Franklin Graham

The Growing Danger Of Trump “Confederates” And Right Wing Christian And Jewish Extremists

Ronald 3 Comments

America, as the Electoral College formally elects Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, as the President and Vice President of the United States, being inaugurated on January 20, 2021, is facing a growing danger that includes the potential of violence and bloodshed.

Donald Trump’s refusal to concede, and to stop spreading the myth of a fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020, in inciting crazy and deluded people to call for violence and bloodshed, and to refuse to ever accept the results of the election.

Trump is inciting the danger of civil war, and will have to face prosecution in 37 days when he is a private citizen, and continues, as seems clear, to promote violence and bloodshed.

We have two thirds or more of Republicans in polls saying they will never accept that Trump has lost, and we have lunatics such as conspiracy theorist Alex Jones; Republican state chairman in Texas Allan West (former one term South Florida Congressman); and right wing Christian preachers, such as Franklin Graham; and even Orthodox Rabbis, including one this author is aware of through his delusional wife, who allows him to manipulate her, to spread the lies and undermine American democracy!

We have crazies calling for a new Confederacy of Republican States who oppose Joe Biden being inaugurated, and threats against the lives of both Biden and Harris!

There is nothing worse than people who claim to be devout Christians or Jews who preach anti democratic propaganda, all in the name of enriching themselves on the backs of gullible congregants who keep on donating to these preachers of hate and lies!

And Donald Trump has managed to manipulate and fool many of his supporters, to donate over $200 million to be used by Trump in whatever way he wishes, including personal use and inspiring ever more lies and deceit, and create an alternate reality!

46 Years Since Richard Nixon Resigned, And Nation Would Benefit If Donald Trump Did The Same, But He Is No Richard Nixon!

Ronald 2 Comments

In 1974, on this day, August 9, the 37th President of the United States resigned from office, succeeded by Gerald Ford.

That was a great day, as a lawless, corrupt President, Richard Nixon, pressured by Republican leaders in both houses of Congress, willingly left, still a believer that he had been wronged, but ending a constitutional crisis, and giving us a President, Gerald Ford, who was certainly not without faults. But Ford was far better than the horror if Vice President Spiro Agnew had not been discovered for his corruption and forced to resign in October 1973, as Agnew would have been even worse than Nixon, so America was saved.

Now we have a President, even more lawless and corrupt than Richard Nixon, a willing accomplice of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a scenario that never would have crossed the mind of Richard Nixon. Donald Trump is working to destroy our whole constitutional system of government, and manipulates and distorts and lies, willing to do anything to gain absolute power by being reelected this November.

Richard Nixon had real accomplishments, despite his evil nature, and some of his greatest accomplishments are being destroyed by Donald Trump, who wishes to undo all good done under both Democratic and Republican Presidents in the ninety years since Franklin D. Roosevelt came to the Presidency during the First Great Depression.

Now, Donald Trump is presiding over a Second Great Depression, even more heartless and lacking in empathy or concern than Herbert Hoover.

And his Vice President, Mike Pence, is a religious extremist, with no principles, and hoping to impose his and his wife’s evil, narrow minded views about women’s rights and gay rights upon the nation in the future. He wishes to promote the extreme right wing views of disgraceful hypocrites, such as Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, Jr, Ralph Reed, Tony Perkins, and others who want a theocracy in America.

So on the 46th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation, the nation is faced with a crisis that may become worse, with the US Postal Service being politically manipulated to attempt to undermine mail voting. This is occurring in a time of a massive CoronaVirus Pandemic that the government on the national level and in many Republican states, including my resident state of Florida, are failing to deal with. This is creating an even greater health crisis that makes America the embarrassment of the entire world community!

The Truth About The Evangelical Right: Racist, Nativist, Misogynistic, Homophobic, Corrupt To The Core, And Money Making Machine!

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The Evangelical Right is a mockery of Christianity, clear and simple.

It is a movement in America that is clearly racist, nativist, misogynistic, homophobic, and corrupt to the core, and a money making machine.

It exploits millions of gullible, clueless suckers, many of whom are poor, and send their last dollar to one or another evangelist, such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Jr, or Franklin Graham and other charlatans.

It has a history of being against civil rights for African Americans, until they were forced by civil rights laws in the 1960s and since, to stop being openly racist. And yet, there are African Americans who back them, totally naive and unaware of the history.

It has a history of nativism, first against Irish and German Catholics in the mid 19th century, then against Jews (and still antisemitic although they claim support of the nation of Israel, but with the intent of converting Jews to Christianity), and more recently, supporting action against immigrants who are Hispanic or Asian in identity. And yet, there are those of these backgrounds who support such bigots, often totally unaware of the truth.

It has a history of treating women as second class citizens, wishing women to stay behind their man, obey him, never challenge his authority, and avoid anything other than motherhood and not complaining about sexual harassment and abuse, just accepting their plight in life. And yet, there are millions of such women who back them, clearly brain washed.

It has a history of being openly homophobic, and repudiating their children who are gay and lesbian, proving that their so called belief in “family values” is a farce. They encourage repudiation, and total rejection, and in so doing, encourage violence, and many such families have their progeny homeless, poor, and exploited due to their promotion of hatred against people on their natural sexual inclinations.

It has a history of being corrupt, with many such evangelists and preachers having multiple affairs outside of marriage, and stealing large amounts of funds to promote a luxury life style, while their congregants live in deprivation, and they have no moral conscience or ethics. They lie, cheat, and deceive without any sense of guilt. They have become a money making machine while preaching just the opposite, so are totally hypocritical.

For such so called “religious” people to throw in their lot with the most corrupt. immoral, unethical President of the United States, Donald Trump, is proof of their massive sin in the name of Jesus Christ, who would never have endorsed or approved in any fashion, the massive sins of the Evangelical Right, which is undermining any respect for organized religion, by intelligent, thoughtful, considerate and decent Americans.

Fortunately, the percentage that follows this despicable “Cult” is declining rapidly, and will be continuing to deteriorate, due to the rapidly diversifying of the American population in the next few decades.

The Double Standard And Hypocrisy Of The Evangelical Right Wing Is Infuriating, And Shows Danger Of Brainwashing Of Gullible People

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The scandalous sex life of President Donald Trump is well known, and it has been accentuated by the Stormy Daniels scandal that was revealed recently.

On top of the public affairs of Donald Trump against his own first two wives, and his bragging on the Access Hollywood tapes a decade ago, it makes one disgusted that he sets such a horrible role model for young men, and has no issue in bragging openly about his love life, while denying any sexual harassment charges by more than a dozen women over the years.

More infuriating, however, is the “pass” or “mulligan” that the evangelical Right Wing gives to him, when they were leaders in denouncing the scandalous sexual behavior of former President Bill Clinton.

No one is defending Clinton’s actions, but at least he never publicly bragged about it, or flaunted, but instead kept it private, until it was revealed, creating a crisis that went on for an entire year.

This time, the attitude of “religious” people and the Republican Party is ho hum, as if to just forget about it and move on.

So we have Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, Jr, Tony Perkins, Pat Robertson, and other right wing so called “devout Christians”, unconcerned, as long as the court system is made extremist right wing, and tax cuts are given to the wealthy, and the nation moves toward promotion of theocracy, including the ugliness of homophobia, misogyny, racism, nativism, and Islamophobia, and their backing of the National Rifle Association and its fight against any gun control.

The double standard and hypocrisy of the evangelical Right Wing is totally against the teachings of Jesus Christ, is infuriating, and shows the danger of brainwashing of gullible people, including women who are too willing to let men dictate their way of thinking.

To think that these women, including six phony blonde hair women, can mouth such ridiculous, asinine utterances on a CNN interview is beyond all rational behavior.

The Attack On Transgenders In The Military A Major Step Backward On Human Rights, And Must Be Resisted In Any Way Possible!

Ronald 2 Comments

The decision of Donald Trump to declare that transgender individuals are not to be allowed to serve in the military is a major step backwards on human rights.

Transgender men and women have served in the military heroically in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they serve in the military in Israel, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and other advanced democracies with no troubles or complications.

This is simply an appeal to the bigoted Religious Right of Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, and other preachers who claim wrongly to speak for Jesus Christ, who would reject their prejudice and hypocrisy.

It is also an attempt to take attention off the failed Health Care attempts to destroy ObamaCare, and also to take people’s minds off the investigation of the Russian collusion of the Trump campaign and Presidency.

It undermines the great progress made on gay rights and gay marriage, and now, the Attorney General Jeff Sessions is arguing that gays and lesbians and transgenders should not be considered as covered under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a total outrage!

Leave it to the right wing whackos, and we might see a future situation where women’s rights to an abortion, and even interracial marriages, might be reversed by a right wing Supreme Court majority.

It is good to see that the military is not, at least at this point, obeying a tweet of our unstable President, and hopefully, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will fight against it, and convince Trump that this will undermine military discipline and morale, and endanger the declared Transgenders already out in the military.

One can sadly expect more prejudice and discrimination against transgenders now in society, and some will die as a result.

Ironically, this bigoted, ignorant, and prejudiced statement by Trump occurred on the 69th anniversary of Harry Truman integrating the military in 1948, and one can be certain that if Truman were alive, he would have appropriate salty language visited upon Trump, and would probably wish to give Trump a swift kick in his rear end and in his private area as well, something million of Americans would cheer!

Trump-Putin Summit Meeting A Clear Sign That Putin Has Trump In His Grasp, Undermines Trump Legitimacy As President

Ronald 16 Comments

The Trump-Putin Summit Meeting yesterday at the G-20 Summit is a clear sign that the Russian autocrat has our President in his grasp, and has undermined Trump’s legitimacy as our President.

All the intelligence agencies are absolutely certain that Russia intervened in our 2016 Presidential election, and helped Trump to win.

Trump has been unwilling to agree to the reality and the facts, calling it “fake news”.

Different versions of the meeting by the Russian Foreign Minister and our Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have emerged from the meeting, and the question is whether Trump really pressed the issue with Putin, and whether he will simply accept their version that they did NOT interfere in our election. A “robust” and “lengthy” discussion, as depicted by Tillerson, apparently was a distortion of the meeting, another lie of the Trump Presidency!

The idea that we had a summit meeting with only Tillerson as an observer, with his close past ties with Russia when he was head of Exxon Oil, is an outrage, when we should have had H. R. McMaster, the National Security Adviser, and or James Mattis, our Secretary of Defense, in the meeting. Between Trump and Tillerson, we had a grand total of 12 months experience in diplomacy, compared to many decades of experience by Putin and his Foreign Minister. This is an outrage that everyone should be alarmed about, and one can be sure many Republicans and conservatives in and out of Congress are truly alarmed!

IF Trump does not continue to challenge Putin and resist their propaganda, he will be permanently harmed, and we will have to worry that he is in league with them to help promote his fortunes, by their planned interference in our midterm elections in 2018 and the Presidential Election of 2020.

Can one even imagine the reaction if Barack Obama had colluded with Russia, or George W. Bush, or Bill Clinton?

Can one imagine how the far Right conservatives and the evangelical Christian Right, which have embraced Vladimir Put as a “Friend”, based on support of guns and opposition to gay rights, would have reacted if, in particular, Obama had done what Trump has done, promote a “bromance” with a man responsible for deaths of journalists and opponents, as revealed by Richard Engel in a one hour special on MSNBC last evening, part of a new series titled “On Assignment”?

The idea that men and women who profess religion could unite with a totalitarian dictator such as Putin only shows the corruption of right wing evangelicals, such as Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham! The idea that right wing commentators, such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Mark Levin, among others, would just accept that Putin is no danger to America, is also a true example of how lacking in substance these characters are, only concerned about making as much profit as possible on their propaganda, and no concern about American national security!

The way things look now, Donald Trump is truly the “Manchurian Candidate”, and we are permitting the Russians to infiltrate and undermine our political system with equanimity, instead of with alarm!

Right Wing Christian Zealots Back Donald Trump While Establishment Republicans Condemn Trump On Anti Muslim Stand!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Republican Party is in a quandary as to how to deal with Fascist demagogue Donald Trump, who is still leading the polls and is gaining the backing of a plurality, if not a majority, of registered Republicans, in polls, on the issue of banning all Muslim immigration to the United States.

The fact that Trump is a clear cut racist, nativist, and Islamophobe does not perturb those Republicans being polled, and yet we have seen condemnation by all Republican candidates of Trump’s demagogic proposal, with the exception of Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum.  So we have seen Republican Congressional leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, along with many other leading Republicans, even including former Vice President Dick Cheney, take a stand opposing that displayed in the polls.

What we have seen is despicable characters such as: Michele Bachmann, Ann Coulter, Franklin Graham, Alex Jones, Pam Geller, Bryan Fischer, Pat Robertson, Frank Gaffney, and David Duke endorse Trump on this issue, despite their shady image as advocates of civil liberties and civil rights long term.

So the Republican Party and the conservative movement are at a crossroads, as they are trying to evade the damage being done to their brand by Trump and his ilk, but there is no question that the Trump phenomenon, the promotion of a modern Fascism, will not come to power, despite the ignorance and narrow mindedness of a portion of the American people.

Instead, it looks as if the Republican Party is about to implode, as it desperately attempts to overcome Trump, and we can expect the possibility of a brokered convention next July, which would be the most tumultuous Republican convention since the Gerald Ford-Ronald Reagan battle in 1976, and the even more tumultuous Democratic convention of 1968!

Closing Down Mosques, Requiring Muslim ID Badges, Closing Down Cafes And Diners And Wherever Muslims Meet: Meet American Fascism And The Republican Party Of 2015!

Ronald 30 Comments

The Republican Party of 2015 has gone so far to the Right that now it can be compared to Fascism in many ways!

Donald Trump asserts that all mosques in America should be shut down, which only incites anti Muslim hatred and endangers all Muslims in the United States.

What Trump forgets is the concept of the First Amendment and religious freedom!  Can one imagine if we had a politician say all Catholic Churches, all evangelical Christian churches, all mainline Establishment Protestant churches, or all Jewish synagogues should be shut down?  Would we ever allow or conceive of such action by any level of American government, which would make us no different than what Nazi Germany represented, as they shut down Jewish synagogues, and in fact, torched and desecrated them?  Have we gone mad as a nation, that we even have a Presidential candidate who can utter such bigotry and fascist tendencies, and sit by and ignore it?

Donald Trump also declares that we should require Muslim ID badges, reminding us of the branding of Jews with a yellow star in Nazi Germany, and are Americans ok with that, as if so, why not some day do that to other religious groups or ethnic minorities?  And he wants a database established to track all Muslims in America in their daily existence.

Marco Rubio wants us to close down cafes and diners and wherever Muslims meet, making him an American Fascist as much as Donald Trump!  Are we to arrest and imprison all Muslims in America as we did with Japanese Americans in World War II?

Are we to repeal the Bill of Rights and end freedom of assembly, along with freedom of religion, as well as freedom of speech?  Does anyone really think that shutting down public places where Muslims might congregate will prevent them from meeting underground?  Are we out to promote paranoia among Muslims in America, where the 99 percent who are NOT terrorist oriented will be motivated to defend themselves by joining groups that promote Al Qaeda or ISIL (ISIS)?

Are we going to allow those who advocate hate, such as Pam Geller, Franklin Graham, and others who promote Islamophobia, to undermine our nation and its basic values, and create a situation that will incite violence against anyone seen as Muslim?

Do we think such individuals would not be willing to defend themselves in a nation where there are so many firearms, many in the hands of mentally unstable individuals?  How do we gain a sense of peace and tranquility long term, when we are having demagogues advocating violence, warfare, and a native American Fascism?

All decent people MUST condemn Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and all other Republicans who advocate similar Fascist ideas, as well as Pam Geller and Franklin Graham and others of their ilk! They undermine any hope of coexistence, as all they do is accomplish what the evil terrorist groups want the most–the dissolution of America and its values!

The Disgraceful Franklin Graham And Ralph Reed

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Franklin Graham is disgraceful as the supposed successor of his dad, the Reverend Billy Graham, who is now 95 years of age.

Franklin Graham is extremely anti Islamic, labeling everyone in the faith as a potential terrorist, and unwilling to work toward reconciliation with the vast number of Muslims who are NOT terrorists, millions of them living in the United States, and facing discrimination that is undeserved.

Additionally, Franklin Graham is extremely anti gay, and applauds Russian leader Vladamir Putin on his nation’s anti gay legislation, failing to understand that gays are being threatened and victimized in ways similar to what happened to them in Nazi Germany. He has absolutely no tolerance or willingness to give gays and lesbians the equal rights in law and social treatment that all Americans are supposed to be guaranteed under the Bill of Rights!

It was good to see ABC News journalist Cokie Roberts challenge Graham on THIS WEEK this past Sunday, and she also did a service by exposing the hypocrisy of Ralph Reed, formerly of the Christian Coalition of Pat Robertson, and now of the Faith And Freedom Coalition, who claimed that gays are not fit to be parents, and that they harm children by adoption, when there is absolutely no such evidence. Reed is a nasty man, a person of doubtful ethical character himself, having engaged in political finance scandals, and demonstrating very right wing views tinged with religious hypocrisy toward women, as well as gays and lesbians.

Graham and Reed are two religious activists worthy of condemnation by those who believe in fairness and justice!

North Carolina’s Public Image Harmed By Vote Banning Gay Marriage In State Constitution

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North Carolina was part of the Confederate South during the Civil War.

North Carolina was part of the segregated South for a century, but the lunch counter sit ins at Greensboro in 1960 were one of the first events to draw attention to the issue of civil rights for African Americans in the South.

North Carolina started to prosper, passing its neighbor, South Carolina, in social and economic progress in recent decades, and in population as well, and gained a good reputation as a progressive state.

North Carolina has a black mayor of Charlotte, which will be the host for the Democratic National Convention this summer, and that city is the center of major banking and finance.

North Carolina is the center of high technology and excellent universities, with Durham and Duke University, Raleigh and University of North Carolina, and Chapel Hill with North Carolina State University.

Areas including Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill were strongly against the Amendment One, but the religious right, led by Billy Graham and Franklin Graham won out over the appeals of the educated ,and even of former President Bill Clinton.

So North Carolina has suffered, and will suffer in public image, and it will take a long time before North Carolina can regain the stature it had worked so hard to achieve in the past 30 years.

And to top it off, unmarried heterosexual couples will no longer be protected in their rights, either, whether civil unions or domestic partnerships. This is a heavy price to pay for ignorance, prejudice, and narrow mindedness, and provoked by organized religion, which should unite citizens, not divide them!