Desperate Democrats (Again) Look to the Climate

When it snows, it pours. This is especially true if you're a Democrat fighting for political relevance and the best you have is, "We just saved the planet!" (from a threat that doesn't exist) and "We made a deal with communists! (which we cannot enforce)." For Democrats, winter has come in early--and brutally--in more ways than one. After the midterm disaster suffered by Democrats, the political winter that ensued for liberals has now been accompanied by literal wintertime weather, of the record-breaking sort.

Though the calendar only reads the middle of November, much of the U.S.--as most well know, because we can see it and feel it--is experiencing snowfall and cold never-before recorded at this time of the year. The recent cold in Denver broke records that stood for nearly a century. This past Monday, St. Cloud Minnesota broke a November snowfall record that stood for well over a century.
"But this is just weather," many liberals exclaim. "The climate is much more complicated, and, just like with healthcare, your too stupid to understand the difference. So just hand over the economy to smart people like us, and we'll fix it," or so they say.

Though, how smart can one be to try and make political hay out of a global warming climate deal with communists in the middle of a record-breaking cold snap? President Obama called the climate deal he just struck with the Chinese "historic." Desperate to try and prop up the politically crippled President, his enablers and confidants in the media more than agree. Grist considers it a "game changer." Eugene Robinson's piece on the deal is entitled, "An Accord the Planet Needed."

The New York Times called the deal a "landmark agreement" and implies that Democrats focus on the climate is a "winning cause in the 2016 presidential campaign."

Do you recall the climate being a winning issue for Democrats recently? Me neither. In fact, the only Democrat facing an election right now, the embattled and abandoned Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, is ready to completely defy her party when it comes to climate politics and fully support the building of the Keystone Pipeline. Several of her Democrat colleagues in the Senate seem ready to join her.

However, just like the climate deal with China, Landrieu's efforts won't matter. The time for political courage on the Keystone Pipeline, Obamacare, and other such matters has come and gone. Just as the climate doom-and-gloom preached by liberals doesn't pass the smell (or sight, or feel) test, Landrieu's actions will be seen for what they are: political desperation. And in spite of what liberals think, Louisiana voters are smart enough to figure this out.

**(For my lengthy archives on global warming/climate/energy opinions and articles go here.)**

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Happy Birthday Michelle!

Today is the day that my beautiful and wise wife was born. As most of you are aware, in addition to being a wife to me--no easy task!--a mother to our four children, the principle author of our first book (Yes, another one is coming.), and just this year, administrator of Gainesville Home-School Academy, Michelle edits almost everything I write. Several years ago I wrote a piece for Valentine's Day on love.

I'm no expert on love--certainly not on romance--so to write the piece, I relied mostly on the wisdom of others, especially the Word of God. Much of what I write deals with issues related to families, and thus, marriage. As I noted in the Valentine's Day column, we believe that, after our relationship with our Creator, the most important relationship in the universe is that between a husband and wife.

In order to be a light to the world, Michelle and I are determined to do our best to have our marriage be what God desires it to be. We sometimes fail (the enemy hates marriage!), and that is usually due to me. In spite of this, Michelle does the amazing thing that true love requires: she chooses to love me. In other words, no matter what, I am hers (and she is mine).

As Scripture, and any marriage counselor worth a dime, reveals, love is not simply a feeling, but a matter of the will. As C.S. Lewis put it, “[Love] is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we naturally have about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people.”

Jesus told us that His entire law can be summed up with two commands: Love God and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” How do we “love” ourselves? If we are honest, we should all admit that there are times when none of us is particularly lovable. In fact, most of us have probably been pretty disappointed in and disgusted by our own behavior, and thus, in ourselves. We may even have seen ourselves as downright nasty.

Therefore, loving our neighbor does not mean always having pleasant feelings about him, or being happy with everything she does. As Lewis also put it, it does not mean “thinking them nice either.” I'm certainly not "nice" all of the time. As anyone married for any length of time understands, my absolute worst moments are at home. In other words, my most unlovable moments are usually in the presence of my sweet wife. Yet, she chooses to love me.

Consider 1 Corinthians chapter 13, where the Apostle Paul reveals to us what true love is. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

Patience, kindness, a lack of envy or boasting; humility, politeness, and controlling your temper; keeping no record of wrongs, rejoicing in the truth, and so on—these all are matters of the will and Michelle does these better than anyone else I know on this earth. Happy birthday baby!!!

Love, Trevor

Election Repsonse

To borrow from Charles Krauthammer, this was not a rebuke, it was a restraining order. Many Americans simply want the Democrats to go away--far away. Many have characterized this as a rebuke of Obama, but I think it goes further than that. To a significant extent, liberalism was on trial and was found wanting. As of this writing, according to the Real Clear Politics numbers, republicans added seven seats in the U.S. Senate, with Alaska and Louisiana likely making the final result a +9 for the GOP, giving them a total of 54 Senate seats. The Republicans have added 13 seats in the House, with about a dozen races--almost all Democrat seats--still undecided. Most are projecting the Republicans to hold about 250 House seats.

Additionally, and I think certainly the most surprising outcome of the night, the GOP defied the odds and actually added to their gubernatorial total across the U.S. Wins in deep blue states such as Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland made such gains possible. At this point, with a couple of races yet to be called, Republicans now control 31 governor's mansions. According to Hot Air, "Republicans now control governorships and state legislatures in 24 states while Democrats control those in only 7 states."

Certainly the republicans are, minus occupying the White House, in perhaps the greatest position of political power they have ever experienced. We'll see what they do with it.

In closing, as I've implied before, whatever the outcome of any election, Christians should never be too elated or too downtrodden. Politics is a realm occupied by men and women, who will almost certainly let us down. This is not to say that Christians should not be involved in, or concerned with, politics. We most certainly should. However, we must live knowing that our hope is not in any individual or institution in this world. As S.M. Lockridge put it when it comes to the One Christians serve, "You can't impeach Him, and He's not going to resign."

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Preachers and Politics: An American Tradition

This election season really has liberals off their game. In spite of all their efforts in Ferguson, Missouri, and all the time and energy spent defending women from the perpetual “war” waged against them by the big bad GOP, they’ve now stooped to what they so often accuse their republican opponents of doing: blaming the victim.

Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times recently chronicled what she described as a “nasty incident involving the Rev. Corey Brooks.” Brooks is the pastor of New Beginnings Church on Chicago’s South Side. Last Saturday thieves broke into New Beginnings Church and stole $8,000 from a charity box that was sitting in the church’s lobby. The money was being collected to build a community center across the street from the church.

After the robbery, Brooks declared, “Nobody has ever stolen stuff from our church. We do a lot of work in the neighborhood, and no one has broken into our church. Never.” According to Mitchell, Brooks’ recent political activities “made him a target.” Evidently, in the liberal land of make-believe, a justifiable one.

Brooks, a black man, committed the cardinal political sin in liberal circles: he publicly endorsed a republican. The republican he endorsed is Bruce Rauner, the GOP candidate seeking to unseat Pat Quinn as governor of Illinois. Brooks went so far as to appear in a television ad for Rauner.

Just prior to the robbery, Brooks received many threats via telephone and social media that were the result of his involvement in Rauner’s campaign. After the robbery and the vile threats, Brooks has decided to relocate himself and his family while the threats are investigated. According to Mitchell, while no one should be threatening—and I would add robbing—Rev. Brooks “because of his political choices,” the good reverend has made himself a target because he let himself “get dragged into a street brawl.”

Mitchell also concludes that religious leaders such as Rev. Brooks—who have “brought politics into the pulpit” and whose “efforts to serve up the community to politicians”—explains why “there has been such a huge loss of respect for the black clergy.” Yet, Mitchell seems to have no problem granting respect to the race pimp and publicity prostitute known as the “Rev.” Jesse Jackson, whom she describes as “one of the remaining legends” of the civil rights era, whose “commitment to fighting for equality is evident.” She also gives props to Jackson’s pimpin’ partner, the “Rev.” Al Sharpton, who, as Mitchell glowingly notes, is the kind of “street activist who has sway over the brothers on the corner.”

Such dumbfounding duplicity by a modern liberal is unsurprising, but it is a bit surprising that a large American newspaper would run such drivel on its editorial page.

While setting up her blind critique of Rev. Brooks, Mitchell fondly recalls the glory days of the civil rights era and the strong respect commanded by black clergy, especially in the South, “where churches became sanctuaries for civil rights leaders.” It evidently escapes Ms. Mitchell what these civil rights leaders were doing behind their pulpits.

I doubt we’ll find a column by Ms. Mitchell or any of her comrades that bemoans the efforts of modern black clergy who “bravely” stand up for “marriage equality,” the “right” to healthcare, a “living wage,” contraception, open borders, abortion, and whatever other perverse cause modern liberals have embraced.

Mitchell ignores not only the efforts of today's liberals who operate behind pulpits, and the history of the civil rights era, but also the history of the very founding of this nation. From the Puritan ministers who, over a century prior to the American Revolution, established the first representative forms of government in America and gave us the first attempts at a written constitution and a bill of rights, to the firebrand preachers of the first Great Awakening who helped light the fires of revolution in America, to the abolitionists who preached the evils of slavery, the Christian clergy in the U.S., both black and white, have been instrumental in American history.

Written documents of governance from American ministers were the practice in virtually every colony founded in early America. Such practice laid the groundwork for the American Revolution. As my upcoming book notes, “for it was in the pulpits of American churches that the seeds of Revolution were sewn. The British certainly thought so, as they blamed what they derisively described as the ‘Black Robed Regiment’ for the thirst in the Colonies for American Independence. Modern historians have noted, ‘There is not a right asserted in the Declaration of Independence which had not been discussed by the New England clergy before 1763.’”

I don’t know if Ms. Mitchell claims to be a Christian, but her sad ideas of Christianity and what it means to be a Christian are very common these days. Whether it’s the Rev. Corey Brooks, Tim Tebow, Rick Warren, the pastors in Houston, or any other Christian today whose efforts run contrary to the modern liberal worldview, what liberals really want is silence.

As my pastor, who is also my father-in-law, often points out, when Christ truly comes into someone’s life, He is not simply a section of that life, as in a grapefruit. He is not something that we devote part of one day to and are supposed to keep separate from the rest of our lives—work, family, entertainment, politics, and so on.

Instead of a grapefruit, a person who has surrendered his or her life to Christ is more like a glass of milk that has had chocolate syrup squeezed into it. Once the chocolate and the milk are combined, it is impossible to separate one from the other. This certainly should be the case for those who occupy our pulpits. In fact, given the tragic state of morality in America today, we need more like Rev. Brooks who are willing to get into a “street brawl.”

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Election Update

About two days out and here is the significant news on the election:

Both parties see the campaign (in the pained words of The New York Times) "tilting towards the republicans."  As Rush pointed out Friday, democrats, and their mouth pieces in the mainstream media are in a panic, so I suppose "tilting towards the republicans" is all they can bring themselves to admit at this late stage. When all your hope lies in the forces of this world, it must be very difficult to see the political horizon loom dark.

The New York Times' "election-forecasting machine" gives the republicans a 69% chance of winning the Senate. The Washington Post's "Election Lab" puts the chances of a republican controlled Senate at 94% and a republican controlled House at 99%.

Republicans are much more excited about voting, and early voting reveals this. Republicans have taken a large lead in the early voting in Colorado. Additionally, late polls in Iowa show a large lead for GOP candidate Joni Ernst. The Obama administration is on the verge of congressional election losses that are historic--the worst in over six decades.

It's so bad for the democrats that they've taken to blaming their own constituents--Mary Landrieu implies that Louisianans are sexist and racist--and launching petitions calling for the ouster of Harry Reid. What's more, republicans have made gains among women and Hispanics.

This looks to be a another midterm romp for the GOP, what they do with it, of course, remains to be seen.

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com