Really Right – Page 74 – Religion, Politics, and Culture: Explained and Defined

A Pastor’s letter About What’s Wrong with the Church and Why He Quit

I ran across an article about a pastor that in one Twitter storm announced that he quit his job, his faith, his family, and his god. While this case is extreme, I don’t think this man is alone. I would like to look at his post and go thru it. The posts were assembled on a reddit page.

Heartbreaking twitter thread by ex pastor (start pasted into comments) from atheism

The Pastor, Dave Gass, ministered at Grace Family Fellowship in Missouri.

Grace Family Fellowship was founded as First Baptist Church of Pleasant Hill in 1867 with 18 charter members. God has been faithful to us for over 150 years! We are centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we desire to make disciples of all nations.

Gospel centrality not only means that we declare the gospel, but also that we demonstrate it with our lives. We do this by being good neighbors, befriending our coworkers, working for the good of our city, and caring for the least, the lowest, and the lost.

Link: Grace Family Fellowship: About

The church website does not list any background, biographical information, or qualifications of its pastoral staff; thus I don’t know the specific flavor of Baptist or seminary preference of this particular congregation. However, having spent many years of my life as a Baptist (ages 13-22), I know the distinctives of their beliefs.

The reddit page where the tweets were reassembled into an essay has some errors. The biggest error is that some paragraphs were repeated in their entirety which really disrupts the flow. Other errors are related to spelling and grammar-some purposefully done.

I will quote the pastor’s presentation without the repeated paragraphs and periodically insert my comments. I believe this topic has application beyond this particular set of circumstances and touches on the reasons that many youth are falling away from organized Christianity. Several of his accusations against the Church have been stated by others.

Oh, and as an added bonus, following my take on Pastor Dave’s Twitter storm, there is as Paul Harvey often said, a “Rest of the Story” moment which may make you reread this letter again, this time in a different light.

Note: Just for easier reading, I will show Pastor Dave Gass’ letter excerpts with yellow background throughout this post. Bible quotes in red and any other quotes in blue.

I’m not a Christian anymore: a thread. After 40 years of being a devout follower, 20 of those being an evangelical pastor, I am walking away from faith. Even though this has been a massive bomb drop in my life, it has been decades in the making.
When I was in 8th grade and I was reading greek mythology, it dawned on me how much of the supernatural interactions between the deity of the bible and mankind sounded like ancient mythology. That seed of doubt never went away.

The pastor makes many truth claims in this article which are either outright distortions or untrue. Equating the God of the Bible with Greek mythology is just the first. The God found in the historic Creeds which are a summary of the Christian Faith as found in the Bible are diametrically opposed to the Greek, Roman, Germany, Egyptian, Sumerian, or any other belief system in the world. Monotheism didn’t evolve from polytheism and he knows it. In fact history shows the opposite to be the case.

Gass also may be invoking a variation of the heresy known as modalism. Some falsely believe that God is portrayed in the Old Testament is petty, cruel, and harsh (thus the comparison to Greek mythology) but suddenly in the New, God is displayed as loving and compassionate. I have heard others express such beliefs from the pulpit but again this is not derived from Scripture but ignorance.

I was raised in a hyper-fundamentalist family, and it felt good to be in a system that promised all the answer and solutions to life. The problem is, the system didn’t work. The promises were empty. The answers were lies

We are not called to be followers of a system, a religion, or a set of rules. Baptists are really big on reducing Christianity to a set of negative propositions. The old saying about, “I don’t, smoke, drink, or chew and I don’t go with girls that do” is really true in some circles. Except you need to add prohibitions to dancing, rock music, mixed bathing, interracial marriage, smoking, Sabbath breaking, organized sports, etc. I have encountered all these rules at one or more churches in my lifetime; often in writing. The song line, “I was dealing with a system, now I’m dealing with the King” comes to mind.

As an adult my marriage was a sham and a constant source of pain for me. I did everything I was supposed to – marriage workshops, counseling, bible reading together, date nights every week, marriage books – but my marriage never became what I was promised it would be

The more times I read this paragraph, the more I get the feeling that he was trying to reduce marriage to a set of rules that could be followed to be successful. Marriage is a relationship that takes daily effort. The Bible makes a direct linkage between being a pastor and having a successful marriage.

For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?
I Timothy 3:5

There is a lot of “I”, “me”, “my” in this essay. This guy is as self-focused and full of hubris as President Obama.

Biblical Marriage is not about what I can get out of the relationship. Instead, it is about what I will do for my wife because I care for her. I put her first. I am commanded to love her as Christ loved the Church and gave His life for it (Ephesians 5). I put my wife and children first every day. That is my job as a husband and father. This is not always easy nor was it promised to be. We’ve had our struggles but when my wife knows that I put her first, then she is willing to follow my lead. At our wedding, she promised to “honor and obey” because that is biblically what she is supposed to do.

I was fully devoted to studying the scriptures. I think I missed maybe 12 Sundays in 40 years. I had completely memorized 18 books of the bible and was reading through the bible for the 24th time when I walked away.

Pastor Gass followed all the “rules” for being a good Christian. So what? Our faith is a relationship based in love not a spiritual checklist. He sounds like Saul of Tarsus.

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Philippians 3:4-6

As Baptists are quick to point out, head knowledge and heart knowledge are two different propositions.

I devoured all the “christian apologetics” books that came out, and none of them answered my questions regarding the nature of god and the problems I found within the Scriptures. I found these books to be trite, dismissive, and full of pseudo science and evidence.

I don’t know what books the pastor is referring to, but the use of the word “all” covers more ground than he could possibly cover. Josh McDowell, Ray Comfort, Ken Hamm, Walter Martin, Greg Bahnsen, Henry Morris, Kenneth Gentry, Gary North, David Chilton, Ray Sutton, and Francis Schaeffer are just a few of the guys that I can think of that Pastor Dave has clearly not read. I have read much by these guys and there are many more. Yes, the selection at your average Christian bookstore—if there are any still out there—is lame but as a seminary graduate you should know better than I where to get such books.

There are defects in Baptist theology but that is not the Bible’s problem. Some apologetic books are defective in the sense that you can’t reason yourself to Christ. You can prove He exists because we already know that He does (Romans 1:19-21), but only special revelation can teach us how God restored our relationship with Him.

I think these comments by Pastor Dave also reveal a defect in the Baptist church model where the local pastor is not accountable to any other clergy. They are purposely and proudly left to fend for themselves as they shepherd their flock.

“We believe in the autonomy of the local churches, free of any external authority and control.”
–Grace Family website

If your church is independent, then who is your pastor’s pastor?

The more I read and studied the scriptures the more questions I had. Literally from the first chapter to the last, so many problems. And the more I learned about how the scriptures were canonized, the less I could believe in the “inerrancy” model that I had to espouse.

The Pharisees read the Scriptures and didn’t understand them either. When I was running around in Baptist circles we used to talk about nonbelievers being unable to understand the Bible because they were reading someone else’s mail.

I always marvel when a person claiming to be a Christian denies the authority of Scripture. The Bible is an all or nothing proposition not a cafeteria where we can only pick the things that we like.

We have more evidence of the truth of the Bible than any previous generation and more availability of copies of the Bible and this ironically has translated to a decline in the number of believers. We, as a people, have forgotten God and take for granted the blessings that he has given. We are not thankful for his blessings.

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Romans 1:21

I can see why Pastor Dave might have a problem with the cannon of Scripture when he doesn’t vest any authority in The Universal Church. The true Baptist knows only the local level and rejects the continuity of the faith. But the Church was created by Christ who rules and governs it. The Church is the only institution that will last forever. Christ commissioned first Apostles and then Bishops to oversee local congregations. It was those holding the office of bishop that met to discuss and decide the cannon of the New Testament. (The Old was never in dispute.) When Baptists reject the authority placed over The Church, is it such a leap of logic that they could question the cannon? (Although most don’t since the cannon was decided by the early and undivided Church.)

In 40 years I never witnessed a single event that was supernatural. Not one. Time and again I watched people die of cancer. I did funerals for 47 people from the age of 4 to 96. I prayed in faith with hundreds of people for healing to no avail. god didn’t answer prayers

This guy is really selfish, blind, and dumb. I see miracles all the time. No, not the quadriplegic picking up their bed and walking out to the parking lot kind but I know God could do it if he wanted. Seeing my son born, having the wife that I do, being alive, watching the fall of the Berlin Wall, getting safely to and from work each day, having a place to live, my marriage are all miracles. Miracles happen all the time but apparently this man of God thinks the world is governed by chance, coincidence, and randomness.

Dear pastor, none of us get out of here alive. We can exercise, eat right (whatever that is), get regular check-ups, take multivitamins, or whatever, but we will all die of something. You of all people know this to be true. You sir, are a most selfish and ungrateful person.

My devoutly christian parents were abusive, my marriage was a sham, prayer was never answered, miracles were never performed. People died, children rebelled, marriages failed, addictions occurred – all at the same rate as non believers. The system just doesn’t work.

Here is a summary of the above lamentations. He blames his parents, his wife, and God for failing him and his expectations. The bottom line is that his ministry made no difference to the people under him thus when it comes time to affix blame, it was God’s fault.

I pastored mega churches & tiny churches. I did college ministry, camp ministry, youth ministry, music ministry, preaching ministry, church planting – everything in the church except work in the nursery. And what I saw was people desperate for the system to work for them.

thousands of teenagers at a time, wrote blogs, was published, formed curriculum, taught workshops, was an up-and-comer reforming my denomination. The whole time hoping at some point it would click, and become true for me.

An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder.

Christianity for this man is a system of rules but notice that there is never a single word about a relationship with Christ. Christians are followers of Christ not followers of church.

A constant theme in this essay is that this man is trying to be good enough for God. He is pursuing salvation thru works not trusting in the grace of God. He is in the same place as Luther before comprehending grace in the book of Romans or Saul on the Damascus road.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Matthew 7:22

All the while, the experience I had within the church was that a lot (granted, not all) people use the church for power and influence. Many involved people in churches use it as their small kingdom for personal control and ego.

And the entire system is rife with abuse. And not just from the top down, sure there are abusive church leaders, but church leaders are abused by their congregants as well. Church people are just shitty to each other.

I spent my entire life serving, loving, and trying to help people in my congregations. And the lies, betrayal, and slander I have received at the hands of church people left wounds that may never heal.

I get the feeling reading to this point that the pastor views his office or calling as being more spiritual than being a plumber or carpenter. Yes, some people go to church to be seen or perceived as being spiritual without really knowing Christ. Read Machiavelli. In The Prince, he says people should appear to be religious but don’t really let it affect the way that you live.

Depending on the particulars, in a Baptist church, the congregation is ruled with an iron fist by either the pastor or the board. When things are good this seems to work but in the face of conflict, it can be very destructive.

One undercurrent thru this document is a sense of pride. I really get the vibe of an “I’m better or deserve better than I got” attitude. I also sense a real lack of thankfulness for the blessings that he has been given. It’s more of an “I deserve” sense of entitlement. Almost a strain of the prosperity gospel where it’s God’s will that we all be healthy, wealthy, happy, and comfortably upper-middle class.

Sorry pastor but last I heard, a church was a hospital for sinners. We all suffer from a fatal case of sin nature. Only when we look to Christ can we begin to overcome—by God’s grace—our propensity to wrong doing. As a congregation, we confess our sin and enjoy Communion with Christ on a weekly basis, something you seem never to have experienced.

This massive cognitive dissonance – my beliefs not matching with reality – created a separation between my head and my heart. I was gaslighting myself to stay in the faith.

Eventually I could not maintain the facade anymore, I started to have mental and emotional breaks. My internal stress started to show in physical symptoms. Being a pastor – a professional Christian – was killing me.

The pastor finally hit the wall and could no longer maintain the façade of a believer. Please note that he viewed himself as “a professional Christian” as opposed to the rest of us. Also, note that he admits to self-deception. You will see this again as you read further.

During this time I also found something amazing: I found a handful of people who were more Christian than any Christian I had ever met – and they weren’t Christian. I found love in places where love wasn’t supposed to exist. I found acceptance among people who were godless.

I learned that love is real. That acceptance is possible. That life is vibrant and full. But the church burdens people with fear, shame, and guilt, all for the purpose of maintaining control. I now see the church as a system perfectly curated to control people and culture.

I was a part of a system that enslaves people, and I was both a slave and a slave driver. We called chains freedom, and misery happiness. We had impossible standards that we could not meet so we turned the attention on others so the spotlight wasn’t on our own inadequacies.

These words sound familiar to many of us. Claims of finding acceptance and love outside of God, Christ, Christianity, and the Church are the same arguments that homosexuals use to try to prove they are not notorious sinners and should be accepted without the need for repentance. “…hath God not said?” seduced Adam and Eve into error and that refrain still does today.

Instead of God’s Law measuring us and driving us to repentance, we prefer using our feelings as the measure of all things. When comparing ourselves with others, we tend to do well on whatever scale we choose to utilize. However, God doesn’t grade us on a curve, we all fall short. Measuring others by our standards is simply a form of self-deception or as Romans says, exchanging the truth for a lie.

Love—be it God’s love for us or ours for each other—is beyond the scope of what this pastor discusses. Again, Christianity is not following a set of rules but a living relationship with our Savior. We can never perform well enough to gain God’s approval. The Bible says our righteousness, our best good deeds, are nothing but used tampons (flithy rags) in God’s sight. It is Christ that did the work not us.

As for enslaving people, Pastor Dave do you really want to go there? The Bible says in Romans that we are dead in our trespasses and sin. We are enslaved to sin. None of us are righteous. There is no hope. But then Paul writes about us partaking in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:22-23

Dave, the dark side seduced you. That’s not anything new or a George Lucas thing, it’s a Genesis thing. You are more comfortable being a slave to sin. Gary S Paxton called it “That prison called freedom.” Cue Keith Green singing “So you wanna go back to Egypt.” Dylan was right, “You gotta serve somebody.” Our options are serving sin or God; there is no third option.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:30

Eventually I pulled the lever and dropped the bomb. Career, marriage, family, social standing, network, reputation, all gone in an instant. And honestly I didn’t intend to fully walk away, but the way the church turned on me forced me to leave permanently.

For those of you who want to yell at me, that’s fine. I know that many will call me an apostate, say I was never really saved, that I was a wolf in sheeps clothing, and that a hotter hell awaits me. And to you I say I love you. My heart is tender toward you.

To those who have been in my congregations or under my teaching/preaching I sincerely apologize. I thought I was right. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could fake it until I made it. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I love you.

I have lost everything. I gave literally everything to serving Jesus. And walking away has cost me everything. All I can hope for is that the second half of my life can be full of love and genuine human relationships. I was wrong. I’m not faking anymore

So faced with a crisis of continued hypocrisy or getting out, the good pastor quit his job, his marriage, his reputation, etc. He flushed his whole life away to start over. This was necessary because “the church turned on me and forced me to leave.” It’s one thing to have conflict in a church which does happen but to be shown the door by the congregation, now that’s a new wrinkle in this tale.

He apologizes—well sort of—saying that he lost everything. Then curiously he claims that “I gave literally everything to serving Jesus”. This is the only mention of Jesus in the whole account.

Again, I get the vibe that he was trying to do good works to become acceptable to God but following the church playbook proved a fruitless and futile venture. And, now failed by his parents, wife, congregation, and God, with nowhere to go, the pastor gets booted from his own church and has nothing to show for it. Bummer!

But folks, the story doesn’t end here.

As promised, the Rest of the Story.

A Twitter user quote tweeted Gass’s thread, saying “There is something simply off in this thread…something about the language rings alarm bells, makes me skeptical. But at the least if it is truthful (background wise) it speaks to the foolishness of churchianity. Real faith lives in the real world.”

Justin Tuttle responded to the tweet, saying “Yes, he was my pastor when he ‘walked away.’ He actually just slept with a married women in the church and got caught. He never repented and they still live together.”

“Last year all the information came to light,” Tuttle added. “The affair happened for almost a year before it was uncovered. So the whole, ‘I did everything right in my marriage’ part was kinda funny until I saw how many people liked his story.”

Pastor Blasts Christianity and Leaves the Church — Deacon Then Reveals ‘Unrepentant Sin’ Behind the Stunning Exit

So now you’ve read the tale of Pastor Dave Gass; a man that literally threw it all away so he could roll in the hay with another man’s wife. I know Baptists stay away from the Ten Words but it’s funny that Pastor Dave followed all the manmade rules but not God’s. I think that his whole Twitter storm was just a tantrum on why he shouldn’t repent.

Dave, I have some bad news for you. Every clergyman that I know that followed his “little brain” to be with someone else’s wife, had his stay on the planet cut short. You may be seeing Jesus sooner than you planned on.

PG&E Introduces the “Rolling Blackout”

Special Report from The Chief

In case you missed it, PG&E is bankrupt; however, they are allowed to continue to operate while the state regulator figures out whether to let them re-organize or partout the company. PG&E has been wallowing for about a year now, trying to convince legislators to overturn the “inverse condemnation” law that forces them to repay any damage done by their equipment in the event of a wildfire. This has gone nowhere and predictably the utility has responded by saying they are going to implement “rolling blackouts.” The policy, as explained by the utility, is that PG&E will attempt to reach out to affected customers within a day or two of the scheduled blackout. Such blackouts are contemplated when high winds are in the forecast. They will send out a warning, and then cutoff all power to the area. The company goes on to add, the power will be restored when danger of their equipment causing wildfire is no longer imminent. The spokesperson added that some customers could be without power for days.

Under intense scrutiny from regulators and an unsympathetic federal judge, the utility Wednesday rolled out a fire-safety plan for 2019 that calls for shutting power to vast chunks of its territory when winds kick up and other fire perils abound. It’s designed to curtail the type of deadly wildfires that drove PG&E into Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.

…PG&E is still evaluating the criteria it uses for blackouts, which are based on heat, lack of humidity, high winds and other factors.

In any event, he said the company is committed to a system that, when blackouts are imposed, will spread the impacts to much wider areas than before.

Link: California wildfires: Get ready for bigger, broader PG&E blackouts this summer

On one hand I understand why the company is doing this. If the windstorm knocks over the power lines causing a fire to spark, they are on the hook for all damages. Easiest way to prevent said liability? Cut the power! If you happen to live in an area where a wildfire could start if their equipment is knocked over? Too bad, so sad. Have solar on your roof? Thanks for your service….but your power is still being cut. If you’re thinking about buying a Tesla emergency battery generator…in addition to reading some of Williams articles, just understand that battery could either catch fire….or not last long enough to generate power for your dwelling. In addition, if you live in a rural area, you are automatically a low priority for having your utility service restored. So if you live in the sticks, or a tee pee like me, you could be without for several days. The battery power generator you are buying will only work for a few hours at most, keep in mind most houses in rural areas tend to be much bigger than a standard tract home in the city or suburbs.

Who Decides

The scariest part of this is that you are at the mercy of a very corrupt and morally bankrupt PG&E. It’s frightening that their “meteorologists” (no doubt overseen by a team of lawyers) will determine when the power should be cut and restored. It’s alarming to be at the mercy of the only utility on the planet whose carbon foot could be seen last summer with the naked eye from the International Space Station.

In California where the utility pays for all damage caused by their equipment, you can rest assured your power isn’t being restored until everyone is certain the storm has more than passed. Even more worrisome are the practical ramifications of this policy. While hospitals and maybe assisted living centers will have a backup generator, it will not power the facility very long. The entire community, city, or region will be without power meaning no street lights, gasoline or other fuel sales, restaurants, stores, everything will be down.

Summary

Thanks to Pacific Gas and Electric, this summer you can relive the glory days of Governor Gray Davis and simultaneously live like the folks in Venezuela. From now on, in the PG&E service area, electrical service is a privilege not a right. What’s the old saying, “Forewarned is forearmed”? Unlike the Gray Davis era, in the enlightened age of Gavin Newsom, they’ll let you know when it’s convenient to provide electrical power. But remember, you only get billed for what you actually use.

As an added bonus, PG&E could now consider letting their union workers have holidays like the Fourth of July and Labor Day off. This will save them having to pay double and triple time to their union employees working on legal holidays and it won’t inconvenience many customers because most folks are eating out of their ice chests and picnic baskets during these holidays.

There is Hope

Despite these ominous threats, fear not fellow Californians. Our leader of the republic, Gavin Newsome, has committed $75 million to the cause. No word on what that money will be spent on. We wait patiently to hear more about the other added millions later in this process. Newsome added he is “scared.” Well rest assured sir, your house in Fair Oaks is in SMUD’s service area, and chances of a wildfire causing your power to be cut are NILL. In addition if your power were to go out, I’m sure you won’t have to wait in line like the rest of the unwashed masses, his majesty will have power turned on far before any of us.

Stripping PG&E’s Carcass

In related news: The City of San Francisco has begun discussions to look into buying the local SF portion of PG&E during the bankruptcy process.

As PG&E (PCG) continues to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the city of San Francisco is reportedly considering offering a deal to the utility for some of its power assets.

The multimillion-dollar deal is expected to happen within the next few months as Mayor London Breed told PG&E back in March that a formal bid would come if it proves feasible for the city, Bloomberg reported.

San Francisco is looking to purchase PG&E’s electric distribution system in the city, which it estimates “in the range of a few billion dollars,” according to Monday’s report from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

Link: Why Would The City Of San Francisco Purchase PG&E’s Power Assets?

I’m unsure of what they are thinking because the city would be liable for any equipment damage causing a resulting fire. In addition, does anyone know what infrastructure is even located under the city’s streets? Also, where do they plan on getting the power needed for their city? As William pointed out, there is precious nothing as far as electricity generating assets around the City, please don’t think Hetch Hetchy is capable. Maybe using the methane from their own citizens “deposits” found all over the town’s sidewalks? I know liberals want to send us to a Dark Age with all the green new deals; however, it seems like PG&E wants to do one better and send us to the Stone Age; less the ability to wield fire.

You have been warned.

The Chief

Apple Reports Tesla Fire

Apple is having a bad week. First the US Supreme Court says their app store is likely a monopoly and can be sued in lower court as such (without specifically ruling on the merits of the case) and then China and the US are at loggerheads over trade and tariffs.

Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt Apple Inc. a major setback in an eight-year-old lawsuit over the App Store on Monday, but the bigger news is the big effect it could have on Big Tech.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that plaintiffs have a right to sue Apple in a class-action lawsuit that alleges monopolistic behavior in the App Store resulted in overcharging. While the end result for Apple is uncertain for now, the ruling appears to be positive for consumers who buy services on platforms owned by Apple and other tech companies, because it gives them the ability to sue for alleged monopolistic pricing practices.

The case was filed in 2011 by four iPhone users who alleged Apple had unlawfully monopolized “the iPhone apps aftermarket” and that Apple locked iPhone users “into buying apps only from Apple and paying Apple’s 30% fee, even if ” the iPhone owners want to buy them elsewhere.

Link: Apple’s loss at the Supreme Court is ‘a big victory for consumers’ fighting Big Tech’s app and platform monopolies

Trade Wars

Apple closed down nearly 6% on Monday after news of a major escalation in the U.S.-China trade war.

China said on Monday that it decided to raise tariffs on some U.S. goods after President Donald Trump threatened to further raise tariffs on Chinese imports last week.
The trade war is affecting a lot of different stocks, but Apple seems to be hit harder than most. The Dow Jones Industrial index dropped 2.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.5%.

Apple is especially vulnerable to a trade war with China for two primary reasons.

First, it assembles its iPhones primarily in China. Although it has a lot of American suppliers — it spent $60 billion on American suppliers in 2018 — iPhone assembly is done in mainland China.

The other reason is that Apple, unlike other big tech companies, makes a substantial amount of its money by selling its products to Chinese consumers.

Link: Here’s why Apple is so vulnerable to a trade war with China

Apple News: Tesla Burning

OK so what does Apple have to do with a Tesla fire? Well this story is from Apple Daily. No word on whether this is a subscription service offers by Tim Cook and company but here’s the story.

A Tesla Inc electric car caught fire in a parking lot in a Hong Kong shopping mall, the Apple Daily newspaper said on Tuesday, but no one was injured in the blaze, whose cause was not immediately known.

The electric car burst into flames 30 minutes after being parked in the city’s San Po Kong district on Sunday, the newspaper said, with three explosions seen on CCTV footage.

Firemen took 45 minutes to douse the fire.

Link: Tesla car catches fire in Hong Kong parking lot

OK, so pop quiz. What is the acceptable way to fight a Tesla fire? Can you just pour water on the burning battery or would this be an environmental offence, especially here in California? Do the synthetic materials used in its construction give off cancer causing fumes? This vehicle certainly must come with a Prop 65 warning label. When fully involved, is it a Class D fire? 45 minutes to burn may be normal if water is not allowed.

Apple crashing and Tesla burning, oh, what a week (and its only Tuesday).

Tesla Drivers Starting to Feel the Burn

Yep, leave it up to Democrats to push for their “green” agenda and then screw the folks that drink the Kool-Aid thinking that they are socially responsible and saving the planet. You and I know this is utter crap, but some folks are slow learners.

Illinois drivers are learning that utopia isn’t cheap. If you own a Tesla or other electric vehicle, the Illinois legislature thinks that you can afford an annual registration fee of $1,000 per year. Why? Because electric vehicle owners don’t pay their fair share of gas taxes.

Electric car owners in Illinois could take a large hit to their bank accounts after lawmakers proposed an extreme hike in registration fees for electronic vehicles in the state.

The proposal would raise the annual registration fee to $1,000, more than 57 times the current amount of $17.50.

Illinois officials believe the legislation will raise $2.4 billion for future projects, the major one being roadway improvement, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The bill was introduced last week by Chicago state Sen. Martin Sandoval, a Democrat who says the registration fee hike is imperative to help fund necessary infrastructure improvements.

The reason for the extreme hikes are that electric vehicles don’t provide the state any gas tax revenue.

Oh, Liberals in the state are outraged:

“It’s outrageous,” Tesla owner Nicoletta Skarlatos, 56, told the Chicago Tribune. “I thought Illinois was progressive and would want to encourage EV (electric vehicle) ownership.”

“Imposing fees on EVs that are over 400 percent more than their gasoline-powered counterparts is not only unfair, it discourages promising new technology that will reduce our dependence on petroleum, reduce emissions, and promote the Illinois economy,” Rivian spokesman Michael McHale told the Chicago Tribune.

OK, learning opportunity for Liberals and low information voters…Progressive means getting financially screwed by the government because government can never really be too big, and after all it is your god and the proper way of worship is giving your all to the divine. “Green Agendas” and “Carbon Footprints” are all about centralizing power in the government by reducing your freedom. There is not now nor ever was any manmade climate crisis. It is hubris and arrogance to believe that is even possible. Oh, sorry, hubris is:

English picked up both the concept of hubris and the term for that particular brand of cockiness from the ancient Greeks, who considered hubris a dangerous character flaw capable of provoking the wrath of the gods. In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a fatal shortcoming that brought about the fall of the tragic hero. Typically, overconfidence led the hero to attempt to overstep the boundaries of human limitations and assume a godlike status, and the gods inevitably humbled the offender with a sharp reminder of his or her mortality.

Link: Definition of hubris

Oh, those of us using internal combustion engines are not exempt from the wrath of the legislature.

The bill would also make things more expensive for residents who drive non-electric cars. The state’s gas tax would go up 19 cents to 44 cents a gallon, fees for driver’s licenses would double and the registration fee for non-electric vehicles would go up nearly 50% from $98 to $148.

The article concludes:

Illinois was seventh in electronic vehicle sales last year and there are about 15,000 registered in the state. Over 200,000 electric vehicles were sold last year, about two percent of total U.S auto sales, according to Jenny Acevedo, an analyst with auto research firm Edmund.

“Every automaker has broadcast loud and clear that the future of automotive is autonomous and electric,” Acevedo told the Chicago Tribune. “Certainly, going from $17.50 to $1,000 in terms of registration isn’t going to move the needle in the direction the industry is hoping.”

Link: Illinois residents could be charged $1,000 a year to own an electric vehicle under new legislation

Did you note in the above that only two percent of autos sold in the country were electric, yet Tesla is now reportedly the number three US automaker. Using what metric? Sorry but production numbers do matter to us in the real world.

Prediction

If this law is defeated, look for it to be followed-up with a mileage tax. I think that is the real plan here, but you need to mold public reaction to be that $1,000 per vehicle is harsh but a mileage tax on electric vehicles is “fair”. This “fairness” is a Liberal buzz word for spreading the misery. Note that no one is disputing the premise that vehicle taxes should be increased, its just a matter of how to do it. Most electric vehicles are purchased by the wealthy so making them pay more is going to happen. I have always said the greatest so-called benefit of electric vehicles is not paying the gas tax but politicians will fix that loophole.

California Sliding Into Sea of Economic Insolvency

Some folks around the social orbit our editorial staff just don’t have a clue what economic mischief is afoot at the “Bill Mill” so I thought I would break it down for the slow learners. If you are a low information voter or a 90-Day Calendar Guy, this includes you.

Prop 13

Proposition 13 has been a protection on property taxes for Californians since Jerry Brown was governor the first time. If you have no clue who Rose Bird is then it was implemented was before your time. No one serving in the Legislature is old enough to remember the world before Prop 13 was enacted thus they have no idea what an economic benefit this has been to California businesses and homeowners.

The holy grail of many Liberals in this state is to dismantle the protections afforded by this ballot proposition. The most logical way is to bifurcate the law by separating business from residential property. Most interpretations of this arbitrary split result in rental property ending-up in the business bucket. Give our “housing crisis”, all this will do is result in even more upward pressure on rental prices. Having businesses and residential property taxed at different rates is only the first step in scrapping Prop 13. At some point, residential folks will get stripped of their protections too.

Prop 13 allows max property tax increase of two percent per year

Rent Control

Using the “housing crisis”, California voters will be given another opportunity to enact rent control in 2020. Again, if this ballot measure does not implement a statewide rent control program like the one just implemented in Oregon, it will be a big step in that direction. I think rent control is likely to pass next time. If not, it will keep showing up on the ballot until it does. Look for the ballot title and summary to be the Affordable Housing Act of 2020 or something similarly deceptive.

Sales Tax

Many services are currently exempt from charging sales tax. Since the Board of Equalization has been gutted, I see a path cleared to changing the law to get rid of most protections and subjecting virtually everyone and everything (except diapers and tampons) to sales taxes. Thus your haircut, car repair, tax preparation, attorney, etc. will cost you even more.

Summary

The above will all be sold on the basis of class warfare to economically illiterate people—mostly public school graduates—as a punishment on “the wealthy” because they believe that people can only get wealthy by screwing the “little guy”.

Ultimately, these issues will not be decided on what is best for you but on whether the Democrats are happy with the revenue stream going to Sacramento. This is allegedly a time of surplus revenue but I have my doubts. We know the long-term prognosis is bad but whether the folks at the Capitol have a clue… Oh, please don’t pin your hopes on that.

Anyway, the words quoted by H.L. Richardson keep flowing thru my mind, “But look what we let them keep”. Let’s hope the legislature keeps their hands out of our pockets but I don’t think they can help themselves.

Johnnie Does: Sal’s Kabob and Gyro House

Greetings, I decided to keep it local and hit up a Kabob and Gyro place just down the road from my office this week. Here is my review!

Sal’s is a local small family owned business who recently opened a second store in Roseville, which is a strange trend I’m seeing in the family owned business area these days. Why have 2 stores over an hour apart? They serve traditional Greek food; kabob plates, gyros, shawarma wraps, and even have a burger on the menu. I visited the place twice just to get a true feel for the food and service, as the Yelp reviews are inconsistent.

Ambiance: This is a no frills, small business. They have a counter, you can see the entire kitchen similar to a Chipotle and can see the lamb and steak roasting on a spit. Seating is very limited; call it maybe 30 people could sit between inside and outside. 3.5/5 It’s a low budget Greek place so I can’t go too low, the family works there so it’s not a bunch of hired help.

Food: So, I had the Lamb Kabob plate, it came with rice, vegetables and lamb. I thought it was decent. I ordered my plate medium spicy. At $13 after tax, it seemed a little high for lunch. Later in the week I came back, ordered a chicken Gyro medium spicy, with fries and a coke. It came to about $10 and I thought that was a decent price point. The gal behind the counter pointed to a refrigerator filled with cans of coke and said go ahead and grab one…I wasn’t in the mood for a can of soda so I passed. I guess I should have been more attentive, fountain drinks are king and have a lower cost for your business by the way. I received my gyro after about 10 minutes, but no fries, I was told they were making them fresh. The Gyro was great! Chicken perfect and spiced wonderfully, the salad was good and the tzatziki sauce was awesome…a home run. I wolfed it down…poor thing didn’t stand a chance against me…still no fries. I was ready to walk out as I was irritated at this point, because obviously I was being ignored, other people who ordered did subsequently receive their frozen potatoes thrown into a fryer and called done. She finally brought mine out and they were soggy and cold. I ate them anyway, and well, they were forgettable. 3/5

Overall: I try to support small business and this one could be good with a little better service and a soda machine. I understand in this era that cutting costs is a thing, but a can of coke and fries for an extra $3 is out of touch; especially considering the fries were cold when brought out. The Gyro was amazing and I’m going to order it again, and for $6.99 the price is great! The only other commentary I will add is the location is not easy to access so service needs to be at a premium! 3.25/5

We’re going Korean and headed to Bonchon next!

“Johnnie Does”

Warren Buffett is at it again!

The Oracle of Omaha, AKA the world’s best investor ever, AKA rich Uncle Penny Bags pulled off a move this past week that will make anyone jealous.

As always, the context of the story first…. a company called Anadarko Petroleum accepted a takeover bid by Chevron, with Chevron offering to pay to buy the entire company and merge the two together.

Another oil and gas company, Occidental Petroleum decided to join the bidding as well. Chevron being much larger than Occidental meant Occidental needed to find big pocket investors to outbid Chevron. Enter Penny Bags, stage left.

Buffett, through his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway, offered to lend Occidental 10 billion in return for 8% interest. In today’s world of low interest rates, why not go to an investment bank? While the oil patch had a rough go for several years, things are looking brighter, and I have a feeling someone would have lent them the money far cheaper. Just to give you an idea of how great Buffett’s return is, experts in the investment world consider 7% returns a year being good, well Buffett is getting that, plus 1% essentially risk free. I say risk free because if the corporation goes bankrupt, Buffett is in line for payback far before the shareholders are. But as the guy pitching Ronco Knives on late night TV infomercials will say, “But wait, there’s more”! Buffett added a deal any of us unwashed masses can only dream off; he gets a signing guarantee fee, meaning if Occidental does or doesn’t end up buying Anadarko, Buffett gets $50 million. That’s right folks, there you have it…literally risk-free money! Chevron got in on it as well, since they get a 1 billion breakup fee if Occidental does in deed buy Anadarko as well.

Just to summarize, when I bought my house, the interest rate I took was 4.125%. I got the best rate possible at the time. Why on God’s green earth would anyone take 8%, when alternatives were available? I’ll explain more later, but this is usury on Buffets part, and I think it should be investigated. He is essentially making a payday loan to Occidental and holding them and their shareholders hostage for a ransom, win or lose. Keep in mind that Occidental has a very clean balance sheet and could have issued more stock or even done a bond offering for quite less then Buffett’s offering but oh well.

Buffett’s imprimatur is apparently valuable to Occidental Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub: The 8 percent that’ll be paid out on the preferred shares is more than twice the average coupon on Occidental’s debt.

Link: Warren Buffett tosses a $10 billion bomb into Chevron-Occidental bidding battle

Now here is where Elon Musk makes Occidental look foolish. Tesla borrowed 1.6 billion in the form of a convertible bond (can be exchanged for equity in the company) issued by investment bank Goldman Sachs (one of the best in the business mind you) for 2%. By the way, Goldman is currently telling investors to sell Tesla; at least that’s what their analysts say publicly. So just to break it down here, Occidental a well-run oil company, and a good balance sheet got the money for 8%. Whether they win the bid, they have to pay 50 million. Penny Bags gets his cut up front win or lose, yet Tesla who lacks any business acumen is able to get the money from Goldman for 2%? I guess in the weird world we live in–William has done a fantastic job lighting Musk on fire–but here Musk comes off as a winner. Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub comes off as a very aloof Chief Executive. I guess in the next 90 days we will find out who won.

The Chief

Editor’s Note: Buffett’s intervention appears to be tipping the scales away from Chevron and toward Occidental Petroleum. I guess Wall Street wants Buffett to do for the petroleum industry what he has done for Kraft Foods.

Apple’s Sour Decline

For those not following Tim Cook’s tenure at Apple, things are still imploding at technology’s me too company.

5G

Remember Apple’s lack of 5G phones in 2019? The explanation finally came to light and Apple found a path forward. After being backed into the corner, Apple buried the proverbial hatchet with Qualcomm and as a result, Intel cancelled their research and development of 5G technology. So Apple will now be sporting the same Qualcomm 5G technology as Android phones only selling it for their usual high mark-up.

Apple’s settlement with chipmaker Qualcomm means it can fire up the engines on 5G iPhones.

Apple on Tuesday reached a settlement in its gnarly legal fight with Qualcomm. The dispute revolved around a royalty dispute over Qualcomm’s premium modem chips. The settlement included an undisclosed payout from Apple to the chipmaker.

Previously Wall Street analysts had voiced concerns that Apple was lagging in the race to faster 5G phones, in part due to its fight with Qualcomm.

Soon after news broke that the companies had settled, Apple’s chosen supplier for its future 5G smartphones, Intel, announced it was pulling out of the 5G modem race entirely. “It has become apparent that there is no clear path to profitability and positive returns,” said CEO Bob Swan.

Link: Apple’s blockbuster legal settlement paves the way for a 5G iPhone

Sales

Apple phone sales, year-over-year were down 30 percent. No wonder they don’t want to talk about phones any more.

Apple’s iPhone sales in China were down 30 percent during the first quarter of 2019, according to new shipment estimates shared today by Canalys.

Link: Apple’s iPhone Sales in China Down an Estimated 30% in Q1 2019, Huawei Continues to Dominate

Apple announced its financial results for its fiscal Q2 of 2019, the company’s revenue was down 5% over the previous year. Apple did not reveal how many iPhones it sold in the quarter.

According to a recent report from IDC, iPhone sales are down some 30% over the same time last year, with an estimated 36.4 million iPhones sold.

Apple’s iPhone sales estimate to be down 30 percent over last year

In its Mobile Phone Tracker for the first calendar quarter of 2019, IDC estimated that Apple only shipped 36.4 million iPhones, which it stated was a 30.2 percent annual drop, whittling down Apple’s share to just 11.7 percent of a total of 310.9 million global smartphones shipped in the quarter.

That figure put Apple in a distant third place behind Samsung’s nearly 72 million units and Huawei’s almost 60 million units. Because Apple sells only premium phones—as most analysts define as selling for about $400 or more—it’s not surprising that high-volume vendors of mostly lower-end phones would be outselling Apple in terms of unit sales.

However, IDC’s portrayal of more than a 30 percent drop in iPhone units over the previous year is nothing short of shocking. It’s also, as Cybart noted on Twitter, not just “embarrassing” but “impossible to achieve given Apple’s stated iPhone revenue.” Cybart stated that “IDC isn’t close with their iPhone unit sales estimate for the quarter that Apple just reported.”

Link: Editorial: Latest IDC estimate of Q1 2019 iPhone sales ‘highly inaccurate’ to the point of ’embarrassing’

Battery

In addition to being busted throttling battery life in their old phones, Apple has now been busted overstating the battery capabilities of their new phones.

Link: Apple’s 11 million replaced iPhone batteries demonstrates impact of iPhone planned obsolescence

Link: Apple exaggerating iPhone battery life by up to 51 percent, report says

Summary

Living for the 90-day cycle has its drawbacks and they are on full display for anyone willing to open their eyes. Clearly excellence and innovation take a backseat when you are a slave to churning-out dividends every quarter just to stay alive for the next financial report.

State Representative John Rogers of Alabama…..You’re an idiot!

First some background of this certified bozo. John Rogers represents Birmingham in the Alabama state house, but in reality, if you are the scum of the earth…congrats he represents you too! Rogers, like any other politician looking for 5 minutes of fame, went on a rant about why mothers should have access to an abortion. He said “Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now, or kill them later. You bring them into the world unloved, unwanted, and you send them to the electric chair, so you kill them now or kill them later.” Wow, a lot to unpack there.

To be fair, he was talking about abortions, more specifically a bill that if signed into law would outlaw all abortions, unless the health of the mother (or do we call them a more binary “carriers” now?) would be impacted. Obviously this is a very highly charged issue but Rogers wasn’t done yet. He added “some children facing abortion could be retarded or half deformed.” Wow!

Despite his valiant argument for its defeat, House Bill 314 passed 74 to 3. Later, other principled Democrats weighed in too:

When HB314 passed the House only three representatives voted against it. A number of Democrats who had left the chamber have since changed their vote to no, so the updated vote is 72 to 26.

Folks think about it. Those words that you and I take offense to; namely, “killing them now”, caused 23 more Democrat legislators to join with John Rogers! Let that sink in for a moment.

But wait there is more… Donald Trump Jr called him out saying he made Virginia Governor and Blackface aficionado Ralph Northam (no friend of the unborn mind you) look like a moderate on the issue, as compared to Rogers who wants a master race.

Saying “Trump Jr. is proof that mothers ought to have access to abortion because he is evidently retarded or crazy.” And further “I know there’s something wrong with that boy,” Rogers said. “I look at him and I can tell there’s something wrong with him. That’s the best defense I have for more abortions right there looking at him.” This is sick, disgusting even.

I will say this, Trump Jr definitely lacks in moral department due to his leaving his wife and children for the former first lady of San Francisco Kimberly Newsome er Guilfoyle er Trump….I don’t know. Whatever she calls herself.

That being said, Roger’s statements are becoming far more mainstream in the Democrat Party. While the anti-abortionists are slowly winning the battle, Roger’s reaction is off the charts crazy. The scary part is not so much his opposition to the bill, which is his right, its being so out of touch.

First of all I doubt this country executes more than 100 people in a year. Truth be told, only a handful of states have the death penalty and carry it out anyway. Planned Parenthood, on the other side, aborts many times that number in a single hour in our state alone, let alone nationwide. Ironically the customers are mostly the same color as Mr. Rogers. Adding insult to injury, Rogers would rather call Don Jr a name, and an offensive one at that. However his words, when taken in full context, are cringe worthy. He talks of aborted fetuses as throwaways not fit for this earth, even going farther to correlate a stay on death row and outlawing abortion, are somehow related. Then he makes a statement that if a fetus is deformed or retarded they should be killed as well…ouch! What is more upsetting is the Democrats are radio silent on this one.

Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood must be the most frightening place imaginable.

This guy is not your father’s Mr. Rogers

The safest place a child should be is with his mother, but this guy wants it to remain the most lethal. This Mr. Rogers is all about human trafficking of the worst sort, murder for hire. The “fit” deciding who is “unfit” (to live). In exchange for reducing the black population of his state, his masters provide him with money and power.

Rogers is now serving in his 10th term in the Alabama House of Representatives, representing the city of Birmingham. He is 78 years old.

Rogers is a professional photographer and according to his bio on the state Legislature’s website, is the director of minority affairs for the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Alabama Democrat condemned for remarks on abortion bill

Lest you think his comments are out of context, try this quote:

We were looking for clarification on his remarks and his thoughts on the national response, but our political analysts say anyone who knows Rogers and Alabama politics knows his comments aren’t unusual.

“If you Google John Rogers, you’ll find a whole bunch of ridiculous statements,” said Dale Jackson.

“He’s a very colorful man to say the least,” said Waymon Burke.

Our WAAY 31 political analysts, Dale Jackson and Waymon Burke, agree that remarks like this from Rogers are nothing new.

Link: Alabama Rep. John Rogers’ ‘unwanted child’ comments gain national attention

In conclusion, this guy Rogers should star in a film about why we no longer use lead paint in this country. No word on if he was popping Tide Pods or huffing glue between sentences.

John Rogers hands out breath mints like these to his constituents

Add Roger’s comments to those made about Obamacare and what a world we would live in. Your grandmother who has a cold…sorry ma’am we have no treatment options available. But get knocked up after a night of drinking and cut to the front of the line. We’ll take care of this problem for you! Service with a smile! Heck, if we were in Washington State, we’d even compost the little rascal for you. Given more time, Democrats will probably make abortion tax deductible. If you aren’t indoctrinated by our school system or way of life…I guess you should have been aborted as well. What a harsh thing to say, but this has been going on in our country for years now so I guess this is what it has come to.

People like Rogers are the worst, enjoy your lead paint and Tide pods this weekend Rogers!!!!

“The Chief”

Kill ‘Em Now

As a kid, I was taught that honesty is the best policy. As an adult, I know that rarely is a politician honest with anyone; especially in front of a microphone. When they are it is either a breath of fresh air or the stench of hell. This week the latter occurred in the state of Alabama.

Alabama is viewed by many as a conservative state because it is in the South and part of the so-called “Bible Belt”. This perception is false. Let’s recap some facts about Alabama.

Folks the South was a Democrat stronghold for 100 years after Reconstruction and not until Ronald Reagan did any Southern States vote in mass for a Republican. The problem is this, how can you be a Christian and a Democrat in today’s world? They are mutually exclusive ideologies. No, I’m not saying that the Republican Party is all sweetness and light or always right but they usually tolerate Christianity to some degree.

Alabama, as you may recall, was the center of controversy when Judge Roy Moore posted the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. These same Commandments are carved in marble at the US Supreme Court building but somehow too hot to be in a regular courtroom. So much for the myth of the “Bible Belt”.

I hate talking about race but here are a few pertinent facts. Alabama has many folks descended from slaves living there. Most of these people are still living on the plantation of their Democrat Masters. Those on the Democrat plantation have many corrupt and bad leaders bent on keeping these former slaves in bondage.

One form of bondage is the false gospel that many hear week after week in the pulpit. These false shepherds were corrupted decades ago in many ways. Their false gospel cannot free anyone from the bondage of sin. Besides departing from orthodox theology, these fake shepherds were corrupted thru purposeful planning by the Democrat Party, KKK, and supporters of eugenics (the belief that some races are superior to others).

Enter Margaret Sanger and her Birth Control League. Sanger wanted to eliminate the poor and genetically inferior peoples from our planet. It was a logical application of the theories embraced as a result of Charles Darwin and taking seriously his axiom of survival of the fittest. The question is how do you convince the unfit not to reproduce? In part, Sanger made a concerted effort to convince black ministers that aborting black babies was a compassionate act. She knew that the way to influence black folks was thru the churches so she corrupted them. (Of course when voluntary cooperation was not enough, she and her fellow travelers pursuing eugenics would find other means such as forced sterilization and “final solutions” to balance the scales of society.)

Anyway, here we are 100 years after Sanger began her crusade to “eliminate poverty by eliminating the poor”. “Weeds” —as Sanger called black folks—voluntarily self-abort 38 percent of their children at the altar of choice. Sangers’ organization, known today as Planned Parenthood, typically locates a facility anywhere there is a concentration of black people just to make controlling their population easier. Not only that, but virtually every black in public office supports the murder of their own race as a condition of holding elected office in the Democrat Party.

Those that dare to believe that All Black Lives Matter find that there is no place for them at the table or in the public square. Such people are marginalized or portrayed as sellouts to their people.

Against this backdrop, we have politician John Rogers, Democrat representative in Alabama, this week demanding that black children be murdered now.

John Rogers wants black babies and those with handicaps to die

“Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later. You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later,” Rogers said.

He continued by saying some children who face abortion could be “retarded” and “half-deformed.”

Reacting to this outrageous and evil statement, Donald Trump Jr., the President’s son, took to Twitter:

“This is stomach curling and makes Ralph Northam look like a moderate on abortion,” Trump Jr. tweeted, referencing the Virginia governor’s support for a failed abortion bill — an endorsement that critics likened to support of infanticide. “Every Democrat running for President needs to be asked where they stand on this. The extreme turn we’ve seen from Dems on abortion recently is truly sickening.”

(Ralph Northam is the Virginia Governor that recently advocated not just abortion for all nine months –which is legal now under Roe v Wade—but infanticide if the mom changes her mind after the birth of her child.)

Rogers then responded to Trump by calling for his death and doubling down of his abortion comments.

When asked by WVTM to react to the president’s son, Rogers laughed, saying Trump Jr. was “proof” that women should have a right to an abortion and called his statement “stupid.”

He even suggested that Trump Jr. was “retarded or crazy.”

“I know there’s something wrong with that boy,” Rogers said. “I look at him and I can tell there’s something wrong with him. That’s the best defense I have for more abortions right there looking at him.”

Link: Alabama Dem attacks Trump Jr. with slur after abortion comments spark outcry