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I listened to this discussion on NPR this morning on the way to work between two economists, a Trump supporter and a Clinton supporter on the economy. The Trump supporter kept using the analogy if you keep giving people fish instead of teaching them to fish the displaced workers will continue to be displaced. He also talked about cutting taxes as a means to fuel growth, removing regulations and forcing manufacturing to come back through changes in trade agreements. In listening to his arguments I was struck by the tone with which he conveyed his arguments and it reminded me of the tone many Christians over the years have taken with me as they worked to save my soul; I mention this not to disparage anyone but as I listened to his arguments something clicked for me as to why it sounded the same.

The language sounded the same to me because i believe the line has blurred through which Christian Conservatives perceive all things; independence, economics, business and wealth, through a lens of their faith. Because they so strongly believe that the United States is a Christian nation first and foremost, that naturally businesses will do the right thing, cutting taxes on the wealthy will lead them to use that freed up capital to reinvest their wealth downward. This is the “reality” through which they perceive the world. Then there is a certain aspect of individual salvation, that despite the “church as a collective body” , lends itself to a view of life in-tune with the American ideal of “rugged individualism”.

I believe that the juxtaposition of these two positions: that Christians will always be helpful and we are all rugged individuals, responsible for ourselves, tugging on our boot straps; in reality tend to cancel each other out. If we look at certain changes across the economy since the 1970s until today (these are low estimates based on various numbers found); executive compensation increased +950%, stock markets increased +500%, income tax rates decreased -50%, capital gains taxes decreased -38%, worker wages increased +10%. So as the wealth grew for a percentage of the country and their tax rates decreased wages for the middle and lower classes grew fractionally. If one does some research on inflation adjusted household income growth since the 70’s; top 5% of earners saw over +100% increase, middle and lower incomes +25% increases. Throw into the mix that dual income families have increased at least +140% over that time period and that 25% increase in middle and lower income families looks even bleaker. Nothing in the numbers speaks to equity from the top.

I look at the numbers and I see a reality in which people are not altruistic of their own accord. As much as we want to believe that people will do the right thing or market forces will make businesses do the right, history does not show that to be true. Look at all of the “burdensome” business regulations, they didn’t just spring out of thin air but were created to stop something from happening again that already occurred. Sometimes the reason we have so many of these regulations is that to stop one problem a loophole is created, then someone exploits the loophole so we create another regulation.

What does it all mean though? I think it means that there are no simple solutions. Sooner or later we need to understand we are all in the boat together, eventually if enough money and resources are strangled out of the economy it will implode. If we continue on our current path we will eventually reach another 1929. This past recession was just a foretelling of what is on the horizon if we do not suck it up and fix the problems.

The rise and fall of the Wal-Mart society.

All of this talk during the election about jobs and shallow promises of bringing back manufacturing jobs from both candidates fails to address the real reason why we are in this shit show in in the first place. People like to blame business taxes, regulations and free trade agreements as to why those businesses left and moved out of the country. What nobody wants to talk about though is choice. The choice a owner or ceo made to move those jobs. Intentional decisions made as executive compensation and profits increased.

Suppressed wage growth across the country, disappearance of manufacturing jobs, cheap goods flooding the market, local small businesses driven to closure by big box stores has given rise to the Wal-Mart society. The problem is the Wal-Mart society is based on people only being able to afford to shop at Wal-Mart. Unfortunately because it is an unsustainable society, despite Wal-Mart being the second largest employer in the United States, it is predominately composed of part time employees. I believe we are headed towards the dollar store society unless we make major changes.

So how do we fix this mess that we are in? I wonder if we can. We as a society currently are faced with a deluge of problems that goes so far beyond just jobs. Broken tax code, rising costs of so many things. You know it is almost as if wages should have kept pace with the stock market or executive pay.

Would’a, Could’a, Should’a.

I really do not see any real solutions, there is not traction within the state or federal legislative branches to make the hard changes that need to occur. We need people at the local level to stand up new businesses to push back against the status quo. The only way manufacturing is coming back is if new companies spring up. There is also the possibility of devolving into a post apocalyptic world a-la Mad Max.

I am not one for conspiracy theories but I find the following unbelievable.

Peter Schweizer writes a book based on speculation called Clinton Cash. Schweizer works for Brietbart News as Senior Editor-at-Large. Stephen Bannon is Brietbart News executive chairman and also the ceo of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

FBI agents in New York field office try to use Schweizer’s book and a secret recording of a third party as a reason to start an investigation of the Clinton Foundation; because speculative, partisan hit pieces are always the go to standard when deciding a crime occurred. Oh and lets not forget secret recordings from some third party not a part of the foundation because that isn’t weird. They are told not to pursue the investigation because and I speculate here but judges don’t give subpoenas based on speculation.

Along comes little Anthony Weiner and a laptop that contains something supposedly relevant to Hillary Clinton’s email server. Now let’s set aside the fact that to know about these emails would require going beyond the scope of the subpoena they were working under and let’s chalk it up to “in plain site” which is probably stretching the truth, but either way the emails are now being investigated and FBI Directory Comey sent a vague email to members of Congress. Two days prior to Comey’s letter Rudy Giuliani, a Trump surrogate, indicated something big was coming in his words “a couple of surprises left”.  Today he admits he expected the announcement 3-4 weeks ago, which tracks with what has been made public regarding when the FBI New York office “found” the emails. So someone at the FBI is colluding with the Trump campaign against the Clinton campaign and the election will be decided before we even know any truth about these emails.

Sure this could all be coincidence, but I am starting to have some serious doubts about what is happening to the country I love so much.

In October when a Republican campaign building was torched and vandalized with anti Republican graffiti, Fox News went non stop. All the commentators got on the air to denounce the “political terrorism”. Donald Trump railed against the Democrats and Hillary Clinton.

Yesterday evening a Black Church in Mississippi was torched and vandalized with pro Trump graffiti, news story isn’t even on Fox News. Donald Trump’s campaign refuses to make a comment. Where is the outrage and condemnation that poured out so quickly last time?

More proof that “fair and balanced” is a bullshit tagline that should be changed to “white and right” and I do not mean correct.

 

 

I have been reminded of this several times lately that words matter, both for ourselves and for others. The words we use can create the reality in which we live, they are the frames of our windows to the outer world, the stones of our shelters and the paths beneath our feet. The words with which we perceive a situation establishes the context of the situation to our life; good, bad or neutral we are the deciders of our fate.

As we interact with others, our words can then become an influence, even if that is not what we intend; we can draw others into our happiness or our unhappiness, our joy or our anger, our love or our hate. Our words to others can help move mountains or end lives.

Each day of our lives, our words should mean something. If you say something, own your words, be responsible. Even when you are wrong, own your words and apologize.

When I was 17 years old I took the following oath.

I, Charles England, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

I only served on active duty for 8 months and then was medically discharged, but nothing on my DD-214 rescinds that oath.

I stand ready to keep my oath

Because of my shoulders, back, hip and knees; I toss and turn all night as each sleeping position becomes too painful. Well early in the morning I felt like I had a ton of bricks sitting on my knees only to discover my beagle decided that would be a good place to sleep, so I moved him and drifted back off too sleep with the relaxing sound of raindrops falling outside.

At 6:30 my alarm started going off and I hit the snooze because it is Sunday no need to hurry. As I lay there, not even half awake, listening to the rain and the rumble of thunder it suddenly dawned on me that it was raining. And not just raining gently but coming down pretty hard. I started trying to move, I had to wake up and fast.

Earlier this week I stripped the last of the old shingles off of my roof and put down tar paper on the side of the house, in the final stretch of reroofing my house. The problem is that there are three vents on that side, two plumbing and on exhaust for the gas hot water heater. So basically I have three holes in my roof and the rain is just running right in and of course dripping out wherever it can get through.

So at 6:40 this morning I am dressed, running out the garage door with a rain coat and my harness on, hat, gloves and this Energizer light on a head band that I have been using to roof in the dark. Pitch black, pouring rain and about half awake at that point I am on the roof fighting with this 50’x30′ tarp. These tarps are hard enough to manage when they are dry and it is daylight; not to mention walking on the steep roof, trying to step on the button cap nails so the tar paper doesn’t rip. Did I mention that I am hurting, never mind that is a constant. So I am up there, moving as carefully as I can trying to spread out this tarp, back down the ladder to get some rope so I can get it tied off because I know from experience one good gust of wind and back to square one.

It took almost 45 minutes to get the tarp untangled, spread out and tied down. I think it might have gone faster if my hands were not as swollen as they are this morning, felt like I was trying to work with a pair of mittens one, in fact typing all of this with my thumbs because I can barely move my fingers. So I am sitting here typing this up still trying to get warm, by the way cheap Coleman rain coats from wal-mart are not worth buying. Trying to decide if I am up to going to church this morning but hurting more than usual.

First off I am not going into the veracity or sincerity of the apologies I will put forth, I think it is on each of us to decide how we understand our own professed beliefs. I am also not talking about other things that happened immediately following the apologies. What I am offering up here for thought is how our political beliefs can over ride our religious beliefs. The problem with this discussion is it requires us to be truly honest with ourselves.

One person, in this case Hillary Clinton uses a personal email server while in an official capacity, investigations and subpoenas, email was deleted, she offers an apology.

Another person, in this case Donald Trump says he commits sexual assault on tape, tape comes out, he offers an apology.

So I challenge you if you are a Christian to give serious thought to these apologies, your political leanings and ask yourselves are you willing to accept both apologies as a Christian.

Now think on this how does your acceptance or rejection of that apology reflect Jesus.

Another day, another story about Hillary Clinton’s email.

But what we still do not have is a simple bill, voted on and signed into law, that all members of the United States Government, from all three branches of the government, EVERYONE! shall use official government email accounts for the conduct of all government business. That there shall be in effect a specific data retention policy of eternity for all electronic communications and detail specific punishments for violation of the policy.

Surely there is a reason that such a simple bill has not been proposed and passed. See this is the reason why we have regulations, cumbersome or not; we identify a problem and we create laws and regulations to prevent the problem from occurring again in the future. This is why we have a legislative branch. Perhaps though part of the reason they will not propose such a law is that members of Congress use their own personal email servers and it is much simpler to have investigations, spend money and not actually solve the problem at hand.

In conclusion 80+ % of congress is up for reelection on Nov 8th, send the incumbents packing. Because as much as we can bicker and fight about the next president, it is the Congress that is killing this country.

i just do not get all of the women who think all men talk and act like donald trump. Are these the same women who complain about the men in their lives because that is the type of man they keep having relationships with? Perhaps if you think this is ok you are making your own reality, but seriously #notallmen and end the bullshit that boys will be boys.

Here is a thought though, if you support Trump or just vote against Clinton. And you have a son, nephew, grandson; and you find your self one day grappling with a call from them because they have been arrested for sexual assault or rape, you are just as guilty for legitimizing his behavior.

Also this whole yeah but Bill Clinton schtick, if you accept Trumps pathetic apology but not Bill Clintons apology or the marriage counseling the Clinton’s received from Billy Graham then I pity you.