Good point yesterday about the correlation between weather and climate to politics and culture, Dj.
The article did make me think of a book a friend wrote titled, Fashionable Goodness, about the church in Jane Austen’s time. Virtue was valued and pursued instead of being mocked.
My dog walking friend heard an interview of Speaker Johnson by Jim Daley of Focus. I have not heard it, but it sounds like it touched on such things. My friend was encouraged to hear Johnson say it can’t get much worse before things swing back in the other direction. It is pleasant to think that way, but one wonders if our nation has not tipped too far and used up our last ounce of God’s patience.
I listened to a report this week on what happened with the pagers and radios in Lebanon. They were saying that it was the most carefully targeted attack. An attack on Hezbollah
“The fact that she is within 20 points of Trump is a depressingly sad commentary on the state of our body politic and the media that poisons it. Stunning.”
“@NicoleShanahan: “[Republicans] don’t spend any of that money taking out third-party candidates. Democrats do.”
She says the amount “the amount of money” Democrats spend on “undermining the things that make democracy democracy” is “staggering,” and they do it in ways that she “could have never imagined.”
@Holden_Culotta writes:
First. the DNC changed dozens of internal party rules to rig their primary so RFK couldn’t challenge Biden.
Then, they sued him across the country trying to kick him off the ballot as an Independent and costing him $10 million.
All along the way, the corporate media censored and slandered him. For 15 months, he was denied Secret Service.
The Democrat party sued Kennedy to be OFF the ballot before suing him to be ON the ballot in battleground states. Whatever trick they can play, the Democratic Party goes for it. It is the antithesis of democracy.”
It is easy to sit on the sidelines and call someone a traitor. That is just as easy as watching the players in a football game and criticizing them as if we could do so much better. There are so many factors to consider and strategies to make when one is in office. Factors out of the hands of those trying to do right. All politics is compromise, whether we want it or not. I wish it were not so. I pray for good statesmen and women who love the Lord and look to him for wisdom. Still, not all will be so.
A better thing would be to state your disagreement. I am not above name-calling myself and have to fight the impulse. I pray for Mike Johnson and others in office.
“In the last 24 hours alone, about 30 launchers and 150 barrels, along with military infrastructure, military buildings, and Hezbollah weapon storage facilities, were completely destroyed by the Israeli Air Force.
“Listen to these stories. These are the Americans Kamala Harris and the Democrats don’t give a damn about. Mass migration is a country kiIIer, legal or illegal, and that’s why the Democrats support it. The destruction of America is the point.”
Thanks Janice, @ first comment; also appreciate Kathaleena’s thoughts @11:37.
Government, for better or worse, requires compromise and I also believe keeping the government open and functioning is important.
We live in an imperfect world.
The pager – cell phone coordinated remote attacks were horrifying to read about (I support Israel). It’s been almost a year since the Oct. 7 attacks. Still a good chance this conflict will grow and widen.
~ U.S. Shrugs as World War III Approaches: A devastating report on global threats and American weakness is met with indifference ~ WSJ
Chilling WSJ opinion piece (by Walter Russell Mead) on the recent release of a new bipartisan report, the Commission on the National Defense Strategy – I realize some here will see this as an overreaction or worse, an ‘excuse’ to head back into war — but there are some real cautions here, ones we’ve seen play out too often in history:
~ … This panel of eight experts, named by the senior Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services committees, consulted widely across government, reviewing both public and classified information, and issued a unanimous report that, in a healthy political climate, would be the central topic in national conversation.
The bipartisan report details a devastating picture of political failure, strategic inadequacy and growing American weakness in a time of rapidly increasing danger. The U.S. faces the “most serious and most challenging” threats since 1945, including the real risk of “near-term major war.” The report warns: “The nation was last prepared for such a fight during the Cold War, which ended 35 years ago. It is not prepared today.”
Worse, “China and Russia’s ‘no-limits’ partnership, formed in February 2022 just days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has only deepened and broadened to include a military and economic partnership with Iran and North Korea. . . . This new alignment of nations opposed to U.S. interests creates a real risk, if not likelihood, that conflict anywhere could become a multitheater or global war.”
Should such a conflict break out, “the Commission finds that the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.” …
… If history teaches anything, it is that decadence this deep, carried on this long, entails enormous costs. Our adversaries’ conviction that the inattention of a flabby political class is bringing the Pax Americana to an inglorious end is a key reason why nations as suspicious of one another as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have chosen this moment to make common cause against us.
The prophet Ezekiel spoke about the duty of the watchman on the city wall to sound the trumpet when enemies approach. The Commission on the National Defense Strategy has fulfilled its mission. But judging from the indifference with which its report has been greeted, more and louder trumpets need to sound. Not since the 1930s have Americans been this profoundly indifferent as a great war assembles in the world outside, and not since Paul Revere traversed the dark country lanes of Massachusetts have Americans more urgently needed to rouse themselves from sleep. ~
I agree that government requires compromise, but that means both parties are giving something. What exactly did the Democrats give in order for Johnson to pass that bill?
The angry national divide right now is unsustainable unless something changes, no matter who gets elected. There’s a lot of blame that can be given to both ends of the spectrum.
Again, what exactly did the Democrats give? Because if we can’t answer that question substantively, I’m afraid the epithet on Johnson must stand. He pretended to caucus with a group of people that he betrayed. People are free to change their minds, but doing so suddenly and without warning after others have placed their trust in you naturally leaves one open to charges of betrayal. He’s never answered the charge sufficiently.
Dear VP Harris: I hear you make this statement all the time. Exactly what “faith” are you talking about when you say you don’t have to abandon it to support abortion? Are you talking about the Christian faith that says all babies are made in the image of God (Gen 1:26), that God places them in the womb (Jer 1:5) and that we should not take any life unjustly (Luke 18:20)? Are you talking about that faith or some nebulous, general “faith” that says we’re good enough, and smart enough to make our own decisions? What “faith” are you talking about?
Quote
Kamala Harris
·
Sep 19
One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree: The government, and certainly Donald Trump, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.
And for the record, I’m not angry. Not at all. I almost don’t care who wins the elections. If I vote, I will vote in accord with my biblically informed conscience regardless of who likes it or who doesn’t. I am fully expecting that there will be turmoil any way it goes. If God is judging then we are all being weighed in the balance. There’s no way to wiggle out of that. We can only humble ourselves and pray, seek his face and turn from our wicked ways.
On another note, after reading the “[c]hilling WSJ opinion piece ” @2:56, I can’t help think Paul Revere and Ezekiel would be rolling in their graves (or at least rolling their eyes) at the misuse of their names by the publication that best represents the American war machine in all of its malignancy. Of course we’re on the verge of WW3. We’ve been working hard towards it for over a decade. Of course our own stockpile of weapons is depleted—we’ve been sending all our equipment to Ukraine. Personally, I’m not sure there is any way to humanly stop it now. It’s all in God’s hands, though perhaps our prayers can still mitigate the damage.
3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
More than not I see believers shaking their heads at what is transpiring in our country and the world. Not seeing anger but perhaps some frustration at being labeled in a less than kind manner. Standing for one’s deeply held convictions is not popular in some circles. nj
DJ, I suspect a lot of the anger is just generated and perpetrated by media pundits who may or may not be angry themselves or are just making a living off of sensationalism and outrage. Certainly there are angry people out there, and the more people are harmed by things like policies, inflation, or unemployment the more their emotions can be riled. But I don’t know that the population as a whole is angry. And as for believers, I see the same thing NJ sees— many believers are shaking their heads over the unbelievable folly that has come to epitomize our national politics.
We need not go straight to the 9th commandment. I think we like to pick our own labels rather than have others pick for us. That may be why I like to see myself as an Independent rather than Republican though technically I believe I’m registered as Republican since I had to be to vote in the Republican primary. But my complete and open lack of loyalty to the party might indicate Independent would be a better descriptive label. But labels exist for a reason. They are a shorthand that describes our religious/philosophical/political assumptions. The better individuals know each other, the less need there is for labels because we know where each might agree with the core assumptions of a particular label or deviate from it. We can help avoid unwanted labels by clarifying where our position deviates from that label. And we should understand that one clarification may not be sufficient; you may need to do it numerous times. And that is especially true if our positions are nuanced or if they change. Anyone who doesn’t care to clarify their position is of course free to not do so. But you should know you are leaving the door open for others to misunderstand your position and to proceed accordingly.
Wandering Views 
Good point yesterday about the correlation between weather and climate to politics and culture, Dj.
The article did make me think of a book a friend wrote titled, Fashionable Goodness, about the church in Jane Austen’s time. Virtue was valued and pursued instead of being mocked.
My dog walking friend heard an interview of Speaker Johnson by Jim Daley of Focus. I have not heard it, but it sounds like it touched on such things. My friend was encouraged to hear Johnson say it can’t get much worse before things swing back in the other direction. It is pleasant to think that way, but one wonders if our nation has not tipped too far and used up our last ounce of God’s patience.
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Told ya. Johnson is useless. He’s a traitor.
https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1836911901525119188?t=Bv0xL46UNYGReeltx9wLSA&s=19
“Who could have predicted this?!
A clean bill that funds all of government without the SAVE Act and no cuts to spending?”
LikeLiked by 3 people
I listened to a report this week on what happened with the pagers and radios in Lebanon. They were saying that it was the most carefully targeted attack. An attack on Hezbollah
jo
LikeLiked by 2 people
“What kind of GOP Speaker of the House leaves the border wide open and funds the democrat agenda with a blank check…?”
https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1836911235150774370?t=rHkZLLVftUCWPdeh0V0jJg&s=19
The traitorous, backstabbing kind….
LikeLiked by 2 people
“The fact that she is within 20 points of Trump is a depressingly sad commentary on the state of our body politic and the media that poisons it. Stunning.”
https://x.com/DavidLimbaugh/status/1836962334171971930?t=Ty1mxyop0_0UtuAZD7Vb8A&s=19
—-
https://x.com/KateHydeNY/status/1836941755750436983?t=7BSbN8_ctcsDxpSbAkDm-A&s=19
“This might just be the most spectacular two minutes of Kamala’s nonsensical wisdom I have ever heard.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kamala’s base.
https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1837116925060526286?t=uT9TZ5nBZSgQdZa19XD9xw&s=19
“Poll: 28% of Democrats say U.S. better off if Trump were assassinated”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Saving muh democracy, by destroying it.
https://x.com/VigilantFox/status/1836854394467373443?t=OfSn9wlx2ZY6cQ8aC1SPlQ&s=19
“@NicoleShanahan: “[Republicans] don’t spend any of that money taking out third-party candidates. Democrats do.”
She says the amount “the amount of money” Democrats spend on “undermining the things that make democracy democracy” is “staggering,” and they do it in ways that she “could have never imagined.”
@Holden_Culotta writes:
First. the DNC changed dozens of internal party rules to rig their primary so RFK couldn’t challenge Biden.
Then, they sued him across the country trying to kick him off the ballot as an Independent and costing him $10 million.
All along the way, the corporate media censored and slandered him. For 15 months, he was denied Secret Service.
The Democrat party sued Kennedy to be OFF the ballot before suing him to be ON the ballot in battleground states. Whatever trick they can play, the Democratic Party goes for it. It is the antithesis of democracy.”
LikeLiked by 3 people
It is easy to sit on the sidelines and call someone a traitor. That is just as easy as watching the players in a football game and criticizing them as if we could do so much better. There are so many factors to consider and strategies to make when one is in office. Factors out of the hands of those trying to do right. All politics is compromise, whether we want it or not. I wish it were not so. I pray for good statesmen and women who love the Lord and look to him for wisdom. Still, not all will be so.
A better thing would be to state your disagreement. I am not above name-calling myself and have to fight the impulse. I pray for Mike Johnson and others in office.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Jo mentioned the Israeli action against the terrorist group Hezbollah.
The Israelis are doing what the rest of the world is too cowardly to do.
And that’s a good thing.
https://x.com/VividProwess/status/1836830144482144584?t=SAqBgoYiutRPAhD7t71LKw&s=19
“In the last 24 hours alone, about 30 launchers and 150 barrels, along with military infrastructure, military buildings, and Hezbollah weapon storage facilities, were completely destroyed by the Israeli Air Force.
Hezbollah is getting crushed.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
This will make it harder for the media to play dumb about the invasion.
https://x.com/Travis_4_Trump/status/1837143206279926154?t=3W5mc11W6igohLpR7PXH4Q&s=19
“Listen to these stories. These are the Americans Kamala Harris and the Democrats don’t give a damn about. Mass migration is a country kiIIer, legal or illegal, and that’s why the Democrats support it. The destruction of America is the point.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
It feels like that, because it is.
https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1837152057322610859?t=BIFbK470AmfYe5Bg7pdGKw&s=19
“Charleroi, PA is a town of 4,000 residents, and now, thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, 2,500 Haitians:
“This is beyond immigration at this point, it feels like an invasion.””
LikeLiked by 2 people
Simple, because the GOP is useless.
https://x.com/DefiyantlyFree/status/1836937893081759755?t=yJpX77WdgXoL0HFPhh2Ipw&s=19
“Did we consent for our tax dollars to go to flying in 535,000 unvetted refugees that are now on government assistance?
Did Congress approve this?
No, it was done unilaterally by executive order.
The executive branch doesn’t have the power of the purse.
So how are they paying for all this?”
—–
Johnson is a fraud.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Janice, @ first comment; also appreciate Kathaleena’s thoughts @11:37.
Government, for better or worse, requires compromise and I also believe keeping the government open and functioning is important.
We live in an imperfect world.
The pager – cell phone coordinated remote attacks were horrifying to read about (I support Israel). It’s been almost a year since the Oct. 7 attacks. Still a good chance this conflict will grow and widen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Kathaleena.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 2 people
~ U.S. Shrugs as World War III Approaches: A devastating report on global threats and American weakness is met with indifference ~ WSJ
Chilling WSJ opinion piece (by Walter Russell Mead) on the recent release of a new bipartisan report, the Commission on the National Defense Strategy – I realize some here will see this as an overreaction or worse, an ‘excuse’ to head back into war — but there are some real cautions here, ones we’ve seen play out too often in history:
~ … This panel of eight experts, named by the senior Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services committees, consulted widely across government, reviewing both public and classified information, and issued a unanimous report that, in a healthy political climate, would be the central topic in national conversation.
The bipartisan report details a devastating picture of political failure, strategic inadequacy and growing American weakness in a time of rapidly increasing danger. The U.S. faces the “most serious and most challenging” threats since 1945, including the real risk of “near-term major war.” The report warns: “The nation was last prepared for such a fight during the Cold War, which ended 35 years ago. It is not prepared today.”
Worse, “China and Russia’s ‘no-limits’ partnership, formed in February 2022 just days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has only deepened and broadened to include a military and economic partnership with Iran and North Korea. . . . This new alignment of nations opposed to U.S. interests creates a real risk, if not likelihood, that conflict anywhere could become a multitheater or global war.”
Should such a conflict break out, “the Commission finds that the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.” …
… If history teaches anything, it is that decadence this deep, carried on this long, entails enormous costs. Our adversaries’ conviction that the inattention of a flabby political class is bringing the Pax Americana to an inglorious end is a key reason why nations as suspicious of one another as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have chosen this moment to make common cause against us.
The prophet Ezekiel spoke about the duty of the watchman on the city wall to sound the trumpet when enemies approach. The Commission on the National Defense Strategy has fulfilled its mission. But judging from the indifference with which its report has been greeted, more and louder trumpets need to sound. Not since the 1930s have Americans been this profoundly indifferent as a great war assembles in the world outside, and not since Paul Revere traversed the dark country lanes of Massachusetts have Americans more urgently needed to rouse themselves from sleep. ~
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/u-s-shrugs-as-world-war-iii-approaches-devastating-bipartisan-report-716bda71?st=8F7bwM&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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Thanks, DJ.
mumsee
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I agree that government requires compromise, but that means both parties are giving something. What exactly did the Democrats give in order for Johnson to pass that bill?
LikeLiked by 1 person
The angry national divide right now is unsustainable unless something changes, no matter who gets elected. There’s a lot of blame that can be given to both ends of the spectrum.
LikeLike
Again, what exactly did the Democrats give? Because if we can’t answer that question substantively, I’m afraid the epithet on Johnson must stand. He pretended to caucus with a group of people that he betrayed. People are free to change their minds, but doing so suddenly and without warning after others have placed their trust in you naturally leaves one open to charges of betrayal. He’s never answered the charge sufficiently.
LikeLike
So now she is going to teach us about our “faith”?? This person is evil.
@TonyDungy
Dear VP Harris: I hear you make this statement all the time. Exactly what “faith” are you talking about when you say you don’t have to abandon it to support abortion? Are you talking about the Christian faith that says all babies are made in the image of God (Gen 1:26), that God places them in the womb (Jer 1:5) and that we should not take any life unjustly (Luke 18:20)? Are you talking about that faith or some nebulous, general “faith” that says we’re good enough, and smart enough to make our own decisions? What “faith” are you talking about?
Quote
Kamala Harris
·
Sep 19
One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree: The government, and certainly Donald Trump, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.
LikeLike
And for the record, I’m not angry. Not at all. I almost don’t care who wins the elections. If I vote, I will vote in accord with my biblically informed conscience regardless of who likes it or who doesn’t. I am fully expecting that there will be turmoil any way it goes. If God is judging then we are all being weighed in the balance. There’s no way to wiggle out of that. We can only humble ourselves and pray, seek his face and turn from our wicked ways.
On another note, after reading the “[c]hilling WSJ opinion piece ” @2:56, I can’t help think Paul Revere and Ezekiel would be rolling in their graves (or at least rolling their eyes) at the misuse of their names by the publication that best represents the American war machine in all of its malignancy. Of course we’re on the verge of WW3. We’ve been working hard towards it for over a decade. Of course our own stockpile of weapons is depleted—we’ve been sending all our equipment to Ukraine. Personally, I’m not sure there is any way to humanly stop it now. It’s all in God’s hands, though perhaps our prayers can still mitigate the damage.
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Debra, I wasn’t speaking about you, just an observation about the political “weather” we’re all enduring these days.
A mere scan of political dialogues online typically has the “anger” on pretty full display.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So what do you call a backstabbing man who time and time again betrays his party and so called values?
Traitor fits. He’s a fraud, and a liar.
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Isaiah 26:3-4
3 You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
More than not I see believers shaking their heads at what is transpiring in our country and the world. Not seeing anger but perhaps some frustration at being labeled in a less than kind manner. Standing for one’s deeply held convictions is not popular in some circles.
nj
LikeLiked by 1 person
And constantly knuckles under to Dems, while completely funding their America destroying agenda.
These are facts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
DJ, I suspect a lot of the anger is just generated and perpetrated by media pundits who may or may not be angry themselves or are just making a living off of sensationalism and outrage. Certainly there are angry people out there, and the more people are harmed by things like policies, inflation, or unemployment the more their emotions can be riled. But I don’t know that the population as a whole is angry. And as for believers, I see the same thing NJ sees— many believers are shaking their heads over the unbelievable folly that has come to epitomize our national politics.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe anger isn’t the correct term, but it’s the emotion I’ve seen quite often on what is now our political landscape.
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Maybe just different perspectives.
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NJ, personal labels are a problem. Back to the 9th commandment we go. …
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We need not go straight to the 9th commandment. I think we like to pick our own labels rather than have others pick for us. That may be why I like to see myself as an Independent rather than Republican though technically I believe I’m registered as Republican since I had to be to vote in the Republican primary. But my complete and open lack of loyalty to the party might indicate Independent would be a better descriptive label. But labels exist for a reason. They are a shorthand that describes our religious/philosophical/political assumptions. The better individuals know each other, the less need there is for labels because we know where each might agree with the core assumptions of a particular label or deviate from it. We can help avoid unwanted labels by clarifying where our position deviates from that label. And we should understand that one clarification may not be sufficient; you may need to do it numerous times. And that is especially true if our positions are nuanced or if they change. Anyone who doesn’t care to clarify their position is of course free to not do so. But you should know you are leaving the door open for others to misunderstand your position and to proceed accordingly.
LikeLike