Elevator Speech - Why I'm a Christian

I was agnostic most of my life – I went to church since I was a teen but it was mostly to see my friends.  I knew the theory of Christianity but was content to just “do good.”  I was also a “worry wart” as my mom called me when I was a kid, and I used to worry about different “what if” scenarios that would pop up in my head.  When I was in my early 40’s, my best friend’s husband died suddenly while playing basketball with his kid’s team and my friend asked, “Do you think he’s in heaven?” Knowing he was raised a Buddhist and that the Christian teaching is “the only way to heaven is through Jesus,” I was a bit stumped.  Nonetheless I answered “with my gut” that I do believe he’s in heaven.  That was the moment I decided I needed to really figure out what I believe.  I attended New Life Church because it’s close to my home, they do good work in the community and I liked Pastor Jon Harris’ style of preaching. I joined a small group and emailed Pastor Jon about my questions (mostly why would God allow injustices in the world), and he suggested reading “A Case for Faith.”  Reading through the Bible and that book, I was able to put together how the Old Testament foretold the coming of Jesus and how the New Testament shows us how to live with faith in Jesus at the center of our lives.  Before, the Bible was just a bunch of jumbled up stories to me; and now I see the linkage of how it comes together.  But most of all, now that I’m a true believer, I can see how God has blessed my life even in times of trouble and I no longer stress and worry about things that I can just turn over to Him.

Coming Full Circle

I originally started this blog to cover my journey as a new Christian and it eventually turned into a place to put my political thoughts - especially after he-who-must-not-be-named became president.  I’m at the end of another 3-week Facebook Fast to pray for others far from God (which I usually do anyway).  Again, it was refreshing to not see political posts that rile me up.  I simply kept my eye on the news and watched the CBS evening news if I felt like it (I record it every day).

Since I’ve already written a lot about why I can’t stand the Con n Cheat, gun control, healthcare, tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations, abortion, etc...  I will keep most of those opinions on Twitter (@BuckyYuen).  There will be an occasional post here still, but most of you know where I stand.  Think John Pavlovitz (except I’m not a white male).  

I will try to go back to blogging more about my Christian thoughts, doubts and journey.  Yes, I have doubts from time to time... but that’s probably not as rare as one would think.  While praying for non-believing loved ones, I have to pray for myself too.  That’s what I learned during the 3-week fast.  I don’t think I’ve ever really had an ah-HAH moment that others talk about... and I don’t necessarily feel a real close “friendship” with Jesus.  I pray and yet I sometimes wonder if praying is just “sorting stuff out in my head.”  I see/hear right-leaning friends say stuff, and I wonder if we really worship the same God... Anyway, it’s still a “journey to doubtless faith" for me.  

Right-Leaning Marine’s Take on 45

Every once in a while, I'll use someone else's words when they convey my thoughts much better than I can... And today is one of those times.

A person asked the question, "Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Chris O'Leary: 

Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that 

1.) I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and 

2.) If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

A.) He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”

B.) He’s an authoritarian populist, not a conservative. He advances regressive social policy while proposing to expand federal spending and federalist authority over states, both of which conservatives are supposed to hate.

C.) He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D.) His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E.) His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

F.) He couldn’t pass a 3rd-grade civics exam. He doesn't’ know what he’s doing. He doesn't understand how international relations work, he doesn’t understand how federal state or local governments work, and every time someone tries to “Run it like a business” it’s a spectacular failure. See Colorado Springs’ recent history as an example. The Short, Unhappy Life of a Libertarian Paradise And that was a businessman with a MUCH better business track record than Trump. We are talking about a man who lost money owning a freaking gambling casino.

G.) He behaves unethicaly and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

H.) He is damaging our relationships with our best international friends while kissing up to nations that do not have our best interests in mind. To his question “Wouldn't’ it be great to have better relations with Russia?” The answer is Yes. But it is RUSSIA who needs to earn that, who must stop doing the things that are damaging to that relationship, or we are simply weaker for it.

I.) He has never seen a shortcut he didn't like, and you can’t take shortcuts in government. “Nuclear Option, Remove the Filibuster, I’ll change the Constitution by Executive Order…Don…what happens when you remove the filibuster and the other side retakes the majority in the Senate? Suddenly want that filibuster back? What happens if you manage to change the Constitution by Executive Order and an Anti-2A President wins the next election?

J.) He behaves and has always behaved as an unabashed racist. Yes, I’ve seen your favorite meme that claims he was never accused of racism before the Democrats…Absolutely false. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 See the Central Park 5, the lawsuits and fines resulting from his refusal to lease to black tenants, the 1992 lost appeal trying to overturn penalties for removing black dealers from tables, his remarks to the house native American affairs subcommittee in 1993. The man sees and treats racial groups of people as monoliths.

K.) He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

L.) He speaks and acts like a demagogue. He sees the Legislative and Judicial branches of government as inconveniences, blows up at criticism no matter how deserved and actively tries to countermand constitutional processes, not to mention attempts to blackmail and coerce people who are saying negative things about him

M.) His choices for top positions, with the exception of Gen. Mattis, who is a gem, have been horrendous. A secretary of Education without a resume that would get her hired as a small town grammar school principal, A secretary of Energy who didn't know the Department of Energy was responsible for nuclear reserves, an EPA head whose biggest accomplishments to date had been suing the EPA on multiple occasions, an FCC head who while working for Verizon actively lobbied to kill net neutrality, and an Attorney General who thinks pot is “nearly as bad as heroin” and asked Congress for permission to go after legal pot businesses in states where it is legal. (There goes that great Republican States rights rally cry again, right? *Crickets*) An Interim AG after Firing his First AG who’s appointment is probably unconstitutional.

N.) He denies scientific fact. Ever notice that the only people you hear denying climate change are politicians and lobbyists? 99% of actual scientists studying the issue agree that it’s real, man-made and caused by greenhouse gasses. Ever notice that every big disaster movie starts with a bunch of politicians in a room ignoring a scientist's warning?

0.) He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is Thin Skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

P.) He still does not understand that the words he speaks, or tweets, are the official position of 1/3 of the US government, and so does not govern his words. He still thinks when he speaks it’s good ol’ Donald Trump. It’s not. It’s the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You have probably spread a meme or two around talking about how no president’s every word has ever been dissected before…YES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE. It’s just that every other president in our lifetime has understood the importance of his words and took great care to govern his speech. Trump blurts out whatever comes to his mind then complains when people talk about what a dumb thing that was to say.

Q.) He’s unqualified. If you owned a small business and were looking for someone to manage it, and an unnamed resume came across your desk and you saw 6 bankruptcies, showing a man who had failed to make money running CASINOS, would you hire him? He is a very poor businessman. This is a man it has been estimated would have been worth $10 BILLION more if he’d just taken what his father had given him, invested it in Index Funds and left it alone.

R.) He is President. But he refuses to take a leadership position and understand that he is everyone’s President. Conservatives complain about liberals chanting “Not my President” while Trump himself behaves as if no one but his supporters matter.

S.) He’s a blatant hypocrite. He spent 8 years bitching Obama out for his family trips, or golfing, or any time he took for himself, and what does he do? He was already on his 20th golf outing in APRIL of his 1st year in office. He constantly rants about respect for the military, yet can’t be bothered to attend the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of a little rain. (And that excuse about Marine One not being able to fly in the rain is HILARIOUS.)

T.) He’s a misogynist. It's not really ok in this day and age to be a misogynist, but it’s not a huge deal if you’re a private citizen. It’s a pretty big deal if you hate half the people you’re elected to lead. The disdain for women seeps out of his …whatever…. and he just can’t hide it.

U.) Face it. In any other election “Grab Em’ By the Pussy” would have been the end of that candidate’s chances. Back in the 90’s I used to marvel about how Teflon Bill Clinton was. I no longer do. The fact that he managed to slip by on that is as much a statement about how much people hate Hillary Clinton as it is about what is wrong with politics in this country right now.

V.) He has one response to a differing opinion. Attack. A good leader listens to criticism, to different points of view, is capable of self-reflection, tries to guide people to his point of view, and when necessary stands his ground and defends his convictions. Any of that sound like Trump? His default is not to Lead, its’ to attack. Scorched Earth. The Jim Acosta reaction is a good example. There was no defense of his convictions when Acosta was asking him repeated questions about his rhetoric on the caravan. His response was to attack Acosta.

W.) He takes credit for everything positive while deflecting blame for everything negative. Look at him with the Stock Market. He’s been bragging about it since day one, and to give credit where credit is due, speculation on coming deregulation early in his presidency did fuel some rapid growth, but to pretend that it’s all him, that we’re not in the 9th year of the longest bull market in history and THEN, when the standard market volatility that deregulation inevitably brings about starts to show up? Yeah. Look at yesterday. Hey! Stock Markets losing because the Democrats won! Do I need to bring out the Stock market chart for the last 10 Years again?

X.) He emboldens the worst among us. Counter-protesters are slammed into by a car while countering actual Nazi rally, and the response is there’s fault on “Both Sides” The media is at fault for a nut job sending them and Donald’s favorite targets pipe bombs. The truth is not all Republicans, not all Trump Supporters are racist, fascist lunatics. Many are just taken in by the bombastic personality and are living in an information bubble made worse by the fact that they unfollow anyone and ignore any source of information that makes them feel uncomfortable. People on the left do that too. The Biggest problem the right has right now is that the worst of the Right is the loudest and the most in your face, and the actual right, especially the Freaking PRESIDENT needs to be standing up and saying No. Those are not our values.

Y.) He seems to think the Constitution of The United States, the document that IS who we are, the document he took an oath to support and defend is some sort of inconvenience. He demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of Constitution, from believing he can alter the 14th through executive order, to thinking The free exercise clause in the first amendment somehow supersedes the establishment clause (not that he really understands either) or that the free exercise clause only applies to Christians. Or his attacks on freedom of expression and the press. He repeatedly makes it clear that if he’s read them, he does not understand Articles 1–3, and that’s something he really should have before he took the job, because they’re not going away.

Z.) I’ll use Z for something I do blame him for, but the rest of us have to carry the blame too. Polarization. This country is more politically polarized than I can remember in my lifetime. Some of you who are a few years older than I may remember how it was in the late 60’s when construction workers in New York were being applauded for beating up hippies, I think it’s pretty close to that right now, but that was before my time. And he is the cause of much of the current level polarization, but also the result. It didn't’ start with Trump. We’ve been going down this road I think since the eruption of the Tea Party in the early years of the Obama Administration. I do hope the tide turns before it gets much worse because the thing that scares me more than anything is what if that keeps going the way it has been? "

Long Drive Home and the Fourth of July

I had a long drive home from work yesterday (due to holiday traffic) with my friend who is a member of the Air Force Reserves.  He was born in Panama and came to the U.S. as a young adult, and has served in both the Air Force and Army.  He used to say, “I will fight for your country, Dragon (his nickname for me).”  Now he can say he will fight for OUR country as he gained his citizenship a few years back.  We got to talking about 45 and how we’ve become disappointed with this country as, let’s face it, almost half this country stands by this President who reflects the worst of our history of racism and misogyny.  (See my previous posts if you want to find out why I think he and many of his followers are racist and misogynistic.)

It is the Fourth of July and the Con n Chat has decided to have a military parade.  I won’t be watching although, to be honest, I don’t generally watch parades unless I’m there in person.  I remember fondly times I’ve gone to the one in Downtown Fairfield, and even participated with my Martial Arts school (instructor is a Marine).  That was truly a bipartisan celebration.  

When this military parade was first discussed, some of my military and former military friends said that, instead of doing what they normally do on the fourth, several military members would now have to work and put this huge parade together... and that’s kind of a bummer.  45 claims it’s to honor the military but we all know it’s about his ego.  As my friend said, 45 used his privilege to dodge the draft with his bone spurs and never served in the military.  He really is a baby and it’s fitting that the Baby Trump balloon will make an appearance (although not within his sight).  Anyway, I’m not going to watch as it would only serve to annoy me.

My friend also scoffed at how GOP call Democrats elitists and yet the GOP elected this jacka$$.  Do people really not know how he was given money from his father, how often he claimed bankruptcy, how he dodged the draft? He’s the picture of elitism and privilege.  

Lately I’ve been seeing posts on FB about how Americans used to respect the President, the police, the flag, etc.  But what they don’t mention is that this country has historically treated POC poorly, especially the African-Americans.  And folks act as if it STILL doesn’t happen.  I understand/realize that not all Police are bad, but there are still too many Police killings of unarmed Black people.  This is not to mention how Blacks and POC are incarcerated for longer periods than Whites for like crimes.  And how most Blacks were never given the 40 Acres and Mule they were promised, so they were economically disadvantaged from the outset, and the wage gaps continue to increase. 

My friend and I also discussed how the electoral college really is obsolete, and how the GOP are gerrymandering to keep their party in power.  I firmly believe in one person, one vote.  When I was an Independent Voter, I used to wonder what was the use of my voting in California if the Democrat will win anyway?  Why should somebody in the the country get more say than a person who lives in a city?  A citizen is a citizen, and there should be no difference what race, gender, location, party affiliation, etc they are.  We do have the technology to count votes but, of course, those privileged people want to keep that privilege through the electoral college and gerrymandering.

Being patriotic is more than glorifying an imperfect nation, its President and its symbols (anthem, flag).  Being patriotic is wanting to make the country the best it can be and not settling for injustices.  The founding fathers all probably thought they were better than the slaves they owned and weren’t perfect... but their ideals of equality, justice and religious freedom have always been something to strive for.  

The original pledge of allegiance did not say “under God” and there’s supposed to be a separation between church and state.  God also granted humans Free Will and didn’t intend to force people to seek Him.  He wanted Christians to treat others with love and compassion, no matter their background.  It was the Good Samaritan who portrayed this kind of love that Jesus exemplified.  Unfortunately, U.S. Christianity is dying because seekers and non-believers see how the “Religious Right” (GOP/Senate/McConnell/Trump/etc) are hiding behind a flag and military might so that they can hold onto the country and privilege many were given just by their European ethnicity.

Mueller Report and 2020 Presidential Nominees

The Mueller Report was just about what I expected - no proof of collusion because 1) they didn’t interview him in person and let his lawyers submit touched up testimony and 2) he was basically an unwitting tool for the Russians to work against Clinton.  Mueller left any obstruction charges up to Congress (despite 45 and his crooks lying about “full exoneration”).  There were enough findings in the report to cast some light on his and his administration’s shady dealings and lies detailed in this AP Fact Check:  https://www.apnews.com/f75c4d5f001648e6bb6c2e33ff4eda77

And although Mueller is done with his work, his investigation has spawned further ongoing investigations: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/17/mueller-report-president-donald-trump-legal-peril-investigations/3486106002/

Basically, I’ve always known these folks are a bunch of manipulative liars, despite claiming the religious high hand (bunch of Fake Christians in my opinion), and hopefully some of his followers will wake up to that... but I’m not betting on it.  Neither are the Democrats which brings me to the 2020 field of nominees:  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-presidential-candidates.html

If I was a Republican, I’d be wanting John Kasich to run against him.  Of the Democrats running, so far my top 5 (in no particular order) are Klobuchar, Harris, Booker, Warren and Sanders.  Admittedly a lot of it is name recognition/familiarity and this could easily change as we get closer and people drop in/out of the running.  I’d like to know more about Abrams if she decides to run, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Gabbard or O’Rouke picked as running mates.  Truthfully, I’m not that excited about Biden or Sanders for some reason.  I just feel like their time has passed, along with Clinton.

Nation of Laws?

I haven’t blogged in a while because I was preparing to co-teach a couple of classes for work, one near Seattle.  While I was in Washington, I was also dealing with a woman who targeted me for identity theft.  She’s been largely unsuccessful, but it’s taken some time to get everything settled down and securities put in place (online and physical)... And baseball season has started although my Giants are not off to a good start lol.

Since the last time I blogged, Robert Mueller ended his investigation.  I pretty much figured all along that 45 wouldn’t be found guilty of conspiracy because that would mean he was clever enough to work with the Russians to get dirt on Hillary.  In the end, I believe he along with millions of other Americans, were duped into magnifying her faults and email server story. 

The Russians found a guy that they wanted in the WH, and they made it so.  Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and Breitbart, of course, helped in that effort.  They put out so much false crap on social media and, unfortunately, people on both sides of the aisle believed it.  During the campaign, I made calls to Democrats in other states (since California was pretty much a clinch) and I talked to people who said that, in light of Comey’s investigation on Hillary, they couldn’t vote for her in good conscience.  Basically, Democrats stayed home and didn’t vote.  They need to find a viable candidate this time around and back him/her... and they need to stop believing all the crap that the trolls put on the net.  At least they got the House back so they can put some checks and balances on the Con N Cheat.

Despite what 45 says, Mueller did NOT exonerate him on obstruction of justice.  Whether they release the report (redacted or not) this week or in two weeks, 45 still has other legal woes going on.  He’s trying to distract his base by complaining about the wall (or lack thereof), but this is also going on in the Southern District of NY

Trump Investigations

Speaking of the Wall and Trump, I’ve heard so many people say, “We’re a nation of laws” when discussing immigration.  They talk about how their ancestors came here “the right way” while ignoring the fact that this is all stolen land.  When I grew up, I thought the beauty of America was that it was a “melting pot,” but that was more of a nice slant on how we SHOULD be.  From its beginning, this country was built on the backs of slaves on the land stolen from Natives.  There’s been justifications about how the Natives were killing each other blah blah blah, but let’s just be truthful.  We took their land and killed hordes of them.  

Also, there were no significant immigration laws until the Chinese Exclusion Act, and that was because people could easily differentiate Chinese from people European descent.  It was easy to blame Chinese for the social economic woes of the country, and we’re doing the same now with brown immigrants.  

Chinese Exclusion Act

There are so many false immigration myths 45 and others are spreading detailed here:

Fact Check on Trump Immigration Myths

The bottom line (in my opinion) is that 45 and his followers are trying to make grand gestures (like a wall) to fix the immigration issues.  Instead, we should be using the money and resources towards reforming our laws and enforcing them.  Many undocumented immigrants have expired visa’s or are DACA; and many of them are productive members of society.  How about we make it easier and give them a path to citizenship instead of calling them criminals because they have expired visa’s?  How about we recognize that we DO have laws that say immigrants can seek asylum here?
Asylum in the U.S.

Calling ourselves a “Nation of Laws” is becoming an excuse to be unethical.  It was legal to own slaves at one time, it was legal to ban Chinese with the Exclusion Act, and it may have been legal for 45 to commit all these acts...  But these acts are clearly not ethical/moral.

Trump's Unpaid Bills
Trump's Business Scams
Trump's Racist Quotes

Evangelicals - you need to stop using the “Nation of Laws” excuse and start “Loving one another” instead.  If this nation is as great as you say it is, and if you want it to be a Christian nation (I personally adhere to separation between church and state), then you should stop propping up a guy that is unethical (at best) and hateful.  I truly believe you are why Christianity is dying in America - people see how hateful you and the President are, and they want nothing to do with it.  If you want a Christian nation, then you need to set a better example.


P.S.  More on Nation of Laws: Is America Really a Nation of Laws?

Death and Politics

My aunt was taking her daily walk one evening a couple weeks ago when a distracted driver ran into her in San Francisco.  She was small and passed away the next morning.  I’m sad that my auntie is gone but I can’t say that I’m angry at the driver anymore.  He was picking up his two kids, ages 4 and 10, from school and was heading home.  As my cousin (aunt’s son) said, we know what it’s like to drive with kids in the back... and there was no alcohol or drugs involved... He was just distracted (I don’t know the exact reason) and the upshot is that my aunt is gone.  He will have to live with this the rest of his life, and his kids were witness to it also.

The memorial service was last weekend, and I was working with my other cousin to arrange for flower arrangements from about 35 cousins/spouses.  He’s pretty conservative politically now, but he and I both grew up seeing each other every Sunday at my grandmother’s and we were always together like peas in a pod.  We don’t really talk politics except for one comment he made about “You never know what news you’re gonna wake up to the next morning” and he “doesn’t like Hillary.”  In all other aspects, we seem to be in sync when making decisions as children and as adults.

I have another friend that I worked with for several years in Fairfield.  She and I were also always in sync, joking about us being like Lucy and Ethel and “Get out of my head!”  We also were always in sync work-wise and even somewhat politically.  I remember she did want Hillary to win the primaries back in 2008, but has since become an avid Trump supporter.  It has strained some of our conversations and relationship and I pretty much unfollowed her Facebook posts because there were so many obnoxious memes.  I figured I would just look at her page whenever I was in the mood.  One day I saw that her mom had passed away and it was a fairly recent post.  I messaged with her my condolences and it was as if we had a moment of the “old us” back again.

With my cousin, there hasn’t ever been any animosity between us, but with my friend there definitely is/was.  The deaths of my aunt and her mom have brought a little perspective back into my mind and heart.  No matter what happens with 45, I’m praying that we (citizens on both sides of the aisle) can start to move forward together to fix some of these issues that should matter to all of us - taking care of those in need (homeless, veterans, impoverished), improving our criminal justice system so that people are treated the same despite the color of their skin, that the middle class can grow again (vs shrinking as the wealthy take all the resources), etc.  

It feels as if we’re in a political Civil War again, and it’s taking a toll on us all.  Some GOP are more reasonable like my cousin, some are “all-in Trumpsters” like my friend.  I pray that there will be moderates like myself on both sides of the aisles that can reach across and find peace.

My Thoughts on Abortion (late term in particular)

I have a Facebook  friend who posted this article on the New York law, and here’s my reply:

I know a woman who gave birth to a stillborn, knowing the baby wouldn’t survive... I  know a woman who gave birth to a child that died shortly after being born... and I know a woman who declined cancer treatment for fear of harming the baby, and the mother died (the baby was born healthy so the mom's efforts were not in vain). In all situations, I admired the women's choices, but wouldn't have blamed them a bit if they chose otherwise. In short, I honor their choice. I don't think any expecting mother WANTS to abort a child later in pregnancy. In all likelihood, they wanted their children but either their health/life was at risk or the baby wouldn't survive(and would possibly suffer). I respect the women's ability to make choices on behalf of themselves and the babies, no matter what they decide. 

Making abortions illegal won't stop them from happening, it will just make them more unsafe. If anti abortionists really want to decrease abortions (as I and many Democrats do) we should avail more free/low cost contraception and education... And we should make assistance available to young parents (and not shame them for collecting welfare, food stamps, etc). Being pro life should extend from cradle to the grave, not just having a baby born.

Lessons from 21-day Fast (No political posts on social media)

I just finished another 21-day fast with my church - no posting, “liking” or replying to political posts on social media.  That included this blog which is why I’ve been MIA.  Instead of spending time posting, I spent more time in prayer and Bible study.  I’m reading through the Bible with “ReadScripture” app which is part of theBibleProject.com. 

This fast reinforced my opinion that debating on social media is, for the most part, ineffective.  People really aren’t open to listening to each other; they’re actually trying to figure out rebuttals etc.  Republicans think Democrats are a bunch of baby-killers and Democrats think Republicans are a bunch of gun-loving racists.  Obviously this is an over exaggeration, but I think you know what I mean.  

During this fast, one FB friend posted a Kavanaugh article and tagged me and another friend in a kind of “I told you so, he’s a great man” message.  The article basically said one of his accusers admitted to lying.  My other friend responded and they had a pretty heated FB discussion; and I admit to being glad that I was on this fast.  It’s given me time to decide whether to respond or not and, while I don’t want the original poster to think I’m ignoring her, I think it would be counter productive to respond on an old post that was already heated enough.  Besides, as I mentioned in the past, most of my political opinions will be in these blogs or Twitter.  There is already a lengthy blog on my thoughts of the Kavanaugh case:  https://nokiddingimachristian.blogspot.com/2018/10/facebook-classic-experiment-and.html.

During this fast, I was also able to go to Hawaii for the first time in 20 years with a group of friends I’ve known since Junior High.  It was a great time and I was glad not to post/respond to a bunch of social media posts.  Being with people is the best gift God’s given us, and I believe one of my purposes is just to be with other folks and grow in faith.  One of my friends is an atheists, and I’m hoping he can see that there are Christians who are not Trump-supporting, judgmental and hypocritical... and that Christians can have fun.

Unfortunately, during this fast, my mom’s younger sister was hit by a car while walking in San Francisco Monday evening and she died from her injuries the next morning.  It’s been a tough week for my mom’s side of the family, especially my cousin (her son), and I was able to email and talk to him at length.  My mom has 8 siblings and our family gatherings are pretty big, so it’s been a while since I talked to my cousin one-on-one.  And yet it’s as if all the years faded away and there really was no discomfort talking with him.  He’s doing pretty well, all things considered (very supportive wife and kids), and I continue to pray for him and all my aunts/uncles.

Things at work have also been busy and I’ve been able to study up on some material that I’ll be teaching on in a week.  I also did our taxes yesterday (side note: this “tax break” we got is a wash - we’re paying just as much if not more than ever.  Also, my huge corporation is laying off people every quarter despite their tax break). This fast has helped me to prioritize all the things that need to be done (especially spending time with God), and not procrastinate.  I’m thankful for the things I’ve learned and will be more selective in how I post and respond on social media.

Why a Wall Wouldn’t Work

My friend posted this article on Facebook and it lays out everything quite well.  No need for me to re-state what the author already states so well...

https://medium.com/s/story/what-happened-when-a-trump-supporter-challenged-me-about-the-wall-e54e86a5edd1?fbclid=IwAR2_EFPzjhIUwuqkR2N14P7Cv5J1r655mgZsH50qoh3APvW2kqHPcW__zcM

2019 Resolutions and the Tower of Babel

It’s New Year’s Day and I’ve made a couple resolutions.  The first is to get out of the prediabetes range by losing weight.  The stretch goal is to get into the proper BMI range also which would mean losing about 30 pounds.  In order to help with this, I’ve joined Weight Watchers and will continue with it, unlike past times when I stopped after the three-month trial.  The only way I’d stop WW is if I get laid off from work.

My other resolution is to do the Bible Project app again this year.  If you’re not familiar with it, check it out.  They provide a program to read through the Bible in a year and give videos to help explain the nuances of the Bible.  You can load the app onto a device or go to thebibleproject.com. I actually started it a couple days ago while enthused.

Today I was reading about the Tower of Babel and how people wanted to build a tower to reach the heavens, but God mixed up their languages and scattered them across the earth to remind them that He’s the one in charge.  When reading about this, I couldn’t help but think about 45’s Wall - how it’s going to be the greatest, most wonderful, blah blah blah.  He’s probably the most un-Christian President we’ve had in my lifetime, and I believe all the Evangelists who support him will one day regret that (if they don’t already).