Saturday, February 05, 2022

Monday, March 28, 2016

Apology

I want to apologize up front to any friends or loved ones who happen to be Democrats or Donald Trump supporters. If you leave right now, my apology will be unnecessary. But if you continue, I pray that you will continue to count me as your friend. I should warn you, though--it will be difficult.
That's because I have nothing to say that Democrats and Trumpeters will like.

But if I don't let it out I'll explode!

I may as well get Donald Trump out of my system first. He is to me the easiest to despise, but at the same time the hardest to criticize--mainly because so many of my friends and loved ones like him so much. They like his brashness, his "in your face" refusal to be politically correct, and point to his success in business, saying that's what we need in a President.

If that's all I had to go on, I might even agree with them. The problem is, Donald Trump has given me a whole lot more than that to chew on, and I find the taste revolting.

It started with his reluctance to take the "pledge"--a promise to support the eventual Republican nominee for President.  He finally did it, but I frankly don't trust his word. If he doesn't get the nomination, you can bet he will claim the process was unfair and renege on his promise.  It takes integrity to keep a promise.

Now he's decided that he should get the nomination even if he doesn't have the majority of delegates that's been required by the rules since Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln and Reagan may have had to lower themselves to actually earn the nomination by following the rules, but nothing is more "terrific" to Donald Trump than Donald Trump. Anyone and everything else is just a "disaster".

Next time he opens his mouth, count the number of times he says those two words.

I'm not even going to get into his history as a Democrat cheerleader, his support for abortion, his "University", the trashing of the sacrifices and successes of our soldiers in Iraq, or even his stupid insults to Ted Cruz' wife. (You can bet the Democrats won't be so reluctant!)

That’s because if he gets the GOP nomination, I WILL vote for him.  Voting for Trump will be the hardest vote I’ve ever had to cast. But I will do it. At least there’s some small hope that he could be a good President.

There is absolutely no doubt that any Democrat would be the “disaster” that Trump talks about so much.  Since LBJ they have proved themselves over and over again to be more despicable than even Donald Trump. 

But in this most promising of election years, when just about any Conservative nominee could easily win the Presidency , it looks like we're going to bet the country in the bankrupt Trump Casino.


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Thanksgiving


I frequently sat down to my meat with thankfulness, and admired the hand of God's providence, which had thus spread my table in the wilderness. I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition, and less upon the dark side; and to consider what I enjoyed rather than what I wanted; and this gave me sometimes such secret comforts that I cannot express them; and which I take notice of here, to put those discontented people in mind of it who cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them, because they see and covet something that he has not given them. All our discontents about what we want appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.
from Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe (1719)








Sunday, July 21, 2013

Saturday, June 08, 2013

When the state has the capability to know everything except the difference between right and wrong, it won't end well. --Mark Steyn

Sunday, May 26, 2013

The end of Scouting

In my 12 years as an adult leader in Scouting—from den leader to district representative with over 50 Eagle boards—I never once discussed sexuality with a boy.  We didn’t avoid the subject.  It just never came up. 

When I first heard about the BSA’s change in policy I wasn’t too concerned.  We  don’t talk about sex, anyway, so what possible difference could it make? The main objective is keeping sexual predators away from the boys—and that usually means adults who might take advantage of their position. That’s why Youth Protection Training and Two-Deep Leadership is required for all adult leaders.

But we already know how aggressively the homosexual activists pursue their agenda. It’s just a matter of time before some 13-year-old Scout announces his homosexuality. Parents of most of the other scouts will express their concern to the Scoutmaster or troop committee, and indicate that they don’t want their son to share a tent with this newly emancipated boy.

Who can blame them?  If a boy announces such a thing you can bet he has more on his mind than square knots.

But then there will be a discrimination lawsuit, and the troop—which is run by volunteers on a shoestring budget, anyway—will quickly concede. Parents of the other boys will immediately resign from the troop, and probably Scouting.  The Boy Scout troop in that community will disappear.

Remember the homosexual agenda I mentioned earlier?

Mission accomplished.

 

Cliff Raymond

Thursday, February 07, 2013

Moral courage

I just ran across the following fascinating juxtaposition of statements on The Weekly Standard website:

From Transcript of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta comments before Congress about the Benghazi attack,  Oct. 25, 2012 [LINK]

"The basic principle is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on; without having some real-time information about what's taking place, and as a result of not having that kind of information, the commander who was on the ground in that area, Gen. Ham, Gen. Dempsey and I felt very strongly that we could not put forces at risk in that situation."

 

Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1: Warfighting  - the following passage appears on pages 86 and 87 [LINK] 

"We must have the moral courage to make tough decisions in the face of uncertainty--and to accept full responsibility for those decisions--when the natural inclination would be to postpone the decision pending more complete information.  To delay action in an emergency because of incomplete information shows a lack of moral courage.  We do not want to make rash decisions, but we must not squander opportunities while trying to gain more information.  Finally, since all decisions must be made in the face of uncertainty and since every situation is unique, there is no perfect solution to any battlefield problem.  Therefore, we should not agonize over one."

That just about sums up the Obama administration.