Is Christian Hypocrisy Destroying The World & U.S.?

Before Pope Francis addresses America, I thought I
would offer this great nation a religious address of my own.

Gay marriage, or the war to stop it, is a religious one.

The war against aborted babies that may or may not be kicking on a table while clinging to life that is ironically, only being sustained for the proper harvesting of the brain from this particularly described- unwilling research donor- is a religious war as well, even if Carly Fiorina tells you its about the decency of all Americans.

Marijuana? Religious, even among  Catholics (Mexican, Irish, Italian...etc.) who drink for sport but abhor dope heads and question marijuana's medicinal value over that prescribed medicine waiting to potentially be recalled or over prescribed to a depressed PTSD soldier who is likely to die from the depression or the pill addiction but not the weed.

God knows that those hooded folks used religious justification to terrorize long before Dylann Roof thought it could kick off that religious race riot that way too many so-called religious folks promised was sitting on the edge of inevitability 20 years ago or more.

Religiously conservative Jews are now promising us all that Iran is the worlds great Satan while religious Iranians say similar things about Israel and America.  Regardless of who might be right, the mere references are a tug at the heart strings of religious folks who understand man's historical journey towards a manifest anti-Christ destiny, and the unwitting preemptive strikes from all sides that only help to prepare the necessary smokescreen for his comfortable arrival.

I could have titled this post, "Religious Hypocrisy" but that's not an accurate depiction of America's reality or my particular grievance.

Jews are already on record as describing JESUS AS A HOAX while anxiously waiting for the REAL Christ to please stand up and prove that previous Jewish rabble rouser a liar.

Love 'em or hate 'em, the Muslims are too deeply engaged in their own religious disagreement as a tenant of religion itself.  Sharia law could never come to exist without a faction of Muslims insistent on this caliphate mission. How gracious can Islamic Sharia Law pursuant's possibly be towards other religions while struggling to be tolerant towards the very people that they pray with every day and in the same way.

Although Muslims don't quibble with one another over the day, the necessity and quantity of prayer, worship and fellowship, they are at war over the importance of their religions founding prophet, Muhammad, whose family lineage and rebellious life journey pointed one direction for some Muslims, a different direction of thought and behavior from other Muslims, and that inevitable "third" group who can empathize with both sides of this war.

Islam and Judaism are Exempt from Grace

These two confused and thus confusing religions are actually free from the unequivocal call of Grace that asks but one thing from each and every Christian;

Exercise your faith in the gift of Grace by exercising your giving of Grace.

It puts Christians in the cat bird seat of religious pecking order relative to who and whom God expects to be the most gracious.

Might that be religious piety for a Christian (Me) to place a higher expectation upon the behavior of Christianity over every other religion?

I dare any Muslim or Jew (or atheist and agnostic for that matter) to battle EVERY Christian in a war to be gracious. I'll bring my crew and you bring yours, and we'll battle it out near the performance stage at Denver City Park next weekend.

As it stands, American Christian lawmakers, and the people they think they represent, aren't necessarily kicking butt in the battle to be gracious, especially towards desperate middle eastern refugees and migrants praying to God for a little American Christian Grace.

Long before Ben Carson's recent stupidity towards Muslims, Muslims questioned the full divinity of the prophet who inspires Christians to be gracious. Yet, this historically tolerant capacity of people inspired by Grace must have influenced a few of these refugees and migrants into death tempting sea voyages towards western/Christian refuge instead of more Islamic disagreement and violence.

For times like these.

At times like these, I often find myself confident that God needed black slaves in America.  Not so much for the reason that whites found valuable, but for value that would manifest itself in years and days after the scars solidified their shape on our backs.

The necessity of blacks in America and the necessity for America in the world is similarly linked, ordered and scarred to achieve tenacity and temperance when a balance is needed from both powerful forces. Insensitivity and intolerance on a macro or micro level is an entirely understandable human policy for the selfish, the weary or the scarred.

It's just not gracious.

For the Grace of God, trees made to nourish a nation have to grow up and take their place in the forest. Not only to realize the value of their purpose, but to stave off the proliferation of the selfish trees that evil uses to overtake the landscape and swallow up the rain and the sun from the rest of US.

If that analogy doesn't quite make sense to you, its likely because I'm talking to a different kind of Christian.

Which Came First, Islamic Terror Or It's Anger ?

What if America had saved up all of its anger towards 9-11 to use against ISIS.

Are female Army Ranger's
necessary with the changing nature of war?

 I have long since agreed with presidential candidate Lindsey Graham who thinks we should be at full blown war with ISIS right now regardless of the retributive conflicts that arise along the way.

Whatever we called ourselves doing to Saddam Hussein and the barren hills of Afghanistan was a waste of time, energy, money, credibility and most importantly a waste of our will to do our f__ing job now.



Big Sister Is Ready to Join 
Big Brother On Front Line


To whom much is given, much is expected.
We are America and ISIS, Iran, Syria and even  misbehaving Russia all represent our f__ing job as the Big Brother of the world and the God ordained bastion of Hope and Freedom for ALL.  That being said, I understand that this nation is war weary and tired of sacrificing our actual sons and daughters to an unclear goal. As our daughters slowly take over the front line of the famed Army Ranger's from Fort Benning, GA, it's really time to decide how much of this natural treasure are we willing to sacrifice to address world issues that have no good options.

If we are seriously pondering placing women on the front line of today's uncommon battlefields, it's hard not to think that we should have saved the anger, the bullets and the sweat equity  of our recent wars for a purpose befitting of a noble Big Brother- one who would never beat up the whole neighborhood just to deal with our own ANGER, GRIEF and failure in imagination relative to an act of war as old a war itself.

No Matter What The Form...TERRORISM WORKS!!

Terrorism is as old as war  because it works.  It requires coordinated thought and energy and effort, and would be named differently had it been described from the perspective of the weak who use its power as their greatest tool against a seemingly insurmountable foe.

Political terrorism is the form of terrorism that the Black Lives Matter movement has waged on the democrat political candidates who've allowed them to hijack the mic at campaign events. Whether driven by an Islamic caliphate or by the killing of unarmed black Americans, terror exploits the weary as it seeks the camera's eye and overtakes the microphone.  No matter what the form of terror, IT THRIVES WHILE THE ENEMY SLEEPS, typically dropping bombs or indictments, but rarely pointing the way with a compelling message when opportunity presents itself.

ISIS has taken over the mic and the camera with  beheading's and a cry for worldwide Jihad, however, because they are the only combatant with a time tested approach, they are the only combatant currently capable of winning.

Peace Through Strength Is Not Just A Slogan
and war is a profitable industry.

WE need a new style of war against Islamic terror- against Iran if they cheat the deal- and against Russia if they continue to disrupt the potential for worldwide peace that sits at an interesting crossroad and against the negative view of capitalism.  NATO could justify their continued existence by coordinating an American funded effort to recruit and place a unified army of concerned citizens from throughout the troubled regions of the middle east. Instead of the normal wars that WE start, fight and fund all alone, this time WE will fund it but they will fight it, saving countless American lives that most American's aren't eager to sacrifice anymore anyway. Given the uncertainty of the source of terror's anger, I can  hardly blame the war weary, although a caliphate mission doesn't exactly offer much wiggle room for negotiation.

Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey and maybe Israel when Benjamin Netanyahu is no more, will have to determine the seriousness of this caliphate mission to help determine which nation houses this unified force against terror since that nation stands to gain the most from the industry of war this promises to create for them. Similar to America's presence in Europe, additional military bases for this unified Army can be strategically located in various nations to expand the ISIS response and share the cash created by the industy of war. Hardliners everywhere will reject this plan, but they are all dying off and the coming generations of compassionate youth will be more concerned about ISIS, more open to change and totally interested in good paying military jobs that deal with it.

Iraq, who has already tried to deal with their post Saddam Hussein region without our help should be softened to the support that only WE The People can coordinate at a time like this. Iraq is a sectarian nation that will always suffer from sectarian instability and ISIS-like assault without a dictator or the support of a strong, reliable military to REMAIN in the region FOREVER.   A NATO created, Christian/Muslim/Jewish Unified Army would be a great peace gesture and job lure for the region, offering needed security and income potential to any eligible citizen in the surrounding countries; income potential that only capitalism could create adding to the improved image that capitalism needs in the middle east and across the world.

With Oil Prices Plummeting, Is Cheap Labor Now The Greatest Commodity On Earth?

Worldwide capitalism and its voracity for cheap labor has uncovered new, exploitable labor options at the short term detriment of those who are used to having something but feel it slipping away quickly.  What seems like an American economic crisis is actually an economic opportunity for America to  rise in the ranks of worldwide job quality standards. Instead of embracing this positively painful change, most Americans are lamenting the loss of back breaking industries that smart people should never do happily in the first place.

 If you work or do business in back breaking industries, you will recognize that our rejection of cheap workers in America will also include rejecting a major influx of those hard workers from various parts of Asia, the largest growing segment of undocumented workers in the entire U.S. (not South Americans!).  Asia and South America contribute greatly to our ability to mine for the kind of low-waged labor that makes the U.S. economy so admired and envied.  Either we invest in America 's educational future and progression towards jobs of the future, or we shut down our cheap worker mining,  both domestic and abroad, which makes consistent profit (capitalism) possible.

Is ISIS Mad About Capitalism?

Low wage mining is a temptingly easy approach to generating profit that also contributes to the negative view of capitalism. Due to its abuses, Socialism is similarly viewed although these two non-combative industries remain eternally married and hopelessly searching for a certain balance of the other.

Jihadi's seem angered with Israel but enraged by US- Israel's great capitalistic enabler.  Because capitalism is seen as our greatest strength as a nation, it stands to reason that it will always be the smartest target from our enemies and the most vulnerable institution for attack. If you accept that premise, WE have a choice to either give ISIS and every terrorist group the room they need to wage an attack on American capitalism, or WE diminish them to the power of using Twitter to inspire an occasional stupid American to behave stupidly in the name of terrorism du jour.

Islamic terrorism and the anger that drives it may never be defeated in the hearts of the religiously angry and psychotic or those who sympathize and kill on their behalf . WE The People, however, have a duty to seriously diminish the incredible killing power that Islamic terrorism gains from our rejection of real war and the consequential recruiting power generated by this pseudo war.


Once again, I realize that Lindsey and I are somewhat alone on an island with this real war view. Yet, the necessity of war should have never been driven by anger and retaliation before, nor neglected by weariness and fatigue now.  While we rest, terrorism works.

I respect the value of a good nap, except when the work is not at a place to be abandoned. Real war will likely be the repercussion of this nap we needed for now; sort of like the real war the hare required after resting in his losing race against the turtle.


So which came first- Islamic terror or it's anger?

To hell with terrorism and it's anger since expressing your anger by killing people- and quite frankly hijacking microphone's and camera's to point the finger instead of pointing the way is power without discipline or clear purpose. The real answers to all of our biggest problems wont involve fingers pointed in either direction because all fingers will be working together as ONE.

Microphone stealer's we can totally endure.  Head chopping murderers disrupt the peace and civility of society and must be treated like the epidemic illness that they threaten to become if not properly quarantined and eradicated.

If No Iran Deal Now Netanyahu, Then When?

Regardless of what the talking heads in Washington will tell you, this Iran deal is good for America, good for the next president and good for society. The last four  countries with similar nuclear deals cheated the deal and arrived through back door maneuvers, and eventually the same thing could happen with Iran, but that is a right to bear arms debate for another blog. 

Isolation and further sanctions are options with certain outcomes because economic war or real war have anticipated results.  Economic war worked miserably in Cuba, and even Netanyahu and his republican colleagues in America are afraid of real war with Iran.

Unconditional negotiations were promised by Obama the Senator candidate for president, and unconditional negotiations; combined with strong worldwide support with sanctions, created an Iran willing to talk.

If you follow history's script, Iran's hate for Israel and America has created a segment of the population in Iran that publicly preach US hate.  If you turn history back a few pages, you will find state sponsorship of the Confederate flag in America and white hooded men who were allowed to burn crosses and speak hate towards blacks, Jews, gays and even America by waving the flag of the losing army.

Actually, that segment of America just created Dylann Roof so no need to flip the page at all. It also pushed the South Carolina legislature to get their Confederate flag down quickly because the white hooded guys still ride, still speak hate, and had a date to rally around that South Carolina flag one more time.

Hate groups in America have risen during the Obama years but Iran never used it as a reason to not negotiate; though it could be impacting those hate rallies we see televised from Iran. The entire world community stands at the ready for war with Russia over Ukraine, yet no one imagined accomplishing the sanctions or these negotiations without Russia- no pre-conditions on Putin.

China is China. The fact that we do business in China given the nature of the Cold War rhetoric that I grew up hearing is remarkable, although capitalism made the marriage of these nations inevitable. The Iran deal included China's involvement........China!!

Iran has American hostages, we have Guantanamo Bay and nobody loves Russia or China except China and Russia. There will always be elements of perception that each of the six nations negatively hold towards one another- but business is business.

Capitalism now demands that Iran not only get involved in the suppression of ISIS and nuclear weapons, but get involved with the proliferation of the TPP since Iran, and Cuba by the way, fall along the pathway of TPP commerce.  Normalized relationships might look like legacy points for Obama, but they need to go in the column of economic successes before they will ever be accepted as the diplomatic achievements that are mostly debatable right now, especially if Iran cheats like all the others have.

The bigger question for the Iran deal is still Netanyahu. What will he do given the fact that Congress needs too many Democrats to avoid the veto strength of the president? When pressed hard during a recent NPR interview (Morning Edition), Netanyahu admitted that this deal or no deal actually changes nothing. Israel will have to protect themselves from any perception of aggression from Iran whether we have access to monitor their nuclear program or not.

Which makes any opposition to monitoring downright idiotic. A nation that can never be trusted does not become more trustworthy after anger and frustration persist through sanctions. In fact, a nation that gets pulled deeply into the proliferation of capitalism cannot be trusted either. Iran will soon be seeking to kill US with trade deals instead of car bombs.

Just ask Donald.

Postscript: My brother Obama is late...again, to the announcement of the historic nuclear deal with Iran.

Keep it real my ninja...keep it real.

Why Trust A Nation Still Waiting For Their Jesus?

Every one of my biggest problems in this world- even complex topic writer's block- seems to get resolved at the seat of GRACE. It was a problem trying to make sense of  an inspiration that felt a bit too complex to properly chew and digest- even for my overactive mental digestive tract.

You ask, how might the spirit of forgiveness unto salvation help a struggling writer?  What I discovered is that, in all things, don't take yourself too seriously.  In other words, forgiving yourself can be liberating towards self expression and also towards experiencing the liberating change we often expect from others.

In the spirit of GRACE, it has been a very long time since I've journalistically pricked the conscious of those prescribed as atheist or agnostic mostly because the elevating intolerance of those prescribed as Christian (me) has pricked my angst against pointing a finger at anti religion people who have religiously organized themselves to say that they want no part of religion's nonsense.


I get it.

I totally empathize with the damaging impact religion has had on God's favorability numbers. Skepticism towards God always makes sense until I find myself outside each spring pulling up the undesirables in the lawn, hoping for the prize of best grass on the block.  I have yet to win the title, but not for the lack of sincere effort.  My hours of gripping and grinding give me ample time to marvel at the majesty of life as well as the doubt of God's disbelievers.  Seeing the circle and cycle of life makes it hard to imagine that everything came without the conscious design of something greater than the designs themselves, so even my seasonal attempts at broad leaf genocide reminds me of the resiliency of life in a way that humbles me to the core.

Children killed in Syrian chemical attack

Chemical Weapon's Don't Work

I no longer spray chemicals to fight the war with weeds because, for aesthetic reasons, even shriveled and dying weeds have to be pulled up. I figure, if I've gotta pull the damn things regardless, then I will pass on the pesticides and keep on pulling.  Not to mention, my neighbor made me curious about a recipe of dandelion soup that his family in Oklahoma has mastered. My love of cooking and a Google search could certainly justify an attempt at repurposed dandelions, except my pesticide shriveled dandelions might not be soup suitable for a few years.

The impact of chemicals is clearly pronounced on the leaf pattern and on the overall size of my dandelion's, yet the three seasons of Syrian style chemical warfare on all the broad leaf weeds that inhabit my lawn has yet to eliminate them from the landscape.  Those who are familiar with chemical lawn warfare must be certain not to employ weapons that might eliminate every form of vegetation, so chemicals designed to kill broad leafs, and not your grass, have to be humane enough to kill strategically and slowly.

Within our inherant DNA for survival, every life form must modify and adapt itself.  The weed modification's from chemical lawn warfare produces a dandelion that flowers without broad leaves and actually flowers (seeds) below ground level if necessary. In essence, chemicals kill many existing weeds, but only alter the survival nature of the weeds that continue to grow in the future- especially those dandelions.

If you are no longer a little kid who picks dandelions for a bouquet for mom, or blows the seeds all over the yard because they literally invite you to do so, dandelions seem offensive.  In reality, dandelions tend to coexist with grass fairly well and will only overtake grass with the severe neglect of not cutting down the yellow soldiers whenever their heads pop out of the trench. Crabgrass, on the other hand, starts out looking similar to grass, but changes as it grows and will eventually overtake grass if allowed to stay.

Unlike the dreaded crabgrass.
Pulling up dandelions....

I mostly stopped the chemicals because I started seeding, which makes chemicals counterproductive to the young grass shoots, and mild chemicals only work on broad leaf weeds anyway, not crabgrass. One blast of crabgrass killing chemicals, and  an entire area of young grass will likely be the biggest victim.  The weakest, slowest, least of these will always be the worse victims of war, especially something so subversive and stealthy as chemical war.

.....leaves very few blemishes

In part, its the 
death of the least of these that forces 
the end of most war, because the death of children strikes a blow at society. 
That was the calculation of Syrian president Bashir Al-Assad, or whoever will be held responsible for the recent chlorine gas attacks

Syrian children killed by chemicals

on Syrian areas thought to be subversive to the Al-Assad government. Striking a blow at the heart of a society was certainly what WE had in mind when we dropped bombs in Japan to end their opposition during WWII. In the effort to finally address the ISIS threat, Al-Assad will have to soon become an ally or be removed like Sadaam Hussein.  If, on the other hand, the world community is asking Al-Assad to deal with the ISIS weeds in his own lawn, he must have the freedom to use any of the means and methods that every conscientious lawn owner has employed to varying degree's of success- since ALL weed removal bears retributive damage.

No more crabgrass.....for now.

Al-Assad appears to be a dandelion to me, and eventually the world might be forced to remove him one way or another.  In my experience, you must snatch crabgrass up by the root to  eliminate the problem.  I can pull dandelions all day long with minimal damage to the surrounding grass, but crabgrass has to be snatched at the root- which will be at the expense of some of the least of these.

What Becomes Of Those Who Deny Christ?

I realize ISIS is of major concern, but I need GRACE to help me with Benjamin Netanyahu and the nation of Israel- the shameless middle eastern Jewish caliphate that is anxiously waiting for the messiah most of the world accepts in the form of Jesus Christ.  That sometimes seems like a small religious dispute which should be easily overlooked in a world full of varying religions, but most Americans rarely stop to think about what happens when Israel's messiah arrives, and how will he impact the lawn in the middle east.  True Christian GRACE does not stack rank sin, even the sin of denial that occurs with atheists, agnostics and more fearfully, Jews like Benjamin Netanyahu who consider the Jewish messiah, Christ, a lie.

ISRAEL'S ROLE FOR HUMANITY

There is no answer without a call.  Therefore, the very purpose of humanity might be connected to the call of Abram to be the father of a people chosen for a purpose greater than themselves.  If society is searching for an answer to the middle east, we should begin with the call of Israel.

GENESIS 12 

The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”[b]

Seperate our world into its major religious components (Christianity, Judaism and Islam), and all roads point back to Abraham, the undenied father of each religion.  Genesis 12 began the call of Israel, but the doctrine of Israel and eventual dogma of Judaism has little connection with God's call.  Israel, the founding nation of father Abraham, considers themselves worthy by virtue of a religious doctrine that the Christian messiah claims to have nullified through the act of GRACE. Stated more clearly, kosher, not Christ, is king.

Outside of the spirit of GRACE, religions and opinion bloggers with mental hurdles fall victimized by the very thing Christ hoped to save us all from, dogmatic illusions of righteousness that leave us governed more by rules and rituals (The Law) and less by the spirit (GRACE).  The Law code is perfectly fine except for its rejection of rule by the spirit.  In ancient times, dogmatic illusion of righteousness became married to the Law of Moses, which God originally gave to man to serve as a mirror for sin until the marriage of GRACE which freed man from the guilt of his sinful shortcomings.

Pastor Joseph Prince creatively describes the Law of Moses in this way.  If a glass of water has lots of dirt and sediment in it, the silver spoon (the law) can stir it and reveal the sediment.  If you let the glass sit for some time, the dirt (sin) might settle to the bottom and make the water appear worthy of consumption.  The spoon will easily stir and reveal the dirt once again, but the spoon did not cause the dirt just as the mirror doesn't cause the reflection to appear ugly- they both only show you what was already there.

GRACE came to place the silver spoon and the mirror behind a door of mystery. Every mystery door has its lure, and the curious will typically turn at the knob. Behind the door, however, is nothing more than the mirror of sin or that silver spoon (the Law).  When Christ took every sin upon himself, he locked the mirror and the spoon behind that door. Our guilt and shame can easily unlock the door, however, their power is married to the revelatory Law of Moses which, once again, came only to bring each of us to the end of ourselves (salvation by achievement) until the beginning of salvation through the simple acceptance of the complete sacrifice of Christ- the embodiment of GRACE.

Man is now dead to the demand of the law upon receiving the gift of GRACE even though sin remains fully intact in our flesh waiting to be stirred by the spoon or revealed in the mirror. Does staring in the mirror make your pimples go away or just aware that you've got them? Does stirring the dirty water produce holiness or the opposite?

Let's connect the dots.

Does stirring sin or revealing sin's reflection remove sin or increase its power? Those who live by the law are bound by its power, which means Israel is not just married to the Law of Moses, they are a nation constantly being stirred- or cornered by sin's inescapable reflection.

How do you define sin and evil in a kosher society?  Everything that doesn't comport to the code of the Law- even America- becomes potentially evil if you live in a way in which the very food you eat comports a belief of righteousness.  How does a kosher world leader comport with men and women so defiled as to actually consume swine?  Ironically, Jews and Muslims totally agree on this point of contention as well as the necessity of religious justification by virtue of other dogmatic expectations.  GRACE, on the other hand, declares a view of sin and of the Law of Moses that is more radical than even some Christian religion's can fully accept.

Pastor Prince expands his view of the law by explaining that the very first sin illustrated in the 10 Laws of Moses (Have No Other God's Before Me) was not committed by the Jews until the moment that the law was given.  In other words, the Jews simultaneously decided to melt down their gold and build the golden calf exactly at the moment that God sent instructions through Moses not to do it. From then until now, Jews have been desperately seeking  a true expression of God, including an anticipation of God's promised messianic return.  Since ancient Jewish doctrine promises a coming messiah, modern Jews can not transition from the demands of the previous Law of Moses or the present complex doctrine it generated, until a messiah arrives to document a new law. If the Law of Moses is not fulfilled in the form of a new Jewish messiah, Jews remain married to a law that was only designed to function as the bridge to salvation, not salvation itself.

What that means to me is that Netanyahu and Israel is not only a nation trapped inside of the law of Moses, waiting for THEIR messiah to arrive to prove OUR messianic theory a lie, they are geographically designed for military peril while they wait. If ever there were a nation in need of the non-judgemental hand of GRACE, it is Israel.  Upon the arrival of the Jewish messiah, how do we connect and conclude the story from Deuteronomy to the coming of the new Jewish messiah instead of the Jesus story we've heard about?  Which Jewish official will chronicle their messiah to fill in the untold portions of the Jewish bible that other Jewish forefathers (Isaiah, Jeremiah or John the Baptist) describe another way?

Will there be a manger to fulfill prophecy?  Do manger's even exist anymore?

Someday, in our life time or in the life time of our children, Israel must eventually find their messiah, and their continued search (aka., rejection of GRACE's provision) is not something to take lightly. Until Israel receives expanded instruction from the new Jewish messiah, they remain a nation governed by mirrors, silver spoons and an  unfinished bible. Jew's who believe in Jesus seem to recognize the challenge of waiting for the correct Jesus to come and finish their bible story, but few of them live in Israel.  Of the 161,000 Christian Jews living in Israel (2.1% of the population), 127,000 are actually Arab Christians.  What happens when the new messiah arrives?  Will he be called Christ too, and which Christ will prevail among the current people of Israel?

The Grass Is Always Greener

Every nation, Israel included, has the duty of its own lawn.  America's lawn might be seen as the best on the block, but from an aerial view, we are reminded that police brutality and unabashed Hillary abuse remain brown spots. Nations with a lawn full of violent weeds must do the grueling work of uprooting some of them to establish balance and order-  and grass will be sacrificed.

The middle east represents one big giant desert landscape with winds that blow your neighbors problems directly into your yard.  Whatever choice your neighbor employs in the fight to create the type of yard they prefer will impact everyone in the middle eastern community at large- which is why nuclear weapons are a major risk to the entire region.

Much like nuclear weapons, chemicals can be more problematic than useful.

Trust US.  WE know from experience.  Chemicals only appear to get rid of your problem when they actually exacerbate the width, breadth and resolve of your opponents. Your problem might relocate for a spell, but the war will resume another day.

Needing to borrow dandelions from my pesticide free neighbor is the least of the worries- for my soup recipe or the middle east.  Even a ground force of American soldiers will ignite the struggle between  middle eastern vegetation trying to fill the vacuum from the American removed undesirables, be that Al-Assad of the future or the vacuum created from Hussein and Ghaddafi of the past. However kosher they claim themselves to be, at this point, I am not entirely certain that a nation  lead by Netanyahu and still in search of their own Jesus is not a form of crabgrass themselves.

Without intervention, crabgrass, which thrives on minimum moisture, will overtake a lawn.  Al-Assad won't be able to keep the lid on Syria without chemical intimidation or something similarly heinous. Eventually, Iran, Iraq, Israel or someone in the middle east will be forced to address Syria simply to address the ISIS threat and the need to fill the vacuum when or if Al-Assad is removed. Because of Israel- the kosher crabgrass of the middle east- no matter how we achieve a military victory over ISIS and Al-Assad, there will NEVER be room for a continued US presence that doesn't ruin the landscape and make the middle eastern weed problem worse.

Grass is losing popularity, even in America, because it comes at the cost of lots of water and constant weed pulling. In the dry middle eastern landscape, even kosher crabgrass deserves a place, but achieving a peaceful balance will be at the expense of the least of these, and to the benefit of those who mock the very GRACE that keeps them the blessed and not cursed nation they are. Although this is a problem for American's (me) tired of being pulled into the middle east because of Israel, its not too big for GRACE. In the eyes of God- and the command of Genesis 12- the challenge of being God's chosen people is a journey wrought with opposition and demanding of radical forgiveness.

How to handle Israel is sort of like that problem some of us married men suffer from.  It seems many of us complain of wives who rarely admit to being wrong.  The certainty I've gained this spring lawncare season is that the marvel and majesty of life is similar to the marvel and majesty of GRACE. When I found myself complaining to God that husband's (me) have to forgive our wives like we do Israel, as if she's never done anything wrong, he say's back to me:

"Now You Understand GRACE".

Whose Cause Do WE Further By Saying "Islamic Terrorism"?

Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Does FOX exploit Kelly Ayotte for her
willingness to be the last critic standing?

"I think they should spend less time on being more politically correct about how we define our enemies and spend more time on figuring out how to defeat them", said Senator Kelly Ayotte (FOX News Sunday)
with her fresh new hair-do but old blabbering ability to be the last Senator beating a dead horse to death all over again.

To the credit of the republican party, and FOX news who blindly cosigns conservative ignorance, Ayotte has finally stopped crying Benghazi for FOX.   In its place are social media updates and Obama criticism in between social media updates.  These days, every network is a late edition of social media, but FOX maintains its unique rhythm by consistently bashing Obama.  The next Democrat president (since republicans are proving incapable of winning the oval office) will be tagged to Obama by FOX mostly because they won't be able to transition the attack in a way that will maintain ratings.

 Since FOX is the last bastion of republican sentiment 
 (nobody listens to radio anymore- sorry Rush),

How bout those gas prices, heh?

FOX embraces their self described label of being fair and balanced about as much as you hear them say it these days.  They know better than anyone how profitable Obama has been for them.  They also realize how disinterested their viewers become when they do anything other than bash Obama- so they connect him to every societal problem that they can.

The latest President Obama criticism is his unwillingness to focus on the fact that evil terror organizations terrorize in the name of Islam.  As a president, this is a really prudent policy in that so many non-radical Muslims die every day in the effort to defeat these radicals. EVERYBODY- even FOX news, agrees that the war against Islamic terror groups must be lead by a coalition of Muslim people, so how does anyone, especially a world leader, try to establish that coalition while using rhetoric that is offensive towards the people who must lead the coalition?  It's almost as though FOX, or anyone who attempts to achieve world peace through hostile rhetoric, is trying to sabotage our own interests.

And then it hit me.

John Boehner and Benjamin Netanyahu are no better by political posturing during an Israeli campaign season, behind the back of the elected leader of the USA.  Neither of these men achieve their own best interest in showing a willingness to be disorderly with diplomatic relations as it brings into question America's willingness to support this ally, especially if Netanyahu wins re-election.  If Israel were to be under attack tomorrow, it would not be Boehner that decides if WE save the day.

Mitch McConnell is behaving as a grateful soul after fighting tooth and nail to survive the bid against his senatorial seat this past election season, but he was also the guy who verbalized the mission of making Obama a one term president.  His words should have been an obvious expectation of anyone in his position of opposition, but we already know that party leaders focus on winning and not losing elections, despite the self sabotaging behaviors of modern republicans.  McConnell's words oozed with revelation that even he wishes he could have kept inside.  Yet, were republicans fully invested in John McCain or any one of their brethren who would have had to oversee the worst of America's economic demise? Did Mitt Romney and his republican backers downplay the recovery to the degree that it only hurt their ability to achieve the sentiment necessary for giving the job back to a white guy?

Was Barack Obama just another brother who got the job when the job was not so desirable? Was the likelihood of his failure and the do-nothing response of congress just an intensive effort to see Obama fail even at the cost of  a more rapid recovery and the confidence of the public at-large?

Paul Ryan, the budget hawk who republicans actually follow, seems to have many things that he agrees with within the president's SOTU/budget proposals, but verbalizing your agreement can get you ran out of town like Eric Cantor. The nation was ready to fix immigration when Cantor dared to allow a vote to occur in response to the overwhelming support that polls continue to reflect to this day. Right wing extremists (can we call them terrorists?) are not into recognizing a losing fight because America is the place where the impossible is always possible- especially if you are willing to lay your life down to defend against the freedom democracy creates- like blocking popular immigration bills or enacting voter restriction laws- or sharia law.

By golly, if this nation was founded by the right people, then its up to the right to make sure this nation remains rightly pure against the influence of too many Mexican immigrants or cheating voters.  It would be nice if all of America's undesirables would either self deport or agree to never vote, but they are not going to be allowed to comfortably belong lest it be over the dead bodies of those who oppose illegal amnesty and illegal votes.  Opposition to immigration reform will eventually die in one form or another, but how long will it take before we do what we know is right for America- like insuring the right to vote?

The rise of so many forms of republicanism says that conservatives are absolutely tired of being associated with the more or less extremes of their own ideology as well.  While it might not be too extreme to call a Libertarian a republican, it is extreme to think that they will ever convert the traditional republican given that the traditional republican is just as into big government as is the liberal.  Republicans who despise America's liberal disposal of unborn babies find no fellowship in conservatives who support these practices, hence the label RINO (republican in name only) or worse.

Liberals have extremist' too, but liberal kooks are so proudly kooky that the progressive movement doesn't have to disown its own, they just have to admonish them when they burn up ski resorts.  On the right, the  Islamic terrorism label fight is sustaining an entire network who is profiting from the fear of terror connected to Islamic extremism. If you are unsure if the word Islam is as significant to the behavior as the word extreme, then you should remind yourself that American's live peacefully in the midst of Islamic people everyday, so it must be something extreme that is driving the murderous behavior and not Islam at all.

Does anyone realize what Rand Paul
would do against ISIS? Is he presidential?

As republicans wait agonizingly to remove themselves of that sympathizing liberal (Obama) who won't venomously label extremism, they are confronted with the issue of defining their party label if they are looking to define the fight against him and them. Regular and extreme conservatives seem to want some boots on the ground, while Libertarians- the hottest growing wing of the party- are not into that save the world stuff.  If WE THE PEOPLE are to give the white house back to the conservative party, will it be a regular old republican, one that drinks the Tea or Rand Paul that  will lead the charge into the white house?  Even worse, will it be some amalgamation of the various republican labels creating a figure head leader unable to coalesce the disparate missions assigned to each label?

Nobody appreciates the rise in worldwide extremism and ISIS is a nuisance that could also be called a threat.  What was once only 3,000 recruits is now 30,000 fighters with a strong economic network and an even stronger guerilla marketing system of recruiting. Even with boots on the ground, tracking down 30,000 and killing them is not as easy as it sounds, especially since their death and captivity only adds to the recruiting efforts- which is why they are begging us to bring the boots.  Adding boots on the ground seems to make sense, but only because its the only thing we know to do when provoked.  In reality, boots on the ground would open the recruiting faucet to full throttle.  Absent an opposing soldier to kill, an ISIS recruit with an M16 has only the hope of waiting for another American drone to shoot at or a defiant Muslim group that would rather keep their town instead of handing it over. Eventually, 30,000 recruited soldiers have a limited amount of space that they can sensibly secure for very long any way, so recruiting is more vital than acquisition at this time.

Obama's policy against terror removes the visual enemy that new terror recruits need to justify their own existence.  If ISIS is so dangerous, they would not use 80's style beheading's to bolster their worldwide credibility. They wouldn't need boots on the ground to benefit their recruiting.  They wouldn't be backing up in the face of Kurds and drones, and most importantly, ISIS and those like them would not need to use the rhetoric of racial division to pit all Muslims against the world at large- but they do.  Every time we allow terrorist groups to take ill-spoken words and package them into a sound bite that seems as though the world hates Muslims, we further their cause and not our own.

In the end, the manner in which we fight our enemy is only connected to the label when the label is connected to the fight. We can shoot at them no matter what we call them, but calling them by the wrong label will only empower them  to recruit someone who will shoot back.

Why give them additional bullets?

Middle East Conflict Reminds Me Of Pulling Weeds In My Lawn

While nearing the homestretch on a recent weed pulling session in my front yard, I came across an idea that seemed rather brilliant at the time, until I reexamined my discovery.

The conflict in the middle east is rooted in an aged old division between Muslims that occurred upon the death of the religions founding prophet, Mohammed. At the time, tradition stated that election was the means in which a successor should be elected (Sunni belief), whereas some (Shi'ites) believed that the successor should come from Mohammed's lineage. Today, those roots have evolved into a tangled web of conflict, as each side continues to force Muslim nations to declare an allegiance to one ideology or the other. Add the presence of Christian's and Jews in certain pockets of the middle east, and the entire scene is a powder keg constantly waiting to erupt.

Yet, it can be basically symbolized in the simply act of lawn care.  Whether you choose the slow and marginally effective chemical approach, or you prefer the old fashion method of pulling them at the root, the goal is still the same.  Rid the area of the undesirables.  Often times both methods are employed, but the process demands diligence and persistence.  Weeds are a life form that functions like all life forms; to preserve their future.  Genocide is not a word that we consider when talking about lawn care, but to the weeds that are under attack, it is the essence of genocide.

The grass is often greener on the other side of the fence, but every lawn that appears to be free of weeds is simply an illusion.  Weeds are a constant that requires weekly attention, lest they begin the inevitable journey of repopulating the region and eventually overtaking the land altogether.  Those who call the middle east home, deal with this same constant evolution of time and space within their homelands.  At different times, their space becomes occupied with undesirable elements that are difficult to look at each day without acting to eliminate them. To the Sunni, it may be the Shi'ite.  To the Shi'ite, it might be the Christians or Jews ruining the landscape for everybody else.  In the end, the issue is driven by individual perspectives of people who are much more alike than they are different.  In other words, the entire middle east conflict is an illusion of distorted perspectives.  One day the militant group you support becomes the oppressive regime that looks and behaves just like the weed you thought you'd removed and vice versa.

Michael Leiter, an American counter terrorism expert who served under both President's Bush and Obama, offered a perspective that bears consideration.  While Leiter approved of the President's current actions in Iraq, he voiced the legitimate concerns of Obama's critics who ask how Obama can execute this "narrowly tailored mission and the (somewhat) broader regional concern of the tactical battle around Kurdistan, without addressing the broader conflict in the region?", said Leiter during and MSNBC interview.  In expanding on the "broader conflict", Leiter especially noted how the future of Iraq will ultimately impact certain neighboring countries like Jordan, which will ultimately force the hand of the U.S. to act anyway.  In hindsight, Leiter suggested that the U.S. presence in Iraq would have stiffened the spines of Iraqi's who ultimately must pave their own future.  Leiter also noted that our continued presence might minimize the likelihood that the Sunni, Shi'ite conflict takes on a retaliatory behavior (weed pulling), as it often does once one side or the other assumes control.

The official press version of these matters only further complicates the nearly impossible response that America, and President Obama, must make.  In Iraq, the failure might have been in leaving so abruptly and allowing outside factions, namely ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, based in Syria) to fill the power vacuum created in our absence.  In principle, I stand with the President on the importance of pulling our troops from endlessly "pulling at weeds".  In the final analysis, it would take a strong armed dictator (like Saddam Hussein) or unprecedented regional acceptance of the grass and the weeds and the flowers and the most peculiar plant, the Christian Kurds trapped on top of the mountain, to maintain peace in Iraq.

High atop a mountain in the Kurdistan region of Iraq are a nation of Christian Kurds that are being threatened with certain genocide if they don't receive aid to their mountain perch. Surrounded by ISIS militants, these Kurds are certain to be gunned down if they pursue safe passage from the mountain, so President Barack Obama has immediately moved to destroy the ISIS militants that are threatening these Kurds, and to insure humanitarian assistance gets to those people on that mountain before death overtakes them all.  Air strikes and air drops are under way as we speak, and the Kurdish Peshmerga (the military group fighting to stave off ISIS) is receiving U.S.support towards their goal of defeating ISIS, the newest weed to invade Iraq.

So Why No Boots On The Ground?!

Is President Obama simply avoiding the obvious criticism that would come from returning boots to the very ground we abruptly left just a few years back?  Maybe.  I personally see Barack Obama as a new aged black conservative (much like Clinton...much like myself), who's nature is to actively express U.S. military strength as a means of maintaining peace at home and abroad.  His intensive use of drones proves all that I need to know about his willingness to "go there" when necessary.  According to former Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, "This is not an issue of boots on the ground. The President has been using drone strikes in Yemen for years. Why can't we use them to disrupt ISIS?", said Ginsberg.  Ginsberg admitted what Obama realizes as well. America, especially Congress, has no further taste for war.  I personally celebrate this turn in rhetoric because I am a staunch advocate of  the expansion of drone warfare.  In fact, what other kind of warfare should one use against terrorism and militant groups who behave like terrorist? Terrorism doesn't utilize constraints, so neither should counter terrorism.

In a region struggling to determine who will chart the future of Iraq as a nation, ISIS might be seen as simply doing some weed pulling of their own.  After all, this area already has too many religious factions vying for supreme control of Iraq, even if only for the sake of their own future.  The notion of an American backed, Christian rooted faction of people having a viable stake in the discussion is peculiar for sure. In the process of war, the easiest way to avoid gaining an allegiance is to simply not need one, and ISIS does not appear to be pursuing the surrender, capture or allegiance of these Christian Kurds.

Syria absolutely has a stake in what becomes of Iraq, and they have placed their stake in ISIS.  If ISIS wins, Syria insures a safer place for Syrian's.  If ISIS loses, they become the new Hamas and Syria has to wonder if a pro Syrian regime will control Iraq, or will an anti-Syria (U.S. backed) Iraqi regime finally control what is ultimately one of the richest nations in the middle east in terms of natural resources.  ISIS will greatly dictate Syria's future(which is why Syria is all-in) thus, the entire world must recognize the importance of destroying ISIS, the second coming of Hamas. These weeds are the kind that will not peacefully exist alongside good grass. They will destroy the grass until their is no more grass to be found, or surround a mountain until a nation of people die off from starvation.

What turned my brilliant "weed pulling" analogy into a trivial example of a much more complex problem was this revelation.  All sides of this matter think that they are the grass and the other guy is the weed, and few seem willing to live alongside what they perceive as an eye sore.  In America, grass and weeds live in segregated communities.  Its a more humane form of intolerance that all civilizations come to grips with after they finish assigning power through civil war.  Palestine and Hamas have little chance of winning their civil dispute with Israel, but must find a way to live and breathe, and grow in the same environment as Israeli's even after they establish a border region that they can call their own.  There will never be an independent Palestinian economy, so there can never exist a truly distinct Palestinian nation. While not as dependent on the Palestinian nation, the same holds true from the Israeli perspective as well, but these are the revelations they shall both discover once the civil war has ended.

In essence, all of these nations are engaging in the very process we endured, and sometimes even genocide becomes a REAL part of the equation.  When exiting Iraq, Obama seemed okay with admitting that sometimes civilizations have had to watch the futile attempts man makes at genocide of man, as a way of expressing his insistence on a complete withdrawal from Iraq.  Now he says we can do something without sending troops back to Iraqi soil.

This whole song and dance reminds me of weed pulling.

If one stem or any seeds remain...the species survives.

Even when I thought I got every bit of  the weed that seeded this failed brilliance, I stopped to notice that the plant had already flowered, and only one of the blossoms remained on this impressive weed that I skillfully extricated from my lawn. My vision of lawn domination started blowing in the wind because the seeds of this weeds future had long since journey'd on their way. Actually, getting at the root of the problem was no longer the key to conquering my quest for regional purity.  I have to fight with a fair perspective on this war.

For in the eyes of God, even the grass is a weed.

Israeli, Palestinian Conflict Proving America's Influence Has Eroded

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/charlie-rose-battles-hamas-leader-over-whether-hell-recognize-israel/

Whether or not Hamas shall be the final negotiator for the future (or lack thereof) of Palestinian's seems to be the last question remaining. As it stands, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has answered quite definitively.

No.

Hamas will not recognize a Jewish nation.  At least that is what Meshaal confessed to Charlie Rose in an interview where Meshaal attempted to side step the question before his definitive, one word answer of Rose.  No! Hamas does not intend to recognize a Jewish nation, but that does not mean they will act as an occupier or in an aggressive manner if each nation decides to observe the autonomy of the other nation. The problem with the peaceful coexistence concept is that enemy nations can not share indistinguishable borders. Russia and Ukraine must resolve their differences just as Palestine and Israel must. The US and Mexico maintain an unspoken agreement masquerading as a border war, but even our two nations must maintain civility between us so that we might avoid building up walls and pointing bombs in the direction of each other.

The biblical demand for man to love thy neighbor as thyself is not a haphazard instruction. It doesn't take long for life to teach us that our family is more or less optional, whereas your neighbors are a vital aspect of your life.  Bad neighborly relations could mean a difficult existence on a daily basis, while bad family relations only materialize during holiday parties.  Regardless of the misconception of the famous, Hatfield and McCoy family feud, even their legendary dispute was exacerbated by the proximity of these two families.

When neighboring disputes escalate into hostile wars, it is beyond valuable for an intercessor to play a role.  Law enforcement provide genuine incentive for peaceful behavior, but for several years now, we have asked and prayed for Israel and Palestine to police their own activities.  The United States used to be an influence over this region because of our undying loyalty towards Israel. Today things are much different.  Today we are the examples of what aggression in the middle east should look like.  In the aftermath of two wars with marginal evidence of any lasting reason for these engagements, Iraq and Afghanistan have eroded our credibility to even speak on middle eastern aggression.  Dismantling the power structure of an enemy combatant is the methodology for how we removed Saddam Hussein from power, and for how we sent Al Qaeda on the run, even though the secret CIA operation that killed Osama Bin Laden ultimately lead to the only measure of success that we take away from all of our post 9-11 retaliatory behaviors. So why lose so much credibility worldwide trying to rectify the vulnerability of the 9-11 attack?  Because we were pissed, that's why.

I used to know firmly where I stood on this ongoing war of nations. From my perspective, Israel never appeared interested in establishing or respecting the sovereignty of Palestine and its people.  Some will even tell you that such a place (Palestine) and its people do not exist as an established nation.  None of them would be the multitude who call the land home, or the many more who fled this region of constant unrest for nations across the world.  Palestinians are weary of the lack of acceptance of a people with a history and a collective purpose, but they also find Hamas significantly necessary to confront Israeli aggression.  What the Palestinian people are missing is the catch 22 of Hamas and Israeli aggression.

Without Israeli aggression, Hamas loses an element of necessity and legitimacy.  Whether their is a cease fire in the works or not, military leaders are defined by their willingness to lead the fight.  As more Palestinian than Israeli casualties line the streets, it is my hunch that ignoring a cease fire could be a great way to embolden yourself before a nation of people desperate for fearless fighters to avenge the blood that remains on their streets.  Either Hamas hasn't the ability to control its angered military leaders, or it has no desire to as several cease fire agreements have been breached by an Hamas rocket attack.  Either perspective should draw the ire of anyone paying attention, especially since the question of "who launched the first attack" still remains a debate.

Much like the ignored cease fire requests in the Ukraine, the idea of setting down your arms while fighting back and protecting your homeland from a stronger enemy lends itself to losing the biggest element necessary in these types of skirmishes....support.  The only necessary element for any war to go on is the support of those involved, and right now polling data supports the notion that neither Israel or Palestine seem eager to allow this conflict to resolve itself through diplomacy.  War is war for a reason, and it typically requires an exacting blow to provide access to victory.  Both sides are looking for a way to perform this essential strike to the enemy in order to maintain a lasting peace (says Israel), or autonomous respect (says Palestine).

I don't expect that anyone will ultimately like the conclusion that lies in store for these neighbors who refuse to get along, but eventually this war needs a conclusion.  When your kids are young, the old axiom of 'do what I say, not what I do' can actually work for a while, but as they grow up they will either reject your words or mimic your behavior.  Palestine has rejected our words while Israel has mimicked our behavior.  As a result, someone with a more influential voice and less of a spotted past will have to take the lead on this matter. America is simply not qualified anymore.