The Left Knows Not What They Have Unleashed

Remember when Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erica announced that “Turning Point USA’s campus tours and America Fest will continue and grow... There will be even more tours in the years to come... radio and podcast show he was so proud of will go on... to make Turning Point USA the biggest thing America has ever seen.” Recent events lend credibility to her declaration. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.” It was the message the country needed to hear, one that guarantees Charlie Kirk's legacy will flourish, his sacrifice will soften hearts and good can prevail over evil. 

The left’s masses of radical unrighteous malefactors, know not what they have unleased. The left thought they could kill Charlie Kirk. The left has made him immortal. Now millions will carry on his legacy. The left and their legions cannot defeat him. The left cannot slow TPU’s moral ascent. The left cannot halt TPU. The left cannot deter TPU’s righteous soldiers of the cross. Their ranks are filled with Bible believing socio-Conservative Judeo-Christians who fight the good fight against the irreligious disciples of Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness. TPU’s crusaders adorn themselves with the armor of God which consists of six key components: The Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation, and Sword of the Spirit. 

In summation, we as supporters of Charlie, Erica and Turning Point USA’s lieutenants and adherents must keep them in our prayers every day and fight that much harder because of what Charlie achieved, and Erica’s and her cadres resolve to continue the good fight. The Left has no idea of the sleeping giant they have awakened.  

 

Moral Bankruptcy Laid Bare

Democrats in positions of power continue to have nothing to do with civility and probity. Their strategy is to market the total opposite of any course of action (COA) espoused by Republicans. This applies to a range of issues from the Ukraine War, Israel-Hamas conflict, economy, abortion, climate change, foreign policy to tax cuts to immigration and deportation of illegal aliens, but their moral bankruptcy was laid bare over their morbid riposte to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Lest we forget, the House of Representatives voted on a resolution honoring Charlie Kirk. It passed 310-58. While the Republicans were united, the other side of the political aisle was split in unsightly ways. Long and short of it, “118 members of the Democrat Party” refused to condemn a political murder and honor the legacy of Charlie Kirk, who was an “influential and inspiring figure” in American politics. Is it disappointing? Without doubt. Is it surprising? Not really. The “Party of Unity, Tolerance, and Democracy” refusing to condemn political violence is what we now expect from today’s Democrats. They only want Republicans to turn down the rhetoric while they vigorously fan the flames. I would be remis if I failed to mention that some Democrats have since denounced political violence in all its forms, sadly, their lip service has failed to temper the more extreme radical progressive members of the Democrat Party.

Though Charlie Kirk’s Ship Has Sailed His Legacy Endures

Charlie Kirk inspired young people, especially college students, including my grandson who attends Liberty University, to defend their beliefs with clarity and courage. He modeled respectful debate and civil discourse, and his love for family demonstrated his character. Despite his early passing, his legacy endures, motivating young Christians and Conservatives to value free speech and open dialogue.

As Judeo-Christian conservatives grieve the passing of Charlie Kirk in the days ahead, we can rest in the truth that Charlie Kirk talked the talk and walked the walk. He woke up on Wednesday, 10 September and walked onto another campus to have another set of conversations to spread his message. On that vary same day he was walking with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We should all remember the words of Matthew 10:28: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Our lives are short, but Charlie Kirk lived his short life well. May we all do the same for the glory of God, until we likewise see Jesus’ face to face. His death is a loss, but the movement he inspired will endure. His dedication to open debate set an example that young conservatives will continue, defending free speech and the values he stood for. While caution is sensible, avoiding controversy limits growth and impact—the saying, “Ships are safest in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are for,” captures this well.

The miscreant who shot Charlie Kirk and those who celebrated the assassination modeled all that is wrong with a culture that abandons objective truth and consensual morality for a zero-sum battle that cancels and silences disagreement. Kirk, by contrast, will be remembered not only for his passionate commitment to his political and cultural beliefs but also for his sincere desire to reach out to those who disagreed with him, seeking to forge a better future for the common good. He died doing what he loved to do—debating and advancing issues that matter to his Lord and Savior and the nation he sought to serve. It remains essential for public figures to demonstrate integrity and uphold the principles that strengthen civil society. Additionally, it is crucial for individuals across communities to serve responsibly and thoughtfully in times of challenge and uncertainty, fostering understanding and positive engagement.

Let us continue to pray for Ericka Kirk’s resolve as she takes up Charlis’s cause with these words “The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry. To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won’t. I refuse to let that happen. It will become stronger. Bolder. Louder and greater than ever." She announced that “Turning Point PUSA’s campus tours and America Fest will continue and grow... There will be even more tours in the years to come... The radio and podcast show he was so proud of will go on.” She promised, “I’ll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing this nation has ever seen.” It appears the Left leaning, anti-Judeo-Christian, Jihadist ideologues, globalists, collectivists/social democrats have awakened a sleeping giant.

 

 

Lesson Learned

 If you haven’t eaten the “comfort food” at Cracker Barrel, enjoyed the old-fashioned country accoutrements adorning the walls, and shopped in their “country store,” as I have when travelling across the south, you probably won’t care that they changed their logo and are “modernizing” their restaurants. Even if you have, you may not consider their corporate re-do an existential crisis. But there’s more to the story than the fact that the company lost nearly $100 million in market value when its stock plunged after releasing its new logo. According to a creative director specializing in brand development, what Cracker Barrel has done is a textbook case of how not to rebrand. Evidently, the company’s core message is, “We don’t care about our core audience. We’re too busy trying to appeal to everyone and satisfying no one.” In corporate leadership’s view, despite their explanations, corporate leadership believes Cracker Barrel lost its brand identity by removing key elements that customers valued, prompting a reversal of the decision. The lesson is simple: Don't change what works; only fix what's broken, the logo and country store atmosphere weren't the issue.

God's Nature

The depiction of the Old Testament God as perpetually angry and Jesus as endlessly forgiving is inaccurate. The Bible reveals a consistent triune God who is merciful, just, patient, and intolerant of sin. Peter states, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise... He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). This applies to all humanity, regardless of political or racial distinctions.

How do we determine our experience with God—his grace or wrath? C.S. Lewis addresses this in Mere Christianity: “God is both our comfort and supreme terror, our ally and enemy. Facing absolute goodness is serious; it can be safety or danger, depending on our response. Sadly, we have often reacted poorly.”

The nature of God as either forgiving or judgmental is influenced by individual choices throughout history. God can be perceived as a source of comfort or fear, depending on how one responds to the concept of salvation.  A self-effacing repentant heart has never met God’s wrath, and a proud, defiant one has yet to meet his mercy. Jesus, the exact exemplification or representation of his nature said it like this, once again quoting the Old Testament: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.”

We as individuals must take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand the degree to which we’re serving the God of the Bible or a god of our own making. Any understanding of the Lord that does not make equal room for both his wrath and his mercy will necessarily fall into the latter category.

The Certainties of Past and Present Party Politics

Someone once said that there are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the Democrat Left’s loathing of America. Did I just say that? Admittedly I did. The first two points have consistently demonstrated the birth of our nation, while the last point has become a familiar feature in American ethos and is now largely met without substantial attention. The public swayed by the Left will believe in anything, so long as it is not founded on truth.

A recent Gallup poll finds declining American pride among Democrats and Independents, even as Republican pride rises. Some Democrats link this trend to opposition toward President Trump’s return and perceived achievements. Poll results highlight past instances of left-leaning commentators blaming America for major events. Gallup also notes Republican national pride remains high, with 92% expressing pride during this point in time.

So, here’s the nuts and bolts of it. When it comes to loathing America, Democrats seem intent on proving that their repugnance, hatred, abhorrence...  knows no bounds. Republicans, on the other hand, will no doubt speak out when they think their country has lost its way. But they love her just the same, come hell or high water, come Obama or Biden or, AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Harbi Tlaib, Zohran Mamdani... Word to the wise: “Truth exists, only falsehood has to be invented.” 

Before The Flood Waters Receded...

While most of us were celebrating the 4^th of July festivities, families in central Texas were searching for loved ones, hoping to find survivors amid the catastrophic flooding that started with little warning in the dark hours before sunrise. Before the flood waters had receded, Democrat politicos and hordes of their unhinged leftist surrogates, proxies, bootlickers, sycophants, toadies emerged to blame Trump for the flooding and deaths. As with all mass-casualty incidents over the last 10-20 years across our nation, there emerging among the tragic accounts of heroism and personal sacrifice come fabrications, innuendos, denouncements, inaccuracies... all before the tragedy had waned and rescue had turned to recovery.

 

But just as predictable in the wake of a mass-casualty incident, before the flood waters had receded and rescue had turned to recovery the Democrat ingenuous misanthropists blamed Trump, claiming the tragedy was the result of vacancies at the National Weather Service (NWS). Fact: additional personnel were in the weather center covering the affected area. ABC’s talking head George Stephanopoulos, who claimed erroneously, “We’re also learning there were significant staffing shortfalls to the National Weather Services offices in the region.” A CNN anchor asserted that climate change and Trump are responsible... editor of Medias Touch News, protested: “The people in Texas voted for government services controlled by Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. Occupy Democrats claimed that Trump's NOAA budget cuts contributed to fatalities in Texas during Tropical Storm Barry. Across the country, Democratic leaders, including Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, blamed President Trump, emphasizing the importance of accurate weather forecasting for disaster prevention. Murphy’s message: “There are consequences to Trump’s brainless attacks on public workers, like meteorologists.” Really! Passing blame has become contagious among many of the Left’s Congressional Representatives and their kindred MSM magpies.

 

Let’s go back in time to 29 January 2025. This was like Democrats attributing Trump for the last mass-casualty accident between American Airlines 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, asserting there were vacancies in the Air Traffic Control tower. If my memory serves me correctly, those vacancies occurred under the previous administration. Meanwhile, families continue grieving after a catastrophic natural weather incident. For his part, Trump straightaway activated federal search and rescue resources and will visit the devastated area soon.

 

Word to the wise: People tend to remember more about what you do than what you say. Just look down at the hallowed halls of history to bear this out. Hence, with the political campaign machine beginning to ramp up for another mid-term season, many candidates, including incumbents, will begin to face this truth again as voters weigh what was said versus what was done. Should the two agree they will most likely be reelected without a problem but if they do not match up, the latest and newest imperious chatterboxes will take over. Lest we forget, “if you’re going to talk the talk you better walk the walk”, “practice what you preach”, “well done is better than well said” and “talk is cheap” have all had their heydays for essentially the same thing. We all want action more than we want words. While words are good for some things when it comes to the important things in life, like leadership, character, love, emotional connection, promises or even spiritual revelations don’t just tell me with words rather define it with action! In other words, what have you done lately. Should we make a mistake and live out our humanity rather than acknowledge it, apologize for it, make any amends necessary and then get back doing what’s best for America’s citizenry. For those who proclaim to be Christians, I say look no further than our Savior’s own example. It is important to remember that he demonstrated his principles not only through words, but also through his actions. Should we make a mistake and live out our humanity before them rather than Jesus Christ’s example, we need to acknowledge it, apologize for the flawed example, make any amends necessary and then get back into following our Savior’s own example after all, He was one who didn’t just tell us with words, He showed us with His own actions!

 

Enough is Enough

 For many years, the radical Left expressed the shameless falsehood that illegal aliens just want a choice at the American Dream. Regrettably reality paints a different portrait. But as California's Orange County riots confirm, the truth is in the pudding. This is an insurrection bankrolled by left leaning anti-America self-serving anarcho-nihilists, leftist’s groups, rogue media, craven politicos, paid malefactors’ anarchists all... many of which are themselves illegal immigrants. Enough is enough. It is time to drop the hammer on the rioting ingrates and those who organize and fund them. It is time to label all illegal immigrants and those who champion them as persona non grata and support our law enforcement, be they local, state or federal officers.

Degradation and Restoration of America's Armed Forces

Over the previous four years, our military service personnel have suffered an enervating shortfall in morale. Sorry to say, it is cyclical, because American voters, the vast majority of whom have never served our nation in any capacity have quadrennially elected leaders who were inept. Mercifully, they wake up and elect unpretentious genuine leaders whose tenure as commander-in-chief restores both military morale and readiness.

As a retired Army officer, I have seen the cycle of degradation and restoration multiple times. Under Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter, there was degradation, followed by Reagan's restoration. Similarly, Clinton led to degradation, Bush restored, then Obama degraded, and Trump restoration. The Biden/Harris administration continued the degradation, which was again followed by Trump's restoration.

Recently, President Trump's Secretary of Defense delivered a keynote address for a Special Operations Forces event, and one line summed up the restoration of Department of Defense under Trump: "Everything starts and ends with warriors, from training to the battlefield. We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind. No more pronouns. No more climate change obsession. No more emergency vaccine mandates. No more dudes in dresses, we're done with that s_ _t."

It is by the grace of God that this 250th year of the founding of our Armed Forces, and next year's Sester centennial commemoration of American Independence, did not fall under the farcical, absurd, daft...  administration of the Harris/Walz duo.

The Democrat Party’s Missive

In today's tense political debate, Republicans claim Democrats lack a message to attract voters. Let's examine their messaging and determine if a clear strategy exists. Truth be known, by their words and actions the Democrats do have a message, which is this: Every policy of the Trump administration that is designed to make America safer, stronger, affluent... is a policy that must be resisted, sabotaged, obstructed... by any means necessary. Furthermore, its protagonists should be demonized and marginalized as extremists, fascists, enemies of democracy, Hitler’s aspirants... I ask you, the reader what does this look like in the context of the real world and America’s cold war with nuclear adversaries, totalitarian nemeses, Muslim jihadists and home-grown radical extremists who have made known their yearning to annihilate us? In this context, the Democrats’ divisive strategies weaken America, give comfort and aid to our enemies, and undermine our efforts to defend ourselves.

I again query to you the reader, was not some of Biden’s first acts as President questionable calls? Lest we forget, Biden illegally opened our borders to somewhere between 10 and 20 million unvetted immigrants. Did not many of them have long criminal records? We’re not many of them on the terrorist watch list? Rejecting the results of the 2024 elections showed that most Americans thought that Biden’s open border policy was in fact perilous, reckless, unwise... It is apparent Democrat politicos have dedicated themselves to impeding the Trump administration’s efforts to deport the criminals that Biden welcomed, sponsored, and funded on taxpayers’ dime. Does this not reflect badly on Democrats’ concern for the safety of their fellow American citizens and projects weakness to foreign adversaries and domestic terrorists seeking to infiltrate and ravage our nation? 

The long and short of it: The democrats do have a message. But it is a message so recognizable, caustic, and dark that it offends Republicans so profoundly they would prefer not to recognize it, so they don’t. It bears repeating; Democrats do have a message, every policy of the Trump administration that is designed to "Make America Great Again” is a policy that must be resisted, defied, sabotaged, incapacitated... obstructed by any means necessary. Worse, its proponents should be demonized and marginalized as extremists, dyed-in-the-wool fascists, enemies of democracy, and aspiring Hitlers.

What does this look like in the context of the real world and America’s cold war with armed nuclear adversaries and tyrannical foes, who have made no bones about their desire to destroy us? In this context, the Democrats’ divisive schemes diminish, weaken, undermine America, give comfort and aid to our enemies, and undermine our efforts to defend ourselves. 

Traversing America's Fragmented Landscape

America is experiencing a transition, moving from a unified culture to one divided into various subgroups, or tribes. People now identify more with their political parties, professions, religions, sexualities, aberrant behavior ... leading to increased division, tension, aggression... Christianity's integration into America’s mainstream over the past century has intensified these divides, as Christians strive to maintain their influence. In this era of uncertainty and chaos, how should leader’s travers this fragmented landscape? More importantly how should we? How about confronting issues with a concerned, yet calm presence.

Our current cultural disarray results in several expected outcomes: greater variance, heightened apprehension, elevated anxiety... Various groups and political factions perceive events as pragmatic or existential challenges. Consequently, how do leaders guide society when it is experiencing anxiety and disorder? Isn't the current climate ideal for spreading the Christian message and for leaders and laypeople to lead with passion? I have heard it argued that this state of chaos and uncertainty is like a “seedbed for new growth.” Do you suppose as I do, that in these circumstances, dedicated soldiers of the cross will stand out?

Jesus called his disciples "the light of the world," so hiding this light causes metaphorical darkness. Living by God's teachings can inspire others to recognize our good actions and honor God in heaven. Compromising with negative aspects of society often means sacrificing beneficial outcomes for oneself and losing the ability to influence society positively. By distancing ourselves from harmful cultural influences, we gain the opportunity to guide others towards positive change. Rejecting societal issues allows us to embody the progress we seek to achieve.

 

Why Not Stand and Acknowledge Reality

 The questions we need to ask Congressional Democrats following President Trump’s first Joint Address to Congress: What do you stand for besides singing in unison “We Shall Overcome.” Word to the wise, denying the truth is a defense mechanism that today’s Democrat politicos often use to protect themselves from uncomfortable or unpleasant realities. However, denying the truth can have serious consequences, both on an individual level and for society. Congressional Representatives should pause, reflect, and reconsider the importance of facing reality. It all begins with acknowledging the reality at hand.

Why not stand for the announcement that military recruiting reached fifteen-year highs? Why not rise to acknowledge a young man who received news from the President about his acceptance to West Point? Why not pay deference and stand for a woman who lost her 12-year-old daughter to a couple of social deviant iniquitous undocumented immigrants? Why not stand and support a young female, volleyball player, who suffered a traumatic brain injury from a biological male masquerading as a female? Why not stand for a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor who was ceremoniously given honorary membership into the US Secret Service? Yes, the question must be asked of every single one of those Democrats who were the Joint Congressional Address: What do you stand for? Did you stand for the revelation of fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer greenbacks? Do the democrats believe themselves so above the law that they are no longer accountable and answerable to We the People? It seems evident based upon their refusal to stand and talk about what they do stand for.

Furthermore, do the Democrats stand for a strong military with increased recruiting? Do they really stand against Title IX and protecting women’s sports? Do they stand for more American girls and women to be victims of lawless undocumented immigrants? Do they stand for more human and sex trafficking? Why do the Democrats remain silently defiant following the capture of the ISIS terrorist behind the Abbey Gate bombing, which killed 13 American service members? So, we must presume that they stand for Islamic jihadists and extremists, just like with the transnational narco-criminal terrorists. We all know that the Democrats do stand for designating concerned parents and pro-life activists as domestic terrorists… not those who tear down American flags and replace them with Hamas flags. Are there any Democrats who will stand for the right reason, with the American people?

Straightforwardly, History Repeats Itself

Donald Rumsfeld once stated a truism that to this day rings as true as it did in the past and will continue to do so in the future. “There are known knowns: the things you know. There are known unknowns: the things you know you don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns: the things you don’t know you don’t know.”

The last-mentioned category can be the most perilous, in war and in life. Israel didn’t know that it didn’t know that Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist's military wing was preparing for the October 2023 incursion that killed more than a thousand Israelis and changed the course of the Middle East. Hezbollah didn’t know that it didn’t know Israel was weaponizing pagers to kill many of its pugnacious Hamas myrmidons and aspiring underlings. The U.S. didn’t know that it didn’t know al Qaeda would execute a massive terrorist attack on 9/11.

It's bad enough when we don’t know what we need to know. It’s worse when what we think we know turns out to be wrong, such as Israel’s certainty that Hamas did not have the capability to stage the October 7 invasion. And it’s even worse when we know parts of the truth and are therefore inaccurately but categorically convinced that we know the truth. 

A true expression of freedom is not acting on self-seeking impulse but committing our lives to serving the greater good and standing up for what is right. Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what is necessary or appropriate.

Does not the Word of God lend credence that validate the mentioned truism? Looking through the lens of Ecclesiastes 3 and Ecclesiastes 1:9 we see an illustration that shows the breadth and depth of God's sovereignty over time and the events of life. To picture this more clearly, we must perceive time as a moving reality. It is as though it is coming toward us and moving away from us simultaneously.

Though time is involved in this statement, the emphasis is more on the events that happen within time rather than time itself. We can perhaps understand this verse better as saying that what is happening right now, already happened in the past, and what will happen has already happened. It is a way of saying that, in one sense, time cannot be broken into parts. Time and the events happening within it, of and by themselves are a whole. Thus, the Word of God is essentially saying, “Past, present, and future are bound together.” In what way is this so? Time and the events happening in it are parts of a continuous stream. Solomon's point is again that only God is in perfect control of both time and its events, and He can seek out and bring back into existence in the present what happened in the past. Thus, Solomon's comment in Ecclesiastes 1:9 is a parallel: “What has been, what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”  Straightforwardly, history repeats itself.

A Reasonable and Natural Time to Contemplate America's Past, Present and Future

Two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul was writing to a wayward congregation of Christian believers in Corinth, inquisitively enough, his words still capture the epochal change that may await us just over history’s horizon. “For now, we see in a glass, darkly,” he wrote. “Now I know in part, but then shall I know fully.”  Indeed, mesmerized by a present filled with spellbinding events ranging from elections to wars, we too gaze into a darkened glass unable to see how the future might soon unfold before our eyes. 

The end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 is a reasonable and natural time to contemplate what happened in the recent past and could very well happen sooner than later.  I think back over the year that was. Like the seismic activity of an earthquake fault that too often opens itself and cuts loose with repellent force, a deep deposit of hate, anarchy, antagonism, one-upmanship toward a targeted political party’s leadership, ethnic group, religious faction...  The result of which was and remains absolute chaos manifested in the arise or emergence of the following: crushing inflation and spiking energy costs; facilitating the breakdown of law and order resulting in skyrocketing crime, to include an influx of foreign gangs and adversaries; facilitating the chaos of unchecked illegal immigration; empowering our enemies and alienating our allies; threats of terrorism on the Homefront, antisemitism protests, traditional and social media censorship, lawfare being used to achieve political objectives, racist hucksters peddling reparations for past wrongs, warfare in Europe and the Middle East, and multiple assassination attempts of prominent public figures... pushing gender ideology on children; sapping our military services and corroding our institutions  with Divisive, Extreme, and Intolerant (DEI) initiatives and Critical Race Theory; making LGBTQ evangelization a central aim of our foreign policy; deconstruction of our institutions; parents detained for speaking out for parental rights at school board meetings; Christians arrested for peacefully demonstrating and praying outside abortion clinics while the abortion clinicians dispatch the innocent unborn at the rate of nearly “one million” babies annually. And smearing political opponents as Nazis, book burners, and garbage doesn’t resonate with most Americans of any color, creed or gender. Who would have known?

Question! Is not America a nation, founded by Christians? Question! Has today’s America and much of its leadership somewhere along the line lost its way? Question! Is today’s America presently grappling with increasing polarization and a worrisome decline in trust in our governing institutions? Along with these issues, our nation’s global leadership is facing challenges from authoritarian regimes and terror organizations striving to shape a world that serves their interests.

God willing, we as a nation will let this year be an opportunity to recommit to one of the central principles that America’s Future stands for: to renew, revitalize, regenerate the role of faith in our lives, our communities and our country. More than ever, America needs all Judeo-Christian churches and their congregants to speak up and stand-up for the Biblical Judeo-Christian values that America was founded upon. If America’s future is to survive as one nation under God, it begins with faith and donning the Armor of God: the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, and the belt of truth. Lest we forget, each piece of armor is designed to protect believers from the “wiles” of the devil and the spiritual forces of evil that threaten their faith and purpose.

 

Through the Cross to the Light

 

Modern society neurotically or paranoidly avoids contrition, suffering, peril and death. It secures everything with seatbelts and safety rails, air conditions the summer. heats the winter, prints warnings on foodstuff, plastic storage containers, play toys... and advises that safety glasses should be worn while working with hammers, lawn mowers, edging tools... There is little doubt, such safeguards have prevented misfortune. Nevertheless, since heroism and the quality of excelling are born from confronting rather than avoiding remorse, suffering, peril and death, the mania for safeguards has also diminished the notion of these qualities. This is regrettable since only those intrepid souls who confront danger, endure suffering and overcome obstacles merit mention in the annals of history. The Catholic Church has a saying that reads: “Per Crucem ad Lucem” that translates “Through the Cross to the Light.” In a word, he will be enshrined in those souls who reject mediocrity or ordinariness and aspire to greatness.

For Pete's Sake, Why Not

Who is Pete Hegseth and why is he Trump’s choice for Secretary of Defense. The long and short of it, he’s a decorated combat Infantry veteran having earned two Bronze Stars, two Army Commendation Medals, Combat Infantry Badge, Meritorious Service Medals... with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. He has degrees from both Princeton and Harvard. He’s still a field grade officer in the Individual Ready Reserve, and he’s the former executive director of Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. Oh, lest I forget, prior to his selection as Secretary of Defense he was a Fox News host, which is how most liberal media currently present him.

Is Pete Hegseth unconventional? No! Does Hegseth fit the requisite job description of previous Defense Secretary? No! Does Pete have the elevated rank or private defense industry credentials of previous DOD secretaries? No! Is Hegseth taking heat for being what some consider less than qualified? Yes! Hegseth will almost certainly be an upgrade over Woke, vax-mandating and AWOL Lloyd Austin and his terrible trio of General’s “Thoroughly Modern” Milley, James Mattis and John Kelly.

I, and many other active and retired Veterans agree with Hegseth’s view that the “injection of left-wing ideology in the form of critical race theory and its manifestation in diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates is the primary problem with America’s war-fighting apparatus today.” Additionally, Hegseth has said, military members are in “for warfighting” and that’s “the only litmus test” we as Americans care about. Furthermore, Pete Hegseth will rid the military academies of DEI and CRT. In other words, there needs to be an “ethos change.” When war fighters, past, be they veterans of the Army, Navy, Airforce, USMC.  signed up to serve in the Armed Forces, they wrote a blank check made payable to “The People of the United States of America” for an amount up to and including our lives. The woke Left's takeover of America's armed forces is real and a present danger. 

 Is it not time that we have someone who is Secretary of Defense in who refuses to quiesce to woke advocates? Is it not about time we have someone who stands up to the progressive left wing nut jobs who loathe the military and feels good about some “dude in uniform wearing long hair and earrings and using the wrong pronouns"? Mental health disorders disqualify one from service because it undermines readiness. Left-wing social experimentation in the Armed forces has resulted in a severe shortfall of recruitment and retention.

If confirmed, Hegseth won’t have time to focus only on wokeness. He’ll immediately be confronted with foreign policy calamities. He will have his hands full cleaning up after the current administration’s dangerous policy failures with Ukraine, Israel, China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and its terrorist proxies... in addition to identifying the estimated 350 terrorists who are in our country now, the direct result of the Biden-Harris open border policy. Hegseth’s critics who speak with contempt and claim that he is unqualified because he is a Fox News host are the same people who insisted that Joe Biden was compos mentis (of sound mind), Harris was competent and her running mate, Tim “Stolen Valor” Walz, who shirked combat and then lied about it, was some sort of military hero.

In summation, refocusing the military on warfighting and jettisoning the woke BS is core to the strategy of projecting strength. Our global adversaries mock us for caring more about military abortions and guys getting their nails done than winning or, better yet, preventing wars. Time will tell if Hegseth is the right choice for the job or if he is in over his head. I, for one, certainly don’t fault Trump for thinking outside the Beltway with his pick. Unequivocally, Hegseth is a patriot who loves, supports, and has defended America and its interests with devotion. For Pete's sake, why not give him a chance.

The Here and Now and America's Future

How many times in this election cycle have you had fellow people of faith, acquaintances, associates, neighbors... even strangers say to you, “I don’t like either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris” or words to that affect? Additionally, these same people claim, they are not planning to vote for either one of them for President on election day. If past election data and current polling stats suggests that millions of people of faith presently are planning on not voting for either Harris or Trump. In making this decision, such voters are exercising what some have identified as the “Pontius Pilate Option” approach to moral decision-making. When confronted with angry mobs demanding the crucifixion of Jesus, did not the Roman governor attempt to absolve himself from moral culpability for the crucifixion by ritually washing his hands with water?

Atlas, in a fallen and sinful world where we are frequently, regrettably, lamentably... are not faced with the comfort of an option abutted by good and evil, but instead an option between the greater evil and the lesser evil. In the words of Edmund Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.”

I sympathize with my fellow Christians, patriots and citizens who find themselves adverse or ill-disposed towards both candidates. I find flaws in both DJT and Kamala Harris. But I am not voting for a family member, an associate, or a spiritual advisor. I am voting for a president to lead our Constitutional Republic for the next four years and a Commander-in-Chief of our Uniformed Armed Services in a perilous, unstable, and volatile world, as should be the case of every American voter.

For those who find both candidates wanting. Allow me to provide you with some information that may oblige the readers to vote one way or the other. Based on his first term as president, there is no doubt Trump he is more pro-life, pro-smaller government, and he will do far more to grow the economy, especially among lower-income workers. On the economy, we have the luxury of a clear comparison between DJT’s record in office and Kamala Harris’s record as VP in the Biden-Harris Administration. In addition to the life issue Kamala Harris is the most radical and unwaveringly pro-abortion candidate to ever head a presidential ticket. Kamala Harris is obstinately in favor of the transgender agenda and will certainly curtail parental rights to protect their children from transgender propaganda, indoctrination, and potential surgery against their parents’ will.

What Sets the Last 3 Democrat Presidential Nominees Apart

 Just thinking... When examining the last three Democrat presidential nominees I have noticed some key contrasts which differentiate or set them apart from one another. Admittedly Obama had an abundance of charisma, Biden not so much. But the real Kamala Harris is vacuous, completely inarticulate, and plainly lacks any charismatic depth. But what she lacks in charisma, she makes up for in her masterful ability to stretch the truth or evade it all together. Oh, and she is not African American either, but we need not hash over that at risk of being labeled a racist or anti-feminist, misogynist, sexist, chauvinist, bigot, misandrist, misanthrope, cynic, naysayer... However, the blank-screen strategy is critical for Harris to maintain her image as the "candidate of change." In plain English, Harris’s entire campaign hinges on Barrack Obama’s successful 2008 strategy to obscure who he really was. Note, this is what some on the right dubbed Obama’s “Audacity of Deception” Line of attack. And it worked well for him, not so much for the American people.

Controlling Information is To Control the People

Just thinking... Kamala Harris, Walz, their cohorts and many within MSM is spouting readily, volubly, and at length claims that “misinformation” about the election is “running rampant” on Facebook. Misinformation, disinformation, deepfakes and other similarly constructed terms treat speech as a dangerous thing. Misinformation “spreads” like a virus, it “runs rampant” until it’s censored. Its existence threatens the governing consensus through which the regime rules the people. The obsession with stamping out “misinformation” has so overridden the liberal DNA of free speech that the ACLU now fights ‘misinformation’ rather than upholding free speech and “PEN America” a nonprofit that defends free expression urges that it is “important to correct misleading or false information”. It’s important because by controlling information, their political allies and agenda control the people. Former Climate Czar, John Kerry has a point. It’s hard to govern when everyone is free to speak their mind. That’s why America was a bold experiment in freedom whose purpose was to be hard to govern. Americans being hard to govern is not, as Obama, Kerry and Harris think, a bug, but a feature.

The Epitome of Absurdity or Lunacy

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sex-related offenses and murder convictions are loose on the streets, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data provided to lawmakers this week. The data, as of "July 2024", is broken down by those in detention, and those who are not in detention, aka, the non-detained docket.  The non-detained docket includes illegal immigrants who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not detained in ICE custody. There are currently more than 7 million people on that docket.

 

The data says that, among those not in detention, there are “425,431” convicted criminals and “222,141” with "pending criminal charges." Those include “62,231” convicted of assault, “14,30”1 convicted of burglary, “56,533” with drug convictions and “13,099” convicted of homicide. An additional “2,521” have kidnapping convictions and “15,811” have sexual assault convictions. There are an additional “1,845” with pending homicide charges, “42,915” with assault charges, “3,266” with burglary charges and “4,250” with assault charges.

Some people, though I am, not one of them may be shocked to learn that the Biden-Harris dynamic duo has participated somewhat enthusiastically in releasing tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens, some of which are probably terrorists, cartel members, sex traffickers... into our communities, but their own numbers conclusively prove this to be the case. Does this not defy common sense? Under President Biden and his ‘border czar,’ VP Harris, and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, have directed law enforcement to mass-release illegal aliens whom they know have criminal convictions or are facing charges for serious crimes. Moreover, these menacing, dangerous, and destructive deviants are making their way into every town, community and municipality and every state in America. How many more Americans need to ‘Buy the Farm’ or be victimized at the hands of an illegal alien, a foreign state sponsored terrorist and or geopolitical adversary before this administration is forced to abide by the laws they swore to uphold? Is this not the epitome of absurdity or lunacy? No civilized, properly governed and well-functioning society should tolerate what is taking place at our borders. If I am not mistaken, Border Czar Kamala has had nearly 4 years to protect America and failed. Has she not allowed tens of thousands of murderers and rapists to roam free? Does Kamala's actions or lack thereof paint a picture of one who puts criminals first and the safety and security of you and your family last. 

For more or less than a half-century, the criminal has been portrayed as a victim. Social scientists, criminologists, and mental health professionals and left leaning Democrats, to include Harris continue to characterize criminals as shaped by forces beyond their control. “Criminogenic” environments have long been cited as causal. The assertion is that turning to crime is understandable, even a normal response, if one grows up in a crime-infested neighborhood. Crime has also been attributed to poverty, the thinking being that people who are denied opportunity will seize what they need. And seize, the band of border hoards will, unless the swamp politicians and bureaucrats put a stop to this border imbecility.