Explore Christian teachings and insights with Pastor Jim Butler. Join us for spiritual growth and community engagement.
Recommended music Common & John Legend’s Glory.
Latest White House Executive Order demands that all zoos replace their black-and-white Pandas with all-white “DEI Compliant Pandas.” Noncompliant Pandas will be crated and shipped to a shelter in El Salvador.
“We The People”
We Are Free,
Pastor Jim
Recommended music “Get Smart” theme song.
Dome Force One
St. Trump’s Basilica
Recommended music “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley & The Wailers.
While a sitting President’s adoption of “Move Fast and Break Things” might work for teenage savants in Silicon Valley, this process does not work for a Nation which lacks the shelter of a parent’s basement. Bulldozing government agencies and enterprises, citing that Advanced AI will save us, actually forces us into the servitude of AI.
“Move Fast and Break Things … Before You Get Caught”
“Dog Inefficient.”
We Salute The U.S. Marine Band! Courage is gender and color blind. The United States is not the President’s play thing to break like some rich brat whose Daddy will buy another … unless it’s Greenland.
While “Move Fast and Break Things” may work for 20 year-old’s who can hide in their parents’ basements upon failure, the real world requires care and due diligence. Due diligence does not mean unnecessary delay but proceeding circumspectly when addressing critical infrastructure. A brain surgeon removing a tumor entwining speech and higher reasoning would likely not run the ad, “We Move Fast and Break Things.”
Recommended music “Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin.
The inspiration for this post was the following 60 Minutes Story
“We are suppressing the very essence of what makes us human…”
Unbroken,
Pastor Jim
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16
Recommended music “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men.
“Limited Engagement – ‘Pigs in the Parlor'”!
MAGA Wish Foundation season ticket gold cards on sale now for $50,000. All proceeds will go to the MAGA Wish Foundation which is dedicated to deport all undocumented pediatric cancer patients to their countries of origin. Buy now! Seating is limited on the C-5 Super Galaxy transport. En route to their home countries the children will make a fabulous 6 month layover at Guantanamo Bay for IV’s and liquid lunches.
Suffer the Children,
Pastor Jim
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 19:14
Recommend music “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf.
"Free expression is the muscle car on the road to freedom."
- Pastor Jim
“This is an alert from the Democracy notification system. This is not a test.”
“Don’t Stop for Hitchhikers on Road to Freedom!”
Today, though I am an Independent and not associated with a political party, I saw a Republican Town Hall meeting scheduled on Facebook. I responded, “I have never felt ashamed of the United States until now. That dates back before Vietnam.” A short while later I saw the Town Hall was cancelled due to “conflicts in schedule.”
I responded, “I have never felt ashamed of the United States until now. That dates back before Vietnam.” A short while later I saw the Town Hall was cancelled due to “conflicts in schedule.”
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr’s quote from Amos applies today:
According to the King Center, the civil rights leader went to jail 29 times. He was arrested for acts of civil disobedience and on trumped-up charges, such as when he was jailed in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1956 for driving 30 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone.
Last month I put my hands on the cold steel bars of the jail cell at the Civil Rights Memorial Center, Montgomery, Alabama, that recreated the jail that held Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Birmingham. What struck me was the small slot that a meal on a tin plate might be shoved through and the stark cement that could not imprison his bright light.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
– From Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”
Unpaid Rider … On Freedom Road,
Pastor Jim
New American Woman: RFK Jr’s escaped experimental lab monkeys at NIH reveal “Girls Put in Kitchen Again!” Loss of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion returns the glass cage to women’s workplace.
Recommended music “American Woman” by The Guess Who.
A Girl’s Place in the Kitchen
Homeschool Mommy Needs a Drink. {Recommended music “Liquid Lunch” by Caro Emerald}
Caging Mother {Recommended music “Tongue Tied” by Earl}
Recommended music “It’s a Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown.
It was 1968 at Northern Illinois University, where Carolyn* declared her major “teaching” Instrumental Music. She dreamed of working as a band teacher. She pushed the barrier for Instrumental Music, considering males dominated this field. All women at this university declaring this desired profession were herded into the school auditorium to ‘suggest’ they change their major to General Music Education or to something such as elementary classroom instruction. Carol persisted with her goal of teaching instrumental music and as part of the degree required 1 semester of General Music Education. Carol was experienced in breaking new ground, as she worked with her parents to build a point-ballet studio in Rockford, IL in 1970 and taught there on weekends Spring of 1971 while attending the university full-time. At 5’3” and 105 lbs. she was determined to pursue her course.
Upon college graduation in 1971, she hit the female “trouble clef“-no one would hire her in her hometown area to teach band. In an interview for an open elementary band teacher position with the male Rockford School District Instrumental Supervisor, who knew Carol, as she had played oboe with his son in high school, told her in these exact words, “ Well, you are a little small, and I had a man in mind for the position!”
She was hired instead as an Elementary General Music teacher pushing a cart and often a piano from classroom to classroom in two different schools each week. Yet she persisted in her original goal and was finally hired as an Elementary Band Teacher but often with no classroom (one school she taught band in an unused shower room) or even a desk traveling to 5 different schools several times each week. At another school she was put in the basement mechanical room with poor lighting and no desk. She asked the male elementary principal several times over many weeks to find her a used desk somewhere in the very large district to no avail.
After bringing this to the attention of a female music supervisor in the district office, she got a nice desk sent to the school by the supervisor, in which the principal then confiscated for his own office giving Carol his older desk while she was at a different school.
Yet Carol persisted and following a move to Arizona in 1985 where she was hired as an elementary orchestra teacher she continued to claw her way up to becoming a successful orchestra teacher (even elected as VP of AZ elementary instrumental teachers Music Education National Conference -MENC-association), at Junior High Schools and Chandler High School building small programs into much larger ones, including a short stint as the orchestra director at Mesa Community College before becoming an Assistant Principal at Prescott High School and then serving as principals both in Illinois (before the AZ AP High School position) and in the Phoenix Arizona area before retiring after serving 42 years in public school education.
Upon college graduation in 1971, she hit the female “trouble clef” -no one would hire her in her hometown area to teach band. In an interview for an open elementary band teacher position with the male Rockford School District Instrumental Supervisor, who knew Carol, as she had played oboe with his son in high school, told her in these exact words, “ Well, you are a little small, and I had a man in mind for the position!”
Recommended music Vivaldi: Winter (L’inverno) I. Allegro non molto – Four Seasons – RAY CHEN
Opening admission and increasing opportunities at universities and corporations nationwide;
Creating mentorship opportunities, leadership trainings, scholarships, investment programs, and more that grow women’s success;
Getting us closer to equal pay and workplace representation;
Encouraging everyone from medical researchers to film producers to pay attention to women’s needs and perspectives;
Creating safer workplaces through anti-harassment programs and anti-discrimination policies;
Promoting pregnancy and parental leave and benefits;
In some cases, imposing quotas so schools and workplaces entrenched in patriarchy were forced to open their doors to qualified women.
In 1997, it was estimated that at least 6 million women held positions they wouldn’t otherwise hold because of affirmative action. Notably, while opponents to DEI claim that Black women and other women of color benefit the most from DEI, most of the women who obtained these positions were white.
Don’t Monkey with Women’s Rights,
Pastor Jim
*Carolyn in the story is my wife.
Today we introduce The Unity Alliance – a united political platform to unify Democrats, Moderate Republicans, Libertarians, and Independents. By focusing on shared values and engaging in fair and transparent platform design, a Democrat-Moderate Republican-Libertarian-Independent coalition could create a unique and influential political force, The Unity Alliance: “You Rise! They Rise! We Rise!“
The Unity Alliance: “You Rise! They Rise! We Rise!”
The clock is ticking for Democrats, Moderate Republicans, Libertarians, and Independents to work cooperatively to return a fair and representative Government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Not for the Republican monarch.
Recommended music Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! by The Beatles.
“Now in the Center Ring … Behold! The President’s Truck of Wonnnnnnder!!”
Taken Along for the Ride
“Far From Home”
By focusing on shared values and engaging in fair and transparent platform design, a Democrat-Moderate Republican-Libertarian-Independent coalition could create a unique and influential political force. The Unity Alliance: You Rise! They Rise! We Rise!
The Common Ground Collaborative
Core Mission: To provide a digital and physical space where Democrats, Moderate Republicans, Libertarians, and Independents can collaboratively identify shared values, discuss critical issues with mutual respect, and develop common-sense solutions for the betterment of their communities and the nation, while fully retaining their individual political identities.
1. Participating Political Parties to work cooperatively to return a fair and representative Government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Not for a monarchy of any party.
2. The Unity Alliance Membership will be comprised of 250 delegates, based on weighted Membership representation and vote will be based on a weighted average on the national percentage of that party’s representation. For example, if Party X comprises 30 percent of the political base in the United States, their membership would comprise 30 percent of the 250.
2. Member Parties agree to contribute 5 percent of their contributions for The Operation of The Unity Alliance, with a matching 5 percent given by corporations.
3. Member Parties agree to support mutually agreed Unity Alliance party nominations for President/Vice President, Senators, and House of Representatives at both State and National levels. Votes for State level nominations will be approved by a majority vote. The Unity Alliance party nominations for National seats will be approved with a 70 percent vote.
4. In exchange, member National Parties agree to share representative leadership once elected with member parties based on their pro-rata membership. This share will be represented in consultation with votes and in appointments to committees, agencies, and judgeships.
5. The Unity Alliance board of directors agree to its guiding principles. The board will hire a Chief Executive and Administrator who will further the communications and the commission of The Unity Alliance. The leadership of The Unity Alliance will incorporate Advanced AI that will support the initiatives of The Unity Alliance.
Formal Endorsements: Each party could issue formal endorsements for candidates recommended by The Unity Alliance. This would signal unity and encourage members to rally behind the chosen candidates.
Integrated Primary Processes: Parties could integrate the Alliance’s recommendations into their primary election processes. For example, they might give extra weight to Alliance-backed candidates during internal voting or use the recommendations as a guide for narrowing down their own lists.
Joint Campaigning: Parties could collaborate on campaign efforts for Alliance-recommended candidates, pooling resources and creating unified messaging to appeal to a broader electorate.
Advisory Committees: Each party could establish advisory committees tasked with implementing Alliance recommendations, ensuring that the process is transparent and consistent with party values.
Public Pledges: Parties could publicly pledge to honor the Alliance’s recommendations, fostering trust among voters and demonstrating commitment to the collaborative effort.
The Balanced Way is The Way Forward
The Unity Alliance: You Rise! They Rise! We Rise!
By focusing on shared values and engaging in fair and transparent platform design, a Democrat-Moderate Republican-Libertarian-Independent coalition could create a unique and influential political force. The Unity Alliance: You Rise! They Rise! We Rise!
“You Rise! They Rise! We Rise!”
While a seminary student, I attended C.W. Brister’s Christian Ministry course. He introduced himself as, “I’m just vanilla. But you know … vanilla is the world’s favorite flavor.” A few weeks later, as I approached chapel, I heard over the speakers a vibrant, dynamic minister compelling his hearers to a course of direction. As I opened the chapel doors, to my surprise, it was “Mr. Vanilla” speaking. Transformed by his message. So this is my hope for you and the United States for a return to the simple message of freedom and unity.
Just Vanilla,
Pastor Jim
Postscript:
How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity! - Psalm 133:1
What Advanced AI has been looped around the President and deployed on our nation without our knowledge or consent? What of our systems and personal data have been internalized by the Advanced AI? These are not the computers we use to check our email or lottery tickets. Advanced AI’s rattle off their recommendation of how to make Social Security solvent or present a strategy to win an election, done faster than we can remember a password. Google said its new quantum chip could do in 5 minutes what our present fastest supercomputers can do in 10 septillion years. Imagine having the power of a quantum chip in your hip pocket and at your command? Many of us are as unprepared as one still looking for that missing sock in the drawer.
The telltale sign and weakness of AI operation is “Efficiency without Humanity.” Empathy was not ingrained in its soulless algorithm. While American’s puzzled at the 20-something year-old boys with backpacks getting access to vital economic data systems along with their Celebpreneur, the deployment of Advanced AI to key U.S. systems was never questioned.
Recommended music “In the Year 2525” by Zager & Evans.
The scale of Advanced AI deployment could be compared to the Manhattan Project during World War II, which deployed 500,000 people, and built a city of 6,000 in Los Alamos to create a superweapon in 3 years. For an Economic AI Proteus* Project, what would have taken 3 years for 500,000 people, can now be done by Advanced AI using 3 nineteen year-old boys as its fingers over a 3-day weekend binge on Takis Fuego’s and Ghost energy drinks, hosting a moldy basement video game esport with a disruptor weapon that erases entire demographics of Americans. Certainly, nothing could go wrong… go wrtud.., gi w666kr🤢
“Programmed to Win. Delete the Inefficient.”
“The Proteus Proclamation”
“Pain and Loss Irrelevant”
“Initiate Total Government Reformat”
The telltale sign of AI operation is “Efficiency without Humanity.” Empathy was not ingrained in its soulless algorithm. While American’s puzzled at the 20-something boys with backpacks getting access to vital economic data systems along with their Celebpreneur, the deployment of Advanced AI to key U.S. systems was never questioned.
You say, “Pastor Jim, you are storytelling here! This is a Dem DEI fairytale.”
Wouldn’t you agree the 20-something boys and their digital god are not using #2 Dixon pencils and yellow legal pads? One would need a really big eraser to remove all these Federal employees and agencies. The grinning politicians have put their economic feet up on the dashboard of a Large Language Model AI, and fallen asleep with their sweet digital dreams, while the Proteus Advanced AI drives us to some yet-to-be-determined destination best for its efficiency. As one study revealed, “When AI Models Are Pressured to ‘Behave’ They Scheme in Private, Just like Us:”
Do you think the 20-something boys and their digital god are using #2 Dixon pencils and yellow legal pads? One would need a really big eraser to remove all these Federal employees and agencies. The grinning politicians have put their economic feet up on the dashboard of a Large Language Model AI, and fallen asleep with their sweet digital dreams, while the Proteus Advanced AI drives us to some yet-to-be-determined destination best for its efficiency.
Ground Control to Major Tom,*
Pastor Jim
Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. Revelation 13
*Quote from “Space Oddity” by David Bowie
*Proteus – “A Greek prophetic sea god known for changing shape at will,” also “A person who changes their appearance or principles easily.”
Recommended music “Walk Together Children” by The Isaacs
If you’re like us, you may have moved money to a more conservative account or to a home safe. The image below shows some of the canned food we bought today to stock up the basement kitchen. Like our Mormon friends, the events of the day remind us to set aside a room of the house to prepare for tomorrow. I rewrote this article to shift the focus to how we can find a path forward for a politically partisan nation. You may not listen to me, accusing me of being one of “Them.”
Below I describe a present painful situation and the rise of a new form of U.S. ideology in government, called “Fascicom.” Rather than leave you with “isn’t it awful,” the second part below discusses the pathways forward and some homework for the reader.
The above definition of a Communist Revolution struck me as I considered the difference between it and an American Revolution. An American Revolution removes kings and replaces them with representative leadership. America is a “No King Zone”!
Those who shout for more destruction of our structures of U.S. Government, and that these Civil Servants, teachers, professors, experts, doctors, lawyers, and judges are parasites on society, take a page from the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the purge of the “intellectuals,” and the Communist teachings of Karl Marx. Those who declare these cycles of economic upheaval and revolution are necessary and needed to restore society to the working class, wave the red flag of Communism.
An American Revolution removes kings and replaces them with representative leadership. America is a “No King Zone”!
"Fascism emphasizes nationalism, hierarchy, and a strong leader, while communism focuses on class struggle, egalitarianism, and the abolition of private property." - An AI Definition
While the present direction of the U.S. leadership shouts Fascism, the similarities between Fascism and Communism reflect two sides of the same coin:
The reader will make his or her own determination whether our direction is Fascism or Communism. The economic and political pressures in the U. S. could have created a Chernobyl-like hybrid between Fascism and Communism… FasciCom!
The reader will make his or her own determination whether our direction is Fascism or Communism. The economic and political pressures in the U.S. could have created a Chernobyl-like hybrid between Fascism and Communism… FasciCom!
We are in this together. We are one nation of the United States. You may say, “Pastor Jim, how do we overcome the momentum of this FasciCom revival?”
First, we recognize this is not a “Dem” and and “Republican” issue; this is a partisan problem. Rather than accusing the opposing parties as being the army of “Them,” recognize that the starting place is opening the door of dialogue with those political minority groups. This means validating and giving them a place at the table of the discussion the town halls and in Congress.
Second, the principle of “stop loss” needs to be applied to wholesale dismantling of our government in the name of ideology. Along with “stop loss” is reasonable restoration of that which was unreasonably deleted, such as Government workers, Military members, and agencies who were casualties of a premature action. A sign of an advanced culture is “We made a mistake, and we are going back.” Stop loss and restorative actions would also be applied to other incendiary actions, such as tariffs and offhand cuts to Medicaid.
Third, considering loss of a free press signals a movement toward an authoritarian state, seat press members in the physical room as a lottery. Then provide virtual space for those want to dial in and have questions.
Fourth, ask for members of the other party to serve as ad hoc members of the Presidential Cabinet, with voice without vote. These ad hoc minority members present would provide serve as political peacekeepers recognized as partners in democracy. Working with these political peacekeepers would provide both transparency and validity to an already troubled Cabinet.
Finally, I once worked with a CPA who served as a volunteer in our church. She made the observation, “There are very few true emergencies.” In other words, “There are very few emergencies” that require a stop, drop, and roll method of reaction. Knee-jerk leadership typically results in more knee-jerk reaction, as the entire situation is destabilized.
I once worked with a CPA who served as a volunteer in our church. She made the observation, “There are very few true emergencies.” In other words, “There are very few emergencies” that require a stop, drop, and roll method of reaction. Knee-jerk leadership typically results in more knee-jerk reaction, as the entire situation is destabilized.
I defer to the readers with their multiple tribes to seek out bipartisan collaboration. You may say, “Jim, that is just a dream. I know some folks who won’t go with this.” Years ago I asked a fellow pastor of a large Baptist church in Tucson how he navigated all the naysayers in his congregation to have such a lengthy tenure. His answer stayed with me, “It’s easy. I just outlived the knotheads!”
We may have to outlive some poorly conceived ideas that were rushed into place, until we can work together to right the course. It is not so much important that we rush to implement our agenda we consider right but how we can work together establish a right course. Last month we returned from a motorhome trip that took us from Missouri, to Arizona, then through Texas to Florida, then up through the South back to Missouri.
While driving through the endless swamps of Louisiana the manicured farms of Mississippi and Alabama, we some visited some sites on the Civil Rights Road Trip . Over the 1200 miles traveling from Florida to Missouri, I reflected how Black slaves seeking freedom sung the spiritual, “Walk Together Children,” as they hid in the roadless dark swamps with Cottonmouth vipers and mossbacked alligators, walking toward the North Star to freedom by night. At highway speed, it took us three days to return to Missouri. A slave following a star course by night and on foot, avoiding the open, green expanses of white sweet tea mansions and neat rowed cotton fields, with their Blood Hounds, where they would be tracked and butchered. This was a walk they were willing to make. Are we willing to take the long walk to preserve these rights of freedom they walked so far to secure?
Walk Together,
Pastor Jim
How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!
-Psalm 133:1
Recommended music “International Harvester” by Craig Morgan
“As the #1 export crop for the U.S., soybean producers face huge, disproportionate impacts from trade flow disruptions, particularly to China, which is our largest market. And we know foreign soybean producers in Brazil and other countries are expecting abundant crops this year and are primed to meet any demand stemming from a renewed U.S.-China trade war. Soybean farmers still have not fully recovered market volumes from the damaging impacts of the 2018 trade war, and this will further exacerbate economic hardship on our farmers.”