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Lysolgate and Yanny

This week saw another episode in our nation’s psychic divide with Lysolgate.  Unless you were living under a rock, on Thursday Trump, in true Trump fashion, made inexplicable comments following a presentation on the impact on surfaces of disinfectants, sunlight and temperature on the COVID-19 virus.

In relevant part, here they are:

“And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful.”

From there, the internet exploded.  Immediately, the President’s detractors went with Lysol syringe memes and the President’s supporters went into a special denial land of “he didn’t say that” or “here’s what he really meant” – -with detailed medical explanations. Of course, the latter is so implausible as to be beyond belief. Trump refuses to read briefings more than one page and literally gets much information from cable television. To suggest that he is aware of the details of respiratory therapy treatments is simply beyond imagination.

Nonetheless, you could say everyone heard what they wanted to hear.  However, I think that’s a cheap out.  The reality is more complex.

Two years ago, social media raged with a media clip called “Yanny or Laurel” in which almost half of people heard Yanny and half of people heard Laurel. The reality was that word was Laurel. Higher frequency distortion had been added to the clip. Those who brains are more attuned to higher audio frequencies, such as me, heard Yanny. Those less sensitive heard Laurel.  Even after establishing the fact that the word was Laurel, I could not hear it.  I used an audio software program to peel off the higher frequency distortion and then I was able to clearly hear Laurel.  However, add it back and I still hear Yanny – even knowing the truth.

In parapsychology (yes, I’m one of those crazy people that investigates ghosts – but as a skeptic, not to find the ghost of your dead Uncle John), we refer to a concept of mental matrixing.  People will sometimes claim to see a disassociated human face in mirrors or pictures. More often than not, this is an optical illusion.  Our brains are computers that interpret input data. When that data doesn’t make sense, it tries to make sense of it. If visual data has characteristics resembling a familiar object, it will interpret it as that object.  Thus, if certain features are consistent with a face, the brain will interpret a face. It will even fill in the blanks sometimes if some features – like eye, nose or mouth – are missing.  It is not real, however real it’s perception may be.

The same was true of the auditory Yanny/Laurel phenomenon.  Perception was reality to the listener, but that did not make it real.

The same thing is happening in our political environment today. I have an enormously diverse group of interactive followers on social media – particularly on Facebook.  My followers range from anarchist Libertarians die hard Trump supporters to die hard progressives and Bernie Bros and everything in between.  The reaction to Trump’s comments on social media were a true Yanny/Laurel moment.  To Trump’s critics, he suggested drinking bleach and shooting up Lysol.  To Trump’s supporters, because he didn’t use that exact language, there was nothing wrong with what he said. In fact, the right wing spin machine spun up posts from respiratory therapists and other people with medical knowledge trying to rewrite what the President said and make it seem completely reasonable.

Of course, the reality … it was Laurel.  The context was clear – a lengthy discussion household disinfectants and sunlight (for those of you always screaming about comments taken out of context) and he was talking about injecting disinfectants. Now sure, in Trump’s stream of consciousness brain, he probably wasn’t thinking “well, why couldn’t you inject Lysol into the lungs.” But come on people.  Any way you slice this, it was a stupid thing to say. There is no defending it, but of course people did – with abandon.  Why?  Yanny.

Why did people hear Yanny in the Yanny/Laurel clip?  It wasn’t a choice. God knows I tried. Hundreds of times. However, the auditory part of my brain was conditioned to interpret the higher frequency and override what my conscious brain told me. This is what is happening in political culture. As people veer off into belief bubbles or echo chambers, where they only hear information that is consistent with a particular point of view, they become less and less able to perceive another point of view. The brain has literally programmed a preference filter and try as they may, they can’t hear Laurel. Try as they may, they can’t hear criticisms of Trump.

Now I realize, I’m the one who supposedly suffers from Trump Delusional Syndrome, so of course, my criticism is invalid. This is another defense mechanism set up by the echo chamber to filter out views that create cognitive dissent.  Here’s the thing. I do know “conservatives” that went off the deep end after Trump. If Trump was for it, they were against it and they went from “conservative” to blue waver progressive. That isn’t me. Keep your labels to yourselves.  I challenge anyone to review my posts over the last 12 years and tell me where I’ve become more “liberal.”  The only area where I have changed my mind is on immigration issues. However, those changes in point of view pre-dated Trump.

TDS is simply a buzzword of the echo chamber.  Look, I know you hear Yanny. It’s not your fault. However, choosing to ignore the truth after knowing it is as such is denying your responsibility – and duty. We have a duty to the truth and that transcends our political preferences, fears and biases.

I am now Ex-GOP

Today, I tendered my resignation as a Precinct Committeeman in the Marion County (Indiana) Republican Party:

Cindy Kirchofer

Chairman

Marion County Republican Central Committee

Madam Chairman,

It is great sorrow that I must tender my resignation as the elected Republican Precinct Committeeman of precinct 18-02.  I will not be in attendance at the Convention on February 1st, nor will I seek re-election for the position and wish for my resignation to be effective immediately.

I have been a Republican all of my life. At age 5, I had my own electoral map enthusiastically watching the election of Richard Nixon. In 1980, though I could not vote, I campaigned for Ronald Reagan for President and Dan Quayle for Senate. Ronald Reagan was proudly my first Presidential vote in 1984.  Since that time I have proudly assisted Republicans candidates and campaigns in a variety of capacities.  I remain committed to the historic conservative principles that have been at the very core of what Republicans have stood for since the founding of the party – limited government, fiscal responsibility, local control, individual freedom, free markets and strong defense. Sadly, this no longer represents the Republican party.

In 2016, I severed ties with the Republican National Committee after the disgraceful conduct at the Republican National Convention and permitting the party to be highjacked by a populist nationalist who does not represent Republican values. I remained in the party with the hope that surely sanity would prevail at some point, even after Trump’s election.

Since that time, I have watched the Indiana GOP refuse to take action against an Attorney General credibly accused of sexual assault and to become a propaganda shill for Donald Trump – despite having an amazing Governor in Eric Holcomb that they should be better supporting.  They also essentially wrote off Indianapolis in the last election and crowed of other wins while ignoring the utter massacre in Marion County, which was caused in large part by revulsion of Donald Trump, whom they embrace with the devotion of a cult.

After watching the impeachment process transpire, it has become patently obvious that nothing remains of the party I knew and faithfully served. It has become the party of Donald Trump with cultish enthusiasm. I can no longer lend my name and reputation to be identified with it.

This is not a reflection on you or your leadership. I have the utmost respect for you and my Township Chairman, Councilman Mike Hart. I have made no secret of my views, but I have never been treated by either of you with anything but the utmost respect and I am most grateful for that.  This is also not a reflection on Marion County Republicans who I believe are committed to core Republican principles.

I am not becoming a Democrat and will always be available to genuine conservatives to assist them in any way in which I am able to help and they are willing to accept my help. However, I cannot be associated in any way with the party of Donald Trump and those who have repeatedly enabled his illegal, unconstitutional and immoral conduct. My prayer is that someday the party is restored to sanity and this stain be removed. If that occurs, I will happily return.

With warm regard,

Ed Adams

GOP Precinct Committeeman

Marion County

Precinct 18-02

Deplorables: Donald Trump and The Racist Alt-Right International

By Contributing Author Matt Adams

Hillary Clinton recently gave a speech and discussed the dangers of the “Alt-Right” and racism. This may be the first time many have heard of the term “Alt-Right.”  Is this just a smear campaign by Clinton towards Donald Trump and conservatives?  Is the “Alt-Right” really just a group of internet trolls concerned with free speech or is it actually an ideological phenomenon rooted in white supremacy and racism at its core?  Are the charges levied against the Trump and the Alt-Right by Clinton and the “Liberal MSM” valid?  How extensive is this movement from a domestic and geopolitical standpoint?

Donald Trump’s new ‘Campaign CEO’ is Steve Bannon, the CEO of Breitbart.com, a “news” and opinion site started by conservative Andrew Breibart, who was known for his confrontational style.  Under Andrew Breitbart’s leadership, it helped foment several political scandals during the Obama era, including the Anthony Weiner sexting incident and the ACORN videos.  Since Breitbart’s untimely death, the website was taken over by Bannon.  As popular as it is among some conservatives, Breitbart.com is not known for factual accuracy and are very agenda driven. They often politically incorrect for shock purposes, even to the point of outright racism in some of their reporting, e.g., calling conservative columnist Bill Kristol a “renegade Jew http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/05/15/bill-kristol-republican-spoiler-renegade-jew/.” Recently, under Steve Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart.com has been associated with the Alt-Right.

Perusing social media postings, one may assume the Alt-Right is mainly a group of internet trolls making tasteless, racist memes and jokes and harassing people online who disagree with them.  However, their ideological roots are tied to an international white supremacist movement with ties to Putin’s propaganda machine and was the ideological backdrop to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This is a bold claim.  The forthcoming seeks to connect the dots.

 

The Alt-Right’s Racist Origins

Ben Shapiro, a former Breitbart columnist (who left the organization over the handling Michelle Field’s allegations of being grabbed by former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski), has a good summary of the transformation of Breitbart into a ‘motley collection of white supremacists and anti-Semites’ in a recent Washington Post article https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/08/18/the-breitbart-alt-right-just-took-over-the-gop/?utm_term=.a0b6d8c60b1d. In it, an individual by the name of Richard Spencer states that Breitbart “has elective affinities with the alt-right, and the alt-right has clearly influenced Breitbart. In this way, Breitbart has acted as a ‘gateway’ to alt-right ideas and writers.”

Who is Richard Spencer? In an article back in March of this year, Milo Yiannopolis, Technology Editor at Breitbart and outspoken Trump supporter (recently known for being banned from Twitter for inciting racist trolling of a black comedienne http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/why-was-leslie-jones-targeted-trolls-n638291, but has become an alt-right ‘celebrity’ of sorts) wrote an ‘Establishment Conservative’s Guide to the Alt-Right’ http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/03/29/an-establishment-conservatives-guide-to-the-alt-right/.  In it, Yiannopolis cites Richard Spencer (along with other figures and sites such as American Renaissance, VDare, and so forth) as one of the foundational intellectuals of the newfound ‘alternative right’ movement. Currently, Richard Spencer runs the white supremacist think-tank called the National Policy Institute which is “dedicated to the heritage, identity, and future of people of European descent in the United States, and around the world.” The NPI also publishes a site called RadixJournal.com, which is the “news” and opinion site for the NPI. It has recently published such articles as “What the Founding Fathers REALLY Thought About Race” which begins:

“Today, the United States officially takes the position that all races are equal. Our country is also committed―legally and morally―to the view that race is not a fit criterion for decision-making of any kind, except for promoting “diversity” or for the purpose of redressing past wrongs done by Whites to non-Whites.

Many Americans cite the “all men are created equal” phrase from the Declaration of Independence to support the claim that this view of race was not only inevitable but was anticipated by the Founders. Interestingly, prominent conservatives and Tea Party favorites like Michele Bachman and Glenn Beck have taken this notion a step further and asserted that today’s racial egalitarianism was the nation’s goal from its very first days.

They are badly mistaken.”

The article goes on to cite racist views and policies that the founding fathers and other presidents held and promoted during most of our country’s history, concluding that only with John F. Kennedy do the “radical dissenters from traditional American thinking” find a president whose “conception of race begins to be acceptable to today’s standards.”

Another ‘founding’ site of the Alt-Right, according to Yiannopolis, is The American Renaissance, a monthly online magazine founded by Jared Taylor.  AmRen recently published an article called ‘The Biological Reality of Race http://www.amren.com/news/2016/08/the-biological-reality-of-race-2/’ which promotes a “theory” (if one can call it that) called Human Biodiversity.  The article runs through a gamut of racist tropes and suggests that they are all due to substantial biological differences among races.  It’s essentially Neo-Phrenology.  The fact they cite no scientific literature or research to support their claims should be a given to any rational, decent human being.

There is more evidence embedded in the other sources referenced by Yiannopolis’s introduction to this “intellectual” movement that are just as blatantly racist and bigoted, or more so. Yiannopolis, who calls Trump “Daddy” http://www.breitbart.com/milo/2016/06/19/happy-fathers-day-daddy-donald/, says these “intellectuals” have been “accused of racism” simply because their views cater to “Natural Conservatives” who are “mostly white, mostly male middle-American radicals, who are unapologetically embracing a new identity politics that prioritizes the interests of their own demographic.”  He goes on to separate the Alt-Right ‘meme-brigade’ from their racist, ideological forefathers, but asserts that these “Natural Conservatives” are who the establishment should be most concerned about, politically.

This is outright racism and white supremacy. This is a throwback to a time in American history where white men controlled all the vestiges of power in America, from government to business to even labor unions – or, as Trump may put it, a time from which his conception of American Greatness comes from. These “Natural Conservatives” are the people, after all, from whom @realDonaldTrump retweets quotes from Mussolini and photo-shopped images of Hillary Clinton with the Star of David superimposed.

 

Decent, rational human beings would reject this group outright based on the evidence presented above.  However, there is a further geo-political argument to be made against the Alt-Right for those concerned about America’s stance as a global superpower.

 

The Alt-Right’s Ties to Europe’s New Right and Russia’s Aleksandr Dugin

On Radix Journal’s ‘Critical Reading’ page http://www.radixjournal.com/blog/2016/8/10/critical-reading, there is section dedicated to an ideology called the Fourth Political Theory. It features four books by an author named Aleksandr Dugin. One of the books, “Martin Heidegger: The Philosophy of Another Being”, is published by Radix itself.

Who is Aleksandr Dugin? He is Russian professor (Moscow State University).  He is a propagandist for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. His ideas have become increasingly popular within the Russian intelligentsia, having served as an advisor to Russian State Duma government officials. One of his disciples is said to be Putin’s favorite journalists. Here is some further reading about Dugin, his ideas, and his influence: http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/mind-games-alexander-dugin-and-russia%E2%80%99s-war-ideas, http://www.nationalreview.com/article/380614/dugins-evil-theology-robert-zubrin.

Dugin “is the intellectual who has Vladimir Putin’s back in the emerging ideological conflict between Russia and the West. At home, Putin uses him to create a nationalist, anti-liberal voting bloc, while abroad Dugin is the lynchpin of numerous irregular networks of anti-liberal political resistance and sabotage.” He is a promoter of Eurasianism, a theory of history which sees human civilization as a conflict between Eurasia (Central Europe, Russia, and Asia) and “Atlantis” (The West.) He has “reconstructed the entire history of the world as a continuous battle between these two factions, from Rome vs. Carthage to Russia vs. the Anglo-Saxon “Atlantic Order” today. If it is to win its fight against the subversive oceanic bearers of such “racist” (so called because their values are foreign imposed) ideas as human rights, Russia must unite around itself all the continental powers, including Germany, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet republics, Turkey, Iran, and Korea, into grand Eurasian Union strong enough to defeat the West.” Through this conflict, the Russian People will finally be realized, though not through conquest but in the death of Russia and the end of the world. “Death is the way to immortality.” The recent creation of the Eurasian Economic Union and the War in Ukraine (where Dugin posed with Russian tanks on the front lines) are but two manifestations of this conflict.

His Fourth Political Theory is the ideological basis that will unite the Eurasian Union. It is a combination of “Communism, Nazism, Ecologism, and Traditionalism.” Dugin founded the Center for Conservative Studies, which he uses to expose intellectuals around the globe to his theories. Through this and his speaking tours, he’s influenced New Right parties in Europe, such as the German NDP, Greece’s Golden Dawn, the Dutch Freedom Party, and France’s National Front, all of whom hold nationalist, isolationist, Fascists or even neo-Nazi political views (the European New Right’s most visible manifestation is its widespread support for the Nigel Farage-led Brexit referendum.  Nigel Farage, of the British Independence Party, recently appeared at a Trump rally in support of his candidacy https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/26/nigel-farage-brexit-hero-donald-trump.)  His internet presence is bolstered through American white supremacist sites, e.g. Radix Journal. If one doubts the connection between the American Alt-Right, Europe’s New Right, and Dugin, in 2014, Richard Spence himself held a European “Identitarian” Conference, hosted by the Polish far-right Jobbik party, where Dugin was invited (but was denied a visa to attend.) On the invitation, Spencer exclaimed “I think the fact that we’re inviting Dugin is expressive of the fact that we want to have a real healthy dialogue with the major currents of Russian conservatism.” https://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/american-white-nationalists-to-hold-conference-with-russian?utm_term=.ywNdyvN90Q#.bpjN3kVJZA

Note, also, that Richard Spencer was at the Republican National Convention inviting attendees to talk to a racist http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/07/20/richard_spencer_at_the_rnc.html.  Further, Geert Wilders, leader the far-right Dutch Freedom Party mentioned above, attended the Yiannopolis rally at the RNC, and posed with GOP congressmen for pictures https://www.thenation.com/article/why-dutch-far-right-extremist-geert-wilders-has-come-to-cleveland-to-cheer-on-donald-trump/.

These are the people who now find home in the GOP that Trump is attempting to mold. It may be political opportunism, capitalizing on a movement using language different from establishment conservatism and liberalism.  It’s doubtful that the Alt-Right online trolls are actively participating in Putin’s propaganda machine.  However, it is telling that Trump has put at the head of his campaign someone who runs a media outlet who the racist Alt-Right has credited for its recent popularity. Trump has openly questioned the necessity of NATO, who Putin sees as its main threat to his Eurasianist vision.  Trump has even stated that he wouldn’t intervene to protect NATO allies if Russia invaded, which plays right into Putin’s hands to regain political control over eastern Europe.  It is no wonder Russia’s media outlets are so pro-Trump.  And there’s difficult to deny the foundational ideological synthesis between the American Alt-Right, European New Right, and Russian “conservatism” promoted by Dugin. Trump’s nativist, nationalist, protectionist, and “law and order” rhetoric is music to the ears of both this international white supremacist Alt-Right insurgence and America’s geopolitical foes abroad. They all have common cause, to fight Western pluralistic, multi-cultural “liberalism.”

Make America Great Again?  The evidence suggests otherwise.

About Matt Adams:

Husband and dog father.  Rust-belt Midwesterner trying to survive in the desert.  When I’m not wasting time on politics and sports, I work to ensure healthcare information systems are working as designed.

matt-adams

A Deplorable Election

Days ago, Hillary Clinton made headlines calling half of Donald Trump’s backers a “basket of deplorables.” She soon apologized for the statement, but only about the 50% portion of the remark.  Mike Pence countered that Donald Trump’s supporters were “hard working Americans.”  He further added, ““Let me just say from the bottom of my heart: Hillary, they are not a basket of anything, they are Americans and they deserve your respect.”

Frankly, it was a stupid thing for Hillary to say and Pence eloquently and smartly responded.  Of course, the media could not let Pence get one up, so Wolf Blitzer of CNN decided to bring back David Duke.  Blitzer tried to get Pence to acknowledge that David Duke was deplorable.  Pence declined and a minor firestorm erupted that Pence would not classify Duke and the Klan as “deplorable.”  However, that was false.  What Mike Pence actually said was that he wasn’t going to engage in name calling. He said that Duke had already been denounced and that their support was not wanted. Of course, we can argue as to Trump’s flippancy on David Duke, but there is zero evidence that Mike Pence has ever supported Klan members or pandered to them.

Anyone who knows Mike Pence and his history knows that Mike does not like negative campaigning.  He rejected it very publicly after his unsuccessful first election effort to unseat Phil Sharp (D-IN) writing an article, “Confessions of a Negative Campaigner” and publicly apologized to Sharp.  He refused to do so when running for Governor.  He has been forced into that role as the VP candidate, but he does not like to lower himself to name calling.  It was a cheap shot and it is an example of what gives journalists a bad name and low regard among Republican voters.

For weeks now, the Trump campaign has dogged Hillary Clinton about her health.  She falls (literally) ill and all there is a frenzy among Trump supporters of proof of their suspicions.  From all indications, she did suffer from pneumonia, resulting from allergies and exhaustion from the campaign schedule.  Trump remained surprisingly quiet and staff and surrogates were threatened to be silent.  Even so, the campaign is dogged with a lack of transparency and calls for release of health records – all the while, Trump refuses to release his tax returns.

It is a deplorable election with deplorable choices.  Hillary Clinton can’t keep track of her stories on emails and won’t divest herself from the Clinton Foundation, even though she says she will do so if she wins.  Trump can never keep any story straight. He has continually flip flopped on immigration, abortion, Planned Parenthood and now climate change.  He routinely just makes things up and is rarely held accountable – likely because there are so many that the impact of a single lie is not that seemingly significant.

When you look to third parties, Gary Johnson asked “What is Aleppo?” when it had been all over the news for weeks as a result of the humanitarian crisis from the Syrian Civil War.  His isolationism was revealed to be cluelessness. Jill Stein is facing criminal charges for playing protestor.  One who is to be the Enforcer and Executor of laws lacks any credibility if she ignores the law.  Then we have Evan McMullin – the only adult in the room.  Unfortunately, however, due to his late entry, he will be a on limited number of state ballots – and, sadly, not on mine although I fully support his candidacy.

It is a long 2 months and we haven’t seen the debates yet. Like Hawaiian Limbo, we will indeed see how low can you go. It’s going to be a grim few weeks.

On the subject of “deplorable” and the context of Hillary Clinton’s remarks, please welcome Matt Adams (no relation to me) as a guest columnist to Vocem Libertatis.  He will be detailing the origins of the alt right movement and their relationship to white supremacist, nationalist and the Russian power brokers.

How I Remember September 11, 2001

15 years ago today, I had just finished working out in the fitness center of the American United Life Tower – now One America – in Indianapolis.  I had just showered and was getting dressed when someone said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.  By the time I got out, many were glued to the TV.  A second plane had hit the second tower. We all knew it had to be a planned terrorist attack.  I immediately suspected, as did many others, that al Qaeda was responsible as they had attacked the embassies previously.  Of course, we soon learned that in fact they were the perpetrators.  We were completely stunned as watched the towers engulfed in flame and smoke and were horrified as people jumped to their deaths to escape the flames.

I shortly went upstairs to work.  Everyone was glued to internet news.  One Tower collapsed and we were completely dismayed.  The second tower collapsed and we were sickened.  We learned that the Pentagon had been hit.  While there was no evidence there was a threat to our building – the 2nd tallest in Indianapolis – we could not help but worry that we might be next and what was next.  Who was safe? How large was this attack?  Were my wife and children safe?  We were released to go home as no one was able to get work done.

The world changed that day in so many ways.  I remember days of no contrails in the skies and no planes overhead. Shortly afterward came the anthrax attacks.  No one felt safe.  We all lived in fear.  We were horrified at what had happened in New York and Washington.  Yet stories of courage came from those hours.  We heard of the bravery of first responders in New York.  The stories of survival from the towers and in the Pentagon.  Perhaps most stunning was the story of Flight 93 and courage of those passengers who likely gave their lives to save others from another attack.

We were unified as a nation in resolve as firefighters raised a flag over the ruins of the towers.  We rallied around the President – who had not won the popular vote in the last election – and were heartened by his grabbing a bullhorn and letting the terrorists know that would hear from us and that they would be held responsible.  Parties didn’t matter. We were all Americans and we had been attacked.

The fear from that day changed us in many ways.  We demanded that the government deal with terrorists aggressively and surrendered many freedoms.  I most cognizant of the scrutiny we now endure to board a plane as I write this in the air today.  We enacted laws like the Patriot Act which gave our government the ability to intrude upon our privacy in a much greater way.

I guess it’s easy for me to reflect upon my own reactions and memories today being in the air on this day.  I certainly had some trepidations about flying today.  However, what happened 15 years ago is so much larger than our personal memories, fears and reflections.  3,000 Americans perished suddenly that day.  They went to work like any ordinary day. They had no idea it would be their last day.  Their families had no idea they would never see their loved ones again.  None of these had anything to do with the complaints of the terrorists.  They were ordinary Americans.

In addition to the ordinary citizens that were lost, many first responders died doing what they were trained to do – save lives, sometimes at the expense of their own.   Many more have died since due to diseases from inhaling toxic fumes and dust from the debris as they sought to find survivors and recover the remains of those we lost.

As we reflect this day on the events of 15 years ago, think about the families who lost and may we be ever mindful of those we love.  Don’t take them for granted.  Don’t put off telling them how much you care.

Also as we reflect on the events of that day, I remember vividly how we came together as a nation.  No one decided to use the national anthem as a political statement.  People realized that as Americans we are all in this together.  We stood as God Bless America was sung and many, including me, were brought to tears.  We did not focus on our differences.  We focused on what we had in common.

I don’t mean to minimize racial divides in our country or the inequities that are present.  We are not perfect and we need to address those issues.  However, need to reclaim that sense of what we have in common.  We need to remember why we pursue justice and equality – because that is our heritage.  We need to remember that those 3,000 died not because of what is wrong with America.  They died because the perpetrators hated everything that unites us.  The dead included many faiths, races, LGBT and straight.

The rancor of this election has had little to do with our shared values.  We need to embrace those values – without losing the sense of urgency to address wrongs in our society or wrongfully denying they exist.

Let us remember those who left us that day.  Let us remember the courage of those sacrificed all to save lives.  Let us also remember for whom they sacrificed themselves – fellow Americans of all faiths, races, preferences and genders.  For those in the NFL protesting today, you picked the wrong day. It’s pretty clear you don’t understand what the flag means.  Ask those firemen.

 

 

Re-Launch: I’m back

launch-dec07

 

The silence is over.  I’m back.  As many of my social media followers know, I didn’t disappear and have been very active there.  Unfortunately, life has not permitted the opportunity to write long and more thoughtful articles. It has also been difficult for me to put into useful discourse our current political situation.  As I mentioned in the Writer’s Block post, I’ve had numerous drafts that have not been posted that I just didn’t feel properly expressed our current situation.  Having been sucked into too many meaningless social media discussions, I realize the time for more reflective writing has come.

After many years of progress and change in the areas of discrimination and race relations, our nation is currently experiencing a crisis in race relations – police shootings, shootings of police, riots in Baltimore and Milwaukee, both Presidential candidates accusing each other of bigotry and now the drama of Colin Kaepernick and now other athletes kneeling or raising fists (on September 11th of all days).  I will be posting a series of articles on race relations.  Our handling of this issue is critical to our future liberty.

I’ll also be posting extensively on the future of the GOP and the alt right.  I have the privilege of posting a guest writer on this subject.  Look for it Monday,

Pope Denounces Trump as “Not a Christian”; Trump Calls Pope Disgraceful

The Pope remarked today that Donald Trump was not a Christian.  The remarks came in response to questioning by a reporter asking him about proposals to deport undocumented aliens. He answered. “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel.”  The Pope declined to call on Catholics to not vote for Trump.  He said, “I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and I will give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Trump of course, fired back in response, “”For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian,” Mr Trump said. “No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith.”

In typical Trump conspiratorial fashion, he blamed the Mexican government for the Pope’s statement.  “[The pope] said negative things about me. Because the Mexican government convinced him that Trump is not a good guy,” he said.

My readers will recall that earlier I had posted an article that Donald Trump is not a Christian and explained the theological reasons for my conclusion.  I now feel validated after being berated by some that I had “unfairly judged” Trump.

For more information:

BBC Story

CNN story

Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC) Endorses Marco Rubio

The Charleston Post and Courier broke today that Governor Haley will endorse Marco Rubio tonight at a Rubio rally in Chapin.  There has been much speculation as to whether the governor would make an endorsement.  News broke yesterday that she would favor anyone by Donald Trump.  However, she has now decided to endorse Rubio.

Haley is a popular governor in South Carolina, and popular among Republicans nationwide.  She was chosen by the Republican party to provide the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address as one of the party’s “rising stars.”

Carly Fiorna Quits Race

Carly Fiorna announced this afternoon that she is suspending her bid for the Republican nomination for President.  This follows Chris Christie’s earlier announcement of dropping out of the race.  Fiorna generated a great deal of respect among Republicans and has been touted by many that she was running for Vice-President – a frequent interview question that caused her to bristle.  While performing well in some early polls, she was not able to gain traction in either Iowa or New Hampshire.

Scott Endorses Rubio, Toomey Expected to Follow

Today Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) is widely expected to endorse Marco Rubio for President.  Toomey was elected to the Senate in 2010, along with Rubio.  Toomey defeated the late Arlen Specter (D-PA), who infuriated Republicans when he defected to the Democratic Party in 2009 giving them a super majority in the Senate.

Yesterday, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) strongly endorsed Rubio.  Scott’s endorsement is crucial for the important February 27th South Carolina primary.  Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC) has has already endorsed Rubio.  South Carolina’s other Senator, Lindsay Graham, has endorsed Jeb Bush after scrapping his own Presidential bid.