Abolitionists Rebels Without a Clue
Imagine taking the CRA at the height of their membership implosion, making them a single-issue group, and then mashing-up the result with Randall Terry’s Operation Rescue. Then hire Hammer Films to be their public relations arm and you might get the Abolitionist movement as found on Facebook.
Folks, you might think I’m being harsh on these guys but hear me out.
Yes, I know picking on the CRA is old hat on this blog, but they earned it. I gave many years of my life to the CRA and watched it spiral ever further downward. You can either describe my time with them as dedication, stubbornness, or simply that I’m a slow learner.
Anyway, I picked CRA and Operation Rescue because they were both built around a core of Evangelical Christians. Evangelical Christians have an incredibly short timeframe for any activism and an equally shallow dedication to anything due to their view of theology. This statement is true of Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority and other similar groups.
Barbara Alby’s CRA
The Barbara Alby led takeover of CRA was the result of Evangelicals wanting to change things politically in the wake of Pat Robertson’s failed 1988 run for United States President. Alby and company found a way to infiltrate the California Republican Party via a hostile takeover of the CRA and County Republican Committee elections. Alby never had any long-term use for CRA, it was just a means to take over the California Republican Party. Once CRA got their hooks in the CRP, they abandoned CRA.
Barbara’s recruitment tactics were effective but totally false and dishonest. Furthermore, they were very unchristian. She cast the struggle to take over CRA as a Frank Peretti style spiritual battle between God’s people and Satan’s minions. She vilified and dehumanized her opponents. As she described it, we were not battling with folks that needed Jesus but people that had chosen darkness and were beyond redemption. We were told that we cannot work to persuade those other people but must vanquish them.
I remember in particular her vilification of Carl Burton. Burton was a liberal (or moderate) Republican and a known homosexual. Alby portrayed Burton as the spawn of evil; a man needing to be defeated and exiled from the Party. Burton ended up working with CRA after Alby & company kicked CRA to the curb. Frankly, Burton was more “christian” than many that went to church each Sunday. Burton wanted to advance the Republican cause and would work with any group that felt the same. CRA, and Alby specifically, owed Burton a huge apology that I’m sure he never received.
Well, Barbara was successful. CRA went from 100,000 members to about 15,000 in a few years. It was a mix of die-hard people and true believers. But CRA was not done employing the circular firing squad. The search for even more purity in the ranks of CRA led to more purges and witch-hunts. When I finally left CRA for good, it was down to about 1,200 members.
Operation Rescue
I mention Operation Rescue because they were a militant prolife group that often made an appeal to the legal doctrine of “necessity”. Necessity is a legal doctrine derived from English Common Law. Their favorite example of necessity was based on the idea of running past a no trespassing sign in order to get people out of a burning building. Human life had more value and thus ignoring the no trespassing sign was justified because a greater good was being served.
Operation Rescue was built from people in Evangelical Churches. What many did not know, at least in the case of the Sacramento California group, the leadership changed in Operation Rescue about every six months. The last man standing in leadership was Reb Bradley.
Post Operation Rescue, Bradley and his wife went every week to an abortion clinic in the Roseville, CA area and held a sign, “We will adopt your baby.” It took about a year, but they finally adopted a newborn as a result. It was a witness that few Christians are willing to display. I have great respect for Bradley. Whenever I think about him it is with warmth and great respect.
Operation Rescue folks would occasionally go to an abortion clinic and split into two groups. One group would block the doors of an abortion clinic while the other, larger, group would peacefully picket on a public sidewalk. The Rescuers would typically be arrested for not disbursing and trespassing on private property (remember they were arguing about the necessity of trespassing to save a life). Part of their gambit was hoping to go to trial to get a judge to rule that the necessity defense was saving a life. Alternately, they were hoping that a judge would rule that abortion was the killing of a baby. In virtually every case that was litigated, the necessity defense was never allowed to be heard by a jury.
Operation Rescue found by experience that the number of folks willing to go to jail to end abortion was a rather short list.
Abolitionists—a Litmus Test No One Can Pass
The Abolitionists, as stated previously, are a mash-up of CRA and Operation Rescue. Like CRA, and many sects and cults, the other guys that claim to be on their side are not pure enough. If you don’t agree 100 percent with the Abolitionists, then they will diss you and very publicly too.
Abolitionists hate every other prolife group that you have ever heard of from National Right to Life to Life Site. Abolitionists have employed the circular firing squad to eliminate the following groups that failed the purity test:
- National Right to Life
- Susan B. Anthony List
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — Committee on Pro-Life Activities
- Americans United for Life
- March for Life Action
- Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission — Southern Baptist Convention
- Secular Pro-Life
- Democrats for Life of America
- Rehumanize International
- Louisiana Right to Life
- Indiana Right to Life
- Kentucky Right to Life
- Right to Life of Michigan
- Ohio Right to Life
- South Dakota Right to Life
- Tennessee Right to Life
- Wisconsin Right to Life
- And dozens more state Right to Life organizations.
Abolitionists want all abortions to be prosecuted as first degree murder, period.
Like Wow.
Oh, also they hate President Trump because he promotes In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Folk, this is why I call them a mash-up of CRA and Operation Rescue. Oh, and shout-out to their public relations group, Hammer Films.
Hammer Films because most of the political blood shed in their battles is that of fellow prolifers and not their actual enemies.
Abolitionists Use the Sword of the State not God’s Word
Oh, Abolitionists don’t want to persuade churches to stop abortion or help “problem pregnancies” or work with churches to educate folks, they are going for salvation via legislation. They want all 50 states to adopt a full ban on abortion and implement capital punishment for abortion. They want to execute not only abortion providers but also all women seeking abortion.
Folks, the Bible doesn’t even hold this out as a standard.
Abolitionists don’t want your local state legislature to pass a bill to ban abortion pills via mail or stop surgical abortion or regulate IVF clinics. Nope, for them these are all incremental half-measures that should be opposed. They want all or nothing legislation.
They also want all or nothing candidates. Locally, they are dissing a guy that is prolife because he doesn’t want to execute women seeking abortion. Instead, they call the prolife guy “Judas” and would rather re-elect a guy that supports Planned Parenthood.
Oh, they also want women to voluntarily be implanted with someone else’s frozen embryos so that said embryos won’t be killed. Please note that they don’t want IVF ended first, they want to create a new revenue stream for IVF clinics and then have the clinics closed at some future date. At the very least, this is economic illiteracy.
Scorched Earth Tactics
There are several problems with their scorched earth position. Let’s talk about a few.
First, justice is to be impartial and applied equally. This sounds simple enough but in such an environment who decided how to enforce this rule? The Bible requires two or three witnesses. In the case of abortion, how do you check that box?
Can you prove a woman is pregnant?
Look, I know the people in the Abolitionist movement think they are smarter than everyone else, but I ask this as a serious question.
Back in the day, Carol Everett used to run a chain of abortion clinics in Texas. I think she was based in the DFW area. She said that it was not unusual for them to do a D&C on women that were not pregnant just so they could bill the procedure—likely to the state.
I promise you that these mail order abortion pill places will sell to anyone. They don’t know and don’t care if someone is really pregnant. They are only interested in selling a product and calling it a service.
The IVF clinic doesn’t care. Oh, crap the freeze got unplugged. Or they mixed-up the samples, or whatever.
Except in cases of late-term surgical abortion, I don’t see how you can prove the pregnancy existed or the subsequent abortion action actually ended a life.
If the abortion is proved to have ended a child’s life, then you have to litigate it.
How do you accumulate enough evidence to deprive someone of their life via a court trial?
What if the judge or a jury finds the law unconstitutional? Does this then create a constitutional right to abortion? Isn’t this just a reply of Roe v Wade? Do you really want to risk a court declaration of an absolute right to abortion? Do you want a court declaration that seeking abortion cannot have consequences?
Other Questions
If your abolitionist law can be voted in, then can’t it just be voted out?
Why is the guy totally off the hook on this deal?
Aren’t Abolitionists just baptizing Sharia Law or something remarkably like it?
Hey Abolitionists, what does the Bible say?
Sorry but shouting Exodus 20:13 does not end debate. Yes, this passage says, “Thou shalt not kill” or in more modern English, “You shall not commit murder” but is that the end of the discussion. If you use the magic Evangelical prophecy scissors then maybe, but for the rest of us, I think there is more to discuss.
Folks, there is only one case law in the Old Testament that touches on abortion. Oh, and no, the account about Judah’s son spilling his seamen on the ground is not it.
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
Exodus 21:22.
Please note in this instance that causing a pregnant woman to lose her child (or children) is not murder or manslaughter. It is a fine to be paid with said amount determined by a judge.
Killing children after they are born was common in ancient Israel. If they offered children to the god Molech, this was punishable by death.
2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: 5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
Leviticus 20:2–5.
This child sacrifice is not the same as abortion, so I think citing this passage to prove death for women seeking abortion is not applicable.
The New Testament has much more to say about abortion.
To find abortion in ancient times you must first understand that surgical abortion did not exist in biblical times. Instead, abortion was via chemical concoctions purchased from a witch or sorcerer. Think local medicine man (or woman). This language is found in the text of the Hippocratic Oath.
Nor shall any man’s entreaty prevail upon me to administer poison to anyone; neither will I counsel any man to do so. Moreover, I will give no sort of medicine to any pregnant woman, with a view to destroy the child.
Thus, when you see a New Testament list of people that will not inherit the Kingdom of God, a polite way of saying they are bound for Hell, it often includes sorcery, witchcraft, or similar wording.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, tfornication, tuncleanness, vlasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, avariance, aemulations, wrath, bstrife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19–21.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Revelation 22:14–15.
In addition, early Christians made it a practice to go outside the city walls and collect children that had been abandoned by their parents to die. The abandoned children were saved from certain death by Christians with a high view of human life.
Abolitionists argue that in a godly society, women that get abortions should be executed; however, I don’t know of any Christian society that has even practiced or enforced such a law. Ditto for Sabbath breaking.
Conclusion
Abolitionists are just another group of rebels without a clue. They presuppose an answer and then look in Scripture to find it. When they would rather elect supporters of Planned Parenthood than fellow believers that aren’t pure enough to pass their litmus test, then they are off the rails. The fact that they seek salvation via the State and not the pew, tells you that their fidelity is not really to God. The Church is created by God and the only institution that will last into eternity. If they really want to change the world, then change the Church. I think it’s too hard to persuade fellow Christians, so they want to compel them by the power of the Sword. Then if they balk at the coercion, unchurch the infidels.
Abolitionists summarily reject incremental change and want legislative revolution. Dr. Gary North is known for the saying, “You can’t change just one thing”. This single-issue group will only find a way to make real change more difficult in the future.
Barbara Alby’s real legacy is that California is now a single party state, and has been for the last two decades. She and her minions in CRA, not only destroyed the Republican Party but caused Republicans to forever lockout the grassroots people from ever having input into the Party in the future. The legacy of Abolitionists will be similar.
It looks to me that Abolitionists are just another group of Statists dressed up in Christian camouflage. Their willingness to employ the circular firing squad is a huge red flag. If they think you can just get someone to pass a law and then everybody can go back home, they are sorely mistaken.
Lastly, if you try to look up stuff by Abolitionists, please know that they have their own jargon, buzzwords, and phrases which they employ but rarely define. Like CRA of old, they are God’s people and everyone else is an enemy that must be destroyed as soon as they fall short.
Thought on 2026 Idaho Primary
It’s election season once again. Here in Idaho, we are going to the polls next Tuesday. Unlike, my colleagues in California, we actually have to go to a precinct, present a photo I.D. and then cast a ballot. Furthermore, in Idaho, Republicans, Libertarians, and most Democrats are all registered Republicans. Yep, in most parts of Idaho, you can win a central committee seat on the Democrat side of the aisle with less than fifty votes. In most parts of Idaho, the Republican that wins in the primary is anointed during the general election without any further campaigning after their primary victory.
On the one side you have conservative folks that are true believers. They advocate for educational vouchers, abolishing property taxes, liberal understanding of Second Amendment rights, and liberty. These guys are fun to watch as they try to see who can be the most conservative in the bunch.
On the other side are RINOs and incognito Democrats pushing for more government programs and spending. They will do whatever they can to get more candy from the Great White Fathers in Washington DC. On social issues, they oppose bills keeping men out of women’s bathrooms and women’s sports, want to weaken restrictions on abortion, support the right of local governments to fly the Pride flag, and boost spending on government schools. Of course, they always have an excuse for their undermining of their constituents. Often, they call bills curtailing government unnecessary or a waste of time and energy. They base this on the fact that Idaho has a 90-day legislative session each year. Thus, the budget is front and center.
One political gimmick that RINOs employ to kill proposed legislation is the Committee Chairman’s desk drawer. Think of this as the Legislative equivalent of the roach motel. The bill checks in but never checks out. The bill gets to Chairman PACmoney and he puts it in his desk drawer and somehow it is never seen again. It never gets to be heard by his committee and is stalled for the remainder of the time while the Legislature is in session.
There are other political games employed to euthanize ideas, so they never come to a vote.
I’m hoping that next week we can unseat a few worthless fellows from the RINO camp. You can never give me too much liberty.
Fraud is and should be a bi-partisan issue
Blogger Note: This is not about voter fraud it’s about the scary amount of fraud uncovered in the last few months.
It started with “learing” centers in Minneapolis, then hospice care facilities in Los Angeles, now I got a bombshell Fox News alert about Medicaid fraud in Ohio.
Folks, what we must quit doing is blaming one party or the other when it comes to fraud. Both sides do it; both sides may even be in on it together in certain parts of the country. You mean to tell me that a guy with a camera phone/video camera, some free time, and some video editing equipment can uncover a massive fraud in Minneapolis regarding learning centers (schools) but no one else could? Folks, the video and interviews are eye popping. Learning center being spelled wrong on the main entrance sign. Decrepit buildings and essentially vacant interiors. No records of student attendance but they were inspected by the state (allegedly) and were definitely being paid. There are tons of those centers, they exist in every state, and likely in each town, you may not realize it.
In Los Angeles, the story is the same but exchange learning centers for hospice clinics. While I forget the numbers, I thought I saw 248 or so clinics existed in Los Angeles (City of or county-wide I do not recall.) That is an ungodly number. These places must be registered and licensed, also inspected by inspectors. Many of these clinics existed in the literal same building. Again someone(s) were signing off on paperwork, obviously forging/approving licensing and inspections, and paying fraudulent billing invoices for services not rendered. Folks you need to be one sick human being to bill for the dead or dying, and likely for years; when you had zero customers.
Here are the Ohio claims…
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is calling for a sweeping crackdown on his state’s Medicaid program after a report alleged that companies billed millions of taxpayer dollars from vacant offices, including abandoned buildings with piled-up mail, “out to lunch” signs and no visible staff.
The remarks came after a report by The Daily Wire that allegedly found 288 home healthcare companies listed at the same addresses, including locations that appeared vacant or in disrepair, with no clear signs of active business operations.
While I don’t take his comments or even the article at anything for than face value, this is now state number 3, with more on the way. It’s a national problem. The bigger issue is the people who aid and abet this behavior by trying to play partisan politics.
Time Walz (Governor MN) and Ilhan Omar (Congressmember – Somalia) both came out swinging that there is/was nothing to see here. Blaming racism as most of these businesses were owned by Somalian people. In Los Angeles it was more of the same. We always, here in California, excuse this fraud by claiming it’s a witch hunt, nothing to see here. These baseless claims are obviously done by a far right political blogger wannabe. In Ohio, Mike Dewine, a Republican governor had this to say…
In a statement to Fox News, they insisted Ohio “has extensive oversight mechanisms in place,” noting that these include “Electronic Visit Verification for hourly care, requiring signed daily activity logs, conducting audits and surveys performing background checks on providers, and reassessing medical needs regularly…”
His office also pointed to “internal agency efforts to fight waste, fraud and abuse.”
That’s why these schemes are allowed to exist. They are excused by folks in power, and in some cases, I wonder if these folks are directly in on it. Can you say, Mrs. Newsom and diapers? Common sense will tell you that several clinics at the same literal building suite should raise a red flag. Decrepit, outdated, falling apart buildings as well, but sadly in this country we follow the old military rules of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” We ask no questions, nor do we “trust but verify”. We not only allow these schemes to perpetuate for years, but actually we encourage it. Get your bill in, we will pay it faster. Jump through some hoops, we won’t even review it. To be fair and honest, most of the corporate structure for these groups are layers of shell companies and LLC’s that are nearly impossible to track down. PO Boxes and corporate legalese make them impossible to track. We should/need to put an end to this, but we won’t. These stories will blow over; nothing will happen and back to business as usual. Heck, we have an election to run.
Speaking of fraud, check this out.
Vice President J.D. Vance just dropped a political grenade: the US government basically ignores fraud under $1.5 million, but he’s promising a crackdown on the big fish.
“We do not prosecute fraud in this country if it’s under $1.5 million dollars per year,” Vance said in an interview with YouTuber Benny Johnson.
Vice President Vance reveals US doesn’t prosecute fraud under $1.5 million
Blogger unsubstantiated commentary: I honestly think a lot of this fraud stems from Joe Biden/Kamala Harris open border for 4 years. Untold numbers of people poured across our southern border and through unchecked (to be clear I am not insinuating they are all criminals) and received aid from the government and assistance from government groups (think USAID and other NGOs). I think they got advice on how to get money from our government’s programs and spread out in every direction. Then when they found the hot bed areas for fraud, or government that will look the other way, all their fellow brethren moved in as well. Ever wonder why Dearborn, Michigan and Minneapolis, Minnesota are heavily populated by Muslims? Again, not insinuating all Muslims are bad, but the countries they are coming from are the total opposite climate. There is a reason this fraud is being reported in large numbers only in 3 cities; Minneapolis, Columbus and Los Angeles, the word is out in those cities no one asks questions.
Just my thoughts. As mentioned, two states are pretty leftward leaning, one is rightward leaning. It’s a bipartisan issue.
The Chief
The Voting Rights Act and More Redistricting
So, the Supreme Court shot down parts of The Voting Rights Act as being unconstitutional. The act basically made it so majority minority congressional districts cannot really be altered very easily. Basically, I read it as “the other side of the tracks, the inner city or mostly black areas got a seat.” So those protections are gone now, and I think it’s a good thing actually, but likely not for the same reasons you might think.
I am not ok with removing a majority black district’s representative when the district will be sawed up like an example I give below. I do think it’s actually good long term, because as things are currently, you essentially created a fiefdom. Once that member got elected, they serve 40 years and essentially do nothing for the district. Then, as a result, falls into a state of disrepair. The other members won’t care about it, and the guy representing the seat may not even live there! In one such example, there is a blighted area near Watt and I-80 near the light rail stations. It’s a drug, gang, crime, and human trafficking haven. It’s been that way for probably 50 years. Think the representative cares? I don’t.
However, here is the part I do not agree with and do not like.
States have now decided to re-district their lines again. The mostly black districts are being whacked 3 or 4 ways. The intent here is just to wipe them out. Louisiana paused their primary election. Tennessee has taken 60% black Memphis and carved it up 3 ways. All seats are now Republican in Tennessee, net +1. South Carolina and Alabama appear to be on the similar path, could they wipe out both Democrats in Alabama? Seems to be tough. Plus 1 in South Carolina probably happens. Louisiana is likely another plus 1. I don’t think they can carve up New Orleans. Texas, California, and New York could do the same as well, now that the voting rights act is gone, likely not this year though. Note: CA & TX redid their maps and made each party likely to gain 5 seats a piece.
I do not believe that our system of government intended for the lines to be redrawn more often than once a decade, since districts are drawn after the census. You should not be dividing up big cities or stretching districts to include swaths of rural areas. This dilutes the vote for both parties. Think about it, where I live, no Republican will get close to winning statewide. My congress seat is overwhelmingly Democrat, ditto with my state rep and state senator. No reason for me to pull the lever. It’s the same in red states. They essentially took the word “election” out and replaced with controllable seat. It also needlessly dilutes the vote. California, like Texas and New York has lots of registered voters from the other party. Check out what Virgina was trying to do; redraw every seat to be safe for the blue team. Tennessee is now safe for the red team.
In closing, I actually think it’s odd that this practice has taken over. It used to be you basically kept the district lines the same, maybe you added or lost a seat and re-jiggering happened. Then there was a push for independent committees to do it. Now it’s rig this thing so no one will lose, and the other party will be locked out.
The Chief
Editor’s Note: I have found here in Idaho that the vast majority of Democrats have registered as Republicans. They run for office as Republicans but vote with the few Democrats in the Legislature. The really odd part is that average Republicans are often ok voting for Democrats (or RINOs if you prefer) as long as the blessed “R” is next to their party designation on the ballot. My current “Republican” State Senator voted to allow boys to use girl’s bathrooms, opposes Idaho’s profile laws, votes for every spending increase, and opposed educational vouchers and other conservative bills. He has a good chance at re-election because he is getting lots of support from Political Action Committees run by large national and international companies. Oh, last election, my “Republican” Senator’s yard signs were often seen with signs supporting Kamala Harris and a ballot measure for Ranked Choice Voting. This what being a “Big Tent” Republican looks like in the real world.
A Lesser Discussed Prophecy of Jesus
Folks, Jesus made several predictions about his return happening within the lifetime of those hearing his words. Sadly, many of his followers in our day and age don’t believe him or worse yet, think he was mistaken. If Jesus was wrong on this claim, then he is a liar and thus not God and has no credibility for anything else he claimed or was claimed about him.
Liberal theologians and some atheists believe Jesus made claims about returning within the lifetime of his hearers, not because Jesus was correct, but because they believe he was wrong. Christopher Hitchens used to beat up premil folks with this all the time. He tried it on Doug Wilson and got smacked.
Conversely, many evangelical Christians don’t believe Jesus because it doesn’t fit their presuppositions about what Jesus meant to say. Instead of taking Jesus at his word, they try to weasel out of it.
In the last chapter of John’s Gospel, is an account of Peter and Jesus at a beach in Galilee. Immediately following the “feed my sheep” story is the last documented squabble amongst the disciples. It involves, Jesus, Peter, and John.
21 Peter seeing him [John] saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? 22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. 23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
John 21:21–23.
Prior to these verses, Jesus had told Peter that “… when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” This is understood to indicate that Peter would die of crucifixion. Tradition further states that said crucifixion of Peter was conducted with him upside-down.
Peter then looks at John and says, Hey Jesus, what about him?
At this point in John’s narrative, C.S. Lewis fans would expect to hear Aslan say, “it’s not your story” and end the discussion.
But that isn’t how the discussion ends. Instead, Jesus says that if I want John to live until I return, what business is that of yours?
Folks, as you know, John was the only one of the Twelve that was not martyred. John did in fact live until the destruction of the Temple and siege of Jerusalem were completed. He got to see the fulfillment of the Apocalypse that he had authored and the end of the Old Covenant age. The Kingdom of God came into its fullness and John lived to see it.
At the time of authoring the Gospel, John knew it was a possibly but not a certainty that he would live to see the end. In his epistle, John wrote it is the last hour. (I John 2:18.) John knew it was about to happen.
This account reminds me of Simeon and Anna at the circumcision of Jesus (Luke 2:25 – 38). God allowed both Simeon and Anna to see the salvation of God. In a similar way, John got to see the beginning of the next chapter of redemption. God’s promise to Abraham to bless all nations through the seed of a woman became a reality in his lifetime.
So, yep, John did tarry until Jesus came. How cool.
Voter Fraud Schmaud
I’m going to educate folks about voter fraud. Yes, I do believe fraud exists, no I do not believe it’s hundreds of thousands or millions of ballots.
I know of one whack job who has said voter fraud is the reason California is not a red state. Folks, if you believe that, you shouldn’t be allowed to vote. That is what I refer to as a hair on fire conspiracy theory. It also makes people think there is no fraud.
I do think fraud exists by both parties; I was told more people are registered to vote than there are people eligible to in just about every county in California. I do believe this to be true.
The problem I have with the Republican approach is they try too hard to prove something that could be proven far easier. The DOJ subpoenaed ballots from Fulton County (Georgia) for the 2020 election where Trump keeps swearing was ripe with fraud. Never has there been an indictment or a report verifying the fraud existed. Again, the lack of any reports tells me that fraud likely did not occur. Chad Bianco (sheriff running for governor) seized a bunch of ballots in his home county of Riverside. Nothing appears to be coming out of that either. In both of these examples, a reasonable conclusion would be “much ado about nothing” conspiracy myth busted.
Why not try a more reasonable approach.
The Republican Party should look to what the CRA did over a decade ago. (The following relates to the CRA statewide convention held around 2011.) The rumor was that there were a bunch of local units that existed only on paper. Said paper units existed solely to endorse preferred candidates of the political class/consultants every 2 years. The membership secretary, Peggy Mew, would not turn over the membership rolls. As a result, some of the officers went to investigate for themselves. When the units were confronted by Aaron and George Park at the convention, my goodness what a show that was. One unit president could not name what date they held their meetings. Another couldn’t name the meeting location. A check was shown from a political consultant paying the fees for several members of different units. Obviously, fraud was occurring. My understanding is the units were shuttered.
What is my point?
Fight the fraud the same way. Folks, I can tell you it exists. Want solid proof? Here in the town 20 or so minutes from me, a city councilman pleaded guilty to voter fraud. He had quite a few ballots, and registered voters living at his house.
Shakir Khan, in January 2024, took a no-contest deal for stashing 41 ballots at his home for the 2020 election. Investigators also found that he had registered 23 people at his home and that his email and phone number had been used to register 47 others.
Former Lodi City Council Member Shakir Khan sentenced for 2020 election fraud scheme
Folks Lodi is the town this occurred in. It is not very large. Let’s call it 47 ballots of fraud in Lodi, so how many does that equate to in say; Sacramento? San Francisco? Los Angeles? San Diego? I have been told stories of apartments that have numerous active voters registered at them. Maybe start there?
The Marin GOP claims 73 dead people voted in the special election we had a few months ago….
“I, along with others on our committee, have been dissecting Marin County voter rolls for over three years,” Turnacliff said during the public comment portion of the meeting. “ … And based on our analysis of the ballots that were returned for the Prop. 50 special election on Nov. 4, we found 73 people, 73 dead people had voted in that election.”
While some will say 47 and 73 amount to rounding errors, those were recently discovered. As I mentioned earlier, how many more exist? The apartment with 9 people registered to vote who are regular voters may be a place to start. It is not about accusing folks of fraud, it’s just asking a question. I bought my house 10 years ago; the couple I bought it from, I believe, have both passed away. If still listed as active and voting at my address, someone has some explaining to do.
My point is has been and always will be, try to crack the door open. Once it gets cracked open, use a pry bar and force it to be completely open. In my opinion, the Lodi city councilman had some smoke, which turned into a lot of smoke, then a lot of fire. It got to a point that it needed to be investigated and prosecuted.
I am sure there are a ton of these cases that could be made. Quit screaming hair on fire voter fraud conspiracies or waiting for Trump’s DOJ to prosecute or release a report on voter fraud. Sheriff Bianco seizing ballots? It’s a rough look, intentions may have started out being good, but it’s a bad look.
But, but, but our county has a Democrat DA, get the local paper involved. San Joaquin is a blue county; they prosecuted that Lodi councilman. It can and will happen. Crying about the 2020 election makes you sound like a bitter ex-lover. Move on. Yes, there were likely shenanigans, but Trump got elected again and moving on is good.
The Chief
Editor’s Note: I respectfully disagree with the Chief on this issue. I think vote fraud is a huge issue, especially in California. Here is an article from one week ago. Oregon was ordered by a federal court to remove 800,000 names from their voter rolls following a lawsuit from Judicial Watch. “Oregon and nearly all its counties had registration rates exceeding 100% of the eligible population, the highest inactive registration rate in the nation.” Ditto for voter rolls in many parts of the once golden state.
Mike Vrabel, Diana Russini and the Truth
In case you are not aware, Diana Russini covered the NFL for The Athletic; a pay-to-view website. Mike Vrabel is the head coach of the New England Patriots and was head coach of the Tennessee Titans prior to that. Russini gets paid to cover the NFL and more specifically get scoops before anyone else does. She was by most accounts very good at her job. Another thing that followed Russini was the rumors of inappropriate sexual behavior that she was trading for said scoops. There was always smoke but never fire, well until now.
One piece of information I’d like to pass along. Always tell the truth, you will never remember the story you told or who you told it too.
The information above is what 90-day guy lacked. It cost him. He told five different stories to five different people. The mental gymnastics is causing him mental anguish. I witnessed him contradict himself 3 sperate times in the course of a 3 minute conversation. When called out, he would go to his old standby “I don’t have a good memory.” As Chief would say, “Folks, you know who doesn’t need a good memory? The guy who always tells the truth.”
Back to Vrabel and Russini.
Both are married, but not to each other. They were both photographed together at The Ambiante Hotel in Arizona. The Ambiante is known for being adults only. Also, it’s a romantic getaway where you usually are proposing to your girlfriend or you’ve made the decision you want to have a child in 9 months. I went to the Ambiante hotel with my, at the time, girlfriend. Folks, as mentioned above, we left the room to eat, and to lounge by the pool, but a lot of sex was happening.
Here are the photos of the two of them.
Russini is definitely very good looking but likely doesn’t have much in the brain department.
The photos leaked out and Russini took a page out of the 90-day guy’s playbook. It backfired. I call it the Holy Trinity of Stupidity.
She first insulted everyone’s intelligence by saying it was a chance encounter with another friend. Umm … folks, I have multiple female friends; we do not embrace or interact like that. Also, not on a trip without our significant other/spouse. Then she said that she was there for a girl’s weekend trip. Then when out of lies, she decided to play the sympathy/victim card saying it was lies and she didn’t want to give the story any more oxygen. If you are a loser in life, this is the playbook you follow. Notice, she could have told the truth, and while consequences would have occurred, the story would blow over.
Again, she could have told the truth but didn’t want to risk her marriage so she claimed it was a chance encounter. Then it was a girl’s weekend getaway, (strangely this would be the first girl’s weekend in the history of girl’s weekends with zero photos taken of said girls.) Secondly, going to that particular hotel and calling it girl’s weekend was definitely an interesting choice of words. Just by going there, many would understand it as a girl-on-girl orgy type outing. Definitely a different spin on girls just wanna have fun. Again, bad move. The pulling the victim/sympathy card is the last play in the playbook. Yep, when all else fails, resort to the victim or sympathy card. She is not a victim.
Russini is now seeing her life come apart at the seams. She lost her job reporting and covering New England in the NFL. Bottom line, you cannot be having sex with your source and be non-biased. It’s an ethics issue. A big one. She will land another gig, but she is damaged goods. Her marriage is likely on the rocks. No guy wants to be viewed as your “Monday through Thursday guy” with your side piece taking over on date night/weekends. Oh, she has a son who is four named Mike. Coincidentally, she was photographed with Mike Vrabel 9 months prior to her son’s birth. I would say we have even money odds that the kid may not be his. Even if it is his kid, now you find out he is named after the man your wife cheated with? Ouch. Her friend group is likely eviscerated as well. When she brought up it was a girl’s getaway trip, I have a feeling her group chat was filed with “keep us out of your adultery.” Girls in your friend group are not dumb; they don’t want to be blamed for your marriage likely dissolving. As one of Chief’s friends of the blog said, girls do not want to wreck a home. In the case of Russini, she wrecked hers. It seems as if Mike Vrabel likely dropped 7 figures on a ring or other material things for his current bride and his marriage may be ok. Money can buy happiness, especially when happiness involves likely not working and being a stay-at-home wife.
One thing I saw, while buying a couple items at the grocery store, was a gossip magazine essentially asking why Vrabel has gotten a pass and asserting that double standard exists. Folks, there is no double standard. Having an affair with a women who is not your wife doesn’t mean you get fired as a football coach. Morally bankrupt? Yes. Unemployed? No. He, to his credit, has also stayed silent for the most part, Russini lied over and over. As mentioned earlier, Russini is paid for her ability to break news before it goes mainstream. When you are sleeping with your source, your ethics are compromised.
Back to the point of this blog. If you tell the truth, you have no reason to lie or fabricate a story. It also makes memory easy. You can always recall the truth. Trying to memorizing 5 different stories you told to 5 different people is mentally taxing and emotionally draining.
It was amazing for me to hear 90-day guy, in a 3-minute, one-sided conversation, tell me he couldn’t get ahold of his doctor, then he loved his doctor and said he was the best, then he wanted to be on a stronger pill, then he also wanted off said pill.
He has no issue throwing his brother or his other agent friend in front of the oncoming bus when needed. Oh, when he was called out about his changing story he claimed he is the face of dementia. Like I said earlier, Holy Trinity of Stupidity; insult someone’s intelligence by telling 2 completely different stories, throw other folks under the bus, then play a sympathy/victim card.
It’s why he has no friends and is alone. Ditto for Russini. No one likes the person who throws people innocently under the bus. You want to cheat? Leave your friends out of it. You may be morally bankrupt; they do not need to be involved.
For the 90-day guy, he watches too much TV to know he is a loser. He knows he is alone but doesn’t seem to know why. His version of reality is quite malleable. My explanation for that is easy as I have seen the tire marks on Chief’s back from being thrown under the bus too many times when 90-day guy has been caught manipulating reality and needs to blame someone else.
In the case of Diana Russini, it’s time for you to do some inner searching and reflection. I will say the quiet part out loud, it’s going to hurt. Diana you were just a hot little piece of ass for the football coach. Hence when this news broke, he pulled out all the stops to save his marriage. He may have loved “penetrating you’re A gap or being in your defensive backfield” (hat tip to Troll for that one) but do you really believe you’re the first that’s been his backup piece? Diana, one sentence of a tip for you; you are 43 and still smoking hot, you won’t be that way forever. Try to make right with your Shake Shack Executive husband. This too shall pass. People forgot the late Kobe Bryant cheated on his wife.
The point of this blog should not be forgotten, tell the truth because you will always remember it, you will never remember the lie you told or whom you told it too. When you lie, the problem is you must tell another lie to cover that up, then another one, and so on. If you are the 90-day guy or Diana Russini, you likely have an IQ in the mid-single digits, gentle reminder: there are a lot of people smarter than you, they can quickly figure out 1+1 wasn’t equaling 2. Don’t lie. The benefit of not lying is that you don’t need a good memory when you always tell the truth.
Jake the Snake
Streams of Light in Darkened Places
Drawing above is John Calvin.
In the last few weeks, I’ve seen the fruit of a paradigm shift in the church that I’ve been attending. Some of the clergy have been moving away from premillennial dispensationalism and toward a more historic understanding of the faith. The new pastor and the soon to be leaving one have been tag-teaming the book of Romans. In the last few weeks, they have been defending predestination as above free will and that God has one people—the church—which is the continuing Israel and true children of Abraham. Today the pastor went out of his way to proclaim that God has one people, not two. He even stated that only via faith in Jesus Christ can anyone be saved. God didn’t have one path for the church and a separate one for Jews. It sounded much like stuff that I’ve been posting here lately.
There are some really hardcore Armenians and Premil folks in the group. The pastor stating that eschatology was a secondary issue, not one that is core to the faith, was followed up by a plug for classic dispensationalism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. He said he had limited copies of a sheet with four views of eschatology for people to get at the back of the church after the service. He encouraged folks to consider views other than premillennial dispensationalism. Bold move. The four views documents were all gone when I went looking for one. I was going to photograph it and leave it for someone else but was unable to do that.
Folks, this is a dicey move to make in a nondenominational church. I think the pastors would only move their flock in that direction if they were convinced that it was true. There is a minority that is post millennial in the church but whether the clergy is heading that direction has not been revealed yet. I think they can move their people a ways down that track, but at some point, their paradigm shift will get some pushback.
A couple of the leaders in the church are what I would describe as old school Baptists. I think they will balk at any move away from Arminianism (free will) and Scofieldism.
Many Christians call eschatology a secondary issue, but the reality is that it is not. Eschatology cannot really be separated from core Christian doctrines. There is a huge difference between playing duck and cover, wait for the Rapture, and taking dominion because Jesus claims to be Lord over every area of life. Premillennial dispensationalism leads to escapism while post millennialism leads to progressive growth as nations are discipled not individuals.
I am very happy to see this change taking place. If America is to see revival, then many congregations will need to experience a similar shift in eschatology.
90-Day Guy Paranoia
Warning: this post discusses adult themes and is not for the faint of heart or those under 18 years old.
So, I was in the office working today for 90-day guy’s colleague. 90-day guy retired last month but has been coming by to clean-up his personal belongings. He has a computer that is his that he left behind. He quarried me today about what he should do to remove the data from it. I answered that with a question “why are you so concerned with what is on the hard drive?” He quickly retorted he had nothing to hide; he was just curious. I told him either; throw it away in the dumpster or take it to e-waste to be recycled. He wanted no part of either of those as he is convinced someone would obtain said computer and hijack his info. With as much TV as he watches, I would assume he saw reports on the news and likely watched a program about dumpster diving leading to identity theft or something. Odd paranoia for someone who has nothing to hide, am I right?
Maybe I am naïve, but who would want to obtain your computer and crack the hard drive? Let’s be honest just for a minute, if you are storing your username and passwords on your computer in a Word file, you may be the dumbest person on earth. But even if someone obtained that info, most people have two-factor authentication set up, like I do. You could steal my information, but you would also need my phone to get into any account of mine, as a 6-digit code is sent to my text message box.
He doesn’t have passwords or sensitive info on his computer. It’s pornography, and very disturbing pornography to boot.
How do I know this? Well, it’s speculation because I have not seen it, but let’s just say there is a ton of smoke. Here I’ll explain.
Here are some of the leading indicators:
- Sick, very inappropriate sexual jokes. On two separate occasions, he demanded me and my now employer listen to his “very, very funny joke” of a man having sex with a sheep. On the other occasion it was a man having sex with a goat. I will not gross you out by repeating said “jokes.” On both occasions of telling these, he laughed like a four-year-old would laugh at the word “poop”. Neither my current employer nor I laughed at all. 90-day guy said, “what is wrong with you two? It’s funny!” I felt compelled to respond saying “people do not have sex with animals, its gross, disgusting, and a wildly inappropriate topic for a work setting. He didn’t agree.
- Normalizing transgender behavior. He has a granddaughter who is dating a transgendered male. He has always wildly defended transgendered people, and I never really knew why. He has suddenly become the “Colin Kaepernick” of defending transgendered people. Calling them “oppressed”, or in need of “being equal to others.”
- Odd comments/behaviors about younger girls. So, on this one I caught him. I had to go behind his desk to grab a rate book manual, and on his phone, he was looking at young girls in swimsuits. While this isn’t really a crime per se, it’s pretty gross. He made the comment “when you get older, you need to look at half naked or naked young girls to get it up.” Yikes.
- Comments about his granddaughter. This is gross. He made a comment about his freshman in high school granddaughter calling her “hot.” Barf.
- Jokes about same sex “sex.” As Jake the Snake will tell you, the Catholic Church screwed up with the priests having sex with young boy’s scandal. Full stop. 90-day guy routinely makes comments about the Catholic priests and the Boy Scout leaders having sex with young boys; like way more often than a normal person would. Seems like an obsession with him. His latest comment was “if two guys are having sex is it considered doggy style?” Yikes.
- Odd relationship with his brother. This one is wild. He has nothing good to say about his brother, quite literally nothing. He will golf/hangout with him and afterwards have nothing good to say again. They go out to lunch, again he says zero good to say about him. However, when his brother texts/calls him, he not only answers, he feels compelled to hang out/golf/go to lunch etc. Who does that? When I finally met his brother, I asked him what it was like growing up with 90-day guy. Well, before his brother could get a word in, 90-day guy filibustered, talking about … well … nothing. It was talking just to fill time and not allow anyone else to speak. After he was done with his filibuster, they immediately “had to leave.” More on this later.
So how can I conclude he has porn on his computer?
So, first, I am not a fan of circumstantial evidence, I like seeing a smoking gun, not “if this, then that must be true”. However, in this case, there is too much smoke for there not to be fire.
But porn isn’t illegal!
This is in fact correct. Porn, in my opinion, is likely 70% of the traffic on the internet. Yes, it is not illegal to possess or look at porn. Even the very disturbing men with animals, transgender porn, or even same sex porn. But (btw no good thing ever comes after the word “but”) pornography with people underage is a felony and a major crime at that.
My conclusion.
He is a very sick puppy dog. Very sick. No one of sound mind declares they “have nothing to hide” while simultaneously not wanting their computer to fall into the wrong hands. For the living impaired, if you throw your computer or anything into the trash for that matter, the garbage truck has a ram that will repeatedly smash said garbage over and over again. I have seen said garbage truck empty its load at the dump, with the load being unrecognizable. If someone was going to grab a computer (if they can find one), then in my opinion, go for it. Access it and steal anything you want. News flash: no one is going to do that.
I am positive that he has a treasure trove of very eclectic porn on his computer’s hard drive. The jokes about men having sex with animals is because he is trying to attempt to normalize his obsession. His comments about transgender people being people too is because he is into that as well. When you are into the porn like he is, you have to normalize it. Why? Because nothing is normal at all about a guy having sex with animals, nor a guy deciding he is a girl. The photos of girls in swimsuits, also is not a crime, it gives dirty old man vibes. The porn is not an issue; the problem is as follows.
The porn on his computer is that of underage girls. His comments crystallize it. His paranoia seals it. Folks no one cares what kind of porn you are into, it’s sick but if the actors are over 18, it’s not a crime. Gross, but again, not a crime. However, the porn with underage girls carries something that should scare most people to death. There is no statute of limitations on that.
Ask Subway spokesperson Jared Fogel what happens when they find underage porn on your computer.
The reason for my conclusion
Well, it’s obvious. Folks who have nothing to actually hide do not care if you look at things. William moved my hard drive’s contents from one computer to another. If any out of sorts things existed, he would have found it. Oh, wait, he, like most, doesn’t give a you know what!
And, as a guest blogger, we will turn this over to Jake the Snake for further commentary:
So, I went to a lecture about addiction. It focused on all addictions. I failed the bar exam so that was part of it, it was not court ordered by the way. When the speaker spoke about porn, it was eye opening. First, you watch guy/girl porn, then maybe girl/girl or I guess guy/guy porn. The point being, the guy/girl doesn’t do it for you anymore. So, you need to go for more hardcore. I think that is where the transgender porn come in, because “regular porn” doesn’t cut it. Then the underage porn come into play, because of course, the other porn doesn’t cut it anymore. The animal porn well… see above. As you desensitize yourself, you are having to reach further for something to get you off. Barf.
Commentary by The Chief Continues
Folks, this is going to hurt, but it’s likely the truth. I made a comment about 90-day guy and his brother. The vibe that I get from their relationship is that he was sexually assaulted by his brother at a young age. Yep, go ahead and say I’m crazy, but he was very uncomfortable when his brother was around. He wanted to spend zero time even acknowledging his childhood existence. He apparently hates him, unless he is in the room. The act is obvious. He has been on the business end of a dick. He tries to justify transgender behavior which is normal for those who like same sex porn. His comments about very young girls are nothing but a chance to stay relevant.
Folks, if I saw a babe wearing a thong swimsuit at my gym, I admit I’d be looking. Clearly, she wants me to. Chief is 40, not dead! But under aged children NFW.
90-day guy fantasizing about seeking out young girls when he is older, gross. Hoping such a girl might really want to be with some dirty old man like him, twisted. Feeding said perversions from the internet while at work and simultaneously claiming he is a happily married man, simply beyond my vocabulary to describe.
I hope he figures out what to do with his computer, but man, be true to yourself.
The Chief
Ambushed by Love
Tomorrow marks one year since my bride died. She took her last breath about eight feet from where I’m sitting right now. I am reminded of her in random ways: smells, sounds, sights, and seasons.
One thing to know about my wife was that music was important to her. She liked the old Roger’s and Hammerstein musicals, opera, and classical compositions. Heck, her major in college was voice or vocal training if you prefer. She often sang at community events before I came along. She continued to sing during our marriage but got invited less frequently as the years went on. In later years, she sang at many funerals.
She and her children sang a song for me at our wedding.
It was a surprise that they sprung on me after the ceremony. As it was recounted to me, she and the children would practice singing it on the way to school in the morning. The song was, “If You Could See What I See” by Geoff Moore. The song became her ringtone for the entirety of our marriage. We’re not the only people to use the song during a wedding but it was special to me.
Oh, eventually my generic ringtone was “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives. Each of the children earned their own ringtones too. Child #1 got “When the Saints Go Marching In” which was due in part to this child being a band nerd. Child #2 earned “Now that We’re Men” from the first Sponge Bob movie.
As good as my ringtones were, when each child was born, their mother assigned each a song. The song was mostly a bedtime thing. I don’t recall what the songs were. If I guessed, “Baby Mine” from Dumbo went to child #2. Child #3 was assigned a church hymn like “Amazing Grace” or something like that. Child #1, no clue what song it was although the wife was partial to classic Disney stuff.
I have a special place in my heart for the three songs listed below.
“The Warrior is a Child” by Twila Paris
“Touch of the Master’s Hand” by Wayne Watson
“Tell Me Again” by Geoff Moore
During my wife’s cancer and beyond, I frequently listened to “Stand by Me” by Darrell Mansfield.
Darrell has six or seven versions of the song that I have accumulated over the years. My favorite is from his album “People Get Ready” from 2009. It is a slightly edited version of “Stand by Me” from his live concert video released in 2008. Darrell Mansfield owns this song. He reclaimed it as the church hymn that it once was but stays with the tune made famous by Sam Cook. The video version of the concert is worth it just to watch this song and “Tell the Truth”.
One other song that deserves an honorable mention that has some musical hooks and lyrics that get my attention is “Things Left Unsaid” by Disciple. Many lines really sting when I listen to it, but a few don’t/didn’t apply to our relationship.
Here’s most of the lyrics presented in order.
It’s just a matter of time a few days ago
I saw you, you were fine
Remembering what you said
About the book you read
The one I got you
The Beginning of the End
Oh how we’d talk
For hours upon end
What I give
Just to do it again
But you’re lying there
In this hospital bed
Won’t you open you eyes
And let’s talk once again
If you fly away tonight
I want to tell you that I love you
I hope that you can hear me
I hope that you can feel me
Well I’ve been here all night
And I’m watching you
Breathe in and breathe out
Is it really you
Or just a machine
That’s giving you life
And it’s making it seem
That there could be hope
I could say to your face
If it weren’t for you
That there would be no grace
That’s covered my life
You took the time
To speak into my mind
And my heart
Words of life
If you fly away tonight
I want to tell you that I love you
I hope that you can hear me
I hope that you can feel me
So goodbye for now
And I’ll see you again
Some way, somehow
When it’s my time to go
To the other side
I’ll hold you again
And melt at your smile
Now all I have
Are the ones that I’m with
And you taught me not
To take for granted
The time that we have
To show that we care
Speak into their minds
And their hearts
While they’re here
And say I love you
If you fly away tonight
I want to tell you that I love you
I hope that you can hear me
I hope that you can feel me
I’m gonna call this post a wrap. I’m feeling spent just thinking about her last few hours of life. Disciple’s lyrics hit close to home and emotionally strike a chord with me as well. I’m sure you can find all the songs listed on YouTube or Amazon Music.