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).

Government Shutdown and Mattis Resignation

Well, it’s been a bad week for the country.  We have a government shutdown despite the Senate offering a bipartisan plan which included border security (just not a wall).  The stock market is doing really poorly, but that doesn’t really impact the many people who can’t even afford to invest in stocks.  And worst of all, in my view, James Mattis is stepping down from Secretary of Defense because his views aren’t in alignment with 45 who wants to pull troops out of Syria and Afghanistan.

For almost two years now, I’ve been praying for M&M - Mattis and Mueller.   Mueller so that he can indict/convict all the people involved in the Russian interference; Mattis so that he can try to reason with 45 over national/world security.  But 45 doesn’t listen to reason.  Apparently he listens to people like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, and does things that please Putin (like pulling out of Syria.  I admit that I thought it was a mistake for Obama to pull troops out of Iraq prematurely...  and now 45 who loves to criticize Obama is doing the same thing despite bipartisan advice NOT to.

How many Trump voters in the rust belt work for the government and really want this Wall?  He said during the week that he’d be proud to own the shutdown and that he wouldn’t blame the Democrats.  But as usual, he lied and is now blaming Democrats.  

Do his supporters realize that the actual cost of the whole thing is like $30 billion (not the $5 billion 45 is asking for)?  Do they realize that Democrats DO want border security, just not an ineffective expensive wall?  And that there was a bipartisan plan which included some money for border security?  The Great Wall of China didn’t do the trick because, in addition to having a wall, you’d have to have people monitoring it at ALL points.  People will just avoid the heavily guarded areas and get over or under the wall.  I think all Americans would like to get Veterans and the impoverished more aid, but how do we do that and pay for a useless wall?  Maybe we raise taxes and eliminate loopholes on those large corporations who, by the way, continue to send jobs overseas and layoff people?

One of my New Life Church friends was in the military and is now in seminary school, and I was telling him how bummed I was about Mattis stepping down.  He reminded me that our faith must be put in God and not to worry too much.  That God is still in control no matter what the situation.  I will remember this, but I will still also continue to resist the lunatic in the White House as “Bad things happen because good people remain silent.”

Guardians of the Truth

This article on journalists as Guardians of the Truth is really well done. Unfortunately a good number of our citizens are still supporting 45 and viewing the press as an "enemy of the people." That phrase was used by other dictators and authoritarians like Nero, Mao Zedongand Vladimir Lenin. It's no surprise that 45 enjoys using the phrase as well.  

http://time.com/person-of-the-year-2018-the-guardians/

So Much for Conservatives Being Fiscally Sound

 I’ve been seeing FB posts about how we need to help our Veterans, Homeless, people in Paradise, etc instead of helping “illegal immigrants.”  (BTW, it’s legal to seek political asylum.)  What it comes down to is this - our politicians (esp the GOP) decided to give a big ol’ tax cut to large corporations who in turn reward their shareholders and not their employees.  And they continue to send their work overseas.  Perhaps people should be more upset with the politicians who want to raid social security and Medicare to cover the deficit while giving more money to the already wealthy.

Atomic Bombs

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I would think of the U.S. if I was not a citizen.  It’s one of the richest nations in the world (although we’re running a massive deficit) and we were the leaders in technology and finding alternate fuel sources (although this Administration is having us take a back seat)...  But the main thing is that we were a nation built on the oppression of others - the Natives and the slaves being the main examples.

On top of this, we are the only ones to have dropped atomic bombs during a war... killing hundreds of thousands of people, mostly civilian.  The ethical and legal justification for the bombings is still debated to this day (see linked Wikipedia).  But ever since those bombs were dropped, it’s been an arms race where the U.S. tries to call the shots on who gets to have them and who doesn’t.  It’s kind of ironic and I can see why other people would think we were hypocritical bullies.  Now we have an unstable leader who buddies up with Putin and other dictators.  And he talks as if he’s a dictator or, at the very least, would like to be one.  

I continue to pray that World Leaders can find peaceful solutions and that James Mattis can keep the crazy guy away from the red button.

Thanksgiving

Going forward, I will use Thanksgiving to be grateful for all God’s blessed me with... spend time with friends and family... and learn more about the Native Americans who were here before the Europeans came.

Here’s a website I found today about Thanksgiving: https://www.manataka.org/page269.html

It’s not as pretty of a story as what I was told when I was a kid, and it’s sad to know what happened to Natives in this country (and we continue to screw them by building pipelines on the land that was promised them.) But I can still use the holiday/time to be thankful to the God of all.

God so loved the WORLD - not just the U.S.A.

My friend at New Life is going to Seminary school in Berkeley and recommended I read a book called “Reality, Grief, Hope - Three Urgent Prophetic Tasks.”  It’s basically about Imperialism and the Church, comparing the U.S. with Ancient Israel... and how the people with power bend the public narrative to fit their agenda (which is to gain more power and resources).  The narrative is that the super power is “the greatest” in the world and unbeatable.  That narrative was shaken up when 9/11 happened.  The U.S. is indeed vulnerable.

The following is my opinion - The U.S. military spends almost $700 billion per year and a bipartisan study shows that we’d probably lose a war with China and/or Russia (who spend less than $200 billion each).  This is because, while they only concern themselves with their own borders, we try to control terrorism and global interests (in the form of oil and other economic markets).   Lately, 45 has been turning away from our traditional allies and buddying up with Putin, Kim Jung-Un, and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

People are fed this narrative that “America is Great” and, while I am fortunate to have been born here, I do see its many flaws made even more evident by this President.  He can turn a blind eye when a Journalist (who was a legal resident) is murdered despite CIA reports of bin Salman’s involvement.  He wastes $200 million of the military money, sending troops to the border as a campaign stunt.  He’s trying to make the Judicial branch beholden to him because he believes there are “Obama judges” (therefore there are “Trump judges.”)  He attacks Black athletes who silently kneel to protest the harassment and murdering of unarmed Black people for being unpatriotic while he himself attacks veterans like McCain and the guy who took down Osama bin Laden. The list goes on and on about this guy and his “America First” and “Nationalism” lies.  He’s telling all his supporters that he’s working for them, when really he’s working for the wealthy (which of course includes himself). 

It sickens me that so many Evangelicals support this guy.  They have forgotten that God so loved the WORLD, not just the U.S.A.  I’m afraid that we will have our reckoning if we don’t start working with our true allies in this world again for Democracy and Justice instead of just Economic Gain. Being an economic superpower isn’t what God called us to be.  He called us to love Him and love our Neighbor.  People claim we’re a Christian Nation, but the evidence doesn’t currently support that.

More Trump Disrespect of the Military

I find it ironic that the guy who criticizes Black athletes who kneel in silent protest during the National Anthem is now talking smack about the guy who captured Bin Laden after skipping the WWI memorial ceremony in France ... Where are all the people who criticized the athletes now? I don't see them posting about how disrespectful he is.

Mind you, I don't actually need to see more political posts on my FB feed... But I sure hope they're paying attention to his hypocrisy. It should've been evident by his criticism of McCain, given the fact that he dodged the draft multiple times due to bone spurs.

I sure hope John Kasich runs in 2020 and gives Republicans a chance to back a better candidate.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/homenews/administration/417426-trump-stands-by-mcraven-criticism-should-have-captured-osama-bin%3famp

Notes on Encouragement

A couple of mental notes I made during today's message on encouragement from Pastor Jon... Limiting the number of people in your life is limiting your blessings.  I sometimes purposely keep my social connections small because I get tired when socializing... But I need to stay open to God's calling when opportunities arise.

Encouraged people who have gone through tough times make the best encouragers. Frankly, I haven't gone through many hardships, but I'll need to remember this when I do.

Paradise Gone

It's sad how the town of Paradise got burnt down. They're still investigating the cause of the fire, but more than 1000 are still missing, and unfortunately may be presumed dead in time. I pray those that perished didn't suffer too long and that they called on Jesus before they died.

Report: U.S. Military Could Lose War with China or Russia

A bipartisan report came out that states that the U.S. Military has eroded and probably wouldn’t win a war against China or Russia:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-military-might-struggle-to-win-or-perhaps-lose-war-with-china-or-russia-report-says/

Two big reasons is 1) We’ve been entrenched in a 17-year effort to combat terrorism and 2) Our military is underfunded.  The second reason seems crazy since we spend over $700 billion on our military while China and Russia each spend less than $200 billion.  The specialist (who was on the panel that created the report) on CBS News said that China and Russia only defend their borders while the U.S. have global interests all over the world.

So do we throw more money at it?  If so, then we should raise the large corporate taxes back and put the money towards the military.  But even if we do that, there’s no guarantee we’d win a war against them.  It could be argued that we didn’t win the Korean or Vietnam War... and we’re still engaged in the Middle East.  Perhaps we need to stop thinking that the U.S can control the world.  Perhaps we need to realize that we need to work with our allies instead of touting “America First.”  I’ll keep praying that we work with our allies instead of alienating them like 45 seems to be doing.

Veteran’s Day

Just taking some time today to be thankful for our Veterans who have served the people of our country.  I see a lot of old pics of FB friends’ family members who served, but I don’t have any handy... although I know my Dad Clifford Wong served in the Korean War, as did my Fairfield Dad Howard Dupuis.  Most of my uncles also served and, although they don’t always talk much about it, I know that it had to change how they see the world.