"Trump, the Faux Photo, and Lincoln Vs. Trump"

This blog is comprised of two Facebook posts I made about the President recently...

---FROM THANKSGIVING DAY: 

Today I'm THANKFUL FOR THIS GUY RIGHT HERE. Somebody Photoshopped his head on my body (Okay, so it's STALLONE'S body, Circa 1982...fooled ya) and the internet is in an uproar...."Trump is FAT!! Trump is not FIT!! This is not true!!" But they're missing the point...Trump is loved because he's a ***FIGHTER***, people...and THAT's what this conveys. Of COURSE the President is not in "perfect" shape like this....neither is STALLONE ("Rocky") anymore, by the way!!

Trump is loved by so many because we sense he is fighting FOR America with greater fervor than Obama fought AGAINST America for 8 years. Is Trump "perfect"?? Certainly not, and he's got issues in many ways that are NOT just physical. But ONE thing his heart is right about is that HE LOVES AMERICA and I, as an American, am grateful for HIM. I'm amazed that, with all the unfair abuse he gets, he'd even RUN for a second term!! And I pray that he WINS. Trump 2020!!

---FROM TODAY:  REGARDING A POLL WHERE REPUBLICANS SAY TRUMP IS A BETTER PRESIDENT THAN LINCOLN...

'Tis hard for me to go against the man whose birthday I share (Lincoln), but I have to agree with this!! Lincoln presided during the Civil War, but TRUMP has had to follow the disunifying influence that OBAMA had for 8 years,...I just don't think ol' Abe could have taken the heat, fought and stayed the course.

LINCOLN WAS A REFEREE.

TRUMP IS A FIGHTER.

I just hope Trump doesn't wind up being assassinated like Lincoln, because the Dems will NOT remove him by impeachment and they still haven't accepted that he won the FIRST time, what will they be capable of when he wins a SECOND term, in a LANDSLIDE??!! Trump 2020!!

"Outrageous!! AMAZON Labels Nativity Story As 'Fictional' "!!

Now that THANKSGIVING is over (hope you all had a great one), please read this link to learn the latest about THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS....https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2019/11/15/war-on-christmas-amazon-labels-nativity-story-as-holiday-fiction/

So the Nativity Story...the account of the Birth of Jesus Christ...is now...FICTIONAL??!!

I mean, if whoever designated this book as Fictional doesn't believe Jesus is Who God says He is...namely, His SON sent to save us from our sins...God IN THE FLESH...well, that's sad, but they're entitled to their opinion.

But it's MY opinion that they are WAY off base by labeling the book as "Holiday Fiction."  

Jesus was, in fact, a historical figure, if nothing else!!  He really lived and died, and even if you don't believe He came down from Heaven before His miraculous Birth through a virgin, you can't deny He was BORN.

And, you may not accept that He rose again from the dead, but no one can credibly deny that Jesus died.

He was not "fictional." HE LIVED AND DIED. He was, and is, REAL. If this Nativity Story was about SANTA CLAUS then at THAT point we can call it "Holiday Fiction."

TOM SAWYER is fiction.

EBENEZER SCROOGE is fiction.

SUPERMAN is fiction, and so is SANTA.  But Jesus was a real, historical figure, if nothing else.  This book should be in Amazon's Religion section, not their Holiday Fiction section!! Amazon would never insult MUSLIMS that way by saying that the one THEY worship as God is or was fictional...why are they insulting CHRISTIANS??

Which leads me, in closing, to the cover ABOVE.

The book pictured above is presently the ONLY one I have for sale on Amazon (two more are on their way SOON, Lord Willing.) It's about my first wife who ACTUALLY, FACTUALLY LIVED AND DIED, and I don't know who made these decisions (it wasn't me) but the book is for sale on Amazon in four categories; 1.) "Religion and Spirituality," 2.) "Christian Families," 3.) "Christian Dating and Relationships" and 4.) "Social Issues and Christianity."

So how is a book about HER SAVIOR in the "Fiction" section unless it's indeed part of the "War on Christmas" which is attempting to bleed away the REAL meaning of the last (and best) holiday of each year??

Beth is WITH Jesus now and forever and if she knew what Amazon is doing, she'd wish they could know just how real Jesus Christ is. 

"Thursday Is Not Just Thursday. It's THANKSGIVING!!"

There's a scene in the very first "Rocky" movie where (as I recall) Adrian and Rocky were ice-skating on Thanksgiving night.  The broke and busted-up Rocky Balboa says something like "For YOU it's Thanksgiving, Adrian.  For me, it's just THURSDAY." 

And sadly, the punch-drunk pugilists' mindset reflects the mindset of MANY as Thanksgiving approaches again.  "It's just Thursday."

As Paul McCartney sang in quite another context, "It's just another day," regarding what used to be a SACRED holiday, a time of THINKING OF THANKING God in a special, concerted way for his many blessings.

And, for the most part, those who DO see the third Thursday in November as special now often consider it special because it's "Turkey Day," or a day just to watch football, or (more recently) "the beginning of Christmas." Soon, they'll have to be honest and say Thanksgiving is now the MIDDLE of The Christmas Season and the last day in their way before BLACK FRIDAY, when the floodgates open and all of America's Covetousness spills out.....sometimes trampling our fellow human beings in the process.

By nature, we fallen sinners don't LIKE to be thankful...which is why we NEED Thanksgiving to be PRESERVED for its original intent.

In sequels to the "Rocky" movie, The Rock expressed thanks to God MANY times.  One example is from "Rocky II" where Adrian, now his wife, came out of her coma. Also, he was thankful to God after their child was born and after he won the Championship Belt, and on and on and on. (I'm sure Thanksgiving Day was no longer "just Thursday" for The Italian Stallion after all of THOSE good things happened!!)

Yes, Rocky LEARNED to be thankful to God but the fact is, he should have been grateful the very night he said "it's just Thursday" to Adrian.  SEE, IT WAS HIS FIRST DATE WITH A WOMAN HE LIKED VERY MUCH, AND PROVIDENTIALLY HE HAD JUST BEEN SELECTED TO FIGHT THE WORLD CHAMPION FOR THE TITLE THOUGH HE WAS A NOBODY.  Frankly, instead of Thanksgiving being "just Thursday" to him, it should have been the greatest Thanksgiving of Rocky's life, to that point.

What's MY point?? Let us look hard to find the things WE can be thankful to God for, this Thursday...Thanksgiving Day!!  Are we alive?? Can we see and hear?? Can we get out of bed?? Are we FREE?? Do we have food to eat?? On and on and on.  In the movie, Rocky was blessed with much more BEFORE he was thankful but in real life, God doesn't usually give us more until we appreciate what we have.    We should be thankful EVERY day but let's begin this Thursday...this THANKSGIVING, if not BEFORE, even.

"The Music of Amy Grant"

Today is Amy Grant's 59th birthday, and it made me realize how thankful I am for some of her music over the years!! God has used to lift me up at times in my life when I was really SAD.  Allow me to elaborate.

When my daughter was a "tween," around 1991, she got me "into" Amy as I desired to strengthen the bridge into her world with her TEEN years approaching.  I took Jenna to several Christian concerts, nice "daddy-daughter dates," and in fact we saw Amy Grant live 5 times together over the next seven years!!  I began to REALLY like Amy's music in '91 when she crossed over into POP (I didn't have a problem with that as some did, because she wasn't throwing off her profession of faith, just seemingly trying to bring the message to new audiences instead of "preaching" to the "choir.")  THIS (below) was her 1991 album...

And then I went back to get Amy's PREVIOUS album, from '88, which is one of my all-time favorite albums DESPITE the boring COVER, Lol!!  (See below)...

But it was in August 1994 that THIS album (below) came out, just as my grandfather was pronounced terminally ill.  I listened to it to distract my weary mind as I made countless trips, two or three times a day, to the hospital to visit Grandpa and the album COMFORTED me.  And when my wife and I took Grandpa into our house to die under Hospice Care at the very end, I can't explain it but the themes and songs from "House of Love" encouraged me that WE were loving Grandpa by taking him in to OUR house...and that God was most pleased.  Sounds far out?? Maybe. "You had to be there," I guess!!

Anyway, Amy's 1997 album wasn't as uplifting. Rumors were going around that her marriage to Gary Chapman was on the rocks and she and VINCE GILL were an item though HE was also still married (they did a duet on "House of Love," and, from what I understand, that's where the affair began).  Around 1998, to add MORE controversy, Amy's newsletter said she was thinking of recording John Lennon's "Imagine" and I wrote her to voice my SERIOUS objection (she never recorded it, but eventually Amy gave the song "(I Can Only) Imagine" a huge boost, instead)!! Then, around New Years Eve of '98 I heard she was divorcing Chapman and I was REALLY upset with Amy. You see, Chapman's 1999 album, "Outside" (as if he was "Outside" the "House of Love") contained a song which could easily be interpreted as saying that Gary, the author, was "done wrong" by Amy. And when Amy married Vince in 2000, I swore her off....even writing a letter to "World" magazine, which they published, to that effect!!

However, a Facebook Friend, CASS, who is like an adopted daughter to me, is a HUGE Amy fan and through HER influence primarily, about a decade later, I was able to "forgive" Amy and started listening to a few of her new songs.  Oh yeah, I forget all the details but Cass and I imagined Amy as a superhero, "The Unguardian," and I drew Amy in a superhero outfit utilizing designs from her album "Unguarded" and "House of Love." Cass subsequently SAW Amy in person and had her autograph my art....see copy BELOW!! (Cass has the ORIGINAL.)

I am really glad that God used Cass to help me check out Amy's music again!!  I still have problems with some of Grant's stances, though...like her position on LGBTQs which seems to support sin, but in the judgment of charity from the little I've seen of it it's just poorly worded. And again, I am really glad I got back into her MUSIC...

Because, around this time in 2016, I was going through THE saddest time in my whole life so far.

My first wife Beth, of almost 38 years, was terminally ill and plus Christmastime is ALWAYS a bit sad for me because my unsaved DAD died on Christmas Day, 2009.  If you've ever lost, or been in the PROCESS of losing, loved ones in The Christmas Season you KNOW how tough it is....everybody around you is in The Holiday Spirit and YOU are alternately happy and SAD.   Well, I bought Amy's newest (at that time) album and it REALLY ministered to me because it had a blend of BOTH happy and sad songs, unlike OTHER Christmas albums.  Once again, THE MUSIC OF AMY GRANT brought me comfort from God in a way that it's hard to explain...it was like He was telling me HE UNDERSTANDS my mixed emotions. It strengthened me. Here's the cover of that album AGAIN.........

And here's a 'review" of this album which I did in the "Notes" section of Facebook (that was before I started this BLOG.) Thank you Amy for ALL of the great music, and Happy Birthday!!

https://www.facebook.com/notes/chet-jelinski/chetitorial-in-defense-of-amy-grants-new-christmas-album/10154277351843196/

"Rick...A True Friend"

Two days ago, I found out I lost two Facebook Friends, and I'm sad about it. Both were Christians so I call them both "Brother."

Brother #1, RICK (pictured above)  is someone who, I just learned, died suddenly in May 2018....during my Honeymoon. I can be forgiven for not knowing Rick died THEN because 1.) My bride and I *WERE* on the road (though the news of two OTHER passings of people I knew* reached me, even then and there) and 2.) His family never ANNOUNCED his death.

But still, I feel bad that it took me A YEAR AND A HALF to realize I hadn't heard from him....we were really close on Facebook at one time. 

When I searched Rick out two nights ago, I learned he's with the LORD now. (His Facebook page is now a TRIBUTE page, that's how I learned).

By contrast, the OTHER loss was Brother #2, who, after about 15 years of good online friendship, BLOCKED me without any explanation yesterday. We had been discussing the Chick-fil-A issue three days ago (see second blog back) and my last words to Mark were "Let's agree to disagree" and he Blocked me...no explanation!! Wow!!

I was looking through my MANY private Facebook Messages with Rick since learning that he's gone, and was reminded that, in 2013, Rick was MAD at me and threatened to leave my page for something involving SOMEONE ELSE.  These things happen, friends (brothers) DO get mad at one another sometimes but they WORK IT OUT.  Rick and I talked it out honestly (as true friends do) and were even BETTER friends for the next 5 years, before he passed!! THAT is true Friendship!!

But to cut someone off with NO attempt at resolution is NOT Friendship, on Facebook OR in "real life."

And, for that matter, it's not even CHRISTIAN to dump people so casually. FRIENDS make AMENDS!! Rick sure did.

Now, I am not condemning Brother #2, by the way because *I* am not a perfect friend, as was obvious in the way I "forgot" Brother # 1. 

And I expect to meet BOTH of these Brothers in Heaven one day so THAT'S a consolation!! Also, I'm thankful I still have my BEST human friend....the one I married last year, and that I will ALWAYS have HER until the LORD separates us by calling one of US Home.

But there's a LESSON in there....more than ONE, in fact, about Friendship and how it needs to be VALUED and NURTURED. After all, Life IS short, people!!

And our only PERFECT Friend is the LORD JESUS, a friend who "sticks closer than a brother" and Who will never leave or forsake us!!!

As Thanksgiving approaches, I thank the Lord for  HUMAN FRIENDS LIKE RICK...friends who are TRUE friends, in "real life," online, and in the "here and now."  And I'm going to strive to be an even BETTER friend in the future for them, as I remember RICK.

* The two I became aware of during our Honeymoon were people I knew in REAL LIFE and actually MET many, many times over many YEARS, which explains how news of THEIR deaths reached me even on my Honeymoon.  The two Brothers mentioned in this blog were only ONLINE friends.

"Schiff-ty Hearings / The Parable of the Smelly Sneaker Spray / 'Guilt by Accusation' / JFK: 56 Years Ago Today / Sign-Stealing Scandal"

It's FRIDAY and I'm going to do some short, MINI-Blogs...




Schiff-ty 'Impeachment Inquiry' Hearings.  These hearings, led by Democrat ADAM SCHIFF, are totally bogus.  Witness after witness, when pinned down, has said they are aware of NO Quid Pro Quo but STILL the Democrats seem intent on impeaching President Trump.  If they do, a trial in the Republican-led SENATE will surely exonerate him, he will REMAIN in office and get re-elected HANDILY...but this is all an attempt to SMEAR the man because they hate him for beating HILLARY in 2016. It's "Guilt by Accusation," without solid EVIDENCE, based on hearsay and speculation. Sad.




Smelly Sneaker Spray.  Up top is a pic of my hand holding a product that deodorizes shoes.  My wife thought my SNEAKERS had an odor (I didn't smell it) and she sprayed THIS stuff in 'em and the WHOLE ROOM smells great!!  This reminds me of what happens when the Lord changes someone's life.  Usually, the SINNER has no idea how bad his or her sins "smell" but after God CHANGES the bad odor of our hearts into a sweet fragrance, it permeates the "room" and the change is obvious to anyone who comes in....INCLUDING the owner of the "shoes"!!  Someone needs to spray a ton of this in our Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

"Guilt by Accusation" Book.  I ordered the new book above, by Lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and the title explains what it's about.  I read Gretchen Carlson's book and will admit that women ARE often sexually harassed, but the other side of the coin is women who FALSELY accuse men of harassment and the men are now PRESUMED GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT.  Dershowitz himself has been accused (falsely, he says) of things and is suing his accuser (good for him!!) Can't wait to get this book and begin reading!!

JFK: 56 Years Ago Today.  Today is Friday, Nov. 22nd and I can't help being reminded of Friday, Nov. 22nd, 1963, 56 years ago today.  I wrote a tract about the assassination for the FIFTIETH anniversary, it's reprinted below (click to enlarge.)  I will NEVER forget that sad day!!

Sign-Stealing Scandal, in MLB.  Finally, these accusations about the Houston Astros STEALING SIGNS ELECTRONICALLY in 2017 are being investigated, as well they should be.  And if the 'Stros DID cheat, their 2017 World Championship title needs to be VACATED.  It's one thing to steal signs "naturally" as it's always been done, but to use high tech TECHNOLOGY to do it is strictly forbidden by Major League Baseball.  This has the potential to be worse than the Black Sox Scandal, Pete Rose betting on baseball OR Steroids, so I hope it turns out to be a hoax but I fear it IS true.  Time will tell, let's examine the evidence!!

"Real MEN do not MENstruate. PERIOD!!"

A new commercial imagines a world where men get a monthly PERIOD. Don't believe me? Check this link, there's a video embedded in it, watch it for yourself...

https://www.fastcompany.com/90412779/thinx-menstruation-ad-campaign-imagines-men-getting-periods

The way I see this, (and I admit I may be seeing it wrong because it's hard to fathom the minds of depraved weirdos like this), this ad is an attempt to make us accept as normal women who now identify as men, DRESS as men and try to ACT like men.  Such will STILL have their monthly cycle, you see, and we are NOT supposed to view this as evidence that their "transformation" is a sham.

It's attempted brainwashing, in other words.

Well, to that nonsense I say "Real MEN do not MENstruate.....PERIOD," and yes I'm trying to be funny by wording it that way!!  I trust that's not an instance of "a fool making a mock of sin" contrary to Scripture, but an attempt to use HUMOR to point OUT the sin of those who mock GOD, and the way He made them.

I will accept and try to love ANYONE God sends across my path, but I will not accept as normal this weird behavior!!  That would be ENABLING, not ACCEPTING.






"Pearl Harbor Day" is being FORGOTTEN.  I've written a lot on this blog about how our godless, covetous society is trying to skip over THANKSGIVING and focusing right on BLACK FRIDAY and CHRISTMAS because we like to GET but we don't like to GIVE thanks to God.  Well, it's not just Thanksgiving Day, but Veterans Day seems to be getting minimized each year as The Christmas Rush starts earlier and earlier and PEARL HARBOR DAY, coming December 7th, is in danger of being FORGOTTEN.

On our master calendar, Pearl Harbor Day is NOT listed for December 7th but TODAY is the "Revolution Anniversary  of Mexico" and December 12th is listed as Mexico's "Virgin of Guadalupe Day."  Why are MEXICAN holidays important for us, but now PEARL HARBOR DAY is NOT??  What about OUR history??

When I was young they used to tell us, over and over,  "Remember Pearl Harbor."

Now I know why.

The "Turkeys" at Chick-fil-A.  Usually, for those who DO remember Thanksgiving, this time of year makes us think of TURKEYS.

However, very recently the Christian fast food outlet "Chick-fil-A" has made us think more about CHICKENS.  This is not so much because their LOGO is a chicken's head, mind you but because they capitulated to pressure from LGBTs and chickened out, agreeing NOT to support Christian organizations that don't support the LGBT lifestyle anymore.  (All of this after KANYE wrote a song PRAISING Chick-fil-A, for not being open on Sunday!! It will be interesting to see how this young Christian speaks of Chick-fil-A NOW....though I think it's WAY too soon for him to be attempting to teach anybody yet....see 1 Timothy 3:6.)

Back to Chick-fil-A...yes, their logo IS a chicken but they are a bunch of  gutless TURKEYS, and again, I'm trying to use HUMOR, this time to lighten up, I hope, a very SAD situation.




(Turkey drawing by me, I did it 5 years ago for the paper. Thanksgiving Day is a week from tomorrow!!)

"New Lennon Book FAR Outshines First Version"

My new John Lennon book (pictured above in PREVIEW format) will far outshine the PREVIOUS version!! It is due to be self-published, online AND in hard copy format, in December (Lord Willing) though it's written as if it is already 2020.

This (below) is the front cover of the OLD version, from 2010, which some may remember...

And this (below) is the BACK cover of the old version.  The new one has almost twice as many pages and is bolstered with new references, etc.

The MIDDLE of the book will pretty much be the same as the 2010 version, but I've added in something at the BEGINNING and at the END, in the new version....

At the BEGINNING of the new version, here is my new open letter to John's ASSASSIN (Click photo to enlarge, if you want to read it.)

And at the END, I've added an Afterword about GEORGE HARRISON....

Additionally, there's a response to Ray Comfort's "The Beatles, God and the Bible" where Ray tried to sugarcoat Lennon's contempt for Christianity by ignoring (for the most part) his POST-Beatles lyrics and antics. Included in the book is a "new" photo of me at age 15, in 1970, when I idolized Lennon (as is obvious from how I wore my long hair and "granny glasses" as JOHN did when the Beatles split up.)  Ray Comfort's knowledge of Lennon seemed to fade when the group broke up but that's when mine really BEGAN, and so I filled in the gaps from Ray's book in this new version of mine.

I've always believed if something is going to be REVAMPED it needs to be IMPROVED, and I believe that has CERTAINLY been the case HERE!! I will notify you via this blog when my book is on Amazon.

"The Purging of Purgatory From New, Pro- Catholic Book"

Having finished my manuscript for "Winning Catholics to Christ" and awaiting final embellishments and editing, I decided to read the new book pictured above to see if we missed anything. This led to an "Afterword" to my book (which will be self-published, Lord Willing, in 2020).....

Afterword:

Addressing Karlo Broussard’s New Book “Meeting the Protestant Challenge, How to Answer 50 Biblical Objections to Catholic Beliefs”

It is no secret that Catholicism in America and elsewhere has fallen on hard times. An open letter by Catholics in very high places to Catholics in very high places accused the present Pope of “the canonical delict of heresy” last year.  It went on to say that this has created “one of the worst crises in the history of the Catholic Church,” but it’s not the only one!  You see, approaching 2020, the seemingly endless stream of sexual allegations against the Church has left many Catholics disillusioned and fleeing, looking for viable alternatives.

It’s undeniable that in the wake of the aforementioned concurrent crises, many Protestants are reaching out to Catholics and saying “Hey, Catholicism was never built on Scripture anyway.  Come with us.”  And it is no surprise, therefore, that Karlo Broussard and others are seeking to stem that exodus.  But what IS pleasantly surprising is how the BIBLE is delved into so much in Karlo’s new book!  I have never known Catholics to be so concerned with God’s Word, and I’m happy that they are.

I bought and read “Meeting the Protestant Challenge” AFTER I finished my own book because, frankly, I wanted to see if I “missed anything” before we published.

 

By God’s Grace, I didn’t.

Mr. Broussard and I mostly covered the same issues, and he writes exclusively for Catholics who speak with Protestants even as my book was written for Protestants who seek to win Catholics. But, in my opinion, and I say this respectfully, HE missed some key things when he came up with his “50 Biblical Objections” (more later on.)

Most of the book’s 50 chapters start out with quotes from official Catholic teaching documents to establish Catholic doctrines and THEN Scripture is brought in…to refute Protestants who challenge the doctrine.  As I read the book I thought “It’s too bad the doctrines don’t flow out of Scripture FIRST. The cart is before the proverbial horse.” Catholics who read Mr. Broussard’s book are thrilled because most have never been taught much of the Bible before and will therefore view it through the lens of Catholicism, instead of vice versa. But those of us who’ve been blessed with long periods of exposure to Scripture will see many inconsistencies in this book, even as we do in Catholic teachings.

Key issues in Karlo’s “50 Biblical Objections” book were not included, and should have been, but I’ll only pick one. Question: “WHY DID JESUS SPEAK DOZENS AND DOZENS OF TIMES ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL, BY NAME, BUT HE NEVER SPOKE ABOUT PURGATORY?” This legitimate question was examined in my book in one of my two, prominent chapters on Purgatory where I described it as “Rome’s Cruelest Doctrine.” But though the book in question now mentioned Purgatory, it wasn’t until page 240 and it wasn’t even given its own section, it was subsumed under Section VII” which is called “The Last Things.” I would suggest that this all-important question was not addressed more thoroughly by Broussard because there is no Scripture passage (even if you count the Apocrypha, which Karlo does) that the word “Purgatory” appears in.

So, in that sense, the question answers itself.

How the all-important issue of “Purgatory” could be virtually swept into a corner by Mr. Broussard is simply hard to understand, unless you concede that he was deliberately minimizing it.  After all, Purgatory generates untold millions of dollars of revenue for the Church each year, and is responsible for perpetual anxiety, pain and sadness amongst every Catholic to one degree or another. As “Biblical Objections to Catholic Beliefs” go, “Purgatory” is usually in the top 3 of every Bible-believing Christian I know when Catholicism is mentioned….yet it is barely skimmed over by Broussard in 2 chapters while other doctrines he addressed get between 5 and 12.

I do not recommend that a Christian bothers to buy and read Broussard’s book, I only did so for the reasons stated.  But if you do read it, you will find answers from Scripture to the key issues he raises in my book, the one which you are holding, as well as questions that Catholicism simply cannot answer honestly from the Word. If you are in discussion with a Catholic who is using Broussard's book as a reference, ask them that question above and stick with it until they concede that Jesus never mentioned “Purgatory” by name like He did to Hell and Heaven, then ask Why.  

The "purging of Purgatory" is the huge Achilles Heel of the book.

 

"Despicable, Manipulative Advertising Piece"

Got mail yesterday urging me to buy jewelry for MY LATE WIFE WHO DIED OVER 2 AND 1/2 YEARS AGO (photo above). Click on photo to enlarge and read.

Below is the actual envelope this ad came in, the only alteration is where I blocked out my address. (Again, click on the photo to enlarge and read.)

Note how this pathetic, manipulative ad NAMES THE NAME of my late wife on the outside of the envelope AND inside!!  Their plan is to hope that the WIFE sees the envelope and pressures the hubby into buying the piece for her to "prove his love."  THEY NEVER STOP TO CONSIDER THAT THE WIFE THEY'VE LISTED MIGHT HAVE PASSED AWAY AND MY NEW WIFE AND I MIGHT BE HURT BY READING THE ENVELOPE.  Thankfully, it was I who brought the mail in yesterday, not my new bride.

This piece is from the DANBURY MINT and it came to my new, correct address (which is THREE different addresses since I ordered from them), so if they can keep track of my changing locations, they can't keep track of who I'm MARRIED to now??  Seems simple enough.

Furthermore, I don't "wish" I told Beth I loved her years ago...I did tell her, every single day she was alive. But these greedy ____-__-_______ have no right top try to 'guilt" me into buying something using these tactics. It goes to show you how advertisers view consumers who are in the "Christmas Fog" that they create by moving "The Christmas Season" earlier and earlier.....but BY GOD'S GRACE I AM NOT LOST IN THAT PHONY FOG.

I immediately called the Danbury Mint's Customer Service Rep yesterday (they hung up on me the first time as soon as they knew why I was calling, but I persisted.)  The woman  I eventually talked to was very apologetic and I was as nice as could be, considering I was angry (still am, ever after sleeping on it.) But I promised her I would BLOG about this incident, so I am...writing things out helps me to calm down, you see.  (Can't you see how CALM I'm getting?? Lol) And, after advising the Rep that Danbury Mint should have their LAWYERS look over their junk mail before they send it, I then showed my new wife the ad and explained how outraged I was and how I handled it by taking initiative to call them.  We are both in shock that these people could be so insensitive.

Recently I've written here about the commercialization of Christmas and how retailers will stop at nothing to feed America's sin of  Covetousness.  This despicable, manipulative and harmful advertising is just one more example of that.  In the past week or so, I've also written about uncaring, unreliable and unethical people whose actions affect others negatively.  Again, what happened yesterday is just another instance but it combines elements of "all of the above".  Do you suppose everyone's premature preoccupation with Christmas has ANYTHING to do with this "anything goes" mentality??

................I think you know what I think about THAT one, Lol!!

"Where is Merry Clayton??"

Before I go to the main question of this blog, "Where is Merry Clayton?", perhaps I ought to ask and answer the question "WHO is Merry Clayton?"  Because Merry Clayton, admittedly is NOT exactly a household name for many of you who read this blog regularly.

So let me save you a trip to Google and say the following. Merry was born 70 years ago on Christmas Day, which is how she got her first name, and she has been a sought-after BACKUP VOCALIST on the records of many famous singers (Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, Elvis, etc.) Her most notable performance came 50 years ago when she did the duet with Mick Jagger on "Gimme Shelter." Merry, gifted with an AMAZING voice, then recorded a few albums on her own without much commercial success.  25 years ago this very month she released a CHRISTIAN album, "Miracles" (shown above) which I absolutely adored but like MOST music I really like, THAT didn't sell too well, EITHER (Lol). 

All of the thoroughly Christian songs on "Miracles" were written by Merry's longtime husband Curtis Amy who passed away in 2002, and Merry hasn't recorded any NEW stuff on her own since "Miracles."

In 2013, however, Merry appeared as herself in the acclaimed documentary "20 Feet From Stardom."  This great movie was about gifted backup singers who never make it big on their own and I watched it with great interest.  I was happy to see that Merry STILL spoke a bit about the Lord almost 20 years after "Miracles," but then the "Best of Merry Clayton" album came out that same year and it didn't have any songs from "Miracles," (which surprised me a bit, to be honest.)


And now we come to the question "WHERE is Merry Clayton."

Five years ago, 2014, Merry was in a very serious car accident and, sadly, lost both of her legs.

Since then she has publicly thanked God that she still has her LIFE (she could have been killed in the accident) and her VOICE, and she vowed to continue glorifying God with BOTH...even without her legs..

However, except for a VERY few instances where she did backup vocals for others, Merry still  has not recorded much and still has NOT done another SOLO album since the accident.

Man, I would just LOVE to hear her voice on ANOTHER "Miracles"-like record...just to hear her openly praising God again with that tremendous voice WOULD be a miracle!!  As Charles Spurgeon said in my devotional reading this morning,  "NO STARS GLEAM SO BRIGHTLY AS THOSE WHICH GLISTEN IN THE POLAR SKY; NO WATER TASTES SO SWEET AS THAT WHICH SPRINGS AMID THE DESERT SAND; AND NO FAITH IS SO PRECIOUS AS THAT WHICH LIVES AND TRIUMPHS IN ADVERSITY" ("Morning and Evening," this morning's reading.)  Where IS Merry Clayton, spiritually-speaking?? IS she overcoming, by God's Grace, the DEVASTATION and pain from her loss??  In my opinion, she's missing a tremendous opportunity TO glorify God and perhaps to even achieve REAL stardom at age 70 because she has an unmatched BACKSTORY now to go with an incredible RESUME....she could inspire MILLIONS with a testimony of how God has given her strength.  As for the "real stardom" part, okay, perhaps as she draws closer to eternity that doesn't mean much to her anymore but I, personally, would LOVE to have the opportunity that Merry Clayton has now to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.  What she does and doesn't do is between her and God..."to her own Master she stands or falls"...but wow, if you ever hear "Miracles" you may understand why I am SO excited for the opportunity she now has.  That's all I'm saying.

So, where IS Merry Clayton, I wonder?? I hope she is well and whatever she does or doesn't do with the platform she can possibly have, I wish her God's blessing. I just want to see Him bless MILLIONS through HER!!.

"Are We As Free As We Once Were?"

Today is Veterans Day, and I am sincerely thankful to all of those who served and sacrificed to keep America free. I might not be able to share the following opinions, were it not for the brave men and women that we honor today!!

But all day long I've been thinking about two questions.  1.) Is the America of today what so many fought and died for? And 2.) Though we ARE still free, are we as free as we once were (spiritually speaking)?

I think the answer to both questions is NO, based on the way our nation is going downhill spiritually.

And, there are three major "culprits," three sins America seems ENSLAVED to, which are responsible for our declension over the last several years.  Here they are.

1.) UNBRIDLED COVETOUSNESS.  If you regularly watch TV like we do, (any channel that has commercials), you've hopefully noticed, and been upset, that Christmas-y commercials have been airing for about two weeks now.  Bad enough when they started doing it before THANKSGIVING in recent years but now it's happening before VETERANS Day, even!!

More and more, our society doesn't want to honor those who make the freedom we have POSSIBLE (Vet's Day), and we don't want to thank GOD Who has blessed us with such bounty (Thanksgiving), but we just want to advance to "Covetousness in the Name of Christ," which is ALL Christmas is now to these people, and it's sickening. The Madison Ave. advertising people were apparently upset that Thanksgiving (which is somehow now become "the kickoff to Christmas" instead of a separate holiday, like it once was) is LATE this year (Nov. 28th...last year, it was Nov. 22nd.)  So, they started EARLIER THAN EVER plugging Christmas and "Black Friday Sales"...and it troubles me to see even professing CHRISTIANS going along with this materialism.

2.) THE LUST TO ABORT BABIES.  When soldiers came home from VietNam 50 years ago, many were called "Babykillers" because of what happened in My Lai and other places. Yet, how many of these "hippie-crits" who slandered our Vets are now DEMOCRATS who support legalized abortion-on-demand?? Abortion IS "Babykilling," people!! Why is it okay now that we kill AMERICAN babies, in the WOMB?? Since 1973, Roe v. Wade, we have been engulfed, more and more, in a Culture of Death in America. And it troubles me to see even professing CHRISTIANS going along with this by their supporting of the Democrat Party. The propagation of Abortion is one of the DISTINCTIONS of the Democrat Party, you see....and Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were its champions.

And, 

3.) THE PROMOTING OF THE LGBTQ "PRIDE" AND LIFESTYLE.  Did you know that, in many places in America, there are now TWO WHOLE MONTHS devoted to celebrating the sin of Homosexuality?? (June and October.)  Yet only two DAYS, Memorial Day and today, EXCLUSIVELY honor our Vets.

We've become The Land of the Freaks and the Home of the Gays, people.  I am not advocating HATING or PERSECUTING the LGBTs, mind you, but why on earth are we (mostly the DEMOCRATS) PROMOTING this sin??  And as with the other two sins, our ACTIONS reflect our current, godless PRIORITIES.

America as it is today, I daresay, is NOT the America many fought and died for in the past.

And we as a people are NOT as free as we used to be, spiritually speaking.

We need to RETURN TO THE LORD and repent of our national sins of unbridled covetousness, the lust to abort babies and the promoting of the sin of LGBTQ "pride" and lifestyle. It was not this way in America only a few decades ago!!

"Movies That Will Try to 'Resurrect The Dead' "

A new movie will attempt to bring JAMES DEAN (pictured) back from the dead to be its star. This is very creepy, especially considering that Dean died in 1955 and the movie is about VietNam, which occurred AFTER his demise...

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/celebrity/james-dean-set-star-new-film-through-digital-resurrection-horrifying-n1078051

For the longest time after I became a Christian (1975), I couldn't watch movies starring dead actors.  The new awareness I had that the deceased are either in Heaven or Hell was prominent in my mind to the point that I thought "WHEREVER this actor is, he or she regrets wasting the time to MAKE this piece....so why should I waste precious time to WATCH it?"

SOME new Christians give up watching certain movies for OTHER reasons....THAT was MINE, believe it or not.

Extreme?? Maybe.  Mind you, I've moderated over the years to the extent that I'm ABLE to watch old movies with dead actors now...for the most part. (Still can't watch "Rocky V," which used to be one of my favorites, since the very tragic deaths of Tommy Morrison and Sage Stallone, however. In that case, though, it's HOW they died which hurts me to the point that I can't re-watch that movie yet.) But I still believe that dead former actors (who, Biblically speaking, are either in the glories of Heaven or pains of Hell now) REGRET wasting time on earth  to make movies.  It's just that, pardon the pun, I've learned to "live" with death better.



However, I am totally against this new idea Hollywood has to use footage of dead actors from PAST movies, via CGI wizardry, to create starring roles for them in NEW movies....as if they never died.  Hey, it's one thing the way they have preserved images of dead people in movies already filmed.  It's quite another matter to exploit those images, via technology, to create NEW films.  You see, EVERY movie becomes "The Walking Dead" in that latter scenario...but then again way Zombie TV shows and movies are so POPULAR these days, hey, the concept might be a big hit.

Not with ME, though.  (I hate Zombie movies.)

And I'm not the ONLY one who is against exploiting dead actors by "making" them "come back to life"!!  I'm sure LIVING actors will object, because which of the male stars today could compete with a resurrected JOHN WAYNE, for instance?? Since he died 40 years ago NO ONE has taken Duke's place.  And, though I personally don't think MARILYN MONROE is beautiful a lot of the Hollywood actresses TODAY would not want THEIR movie competing against a new one with "her" in it, in the near future.

Here is one perspective I will NEVER outgrow....MAN IS INCESSANT TO "BE LIKE GOD," WHETHER THAT INVOLVES TEST-TUBE DESIGNER BABIES (while the Bible makes it plain that GOD designs each one of us in the womb) OR TRYING TO BRING THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE, AT LEAST ON THE SILVER SCREEN (Scripture teaches that God ALONE can resurrect the dead.)

Modern man seems to think that just because they "can" do something they "should" do something, but man can never "be like God"!!  It was tried, back in the Garden of Eden, and just LOOK at all the pain Adam and Eve's sin has caused.

And for THAT reason ALONE, movies that try to resurrect the dead are NOT okay with ME...and never will be.

"The Unreliability Epidemic"

I'm possibly getting HIRED to give my OPINIONS!! Yes, this is my 304th blog, and in each one I have given my opinion about things for FREE.  You can understand, then, why I'd jump at the chance to get PAID to give my opinions, right?

Here's what happened.

A local legal firm is hiring people for a half a day only to simply GIVE THEIR FEEDBACK on real, pending legal cases....as fake "jurors."  This helps them determine the strength of their lawyer's arguments, etc. before going to trial.  For this "heads up" they pay $100 PLUS "light food and beverages" (Lol) and you have to consent to being FILMED (no problemo.) I find it ironic that a private business offers MUCH higher compensation to be a "fake" juror than the COUNTY often offers to be a REAL one!! I also found it interesting that the first qualification listed for this job (BEFORE being an American citizen, "able to read and understand English" and having a clean criminal record, even) was "MUST BE DEPENDABLE AND RELIABLE."

Wow.

Just this week I've had two examples of eminently UNreliable workers, you see.  And it helps me understand why dependability and reliability are so VALUED by these lawyers.

First, I went to have an oil change at the Dealership, on Monday.  Though I scheduled this appointment last week and the Dealer confirmed me TWICE, when I went there on Monday the service lady said "I wasn't in the computer."  She decided to squeeze me in ANYway (Monday mornings ARE very busy), but as she's signing me in she's trying to aggressively upsell me on extra service I did not want or need...as if she had credibility, or something!!

I tried to graciously tell her I'm not interested, but she kept pushing...I felt like saying (but I didn't), "Lady, you guys didn't even have me IN your computer today, now I'm supposed to believe your computer when it says I need so-and-so, or else it's the end of the world?"  But the kicker is that as I'm sitting in the waiting room, killing time as they're doing the oil change, and JUST the oil change, a secretary FROM THE SAME CAR DEALER CALLS MY CELL, SAYS SHE'S SORRY I MISSED MY APPOINTMENT AND ASKS ME IF I'D LIKE TO RESCHEDULE.

You can't make this stuff up, people!!

Then, on Wednesday, I went to get a haircut and diligently showed up at 8:30 am so I could be FIRST (I'm a busy guy, you know.) My barber shows up TEN MINUTES LATE and the first thing she does is start saying how she wants to go home early that day (leaving at 4:30, instead of 5 pm.)  It probably would have left a better impression if she APOLOGIZED, first, to the four of us guys in line who had OUR schedules involuntarily altered because of her tardiness, rather than blurting out how SHE wanted to alter HER schedule for HER own reasons.

These are just SOME of the ways folks today are unreliable...and if you've read this far, you've no doubt thought of your OWN examples. People who are unreliable get me upset  (can you tell?) because I had my own service business for 35 years and I was ALWAYS prompt and reliable...it is SO easy to be that way, if workers would just TRY.  My wife had someone mess HER up this week, TOO and I said to her that it's an "Unreliability Epidemic"...but where's the VACCINE??

It's no wonder that the local legal firm values dependability and reliability so much. These traits are so RARE these days, sadly.

In closing, it's not "for sure" that I'll get hired to be this "fake juror" for a day.  I would LOVE to do this because we watch the show "Bull" each week and find it fascinating (they ALSO use the "fake juror" system). I had to fill in an online application, and the legal firm will let me know in ten days if I'm acceptable to them or not.

But what IS for sure if if they hire me, Lord Willing when I give them my opinions and feedback on December 14th they'll get their money's worth from a guy who won't forget the date and who WILL be on time!!

"Warning!! Seemingly Small Errors May Have Big Implications / Reflect Laziness"

Yesterday, my wife and I went to a local, free event for Veterans.  We knew in advance about the wonderful BREAKFAST and encouraging SPEAKERS we'd partake of, but we didn't know about the Certificate of Appreciation she'd receive, as well as a Door Prize and other gifts!!  Ironically, in my devotions earlier in the morning, I had been reading Proverbs, about how the virtuous woman should be publicly honored by her husband (Proverbs 31:28-31.). And though *I* wasn't the one showcasing her at this event yesterday (last time I praised her publicly was in this very blog on Oct. 28th), I was happy to SEE her being recognized and appreciated!!

The biggest surprise of all, however, was when a local TV station INTERVIEWED Mercedes!! She did very well in the interview, of course but the one BLEMISH on the event was when the reporter spelled our last name wrong, switching the "J" for a "G" (see photo above.)

See, the reporter, in her excitement and haste to FILM, did not double-check with my wife by reading back the spelling Mercedes gave her.  And, as I say, this was the ONE blemish on an otherwise perfect event.

Shortly after that, my wife and I went to VOTE as it was ELECTION Day.

And in the area where you sign in, there was a handwritten note, put there by the powers-that-be, announcing which "DISTRICK" (not "District") should sign in at which table.  This embarrassing mistake could have been prevented if the person who didn't know how to spell asked for help, or, if one of the OTHER workers was diligent enough to help them CORRECT the erroneous sign.

It's really pathetic when a high-school dropout like me can spell simple words that College grads CAN'T.

Finally, last night, I learned that a local restaurant's new PLACEMATS (with our church's ad on it) had an error in the printing of our website address.  As one of the Deacons who voted to approve the expenditure of the money FOR this advertising piece, I feel bad....ESPECIALLY because no one from our church was allowed to PROOFREAD the thing before it was printed!!  This PROBABLY would have prevented the error!!

In conclusion, regarding the first case, the mistake was only a BLEMISH.  In the second instance, the "small error" was only an embarrassment.  But in that THIRD case, what if that one wrong letter in the printing of our web address directed people to a website that our church would....definitely NOT want to be associated with??

Seemingly "small errors" may have big, BIG implications, and DO reflect laziness on the part of those who make them.  TAKE TIME TO CHECK THE DETAILS, especially if you're in a position of being "in charge" of something!!








Here is the video clip containing my wife's interview...http://fios1news.com/news/honoring-local-veterans-toms-river/?fbclid=IwAR3BOuBsOz9ZSzGO90veZWqLtWWBLIcdu_SF8EWSgLaY8_CGMH6_fna0Wb8

I appear in the background at times, such as when I'm sitting next to Mercedes (in screenshot above)....

"STRASBURG!!"

I've already admitted to hoping my Yankees would get Astros' free agent GARRETT COLE in the offseason (see my Oct. 22nd post.) But I wouldn't mind get World Champion Washington Nationals' pitcher STEPHEN STRASBURG, either!!

The man went 5-0 in the postseason and was MVP of the World Series....what other reason do I need??  How about THIS.....he SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT when some tried to make it look like he dissed President Trump....


https://www.foxnews.com/sports/stephen-strasburg-trump-white-house-world-series-washington-nationals


It was GUTSY of him to straighten out the deception.


LIKE COLE, Strasburg wears a beard but I hope the Yanks will WAIVE their no-beard policy and GET this man!! He can PITCH, he can pitch under PRESSURE and he seems to be a stand-up guy.

"Re-Instate The Draft!!"

Saw this meme on Facebook today and it made me think...SHOULD we re-instate a mandatory draft in this country??  A little HISTORY here...

Back in the 60s when I was a teen, you could be DRAFTED at age 18 but you could not VOTE until you were 21. The war we were engaged in at the time (VietNam) was very unpopular with MANY (not all) younger people, and so was this system which said that an 18 year old could not VOTE for which President might or might not be their Commander-in-Chief, if and when they were drafted.

MOST young men served their country honorably, as best they could, but others fled to Canada (or TRIED to), to avoid the draft.  (I, myself, did NEITHER....I was never drafted and I never FLED.) By the way, ***Thank You to ALL who fought for their country and endured much unwarranted abuse when they returned home...IF they returned home ALIVE, that is. We owe you a debt we cannot repay.***

Back to the HISTORY part.  At some point, young people had the voting age LOWERED to 18 so they could at least vote on who their President might be if they were drafted...but then the mandatory DRAFT was done away with!!  It's now VOLUNTARY, and you don't see these kids who can't bear the thought of moving out from mommy and daddy signing up to go OVERSEAS!!

The result is we have (as the meme says) snotty-nosed kids able to VOTE for the future of this country, but not required to SERVE it in any way now.  And, mind you, these spoiled brats are much DIFFERENT than the WORST of the young people from 50 years ago!! Stupid as some of us WERE at age 18, we were at least smart enough to know there were only TWO genders, for example. You looked between your legs and you figured it out, unlike these confused dummies TODAY.

Most (not all) young people today are LOST today, not just spiritually but MENTALLY, sad to say.  There are exceptions, but AS A RULE these teens today would fail a basic intelligence test if they had to take one BEFORE they voted.  Take away TECHNOLOGY and ENTERTAINMENT and, like Sgt. Schultz from "Hogan's Heroes," they know "Noth-ink."

Let's wrap this up.

IF THE VOTING AGE IS GOING TO STAY AT 18, FINE.  Personally, I think making young people wait to vote till age 21 again would be a better idea, but I fear that will never happen again because the Democrats DEPEND on naive people (like MOST, not all 18 year olds are) to keep them in business.

BUT IF THE VOTING AGE WILL STAY AT AGE 18, LET'S BRING BACK A MANDATORY DRAFT FOR 18 YEAR OLDS.  As the meme says, let's teach those kids about LOVING our country (instead of HATING it) and WHY we are free!!  Let's get 'em OUT of those Liberal colleges where they are being indoctrinated to hate this country and its heritage and INTO a structured, disciplined, military situation where MAYBE they'll learn some things their hippie parents aren't teaching them.

You see, MAYBE if  we'd re-instate the draft many of these traitors-in-the-making would flee to CANADA, and make AMERICA a better place, by doing so!!

" Bravo!! New 'Harriet' Movie Makes Case For Freedom-Loving Citizens Having GUNS"

I / we DEFINITELY want to see the new "Harriet" movie, which goes nationwide today!! I've long been an admirer of hers, have even written a few POEMS about her (they're not that great, otherwise I'd reprint them HERE but if you search through my "Writing from Whiting" Facebook page, they are in there.  SOMEwhere.)

Harriet Tubman is well-known and admired, I hope, by ALL of us.  She led slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad and she is a heroine of LIBERALS, in particular.  Liberals, of course, also hate freedom-loving citizens having GUNS, which creates an interesting situation because the movie ACCURATELY shows Harriet carrying and using them.

Of course the Libs see nothing wrong with Tubman using guns against WHITE people (Lol) but the fact is, guns GET and KEEP us free!!  When the powers-that-be have them and you DON'T....you're a slave no matter WHAT color you are. And the reason Conservatives will KEEP guns is because we see this Government becoming JUST LIKE those slavemasters Harriet fought against.  

Above: The film about Tubman from 2 years ago showed her with an axe AND a gun, and Liberals, keep trying to enslave US and you'll see the same vicious resistance against you that you clearly ENDORSE in these Tubman films.  What you don't realize is that most Conservatives AREN'T racists....we won't HATE Harriet, we will EMULATE Harriet if you keep pushing us by taking away our freedoms....because you will NEVER take away our GUNS.

The wife and I might wait till "Harriet" comes to DVD to view it but frankly, I don't see how it could top Cicely Tyson's "A Woman Called Moses" (1978.)  In it, SHE played Harriet with a gun!!  Nothing more beautiful to me than a strong woman WITH one!!  Now, It's been a year this month since I've "disowned" Cicely Tyson because of the way she lied all of those years, but I still love her portrayal of Harriet "Moses" Tubman.

HERE is why I disowned Tyson last November....http://chetitorial.blogspot.com/2018/11/thank-god-for-things-he-didnt-give-you.html

***************************************************************

And speaking of my POEMS, as I did at the BEGINNING of this blog, this is the poem I sent in to the paper to accompany my new drawing....

And THIS (below) is how they MISPRINTED the poem, UNDER the drawing. (Click to enlarge, then read the butchered poem under the bird.)

How LAZY can they be?? All they had to do was CUT-AND-PASTE!! It would have fit IF THEY DIDN'T ADD IN THE BUTTERFLIES, Lol!! 

Sigh....