Wednesday, December 8, 2021

God Bless America...but The GOP Clown Show Continues.

    Newsmax has announced that it is terminating the contract of WH Correspondant Emerald Robinson after she said vaccines contained “luciferase” used to track people. She is replaced by James Rosen, who was fired by Fox in 2017 after being accused by several women of sexual harassment. Once upon a time Newsmax was just another online news website. They've traded in any credibility they had for propaganda. It must pay better.                                                                     Newsmax now has a revolving door of propagandists and other shady personalities....where one goes out and another, sometimes worse, comes in.

     And the Matt Gaetz.Marjorie Taylor Greene sideshow continues: Matt Gaetz says if GOP wins House in 2022, he will move to install Donald Trump as Speaker — and that he, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Paul Gosar will be running the House.

     Found this from an article posted at Wesmont College:
Implying that Americans are blessed by God simply for being Americans cheapens the biblical concept of blessing and often equates it with material prosperity. What about those Christians living and often suffering in other lands? Are we blessed by God and they are not? What about the dirt-poor Pentecostals in Ukraine who in Soviet times suffered because of their faith? Are we blessed by God and they are not? The lyrics of “God Bless America” are not statements of fact. They are, in fact, a prayer. In 1938, that is what Irving Berlin had in mind.

     While studying recently I came across this quote: “Treason is in the air around us everywhere. It goes by the name of patriotism.” -Ambrose Bierce (Civil War era). Reminds me of a quote (attributed to several people) that says "when facism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
That kind of conflation I mentioned above could easily set a lot of people up for such a person...and I think it is a large part of what drives the hard core Trumplicans for Trump.

     As followers of Jesus, truth is our currency. Without it, we have nothing. It’s essential to the integrity and believability of the gospel that we are known as truth-tellers, not argument-winners. Christians should have a reputation for being the most truthful people on earth.
     Tip: Don’t share a story just because one of your friends posted it on Facebook. Check out the original source first. Is it reliable? Do other stories on the website seem credible? If a story isn’t widely circulated by conservative and liberal or moderate outlets, its content may be suspect, and by that I mean that the subject will be distributed in both left and right news sources but make an observational spin on it..which is expected.
    The day before yesterday I posted a photo on FaceBook. Though I usually do double check news sources....I did not with that one because I got it from some online individuals who generally have credibility. Well, I was wrong and so were they. As a general rule I do check sources and get to know web sites that are hinged or unhinged with their information. They believed the misinformation also..so we were all duped. No hard feelings.
    We see disinformation agents on various web sites labeling their content as satire knowing well it is likely to be shared without the satire label. Personally I love good satire and try to utilize it whenever I can. My assumption, though, is that I think my general audience knows that. Most things I write on FaceBook is stuff that I will place on this web site....but FB offers an opportunity for me to test the waters on it. (Plus, since I am my own editor, it gives me time to correct all the language and spelling errors before I post it here. I type slower than I think and I will miss a word or change in thought direction, etc)
Truth is no longer dictated by authorities, but is networked by peers. For every fact there is a counterfact, and all these counterfacts and facts look identical online, which is confusing to most people.” -Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine.
     In my world, truth has one authority and He is Sovereign.