I always wait for the moment when Hilary Clinton's skinsuit dissolves and out slithers the reptile within, like the aliens in the original "V" series. I bet she swallows rats whole as well.
Something is really building to a fever pitch. It's in the air. Those guys setting themselves on fire are going to seem real quaint by December.
Besides all the political and ideological reasons people are setting themselves on fire, IT'S HAPPENING. I have learned to step back from the "thing" going on and kinda just watch what's going on. That's how I say it to people, these things are actually happening in our world. Buc everything else! Somethings going on, here. I believe it's a form of pure evil. Not religious but there's some kind of bad joojoo going on here.
I do not mean this in any patronizing or sardonic way AT ALL--it may be time for all of us to get religion. How much crazier is the idea of an omniscient God who loves us than anything the 'trust the science' climate wackos, cut the junk of kids trans freaks, or the unhinged hyperbole the left is spewing?
After 35+ years of 'cynical agnosticism' I began to reread the Bible a few years ago. My intention was to read the Bible and then to see if I can find evidence of the Bible in the world in which I live. In short, I found more truth in the Bible than anything I've read in 35+ years--and it actually makes me feel better.
I agree there is some bad juju--and now I'm inclined to believe it is demonically inspired over man-made. Just a thought. Be well my friend.
I'm right there with ya, Brian. I'm taking my own religious journey right now and the Bible is part of it. I'm still on the road though....with me, I'm not the kinda guy to throw all my chips into one basket. I'm dealing with that right now along my journey but you are right. I agree with everything you said. Not to sound like whatever......but, it's so obvious to me that this is pure evil. I understand everyone's different out here in the world but man o man is it so obvious to me.
Good. Another soft suggestion. Check out Jordan Peterson's Biblical Lectures. I am a podcast dude--on the move and listen to stuff on phone, but here is the YouTube lecture (1 of 14). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w
THESE ARE SO GOOD!! Each lecture is 2.5 hours. I've listened to all of them 4 or 5 times. These lectures are what made me pick up the Bible again. They are secular lectures, but SO INTERESTING. Seriously.
These lectures and Darryl Cooper's Martyrmade "Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem" are, IM (not so humble) opinion--the best podcasts ever. Full stop.
Thanks for the Jordan Peterson info bsn, love this : Philippians 4: 4-9: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
"I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet."
Thank you Dena. A few years ago I had decided to commit a few quotes and Bible verses to memory. As a kid in Awana, I never understood why we memorized Scripture, I was there for the athletic competition...
Now I understand that I can always have True North within me. I'm adding this to my list.
I wish I could say I followed through 100%, but I lost the laminated cards I kept with me--but this has inspired me to begin again.
My list:
"If" by Rudyard Kipling
"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley
"Man in Arena" by TR - actually only a portion of 'Citizen in a Republic' in which TR drops about 1000 truth bombs.
1 COR 13--I've now heard people call this Paul's Love Letter
Numbers 18:32--I'll write this one because, well, I just love it.
"You will be no sin by reason of if when you offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die."
To me, this last verse basically says, give all that you have. It doesn't need to be perfect, but your effort matters. Never, never, never diminish the honest best efforts of another man, or you will die.
Thank you for the great verse Dena. Have a great day.
Thank you. I am still genuinely happy as a person. My core is still strong and true to myself. Life has torn at it though and with the world the way it is, it's tough. That's how I know there has to be a lot of people breaking because I'm kind of a tough mother! Lol! I've always been myself, I know it's not that easy for everyone. So if I'm breaking a little bit, I can only imagine what's going in out there.
Believing in evil without believing in god (or Christ) is scary, because then the source of evil must be people, rather than a Satan. Many people are incapable to accepting this, so they adopt religions that pin "evil" on forces that are out of their control.
You might also consider reading The Rational Bible (Genesis and Exodus so far) by Dennis Prager. He takes verse by verse and adds explanation and commentary. Very informative. Also, read the book of John in the New Testament. good places to start.
Sadly I over looked your response. Thank you. I just got Genesis on Audible. Listening to books allows me to consume much more than I would be able to by reading alone.
Did you listen to Jordan Peterson's Exodus work? Prager was on that as well. He is educated, persuasive, and funny. Thanks for the suggestion.
Two comparisons to Nero & Ancient Rome: I’m not aware of them chopping parts off their children, and they did light Christians on fire as torches. In the modern era, we send kids through a Cuisinart ad early as possible, and we have an ordinary citizen lighting himself on fire because we’re drowning in evil.
I'll pray you find someone close by who can walk you through the Bible. I was convinced at one point that I couldn't be a Christian because I couldn't force myself to read the thing; it made no sense.
Now it does. Good on you. And yes, it's good vs evil.
One of the things in support of the Bible's truth is the inclusion of the good, the bad and the ugly. It is narrative about real people and the crazy things they do, as well as revelation about the God who chose them as His own people; both Israelites and Christ followers. No photoshopping the people involved; warts and all. It rings true about people we know, and ourselves. I believe it was Lewis, or Chesterton, who noted that it shines light on the world and makes sense of what we see.
Jordan Peterson makes a similar point in some of his lectures.
I'm only 54 and this space/time feels like the worst I've ever experienced--but all I need to do is read the Old Testament to see, "Oh, third verse same as the first..."
It gives me comfort to read how many times we, as a species, keep screwing it all up--and God hasn't turned his back on us.
Remember back early in the Iraq War, when all the looting of museums was going on, Rumsfeld said something to the effect of, "Freedom is messy."
I agreed then and I agree now. We are sinner/saints, monsters/angels at any given moment.
"Of course I contradict myself, I contain multitudes..." (poorly quoted Walt Whitman)
I disagree a little bit about the analog of the present with the past. In the past there was no political history other than strongman rule. Thus life for the weak and average sucked as it had always sucked.
In 1775, the legislatures of the colonies sent ≈60 delegates to form a new government. From 1781 onward, we have lived under the almost divine principle that our rights come directly from God to us individually.
My point is that we’re pissing that wondrous legacy away, and that makes this modern conflict SO MUCH more excruciating.
“It is better to have loved & lost than to have never loved at all” does NOT apply to freedom.
I have always accepted that our nation was Divinely inspired--even when my belief/understanding of the Divine was more opaque than it is today (opacity remains, but I've stopped fighting what I cannot prove).
I've read/heard many people say something to the effect of, "There is nothing special about USA, nothing Divine, we colonized a land like all other countries..."
The not so subtle insinuation seems to be anyone who believes our nation was Divinely inspired, or has any moral authority over other countries is country-bumpkin-ish, xenophobic, jingoistic, etc. It is said in a rather sneering way.
We should be above such antiquated thinking.
I'm with you John. There is nothing antiquated, nor simple about recognizing we are the only country on Earth that 'tries' and was founded on the principle that our rights come directly from God to us individually.
I saw something the other day about 2A. 2A does not give us the right to bear arms. We have the right to bear arms from God. 2A forbids the government from infringing on that Divine right.
I've never been particularly religious but I think that the lack of a 'creator' is what's missing because it is necessary to believe there is something more above all of us than the government of crooks and clowns.
I believe there is a Creator, but I suspect His reaction to our troubles is “Why should I intervene when most of you don’t bother to inform yourselves of factual truths and thereby abandon your responsibility to to ensure your society is governed wisely. ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s’ doesn’t just mean money; It means your time and attention as well.”
Speaking of time & attention...I realized I need to go on a bit of a hiatus and focus on our race. While I love it here...I need to throw myself into our event. I don't think I've fought hard enough for this, I need to see what it can become when I leave nothing. Go all in. That means living like Rocky. Drinking raw eggs and avoiding distractions!
Tucker and Rogan were talking about this. You could hear the gears turning in Rogan’s head as he considered it. I am a believer but evil is the only explanation for what is going on around us.
I thought Tucker’s comment that there are a lot of weak politicians who, because of their weakness, become vessels for evil. He included Mike Johnson in that group.
Yep, pretty prescient when you see how the votes went this weekend with Johnson doing a complete 180 and leading the way. Passing all that money and not a cent for the border, sliding in the TikTok edict and forcing the FISA renewal without any effort to reign in the abuse.
I read this recently, doubted it, googled for information about it, and found it's true:
It could be coincidence - extremely unlikely, but life is strange - that on some images in Disney cartoons going as far back as Pinocchio in the early 1940s, there are, for lack of a better term, pedophilic symbols.
Actually, I need to apologize to rodents of all types & sizes – from the field mouse to the capybara – for suggesting ANY genetic connection to that harridan.
@chris bray, I love your critique of Trump. I voted for him twice and might even vote for him a third time if he’s not giving a life sentence for jaywalking or something; that said, You are absolutely right. His Covid policy was beyond stupid. He gave the pharmaceutical companies immunity from prosecution. Pfizer made $26 billion on their covid vaxine in the first year it was available. Let’s see, what happens if you couple unhinged greed with no consequences or liabilities? Hmmm?
That must be one of those darn trick questions.
Besides, what’s so bad about shuttering 3 1/2 million small businesses and crushing the lifetime of hard work and risk that people made to open a restaurant or some other retail business that Trump got shut down during Covid?
News flash. Trump won for some very simple reasons.
Hint: the reason Trump won was not his gravitas.
1. Trump made a major campaign promise of building a wall. What’s so bad about letting millions of people come to America, get zillions of dollars of government services and lower the wages of blue collar Americans?
2. Trump thought it wasn’t a great idea to let China loot the middle class by outsourcing everything possible and destroying all the jobs. What radical ideas those are.
3. Trump thought getting into a war with Russia was not a great idea. Obviously, Joe Biden has proven beyond the doubt getting into a fight with Russia is an awesome move for our economy and for Europe’s.
What really pissed everyone off about Trump though was that he was the first Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan who actually fought back. The rest of the cuckservatives are only too happy to let liberals bend them over a car hood and peg away.
Worse, Trump connive to get the mainstream media and social media to give him hundreds of millions of dollars of free PR.
Chris Bray, how would you like it if for an entire year you had to promote Joe Biden to win reelection. You knew it was a bad idea, but you just couldn’t help yourself and you were writing the most profound blog post of your whole life and they were getting millions and millions of views.
Now you know how a nitwit like Rachel Maddow feels.
Taylor-Greene hasn't killed anyone, that we know of, or overthrown foreign governments or abandoned citizens to terrorists. So, there is that. Our fringe is nothing like their mainstream.
I wrote something along this line the other day: TDS is Reagan Derangement Syndrome. With the exception of maybe Bob Dole literally every single Repub presidential candidate is portrayed as Satan incarnate. I know, I was raise in the radical left, I saw it from the inside. Curiously they don't have enough self-awareness to realize the world didn't end if they lost the election but next election, back to Dems vs. literal Satan. I don't get how they can't hear themselves.
Some of us remember the BusHitler signs during the Iraq war. Now he poses with Bill Clinton to advocate for open borders and "bi-partisan unity". As a Canadian it's amusing to see Bush's "axis-of-evil" speechwriter, David Frum, scion of a rich developer/media brat - his mom was a prominent CBC journalist - from Jewish north Toronto denounce Trump for not starting the wars he and Bush did.
"Former President Bush has spoken at length about his close ties to former President Bill Clinton, at times calling him his 'brother from another mother.' CNN's Candy Crowley asked Bush during an interview published Friday where that leaves Hillary Clinton: 'My sister-in-law!' the president responded light-heartedly."
Bush is no better than a clinton or obama. We can thank him every time we have to walk thru a scanner at the airport. The constitution is supposed to protect us from those rats, but they just keep on ignoring it.
I remember a political commentary, written in the interregnum between Clinton & Bush 43, which posited that 43’s governance philosophy was much closer to Reagan than 41. Talk about being far from the mark…
During the 2000s my mother took a Sharpie and blotted out Bush's face in every newspaper and magazine photograph that came through the house. Now she actually says "oh we miss George, he wasn't as bad as Trump!" My friends who also have Dem Boomer parents report the same statements. Like, uh, whut? At least have the conviction to be consistent in your beliefs. Jeez.
When Rudy Giuliani was running for reelection in New York I asked my brother (who lived in NYC) if he was voting for him. His response was no and that he “can’t stand the guy”. I asked him pointed and specific questions about what he didn’t like about Giuliani and he simply repeated that he couldn’t stand the guy. No reason. Just couldn’t stand him.
During my brother’s most recent visit down south here with family he exclaimed, without any self-awareness that what New York needs right now is another Rudy Giuliani because “he was a great mayor”.
I had to be embarrassed for him. Because he didn’t have the sense to be embarrassed for himself.
That’s the beauty of “feelings” – you can change them on a dime and no reconciliation with the past can be demanded. They just “are.” In the past, we regarded such things as “childish.”
The first election of which I was conscious was 1968. Every Republican from 68 thru now has been described as Evil Incarnate, the Devil, the end of life on earth. The only difference in 2024 is the Dems have absolutely no positive accomplishments on which to run. So the rhetoric is raised to 11: Hitler, camps, assassination; Democrats as Navalny.
Interesting the Dems run on “camps”: they support Hamas and the Ivies are warning Jewish students to skip class for safety reasons.
But at least the Dems aren’t British cops, who arrested a bystander at a pro-Hamas riot for “looking too Jewish,” and that “look” being treated as an illegal provocation of the Hamas rioters.
It's insanity, truly. I was stupid enough to get into an "argument" with a TDS sufferer recently and he was enraged that I would support a Putin puppet and that the Mueller Report PROVED that he was a Putin plant and I was just like.. "Um, the Mueller Report found no evidence" and he said I was delusional and living on another planet. He also said Trump was convicted of rape and a court of law with a jury also found him guilty of insurrection but his "plants" in the DOJ let him off. So basically, according to him, the DOJ is captured politically by... Trump. Also, there is no inflation. It's just a right wing talking point.
I feel so gaslit, it's really such a feeling of cognitive dissonance to deal with people who are so out of touch with reality while simultaneously so sure YOU are the crazy one I just... can't. I grew up for a short time with a borderline mother and this is the kind of psychosis and psychological abuse that she exhibited, as in "reality is what I say it is because I can't handle anything else and you will be punished for not complying!" To see this playing out on a societal level is horrifically bad.
I have a Facebook friend, a kind woman, who posts photos of Hitler and of Trump, both in rhetorical extremis, alongside one another. She thinks she's making a solid point.
The left has always been deranged. If anyone wants to see what happens when the left is able to take over, I would suggest reading the history of the French Revolution, and the Stalinist purges of the 30s.
In fairness, the Russian Revolution was conducted by serfs seeking food. Lenin & the Red Bolsheviks conducted more of a “usurpation.”
The French revolution was overtaken by Jacobins seeking not so much to end the aristocracy, as to replace its membership with themselves with different titles. Fortunately, they ate their own tail…
My biggest fear with Civil War II would be exposure to such “usurpation” during the inevitable confusion as the current regime falls.
"Hands off my body---take the vaccine or lose your job"
I pointed out this discrepancy during the mandates and the answer I got back was that my rights stopped at their body, meaning I also needed to be vaccinated to stop the spread. When I pointed out the obvious, that the "vaccines" didn't stop the spread and that they had indeed gotten Covid many times despite being multiply vaccinated they responded "that's only because I was around the non-vaccinated".
I recommend the Disaffected podcast. The host, Josh Slocum, is an interesting guy. His contention is that the lunacies we see from the Left are manifestations of pandemic "Cluster B personality disorder," the euphemistic category for narcissism and the conditions it drives: psychopathy, sociopathy, and the like.
Without a doubt, this is my favorite place on Substack. (The idea of calling these newsletters seems so 20th century though.) Just had to say it. I get a small dopamine hit every time I see a Chris Bray email. It is not just the quality writing and great insight--it is the great 'after party' here in the comments.
Like CB, I also voted Gary Johnson in 2016. I just didn't have the bandwidth to pay hyper attention in 2016--was just retiring from the military and trying to adjust. Clinton is evil, and I found Trump to be a boar--but I loved 'The Apprentice' before it became a celebrity shitshow. DJT offered many great lessons about business & life. It is the only TV show I ever fantasized about being a contestant. I voted for him with as much enthusiasm in 2020 as I could manage--while believing he was the butt of an international/deep state COVID take down. He blew the COVID response big time.
Benjamin Franklin is my favorite founding father. He strikes me at the epitome of 'American'. Clever. Industrious. Polyglot. Successful writer, businessman, scientist, politician, diplomat.
Trump, for better or for worse, is the epitome of the 80s successful American. He is iconoclastic, bombastic, rich, and arrogant...but he's also SUPER FUNNY, a brilliant communicator, and understands people better than any PhD in Psychology. Basically he is what nearly every MBA student from 1985-2015 wants to be. In many ways, Trump is the 20th/21st Century Ben Franklin.
To hate Trump is to hate America--the wealth, the bombacity, the arrogance, the historic iconoclast our country is. He is us. He is the best of us, he is the worst of us.
It is here where I have finally understood the pull of social media. Likely a highbrow inaccurate self-reflection, but the comments here are thoughtful, insightful, and I am often confronted with some of my own lazy thinking. While I do not really ENJOY being corrected--I have found most corrections/questions/quibbles with anything I've written to be either spot on, or from a perspective I have never considered.
This it what graduate school should have felt like.
I downloaded the PDF of the “Steele dossier” as soon as Buzzfeed published it, and it was the most comically bad “report” I’ve ever read. I’ve read declassified intelligence cables, and they’re highly organized reports that submit evidence and an explanatory narrative, whereas the Steele file is akin to a list prepared by a grade schooler. Disjointed (supposed) factoids, no explanation, no backup evidence or description of witnesses. HRC’s campaign supposedly paid $7M for the file, and I can’t tell who got
f—ked worse, HRC or DJT. In any event, the people who believed that file WANTED it to be true so badly they disregarded all of its obvious physical defects in addition to its utter implausibility.
My impression was that he was only one of several communication avenues the campaign used to ensure it metastasized (e.g., 3 different routes to get it to the FBI). A McCain aide gave it to Buzzfeed, but Yahoo News was already aware of its existence. Even Fox had a copy. Buzzfeed’s distinction was that it was the only one who would print it, so that everyone NOT in the media could see it for themselves. It was when I saw it that I knew it was 💩.
God, in His infinite wisdom, perfectly described how it would be at the end of the age...
An example from the book of James: Their... “superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal). For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.”
From the book of Romans: “...they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].
“...in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin]...”
Whether you believe in a Creator or not, you must admit His book, written 2000 years ago perfectly nails what we can now plainly see with our own eyes.
“...they made simpletons of themselves.” That’s a line Chris Bray could’ve written today, but it was penned 20 centuries ago.
Amazing how Hillary and associates project onto Trump all the things she has done or they want to do. It just shows how her mind works and what her soul entertains. Evil.
Classic narcissism. These days, I'm busy recommending the Disaffected podcast to people. Josh Slocum, the host, believes that Wokeness and all of its works and all of its ways are manifestations of pandemic narcissism.
These are the politics of a failed state. Hilary Clinton is a laughably stupid clown among a political class populated exclusively by ridiculous clowns. The sad events of this weekend have proven that no one person, be it Trump, the Spirit of George Washington or the Risen Christ, can overcome or even stand against the rule of the degenerate clown class. The sheer inertia of the ride down the elevator shaft powers the polity of our near future.
The Democrats having been calling Republicans fascists and warmongers since at least Reagan. What’s different is their utter contempt for Trump. That contempt, as Trump often points out, is directed at his supporters as much as it is directed at him. Put aside the absurdity of the charges against him - and they are absurd - imagine the outrage if a judge was as disrespectful to Biden versus as Engoron and Merchan have been to Trump. The message to Trump’s 80 million or so supporters is that neither Trump nor anyone who supports him has any rights, including the right to be treated decently. The ignorant elitist buffoons believe Trump will jail his opponents or suspend their rights probably arises out of their subconscious knowledge that the people they hate and demonize are decent people and that anyone who is as depraved as they (the buffoons) are deserve to be punished.
Projection is just gaslighting by another name. They accuse Trump of planning to commit all the crimes against the Republic they do every day. Congress has been turned into a bureaucracy without term limits or even mandatory retirement. We need a ‘bigger boat’ as they say.
101 Republicans in the House voted for the foreign funding package. I guess Mike Johnson didn’t think to get them Ukrainian flags to join in the full celebration. Please give me a valid reason why I should even care about voting in November. As many have said before, we aren’t going to vote ourselves out of this.
Trump also wants a government run medical system alongside a private one. And gets booed for that. I was in a cult once. Fifty years ago. No one booed the cult leader. They like Trump. A lot. They don’t love him though, and regularly disagree with him.
Yes. I keep hearing this "it's a cult" line, and I don't know any Trump supporters who don't start nodding vigorously when I say "but the vaccine bullshit and all the stuff with Fauci...." Perfectly happy to criticize the man while admiring him.
I always wait for the moment when Hilary Clinton's skinsuit dissolves and out slithers the reptile within, like the aliens in the original "V" series. I bet she swallows rats whole as well.
Something is really building to a fever pitch. It's in the air. Those guys setting themselves on fire are going to seem real quaint by December.
Rats and box wine.
Probably children too. For the adrenochrome.
Danny Huckabee
LOLOLOLOLOLOL.Keyboard cleanup on aisle 3…
Besides all the political and ideological reasons people are setting themselves on fire, IT'S HAPPENING. I have learned to step back from the "thing" going on and kinda just watch what's going on. That's how I say it to people, these things are actually happening in our world. Buc everything else! Somethings going on, here. I believe it's a form of pure evil. Not religious but there's some kind of bad joojoo going on here.
Mike,
I do not mean this in any patronizing or sardonic way AT ALL--it may be time for all of us to get religion. How much crazier is the idea of an omniscient God who loves us than anything the 'trust the science' climate wackos, cut the junk of kids trans freaks, or the unhinged hyperbole the left is spewing?
After 35+ years of 'cynical agnosticism' I began to reread the Bible a few years ago. My intention was to read the Bible and then to see if I can find evidence of the Bible in the world in which I live. In short, I found more truth in the Bible than anything I've read in 35+ years--and it actually makes me feel better.
I agree there is some bad juju--and now I'm inclined to believe it is demonically inspired over man-made. Just a thought. Be well my friend.
bsn
I'm right there with ya, Brian. I'm taking my own religious journey right now and the Bible is part of it. I'm still on the road though....with me, I'm not the kinda guy to throw all my chips into one basket. I'm dealing with that right now along my journey but you are right. I agree with everything you said. Not to sound like whatever......but, it's so obvious to me that this is pure evil. I understand everyone's different out here in the world but man o man is it so obvious to me.
Good. Another soft suggestion. Check out Jordan Peterson's Biblical Lectures. I am a podcast dude--on the move and listen to stuff on phone, but here is the YouTube lecture (1 of 14). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w
THESE ARE SO GOOD!! Each lecture is 2.5 hours. I've listened to all of them 4 or 5 times. These lectures are what made me pick up the Bible again. They are secular lectures, but SO INTERESTING. Seriously.
These lectures and Darryl Cooper's Martyrmade "Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem" are, IM (not so humble) opinion--the best podcasts ever. Full stop.
I'm with you on a journey.
bsn
Thanks for the Jordan Peterson info bsn, love this : Philippians 4: 4-9: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
"I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet."
Psalms 18:37
Thank you Dena. A few years ago I had decided to commit a few quotes and Bible verses to memory. As a kid in Awana, I never understood why we memorized Scripture, I was there for the athletic competition...
Now I understand that I can always have True North within me. I'm adding this to my list.
I wish I could say I followed through 100%, but I lost the laminated cards I kept with me--but this has inspired me to begin again.
My list:
"If" by Rudyard Kipling
"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley
"Man in Arena" by TR - actually only a portion of 'Citizen in a Republic' in which TR drops about 1000 truth bombs.
1 COR 13--I've now heard people call this Paul's Love Letter
Numbers 18:32--I'll write this one because, well, I just love it.
"You will be no sin by reason of if when you offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die."
To me, this last verse basically says, give all that you have. It doesn't need to be perfect, but your effort matters. Never, never, never diminish the honest best efforts of another man, or you will die.
Thank you for the great verse Dena. Have a great day.
bsn
Thank you. I am still genuinely happy as a person. My core is still strong and true to myself. Life has torn at it though and with the world the way it is, it's tough. That's how I know there has to be a lot of people breaking because I'm kind of a tough mother! Lol! I've always been myself, I know it's not that easy for everyone. So if I'm breaking a little bit, I can only imagine what's going in out there.
Thank you! I was unaware of this series; I am going to relish it!
Well, it seems to me a person can believe in evil without running to become a follower of Christ. It's ok. Take your time. This is big.
Believing in evil without believing in god (or Christ) is scary, because then the source of evil must be people, rather than a Satan. Many people are incapable to accepting this, so they adopt religions that pin "evil" on forces that are out of their control.
You might also consider reading The Rational Bible (Genesis and Exodus so far) by Dennis Prager. He takes verse by verse and adds explanation and commentary. Very informative. Also, read the book of John in the New Testament. good places to start.
I just recommended The Gospel of John. Great minds think alike.
Sammy,
Sadly I over looked your response. Thank you. I just got Genesis on Audible. Listening to books allows me to consume much more than I would be able to by reading alone.
Did you listen to Jordan Peterson's Exodus work? Prager was on that as well. He is educated, persuasive, and funny. Thanks for the suggestion.
bsn
Two comparisons to Nero & Ancient Rome: I’m not aware of them chopping parts off their children, and they did light Christians on fire as torches. In the modern era, we send kids through a Cuisinart ad early as possible, and we have an ordinary citizen lighting himself on fire because we’re drowning in evil.
Third verse same as the first.
What has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
bsn
I'll pray you find someone close by who can walk you through the Bible. I was convinced at one point that I couldn't be a Christian because I couldn't force myself to read the thing; it made no sense.
Now it does. Good on you. And yes, it's good vs evil.
Kathy,
Thank you. My eyes got a little misty when I read this. Thank you.
bsn
<Grin> Nobody gets to do this alone without an argument.
Be well.
I am a believer. This is a spiritual war. Pray. Gather. Worship.
One of the things in support of the Bible's truth is the inclusion of the good, the bad and the ugly. It is narrative about real people and the crazy things they do, as well as revelation about the God who chose them as His own people; both Israelites and Christ followers. No photoshopping the people involved; warts and all. It rings true about people we know, and ourselves. I believe it was Lewis, or Chesterton, who noted that it shines light on the world and makes sense of what we see.
Thank you Jason.
Jordan Peterson makes a similar point in some of his lectures.
I'm only 54 and this space/time feels like the worst I've ever experienced--but all I need to do is read the Old Testament to see, "Oh, third verse same as the first..."
It gives me comfort to read how many times we, as a species, keep screwing it all up--and God hasn't turned his back on us.
Remember back early in the Iraq War, when all the looting of museums was going on, Rumsfeld said something to the effect of, "Freedom is messy."
I agreed then and I agree now. We are sinner/saints, monsters/angels at any given moment.
"Of course I contradict myself, I contain multitudes..." (poorly quoted Walt Whitman)
bsn
I disagree a little bit about the analog of the present with the past. In the past there was no political history other than strongman rule. Thus life for the weak and average sucked as it had always sucked.
In 1775, the legislatures of the colonies sent ≈60 delegates to form a new government. From 1781 onward, we have lived under the almost divine principle that our rights come directly from God to us individually.
My point is that we’re pissing that wondrous legacy away, and that makes this modern conflict SO MUCH more excruciating.
“It is better to have loved & lost than to have never loved at all” does NOT apply to freedom.
I have always accepted that our nation was Divinely inspired--even when my belief/understanding of the Divine was more opaque than it is today (opacity remains, but I've stopped fighting what I cannot prove).
I've read/heard many people say something to the effect of, "There is nothing special about USA, nothing Divine, we colonized a land like all other countries..."
The not so subtle insinuation seems to be anyone who believes our nation was Divinely inspired, or has any moral authority over other countries is country-bumpkin-ish, xenophobic, jingoistic, etc. It is said in a rather sneering way.
We should be above such antiquated thinking.
I'm with you John. There is nothing antiquated, nor simple about recognizing we are the only country on Earth that 'tries' and was founded on the principle that our rights come directly from God to us individually.
I saw something the other day about 2A. 2A does not give us the right to bear arms. We have the right to bear arms from God. 2A forbids the government from infringing on that Divine right.
That is the correct perspective.
bsn
To quote another man from the past "Two things I know, I am a great sinner and Jesus is a great Savior." Spurgeon?
Just read all of the Proverbs for a way to live life is a good start.
Danny Huckabee
It’s always a good thing to get right with God. We are all going to face Him at some point.
I've never been particularly religious but I think that the lack of a 'creator' is what's missing because it is necessary to believe there is something more above all of us than the government of crooks and clowns.
I believe there is a Creator, but I suspect His reaction to our troubles is “Why should I intervene when most of you don’t bother to inform yourselves of factual truths and thereby abandon your responsibility to to ensure your society is governed wisely. ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s’ doesn’t just mean money; It means your time and attention as well.”
Speaking of time & attention...I realized I need to go on a bit of a hiatus and focus on our race. While I love it here...I need to throw myself into our event. I don't think I've fought hard enough for this, I need to see what it can become when I leave nothing. Go all in. That means living like Rocky. Drinking raw eggs and avoiding distractions!
bsn
Pure evil has made some serious strides in the last 4 years, of that there is no doubt.
Tucker and Rogan were talking about this. You could hear the gears turning in Rogan’s head as he considered it. I am a believer but evil is the only explanation for what is going on around us.
I thought Tucker’s comment that there are a lot of weak politicians who, because of their weakness, become vessels for evil. He included Mike Johnson in that group.
Yep, pretty prescient when you see how the votes went this weekend with Johnson doing a complete 180 and leading the way. Passing all that money and not a cent for the border, sliding in the TikTok edict and forcing the FISA renewal without any effort to reign in the abuse.
I read this recently, doubted it, googled for information about it, and found it's true:
It could be coincidence - extremely unlikely, but life is strange - that on some images in Disney cartoons going as far back as Pinocchio in the early 1940s, there are, for lack of a better term, pedophilic symbols.
Use the following key words -
disney cartoons man - boy love symbols
It's creepy as can be.
It’s been a banner decade for Evil, Inc. check out our website, we are always looking for new members!!! Detached or intact, we don’t mind!
Very scary also, from my perspective, is how quickly evil has been normalized across so many aspects of culture and society.
Yuppp, it's all part of it, man. The way it moves. It takes over everything. I always say it bleeds I to everything.
Isaiah 5:20.
HRC eating a rat would be cannibalism (U.S. not New Guinea).
A rodent of unusual size.
Harridan is great word, btw
Then it goes, "virago," then, "termagant."
The rodents of unusual size can be found in a different sort of swamp, the fire swamp. You need to brush up on your movies.
I don’t believe they exist
Actually, I need to apologize to rodents of all types & sizes – from the field mouse to the capybara – for suggesting ANY genetic connection to that harridan.
That is inspired.
Oh pretty pretty please on the social disgrace and humiliation of Lady McClinton….she really is out of her narcissist mind!!!
Hilary is a lizard and Bill is a horny toad.
@chris bray, I love your critique of Trump. I voted for him twice and might even vote for him a third time if he’s not giving a life sentence for jaywalking or something; that said, You are absolutely right. His Covid policy was beyond stupid. He gave the pharmaceutical companies immunity from prosecution. Pfizer made $26 billion on their covid vaxine in the first year it was available. Let’s see, what happens if you couple unhinged greed with no consequences or liabilities? Hmmm?
That must be one of those darn trick questions.
Besides, what’s so bad about shuttering 3 1/2 million small businesses and crushing the lifetime of hard work and risk that people made to open a restaurant or some other retail business that Trump got shut down during Covid?
News flash. Trump won for some very simple reasons.
Hint: the reason Trump won was not his gravitas.
1. Trump made a major campaign promise of building a wall. What’s so bad about letting millions of people come to America, get zillions of dollars of government services and lower the wages of blue collar Americans?
2. Trump thought it wasn’t a great idea to let China loot the middle class by outsourcing everything possible and destroying all the jobs. What radical ideas those are.
3. Trump thought getting into a war with Russia was not a great idea. Obviously, Joe Biden has proven beyond the doubt getting into a fight with Russia is an awesome move for our economy and for Europe’s.
What really pissed everyone off about Trump though was that he was the first Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan who actually fought back. The rest of the cuckservatives are only too happy to let liberals bend them over a car hood and peg away.
Worse, Trump connive to get the mainstream media and social media to give him hundreds of millions of dollars of free PR.
Chris Bray, how would you like it if for an entire year you had to promote Joe Biden to win reelection. You knew it was a bad idea, but you just couldn’t help yourself and you were writing the most profound blog post of your whole life and they were getting millions and millions of views.
Now you know how a nitwit like Rachel Maddow feels.
Remember Diana? She's basically Diana.
I would be interesting if this immolation thing became a TIKTOK thing with young people.
Taylor-Greene hasn't killed anyone, that we know of, or overthrown foreign governments or abandoned citizens to terrorists. So, there is that. Our fringe is nothing like their mainstream.
I wrote something along this line the other day: TDS is Reagan Derangement Syndrome. With the exception of maybe Bob Dole literally every single Repub presidential candidate is portrayed as Satan incarnate. I know, I was raise in the radical left, I saw it from the inside. Curiously they don't have enough self-awareness to realize the world didn't end if they lost the election but next election, back to Dems vs. literal Satan. I don't get how they can't hear themselves.
Some of us remember the BusHitler signs during the Iraq war. Now he poses with Bill Clinton to advocate for open borders and "bi-partisan unity". As a Canadian it's amusing to see Bush's "axis-of-evil" speechwriter, David Frum, scion of a rich developer/media brat - his mom was a prominent CBC journalist - from Jewish north Toronto denounce Trump for not starting the wars he and Bush did.
Washington Post:
"Former President Bush has spoken at length about his close ties to former President Bill Clinton, at times calling him his 'brother from another mother.' CNN's Candy Crowley asked Bush during an interview published Friday where that leaves Hillary Clinton: 'My sister-in-law!' the president responded light-heartedly."
Talk about a rat nest.
Bush is no better than a clinton or obama. We can thank him every time we have to walk thru a scanner at the airport. The constitution is supposed to protect us from those rats, but they just keep on ignoring it.
I remember a political commentary, written in the interregnum between Clinton & Bush 43, which posited that 43’s governance philosophy was much closer to Reagan than 41. Talk about being far from the mark…
During the 2000s my mother took a Sharpie and blotted out Bush's face in every newspaper and magazine photograph that came through the house. Now she actually says "oh we miss George, he wasn't as bad as Trump!" My friends who also have Dem Boomer parents report the same statements. Like, uh, whut? At least have the conviction to be consistent in your beliefs. Jeez.
When Rudy Giuliani was running for reelection in New York I asked my brother (who lived in NYC) if he was voting for him. His response was no and that he “can’t stand the guy”. I asked him pointed and specific questions about what he didn’t like about Giuliani and he simply repeated that he couldn’t stand the guy. No reason. Just couldn’t stand him.
During my brother’s most recent visit down south here with family he exclaimed, without any self-awareness that what New York needs right now is another Rudy Giuliani because “he was a great mayor”.
I had to be embarrassed for him. Because he didn’t have the sense to be embarrassed for himself.
That’s the beauty of “feelings” – you can change them on a dime and no reconciliation with the past can be demanded. They just “are.” In the past, we regarded such things as “childish.”
The first election of which I was conscious was 1968. Every Republican from 68 thru now has been described as Evil Incarnate, the Devil, the end of life on earth. The only difference in 2024 is the Dems have absolutely no positive accomplishments on which to run. So the rhetoric is raised to 11: Hitler, camps, assassination; Democrats as Navalny.
Interesting the Dems run on “camps”: they support Hamas and the Ivies are warning Jewish students to skip class for safety reasons.
But at least the Dems aren’t British cops, who arrested a bystander at a pro-Hamas riot for “looking too Jewish,” and that “look” being treated as an illegal provocation of the Hamas rioters.
I think it is/was the Chicago city government who are building 'camps' for illegals. Got your email BTW, will respond this week.
bsn
It's insanity, truly. I was stupid enough to get into an "argument" with a TDS sufferer recently and he was enraged that I would support a Putin puppet and that the Mueller Report PROVED that he was a Putin plant and I was just like.. "Um, the Mueller Report found no evidence" and he said I was delusional and living on another planet. He also said Trump was convicted of rape and a court of law with a jury also found him guilty of insurrection but his "plants" in the DOJ let him off. So basically, according to him, the DOJ is captured politically by... Trump. Also, there is no inflation. It's just a right wing talking point.
I feel so gaslit, it's really such a feeling of cognitive dissonance to deal with people who are so out of touch with reality while simultaneously so sure YOU are the crazy one I just... can't. I grew up for a short time with a borderline mother and this is the kind of psychosis and psychological abuse that she exhibited, as in "reality is what I say it is because I can't handle anything else and you will be punished for not complying!" To see this playing out on a societal level is horrifically bad.
I have a Facebook friend, a kind woman, who posts photos of Hitler and of Trump, both in rhetorical extremis, alongside one another. She thinks she's making a solid point.
The left has always been deranged. If anyone wants to see what happens when the left is able to take over, I would suggest reading the history of the French Revolution, and the Stalinist purges of the 30s.
In fairness, the Russian Revolution was conducted by serfs seeking food. Lenin & the Red Bolsheviks conducted more of a “usurpation.”
The French revolution was overtaken by Jacobins seeking not so much to end the aristocracy, as to replace its membership with themselves with different titles. Fortunately, they ate their own tail…
My biggest fear with Civil War II would be exposure to such “usurpation” during the inevitable confusion as the current regime falls.
It's all they have, they have no rational argument.
Three common human characteristics most progressives do not have:
A sense of self-awareness
A sense of irony
A sense of humor
It's common for the first two be on display simultaneously.
Other oxymoronic cries of the demented true believers:
Trump is a Nazi----kill the Jews!
Voter ID is racist-- brown people aren't capable of figuring out how to get an ID
you're a science denier --men can menstruate and have babies
I'm a vegan because killing living things is wrong---abortion is my right
Hands off my body---take the vaccine or lose your job
They are absolutely certain there are no absolutes. There is no truth except MY truth.
I can't tolerate your intolerance.
I hate all you hate filled people.
Perception is reality and only my perception counts.
There is no reasoning with such unthinking, closed minds.
"Hands off my body---take the vaccine or lose your job"
I pointed out this discrepancy during the mandates and the answer I got back was that my rights stopped at their body, meaning I also needed to be vaccinated to stop the spread. When I pointed out the obvious, that the "vaccines" didn't stop the spread and that they had indeed gotten Covid many times despite being multiply vaccinated they responded "that's only because I was around the non-vaccinated".
Weep with me people.
I live in Idaho but work in Washington. I feel your pain.
I recommend the Disaffected podcast. The host, Josh Slocum, is an interesting guy. His contention is that the lunacies we see from the Left are manifestations of pandemic "Cluster B personality disorder," the euphemistic category for narcissism and the conditions it drives: psychopathy, sociopathy, and the like.
Thanks! I'll check it out! ☺️
This is excellent.
I’m stealing it. lol
Brilliant!
Wins the Internets!
Without a doubt, this is my favorite place on Substack. (The idea of calling these newsletters seems so 20th century though.) Just had to say it. I get a small dopamine hit every time I see a Chris Bray email. It is not just the quality writing and great insight--it is the great 'after party' here in the comments.
Like CB, I also voted Gary Johnson in 2016. I just didn't have the bandwidth to pay hyper attention in 2016--was just retiring from the military and trying to adjust. Clinton is evil, and I found Trump to be a boar--but I loved 'The Apprentice' before it became a celebrity shitshow. DJT offered many great lessons about business & life. It is the only TV show I ever fantasized about being a contestant. I voted for him with as much enthusiasm in 2020 as I could manage--while believing he was the butt of an international/deep state COVID take down. He blew the COVID response big time.
Benjamin Franklin is my favorite founding father. He strikes me at the epitome of 'American'. Clever. Industrious. Polyglot. Successful writer, businessman, scientist, politician, diplomat.
Trump, for better or for worse, is the epitome of the 80s successful American. He is iconoclastic, bombastic, rich, and arrogant...but he's also SUPER FUNNY, a brilliant communicator, and understands people better than any PhD in Psychology. Basically he is what nearly every MBA student from 1985-2015 wants to be. In many ways, Trump is the 20th/21st Century Ben Franklin.
To hate Trump is to hate America--the wealth, the bombacity, the arrogance, the historic iconoclast our country is. He is us. He is the best of us, he is the worst of us.
bsn
"...it is the great 'after party' here in the comments." Hear, hear...!
It is here where I have finally understood the pull of social media. Likely a highbrow inaccurate self-reflection, but the comments here are thoughtful, insightful, and I am often confronted with some of my own lazy thinking. While I do not really ENJOY being corrected--I have found most corrections/questions/quibbles with anything I've written to be either spot on, or from a perspective I have never considered.
This it what graduate school should have felt like.
bsn
That’s a great point - totally agree!
[Russia hoax] “Has anyone ever been dumber?”
I downloaded the PDF of the “Steele dossier” as soon as Buzzfeed published it, and it was the most comically bad “report” I’ve ever read. I’ve read declassified intelligence cables, and they’re highly organized reports that submit evidence and an explanatory narrative, whereas the Steele file is akin to a list prepared by a grade schooler. Disjointed (supposed) factoids, no explanation, no backup evidence or description of witnesses. HRC’s campaign supposedly paid $7M for the file, and I can’t tell who got
f—ked worse, HRC or DJT. In any event, the people who believed that file WANTED it to be true so badly they disregarded all of its obvious physical defects in addition to its utter implausibility.
Projection? I'm guessing Hillary's peed on someone--maybe Bill.
I think there’s a fair degree of certainty that she’s an early recipient of a phalloplasty.
And thanks to the courier who made sure it saw the light of day - John ‘thumbs down’ MCcain. A real ass*ole.
My impression was that he was only one of several communication avenues the campaign used to ensure it metastasized (e.g., 3 different routes to get it to the FBI). A McCain aide gave it to Buzzfeed, but Yahoo News was already aware of its existence. Even Fox had a copy. Buzzfeed’s distinction was that it was the only one who would print it, so that everyone NOT in the media could see it for themselves. It was when I saw it that I knew it was 💩.
God, in His infinite wisdom, perfectly described how it would be at the end of the age...
An example from the book of James: Their... “superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal). For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.”
From the book of Romans: “...they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].
“...in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin]...”
Whether you believe in a Creator or not, you must admit His book, written 2000 years ago perfectly nails what we can now plainly see with our own eyes.
“...they made simpletons of themselves.” That’s a line Chris Bray could’ve written today, but it was penned 20 centuries ago.
Amazing how Hillary and associates project onto Trump all the things she has done or they want to do. It just shows how her mind works and what her soul entertains. Evil.
"We came, we saw, he died," she cackled, about a leader, Gaddafi, sodomized to death with a knife.
But what difference, at this point, does that make?
Classic narcissism. These days, I'm busy recommending the Disaffected podcast to people. Josh Slocum, the host, believes that Wokeness and all of its works and all of its ways are manifestations of pandemic narcissism.
These are the politics of a failed state. Hilary Clinton is a laughably stupid clown among a political class populated exclusively by ridiculous clowns. The sad events of this weekend have proven that no one person, be it Trump, the Spirit of George Washington or the Risen Christ, can overcome or even stand against the rule of the degenerate clown class. The sheer inertia of the ride down the elevator shaft powers the polity of our near future.
"These are the politics of a failed state."
Vigorously endorsed.
Well said indeed.
Well put.
There’s a reason why that scene in “Mars Attacks!” where the martians lay waste to all of Congress is one of my favorites. Wishful thinking …
That's such a great movie, *highly* underrated.
Great Post!
I tell people that I don't care if the president I vote for is an SOB, I only care if that person is doing right by the USA !
My neighbors all consider Trump to be a personal asshole, and they all voted for him (71% county-wide in 2020). They know what matters.
He may be an asshole, but he's our asshole.
Effing-A, man!!
(😂)
The Democrats having been calling Republicans fascists and warmongers since at least Reagan. What’s different is their utter contempt for Trump. That contempt, as Trump often points out, is directed at his supporters as much as it is directed at him. Put aside the absurdity of the charges against him - and they are absurd - imagine the outrage if a judge was as disrespectful to Biden versus as Engoron and Merchan have been to Trump. The message to Trump’s 80 million or so supporters is that neither Trump nor anyone who supports him has any rights, including the right to be treated decently. The ignorant elitist buffoons believe Trump will jail his opponents or suspend their rights probably arises out of their subconscious knowledge that the people they hate and demonize are decent people and that anyone who is as depraved as they (the buffoons) are deserve to be punished.
Projection is just gaslighting by another name. They accuse Trump of planning to commit all the crimes against the Republic they do every day. Congress has been turned into a bureaucracy without term limits or even mandatory retirement. We need a ‘bigger boat’ as they say.
Every time I read this I find another dumb typo. BRB, going out for a neurology consult.
101 Republicans in the House voted for the foreign funding package. I guess Mike Johnson didn’t think to get them Ukrainian flags to join in the full celebration. Please give me a valid reason why I should even care about voting in November. As many have said before, we aren’t going to vote ourselves out of this.
Trump will end the Ukraine war. Biden will bring on WWIII. As far as Congress goes? Who knows. We need a 54-46 R Senate though.
I now call congress Ukrainian flag waving America hating traitors!
Trump also wants a government run medical system alongside a private one. And gets booed for that. I was in a cult once. Fifty years ago. No one booed the cult leader. They like Trump. A lot. They don’t love him though, and regularly disagree with him.
Yes. I keep hearing this "it's a cult" line, and I don't know any Trump supporters who don't start nodding vigorously when I say "but the vaccine bullshit and all the stuff with Fauci...." Perfectly happy to criticize the man while admiring him.
The GOLDEN SHOWER thing was in KIEV with HUNTER because he’s got Daddy issues.
There’s a video of the shower with narration from Hunter on his laptop👍
yucky