Like An Old Tree

Like That Old Tree

Jonah

In autumn the geese call together
On the wing.
With the chill in the air we know
What the season change will bring.

I look up and wonder
Before slumber frees my spirit to soar
Shall I depart, the season over
My time done here.

As I grow older the cold bites deeper
Seasons and time don't wait.
Shall I take relief with friends a-flight
Or shelter in with dry wood.

Sight returns to my level
Where I see an old tree.
Rooted and high
In company and content.

It's time is not done
More seasons will it to share
Majestically, facing the weather
Fearing not that would strike it down.

With feet planted on the soil
My spirit reaches for the Light
Earth and this place are home now
The seasons are meant for me.

Like that old tree.

P.S. I can be happy visiting.

CALL ME A DREAMER

CALL ME A DREAMER.

I can't be the only one who senses that a shift in consciousness is occurring in society concerning political events.

Democrats, yes folks on the LEFT are awakening to fact that the President is being ruthlessly and even criminally attacked and harassed.

It is becoming painfully apparent that there is horrendous corruption in our Government and with the Deep State, coupled with lies in the media, all directed at removing Trump from the White House.

The tables are turning. Truth is breaking out. The culprits and liars are being exposed.

I expect that key inside witnesses will soon find the courage to speak up and expose the culprits in our government and the mainstream media. Credible witnesses will feel compelled as citizens to call out the biases and cover ups.  No doubt there will even be some knowledgeable criminal conspirators making plea bargains with US Attorney Durham to save their asses.

Democrats' trust will be shattered. They have been brainwashed and genuinely believed what the conspirators and fake news wanted us to believe about Trump. Ordinary citizens, Democrats, will come to find that they are victims. Victims in a different way than Trump and his supporters whom they vilified for three years, but victims nonetheless.

Democrats have giant shocking revelations coming to them. It will be very difficult for people who hate Trump to accept that Trump has been the target of an illegal conspiracy the likes of which Americans have never seen. But the evidence will be so overwhelming that even CNN, MSN and all the Mainstream media will have to report it and acknowledge their failure to expose it much earlier.

One revelation will be that the Mainstream media didn't just get it all wrong. They were actually complicit and aided the criminals by supporting their story, covering up facts and refusing to report news that would have corroborated the claims by the Right. Democrats ought to be terribly angry!

The reckoning is just beginning. A giant iceberg is about to smash into the American psyche when the investigations by AG Barr, IG Horowitz and US Attorney Durham come to light.

The sinking feeling which will come over Democrats when they have to face the truth will frighten them. They will realize they have been betrayed by the conspirators and their news people. Democrats won't know who and what to trust anymore.

The truth about Russia hoax and Ukraine that is coming out will rock our nation to the core. It will call into question everything about our government and the "press" that we thought we could believe. It will destroy confidence in America's greatest institutions, such as the FBI, DOJ, DOS, our intelligence services and even Congress, and of course the press.

Their faith broken, Democrats will feel like lost souls.

UNTIL all is lost for Democrats, the Right should continue to fight with everything we have got.  However, ONCE all is lost it is NOT a time for people on the Right to gloat or add insult to injury.

When our fellow American's spirits are crushed by the TRUTH, it is time for us on the Right to embrace our American brothers & sisters and remember what binds us.

We must go forward as Patriots to rebuild trust and mutual respect. We must remake America in the image and vision that our Founding Fathers had. We must pull back from Partisanship as President George Washington warned us to.

We need to rediscover the American spirit. A nation founded and designed by brilliant people with a profound distrust of government and powerful a passion for individual Liberty and an exceptional appreciation for self accountability, work ethic and ingenuity.

We need to recognize that America is a Covenant nation that put it's Trust in God, NOT politicians and government. We must renew our morality based on Judeo-Christian values. Pardon the expression, but we must make America great again.

This is not America's first time dealing with a terrible conspiracy! At the time in 1776 and until today, very few people are aware of the "first conspiracy" to prevent a Presidency.

In early 1776, George Washington  faced our nascent Nation's greatest threat. It wasn't the massive flotilla of British Ships waiting in the NYC Harbor to put down the American Revolution. The greatest threat was a giant Tory conspiracy, involving the Mayor of NYC, the Governor of the NY Colony, soldiers inside the Continental Army and even his closest aids, including his personal guards and his personal home assistant!

Because Washington could not trust anyone once the plot was uncovered, it had to be investigated by a tiny set of great lawyers and famous patriots. (Perhaps you've visited Livingston Manor estate or heard of John Jay.)  These men actually had to develop America's first complex code language in order to communicate so their highly important investigation wouldn't leak out.

The very people that George Washington should have been able to trust were conspiring to kidnap or kill him in order to destroy the chances of the American Revolution. The conspirators would have smitted the few canon his troops had just as the British were launching their massive assault. The American cause could easily have been lost!!  Even George Washington believed it was Providence that exposed the conspiracy, saved him and enabled the Revolution to succeed.

As the line goes in the play Hamilton,  the Continental Army was "out gunned, out manned and out planned."  As the Indian Chief who watched George Washington fighting with the British against the French at the Battle of Onegehella famously said of Washington, "This Man cannot die." The Indian Chief, his adversary, believed that the spirits were watching over Washington and that he was destined to lead a great Nation.

When a person beats all the odds, to achieve something historic, one might wonder if it is more than a coincidence.

DESTRUCTION AND REBIRTH.

FAITH IN PROVIDENCE: TWO KINDS OF TRUMP SUPPORTERS

FAITH IN PROVIDENCE

There are two types of Trump supporters. One that worries that he will be impeached and another that doesn't.

Of the those who don't worry that Trump will be impeached there are two reasons why they don't worry. One is that they have faith in our justice system. The other is that they believe Divine Providence has a hand in matters.

If one says that we are living in crazy times, most folks on all sides, would agree.  If one states that there are efforts to deceive the public taking place, folks on the Left, Right and Center would second that. If one says that there is evil and good in the world, I suspect most could go along.

But the moment one ascribes Divine Providence to any of it, that is when 80%+ of folks would say you have gone too far.

I appreciate that many people think it is nonsense at best to think that God is involved in our national politics, let alone in picking Presidents. And I am certainly not saying that our votes don't matter!

But I do believe Divine Providence played a part, a large part, in America.

My faith is strengthened by the our Nation's role in history and the words of our the greatest General and President in our history, George Washington.  Washington truly believed that this experiment, we call the USA was possible due to “that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect.”

In his inaugural address George Washington said, "No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."

I am not saying that a Democrat is an evil person or that a Republican is a good person!!  I am not saying that America doesn't do terrible things. It doesn't work like that!  "God works in mysterious ways."

But I am saying that Donald Trump is no coincidence.

The following is a famous poem by William Cowper from 1773 called "Light Shining out of Darkness."  Mr. Cowper was a witness to the history that shaped our Nation. The metaphors expressed in his poetry seem deeply relevant still.

Light Shining out of Darkness

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sov'reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding ev'ry hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow'r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

LIKE MOSES

AOC IS ESPOUSING A COMMUNIST MANIFESTO.

Ocasio-Cortez: "We need an, uh, uh, a United States that really, truly, and authentically, is operated, owned, and decided by ... all people in the United States of America"

AOC is essentially describing and promoting the core beliefs of communism.  The revolution AOC seeks is very much like the Communist revolution. Both aim to put the working class in power and in turn establish social ownership of the means of production. 

Given that intersectionality is so pervasive on the Left you wouldn't think that Bernie Sanders, a near 80 yr old white cis-male would be her favorite.  But it makes sense. Because AOC's primary political philosophy is communism. Bernie has praised Communist leaders and spent his entire career in politics promoting Socialism.

AOC is a classic case of ignorance and misguided thinking.  She is the product of a ruined educational system that has been saturated with radical Leftist ideology and then has exploited it's position to spread narrow beliefs through a captive body of students whose minds are vulnerable to brainwashing. The system has blocked Conservative views and silenced Conservative voices. The descent is not allowed to represent in the environments where opinions like AOC are being formed and hardened.

Many like AOC and her teachers have no belief in God. They have substituted Government and the ways of Man.  For them, morality is derived from government. Their philosophy is the antithesis of the vision of our Founding Fathers who believed America trusted in God.

Whereas AOC puts her faith in the Central Government, our Founders distrusted government so much so that they risked their lives, property and legacy to give us LIBERTY.  Then, having secured it, in order to preserve it they formed a more perfect union. They brilliantly codified their "great experiment" by fashioning our 3 separate branch system of governance and our US Constitution.

At the very core of what our Founders sought to do was to PROTECT the People from the Government - and from fools like AOC and Bernie who would throw it all away!

George Washington warned future Americans of times like these in his Farewell Letter.

Like Moses who knew he would not be able to see the Promised Land, Washington knew he would not see this day himself.
Like Moses who was warned by God that the people would transgress, Washington was divinely inspired to warn the people.
Like Moses who wrote down a Song for the Israelites to bring them back to the Torah and the ways of God, Washington wrote a letter to bring Americans back to the Constitution and back to a moral code that is rooted in the belief of God.

We have gone down the very mistaken path that Washington foresaw nearly a quarter millennium ago. We are the "Divided House" that the Bible and Lincoln warned of.

Like Moses, George Washington showed us the way back.  With God's approval we shall find it!

AMEN.

HE LEADS!

TRUMP'S CRITICS SAY PULLING USA TROOPS FROM THE SYRIAN BORDER WITH TURKEY CAUGHT THE MILITARY OFF-GUARD. REALLY?

I CALL BULLSHIT!

Before I even say why I call "bullshit," why are we supposed to listen to:
- military experts and politicians who have given us endless wars?
- who have created hell on earth and chaos in Libya.
- who caused ISIS and wasted trillions of taxpayers dollars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan?
- who said moving our embassy to Jerusalem would be a disaster?
- who trusted Iran way more than we should have?
- who have let American taxpayers pick up the tab for being the main defense for our allies around THE WORLD!!

CAUGHT OFF GUARD IN SYRIA?  I DON'T BUY IT!

Aside from the fact that Trump campaigned on ending endless wars, since 2018 the president has indicated over and over that he wants U.S. forces out of northern Syria. The Pentagon knew this and has had nearly two years to develop plans for when the president would make good on his vow.

Since 2018 there have been reports in the press that the U.S. military has slowly been implementing a drawdown of U.S. troops in Syria in anticipation of the President's final order to remove the remaining forces, said to be 38 soldiers.

What’s more, for all of the talk of having been taken by surprise, the Syrian Kurds were somehow able to get Bashar al-Assad’s forces (along with the Russians) to intervene on their behalf against Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria—in less than 24 hours. Some surprise, eh?

The permanent national security state was not caught off-guard by President Trump’s order to evacuate from northern Syria. The Pentagon has known for nearly 18 months this was coming!  So if there has been a lack of planning and preparation the Pentagon should do it's own internal analysis for why that is.

The military was not caught off-guard. It just had people like Mattis and Bolton who didn't support the President.  But guess what -- there is ONE COMMANDER IN CHIEF so they are out!

President Trump is not an isolationist!  He has meet with more foreign leaders in the White House and abroad than any President. He has developed personal relations with leaders across the world, friend and foe.

President Trump is a pragmatist and a businessman who is learning how to be a politician on the job.  He thinks outside the box and operates in unorthodox and less traditional ways.

Trump's enemies love to say he is "unpresidential," as a pejorative, however, one of the keys to his success is his unpredictable and politically incorrect nature.

There is one undeniably Presidential aspect of Trump though.  HE LEADS!

THE HYPOCRISY OF HIS ADVERSARIES IN POLITICS AND THE MEDIA IS GREATER THAN THE TRUTH.

WHEN THE ENTIRE HEBREW NATION WENT CAMPING TOGETHER

I have written 237 posts since I began my blog in February 2011. Now and again I look at the rolled up data on page views.

I find it interesting to see which posts got the most views.  I can't figure out why any article out performs others.  There are too many factors, so I would be speculating.

Nonetheless, I find it fascinating to look at this list. Of course for me the list has tremendous meaning because I know the story behind each post just from the title.

Each post is an observation - a deep dive.  The mere decision of what to write about is in itself a reflection.

It is so easy to go through life with one day rolling into the next and not taking a moment to meditate or contemplate.  I don't believe that was the case before electricity and even more so before candles and lamps when we lived by the light of the moon and campfire at night.

I suspect humans did much more deep contemplation when we sat by campfires.  That would be the time when we conceived of the scriptures and oral legends began.  Perhaps in the silence with just the light of the stars and the moon and a campfire we were closer to God.  Consider how the cycle of the moon would have so much significance at that time.

In many respects it is much easier to appreciate the Jewish lunar calendar than our Gregorian calendar.  Such are the ways of Man. 

On Erev Sukkot, the evening at the beginning of Sukkot (The festival of booths) these thoughts are particularly relevant.  This is the moment God COMMANDED us to not just remember - but to re-live. We are told to build a temporary hut and experience being outside under the stars, just as our ancestors did when the fled Egypt and stayed the first night in place called Sukkot in a sukkah.  Or another way to look at it, when the entire nation went camping together.

That first night of freedom must have felt both profoundly liberating and exceptionally frightening.  

In "the first" post I wrote I explained the reasons why I was beginning my blog and what I hoped to gain from doing so. Looking back at it, I am satisfied with the results.  I will keep it up.

POUR OUT A FULL HEART

I hope you can relate to my full heart . . . A heart so full of love that it must overflow. 

My wife and I have two children. They gave us three grandchildren - 1, 2 and 3.  We are still counting. 

Forgive my bias.  Our grandchildren are the sweetest, cutest, funniest and brightest little ones in the world.  But I am not biased. 

I watch them. I play with them. I read to them. I talk with them. I hold them. I think about them.  I do whatever they need me to do. I am their Saba.

I love when they get excited to see me. I love when they call my name, Saba. I love when they want me to pick them. I love when they give me hugs & kisses hello, and cherish their goodbye hugs & kisses.

I dream for them. I see them at 7, 11 and 13.  I start to become a bit sad when I see them much older when I am much older and they are starting to slip away because I am starting to slip away.  Then, my heart is still filled with love. 

Being a grandparent may be the best "being" there is. Being a husband is great. So is being a father and an uncle and a boss and leader. But being a grandparent is the best "being" for me.  

It is pure joy. There is no "but." There is never a doubt. There are no trade offs. Nothing feels like a sacrifice when it is for them.  There is no tinge of regret.  No offsetting negatives.  Being a grandparent is pure joy. 

Grandchildren fill my heart. I can pour out my love and it never empties.