Did Donald Trump Just Tell America To Stay Tuned For His Concession To Hillary Clinton..........Or Not?

We know that George W. Bush will not be a guest on Trump TV. Will Putin?

It would be so great if we could do what we did in the last two debates this time around, but we can't. We can't spin the results of this debate into some kind of convincing reason for the candidate we prefer because Donald Trump did the unthinkable.

On the stage, in his final televised presidential debate, Trump said we would have to wait to decide if he would concede the election or not. He didn't spin the statement to mean, so long as it's not close and a disputed count like Al Gore had. Trump ran with the torch he lit days ago, to start these games he 's playing with our nation, and he intends to carry this torch to the finish line even if it means he'll burn down the entire party and portions of our nation along the way.

Trump's inability to lose is so well documented in his own writing about himself that any person who is voting for Trump but unwilling to read and recognize that he is a self-proclaimed whiner, might be a whiner themselves.

Trump is not tough like he keeps pretending, and neither is Vladimir Putin for hacking personal emails to try to influence an American election. He's especially not tough for his inability to call an email stealing punk like Putin exactly what he is. People who promise you they are tough are notoriously the least tough of them all. We've known this since elementary school even if it took until middle school for you to finally do something about that fake tough guy.

Why is Trump scared to take Putin on as he should? Probably because Trump has business dealings in a nation that could freeze your funds or simply take them and make you do something about it. There is no way that Trump will move from his company line on Putin, in fear that Putin might be listening. So, no matter what you ask Trump on the question, he won't get all Mike Pence on stage and mess around with his own foreign bank accounts or whatever it is that he's hiding in those taxes. He's going to say the same thing over and over again.

"I don't know Putin. But would it be so bad if the U.S. and Russia got along?"

Yes, Donald! If Putin is messing with our free and fair elections, getting along now without retaliation would be bad. It will get even harder if they shoot down one of our planes in that smokescreen of a 'no fly zone' that Russia created as a shield to keep the Syrian president safe from an American drone gone astray.

It's true. President Obama is the king of drone killings and deportation. Trump actually admitted that Obama is the king of deportation, but he also seems to be auditioning for the chance to outdo him in deportations while forgetting that immigration and wall building won't be the only job. He'll also have to deal with America's mortal enemy and Donald's pretty good friend Putin. Russia needs to prop up Syrian president Bashir Al-Assad and save him from an untimely death, but what are the chances that Turkey or an American manned flight doesn't "accidentally" take on Russian air defense fire?

Republicans are interestingly concerned that America and its president should not be talking too tough to Russia when it's already too late for what they've done within our election. Weakness is to ignore Russian Wikileaks without retribution. Weakness is to disregard your own counter-intelligence so you're not cornered into disrupting your own family income.

Donald Trump has done so much to avoid conceding the inevitable that he is conceding the inevitable indirectly. He's conceding that he is nothing more than a television hustler with a bigger agenda towards television than leading this country. He's conceding that the cliffhanger concession he's making of our election is juicier than the admission (or not) of a president's birth, and a perfect teaser to launch a new television network. He's also conceding that he doesn't understand the process of putting his mistakes to bed. As our leader, every misstep he'd make would become a presidential dark cloud that would never leave and never stop raining.

Trump could do a whole lot more not to leave us in suspense on the concession of this election, but that would not be good marketing. It would be presidential, but that's not his problem. At one point he accidentally interrupted Hillary with a "good luck with that" sarcastically referring to something she said she would do as president.

Even in his own twisted mind, he doesn't do a great job at lying. It could be the cause of his sniffy nose and not some other nefarious reason that requires urine or blood to uncover. Trump not only subconsciously congratulated his opponent on winning this election, weeks in advance, he's consciously telling his supporters to prepare for a tainted loss, which is a twisted version of a victory in the mind of Trump.

What Trump may not get, is that his angry alt-right supporters probably won't waste their time standing in line for a rigged election instead of drinking a lot of beers after work and waiting for the results to come out on their living rooms tv's.  One- maybe two- will let anger and those beers push them to behave badly in response to the rigged election that they didn't bother voting in. They'll find liquor induced inspiration for their revolution even though they hadn't the gumption to vote.

Trump's rigged election claim was set ablaze by his unwillingness to say he'd concede the election. For the next three weeks, he'll fan this flame and watch it grow and glow from all of his handy work.  At best, nearly half of America will buy into the tainted election theory and work to delegitimize the first woman president, much like they did the first black one.

At worst, someone will die from this idiot.

If Flag Stands For Freedom, Kaepernick's A Patriot

When this conversation first began, it was way too wrought with emotion to have space for a post of intelligent thought.

Not much has changed emotionally, but lots of things are changing relative to our thoughts and our conversation on this subject. Nothing will erase the fact that plenty of minorities can relate to the emotion that inspired the protest, even if not the protest itself.  What has been a little shocking is how proponents of freedom feel obligated to clearly delineate the difference between standing for the flag from the pride you feel versus standing because OTHERS consider it the respectful thing to do.

Respect is the hallmark of our military, and all respect is earned.

WE haven't done nearly enough conversation about how to combat police violence or address the subjugation of America's minorities like Colin Kaepernick hopes we will, but there is no longer a question about what his protest is pointing a light towards. There is also little question that more money seems to be following the growing group of players willing to put their own money where there protest lies.

You simply don't have to like their protest, or the disrespect it could reflect towards the soldiers that die for OUR freedom. You don't even have to like the attention these athletes have drawn to themselves amidst a team sport environment and on national television at the same time.  In the depths of my passionate desire to find a place of agreement with all people on all topics, I could easily concede each of these points purely on principles that are in line with what we teach our children, if we didn't have so many holidays to remind our children of freedom's provisions.

What I don't see from this topic is that Kaepernick went into  it to do something half-cocked, or lacking acceptance of potential repercussions. In fact, Kaepernick made it abundantly clear that he expected something financially bad to happen as a result of his choice.  If he knew this could hit his pocket, is there any chance he didn't think millions would bend his ear in personal disagreement too?

No way did Kaep', or any of the other NFL patriots that followed him in protest, go into their actions with their eyes shut because the others did it well after Kaep' had already been thoroughly eviscerated with our debates about his protest. If you are willing to concede this obvious reality- that these men expected this would hurt their income yet did it anyway- then you consider them patriots like I do.

How do I know?

Because it takes no kind of patriotism to silently stand and salute with the masses despite everything in your soul telling you that you are doing the wrong thing.

Our flag, Freedom and patriotism are all about doing what few have the courage to do in the hopes of making America a better place for your children and grandchildren.  Even if you are wrong- like all of those who now regret invading Iraq under the banner of freedom- our soldiers who kill and die for good or bad decisions all the same, will always have the distinct respect of being patriots who understand the full risk of their choice, and still serve. Simply put, they do something, and that makes them patriots.

The reason or the way our soldiers stand is never a blemish against their willingness to try; to risk themselves for the noble cause of freedom represented in the flag they defend. Our soldiers might hope they are offering their lives so that every man, woman and child in America can universally respect their efforts and salute the flag in the same respectful fashion, but I doubt that even one of  their life or death decisions entertains dying for sporting event anthems.

Standing before a game is just sort of nice. Sort of.

Hillary's Panoramic Picture Needs A Zoom Lens

I must admit.

I was a little afraid for poor Hillary because she messed up and engineered the best group of political speeches we've ever seen as an affirmation to her credibility and an introduction to her as the official nominee of the Democrat party.

The Reverend Dr. William Barber II turned a more mundane list of final night speakers into a night of speaking just as strong as any of the other nights. But that is only because Hillary did the damn thing too.

I could have chosen much more dignified words to meet the gravitas of the moment and the person who owned it, but it was beyond presidential.  It was real talk like we've never quite seen from Hillary or any presidential candidate.

It had so much detailed specificity that the most common republican critique after the speech was not to the detail and planning, but to the fact that she didn't precede it all by saying "I'm going to ask congress for these things", realizing that the only encumbrance to her thorough dissertation would be those do-nothings.

Donald Trump, conversely, not only insures you that he- and only he- can do the things that he promises, he does so with as little detail as he can get away with.  Thus far, that is quite a bit.

On stage last night, Hillary followed up a man that started out his spiritual lambasting of conservatives- of which all of us who are Christian naturally find allegiance to- with a not so veiled refrain that went as follows.

"I am so concerned about those who say so much about what God says so little, while saying so little about what God says so much"

If the point wasn't quite made clear enough, Dr. Barber later added

"When religion is used to camouflage meanness, we know we have a heart problem in America"   

Are Down Low Christians Giving God A Bad Name?

Some stuff will stick in your craw until you take the steps to remove it.

This post is one of those things because thus far, I've only written two sentences.

 All spiritual questions and answers align themselves to the ear of those whose heart's are inclined to listen.

I say a heart to listen because our ears only have capacity to absorb that which we find pleasing. Rebuke is not on that list for most. To relish in rebuke is almost unseen in  the human experience. Even the pope, feeling justified in wading into political waters, seems shocked when sprayed with the disdain of the disagreeable.

Christ came not to condemn, but to redeem.....and it worked.  He lived a life worthy of sacrifice for the cause of redemption. He did it so that we wouldn't have to.

Have to do what?
What is the IT that Christ came to keep us from doing? 

 Live a life worthy of redemption for ALL (which includes you).  What it takes to save yourself would also be sufficient to save the world. None of us is even good enough to make it through a day sin free, much less an entire life. This gift from God doesn't give us license to be lazy because lazy implies doing something is actually an option in this matter.

Understand what a gift truly means. What do we have to do to receive our birthday gifts? Arrive at the party and open them.  That's all!!

Let me repeat this for those in the upper balcony area.  THE WORK IS DONE. If you believe that, you too are redeemed. Let the redeemed of the Lord say.....say what? That I am a Christian or that I am redeemed?

We Christians spend hours and sermons and days upon weeks upon years arguing over "Getting Right With God"; code words for going to church regularly and paying tithes....i.e., doing something, not just saying so.

By designating ourselves with the name of the actual doer instead of calling ourselves according to what has been done to us, Christianity became encompassed around an idea of a the blessed actions of a sent savior more so than salvation itself, in that we focus more on the act and actions of Christ the deity- past, present and future- instead of God the Alpha and Omega. If God had a seat at the naming seat, I imagine he would suggest we name ourselves exactly what we are, the redeemed of the Lord, not those people called Christians, because anymore, what does the term really mean?

How Many Christian Denominations Are There In America?  (That depends on how you define denomination)


In robbing the name of the redeemer, Christianity holds a self proclaimed supremacy of existence that offers privileges strictly from association, including a clue of end time prophecies and conjoining questions of each other (who already claim Faith) whether we'll be ready (a full functioning Christian associate) when he comes.

What Exactly Does Ready Look Like?

The humongous problem with this whole "ready" concept is the debate over who and what gets to define your qualified association- or readiness, if you will? If we both claim Faith but only one of us goes to church, who gets in to heaven first? Why? If heaven is our promise, does it matter the order of entry? And where are any of these answers written either way?


Is it tithing and attendance that offers a membership into the association, or is the association actually no more complex than accepting God's gift of redemption "just as you are", like some of us keep trying to describe it?

I'm not sure I care to debate that topic anymore. In short the answer to both questions is yes.

Yes. God can save you in your sin because, if we all agree that all have sinned and fall short, he really has no choice.  Right?

Yes you need to go to church and tithe if you heart has spoken to you in that fashion, and not because your family keeps wondering why haven't you shown up. Forget all those external voices. If that internal voice gets too strong, consider entering the ministry to calm the noise even more.  Keep in mind, however, that my informal independent studies have NOT shown that stingy people- even pastors- can become instantly benevolent from the act of tithing, regular churching or preaching. Our nature is coded to our DNA.

Some of our choices we think we would do differently given the opportunity to re-do them, but the likelihood is we will choose the path most aligned with our true nature.  If it's in my nature to dance, I'm probably going to that club even if the church folks don't necessarily approve.

Which begs the true question of who are you in Christ, and where is Christ in you?  Last I heard, Christ was living off of the grid and doing all of his best work in rent free temples that walk around and talk now.  He left many words of wisdom in a very special book, but he came not to just be heard, but to be seen of men. To create a living example of what Love in action looks like.  From my best analysis of what he did and what we've chosen as a response to that example, most of us ran back to the same synagogue that he rarely set foot in, because accepting ourselves as "the new church" makes each of us accountable to also be pastors of a sort.

I accept that call in the way I pattern my every encounter with another human, for if I am truly the church, fellowship can, and should, happen whenever and where ever I am. Many churches who function as a place you go on the weekend,  have started only helping their regular tithers and attendees instead of also helping those strangers or infrequent attendees asking for help . While that sounds like simple fairness, it also sounds like the slippery slope of momentarily earning the benefits of salvation....like an entitlement earned through taxation. Like government- a place where those who really need help get means tested and still somehow struggle to qualify. As a result, the church becomes blemished by the policy of fairness and not emboldened by the challenge to out give God.


In fact, way too many of my close friends and family keep wondering why church folks seem to be the last folks to help you anymore.

I hope not to suggest that any church can survive without financial support because no church can stay open without paying the bills. Turning their support inward is a reasonable reaction to dwindling memberships across the nation. Yet, some churches seem to trust in God's provisions enough to steer clear of pulpit fundraising campaigns.

Is that a rebuke against pulpit fundraising?

I'm really not writing to judge any man, or church, for their choices. This expose is an effort to shine light on outcomes....aka., fruits.

Unless it is natural to your DNA, pulpit begging has to be something incredibly tough to force yourself to initiate. It might get easier once you master the lines that fill the coffers, but those coffers are always going to depend on the mastery of that asker.

Master asker's rarely miss out on alter calls (membership building) or 'pay the bills' guilt preaching. Eventually, these are also the churches that close really soon after that asker dies or moves to do his asking of a bigger congregation.

In other words, even what appears to be economic growth might also be a cancerous growth in the gut of Pastor Stressoverbills as well as an unsustainable formula and a weak reflection of Faith.

I have never come to grips with so many Christians having such a clear ear for end of time prophecy (though the word clearly says that no man knows when) but not for the reliably consistent and sustaining blessings that ALWAYS come to him that waiteth on the Lord. If you haven't quite figured it out, all of God's blessings come when times seem most bleak, but also when you finally break and just Let Go and Let God. I may not know what Faith looks like, but I'm fairly confident it doesn't look like pulpit pressure.

There are examples of churches that try to give beyond their receiving (Salvation Army), but these are bad examples of regular churches because giving churches continuously struggle to keep pace with God's blessings despite their desperate efforts to help more and more people. Simply put, you can't beat God's giving, no matter how you try. Yet, so very few churches really try to do it.

It's as though the more those redeemed of God plant, tend and harvest the fruit for the redemption of others, the bigger and bigger the next harvest becomes.

This is why the more I live, the easier it gets to pray for blessings on even my enemy as I pray for myself. All conflict derives from the fleshly nature of ourselves, the material side of who we are,but none of us are truly reflected in our stuff or stature, because those things often bear hidden costs. Instead, we are all EXACTLY what our fruits say we are.

You DL Christians have not fooled anyone yet, because your fruit keeps giving you away. If you were stingy sinners, almost every one of you remains stingy while saved. If folks used to call you a liar a lot, they probably now just do it after y'all leave the church house. Hustlers on the street have surely taken to the pulpit, yet pulpit hustling is a grind and it creates the same quiet commentary that street hustlers endure. If you showed little integrity to your street hustle, it will likely carry over.

Which means, for some Christians, their reputation is the same bitter fruit it's always been. Meanwhile, that one Auntie who hates them church folk but also hates to see a young man down on his luck, seems to always put you up for the night without reminding you about missing church, and she'll put a $20 in your pocket that she will never ask for because it wasn't a loan, it was water on a struggling fruit tree.

I'm gonna stop now.

If I explain this one any further it will not be free of judgement. This message was only intended for Down Low Christians. You'll recognize them from that wilted fruit basket that used to feed the lost sheep. Now, that fruit is for members only.

Immigration Reform Bill Being Blocked By Pure Politics

From the moment he stepped foot into office, it has been clear what the agenda against him has been. Hope he fails, help him fail and make any success look like a failure What does Obama's failure and America's success look like simultaneously? The picture has obstructionism at the core, but obstruction measures forgot to account for Obama's pen and phone.

John Boehner is none to pleased with the compromise to his power that the executive order creates. Modern obstructionist' seem to think obstructionism is a new and novel idea. Congressional inaction, of any kind, is the reason for the executive order and only congress, or the next president, can override them.

Ironically, the very power that Boehner believes Obama is taking from he and his cohorts is still firmly wrapped within the majority agreement design that used to embody his group.

  

Meanwhile, Mexico and its neighbors remain on the edge of destruction. Losing thousands of children is a recipe for disaster in the future of any nation. Even Japan is facing a desperate crossroad created by population reduction efforts of the past. People are the wealth of a nation, and America is not worse for the influx, we are only worse from the downward spiral we are silently allowing in South America. At some point, our silence becomes complicit. History shows that evil refuses to remain contained. Once South America loses its hope for the future, it becomes a nation of no consequences.  Terrorism could benefit from such an environment

This idea of presidential complicity seems to be the angle that angry Obama opponents are taking. Despite immigration being a very old problem, Obama has been accused of ushering in the next generation of democrats via immigration. If they are correct, disengaging the American job magnet which finances the coyote rings seems smarter than building a wall or turning the National Guard into full time border control agents.

Turned back migrants will try again and again. If staying home wasn't more risky than crossing the desert, no one would risk it. Clearly they must set out realizing that hundreds never make it alive. Yet, the alternative must be worse. Unless I am wrong, the National Guard will be stuck at the border forever.

Or, until we fix the real problem.  Comprehensive legislation (like the one Boehner is blocking) must be a part of our holistic approach to immigration reform. Save the bandaid, this bleeding is profuse.