Rep. Ilhan Omar

Rep. Ilhan Omar is a Democrat, elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018. She is a naturalized American citizen who was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1981.  She is a Muslim.  Her employment background is in education and local politics in Minnesota.(1)

She has recently been criticized for making comments on social media that some judged to be anti-Semitic.  She has been critical of President Trump’s policies on immigration.  She is reported to favor strict gun control, expanded health care coverage, and abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.(2)

During a recent House Foreign Relations Committee hearing Rep. Omar verbally attacked the venerable Elliott Abrams, US Special Representative for Venezuela.  She stepped over the line of propriety by personally impuning his truthfulness and integrity.  I would point out that, although Mr. Abrams has made mistakes, he was serving this country before Rep. Omar ever was born or became a citizen.  He deserves to be interviewed about the subject at hand (Venezuela) with dignity and respect.

Regarding personal honesty and integrity, Rep. Omar is reportedly under investigation by the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board for using campaign funds for personal trips not related to her election.  Minnesota Representative Steve Drazkowski has been quoted by the BBC as saying, "She just doesn't respect the law." (3)

Rep. Omar has been compared to other young, female Democrats, elected in 2018, who are challenging the status quo in Washington.  These include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Talib.  Rep. Ocasio- Cortez is a self-avowed Socialist, and Rep. Tlaib is a Palestinian-American Muslim.(4)

Although I disagree with Rep. Omar about a great many things, I also recognize her for her authenticity.  What she says and does is consistent with who she is.  With that said, I call for a close examination of the circumstances that have allowed her to become a Congresswoman, sitting on the House Foreign Relations Committee.  In short, how could this have been allowed to happen?

It calls into question US immigration policies that allow persons from failed states that are significantly infiltrated by Radical Islamists to enter the country as refugees and then are settled in ways that concentrate them in specific areas.  This in turn, has given them the ability to elect a Congressional Representative, which magnifies their influence in a way that is disproportionate to their numbers.

I would like to urge:

1.    That Rep. Omar be removed from the House Foreign Relations Committee.

2.    That the Democratic Party examine itself, giving careful consideration to which Democratic Candidates it supports and to which positions they serve in, if elected.

3.    That my fellow citizens write, call, or email their Senators and Congressmen and prevail upon them to pass immigration reform along the lines that President Trump is recommending.

4.    That my fellow citizens write, call, or email their state and local governments and advocate that they prohibit the relocation of refugees and immigrants in ways that gerrymander their political and electoral influence.

To the young Democratic firebrands in Congress, I would offer some friendly advice based on my own experience. Those who set out to set the world on fire should consider that, if they are successful, their own house will burn down with it.

Footnotes

1. "Ilhan Omar: Who is Minnesota's Somalia-born congresswoman?" Toby Luckhurst BBC        News, 15 February 2019.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.
4. Ibid

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47238450

Post Script: I tried for a long time to fix the spacing on the footnotes, but the word processing program wants to go its own way.  So, I am going to bed.

Everybody Sins

Jesus cried out from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

Today, in the Church Age, if we are going to be for real, we must admit that Christians know what we are doing, and we sin anyway.  Thanks be to God that He has provided a way for us to be restored to fellowship with Him.  If we repent and turn away from the sins we have committed, then God forgives us:

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

but whoever keeps His word,

in him the love of God has truly been perfected.

By this we know that we are in Him:

the one who says he abides in Him ought himself

to walk in the same manner as He walked.

(1John 1:8-10, 2:1-6 NASB)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/1-john/2.html

Humility

Humble?  Of course, I’m humble.  I’m the most humble person in the world.

Writing posts for this blog has been a humbling experience.  I have found that there are some things I don’t know very much about.  Learning enough to write about them has been a growth experience.  Likewise, there are other things that I thought I knew a lot about, but when I looked for facts to support my opinions, I found that there is a lot I still need to learn.  There are also things I know about that I have found difficult to explain.  A humbling experience, however, is not a bad thing.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit (humble), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

(Matt 5:3)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/

Humility is easier said than done.  Someone once said that, ‘Attitude is a small thing that affects everything.’  Humility is like that.  In the Holy Bible, you will find one instruction after another that requires humility to obey.

The New Testament was written when the Caesars ruled the Roman Empire.  Simon Peter wrote his epistles at a time when the church had been driven out of Jerusalem by the Jewish authorities and Rome was persecuting Christians, sometimes to the death.  Yet, he urged Christians to obey the government and “honor the king.”  The Apostle Paul also gave similar instructions in his letters. (1 Peter 2:13-17, Romans 13:1-7)  At the time He was arrested, and when He was interrogated by Pilate, Jesus showed clearly that He was not leading an earthly rebellion. (John18:10-11, John 18:36)

Today, as in those days, it is humbling to subordinate ourselves to governmental authority.  Of course, we are obligated to obey God as the supreme authority if the requirements of human governing authorities are in conflict with the Word of God. (Acts 4:19-20)  We must humbly submit to God in all things (James 4:7), and when we do, He “will lift us up.” (James 4:10) If we have the Spirit of Christ, the Christian’s relationship with God is that of a child to their parent.  He is a Daddy to us, (Abba Father). (Romans 8:12-17)

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament instruct children to honor and obey their parents. (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-3)  Parents have shortcomings, and sometimes their faults make that difficult.  Conversely, a parent may spend a lifetime trying to set a good example, only to have it come undone by one failure of character. The Bible, however, does not say honor and obey your parents if and when they are perfect.  It doesn’t give us that kind of an out.  We must love, honor, and obey our parents in spite of their faults.  Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for teaching people to give money to God that they should be giving their parents to aid in their support. (Mark 7:8-13)

Children are a reward from the Lord; a source of happiness. (Psalms 127:3-5)  Raising them, however, cannot be done without humility.  You may not have it when you start parenting, but you will have acquired it by the time you have finished.  Raising children often teaches us how little we know.

Parents are to avoid being so harsh that their children become bitter and discouraged.  They are to spend time with their children, instructing them about God. (Ephesians 6:4, Colossians 3:21) God disciplines His children, and though we often find it difficult to endure it, we become better for it. (Hebrews 12:5-11)  We are told to be imitators of God, and to walk in love. (Ephesians 5:1-2)  If God did not love us, he would not discipline us.  After the same fashion, when we discipline our children we must do so out of love.

Too many people, Christians and non-Christians alike, use Proverbs 13:24 ( ‘He who spares the rod hates his child.’) as an excuse for child abuse.  Punishment used to correct a child must never injure the child.  Spend time with your kids doing things they like to do, and weave God into the conversation.  Read their bedtime stories from a Children’s Bible.  Catch them when they do things right, not just when they do things wrong.  Reinforce good behavior with praise and privileges, not just with money or things.  

To be clear, everyone is equal in Christ, for we are all “one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)  The Word of God teaches that both women and men are made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:27)  The Bible ascribes different roles for men and women in marriage.  The descriptions of these roles are consistent between the various human authors.

It takes humility on the part of both husband and wife to live out marriage as God tells us to.  Both the husband and the wife must humble themselves to accept God’s plan for marriage, and they must be servants, each to the other … in different ways.  There are a lot of things in the Bible that clash with our modern culture.  To smooth that over, some of our preachers often try to take the edges off the rules for marriage that the Holy Spirit moved the authors of scripture to write down.  The Bible says what it says.  We must submit ourselves in all humility to the Holy Spirit and follow His leading. (See: Ephesians 5:25, Colossians 3:19, 1Peter 3:7, Genesis 2:18, Proverbs 18:22, Proverbs 14:1, Proverbs 31:10-31, Titus 2:3-5, Ephesians 5:22-24 and 33.)

I feel that I have done what I set out to do.  There are so many other examples that I might list: employers and employees, the Christian and others (neighbors and brethren), the Christian and church leaders, and forgiveness to name a few.  I think, however, that the point has been made.  You can’t ‘walk the walk’ without humility.

You may say, ‘I can’t do that!’  You are correct, and neither can I in my own strength.  The only way we can live out God’s plan is by faith.  Then, the result of God’s gift of saving faith in Jesus Christ is that we want to do what he planned in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)  Our desire is no longer to live in sin to please ourselves, but to live according to the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:1-11) You see,  … “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13 NKJV).  Our faith is demonstrated in the way we live our lives. (James 2:14-26).

The Bible says repeatedly uses words like submit, obey, love,  lay down your life for, forgive, and honor or respect.  It cannot be done without humility.  Further, it cannot be done in our own strength.  It can only be done in the power of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:13)

Finally, as God promised King Solomon, if “My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14 NASB)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/

Superbowl 2019

To those who are watching the Superbowl today, have fun and enjoy the game.  As for myself, I haven’t watched a pro football game or college game in over three years.

It is not a boycott so much as it is a loss of interest.  The NFL has not restrained players from using the huge public forum it provides to make political gestures and statements; which fail to show respect to the American flag and the national anthem.  I have no interest in entertainment that is disrespectful of our country.

Abuse of Power

In the predawn hours of Friday, 26 January 2019, the FBI raided the home of Roger Stone in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  A large group of armed agents in helmets, body armor, and wearing combat fatigues arrested Mr. Stone for a grand jury indictment resulting from the investigation being conducted by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.  The agents also searched Mr. Stone’s home.

Roger Stone is described as a “political insider.”  He has been an “adviser” to President Donald Trump, and he is reported to be friends with the president.

Alan Dershowitz is a law professor emeritus at Harvard.  He is a political liberal.  He occasionally takes issue, however, with the political left on issues like human rights, Israel, and the law.  On 26 January 2019, Mr. Dershowitz is reported to have objected to the manner of Roger Stone’s arrest on “Fox and Friends” (a news and commentary television show). Professor Dershowitz is reported to have said, "They should have simply sent his lawyer a notice saying please show up in the federal court … It was just a show. ... They're interested in getting information from him about the real target, and that's Donald Trump."

In an article on the Fox News web site dated 27 January 2019, Greg Re quotes Roger Stone as follows:

"I had no firearm in the house. I don’t have a permit for a firearm. I don’t own a firearm. Only my wife, my two dogs, my three cats were at home," he said.

"I’m not a flight risk, in fact, I think my passport has expired or it will expire in a few days. I have no record of a criminal past. And frankly, they just could have contacted my attorney and I would have voluntarily turned myself in," Stone said.

"The proof of this is that only hours later, the judge granted me a $250,000 surety bond, meaning on my signature with no funds put forward because I’m not a flight risk," he continued.

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/roger-stone-appears-to-open-door-to-cooperating-with-mueller-after-dramatic-predawn-arrest

Author Jerome Corsi has reported to Fox News interviewers that he was grilled for hours by the FBI in order to coerce him to make false statements that could be used in the prosecution of Roger Stone.  He has said that he was threatened with prosecution and prison if he didn’t cooperate.

Although I have never done police work in which I have personally arrested someone, I have investigated child abuse cases that have resulted in arrests, and I have prepared reports for the court of the results of my investigations.  I have managed the prosecution of Dependency and Neglect cases in civil court, and I have directed a child support enforcement program.  I have managed two community corrections programs, and I worked for a state prison system for 20 years.  I have some idea, therefore, of how arrests are made, and the level of police power that is normally used for various kinds of arrests.

Arrests like that of Roger Stone do not require the use of a large number of special agents at 5:00 AM.  Arrests like this can be made by a few agents to prevent escape and destruction of evidence while contact is being made, make the arrest, and execute the search warrant.  The FBI agents would normally be expected to be in civilian clothes and to have a side arm.

Mr. Stone was not known to be a gang member, drug lord, mafia kingpin, fugitive from justice, or a terrorist.  The FBI had no reasonable cause to believe that he would resist arrest.

It appears to me, on the face of it, that this was a misuse of police power for political purposes.  It looks like an attempt to intimidate, to target people close to the president, to isolate the president, and to coerce people to provide evidence against the president.

I am not passing judgement on the guilt or innocence of Roger Stone.  That is for the courts to decide.  I am not saying that he should not have been arrested.  Law enforcement was acting upon a grand jury indictment.  All I am saying is that the level of police power used to arrest Mr. Stone was grossly excessive.

This is the United States of America.  We are not Cuba or Venezuela.  We are not (yet) a police state.  Abuses of power are what you get with big government.  Officials think that they are answerable to political powers and not to the people.  Politicians think it is permissible to do the wrong thing for the right reasons, “for the greater good.”  People want the government to take care of everything  That way they won’t have to worry about it … so they can watch TV, play video games, and get stoned, and live on government handouts.

Watch out America.  This is how totalitarianism starts.

Extremism

I really don’t like being labeled, but for the sake of disclosure, I guess you might say that I am a Christian Conservative.  That should be understood, however, in light of the fact that I might not fit in too well with other Christian Conservatives.  Regardless, most of my life I have been registered to vote as an Independent.

Since most elections in Idaho are decided in the Republican primary, I am now registered to vote as a Republican.  When we lived in Colorado’s San Luis Valley in the 1980’s, I was registered to vote as a Democrat, for the same reason.  My belief is that the Democratic Party has moved too far left, and now I couldn’t be registered to vote as a Democrat for any reason.  I am sure that some people would feel the same about the Republican Party moving too far right.

American politics in recent years has been like a pendulum.  It swings left for a while, and then it swings right.  The problem, as I see it, is that the swings are becoming too extreme.  I do not support either extreme, and I am pretty sure most other Americans are more comfortable with politics that are closer to the middle.

I have often regarded Democrats and Republicans as two sides of the same counterfeit coin.  That coin is a political class that is more concerned with personal and party political power, than with the best interests of our country.  They value their ability to be reelected and using public service as a means of personal enrichment; rather than acting in the best long-term public interest. I don’t like that.

I like having the ability to choose between clearly differentiated alternatives.  However, I am very concerned, as I see our people becoming more and more polarized. The 24 hour broadcast news media have been complicit in creating this oppositional political and societal atmosphere.  The ”talking heads” on television and the radio hammer away day after day with the same old divisive “talking points;” rather than reporting the facts or discussing possible solutions that, while not perfect, could be acceptable to both sides.

I have a few expectations once elections have been held.  I would like our elected officials to treat each other with respect; if not for the person, then for the office.  When Rep. Nancy Pelosi withdraws the invitation for President Trump to deliver the state of the union address at the capitol building, she is not just showing disrespect for Donald Trump, she is showing disrespect for the Office of the President.  It poisons the political atmosphere, polarizes the opposing parties, makes coming to agreement more difficult, and sets a terrible example.  When President Trump gets up and walks out of a meeting with congressional leaders, all of the foregoing applies to him.

I seem to recall promises to temper the dialogue, to show mutual respect, and to work together following the tragic shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.  What are the American people getting instead?  Our elected representatives hold stubbornly to untenable, extreme positions, refusing to give even the slightest accommodation.  They attack the character of good people to deny them appointments to high office or contest the suitability of duly elected persons to hold office.  They abuse the criminal justice system for political advantage.  Everyone knows politics is a dirty business at best, but today’s politicians are giving a dirty business a bad name.  In doing these things, they show disrespect for the American people.

We all have memories of our antics in school, and there are some stories we could tell. However, we were kids and not holders of high office in the greatest nation on earth.  I call for the president and all senators and congressmen to stop acting like school children and to get the peoples’ business done.  I expect you to work together to find mutually acceptable solutions to contested matters.  Presently, in your extremism and bitter antagonism you are offering lose - lose alternatives.  Then you remain deadlocked until the fight leads to a win - lose outcome.  After that you gloat, smirk, and crow about it, creating more hard feeling.  It is expected that you do your job, which is to find enough common ground to craft win - win outcomes.  In short, GET THE PEOPLES’ BUSINESS DONE.

Extremism on either the left or the right in the United States of America will wreak the county.  Our Lord said:

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. (Mk 3:24 NKJV)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/mark/3.html

Relationships

In my experience of life, I have learned that relationships can be likened to bank accounts.  If you draw out more than you put in, the bank will close your account.  With relationships, the other party may tolerate it, or end it, but in either case the relationship will sour.

Marriage

You may have heard that for a marriage to be successful, each partner must meet the other half-way.  If you do that, you will have a half-way marriage.  It may continue on, but it will become lukewarm.  Little surplus accumulates from 50/50 contributions, and the time will come when either partner may need to draw out of the account more than is being put in.  When that happens, the 50/50 account will rapidly become depleted.  For a marriage to thrive, each partner (according to their ability) needs to give 75 or 100 percent all the time.  Then, something will be there when the rainy days come; and believe me they will.

Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

           (Eph 5:33 NASB)*

Friendship

Friendships are subject to definition.  Some are very inclusive in their use of the term.  Friendly acquaintances, friends of friends, amicable coworkers, and occasional companions are often called friends.  Others require a certain level of emotional security, dependability, reliability, and trust to call someone a friend; or a “close friend.”  In any case, for friendships to grow and last over time all parties need to invest in the relationship in order to value it.  People need to have a sense of “give and take,” and to feel that things are “not just one-way.”

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matt 7:12 NASB)*

Family

Relationships between adults and their children and grandchildren change over time.  In the beginning, parents and grandparents put far more into the bank account than the child does.  Their role is nurturing and custodial, whereas the child is dependent on their parents and grandparents for almost everything.  If parents expect cooperation from their children, they must invest time and love in them; so that the children do not develop feelings of exasperation and poor self-worth when guidance, correction and humane discipline must be given.

Fathers do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.
(Col. 3:21 NASB)*

Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  (Eph 6:4 NASB)*

However, as parents and grandparents become infirm due to old age, roles reverse.  The nurtured become the nurturers.  Throughout history, when that happens the primary responsibility for the care of the elderly has fallen to the family.  To make this reversal of dependency work, the relationship account needs to be full.  In recent years, the state has stepped in to make institutional care for the elderly financially viable.  The end result is that, as longevity increases, the “nanny state” will not be able to afford to continue it.  Further, it undermines the family’s need to maintain cohesiveness.  Please listen.  This is important.  Parents, children, and grandparents need to keep that relationship account full.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Ex 20:12 NASB)*

Closing

There are many other kinds of relationships that could be listed, but I do not want to belabor the point.  Of course, the bank account analogy is not the only way of building and maintaining relationships.  My own relationships are not perfect, but I believe they are better than they otherwise might have been because I tried to apply this simple idea to them.  Hopefully, it may help someone else.

* https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/