1/25/19 Donald Trump today

"We’ll work with the Democrats and negotiate and if we can’t do that, then we’ll do a - obviously we’ll do the emergency because that’s what it is. It’s a national emergency,” 
If there is a national emergency then by all means declare it. Why are you waiting? Otherwise, you are nothing but a petulant bully utilizing threats. Of course, that would be in character.
"I want to thank all of the incredible federal workers, and their amazing families, who have shown such extraordinary devotion in the face of this recent hardship.  You are fantastic people.  You are incredible patriots.  Many of you have suffered far greater than anyone, but your families would know or understand.  And not only did you not complain, but in many cases you encouraged me to keep going because you care so much about our country and about its border security."
My wife and I fed 7 furloughed federal employees and 1 of their family members yesterday. Based on what the President said about many feds encouraging him to keep going, you would think at least 1 of my guests would have given some indication they would bear the sacrifice. That was not the case.  
With regard to walls; "They save good people from attempting a very dangerous journey from other countries — thousands of miles — because they think they have a glimmer of hope of coming through.  With a wall, they don’t have that hope. 
This must make you proud. The President of the United States, our representative to the world thinks the desire of the American people is to deprive those to whom Lady Liberty speaks, of all hope. No longer shall we be considered "Mother of exiles". Do not attempt to burden is with your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  No, allow us to make a new proclamation to the world. 

Just like the brazen giant of Greek fame

With conquering limbs astride from sea to sea;

Here at our fear-washed , padlocked gates shall stand

A berserker with a torch, whose flame

Is a firebolt of intolerance, and her name

Forsaker of exiles.  From her beacon hand

Glows world-wide rejection, her wild eyes command

The bridge spanned harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips.  "We reject your tired, disdain your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 

Hinder these, the homeless, tempest-host, forbid them from me,

I douse my lamp beside the impermeable door!"

If you believe this man has any interest in making America great, God help us all.

Finally, walls explained

Well, I'm convinced.

Donald Trump: “Everyone knows that walls work,” claimed the president as he addressed reporters outside the White House. “You look at different places, they put up a wall, no problem.

“You look at San Antonio, you look at so many different places; they go from one of the most unsafe cities in the country to one of the safest cities, immediately, immediately. It works. We have to put them up, and we will put them up. We've got to."

Oh, wait, there is no wall around San Antonio. Is this a lie or is POTUS just this stupid?

He must be exhausted

This man is pathetic.
About 330pm on December 21, 2018 the President of the U.S. tweeted, as he is wont to do. The tweet included a photo of him sitting behind the Resolute desk, apparently acting resolutely. There is a large stack of folders to his right. He is holding a pen, poised over what is purported to be a piece of legislation.
The President's own words say, "Some of the many Bills that I am signing in the Oval Office right now. Cancelled my trip on Air Force One to Florida while we wait to see if the Democrats will help us to protect America’s Southern Border!"
You can view the picture and the text at twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1076256868190834689
According to whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions the "many Bills" consisted of all of the following:
(1)Memorandum on the Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019
(2)Presidential Memorandum on the Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under Section 1238 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018
(3)Presidential Proclamation to Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and for Other Purposes
(4)EO on Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and other Federal Lands to Improve Conditions and Reduce Wildfire Risk
The above is not an opinion nor derived from a talking head on any news broadcast. This information comes directly from the President and the official Whitehouse information center.
Apparently, in the workday of our Chief Executive, "many Bills.." consists of 2 memos, 1 proclamation, and 1 Executive Order. It would appear all those files supposedly containing all the bills he is signing are nothing more than props to delude you into believing he is actually hard at work.
Then again, it would appear this massive workload is sufficient to compel him to cancel one of his trips to Florida. Mar-a-Lago may never recover.

Let's try something different

Howdy, my name is still Michael Wesley and I want to thank all of you for being here to share and worship together.  I pray you will be patient with me and that I may provide you some insight.  This comes not from me but Jesus and Mr. Rogers.

While I am certain most of you have heard this story, I will not presume that all of you are familiar with it.  I’ll ask that you indulge me while I share a familiar piece of scripture.  From Luke 10:25-37, the New International Version, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii^[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

The first part of this exchange is merely a recitation of direction found in the Torah with which every even casually devout Jew would be familiar.  Deuteronomy 6:5  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  and Leviticus 19:18,  Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Originally these verses were addressed to a select group as indicated by the phrase “among your people” and where they are found, in the Torah. 

The person to whom Jesus is speaking is no mere casual jew but an expert in the law, a scribe. They were basically bureaucrats, experts on Jewish life and law. They might be lower level scribes who served the villages as village scribes, making contracts, documents, and serving as government officials.  This expert was not content with a response with which he was already intimately familiar but wanted to “justify” himself.  He sought to validate his position and confirm his entitlement to eternal life.  In this context he inquires as to who his neighbor is.  Maybe before one may know WHO their neighbor is it is necessary to know WHAT a neighbor is.  According to dictionary.com:

1.      a neighbor can be a person who lives near another.

2.     a person or thing that is near another.

3.     one's fellow human being:

In the context of this teaching tool, the parable, although it is possible, it is not likely the victim in the ditch lived next to or near to any of his potential rescuers.  The victim certainly was near to the Priest, Levite and Samaritan, separated by no more than the width of the road and without any doubt was a fellow human being.  So, in the context of our parable, what makes a neighbor?  I would not feign to address this issue adequately.  Rather, I turned to THE authority on neighbors and neighborliness of the 20^th century, Fred Rogers.  Or, if the name Fred is not familiar to you, MR. Rogers, some of you may be familiar with the television personality.  This year “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood is celebrating 50 years of syndication.  Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister and dedicated most of his adult life to inviting you to be his neighbor.  He didn’t have to live next door to you or even nearby.  You were a fellow human being and that was sufficient.  He expressed this by saying “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say “It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.”

That’s what the Priest and Levite said to themselves.  The Priest would be made “unclean” in touching a corpse.  Therefore, he did not even risk determining the status of the man in the ditch.  Although the “rule of mercy” would take precedence if the man were clearly alive it was not worth the risk.  Also, the rules for Levites were not as strict but he also desired to avoid defilement.  As if one could be defiled by another human being.

Then, along comes a Samaritan.  He has money, transportation, and a centuries long quarrel with this dude in the ditch.  The D-I-D, dude in the ditch, is an obvious sign the Samaritan needs to move along.  This part of the road is putting him at risk.  He doesn’t make the prudent decision.  The Samaritan chooses to make the welfare of another at least commensurate to his own.  He ascertains the D-I-D is not dead.  At this point surely no one could have criticized him for moving along.  Get the dude on his feet, maybe give him some water and move along.  That’s not what happened.  As mentioned above he provided transportation, found shelter for the Jew and fronted the cost of care to the innkeeper, even pledging to make good on any additional costs.  In these acts the Samaritan practiced Mr. Rogers 3 ways to ultimate success.  According to Fred Rogers, the first way to ultimate success is to be kind.  The second way is to be kind and the 3^rd way is to be kind.

Jesus asked the scribe who was the neighbor to the man in need and the scribe answered the one who showed him mercy.  I think there are actually two neighbors in this parable, the man in need and the man who provided for that need.  There was an offer of care and at least a tolerance of his ministrations.  There’s 2 characteristics we could use more of, care and tolerance. 

     Your neighbor will not always look like you.  Your neighbor will not always act like you.  Your neighbor may not share your beliefs.  That does not preclude them being your neighbor.

     “Perhaps we think that we won't find another human being inside that person. Perhaps we think that there are some people in this world who I can't ever communicate with, and so I'll just give up before I try. And how sad it is to think that we would give up on any other creature who's just like us.”  Again, thanks to Mr. Rogers.

     The only limits to being neighborly are self-imposed.  The basis for being a neighbor is love.  “Love is like infinity: You can’t have more or less infinity, and you can’t compare two things to see if they’re “equally infinite.” Infinity just is, and that’s the way I think love is, too.”

     The Samaritan was kind and generous in his love.  Go and do likewise.  Amen

And NOW for some real news

In case you are interested in some real news.  The Johnson Amendment is a provision in the U.S. tax code, since 1954, that prohibits all 501c non-profit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Section 501(c organizations are the most common type of nonprofit organization in the United States, ranging from charitable foundations to universities and churches.   The Johnson Amendment prohibits section 501(c)(3) organizations from participating or intervening in (including the publishing or distributing of statements) any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office. An organization that violates the prohibition is subject to excise taxes,² loss of exemption, and a civil injunction. The President of the United States signed an Executive Order, no.13798, that says there is no desire on his part to enforce the current law of the land. In particular, the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law, that the Department of the Treasury does not take any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective, where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office by the Department of the Treasury.  Trump’s order says the IRS should not take action against churches that speak out on moral or political issues “where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as” campaign speech. In other words, the time-tested standard applies: Churches can speak out on political issues as long as they don’t endorse or oppose a specific candidate. Now, there are ways to deal with legislature you don't like or agree with. Primarily they require action by the legislature. That would be Congress, not the Executive branch. However, POTUS apparently does not feel particularly restrained by his oath of office. The fact that POTUS takes affirmative acts to not perform his duties is distressing enough, but there is more to the story. Recently, POTUS, speaking to a group of evangelical leaders at the White House on August 27, 2018, said he had done away with the Johnson Amendment. This is not true. He then proceeded to advocate the pulpit be used to promote and advocate for particular political candidates, specifically Republican, because, "You're one election away from losing everything that you've got,".
     We have a President who will lie, promote illegal activity, conspire to enable such activity, and dishonor the office in failing to abide by his oath.
     That's got to make you proud to be an American.  MAGA

I'd love to trust, but...

     According to www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-stands-victims-illegal-alien-crime and twitter.com/POTUS "In Texas alone, more than 250,000 criminal aliens have been arrested and charged with over 600,000 criminal offenses within the last seven years."  In case you didn't notice or were not aware, the illegal aliens mentioned in whitehouse.gov and the criminal aliens mentioned in the quote are not defined the same.   
     An illegal alien is someone who enters the country in a manner other than prescribed by law.  A criminal alien is someone, other than a citizen, who violates a statute.  This second term is defined without reference to a process of entry.  A criminal alien may have entered the U.S. illegally but they may also hold a permanent residency visa or perhaps possess an EB-4 visa,  These are just 2 examples wherein an individual may reside legally within the U.S. but, this has no bearing on their ability or inclination to commit a criminal act.  Therefore, I went to the source from which the quoted data was derived to discern what point was being made.  If you would like to view the source you may do so at www.dps.texas.gov/administration/crime_records/pages/txCriminalAlienStatistics.
     After reading the source data I still suffered from some confusion.  I was unsure whether the point was to elicit fear and instill anxiety either through a poor presentation or intentionally.  
     According to TX DPS data, of the 250,000 referenced, 171,000 were in the U.S. illegally.  Of the "over 600,000 criminal offenses" for which charges were brought. This number includes felonies and misdemeanors.  Illegal aliens were charged with a variety of offenses.  198,164, about a third, included homicide, assault, burglary, drug, kidnapping, theft, obstruction, robbery, sexual assault, and weapons charges.  Now, those are some serious charges and vile acts to be committed against both citizens, residents and nonresident aliens.  I consider it just as vile when a violent crime is committed against an illegal alien or a native citizen.  I know this view is not shared by all.
     Now, in the U.S., charges brought does not guilt imply.  You may be familiar with the old saw, "Innocent until proven guilty".  The above 198,164 charges in the listed categories over the past 7 years, June 1, 2011-May 31, 2018, have resulted in 52,639 convictions.  This represents a conviction rate of about 27% .5572747
     For the same time period quoted by the Whitehouse and President Trump there have been about 6,500,000 arrests made in the Great State of Texas.  An arrest may result in multiple charges but for the sake of simplicity let us assume each arrest only brings 1 charge.  "Over 600,000..." is quoted above so lets call it 650,000, so you may make the claim criminal aliens are responsible for 10% of all charges levied.  However, the Whitehouse and President were making reference to illegal aliens.  In that case we have illegal aliens responsible for about 3% of charges levied.  With a conviction rate of 27% this would indicate illegal aliens are responsible for 0.81% of alleged crime on Texas.  
     I realize it's a lot harder to be gripped by fear in light of this context.  I apologize to the current administration.
      

Please, deny me, tell me no

     June 3, 2018, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, a duly elected representative of the citizens of the State of Oregon, was denied entry to a detention center holding children separated from their parents at the border for allegedly making illegal entry into the U.S.
     June 21, 2018, Melania Trump makes an unannounced visit to a HHS grantee facility that houses children who have allegedly made illegal entry into the U.S. both with and without a family unit.  She spent about 75 minutes at the facility.  She was allowed entry and was able to observe and interact with the children while touring the facility.
     Now, I'm glad someone was able to make some type of inspection of such a facility.  However, I do wonder why an elected official who holds a national office as a Senator of Oregon can be denied entry and an immigrant who holds influence solely due to marital status is welcomed and allowed entry.
     HHS is part of the Executive branch of the U.S. government.  Sen. Merkley is a member of the Legislative branch.  Is this just one more effort to empower the office of the Chief Executive at the expense of the Legislature?  Is the process of checks and balances no longer to an be active part of governance in the United States?