate the fallacy of this reasoning. Of the nine seated justices, ruling in Roe, six were appointed by real, dyed in the wool Republicans, namely Eisenhower and Nixon—These weren’t ersatz Republicans like Trump.

Only two of the nine justices voted against and offered dissenting opinions, William Rehnquist, appointed by Nixon and elevated to Chief Justice by Ronald Reagan and Byron White, appointed by John F. Kennedy—The two dissenters weren’t even both the result of Republican administrations.

Far more recently, a conservative majority failed to strike down the dreadful Affordable Care Act. This with John G. Roberts, Jr. appointed by George Bush as Chief!

Then I hear, the painfully shallow, “We aren’t electing a pastor.” This is without question, the most pig-ignorant, immature, buck passing argument ever! It’s insulting! This bit of silliness is eclipsed only by the even more vacuous: “According to your standards, no Christian can vote for anyone because we are all sinners. No one is perfect enough for you.”

Well, I believe God when he gave us a formula for choosing leaders.

“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:” Exodus 18:21

Was God Himself suggesting the men Israel was to provide His people be sinless? The God who says we all fall short of His glory? Are we so immature we think there were less sinners back then than today? Yes, we all sin, but this does not absolve you of the solemn responsibility to consider some men are more worthy than others. Does the above verse suggest Trump or Hillary to you at all?

John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court the Trump voters are so worried about preserving from Hillary stated: “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” Was Jay suggesting “Perfection,” or simply a standard we ought to not think ridiculous and unattainable? Certainly making the argument “No one is perfect” lets you off the hook when you choose as abysmally as Hillary and Trump.

That God allows us to choose, does not infer he approves of our choices, or is in any way responsible for our errors. I say this for the “God is in control,” folks who feel comfortable passing Trump onto God, as if He is going to use Trump to usher in a new golden age. Please don’t blame our choosing between Trump and Hillary on the Holy God revealed in the Holy Bible.

I am a believer—I don’t just believe in God, I believe God! When you say you believe in God, but ignore His tenets for political expedience you betray Him and yourself—This is the opposite of faith. God has earned our faith because He is faithful. Faith is not belief without proof, the sort of faith one has to have in a Trump or Hillary who lie as a matter of course, but rather trust without reservation based on a proven track record.

This is why Christ admonishes us to “Judge not according to appearance, but judge a righteous judgement.” You have the folks who castigate people for judging Trump and Hillary harshly—They do this while quoting from Matthew 7: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” As if Christ was speaking of judging in general, as opposed to judging hypocritically as is contextually obvious.

This is the same God who says in the very same chapter of Matthew: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Why would the Lord tell us to examine folk’s fruits, if we shouldn’t heed what we glean about a person’s character by doing so? Are we not supposed to temper our dealings based on observing a person’s track record?

The Trump supporter claims they like Trump because he says he will fight for them and he is not an insider, even though during the time Ted Cruz for example was actually leading filibusters and revolts on the people’s behalf, Trump was, with his personal treasure, aiding and abetting the very people Senator Cruz was fighting against. If I have to choose the saddest thing for me personally this cycle, it would be admitting the right is not immune to the exact same strain of cognitive dissonance the left exists on.

As I stated above, as a believer I believe God. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14

America’s problem is not political it’s spiritual. Today, we have a haughty spirit in our nation—one comfortable with disregarding God’s tenets. If you can explain to me how voting for a man who has said from his own mouth, he has never approached the throne of grace in humility asking forgiveness for anything--Or a woman so wicked, like a modern day Ananias and Sapphira, together with her husband, raised millions for Haitian relief only to enrich themselves is an indication of a nation humbling itself and seeking God’s face, I will gladly vote one of those wretches in.

Do you believe this nation can be healed apart from God? You must, or it would not be so easy to support Trump, or Hillary for any reason. I am reminded of the words of Ben Franklin spoken before the Constitutional Convention in our nation’s youth: “In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?”

Elections are not always binary; this is the thinking of the small-minded. Voting isn’t always a matter of simply who wins and loses. Voting is about exercising your voice. There are times when you don’t knuckle under, taking what they give you; there comes a time your voice has to say NO! Until we have a true rebellion fueled by people refusing to choose between evils, we are doomed to forever doing just that.

The fat lady sings? Who knows, either way it's curtains for morality and decency.

Digital Publius

I Left My Hat In Haiti

The recent Hillary Clinton Wikileaks revelations the mainstream media is working so feverishly to ignore during this farcical general election, brought back memories of another story ignored by the press to shield the Democrat hopeful. The Haitians who gathered outside of Clinton's offices this summer to protest the Clinton Foundation's economic exploitation of the beleaguered Island nation. Seems Ol' Hispaniola is still a lure for greedy privateers.

Dinesh D'Souza documents brilliantly the Clinton's crimes regarding Haiti in his latest book;

Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party excerpted here.

A Facebook friend's comments on the connection between Haiti's devotion to witchcraft, coupled with hurricane Matthew's recent devastating impact on Haiti, prompted me to re-post for your consideration an article from the old Digital Publius site I wrote in January 2010.

As a baby boomer, influenced probably to an unhealthy degree by pop culture, just about everything I come across triggers a sort of semi-related memory or response. It may be perverse, but the first thing to pop into my head when I heard about the horrific earthquake in Haiti was the Fred Astaire and Jane Powell musical number from the film “Royal Wedding”, "I left My Hat in Haiti."

I know I need help, but, it is the truth. Haiti also triggers thoughts of pirates seeking refuge on Hispaniola (the little Spain), the name given by Columbus to the Island later bisected becoming modern Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Seems in the movies privateers were always headed there.

The devastation left in the wake of the earthquake that rocked the island nation should not be made light of. The death toll is staggering and expected to continue climbing. Long term suffering will likely make Katrina seem like a picnic. The swift response from the Obama administration offering aid, is laudable, not only in supplying succor to the native population, but also because of his responsibility to the 40,000 some-odd American citizens on the Island at any given time.

Odd Haiti seems to suffer from an arguably endless plague of miseries, a fact which can’t be disputed. When one considers Haiti shares a land mass with the relatively prosperous Dominican Republic, it is indeed a quandary why Haiti remains a perpetual mare’s nest. Unless of course Pat Robertson is right.

I am sure by now you have heard of the flap caused by Pat Robertson stating Haiti is accursed due to a pact the early Haitian patriots made with the devil. Robertson’s proclamation was met with the expected derision and vitriol from the left, and a fair amount from those who say they are right-wing evangelicals.

Robertson’s statement and the following uproar triggered another pop culture response in yours truly, when the Sly and the Family Stone lyric “It’s the truth, that the truth, makes them so uptight,” from the song “Stand,” skulked unwarranted across my fevered brain. I spent a goodly amount of time running down the voodoo curse story and I have not found a reason to doubt its historicity.

Every history of Haiti I came across mentioned a houngan (voodoo priest) named Dutty Boukman did in fact lead a large gathering of slaves in a voodoo rite. From the Haitian bicentennial site we read:

“A man named Boukman, another houngan, organized on August 14, 1791, a meeting with the slaves in the mountains of the North. This meeting took the form of a Voodoo ceremony in the Bois Caiman in the northern mountains of the island. It was raining and the sky was raging with clouds; the slaves then started confessing their resentment of their condition. A woman started dancing languorously in the crowd, taken by the spirits of the loas. With a knife in her hand, she cut the throat of a pig and distributed the blood to all the participants of the meeting who swore to kill all the whites on the island.”
 
We find the story repeated on kreyol.com:
“Among the rebellion's leaders were Boukman, a maroon and voodoo houngan (priest); Georges Biassou, who later made Toussaint (Louverture) his aide; Jean-François, who subsequently commanded forces, along with Biassou and Toussaint, under the Spanish flag; and Jeannot, the blood thirstiest of them all. These leaders sealed their compact with a voodoo ceremony conducted by Boukman in the Bois Cayman (Alligator Woods) in early August 1791. On August 22, a little more than a week after the ceremony, the uprising of their black followers began.” 
 
On the same site we find a fellow named François Macandal, lead a six year rebellion between 1751-57 leaving some 6,000 dead. Macandal was himself, a boko, or voodoo sorcerer from African traditions who used his dark religion to motivate his followers.

These occurrences happened and are canonical according to Hatian sources. The high dudgeon displayed by Robertson’s detractors, eager to call him a man filled with racist hatred, fail to mention as he made the remarks, the Christian Broadcast Network had a team already on the ground in Haiti and one of it’s Operation Blessing containers on a ship at the port of Port-Au-Prince waiting to clear customs, filled with 2 million dollars worth of medical supplies as a contribution to aid in the relief effort.

Comments like this one accompanying the story  on breitbart.tv regarding this subject are telling:
“I am a Christian and am frankly embarrassed almost every time this guy opens his mouth. He said the same thing about the tsunami in SE Asia in ‘04. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Jesus would never have uttered such stupidity. He would have been too busy trying to dig people out of the rubble and administer first aid. “Do unto others….” You know the rest.”
 
However, Pat Robertson’s words are exactly the sort of thing we would expect to hear from the Jesus Christ revealed in the Holy Bible:

“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. “ John 8:3-12
 
In this passage of Scripture Christ does not condemn the law of Moses, the woman deserved to be stoned to death, just as all of us who sin deserve punishment. He did not excuse the guilt of the woman nor did He endorse the Pharisees false zeal. As Matthew Henry far more ably put it:

“All who are any way called to blame the faults of others are especially concerned to look to themselves, and keep themselves pure. In this matter Christ attended to the great work about which he came into the world, that was, to bring sinners to repentance; not to destroy, but to save. He aimed to bring, not only the accused to repentance, by showing her his mercy, but the prosecutors also, by showing them their sins; they thought to ensnare him, he sought to convince and convert them.”
 
It is important to note that Jesus’ last words to the woman were “Go, and sin no more.” This is a warning, though she received mercy that day, continuing in her sin would result in condemnation from the Father later, which is precisely what Pat Robertson was calling for when he prayed Haiti would repent and turn from the sin of witchcraft the very scourge of the island nation.

Haiti is rife with voodoo. The official religion of Haiti is Catholicism, but it is reported 95% of Haitians are inculcated with some measure of voodoo, believed, by them, to be compatible with Catholic belief. God, in no uncertain terms, condemns witchcraft in both the Old and New Testaments in every form.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12

The last verse bears repeating.  Jesus’ words are the key unlocking the mystery and fuel the loving comments Pat Robertson, offered in hope the lost of Haiti find the Light of Truth. Jesus’ words also fuel the much maligned comments Britt Hume proffered to Tiger Woods.
“When you aid them, you do no favor to those in trouble if you fail to point out issues that may have caused those troubles to begin with.”
 
It’s better to tell a guy it’s not a good idea to fall asleep on train tracks than to have to follow a person around so you are there to pull him out of the way of a train. It is the devil’s mission to convince man to reject God and then take their lives before the deceived learn the truth. Armed with that knowledge, I am convinced; the devil left his hate in Haiti.

Digital Publius

Whatever Happened To Decency?

That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. I Corinthians 12:25,26

In a recent interview for Vox World, Republican Party operative and Forbes editor Avik Roy remarked: “I think the conservative movement is fundamentally broken, Trump is not a random act. This election is not a random act.”

The interview explains the shift in political perception regarding the civil rights movement in America. The exodus of Blacks from the GOP was a reaction to Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater’s “Principled stance against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Goldwater himself was not a racist; he believed it was wrong for government to force private businesses to desegregate.

The article continues: “But this ‘principled’ stance identified the GOP with the pro-segregation camp in everyone’s eyes, while the Democrats under Lyndon Johnson became the champions of anti-racism.

This had a double effect, Roy says. First, it forced black voters out of the GOP. Second, it invited in white racists who had previously been Democrats. Even though many Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act in Congress, the post-Goldwater party became the party of aggrieved whites.”

“The fact is, today, the Republican coalition has inherited the people who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — the Southern Democrats who are now Republicans,” Roy says. “Conservatives and Republicans have not come to terms with that problem.”

Where the stance Goldwater took may have been principled and strict Americanism from a Libertarian perspective, it was ultimately wrong—just as such stances on states rights regarding slavery were wrong, wrong morally and an affront to natural law. Principles are great, when they agree with human decency and common sense. “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it”

It is not all right to advocate for individual rights which systemically harm or restrict others in their personal pursuit of happiness. A modern day example would be the Democrat Party and liberal’s in general slavish devotion to a woman’s right to murder her child in the womb, an act that robs the aggrieved individual the most fundamental right of all—Life!

There are some today who would attempt to draw a moral equivalency to LGBT patrons being denied services—on the surface this may seem a fair argument. For those of us with a mature outlook on reality, the argument falls apart as LGBT is an operation of choice, while a person does not choose their race, or the circumstances of their birth.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Ephesians 4:29

I have struggled living up to that verse myself during this election cycle God forgive me! I am personally frustrated by the shear madness of the choices presented our nation for the next President. The party I have aligned myself with is chock full of wonderful people of all races, but it can no longer be denied. Trump’s ascendancy is directly attributed to the racists who joined the GOP because they mistook the party’s adherence to individual liberty to be a tacit approval of racism.

We did it to ourselves, the racists and the dull witted in the GOP are quick to argue against conservatives who suggest reaching out to minority groups. Stating callous rhetoric to bolster their position. “Why don’t they just get it?” Why should we reach out to Blacks, or fill in the blank group when all they do is reject us?”

The answer is simple; you do it to help others, which has the further effect of eventually helping yourself. You do it because it is the right thing to do! You do it because we are losing our country to the very bad ideas the unopposed liberals vying for and winning those votes champion!

The two factors most responsible for our choice this election cycle are hate and immorality. Trump tapped into the vein of hate infecting the Republican Party, not the majority to be sure, but more than enough to override the decent folk whose votes where split amongst the sensible and good Republican candidates. Just enough hate filled Republican voters to give a plurality great enough to give us Trump and a more lasting impression of ignorance and bigotry with the rest of the thinking world.

Hillary Clinton supporters are those whose conscience has been seared to the point they are completely incapable of moral thinking. The intrinsic wickedness she has displayed for decades is not even recognized as such. The Democrat party has tapped into grievance and personal identity, whether it be race, or LGBT and raised it to a religion so powerful it’s adherents have completely forgotten the Providence and tenets undergirding and guarding our nations prosperity from it’s founding.

Even if Trump were by a miracle to win the presidency, the very idea of decency will have been struck a blow so great this nation may never recover from it. Christians, supporting either candidate have completely lost sight of the tenets of God. Opting instead to join the world in this celebration, no this orgy of unscrupulousness.

Forgetting the Word of God that warns us you do not do evil that good may come of it, you cannot expect to overturn the corruption of Hillary Clinton with what you believe to be, the lesser corruption of Donald Trump! A house divided against itself cannot stand; Satan cannot and will not cast out Satan. Even when you think your Satan is less Satany than the other party’s.

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Colossians 3:12
Digital Publius

Rigged?

This ante meridiem, the nation wakes to such headlines as: “You Broke My Heart” documenting those who so stridently felt the “Bern” expressing their feeling burned by Senator Bernie Sanders’ tacit endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s run for President. Mr. Sanders states: “Hillary Clinton understands that we must fix an economy in America that is rigged and that sends almost all new wealth and income to the top one percent.”

All “New wealth and income?” who is creating the wealth and income Mr. Sanders? Is it the people you say you represent? On their own, the workers simply work, they don’t create wealth, and they benefit from the wealth created by the fertile minds savvy enough to risk what they have to bring about their ideas. The workers, through the fair and freely entered exchange of their energy for wages get what they earn.

No one is trapped in such an arrangement in America. Any person is free to pursue his own ideas, or to make herself more marketable by acquiring new skills, facilitating higher wages. There is nothing in the rigging of our economy beyond the ropes and pulleys everyone has access to and necessary for use in raising one’s self in our society.

If anything was rigged, it was this election cycle, on the left and right! Bernie Sanders? Really? As much as the collective brainpower and common sense of the American youth has atrophied, there still aren’t enough dummies to think America would elect a socialist, democratic or otherwise to run the most powerful economy in human history.

If you think the democrat “Primaries,” has been anything other than an anointing ceremony for Mrs. Clinton… I don’t have the words to express your naïveté, or just plain pig-ignorance. Sanders was handpicked by the powers that be to run against Hillary so there would be no serious competition for her to overcome.

The fact so many people seemed oblivious to the contemporary nations suffering under the yoke of socialism and the loathsome history of the terribly destructive ideology would actually support Sanders was an unforeseen wrinkle. Consider modern day socialism notably contributing to the influx of Latin American refugees fleeing nations operating under the very ideas Sanders and to a slightly lesser extent Clinton champion as they pour unabated across our boarders.

No one with a brain ever conceived Bernie Sanders being a serious candidate for President in a nation, which spent the better portion of the twentieth century, fighting tooth and nail against socialism/communism. You Bernie supporters are not just woefully ignorant you were jobbed! How else to explain a democrat field so inexplicably unpolluted by democrat candidates? That my friends, is rigging.

Lest you think this critique too partisan, the rigging by no means stopped in ships sailed solely by leftists—the same builders strung the lines on the right’s political vessels this cycle. Donald Trump is no less a joke in opposition to Hillary Clinton. He too in my humble opinion was meant to make the way easier for the Clinton’s to be paid off for their globalist work.

No person was more tailor-made to distract and blunt the required contrast in policy needed to vanquish the left this cycle. Trump was the perfect shill designed to play to the most base thinking ruling the ignorant portion of the right wing. Trump’s shrill caterwauling, lying and indifference to decency was just the thing to make enough noise to drown out the real issues, policies and solutions offered by true conservatives.

Coupled with the never ending news coverage train wrecks, metaphorically speaking of course inevitably garner and the constant chorus of "Real conservatives can’t win"—we end up with the one democrat in the republican field winning the republican primary. Trump was the one man perfect for Hillary to walk all over in her march towards the White House. That my friend’s is rigging.

One can’t help but notice the two candidates left and right, recruited by whomever, for who knows what rewards to make it easy for the Clinton’s, are both enamored with speciously using the word “Rigged throughout their demagogic rants.” Mostly to describe systems they either don’t understand, or have actually worked quite well since our nation’s inception.

The easily manipulated, left and right are blind to the common handwriting marking a singular author, or group for both the Sanders and Trump campaigns—Both sides assure you they will protect the Supreme Court with the sort of judges who will do the sort of things both groups of lemmings want to hear. The ending of the story was inevitable, more of the same, in ever increasing portions as we as a nation are herded.  Rigged?

Ephesians 5:
⁶ Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

⁷ Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

⁸ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

⁹ (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

¹⁰ Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

¹¹ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

¹² For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

¹³ But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

¹⁴ Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil

Digital Publius

Liberty Ain't Free!

A year ago today I posted on Facebook: "If the state you live in maintains your right to self defense and you are considering a CPL (Concealed Pistol License), allow me to encourage you to do so! That class ain't gonna take itself! Remember, it's not about fear, it's about preparation and personal responsibility. Protect yourself and the ones you love!"

On the day after we celebrate our nation's liberation from the tyranny of unjust rulers, I reflect on the turmoil being spread across the globe by various dark forces and I thank God for the wisdom of our founders. Where the United States of America is not untouched by the havoc wreaked by chaotic forces and Islam run amok, we do maintain our freedom to be armed for personal protection.

Sadly, many, blinded by relative security in their personal lives, do not see the wisdom, the reasons we should guard the "Unalienable" right to bear arms jealously. With every act of chaos, without regard to motivation, they call for less access to firearms, not for the criminals who disregard laws, but rather the law abiding.

Many are comfortable with abdicating personal responsibility when it comes to the security of themselves and their loved ones, I am not. Unfortunately this comfort level by some is driven by propaganda and a poor understanding of the very concept of the words, "Shall not be infringed."

The 2nd Amendment was not added to our Constitution to secure your ability to hunt, (hunting was a forgone conclusion) or for the sole purpose of raising militias, or limited to the types of arms available at that time, as if the framers could not imagine greater weapons invented in the future, (It ain't muskets v AR15s). The 2nd Amendment does not grant the right to bear arms, it affirms the right of protection, of self preservation granted by Almighty God! It is natural law!

A cursory glance at history grants access to those given to reason, example after example of tyrannical power riding on the backs of legislation aimed at disarming the people marked for victimization. Tyranny whether exercised by a political potentate, or maniac empowered by the knowledge of a freehand in so-called gun free zones, is only stopped when it meets an armed countervailing force.

"Then said he unto them, But now, he that has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his bag: and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." Luke 22:36


With that said, I offer a hunk of quotes preserved from the minds of the very Founders aforementioned, these quotes play hob with the notions peddled by the anti-gun rights advocates seeking to reinterpret the 2nd Amendment. Self defense is not only lawful, it is common sense.

"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..."
- George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress, January 8, 1790

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787

"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787

"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776

"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785

"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824

"On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823

"I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."
- George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788

"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers."
- George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."
- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787

"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."
- James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789

"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
- William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783

“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms…  "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
- Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."
- Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778

"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."
- St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803

"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."
- Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
- Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."
- Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833

"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."
- Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789

"For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787 

"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28

"[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788

"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."
- Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789Digital Publius

Rightwing Cognative Dissonance, the Trump Addition.

I will be brief.  Cognitive dissonance is not just an ailment on the left anymore; it is in full effect on the right this election year. We have endured cycle, after cycle of the establishment right continuously selling the same old saw, we need to back the  “Most conservative with a chance to win.” It’s why the electorate on the right habitually tosses aside the good candidates for the status quo candidates, Like McCain and Romney.

Neither of these fellows had plans, particularly when it comes to tax reform, on a scale large enough to actually improve things. Nor, by the way did either candidate actually win.

If you fix the tax system in America and install either a flat tax in the style advocated by Senator Cruz, or even better the FairTax—The false narrative of immigration as the most critical concern becomes irrelevant. Every candidate on the right wants secure borders, I repeat, all of them.

The important candidates did not harp on the issue, because it is prima facie—Trump latched on to that particular concern after reading Ann Coulter’s book “Adios, America!” and recognized it as the mindless red meat issue most likely to appeal to the low information voter on the right. Just as “Make America Great Again” is the pseudo rightwing version of the equally vacuous “Hope and Change” still beguiling Democrat voters, especially black ones, as they continue to wallow in the mess the Democrat party perpetuates wherever they are given sway.

Donald Trump has the weakest tax plan in the group followed closely by Marco Rubio—It will be business as usual if Trump were in fact able to stumble into the White House and the establishment left and right know it. If you get Tax reform right, who cares how many people immigrate to America? There will be more jobs than the nation will know what to do with. Trump and his followers are so filled with misguided rage they can’t see it.

That being said, the Trump supporter has forgotten the establishment’s best chance to win scenario—They are so apoplectic over the idea of a possible Hillary or Bernie presidency, they miss the fact Trump in almost none of the national polls defeats either of them.  Polls of course are only accurate to a Trump supporter if they show their guy throttling his opponents, so… They dismiss facts in favor of their own reality… just like democrat voters.

The leftist controlled media and Super PACS are straining in the slips in anticipation of unleashing an endless torrent of folks Trump has bilked out of their hard earned money, they shall become like household names soon enough in the general election. The democrat party plays to win, no gentlemen amongst them.

Now as to the right wing DC centric establishment, cognitive dissonance manifests thusly. The fellow who it seems has the best chance to bring down the Trump parade and incidentally defeats Hillary and Bernie regularly in the polls is Ted Cruz.

Yet the establishment hates Ted Cruz even more than they hate Trump the dealmaker—Why do they hate Cruz? He had the audacity to actually come to the District and busy himself with doing the things, or at least attempted to do the things he promised and was elected to fulfill. Ted Cruz makes the establishment look really, really bad—So they prefer the idea of backing the more conciliatory Rubio instead another dealmaker like Trump promises to be. Even though according to the polls, we actually have a true conservative in Ted Cruz meeting the mythical standard, (According to the polls that is) of “Best chance to win,” while actually exciting the grass roots thinking voter.

I look at the party I have chosen to align myself with and I see a group as mercurial as Donald Trump's ever shifting positions. I am reminded of an oft-repeated bit of Scripture: “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8 I dare say this petit divine wisdom applies no less to political parties.

Digital Publius

The Evangelical Monolith?

One of the oft repeated utterances amongst the television talking heads post the South Carolina Primary, left and right and then aped by their viewers is: "Cruz was counting on carrying the evangelical vote in South Carolina and Trump got more of them instead.”

When a Democrat pundit speaks this, or some variation of the statement, it reveals the one-dimensional thinking rife in those who lean left--it's programming really, it’s the reason they tend to support the Bernie and Hillary types.

Liberals believe in monoliths--because the left stacks people neatly into rigid piles so they can develop ways to pander specifically to each. The Black vote, the women's vote, the LGBT vote... Each gets it's scientifically designed, specifically tailored set of promises to deal with grievances created by their Hegelian masters.

The right leaning pundit speaking this way generally reveals a preference for Donald Trump—I find Eric Bolling and Sean Hannity, (both Catholic) or Mike Gallagher (Methodist, a more liberal Protestant group today) the less cerebral right leaning pundits, tend to always find a way to turn some idiotic thing issuing forth from the Donald’s mouth into an apologetic for him, all while insisting they are neutral.

The "Evangelical" vote is not a monolith any more than the other groups are.

You err in thinking Evangelical is synonymous with white conservative Republicans. Most of the Evangelicals I know personally are Black liberals who vote Democrat-- (Evangelical being primarily defined as a Bible believing Protestant who stands on the idea of spreading the good news of salvation through Christ Jesus.) This was the reason I started my Blog Digital Publius back in 2007, to challenge Christians voting for a man so obviously against the things of God as Barrack Obama was and so manifestly more obviously is today now he no longer has to pretend.

Black Evangelicals tend to put racial identity and materialism above the Word of God when it comes to politics—This is why they vote in such large numbers for the vilest of people, even when those liberal candidates stand against nearly every tenet taught in the Holy Bible. Black folks do this while living in areas decimated by the ideas of the liberals they put in leadership.

When you ask black Evangelicals why they don’t vote for Republicans, even when you point out the Republican believes as they do on so many issues like abortion, special rights for the LGBT community and so on, they either respond; The Republicans are racist, or don’t like the poor, or any of the other things the left through media and their agents on the ground perpetuate to keep them voting Democrat.

Racism to Democrats is not supporting things like Affirmative Action, though they never question why the left does not support School choice and vouchers. Standing against a perpetual welfare state and supporting the dignity of hard work is racist. Yet the Clintons create the most Draconian drug-sentencing laws in the 90s, creating the largest boom in black incarceration in history is not racist. The white Cocaine mogul gets light sentencing, while the street level dealer gets mandatory life…  All this of course aids in the break down of the black family, heck the family in general, whose health is the only true starting point to eradicate the need for welfare.

South Carolina is an open primary, if you don’t think Democrats of every stripe, including those who consider themselves just as evangelical as President Jimmy Carter are committed to forcing a candidate on the right most easily beaten by Mrs. Clinton, you are really quite naïve. Trump fits the bill. Of the top three Republicans, Trump is the only one not beating Hillary in any of the polls. Otherwise poll happy Trump and his supporters, like ignoring this fact. Monolithic, group thinking is how we got in the position we now find ourselves.

" Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure."  I Timothy 5:22

Every time President Obama, or Hillary Clinton shows up at a Black church, affecting a quasi-southern Negro dialect, (That’s the way they think all Black people talk apparently) or in front of a group of Pastors, followed up with a photo-op featuring said pastors laying hands on a candidate, while said candidate holds their beliefs in utter contempt inwardly, you are seeing the Evangelical vote.

“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:4

Digital Publius

The Real Face of Racism

 

Former NY Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, during a forum held at the Aspen Institute, takes time out of discussing drug legalization to make this statement:

95 percent of murders fall into a specific category: male, minority and between the ages of 15 and 25. Cities need to get guns out of this group’s hands and keep them alive, he said.

“These kids think they’re going to get killed anyway because all their friends are getting killed,” Bloomberg said. “They just don’t have any long-term focus or anything. It’s a joke to have a gun. It’s a joke to pull a trigger.”

At one point, the former mayor brought up New York City’s stop-and-frisk practices, which gained national attention in 2011. Bloomberg said that during his last year in office, a minister at a Baptist church in Harlem invited him to speak.

“While I’m sitting there waiting for him to introduce me, he said to his congregation, ‘You know, if every one of you stopped and frisked your kid before they went out at night, the mayor wouldn’t have to do it,’” Bloomberg said. “And so I knew I was going to be okay with that audience.”

He was okay because he was in a room already thoroughly indoctrinated with the kinds of poison the Democrats infest minority minds with. Liberal/Democrat party ideology and policies are at the very root of the minority male ennui Bloomberg here laments! I like the way Milwaukee County Sheriff David A Clarke summed it up:

“You would have to absolutely loathe black people to want to keep them mired in generational poverty and ignorance, living in ghettos with high unemployment, with their kids shackled to failing K-12 urban school systems and crime-ridden neighborhoods just to secure a permanent voting majority and to hang onto political power.”

When asked what the U.S. can do to get people out of poverty. Bloomberg responded that conventional wisdom points to education, but education isn’t going to help uneducated adults.

Apparently Mr. Bloomberg has never heard of “Adult Education,” training programs, or just the idea of acquiring skills to make oneself more marketable on your own. Ironic when you consider he spoke about vocational education earlier in the same forum. When you promote ideas like personal responsibility, even in education, you may harm your constituency by raising them above their need for leftist help. Mustn't do that!

Racist White liberals like Michael Bloomberg and their indoctrinated, or equally evil black liberal minions in politics and media—Spare no opportunity to preach the minority communities inferiority. Teaching without fail minorities are incapable of competing with white folks like them without their masters in government’s help.

So these at risk youths internalize the message the system is rigged against them, even with a “Black” President and the massive amounts of wealth created by black folks in the freest nation in the history of the world. Liberals twist, change or flat out omit history and manipulate news stories in favor of propaganda in order to inflame minorities, keeping them in a perpetual state of perceived victim hood.

Liberals promote idleness every time they create new ways to reward the idle with entitlements unattached to the simple dignity of work. They do this while demonizing any philosophy suggesting personal responsibility or even culpability amongst the idle. Anyone promoting, as the Holy Bible teaches that charity begins at home, or If you are able-bodied and don’t work, you don’t eat, is summarily pilloried.

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:22

The poor and strangers had to come and gather the food for themselves, they had to work to eat—God did not instruct the land owners to put the food in baskets and distribute it—The dignity of the poor is maintained in this arrangement, it even provides the needy the opportunity to ask for permanent employment when thanking the landowner for following God’s instruction.

To the left, such an arrangement, asking the poor to offer some kind of work in return for governmental largesse is somehow hateful and anti-charity and anti aiding the poor, when largesse by it's very nature implies inferiority. After the inevitable deterioration of urban areas leads to crime and violence, instead of addressing the root—Leftists like Bloomberg and President Obama react by blaming guns, calling for their removal without regarding the same tools usefulness in self-defense for those who are truly victims.

Liberalism creates those 15-25 year old male minorities so given to violence and they are doing what idle young men of any variety have always done.

You want to put an end to urban hopelessness and violence? How about allowing school vouchers, so parents can get their kids out of failing school systems? Let them go to school with your family’s kids Mr. Bloomberg. After we remove ourselves from the teacher’s unions protecting all those worthless urban schools and properly educate our children—How about we unleash the free market?

Lets reform the horrific tax laws and ridiculous regulations designed by the left to choke businesses. Let the free market work, creating plentiful jobs and boundless innovation! Who cares how many immigrants want to come to our nation? If the jobs are flowing, we will need them.

Taking your gun away is the ultimate means of controlling you.

How about discontinuing the creation of narratives making law enforcement the villain when dealing with criminality? Let’s stop turning criminals into sympathetic characters—The Holy Bible rightly teaches  “…the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,”

Don’t strong arm store owners, or illegally sell loose cigarettes and you reduce your chances of running afoul of the law and being the “Victim” of brutality. When white cops start to walk up as a matter of course and start shooting black folks minding their own business—Ill be first in line with my gun strapped on, to shout Black Lives Matter!

Guns are not the problem, people like Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama and Michael Bloomberg are the problem! Idleness does not always result in urban brutality—When the white and wealthy are idle, they come up with ideas like socialism. We used to call them Parlor Pinks or Pinkos. Then stupid people of every kind buy into it.

Folks are only able to sit around dreaming so-called “Progressive” ideas after capitalism creates the wealth allowing for idleness. Socialism is fueled by capitalism, socialism has never created wealth, nor has it brought anyone out of poverty—Ever! It does the exact opposite--it crushes prosperity and eats at the soul.

Yet the left somehow believes what I call U.S. Style Socialism will work when socialism without regard to nomenclature has never worked anywhere. Tragically, so many of our mushy headed youth and a good number of mature Americans believe Democratic Socialism, as espoused by Bernie Sanders overtly and Hillary covertly is a viable economic idea. This is a testimony to the effectiveness of leftist propaganda and control. There are no greater racists and parlor pinks than Michael Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, they represent the soft racism of low expectations and pandering—Every time Clinton affects her quasi-southern, black dialect, at black churches or events, she is calling minorities stupid.

“I’ll have those niggers voting Democratic for the next 200 years.” – Lyndon Baines Johnson

Digital Publius