Democrat values reflect their policies

I've watched 3 weeks of Democrats pointing fingers, and they just can't figure it out, was it racist white males, or disillusioned minorities, or her vice president choice, or lack of support from Biden staff, and on and on and on. So here's my repeat of November 6 for them to think about. Pick just 2 and Trump wins.

"Kamala gave a stirring and passionate concession speech today saying she would continue to fight for our democracy--for her principles--open borders, packing the court, gun confiscation, arresting people who use their first amendment rights like religion and speech, promising inflationary policies like price controls and government give aways to some home buyers, funding foreign wars, and destroying the unborn while our birth rate plummets. And the people cheered."

Watts, Wesley and Winkworth

 Our small group from UALC (our church) is sharing leadership for our meetings on Zoom and I plan to offer a discussion on hymns as we enter the Advent and Christmas seasons with the theme of Watts, Wesley, and Winkworth--Whymns.  It turned out to be a bigger topic than I'd planned, so I decided to "blog" about it.

The topic covers three faith traditions--Puritan/Congregational, Methodist and Lutheran. I say tradition rather than denominations because there have been many divisions. These divisions and traditions developed during a time of great cultural changes in the arts, technology, and politics over three centuries.

There are many biographies available on the internet, so I've linked to only one site, but after reading several, they don't all agree. And I've added a link to a recording. 

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) Nonconformist (non-Anglican), dissenter, English 

Known as the "Father of English hymnody," Isaac Watts wrote approximately 600 hymns. He showed literary genius even as a boy. He learned Latin at four, Greek at nine, French at ten, and Hebrew at thirteen. His parents were "Dissenters." That is, they were not Anglicans, which was a treasonous offense in those days. Frustrated with the heartless psalm singing of his time, young Watts sometimes criticized the singing at his church. A dissenter among dissenters, I'd say.  Listening to his concerns one day, Watts' father challenged him, "Well then, young man, why don't you give us something better to sing?" He rose to the challenge by writing his first hymn. It was well received by his congregation, and for the next two years, Watts wrote a new hymn for every Sunday. He is known for Christianizing the Psalms. Isaac Watts - The Center For Church Music, Songs and Hymns

https://youtu.be/iYYXWxDzEmM?si=piM_5tB7KAda78-f  O God our help in ages past, paraphrase of Psalm 90, a good hymn for the New Year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMK9QHaoqpo  podcast about Isaac Watts

At The Cross: Isaac Watts, The Father of Hymns

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) Church of England, Methodist, Missionary to Georgia, English

"Charles Wesley wrote over 6500 hymns [some sources say 8,000], which would be writing at least two hymns a week, every week for 50 years, from his conversion in 1738 to his death in 1788. His hymns came out of what he saw as important occasions. His own life inspired hymns: his conversion, his marriage, things he had seen, the death of his friends. Public events inspired hymns: the earthquake panic, rumors of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots. He wrote hymns for all the festivals of the Christian faith.

Wesley’s hymns can be generally classified as hymns of Christian experience, invitation hymns, sanctification hymns, funeral hymns, and hymns on the love of God. In his hymns, he referenced all but 4 of the books of the Bible. He used more than 45 different meters. It has been said that Wesley’s hymns clothed Christ in flesh and blood and gave converts a belief that they could easily grasp, embrace with personal faith, and if necessary, even die for." 

Charles Wesley - The Center For Church Music, Songs and Hymns  (excerpt) 

Why Wesley Still Dominates Our Hymnbook - Christianity Today  Really good article, but it is 17 pages long

https://youtu.be/9Bwn0k0k8xI?si=pbrUv266Izp907kr "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," Charles Wesley

Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)  studied with Unitarians, English, best known as translator of 17th century German hymns

"Winkworth was a prolific translator of German hymns She became interested in translating these hymns when Chevelier Bunsen, the German ambassador to England presented her with a copy of Andachtsbuch. This devotional book showed her the treasures in German hymnody. She published two series of Lyra Germanica, in 1855 and 1858. The first had 103 translations from Bunsen's Versuch eines allgemeinen Gesang und Gebetbuchs (1833). The second had 121 more translations from the same book. She also published the Chorale Book for England (1863), which contained some earlier translations with their proper chorale tunes, and Christian Singers of Germany, (1869) biographies of German hymn writers." 

Catherine Winkworth - The Center For Church Music, Songs and Hymns 

  https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-now-thank-we-all-our-god  Now thank we all our God, Martin Rinkart

God of our weary years

"God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by Thy might,
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land."

James Weldon Johnson, 1871-1938, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (third stanza)

I could never understand how some think this poem/hymn could be controversial or that it belongs to only one group. It is universal, past, present and future, autobiographical from womb to tomb. From struggle to hope to victory.

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Operation Christmas Child

Message from UALC: We pray for each shoebox that will be brought to Mill Run this week, from our church and other churches in the area. We pray for the journey of the shoeboxes and the individuals involved in getting them to the children. May the contents of these boxes bring necessities, as well as items of joy and fun to each recipient. We pray for the children and families whose lives will be impacted by the contents, and the message of God and his love.

There will be many more, but this was the stack on November 16, 2024.

The only time Democrats care about women

The same people who didn't care about 

300,000 children missing in the U.S. and possibly trafficked because of Biden's policies,

 
men in women's locker rooms and playing against them in physical sports,

 
who think normal people are Nazis if they don't list pronouns,

find 34 felonies in a bookkeeping error

 
can't tell us what a woman is but can serve as judges or professors

those same people will believe an anonymous woman (yes, for this they will say she's a woman) quoted in a leftist newspaper or social media site about any charges about a male Republican in line for an important corporate or political office.

The problem is left over cookie icing

 RFK Jr can't do it all alone. MAHA can do some things, but it's up to us to exercise, eat fewer calories, drink less and stop smoking. And I could stop cleaning up the bowl of icing after I make the cookies (like I just did).

Melt half a stick of butter, a few drops of vanilla, a dash of salt, and a few scoops of Hersey's cocoa (dark). Mix in enough powdered sugar to make it stiff. If it's too stiff to spread on the cookies, add a little half and half. Spread on cookies. Chocolate makes everything better.

What happened to Title IX?

I asked Google(?) who changed the original meaning of Title IX.

 
Sen. Birch Bayh wrote the original 37 words to insert in an education bill in 1972. It was signed by President Nixon. That still doesn't explain to me how President Biden was allowed to change the law in 2022 to add "Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity," in an Executive Order, creating chaos for females in all areas of education. That alone should have been reason enough for all women not to vote for him (or his stand-in, Harris). Let's see if this new case gives women justice. Eventually, women will win in the Supreme Court. There are now biological men competing in women's sports (and other endeavors) who are "women" on their word and nothing else--not drugs, not surgery, long past puberty, just a pure violation of Title IX and with the media as the handmaiden of the violence.

Gaslighters in the sciences

Laura Helmut, editor-in-chief of America’s oldest magazine, Scientific American, resigns after calling Trump voters fascists. She's the fascist. They always accuse others of what they are doing.

If that's what she thinks of us, she should stick by it, and not grovel to get her job back. If she can't handle an election, she needs the rest from a high pressure job and try coal mining, or working the window at McDonald's.

"Helmuth had apologized in a separate post, calling them “offensive and inappropriate” and that they don’t “reflect the position” of Scientific American.

“I respect and value people across the political spectrum,” Helmuth wrote. “These posts, which I have deleted, do not reflect my beliefs; they were a mistaken expression of shock and confusion about the election results.” "

A Bible verse to memorize

I've heard my whole life that memorizing text (poetry, Bible verses, instructions, math solutions, etc. is good), and I wish I could, but I struggle with memorizing. But I've found a Bible verse that's easy to remember, and it's a theme that appears throughout the Bible in many ways and in parables, commands, stories, songs, and history. It fits any period of history and doesn't violate anyone's culture or ethnicity. Psalm 37:3 "Trust in the Lord and do good." It's the same in any translation. Then I'll work on the next part which contains the promise that follows the command, and it is a command.

Men in women's sports

There's an easy way to solve this.   https://www.theblaze.com/fearless/trans-athlete-heckled-womens-sports?   See story below.  There can be a third league. The only reasons not to are 1) an agenda to destroy women's sports, 2) dismantle and destabilize women's sense of purpose and identity, and 3) to make unsafe for women those arenas of society that are set aside to protect or promote them. This will have no effect on Lesbians and Gays; they are women or men. Unlike the acronym, they are not natural allies.

 
We need to start at the universities with medical schools that "affirm" the nonsense at the taxpayers expense, like The Ohio State University, and the various children's hospitals. If men want to play "dress up" and wear mascara or women want to deform their bodies and be sterile, allow them to grow up first. These clinics are not kind, understanding or affirming.

"San Jose State University's women's volleyball was defeated by San Diego State University on Saturday, but the score was not what caused the most commotion.

The game saw around triple the usual attendance; however, much of the crowd was not happy to see SJSU's transgender athlete Blaire Fleming. Born Brayden, Fleming is a 6'1'' male whose inclusion on the team has sparked five separate forfeits from opposing teams and even caused his own teammate to speak out against him."

Billions spent on our election

Every election I think how the huge amounts of money could have been spent for better causes. But not this year. The money spent, both by Democrats and Republicans saved our nation to be a blessing to others. It secured our borders, it attacked waste and frivolous spending that would have been far more expensive if not reduced, it slowed down the wars, and perhaps it was the funeral for wokeism in our military, the bureaucracy and academe. It is the new Jim Crow. Is that too much to hope for?

 
The Democrats' money too helped just by showing us how ridiculous and divisive their policies and goals are. While trying to destroy us, they paid millions to show us the opposite of the values they touted with Americans held hostage for a Jan 6 riot, for Americans and allies killed in August 2021, for the coup that was the opposite of democracy, and their killing of babies and maiming of children.

According to Wall St. Journal today: "Kamala Harris raised more than $1 billion and spent more than $900 million [I don't know where the money Biden raised before he withdrew went], while the Trump campaign raised around $380 million and spent more than $350 million. In swing states Democrats had the edge in campaign spending across the board.

The margin was closest in Pennsylvania, where Democrats spent $109 million to Republicans’ $102 million. In Michigan Democrats spent $81 million to Republicans’ $18 million. In Wisconsin it was $49 million to $15 million, according to AdImpact. Mr. Trump won those states, but more narrowly than his advantage on the issues and the national turn to the right suggest he might have."

We Bruces contributed nothing except indirectly. Our money continued to support pro-life causes, religious freedom causes, conservative non-profits and our church. All those organizations have staff, volunteers and communication systems that speak the truths of the Bible and our Constitution. I hope they spent wisely and prayed about it.

Trump election protests

If you totaled all the protesters against the November 5, 2024, election and the pink hat ladies on Trump's first inauguration in 2017 who destroyed cars and set fires, would they add up to the January 6, 2021, protests? Is it an insurrection? Who will keep track?  https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-protests-cities-1981841?

 
From Wikipedia: "By the end of the month [Jan. 2021], the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had opened more than 400 case files and issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants related to the riot.[2] The FBI also created a website to solicit tips from the public specifically related to the riot,[3] and were especially assisted by the crowdsourced sleuthing group Sedition Hunters.[4] By the end of 2021, 725 people had been charged with federal crimes.[5][6] That number rose to 1,000 by the second anniversary of the attack,[5] and to 1,200 by the third anniversary, at which point over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes.[7][8] These federal cases are handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (D.C.).[9] State cases, of which there are fewer, are handled in the D.C. Superior Court.[10]"

TV series reviews

Recently we got Paramount+ with a renewal of our Spectrum subscription, so I've been watching 3 (new to me) series about female lawyers. All are well done with great supporting casts--"So help me Todd," "Matlock," and "Elsbeth."  All are on demand, so I can watch any time. I have no idea where they are in the regular CBS line up.

1. In So Help Me Todd, the titular Todd (Skylar Astin) is a private investigator whose license was revoked. He’s working in his fastidious attorney mother’s (Marcia Gay Hardin) law firm and the two must navigate both the nature of the job and their relationship. This is my favorite, but it's been cancelled. Lots of family conflicts in this story line, since Todd has siblings, each one with mama issues. One is a doctor and one is assistant to the governor of Oregon. Obligatory LGBTQ sub text.

2. Matlock follows Madeline Matlock as she rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm, where she uses her wily tactics to win cases and expose wrongdoing. She and her husband have custody of the grandson after their daughter died of a drug overdose. He helps her solve crimes. It's OK, but the writers have her lying a lot to her colleagues and also use the ruse of work hostilities to get the cast to bond. Obligatory LGBTQ sub text. This sounds a little tired, but so far, I've enjoyed most of them before falling asleep.

3. Elsbeth. "Carrie Preston is Elsbeth Tascioni, the astute but unconventional consent decree attorney working with the NYPD to catch New York’s most well-heeled murderers utilizing her unique point of view." I've only watched one episode. It's a comedy-drama so I don't know if there is a sub plot about marriage, divorce, siblings or lesbians.

So, I've OD'd on crime and post middle-age women attorneys. Brenda in "The Closer" got us started on this genre about 20 years ago and she was the trail blazer. Bob still watches the reruns. But none are that good. Marcia Hardin has a fabulous wardrobe, and Elsbeth looks like she shops at my favorite resale shop. Matlock is seen mostly in a gray pants suit or her bathrobe for her home scenes.

What's the future for Trump supporters now?

We attended a small gathering of shell shocked but jubilant voters last evening--pizza, wine, spice cake, and a lot of discussion about the future. I heard many fantastical but hopeful ideas--woke is dead, education department will disappear, border will be safe, the wars will wind down, Musk will be amazing, etc. etc. I'm happy Trump won, but he's just a man full of common sense and old fashioned American idealism. (This was called fascism by his opponents and set him up for assassination attempts.) He's not the return of Jesus.

And for all of us who were ridiculed or cancelled (in job, in family, in friendships or in church) for speaking the truth about the 2020 election, the vaccine or George Floyd, let's hope there can be the purifying effect of sunlight on those issues too. Have you seen the graph of the 20,000,000 Democrats who were in the 2020 data, but not in the 2016 or 2024? Did Biden really get more votes than Obama? When and if Trump gets some of the "cancelled" science professors--biology, medicine, virology, etc.--back on the job and in the CDC and FDA, let's hope we never again let "public health departments and politicians" take away our freedom of religion and right to speak or have opinions.

The new meme that even Don Jr. is espousing is that losing in 2020 was a good thing because he would have been continually harassed and blocked, and now he will have a much stronger team, more knowledge about who he can trust, the backing of his party (which has also been changed) and the Senate (and we hope the House) to get his appointments through to make substantive changes. Of course, he'll never have the media, academe or Hollywood, but that's not a bad thing as the new media is drawing millions away to new sources.

We'll see. Most of us won't be here for the next one, or will be too befuddled to care.

And I'm still a one-issue voter--still voting for the babies. Join me!

Honestly, Bari?

Today I turned off one of my favorite podcasts, "Honestly" with Bari Weiss. She was "cancelled" (aka fired) by NYT and started a very successful news service, "The Free Press." She began her analysis of the Trump sweep and comeback by stating, not opining, that Trump was the most flawed candidate in our history, and said it again in slightly different terms before she got to her first guest, a trans woman, Brianna Wu.

In the introduction Bari stated, in my opinion, many errors about the 2020 election. She didn't even use the journalistic weasel words like "allegedly" or "it is said." And then she reminded the audience, with no doubt in her voice, about the completely phony impeachments, the lawfare cases brought by Soros funded goons, and the dreamed up sexual assaults.

 
Then Brianna, one of the 3 guests, begins listing his fears about attacks on Trans people that Republicans funded in their pro-Trump ads. Whoa! The only ads I saw were about the sexual mutilation of children, cross sex hormones for adolescents and men in women's locker rooms. If Brianna who is an adult wants to pretend to be a woman that's his business, but he should at least have the concerns that women have. Women are safer in a Trump presidency.

 
So, I switched to Will Cain's podcast. He was interviewing a Jewish Lebanese Canadian immigrant, Dr. Gad Saad, who is thrilled that Trump is president and has his own evaluation of the Trump victory, who is at fault and how it will affect Canadian and U.S. citizens.

IT'S ALL OVER! How Trump won the Presidency | Will Cain Show

Why the Left is worried about Trump

Here's a list of what Kamala and the Democrats call a threat to democracy from a fascist, i.e., anyone who tells the truth about the Democrat party. Compiled and posted by Dr. Anna Loska Meenan, one of the smartest women I know.

"Here is a list of the things President Trump accomplished in his 1st term:
Energy independence
Border security
Judicial appointments of constitutionalists
Got NATO countries to increase their payments
Best economic progress for Blacks in 50 years
Freedom from Obamacare mandate
African-American unemployment lowest rate ever recorded.
Hispanic-American unemployment lowest rate ever recorded.
Asian-American unemployment lowest rate ever recorded.
Women’s unemployment the lowest rate in 65 years.
Record low unemployment for veterans
Unemployment down to 3.5% (it’s 4.1% now)
4 million off food stamps
Record-low poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans
African-American home ownership increased
Invested $1.3 billion to bring internet to rural America
Dow record high above 30K
Doubled standard deduction
Doubled child tax credit
Biggest tax cuts and reforms in our history
Net natural gas exporter
Right to try medical procedure
Rebuilt the military
Got us out of the Iran nuclear deal
Hospitals to disclose costs
Animal cruelty a felony
Transparency and Competition for insurance companies
Bringing American companies home
Reductions of regulations strangling businesses—eliminated 8 for every one imposed
Reduced approval times for major infrastructure projects to 2 years or less
Eliminated ”Waters of the United States” rule
Replaced NAFTA with the USMCA
Ended Japan’s ban on importing American potatoes and lamb
Renegotiated the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement
Imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods
Imposed tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel
Eliminated China’s ban on importing American pork
Signed the Women Peace and Security Act
Launched the American AI Initiative
Abraham Accords
Criminal justice reform
Record funding for historically black colleges
9,000 Opportunity Zones
Middle class income increased almost $6K
No new wars
In the spirit of fairness, I invite any Kamala supporters to post the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration."

Harris' concession speech

Kamala Harris gave a stirring and passionate concession speech today saying she would continue to fight for our democracy--for her principles--open borders, packing the court, gun confiscation, arresting people who use their first amendment rights like religion and speech, promising inflationary policies like price controls and government give aways to some home buyers, funding foreign wars, and destroying the unborn while our birth rate plummets. And the people cheered.

Message from Frank Pavone on the pro-life movement

 Priests for Life National Director Frank Pavone issued the following statement on the morning after the 2024 elections:

“The pro-life movement, and America herself, have been given a reprieve from the onslaught of a Democrat regime that would have tried to erase every protection for unborn children across America, and to take away the very tools we need to protect them. But another term of President Trump will strengthen our freedom of speech, of religion and of protest, and will set free the peaceful prolife prisoners. Moreover, with Republicans reclaiming the US Senate, we can look forward to hundreds of new pro-life judges who will serve in the federal courts for decades to come.

“As for the abortion ballot measures, six of the 10 that were voted on will go into effect: AZ, CO, MD, MO, MT, and NY. In Nevada, a second vote in the 2026 elections is required for passage. In FL, SD and NE the pro-life movement defeated the radical pro-abortion amendments, and secured an amendment in NE protecting babies in the second and third trimesters. In the states where these amendments passed, we will immediately begin the work of repealing them.

“Priests for Life worked intensely with all 10 states that had these ballot measures, including our home state of Florida. We convened meetings of the state and national pro-life leaders to maximize collaboration.

“Moreover, we are proud of our nationwide voter education and mobilization project, headquartered at ProLifeVote.com. The comeback of Donald J. Trump, the most pro-life president ever, is a moment in history that we are privileged to live through.”

“Now it is crucially important to continue our prayers and outspoken advocacy for President Trump, because his enemies will try to do everything possible to interfere with the next two phases of this transition, namely, the vote of the electors and the certification by Congress. His victory in the popular vote takes away a key tool that the Democrats would have used to undermine this election. So let us all be loud and clear and vigilant in our support over these next three months.”
 

Former Illinois governor spills the beans on Democrats, Rod Blagojevich talks to Tucker

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a lifelong Democrat, did eight years in federal prison. By the time he got out in 2020, his party had gone completely insane. He’s now all in for Donald Trump.

https://youtu.be/NDP6St8p7dk?si=ktawKifNh07kvW4m

Election prayer in our church newsletter

This prayer appeared in our church newsletter.

"Almighty God, we pray for peace on this upcoming Election Day. Protect our polling places and election workers, and make them places and people of peace.

We pray that the voting process will be straightforward, safe, and fair for everyone.

We pray, God, that you would bless each candidate with wisdom and grace as they seek positions of power and authority. Grant our leaders humble and virtuous hearts. We pray for our nation. May we come together for the common good and do as you require - to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen."

OK. It's nice. Who couldn't pray that--either party, even the non-voters, even immigrants and foreigners, tourists and children. But. . . here's the thing. Jesus is coming back--he said so. He described it in the words of Matthew 25. Scary stuff for a voter. He will come in his glory, and all the angels with him . . . now that's something to see! And it just doesn't sound like a Kum by ya (come by here) moment. All the nations will be gathered and Jesus is going to separate the sheep from the goats with the blessed inheriting the kingdom that has been prepared from the foundation of the world (see Genesis for details). 

Then the shocker. Jesus says "Come" to those who have already been hanging out with him--even without knowing it--those who gave him food, water, clothing and welcomed him!

 
That's where I'm finding welcoming the unborn and caring for them in the Bible if your church tradition says abortion isn't addressed in the Bible. I think it's clear. There's no one more vulnerable and helpless and in need of a visit from a friend than those in the womb. The King of the Universe accompanied by the hosts of heaven came as a humble, naked, hungry baby, he came as your neighbor, so why would you the voter deny him for a political ideology of a woman's right to choose?

 
National elections come around every 4 years. I may not be here for the next one, and it's quite possible this issue won't be either. Another 4 years of abortion on demand and to term and beyond and this nation may culturally and morally be a very different place. This may be my last chance to be visiting with Jesus and the angels before he comes back.

John Wesley's advice on voting

Wesley had three points to keep in mind, which he recorded in his journal from October 6, 1774. He wrote:

“I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them,
1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy:
2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against: And,
3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side."

from https://juicyecumenism.com/2018/11/06/john-wesley-voting-american-politics/? and the Church News of Mt. Morris Church of the Brethren, October 27, 2024.