A just war is an act of last resort. Prior to engaging in violence, a nation must make every effort to attain its intended goals by other means. This might include diplomacy, economic or legal actions, and so forth. This is a crucial tenet of just war theory: war results from the failure of all other options. It is not one option among many. As an extension of this idea, the government should seek to end the conflict as quickly as is reasonably possible.
As a boy, my brother, Gary, Mom and Dad gathered around the kitchen table to listen to a cassette audio tape from our cousin Neal, a soldier in Vietnam. What happened to the ten-speed bicycle riding cousin who was now a voice telling about walking through rice paddies in Vietnam? How did he get there? When will he come home? As a boy, I didn’t understand the toll paid by our soldiers so far away, which would scar a generation. Hopefully, lessons learned behind those distant recorded words will spare us from the conflicts that will haunt the next generation of young soldiers.
U.S. Vietnam Soldiers Sent Audio Cassette Letters Home
“A Little Conflict Never Killed Nobody”
Politicians love the word conflict. Unlike war, it requires no approval of Congress with all the military-industrial benefits of a real war. Unfortunately, conflicts that begin as self-righteous crusades result in self-inflicted casualties. The Vietnam “conflict” exacted an enormous cost: estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians, 20,000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 US service members died.
Conflict: Easy to get in. Hard to get out.
In my MBA program one professor taught us how to evaluate a course of action:
Do I want to do this?
Can I do this?
Easy to get in. Hard to get out.
How many of us have volunteered for a job for a “few months,” only to find we are still on the committee years later? That’s “Easy in. Hard out.” Nations of unjust wars must guard against being trapped in the battered-spouse repeated cycle of generational militarized violence. War, and the whitewashed conflicts—aka war-lite—are more addictive and costly to the U.S. than any drug ever created by cartels.
The U.S. military justified blowing up small boats in the Caribbean and killing survivors clinging to burning flotsam by stating the boats were transporting cocaine to the U.S. The reality is these boats were likely not headed toward the U.S., rather another country, with proof of cargo and crime lacking. How is administering a death sentence for a possible crime a “just war”? If this practice is not a “just war,” what is it?
What's the difference between a cocaine dealer and a Wall Street banker? Easy one! One makes cocaine for a dollar. The other takes cocaine with a dollar.
That’s “Easy in. Hard out.” Nations of unjust wars must guard against being trapped in the battered-spouse repeated cycle of generational militarized violence. War, and the whitewashed conflicts—aka war-lite—are more addictive and costly to the U.S. than any drug ever created by cartels.
JPB
Men of the 9th U.S. Marine Expeditionary force scramble out of a landing barge on to the peach at Da Nang in South Viet Nam, March 8, 1965. They were ordered to the area to bolster defenses around air base at Da Nang against possible Viet Cong attacks. (AP Photo)
Hubris shouts, “We answer to no one. We worship the battlefield god of our own destiny.” Reality raises a desperate hand for a tossed life preserver from allies whom we have forsaken as we launched a misguided course toward the dark shoals of our own destruction.
JPB
A Last Resort
58,276 Names of U.S. Casualties on Vietnam Memorial
“Only if all peaceful methods fail” is the first requirement of “Just War.” This guards against the “It’s just a war” groupthink that that politicians use to drop us in the next foxhole of unending conflict. Hubris says, “We won’t have any casualties. We’ll get in and get out to show those commies who’s the boss!” Reality ships home the trauma of our own unexpected casualties of those who laid down their lives for reasons unknown to the soldier and citizen alike. Hubris shouts, “We answer to no one. We worship the battlefield god of our own destiny.” Reality raises a desperate hand for a tossed life preserver from allies whom we have forsaken as we launched a misguided course toward the dark shoals of our own destruction.
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. - Psalm 34:14
Peace is Our Mission,
JPB
Postscript
The king who demands absolute loyalty without question knows his troops won’t trade lives for lies.
As 2025 draws to a close, we remember those 24 who died this year in ICE custody and the unnamed immigrants disappeared into dark places into which the light of the Christ Child shines hope.
“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more” - Matthew 2:18.
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" - Gospel of John 1:5.
Coded Message of Freedom
Aretha Franklin’s 1972 Amazing Grace recording at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church became her biggest selling album. “Mary, Don’t you Weep” predates the Civil War as a “freedom song” that was sung by enslaved African Americans and contained coded messages of hope and emancipation. This Mary referenced the storyof Mary and Martha of Bethany in the Gospel of John 11, when the sisters wept for their brother Lazarus, who has died, and said to Jesus that if he had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Jesus then miraculously raised Lazarus from the dead, demonstrating his divine authority over death.
“Mary, Don’t You Weep” is a song that was initially sung by the enslaved—sung with coded messages of hope and resistance by our enslaved ancestors:
oh, Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you mourn…Pharaoh’s army got drown-ded…
However, when Ms. Franklin gets hold of it, she tells her own testimony while framing the grief and anguish of the sisters, Mary and Martha, over the death of their brother Lazarus (John 11:1-44):
One day while Jesus was away, that dear, that dear, that dear ole brother died, yeah yeah But now Mary, went running to Jesus She said Master, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my SWEET Lord Whoa, Lord if you hadda, if you hadda been here, my brother would not have died Oh yes she did Jesus said, come on and show me, show me where you buried him. Show me where you laid him down
I think a case can be made that Ms. Franklin, through her call and response, is also calling forth the experiences of unseen Black women who’ve also experienced loss. Black women who’ve had children sold away…husbands, sons, and daughters lynched…loved ones killed by the police…and, like Mary and Martha, wondered when, oh when, was Jesus going to show up for them. Through her runs and moans, Ms. Franklin gave voice to the particular pain experienced by Black mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters—wailing for the theft of life of their children, husbands, aunts, uncles, lovers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. And this is a communal feature of womanism. As coined by Alice Walker, a womanist is one who:
Loves music. Loves Dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless.
God sent us the Martin Luther King, Jr.’s not only to deliver people of color from the chains of bigotry but to ready us for the day we meet our own oppressors.
From Christ’s birth, a message for all: no one is ‘garbage.’ A divine counter to hateful rhetoric against immigrants.
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” – Gospel of Luke Chapter 2
Jesus came to establish a Kingdom by which no person would be called garbage, as Christ took the filth and hate of this world upon himself that we might be called children of God.
JPB
To All People,
JPB
Postscript
This post responds to US President Donald Trump’s statement who said he does not want Somali immigrants in the US, telling reporters they should “go back to where they came from” and “their country is no good for a reason”.
“I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” he said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Trump said the US would “go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country”.
America’s Liberty & Justice for All Tour reveals war crimes, tariffs, migrant issues, & a Mayberry Nightmare.
2025 Liberty and Justice for All Tour
Their Last Moments
“Their Last Moments … sus últimos momentos”
The United States rocks under the Administration of Imbalance and Uncertainty, like boxer TKO but still wobbling on his feet. As the sunset of 2025 approaches, the images in today’s blog capture some of the infamous events of this year. This timeless piece from The Beatles will accompany your journey.
CNN reports Secretary of U.S. Department of War ordered a “double-tap” strike to kill two survivors clinging to boat wreckage after a U.S. strike on a suspected drug vessel. Showing no quarter is a war crime. Disobeying a criminal order takes an act of courage. Our children and grandchildren serving in the U.S. Military in armed conflicts will pray that the enemy treats our captured wounded with decency and mercy. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” Matthew 5:7.
War crimes separate the short-lived trigger high from the sobering reality of consequences. – JPB
There is a reason it's called "hunting" and not "killing." -An Arizona Deer Hunter
While changing a title to Department of War seems like a chest-beating moment of pride, the concern is that we sleepwalk the United States into justifying killing as the mission, when peace is our goal. Labeling an entire group as evil greases the machinery to justify killing everyone as the mission, civilian and soldier alike.
In the moment of the Mai Lai Massacre 16 March 1968, certainly for a moment the squeezing of the M16 triggers felt like settling the score with an insurgency who disappeared by day into rice paddies and pho restaurants. Once the acrid smell of self-righteous cordite wafts away, it is replaced by the iron smell of innocent blood running into the soil, a stench that sets teeth on edge as it cries out, “War criminal!”
The author commends leaders like Commander Holsey who retired rather than continue to shed innocent blood. Commander Holsey by his laying down his arms sent the message that “Killing, for killing’s sake, was never the mission.” The question remains, of all the chaplains in the U.S. Armed forces, why are their prophetic voices silent on the killing of unarmed survivors clinging to wreckage? It is one thing to serve Communion for those about enter into battle to deliver us from forces of evil. It is another to serve as holy shamans for demagogues hell-bent on shedding innocent blood to paint their war drums.
In the moment of the Mai Lai Massacre 16 March 1968, certainly for a moment the squeezing of the M16 triggers felt like settling the score with an insurgency who disappeared by day into rice paddies and pho restaurants. Once the acrid smell of self-righteous cordite wafts away, it is replaced by the iron smell of innocent blood running into the soil, a stench that sets teeth on edge as it cries out, “War criminal!”
Vice Admiral Alvin Holsey, A Profile of CourageOperation “Bay of Piggies” launches with sinking of fishing boats and killing of survivors. Texas BBQ follows initial wave assault. BYOB
A double entendre invoking the failed Cuban “Bay of Pigs” mission to topple Castro and the “Quiet, Piggy!” remark of the President to a female reporter. The “Bay of Piggies” mission follows the same trajectory as the ill-fated “Bay of Pigs.”
The question remains, of all the chaplains in the U.S. Armed forces, why are their prophetic voices silent on the killing of unarmed boat survivors clinging to wreckage? It is one thing to serve Communion for those about enter into battle to deliver us from forces of evil. It is another to serve as holy shamans for demagogues hell-bent on shedding innocent blood to paint their war drums.
The Department of Snore
The President calls the “Department of Snore” together to launch “Operation Sandman.” Multiple press sources report presidential fits of slumber.
Be a role model. The younger is watching. - Fortune Cookie
No, I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I believe in balance … a balance between Republican and Democrat, between Socialist and Fascist, between believer and unbeliever. Balance provides the key to a society in which freedom of thought, speech, and religion can flourish. My freedom of religion builds upon the same foundation that allows another to choose unbelief. The mutual respect between the two gives us the miracle of dialogue and true freedom.
Those trapped in a political party, turning a blind eye to the party leaders’ abuse of the weak and vulnerable, must admit that this is the ghost of the battered wife syndrome – a woman who clings to her man as she can’t define a life without her abuser. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene rose above the political battered wife syndrome, resigned from Congress as of next January, and said she refused to be a “battered wife hoping it all goes away and gets better.” Political parties serve us. The day we serve the party is the day we lose our freedom. Though this author did not vote for Ms. Greene, he respects her profile of courage.
Those trapped in a political party, turning a blind eye to the party leaders’ abuse of the weak and vulnerable, must admit that this is the ghost of the battered wife syndrome – a woman who clings to her man as she can’t define a life without her abuser. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene rose above the political battered wife syndrome, resigned from Congress as of next January, and said she refused to be a “battered wife hoping it all goes away and gets better.” Political parties serve us. The day we serve the party is the day we lose our freedom.
Additionally, some say they want to eliminate the possibility of America becoming a nonChristian nation. So, they order the 10 Commandments displayed in every classroom and scrub any lesson that might hint of the sins of religious extremism resulting in hate against entire groups of people, such as immigrants. The result is an even more godless society above which gold-plated cross is raised as a banner of bigotry and hate.
Back to the U.S. Military, the present U.S. trend of the Secretary of War’s firing those who might challenge the ethics of his decisions appears like a streamlining of decision making for a safer world, but eliminating top uniformed JAG officers is removing the safety on weapons poised to deliver to us the redux of the next Mai Lai Massacre.
One unanticipated factor of being a lethal weapon bully is that the chest-bump killing of two surviving fishermen is shadowed by loss of allies and the scheming of retribution by true enemies of the United States who see this a moment to arbitrage loss of U.S. goodwill in the world’s neighborhood.
One unanticipated factor of being a lethal weapon bully is that the chest-bump killing of two surviving fishermen is shadowed by loss of allies and the scheming of retribution by true enemies of the United States who see this a moment to arbitrage loss of U.S. goodwill in the world’s neighborhood.
News of Bitter Brews: The Ethics of Affordability
“I Don’t Want to Hear about the Affordability!” – Donald Trump. Dollars show actual cost+tip of a small vanilla latte outside of Kansas City. Daily Coffee News reported the impact of tariffs on coffee: United States President Donald Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs yesterday, including new fees between 10% and 46% on imports from 15 of the world’s top 20 coffee-producing countries.
This cup of greed best defines the corporate greed manifested by the present White House Administration.
The Liberty and Justice for All Tour: A Nation on the Move
“The Liberty and Justice for All Tour!” It rings a bell! “Change is gonna come.” Make America America Again. The author does not endorse any one candidate and reiterates the need for plurality of thought and balance of political strategies that has the open mind to shake hands across the aisle.
The ‘Liberty and Justice for All Tour’ didn’t come with a concert ticket or a backstage pass. Instead, it arrived in the form of a $7 latte and a shifting global conscience. As we moved through 2024 and into the heart of 2025, the ‘Tour’ became a metaphor for a nation trying to reconcile its appetite for luxury with the increasingly bitter reality of what that luxury costs our relationship with one another and the rest of the world. “We are a nation in transit, moving away from the blissful ignorance of the ‘cheap cup’ and toward a destination where every transaction is a statement of values.”
“We are a nation in transit, moving away from the blissful ignorance of the ‘cheap cup’ and toward a destination where every transaction is a statement of values.”
The Last Professional: 78,000 Reasons Why Labels Matter
A Nation in the Rearview: Thanksgiving from the RV and the Old Car.
A Nation in the Rearview: Thanksgiving from the RV and the Old Car
A DOGE Thanksgiving. Tonight we remember those unemployed, hungry, imprisoned, deported, grieving, and alone this Thanksgiving. For those living in old cars and RVs, we pray for you and give thanks in hope of a better tomorrow. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
While the headlines speak of streamlined systems and digital efficiency, our hearts turn toward the quiet corners of the nation. Tonight, we remember those the spreadsheets forgot: the unemployed, the hungry, the imprisoned, and the deported. For those whose ‘home’ is the steel frame of an old car or the cramped hope of an RV, we offer more than a meal—we offer a witness and prayers with feet. In a world of cold data, we cling to the warmth of the promise: Blessed are the poor in spirit.“
Inheriting the Wind: Tariffs and the End of Generational Farming
Inspired by press release describing impact of tariffs on Missouri farmers.
They promised a resurgence of American industry, the view from the cab of a combine in late 2025 tells a different story. While the administration’s $12 billion ‘bridge’ payments were meant to steady the ship, for many, they feel like a life vest tossed into a hurricane. With fertilizer prices up 25% and soybean markets in China evaporated by retaliatory tariffs, the American farmer is learning that in the new economy, you can do everything right and still end the year in the red. We aren’t just losing crops; we are losing the ‘Last Professional’ of the land.”
Saints, Spin, and Saline: The Vatican Joins the Media Circus
Erika Kirk is the widow of political activist Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA. No further comment is needed on this. Arizona’s Attorney General reported that a former Turning Point USA leader (not the Kirk’s) and Arizona GOP legislator pled guilty to attempted election fraud. The Baptists had an old saying, “It’s not how high you jump; it’s how straight you walk!”
As Missouri deer season closes, Republicans continue to hunt ways to blame Biden for their own freefall in the polls.
Likewise, Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent: 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” – Genesis 3
Coughing Up Eagles: The Virus of the Superpatriot
These words from Mad Magazine have condensed into a more virulent version 57 years later:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” Matthew 23:37.
The 24-Karat Chop Shop: Renovating the East Wing for Fun and Profit
White House Auto Nation “Panic Sale!” These are the finest junk cars ever sold. All repairs will be paid by Mexico! Free document prep shredding. Complimentary tamales. Undocumented customers receive a free one-way test drive to Nigeria. “We will not be out-lied! “ The destruction of the East Wing for a pay-for-play gold-plated ballroom, coupled with layers of add-on schemes to bilk the American people for self-benefit, reeks of self-enrichment that no gold tinsel can hide.
The destruction of the East Wing for a pay-for-play gold-plated ballroom, coupled with layers of add-on schemes to bilk the American people for self-benefit, reeks of self-enrichment that no gold tinsel can hide.
JPB
Does anyone know where to order some Oval Office golden deer repellent decorations? Deer keep gettin' into the beans.
Mayberry nightmare: Opie’s Big Catch
Breaking news! Opie just caught the politicians whitewashing the Epstein Files again! “Let’s tell Barney!”
It turns out that in 2025, even the most innocent corners of the ‘Nation on the Move’ are being painted over to hide the ’24-Karat’ rot underneath.”
The Great Regression: Trading the ACA for the 19th Century
Image from X
What is the labor plan to replace a lost immigrant workforce? What is the plan to replace Affordable Care Act health plans? Will we return to a child labor workforce, preexisting conditions, and female health insurance priced double that for a man?
A huge wave is rolling in! It’s blue, it’s purple, it’s white, it’s brown, it’s black. It will reclaim the rocky shores of hate.
JPB
Fabulous Pharmacy Fibs and Tylenol Tales
Inspired by the Presidents snap at the reporter, “Quiet, Piggy!” and the “Affordable” health insurance premiums for millions of Americans with Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans that are projected to more than double, on average, in 2026 if enhanced federal subsidies are allowed to expire at the end of 2025.
What country bankrupts its citizens in medical debt while spending billions to deport gardeners and car wash attendants?
JPB
Liars & Ladders: The Boardroom Game
The White House Press Secretary has announced “Liars & Ladders” to fabricate the most magical Christmas ever! In fact, Hallmark stores have swapped their Nativity scenes for these gameboards that tell The Greatest Breaking Story Ever Told of the only President to write his own books in the Bible … First through Sixth Trumpalonians! Proceeds will go to the First Family.
Our grandchildren and their children's children will study and marvel at the collective hysteria that captured a major U.S. political party—one where members launched into spontaneous lying as a symbolic 'gift' of their MAGA membership.
Received My White House Holiday greeting card! So honored!
The Fortune Cookie
TheWeek.com reports that Donald Trump added $3 billion to his wealth since his second coming to the White House:
In consideration of the above, let there be the creation of the 2028 U.S. Chief Executive Civil Forfeiture Act: Tasked with recovery of funds gained by corruption and self-benefit while in office of President:
2028 U.S. Chief Executive Emolument Civil Forfeiture Act: Recover funds gained by corruption and self-benefit while in office.
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
For most of its history, courts have rarely substantively analyzed or interpreted the Foreign Emoluments Clause.1 During the administration of President Donald Trump, however, a number of private parties, state attorneys general, and Members of Congress sued the President based on alleged violations of both the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Domestic Emoluments Clause2 (collectively, the Emoluments Clauses). Three major federal lawsuits concerning the Emoluments Clauses were filed against President Trump.3 Over nearly four years, these cases progressed through the lower federal courts, resulting in the first significant judicial decisions on the Emoluments Clauses.
The Grift of the MAGA vs The Gift of the Magi
The Grift of the MAGA: History will record the MAGA era as a mass delusion where spontaneous lying wasn’t a sin, but a ‘gift’—the speaking-in-tongues of a political cult.
This blog was inspired by a fortune cookie.
He was born in an obscure village, The child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, Where he worked in a carpenter shop Until he was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles From the place where he was born. He did none of the things One usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three When the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies. And went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross Between two thieves. While he was dying, His executioners gambled for his clothing, The only property he had on Earth. When he was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave Through the pity of a friend. Twenty centuries have come and gone, And today he is the central figure Of the human race, And the leader of mankind’s progress. All the armies that ever marched, All the navies that ever sailed, All the parliament that ever sat, All the kings that ever reigned, Put together have not affected The life of man on Earth As much as that One Solitary Life.
-Dr. James Allen Francis
The Bus Driver’s Final Stop: Christmas Eve, 2025
“Alright, folks, watch your step as you exit the bus. Please check your pockets for any stray Trophy Scapegoats or GOP Pennies you might have picked up along the way. We’ve covered a lot of ground today—from the $7 bitterness of our morning brew to the ‘Mayberry Nightmare’ unfolding at the fishing hole.
It’s been a Jim Dandy year for the ‘Liberty and Justice for All Tour.’ We’ve watched the East Wing get swapped for a gold-plated ballroom and seen the ‘Last Professionals’ trade their scrubs for a 19th-century labor plan. Some say the country is in a freefall, but as we saw at the White House Auto Nation, as long as you can put a fresh coat of tinsel on a rusted-out frame, someone will buy the lie.
As you head home to your families—or your RVs in the DOGE-monitored parking lots—remember that the only thing spreading faster than the Virus of the Superpatriot is our capacity to look at a ‘Fabulous Pharmacy Fib’ and call it a miracle.
On behalf of the 47th Administration’s MAGA-Bus Boycott, we wish you a Merry Christmas. Lock your Tylenol tight in your purse, keep your children off the night shift, and may you never, ever look too closely at what Opie just pulled out of the swamp water.”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan 25 And behold, a certain [h]lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among [i]thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, [j]when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
A tariff is like pig manure. It usually benefits its creator and leaves a big stink. “Th-Th-Bde-The-That’s all folks!”
“I don’t want to hear about the affordability!” This little vanilla latte gem set me back shy of $7.00 after tip at a drive-thru near Kansas City. I’m saving the cup to savor every drop. The neighbors are green with envy.
The Rich Man and Lazarus 19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
The difference between a MAGA politician and a traveling vacuum salesman is the politician leaves the dirt and takes the carpet.
Coming to a town near you …
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. - Matthew 7:15-20. Words of Jesus Christ from the Sermon on the Mount
The Failed Plan that Separates the Ultra Wealthy from the Riffraff of the Middle Class
The great thing about using red velvet ropes though is that it sends a statement of luxury and elegance instead of acting as just a barrier. – Quote from the rope barrier industry
The Great Equalizer
My wife and I honeymooned at New York-New York casino, where we built some lifetime memories in that once great Las Vegas. The cold North winds of time have blasted a deep chill on the Vegas strip. While browsing YouTube, I ran across the video below that indicates that the CEO’s of Las Vegas crafted their own decline in a scheme to “Keep the Riff-Raff Out!!” Historically, Vegas was “the great equalizer” where a construction worker from L.A. or a lawyer from Beverly Hills could escape to Vegas an experience the same odds of winning at the same table. Now Vegas has priced out the working class, which decimated the Vegas strip, that now sits half empty.
The United States was the Great Equalizer. The immigrant and the citizen could find a path forward, not only to make a living, but to buy a house, start a business, and build a meaningful life. They were not kicked out as the riffraff due to the nation’s leadership catering to the ultra-wealthy.
Red Velvet Rope Economics
In viewing the Vegas video, I had the epiphany that this was not only about the Las Vegas strip but about an economic strategy in the United States that caters now to the ultra-wealthy corporations and billionaires, culling the lower end, the value-oriented folks who elected the politicians in the first place.
A place that used to welcome everyone now feels like a country club with a velvet rope.
This economic practice erects a barrier that sends a statement of luxury and elegance. This is why the gold-plated Oval Office and a golden Air Force One gifted luxury liner from Qatar sends the message, “Behold the elegance and the luxury that I now have! Aren’t you fortunate to see my wealth?!” In truth, these politicians have forgotten what made Washington great in the first place … working people!
Adam Smith discussed the conspiracy against the public and contrivance to raise prices by corporate design
In the image of the golden “Me First One,” you can see the plane being loaded with cash, Bitcoin, and Argentine cattle. A warship airburst shows those great checkers words, “King Me!” Outside the barrier sit homeless people and farmers cooking hotdogs over a camp fire, surrounded by their broken down vehicles. They are unemployed.
Priced Out by Policy
Where have the regulars gone? The regulars work for a living. The regulars have 2.5 children who attend public schools that have plumbing and air conditioning issues that haven’t been addressed for 30 years. The regulars are but one medical condition away from bankruptcy. The regulars who can’t afford to insure their children, gamble that their child’s young age will ward off the specter of grave illness, when actually this is a form of wishful thinking. The regulars watched their parents work blue-collar jobs, buy a house, retire with pension. Now between taxes, car payment, insurance, and inflation, homeownership has become a trap snaring new owners into indentured servitude to service the bloated mortgage, insurance and fees. The red velvet rope economy beguiled the middle class until they realized the luxury and the wealth were for those on the other side of that elegant barrier.
The red velvet rope economy beguiled the middle class until they realized the luxury and the wealth were for those on the other side of that elegant barrier.
Red Velvet Rope Economics bifurcates the natural supply and demand cycle of supply and demand. From Associated Press 11/1/2025
The Red Velvet Rope Economy ensures that the supply is up and prices are down for the wealthy while supply is down and prices are up for the working class. Red Velvet Rope Economics bifurcates the natural supply and demand cycle of supply and demand. You may say, “Jim, that’s silly. Supply and demand mean the same for everyone. Supply rises and prices drop; supply down means prices up.”
This is what the rich want you to believe. The supply they receive is tax sheltered thanks to lobbyists working on their behalf. Their profits are maximized due to early and, sometimes, insider trade information before the rank and file investors get opportunity to trade. An example is the White House tipping its friends that an announcement will be made on a tariff or removal of a tariffs on a certain industry. Trades are bet on horses which already won the race in a predetermined race.
The Jones’s exhaust themselves trying to find the financial breaks that always appear above their reach.From YouTube Keep the Riff-Raff Out!
Thin Red Line Economics: Not Trickle Down, But Roped Out Economics
While the current President drools over deploying the U.S. military against U.S. cities, he is attempting to draw in permanent marker The Thin Red Line to protect the MAGA ultra-wealthy from The Regulars who, along with their parents and grandparents, who built and made America great. The Regulars deserve to be included inside The Red Velvet Rope of economic exclusion.
When Did You Realize You Were Priced Out?
You realized you stand outside The Red Velvet Rope … when you paid $6.00 for a black cup of coffee. When two choice steaks at Walmart cost over $30. When you had to choose between health insurance or car payment, rent, and food. When tariffs bankrupted your business due to increased supply costs. When your government job evaporated because the politician considered you the riffraff that needed to go. When you immigrated to the country only to find the Thin Red Line of bigotry blocked your path of a new life. These are the signs of The Red Velvet Rope Economy.
When the poor need food, they call it socialism. When farmers need bailout, they call it patriotism. Let’s call it all civility.
-JPB
Unhook the Rope and Enter Here
We’ve been there. Standing in a long line at a theater or a restaurant, guided by the red velvet ropes to keep us in line and checked. Then as a smartly dressed couple approach the velvet barrier, the guard gives a nod of acknowledgement, unhooks the rope and smiles at the couple who walk in. What can we do to unhook the velvet rope barriers to prosperity. How can we reclaim our power as “The Regulars”? What can we do to return America as “The Great Equalizer”?
🧵 The Parable of the Velvet Rope
In a vast marketplace beneath a golden sky, two lands stretched side by side. On one side stood the Land of Plenty, where fruits overflowed, homes gleamed, and time moved gently. On the other side lay the Land of Labor, where hands were calloused, shelves were sparse, and clocks ticked fast.
Between them hung a red velvet rope—soft to the touch, but firm as iron. It was not nailed down, nor locked, yet no one from the Land of Labor could cross it. They could see the abundance, smell the bread, hear the laughter—but the rope whispered, “Not for you.”
One day, a child from the Land of Labor asked, “Why does the rope shimmer so beautifully crimson if it only divides?” Her question echoed across both lands.
An elder from the Land of Plenty heard her and wept. He had once crossed the rope long ago, when it was thinner and frayed. He gathered others—makers, thinkers, dreamers—and together they began to loosen the rope’s knots.
They built bridges of fair wages, ladders of education, and pulleys of shared ownership. The rope didn’t vanish, but it lifted—higher and higher—until it became a banner, not a barrier.
And beneath that banner, the two lands began to trade stories, share harvests, and walk freely. Is was then they discovered that the crimson rope that once barricaded them off from one another became the tie that bound their hearts togethers as neighbors.
When we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord, we are given the mission of lifting the barriers that divide us from others that they might see the love of God in action through us.
Discussion
Read James 2:2-7. What kind of barriers do people face as newcomers to a community? As people of a different ethnicity or orientation? When attending a new church? Does discrimination happen today? Share an example. How can we be more honoring of the poor and marginalized in our churches?
2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? -James 2
2. Why would the principle of Supply and Demand work differently when applied to the rich as opposed to the poor? While some imply that poor people are lazy, describe ways how it actually takes more effort to be poor? (Example: A single mother of three works two jobs. Half her money goes to rent. The other half goes to child care and rent. She relies on food banks to feed her family.)
3. In decades of ministry, I have never asked my congregation to watch a video about the Las Vegas strip. Now, I ask you to watch the embedded video, a lesson not only in Las Vegas economics but a life lesson of the president clear-and-present economic danger facing the U.S. today.
Consider the casino mentioned which returned to free parking, $5 deluxe buffet, free drinks, rooms comp’d for players after a few hours playing (I am not advocating gambling and drinking, rather an economic principle of shared equity) and lower table betting minimums.
Why did “The Regulars” return? How is this a win-win?
What would it take for “The Regular” workers to take priority over AI involvement?
How does laying off 40,000+ of “The Regular” delivery workers in the name of AI “high value” progress reflect the same misguided thinking of Las Vegas CEOs?
How might the principle of shared equity come into play for The Regular workers in the midst of an AI based workplace?
What steps can you do to unhook the velvet rope to acknowledge the image of God in the “The Regulars” brought into your life?
