The Crisis of Masculinity — Men without Work

My friend, this is really important.

The disappearance of men from the workforce is about identity as much as structural economic change.

As George Will noted, Nicholas Eberstadt has written an extraordinary new monograph, Men without Work.

Among the questions he asks are:

“Why is this recovery so much more fitful than other postwar recoveries?”

Why do “overwhelming majorities continue to tell public opinion pollsters, year after year, that our ever-richer America is still stuck in a recession”?

Why Trump?

Why Bernie Sanders?

All the happy news about unemployment falling misses something big, says Eberstadt: “the deterioration of work rates for American men.”

Almost one out of four men of prime working age (25–54) are not working. Since 1948, the percentage of men aged 20 to 64 who aren’t working has doubled. Fewer working-age men are working today than in 1930, in the heart of the Great Depression.

Most of this decline, however, has taken place since 1965. Between 1965 and 2015, the share of working-age men who are jobless more than doubled, from 10 percent to 22 percent. Among “prime age” men, the percentage without jobs shot from 6 percent to nearly 16 percent. Some of these men are in training or education programs. But the vast majority of men in this age range who are receiving training or are in school are job holders, working part-time or working full-time and going to school part-time. (This category includes both my sons and perhaps yours as well: My son has had a job working for a 7–11 while in college, while my older son is holding down an executive position and getting his MBA.)

Eberstadt estimates that if you deduct men who are going to school instead of working, the number of working-age men without work is still almost 10 million, or about 10 percent of the working-age male population. This is what the Romans called “decimation.”

Could this be one reason the economy isn’t growing as fast as it should be?

How did the missing men in the workplace go mostly unnoticed for so long? Eberstadt points to “the historic postwar transformation in the nature of women’s work.” Between 1948 and 2015, the proportion of women between 25 and 64 in the workforce doubled from 34 percent to 70 percent, masking the continuing retreat of men from work. By the late 1990s, women’s workforce participation stopped rising. “Only then did the overall work rate for U.S. adults begin to register a decline,” he writes. “For two full generations, the upsurge of employment for women disguised the steady decline in work for men.” Almost 40 percent of all Americans without work are now male.

The second structural change, though, is: “Ever-greater numbers of working-age men simply have dropped out — some for a while and some forever — from the competition for jobs. These men have established a new and alternative lifestyle to the age-old male quest for a paying job.” And Eberstadt points out that this situation is largely voluntary: Not only are these men not looking for work, “only a minority report that they’ve left the labor force because they cannot find a job.”

Eberstadt here perhaps underestimates men’s reluctance to admit to pollsters a failure or a weakness, but still, this reflects an enormous change in masculine norms. In the past, men would rather have it be known they aren’t working because they can’t find a job than that they chose financial dependence on others.

As Eberstadt writes, “This mass retreat from the workforce has been possible to ignore because these men are largely socially invisible and inert.” No Male Lives Matter rallies or riots, no union or political organizing on their behalf. The complaints of men are invisible in public discourse in part because we have defined our social goal as getting more women to work.

The Atlantic on July 25 published an essay by Derek Thompson, “What Are Young Non-Working Men Doing?” Since 2000, “the participation rate of 16-to-24-year-olds with just a high-school degree has fallen 10 points to about 70 percent,” he observed. Where are they? Living in Mom’s basement, as Hillary Clinton derided Bernie Sanders supporters for supposedly doing. Thirty-five percent of 18-to-34-year-olds live with parents, more than the 28 percent who live with a spouse — this is part of the fruits of the divorce and unwed-childbearing “revolution.” Many of these parents are likely to be single mothers, as few working fathers are willing to support idle sons indefinitely.

What are these young men doing? University of Chicago economist Erik Hurst’s preliminary research, cited by Thompson, suggests: “The hours that they are not working have been replaced almost one for one with leisure time. Seventy-five percent of this new leisure time falls into one category: video games.” And, so far, they like it pretty well this way: “Happiness surveys actually indicate that they [are] quite content compared to their peers,” Hurst said in an interview published on the university’s site.

Thompson wrote another essay in 2014 on the mystery of declining male work in which he described both the push and the pull disconnecting men from the workplace — the structural loss of jobs and the increase in the safety net. But then he put his finger on what I think is the most important piece of the puzzle: male identity:

Looking to the future, one aspect of the decline of work that might not receive enough attention is identity. If the future of work isn’t quite biased against men, it certainly seemed biased against the traditional idea of manliness. Construction and manufacturing, two male-dominated industries, are down 3 million jobs since 2008. Most of those jobs are dead, forever. Meanwhile, the only occupations expected to add more than 100,000 jobs in the next decade are personal care aides, home health aides, medical secretaries, and marketing specialists, all of which are currently majority female.

It might seem sentimental to talk about pride and identity in the face of vast, empirical trends, like falling wages for non-high-school-educated men and the slow creep of automation into low-income work. But some economists think identity plays a starring role in the economy. “Some of the decline in work among young men is a mismatch between aspirations and identity,” said Lawrence Katz, a professor of economics at Harvard University. “Taking a job as a health technician has the connotation as a feminized job. The growth has been in jobs that have been considered women’s jobs — education, health, government.”

The economy is not simply leaving men behind. It is leaving manliness behind.

We no longer valorize male work as manly because manliness itself has fallen out of favor. The problem is not working women, the problem is genderphobia, the half-century growth of the pervasive ideology that acknowledging the basic realities of gender and gender difference is somehow a crime against women (and more lately, against the LGBT community).

Here’s what humanity understood for thousands of year that we’ve forgotten or trashed: If you want good men, you need to admire, idealize, and reward masculine goodness.

Work became redefined, not only as genderless, but male work became redefined as a source of unfair privilege. For the Donald Trumps or the Bill Gateses or the Lloyd Blankfeins of the world, this makes some sense: The pinnacle of power and money is still majority male.

But for most of human history, men worked in really nasty jobs that damaged their health for three reasons: to support themselves, to support their families, and because that was what manliness required. Financial dependence, either on a woman, on the government, or on the charity of their neighbors, was anathema to masculine identity.

The fancy term for this kind of identity formation is “symbolic capital.” In a lot of different ways, we have simply failed to replenish what we inherited from the Greatest Generation of these sources of identity for the Americans who cannot pat themselves on the back because they’ve made it to Harvard as part of the privileged class: religion, patriotism, community, and yes, pro-social masculinity. I notice part of Trump’s appeal is that he always tells voters success is not necessarily being like him: Being a happy teacher or police officer is just as much a success as being a Manhattan real-estate tycoon.

For most of humanity’s history, masculinity was something achieved, not given, and it pointed men in directions that their society defined as pro-social. Above all, in modern times, to work and marriage. The connections between work, marriage, fatherhood, and manhood unleashed enormous social energy. Being a husband and a father was a socially and sexually reinforced masculine identity. It wasn’t just being a parent or a caretaker. A good husband and father worked. The guy who didn’t was not just a deadbeat, not just a social menace, but a failure as a man. Both men and women knew this.

The redefinition of masculinity into personhood has not produced a generation of men who act like women. The deep sources of motivation are not the same for both genders.

Today we’ve defined men as the enemy unless they pretend to conform to the idea that gender doesn’t matter. Adult men are now retreating to the world of video games where their aggressive impulses are valorized, not despised — without risk and without real reward.

Hence the fury of “GamerGate” — the rage of men whose fantasy refuges of masculinity were threatened by feminism.

The way forward is not the way back. The first step is not to reject working women, of course. But it is to reject genderlessness and genderphobia, to recover and respect the male need to achieve a masculine identity, one that does not hurt their children or their wives. Or their moms. Or the economy.

If we want more good men, we need to appreciate them more.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on NationalReview.com.

America’s Choice: Open Borders vs. Safe Borders

Last night’s Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton illustrated perfectly, the two contrasting choices facing our nation. One candidate puts Americans first, and the other seeks to flood our country with massive waves of un-vetted Islamic refugees.

Prior to the debate, as the media obsessed over comments made by Donald Trump on an audio tape from over 10 years ago, little attention was paid to the revelations made by WikiLeaks that Hillary Clinton desires an “Open Borders” society.

Secretary Clinton’s globalist dream was no surprise, given her heartfelt affection and admiration for the woman who almost singlehandedly transformed Europe into Eurabia, Angela Merkel.

The question for the debate was, “would Trump be able to emphasize and expose Clinton for her vision to subvert American sovereignty and endanger us all?”

As the debate unfolded, it became clear that moderators Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz had no intention of remaining objective. What should have been a debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, revealed itself as a 3 on 1 grudge match.

Anderson Cooper led off the debate by actively scolding and accusing Donald Trump of sexual assault. Despite Cooper’s egregious abdication of objectivity, Trump turned the tables and spoke directly to the American people.

This was what made Trump so effective in the Republican primary. His refusal to back down, willingness to return fire, and ability to directly reach the hearts and minds of ordinary Americans, despite efforts by the elites to silence him.

Clinton made it clear early on that she had no intention of discussing the issues actually affecting the future of this nation, and that she would much rather play the same old song of sexism, racism, and xenophobia that we’ve heard too many times to bear.

debate2.png

While this tactic may have worked on other members of the GOP establishment, who likely would’ve cowered in the corner, and self-shamed profusely for their past transgressions, Donald Trump is no ordinary candidate.

Mr. Trump understands the critical issue of our time is in fact, radical Islamic terrorism. So while Secretary Clinton and the moderators were busy working hard to disqualify Trump from ever becoming Pope, he was busy disqualifying Mrs. Clinton from becoming President.

The President’s responsibility as our founders envisioned it was to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Military, and to protect both the Constitution, and citizens of this nation.

Consequently, any candidate expressing a desire for an open borders society such as the one Secretary Clinton spelled out prior to and during the debate, is directly attempting to abdicate their duties as Commander-in-Chief, and expressing a desire to subvert American sovereignty. Disqualifying.

Secretary Clinton’s primary tactic focused on attacking Mr. Trump’s “sexist” and derogatory comments about women.

Unfortunately for Mrs. Clinton, it’s hard to portray yourself as a champion of women’s rights while taking money from countries like Saudi Arabia that oppress them in horrific ways.

More to it, Clinton’s desire to increase un-vetted Islamic refugees by over 500% would leave women particularly vulnerable. Westerners in Europe are tragically experiencing just how dangerous and destructive unfettered Islamic immigration can be for women in particular.

debate3.pngSweden has become known as the “rape capital of the west,” with a staggering 77.6% rapes being committed by foreigners. As was widely reported, Germany witnessed a horrific chain of gang rapes this most recent New Year’s Eve, as a direct result of Mrs. Clinton’s hero, Angela Merkel’s refusal to control her borders.

This is the future that awaits American women if we should allow a self-avowed open borders champion like Hillary Clinton to capture the Presidency.

So while those on the left claim to be the true advocates of equality and women’s rights, just remember, those most vulnerable will be the first to suffer as a result of this naïve and politically correct dogma.

Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump was also asked a question about the rise of Islamophobia in the United States during the debate.

Coincidentally, terrorist attacks committed by radical Islamists are also on the rise. In fact, our nation suffered three of them in the month of September alone, all by Islamic immigrants.

The American people understand what’s going on, despite the mainstream media’s attempt to divert their attention. We’re fed up with being lectured about tolerance as our quiet, American communities continue to be transformed by those who refuse to assimilate.

Mr. Trump understands what the average American, who simply wants to work hard, and provide a nice safe life for themselves and their families is thinking. Those who continue to live in their own bubble of pretentious and condescending elitism do so at their own peril.

The choice is clear, open borders, or safe borders. Americans first, or Americans second. Choose wisely this November.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on the ACT! for America website.

WIKILEAKS: Podesta gets email that labels Blacks and Muslims ‘professional never-do-wells’

hillary-and-podesta-seiu

John Podesta and Hillary Clinton

Of course, when I saw this the first thing that came to my mind was: If Hillary’s campaign believes this, then why on earth is she promoting more Muslim and African refugee resettlement for hundreds of American towns?

From WBSM AM 1420:

The mainstream media, the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton have all accused the Republican candidate for president, Donald J. Trump of making racist statements. While I disagree, I do see where, if you wanted to be intellectually cute, one could at least raise the concern.

That being said, where is the same media in responding to a WikiLeaks email taken from Hillary Clinton’s national campaign chairman John Podesta?

Here is what I am referring to:

“What makes for successful immigration? It’s no brain surgery, but the media have long failed to provide a clear credible answer. They are unable to come up with an answer or don’t like the answer that’s staring them in the face. The main reason behind successful immigration should be painfully obvious to even the most dimwitted of observers: Some groups of people are almost always highly successful given only half a chance (Jews*, Hindus/Sikhs and Chinese people, for example), while others (Muslims, blacks** and Roma***, for instance) fare badly almost irrespective of circumstances. The biggest group of humanity can be found somewhere between those two extremes – the perennial overachievers and the professional never-do-wells.” – to John Podesta February 21, 2017 6:10 p.m.

The list of recipients also includes many members of liberal media outlets such as Huffington Post and Politico.

Had this conversation been confiscated with links to the Trump campaign, we could allow Hillary the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave right now.

Now other conservative and Trump supporters are reporting that Podesta was the author, I believe he is merely one of the recipients after carefully studying the chain of the email. I am though, quite uncomfortable with the fact that Podesta neither corrects or admonishes the author in the information provided but he should not be within a mile of this kind of rhetoric.

Can you imagine if Donald Trump said that!

Visit WikiLeaks to see screen shots of the exchanges. If I hadn’t seen the screenshots I might not have believed this happened.

Go here to see what we have written about Podesta over many years.

RELATED ARTICLE: Who is orca100?: A digital mystery.

Report: Islamic State recruits wealthy and well educated

The idea that poverty and ignorance cause terrorism has led the U.S. to shower billions on Muslim countries, hoping to win hearts and minds and alleviate what mainstream analysts doggedly believe are the root causes of terrorism. But it has been known for years that poverty doesn’t really cause terrorism at all. The Economist reported in 2010:

Social scientists have collected a large amount of data on the socioeconomic background of terrorists. According to a 2008 survey of such studies by Alan Krueger of Princeton University, they have found little evidence that the typical terrorist is unusually poor or badly schooled.

In the same vein, CNS News noted in September 2013:

According to a Rand Corporation report on counterterrorism, prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2009, “Terrorists are not particularly impoverished, uneducated, or afflicted by mental disease. Demographically, their most important characteristic is normalcy (within their environment). Terrorist leaders actually tend to come from relatively privileged backgrounds.” One of the authors of the RAND report, Darcy Noricks, also found that according to a number of academic studies, “Terrorists turn out to be more rather than less educated than the general population.”

The Times Online reported the following as far back as April 2005:

Three-quarters of the Al-Qaeda members were from upper middle-class homes and many were married with children; 60% were college educated, often in Europe or the United States.

And here we go again.

isisquran1

“Islamic State recruits are above average when it comes to education, according to World Bank report,” AFP, October 6, 2016:

The data shows clearly, the report said, that “poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism”

Recruits to Islamic State (IS) are better educated than their average countryman, contrary to popular belief, according to a new World Bank study.

Moreover, those offering to become suicide bombers ranked on average in the more educated group, said the newly released study titled “Economic and Social Inclusion to Prevent Violent Extremism”.

The study, which aimed to identify socioeconomic traits that might explain why some are drawn to the Syria-based extremist group, made clear that poverty and deprivation were not at the root of support for the group.

Almost without exception, fighters joining IS’s Syria and Iraq-based forces had several more years of education in their home countries – whether in Europe, Africa or elsewhere in the Middle East – than the average citizen. The data shows clearly, the report said, that “poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism”.

Out of 331 recruits described in a leaked IS database, only 17 per cent did not finish high school, while a quarter had university-level educations. Only those from Eastern Europe were below the average, and only marginally so, according to the study.

“Foreign recruits from the Middle East, North Africa and South and East Asia are significantly more educated than what is typical in their region,” the Bank report said.

About 30 per cent of the recruits told the extremist group what positions in the force they wanted. About one in nine volunteered for suicide operations, and their educational levels were on par with those who sought to be administrators, the report said.

“The proportions of administrators but also of suicide fighters increase with education,” it said.

Most of the 331 recruits also reported having a job before travelling to join IS, also known as Daesh, according to the study….

RELATED ARTICLES:

Shelbyville, Tennessee: Muslim shoots up three churches, says “Read the Qur’an”

Australia: Muslim preacher expelled for saying “global peace will only be established when the last Jew is killed”

List of Republicans who are members of the ‘Open Borders’ movement

The great to-do about nothing regarding Donald Trump’s decade-old locker room talk is really all about immigration.

And as such, perhaps the kerfuffle is actually a great benefit to us because it very clearly shows us those members of Congress, U.S. Senators and a couple of governors who do not want to close our borders.

These are also the elected officials we can’t count on to slow the refugee flow into America because by opposing Trump they are supporting Hillary’s (tens of thousands of Syrian Muslims for your town) plan and inviting her Muslim Brotherhood pals to join her in the White House.

You know, bloggers like me have nothing to lose. I could care less if you read this blog or not! I don’t make a living doing this like some of those who write for National Review, so I’m calling the following elected officials traitors to America.

There is only one issue that matters for the future of this country and that is immigration. And, Trump is the first candidate at that level to know it and speak forcefully in favor of saving our unique American culture!

These Open Borders Republican globalists are out of the closet now!

South Dakota Senator John Thune is one of the weasels in the Senate who has come out of the closet today. This man will never support closing the border or slowing Muslim refugees to America because he doesn’t support the one man who can do it. Make it a habit to check their ‘Conservative scores’ here: https://www.conservativereview.com/scorecard

john-thune

South Dakota Senator John Thune

Thune has an “F” grade.

This is from The Hill.  Some of them were so chicken they said they weren’t voting for Hillary, but couldn’t vote for Trump. We are not stupid! A vote for anyone else is a vote for Hillary.

Some say that Mike Pence should go to the top of the ticket. Nice guy, great VP pick, but Hillary will win. This is asinine.

I suspect it is only a partial list because earlier in the day, I saw that Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) was now opposing Trump.

And, even before I posted, the news is out that Sen. John McCain has joined the list. Only surprise is why it took him so long when his protege Kelly Ayotte leads the list.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert
Rep. Frank Lo Biondo (R-N.J.)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.)
Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.)
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala)
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo)
Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.)
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Mo)
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Az.)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.)
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo)
Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev)
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)
Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala)
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.):
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah)
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Ak)
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)

There are probably more I haven’t seen yet.  Send them along if you see them.

And, if anyone is going to be blamed for destroying the Republican Party it is this list!

I recommend that if any of these are your representatives and you want to see the Donald Trump “movement”in the White House, you need to unload on them in the next couple of days.

Picket their homes if you must! But, don’t let them get off the hook.

RELATED ARTICLES: 

Where do WE put a billion people?

Rutland, VT: More secret exchanges revealed by Judicial Watch FOIA

Lifelong Socialist, Islam apologist, chosen as new Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres

VIDEO: Values Voters Continue to Support Trump-Pence Ticket

WASHINGTON, D.C. /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Former presidential candidate Gary Bauer said that he continues to support the Trump-Pence Ticket, as do many Value Voters, because the choice for the future of America remains clear.

The chairman of the Campaign for Working Families made the following statement:

“The ten-year old tape of a private conversation in which Donald Trump uses grossly inappropriate language does not change the reality of the choice facing this country.

Hillary Clinton is committed to enacting policies that will erode religious liberty, promote abortion, make our country less safe, and leave our boarders unprotected. She wants higher taxes and bigger government. She will continue the disastrous economic policies that are destroying America’s Working Class and Middle Class families. She is mired in corruption and has put U.S. secrets at risk.

Donald Trump will reverse these failed policies. I continue to support the Trump-Pence Ticket.”

Bauer served all 8 years of the Reagan Administration, as under secretary of education and as President Reagan’s chief domestic policy advisor, later running in the 2000 Republican presidential primaries. The Guardian called Bauer “one of the leading campaigners in the U.S. on pro-life and pro-traditional family issues.”

Donald Trump Speaks at Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 9, 2016

ABOUT CAMPAIGN FOR WORKING FAMILIES, PAC

Paid for by Campaign for Working Families, PAC. www.cwfpac.com, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Bauer is available for satellite interview via a VideoLink ReadyCam studio. To book call VLGuru.com at 617-340-4100 or 571-244-6324.

Memo to all weak-kneed Republicans: Get a grip

Oh, horrors! Oh, shocking! Oh, lewd, lewd, lewd!

Spare me. What’s really shocking is the smarmy sanctimonious hypocrisy of it all.

It’s comical to watch the drama coming from Democrats in response to the 11-year old “hot mic” incident with Donald Trump.

Democrats who defended a President who admitted to receiving oral sex from an intern in the Oval Office while discussing bombing runs against Serbia, and who think it’s just hunky-dory to put boys in the Girls’ locker room in public schools

But Republicans? Really? Senators Mike Lee and his ilk (who, let’s not forget, have long been #NeverTrumpers), climbing high on their sanctimonious horse to say Trump’s comments were just about the worst thing that’s ever been said about women?

Puh-leese. As Charles Krauthammer so cogently pointed out on Fox News the evening the scandal broke, if you thought Donald Trump was a saint, you haven’t been paying attention.

Any Republican with an ounce of political savvy should understand that Hillary’s playbook is all about impugning Donald Trump’s character. That is all she’s got. Because if she ran on the issues — her secret endorsement of open borders, for example – she would go down in flames.

It’s time our party got a collective grip on itself.

Tony Perkins and Ralph Reed, two responsible evangelical leaders, got it just right in their comments.

Here’s what Perkins, who heads the Family Research Council, said:

“My personal support for Donald Trump has never been based upon shared values, it is based upon shared concerns about issues such as: justices on the Supreme Court that ignore the constitution, America’s continued vulnerability to Islamic terrorists and the systematic attack on religious liberty that we’ve seen in the last 7 1/2 years.”

To the Mike Lee’s, Kelly Ayotte’s, Mia Love’s, and Paul Ryan’s out there: have you forgotten why we elected you in the first place?

Have you forgotten why the Tea Party exploded onto the political scene in 2010, and why Donald Trump succeeded in roundly defeating 16 highly-qualified and highly-skilled Republican opponents in the primary?

A movement has sprung up in this country, and the political elites are terrified that it will succeed in pushing the eject button on their cozy Party of Big Government that has ruled, raped, and destroyed this country for too long.

Republicans and Democrats belong to this Party. Hillary Clinton is the current leader of this Party.

Republican and Independent voters are undoubtedly smarter than the Mike Lee’s, Kelly Ayotte’s and the rest of them. These voters understand that the Movement will ultimately triumph, and that they will never go silent again until it does.

They will elect Donald Trump and Mike Pence because they know that this is our last chance to keep our nation from plunging over the cliff into an abyss of debt, weakness, and servitude.

They know that an election victory by Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine will mean a bigger, more expensive, more intrusive federal government, higher taxes, and a diminished U.S. military.

They know that a Hillary victory will mean America will continue to “lead from behind,” the “policy” Hillary touted as such a huge success in Libya, even as America’s enemies continue to attack us and get away with it unopposed.

What part of “defeat” do Mike Lee and Kelly Ayotte fail to understand?

I’m not talking a defeat of Donald Trump. I’m talking about the defeat of the America most of us still love and cherish.

To repeat: nobody ever thought that Donald Trump was a saint. That was never his qualification for office.

The reason Donald Trump is the only Republican qualified to become the next president is because he is the only one who understood early — and continues to articulate — the broad-based popular movement of Americans who are determined to stop the theft of our nation by the political and media elites.

RELATED ARTICLE: GOP mega-donors Robert and Rebekah Mercer stand by Trump

Planned Parenthood Shouldn’t Be Welcome At High School [+Video]

Cecile Richards greets participants at the Rally for Women's Health on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on July 11, 2013.

Cecile Richards greets participants at the Rally for Women’s Health on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on July 11, 2013.

Planned Parenthood isn’t happy unless they are harvesting body parts and ending the lives of perfectly healthy babies. To make sure they have a never ending supply of fetuses the organization establishes student groups on high school campuses to influence young impressionable girls. A recent addition is at a public high school in Richmond, Va.

The Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School is funded by Virginians’ state taxes. The esteemed school’s mission is,

“…to provide comprehensive educational opportunities that advance gifted students’ understanding of world cultures and languages. Our diverse and supportive community develops students’ character and ability to contribute, collaborate, and lead.”

The Governor’s school must consider Planned Parenthood to be a beacon of light to their students. Certainly the women’s reproductive center will help young students understand the character needed to undergo an abortion, not to mention the sacrifice of a human being in order to contribute to the greater goodof the organization, which is all about the money.

Not only will the club educate the girls about their abortion rights, but will actively involve them “in the political process to win elections and pass pro-reproductive freedom legislation.”

Excuse me, but what the hell does that mean? Planned Parenthood is anything but PRO-reproductive. They are for killing babies, and making money no matter what. To top it off they harvest the baby’s internal organs for a handsome price. Has the country so soon forgotten the videos plainly showing their executives advocating for this?

planned-parenthood-doc

This barbaric organization has no business stepping foot on public school grounds, not to mention being sanctioned as an upstanding club. I guess the parents who send their students to this school must heartily agree with the political leftists who are running it, or there would be a massive push back against the formation of the club.

There is no doubt in my mind those who send their kids to these types of progressive schools are probably graduates from prestigious universities and other places of higher learning.

I wonder if the parents consider the health risks and emotional trauma to women and girls who undergo abortions? It is not only well documented throughout the world, but also common to hear of the regret when talking with those who have personally gone through them. In fact AfterAbortion.org reports about a case study in Finland that states,

“The Finland researchers found that compared to women who carried to term, women who aborted in the year prior to their deaths were 60 percent more likely to die of natural causes, seven times more likely to die of suicide, four times more likely to die of injuries related to accidents, and 14 times more likely to die from homicide.

Researchers believe the higher rate of deaths related to accidents and homicide may be linked to higher rates of suicidal or risk-taking behavior.”

The fact is that abortions have many negative ramifications and predisposes those who have had them to psychological struggles later in life.

As a nurse who sees many patients taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, one wonders why parents would allow an organization access to their children who encourage practices that increase the chance of health risks down the road.

This is what happens in schools across the nation when parents fail to get involved in their children’s education. Whether it be the lack of understanding of the contents in the textbooks, to what kind of clubs are offered at the school, parents need to stay on top of what is being taught these days. We certainly can’t trust the liberals involved to make the right choices.

What is ironic and even more telling is the video embedded on the Wilder School’s website.

It appears to be footage of a past graduation ceremony with someone singing Jim Croce’s “I Got a Name”. Interestingly enough, if you listen to the song, the lyrics say this:

“Like the north wind whistlin’ down the sky

I got a song, I got a song

Like the whippoorwill and the baby’s cry

I got a song, I got a song”

The sad thing is this school will be giving a foothold to an organization that wouldn’t allow the opportunity for that baby to utter one cry in this world. No, they would have snuffed the life out of him/her before that could take place. Apparently Planned Parenthood doesn’t believe everyone deserves the right to sing their song.

If anyone wants to talk about the real war on women, the war on humanity, I’ll be here waiting.

EDITORS NOTE: Those interested in contacting the school may find the info in an article by Rick Buchanan, in Fauquier Free Citizen.

The Obama Eligibility Question – Part II

In Part I of this series we discussed the way in which the Framers indicated that the terms “citizen” and “natural born Citizen” were mutually exclusive, not synonymous.  And we discussed the all-important significance of the phrase, “or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution…” in Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution, signifying that the terms “citizen” and “natural born Citizen” were to be seen as mutually exclusive… one all-inclusive, the other describing a specific category of citizens.  

Were that not the case, and had the Framers intended that the terms “citizen” and “natural born Citizen” were to be viewed as synonymous, the Framers would simply have written, No Person except a Citizen of the United States shall be eligible to the Office of President…”  

The Framers found it inconceivable that a president of the United States, commander in chief of the Army and the Navy, should ever be influenced by or required to obey the laws of a foreign country.  It is for this reason that the Constitution limits candidates for president and vice president to those who are “natural born” citizens, and to those who were citizens of the United States at the time the Constitution was adopted.  There can be no exceptions.

In Part II, we will provide examples of how 19th and 20th century political leaders and legal scholars have differentiated between the terms.  For example, in 1866, John A. Bingham, chief framer of the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to the freed slaves, wrote as follows:

“Every human being born within the United States of parents not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty (emphasis added) is, in the language of the Constitution itself, a natural born citizen.”

While the Constitution itself does not define the term “natural born Citizen,” the legal precedent referred to in the Olson-Tribe memorandum cited above is taken from Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 162(1875), the only defining precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court.  The Court concluded in Minor that,

“At common-law, with the nomenclature of which the framers of the Constitution were familiar, it was never doubted that all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens became themselves, upon their birth, citizens also. These were natives, or natural-born citizens, as distinguished from aliens or foreigners.”

In subsequent years, as modern transportation systems were developed and international travel became commonplace, the term “natural born Citizen” evolved to include those who were born to American citizen parents outside the continental limits of the United States… as was the case with former Michigan Governor George W. Romney (born in Mexico to American parents) and Senator John McCain (born in Panama to American parents.)

Today, many thousands of babies are born each year to U.S. citizens on foreign soil.  In cases where both parents are U.S. citizens, those children are “natural born” citizens under Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.  Conversely, many thousands of children are born each year on American soil to parents, both of whom are not U.S. citizens.  Under the 14th Amendment, those children become U.S. “citizens” at birth, but they can never qualify as “natural born” citizens.

Clearly, those who drafted the U.S. Constitution and subsequent amendments knew what it meant to be a “natural born” citizen, but what of our political leaders of today?

In the early months of 2008, at a time when Hillary Rodham Clinton was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination and few observers were taking Barack Obama seriously, a number of lawsuits were filed questioning whether Senator John McCain, having been born in the Panama Canal Zone, was a natural born U.S. citizen.

Former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, a conservative Republican, and Harvard Law professor Laurence H. Tribe, a liberal Democrat, were assigned the task of researching the issue.  In a March 19, 2008 memorandum, Olson and Tribe concluded that, “Based on original meaning of the Constitution, the Framers’ intentions, and subsequent legal and historical precedent, Sen. McCain’s birth, to parents who were U.S. citizens serving on a U.S. military base in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936, makes him a ‘natural born Citizen’ within the meaning of the Constitution.”

Weeks later, in an April 10, 2008 statement, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, “Based on the understanding of the pertinent sources of constitutional meaning, it is widely believed that if someone is born to American citizens anywhere in the world they are natural born citizens.  Because he was born to American citizens, there is no doubt in my mind that Senator McCain is a natural born citizen (emphasis added).”

This was followed by an April 30, 2008 Senate resolution, approved by a vote of 99-0 (Senator John McCain abstaining).  The resolution declared:

“Whereas John Sidney McCain, III, was born to American citizens on an American military base in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That John Sidney McCain, III, is a ‘natural born citizen’ under Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States.” 

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) voted in favor of the resolution. 

It is important to note that all five references… the 1866 Bingham definition, the 1875 Minor v. Happersett decision, the Olson-Tribe Memorandum, the Leahy statement, and the U.S. Senate Resolution… all utilize the plural terms “parents” or “citizens,” strongly suggesting that the “natural born” question rests principally on the necessity of both parents being U.S. citizens.  Nowhere in the law or in legal precedent is it even suggested that a child born on American soil to a foreigner can claim status as a “natural born” US citizen.

It is also important to note that, during the past decade, a number of resolutions have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at amending Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, completely altering the traditional interpretation of the term “natural born Citizen.”  For example, in support of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stated presidential ambitions, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), introduced H.J.R. 104 on September 15, 2004.  The resolution proposed to amend Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution by adding the following language:

“A person who is a citizen of the United States, who has been a citizen of the United States for at least 20 years, and who is otherwise eligible to hold the Office of the President, is not ineligible to hold that Office by reason of not being a native born citizen of the United States.”

H.J.R. 104 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, where it remained through the end of the 108th Congress.  Then, early in the 109th Congress, on February 1, 2005, Rohrabacher made a second attempt with the introduction of H.J.R. 15, which contained essentially the same language as the failed H.J.R. 104 of the previous Congress.  And while it is understandable that Rohrabacher would attempt to amend the Constitution to make it possible for his own governor, an Austrian-born naturalized citizen, to seek the presidency, similar attempts by Democrats during the same decade are not so easily understood or explained.

For example, on June 11, 2003, during the 108th Congress, Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR) introduced H.J.R. 59 which would have totally eliminated the “natural born Citizen” requirement in Article II, Section 1 by substituting the following language:

“A person who has been a citizen of the United States for at least 35 years and who has been a resident within the United States for at least 14 years shall be eligible to hold the office of President or Vice President.”

The Snyder proposal was followed by H.J.R. 67, introduced on September 3, 2003 by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).  The Conyers proposal would have added the following substitute language to Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution:

“A person who has been a citizen of the United States for at least 20 years shall be eligible to hold the Office of President.”

On January 4, 2005, early in the 109th Congress, Conyers made a second attempt with the introduction of H.J.R. 2, proposing the same language as contained in H.J.R. 67 of the 108th Congress.  And on April 14, 2005, Rep. Vic Snyder made yet another attempt, introducing H.J.R. 42, containing amendatory language identical to his H.J.R. 59 of the 108th Congress.  All of the above resolutions, proposing to send constitutional amendments to the states for ratification, suffered the same fate.  All died in committee without being acted upon.

Any member of Congress is free to introduce a resolution proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  However, what distinguishes Rep. Rohrabacher’s resolutions from those of his Democratic colleagues is that his motive was clear; he was interested in making it possible for his governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to seek the presidency.  The motivations of his Democrat colleagues, on the other hand, are a complete mystery; they only serve to raise major questions.

In other words, if the “natural born Citizen” requirement had not represented a major problem at any time in U.S. history, why were Democrats suddenly concerned about it in 2003, 2004, and 2005 when a young black man, the son of an American mother and an African father, born with dual US-British citizenship, was emerging as a rising star in the Democratic Party?

So the question arises, what did Congressmen Snyder and Conyers know that caused them to offer proposed constitutional amendments, any of which would have solidified Barack Obama’s presidential eligibility?  More specifically, what did they know about Obama’s presidential ambitions and his inability to meet the “natural born Citizen” standard, and when did they know it?  What did they know about Democratic Party efforts to “groom” an unknown black state senator from Illinois to become president of the Unites States, and when did they know it?

There is no better exemplar of the fears that motivated the Framers to limit access to the presidency to “natural born” U.S. citizens than the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania, Ave.  Barack Obama’s father was a Muslim and a black African socialist and communist sympathizer; his mother was a left wing socialist flower-child; his stepfather was an Indonesian Muslim of unknown political leanings; his grandparents were far-left communist sympathizers; his teenage mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, was a well-known Communist Party writer and activist; the people who were instrumental in launching his political career in Chicago were Weather Underground terrorists who had killed U.S. law enforcement officers; and his religious mentor was the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, an America-hater of the first order.

It is precisely this sort of intellectual environment that the Framers feared most and that caused them to limit access to the presidency only to those who are “natural born” US citizens.  With that formative background is it any wonder that, upon gaining the presidency, Barack Obama has attempted to “fundamentally transform” the government of the greatest nation on Earth?

Support for Barack Obama’s eligibility to serve as President of the United States begs the question: precisely what is it that differentiates a “citizen” from a “natural born” citizen?  Those who agree that the two terms are mutually exclusive, but who also argue that Obama is “natural born,” are obliged to support that position with facts and reason.  They have yet to do so.

In Part III and Part IV of this series we will discuss the circumstances of Barack Obama’s birth and citizenship, as well as US government policy on dual citizenship.

How Lies Are Destroying America

One of the major bi-products of the horrendous government school system in America is the of telling lies.  Also the habit of purposely or by accident neglecting to either reveal or give proper focus concerning current events, issues and tragedies that occur in our republic.  For example, let us take the issue of black men being shot by police officers.  If you listen to broadcast opinion pundits or read columnists who lean to the political and moral left.  They all have one thing in common.  That is an aversion to the truth or the whole truth.

It is tragic when anyone is shot, especially to the one who is shot.  Whether by a police officer or anyone else.  But time and time again, in the majority of cases when one is shot by a police officer the subject usually poses a threat.  It is often stated by media elites like the fat headed one on the progressive TV One Network that there is extreme racism against black men.  Other like-minded or mindless individuals have also complained about the war on black men when they weren’t haranguing about a so called war on women.

It is said that American society is dangerous for black men in general.  The progressive liars and useful idiots bellow about how police officers pull over black male drivers at such alarming rates.  They it adds to the mere discomfort of being a black man in society.  If that is true, then why is it that legal black immigrants from Africa, most of whom come here to build a better life rarely have run ins with the law, compared to the number of indoctrinated black men born here in America?  When a police officer first decides to flash his or her lights to signal a driver to pull over and stop, they have no way in determining if the black driver they have directed to pull over is from America or Africa. The millions of non-Muslim black Africans rarely have legal issues in comparison to their United States born counterparts.  However the spreading of the Black Lives Matter untruth that this is a racist society and that the members of the thin blue line are our enemy is both divisive and dangerous.  Most Americans, including the misleaders who proclaim how horrible it is for blacks in the United States, do not understand that more non Muslim Africans have voluntarily immigrated to our republic than the number who were captured long ago by Muslims and then brought to America as slaves.

As an American who happens to be black, I am not blind. I understand that there are problems.  But one has to wonder, what on earth is the true motivation behind the progressive approach that includes the exaggeration of problems in America, like racism for example?  I believe the progressive practice of lying about America and the results of decades of indoctrinating students against America is part of an ongoing effort to wipe out Americanism and Christianity then foist globalism up “We the People.”  Speaking of lies destroying our America, diversity is touted as a way to bring people together by honing in on and only promoting glaring differences. Particularly those differences that are not compatible with our Constitutionally Limited Republic.  Sharia Law quickly comes to mind.  Diversity does not help to establish or maintain our cohesive stable American society.

President Theodore Roosevelt warned Americans against the divisive and otherwise harmful effects of hyphenating groups and individuals.  My own Dad often lamented about the negative impact of hyphenating groups and individuals.  Thus I am proud to say that I never bought into the lie of diversity and am an American.  There are people I personally know who have a problem with me not accepting the stupid lie of diversity and misidentifying myself as an African American.  I have told them they need to meet a neighbor of mine who is an actual African American.  He along with his wife were born in Ghana and chose to move to America to build a great life for themselves.  They have become citizens and thus are actually African America.

Because of the positive life choices my actual African American neighbors have made, they are very successful.  They actually love the United States and cannot understand why so many blacks born here buy into the negativity and live so far below their potential.  Like the old saying goes, if you aim for nothing, you will certainly hit it.  Likewise, if one believes the lie that life is against them and they cannot do well, they will not.

Progressives both in and out of government and the media love to lie.  One big lie some of them tell is that Christianity is as brutal as Islam.  That is a huge whopper of a lie. Have Christians done wrong? Yes, but the truth is, when Christians have done wrong towards people for example they were going against the actual principles of Christianity and are to make amends, seek forgiveness and give an account.  On the other hand, Muslims are commanded to commit atrocities against non-Muslims ranging from rape, enslavement, beheading, denial of basic unalienable rights, etc.  Big, Big difference.  If you don’t wish to believe me, go read a Qur’an or Bill Federer’s book, “What every American needs to know about Islam.”

Without truth, America is doomed, but I believe truth will ring out and our republic shall prevail mightily.

EDITORS NOTE: The truth shall also set you free on a page from The Edwards Notebook commentary which airs overnights on The Captain’s America Third Watch, hosted by Matt Bruce. It emanates nationwide from Flagship station AM 860 the Answer WGUL Tampa, Fl.  And worldwide via AM860TheAnswer.com.

More Anthem Hypocrisy: Kneeling, Yes; Confederate Flag, No

In today’s politically correct schools, all types of divisive expression are equal, but some are more equal than others. A case in point is Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, FL, where showing disrespect for the National Anthem is supposedly a “First Amendment right.” Wearing a Confederate Flag cape, however, is a violation.

The school recently made news because three students came on campus dressed in supposed KKK outfits and another draped himself in a Confederate Flag cape. It turned out that the three white-sheeted lads are minorities — two Hispanics and one “Middle Eastern” kid — which must have disappointed the race hustlers immensely. Anyway, some initially said the “KKK” outfits were ghost costumes, part of “Spirit Week” dress-up day. But then school superintendent Kurt Browning publicly announced, “Usually ghosts don’t have pointed hoods,” which I’m sure is true because ghosts don’t wear hoods at all. And while Browning perhaps has consorted with more ghosts than I have, I understand that ghosts also don’t have physical bodies. So it’s confirmed: those students could not have been ghosts. Hang them.

While that won’t happen, the three very corporeal beings in white face a 10-day suspension, while the caped crusader was merely forced to de-cape. You see, schools have a policy forbidding expression that can cause “disruption.”

Except there’s this issue. As CBS Miami writes, “‘Since our kids kneeled at the football game last week, there’s been a lot of racial tension in the community,’ said parent Dee Green.”

In other words, the “disruption” was caused in the first place by a Colin Kaepernick-inspired Anthem protest. So why was it allowed?

The parent quoted by CBS also said, “Never would I have expected that students, or even families, would have taken it as far as wearing Ku Klux Klan paraphernalia to the school.” Assuming they were KKK outfits, they weren’t the best choice for a counter-protest (although I suspect there’s more to the story). But the parent’s comment is a bit like saying, “All I wanted to do was burn down the house on the corner; never would I have expected that the fire would spread to my house.” When you throw punches, people may hit back — without always following your preferred rules of engagement.

Know that I emailed both the principal and head football coach of Wiregrass Ranch High School and pointed out their hypocrisy. The coach, Mark Kantor, responded and opened with the line, “I don’t have the time nor the effort to answer your email.” Yet in his exclamation-point-peppered answer to my email, he told me that I needed to “learn” my First Amendment. Obviously, he couldn’t wrap his two brain cells around the idea that it’s a tad contradictory to justify with the First Amendment controversial, anti-American expression when you’re simultaneously suppressing other controversial expression. (Also note: Coach Kantor responded to me again — after saying he’d delete any further emails from me, presumably unread — and said that he’d have a “School Resource officer” look into me on Monday and that I shouldn’t “run and hide.” And who, again, knows nothing about the First Amendment?)

To be clear, kids don’t have First Amendment rights in school, no matter what some black-robed social engineers masquerading as judges may say. If they did, they could curse out teachers with impunity, use racial epithets and engage in other disruptive speech. So Wiregrass Ranch High School does have a right to set its standards for expression, no matter how un-American, immoral and stupid they may be. The point, however, is that the courts have ruled that schools may censor disruptive expression, and educators have universally embraced this principle.

And under it they could stop the Anthem protests.

But they don’t.

So, please, don’t hide behind the “First Amendment,” you hypocrites. For it’s easy to uphold and justify unjust standards when you posture, engage in moral preening and lie to yourself about what you’re doing. Just acknowledge that, to you, showing disrespect for our nation is palatable, but politically incorrect expression (i.e., wearing a Confederate Flag) is not. Don’t kid yourselves.

This is all the worse because the Black Lives Matter movement is based on nothing but lies. And if educators make their campus grounds the scene of a movement inspiring riots, arson, assault and murder across the nation, and then are surprised when it stokes racial tensions, these educators aren’t very educated.

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com

Connecting the Dots: The Feast of Tishri, Sukkoth and Thanksgiving

I have a secret to admit.  I never knew what the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry was about until a late member of B’nai Israel Synagogue here in Pensacola, Jon Davies, and a Past Master at Escambia #15 told me. It had to do with the architect of King Solomon’s Temple, Hiram Abiff, and the mystery behind his abduction and murder by three rough customers. Strange that King Solomon’s name in Hebrew Schlomo means peace.  With 700 marriages and 300 concubines, Solomon, was the ultimate peacemaker. He built the first temple in Jerusalem, the platform of which forms the revered Western Wall for world Jewry and atop of which sits the Al Aqsa Mosque.

washington-dedication

President Washington in Masonic Regalia laying cornerstone of U.S. Capitol.

Freemasonry is more a brotherhood of free thinkers, tolerant and charitable.  Among its illustrious American members are the first President of the embryonic U.S., George Washington, several signers of the Declaration of Independence, among them fellow Bostonians, Ben Franklin, John Hancock, Joseph Warren and Grand Master Paul Revere. Patriots  all. President Washington decked out in his Masonic regalia and handy trowel deposited some Masonic Medals in the laying of the cornerstone of our nation’s capital.  We have to thank another Mason, General, later Florida’s first governor and ultimately seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  He liberated Pensacola in November 1814 from a Spanish, British and Creek Indian force for which we are still paying at the Wind Creek Casino resort in nearby Atmore, Alabama.

We have Masonic iconography gracing our currency.  My wife Jean told me there were even treasure hunts involving the Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia.  The only thing I knew about Masons was Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute, and Masonic symbols in the Nicholas Cage thriller, The National Treasure.  The Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark sent a message to Nazis and other them not to fool around with Temple Jewish Rites. I even had a brief introduction to the Order of Demolay as a late teenager with its symbology of Knights Templar but was thoroughly confused about the relationship. Then I learned about the distaff contingent; the Daughters of the Nile, the Eastern Star and the Rainbow Girls.

 It wasn’t until my friend, Gene Rosenbaum, a member of the Scottish Rite, asked me to make this presentation that I even knew there was a Feast of Tishri celebrating the dedication of Solomon’s Temple.  For someone who considers himself somewhat educated and worldly wise, I didn’t have a clue. It got even more confusing when I learned that Scottish Rites really had its origins in France.   Scottish Masonic rites were carried by Jacobite refugees after the 1746 Battle of Colluden when Bonnie Prince Charles, a Stuart pretender to the Throne of Scotland and his supporters, were defeated by British redcoats.

Tishri- the month of significant holy days capped by the festival of Sukkoth

dedication-of-temple-israel

The Dedication of Solomon’s Temple. Painting by Jean Jacques Tissot.

Those were later codified into the Practice and Procedure for the Scottish Rite originally issued in the 1880’s.  In Chapter Seven, I learned about the significance of the 14th Rite, the Feast of Tishri, and found a connection to the Jewish Festival of Sukkoth, with its own iconography and symbols. Ultimately that connected to a tradition I knew well, as a New Englander, what must be the ultimate Masonic inspired holiday of Thanksgiving.   So, without boring you long steeped in the traditions of this Scottish rite, I would like to connect some dots and thus pay tribute to the contributions of American Freemasonry.

Sunday, October 1st, when my wife Jean and I drove home from B’nai Israel Synagogue after attending Rosh Hashanah eve services, she pointed out the rising sliver of a new moon, the precursor of the start or head of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, Tishri. Monday , October 3rd marked the start of the Ten days of Awe, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of 5777 culminating in  the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, a fast day on the ninth and tenth of Tishri, October 11 and 12th.  This is a period of intense introspection culminating in a public confessional where Jews conduct a 26 hour fast endeavoring to acknowledge their past sins of omission and commission between themselves and Ha Shem and between men, hoping to have a blessed New Year, sealed in the Book of Life by God for themselves and loved ones.   During the Yom Kippur Service, members of the congregation who are descendants of High Priests from the Temple period, Kohanim assisted by Levite descendants commemorate in prayers the ancient Temple Practices. One of those is the designation of a goat to carry all of the sins of Israel into the wilderness of Judea wearing a red ribbon. That is the derivation of our word in English, scapegoat.

Wait a minute, how can the start of the seventh month be a New Year? Well, Tishri is the start of the civil year on the Jewish calendar. The first month of the Jewish calendar is Nisan, which celebrates the Passover, Maundy Thursday and Easter in the Masonic calendar.  Just after the conclusion of Rosh Hashanah is a fast day that you may not know of, Zom Gedalia, the Third of Tishri, October 5th. That is day before this Feast of Tishri. It commemorates the assassination of the Jewish governor appointed by the Babylonian conqueror of Jerusalem and destroyer of Solomon’s temple, King Nebuchadnezzar.  That occurred four years after the fall of Solomon’s Temple in 582 C.E. Gedalia was the man who saved the Prophet Jeremiah from being killed. Jeremiah was alleged to have been taken by Jewish refugees some suggest to the ancient Hebrew military colony on Elephantine Island in the Egyptian Nile.  It was alleged that was where the Ark of the Covenant may have been taken after the destruction of Solomon’s Temple.  It is alleged that a replica in miniature of Solomon’s temple was built there with prayers and sacrifices made to Ha Shem. I have great empathy for Jeremiah, who prophesized the return of Jewish Exiles from Babylonia, as I share my Hebrew name with him, Yirmeyahu.

Just before the culmination of the Days of Awe, eighth of Tishri, October 10th marks the date in the ancient Hebrew name for Tishri, Ethanim, when the dedication of Solomon’s Temple was celebrated.  Note these verses from the Book of Kings:

1 Kings 6:38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it. (JPS)

1 Kings 8:2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

By the way Tishri, Nisan, Tammuz and other months in the Jewish calendar are Babylonian in origin adopted following the return from Exile, the rebuilding of the Second Temple and initial reading of the Torah, the five books of Moses, the Pentateuch.

On the 15th day of Tishri, October 17th, is the Jewish festival of Sukkoth extending for seven days until culminating in the final Holy Days of Tishri, Shemini Atzeret and Simcha Torah. The latter celebrates the renewal of the cycle reading the Torah.  Sukkoth means booths; it marks the period following the liberation and salvation by God of the Jewish nation from Egyptian tyranny and slavery celebrated at Passover.  Jews wandered in the desert encamped in rickety structures open to the elements and heavens.  It was also during this period that after much duress the Ark of the Covenant was built to contain the Ten Commandments given to Moses by Ha Shem on Mount Sinai. It was also alleged  that instruction  from  Ha Shem were also conveyed  to Moses and Aaron for creation of adornments and  a portable tabernacle attended by the Kohanim, High Priests and Levites.  Because of King David’s sins it was left to King Solomon to call upon the aid of King Hiram of Tyre and the fabled architect, Hiram Abiff, to finally build the First temple in Jerusalem.

The Significance of the Symbols of Sukkoth for the Mission of Freemasonry.

Nearly three thousand years later Jews faithfully follow the commandments of Ha Shem given to Moses in Leviticus regarding celebration of Sukkoth.

In Chapter 23, Verses 9–10, we read, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest.”In Verses 39 and 40, we read,

“Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord…. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.”

Our synagogue has a sukkah or booth open to the elements, adorned with goards , palm fronds, willow, and other fruits of the season. It is considered a blessing to  say prayers and have a repast in the sukkah during the Sukkoth festival.  My son at his home on Long Island has a sturdy sukkah similarly adorned open to the elements and heaven.

During Sukkoth holiday services in synagogue, members of the congregation are encouraged to come to the bimah or central platform and bless a bundle composed of an etrog or citron, palm fronds, myrtle and willow.  In doing my research about this Fourteenth Scottish Rite I came across commentary by  Julius Nodel, a St. Louis Rabbi and 33rd degree Scottish Rite mason, who connected the dots between this symbolic Sukkoth offering and the goals of freemasonry.  Nodel wrote:

“Among the symbols of Succoth are four species of plants—the citron, the branch of the palm tree, the myrtle leaves, and the willow leaves. The citron plant produces both fruit and fragrance. The palm produces fruit but no fragrance. The myrtle produces fragrance but no fruit, and the willow produces neither fruit nor fragrance. This teaches us that there are also four kinds of people. There are those that have knowledge and good deeds—they correspond to the citron. There are those who live a life of good deeds, but have no knowledge—they are like the palm. There are those who have knowledge, but perform no good deeds—they are like the myrtle, and there are those who have neither knowledge nor good deeds—they are like the willow. Yet, on Succoth, all of these different species of plants are placed together and bound as one, thus teaching us that though there are different kinds of people on Earth, with their own interests and desires, accomplishments and failures, they must still be bound together in one universal brotherhood.”

first-thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving 1621 by Jean Leon Gerome 1899.

Thanksgiving, the American Sukkoth

When the Pilgrims left  Plymouth Harbor for what ultimately became the founding of what they deemed the New Israel,  they may have brought with them impressions of the Jewish festival of Sukkoth, when they sojourned in the Netherlands  and encountered the Sephardic Portuguese Jewish refugees who found safe haven and freedom of worship.  Thus, after spending their first year in arduous circumstances, near starvation, many deaths, a miracle happened.  An English speaking Indian Squanto, that  chief Samoset introduced to Governor William Bradford, taught them the native agriculture and fauna. That led to the first thanksgiving in the Plimouth Plantation.  It was from this first New England feast of survival that a grateful colony ultimately extended this via transplants who moved west in America.  President Abraham Lincoln declared the national holiday of Thanksgiving during the civil war.  Later President Franklin Roosevelt fixed a calendar date of the third Thursday in November with a 1941 proclamation.

Conclusion

The brotherhood and great works of the American Freemasonry continue an admirable tradition. It is ironic for me to discover as an adult connecting the dots between the ancient Jewish traditions of Sukkoth and the Feast of Tishri commemorating the dedication of Solomon’s Temple that plays a prominent role in the Scottish rites.

While, I haven’t shared in the brotherhood of the Masonic movement, I know  by virtue of my military service, what brotherhood means.  That experience  transformed my attitudes and values as a young adult and serving U.S. Army officer.  It is best captured  in an exchange with a grandson by the late Dick
Winters in his memoir and television series Band of Brothers. Winters was a 101st Airborne officer who survived D-Day , intense grueling  combat in the European Theater of Action, the loss of men under his command culminating in the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp.  Winters  replied to his grandchild, “I served in a company of heroes”.  That is not lost on many of us who served  and  experienced  the loss of comrades who fell in mortal combat.

I would like to end this presentation with a prayer for our government that  we use  at my synagogue during High Holy Day Services. Would you please stand.

O God, Father of all men, do Thou bind us ever more  closely into a brotherhood of peoples, that we may labor unceasingly against the festering vices of malice and greed, fear and ignorance, hypocrisy and corruption, avarice and violence. May this country forever be the land of the free, where all may dwell in security and peace. Amen.

Thank you for allowing me to speak before this brotherhood of Masons.

EDITORS NOTE: [1]  Given by the author, Senior editor of the New English Review at the Pensacola Masonic Center, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Valley of Pensacola, Orient of Florida, October 6, 2016, Feast of Tishri. The featured image is of the celebration Sukkoth inside the Sukkah.

When It Comes to Black Republicans, There Is No Surrogate for Experience

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…” — “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens.

Allow me to paraphrase Dickens.

It was the best of times post Romney defeat in 2012 when the Republican Party claimed they understood the need for diversity, it was the worst of times when they screwed up their approach to make this happen. It was the age of wisdom when the Republican National Committee (RNC) finally decided to hire some Black staffers, it was the age of foolishness to actually think these Black staffers would listen to those who wanted to help them succeed. It was the epoch of belief that these staffers understood that Blacks before them opened doors for them; it was the epoch of incredulity that these millennials actually thought that history began with them. I think you get my point.

I thought of “A Tale of Two Cities” after watching last week’s presidential debate. I saw a plethora of Black “so-called” Republican operatives who have proven to be unmitigated disasters in their feeble attempts to become political analysts on TV, radio, and newspapers. I discussed this issue two weeks ago in my column.

Blacks will listen to Black Republicans who have credibility and who are not afraid to embrace their Blackness. The Black Republicans you are seeing in the media this cycle have absolutely no credibility within the Black community nor any power within the party to make anything happen.

They typically are trotted out to the media and asked to justify Trump and his stance on Obama’s birth certificate; or to denounce Black Lives Matters; or to side with the police when a Black is murdered. Like sheep being led to the slaughter, they are stupid enough to do it, because they live for that proverbial pat on the head from massa and long to hear him say “atta boy.”

I get calls from the media everyday to discuss relevant issues of the day. If they want me to discuss an issue that I have no strong position about, I decline the media request; or if it’s an issue that I just don’t want to deal with, like Trump and the birther movement, then I also decline.

Many of these Black Republicans are just simply media whores and they say, “yes” to every opportunity to appear in the media. This is a sure sign of immaturity and a total lack of wisdom.

Exhibit “A” in this regards is the RNC’s national director of Africa-American Initiatives and Media, Telly Lovelace. He was doing a local radio station hit prior to last week’s debate, before I was to do their national feed.

He was debating a liberal Black Democrat. She thoroughly embarrassed the hell out of him. Not only was he weak on the basic mechanics of doing a radio interview, like projecting his voice, he was also ineffective in his responses to the Black liberal’s condescending attacks on him. It was difficult to listen to this beatdown take place.

Black Republicans MUST stop allowing the party to force them to choose between their Blackness and their party. You can be both a Black with credibility within our community and also be respected within the party; it’s not an “either or,” but a “both and” proposition.

I have been teasing Roland Martin, the host of TV One’s “News One Now,” about this. He purposely has Black Republicans on both his TV and radio show who have absolutely no intellectual firepower to go up against him or the institutional memory to contextualize issues like civil rights, voting rights, or HBCUs.

Martin obviously gets off on slapping these Republicans around and relishes every opportunity to neuter them in front of a national Black audience. Do these Blacks really wonder why no one takes them seriously? These Blacks are not knowledgeable about the issues, don’t understand the art of debating and tragically, have no intellectual curiosity about the history of Blacks in the Republican Party.

Last week, I was in a soul food restaurant in Chicago and several tables overheard my conversation about the presidential campaign. The whole restaurant began to spontaneously engage me in a conversation about Trump and Clinton. They began by expressing their total dissatisfaction with President Obama for his lack of meaningful engagement with the Black community; then they vociferously criticized Hillary Clinton for the lack of any substantive acts within the Black community; finally, they criticized Trump on his demeanor and hyperbolic language, then concluded by saying they were voting for Trump.

I hear this all across the country. This simply validates what I have been saying for years: that Black people are open to voting Republican, but the party refuses to engage with Blacks in any meaningful way.

To quote a famous Greek writer, “After all is said and done, more is said than done.”

RELATED VIDEO: Why American People Absolutely Love Trump – Welcome Basement Dwellers to the Basket of Deplorables

VIDEO: Creator of ‘AGENDA 2: Masters of Deceit’ coming to Sarasota, Florida — October 7-8

It is crucial for voters to be informed on the key issues facing America, so that they will properly cast their vote on November 8th, 2016. At the local, state and national levels one of the recurring questions that are gaining more and more attention is: Can Politics and Religion Coexist?

Religion has become a focal point with the daily reports coming from the Middle East and events such as that which occurred in Orlando, Florida and San Bernardino, California. Religion and popular culture appear to be clashing. What is happening, why, where and for what purpose? Who is best qualified to make me secure in an ever more violent world?

These questions will be answered at the fourth annual “America – The Truth” Conference being held Covenant Life Church located in Sarasota, Florida from October 7th – 8th 2016. The conference will begin Friday at 7:00 p.m. until to 9:10 p.m. and on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. ending at 4:45 p.m.  

The movie, AGENDA2: MASTERS OF DECEIT will be shown at 7:00 p.m. on October 8th.

Whether you are a Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Republican or first time voter with no-party-affiliation this conference will cover topics that will educate and enlighten you, the voter.

America – The Truth focuses on what has changed, what is impacting American society and how can each voter best cast their ballot to effect change and insure progress is maintained. Voters are encouraged to ask hard questions.

The cost of the America – The Truth conference is $10:00 for adults and $5.00 for students.   Lunch must be ordered in advance and costs $8.00

To learn more visit: http://americastruths.com/

Guest Speakers include:

Mickey Craig who is Chairman and Professor of Politics, William and the Burniece Grewcock Professor of Politics at Hillsdale College. He has a Ph.D in Government, has been selected Professor of the year at Hillsdale College. He teaches political philosophy and American political thought, and is a Earhart Fellow at Ann Arbor and Henry A. Salvatori Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. He has published articles and reviews in numerous publications including The Political Science Review, the Claremont Review of Books, Perspectives in Political Science, The Atlantis and the Detroit News.

Stephen McDowell who is the co-founder and President of the Providence Foundation, a Christian educational organization whose mission is to train and network leaders of education, business, and politics to transform their culture for Christ. In 32 years of full time work with the Foundation, Stephen has trained people from 100 countries to apply Biblical truth in all spheres of life. He has traveled to 35 nations in six continents where he has consulted with government officials, assisted in writing political documents, advised political parties, and started Christian schools and Biblical worldview training centers. He has authored and co-authored over 30 books, videos, and training courses.

Curtis Bowers is a Christian statesman, businessman, speaker, filmmaker and family man. He serviced as State Representative in the Idaho Legislature, was a successful restaurant entrepreneur and produced a Grand Prize film, AGENDA: GRINDING AMERICA DOWN. His new film, AGENDA2: MASTERS OF DECEIT, recently won “Best Documentary” at the 2016 Christian Worldview Film Festival. He and his wife operate an independent film company, Copybook Heading Productions, and have traveled throughout the United States promoting and speaking about their films. He and his wife have been married for 27 years.

Pastor Paul Blair is the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church in Edmond OK and the chairman of Reclaiming America for Christ; but before this he played professional football with the Chicago Bears and until recently was president of Blair Vending and Coffee Service. He has been active with Edmond’s Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and YMCA. He has also mentored and coached Edmond’s youth in football and baseball and has been a sports commentator on radio and television.

The Author of America Abandoned — ‘The United States is now an Oligarchy’

SAN JOSE, Calif. /PRNewswire/ — In her eye-opening new book America Abandoned: The Secret Velvet Coup That Cost Us Our Democracy, author and political activist Jill Cody minces no words about where the U.S. stands in 2016. “Our country, the alleged United States of America, is technically no longer a democracy. It has been abandoned to an oligarchy, defined as ‘a government run by the few’ and ‘a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.'”

Cody, whose book was just published this month, explains how multibillionaires managed to take control of Congress, the Supreme Court and, thus the country in a Velvet Coup that few saw coming. She traces its origins to a 1971 memo written by Louis Powell called the Powell Memorandum. The confidential memo for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce laid out a road map to further the interests of the Chamber’s version of free enterprise capitalism—a road map that was promoted by a parade of highly paid corporate lobbyists and Powell’s eventual appointment to the Supreme Court.

As the presidential election looms, carrying with it the possibility of a billionaire making it to the White House, Cody can talk about:

  • 7 ways the Velvet Coup caused the abandonment of ordinary Americans.
  • Why government should not be run like a business and who benefits if it is.
  • What Living in the Black or Living in the Red means, and how our individual and organizational choices could either rescue or ruin America.
  • How we can boldly recapture our middle class and democracy with personal activism and heightened voter participation.

PRAISE FOR AMERICA ABANDONED

“From right wing conservatives to Wall Street fat cats, progressive writer Jill Cody delivers a no-holds-barred look at a country that’s becoming politically, morally and financially bankrupt.” Thom Hartmann, nationally syndicated talk show host and bestselling author

ABOUT JILL CODY

America Abandoned is Jill Cody’s first book. Her life-long passion for knowledge and desire to inspire change in politics, the environment, higher education and organizational development led her to pursue a 31-year career in public service. She was personally trained and authorized by Vice President Al Gore to share his presentation on An Inconvenient Truth. She has assisted in coordinating national and international strategic planning meetings on Information Literacy in Washington D.C., Prague and Egypt. Cody earned a master’s degree in public administration from San Jose State University and devoted her career to public service.