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Category: Culture

Is writing still worth it?

Published by Daniel on February 1, 2025

I’ve really run into a conundrum over the last couple of days that was triggered by a particular headline from, of all places, the Babylon Bee (which, by the way, is my favorite fake news source): “Report: Nobody Cares About Your 17-Paragraph Political Facebook Rant.”

From my earliest days since picking up a pencil, I loved the exercise of communicating through the written word.

I loved writing short stories, essays, and even research. In the 7th grade, I wrote 26-page short story when others struggled to eke out three to four-pages. In the ninth grade, I finished my first novel about 400 pages. In college, I rewrote it to over 800 pages on an electric typewriter that definitely annoyed my dorm mates. Frankly, the novel was garbage, but I sure enjoyed doing it.

It was nothing to turn out essays twenty to 30 pages. Whether it was the standard semester research paper, my master’s thesis, and even my doctoral thesis (of which the latter was determined by my examiners also to be garbage), I have always loved the writing process.

Out of that last experience in a post-graduate program came my book “Losers Like Us” published by David C. Cook. Hopefully, soon, my second manuscript will be ready.

Fortunately, I live in a time that provides me a chance to continue to write: the internet. For the last decade, I have maintained a webpage wherein I was able to post an occasional blog.

Unfortunately, I live in a time wherein blog posts are so “last year.” Users just don’t read blogs anymore. We live in the age of “TL/DR” which stands for “Too Long/Didn’t Read” (or as I see it: “Too long, [I’m a] Dumb Reader.”

If you can’t write it in a tweet, don’t bother writing it at all. Or, better yet, create a “reel” which consists of giving bad spiritual advice, lip-syncing songs or comedic snippets, filming a ten-second mic drop moment, or recreating humorous–I use that term loosely–skit from other influencers–I use that term at an even higher level of, um…loosely-ness.

That is the intelligence of the world we live in.

Still, I feel compelled to write.

I tended to avoid writing about politics during this last decade. The political clown show just wasn’t something I wanted to be a part of. If someone’s comment interpreted anything I posted as political, I would delete the entire post.

That changed last July shortly after the first assassination attempt of Donald Trump. With the bizarre response from the media and many on the left, I just felt that rhetoric could not be ignored.

Instead of blogging about this near-tragic event, which tends to not be read, I clumsily posted my thoughts for my tiny world on Facebook with my fat fingers on my mobile phone.

A lot more people responded positively and negatively this way–all more than when I announced a new blog post, so I just continued using that method. It kind of turned into a habit. I actually began to enjoy the more instant comments telling me either how stupid or encouraging I am. I thought maybe I had found a different outlet for my writing.

Now, seven months later, the Babylon Bee posts a satirical article, which joked, “A new survey concluded that there was not a single soul who would be interested in reading any further political rants, finding that even the mothers of those writing and posting them would not care to read them.”

That hit a little close to home.

Now, I know that it was the Babylon Bee, which, for those NYT, CNN, and Politico “fact-checkers,” is what “normal people” call a “satirical site.” However, given the laughing stock the media has become, one can argue that more truth is found in satire than in media generated facts.

Satire often ridicules something that is overdone. It shines a spotlight on the absurdity of its topic often using the topic’s own logic.

When the Bee satirizes the type Facebook post mentioned above in which I myself am a participant, it forces me to reconsider whether I am once again behind the curve.

Actually, it makes me wonder if the act of writing itself has become obsolete. Why learn to write if we can get AI to do the work for us?

For that matter, why should I bother to keep writing—about anything, political, spiritual, or otherwise? I know there are some who would really wish I’d shut up.

But isn’t that what writing is all about—defending a point, putting something out there to contemplate, discuss or debate? Isn’t it to contribute to the public arena?

I am not so sure. America has gone from critical thinking about anything to creating “mic drop” rhetoric on the right to using emotionally-charged sob stories ad nauseum on the left. That is all Americans have to offer.

I have been wondering the last 24-hours why the Babylon Bee’s post stopped me in my tracks. It caused me to wonder: Am I just wasting my time writing stuff—any topic not just political—that no one will ever read? Is there any avenue for written expression?

Really, though, the main thrust of my question is: Is writing a thing of the past?

Will the act of writing ever become relevant again? Or should I just quit wasting my time?

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Politics and the kingdom worldview

Published by Daniel on January 19, 2025

am a follower of Jesus.

Though I lean to the right politically, my worldview is a kingdom worldview.

As it should be for all followers of Jesus.

I say that to say this.

In a matter of hours, Donald Trump will become the 47th president of the United States. I will be the first to admit that I was thrilled with the election results across the nation last November. I was thrilled the official narrative was rejected and the media was rendered an irrelevant, toothless lion.

However, I feel as a kingdom follower that I must also throw out a caution to my fellow Christians on the right.

It is perfectly fine to celebrate what is about to happen tomorrow. I, like you, have a bit of hope that things might get back to some sense of normalcy. I personally feel a sigh of relief that the chaos and narrative of the last four years has been vehemently rejected by the American people.

But Donald Trump is *not* the savior.

Though he will be president, he does not sit on the throne.

We serve only one king.

He, like all of us, is an imperfect person who will make mistakes. He, like us, is a broken, sinful man.

Though those of us on the right feel a sense of relief, we cannot forget who the real Savior is.

Jesus saves the world, not Donald Trump.

What does this mean?

It means that we with the kingdom worldview must not lose our moral compass. We must hold our new president and leaders accountable. We must not tolerate being lied to and having the wool pulled over our eyes.

We must not excuse immorality simply because he’s “our guy.” If we don’t hold Donald Trump and our leaders to the same standards as we had Joe Biden then we lose the moral high ground, and more importantly–our prophetic voice, for generations.

One caveat: I know his opponents will join the mantra: “Yeah, but he’s a convicted felon. You’re excusing that, aren’t you?” Possibility of redemption aside (remember Chuck Colson?), it actually might mean something if he wasn’t “convicted” using the most Stalinistic tactics (“Show me the man, I will show you the crime.”). Virtually every legal scholar predicts the verdict will be overturned on appeal once it gets out of the New York Court System Gulag. All but Trump’s most vocal opponents see those charges as joke. A “convicted crime” is not automatically a crime when it comes in a corrupt justice system. So let’s have the debate whether I am right or wrong on this, let’s not try to cover it up or pressure me into silence.

Back to my primary point.

Mistakes are going to made in the White House, and it is more than ok to call them out. We must not do semantic somersaults to justify them. That doesn’t mean we must stop supporting him, nor does it mean all hope is diminished.

If lies are told (note: “lie” does not mean “My personal interpretation or policy does not agree”), we must hold our leaders accountable. We *must* not look the other way.

Is America heading into a Golden Age? If you’re on the left, no bit of economic data will be taken as positive; if you’re on the right, no bumps will be seen as negative. I hope so, only time will tell.

If America is entering a “Golden Age,” Jesus still reigns. If things go sideways, Jesus still reigns.

As Christ-followers, we must also not get lazy. Politically, Christians on the right might feel a sense of being unburdened by the constant attacks by our own government. As Paul reminds us, “our battle is not against flesh and blood.”

We must not retreat to our comfort zones. We must go forward and fight.

How?

By not sitting back and letting the government do our kingdom work for us. We must not sit back and simply call out immorality. Hashtag activism is worthless.

Instead, we must do. As Micah 6:8 says, we love “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.”

We must continue to assist those thousands in North Carolina still suffering by Hurricane Helene as well those who lost everything in the Los Angeles fires. This does not matter if they are liberal or conservative, or if they are poor, rural people or are wealthy city folks.

We must love and care for the homeless, many of whom do not feel worthy to deserve a “normal” life.

We must come along side those who struggle with identity and show them that they are created in God’s image and this is where they find their value.

Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, we must come alongside and support young, unwed mothers both during and after the pregnancy.

We must care for the widows or those who need an extra hand, of which are all around us.

In other words, we must serve and care for the world that might hate us.

Our future relies solely on Jesus Christ, not Donald Trump or the Republican leadership.

We must never forget who we ultimately serve.

Humanly speaking, I am excited about inauguration day.

However, as a kingdom believer, I am most hopeful in the One who saved us all.

Nations fall and nations rise, but He is the One forever on the throne.

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The end of TikTok in the U.S.?

Published by Daniel on January 18, 2025

Tomorrow, Tiktok will go dark in the United States.

Well, kind of.

Americans can still use the app if they have it already installed, and no one will be coming after them for using it. Tiktok will just become unavailable on the Apple and Google Play store. Unconfirmed reports are circulating that incoming President Trump might extend the deadline 90 days.

The one “out” Tiktok has is to sell the platform to someone with no ties to the Chinese government. Yesterday (Friday), “Shark Tank” billionaire Kevin O’Leary put an offer on the table to buy the platform for $20 billion in cash, but as of yet he has received no response.

However, as a response to this ban, Gen Z users across America are downloading another Chinese owned social media app called Red Note, which ironically is named after Chinese totalitarian dictator Mao Zedong’s Little Red Book, which launched the Chinese rebellion into Communism resulting in the slaughter of millions.

That’ll show us.

Now, I am against censorship in all forms. (One could argue that no individual user is being “censored”–there’s a swamp of social media platforms out there. The business itself is deemed a threat to national security.)

Part of me is uncomfortable with this ban. However, the outcry of the banning of Tiktok has me more than a little puzzled.

A little over a year ago, Tiktok was seen as very dangerous to national security. To this day, all federal and state government devices cannot have the app installed because of those ties to China.

This is the same China that flew a spy balloon the size of a school bus over all important military bases across the United States, collecting and transmitting God knows how many secrets back across the Pacific.

This is the same China buying up land bordering United States’ military bases, including Minot Air Force Base, and even Malmstrom Air Force Base here in Montana, which by the way, happens to control the launches of ICBMs in the northern plains states. Nothing suspicious there.

It is also the same China that, according to NBC News, have hacked our infrastructures—including but not limited to the Treasury Department and Office of Personal Management—and building dossiers on tens of millions of Americans. Apparently, they have done this under our noses since 2014.

Surely, there is nothing nefarious going on in back doors of the Tiktok app which, under communism’s economic structure, is ultimately owned not by ByteDance but by the Chinese government itself.

Then, to add fuel to my suspicion, no one seems to remember that following the Hamas invasion of Israel and the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Tiktok’s algorithms showed clear favoritism toward pro-Palestinian posts nearly 10-to-1 over pro-Israeli posts.

I also remember listening to Podcaster Joe Rogan “going down the rabbit hole” reading the Tiktok Terms of Service live on-air.

These included, according to Rogan, Tiktok’s right to collect the user’s “mobile carrier, time zone settings, identifiers for advertising purpose, model of your device, the device system, network type, device IDs, your screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types.”

Of course, the average naïve Gen Z user responds with a shrug and a flippant, “So what. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Rogan continues, ‘So all your apps and all your file names, all the things you have filed away on your phone, they have access to that…File names and types, keystroke patterns or rhythms. So they’re monitoring your keystrokes, which means they know every f***ing thing you type. [Including passwords].” If you login to multiple devices, Tiktok “will be able to use your profile information to identify your activity across devices…We may also associate you with information collected from devices other than those you use to log into the platform.”

Tiktok possesses enough information on you to even “shut down people’s accounts [including financial].”

How quickly we’ve forgotten.

Knowing this level of manipulation, I am not necessarily sad to see Tiktok placed under pressure to sell or go away.

I am troubled that, knowing all this information, many Americans just don’t care. It seems Tiktok users and highly misnamed “influencers” are willing to sell their souls for seconds of meaningless entertainment and cash.

China doesn’t need to invade us. We are willing to give ourselves over to the threat solely on our own.

China is using our own nation’s strengths against us.

Honestly, Tiktok shouldn’t need to be banned. Americans should be much smarter and wiser.

TikTok users in the United States should have the presence of mind to know that a nation that hates everything we stand for is leading us right off a cliff.

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Some thoughts on Inauguration 2025

Published by Daniel on January 17, 2025

In a matter of days, the United States will swear in a new leader, the 47th President of the United States. Of course, this also means another presidential term will thankfully shuffle awkwardly off the stage, probably in the opposite direction of the door.

I have never been more relieved the current president’s term is over. The last four years, historically speaking, have been an unmitigated disaster. Afghanistan, out-of-control inflation that everyone but the wealthy would understand, gas prices are down, DEI, a Ministry of Truth–I mean a Department of Misinformation, pressuring social media companies to censor points-of-view, lawfare, the border is closed, there is no mental decline, and the making of the nation’s crack intelligence agencies look more like the Keystone Cops.

Most of all, his administration absolutely and completely destroyed trust in the institution of the federal government. To borrow from a tired, old joke: how do you know when the federal government is lying? Their lips are moving.

The White House and their faithful messengers, the media, was all about maintaining the narrative. We were told that everything’s fine—there’s nothing to see here. All the bad things you see is all in your head. It’s the fastest growing economy in history. You just can’t see it.

Truth didn’t matter, only the narrative. The narrative was god. The narrative must be defended at all costs. Loyalty to the narrative was all that was to be worshipped.

I am not saying that the incoming president will be this bastion of truth. He is human. I pray he doesn’t take on the tactic of making a narrative.

The left seems unwilling to let the idea of narrative go. CNN’s Jim Acosta insisted “the press is not the enemy of the people.

The press is the defender of the people.” Ideally, yes. In reality, no. They lied, spun, and covered up the truth. Personally, it will be a long time before I trust anything they say.

During Biden’s farewell address last night, he threw another possible narrative against the wall hoping it might stick: the country will led by billionaire oligarch. Today, on nearly every news outlet, journalists echoed that their biggest fear was the nation being ruled by billionaire oligarchs. (Never mind the fact that day before Biden awarded thr Presidential Medal of Freedom to George Soros, a billionaire whose only action was donating millions to liberal causes and candidates.)

Given the public trust in the media, I highly doubt it will stick.

This whole idea of narrative-as-truth has got to be thrown out onto the ash heap of bad ideas.

I am so thankful the American people made the statement on the narrative of the last four years. I am thankful we have seen the truth the narrative worked so hard to hide.

I honestly don’t know what the future will bring. My main prayer is that America can breathe a brief sigh of relief that the narrative of the last four years.

Perhaps (?) normalcy might return.

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Truth versus narrative

Published by Daniel on January 3, 2025

One thing that came out of the rise of postmodernism in the 00’s was a regained prominence of narrative as means of understanding truth. In his book titled “The Postmodern Condition,” philosopher Jean Francois-Lyotard argued that contrary to the West’s enlightenment belief that all truth must be filtered through science to be considered legitimate knowledge, it is actually narrative which should be the arbiter of truth. Narrative can do something science is unable to do: bring meaning. I actually saw great potential in Lyotard’s idea.

I am naturally a story-teller. I see the power in story, a way of discovering deeper meaning. It’s not only a way to entertain, it is a way to encourage another to let their guard down, to see things from a different perspective as well as to find deeper meaning to life’s questions that rational arguments cannot explain.

After all, why do you think Jesus taught using parables rather than bullet points and sermons? One could argue that the Bible itself is presented largely as a narrative.

That does not mean the story I believe in Scripture is false.

Au contraire.

It means truth—the Truth—and meaning can be packaged within fiction. Within story.

C.S. Lewis is most famous for taking deep theological elements and wrapping them up in a series of children’s literature based in Narnia. He often used phrases elsewhere such as “myth become fact” and a “baptized imagination.”

There is great power in the theology of story. When it come to introducing Jesus to a non-believer or skeptic, it is usually not argument that brings them to understanding.

It is story, either by telling others how Jesus works in my broken life or showing others Jesus through the story of my day to day actions.

This makes sense to me.

However, a danger can also exists in Lyotard’s idea, one that I had also fallen into: the idea that a person’s story is all that matters. In other words, MY story is supreme. God enters into MY story, not the other way around.

The trajectory of this idea leads to the primary problem of our society today: subjectivism. What’s true for you is not necessarily what’s true for me.

Humanity actually circled back to the serpent’s temptation to Eve in the Garden: “You will be like God.” The individual gets to decide their truth, i.e., their definitions of good and evil.

This subjectivity (“My truth”) is where narrative falls flat.

2024 might have seen the death of this idea of narrative. (I’m not for certain, but I hope and pray).

All year long (and even in the years prior to), I would watch something play out on the news only to be told later by the same news source that is not what I saw. I was told by the “experts” that everything I am personally experiencing is not happening.

“The economy is great!” even though my grocery and gas bill doubled. “The President is at the top of his game and sharp as ever!” even though he clearly was not. “White supremacy is the most dangerous threat to our nation!” even though the most notable cases seem to turn out to be frauds and as of New Year’s Day, everyone’s talking about ISIS cells embedded around the nation. “The border is closed!” even though I am watching caravans of illegal aliens storming gates and ripping through razor wire in Eagle Pass, Texas. And most recently, a spokeswoman for the FBI declared the terrorist attack in New Orleans was most definitely NOT a terrorist attack as pictures of an ISIS flag on the back of the attacker’s pick up truck circulated across the internet. I saw “fact-checkers”—supposedly under the banner of truth spew the biggest narratives.

Institutions that we once trusted and that we should trust have lost all credibility. This is because the necessity of truth has been replaced by the necessity of maintaining a narrative. These institutions worked exceptionally hard to get their narrative before the public’s eyes. If anyone raised questions, they would be called quacks, conspiracy theorists, and somehow, white supremacist.

Often during 2024, when I would post that I hope truth prevails, I was not speaking of a candidate. I was hoping that Americans would see through the narrative presented.

I was hoping to see that America understood that there is such a thing as truth and that truth would always prevail over narrative.

And truth prevailed, not because Trump won but because narrative lost.

Hopefully, society will reject the idea that there is no such thing as objective truth, and that we might see narrative for what it is when it presented as fact yet is highly contrary to that truth.

There is truth—Jesus is that Truth. It is objective, real, and not defined by ourselves.

And it is good to know that Jesus as Truth has survived the harshest attacks for millennia, both physically and philosophically, and continues to grow strong throughout the world.

Finding truth in narrative can be a good thing. Creating narrative as a substitute for truth is nefarious.

There is a truth beyond us. We must rest on that truth because if we rest on any man-made truth, that foundation will crumble.

Kind of like what we saw in 2024.

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Some 2025 predictions (keep score)

Published by Daniel on January 1, 2025

2025 is officially out of the starting gate, and already, it has fallen flat on its face.

Sadly, only three hours into the new year, a pick up truck with an Isis flag slammed into a crowd of partiers in New Orleans’ famous Bourban Street, killing 12 and injuring three dozen more. Hours later, a Tesla truck exploded outside of the Trump Tower in Las Vegas, though at this time, it seems unclear if it was a random event or something more nefarious.

I hope this isn’t an indication how 2025 will go, but it seems each year, in the Annual Meeting of Years, the upcoming and intoxicated new year steps up and vows to outdo the preceding year. (The previous sentence made a lot more sense in my head.)

Anyway, not to be outdone by anyone else on the planet, I have decided to make some predictions about 2025. Now not too brag, but I made some pretty accurate predictions in the previous year that would make Nostradamus proud (though admittedly my secret is that anyone with a simple appreciation of parody could do the same).

1) MSNBC will openly admit to their 13 viewers that they really hoped the New Orleans terrorist was a Caucasian male named “Bubba” who was flying a Confederate flag out of the back of his Ford pick up truck.

2) President Biden will take a moment from sabotaging the incoming President to issue a firm statement for Congress to pass “common sense” gun laws in response to the *check notes* terrorist act in New Orleans.

3) On January 20, Democrats, who for the previous four years used every undemocratic tactic available to bring down Trump, will lament that democracy has come to an end.

4) The new Democratic minority in Congress who loudly threatened to end the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, and push for statehood for Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico to gain progressive senators—all in order to pass unpopular legislation—will now openly push the new Republican majority to play fair and not move the goal posts.

5) Many progressive churches, who water down scripture to appear more relevant to the culture, will close their doors after suddenly realizing much of the nation shifted to the right.

6) Hollywood will continue to produce woke movies all the while trying to understand why their movies continually flop (they likely will continue to blame Covid). And in the same vein …

7) Many actors in Hollywood will realize that to truly take on the edgy, rebel look to distinguish themelves as outsiders will have to claim they’re conservative, Christian, and actually have a moral compass.

8) Many who will flee the United States after Trump becomes president will immediately realize: no one cares.

9) The media, after much soul searching following the 2024 election, will catch a new strain of Trump Derangement System, thus continuing their spiral into irrelevance.

10) Within days of Tom Homan becoming the new Border Czar, the media will air story after story about weeping migrants being deported (there will also be a new Pulitzer category for the journalist who can include a weeping Hispanic child).

11) Democrats will still proclaim the end of democracy while trying to silence those who disagree with the leftist mantras.

12) DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) will be proclaimed officially dead (at least until it can figure out another way to repackage itself).

13) The Department of Education will be shut down, and America will once again rise to be number one in education.

14) Woke leaders in the Pentagon, FBI, Secret Service, etc., will realize—though continuing to deny—that the nation thinks they’re idiots and really are an embarrassment. Shortly after this realization, they will be fired.

15) The nation will continue to believe the media lies to them, and the media will continue to believe they matter.

16) A highly classified memo will be leaked by someone at MSNBC, identifying that a bullet point instructing the media to claim all right-leaning thought as a “Fox News talking point” is, in fact, an MSNBC talking point.

17) There will be statues erected and minstrals sung to the heroes who gun down such oppressors as Healthcare CEOs, and grade school children at Christian Schools. (Many will try to mask their glee by saying that they “condemn all political violence, but…”)

18) The millions who were told they will die if Trump gets elected will be astonished to find out they are, in fact, still alive.

19) RFK , Jr., will mandate that all new prescription drugs will be tested on Anthony Fauci. (Note: this one is not mine. The Babylon Bee came up with this gem on their 2025 predictions, and I couldn’t resist including it!)

20) Surprised that incoming president Donald Trump won’t be building concentration camps for journalists, journalists, who believe they must do their jobs as victims, are expected to build their own.

21) The Democratic Party will start maneuvering Kamala Harris into another run in 2028, to which the Republicans will collectively utter: “ Please do.”

There are a lot more predictions. Have a happy, blessed 2025!

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Final thoughts of the 2024 election

Published by Daniel on December 31, 2024

2024 just about reaching its end, and though it has been quite an eventful year, I must admit I am glad to see it go.

Undoubtedly the most significant event that came out of 2024 was the election in November. Depending where you fall on the political spectrum, the results were either the most catastrophic or brought the greatest relief (Personally, I fall more toward the latter).

However, even more important than who won the election, it was what won: the truth (as opposed to the narrative). Further, it was also who lost: the media.

Mark Twain once said, if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember what you said.

By saying the truth won, I am not associating Trump as a banner of Truth. He is a fallen human like all of us who need God’s grace. There is only one who states, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

What I mean by “the truth won” was that the American people saw through the narrative upheld by government officials, bureaucrats, the media, and the “experts.”

Their objective was trying to uphold a perception of reality, building upon it, plugging its many holes, running block against those who attempt to criticize. It’s a façade and one that must be maintained.

All year long (more accurately: during the last four years), the nation has been gas lit countless times by the powers-that-be who seemed more concerned with perfecting the Jedi Mind Trick than solving anything (Note: they weren’t that good at it).

In this narrative, we were told:

• the economy was the fastest growing in history;

• that inflation was transitory;

• that gas prices were lower than when Biden took office;

• that the world respected us;

• that we should trust “science” and the “experts” who, ironically, also insisted men could become pregnant;

• that most existential threat to democracy must be defeated by using the most undemocratic tactics available; or for that matter,

• that all the evils the left accused Trump of, the left was guilty of doing it themselves;

• that Trump was Satan incarnate himself if not worse;

• that two assassination attempts were brought on by the victim himself for his heated rhetoric;

• that the president was sharp as a tack, until Trump argued with one a degree up from zombie in the debate;

• that the media tried to rewrite history before our very eyes with the hope that we were actually as stupid as they thought we were;

• that Kamala was the Border Czar, until she wasn’t;

• that the response to a trans kid shooting up a Christian school was to be empathetic toward the trans community;

• that we should vote for Kamala because it’s patriotic (further, if we didn’t—even if we didn’t because we had no idea what she was for, then we were misogynist);

• that millions actually believed that the candidate who spent nearly two billion dollars and wound up $20 million in debt (and still lost) would be the best one to run the nation;

• that the justice system must be respected except when forgiving student loans despite the Supreme Court ruling to the contrary and pardoning his son for any crime committed over a ten-year span despite his words to the contrary;

• that the president’s replacement was the best choice despite four years of stumbling and bumbling through her term as VP;

• that it was reported that the president regretted his choice to appoint Merrick Garland as Attorney General because he didn’t go after Trump enough and spent too much time pursuing Hunter (see previous point of the president saying justice must be trusted);

The media tried to cover it up, deny it, and ridicule those who actually saw it.

Then, when the powers-that-be realized that the American people weren’t as stupid as they thought, they called us Nazis and garbage.

However, the strategy of maintaining this narrative had one major flaw: it was based on foundation that Americans are stupid, that we couldn’t think for ourselves. For a while, I was afraid that was the case.

They also seemed to have forgotten that there is video.

Fortunately, the narrative propped up by so many elitists contained so many inconsistencies that couldn’t stand up under its own weight. As Twain said above, they couldn’t keep everything on solid ground. The narrative crumbled—badly.

All the propaganda the media forced down our throats was outright rejected. Americans saw the flawed narrative and decided that is not the reality in which we live.

They’re lying to us. They really think we are dumb. They see us as wards of the state and not as their bosses.

And ultimately, that was the best thing to come out of 2024: the media lost its voice and, most importantly, its relevance.

This election was as much a referendum against the media as it was against Biden and Harris.

Two months after the election, they are still trying to come to terms with that. The media was forced down a new road something they had never experienced before: self-awareness. Thankfully, some—a few—in the media are engaging in self-reflection. Most others, not so much (look up Don Lemon’s recent scree on Trump voters).

Whether this journey into self-awareness maintains any traction remains to be seen.

Building a narrative rather than accepting truth as it is is never a good strategy. It is a house built on sand. We witnessed this before our very eyes.

For now, Trump will enter his second term knowing the media are nothing more than a toothless lion.

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Light punching through darkness: the relevance of Advent

Published by Daniel on December 1, 2024

It’s nearly 4:00 as I write this. The sun is already on the western horizon. Within an hour, it will dip below the Continental Divide. Darkness falls.

That deep, heavy, winter darkness.

The Christmas season tends to be described as the most depressing and lonely for many. For others, the season is something to sneer at for its empty commercialism and tiresome stupid Christmas songs.

However, the church body—whether it is out of concern for the downtrodden or for disdain for the materialism—tries to ignore the Christmas season for as long as possible.

Sundays look and feel just like any other Sunday of the year. No trees, lights, or candles—the very symbols of hope—will grace the sanctuary. It will likely be another couple of Sundays before a carol might even be incorporated in the Sunday worship.

The hope—the anticipation—of the coming of our Savior needs more remembrance, more celebration, more proclamation and excitement than just the obligatory Christmas service.

For the lonely, sad, and depressed, they need to be reminded the coming of Emmanuel—God with Us—who stepped into this broken world to make things right once and for all. For a society entranced by the materialism of the “Christmas season,” the universal church—the body of Christ—must break that trance by the proclamation of a coming king.

The church must not acquiesce to the world’s declaration of getting that new great toy or to their martyr complex of being so busy. We have something to proclaim that is much more real than Christmas busyness. The church must promote that redemptive reality every Sunday of Advent. If we can’t get excited for anticipation of the birth of our king, then is there really anything to get excited for?

It is no accident that the Advent season falls during the darkest month of the year (if you happen to live in the northern hemisphere, that is). December contains the least amount of light and the shortest day of the year. That darkness is so emblematic of pretty much every human on this planet.

It is through that darkness that the anticipation of a coming Messiah must be proclaimed.

However, December also has a distinction no other month can claim: it is the month wherein light returns. A few days before the day we celebrate as Christmas, the winter solstice occurs. The days start getting longer. Light returns. Darkness gets pushed away.

The world needs hope. The world needs to know that it is within this darkness that hope shines. The world must be reminded that this darkness will end.

I encourage all Christ-followers not to approach this season with contrived dread. Instead, approach this season with the thrill of anticipation and the excitement of the proclamation.

After all, for most of us, we get more excited about the anticipation of Christmas than the actual day itself.

Advent ends on December 24, Christmas Eve. It was on the night the angels punched through the darkness and proclaimed to the lonely shepherds, “Unto you a child is born.”

As I post this less than an hour later, it is dark outside. And my Christmas lights just came on.

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Two weeks after the 2024 election

Published by Daniel on November 16, 2024

It’s been a couple of weeks since the election. I have been silent on commenting largely out of curiosity to see how the media would respond to the election of Trump as president of the United States.

Election night had been quite a surprise. I was expecting that, by this time, ballots would be counted and recounted, lawyers would be involved, and America would still be waiting to find out who would be president.

Instead, much to everyone’s surprise, the race was called by 11:30 (mountain time). Though everyone predicted it would be a photo finish, Trump won the electoral college in a landslide as well as won the popular vote by a wide margin. Trump grew in his support among black males, Hispanics, and even white women. In addition, the Senate flipped by the GOP who also widened their margin by a few seats in the House.

Conservatives celebrated, many of the left melted down. On the right, there was relief that the nightmare of the last four years was coming to an end; on the left, they would, for some reason, packing their bags for internment camps.

Social media was quite enjoyable to watch. Many media wannabes who actually think they would be missed announced they were deleting the Twitter accounts (“Oh, please don’t! We need your sage like wisdom,” said nobody). Feminists filmed themselves shaving their heads in protests and vowed to refuse sex to all males (as though that were a bad thing). And videos showing themselves weeping were—forgive the insensitivity—were a tad melodramatic (it was kind of hard not to laugh).

Overall, however, I felt this election was as much against the media as it was against Harris and the Biden Presidency. A TV network had been quoted in the New York Magazine as saying that if Trump won, journalism, in its current form and having lost all influence, would be dead.

Thus the reason I waited to follow up. I realize they would all be licking their wounds over these last two weeks. I was also hoping that they might get enlightened with a little self-awareness. Would they realize they overplayed their hand when it came to bias? Would they see that a scant few actually listen to let alone believe them?

I have heard moments of this. For example, (I think it was on CNN) a pundit said, “This election is a referendum not just against Democrats but Republicans as well that the American people are tired of not being listened to.”

The owner of the L.A. Times canned his editorial staff and will bring the paper back to journalistic standards which include all points of view. Jeff Bazos, owner of the Washington Post and some upper levels of ABC News made similar comments as well. Word is even out that ABC News is looking to add (real) conservative voices to “The View,” which I am pretty sure will give the current hosts aneurisms.

Beyond that and a smattering of other voices, most of the media, once they caught their breath on doubling down. This election’s results, they insist, is not their faults.

It is Biden’s fault for not stepping away from reelection sooner (even though they did everything they thought possible to ignore his mental decline until the debate). Harris just did not have enough time, they insist, to communicate her non message to the nation (even though spent their every waking moments trying to communicate it on her behalf).

It’s Harris’s fault because—well, nobody liked Harris (even though they spent their remaining waking moments trying to canonize her.

Finally, sadly, they insist it’s the American people’s fault. We’re misogynists (though I would vote for Governor and Secretary of Department of Homeland Security nominee Kristi Noem for President in 2028 in a heartbeat). We’re racists (welcome , black males and Latinos to this club).

Interestingly, the one ad hominum attack I haven’t heard since election night was “Nazi.” Perhaps some of the intellectuals on the left encouraged those on their side to learn about what a Nazi really is.

Sadly, two weeks after the election, the media continues to show a severe lack in self-awareness. Currently, they are loudly whining about Trump’s cabinet picks.

Admittedly, a couple—let’s just say—intrigue me, though I am wildly thrilled about others. I am especially thrilled that some dude will not get picked solely because he wears a skirt.

Hopefully with a few national newspapers and a network or two leading the way the American media will look to reform its industry.

This early out, it still remains to be seen.

However, we Americans must continue to demand we be heard. I am saying this not only to Democrats who will use every trick to get in the way (though I find it curious as to why Democratic senators no longer want to get rid of the filibuster now that they are in the minority.. hmmm…). I am also saying this to the new Republican congress. Don’t try the old bait -and-switch.

And to media: for the love of everything, stop lying to us.

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Retiring the term “Nazi” to discredit opponents

Published by Daniel on November 8, 2024

I truly have had a lot of thoughts swirling around in my cranium since Tuesday about this hot mess of the 2024 presidential election. Those who lean right are used to being belittled, demeaned and called names: Deplorables, Garbage, Stupid, Misogynist, sexist, bigots, racists, homophobes. We’re used to it. These shots have come our way so often, they roll off our backs with little more than a shrug. They have lost any meaning and tell us that we’ve essentially won the debate.

Where I feel the left crossed the line is when they started throwing around the term “Nazi” to describe their political opponents.

Nothing or no one in this election remotely resembled Nazism.

Throwing around that term has far greater consequences to consider.

I teach history. Have taught it for about 20 years. I read history, and I am thoroughly interested in World War II. I have tried to answer the question how one man could whip up an entire nation to follow him in committing some of the most heinous crimes in human history. How did he fool a nation?

I have read a lot on this, scores of books about the rise of Nazism in the 1920s and 30s. This reading list actually includes Hitler’s infamous and sinister Mein Kampf.

I have personally walked on Utah, Gold, and “bloody” Omaha beaches in France, visited the World War II Museum in Caen–one of the first French cities liberated by the Allies, the church in Sainte-Mare-Eglise where a soldier from the 82nd Airborne’s parachute got hung up on the steeple the night of the invasion, and Pont-du-Hoc where American soldiers had to climb a 90-foot cliff face in the face of Nazi bullets firing down upon them. I even visited a Nazi cemetery in La Cambe where hundreds of German soldiers are buried beneath black crosses.

I have visited the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., three times. And of all the horrors spoken of there, I remember most sitting in the Hall of Remembrance alongside others at the time with a series of numbers tattooed on their forearms.

Though there are people much smarter than me in this area, I know enough, and I continue to learn.

So when I hear the word “Nazi” thrown around as political rhetoric, I cringe.

Those who sling this word at anybody they don’t agree with, know little about that horrific movement.

When the term is thrown around as it has been in the last week, it minimizes and sanitizes that horror. It dishonors those who survived Auschwitz and other camps as well as those beneath the white crosses at Omaha beach.

When that term is used today to silence political opponents, it dilutes the horror of that movement.

Like the word misogynist or homophobe, it too will be overused to the point of losing its meaning.

It is time to retire that term as a rhetorical tool.

Or else we will no longer be able to recognize when it truly appears.

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