Shame on Conservatives

I've never seen anything like this.  As an avid political watcher, I've seen a lot of crazy and unpredictable things in presidential politics but nothing like this year's Republican primaries.  On Tuesday, Donald Trump once again captured the most delegates, pushing him closer and closer to winning the GOP nomination, and I have to ask: Where are all the conservatives?

When the 2016 race began last year, analysts were asking whether Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio would win Florida's primary.  Then, Trump swept in and handily won the state.

I don't get it.  How has Trump managed to pull the wool over the eyes of so many "conservatives"? 

Trump is not a conservative.  He never has been, and he never will be.   But many conservatives in the Republican party are touting Trump as savior of the world!  It reminds me of the way Barack Obama was idolized in the 2008 election.  The liberal media was fawning all over Obama.  MSNBC host Chris Matthews infamously said that one of Barack Obama's campaign speeches sent a "thrill up his leg,"  It was pathetic.

Now, many of the right-wing analysts, including some of my beloved Fox News hosts, are giving the same treatment to Trump.  I'm used to bias reporting on CNN and NBC, but Fox is supposed to be "fair and balanced."  Several Fox hosts have readily admitted that they are personal friends with Trump.  That's OK until they start giving Trump special favors, such as hours and hours of air time.  That's what's happening right now.

Fox's Sean Hannity brands himself not as a Republican, but as a registered conservative.  Yet, Hannity relentlessly fawns over Trump and refuses to challenge him on any of his endless lies and inconsistencies.  Bill O'Reilly pretends to be tough and objective, but he even gives Trump a pass on policy issues.  Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham have buddied up with Trump, too.  Ingraham is OK with Trump becoming the GOP nominee because he “captures the imagination of the people.”

It's not just the media types who have gone ga-ga (or should I say gag-gag) over Trump.  Some of Trump's former rivals have gone over to the dark side.  As Matt Walsh wrote in The Blaze, Chris Christie "went from hugging Obama to licking Trump’s boots, all for political gain." 

Ben Carson, whom Walsh describes as "a  man embraced by millions because he supposedly stood for Christian virtue, civility, moral courage and the Constitution — until he endorsed the one guy who defies all of those principles more aggressively than probably any Republican presidential candidate in history."

Let's not forget Jerry Falwell Jr. and Robert Jeffress.  Both men — along with plenty of other prominent Christian figures — seem to have abandoned their faith and hitched a ride on the Trump Bandwagon. 

I just don't get it.  It's like they've all lost their minds to follow a cultural icon.  It didn't turn out well when liberals did it with Obama, and it won't turn out any better for conservatives this time.

All I can say is this: Shame on conservatives!

Every Day Counts

Pampa has seen more than its share of tragedies in the last two weeks.  Between a shooting in town, a fatal car-train collision and a stabbing incident, four young men, ranging in age from early 20s to mid-30s, left this life far too early.

I've also attended two funerals in the last month.  My cousin Carla died suddenly, apparently from a massive heart attack.  She was 54.  A friend from church also passed away after a brief bout with cancer.  She lived to be 80.

All of this has made me start thinking. How can I make each day count?

Psalm 90:10 says "Seventy years are given us! And some may even live to eighty. But even the best of these years are often empty and filled with pain; soon they disappear, and we are gone."

 

The truth is we don't know how long we'll have on this earth.  But whether it's a few years or many, it's such a brief time compared to the eternity we face after this life.  I've always believed we have to make the most of every moment.  Make every day count and even take a few risks along the way.  Dare to take a chance on something.

 

When I was working on my book, someone asked me why I was writing my story while I was still so young.  (I was still in my 20s when Through Eyes of Faith was published.)  I told them I wanted to write the book while I was able to do it, physically and financially.  You just never know how fast things can change in life.

 

In one of my favorite songs, The River, Garth Brooks sings: 

 

"Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide."

 

That's how I try to live my life every day.  This life can change in an instant.  One event can change our course forever.  I've learned that firsthand.  I never expected to be living in a nursing facility at the age of 47.  I'm thankful for the help I have here, but I'm not content to just sit around and let life slip away around me.  I want to get out and live the life I have to the full (John 10:10).  That's why it's important for me to be able to ride around town on my scooter the way I do.  It's liberating.  So when the Head Honcho tells me not to ride too far, I only smile and continue on my way.

 

Most of my family is gone to a family gathering near Austin this weekend, but I wasn't able to go with them.  Of course, I was disappointed and a little sad, but I'm happy that they all have a chance to get together.  I'm especially glad my mom can still travel and can enjoy this weekend, and I'm thankful for all the memories of the trips Mom and I took together.  We will always remember that cruise to the Bahamas!

 

And I'm going to keep living my life the best I can and make every day count.  So if you have things on your bucket list that you've always wanted to do, don't put them off until later in life.  That may be too late.  Do it now and you'll be able to make every day count.

Super Tuesday?

In past elections, voters said it was like voting for "the lesser of two evils."  In the case of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, it's really hard to say which one is the most evil. They're both wicked to the core.

Trump and Hillary dominated the Super Tuesday races, and the question I have to ask is 'why?'  Why would so many people support either one of these two heathens?

This is America, and, yes, I know people have the right to vote for anyone they want.  But at what cost?

Cal Thomas put it this way, "It's a democracy and people have the right to select their leaders.  That's what they did with President Obama, who has been a disaster.  Are we about to exchange one disaster for another?"

When this election season started (which seems like an eternity ago), there were 17 Republican candidates.  Out of those 16 men and one woman, 15 of them would make a pretty good president.  I could have even supported Rand Paul.  The only two I could never vote for are Trump and John Kasich.

The thing I really can't understand is how so many "Christians" could vote for someone like Trump?  Even some prominent Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell Jr. and Pastor Robert Jeffress have lined up behind Trump.  It's crazy!

Writer Ben Shapiro asks, “Have evangelicals ever supported an unrepentant, pro-Planned Parenthood, adulterous strip club owner before?”
  
And don't even get me started on Hillary's evils.   Between the Benghazi cover-up and her e-mail scandal, it's one lie after another with Hillary Clinton.  It doesn't make sense.  How can a Christian vote for either Trump or Clinton?

The only way I can explain it is to say this is what the Bible warns us about in Matthew 24:24, where it says, "Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning." (The Message version)

I can only hope that people will come to their senses before the November election.  If not, America is going to be in a heap of trouble.