Monthly Archives: July 2026

!! TROUBLE AHEAD again in JANUARY !!

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Ballot, 1926, NYPL digital collection

JOSEPH STALIN once said that it’s not who people vote for, but who counts the ballots.  According to research by David French, editorial writer at NYTimes (“Things that Keep Me Up at Night” July 23) — even if there is a landslide election of Democrats, the Republican “lame ducks” in the House of Representatives can challenge the seating of any of these newly-elected officials using lame claims brought by losing Republican candidates, regardless of ballots counted in precincts, by using the Federal Contested Elections Act of 1969!  (The plans are already in place.)  

So, this begs the question: “Who are the real American communists?” — A:  the oligarchs who bought the Republican Party:  Musk, Ellisons, Kochs, Thiel, Bezos, et al.  “One [person], one vote” no longer holds, since SCOTUS said, in Citizens United, that money is speech .  (They who gave millions now own the game, and the politicians. “Your representative” now works for them.) Sorry, you lost the election!  (Note: FDR was a “social democrat” who ushered in the golden age of America.)

Sadly, we’ve been brainwashed into believing in “checks and balances” and the brilliance of our Constitution, which was always a flawed document, beholden to slave-owners.  “Just say it ain’t so, Joe.”  (The election cheaters are not illegal aliens, but ultra-wealthy bullies and thieves.). But the buck doesn’t stop in your district. It’s going to Washington DC in January.  “We the people” have been bought and sold!  November will be a yawn, even if it’s a landslide >>> So be prepared for a silent coup in January! “Some people rob you with a six-gun, others with a fountain pen.” (~Woodie Guthrie, in Pretty Boy Floyd.)

 

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BOOK  >>> LOVE THY STRANGER <<<

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Professor Ehrman’s book LOVE THY STRANGER is a guided tour thru the early centuries of Christian practice.  He argues compellingly that the example which Jesus provided greatly altered the structure of western civilization regarding our social safety net. 
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Christian ethics? Or Christian theology?  Which?  Ethics is about practice. Theology is suggestive of belief: (“Who was that masked man, Jesus of Nazareth?”)  :  What did Jesus teach and illustrate?  OR, Who do you believe Jesus, this Jewish rabbi without a degree from a yeshiva, was?  The difference in framing these two questions is major.  One invites us to imitate a Master; the other sends us down a rabbit hole or causes us to chase our tail.  

If I am arrested and charged with being a Christian, will there be enough evidence to convict me?  Ehrman reminds us that a wealthy man asks Jesus how he might attain immortality.  The reply (see Mark 10:17)— sell everything, giving proceeds to the poor, and come follow me. (We should not despair; more importantly, doubling down by reading this book to gain some insight on praxis!)  Critical thinking, engagement with the Bible texts, and spiritual appetite, are more vital than institutional attendance.  

Ehrman’s command of scripture is inspiring.  (Note: he tells us bluntly that he has left “the church” while saying “thank God for Christianity”; but is apparently no stranger to “the Kingdom”.)  This is one of the best books I’ve ever read on Christian ethics. 
For those who may not know of it, there was a popular novel about ethics written in 1896 titled IN HIS STEPS: What Would Jesus Do?  Ehrman’s very accessible book is a “sequel” of sorts — a nonfiction historical-version showing us how far we’ve progressed over the centuries since the crucifixion, (and what we are at risk of losing, presently, to the DOGE crowd). Tearing down our social safety net is no answer!