Tag Archive: Politics


2024 Year-End Thoughts. NY Times Guest Opinion Writers Says Get Involved: ‘Bullshit,’ I Say

Filed under: Life Lessons
December 24, 2024

NY Times Guest Opinion writer Robert Rubin stated, “If You’re Worried About the Future of Our Country, Do Something About It.” Civic engagement in issues beyond the immediate scope of one’s professional and personal life for the greater good is more critical than ever. Further, Rubin noted that widespread engagement is especially needed when democracies like America face threats from autocracies abroad and intense social and political strain at home.

Sipping my coffee for a few minutes and gazing toward the horizon, “Bullshit. Not happening: been there, done that.”

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Why I Lost Faith in America

Filed under: Faith & Doubt, Life Lessons, Social Justice
November 10, 2024

Trump won a second term in the White House thanks, in part, to a spike in support across several demographic groups, including a record-breaking jump among Latino voters. An NBC News exit poll of voters in 10 states — including Arizona, Florida and Texas showed Trump captured 55% of the Latino male vote. It’s the first time the demographic has sided with a Republican in a presidential election. This happened despite Trump surrogates uttering anti-Latino jokes at rallies and despite Trump’s promises to not only deport undocumented immigrants but also to revoke birthright citizenship — a privilege more than a few rancho libertarians were blessed with. Maybe these voters slid toward machismo, misogyny, or aspirational whiteness. Maybe it’s stupidity.

November 5th is the day I stopped believing in America and my fellow citizens. Plain and simple. Period.

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Less Than Two Weeks to Go: The Call to Lead

Filed under: Right Speech, Social Justice
October 26, 2024

Why people willingly follow an autocrat is complex and involves multiple factors, including the political, social, and economic. Stories across history offer a roadmap for overcoming hardship, reminding us of leadership courage and unwavering hope that can be cultivated in the face of tragedy. After traveling through so many countries, here’s some life lessons I learned from God.

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Less than Two Weeks to Go: Missed Questions

Filed under: Life Lessons, Social Justice
October 24, 2024

Less than two weeks to November 5th, our national Election Day. If you’re a hardy soul, you listened to stories of immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, the dehumanization of one candidate or another, the dehumanization of deceased Veterans, a candidate dancing for 39 minutes, rambling, word salads, more rambling, candidates with likely dementia if not Alzhimer’s symptoms, tariffs, former administrative staffs calling out their boss(s), horror stories from the front lines Roe V. Wade, ‘drill baby drill,’ racism, radical left, radical right, racism, socialism, nationalism, nepotism, no-bism’s, slipped-ism’s, left-out-ism’s, toilet-ism’s and genitalia. What we didn’t hear was answers to complex questions.  

Here are the questions I wished candidates answered.

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Less than Two Weeks to Go: Neck and Neck

Filed under: Do No Harm, Life Lessons, Social Justice — 2 Comments
October 23, 2024

Less than two weeks to November 5th, election day, and polls are nearly dead even. If you’re undecided, flip a coin, toss cards into a hat with the winner taking two of three, or use a crystal ball and gaze for affirmation. You could receive counsel from Lee Greenwood (the Trumpian Bible made in China) or listen to Emime. One could read tea leaves, listen to the wind, or study astrological skies. We could roll dice, cast lots, pray, analyze ancient scripture, or beg karma for wisdom. However, God left it to us, and why it’s this close is beyond me.

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Then What Are You?

Filed under: Life Lessons
July 23, 2023

Ted Cruz had a ‘cow.’ Again. m the Dad of two young daughters,” During a recent appearance on a conservative podcast, Ted, ‘Get out of Texas,’ Cruz,’ waded into the waters of controversy over a “child-like crayon drawing” map that may be or may not be an endorsement of some weird controversial “nine-dash line,” depending on whom you ask. And fuzz face isn’t the only one. The Vietnamese government banned the release of Barbie. The Chinese government and the Philippines killed Barbie as well. But back to Barbie for a moment.

Attacking a film like Barbie isn’t new. In 2021, Cruz accused Big Bird (Sesame Street) of promoting government propaganda. Cruz once claimed Disney would eventually show “Mickey and Pluto going at it” and got so fixated on some anti-racist children’s books that he fueled sales. And, of course, he launched an investigation into Bud Light over a can of beer earlier this year, as in one can of beer. 

To this, Christ said, “What the hell?” and provided commentary.

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CNN Town Hall: America’s Inability to Discern

Filed under: Do No Harm, Life Lessons
May 11, 2023

Watching the ‘Trump Shit Show’ (i.e., CNN Town Hall) was so ugly it would have to improve to be ranked as awful. “The hatred unleashed in 2016 will take 20 years to correct,” I told a friend some years ago. “It will take at least tens for Americans to figure it out and another ten years to fix it.” Pausing for a moment, “If we figure it out.”

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Grassley, McCarthy, Scott and The IRS Bogeymen

Filed under: Life Lessons
August 25, 2022

A friend and I overhead another table repeating a false narrative that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is hiring hires 87,000 new ‘armed’ IRS agents. The keyword (i.e., ‘hook’) is ‘armed.’ The claim is false. Whether the folks repeating was knowledgeable or not, they weren’t alone. Social media folks and news personalities (i.e., FOX News and others) also repeated the falsehood. Even 88-year-old Republican Senator Chuck Grassley repeated. What they are saying is, “Watch out everyone. The IRS Bogeymen are coming.”

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The Darkness of Christian Nationalism

Filed under: Faith & Doubt, Life Lessons, Main, Religion
August 5, 2022

During the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Florida, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene argued that Christian Nationalism is a good thing. “That’s (Christian Nationalism) not a bad word. That’s a good thing. There’s nothing wrong with leading with your faith. If we do not live our lives and vote like nationalists—caring about our country, putting our country first, and wanting that to be the focus of our federal government—if we do not lead that way, then we will not be able to fix it.” Christian Nationalism is a political ideology and cultural framework that merges Christian and American identities. Unfortunately, the ideology distorts both Christian faith and America’s promise of religious freedom.

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Lessons of a Painful Life

Filed under: Do No Harm, Life Lessons
August 4, 2021

In December, multiple women alleged New York Governor of sexual harassment and or assault. The allegations varied between inappropriate comments, forced kissing and groping. For his part, Cuomo took issued a prerecorded video alleging no misconduct. Strangely, I can look at both Cuomo and the victims compassionately. This view is neither thinking in the light that Cuomo’s actions do not have some form of merit nor are justifiable. (Cuomo’s actions are indefensible). I also don’t take a strict form of religious interpretation by reiterating, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Instead, I look at Cuomo and say, “Cuomo is done. He cannot politically survive.”

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