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Monday, April 23, 2018

What has become of the Republican Party?


This is the title of an article by Economist which has bitched incessantly over Trump as President every since his election.  As one who is a fairly pure conservative, I too was abraded by his early popularity.  Now I see an unusual personality but still a conservative.  Economist sees the R’s as organizing around, not issues, but a personality cult.  But they strangely don’t see the interplay of the bat guano psychotic Democrats who funded a propaganistic dossier, used bureaucratic allies in the FBI to present it as realistic to a judge, got a FISA spying warrant on the Trump campaign.  Then when he unexpectedly won, instead of honorably accepting the result, they demanded impeachment before he ever took office, used the dossier to get Comey rightfully fired, then used the leverage in public opinion to demand a special prosecutor.  And the media seems to constantly harp on innuendos from the investigation to promote some sort of removal of the President. 

            When a bystander observes such shenanigans, he wonders if the press has become a shill for these crazed leftists.  Has the left lost all moral compass and resorted to sneak tricks? Surely politics is a dirty game but does it have to turn into a war?  Thus Trumps inconsistent tweets seem more like that old guy you used to work for who ranted and raved and said startling things, but at the end of the day was quite good at the business he did.  R’s have gotten defensive of the President and his approval ratings have gone up since he was inaugurated. 

             But of course this is exactly what drives the media and the left crazy.  For politicians and media types make their living in smooth, seemingly knowledgeable speak.  I am reminded of my days as a physics instructor grading papers that journalism students had written about a simple experiment.  One of my colleagues said about them, “I wish I had an enormous BULLSHIT stamp that I could grade their observations with.”  Little study, lots of unknowing prose. You doubt this analysis?  Then ask, “WHO predicted Trump’s win of 30 states in 2016?”

            Nonetheless, Economist brings up familiar points.  Trump won’t share his tax returns, has ignored conflict-of-interest rules, has run a business for profit as he was President, and nepotism. But a thoughtful parsing of these problems is that Trump is rich.  He has huge businesses, not just stocks and bonds.  So is such a person outlawed from serving as President?  According to all the Swamp rules he is.  But Trump has basically said, hell no, you won’t make hay out of my tax returns.  They are so complicated that some journalist would easily misrepresent their true meaning. And no, I will not sell the ‘farm’ for a pitance just for the pleasure of serving as President.  Keeping the biz under outside management, does not constitute conflict of interest.  And I continue to rely on sons and daughters for guidance, just as Bill Clinton did his wife.

            The critics see Trump as firing anyone who disagrees with him.  I see him as a public personality who doesn’t like disagreements to become public.  Critics say that anyone who stands in his way are deemed enemies. Well, in fact numerous R’s in Congress have obstructed him and he remains friends.  Hence the critics see him riding roughshod over rules, but upon close examination, these are not constitutional rules but unwritten rules of the Swamp. 

            Yet all this wouldn’t explain the growing popularity of the man.  He gets things done.  That is anathema to the Swamp who just want re-elected and to see the continual growth of their bureaucratic empires.  The bureaucrats of Washington have a slang term for elected officers—the summer help. They are the eternal mandarins.  Elected people come and go.  The Democrats with their love of big government have latched onto this Swamp or Deep State and see no danger whatsoever.  Yet the rest of us do.  Read the 6 planks of Mussolini’s National Socialist Platform and it reads like a checklist of Democrat programs.  Compare his group (Italian: fasci) politics with that of the Democrats and it will give you chills. 

            Still the R’s don’t judge simply by getting things done or some personality cult.  Trump espouses conservative concepts in his own rough way.  He’s not against free trade, just wants fair trade deals, not Smoot Hawley tariffs.  He’s not against globalism, just wants USA to keep its powder dry for those conflicts that really threaten us.  And his reliance on more generals and less state department proves that he wants truly professional advice.   His acceptance of a badly  unbalanced budget was to secure Defense spending which was dangerously inadequate.  The rest of his agenda, the tax reform, the repeal of Obamacare mandates, conservative judges, revamping of wildly damaging EPA and Labor Dept. edicts, shows a guy who is fundamentally conservative. He stopped Obama’s program to kill coal and oil.  His foreign policy trips to Saudi Arabia and Poland promoted American democracy.  His hard lines with ISIS and NK was long, long overdue and perhaps effective.  In other words, there is a lot to like in the guy I once opposed, even worried about at the time of the Republican Convention. And, he has shown a way to appeal to labor union members and others who were dispossessed by Dems.

            So what shall I make of Economist?  They are Europeans who have had a gay time using USA as a duty free zone while loving their own protective tariffs.  Threats against their exporting scheme scares them to death.  They think like Europeans who cannot see the danger in importing Muslim terrorists or larding on the socialism in their own economies.  Maybe they will awaken someday to the threats.  For now they can’t see past Trump’s personality.  So while they accuse R’s of being a personality cult, I see them as an anti-personality cult.  

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Taking your place

I dedicate this short story in memory of Lowell Lefebvre and all the discussions on Christianity we had.


She was a single mom with 3 jobs to support 6 kids, not all her own, but depending on her.  And they were living in an old rusty van, homeless now because two of her jobs had suddenly ended.  While she was walking down a tough street near the railroad tracks, a man hollered from a front porch.  “You need a house?” Just on a lark she took the grand tour of a house with no hot water, no air conditioning, but serviceable.  “So how much rent?” He shook his head, “The owner just wants to sell.  $9900.” Now where on earth would she get that kind of money?  “Go talk to this guy,” the man handed her a business card.  “He’s at Big National Bank.”

            That is how she found herself being ushered into a plush office 29 stories up.  The man smiled broadly and shook her hand.  “I need a loan to buy a house,” she blurted, not intending to be so forward.  He nodded.  “About ten thousand dollars.”  He was already on a computer screen looking up her credit.  And the results made him shake his head.  “Umm, you have a credit score of 450.  That’s the worst. Any down payment?”  She dumped her last paycheck on his desk.  $83.  A wry smile crossed his face. “Well,” he cleared his throat, “if you had 40% down, maybe we could work with you.  But your credit is disastrous.  You’d have to have a perfect 840 to qualify for a loan with no down.” “Could you bend the rules?” she asked hopefully.  “No, if we did that, the risk calculations would be skewed and the bank wouldn’t make money.”  She sighed.  “And the bank examiners would notice it. You need to rent,” he declared.  “Yeah, well, nobody will rent to us either.  I have so many kids. And right now we are homeless.”

            She got up to leave but he stopped her.  “There is perhaps one final possibility.  If your 450 credit score could be exchanged with someone having a perfect 840, the loan could be made.  We would just swap your files. That person’s history would be yours and your history would go to that person.”  She startled.  It sounded preposterous.  “Who would do that?” she almost laughed.  “Me,” the banker said. “I would just become your credit score.” She was stunned. “Really? I mean, your credit would be in shambles! You couldn’t buy anything except with cash!”  “Yes, that’s correct.” Then she hesitated, “No, I won’t make you do this, sir.  It would be awful for you!”  He nodded in agreement.  “And what if I typically miss a payment?”  He was ready for that one.  “Come and see me and we’ll make arrangements.  Call me even if things don’t fall apart. Just stay in touch.”  “But people will think we are having an affair or something!  The office will talk!”   He sat down heavily and to her amazement agreed.  “Yes, I intend to take on all your badness and you get my good. It is the only possible solution to the mess you are in.”

            The next few minutes were like a whirl to her, signing papers and watching him exchange their files on his computer.  “But why would you do this?  That’s what I don’t understand,” she finally said.  And at that point he got very, very serious.  “It is who I AM.  My father ran this bank and he did the same thing from time to time.  I picked you out, chose you, had that man find you and show the house.”  She thought about it for a minute.  “So he was—“  “Another person I helped just like you. Will I be hearing from you?”  “Oh, like every day! And sir, if ever I can help, just call on me!”

            And so it is that faith changes us from inside out. Experiencing God’s undeserved kindness makes us want ot know Him more.  Realizing how much it cost our True Friend makes us want to change.  We are justified (JUST IF I’d lived perfectly) before God.  Our life is redirected to His Plan.  The Holy Spirit works within to reprogram us.  And lest we ever forget, He has sealed the contract with His Spirit, Blood, Word, and Baptism. You don’t sign any papers.  Just thank Him.