Like Pope Francis, Democrat Questions if Trump is a Christian

First off, "democracy" is a horrible form of government, and there is nothing "functional" about them. They are always decidedly dysfunctional.

There are many things that liberals seem unable to understand - and I think this is demonstrated again and again throughout history.

History continually repeats itself, and today is no different.

Liberals make a mess of societies, and conservatives are forced to move and start over; until, of course, enough liberals arise in the new calm and destroy that society.

In the U.S. conservatives, libertarians, and others are again forced to try and escape the madness of liberals.

The push for a "New California", and a "New Illinois" for statehood are attempts by conservatives and other rational citizens to get away from the liberal nuts of coastal California and Chicago that are destroying those states.

I think this video at TED by Jonathon Haight offers some insight into the divergent worldviews held by liberals and conservatives.

 

I found the video you posted quite interesting--even enlightening in ways. The video doesn't appear to agree with your post though. The video says it takes both the liberal & the conservative views together to make a real success, and the constant struggle between them, is both a waste of time & destructive to society. Your post continues to blame it all on liberals, but conservatives are equal partners here, whether they want to recognize it or not. As in a love affair. . .it takes two to tango.

 

As an atheist I must recognize Trump as one of us. Not an example we are proud of. Not a moral atheist, like most of us are. But the immoral cartoonish atheist that has given us moral atheists a bad name.

 

I agree that people with divergent views need to work together to make a society function well.

That said...

The point of the video is this - liberals are open to change, creative, etc. And that is all well and good - except when it comes to foundational principles.

We're not talking about rearranging the livingroom furniture, or changing hair style just to be silly... we're talking about families, governance, and economics.

The principles learned thru millenia on these subjects provided the foundation that became the United States.

These principles are not malleable. They don't change, just as human nature doesn't change.

Liberals, and their like (of whatever label or faction) throughout history, can't help but be seduced by the hope that good can propagated by government.

It's so simple, right??

The reality is far different from the dream. You can't outrun human nature, and you can't avoid or deal with bad actors. Inevitably, always, without fail - the energy and power of government will be harnessed by bad actors to be wielded against not only their enemies, but society in general.

It is History 101.

And that's what liberals don't understand. In the name of "hope and change" you are chipping away at the very foundations of our stability and liberty.

 

Why do you care? Same sex couples go to communion in Catholic churches. Are they Christian? Are they Catholic? Are they allowed, under current doctrine, to receive the consecrated host? I don't see you complaining about them, and they have more of an impact on society than Trump. Why or how? Congress makes laws. Trump hasn't and can't. He can only approve or disapprove. Congress can get around his lack of a signature on a bill. They don't need it, if the majority are of one mind. How many more laws have started with a bill designed to change our society to accommodate 4% of the population?

 

The pope has no authority to excommunicate Trump. The Pope only speaks for Catholics. Trump is not a catholic, so how exactly do you think the pope could do what you said he did? How does the Pope or any Higher up catholic priest think they have some moral high ground to decide all things Christian. They can not even get up enough courage to excommunicate and call the police on priest that that have sex with little boys. I would say that is not very Christian.

 

The pope is the leader of Catholics, not the leader of Cristians. As a Lutheran he has absolutely no religious authority in the practice of my religion. He can absolutely not excommunicate me from the Lutheran church.

 

Interesting post. I agree with most of your points, but disagree with your conclusions. First, EVERYTHING that exists in this physical world is a blend of positive & negative elements or forces. It's very much like the oriental concept of the yeng/yang. Nothing is absolutely all positive or all negative, and everything has different or fluctuating levels of both. Government is a human institution, and like any or all other human institutions, reflects the yeng/yang (values) of those who own or manage it. I agree that some individuals will always take advantage of every opportunity for self-promotion, at the expense of the greater good. But I disagree that those individuals always win & kill hope for the rest of us. All human institutions are capable of both bad & good deeds. Most of them actually DO good & bad deeds at some time during their existence. Those things change constantly as the individuals involved change. The only real constant here is change itself. That's why I don't agree that all hope is lost. Change itself assures the presence of hope, or its resurgence if it is missing now.

 

I asked you about the housing/financial crisis from 10 years ago... what is your understanding/take on that??

And since you seem to have a glass is half full view of the world, how does $160 trillion (the low-end figure) in debt look to you??

You support all that debt, so how do you propose we deal with it?? Hope and Change, or some other pithy slogan??

 

Anyone who thinks trump is a christian doesn't know the meaning of the word.

Calls for violence and pitting Americans against each other...


Mass murder



Extreme torture - even beyond waterboarding



Condoning murder and coddling killers



The notion that this thug is a "christian" is pathetically laughable. And that is indisputably true. He is the very antithesis of a Christian. He IS a shining example of evil and the enemy within.

Knowingly choosing evil is one of the only unforgivable sins, by many beliefs. Supporting trump is knowingly choosing evil.

 

1. I am not an economist, and don't have a detailed understanding of the causes or the treatment of the Great Recession of 2008. I heard that the unregulated greed of several major corporations, led to business activities by the leaders of these companies, that put our national economy at risk. To me, such behavior is totally unacceptable, and I think those responsible should have served prison time. Yet, I know of no one who did. That fact alone, illustrates the truth in Bernie Sanders' campaign assertion that we are being controlled as a nation, by the small ultra-wealthy elites, who are themselves immune to the law.
2. It looks painful, though it's NOT my first concern. I believe I'm right in saying much of that debt started from the two wars started by GW Bush in 2001 & 2003. More derived from the Great Recession of 2008, which also happened under the GW Bush administration. Obama made considerable headway against the deficits during his occupancy of the Oval Office, but Trump has added more to it since he became President. Conservatives claim to care about deficits, but the sayings of Republicans & the actions of Republicans here don't agree with each other. So, honestly, I don't pay them much heed anymore, since they are the ones most responsible for wrecking the economy & causing the debt.
3. I see two possible ways to deal with the deficit. . .1. Increase the GNP & use some of the new income to pay down the deficit; or 2. increase taxes--especially on the super wealthy, whom we've let off the hook for far too long.

 

I asked you about the housing bubble b/c I assumed your understanding of it would be as you've stated.

That you would mention Sanders is interesting b/c he, predictably, was part of the problem.

As you've stated that you hang around with liberals, and I'm sure you get your "news" from CNN, MSNBC, or the like, you live in an echo chamber. You need to step outside that bubble if you have any hope of seeing reality.

Private institutions played a role in the crisis of course, but in total it was a comparatively minor role to the government.

The subprime loans were driven by government policy. The most culpable actors were Bill Clinton, George Bush (or at least his administration - as I count him as nothing more than a figurehead), Barney Frank, and Chris Dodd.

One of my favorite economists is Thomas Sowell. He explains some of the basics in this interview.

 

You have to remember I'm not a Republican (Big R), so I don't have to defend anyone in the "he said, she said" game.

Long term, what is going to blow our economy and currency up is the entitlement programs.

Unfortunately, "long term" is within the next 12 years. By 2030 (before in truth) the game will be up.

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I have been studying the Establishment for decades, and just as Congressman Charles Lindburgh Sr. said in 1913 when the Federal Reserve Act was passed,

"... from now on recessions and depressions, booms and busts will be artificially and deliberately created by the Money Trust".

And so it has been...

Once you understand how the Establishment operates, seemingly nonsensical policies start to make sense.

Just as the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the ensuing depression that they created made perfect sense, so too does the enormous debt we have today.

The debt is deliberate. Republican or Democrat makes no difference. The heads of both parties may play at politics and compete against each other in many ways, but at the end of the day they all take their orders from the money power above them.

You must understand that to them, crisis is good. Crisis is opportunity. It only makes sense that they would create these conditions, and use the ensuing crisis to expand their wealth and power, just as they did in 1929, and the decade of the 30's.

 

Conservative Republicans have been predicting the bankruptcy of U.S. entitlements for decades, but all such warnings have proven false. I've concluded it's simply their nature to see gloom & doom. The problem is, they actually believe themselves, and when in power, pass laws that encourage the negative outcomes they predict. Now, Republicans have come to the point that in their hatred for government, they have stopped it from functioning entirely. The President declared himself on strike starting yesterday, and Mitch McConnell proudly calls himself the "Grim Reaper"--or the one whose whole reason for existing is to obstruct any & all ideas coming from Democrats, regardless of how it impacts the nation. I have no respect left for Republicans, and a continually dwindling respect for conservatives--at least the ones that support Trump. The greatest threat to my America comes from within, and it is the extremist Republicans. It saddens me to say this, for I remember a time when Republicans cared about our country. But any democracy requires compromises among the various competing views. Our forebears were capable of finding that. Today's extremist Republicans aren't. To me, that rejection of all compromise--that determination to have one's way regardless of the cost to the nation & its people, is UN-AMERICAN. America's past success is all due to its ability to make compromises. We're not there anymore, and it's showing.

 

Why would you include the leader of pedophiles to be your source of negative endorsement? Dems are Christians?

 

Why would you use what the leader of pedophiles has to say? Bootygig and Dems are Christians?

Pope Francis probably taught him hot to genuflect.

 

You're not discussing ideas and positions, you just spitballing Rachael Maddow stuff.

XP, as I said, I'm not a Republican. I have plenty of contempt for neocons, and I disagree with "conservatives" on a good many governance issues.

Did you watch the Thomas Sowell clip??

You would serve yourself and country well to examine the sober arguments of things you don't understand, or hold a contrary opinion to.

Do you know who Dave Rubin is??

 

What do you "compromise" on??

Do you think the Davis-Bacon Act, minimum wage, and the fair market wage laws are a good thing??

 

1. Life is a constant compromise, at work with bosses; at home with family members; on outings with friends, in politics with everybody. Yes, I practice compromise daily.
2. I agree with the Davis-Bacon Act. I support the concept of a minimum wage, but feel it is currently far too low to be of value. I'm not familiar with the fair market wage laws, so I can't comment there. I do feel wages should be high enough that any worker can live off the earnings from one full time job, whatever it is. This practice of having to work two or three or four separate jobs just to survive in America is ridiculous & insulting to our country as a place of opportunity.

 

Not asking about your personal life... I'm asking about your politics. What have your Democrats "compromised" on with Repiblicans??

The Davis-Bacon Act has its roots in racism - and of course economic ignorance.

It was pushed thru congress to stem the flow of black construction workers taking the jobs of whites.

The blacks would work cheaper. After Davis-Bacon the market became distorted by the government interference, and those blacks became unemployed.

The same thing is happening today, as minimum wage laws cut off the lower rungs of the economic ladder.

Did you watch the Thomas Sowell clip??

 

What be up XP??

Would appreciate a reply to my comments and question above... understand ur busy.

Had an unexpected laser eye surgery on Friday, and played too much golf (really no such thing of course)

Give the Thomas Sowell clip a look; and, do you know who Dave Rubin is??