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).

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