Donald J Trump-45th POTUS

[zoogs]

Dancing on the graves of other people's dreams while feigning concern for mental health seems about the level of brutality we can expect in the coming national discourse.

[Landlord]

 

I'm a born-again Christian who doesn't believe in the merits of belonging to a congregation and this election has reinforced that, with 13% of BA Christian voters not voting for Trump. I mean, I can see trying to belong to one and getting my voice heard, but not with an 87-13 split.

I'm confused.

 

How exactly does an election reinforce your desire to not belong to a congregation (which I have no problem with). But, tying the two together is somewhat odd to me.

 

 

 

 

Speaking personally, this election has put the final nail in the coffin for me to completely and unequivocally reject evangelicalism as a tribe or label that I claim for myself. How did it do that? By showing me that American evangelicalism is morally bankrupt, has no platform on which to stand, and will elect a narcissistic racist adulterous sexual-assaulting bankrupt cheeto-anti-Jesus just because he says he'll make abortion illegal.

[Count 'Bility]

 

Just stop trollin Dewiz. There's some good debate goin on here. either logically take part in it or dont say anthing at all.

 

He's speaking across the political aisle in a manner similar to that of the candidate for whom he voted. I would expect nothing less.

 

well. this is something no one has any idea how it will actually do down. he's not the president yet.

[knapplc]

 

 

Just stop trollin Dewiz. There's some good debate goin on here. either logically take part in it or dont say anthing at all.

 

He's speaking across the political aisle in a manner similar to that of the candidate for whom he voted. I would expect nothing less.

 

well. this is something no one has any idea how it will actually do down. he's not the president yet.

 

 

I'm speaking about Trump's campaign. The last 18 months.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

While we let some stuff slide in this forum let's all remember to be respectful of others choices and not turn this into a troll war that can't be a constructive conversation. Be mindful of other people's opinions and understand they are entitled to them folks. Carry on........

[TGHusker]

 

 

Is Trump America's first atheist President? I thought it was kinda obvious he was just pretending to be religious.

If you believe that any of these recent presidents have been religious outside of maybe Jimmy Carter then I got a sweet bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

 

I think the Bushes are at least somewhat religious. I don't think Reagan was. Nancy famously consulted astrologists, which isn't very Christian.

 

Actually Reagan was very religious. Several excellent books detail his faith in depth in which his mother was a huge influence on him. While he wasn't a church goer during his presidency so to keep from

being a burden to any church, he would attend (security, etc), he was still a man of faith. Reading his "The Reagan Diary" his published personal diary, you see his expression of faith throughout, esp when he was shot, making important

decisions and also in his response to 'the evil empire'. It was his faith that made him a strong adversary of communism and fought to destroy it. Now Nancy may be different.

 

One reviewer addressed Reagan's faith in his review of the book Reagan: The Life by HW Brands (who has published many fine history/biographies)

Quote:

While I feel the positives outweigh the negatives in this volume, the most glaring weakness nearly tipped the scales. Ronald Reagan’s faith was vital to him, yet Brands rarely makes mention of it, and only addresses it specifically more than half way into the book, on page 404, and then he does so only briefly and, frankly, rather incorrectly. Perhaps the most outrageous statement in the book is Brand’s assertion that “casual observers and even people close to him might have wondered sometimes whether he had any religion at all.” My jaw dropped at that statement, knowing what a great man of faith Reagan was. Brands only mentions in passing that Reagan didn’t attend church due to security reasons, which is true, yet he doesn’t mention how much it pained Reagan not to attend services. Reagan’s son, Michael, tells of a flight he had with his father on Air Force One shortly before Easter in 1988. The president began counting on his fingers and when Michael asked what he was doing, Reagan responded “I’m counting the months until I’ll be out of office and able to attend church again.” Indeed, Reagan was so eager that that Easter weekend he decided to attend Easter services at a small church near his ranch (for more on Reagan’s faith, and it’s crucial important throughout his life, see “God and Ronald Reagan” by Paul Kengor, “Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan” by Mary Beth Brown, or “The Faith of Ronald Reagan”, also by Mary Beth Brown).

 

Reagan’s faith was pivotal to understanding his crusade against Communism (see “The Crusader” by Paul Kengor and “Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons” by Paul Lettow), for its very foundations were, in Reagan’s eyes, a crusade of the faithful against Godless communism. To Reagan, religion and faith were the core driving factors of the greatest accomplishments of his presidency. No mention is made of the book that inspired Reagan as a child, “That Printer of Udell’s”, which he himself referred to throughout his life as having been a major influence on him. Furthermore, Reagan’s faith was crucial to him during his recovery from his assassination attempt (see “Rawhide Down” by Del Quentin Wilber for a gripping account of those few days in March, as well as the role of Reagan’s faith during that time).

 

My own relative served with Reagan during his time as governor in California, and spent a significant amount of time alone with Reagan during the late 60s and early 70s. My own interviews with him have revealed the depth of Reagan’s faith, as he inquired regularly concerning my relatives faith, similar to his own, and they often discussed their bone deep convictions and prayed together to seek the Lord’s guidance. Indeed, while Brands mentions Reagan’s struggle with abortion laws as governor of California, he makes no mention that when Reagan felt driven to make sure he was on the right side of this moral issue, he spent a large amount of time in his office praying and reading his Bible. One of Reagan’s oft repeated phrases was that he valued looking up (to God) more than ahead (to those around him) for strength. He wrote to a friend in 1973 that his “faith was unshakeable” and shared with them the aforementioned axiom he had ascribed to his whole life (see “Reagan: A Life in Letters” by Kiron Skinner, p. 278).

 

In sum, the failure of Brands to fully grasp the role of faith in Reagan’s life and convey this in his biography cost him a full star in my review, dropping it from 4 to 3. Still, I enjoyed this book thoroughly, even though I learned nothing new of any consequence. Brands has produced what I could recommend as an introductory biography to Reagan with mention of the one caveat regarding his treatment of Reagan’s faith. Overall, an enjoyable and exciting read due to its fast pace and narrative style.

https://www.amazon.com/Reagan-Life-H-W-Brands/dp/0385536399/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478718516&sr=1-1&keywords=ronald+reagan++brand

https://www.amazon.com/Reagan-Diaries-Ronald/dp/0061558338/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478718883&sr=1-3&keywords=ronald+reagan

several books touch on it or major on his faith in this list

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_20?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ronald+reagan+faith&sprefix=ronald+reagan%3B+faith%2Cstripbooks%2C271&crid=3RKB5XD6F32BP&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aronald+reagan+faith

[Apathy]

 

Just stop trollin Dewiz. There's some good debate goin on here. either logically take part in it or dont say anthing at all.

He's speaking across the political aisle in a manner similar to that of the candidate for whom he voted. I would expect nothing less.

Stop the hate and ignorance!! If you're not happy with something then the change starts with YOU not some president!!!

[TGHusker]

The follow up to my post above about Reagan's faith is what gives me pause about Trump. Reagan's convictions and the policies he built around those convictions came from years of thoughtful deliberation, observations which gave him core values that allowed him to persevere in the face of great opposition. His decision to push the Soviet empire into the dust bin of history was unshakable and his rejection of the MAD (mutually assured destruction) doctrine that accepted a balance of power wt the Soviet empire was driven by his religious convictions on the evil of communism. Even though the media & politicians from both parties & others in Europe thought he was wrong to confront and challenge the status quo, he marched ahead. He installed missiles in Europe, built up the military, rejected the overly generous concessions by the Soviets in Reykjavik - because he believed his values were correct and would prevail. He was right - the Soviet Union is no longer.

 

Trump on the other hand, has no long held deep convictions that were developed over years of deliberation and observation of the political world. He has no core values except the value of everything Trump. Unless he has had some kind of 'rebirth', I cannot trust that his words are anything but words until he actually follows through. At his core he is nothing like Reagan. While the election may have some similar aspects as the 1980 election as being a surprise and being a 'change' election, Trump will have to follow through, as he stated

in his speech, to make his election a real history maker. We'll see if he has developed the core convictions to do so.

[zoogs]

 

 

Just stop trollin Dewiz. There's some good debate goin on here. either logically take part in it or dont say anthing at all.

He's speaking across the political aisle in a manner similar to that of the candidate for whom he voted. I would expect nothing less.

 

Stop the hate and ignorance!! If you're not happy with something then the change starts with YOU not some president!!!

 

No doubt.

 

"If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do."

[Count 'Bility]

 

 

 

Just stop trollin Dewiz. There's some good debate goin on here. either logically take part in it or dont say anthing at all.

 

He's speaking across the political aisle in a manner similar to that of the candidate for whom he voted. I would expect nothing less.

 

well. this is something no one has any idea how it will actually do down. he's not the president yet.

 

 

I'm speaking about Trump's campaign. The last 18 months.

 

is it a completely new astonishing dynamic that a man running for President didnt reach across to the rival party politicians during the campaign? or am i missing the point here? Srs question.

[zoogs]

Trump "not reaching across the aisle" is not among the top five defining characteristics that come to mind when thinking of his campaign.

[Red Five]

Trump on the other hand, has no long held deep convictions that were developed over years of deliberation and observation of the political world. He has no core values except the value of everything Trump. Unless he has had some kind of 'rebirth', I cannot trust that his words are anything but words until he actually follows through.

 

Best post in this thread.

[TGHusker]

 

Trump on the other hand, has no long held deep convictions that were developed over years of deliberation and observation of the political world. He has no core values except the value of everything Trump. Unless he has had some kind of 'rebirth', I cannot trust that his words are anything but words until he actually follows through.

 

Best post in this thread.

 

Thanks - but it is all about core convictions. A lot of people don't care for Ted Cruz but I think many of those same people do believe he is a true believer and would follow through on those convictions. Politicians can be so lacking in that area and that is why we keep on our own 'plantations'. Pro-life voters are held to the republican plantation because we believe the promise and keep hoping that one day they will follow through wt the promises made. The same is true on the Dem side. I'd vote for a core value person who I agreed wt 60-70% vs someone who said the right thing 95% of the time but never followed through.

[husker98]

 

I think you could say a lot of rural folks "feel" ignored. That might be accurate. But why? Well, easy. Simply demographics. Campaigns and constituancies are focused on in more densly populated areas. it's just a result of how things are. it's not some conspiracy to ignore rural ppl. And them feeling ignored isnt some part of a bigger conspiracy. It's just how it is. So last night, yeah, it's ok to acknowledge that many may feel like they were finally heard again. it's been over a decade.

What harm has come to you from this perception of being "ignored?" And how does electing Donald Trump president fix that?

 

I can answer this

 

I live near Colorado and in that state The big cities now comprise the majority electorate and have rail roaded unpopular liberal leaning legislation down the throat of the rural minority. When they passed the gun laws that didn't fix the issue but punished law abiding owners following the theatre massacre in Aurora the rural western counties put up a vote on secession from the state of Colorado, but the way to leave was an enormous legal impossibility and it failed. The governor then acknowledged that there were people still living on the front range and that they needed to respect and work with them. But this didn't change anything and the Dem's in that state are right back to rail roading legislation again. Many on the front range weren't in favor of legalized Pot, but they forced that through too, and as they have pointed out to this day it still hasn't generated the projected tax income they projected it too.

 

Many in Kansas fear the same will happen out here too, Kansas city, Witchita, and Lawrence continue to grow while the rural population diminishes. Many fear the second amendment, their hunting rights, heavy restrictions on animal agriculture, and more environmental restrictions on trucking will kill what is left of life as they know it out here.

 

I don't think people out here elected trump thinking he could fix these issues, but voted for him to keep Clinton from making a deteriorating situation worse.

 

Being ignored is a reality for many Colorado counties, and other states like mine are fearing it as well.

[HuskerNation1]

We actually start a stock market competition so it will be interesting to see how they do with a "crash worse than 1929" about to start.

Oh the negativity of Trump winning. Looks like the market has recovered for the most part