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Someone’s life is at stake, Armen had said. Get involved. I put the note back in my pocket and slip my car key in the door. There’s going to be an investigation, but it’ll have to be my own. Because I’m involved, starting now.
Sarah wants to represent the downtrodden, not mingle with them.
“When we talk about justice,” Ben says, “we shirk thinking in legal terms.” “I’m impressed, Ben. Did you make that up all by yourself?” “No. Oliver Wendell Holmes said it.”
“Didn’t you know, Grace? Ben is waiting for a phone call from Justice Scalia. He’s this close to a Supreme Court clerkship.” Artie squints at his forefinger and thumb, held a half-inch apart. “Maybe even this close, am I right, Ben? This close?” He makes his fingers touch.
Empty coffee cups dot the surface of Armen’s conference table, along with sheaves of curly faxes, photocopied cases, and trial transcripts from the Hightower record. We worked straight through dinner and into the night, reading cases and talking through the opinion. Then Armen began to tap out an outline on his laptop and I picked up the habeas petition to check our facts. It says that Thomas Hightower was seventeen when he cut school to go drinking with a fast crowd, which got him drunk and dared him to kiss the prettiest girl in school. Hightower went to her farm, where he found Sherri Gilpin in the shed. He asked her out, and she laughed at him.,, Allegedly. In a drunken rage, Hightower slapped her and she fell off balance, cracking her skull against a tractor. He tried to give her CPR, at which point her little sister Sally came in and began to cry. Hightower says he panicked. He couldn’t leave witnesses; it would have killed his mother. So he throttled the child, then, full of shame, he got back into his car and drove himself into a tree.
Enter the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which saved his life, reserving for itself the honor of putting him on trial. For death. Hightower couldn’t afford a lawyer, not that one in the small coal-mining town would represent him anyway. The county judge appointed a kid barely out of night law school to the case, and the jury convicted Hightower of capital murder. During the sentencing hearing, where the jury decides life or death, Hightower’s lawyer argued from the wrong death penalty statute, one that had been ruled unconstitutional three years earlier by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Somehow he had missed that. The obsolete death statute, the only one presented to this predominantly white jury, said nothing about the fact that a jury could consider Hightower’s youth, his diminished capacity because of alcohol, his lack of a prior criminal record, and the remorse that he demonstrated by his suicide attempt as “mitigating circumstances” in deciding whether to impose the death penalty. The jury took only fifteen minutes to reach its decision. Death. I set the papers down and look out the huge windows that make up the fourth wall of the office. It’s the dead of night. Orangey streetlamps stretch toward the Delaware River in ribbons. White lights dot the suspension cables on the Ben Franklin Bridge. Traffic signals blink on and off: red, yellow, green. The lights remind me of jewels, twinkling in the black night. I watch them shimmer outside the window and turn the legal issues over in my mind. The question is whether Hightower’s lawyer was so ineffective that the trial was unfair. Strictly as a legal matter, Hightower probably deserves a new trial; what he deserves as a matter of justice is another matter. This is why I practiced commercial litigation. It has nothing to do with life or death; the questions are black and white, and the right answer is always green. “Well,” Armen says to himself. “Well, well, well.” He stops typing and reads the last page of his draft. The office is quiet now that Bernice has stopped snoring. I feel like we’re the only people awake, high in the night sky over the twinkly city. “Well what?”
“I think we’re going to save this kid’s life. What do you think?” The question takes me aback. “I don’t know. I don’t think of it that way.” “I do.” He smiles wearily, wrinkling the crows’ feet that make him look older than he is. “I wouldn’t stop if I didn’t think so.” “Was that your goal?” “It had to be. His lawyer was incompetent. Anybody else would have gotten him life in prison, instead he’s scheduled to die. They set him up.” He leans back in the chair. Fatigue has stripped something from him: his defenses, maybe, or the professional distance between us. He seems open to me in a way he hasn’t before. “I didn’t think of it as saving his life. I thought of it as a legal issue.” “I know that, Grace. That’s why I wanted you on this case. You narrowed your focus to the legalities, divorced yourself from the morality of the thing.” It stings. “Do you fault me? It’s a legal question, not a moral one.” “Really? Who said?” “Holmes.” “Fxxx Holmes,” he says, stretching luxuriously in a blue oxford shirt. His shirtsleeves are bunched at his elbows; his tie is loose. He’s so close I can pick up a trace of his aftershave.
“It’s both those things, Grace, law and morality. You can’t separate law from justice. You shouldn’t want to.” “But then it’s your view of justice, and that varies from judge to judge.” “I can live with that, it’s in my job description. Judges are supposed to judge. When I read the Eighth Amendment, I think the framers were telling us that government should not torture and kill. That’s the ultimate evil, isn’t it, and it’s impossible to check.” His face darkens. “I don’t understand,” I say, but I do in part. Armen’s culture is written all over his olive-skinned features, as well as his chambers: the framed documents in a squiggly alphabet on the walls, the picture of Mount Ararat over his desk chair, the oddly ornate lamp bases and brocaded pillows.
“It started piecemeal with the Armenians,” he says, leaning forward. “Our right to speak our own language was taken away. Then our right to worship as Christians. By 1915, they had taken our lives. We were starved, hanged, tortured. Beaten to death, most of us, with that.” He points at a rough-hewn wooden cudgel mounted over the bookshelf. “I didn’t know.” “Not many do. Half my people were killed. Half a million of us, wiped out by the Turkish government. All my family, except for my mother.” A flicker of pain furrows his brow. “I’m sorry.” He shakes it off. “The point is, government cannot kill its own citizens, not with my help.
I know Hightower did a terrible thing. He killed, but I won’t kill him to prove it’s wrong. He should be locked up forever so he never hurts another child. He will be, if I have any say in it.” He seems to catch himself in mid-lecture; then his expression softens. “So thank you, for getting involved.” “Did I have a choice?” “No.” He relaxes in the leather chair. “You are involved, you know,” he says quietly. I see the city lights glowing softly behind him and feel, more than I can understand, that we aren’t talking about the case anymore. “I don’t know—” “Yes, you do. I’m involved too, Grace. Very involved, as a matter of fact.” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I feel my heart start to pound softly. “We can’t do anything about it.” “Yes, we can. Give me your hand.” He holds out his hand to me. I look at it, suspended between us, at once a question and an answer. This situation is supposed to be black and white, but it doesn’t feel that way inside. “Stop thinking. Take it.” So I do, and it feels strong and warm. He pulls me in to him, as naturally as if we’ve done this a million times before, and in a second I feel myself in his arms and his kiss, gentle on my mouth.
Suddenly I hear a noise outside the office and push myself away from his chest. “Did you hear that?” “What?” “There was a noise. Maybe the door?” ...
~~~
I'm certainly happy I kept on reading... You see, Lisa Scottoline has taken readers much further into the entire Justice System than most legal fiction books do. I even checked and the first 10% of this book introduces us to a group that we rarely even learn about other than as a very minor character. In this book, you see, it is the clerks of the judges who are leading much of the action--along with a certain undercover FBI agent... In fact, the POV is from Grace, who becomes the "amateur detective" since... well... because... Let me just tell you what happened...
Grace, has just come back to her law career, after a divorce. She is older than those who are just out of Law School, thrilled to be selected as a clerk, but, often, are lacking, shall we say, in the decorum, or, even more so, the maturity of what we normally see within legal communities--in books or television. Hey, I've been a Law and Order Fan for uncountable years!
The support of Judge Gregorian, Chief, is presently working on The Hightower (name of accused) case and discussion is moving throughout all levels as the political component moves into the forefront for affecting the decision... Yes, and readers will see much of the action of the opinions based upon each of the judges... Now, one totally irrelevant legal point is that there are several of the females supporting this apparently very striking judge becomes relevant very soon...
And that actually begins the investigation... It was Grace, who was not in criminal law, who was chosen to assist the Judge in preparing his final opinion... She was one of those who was attracted to her boss... So she was scared to have been chosen because she wouldn't know relevant laws, but at least she thought she could deal with her own issues...
At least until they were finally closing the all-night work session in the early AM hours and it was the Judge who initiated the seduction, ultimately telling her that he loved her... You'll have to read the details of those last few hours, however...
Because the important thing was that Judge Gregorian was dead by the next morning... Supposedly by suicide...
And of course Grace doesn't believe it... And through some strange and funny scenes, she is ultimately asked to assist the undercover FBI agent to be his informant...
I think about Hightower, who had no suburban soccer field, no fancy jersey or hundred-dollar cleats. One will go to Harvard; the other will be put to death. No justice, no peace.
“Let’s do it,” Eletha says grimly as we encounter the first wave of reporters along the wall of the outer lobby to the courthouse. “Grace! Grace Rossi!” one of them shouts. Shocked, I turn toward the voice. It’s the reporter from the day before, Sandy Faber. He’s wearing the same sport jacket and more stubble. “Remember what I said, Ms. Rossi?” “Which judge does she work for?” one of the women reporters asks. He ignores her, so she shouts at me. “Who do you work for, Ms. Rossi? Do you have any comment on Hightower? Why did it take so long to get the transcripts of the oral argument?” “Holy shit,” I hear Eletha mutter beside me. I push forward away from the reporters, but the lunchtime crowd is barely trickling out the narrow courthouse doors. “Come on, Ms. Rossi!” Faber shouts. “You gonna talk to me? Come on. Gimme a break here.” The heads of three other reporters snap in my direction. I feel Eletha’s hand on my forearm. “Who do you work for, Judge Meyerson? Judge Redd?” the woman shouts at me. “I can find out, you know.” “No comment,” I say. “Aw,” the woman says, “just tell me who you work for. It’s Simmons, right? That’s who? Simmons?” I feel Eletha’s talons dig into my arm; she seems shaken. I press ahead, pushing in line for the first time in my life as a good girl. It works. The crowd surges forward, and Eletha and I squeeze out the door and into the crowd outside the courthouse. “You all right?” I say to Eletha, but she can’t hear me over the Hightower supporters to our left.
“No justice, no peace!” they chant.
Their signs read: DEATH PENALTY=GENOCIDE OF AFRICAN AMERICANS! ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY! SUPREME COURT ADMITS “DISCREPANCY CORRELATES WITH RACE!”
“Let’s just get out of here,” Eletha says. “I’m trying, El.”
One of the signs is a picture of a young black teenager with smooth clear skin and a shy smile. He wears a red varsity football jacket. Hightower. The sound of the chanting resounds in my head. At the front line of the swelling Hightower contingent is a prominent black city councilman and members of the black clergy. An older black woman standing next to one of the clergymen catches my eye; she’s heavyset but dignified in an old-fashioned cotton dress, a calm eye at the center of a media hurricane. I recognize her from TV: Hightower’s mother, Mrs. Stevens. “Are you surprised by the amount of support that’s being shown for your son?” a TV reporter says to her, thrusting a bubble-headed microphone in front of her face. Mrs. Stevens looks startled, then the black councilman steps closer to the microphone, obstructing her from view. “We are going to hold a round-the-clock vigil to protest the death penalty, to show that it has always been racist in this country,” the councilman says. “The Baldus study shows that African Americans are more likely to receive the death penalty than whites.”
“Push, Grace,” Eletha says. “Okay, okay,” I say. I force my way past the man in front of me, but find myself face-to-face with Mr. Gilpin, who’s standing in my path. Even in the midst of the hubbub, his face relaxes into a smile. “Hello there, my friend,” he says, loud enough to be heard over the din. “Is this pretty lady a friend of yours?” A tall black man in an X baseball cap chants over his shoulder, and behind him is the TV reporter and the black councilman. Gilpin acts like none of this is happening, as if it’s a squabble over a suburban fence, not an incipient race war. “Mr. Gilpin, this is Eletha Staples,” I say. Eletha extends a hand reluctantly. “Hello, Mr. Gilpin.” “Call me Bill, Eletha. You girls goin’ out to lunch?”
“No justice, no peace!” booms a clear voice behind him, and the crowd begins to shove me aside. “We’d better go, we’re blocking the way,” I say. I edge forward, but Eletha gets jammed between one of the Hightower supporters and a TV technician. Gilpin grabs her arm and pulls her lightly to her feet. “Are you all right?” he says. “Get me out of here, please. I hate crowds.” She places a hand to her chest and starts breathing in and out. I’m worried she’s going to hyperventilate and Gilpin must see it too, because in one swift movement he scoops us up by the elbows and drives through the mob. He deposits us at the curb and brushes back a pomaded hank of hair. “I played football in high school,” he says. Eletha tugs a handkerchief from the sleeve of her sweater and dabs at her forehead. “Thanks a lot.” Gilpin’s eyes skim the crowd unhappily. “We started this, I know. But it’ll be over soon.”
Which is when it occurs to me. The politics of the new Hightower panel is all over the newspapers; Galanter and Foudy aren’t closet conservatives. Gilpin must realize that Hightower’s going to lose, and he’s about to see his daughters’ murder avenged. I wonder if Gilpin is happy that Armen was killed. Suddenly I like him less. “We’d better be going,” I say. He nods. “Sure enough.” “Thanks again,” Eletha says, recovering. We cross Market Street and the chanting trails off into the noontime traffic, making me suddenly aware of Eletha’s stone silence. She chugs along the sidewalk like a locomotive and I tense up, feeling like a curtain has fallen between us: white on one side, black on the other. We come to the corner of Sixth and Chestnut and she squints up at the light.
An executive takes a second look at her, then stares right at my breasts.
My tension, pent up, bubbles over. “They’re a B-cup, okay?” I spit at him. “Any other questions?” The man hurries past us, and Eletha bursts into startled laughter. “I can’t believe you said that!” she says. “Neither can I. It felt great. Absolutely great.” I laugh, suddenly lighthearted. “I’ve been wanting to do that all my life.” “So have I.” I meet her eye. “Are you mad at me, girlfriend?” She shakes her head, still smiling. “I’m getting over it.” The traffic light turns green and we cross Chestnut. “It’s not my fault I’m white.” She laughs again. “It’s not that. It’s that I can’t believe you’re messin’ with Gilpin. You know better than that.” “I’m not messin’ with him. He talked to me the first day.” “You shoulda walked away.” “I couldn’t walk away, he’s a person.”
She holds up a hand. “I don’t want to know he’s a person, and I don’t want to know Hightower’s a person. These are names on a caption, not people. If you start thinkin’ they’re people, you won’t be able to do your job. Look what happened to Armen.” “What?” We stop in front of Meyer’s Deli, the only place she’ll eat; Eletha’s not Jewish, but she practically keeps kosher. “What do you mean by that, about Armen?” She looks warily at the lunchtime crowd. “Let’s talk inside, okay?” We head into the noisy deli, with its old-time octagonal tile floor and embossed tin roof. Meyer’s is always mobbed, but the line moves quickly because everybody inhales their food; the clientele consists almost exclusively of hyperactive trial lawyers. The hostess accosts us at the door and hustles us to an orange plastic booth against the wall. Our waitress, Marlene, appears at our table from nowhere. “You havin’ the tuna fish?” she says to me, already writing down #12 on her pad. “Only if you call me ‘honey,’” I tell her. “I want someone to call me ‘honey,’ and not just for my body.” Eletha smiles. “Do what she says, Mar. She just attacked a man on the street.” “Okay, honey,” Marlene says mirthlessly. She tears off the check and puts it face down, like we’re at the Ritz-Carlton. “You havin’ the whitefish on bagel, Eletha?” she says, scribbling on the order pad. “Yes,” Eletha says. “What’s goin’ on at the courthouse, girls?” Marlene says. She rips Eletha’s check off the pad and slaps it face down on the table.
“They gonna kill that kid?” Jesus. “We have no comment,” I say. Marlene scowls as she slips the ballpoint into her apron pocket. “I’m sick of the whole thing anyway,” she says and vanishes. Eletha leans forward. “So. I’ve been thinkin’ about what you said, about Armen. About him being murdered.” “What?” “Just accept that he’s gone, Grace. That’s hard enough. Anything else is a waste of time.” “I don’t understand. You don’t think he was murdered?” “I’m not so sure.” Now I really don’t understand. “Since when? That’s not what you said yesterday.” “I know what I said. But last night I tried to quit school, and they told me Armen paid already, in advance.” “What are you talking about? You go to school?” “Night school, at the community college. I got two more years left, and I’ve had it up to here.” She draws a line across her throat. Marlene materializes with our food. “Enjoy,” she barks and takes off again. “Eletha, I didn’t know you went to school.” “I thought Armen might’ve told you.” She picks up a bagel half and spackles it with whitefish salad. “He didn’t, but why didn’t you?”
“It’s a secret.” She bites into her sandwich, but I’m still too surprised to start mine. “In case I flunk out.” “You won’t flunk out.” “You never know. The whole damn thing was Armen’s idea. Now he’s gone.” “But I think it’s wonderful, Eletha.” “You don’t have to do it, girl. Three nights a week I get home at eleven o’clock. I gotta take two buses, then transfer to the subway. Malcolm’s in bed, I don’t even get to see him. If I’m lucky, I got an hour left to fight with Leon. I figured if I got an associate’s degree, maybe I could transfer the credits and go on to college, then who knows.” “Maybe to law school?” She smiles. “Maybe.” “That sounds great. I think it’s great.” She puts down her sandwich. “Nah, it was a pipe dream. The only reason I didn’t quit was Armen. He’d have been on my case forever, like he was till I quit smoking. That man was too much. He paid my tuition for me, clear through to graduation.” “But why does he pay it at all, if I can ask?” “I couldn’t afford to, so we had an agreement. He lent me the money and I paid him back in installments. When they told me it was all paid off, I started thinkin’. Maybe it was a suicide. Maybe he was fixing it so I couldn’t quit after he was gone.” It can’t be. “Maybe he just wanted you not to worry about it.” She shakes her head. “I feel like quitting anyway.” “Don’t. He wouldn’t want you to.” “I know that.” She bites into her sandwich. “El, can I ask you a question?” She nods, her mouth full. “How much money are we talking about for your tuition?” “Couple thousand a semester.” “Where would Armen get that kind of money?” “He makes a fine livin’, hundred thirty thousand a year, and he saved like a fiend. He never spent a dime, that man.” It doesn’t make sense. Why would Armen save if he had over half a million dollars? “He was a saver?” “Always. But he was cheap, they all are.” “Who’s they? Judges?” “Armenians. You should see, when they’d have a dinner, I’d be countin’ dimes on my desk. Who had the iced tea, who had the wine. I’m serious.” “That’s racist, El.” “I know. But it’s true.” She laughs. “Did his family have money?” “No. Susan’s did, but he didn’t.” “So how much did he have saved, do you think?” “Maybe fifty–sixty thousand. He told me not to worry about it, he’d take care of Malcolm’s college. I worried plenty, but I don’t make enough to save shit. Why?” I look down at a half-eaten pickle. “Just curious.”
We split up after lunch because Eletha has to run an errand; she promises me she’ll take the back entrance into the building, because there’s no demonstration there. As I reach the courthouse, I consider doing the same myself. The mob has grown. People spill out past the curb and into the street, filling the gaps between the TV vans and squad cars. The police ring the crowd, trying vainly to keep it out of Market Street. I cross against the traffic light, which turns out to be advisory anyway. A gaper block stalls traffic up and down the street. As I get closer to the courthouse, I see that something seems to be happening. The chanting stops suddenly; the crowd noise surges. Reporters and TV cameras rush to the door. I pick up my pace. It looks like breaking news, maybe the panel decision. My pulse quickens as I reach the edge of the crowd. I look for the hot orange cones that mark the walkway into the courthouse, but they’ve been scattered. “What’s going on?” I say, but am shoved into a woman in front of me. I turn around to see who’s pushing. A cameraman stands there, and a lawyer with a trial bag. “Sorry,” says the lawyer, sweating profusely behind horn-rimmed glasses. “It’s this person behind me.” “No!” someone screams at the head of the crowd, and then there’s more shouting and pushing. The mob’s moving out of control. I feel a sharp elbow in my back. It knocks me off balance. “There’s a decision!” someone shouts up front; then there’s more yelling, even screaming. I feel panic rising in my throat as the crowd swells toward the door, carrying me with it, almost off my feet. Suddenly there’s a painful whack at the back of my head. I feel faint, dizzy. Everything gets fuzzy. My arms flutter, groping for anything to stay upright. Gunshots ring out like distant firecrackers, and there’s screaming and shouting, also far away. Strong hands catch me from behind. Someone says in my ear, “This is a warning. Let the judge rest in peace.” The words and the pain melt together. And then slip beyond me.
~~~
One will go to Harvard; the other will be put to death. No justice, no peace.
It reminds me of Armen, and our talk that night, over Hightower. Law and morality. You can’t separate them, why would you want to? Then I think of his broad back slumped over his desk. Armen was murdered, and murder is wrong. Illegal and immoral. Nothing I’ve learned tonight changes that, and I’m still the only one who has a chance of getting to Galanter. I rise, unsteadily. “Maybe I’m not out, Rain Man.”
If you have questions of exactly how and why we've begun to be greatly concerned about Justice in America, this is an excellent book from which you can learn about the inside of the system... We've seen the introduction of bias against non-white citizens and, the implementation of DEI, the override of established laws by The Supreme Court, in this case, resulting in the death of one judge and subsequent criminal actions which were discovered...by those in the legal staff... Yes, this is fiction, but there was too much that ran parallel to things happening today. By the way, the Judge's wife was a Senator and they were heading for divorce, but she asked that the judge stay with her until "after the election..." Manipulation, seeking personal power, and yet, learning of how it is the single individuals who work to investigation who in the end do...find...justice...
GABixlerReviews
Sometimes free will is not freeing. “I just don’t know. Whatever you think, Miss Rossi."
Well, folks, it's been a while since I was able to get back to normal from the stress. Dealing with large corporations is often difficult for we customers... Just this week, I have been able to wash clothes! Really! Something so routine had become a nightmare for me... And, I've been able to do my first loads of clothes since October 9th! As each load was finished, I could feel the tension lifting from me... So, I've picked out three of the issues about which Robert and I have similar concerns... Join the conversation in the comments section below, or on Words Matter! at Facebook...
Republicans have been calling for an improved border security. Finally there is a bill that promises better border security, significantly better border security. It is a bipartisan bill and that is the way our government works, compromise for what's best for our country. However, Donald, who only thinks about himself, is calling upon Congress to not vote for the bill. Donald even admitted that it would be a temporary fix. So why does he not want this bill to be passed? Because he wants border security as a campaign issue and he wants to have full credit when another bill is put forth during a time when he might be president. A selfish and unworthy leader, he wants his Republican followers to do what's best for Donald and not what's best for our country.
Exactly, Robert. I would add, for the record, that President Biden had a written proposal related to Border Security as he came into office and submitted it to Congress for action. That never occurred. In fact, all should remember that just getting up and running in that first year for the republicans who gained a small majority margin to even name a final leader... And, sadly, we now see that leader constantly talks about having discussed the issue with Donald Trump and publicly refusing to act based upon his orders!
So, once again, the republican party has stopped action on a supposedly crisis situation for three years! And, wants all Americans to wait another year before they will even consider the subject! Vote all republicans now in congress OUT! We need to work in a bipartisan fashion to solve this problem. Game-Playing by the republicans has to stop!
~~~
Fact: Donald has been found guilty of fraud. Fact: some of his vast wealth was acquired through fraud.
Of course, he has hired dozens of attorneys to defend him in his many court cases. No big deal, he is, after all, a billionaire and can afford them. Donald even hired an “expert witness”, Bartov, to testify that his many properties weren’t inflated in price just to get needed business loans. Guess what? The testimony didn’t help and might have left Donald exposed to even more penury payments. And, what was the cost of this “expert testimony”? Just shy of a MILLION DOLLARS! What is most interesting, however, is that Donald (a billionaire!) didn’t have to pay this guy. Nope. The money came out of his political action committee, comically called “Save America”. Hmm. Sounds like this action committee would have been better named “Save Trump”. In fact, this con-man billionaire has spent campaign funds to a total of $55.6 million on legal costs in 2023! Over the last two years, campaign fundraising organizations have devoted $76.7 million to legal fees for republican defendants, mostly the past president!
Now, this isn’t illegal. Sad, yes. But, also comical. Think about it. MAGA followers contribute their hard-earned money for Donald to be RE-ELECTED. Yet, much of their contributions goes toward helping a billionaire who has already bragged he has over 400 million dollar in cash, but doesn’t touch a penny of it! Yes, Donald loves the uneducated. And, for good reasons. They lack the intelligence to know that they are being tricked by an expert con-man and thus freely give up their money to support his unethical and criminal behavior.
Well, I think many are being confused by the willing news agencies, such as Fox, who repeat Trump's lies and disinformation... On purpose or not, they are not getting the Truth...
And, Robert, let's not forget that he has also been judged guilty of rape and defamation, during which he continued his defamation until a second trial was held and the jury awarded for a total of $83M! I wonder if our donors will stand for paying millions for rape and defamation...
Frankly, it's my opinion that if we had a less biased Supreme Court, we would have been able to conduct additional civil cases against Trump. Given the very clear planned procrastination by the Judge of the Records Theft/Espionage Case, which would have already occurred and, in my opinion, definitely found him guilty as charged... This case is a slam-dunk, held up by the Trump-appointed judge and the republicans...
My stomach has successfully withstood "super" hot buffalo wings, cottage cheese, and lima beans… but it has not been able to withstand the posts suggesting that Donald is sent by God. I literally gag when I read such ridiculous crap. Or see the new ads!!!
To all Christians, "let us reason together." God didn’t smile upon a pathological liar who was so narcissistic that he puts himself before family, friends, and country. Nor would God choose as a messenger a twice-divorced man who walks into the dressing rooms of girls and women and believes he can just “grab’em by the pussy.” God would not want to have as his emissary a leader who resorts to childish name-calling and “bears false witness” (nearly every day!) to those who disagree with him.
Donald is nothing like the imperfect but still great King David. Rather than being chosen by Jesus, he is the anthesis of Jesus. So, for Heaven’s sake, give God more credit… he would never choose such a dishonest and disgraceful man to lead our country.
Yes, Donald is the most immoral character to ever reside in the White House. Yes, he has polarized our country with his Big Lie. Yes, his sloppy and self-centered behavior has landed him in over four different criminal court cases. But his greatest threat to our nation and the world remains his distorted view of NATO. This is a defense pact that for over sixty years has held the Russian Bear in check.
Donald decidedly doesn’t like NATO. "You need to understand that if Europe is under attack, we will never come to help you and to support you," Trump told European Commission President. "By the way, NATO is dead, and we will leave, we will quit NATO," Donald also said, according to French commissioner Breton. As president in July 2018, Mr. Trump not only nearly withdrew from NATO at an alliance summit but denounced the European Union as a “foe” because of “what they do to us in trade.” He then attended a summit with Mr. Putin, after which he expressed skepticism about the idea that the United States should go to war to defend a tiny NATO ally, Montenegro. Donald’s dispute with the alliance harks back to his 2000 book, “The America We Deserve. Trump wrote that “their conflicts are not worth American lives. Pulling back from Europe would save this country millions of dollars annually.”
Donald wants out of NATO. And as more and more MAGA cult followers infiltrate the legislative branch, he might have the votes to do it. Even if he can’t dissolve NATO, he can wreak havoc. While Congress controls the purse strings, the president executes the laws. So, even if Congress appropriates further aid to NATO countries, Mr. Trump could withhold delivery of it — as he did in 2019 when trying to coerce Mr. Zelensky into announcing a criminal investigation into Mr. Biden, the abuse-of-power scandal that led to Mr. Trump’s first impeachment.
Presently Russia’s battlefield strategy has been blunted and they are now carrying out attacks to just to keep the war going. Even though Russia has fared poorly in the war with hundreds of thousands killed or wounded and their economy severely weakened depleted, Putin refuses to consider a peace settlement. Why? Because Putin has calculated he could be in a much better position after the 2024 election when he will once again try to tip the scales in favor of his buddy, Donald.
Yes, our democracy is threatened by Donald. But the world is threatened even more by Donald’s attacks on NATO. There is no new history, folks. There is just history that repeats itself, sometimes in ugly ways. Donald often invokes the slogan “America First.” He did not originate this phrase. It was first popularized by American isolationists opposed to getting involved in World War II. Most people (but perhaps not Donald) recognize that our financial and later military helped in that war as a pivoting force saving the world from fascism. If Donald gets into office, it will be good for Putin and good for fascism around
the world.
Well, I tend to put having Trump as a Dictator over my concern for NATO. After all, if Trump is elected, he has already declared what would happen. My concern is for all those non-white men and women, also God's children...and even, myself and other white women since he obviously is a (old-term) sexist pig!
Yes, Indeed, Robert! My only additional comment is that, in my opinion, the Prime Minister who was already under scrutiny before Hamas attacked, may also be waiting for Trump's return--dictators love dictators...including from Iran... I've thought this could very well be a planned effort as Putin started, then each of the other primary dictators followed... What do you think?
By the way, my stomach also flips whenever I hear what the political-thirst for power has done to some leaders in Christianity! I speak out often on this issue and will continue to do so. Given the split of news agencies who cater to disinformation and sensationalism rather than truth, we must continue to shed God's Truth across the World in any way we can.
Carly for the first time allowed her song to be used for politics. Thank you and others such as today's top artists who speak out...related to voting...
If you are a person that has experienced religion and you are saying, “yeah, I know God exists,” please consider the possibility that the “god” religion has taught you about is not the Creator.
In order to obey Joshua's new command of "love one another as I have loved you", we must join with other disciples and help them in real, daily life as we all serve God together as manifestations of His Family (Love means to value someone highly and to treat them with compassion and with selfless behavior). Our neighbors often choose not to love us back.
As we have learned, we humans have a significant problem with pride, fear, and selfishness. We also have a deep dislike of being held accountable for our behavior or words. We desperately want to do whatever we want and generally what we want does not involve losing things we think are valuable. This characteristic makes us strongly independent beings who don't like what is true or right if we perceive we don't get something out of it. We want to decide such things for ourselves, and in our self-pride, we take great offense at even the suggestion that we need help in either knowing what is true or doing what is right...
Previously in the book, we said, “Later we will look in detail at how Christians substitute a false religious problem for the real root problems." Now is an excellent time to address that. If you recall, the root problems that cause most of humanity's problems are fear, self-pride, and selfishness. Christians, on the other hand, say that "sin" is the root problem that needs to be fixed. Christians define “sin” as essentially things I do wrong--a missing of the mark. They talk about a valid concept they call sins of commission (things I do that are wrong) and sins of omission (things I don't do that I should). Their lists of “sins” are almost entirely focused on sins of commission instead of sins of omission.
Yet lack of love is an omission problem, and it is the biggest problem of all, as we shall see. Examples of sins of commission include getting drunk, swearing or cursing, cheating, lying, stealing, smoking cigarettes, fornicating, disobeying laws or rules of governments, etc. The Christian's list of sins would be long, but it would generally omit the three root problems of fear, self-pride, and selfishness. Some Christians would say that self-pride and selfishness are sins, but they would say they are just different sins not any more important than any other sin. They would not typically classify fear as sin.
In essence, what the Christians do is to focus on the symptoms instead of the root causes, and call the collective symptoms The Problem. Or to put it another way, they focus on that which is less important while ignoring the stuff that is most important. Joshua said it this way: Woe to you, Bible experts and religious leaders, hypocrites! For you give ten percent of your income (to your religious organization), and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat (keep religious rules) and swallow a camel (don’t live by justice, mercy or faithfulness)! (Matt. 23:23-24)
A great and current parallel example of the Christian error of vague or misleading labels of a problem would be calling Muslim Jihadists "terrorists." By calling people "terrorists" who are actually motivated by specific religious beliefs found in Islam's holy book is to at best obfuscate the facts and at worst, to hide them altogether. The symptom – a horrible one at that – is the violence that causes “terror” in the victims or potential victims. The cause is some Muslims following some of the teachings of Mohammed, Islam's prophet and spokesman for God, as found in the Quran. (See Appendix 6, Islam). So, the Christians focus on their dandruff while they are dying of brain cancer. They step on the broken glass and put Band-Aids on their feet, and step on the glass again the next day, thinking the Band-Aid is the solution. They are most upset and focused on Johnny’s poor grades at school while Jonny is bullying others. They keep putting fires out in their community’s houses while ignoring the electrical appliance that is causing the fires. They focus on Betty’s college entrance scores while Betty is having sex that will likely lead to HIV and her death and possibly others. In short, they are worried about and focus on “disease” (the vague unclearly defined concept of “sin”), yet they never look closely enough to properly diagnose and treat the cause behind “disease” (self-pride and fear and selfishness). They do this because it is much easier to focus on symptoms (sin) than to consider the cause (loving my life in this world and thus having no faith and little love because I am in my made cage of self-pride and fear and selfishness).
It is far easier to abstain from minor or perceived moral wrongs than it is to engage in a life of self-change and using truth to foster, encourage and implement change in our lives and the lives of others. Furthermore, they say the way to fix the sin problem is to "accept the substitutionary (propitiatory, vicarious, etc.) death of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." This belief is perhaps the most damaging aspect in the concept-belief realm of the substitute that is Christianity.
Christians are wrongly taught and hold that “by believing that Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins you are forgiven, and heaven bound.” This belief is sadly and horribly wrong as we have seen. Joshua teaches no such thing – in contradiction, he says let him set us free, so we can care about what is true and right, proclaim and fight non-violently for those things, and above all love one another. Furthermore, a reasonable belief of being accountable for one’s behavior including lack of helping others (or said another way, lack of love) is replaced with Paul’s “gospel of grace” and their doctrines of eternal security derived from non-Joshua sources.
Many Christians are only too glad to push away any notions of accountability and responsibility with their favorite Paul doctrine of salvation by grace. So, there is a three-fold falsehood that is the knock-out punch in substituting the false religious problem for the real problems identified earlier. First, don't look solely to Joshua of Nazareth to understand who God is, what God is like and what God wants. Instead, they look to “the Bible,” their religious leaders and their favorite Christian authors or “scholars.” This mistake is the fatal error, and this error makes it easy to adopt all the other errors, including the next two.
Second, of gaining forgiveness from God for one's “sins” and thus acceptance from Him by “believing” (merely mental only) that Christ's death was a substitutionary sacrifice for you and your deserved death or punishment demanded by God's justice; thereby absolving you from your “sin.” As has been discussed, not seeing ourselves as guilty human beings and not believing what is true nor practicing what is right - especially love - is how we condemn ourselves (being a prisoner in our cage of self-pride and fear and selfishness). Being genuinely remorseful for our realization of the state of our soul, and looking with faith to the True Light of the world to save us from ourselves is what brings us out of our cage and into everlasting Life.
Third, that after having received the forgiveness for one’s sins, one continues to be “saved” (headed to heaven) by God’s grace (and “going to church”) and thus God will not hold you accountable or responsible for how you live your life or at least there are little or no consequences for one’s decisions and behavior in life. This falsehood successfully turns people away from Joshua of Nazareth and to Paul or others and their erroneous religious doctrines.
After having entered into Life, what keeps us on the difficult way and abiding in eternal Life is we make sincere and real efforts to do what Joshua says motivated by our love for him and his Father. Please note this saying of Joshua which validates that Paul’s “gospel of grace” is wrong. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. (John 5:28-29) Many religious people cement the third error by their doctrine of “eternal security,” meaning once a person is “saved,” they are always “saved” and cannot lose their salvation. In essence, they say to themselves, “Isn't that great! Just believe this stuff about our christ and his blood sacrifice to pay for our sins, and we are heaven bound-now we can get on with loving our life in this world to its fullest-me, me, me and money too!”
The thing that its leaders and members call “the church” is now justified in their “sin forgiveness” aspect of their religion by those three errors that they make and hold. People are not taught to think about how fear and self-pride and selfishness affect their daily lives. And if they are not motivated to identify, recognize and work on those three root problems of our nature, will they ever be part of the solution? Of course, not--they will remain in darkness and be part of the problem. They will put Band-Aids on arteries squirting out blood. They will flail at their sins and ignore their self-condemnation. Christians are very complacent in their delusion, “they just know” that they had their sin forgiven when they “entered into a relationship with christ”-- religious lingo for having some emotional experience or of affirming or adopting the intellectual doctrine of their “church.”
In the prior chapters in the section, we have taken a close look at the significant falsehoods that Christianity is built upon, namely the Bible instead of Joshua, a false gospel, the central ritual that substitutes for what Joshua asks for, and an inadequate and negligent understanding of our real problems. In the next few chapters, we will look not at specific errors and wrong practices that Christians hold and substitute for what God wants, but rather a few of the primary methods and beliefs the Christian leaders use to nullify, hide or make of no effect the teachings of Joshua of Nazareth.
Chapter Summary:
Christians teach that “sin” is the primary problem for human beings, but they do not define sin clearly and which sins are important will vary according to the religious leader; The true root problems for us are a nature ruled by fear, self-pride, and selfishness;
Christians teach that we can have our "sin" problem fixed by “believing Christ died for your sins.” What that generally means is if I merely make an intellectual or emotional profession in Christianity's Christ, my sin problem will be gone. That is a delusional belief which leads to much hypocrisy; Joshua teaches that repentance for the wrongs I committed in my state of non-faith and entering into faith in HIM and the Father HE reveals are what brings me forgiveness and into eternal Life.
Joshua teaches that living according to his Way of love and caring about what is true and right is what keeps a person in the state of eternal Life. See Appendix 8, Forgiveness and Blood Sacrifice.
In the appendix, "Forgiveness and Blood Sacrifice," the following facts will be established: Joshua never said that his death would be a sacrifice for sins;
Joshua never taught that his Father required a sacrifice for sins; Joshua did speak about the meaning of his death, and he spoke of it as paying a ransom, not being a sacrifice for sin;
Joshua provides no basis to support the primitive Hebrew belief of requiring blood to be spilled to receive forgiveness; (Some will point to Luke 22:20 to try and argue that Jesus did teach his death was a sacrifice. Here are arguments against that. The passage does not use the term “sacrifice”. Some manuscripts do not have the phrase,“given for you” or “poured out for you”. It was ancient Hebrew practice to seal a covenant with blood.)
Only a terrible and unjust dad would punish his innocent child for the wrongdoings of a guilty child; Forgiveness is granted to those who are sincerely remorseful for their wrongdoing(s) and thus desire to change.
~~~
I am purposely ranking this book with a top rating. Why? Simply because there is no other book like this that I am aware of. While Mr. Spiess may differ on, perhaps, specific issues of meaning, it is only through the extensive and lengthy work in writing this book that we can even begin to understand exactly what is "wrong." We all know "something" is wrong. This book is an excellent way to begin your own research and analysis. If you find something to question, there are additional points of information available through those who have begun their own quest in discovering exactly what Truth is available and which comes from our Lord Jesus himself.
When we are confused, troubled, and misinformed, as is happening more and more in this world, we need to ensure that we leave that negative state, or, indeed we will be caught in a never-ending world where it is quite alright to place yourself (or even your family) as the one and only way to live your life... We think that we are a primary part of the world--that what we think and do is right--correct. And, as often as not, we act on our personal opinions in not only our daily lives, but in living within a neighborhood, a town or city, or, even the world...
Like those disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, they retained their past memories, added their own opinions as to what is right or wrong, and then use only that set of knowledge upon which to daily live our lives. For example, if, in your early years, your family participated in the KKK, then it is highly likely that those prejudices from your own family members may continue to dominate your interaction with all neighbors, some of whom are Black or of a different ethnic background. On the other hand, if you've spent time, these days, online, gathering much misinformation that is out there, you may find you are on the wrong side of both history and your own future...
Even when Jesus was with us on earth, those who had been chosen to work with Him, often allowed their past opinions to affect their interaction with Joshua* They wanted to know everything and anything about "What's happening..." They got excited, yet often judgmental about what Jesus would choose to do...
Over 2000 years have passed, and a writer by the name of Tim Spiess started questioning... Tim, being a man of logic, saw things that just should not be happening... He began to use his reasoning--the action of thinking about something in a logical, sensible way. What he ultimately acknowledged as truth resulted in this and his other book... They are both highly recommended!
It was back in the 1970s when I first started a similar, though not as concentrated, journey, to question... I was glad to see this book was updated into this century... The key point I began to realize is that we had a right to doubt. In fact, since we were created with Free Will, the ability to know right from wrong, it was quite easy for me to accept and agree with Spiess' thesis, in this book, that, indeed, Christianity has been a successful failure.
In creating his books, he has chosen an excellent method to ensure readers are able to first, grasp, then study, and, then, hopefully to accept what he has shared. He does this by simply using a normal scholarly method of presentation: First, Chapter Questions--or what is to be covered--are given. Second, would be a general discussion of points that the writer provides, through sharing what is, first, and then to debate what may be, for want of a better word, wrong... Finally, he presents Chapter Summaries which repeats in a clear and concise way the central concepts conveyed in the chapter.
To me this was a very important process to be followed, routinely, consistently, and for easier understand and retention. After all, we have negatively learned that repetitive rhetoric of misinformation can result in major problems, as is happening, right now, in today's world...
Essentially what Spiess is doing for his potential readers is to, first, present the issue, then he presents his logic and reasoning, and finally, arrives and shares his conclusion. Specifically, Spiess has ensured that, given the very controversial material he is presenting, that we readers have every opportunity to, first learn what the issue is, explore with the writer his opinions and documentation, and then to allow you to consider his final conclusions...
This is so very important, in my opinion, because Tim Spiess is, in essence, presenting Jesus Christ, (Joshua) to us in a way that we can learn, come to understand, and recognize exactly what we who are Christians, have as the Truth, the basis upon which our faith is to be based... Let's get very specific:
The definition that Jesus (or Joshua) of Nazareth gives to “religion” is the things people believe and do concerning God, spiritual or metaphysical things, human life, and death - that have no basis in my teachings or which nullify or work against my teachings.6 This view or definition of religion has one voice informing those who inquire about God and His role in human life. This distinction is critical – between the conventional definition of religion and Joshua of Nazareth's definition of religion. The term "religious" means people who believe some God, gods or a spiritual reality exists and who have practices around those God or spiritual beliefs which beliefs or practices have no reasonable basis in Joshua of Nazareth’s teachings. Please read that again...
Over 2000 years have passed, and a writer by the name of Tim Spiess started questioning... Tim, being a man of logic, saw things that just should not be happening... He began to use his reasoning--the action of thinking about something in a logical, sensible way. What he ultimately acknowledged as truth resulted in this and his other book... They are both highly recommended!
It was back in the 1970s when I first started a similar, though not as concentrated, journey, to question... I was glad to see this book was updated into this century... The key point I began to realize is that we had a right to doubt. In fact, since we were created with Free Will, the ability to know right from wrong, it was quite easy for me to accept and agree with Spiess' thesis, in this book, that, indeed, Christianity has been a successful failure.
In creating his books, he has done an excellent method to ensure readers are able to first, grasp, then study, and, then, hopefully to accept what he has shared. He does this by simply using a normal scholarly method of presentation: First, Chapter Questions--or what is to be covered--are given. Second, would be a general discussion of points that the writer provides, through sharing what is, first, and then to debate what may be, for want of a better word, wrong... Finally, he presents Chapter Summaries which repeats in a clear and concise way the central concepts conveyed in the chapter.
To me this was a very important process to be followed, routinely, consistently, and for easier understanding and retention. After all, we have negatively learned that repetitive rhetoric of misinformation can result in major problems, as is happening, right now, in today's world...
Essentially what Spiess is doing for his potential readers is to, first, present the issue, then he presents his logic and reasoning, and finally, arrives and shares his conclusion. Specifically, Spiess has ensured that, given the very controversial material he is presenting, that we readers have every opportunity to, first learn what the issue is, explore with the writer his opinions and documentation, and then to allow us to consider his final conclusions...
This is so very important, in my opinion, because Tim Spiess is, in essence, presenting Jesus Christ, (Joshua) to us in a way that we can learn, come to understand, and recognize exactly what we who are Christians, have as the Truth, the basis upon which our faith is to be based... Let's get very specific:
During the past ten years as I have recognized "my age," because of medical issues that had begun to encumber and interfere with "my routine," I have had more time to do a lot of thinking about exactly what I believed... and what I imagined that God would be thinking of this world, after 2000+ years. I had thought about one of His parables, The Parable of The Talents. To me, it became very clear that many people living during that time period had accomplished much with their given talents. I was grateful, for instance, for those many individuals who had taken their given talent, learned how to turn it into special training and expertise in the medical field, at all levels... And, in recognition that, some individuals might be different from us in ethnicity or religion, like my first doctor, for my first major surgery, removal of a tumor from my brain, who was a man who I could instantly be confident of through his obvious caring for his patients... Would not the total advancement of mankind have legitimately changed our perspective from that believed or expressed centuries ago? Should we not have at least become aware of where and what we are possibly doing wrong in coming closer to our Lord?
And, in that thought process, I realized that those who allowed their natural gifts to be used to help others were surely responding to the "Love" commandment. And that, to each of us who had been given talents of various types, that we who had responded to give those talents to benefit others were surely doing God's work in the world that He created... Therefore, I was pleased to see that this book talks about talents, not necessarily by just referring to the parable but by being more specific to allow our consideration:
So, some disciples will see what is happening in the world around them, gain useful insight, and be able to speak The Light’s truths in a strong, convicting manner (prophets). Some will be able to help other people with things they don’t understand or decisions they are facing (wise men). Some will be good writers who will proclaim The Light’s truths with their writing skills (scribes). Disciples value each disciple in a Family for whatever talents or skills they bring to the Family, remembering that "the greatest among you shall be the lowest servant of all." And then he proceeds to use common examples of what he means: All the world's problems regarding human-caused conflict, lack of love and neglect, can be solved IF people will make Joshua their true Leader! Because people choose not to make Joshua their true leader does not mean the solution has not been identified and given, nor does it mean it will not work. To say, “making Joshua of Nazareth one's Leader will not solve the problems,” is a false claim. When the people who say that refuse to give Joshua of Nazareth a chance to lead them, it is like the soccer player who says, “we will never win the world cup without a good coach,” but refuses to listen to the new coach and thus will not do what he says! Or, as another illustration, not making Joshua their leader and saying he can’t fix the problem is like the alcoholic asking the question, “what is the cure for alcoholism if I continue to drink alcohol”! Or like saying the solution can be known and realized at the top of the mountain but refusing to make an effort to climb the mountain. The simple truth is that for every person that participates in one of Joshua’s Families/Flocks, the problems are solved for that group of people. And for every successful group of people living the way the Way wants, you will have a model for other people to learn from, emulate and mimic. Seeing truth and love lived out is a powerful thing and it is desperately needed--not seeing it is a horrific omission that those who claim to “follow Jesus” are responsible for and which they will be held accountable. It is truly horrible to take people's only true Hope and hide him beneath an empty and shallow counterfeit—the successful failure.
And, yes, I was curious about whether and how he might refer to the political issues that are being faced in America since around 2015... I was fully in agreement with how it was handled, including how it was clarified:
In sum, existential or ethical relativism will always lead to conflict, anarchy, destruction, and the absolute rule of the human cage of self-pride, fear, and selfishness. And when anarchy happens, then it is only a matter of time before a single ruler – the strongest or most powerful person – will end up ruling. There are other dominant false and deceitful beliefs and practices out in the culture besides relativism, which lead many people astray. One of those ways to get people to think wrongly is to redefine language. We will examine that practice in the next chapter. In so doing, we will remove another obstacle to people seeing whether Christianity is a successful failure or not.
Chapter Summary:
Truth or ethical relativism is an erroneous worldview;
We were designed to acknowledge and think using absolute things/concepts in the domain of human behavior and in the reality in which we exist on this earth;
Human beings are NOT a trustworthy source of ethics—we need Someone Greater than ourselves;
Ethical or Truth Relativism will always lead to anarchy, suffering, and destruction due to the deeply flawed human nature we possess.
I want to quickly point out that words such as ethical relativismare clearly developed through the step-by-step process used by the author. And also recognize in writing my review that I have provided merely an overview that was sufficiently selected to provide potential readers a chance to understand the content of the book. Based upon my working with many PhD candidates at a university, I was completely attuned to a very structured style of presentation for introducing new possibilities, even with familiar material. I want to commend the writer for his willingness to, in creating an obviously controversial book title, also take readers into the nitty-gritty (the most important aspects or practical details of a subject or situation.) in order to justify and help teach exactly how a religion can indeed be a failure... Nearly all books have a main thesis of good over evil... Yet, in this world, we have purposely chosen or accepted without question that others, other than the one and only leader of the Christian Religion, might actually embellish, misrepresent and/or lie about what His teachings say.
As many of my ongoing readers may realize, I was already attuned to the reality of the concept presented in this book. As a Christian, I have always been open to learn more and more about my Lord and Savior. Each time I read a book, I learn a little more about the truth about His teachings. Nearly all books have a main thesis of good over evil... Yet, in this world, we have purposely or accepted without question that others other than the one and only leader of the Christian Religion, might embellish, misrepresent and actually lie about what His teachings are.
Finally, if you have concerns about what is happening in America and across the world, I consider this and Spiess' other book, The Light of the World as both must-reads. I chose this one first because I knew that the other would, in actuality, become my one and only bible to continue to learn more about His Words... Words are so important, aren't they? But much misinformation is purposely being thrown out in a continuous litany of rhetoric that speaks of the dark nature of man. We, you and I, must begin sharing His Light across the world. I am so happy to have readers from all parts of the world, because that is where He is--He is the hungry child in Africa, He is the grandmother murdered by the Hamas, He is the widows who suffer, but still support the war in Ukraine because of a real desire to be free...
And, What We Do Unto The Least of These, You Do Unto Jesus Christ (Joshua). I've already purchased one set of books to give to another family member. If your family has been divided due to politics, these books may be perfect gifts for those who think nothing about accepting that "Retribution" is called for...violence is called for...and our children must continue to die because of lies about guns...
You each must become as children again...to learn accepting love, and knowing that love is right and should be shared... I know that the world is not like that...But we have to start somewhere. I am suggesting to you that these two books may very well be the way that you take those first steps in finding Truth, Understanding, and the awareness that we have all been corrupted in some small or larger way from where we should be as followers of our Savior,
*The author through his research determined that Joshua was more appropriate an interpretation. Me, I've been saying Jesus for over 70 years and I think that is already for me...The above songs illustrate that we can call him Master, Savior, Son of God...all of them True... Truth is also a synonym for Jesus, don't you think? Love as well!
Note that I did not purchase the book by James Dobson... Excerpt is from Republican Gomorrah...
Dobson’s manual, Dare to Discipline, read like a manifesto for domestic violence when it finally appeared in 1970. He urged parents to beat their young children, preferably with a “neutral object” such as a belt or a rod, lest they turn into drug-addled longhairs. He also advised administering a healthy spanking every now and again. “A little bit of pain goes a long way for a young child,” Dobson wrote. “However, the spanking should be of sufficient magnitude to cause the child to cry genuinely. After the emotional ventilation, the child will often want to crumple to the breast of his parent, and he should be welcomed with open, warm, loving arms.” For parents struggling with children who refused to cooperate in public, Dobson recommended a slightly less vigorous technique than spanking. “There is a muscle, lying snuggly against the base of the neck [and] whenfirmly squeezed, it sends little messengers to the brain saying, ‘This hurts; avoid recurrence at all costs.’” Dobson instructed his readers to firmly pinch the necks not only of their own sons and daughters, but of the inadequately disciplined children of complete strangers as well. “It can be utilized in countless situations where face-to-face confrontations occur between child and adult,” Dobson said of his technique. To reinforce his advice, Dobson offered an anecdote that read as though it were lifted from the script of Dirty Harry (in which he used his strength to overpower a young teen who was attacking an older man.)
When Dobson updated his child-rearing advice in his 1992 manual The Strong-Willed Child, he extended his advocacy of corporal punishment to unruly household pets.
To Dobson, children were to be treated no differently than dogs. Both were preternaturally prone to rebellion, so both should be “crushed” with violent force.
By about this time, I felt sick to my stomach as I soon began to realize that this man was instigating violence within the home and without...in order to respond to authority/orders... And that he used the organization he led to send out letters that "told his family" how to vote... The story continued that this was about the time of the Kent State murders and a group of hard-hat rioters started a murderous riot which was later learned to be instigated by Nixon's special counsel, Colson...
Can we make a firm hypothesis that between 1970 and and around 2000, the indoctrination of violence rather than love to train our children had been firmly implemented in many homes across America.
By the summer of 1973, Colson was preparing for his trial for obstruction of justice. With the prosecution preparing its case against him and the press corps homing in on his role in the Watergate break-in, Colson knelt on the floor with his friend Raytheon CEO Tom Phillips. While Colson fought back tears in an embarrassed state of silence, Phillips prayed for his soul. Driving through Washington afterward, Colson suddenly began to cry “tears of release.”
“I repeated over and over the words, Take me . . . ” Colson wrote in his best-selling memoir, Born Again. “Something inside me was urging me to surrender.” Soon after, Colson sought out Dobson and Francis Schaeffer as prayer partners. When Colson finally came to Jesus, he became America’s best-known born-again Christian, lending exposure to a cultural phenomenon erupting below the radar of the mainstream press and secular America. In the Washington Post, columnist Nicholas Von Hoffman mocked his conversion as a cynical ploy, panning it as “a socially approved way of having a nervous breakdown.” While Colson appeared to remove himself from politics, he quietly planned a strategy to regain his former influence...
Of course, Colson may have indeed been changed... but he also then moved to regain his former influence and power... And, Colson went on to work within prisons for reform, based upon some promised instantaneous miracle... and his scifi book Gideon's Torch seens little more than a preliminary conceptual planning for the January 6th attack. Not surprisingly, Gideon’s Torch became a recruiting tool for those wishing to realize its fictional narrative. It has been excerpted at length on the website of the "Army of God," a radical anti-abortion group responsible for the killing and bombing of abortion providers.
When Dobson first entered public life, his understanding of politics was amateur at best. Colson became his counsel, providing him with high-level Republican contacts and help devising a strategy to transform his growing flock into an influential political bloc. Colson could never have fulfilled the strategy on his own. Indeed, no figure in the burgeoning evangelical movement shared Dobson’s psychological understanding of his audience on an intimate level. Only Dobson recognized events such as the hard-hat riot as integral parts of a gathering backlash against liberalism. His advocacy of corporal punishment was carefully intended to channel the violent backlash in the streets into a coherent grassroots movement with himself as its guru. Dobson’s teachings resonated on a profound level with the backlashers. By 1976, Dare to Discipline had been reprinted eighteen times and sold over a million copies. His success propelled him into the rapidly expanding evangelical broadcast industry. Dobson’s new radio show and ministry, "Focus on the Family," became immensely popular as well. Now, the followers eager to implement his harsh methods had grown into a belt-wielding army of millions. Corporal punishment was back with a vengeance.
Philip Greven, a professor of history at Rutgers University and a leading expert on Protestant religious thought, is one of the few researchers of American conservatism who has recognized the impact of corporal punishment on the sensibility of movement members. In his incisive book Spare the Child: The Religious Roots of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse, Greven analyzed Dare to Discipline in detail, concluding that Dobson’s violent child-rearing methods served an underlying purpose, producing droves of activists embarked on an authoritarian mission. “The persistent ‘conservatism’ of American politics and society is rooted in large part in the physical violence done to children,” Greven wrote. “The roots of this persistent tilt towards hierarchy, enforced order, and absolute authority—so evident in Germany earlier in this century and in the radical right in America today—are always traceable to aggression against children’s wills and bodies, to the pain and the suffering they experience long before they, as adults, confront the complex issues of the polity, the society, and the world.”
WhileDobson worked with the psychological issues of aggression and more, he twisted it into a period of "purity" during which any individual must reveal their deepest darkest secrets before they could become a "member" of his family... The problem with this was, of course, that there is a difficult, if not an impossible issue with both allowing violence to be the controlling factor while at the same time demanding a level of purity and submission to a dominant... Certainly, this was never what Jesus had ever asked of us, especially when He gave us Our Free Will...
Yet, the movement grew and grew and a future plan of action was installed: ...would stop gun control, outlaw abortion, limit the rights of homosexuals, curb contraception, end the constitutional separation of church and state, and adopt the Ten Commandments as guiding principles for public schools.”
And what happens when you have power--the power of a group of people--a cult--who will follow directions from their leader? Well, heading directly into influencing the political structure is a key part of fulfilling their goals, isn't it?
Are you aware that every single president through the election where Obama was elected (and which ended the book time coverage) has been forced to seek top-down authority to even choose what and who would be running with you?
Take for instance John McCain. Many of us would have already heard that he had originally wanted to choose a democratic senator to be his VP... This is true... What you may not know is that the far right only considered him because they forced him to take Palin as his VP running mate... "She" was the one they supported, not one of the greatest republican leaders that we all respected...
And when Obama attempted to meet with Dobson??? He was refused even one meeting... I guess that shows exactly what Dobson was all about...doesn't it?
Of course, there are many other corrupt activities that were exposed, not the least of which was that there are more divorces and teenage pregnancies in this group than in any other... Frankly, I didn't even want to throw all of that crap into my discussion, but it's there...
I saw enough, like Roger Stone being involved early on in this movement, to form a conclusion that what was being written had a basis for exactly what is now happening... The Shattering of the Republic Party... Surely no longer standing on solid ground...
Full Disclosure: This author has been seen as writing about conspiracy theories and can be possibly discounted by some...
That doesn't bother me. He is writing about authoritarian type regimes and we happen to be one of those at the moment, from the inside...
Nobody can question that the republican party has constantly refused to work to respond to the nation-wide cry for gun control, and in particular the banning of military-style rifles...
Nobody can question that the use of violence, bias, prejudice, and lies has become a part of the people running for political office and that they are extreme in their positions of working to control power...
What I know is this: Jesus gave His Life to ransom all who call upon His name...He died that we might live in love for all...and in love for God...
I did not come to Christ as a matter of personal crisis, but because of what He offered to Us...His Gifts of Love and Truth...
This book gave me the answer to my question of WHY?
I pray that, as God as He promised, those who love him will not be damaged because pride has gone before the fall...
