Re the discussion about Tucker’s firing– I seriously doubt it was the Christian faith and values that got him fired. Husband and I have been waiting for him to be fired for a couple of years–not wanting it, but pretty sure it would happen eventually. He’s ticked off the Republican donor class most likely with his populist, anti-war views. This is probably about the 2024 election. And, as AOC points out, deplatforming works.
Looking at dj’s list of 7 reasons, it’s probably a little of this and a little of that. American evangelicalism makes many non-American westerners uncomfortable but I’m sure Murdoch has long accepted it as part of doing business in the US (now – marriage that’s different). And lets face it, how sincere is Carlson’s Christianity. I may not know his mind but his actions and words speak loudly. The use of the c-word is quite similar – misogyny has a long history at FOX – that alone isn’t enough (and its not only an ex-employee, Dominion filings show it’s his opinion of Powell).
The Dominion lawsuit probably was the straw that broke FOX’s back. By deliberately and knowingly lying, FOX lost a massive amount of money and its credibility. Murdoch apparently was not happy with Carlson but didn’t stop the lies in 2020. More lawsuits are coming and Carlson, thinking he was bigger than the network, was probably reluctant to hold back. His constant harassment of Ray Epps threatens another lawsuit. Meanwhile lengthy clips of his show are often shown on Russian state television without any editing. FOX is bigger than just FOX News and his presence on Russian TV does not go down well in Murdoch’s international holdings. Given a choice between “toning it down” and being fired, he chose the latter.
I’d tend to think it was most likely the future liability, costs in lawsuits, past and future, and just the embarrassment of the transcripts already released (and those that might still be yet to surface).
The use of the c-word should never be excused just because of our preference in politics.
Christians especially need to stand firm in calling these things out for what they are.
When we don’t — when we even defend it because it’s “our guy” or the other person somehow was worse and “deserved it” — we lose all credibility (as we should).
I remember Carlson in his early days, a good number of years ago, when he began turning up on meaty panel discussions in his bow-ties.
He was thoughtful, calm, sharp but always polite; and I remember thinking “that guy should have his own show someday.” Ha.
But this (on fox) wasn’t the show I’d ever have envisioned back then.
I eventually had to just stop watching Carlson (but I’ve stopped watching a lot of the over-the-top political opinion-pushers). I always sensed that it was somehow part of an act, that he’d simply discovered a “schtick” that was profitable and brought fame and fortune and public adoration, and that was quite a big personal payoff. He wouldn’t have been the first to succumb to all of that, and the Scriptures are filled with examples of those kinds of weaknesses and downfalls. None of us is immune.
Perhaps this rather abrupt turn in his personal road will bring him back in some way, he could even take the higher ground and choose to step away from the political chaos that has engulfed our culture.
He’s long professed the faith.
But our words and actions will be judged by the world if they don’t align with our professions of faith. There is a higher calling and standard than politics.
I don’t support anyone’s use of profanity. I greatly admire Tucker’s reliable exposure of topics that others won’t touch. Like the Ukraine war, governmental corruption in high places in both parties, the corruption of science, the amplification of the individual voices of many small business owners, covid abuses, and the list goes on and on.
Think it’s curious that so many people (perhaps including the ‘quiet ones’?) rarely voice similar opinions of their own but are vociferous in critiquing those who do. It’s very curious.
I’ve been behind on the threads until finally catching up last night and this morning, so this is a late reaction:
Re: that story of Whoopi Goldberg supposedly saying that allowing children to transition is in the Bible. That sounded pretty “out there”, so I looked into it. What I very quickly found was that the person who posted that story deceptively took a quote from one part of the discussion and tacked it on to another.
Her “Because God was really clear!” remark was in reference to parents deciding what is best for their children.
“So what is — I can’t decide what my kid reads, I can’t decide for my child, what my child says is going on,” Goldberg continued. “You’re telling me your beliefs — you’re — and they keep saying it, and I keep saying, ‘What Bible are you reading? Because God was really clear!’ “
Now, we may disagree with her political and personal views on this issue, but her remark about God being clear was about parental rights (which is why the other woman said that she was being “conservative”), not saying that the Bible is in favor of transitioning.
All it took was a quick Google search to discover the context. Context is important, especially when ignoring it affects the reputation of another.
HRW @11:07 (my BD month and day lol): I wasn’t aware of the clips on Russian state television, interesting.
Our enemies are watching the morass and division we in the US have created for ourselves. Our near-sighted focus has resulted in an obsession with the ‘enemies’ close at hand — the other side of the political aisle, our neighbor with opposing views — to see anything else that could be coming on the horizon.
Debra – There are plenty posts on here about those other issues, and each of us seems to have our own various issues that we concentrate on. But tone, especially on a Christian blog and from those in the media who claim to be Christians, is also very important and should be discussed as well as the larger issues.
Corruption is a given, pretty much, in a fallen world. This is not a new circumstance we are in. It’s pretty much the norm, although today with the megaphone of Twitter and media of all varieties that we can’t seem to escape.
But how we respond to that — as believers, not as political advocates of one side or the other — is important.
The world will do what it always has done. And right now the noise on both “sides” is deafening (and will get worse as the election approaches).
So what about the church? How do we respond to “the world gone mad” around us? Will our overheated US politics just divide us as well?
I don’t know a whole lot about Tucker other than when I watched him he was exposing lies. The fact that he threatens the very likes of AOC causes me to believe he is doing something very right.
I don’t know that those who follow Christ would ever condone the use of crass language an or behavior from a fellow believer. I suppose I bristle a bit when other believers use the term “so called Christian” or “claim to be” Christian in reference to others. Does Tucker profess Christ? If so and we hear or see something not being Christ like perhaps we should ask our Lord to show him the failing so that he might be corrected…or even that a close believing friend of his would be one to whom he could be accountable.
When we observe fellow believers supporting such businesses who appear to be enemies of Christ…what is required of us then? We have personal convictions about such businesses and have decided not to support nor encourage the support of them to others.
When GA was to pass the Religious Freedom bill, how many businesses vociferously attacked Christians as bigoted? And then threatened to leave the state if passed? How many Christians continue to support those businesses? How many continue to support Disney? I know many. I am not in control of their relationship with Christ nor their decisions. I can offer an opinion if they care to have it but otherwise I pray we have a hunger and yearning to walk the path He has set before us and to never cause dishonor to His name.
And when I hear about a Whoopi referring to what God says or wants, well by their fruits ye shall know them….even Satan quoted the Word.
DJ, God’s church is is doing just fine, though it seems to be undergoing a shaking right now. And personally, I think that will get worse before it gets better, but that’s just my opinion. But when it’s over, there is no doubt that we the church will come through the fire as refined silver and gold. That’s his word. He never said it would be pleasant or non-confrontational or, forgive me, a ‘winsome’ process.
I don’t find the noise deafening —not now anyway, though there have been times that I have. If you do, it might be more of a personal indicator than an indicator of what is outside you. You can respond to the world any way you like knowing that God will assess you in it, and so will your fellow human beings. That’s life. Nothing is new under the sun. For myself, I do the best I can, and have faith that God is in control of my life because I have submitted it to him and he has promised to order the steps of those committed to him. What many (and perhaps you) seem to be searching for is consensus. I don’t think we’re going to find that at this time.
Politically, I’m looking at the direction, not personality. I dislike crassness and arrogance in public life and we have plenty of it. But I’m not going to walk in the wrong direction to avoid it. Pray for light, and keep pressing on in the light you have. I don’t think one can do better than that.
But I find this period we are in potentially dangerous. And no, the church is not immune of those impacts. We need to know that and be aware of that. Yes, God will preserve His church through all time. Let’s also make sure we’re not slipping into the “spirit of the age” in all the political tumult.
I trust that all of us walk in the direction that seems to be right, based on Scripture. I don’t (and can’t) keep up with every outrage being reported or argued about on Twitter. I remember the late ’60s and early ’70s. Tumultuous but we seem to be repeating history here — we’re only lacking, thankfully, so far, God willing, the assassination component.
The culture has changed dramatically over the past 20+ years. Entertainment media is responsible for much of that. Trying to get that back into the bottle is an uphill battle and one that I somehow doubt can be won through politics or electing a strong man intent only on trying to “own” the other side (which is what I hear most often as the goal).
I’ve never been fond of “populism” as it can be so untethered as to cause mischief and worse. History tells that story well enough.
War is sin writ large, as CS Lewis once said. Maintaining an outward awareness, a sufficient and ready defense as needed, can keep us from going there. But national unity definitely plays a role as well. We have not much of that right now. Let’s pray nothing is thrown at us and we have no choice — because we’ve been too busy yelling at our neighbors.
We aren’t ready for much more crisis right now.
And yes, we should be praying for Carlson and those who publicly profess the faith but appear to be on a road that might not be spiritually a good one, at least from appearances to many of us. We can’t know another’s faith (or lack thereof). But I’ve watched him make a transformation. As I said, I stopped watching the show a while ago, I don’t think many of these one-sided opinion fests do us much good in the long run.
I pray God saves the nation, and leads it back from its wayward tendencies and forward to better days. He may or may not. Our call is to be faithful first to Him and the faith — then, as best as we can, to do our part in our communities and nation, to love our neighbors (and our enemies), and to trust in Him for the outcome.
~ Several weeks ago, as Fox News lawyers prepared for a courtroom showdown with Dominion Voting Systems, they presented Tucker Carlson with what they thought was good news: They had persuaded the court to redact from a legal filing the time he called a senior Fox News executive the c-word, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Carlson, Fox News’s most-watched prime-time host, wasn’t impressed. He told his colleagues that he wanted the world to know what he had said about the executive in a private message, the people said. Mr. Carlson said comments he made about former President Donald Trump—“I hate him passionately”—that were in the court documents were said during a momentary spasm of anger, while his dislike of this executive was deep and enduring.
The messages were part of a trove of emails and texts from Fox executives and hosts that were made public as a result of Dominion’s defamation lawsuit. The voting-machine company accused Fox networks of airing false claims by hosts and guests that Dominion helped rig the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favor of Joe Biden. Fox News parent Fox Corp. FOX 1.29%increase; green up pointing triangle last week agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle the dispute. … ~
And yes, in context (because context is important) Whoopi did indicate that God is ok with transitioning kids because God wants parents to make those decisions not the government. That was what the entire argument was about. In context.
AJ – I found the post you had shared the other day and watched the video. It backs up what I said. Her reference to the Bible was referring to parents’ rights to make decisions for their children.
As I said earlier, we may disagree with her views, but her remark about God being clear was about parental rights, not saying that the Bible is in favor of transitioning. I don’t know if you read the piece I shared, but it definitely was not in favor of her views on the latter subject.
Debra – I think it’s a stretch to say that because she says that God is in favor of parental rights that she is saying that He is also in favor of transitioning. Her point was that that decision should be left up to the parents.
We may disagree with how far she takes the parental rights argument, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that she is saying that God is in favor of transitioning. She may actually believe that, but that is not what that one statement says.
Kizzie, her statement was not said outside of a context. The context is what illuminates the meaning. And the entire context of the conversation was transitioning kids and the government’s authority to ban it. But we can just to agree to disagree.
The lack of self awareness from Carlson is interesting. In his video he mentions the amount of noise and lack of serious debate yet that was his show — complaining about green M&Ms and discussing testicular tanning.
In 2004, Jon Stewart appeared on Crossfire. Carlson and his co-host seemed to treat his appearance as a “soft” interview meant to promote the Daily Show. Carlson was caught flat footed as Stweart ripped the show for dividing America and presenting everything as partisan — Carlson was told he was bad for America. The show was cancelled soon after this. The video is still on youtube and is well worth the watch. Stewart has a show called the Problem on Apple TV and youtube – well worth watching.
I care not for Whoopi’s opinion on just about anything but parental rights is an interesting discussion. If you argue the medical establishment can’t transition a child without parent permission and schools can’t hide gender and orientation issues from parents; then can you argue the government can overturn parent wishes if they want their child to transition? Or they want their pregnant teen to have an abortion? Where do parent rights end and gov’t responsibility begin and if we advocate parent rights in one case then do we have to advocate parent rights elsewhere?
Parent rights is not a firm ground to argue one way another if we are discussing medical and ethnical issues. Better to argue whether transitioning is right or wrong, similarly abortion or any other issue. Leaving it to the parent is not an ethical solution just a convenient wedge if you agree with the parent.
Debra – I view Carlson very cynically. He says what he thinks will keep the audience tuned in. His position on Ukraine has nothing to do with the right or wrong of the issue but as a vehicle to attack Biden. The fact his opinion is played on Russian state television matters not to him; he kept his audience and they will come back tomorrow. Its a very cynical game with real world consquences and I’m not sure he understands what he is doing beyond the ratings and the domestic American politics.
Debra – I do see your point about it being in context, but I guess I am seeing it as one context aside from the other, so to speak.
For example, Unschooling is a controversial form of homeschooling. In a debate about that matter, a parent could argue that making the decision to school one way or the other is a matter of parental rights, and that the Bible is in favor of parental rights. But that does not mean that that parent is saying that the Bible is in favor of Unschooling specifically, but merely the rights of the parents to make the choice on how to educate their children.
But you are right that we should just agree to disagree. Amicably, of course. 🙂
Some bad things have been happening in the Libertarian Party, with many supposed Libertarians joining the alt-right.
There is a group within Libertarianism called the Mises Caucus, named after Ludwig von Mises, and they have by and large been taken over by the alt-right. Justin Amash was repeatedly booed by them during a speech, and then he informed them that the statements they were booing were quotes from Ludwig von Mises himself.
As you may recall, I flirted with Libertarianism for a while before realizing that I am merely a moderate conservative – or something like that – but not a full blown Libertarian.
It is absolutely ridiculous that we have come to the point where we must codify basic biological truths. Fortunately, there is a segment of the population that is not affected by the delusion of gender fluidity and also realize that women and girls need to be protected in sports and in intimate spaces.
“Kansas has become the first state to adopt a definition of gender with the passage of legislation that keeps men, no matter what gender they identify as, out of women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, sports, and other intimate spaces.
It also separates inmates and restricts participation in sports by biological sex.
The move came late Thursday afternoon when the state legislature voted to override Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of S.B. 180, which became known as the “Women’s Bill of Rights.”
Under it, a female is defined as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova.” A male is defined as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.”
It also defines gender words calling for “woman” and “girl” to be used to refer to human females and “man” and “boy” to refer to human males. It defines “mother” as a parent of the female sex and “father” as a parent of the male sex.
The override comes a little over a week after Kelly vetoed the bill on April 20. She vetoed the bill after it was passed by a two-to-one margin between Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate.
Kelly said she vetoed the legislation because she was concerned it would open the state up to costly discrimination lawsuits, cause the loss of federal funding, and hurt the Sunflower State’s economy.
The bill garnered widely diverse support with staunchly pro-choice women’s rights groups celebrating the veto.
“Victory!” tweeted the Women’s Liberation Front (WOLF), upon news of the veto override.
In rallying for support of the bill, the national women’s rights organization, which actually helped craft the legislation, wrote on its website: “This bill takes procedural steps to write into law common sense definitions that ensure the meaning of words like ‘woman’ and ‘mother’ aren’t corrupted by unelected bureaucrats intent on pushing gender ideology.””
Tychicus – I understand Carlson – he’s a pundit, a talking head, etc. The Dominion transcripts revealed a man concerned solely with ratings and share prices not the truth. He told a FOX reporter not to fact check his show because it was bad for ratings.
And like many American pundits especially the right wing populists types, he interprets the Ukrainian war through a domestic lens. Europeans understand what the Ukraine war is about. When neutral socialists countries like Finland and Sweden insist in joining NATO in reponse and at the same time the right wing populists governments of Poland and UK are Ukraine’s biggest supporters, there’s something to this conflict thats bigger than Carlson would like to think. The NATO and European unity of this war is remarkable and unprecedented. They perceive Putin as a totalitarian threat to the liberal democracies of Europe in all their variants.
Ukraine is a threat to Belarussian and Russian totalitarianism. If and when Ukraine integrates westward in the EU etc., they will demonstrate to the people in “Russian” countries can have a liberal democratic state. Russians regard Ukrainians as little “Russians” – if the little “Russians” can have a western economy and government, why can’t the other Russians. Thus in Putin’s mind he needs to stop westernization before the people St. Petersburg and Moscow want it too. The Europeans understand this attack as an attack on western democracies and thus are united in support of Ukraine.
Apparently Biden’s announcement did quiet the speculation about possible other election-year scenarios, from whether party folks may be discussing how serious this could get if he declines further. Michelle Obama? Everyone brings her up but so far, at least, she’s insisted she has no interest in running.
HRW’s mention of what was revealed in so many of the Carlson emails and texts was correct: an overriding interest in ratings and keeping audience members happy.
Censorship is a government act. Private companies are free to hire and fire in the interest of the company; and, in this case, it seems, to protect the financial stability of the business going forward.
I believe it’s something like 70% of the electorate collectively — those who will be voting in any general election — according to some recent polls, who don’t want a rematch between Trump & Biden.
Most of us are clearly exhausted by these two.
Tim Scott, Chris Sununo, and there are other accomplished conservatives who offer strong conservative policies, along with fresh faces, and (at least relative) youth.
Dems have their own challenges.
But voters clearly aren’t in the mood for a rematch. 😦 They are ready to move on.
As we all know too well, things aren’t looking good in America, from the economy to every other issue you can name.
HRW! If you’re going to be voting for DJ I want to see your picture voter id! But since it’s DJ, and we do have other Canadians who might want to participate, perhaps we can relax the rules just this once . 🙂
dj: The 5:05pm was a stand-alone comment not having to do directly with Carlson, but censorship is only a government act? Have you missed all the censorship acts of Big Tech companies and media corporations over the last few years?
That’s still better than Biden’s numbers, which bodes well for a Trump victory. Maybe that means only the most active members of the parties vote this time, which also bodes well for a Trump victory. See what happens when you refuse the nomination, DJ?
Wandering Views 
Re the discussion about Tucker’s firing– I seriously doubt it was the Christian faith and values that got him fired. Husband and I have been waiting for him to be fired for a couple of years–not wanting it, but pretty sure it would happen eventually. He’s ticked off the Republican donor class most likely with his populist, anti-war views. This is probably about the 2024 election. And, as AOC points out, deplatforming works.
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Looking at dj’s list of 7 reasons, it’s probably a little of this and a little of that. American evangelicalism makes many non-American westerners uncomfortable but I’m sure Murdoch has long accepted it as part of doing business in the US (now – marriage that’s different). And lets face it, how sincere is Carlson’s Christianity. I may not know his mind but his actions and words speak loudly. The use of the c-word is quite similar – misogyny has a long history at FOX – that alone isn’t enough (and its not only an ex-employee, Dominion filings show it’s his opinion of Powell).
The Dominion lawsuit probably was the straw that broke FOX’s back. By deliberately and knowingly lying, FOX lost a massive amount of money and its credibility. Murdoch apparently was not happy with Carlson but didn’t stop the lies in 2020. More lawsuits are coming and Carlson, thinking he was bigger than the network, was probably reluctant to hold back. His constant harassment of Ray Epps threatens another lawsuit. Meanwhile lengthy clips of his show are often shown on Russian state television without any editing. FOX is bigger than just FOX News and his presence on Russian TV does not go down well in Murdoch’s international holdings. Given a choice between “toning it down” and being fired, he chose the latter.
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I’d tend to think it was most likely the future liability, costs in lawsuits, past and future, and just the embarrassment of the transcripts already released (and those that might still be yet to surface).
The use of the c-word should never be excused just because of our preference in politics.
Christians especially need to stand firm in calling these things out for what they are.
When we don’t — when we even defend it because it’s “our guy” or the other person somehow was worse and “deserved it” — we lose all credibility (as we should).
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I remember Carlson in his early days, a good number of years ago, when he began turning up on meaty panel discussions in his bow-ties.
He was thoughtful, calm, sharp but always polite; and I remember thinking “that guy should have his own show someday.” Ha.
But this (on fox) wasn’t the show I’d ever have envisioned back then.
I eventually had to just stop watching Carlson (but I’ve stopped watching a lot of the over-the-top political opinion-pushers). I always sensed that it was somehow part of an act, that he’d simply discovered a “schtick” that was profitable and brought fame and fortune and public adoration, and that was quite a big personal payoff. He wouldn’t have been the first to succumb to all of that, and the Scriptures are filled with examples of those kinds of weaknesses and downfalls. None of us is immune.
Perhaps this rather abrupt turn in his personal road will bring him back in some way, he could even take the higher ground and choose to step away from the political chaos that has engulfed our culture.
He’s long professed the faith.
But our words and actions will be judged by the world if they don’t align with our professions of faith. There is a higher calling and standard than politics.
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For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? – Matt. 16:26
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Not only did Carlson use the c-word, but he insisted that it not be redacted when it would be seen by the public.
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I don’t support anyone’s use of profanity. I greatly admire Tucker’s reliable exposure of topics that others won’t touch. Like the Ukraine war, governmental corruption in high places in both parties, the corruption of science, the amplification of the individual voices of many small business owners, covid abuses, and the list goes on and on.
Think it’s curious that so many people (perhaps including the ‘quiet ones’?) rarely voice similar opinions of their own but are vociferous in critiquing those who do. It’s very curious.
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I’ve been behind on the threads until finally catching up last night and this morning, so this is a late reaction:
Re: that story of Whoopi Goldberg supposedly saying that allowing children to transition is in the Bible. That sounded pretty “out there”, so I looked into it. What I very quickly found was that the person who posted that story deceptively took a quote from one part of the discussion and tacked it on to another.
Her “Because God was really clear!” remark was in reference to parents deciding what is best for their children.
“So what is — I can’t decide what my kid reads, I can’t decide for my child, what my child says is going on,” Goldberg continued. “You’re telling me your beliefs — you’re — and they keep saying it, and I keep saying, ‘What Bible are you reading? Because God was really clear!’ “
Now, we may disagree with her political and personal views on this issue, but her remark about God being clear was about parental rights (which is why the other woman said that she was being “conservative”), not saying that the Bible is in favor of transitioning.
All it took was a quick Google search to discover the context. Context is important, especially when ignoring it affects the reputation of another.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/whoopi-goldberg-appeals-to-bible-in-debate-on-trans-surgeries.html#:~:text=%22You're%20telling%20me%20your,God%20was%20really%20clear!’%22
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HRW @11:07 (my BD month and day lol): I wasn’t aware of the clips on Russian state television, interesting.
Our enemies are watching the morass and division we in the US have created for ourselves. Our near-sighted focus has resulted in an obsession with the ‘enemies’ close at hand — the other side of the political aisle, our neighbor with opposing views — to see anything else that could be coming on the horizon.
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Debra – There are plenty posts on here about those other issues, and each of us seems to have our own various issues that we concentrate on. But tone, especially on a Christian blog and from those in the media who claim to be Christians, is also very important and should be discussed as well as the larger issues.
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Corruption is a given, pretty much, in a fallen world. This is not a new circumstance we are in. It’s pretty much the norm, although today with the megaphone of Twitter and media of all varieties that we can’t seem to escape.
But how we respond to that — as believers, not as political advocates of one side or the other — is important.
The world will do what it always has done. And right now the noise on both “sides” is deafening (and will get worse as the election approaches).
So what about the church? How do we respond to “the world gone mad” around us? Will our overheated US politics just divide us as well?
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Kizzie @12:44 — agreed.
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Kizzie.
I posted a link on the Whoppi story, with transcript and video. She said it, to say otherwise is just damage control.
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I don’t know a whole lot about Tucker other than when I watched him he was exposing lies. The fact that he threatens the very likes of AOC causes me to believe he is doing something very right.
I don’t know that those who follow Christ would ever condone the use of crass language an or behavior from a fellow believer. I suppose I bristle a bit when other believers use the term “so called Christian” or “claim to be” Christian in reference to others. Does Tucker profess Christ? If so and we hear or see something not being Christ like perhaps we should ask our Lord to show him the failing so that he might be corrected…or even that a close believing friend of his would be one to whom he could be accountable.
When we observe fellow believers supporting such businesses who appear to be enemies of Christ…what is required of us then? We have personal convictions about such businesses and have decided not to support nor encourage the support of them to others.
When GA was to pass the Religious Freedom bill, how many businesses vociferously attacked Christians as bigoted? And then threatened to leave the state if passed? How many Christians continue to support those businesses? How many continue to support Disney? I know many. I am not in control of their relationship with Christ nor their decisions. I can offer an opinion if they care to have it but otherwise I pray we have a hunger and yearning to walk the path He has set before us and to never cause dishonor to His name.
And when I hear about a Whoopi referring to what God says or wants, well by their fruits ye shall know them….even Satan quoted the Word.
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DJ, God’s church is is doing just fine, though it seems to be undergoing a shaking right now. And personally, I think that will get worse before it gets better, but that’s just my opinion. But when it’s over, there is no doubt that we the church will come through the fire as refined silver and gold. That’s his word. He never said it would be pleasant or non-confrontational or, forgive me, a ‘winsome’ process.
I don’t find the noise deafening —not now anyway, though there have been times that I have. If you do, it might be more of a personal indicator than an indicator of what is outside you. You can respond to the world any way you like knowing that God will assess you in it, and so will your fellow human beings. That’s life. Nothing is new under the sun. For myself, I do the best I can, and have faith that God is in control of my life because I have submitted it to him and he has promised to order the steps of those committed to him. What many (and perhaps you) seem to be searching for is consensus. I don’t think we’re going to find that at this time.
Politically, I’m looking at the direction, not personality. I dislike crassness and arrogance in public life and we have plenty of it. But I’m not going to walk in the wrong direction to avoid it. Pray for light, and keep pressing on in the light you have. I don’t think one can do better than that.
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Kizzie @12:18 I haven’t read everything that’s been written on the topic of Tucker. Do you know where he asked that the c-word not be redacted?
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Debra, well and good. Agree with much of that.
But I find this period we are in potentially dangerous. And no, the church is not immune of those impacts. We need to know that and be aware of that. Yes, God will preserve His church through all time. Let’s also make sure we’re not slipping into the “spirit of the age” in all the political tumult.
I trust that all of us walk in the direction that seems to be right, based on Scripture. I don’t (and can’t) keep up with every outrage being reported or argued about on Twitter. I remember the late ’60s and early ’70s. Tumultuous but we seem to be repeating history here — we’re only lacking, thankfully, so far, God willing, the assassination component.
The culture has changed dramatically over the past 20+ years. Entertainment media is responsible for much of that. Trying to get that back into the bottle is an uphill battle and one that I somehow doubt can be won through politics or electing a strong man intent only on trying to “own” the other side (which is what I hear most often as the goal).
I’ve never been fond of “populism” as it can be so untethered as to cause mischief and worse. History tells that story well enough.
War is sin writ large, as CS Lewis once said. Maintaining an outward awareness, a sufficient and ready defense as needed, can keep us from going there. But national unity definitely plays a role as well. We have not much of that right now. Let’s pray nothing is thrown at us and we have no choice — because we’ve been too busy yelling at our neighbors.
We aren’t ready for much more crisis right now.
And yes, we should be praying for Carlson and those who publicly profess the faith but appear to be on a road that might not be spiritually a good one, at least from appearances to many of us. We can’t know another’s faith (or lack thereof). But I’ve watched him make a transformation. As I said, I stopped watching the show a while ago, I don’t think many of these one-sided opinion fests do us much good in the long run.
I pray God saves the nation, and leads it back from its wayward tendencies and forward to better days. He may or may not. Our call is to be faithful first to Him and the faith — then, as best as we can, to do our part in our communities and nation, to love our neighbors (and our enemies), and to trust in Him for the outcome.
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Debra @1:57
It was in a report in the WSJ:
~ Several weeks ago, as Fox News lawyers prepared for a courtroom showdown with Dominion Voting Systems, they presented Tucker Carlson with what they thought was good news: They had persuaded the court to redact from a legal filing the time he called a senior Fox News executive the c-word, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Carlson, Fox News’s most-watched prime-time host, wasn’t impressed. He told his colleagues that he wanted the world to know what he had said about the executive in a private message, the people said. Mr. Carlson said comments he made about former President Donald Trump—“I hate him passionately”—that were in the court documents were said during a momentary spasm of anger, while his dislike of this executive was deep and enduring.
The messages were part of a trove of emails and texts from Fox executives and hosts that were made public as a result of Dominion’s defamation lawsuit. The voting-machine company accused Fox networks of airing false claims by hosts and guests that Dominion helped rig the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favor of Joe Biden. Fox News parent Fox Corp. FOX 1.29%increase; green up pointing triangle last week agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle the dispute. … ~
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And yes, in context (because context is important) Whoopi did indicate that God is ok with transitioning kids because God wants parents to make those decisions not the government. That was what the entire argument was about. In context.
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Thanks, DJ. I wish he had not said that.
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AJ – I found the post you had shared the other day and watched the video. It backs up what I said. Her reference to the Bible was referring to parents’ rights to make decisions for their children.
As I said earlier, we may disagree with her views, but her remark about God being clear was about parental rights, not saying that the Bible is in favor of transitioning. I don’t know if you read the piece I shared, but it definitely was not in favor of her views on the latter subject.
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Me too. (@ 2:25)
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Debra – I think it’s a stretch to say that because she says that God is in favor of parental rights that she is saying that He is also in favor of transitioning. Her point was that that decision should be left up to the parents.
We may disagree with how far she takes the parental rights argument, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that she is saying that God is in favor of transitioning. She may actually believe that, but that is not what that one statement says.
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Kizzie, her statement was not said outside of a context. The context is what illuminates the meaning. And the entire context of the conversation was transitioning kids and the government’s authority to ban it. But we can just to agree to disagree.
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The lack of self awareness from Carlson is interesting. In his video he mentions the amount of noise and lack of serious debate yet that was his show — complaining about green M&Ms and discussing testicular tanning.
In 2004, Jon Stewart appeared on Crossfire. Carlson and his co-host seemed to treat his appearance as a “soft” interview meant to promote the Daily Show. Carlson was caught flat footed as Stweart ripped the show for dividing America and presenting everything as partisan — Carlson was told he was bad for America. The show was cancelled soon after this. The video is still on youtube and is well worth the watch. Stewart has a show called the Problem on Apple TV and youtube – well worth watching.
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I care not for Whoopi’s opinion on just about anything but parental rights is an interesting discussion. If you argue the medical establishment can’t transition a child without parent permission and schools can’t hide gender and orientation issues from parents; then can you argue the government can overturn parent wishes if they want their child to transition? Or they want their pregnant teen to have an abortion? Where do parent rights end and gov’t responsibility begin and if we advocate parent rights in one case then do we have to advocate parent rights elsewhere?
Parent rights is not a firm ground to argue one way another if we are discussing medical and ethnical issues. Better to argue whether transitioning is right or wrong, similarly abortion or any other issue. Leaving it to the parent is not an ethical solution just a convenient wedge if you agree with the parent.
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Debra – I view Carlson very cynically. He says what he thinks will keep the audience tuned in. His position on Ukraine has nothing to do with the right or wrong of the issue but as a vehicle to attack Biden. The fact his opinion is played on Russian state television matters not to him; he kept his audience and they will come back tomorrow. Its a very cynical game with real world consquences and I’m not sure he understands what he is doing beyond the ratings and the domestic American politics.
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Debra – I do see your point about it being in context, but I guess I am seeing it as one context aside from the other, so to speak.
For example, Unschooling is a controversial form of homeschooling. In a debate about that matter, a parent could argue that making the decision to school one way or the other is a matter of parental rights, and that the Bible is in favor of parental rights. But that does not mean that that parent is saying that the Bible is in favor of Unschooling specifically, but merely the rights of the parents to make the choice on how to educate their children.
But you are right that we should just agree to disagree. Amicably, of course. 🙂
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Some bad things have been happening in the Libertarian Party, with many supposed Libertarians joining the alt-right.
There is a group within Libertarianism called the Mises Caucus, named after Ludwig von Mises, and they have by and large been taken over by the alt-right. Justin Amash was repeatedly booed by them during a speech, and then he informed them that the statements they were booing were quotes from Ludwig von Mises himself.
As you may recall, I flirted with Libertarianism for a while before realizing that I am merely a moderate conservative – or something like that – but not a full blown Libertarian.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-insidious-libertarian-to-alt-right-pipeline?ref=scroll
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“His position on Ukraine has nothing to do with the right or wrong of the issue but as a vehicle to attack Biden.”
It has everything to do with the morality of the issue – you don’t understand Carlson very well at all.
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It is absolutely ridiculous that we have come to the point where we must codify basic biological truths. Fortunately, there is a segment of the population that is not affected by the delusion of gender fluidity and also realize that women and girls need to be protected in sports and in intimate spaces.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/first-state-passes-law-defining-gender-as-a-persons-biological-sex-at-birth_5230704.html
“Kansas has become the first state to adopt a definition of gender with the passage of legislation that keeps men, no matter what gender they identify as, out of women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, sports, and other intimate spaces.
It also separates inmates and restricts participation in sports by biological sex.
The move came late Thursday afternoon when the state legislature voted to override Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of S.B. 180, which became known as the “Women’s Bill of Rights.”
Under it, a female is defined as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova.” A male is defined as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.”
It also defines gender words calling for “woman” and “girl” to be used to refer to human females and “man” and “boy” to refer to human males. It defines “mother” as a parent of the female sex and “father” as a parent of the male sex.
The override comes a little over a week after Kelly vetoed the bill on April 20. She vetoed the bill after it was passed by a two-to-one margin between Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate.
Kelly said she vetoed the legislation because she was concerned it would open the state up to costly discrimination lawsuits, cause the loss of federal funding, and hurt the Sunflower State’s economy.
The bill garnered widely diverse support with staunchly pro-choice women’s rights groups celebrating the veto.
“Victory!” tweeted the Women’s Liberation Front (WOLF), upon news of the veto override.
In rallying for support of the bill, the national women’s rights organization, which actually helped craft the legislation, wrote on its website: “This bill takes procedural steps to write into law common sense definitions that ensure the meaning of words like ‘woman’ and ‘mother’ aren’t corrupted by unelected bureaucrats intent on pushing gender ideology.””
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Tychicus – I understand Carlson – he’s a pundit, a talking head, etc. The Dominion transcripts revealed a man concerned solely with ratings and share prices not the truth. He told a FOX reporter not to fact check his show because it was bad for ratings.
And like many American pundits especially the right wing populists types, he interprets the Ukrainian war through a domestic lens. Europeans understand what the Ukraine war is about. When neutral socialists countries like Finland and Sweden insist in joining NATO in reponse and at the same time the right wing populists governments of Poland and UK are Ukraine’s biggest supporters, there’s something to this conflict thats bigger than Carlson would like to think. The NATO and European unity of this war is remarkable and unprecedented. They perceive Putin as a totalitarian threat to the liberal democracies of Europe in all their variants.
Ukraine is a threat to Belarussian and Russian totalitarianism. If and when Ukraine integrates westward in the EU etc., they will demonstrate to the people in “Russian” countries can have a liberal democratic state. Russians regard Ukrainians as little “Russians” – if the little “Russians” can have a western economy and government, why can’t the other Russians. Thus in Putin’s mind he needs to stop westernization before the people St. Petersburg and Moscow want it too. The Europeans understand this attack as an attack on western democracies and thus are united in support of Ukraine.
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Apparently Biden’s announcement did quiet the speculation about possible other election-year scenarios, from whether party folks may be discussing how serious this could get if he declines further. Michelle Obama? Everyone brings her up but so far, at least, she’s insisted she has no interest in running.
HRW’s mention of what was revealed in so many of the Carlson emails and texts was correct: an overriding interest in ratings and keeping audience members happy.
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Remember: Censorship always comes from the side that’s not telling the truth.
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Censorship is a government act. Private companies are free to hire and fire in the interest of the company; and, in this case, it seems, to protect the financial stability of the business going forward.
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Yep. Or to “protect” the 2024 presidency from Trump and the people who like his policies.
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I believe it’s something like 70% of the electorate collectively — those who will be voting in any general election — according to some recent polls, who don’t want a rematch between Trump & Biden.
Most of us are clearly exhausted by these two.
Tim Scott, Chris Sununo, and there are other accomplished conservatives who offer strong conservative policies, along with fresh faces, and (at least relative) youth.
Dems have their own challenges.
But voters clearly aren’t in the mood for a rematch. 😦 They are ready to move on.
As we all know too well, things aren’t looking good in America, from the economy to every other issue you can name.
Praying for some new vision.
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We can do better.
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DJ For President!
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“We Can Do Better” will be your slogan. 🙂
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HRW! If you’re going to be voting for DJ I want to see your picture voter id! But since it’s DJ, and we do have other Canadians who might want to participate, perhaps we can relax the rules just this once . 🙂
We Can Do Better!
DJ for President
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No – no -no! Declining! Way too shy, hate the limelight. Though my dog would be an appealing campaign feature.
I think we missed our blog chance with Chas no longer available to run.
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But to my earlier point:
https://hudsonreporter.com/2023/04/28/new-poll-shows-challenges-for-biden-and-trump-in-potential-2024-rematch/
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dj: The 5:05pm was a stand-alone comment not having to do directly with Carlson, but censorship is only a government act? Have you missed all the censorship acts of Big Tech companies and media corporations over the last few years?
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Only 35% of Americans want Pres. Trump to run again? More fake news from NBC.
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That’s still better than Biden’s numbers, which bodes well for a Trump victory. Maybe that means only the most active members of the parties vote this time, which also bodes well for a Trump victory. See what happens when you refuse the nomination, DJ?
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And the big tech censorship has been at least partially influenced by the government’s desire for a Democrat win.
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