Vambram said:

The voters knew that those felonies were and are bogus.

Click to expand...

The voters had their preferences and commitments. Most of them knew hardly anything about the facts.

Underdog

Always in His Presence said:

It is always edifying to me to be able to point out the obvious. Including the good Governor attempting to influence the Mid Term National Elections.

Click to expand...

It’s not generally “illegal” to attempt to “influence elections”; it’s called “politics”.

Jerry N. said:

No offense, but engineering is science and engineers discover new scientific things all of the time. The difference is the intent. Engineers discover things while solving practical problems.

Click to expand...

4 Simple Ways to Explain the Difference Between Science and Engineering​

Scientists are often engineers, but there were engineers long before there were scientists. And engineers do often make scientific discoveries. Archimedes, for example. So you have some justification. After all, accountants are to some degree, mathematicians.

Vambram said:

Trump did not break the law.

Click to expand...

Why’d the judgement go agin him then?

The Tex Avery Show

Valletta said:

Trump ‘was never inappropriate with anybody,’ Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ

Audio and transcripts of the interviews were released Friday as the Trump administration seeks to quash rampant speculation about Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell.

nypost.com

Of course. Soon the Democrats will come up with yet another claim about something.

Click to expand...

Maybe we’ll see how this stacks up again the Epstein files when they’re released in 20never?

Oompa Loompa said:

Not fun when the shoe is on the other foot. I would argue that this was the biggest reason why so many political elites tried so desperately to keep Trump from going back into the office.
Because he would go after all the people who did a lot of illegal stuff to protect their corruption.

Click to expand...

What “illegal stuff” was this?

Always in His Presence said:

California voters established an independent redistricting commission in 2010 to prevent gerrymandering. Newsom’s plan would override this process temporarily, using a constitutional amendment and a special election scheduled for November 4.​

​

Unlike Texas, where the Legislature determines congressional lines, California voters in 2010 gave that power to a bipartisan citizen commission. The commission draws a new map once each decade, after the U.S. Census, to ensure each congressional district has roughly an equal number of people. It last did so in 2021.​

Click to expand...

Yes - it's amazing what someone has to do to even the playing field and prevent the slide into autocracy.
It's amazing what Newsom has to do to defend democracy!

See - Republicans can't have it both ways. They didn't even attempt to disguise Texas as an attempt at a fairer redistribution of voting electorates. As so many social commentators are noticing today - they're so bold under Trump they're saying "the quiet bits out loud!"

They declared they were out to help the Republican party get 5 more seats.

Just as Newsom is imitating Trump in his social media feed (which I personally find hilarious - Go Captain Gav!) - he is also imitating Republican power grabs. To balance the USA. To save democracy.

Republicans don't get to have your cake and eat it too.

Republicans don't get to NAKEDLY run a gerrymander power grab in one state, and then whine about it in another!

That's not just hypocritical - it's reflects a poor self-understanding. It brings into question the entire Republican mindset. It smacks of the very same fragile mindset that the alt-right are famous for accusing the left of - the kind that melts in direct sunlight. The teary kind.

SO - either the Republicans and Democrats abandon this whole process and have a Constitutional Referendum and make ALL States in the USA move to an independent American Electoral Authority - or Republicans should just accept that California is revoking theirs when it suits them - because they are genuinely frightened of Trump's NPD and the Department stacking power-grabs of his beloved Project 2025 group.

Australia has an independent Federal Department called the AEC, the Australian Electoral Commission. There you are - the initials work for America as well! They are constitutionally bound to perform basic electoral roll tasks, but also to REDISTRIBUTE electoral maps if the population ratios of different states shift. This is mathematically prescribed, as the Redistribution wiki explains. It works both Federally and each State has their own electoral commission as well.

In Australia the House of Representatives (like your House in Congress) has electoral districts called 'Seats'. Because our Seats are Redistributed by an independent body, they tend to be more geographically consistent blobs rather than the crazy looking, selective, discriminating shapes of the American electorates. Sure - we have some larger seats stretching across the huge rural areas - and more tightly packed seats in the cities where far more of our population lives. But they are mathematically equal - and tend to look like vaguely similar sized blobs rather than some of the more eccentric looking districts in America.

The very term gerrymandering is a portmanteau of a salamander and Elbridge Gerry, the 5th VP who was the first to cook the books like this. His districts were described as an awful looking salamander monster - and so the 'Gerrymander' was born!



The Gerrymander wiki describes it as:

Wayne Dawkins, a professor at Morgan State University, describes it as politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians."​

Basically - what right do Republicans have to whine about California doing it if Texas are doing it to?
Also - what right do republicans have to do this in the first place - especially when Trump is so unpopular right now? In the middle of a video about why the Democrats are so unpopular, TLDR had to put up this caveat about Trump.

WE'RE AFRAID OF HIM​

You have to understand something. Those of us that respect reality - you know - climate science, vaccines, the right of citizens to basics like food and clean water and shelter and healthcare, 'normal' stuff like that - we're genuinely frightened of Donald's NPD.

DECISION MAKING​

Look at the way his team defend his every quirk and brain-bubble? Look at the team of yes-men and women they've stacked the room with. Look at the the way they run his errands, seeking out more praise for him. Psychiatrists have a term for these enablers of a narcissist. They're called 'flying monkeys' - the servants of the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz. So when the Press Secretary gets up and starts the entitled whining about Donald deserving a Nobel Peace Prize because he brought peace between Pakistan and India - when both PM's have said he had NOTHING to do with it! - you know what is happening. Flying monkeys. He needs his 'supply' - and as he gets older and more insecure - his fragile worldview all about how wonderful he truly is will need more and more of it. As his enablers massage his fragile ego - do you really think they're going to tell him the truth - on anything? As his NPD deteriorates as his general health and vitality and mood deteriorates as he ages - which all of us are prone to near the end - do you think he's interested in learning new things about the world?

It's why he repeats and repeats and repeats the same things. He's reinforcing his own worldview. He does not want to know that immigrants benefit America! He does not want to know that wind turbines offer incredibly cheap power - and solar is the cheapest energy the human race has ever enjoyed - period! Even including the extra costs of batteries and distributed energy grids.

He does not care that his BBB strips TRILLIONS off the poor and gives it to the billionaires, because - Donald has rich friends to please.

He does not care that the BBB removes 16 MILLION poorer Americans from Medicaid which will kill an estimated extra 50,000 Americans each year.

He does not care that the BBB is GROWING the Federal Debt that he promised to fix! Look at the bust up he and Elon had over the BBB! If you voted for Trump to fix the debt - Elon is just correct on this. Elon's METHOD of fixing the debt was atrocious. (As I always say - just nationalise half your hospitals and offer universal healthcare and you'll save those 50,000 lives AND eventually save $1 TRILLION a year - but no American wants to listen to little Australia's lesson in healthcare!)

He does not care that his energy policy is shooting America in the foot, both kneecaps and the left kidney! That it risks 75% of American scientists leaving the country - and Europe and China have hundreds of millions allocated to lure them all overseas as well.

He does not care about anything other than pampering and supplying his ever more fragile ego with all the praise it can get - all the 'narcissistic supply' possible. As over 230 experts warned, his NPD is just like that.

GEOPOLITICS​

But worse - look at how the tariffs are alienating the world and hurting America.
Login to view embedded media
Look at the kowtowing to Putin and rolling out the red carpet for him.

Look at the shouting match against Zelenskyy in the Oval Office - and how the world winced.

Look at the threats to the EU and NATO - when America receives over 105 TIMES the money back in arms exports by having the EU dependent on American leadership of NATO.

Look at his naked profiteering from the Presidency.
Login to view embedded media
Look at his general behaviour on the world stage - and how perceptions of America have changed between 2024 under Biden (white) and Trump (red). The line is a percentage of approval - where the right edge of the graph is 100%. Just LOOK at some of the country's perceptions of America now! A few have increased under Trump, like Turkey, Israel, and Nigeria. Congratulations - nations with authoritarian leanings like Trump. What else is new? But look at Australia! About 40% liked America under Biden (because we have great healthcare and some work right's issues and are generally a bit critical of America anyway) - but under Trump? Boom - 25%. Canada was 60% - now about 30%, and on and on it goes.

DEMOCRACY​

But the world's biggest fear is for American democracy. If Trump and Project 2025 get their way - American democracy goes bye bye.
And I'm not sure what happens to the world after that.

sjastro said:

You miss the self professed genius whose posting history shows the stark opposite, I don't.

Click to expand...

I kinda like him myself, even if I disagreed with him constantly.

Dan Perez said:

And PREDESTINATION is found in Eph 1:4-5 and in Rom 8:29 -30

And FOREKNOWLEDGE is found 1 Peter 1:2 and in Rom 8:29

Freewill is only FOUND once in. Gen 2:16-17 other wise there is no FREE. WILL. , PERIOD. !!
dan p

Click to expand...

Choices are found all throughout scripture. They are real choices, not mock ones. Choices have consequences. Take the following example from Job, it states that based on the person's choice, they either bring for themselves spiritual life, or spiritual death:

Job 36:9-12 Then He tells them their work and their transgressions—That they have acted defiantly. He also opens their ear to instruction, And commands that they turn from iniquity. If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. But if they do not obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.

Jesus extends the offer of Salvation to all, but our willingness, or lack of it, are important.

Mat 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Our choice or obedience is also important to receiving the Holy Spirit.

Joh 14:15-16 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

Joh 14:22-24 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

Note the order of receiving the Father's love (above) it comes only after we are obedient to God's word. There is an action we take in response to God's offer of salvation.

DragonFox91 said:

I wonder what it would take for musicals to come back to the masses.

Click to expand...

The Greatest Showman had a slow start because it wasn't advertised much. It did about 9 million it's first weekend and seemed like a flop. Word of mouth spread though and people kept going to see it. In the end it doubled it's budget just in America and made about 300 million overseas for a total of 470 million.

All Hollywood has to do is make good musicals and people will come.

Tuur said:

Which creationists? Young Earth or Old Earth? Some Young Earth Creationists believe that plate movement was/is faster than today. Old Creationists shouldn't have a problem with the idea of plate movement. I'm an Old Earth Creationist and I don't have a problem with it.

Click to expand...

YEC doesn't admit time enough for plate tectonics to work. A quick back-of-the-envelope analysis shows that if the continents moved as fast as YEC requires, the seas would have boiled. (we know the mass of the continents and oceans, and the specific heats of granite and water, and we know how much energy it would take to accelerate continents and to again slow them, energy would would have to be released as heat)

Always in His Presence said:

The same people who voted to have an independent commission that would control it?

Click to expand...

Obviously. He going to let them vote on it. Again, this is what democracy looks like. He might succeed or he might fail. But the voters will decide. I'm not sure why this should confuse you. You appear to think that a politician asking his constituents to vote on something he wants to do is underhanded in some way.

That's just...weird.

reBoot said:

The first believers got it slightly wrong - water baptism is a trick, a test, built into the gospel.

Worldwide, churches of all shapes and sizes teach people to be baptized in water. It's hard to get two of them to agree on exactly how it's supposed to be done,
whether you baptize in the name of Jesus, or in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost;
whether you sprinkle or pour water on people, or dunk them in the water;
whether it's done in a pool inside a church, or in a river;
who does it;
what the person doing it needs to believe in order for it to be valid;
whether you tip the person backward, or forward, when putting them under the water;
how old the person needs to be before you can baptize them;
what to do if the person backslides after being baptized;
whether the Holy Spirit comes into a person before, during, or after the water baptism...

The list goes on and on. There have been more divisions in the church over water baptism than over any other teaching in the Holy Bible or out of it.

Paul is the first person to have seen through this confusion to the truth behind it.

People were arguing over who had baptized them. Paul had baptized only a small handful of people, but soon realized that Jesus never meant for us to baptize people in water:

For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chl-oe that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. (1 Cor. 1:11-17).

The understanding of baptism has been messed up and distorted from antiquity. The result has been not unlike the parable of the sower, where two different seeds were sown but only one produced fruit. And such rituals of men are easy to fake. There is something far more satisfying than being dunked in water. God says that he wants obedience more than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22).

Water baptism was a Jewish ritual, a Hebrew practice. There is nothing uniquely Christian about water baptism. The disciples did baptize in water, but Jesus did not do it (John 4:2). Water baptism is inconsistent with the Spirit of everything else that Jesus taught. Most of Jesus' enemies were circumcised; most were baptized!

...I [John] indeed baptize you [the multitude] with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire (Luke 3:16).

What of Jesus' baptism? John protested:

But John forbade [Jesus], saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (Mat. 3:14).

Jesus was the perfect spotless Lamb of God; he didn't need his sins washed away. Rather, Jesus asked John to accommodate him, because it made sense for them "to fulfill all righteousness" (Mat. 3:15). So John went ahead and baptized Jesus. The end of the old, and the start of the new.

So what does "to fulfill all righteousness" mean?

Well, Jesus was born into a Jewish family; circumcised at 8 days of age; taken to the temple at 12 years of age; raised in all the disciplines of the Jewish religion. And now he does this one final Jewish ritual, marking the end of his Jewishness and the start of a deeper revelation.

Jesus came to replace, fulfill, render useless, the law of Moses:

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it (Luke 16:16). Out with the old, in with the new.

There is only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism via the Holy Ghost!

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body...(1 Cor. 12:13).


Water baptism is not what is being referred to here.

Context is everything. Here is the passage:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Mat. 28:18-20).

What are the action words in that passage (v. 19)?

There are only two action words = go and preach. When the disciples obey the commands to go and to preach, then the result is that people get baptized and taught. The disciples are NOT told to baptize anyone. Rather, baptizing is what takes place EVERY TIME someone receives the truth of what they preach.

So baptism is never a one-off. Baptizing happens to someone EVERY TIME he receives the truth.

To reprise:

And [Jesus] said unto [his disciples], Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized [in the Spirit, NOT water baptized] shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned [IOW, belief results in spiritual baptism unto salvation; unbelief results in damnation (water baptism is irrelevant)]...And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word [NOT with water baptisms] with signs following. Amen. (Mark 16:15-16, 20).

actions of men = go and preach;
results of Holy Spirit = taught and baptized

* preaching the gospel = baptizing *

Further, in that cited passage above (Mat. 28:19), it is WE who make yet another ASSUMPTION; we "just add water" i.e. we ASSUME that the "baptism" spoken of is of water!!!

Another assumption was that speaking in tongues was of the Holy Spirit whereas the reality is that the teachings of Jesus are of the Holy Spirit.

Other false assumptions: Torah worship; Moses worship; Paul worship.

* truth (teachings of Jesus) vs. false assumptions (e.g. water baptism) *

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh [e.g. water baptism and other traditions of men] profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63).

What Jesus taught is his true Holy Spirit. You cannot know the Holy Spirit of Jesus without having the words he spoke. People know Jesus' name and ancestry, but they don't know his teachings or beliefs. So they do not and cannot have his Spirit. But if I preach, I am covering/baptizing/immersing you in his Spirit. People receive the Holy Spirit every time they believe something Jesus said.

The Holy Spirit is not visible, as water or tongues is. Jesus told Nicodemus: the wind blows wherever; you hear it but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it's going. You can't put the wind (or the Spirit) in a box (or a font).

I praise God that I have been released from the karmic "rinse and repeat" cycle of water baptism.

Click to expand...

And you. saying that. I got SLIGHTLY wrong. !!

Will you please explain Acts 1:5 ,just asking , please. !!

dan p

Vambram said:

The voters knew that those felonies were and are bogus.

Click to expand...

The unanimous vote of the jury is more persuasive.

FAITH-IN-HIM said:

According to available information, Bolton’s investigation began during the Biden administration under then-FBI Director Christopher Wray. President Trump and the current FBI Director were not responsible for initiating this investigation.

However, your statement that no one is above the law may be misleading. There appear to be instances in America where individuals are seemingly not held accountable under the law. For example, how can one explain a person with 34 felony convictions receiving 312 electoral college votes?

Click to expand...

The voters knew that those felonies were and are bogus.

essentialsaltes said:

Nonsense, you've been crowing about local police in sanctuary cities apprehending aliens who commit crimes.

Click to expand...

No, I have not.

rambot said:

Bad faith argument.

If you don't understand how Trump broke the law read the court documents. It is not rhe obligation of posters here to inform you of such basic information.

Click to expand...

Trump did not break the law.

I tried as hard as I could to find something profound from Palestinian culture, but the best I could find were pottery and wood carvings...

But crafts like that are not exclusive to that region, and are quite common, and have been for tens of thousands of years, especially in China.

...So still nothing.

I prayed my hardest during the conclave that we would get a true Catholic pope this time around. Looks like we did.

Case closed.

Studyman said:

It is clear you don't understand the difference between choosing to "Reject" God's Judgments

Click to expand...

And it's equally clear that the evil present within no one cooperates with God or makes the correct choices.

Paul notes this succinctly in Romans 7:21 stating that even when he does good, evil is present with him. It's not just a choice to only do good. Evil remains part of the quotient.

Studyman said:

The Faithful son will make mistakes

Click to expand...

That's just a polite way to excuse the reality of evil present, to in effect, let yourself off the hook when there is no letting evil off the hook for anyone.

We don't have magical incantations and actions to make ourselves sinless.

Studyman said:

An "evil thought" doesn't defile anyone unless a man is drawn away by it and enticed. At least this is according to the bible.

Click to expand...

Jesus quite plainly stated in multiple citings that evil lawless thoughts defile us. It's not optional.

Mark 7:21-23

You can claim that only applies if you act on it but that's never the case.

Studyman said:

No sir. I do not believe I am better than anyone. As Paul teaches:

Click to expand...

That's correct. We are actually no better than the worst of sinners, Romans 3:9, 1 Tim. 1:15

So I would maybe have second thoughts about riding my high horse I am the correct chooser horsey

Like the words of a known liar and convicted child sex trafficker mean anything. Lol.