March 2025 – Really Right

Sac County GOP is Soft

It’s a group I used to be a part of….key word used to. Sacramento County used to have a vibrant Republican operation. They had great volunteers, a really good precinct coordinator during election season, then they changed.

In 2016, when Trump ran for office, and they screamed bloody murder…. he was a fake Republican, took money from Democrats etc. My favorite was when they decided to endorse and go all in on Ted Cruz when it was essentially mathematically impossible for Cruz to get the nomination. The California GOP establishment (including those here in Sacramento) wanted a brokered convention to block Trump from the Presidency.

Check out the news regarding the Sac County GOP from this past month.

The incident happened last Thursday evening. As captured by surveillance video, someone drove up to the building in Rancho Cordova and started casing the property.

After finding a large rock, the person then threw it through the front window – smashing the glass.

No one was in the building at the time.

Here is a statement from the party chair Christian Forte

“The County Republican Party regularly receives angry, if not threatening, phone calls harassing our volunteer staff,” said Sacramento County Republican Party Chairman Christian Forte in a statement. “But never have we been the victim of such a violent attack.”

He sounds pretty angry? You would agree right? Nope

Apparently, the thug returned to the scene of the crime a day or so later.

A suspect in the vandalism came back to the scene of the crime when the building was open and reportedly asked questions about the incident. This prompted staff to close the office for the day and call authorities.

On Tuesday, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office revealed that the suspect – a 20-year-old man – had come forward and apologized.

According to the sheriff’s office, the group no longer wants to press charges.

So let me understand this better. It was a violent attack; volunteers were scared and fearing for their safety were sent home and the office was closed. The perp came forward and rather than calling the authorities, Sac GOP choose to forgive and forget. I was disappointed at first but then it hit me, the party that doesn’t have a spine… lacks a backbone.

The same party, whose members used to puff their chests out and say how conservative they are, is too scared to pursue a 20-year-old punk. The folks who idolized Ronald Reagan (I swear everyone at the meetings worked for him at one point) couldn’t stand up to a criminal. The people who now worship the ground Donald Trump walks on do not believe in law and order, apparently?

It’s actually comical. The party that says we need to stand up to the democrats and hold them accountable quite literally could have done that…. and didn’t. Just like the Russian army, they talk a great game and think they are something…. then the war starts and we find out they are a paper tiger.

I looked at the Sac GOP website and looked at the “leadership” page…. I saw a couple familiar names. 1 person I greatly respect and looked at as a mentor, I doubt he sees me the same way anymore. Another who is quite literally a figurehead masquerading as a leader. So, I should not be surprised they folded like a cheap suit when confronted with adversity. These guys would rather fight with themselves than the democrats; it’s an odd thing.

Just remember folks this is the same group of people who had no problem with chronic drug/alcohol abuser Jorge Riley acting a fool at their meetings. No problem with Jorge literally drinking high-octane adult beverages from his backpack with a siphon while attending their events and meetings. Jorge who has a criminal record a mile long with domestic violence in there by the way. All of that behavior was fine until he made a video of himself on January 6^th…. and then, reluctantly he had to go.

The Chief

Shorting the Faith

“A man’s got to know his limitations.” Clint Eastwood

I wish to preface my comments with the statement that I really like living in North Idaho. But some folks in the pulpit can get under my skin. What follows is a bit of a rant on this topic.

First, I am about the most ecumenical person that you will ever meet. I have very strong convictions on what I believe but I have enough charity to allow others that hold different opinions (or convictions) than mine and not let our differences be a barrier to fellowship. The caveat is that they must acknowledge the central tenants of the faith. The Apostle Paul put it thusly, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” 1 Cor 2:2.

Second, I really dislike it when other guys call everyone else in the Church that believes differently than them, heretics, apostates, unbelievers, and other derogatory things, and damn them all to hell; doubly so when they are demonstrably wrong. Triply, so when the differences are secondary theological issues.

There’s a guy up here that is all over Facebook tearing everyone else down and thinking he is promoting his tiny little church. The problem is that this guy is the pastor of said tiny church. Were he just a member then I would write it off to him being a nut but when he is constantly playing the clergy card then it deserves a response. This dude is proud. I mean as in PRIDE in all caps, proud. This is a trait that I have encountered often with folks that identify as Baptist. I know because I used to be much like him. Yuck. They are Right, just ask them. In fact, they are so right that any Scripture that might challenge their view cannot possibly be translated correctly. They totally own the entire market on Truth, just ask them.

The clergyman in question, claims that the King James Bible is THE Word of God. No, you need to read that again. It’s not the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic manuscripts that the Bible was originally written in that are the Word of God but THE 1611 English translation that is THE inspired Word of the Almighty. The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts, even if we had the originals of the Prophets and Apostles, are not the Word of God. Only the work product of the translators of the 1611 Authorized Version of the King James Bible could produce the genuine text of God.

First this means that Jesus never knew what the Word of God actually says because the inspired Word of God would not exist for another sixteen centuries. Thus, the Septuagint version that Jesus quoted during his earthly ministry was not inspired. I was pointblank told by this guy that Jesus never quoted the Septuagint during his earthly ministry. The only alternative is that Jesus really did talk in Elizabethan English.

Second, the Word of God was not only unknowable in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek but in its subsequent Greek and Latin translations. Only after translation by fallible scholars over the course of more than 1,600 years could the actual Words of God be known. This idea is as ridiculous as the origin of the Orange Catholic Bible in Frank Herbert’s Dune series.

The idea that the so-called Authorized Version of the King James Bible (KJV) is THE WORD of God is stupid. So, why does he make such an indefensible claim? Because he can’t read Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and he wants a way to claim superiority over those that do. You see, if you can read the ancient languages, you can prove that the King James has errors in it and that some of his theological positions are false. Taking false pride in his ignorance is just a cover for his shortcomings. Talk about a bully in a bully pulpit.

I recently challenged him on a few of his claims on Facebook and was finally told to view his sermon and all my questions would be answered (or rebutted). For entertainment purposes, I looked up his YouTube sermon. Can you believe that he didn’t even link it to his suggestion to watch it? The sermon was based on John 3:22.

“After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.”

If you read the verse above, you might expect a sermon about Jesus traveling with his disciples and wondering if Jesus was baptizing folks along the way. Or the interaction of Jesus and his disciples with those of John the Baptist in the verses that follow but no, we get to launch from this one verse into a rant about politics and the evils of fellow Christians. Here is his promotion for what you get from his sermon on this lonely and seemingly innocuous verse.

🤔Does your church teach that society and culture will get better and better through the Christian involvement in politics and government?

🤔Does your Church host John Birch Society events?

🤔Is your Church involved with the Black Robe Regiment?

🤔Does your Church quote a man by the name of Doug Wilson, or hold to any of his teachings?

👉If you answered yes to any of those questions then chances are good that your church has been infected with a false teaching

My first thought upon seeing this was an old quotation of Dr. Walter Martin, (a Baptist minister that could read Greek and Hebrew), “A text without a context, is a pretext, usually for error.”

The pastor went from John 3:22 to Matthew 24 which he then tried to cherry-pick. His attempt at logic was this, Jesus takes care of his disciples. You are Jesus’s disciples and thus he will care for you too, but Jesus warned you in Matthew 24: 4-14 about those bad people over there. The linkage between the two verses is imaginary because there is none but why let facts get in the way of a great opportunity to pontificate?

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Jesus warned his hearers to beware of bad stuff that was about to happen to them in a few short years, but somehow, he left out the specifics. Believers lingered in agony for over 2,000 years trying to decipher these words of Christ until our intrepid minister was able to identify what Jesus really meant.

Oh, the bad stuff Jesus was warning about in Matthew 24 (quoted above) could be totally avoided if his hearers fled a few miles to the mountains when they saw the impending signs. Clearly the warning is a local not global catastrophe.

“Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” Matt 24:16.

But why let context get in the way of bashing people that the good reverend doesn’t like including: Presbyterians, Free Masons (black robe regiment?), members of the John Birch Society, Doug Wilson, or any other “false teacher” as he defines it. (Please note only he has the ability to know the truth from false, it is not based on Scripture but his secret knowledge.)

At this point, I was only about halfway into his sermon and had listened to all that I could stomach.

Sorry, but this portion of Matthew 24 is such a misquoted passage that I couldn’t let it go without comment. I will limit my comments to one word in verse 14: namely, “world”.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

There are three words in Greek that are translated into English as “world” in the KJV. One means the entire world (cosmos), the inhabited world or Roman Empire (Oikumene), and another that often means the land in or around Israel.

It seems that every person I know that is clueless about Greek thinks “world” in verse 14 is talking about the entire planet. They think since the Gospel has not gone to every nation on the planet that “the end” mentioned in verse 14 can only mean the end of history. However, if you bother to look up verse 14 in Greek, something the minister in question categorically refuses to do, it says this, once the gospel has gone to every nation in the Roman Empire (Oikumene) that the end would come. Thus, whatever “the end” was, it is a past event that happened during the lifetime of the original audience that heard Jesus’ words. This makes the biblical admonition in Matthew 24 an historic event that happened 2,000 years ago and not some unrealized future event.

If the minister can’t get the context of the verse correct, then how can we trust his application of the text?

He is abusing the passage to erect a strawman that he can then verbally beat like in piñata. Tearing other Christians down as a way to lift himself up is a constant part of his evangelism. Everyone in his community and his country is going to hell because they don’t agree with him. This guy is like a Babylon Bee parody of a Jack Chick Bible tract.

Oh, many of the people and groups that he attacked in his Sunday morning rant are going to be in heaven with or without his help. Somehow Baptists think they are the only folks that will make it into the Pearly Gates. Why is that anyway?

What’s that old saying about remaining silent and not opening your mouth lest you remove all doubt?

Part of the sermon was an Ad Hominem attack on a group of people that fought to make homeschooling legal in the United States. This minister believes in homeschooling and opposes sending children to government schools but was too clueless to know that he benefitted from the hard work of fellow believers that he was falsely attacking. This really angered me.

When a guy attacks you and your ideas and can’t get your name, beliefs, or history correct, then you know he did zero research. He came to the subject with a conclusion in hand and haphazardly filled in the necessary blanks to further his argument. Oh, unlike him, the people that he attacked know Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and the history of their faith. They also are prolific writers and not to be trifled with; especially by folks that have never read their works.

Hey, Rev., you might wanna look at this verse:

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6.

Oh, quoting this verse reminds me that part of this sermon was also a diatribe railing against the idea that Christians should believe and obey God’s Law. Apparently, man’s law or Satan’s rule is perfectly ok for him, but it is unreasonable for us to keep God’s Law. This is literally the definition of antinomianism. I guess God is only interested in men’s souls but not in redeeming the whole man. Last I heard, this was considered a Greek heresy.

In the movie, Full Metal Jacket, the drill sergeant says you can give your heart to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the Corps!

Sorry Bro, but all of you either belongs to Jesus or you have no part in Him.

My Bible says that Christ reversed the curse and that the meek will inherit the earth not heaven. Our job under the dominion mandate is to bring every area of life into subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ.

As you can see, this guy is getting on my nerves. I really want to find a way to peacefully coexist with him since we live in the same small town, but all he wants to do is be the guy throwing people under the bus. Jesus said to love your neighbor not frag them. I guess a high body count on Facebook is his metric of a good day’s work.

I wish he would get the basic subscription level of Logos Bible Software.

For only $15 a month, he could get commentaries and Greek/Hebrew interlinear translations and all the tools necessary to at least make more informed study before making a fool out of himself. I don’t believe ministers need to know Greek and Hebrew but at least have the humility to know that you really don’t know it all. The arrogant, anti-intellectual King James only B.S. is really stupid and not the hill that any serious Christian should be willing to die on.

Oh, other things this guy promotes on Facebook

🤔 The moon landing was faked

🤔 The sun, moon, and stars revolve around the earth

🤔 The pledge of allegiance violates the first three Commandments

🤔 Churches that are 501.c3 have broken the first three Commandments

One Last Valentine’s Day

Knowing that my wife’s mortality is staring both of us in the face, we knew that this year would be the last Valentine’s Day that we would ever share. About two weeks prior, we had tried to find a nice place for a Valentine’s meal but came up dry. In 22 years of marriage, we had never gone to a nice restaurant for dinner on February 14^th. As often happened in the past, I had decided to buy a nice steak and the trimmings and hope for dinner on another night. It was disappointing.

However, two days prior, we received a call saying that the best place in town, Tavern at the Lodge, had a cancellation. We were grateful and really excited for this unexpected gift. Tavern was offering a seven-course meal for the evening.

We arrived shortly after 5 PM. Meal service was scheduled to begin at 5:30. We got the table next to the fireplace. I tried all the dishes as they came out. Many I have never had before and likely would never order again. The meal also came with two glasses of wine. One was a very dry white and the other a dry red. I didn’t like either one. Below are a few photos of the meal.

Veal Wellington (sorry but we missed the duck photo)

I think we only got pictures for five of the seven items. I don’t claim to be as thorough as Johnnie Does.

After the meal, we stared across the table at each other. We both knew this was the last Valentine’s dinner that we would share together. We both started crying; something I did off and on for about the next 20 minutes. Finally, it was my turn to pay the bill. Once that was done, we went home.

Also in February were more medical procedures including additional chemo and immunotherapy.

The cyst that regrew was removed from my wife’s back. This time the doctor thinks he got it all.

Toward the end of the month was the placement of an esophageal stint. What a horrible thing to do to someone. My wife is suffering terribly as a result of the stint. Her body aches all over and she has constant nausea. The stint is supposed to force her esophagus open to 18 millimeters (50 percent more than it can be stretched any other way.) Oh, and it’s about 5 inches long. How would you like that object surgically placed in your throat? She is experiencing lots of coughing fits as a result. It also doesn’t help that she has more fluid in the plenum cavity in her chest. You know my wife is sick when she is skipping church and shunning visitors.

CT and PET scans in March will likely direct what future treatment that she receives.

Oh, lastly, in my previous post, the news that I posted seemed rather dire. At our last meeting with the Oncologist, I asked about the write-up from the other doctor that I had previously posted about. The Oncologist was dismissive of the conclusions in that report. In short, his comments were thus, one conclusion would require surgery to confirm, and the other is premature but might be supported once the next PET scan was done. He didn’t really say “no” to what was in the report, more that it was just too early to go there yet.