War

Today, as we speak, the United States is facing multiple challenges overseas, including but not limited to: conflicts in the Middle East, terrorism on a global scale, aggressive actions by Russia and China, and nuclear proliferation to rogue nation states like Iran and North Korea.  Some, including some Presidential hopefuls, have said that in some cases the use of military force may be necessary to resolve these challenges.

Question: When is the use of military force justified to achieve outcomes that further the interests if the United States?

Where are you going?

COMMENT SUMMARY:  No comments were received.

MY COMMENT:  Various persons have differing opinions about the worst, or most threatening, problem facing the country.  Recently, President Obama said that man-made climate change was the greatest threat to America’s security.  During a 2012 debate, Mitt Romney said that Russia posed the greatest threat to the American people.

We certainly have a lot of problems to choose from:

terrorist organizations

world financial crisis

proliferation of nuclear weapons

breakdown of the family

race relations

rogue nation states

debt

overpopulation

climate change

asteroids

illegal migration

courts that create new law

unconstitutional executive orders

military expansion by Russia and China

Forgive me if I left your favorite off the list.

Our opinion about the problem that poses the greatest threat to America depends largely upon one’s point of view.  Personally, I find President Obama’s view that man- made climate change is the greatest existential threat to human kind laughable.  I am sure he would find mine laughable as well.

Regarding the temporal (earthly) problems facing America, I think that the national debt, and its impact on monetary policy, is our greatest threat.  The value of my money is declining, and the ability of poor and middle income Americans to buy the things we need is eroding.

It is true that the dollar is relatively strong against other currencies at present, but I think that is due to the weakness of other currencies, and to currency manipulation, rather than to the strength of the dollar.  If the dollar fails, chaos will result, in America and around the world, and with it a complete breakdown of the social order that binds societies together and enables them to function.

There is, however, a spiritual problem that supersedes the many temporal problems that threaten our country.  As a people, Americans are turning away from God, and rejecting the way God said for us to live.  We have become so deluded; we do not have the common sense to know which public restroom a person ought to use.  The President even wants to impose this evil on our school children!  Right is wrong and wrong is right!

Consequently, God has withdrawn His protection from us.  Our efforts abroad are frustrated by forces we should be able to wipe out in a few days.  At home, we are divided and quarreling on almost every issue.  Our prosperity is slipping away.  Families are broken, children are born out of wedlock, large numbers of people are addicted, and sexually transmitted diseases are running rampant.  The country has been invaded by 10 to15 million illegal migrants, and we lack the will to defend it.  The worst of it all is that Americans are living as though there is no eternal destination, and many will, tragically, not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Friend, don’t miss out on eternal bliss in the presence of God.  Repent of the sin of this world.  Believe in Jesus.  Trust that His sinless life has been substituted for yours in the judgement, that you have been washed clean by the blood He shed for you on the cross, and that you will be made a new creation with the Holy Spirit living in you and giving you the power to live like God’s child.  Kneel at the foot of the cross and ask Him to save you today.

America's Problems

QUESTION:  What is the greatest problem facing the United States of America today?

Sanders Supporters

News reports today said that Venezuela is in a state of complete social and economic breakdown.  The country was described as a "failed state." Take heed if you think that Socialism is the answer to America's problems.  Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world.  It's people should be prosperous.  They are not because Socialism has been a failure everywhere it has been tried. 

Now is a Time for Prayer

COMMENT SUMMARY:  No comments received.

MY COMMENT:  As a veteran, the right to vote is very important to me.  I have voted in every presidential election, since I became old enough to vote.  For me, it would be dereliction of my duty as a citizen not to vote.

• In 1972, I voted for George McGovern.  I was much more liberal when I was younger, but the vote was more a vote against Richard Nixon than it was a vote for McGovern.  I had a “gut” feeling that Nixon had no loyalty to the law, and was obsessed with power.  My gut proved to be correct. 

• I voted for Gerald Ford in 1976.  He was a better man than people gave him credit for being, and it is my opinion that he saved the country in a time when we were in serious trouble.  That was a wholehearted vote, and I chose Ford gladly over Jimmy Carter.  Unfortunately, Carter won, and he proved to be a terrible President.

• The first time I voted for Ronald Reagan, in 1980, I had doubts about his ability to govern.  However, I thought that almost anybody would be better than President Carter.  In 1984, I was able to choose Ronald Reagan over Walter Mondale without hesitation.  President Reagan proved to be the man that the country needed at that time.

• Choosing George H. W. Bush over Michael Dukakis in 1988 was both easy and difficult.  Mr. Dukakis was clearly not presidential material, but Mr. Bush was what used to be called a “Country Club Republican” or a “Rockefeller Republican.”  He was a card carrying member of the American political class, and any concern he had for the common man came from a sense of “nobles oblige” rather than a sense of a shared struggle.

• I really preferred Ross Perot, in 1992, but I voted for George H. W. Bush.  I thought that President Bush was the better of two bad candidates, and that a vote for Mr. Perot was a vote for Bill Clinton.  At this point, I found myself in almost complete disagreement with the positions of liberal candidates, and President Bush was less liberal than “Slick Willie” Clinton.

• In 1996, I voted for the hapless Bob Dole.  By this time, I believed President Clinton was a disgrace to the office and a menace to freedom of speech and thought.  I didn’t want to vote for Sen. Dole, but I blamed Ross Perot for President Clinton’s victory in 1992, and there was nobody else that had a glimmer of hope to defeat Mr. Clinton.  This was a true “hold your nose” vote.

• I voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.  I was hoping for a revival of Ronald Reagan’s economic policy in 2000, but that did not materialize.  I thought President Bush was magnificent after 911, and remain convinced that the world would be different today if we had actually followed the “Bush Doctrine.”  As the Democrats swung further and further left, I found almost nothing I could support in what they advocated.  Al Gore and John Kerry were examples of the famous Reagan quote:

The trouble with our Liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; 

it's just that they know so much that isn't so.

• Enter Barack Obama.  In 2008, I voted for John McCain with confidence and hope for the future.  In 2012, I knew Mitt Romney was not electable from the start.  Every working man and woman in America recognized Mitt Romney as the guy who signs the “pink slips.”  However, I voted for Gov. Romney anyway because President Obama’s policies are destroying the country.  The choice was clear … anybody but Obama.

Thanks for putting up with the foregoing.  I wrote it to show that too often the process of selecting a President has been one of choosing the better of two bad candidates.  Certainly, 2016 is not the first time that unworthy people have run for, and may be elected to the office of President.

Mrs. Clinton is a flawed candidate who should be easy to defeat.  A relic from the 1960’s, Bernie Sanders, is giving her all she can handle in the Democratic primaries.  Nevertheless, the Republican’s seem determined to lose.  Hillary Clinton is unfit to be President because: She has abandoned Americans under attack in Libya, and she did it for political convenience.  She has used public office to enrich herself and her husband, rather than serve the people.  She has neglected to safeguard classified information.  She abandoned Israel and paved the way for the Iranian Nuclear Agreement.  And, these are only a few of her more recent “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

I fear that she will be the next President if she is not indicted first; and I will be surprised if she is indicted at all.  Even if the FBI recommends it, I don’t think President Obama’s Justice Department will do it.  I speculate that they will have her back, using the excuse that they cannot, by policy, interfere with a presidential election.

Donald Trump’s candidacy reminds me of Germany in the 1930’s.  Defeated abroad and caught in an economic collapse at home, the German people chose a “strong man” to lead them.  Adolph Hitler was very popular prior to World War II because he restored German prestige abroad and brought economic prosperity at home.  However, he plunged the world into an apocalyptic war that killed multiple millions of people.

Mr. Trump speaks of nuclear weapons the way teenage boys talk about large fireworks.  He is vindictive, lashing out at anyone who opposes him.  He holds women in contempt, and treats them like property.  He has no core values, and changes his positions on a whim.  His personal life has been fraught with broken marriages and extramarital affairs:

Trump has said of his early dating life that he felt "like a great and very brave soldier" and "lucky" 

to have avoided the contraction of AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases, calling it his 

own "personal Vietnam". "If I told the real stories of my experiences with women, often seemingly 

very happily married and important women, this book would be a guaranteed best-seller",

 Trump wrote in his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

I heard him say that he is a good Christian, and a Presbyterian.  However, actions speak louder than words.  To my mind there is only one thing worse than a Trump presidency, and that is if Hillary Clinton is elected.

In 2012, the Democrats won control of the Colorado legislature and the governor was also a Democrat.  Many of their campaigns received a lot of money from Michael Bloomberg.  The very first thing they did after taking office in 2013 was to pass a series of restrictive gun laws, which were signed immediately by Governor Hickenlooper.  At that time, I was a Colorado resident, and registered to vote as an Independent.  I sent the Governor an Email telling him that I had voted for both Democrats and Republicans in the past, but promising him that I would never ever, ever, ever vote for another Democrat again.

I am not a one issue voter.  I have, however, sworn several times in various capacities to uphold and defend the United States’ Constitution.  I think that President Obama has repeatedly acted in ways that show the contempt with which Democrats treat the Constitution.

I honestly can’t say how I will vote at this time.  I am trusting the Lord for guidance, and I suggest that my readers do the same.  Prayer is not the least we can do ... it is the most we can do.  Please join me in prayer to Almighty God that something miraculous will happen to change the course of the 2016 presidential election:

Our Father in heaven, your Name is Holy.

Please let your will be done for our country.

Forgive us, oh Lord, for we have wandered far away from you.

We have sinned as individuals and as a people.

We have rebelled against you and the way you want us to live.

We humble ourselves, we repent, and we ask that you heal our land.

Your Word tells us that no ruler reigns unless you cause it or allow it.

We pray that the next President will lead our nation according to your Word.

We ask that you give us peace of mind and heart,

knowing that the next President to hold office will do so as part of your plan for us.

Please give us someone who is worthy of the office.

Please work these things together for the good

of those who believe in you and are called according to your purpose.

In Jesus’ Name

Amen

NOTE: For a very interesting diversion please see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_candidates

for a list of various persons who have run for the office of President of the United States to date.

What Now?

Last evening Ted Cruz suspended his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, and John Kasich has since followed suit.  That leaves us with a choice between three major Republican and Democratic candidates.  I know there are a lot of people who support them, but it will be difficult for me to vote for people like Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, or Bernie Sanders and still be at peace with my conscience.

QUESTION:  Out of a nation of over 350 million people, can’t we do any better than this?

Let go and let God

COMMENT SUMMARY:  No comments received.

MY COMMENT:

NOTE:  I hurt my back working on the house, and sitting at the computer has been very painful.  I’m slow getting back to my postings as a result, and I’m sorry for the delay.

Things that annoy one person may not annoy another.  Still, we all run into the problems of everyday living.  Following are some examples of things that many people find irritating:

Barking dog at 5:00 AM

Leaking roof

Home Owner’s Associations

Car trouble

Backseat drivers

Traffic jam

Windows 10

Hillary Clinton’s voice

Plugged drain

Stupid boss

Snow on TV satellite dish

Skunk outside bedroom window

Loud TV in motel room next door

“Have a nice day”

“At the end of the day”

Long lines

Interruptions

People who disagree with you

Yeah, I know … picky, picky, picky.  One thing is for sure though, and that is this kind of stuff can make you really bad company when it gets to you. Sometimes, we can “blow off” things like these when they happen one at a time. However, if you are a grouchy person to begin with, if the “small stuff” comes all at once, or if it continues over time without relenting, then it can contribute to bad behavior.

Unrealistic expectations account for a lot of the upset we feel when things go wrong. 

We ask “Why is this happening to me?” as if we are so special that things should always go well for us.  Or, we engage in formula thinking.  “If I follow all the rules and do everything just right then everything will turn out well.” Except, sometimes it doesn’t, and we feel like we have been cheated.  One of the managers I worked for once told me that the most frustrated and disappointed people in our organization were those who thought they could get ahead by doing a good job.

A bad system will beat a good person every time. (W. Edwards Deming)

  

Life isn’t fair, and sometimes we lose it when some jerk cuts us off in traffic.  Regardless, it just isn’t realistic to think things will always go easy and turn out well.  Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t.

The prevailing wisdom counsels us to keep our perspective.  “You can’t always control the things that happen, but you can control how you react to them.” The idea is that our cognitive processes (thinking) can keep our emotional reactions under control if we are able to remember to do it.  We are also told to be patient, be persistent, take a deep breath, gut it out, try a different approach, check yourself before you wreak yourself, get a bigger hammer, do an end run (etc.)

We are advised of certain healthy ways to work out our frustrations.  I like to go fishing.  Some people like to run, walk, or work out.  Others meditate or do yoga.  Pets are nice.  Staying away from unhealthy habits like booze, cigarettes, drugs, and overeating make sense, as poor health can contribute to irritability.

There is much that is helpful in worldly wisdom.  However, it all depends on what we are able to do in our own strength.  Further, there is nothing new in it.  Most of us have heard it. Some of us benefit from it.  A very few of us are able to maintain it as a lifestyle. 

There is another way.  Jesus said:

Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)

If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.  These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the father who sent me.  All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:23-27 (NIV)

I have told you these things, so that you will have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But I have overcome the world.  (John 16:33 NIV)

I struggle with aggravation, stress, impatience, irritation, and upsetting myself over things that are just part of life.  Each day I must put the old self aside and yield to the Holy Spirit’s comfort, counsel, and direction.  If I don’t, I bring unhappiness on myself and those I am around.  God is still working on me.

We should not, however, feel we are the only ones so afflicted.  Even the Apostle Paul was given “a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan” to keep him from becoming conceited.  He prayed for it to be taken away three times, but it was not.  The Lord told him:

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:2 NIV)

Put your faith in Jesus, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.  If you do you will find:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:14 NIV)