Election 2019

Once upon a time, I thought I wanted to run for president and when I found out how much that would cost, I decided to run for an open seat on our city council. Now, I’ve never been overly fond of politics or politicians, but I thought I’d give it try any way. What I learned is–I was right to distrust the political machinery, even in a local election. Corruption has a stench that reaches into the hearts of small towns as well as big cities.

I followed the procedures I was given to get on the ballot–getting the required number of signatures, filing all the paperwork and having it done before deadline. On Memorial Day–2019,  I was told I had a target on my back. I heard what was said, but really didn’t give it much thought. “What can they do to me?” I thought. I knew there was nothing negative anyone would be able to find on me and if anything were publicized, it would have to be because someone made it up. Well, they did, but that didn’t stop me.

So, about a month or two before the election on November 5, 2019, I found out the plot–an 83 year-old white man who had been the former mayor and councilmember was running for the council seat because he didn’t want another African American on the council (we had one who got there by manipulation). Then things got really juicy. I was provided the man’s historical stance in trying to keep Black people out of the city–from blocking the sale of a building to a Black Church, to manipulating the Council into buying the building–only to discover once the city couldn’t afford the upkeep and had to close the building, the building ended up in the hands of a Black Church, anyway.

The name of the city was changed because it included the word, “Detroit” because some people didn’t want the association with the bigger city. About 20 years ago, the Black population was insignificant to most, but since then (around 2008), the numbers have been growing and now, it is believed that 40% of population is Black.

In 2017, the city was sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly violating civil rights voting laws. In November of 2017, a Black person was elected (primarily because of split votes between five Black candidates). In June of 2019, the city and DOJ reached a settlement–the city would use Ranked Choice Voting to establish a pathway for minority candidates to be elected. I ran, but was not successful in my bid for the seat because (viola) the plot to keep me off the council worked (name recognition).

How did it work? The “former mayor” of over 20 years ago, put out campaign signs for himself, another council candidate and a mayoral candidate. Whether others were involved remains to be discovered, but I’m guessing, someone will talk and someone else will hear about it. With the three signs put together in various locations, it gave the impression the three candidates were running as a team or slate (and since the three candidates were white, it made the DOJ lawsuit very relevant). And apparently, that’s how a number of people saw it–manipulation at work.

On election day, November 5, 2019, before the polls closed, the spouse of one of the candidates for council (the incumbent) happened to hold a conversation with a poll worker that he didn’t know, was there for me (correction–he did know). He laid out the entire plan (that was misunderstood by source). “My wife and Henry (pseudonym)  will win, and Mary will get a 1000 votes, then we’ll offer her an opportunity to apply for an appointment” (contextually, this was not reported with full knowledge and understanding of what was being said. The 1000 vote reference was about past experiences for candidates to win).

I got 1061 votes and the next day when we were given the results of the election, I was asked to consider applying for the appointment of a vacated seat. (This blog post ignited conversations–perhaps needed conversations in order to clear the air of any all misunderstandings. However, looking at the “entire” situation, without parsing–the optics were not good and possibly led to the misunderstandings, but I am yet analyzing to understand the motivation that prompted this entire discussion).

While I was considering applying, I got the word not to take it because it had been pre-planned and was possibly in violation of the Open Meetings Act. The way it was explained to me, by someone who had first-hand knowledge of the manipulative way the council worked. Some time ago, a seat was vacated and a number of people applied for the appointment. After the interviews, some were told they were sure to get it, but they didn’t. One of the interviewees found out later that a member of the council was friends with the wife of one of the interviewees and had been promised the positioned. The other person felt this was a waste of his time and since that “policy” was apparently the status quo, he didn’t want me involved with shenanigans. I’m grateful for the info.

Here’s what was offered: I would get the vote for the appointment as long as another person didn’t apply for it. I have documentation of what was said, just in case one or more of parties involved happens to read this. I love paper trails. And for those reading, before jumping to conclusions, try to understand how I perceived what I did. Being a minority, brings a certain mistrust to a number of situations and when a person “watches” what happens (not just hears), I tend to look a little closer look at everything, not just one thing. I’ve been told before that perhaps, I’m too analytical and that may be true, but being analytical means I examine all sides of an issue before drawing definitive conclusions. Note: DOJ has since responded to an inquiry by me and confirmed what I already knew–name recognition used as a means to choose candidates–will not change using Ranked Choice Voting. Basically, nothing much will ever change unless a person changes their name and that still may not work.

So, my proposal to fill the vacant seat is to appoint the person who was already voted for by the residents, rather than have 4-member council (likely divided) to try to make the decision. Based upon the “vacancy” section in the city charter, the council appoints the person to fill the vacancy–“before the DOJ settlement decree” and since the rules for voting changed, there should also be a change  in filling a vacancy since the Election Results record shows, how the next person ranked on the ballots with the residents’ input. The one thing the “plotters” overlooked is who would win the mayor’s seat, but that’s for another article. In that article, I’ll explain how “manipulation” won the day over egos. After all, the same manipulation that worked the first time around–when five Black candidates were in the race, won again–vote splitting–a winning strategy.

Too bad manipulation won’t hold seat. Tick-tock–the 6 month clock is running! Being escorted out a bar for being drunk (and I can imagine disorderly) right before an election–is not a good look and certainly not a “good representation” of self or city.

More next time! Keep watching as the “world turns and manipulation rules” in Eastpointe, MI! At the behest of the residents, I’m going to apply for the appointment and we’ll see how that works, in 2019. If it wasn’t for the residents, I’d call it a day and move on with my life–still helping where I can–but without the weight of corrupt politicism as a burden.

Author’s note: While some folks were trying to block me from winning an election out of pure racial bias, they forgot to keep watch of the mayoral candidate–who just happened to be Black–and won. Talk about Irony!

 

 

Advertisement

The Fallibility of Human Nature

Before we can understand how imperfect we are, we need to admit we all have imperfections and flaws. That said, let’s look at what happens when we refuse to see ourselves as we really are.

Take the daily news we tend to absorb. What motivates what we see or read? The headlines tend to grab us–based upon our individual stances or beliefs–and we’re often ensnared by the headlines and never read the details of an article or listen to the details of newscasts. Then, when we don’t bother with the details, but want to share what we just read or heard, we become arbiters of spreading *fake news* if in fact, what we shared was not truth. Allowing headlines to ensnare us is a human flaw–we all do it–and this is one of the reasons why we saw what happened in 2016–false headlines led many to believe lies about Hillary Clinton. Okay, this isn’t about Hillary, but it does serve to make the point being made–we are flawed human beings and sometimes, we allow our biases to interfere with good judgment.

Recent news (not fake, but very real) has revealed that Donald Trump is an un-indicted co-conspirator in crimes involving campaign violations (and others as we’ll soon see). He was listed as “individual 1” in a sentencing memo for Michael Cohen–his former fixer. At any rate, many people–including Republican elected leaders–have chosen to ignore the obvious because it doesn’t gel with their personal biases. In fact, Orrin Hatch (invisible glasses) has even stated that if trump has committed a crime, he doesn’t care. Kevin McCarthy has said, “if campaign violations is a crime, then we’d have to prosecute a number of people in Congress” (not exactly a statement that builds trust or faith in our elected officials). As a consequence, trump supporters (Cult45 and MAGAts), tend to believe the menace because he tweeted, “totally cleared the president. Thank you,” after the sentencing memo dropped. Why? He didn’t read the memo to discover he was referenced in it. And because of his ego and narcissistic tendencies, he would never admit it anyway, at least not publicly. Word on the street has it–he’s totally unnerved by the findings, but since his supporters only watch Fox News, they’ll never know the truth of the matter because–they’re not interested in truth, just in finding news that supports their thinking.

Someone on Twitter earlier today suggested that we go back to the Fairness Doctrine where all sides are presented in the media so then the consumer would be able to make wise decisions about the news. In theory, it sounds good, but wouldn’t it make more sense to educate the public in how to recognize credible sources of information? First of all, the consumer of information has to “want to know truth” in order to recognize it when it’s being told. How do we determine truth? What are the facts/evidence supporting what is reported? Who collected the facts/evidence and what is their reputation/credibility? What is their motive in collecting the facts/evidence and in the subsequent reporting? If the person presenting the information has extreme biases about what they’re presenting, can they really be objective in their perception of how the consumer will either receive or reject what they say?

Then, we have to take into account the “place” where the consumer of information is when they either hear or see certain types of information. On a good day, when everything is going our way, we can be a bit cynical about some of what we hear, but on the other hand, if we’re already soured about events surrounding us, we tend to only want to hear those things that encourage our being sour on everything. It’s human nature! It’s what we do!

Right now, many (not all) of us only want to hear the very worst about trump because it serves our purposes in knowing we were right about him all along. But are we right? Did we miss something in the process of wanting to be right? It’s possible, but that’s not the purpose of this article. I’m simply pointing out the fallibility of human nature and the fact that none of us are always right or always wrong. We’re simply human beings with biases developed over the course of lives. Sometimes, we’re wise enough to look deeper–see the details and change our perspectives, but that doesn’t happen too often. When we have hardened views on almost any subject, we’re only inclined to listen to those people who build pillars to support our views, rather than listen to those who deliberately challenge us to widen our horizons and hone our views based upon the facts/evidence we discover.

Today, we live in such a divided society that no matter what one person says (Democrat or Republican) they are judged because of stances they’ve taken with or without justification. We can move our society to a better place if all–everyone–regardless of party affiliation would simply take the time to *research* information, determining whether it is credible or not, analyzing the motivation behind what we use, before drawing any conclusions about any presented information.

Now, I’ll admit–I have some favorite news outlets and most of them will actually support my biases. However, when I hear things that don’t sound credible–I research–and I don’t care who said what. I’d rather take the time to research the information before spreading lies, creating undue animosity–which is what many people do. I know trump supporters don’t like the fact that *he lies* consistently, with no purpose at this point because we all know, he lies. The problem is–one day–he just might tell us the truth (though he and truth have no relationship) and no one will believe it because he lies. I encouraged him over two years to have someone read to him, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” I don’t think he ever read that or had anyone read it to him.

The really sad part is, he never read about Pinocchio either. His comprehension skills, to say the least, are negligible.  The proof of that statement is available in a video clip of him, “tossing a coin” to determine which team did what (Army vs Navy last weekend), but he took that literally. The “coin toss” is actually, flipping the coin, but he didn’t understand that and made a fool of himself and as a result, social media lambasted him. But I digress. The point of this is to encourage others to understand the need to research information from a variety of sources before we decide how we feel about it or spread it to others.  If we’re going to read or listen to *conservative* views, we might want to sprinkle enough information from the other side to come to a logical, rational conclusion. I’m reminded of the nonsense that was spread by conservative outlets about Hillary and the Parkland Students–created because of conspiracy theorists who had no evidence on which to base or promote their fraudulent theories, but they promoted them anyway and many gullible people, swallowed them whole.

Non-credible sources include: Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Tomi Lahren, Tucker Carlson,  Jeanine Pirro, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Common Dreams, New York Post, Fox News (Entertainment) Network, or anyone who cannot or will not provide facts/evidence to support what they say and that includes Jerry Falwell, Jr. Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker, or Paula White or a multitude of other Evangelicals who lied to their congregations when they told them, “God chose trump to be president.” Where’s the evidence? Are they operating on feelings? Is it based upon The Word of God? The Character of God? Do trump’s actions align with the Word of God?

What the Evangelicals won’t tell people is how they have contrived for years to find someone who will do whatever they want done–under cover of the White House–for an exchange of money–the almighty dollar that speaks volumes for those who are greedy and corrupt. And yes, I’m calling out the Evangelical Community that lied to people and is still lying to people. They do not know God, or His Word, or His Character. If they did, they would not have told people God chose trump. It’s just that simple and that can be researched and proven by trying to align trump’s character and behavior with The Word of God.

But we know, the lying Evangelicals won’t tell people the truth, because they don’t want to admit their fallibility as human beings because to them, being a Christian means you can never be wrong. The reality is, being a Christian really means–we try to live like Christ–admitting our shortcomings, recognizing we’ll never be perfect and always seeking Him to guide us in all things. And when we “think” we’ve heard Him speak to us, we can prove it by aligning what He says to us with what He’s already said in His Word. God is not a man that He should lie or change His mind about What He’s said or the Purpose for which He said, anything.

God knows just how imperfect we are and the fact that we’ll never reach perfection as long as we are in a position to “choose” what we say or do. When we fall short, we acknowledge it, seek forgiveness and guidance and keep it moving, until the next time and there will be a next time. It’s what happens to fallible human beings–we are true to our nature.

 

 

How Misplaced Hope Blinds

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down–this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies.  With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Yes my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock , my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.” Psalm 62 NIV

We all have hoped for things that were just out of our reach or have blindly placed our hope in people, only to be disappointed, time and time again.

We are reminded in The Word, that our hope cannot reside in things or people, “some may trust in horses and chariots, but we shall trust in the name of our God.” Only when we trust in God, totally and completely can our hope attain its goal.

Therefore, once we understand that hoping in people is futile, we can see beyond the blinders and face reality. There is no hope for this country if we depend upon its current leadership to retain its position on the global stage. That knowledge was reinforced on 7/7/17 when we witnessed (some of us) a meeting between trump and Putin (the initial meeting and handshake), and then later learning that trump caved–being “honored to meet” the person who attacked our free and fair election process. Putin played trump like a finely tuned guitar–stroke, by stroke–arousing his ego to the point of blindness.

Anticipating trump’s reaction to this alleged, “first meeting,” I posted a thread on Twitter and pinned it so all who care to dispute what I said won’t have a problem finding what I said.

Body language says it all. With the initial greeting–the handshake and pat on the back (reassuring Putin that he–trump was being obedient) was telling for all who were observant. While trump sat anxiously awaiting their “time alone” Putin was relaxed and acknowledged–intentionally or unintentionally–their “finally personally meeting.” Now, some could say I was deliberately attempting to make something out of nothing, but from everything I’ve discovered about Putin–he understands the import and impact of words–they matter. He wanted the world to know and especially Russia to know–he and trump had been communicating for some time. In fact, I’ve concluded the entire meeting was choreographed by Putin so he could make sure that his wishes were being followed. We are in the throes of being absorbed by Russia and its autocracy since trump doesn’t have the balls or backbone to stand up to a tyrant. And it would appear that the GOP Congress is also missing balls and backbone to address the situation and to remove the traitor from the Oval Office.

Anyone hoping trump will become “presidential” is blinded by their refusal to see the reality playing out in front of them. He may hold the title, but he is not the president of the United States when he undermines and bashes American intelligence officers and our Free Press–disavowing any acknowledgment of our Constitution. 

My hope–is in Jesus Christ–and Him alone and I trust Him to guide me in all things. I know Everyday Americans are smarter than those who were gullible enough to vote for trump in the first place, and they’ll research and discover the plausibility of supporting me, as the next president. I’m not asking people to have hope in me, but to have faith in their own judgment and relationship with Christ as they ponder supporting me.

 

Foolishness!

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the store cities of Naphtali. When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work.Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah. At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people. 2 Chronicles 16:1-10 NIV

Does anyone see the parallels from the past to the present other than me?

No matter how hard we try to leave God or His Word out of what unfolds on a daily basis, when we look–diligently–we find there truly is nothing new under the sun. The same wicked attitudes that prevailed in the hearts of those who turned from God (or never knew Him) exist today.

Despots–never have enough and are also willing to make deals with the devil. They don’t care about ruining a nation’s resources as long as they get what they want–attention and praise–but it all fails and God’s truth reigns.

Let’s see:

Who’s building a wall and is the wall to keep others out or us in?

Who owes megabucks to another despot who has no qualms in oppressing or killing people?

Who has incited provocation by another despot simply to create a distraction from an investigation in their involvement with the 2016 Election fiasco?

Who will not listen to those who present truth and instead relies upon those who will only tell him what he wants to hear?

God is not fooled by any of the nonsense and when it is all said and done–the truth will be revealed and those who dare to defy God and mistreat and misuse His children, will get their just reward. For The Word tells, “we will reap what we sow.”

For all the falsehoods and lies proclaimed against Hillary–we see now that the #WHidiot was merely projecting onto her that which resided in him.

He is the corrupt one.

He is the liar.

He is the warhawk.

He is the one who made money from the masqueraded attack on Syria that accomplished nothing.

He is the unstable one and unfit to serve the United States in any capacity unless he’s serving time in prison for all the heinous acts he’s committed.

He’s also the one who lacks stamina (a claim he constantly lodged at Hillary) and can’t get through a month without retreating to one of his golf clubs.

And with all the negative “Tweets” lodged at President Obama, we see further evidence of what he projected about himself. Yeah, he’s very “instinctual.” He’s not very “presidential” and no matter what he does–he won’t be.

But foolishness doesn’t stop with him–it continues on the back of those who supported him in the election and those who refuse to uphold their oaths in Congress. They, too shall know the wrath of God when they are “unseated” never to be seen in a public office ever again.  His base supporters will discover they voted against their own interests, if they have not figured that out, yet. The biggest losers will be those who believed the pathological liar about–non-existing good jobs with good pay, repealing ACA (hatefully known as Obamacare), re-opening coal mines and lowering taxes. Instead we get the decimation of everything established to protect the consumer.

If taxes are lowered–there will be no funding for schools, the poor, the undereducated, the veterans who served this country well, the seniors who worked most of their lives to support the governmental path, and the military will suffer when taxes don’t exist to pay for the costly results of an idiot. The only way, our country survives and thrives is for the most wealthy to pay more taxes so the needs of every citizen are met.

To do things any other way would be pure foolishness. But then–that’s what fools do. But don’t believe the one telling the truth–like Asa did and got angry instead. Anger will not repel God’s truth or prevent the inevitable from disobeying.

Demonstrated Love!

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans5:6-8 NIV

That’s how God demonstrates His love for us, but how do we demonstrate our love for others? Are we to die for them–in an attempt to make ourselves seemingly more spiritual? No, there is no further need for a sacrifice by the death of anyone to demonstrate love to anyone.

We demonstrate our love for God, by living a life that is pleasing to Him.  We know how He wants us to live by reading His Word and when know we have pleased Him because of our relationship with Him.

We demonstrate our love for our children by always providing them with wise instruction, correcting and disciplining them along the way. We make sure that all their physical needs are met–appropriate housing, food and clothing. Buying them whatever they want, whenever they want it, is not a demonstration of love, but a demonstration of not knowing how to love since real love–cannot be purchased.

We demonstrate our love for others in how we treat them–considerate at all times, helpful when needed and living a life before them that demonstrates God’s love for us. When we love others, we know we must warn and admonish them when their actions are unseemly–or ungodly. We don’t allow those we say we love to continue on a dangerous path and say nothing. If we warn them and they ignore us–we have served our purpose, but if they heed the warning, they are saved from tragedy and God is pleased.

We demonstrate our love our spouses, by what we do for them, not just in saying words. Words are good–everyone likes to hear, “I love you,” but words without action fail to adequately represent what love is. I’d rather see love in action than hear words–with nothing behind them. The reality of love between spouses is not a feeling, but a commitment–to stay the course–no matter what. Our feelings are too fickle to rely on since one minute–we’re elated and the next–we’re depressed, oppressed, angry, and all out of shape. Emotional reactions seldom cement relationships of any type and in a marriage–they are prone to ignite other issues–that would not exist, when love is demonstrated because then, we know how to step back from a situation and think before we act.

As long as human beings are capable of emotions that run rampant, we’ll have songs of love and songs of hurt and betrayal, but the most important thing any of us can do is to see the love God has for us, and do as He does.When we love as He does, we’re quick to forgive and keep going, as we are guided by Him.