Donald Trump: Mane Man in the Values Den

Donald Trump — America’s loveable Boor in a China Shop — was an eagerly anticipated speaker at the 2015 Values Voter Summit, a conference that brings hundreds of evangelical activists to the nation’s capital. Think of Values Voter as the Christian answer to Burning Man, without the gratuitous sex, drug use and an important reversal in which the goal is to avoid burning.

Many were confused by the Trump invitation, since The Donald is not exactly known for showcasing a religious emphasis in his life. But if a Pharisee like John McCain merits repeat invitations to speak, surely a recent convert qualifies.

In a nice touch, for a candidate notorious for lack of preparation, Trump brought the Bible his mother gave him as a child. As Trump waved the keepsake overhead — hoping it would serve as tangible proof of his Christianity — the gesture reminded me of a gopher–faced Mitch McConnell brandishing a musket at the Conservative Political Action Conference, because I had a feeling neither has been used this century.

What has been used before are a number of applause lines Trump employs and the crowd enjoys. The Donald doesn’t have a stump speech that he recycles regularly, like the majority of politicians. It’s more a stream–of–consciousness assessment of the political landscape that, because of Trump’s surprising likability, never degenerates into a rant.

There are so many asides and digressions during a Trump speech that even a transcript proves to be of limited utility.

Mentioning Squeaker Boehner’s resignation was a sure–fire applause generator all day. Trump’s dismissal of the leader of the Surrender Caucus was classic, “And we had some big news today with Boehner…Speaker Boehner – you know, some people like him on a personal basis. Do people like him on a personal basis? Anybody? (Laughter.)”

Trump also has a gift for pointing out smaller facts that tell a larger truth. The public overwhelmingly opposes Iran nuclear appeasement and, as a consequence, is convinced the negotiators were, to use a Trump word, clowns. Trump reinforces this by pointing out the American citizens Iran is holding as prisoners indicate a complete lack of respect for Obama as negotiator: “…by the way, it used to be three [prisoners] at the beginning of the negotiations, now it’s four.”

The low point of his appearance came when Trump dismissed Marco Rubio as “this clown,” evidently not aware of how much enthusiasm the senator generated previously. The putdown generated instant boos and was the featured event in most of the hostile media coverage. The booing, though, was just a blip, Rubio finished fourth in the straw poll to Trump’s fifth. And even though his language was tactless, Trump was right and the contrast with Rubio is instructive.

Rubio is just the latest young and gullible conservative to come to Washington and convert. As Trump says, “…what happens? They become different people.” Instead of being a TEA Party conservative as he was billed, Rubio became another enabler in the RINO project to commit political suicide by granting amnesty to 12 million illegals.

His participation in the Gang of Ocho made him popular on Wall Street and torpedoed him on Main Street.

Even without that disaster, Rubio’s philosophy has nothing to offer conservatives regardless of how young and personable he is. Rubio’s speech was long on hard–working Cuban parents and short on concrete proposals to shrink the size of the federal government.

Evidently the crowd missed it, but Rubio wants to repeal and REPLACE Obamacare, when the solution is to end federal meddling in the healthcare market. Rubio has the usual bromides about cutting spending, but trimming spending without ending programs is a fool’s errand. Rubio’s government will be like the hefty female personal trainers who try to assure us one can be fat but fit. When Rubio’s term ends, so does Uncle Sam’s diet.

Trump’s lack of time–serving, back–patting Washington experience is supposed to be a negative, but right now you can’t throw a rock in Washington without hitting an officeholder who is is full of “experience” and where has it gotten us?

Trump is also criticized for being caustic and dismissive of the other candidates in the race, but Rubio’s slavish support of establishment Republicans is the accommodation fueling Trump’s rise. In an angry departure interview, Boehner inadvertently explained just why he and “leaders” like McConnell have to go. The put–upon Squeaker whined that he’d done his best to defend the institution when the truth is his job is to defend the Constitution and he failed miserably.

Trump has not been captured by the “institution” and is unlikely to suffer that fate in the future.

Besides, power has a likability all its own — just ask Obama.

US Patent Office Continues to Just Phone It In

Once a government agency receives an award for a program, it becomes expensive for taxpayers. An award–winning program is immune to internal criticism and is used to bolster agency supervisors’ case for an annual bonus.

Just think of the disasters that followed Obama’s Nobel Prize.

In this instance the Patent & Trademark office won an award for a telework program that is all tele and little work.

Complete details in my Newsmax column:

http://tinyurl.com/plsvbe7

Hobby Lobby’s Steve Green Could Profit from Kim Davis’ Example

 

Find the Christian building in this picture.

After today this column will be a Kim–Davis–free zone, but first lets look at one more facet of the controversy. Although I admire Davis’ courage, I disagree with her refusal as a government official to follow the law. Civil disobedience is confined to civilians. If Davis’ strong Christian faith prevented her from issuing homosexual marriage licenses then she should have made a very public announcement and resigned her post.

What’s admirable about Davis is her refusal to compromise her faith. This unknown, unassuming woman was thrust into the harsh glare of an unbelieving media and hostile culture and she didn’t back down.

In my book “A Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times: (Now With Added Humor!)” I devoted a chapter to conservative pacifists in the culture war. These are people who could be strong examples for everyday believers, like Kim Davis, but when weighed in the balance of negative publicity, prove wanting.

First was Chick–fil–A President Dan Cathy. A mere two days after Christian Americans set a sales record for him, Cathy canceled all public appearances, because homosexual heresy detectors found an interview in the Baptist Press that didn’t toe the line on faux marriage.

Cathy was joined by Rev. Louie Giglio who was scheduled to give the benediction at the 2^nd Obama inauguration, until same–sex archeologists unearthed a sermon he gave 20 years ago supporting the Bible’s prohibition on homosexual conduct. Rather than reaffirm the Truth, Giglio retreated from the public eye. Kim Davis had six days in jail, while Giglio couldn’t endure a six–hour ceremony.

The newest name on the list is Hobby Lobby President Steve Green.

Green is the Evangelical force behind the Museum of the Bible located so close to the National Mall you could sail an offering plate and hit a lobbyist.

The museum’s original concept inspired confidence in believers and despair at the Washington Post: “The mission statement on its initial nonprofit filing documents was clear: to “bring to life the living word of God … to inspire confidence in the absolute authority” of the Bible’s words.” That caused critics to feverishly examine building plans to discover if there was a woodpile for burning heretics or plans to sell snakes in the gift shop.

Now the secular world is feeling much better: “Today, the message has undergone a drastic revision…the museum ‘will be dedicated to a scholarly approach to the history, narrative and impact of the Bible…. “We exist to invite all people to engage with the Bible[.] We invite Biblical exploration through museum exhibits and scholarly pursuits.’ Green says he now supports a museum approach that is nonsectarian and non-proselytizing.”

Meaning Green has “grown” as a museum founder. He even uses the term “evolution” to describe how his position shifted. “It’s more of a high-level discussion of, ‘Here’s this book, what is its history and impact, and what is its story?”

Big deal. You could ask the same questions in a museum built around the Koran or Moby Dick.

Instead of a museum that forthrightly proclaims the truth of the Bible, we’re going to have a slightly apologetic, don’t–offend–the–seculars institution. Paul addressed past and current concerns of the secular world in 1 Corinthians 1:22–23: “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks [Gentiles] search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness.”

People with hardened hearts aren’t ever going to approve of a Bible museum that believes in the authority of the Bible.

Out of 79 million evangelicals in the US, Green couldn’t find one to curate the collection. Instead he hired David Trobisch, a man who doesn’t believe Luke wrote the book of Acts, formerly edited the secular humanist magazine Free Inquiry and is a member of a church that permits homosexual clergy.

Green has placed funding in a 501(c)(3) organization and Trobisch says, “Steve Green does not take any active role in the day-to-day business.” Great. Eventually the museum, like the Ford Foundation and the Reagan Library, will be run by lefty world citizens who are vaguely embarrassed about the origin of their paycheck but working to put the establishment on the “right side of history.”

Trobisch’s believes, “The idea that there’s one Bible and a canon that everyone agreed on is just wrong.” He invites museum visitors to choose an audio guide to the collection from one of “five religious belief systems,” which I assume means either Christian, Orthodox, Jewish, Moslem or Joel Osteen.

Green fought the Obama administration all the way to the Supreme Court over an Obamacare mandate to cover abortion for Hobby Lobby employees. Too bad he couldn’t take a cue from Kim Davis and fight the culture equally hard.

Kim Davis’ Problems Are Just Beginning. Wait Until She Tries to Buy Flowers

Last week’s column concerning Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis did generate a strong response from readers and much of it, as predicted, was negative. The majority felt Davis’ refusal to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples because it violated God’s law was a principled exercise of civil disobedience.

Unfortunately the definition of civil disobedience does not support the argument. Civil disobedience is when a civilian, hence the “civil,” refuses to obey a law or regulation the individual believes violates the Constitution, the Bible or the Da Vinci Code. (Civil disobedience doesn’t have to make sense, but coherence helps if you want to start a GoFundMe.com account.)

Davis is a government official, not a civilian. When the government ignores or disobeys a law the correct term is not civil disobedience, it’s the “Obama Administration.” What Davis did gave homosexual advocates a priceless gift: Until Davis same–sex fanatics had to perform all sorts of unnatural intellectual gymnastics to characterize same–same marriage as a civil rights issue.

After the Supremes ruled sexual orientation is just an adjective and not a noun in marriage, Davis’ refusal to follow the law IS a civil rights violation and an unequal application of the law as written by five unelected judges.

That’s why Davis spent six days in jail for contempt of court and got to meet Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee.

Please don’t tell me the sentence was not fair. Of course it wasn’t fair, that’s the intention. Rachel Alexander and Michael Brown have pointed out the Left defies the law with impunity. San Francisco Mayor and adulterer Gavin Newsom ordered his clerks to issue homosexual marriage licenses in defiance of the law. He’s now California Lt. governor.

The Washington, DC police chief and California sheriffs refuse to issue concealed weapon permits, defying the judiciary, and they’re still in office.

Mayors announce they will defy immigration law and good sense, making their jurisdictions sanctuary cities for other lawbreakers. None of them went to jail or had so much as an investigation by the US Injustice Dept.

Virginia AG Mark Herring —the accomplished campaign liar in Commonwealth history — refused to defend laws limiting marriage to heterosexuals because he felt the law was unconstitutional. Exactly the same type of feelings–based interpretation Kim Davis used.

Davis, however, didn’t do herself any favors when she stopped issuing marriage licenses to hetero and homosexual couples, thereby punishing the innocent along with the indignant.

The culture and the media are at war with God and his believers, which puts us at a disadvantage since we don’t believe the end justifies the means, a philosophy the Left embraces with gusto.

We can formulate an effective strategy by going back to the fundamental issue. Same–sex marriage is a visible rebellion against God and the created order. What gives Christian’s some leverage, if used correctly, is the obvious fact same–sex marriage is a parody of real marriage. That’s why homosexuals demand both tolerance and at least tacit approval.

This means Christian government officials can keep their jobs while making a real parody of the ceremony.

Let’s start by giving Kim Davis options. The judge demands she sign and issue marriage certificates. In many offices the certificates are printed on demand. So when homosexuals demand a license print it on a brown paper bag.

If that’s not feasible, Davis can sign using finger paint in a parody of a signature. She can misspell the name of the groom and groom or bride and bride as the case may be. She can sign “Kim Davis Under Duress” or “Kim Davis Romans 1: 26–27.”

[“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”]

Will the judge jail her over penmanship or typos?

The Oregon judge currently under investigation for refusing can adopt the same technique. He can perform the ceremony dressed like the grand marshal of a Pride Parade. He can wear a button reading “Adam & Eve; Not Adam & Steve” or “Romans 1: 26–27.” The good judge could even sing the ceremony or mumble like Mr. Bean.

He’s not in court so judicial decorum doesn’t apply.

In this instance turn–about is fair play. Homosexual agitators have zero qualms regarding destroying the integrity of an institution that’s thousands of years old, why should we hesitate to rain on a parade that started yesterday?

Burning Man Causes Burning Faces Among BLM Bureaucrats

It appears that Sec. of the Interior Sally Jewel had a schedule conflict after all. That must be why the Bureau of Land Management dropped it’s demand for VIP boxes called the “Blue Pit” at this year’s Burning Man festival in Nevada.

For the previous 25 years hardy BLM bureaucrats had no problems observing scantily clad (and unclad for that matter) female festival attendees whose burning desire to get close to nature involved extensive use of man–made chemicals as they cavorted on a barren desert.

But that wasn’t good enough this year and I speculate the change had something to do with Sec. Jewel’s desire to be a happin’ cabinet official and attend Burning Man, without the inconvenience of sunburn. The BLM’s sudden desire for comfort was going to cost event organizers an extra $1 million to provide 24–hour availability of Choco Tacos, private bathrooms and AC.

I don’t know for sure if BLM drones discovered Choco Tacos weren’t on the USDA food pyramid or VIP box requests started to skyrocket, but something made the bureaucracy back off.

Complete details are in my Newsmax column URL below:

http://tinyurl.com/phfxk22

How Kim Davis’ Refusal to Issue Marriage Licenses Helps Same–Sex Marriage

God bless Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis a devout, if confused, Christian who decided her belief in God prevents her from issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples.

Davis fails to understand when one works for Caesar one is required to follow Caesar’s rules. Since she can’t follow that rule, the right and Christian course is to resign her position in protest.

But she refuses to resign and refuses to obey a local court order.

Davis appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay and it landed on the desk of the morally bankrupt Justice Elena Kagan who long before the court considered homosexual marriage presided over a same–sex wedding and then refused to recuse herself from deliberations this year.

Her appeal was rejected when it didn’t gain the support of four justices.

Now Davis has run the race, made the public aware and now should resign.

As an Evangelical Christian I’m beginning to feel my view is in the minority, but that doesn’t make me wrong. A Twitter acquaintance said, “I am positive the state is required to make an accommodation if feasible, which it certainly is.” Fellow columnist Terrance Jeffery writes, “Can a Christian be a county clerk in the United States?…Can a Christian be a doctor? A nurse? A public-school teacher?”

The answer is maybe, yes, yes and maybe. Both Jeffery and my Twitter pal are making the same category error by refusing to issue marriage licenses that homosexuals made when they demanded licenses.

Homosexuals were always free to get married as long as they agreed with the definition: One man joined to one woman. But that’s not what the same–sex activists wanted. They demanded a relationship of their design that is not and never has been a marriage. Then they wanted the government and society to approve and ratify this drastic redefinition of a centuries–old institution.

Davis’ supporters claim she is entitled to accommodation for belief under religious freedom laws. The go–to example is the Moslem woman being allowed to wear a headscarf on the job. Yes, that’s allowed. What’s not allowed is permitting the Moslem woman to refuse to deal with Jews.

Then there’s the Costco employee who refused to work in the fast–food kitchen because he didn’t want to handle pork, but Davis isn’t refusing to make pigs–in–a–blanket, she’s refusing to let people share a blanket.

Government official Kim Davis acting on her personal belief and refusing marriage licenses is no different from IRS enforcer Lois Lerner acting on her personal belief and conspiring to deny tax exempt status to Tea Party organizations. Sure one is passive aggressive and the other is aggressive aggressive, but bottom line is both are aggressive.

EEOC regulations don’t support Davis. The law requires accommodating: “…an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship.” Refusing to issue marriage licenses defines “undue hardship.”

This case has even driven me to agree with an ACLU lawyer that told the Courier–Journal “government officials must carry out the duties of public office.” If she doesn’t resign, Davis single–handedly gives homosexual activists the Holy Grail they’ve been seeking for decades: A legitimate denial of their civil rights.

Before the Supremes’ unGodly decision the civil rights argument was risible. Now it isn’t. A Kentucky clerk refusing to issue a marriage license to a qualified couple in 2015 is exactly equivalent to a Kentucky registrar refusing to allow blacks to vote in 1962.

Jeffery contends nothing prevents homosexual couples from driving to another Kentucky county and get a marriage license from some heathen clerk — just as nothing prevented our 1962 blacks from moving to New York and registering to vote, proving this is ground on which believers don’t want to fight.

If Davis ran a bakery and refused to make a cake for a homosexual wedding, then she would be in the right and I would contribute to her legal fund. The same goes for being a photographer, caterer or valet parking firm. But continuing to resist as a government official only helps create sympathy for homosexual marriage and undermines the Christian cause.

One final note: Davis, like all of us, is a flawed Christian. She worked 26 years in the clerk’s office before winning the job last November, possibly explaining her reluctance to resign the position now. Nothing however, can explain Davis winning as a Democrat, which is where her confusion becomes painfully evident. How can a Christian run for office as the standard bearer of a party that’s made a sacrament of abortion?

I can only assume that so far no one has asked her to sharpen a scalpel.