Trump betrays Ukraine, the breadbasket of Europe

 Thou hast slain

The flower of Europe for his chivalry,

And treacherously hast thou vanquish'd him.

 

-- William Shakespeare, Henry VI Part 3, Act 2, Scene 1

Evidently both J. D. Vance and his pope are so embarrassed by a nature miracle in Mark's Gospel that they feel they have to misrepresent it

 

Or is it just USA Today?

Who knows.

I highlight the obvious misrepresentations.

Can anyone read anymore?

Here:

Vance quoted at length from a Francis homily in March 2020 about a passage from the book of Mark about Jesus being in a boat with his disciples. A storm caught the group off guard by an unexpected and turbulent storm, which left them disoriented and in need of comfort.

Jesus slept for the only time mentioned in the gospels. When he awakens after the storm has passed, the disciples ask why he wasn’t concerned if they perished.

“Indeed, once they call on Him, He saves his disciples from their discouragement,” Vance quoted Francis as saying. “The storm exposes our vulnerability and uncovers our faults and superfluous certainties around which we have constructed our daily schedules, our projects, our habits and priorities.”

“We deprive ourselves of the antibodies we need to confront adversity,” Vance added.

 

What absolute tosh. 

Do these people ever look up anything?

The storm hadn't passed. It was raging. They were going to die. He was sleeping. They wake him. He commands the storm to stop. It stops. They are amazed. He was upset at their faithlessness.

They were saved from being killed by an actual storm, not from some stupid, introspective-conscience-of-the-west-like existential angst imported into the text from our cowardly, post-Christian, 21st century dull humanitarian consensus which cannot say what a woman is and can't even bring itself to call things what they actually are, such as that a man posing as a woman is a man posing as a woman.

Are we surprised that the same people who deliberately misrepresent their foundational book misrepresent also who is the dictator destroying Ukraine and who started the war?

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?  

-- Mark 4:37ff. 

Trump imagines a rebuilt Gaza, complete with a hotel, a golden idol of himself to worship, copies of which you can buy and take home with you, and of course drag queen entertainment on the beach, among other amenities

 

Occasionally a Christian reminds the world that the religion is pagan, its human sacrifice an abomination to the God of Moses

 

What Protestants Get Wrong About the Epistle to the Hebrews

Peter J. Leithart, First Things

 ... The blood of bulls and goats was always impotent; what was needed was the human sacrifice of total obedience, fulfilled in the cross. It’s not a conservative gospel, but a revolutionary one in which first things change place with last things. ...

To wit:

When you come into the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations.  There shall not be found among you any one who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, any one who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD; and because of these abominable practices the LORD your God is driving them out before you.

-- Deuteronomy 18:9ff.

They built the high places of Ba'al in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

-- Jeremiah 32:35

Not only that, Leithart's interpretation of the Eucharist is an abomination to the Christian God, even whose catechumens were excluded from the Lord's Supper as strangers from the third and fourth centuries:

The Eucharist is the Lord’s, and our, hospitality to strangers.

To wit:

The Church urges the entire assembly of the faithful to pray for the catechumens, even though they are still strangers. Indeed, they do not yet belong to the Body of Christ, they have not partaken of the Holy Mysteries; they are still apart from the spiritual flock … They stand outside the royal court, far from the sacred forecourts. That is why they are sent away before those fearful prayers [of the Anaphora] are said. So she asks you to pray for them, that they may become fellow members with you and no longer be strangers and cut off.

— Apostolic Constitutions, 8.32 PG 1.1132B; Apostolic Tradition, 17, SC 11bis, p. 75

Behold your king, pompous, and acting like an ass

 

You're wearing a mask while driving a Subaru, so you must vote Democrat

 Can syllogism set things right?

No, majors soon with minors fight:

Or, both in friendly consort joined,

The consequence limps false behind.

 

 -- Matthew Prior

There is nothing conservative about any of these people, whose morals are those of chimps and whose mouths are open sewers

 

 

‘Elon Musk Is the Father’: Conservative Influencer Announces New Child

 

Conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair asked for privacy in a post on X Friday when she claimed she recently gave birth to a baby and said Elon Musk is the father. ...

The former Turning Point USA ambassador defended Musk’s DOGE work when she dismissed privacy concerns about his access to sensitive information.

“What the fuck do you think Elon Musk is going to do with your social security number???” she posted. “Tweet it???? Open a line of credit you don’t have??????”

Musk shared her post and commented, “Seriously. And for damn sure, I’m 1000% more trustworthy than untold numbers of deep state bureaucrats and fraudsters who may be misusing your SSN right now.”

Musk had not commented on St. Clair’s revelation or the baby as of the time of publication. Musk had fathered 12 children by three different women before St Clair’s announcement, according to People magazine.

Turning Point USA severed ties with St. Clair in 2019 after she posed for photos with Nick Fuentes and other White nationalists.

 

Bob's your uncle

 Tut, tut! grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle.

-- William Shakespeare, Richard II, Act 2, Scene 3

Elon Musk is a dangerous know-nothing: He calls US government payments to Lutheran Family/Social/Immigration Services illegal when they are not and never have been

 

One can disagree that public funds should be distributed to religious organizations who specialize in aid to immigrants as a matter of policy, but the programs are not illegal, and were even heralded a quarter century ago when they began under George W. Bush.

O tempora, o mores.

 

In 1999, then-presidential candidate George W. Bush called for the funding of religious groups that fed the hungry and housed the homeless, part of what he called the “armies of compassion.” During his first month in office, in 2001, the Republican unveiled an office to help faith-based groups partner with government, calling them “some of the finest America has got to offer.”...

... on the social media site X, right-wing Trump ally Mike Flynn accused Lutheran organizations that receive federal grants to help the needy of committing “money laundering.” Flynn put quote marks around the word “Lutheran” — one of America’s largest Protestant groups — in the post.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s then shared Flynn’s post, calling “illegal” multiple Lutheran organizations that work in the United States to provide health care to homeless people, run food pantries, and help migrants and refugees. “The @DOGE team is rapidly shutting down these illegal payments,” Musk said, referring to his U.S. DOGE Service, also known as the Department of Government Efficiency.

More.

Conversation with foreigners

 Conversation with foreigners enlarges our minds, and sets them free from many prejudices we are ready to imbibe concerning them.

-- Isaac Watts

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, calls Vice President Vance's immigration remarks on Face the Nation scurrilous and nasty

 

“I was really disappointed with what he said on ‘Face the Nation’ the other day. And I don’t mind telling you, somewhat hurt. This was not only harmful, this was inaccurate. You heard what he said: ‘Oh, the bishops, they’re pro-immigrant because of the bottom line, because they’re making money off this.’ That’s just scurrilous. It’s very nasty, and it’s not true,” Dolan said, speaking on his weekly SiriusXM show “Conversations with Cardinal Dolan.” ...

“You want to come look at our audits, which are scrupulously done? You think we make money caring for the immigrants? We’re losing it hand over fist … we’re not in a money-making business,” he continued.

Reported here.

Rod Dreher's Crunchy Con Christian moms fall for human train wreck Robert F Kennedy Jr's Make America Healthy Again

  

 Anna Gleaton and her husband operate a small homestead on 60 acres outside Gainesville, Texas, a rural town just south of the Oklahoma state line. Their farm, which operates on the principles of regenerative agriculture, includes pigs, goats and a dairy cow, which Ms. Gleaton described as “an adventure.” Another adventure: home-schooling their nine children, ages 2 to 16.

Ms. Gleaton, 36, describes herself as a conservative Christian, and she voted for Donald Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024. This time, she had not been optimistic that he would focus on issues that most concern her, including contaminated soil and waterways, factory-farmed meat and the lobbying by agricultural corporations.

But Ms. Gleaton now gets goose bumps when she looks ahead, largely because Mr. Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Kennedy faces Senate confirmation hearings on Wednesday and Thursday.

“It’s not very often that my world, my realm, is mainstream,” she said.

Ms. Gleaton is part of a growing crowd who question not only educational institutions for what they see as liberal orthodoxy, but also “Big Ag” and “Big Pharma” — leanings coded as progressive not long ago.

In that sense, Mr. Kennedy has been speaking her language for years. He has criticized ultraprocessed foods, warned about the dangers of specific food additives and questioned the safety of fluoride in the water supply. ...

But among home-schooling mothers like Ms. Gleaton, Mr. Kennedy has long been seen as a bold truth-teller, one who understands their skepticism about the education and health establishments, including traditional vaccine regimens. And his rising profile comes as this particular constituency is also coming into its own politically and culturally.

More.

 

Rod Dreher is quoted at the end of the story.

 

The ignorance of these people about this devil must be willful, pretending not to see.

Theories about Kennedy’s reckless behaviors abound. Long before it was reported, members of the family knew about the brain worm, which in court testimonies Kennedy conjectured he’d picked up from food he ate in South Asia. He said the tapeworm consumed a portion of his brain and led to protracted “brain fog.” But more often his family points to Kennedy’s 14 years as a heroin user, which began when Kennedy was 15 and didn’t end until he was 29. 

 

More.

Resist the devil and he will lose in the midterms

 

Very superstitious: Rod Dreher's demons posing as UFOs obey the FAA lol

 

Rod lives in another land.

 Northeast drone sightings surge again after FAA lifts restrictions

A brief lull in activity that coincided with flight restrictions imposed by the feds has ended, now that the Federal Aviation Administration lifted the ban. ...

The uptick came after sightings plummeted by 43% following the FAA flight restrictions imposed on Dec. 18, Kim said.

On that same day, Enigma received nearly 50 sightings. A week later, only four sightings were reported.

The restrictions were lifted Jan. 17, and since then, Enigma’s received 22 reports of sightings.

Woke Episcopal bishop pleads with Trump on Tuesday to be merciful to transgenders after he on Monday proclaims liberty to the Jan 6th captives instead

 

                                                                      No! Not like that you namby-pamby!

 

Trump and Vance ambushed by bishop pleading for ‘mercy’ on trans children: President attacked in sermon at inauguration service for making trans people 'scared'

 "F--k it: Release 'em all": Why Trump embraced broad Jan. 6 pardons

Trump orders reflect his promises to roll back transgender protections and end DEI programs

 

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;

-- Isaiah 61:1f. 

I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 

-- Romans 9:15

 

Born again Christian Jimmy Carter was the only president ever to pardon a convicted pedophile, the late Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary

Jimmy Carter died December 29, 2024, just nine days before Peter Yarrow also died.

 

Same stuff, different day: In early September 1929 Arab fanatics were butchering Jews in various neighborhoods of Jerusalem

 

Pete Hegseth's pastor thinks Pete is just what we need to replace the current crop of degenerates running the US military

 

 Up until just a few years ago, Pete could hardly be described as the God fearing Christian man we most need now to run the US Department of Defense. His history since his first marriage in 2004 is a lurid tale of infidelities, inseminations, and inebriation up until at least 2017.

Not only is his Christianity of very recent vintage, so is his church, founded in 2021, which Hegseth eventually became associated with after he moved to Tennessee, evidently in May 2022.

Promising to quit drinking if confirmed to the position has to be the most absurd statement lately to come out of the mouth of a God fearing Christian man.

Degenerates may run the Defense Department, but the DOD is not the only thing which has degenerated in this country.

 

Why Pete Hegseth nomination is a milestone for the rightwing Christian movement he follows

... Throughout this nomination process and the ensuing controversy, Pilgrim Hill founding pastor Brooks Potteiger and pastoral intern Joshua Haymes, who jointly manage a small-scale media operation and podcast, have been among Hegseth’s most enthusiastic supporters.

“Replacing degenerates with God fearing Christian men,” Haymes said in a Nov. 13 social media post about Hegseth’s nomination. “Trump’s White House will be staffed by (at least some) faithful, God-fearing Christians who will be advising president Trump and wielding political power.” ...

Hegseth's involvement with this Reformed evangelical camp arose not from any personal relationship with Wilson, but the recent expansion of CREC churches. Wilson doesn’t personally know Hegseth but called the nomination “a wonderful pick,” Wilson said in a Nov. 25 blog post. “He is an advocate of classical Christian education, an opponent of women in combat roles, and to top it all off he is a member of one of our CREC churches.”

Hegseth’s church, Pilgrim Hill, is among 50 the denomination added between 2020-2024, a 41% growth in U.S. congregations now totaling 120, according to an analysis of the CREC’s church directory.

This 41% spike is credited by denomination leaders in a September 2023 report as the fruits of conservative disenfranchisement with mainstream evangelical groups, starting with COVID-19 and CREC pastors like Wilson resisting public health guidelines. Potteiger, who founded Pilgrim Hill in 2021, said on a Feb. 10 podcast interview another driver was the Black Lives Matter protests and evangelical leaders’ alleged acquiescence to the movement’s demands, which Potteiger characterized as “a huge satanic tactic to corrupt the gospel.”

Anita Bryant was canceled by both the left and the right in America

The liberal consensus in 1964 was that atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair was the most hated woman in America. By 1980 Anita Bryant came in a close second.

The gay mafia canceled Anita Bryant for the obvious reasons, and the business and entertainment industries canceled her because politicization of such a toxic issue was universally deemed bad for the bottom line, but the evangelical right canceled her for divorcing her husband, leaving the once very popular singer and entertainer with no way to attract a crowd and make a buck.

“I don’t regret it, because I did the right thing,” she said in a 1990 interview. “Sometimes you have to pay a price for what you believe is right.”

She was a three-time Grammy nominee. LBJ absolutely loved her. Bob Hope entertained the troops in Vietnam and elsewhere with her for seven consecutive years. She was the face for many years of Florida orange juice, and of the Orange Bowl Parade, among other gigs.

She passed away from cancer in December, but the family did not announce her death until January 9th.

 

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.  

-- Leviticus 18:22

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 

-- Leviticus 20:13 

And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

-- Mark 10:12

 

Jimmy Carter's funeral not only defiled Christianity with John Lennon's "Imagine", but also Pete Hegseth's symbol of white nationalism with the coffin

 

One of Democrats' very disappointing New Americans tells FOX 11 "I think it's all the gay people in LA" when asked why there is a fire happening right now

Sodom and Gomorrah are on fire again.

 

Rod Dreher, who advocates for loopy stuff like monks levitating, says Donald Trump will deal with Hungary like an adult lol

 Yeah, Trump will get around to Hungary right after Trump's done taking Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal.

The great thing about America's most important Christian thinker in our time is that he fits right in with all the other insane people in our time who don't have a firm grasp of reality.

 

 

Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither

Yet all the little that I got, I spent;

And still return'd as empty as I went.

-- John Dryden

How the mackerels got there in the first place lol

  

 Sooner shall cats disport in water clear,

And speckled mackrels graze the meadows fair,

Than I forget my shepherd's wonted love.

-- John Gay (1685-1732)

The early 1970s Shiloh Fellowship in East Lansing, MI, was literally a multi-level marketing scheme which preyed on the many to enrich the few

Derek Prince, one of the Ft. Lauderdale Five

 

Jesus inveighed against mammon, and Luther against indulgences, but human nature never changes.

 

My Three Years in a Christian Cult: On leaving the Shiloh Fellowship 

Peter Schwendener

... The message, which came straight from Christian Growth Ministries in Ft. Lauderdale, was this: the “Jesus movement” most of us belonged to was a good thing that had run its course. It was now time to start building the Kingdom of God. The Body of Christ, meaning the church, was more important than the individual Christian. ...

In 1975, the New York Times published an article entitled “Growing Charismatic Movement is Facing Internal Discord Over a Teaching Known as ‘Discipling.’” That was us, and I had by that year moved into the house on Brookfield Drive with three other “brothers.” Discipling and shepherding were the same thing. According to this teaching, the true church was not the usual setup of pastor and congregation but rather a vast network of relationships between sheep, who could be men, women, or children, and shepherds, who could only be men. You weren’t a real Christian unless you were personally “accountable” or “submitted” to a local shepherd who watched over all parts of your life. You also paid tithes directly to this person, who in turn tithed to the shepherd above him in a pyramid whose summit was in—you guessed it—Ft. Lauderdale. ...

I soon had my own shepherd, a Jewish convert named Kim Levinson who answered directly to Erik, who answered to Derek Prince, one of the Five. In Charismatic circles, Derek was a genuine celebrity whose books and cassette tapes circulated widely. His calling card was exorcism, a subject that, like shepherding, divided the Charismatic movement. ...

We were growing as a group, and almost everyone worked and tithed. I worked night shifts full-time at a twenty-four-hour restaurant. A sizable portion of our money went straight to Ft. Lauderdale, but we still had enough to buy the church building from our Lutheran landlords, who moved elsewhere. There was also enough to buy Erik and his wife a house near the church. A key tenet of the movement was “service” to those in authority, and I eagerly volunteered to help Erik with chores around his new house. ...

The group soon had seven or eight full-time shepherds who followed Erik’s lead by using money from tithes to buy houses near the church. Though mostly in their early twenties, they became known as “the elders” and assumed increasing importance at meetings and elsewhere as Erik began traveling, often for weeks at a time, with his mentor Derek [Prince]. The two men (Erik and Derek, as we called them) frequently went overseas to spread the movement’s teachings to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Jerusalem, and elsewhere. It was on our dime, of course, and some of us found it troubling while others attributed all doubts about it to you-know-who. ...

I went up to Erik and told him I had decided to leave the group. “I respect what you’re saying,” he said. “Let’s talk about it.” I was still working the night shift at the restaurant and met him there for breakfast a few days later. After admitting the Fellowship had lately experienced a few problems, he said we were back on track and tried to persuade me to stay. If I did, I would be “discipled” by him personally and would learn exorcism, have access to the group’s money, and maybe meet one of the sisters as a prelude to getting married. ...