The Other Side of Joy

A friend posted on Facebook a picture of a nearly-empty bottle of tequila with a full glass, with ice. Her picture was simply entitled “Goals.”.

I commented: 

I see that you're hurting. (You joke about alcohol...and ended relationships.) I know what it's like to end the day -- or even begin it! -- with the thought of getting drunk and just sleeping it all away. I wish my pain could end that way too. It's tough to find "meaning" to it all. 

And even if you do, it's tough to believe it. NOBODY enjoys passing through pain to get to the other side of joy. (That would make a good book title, by the way: The Other Side of Joy.) Especially when the "joy" seems so far away...and many years (and even MORE pain) have come and gone. 

I'm in a LOT of pain myself. As you know, I'm losing my spouse, the love of my life. (I've loved and needed and wanted and craved and yearned for and longed after and worshipped this woman EVERY BIT AS MUCH as you've loved your husband...and I'm still losing her. In fact, she's walking away from me.) 

You can console yourself in the knowledge that your husband didn't "leave" you. He was "taken." My love is leaving me. I am rent asunder. Wailing is a common sound in my lonely household now (all public appearances aside). WAILING. I die daily. Hourly. Every minute. My world is blasted and my soul is shattered. 

Still, what can I do? I have to DIG DEEP to find the courage to go on! It won't be found in a bottle. (I know that much!) Or a joint. (As fun as that would be.) Or in indiscriminate sex. (Empty pleasure.) 

We have a "calling." I'm convinced that in "keeping God's commandments" all our sobs shall be stifled and all our tears wiped away. Laughter and love will replace sorrow and heartbreak someday. 

Jesus endured all these things. He said "Come, follow me." Then He walked through hell. 

There must be something worthwhile on the other side. He came out of the tomb smiling. 

Let's follow Him together, shall we?

Passing through sorrow

One of the most painful aspects of this "journey" is the loneliness! The isolation! The "wasting away," it seems, of months and years of opportunities! (I experienced that FOR YEARS before I married...and now I'm experiencing it again.) It just seems like such a WASTE!

The point about "Love not your life" is well-taken. Those are the Lord's words. This ISN'T the "heaven on earth" I imagined. It's hell. (And trying to make it heaven leads only to excess, selfishness and disappointment.) "He who seeks to save his life shall lose it" -- meaning, he must GIVE IT ALL UP for Christ's sake -- "while he who loses his life, for my sake, shall find it, even unto eternal life."

And what is that? What is "life"?

Whatever brings joy to the Gods -- and, believe me, I think I know what that is -- is NOT of this world. 

I remember "walking in the clouds," as it were, after I was baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost. I was filled with righteous enthusiasm, light and love, revelation, power and holiness, even to do divine things. What got me there? Maybe I'm a little fuzzy now...or unwilling to admit it (because my behavior, comportment and attitude now fall far short). But I read the scriptures CONSTANTLY. I prayed CONSTANTLY. I served wholeheartedly and unselfishly CONSTANTLY. It helped that I was at BYU...and on a mission...because I had STRUCTURE and ROUTINE and SUPPORT (even if many of those around me actually DESPISED and HINDERED what I was doing). Still, there were many others (like you) who were faithful and supportive.

I cannot fathom what "purpose" is served by my being estranged from my wife and children now. Why must they grow up without me, without their husband and father? Why can't I BE THERE with them always? Why must I (and they) be "dishonored" so? Why must we be "ashamed"? 

Why can't we have our family back?

I don't know.

For me, the gospel of Jesus Christ is "NEVER give up!" We saw in the latest election (for those who are Trump supporters) how deliciously relevant that is. MIRACLES happen! (That's the ONE bright spot in all this -- hollow as it may be, inasmuch as what good does it do to gain the whole world if one loses his own soul? At least SOMETHING seems to be going right in the world SOMEWHERE. For the longest time, it was a famine of all things "good." Are the people repenting?)

Meanwhile, I'm in the dark. I've lost ALL my motivation. It's not that I don't WANT to work or that I CAN'T work (at something). It's not that I can't find someone else to love or start over with, etc. It's "Why?" Why would I want to? 

I would almost rather just sit here and starve myself to death. That's how little I care now. About ANYTHING.

I used to have this grandiose "vision" that I was BUILDING something! A family! Zion! An eternal marriage! Eternal life!

Now what? It's all ruin. My "bucket" has been overturned unexpectedly and now my children are being poured out onto the sand. They're going their own ways, in different directions. IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY! We were SUPPOSED to be a TEAM!

But my "assistant" quit! And took the team with her. She's "coaching" them now. And it's an entirely different "sport." They don't even practice what I taught them. 

Frankly, I don't want to be a coach without her. Our team needs US! I don't see how this is supposed to work now. What am I supposed to do? I've lost my team! 

I'm not materialistic. I can't just "throw myself into work" and forget about it. I don't seek for wealth...except to support my family and others. And they don't want me...except maybe just for my income...and for what money can buy them. (And that REALLY puts a damper on things, for me, I'll tell you. You buy a kid a motorcycle...and spend THOUSANDS of dollars doing it...and not a day after he comes home from his first day of riding, he says "For Christmas I want [an even better bike]!" 

Not "I just want my dad back." 

Nobody -- except the littlest one -- wants Dad back.

I'm glad Jesus had Mary to embrace Him as He exited the tomb. He was weeping just a few days before, bereft of ALL His friends and family, those whom He had loved and served His whole life. He had tried to rally them! But He KNEW they would not come. Almost ALL would abandon and betray Him.

Of course, all of this is relevant to us -- even if, unlike Him, we aren't perfect...and are "responsible" for many of our sorrows (because of our many failures and "crimes"). We must pass through the sorrow (as He did) so that we might know a fulness of joy (as He did). 

Thus we become like Him.

We must walk where He walked and do even as He did. And, to some extent, that means suffering even as He suffered. (There is a suffering -- the suffering of the damned -- that we need not suffer, if we repent. That's because He already atoned for our sins. We can be "saved".) 

(Maybe that's a clue for me...about what I yet lack.)

Still, EVERY foundation of my life (except for my belief and faith in Him) is being shaken and destroyed. EVERY support is being removed: my promise of carnal security, my immediate friends and family, my self-respect (due to loss of job and family and faith and affiliation). ALL of it. I have NOTHING left to be proud of or to be comforted by. I am bereft. (Except maybe for my dad. He calls me once in awhile...and kicks my ass...and tells me to "buck up" and "get on with your life" and "get a job!" and "stop feeling sorry for yourself" etc., etc. He's a good "cheerleader".)

Even so, I still have a pillow on which to lay my head. (A rather nice pillow actually. Several, in fact.) So I'm not ENTIRELY bereft. (Jesus didn't have that, as I recall. What a God! Such faith! Such dependence on Heaven for His support! What POWER He received in return!)

Maybe that's ANOTHER clue. (I would forsake ALL if God just gave me the word.) But I don't KNOW His word -- His DIRECT word -- to me.

My love of this world -- love for wife, for children, for everything I had (and still have) -- keeps me "transfixed" here and now and, perhaps, makes me unable to do what God (perhaps) would have me do. I don't mean to be pretentious or presumptive. I have no great "gifts" that I know of -- no healing, no prophecy, no wisdom -- to impart to anyone. I can't fly through the sky or minister salvation. I'm no prophet. I haven't been sent or even "saved" (in the perfect sense) myself. And if I were sent, even now, I'd be "unworthy" and "unclean". Jesus hasn't ministered to me and said "Be thou clean. I make thee whole again." 

I'm broken. And I've always been broken. Even if I weren't "broken," I'm familiar enough with myself to know that I'd soon be broken. (He's ALWAYS finding ways to strengthen and improve me...by showing me my weaknesses!)

Still, despite inklings of greater things, I don't want to leave what I have now: father, mother, wife and children, lands, gold, etc. I feel "attached" to them and I WANT them. I want my family to be with me -- as Lehi wanted his wife and children to be with him! 

I beckon, but they do not come. I call, but they do not answer. Who am I that they should "follow" me? I am NOTHING and NO ONE in whom ANYONE should trust. I seek Him...and would urge EVERYONE to do likewise.

Seek Jesus.

I just wish my family were coming with me. I love them. And miss them.

A personal note

Not too long ago I woke up happy every day. I was grateful to be alive, happy for the chance of a new and brighter future. I was excited (or at least positive) about my work and my progress. I was grateful for my wife (whom I loved) and our children (whom we adored). 

I felt loved, too. On top of that, I belonged to a church filled with friends and "family" I had known nearly all of my life. We strengthened each other. I had "community" and "fellowship" and "friendship" with them. My life had purpose and meaning.

I was profoundly grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I woke my wife and children early each day and read the scriptures with them before I left for work. We talked about God. We prayed. We had a big family hug afterward. That was our tradition. That was our ritual. That was what I looked forward to most. At night we'd do it again! And our lives were richly blessed.

Oh, we had our struggles! I faced tremendous temptations and trials and challenges at work and at home. My work (as a teacher) was very difficult. I had an "important" job to do. I saw this world as a great battle between light and darkness, good and evil, right and wrong. My "job" was to overcome evil and improve myself each day (helping my family and others to do likewise). I was on the Lord's side and errand and He had my back. He equipped me with EVERYTHING I needed to be happy. 

And I was. Terribly.

Unto whom or what can I liken my happiness?

I met a man in the Bahamas (when I served in the military). He had a "salt farm". His job was to let in the ocean water (at high tide), filling a large, flat, shallow pool, then close the gate again. As the ocean water evaporated, salt crystals formed. Those crystals -- some as big as golf balls! -- were then gathered and processed. 

This man was "poor" by U.S. standards. He lived in a shack with his wife and children. I visited his "house". It was built on stilts. You could see the ocean through the floorboards! (You wouldn't want to drop your wedding ring in that living room!) As the man tried to open his "front door" -- just a plank, really, secured by a loop of rope -- the "door" hit something. Looking inside, the man discovered his 2-year-old son, asleep on the floor. (A human door stop!) The boy had drifted off right there, waiting for his dad to come home. Our "poor" host offered to make us, his guests -- perfect strangers, really! -- sandwiches for lunch.

I thought to myself: "THIS is the RICHEST man in the world! He has a house to call his own, an "important" job to do, clothes and food sufficient, a wife and children who love him, whom he can love in return. He has EVERYTHING he wants and needs!"

I went home from that visit, determined to gather this man's "wealth" in my own life. It took me nearly 30 years. In time, I had a house. (Or two!) An "important" job. I was married to a beautiful wife and had seven wonderful children with her to call our own, to love and adore!

I had EVERYTHING! (Or so I thought.) My heart was full! My cup overflowed!

Then I lost it all. 

My job. (Even my career!) My religious affiliation. My home. My wife. My children. 

Oh, you can still find them out there, somewhere. Someone else now has my job. Someone else will have my wife. My children still walk around. (They just don't love or care about me anymore. I might as well be dead to them.) The church still stands on the corner where I helped build it, attended by all my former friends (who demanded that I leave them). 

I might as well be dead to them, too.

That really would make it all better, wouldn't it? I pray for death. (Doesn't someone have cancer out there, who needs to trade his health for mine?)

Please, God, please! Can I just die and not have to suffer this loss?

While somewhat older now, I'm still in terribly good shape (physically). Death, it seems, for now at least -- though certainly preferable to me -- is not my lot. Why did I come here? I didn't come here to die. I came here to live! To face new challenges! To exercise my faith in Christ! To keep His commandments (or strive to learn to do so), to overcome this world! 

Here I am...to become like Jesus.

I can't do that if I "wimp out" and cheat life and pray for death! Or do nothing. I can't bury my talent.

Jesus said "Let this cup pass from me." He wasn't begging to die! He was pleading to live! 

His Father had something else in store for Him, however. Jesus knew that. (And believed!) That's why He willingly submitted to His Father's will. He loved His Father! He trusted His Father. Even unto death.

And I trust mine. (Plus I love Jesus.)

I don't like this cup that's been handed to me. I HATE IT! I don't want to drink it! I want my "old" life back! I want my loves! My wife and children! I want my family and prayer and scripture study and hug time again! I want my house, my job and my religion!

But it's all gone now. And I don't see ANY of that coming back anytime soon. Not in this life. 

I've lost it all. And I only have myself to blame. If I were different. If I hadn't made certain mistakes. If I hadn't taken risks. If I hadn't been tempted. If I hadn't been who I am. If I didn't know better. If I'd made other choices. If I hadn't "rocked the boat." If I hadn't "jumped ship"!

So now what? Now what do I do?

I don't know. I honestly don't know.

I just have to keep living and somehow find meaning from the broken shards of my broken life. I have to figure out how to love those who don't love me anymore and bless those who now curse me. I must do good to those who hate me and pray for those who now despitefully use me and persecute me. 

It's not easy. Sometimes -- a lot of times! -- I just want to lash out and fight back, not turn the other cheek or bow down under this heavy load which, from all appearances, seems destined to crush and destroy me. I have lost everything I ever wanted or loved in this world. So now what? What do I do? What do I have left to live for?

I don't know. I have many tools and a marvelous "car" to get me almost anywhere else I want or need to go, to do almost anything else! But my "car" has been flung into an ocean of sorrows and now rests at the bottom of the sea. What good is a car, even filled with tools, at the bottom of the sea?

I've been pierced with many wounds. A barbed arrowhead now lies near my heart! It pains me terribly, but I can't pull it out! Anything I do only makes it worse! Sadly, it appears the only way I can get this arrow out is by pushing it all the way through! (I don't want that! But what other choice do I have?)

I'm not coming out of this alive. I'm going to be a bloody mess by the time we're all "done" here!

Enough of my ranting and self-pity. I'm just bereft and don't know what to do. I call upon Heaven...and wait for His answers. But I don't want to "move on." I want to stay right here with my friends and family. I don't want to leave them behind! 

But they want me to go. They urge me to go...to "move on" with my life...without them.

If my life has no value to them, it has no value to me.

Let the Lord's will be done. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

A house divided

I suspect the demonstrations against President-elect Donald Trump, if not quelled, will lead to civil war. People are already being beaten and hurt. (It's the "anti-Trump" people who are instigating the demonstrations and the violence.) Remarkably, Michael Moore said President-elect Trump is an "illegitimate president and does not have the vote of the people."

Didn't we just have a vote? Who won the election, pray tell?

When Obama was sworn in (by hook and by crook), didn't we who said he would be an "illegitimate" and "failed" president nonetheless give him the benefit of the doubt? (In my mind, there really wasn't any doubt.) Didn't we let him assume the office and occupy the White House anyway and foist his terrible schemes upon U.S.? (Didn't he f#&$ it up just as badly as we said he would?) So why now all the whining about Trump?

Take your medicine, America. Trump won the election, fair and square. (Some would say it was a miracle, but no one is claiming Trump cheated.) Either we have a republic and the rule or law, or a mobocracy, dictated and orchestrated by a few who pull the strings. (In this case, George Soros is pulling the strings, buying off thousands of protesters and shipping them nationwide to give the appearance of mass dissatisfaction across the country. He profits from civil unrest!)

Oh, don't get me wrong. I KNOW there is mass dissatisfaction. Over HALF the country didn't vote for Trump. (Just like a majority of Americans didn't vote for Obama. Were those who didn't support Obama any LESS dissatisfied than the "anti-Trump" crowd is today? Hardly. But you didn't see them marching in the streets the day after the election.)

The "losers" of this election need to stand down and give peace a chance. The Left is continuing to do what the LEFT has ALWAYS done: whine, litigate and agitate for violence when they don't get their way. The LEFT has ALWAYS run roughshod over the Right. (That's why the long march of the Right has been in retreat during ALL of my lifetime!)

It's time for the Right to press FORWARD and do what the Democrats ALWAYS do: hit HARD, hit FAST and do EVERYTHING the Right says they're going to do. The Democrats are not "ashamed" of their agenda. They're PROUD of it! Democrats don't back down. (Sure, they lie about their motives, strategies, tactics and end-game, but they certainly don't stop pursuing them!)

If the Right has any hope of being taken seriously, now or in the future, it MUST "deliver" as promised, NOT back down!

Unfortunately, because the Left ALWAYS does what's best for the Left (and not necessarily for what's best for the country or for others in general), they will NOT stop this fight. If Trump endeavors to implement his agenda (validated by our most recent election), the Left will rise up (eventually) in violent opposition. Blacks, Hispanics, and mollycoddled Whites will "rally" to the cause -- until civil war breaks out. (It already has, with the Black Lives Matter movement.) Illegal immigrants (who happen to be mostly Hispanic) now brazenly flout American laws and threaten to oppose any lawful enforcement of U.S. immigration rules that do not grant them full license to invade our country and benefit by doing so.

I will not fight. I will NOT take up arms against my neighbor. They can "have" their country -- this country, my country -- just the way they want it! (If the North had given the South their due, before the Civil War, and left them alone, they eventually would have come around...and the violence, if any, would have been wholly within the South's own borders, among its own people.)

No matter what, the Left will blame the Right for ALL our troubles. (It was George Bush's fault -- never Obama's -- before this election. Now it will be all Trump's fault hereafter.) For the Left, it's ALWAYS someone else's fault. NEVER their own policies or behavior. NEVER their responsibility.

I'd GIVE the Left California -- including my own house! -- if they would ALL just move here...and leave the rest of U.S. the hell alone.

A real murder mystery

Atmospheric CO2 is at (or near) historic lows -- the lowest "recorded" levels in earth's long history. (Any lower, and life on earth would dance at the brink of extinction. That's not what you've been "sold", is it?) With less CO2 in the air than we have now, our lives would be not-so-quietly, but just as cataclysmically "snuffed out".

The anthropogenic global warming "lie" -- with its insidious accusation of fossil-fuel-burning man as "culprit" -- isn't just a lie. It's a hideous lie -- like the markings of a malfunctioning instrument panel telling a pilot she's flying right side up when she's really upside down.

This article is well worth the read. Until you do, you'll have no idea how much danger we're in...especially if we (continue to) follow the "wisdom" of scientifically illiterate "global warming" fanatics.

The gift of prophecy

I want to revisit this man's testimony. At a time when few were projecting a Trump win, he calmly, firmly, and earnestly predicted what has come to pass.

What caught my attention was NOT his prognostication, but his referencing a "council". The council of the Gods. Trump was there, he said. This man's depiction of what was said and done in that council riveted my attention and reverberated through my soul.

I know nothing of this man -- whether he is a true prophet or a lunatic. But his words struck me as "true" and that's why I posted them on Facebook a few days ago.

EDIT: And lest you think this characterization of Trump too presumptive, consider this comment by Undocumented Civilizationalist on Vox Day's blog:

He defeated 16 politicians better connected in Washington than himself.
He defeated the GOP establishment and party leaders who attacked him from all sides.
He defeated the DNC machine who held power of the government.
He defeated the Mainstream media complex and their lying smear machine.
He defeated the Hollywood entertainment industry.
He defeated Wall Street
He defeated all the other globalists who opposed him with all their money, influence, and power. 

And he did much of it by himself.

Trump, you magnificent bastard!


EDIT #2: BTW, there was ANOTHER "prophet" who predicted the "Trumpslide".

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

This "just in" from Vox Day's blog:

Anonymous 11/03/16 00:09:23 No.95833740

Over the next few days many new documents will be released. The contents of these documents will contain evidence of perhaps the largest coverup in American History. Before this happens we would like to explain ourselves and answer a few questions you may have.

Until this month, WikiLeaks and Anonymous have worked together in building an efficient, detailed, comprehensive set of documents that would be responsible for the incarceration of Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and 21 individuals ranging from the DNC, FBI, CIA, and Clinton foundation. These documents will show without a doubt, evidence of Treason, Obstruction of Justice, Election Fraud/Manipulation, and Bribery.

This was intended to be the October surprise. But before the release of these documents, we were contacted by a member of the FBI, as well as another from the CIA, and a week later by the NYPD. All with information retaining to something much darker than even we imagined.

Due to the nature of these leaks, we all worked together as efficiently as possible to ensure two objectives.

1. That all necessary information would be given to the public in an organized, searchable, manageable way.
2. Those who provided us with this information would be able to find safety before these releases were made. (This concern wasn't without warrant.)

Anonymous 11/03/16 00:09:46 No.95833807

The new leaks being released this week will provide documents in the form of emails, pictures, and videos. Within these will be evidence of Bill Clinton, as well as at least 6 other Government officials, taking part in sexual acts with minors. As well as evidence of Human trafficking that also included minors.

We believe these pictures and videos were taken for the purpose of political manipulation. In order to make sure all participants followed through on a previously agreed agenda.

These documents were given to us by an American Governement official when he had come to learn that this crime had been covered up by Hilary and her staff through methods including bribery and blackmail. He also told us that due to the restricted access to these documents, they would soon know he was the one who released him to us.

We tried to make arrangements for him to exit the country safely, but he was killed before those arrangements could be carried out. We are still not sure if this is because they became aware of the leak, or if they were scared that he may in the future. In either case, his identity will be made public in this next set of leaks so that he can be honored for the hero that he was.

We will not only be releasing these documents, but we have multiple memebers of the FBI, CIA, and NYBD who will be publicly verifying their authenticity once their safety is assured.

This hack has not come from Russia or anyone else they may try to blame this on. This is a leak from Americas own Government Officials who fear for their safety had the opposed them directly due to reasons that will be made clear soon.

We thank you for your patience, as well as your determination and assistance in helping us expose the corruption that has infested our own government. Democracy will be restored to America.

Remember remember the 5th of November.

EDIT: This appears to have been a hoax. A really good hoax. While I did not relish the level of criminality purported, I did wish to see the rat's nest that is the Clinton Crime Syndicate -- indeed, ALL of Washington, D.C -- purged. 

That's not going to happen, apparently. Not until TPTB are removed from office. As Rob Smith posted recently on Facebook:

"What will be the outcome of the election? At this point, I don't care. What is more important is what it has shown us about where we are as a people. -Powerful people have enough sway to engineer who becomes the candidates.-The public is fully accepting of the mainstream media dictating their conversation.-Fantastic widespread corruption has been shown to exist at the highest levels of government.-There is a two tier justice system: you can get away with anything if you have enough money and influence.
-People refuse to think critically and are completely incapable of rational argument.
Because of all this, it is abundantly obvious that it does not matter who wins--the real battle is already lost. You cannot recover from a super majority that is incapable of critical thinking and rational argument."

About Trump

This morning Pure Intelligence responded to my post about "Our American Gladiator":

Will, I've been reading your blog for a while, and I've always respected your comments and insights on stuff. 

But on this I feel that you're *COMPLETELY* off your rocker. Donald Trump is such a thoroughly documented cesspool of moral filth that I cannot fathom why anyone with any shred of human dignity or brotherly love would ever consider voting for him.  

He sexually assaults women, rapes 6th-grade girls, refuses to honor contracts, foists his debts on others, lies whenever it is convenient, makes up facts when it suits him, calls for the military to commit war crimes, is completely racist and sexist, advocates for violating the Constitution in dozens of ways, and that's the tip of the iceberg. I was going to post a list of 230+ reasons why he is unfit to be anywhere near a public office, but I'm limited to 4096 characters.  

I get that the government is corrupt. I get that there are tons of people who are being exploited by corporate interests and greed. But electing someone as morally bankrupt as Donald Trump is like advocating throwing gasoline on a fire to put it out, because "gasoline is wet”.

My proposed response was so lengthy, it merited its own post:

I'm glad you brought all that up, Pure Intelligence. 

I GUARANTEE you that many of those you imagine to be "paragons of virtue" in Washington, D.C. (Utah, elsewhere, wherever) are, themselves "cesspools of moral filth".  (You just don't know about it.) Their crimes and shortcomings aren't as well documented as those of DJT, who has lived largely under the public microscope for decades.

If I take Hillary and Donald at their word (not necessarily believing that they are able to do ANY of the things they promise to do), Donald is saying EVERYTHING (or almost everything) I WANT a president to say (sans "grab them by the pussy") and Hillary's saying almost NOTHING I want a president to say. 

Frankly, Trump is advocating for a form of government and culture I support, while Clinton isn’t (putting their records and attributes aside, for the time being). 

Assuming that all of Trump's alleged failings are true, up to and including his alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl (which I HIGHLY doubt, given the behavior of the alleged "victim" who, even as an adult, conceals her identity), these "crimes" (even if real) CANNOT HOLD A CANDLE TO the demonstrated TREASON, graft, corruption, collusion, accessory to murder (if not murder in fact), coverups and racketeering that is the Clinton Crime Syndicate, spanning multiple government agencies and several decades.

These acts perpetrated by the Clintons are NOT "petty" crimes, but — as Wilileaks reveals — the wholesale offering of government services, secrets, sanctions and security for personal benefit, including the selling of state assets, contacts and contracts to the highest (often foreign) bidder, exposing Americans to danger and exploitation, even death, to cover for the Clintons' crimes. 

From the deliberate bombing of innocents working in an aspirin factory in Sudan (to distract from Bill's sexual exploits in the Oval Office) to the "setting up" and “withdrawal of support" from our ambassador to Libya (a la King David vs Uriah the Hittite, to quash public revelations of the Clintons' reckless arming of ISIS), the Clintons have shown that they will stop at nothing to get what they want. 

Trump, no doubt, is a less-than-honorable character and businessman who has "hustled" his way to the top of the economic ladder of success. For the most part, he has admitted his faults, failures and shortcomings. But they are MINOR compared to what Bill and Hillary have done to this country.  

Why do I support Trump? Because, at this late juncture, Jesus isn't running for executive office! No other candidate CAN win. Our choice is between the devil we barely know…and the devil we know even less about. (Hillary's deleted emails reflect her attempt to insure that we know even less about her!) 

I submit that -- since Trump hasn't been campaigning for public office and hiding his "sins" with the intent of running for president someday...because NO ONE would say or do the things Trump has said and done if he EVER wanted to be President of the United States! -- we have a more authentic and genuine, if not “fallen" leader in Donald Trump than we do in Hillary Clinton (who is a complete FRAUD in EVERY possible way: from her marriage to Bill to her "public" vs. "private" positions). 

Donald has built a billion-dollar business empire and world-renown “brand”. Because of his enormous wealth and fame, he cannot now be bought off. (The White House is almost a step down for him!) 

Meanwhile, “poor” Hillary still craves power, fame and fortune (even though she is already filthy rich, famous and powerful). She has done almost NOTHING with her life except abuse privilege, access, wealth, fame and power, producing little of value if not GREAT harm (not for everyone, but for EVERYONE ELSE).

Trump is a "salesman", a dreamer, a cheerleader, an organizer, an "executive", with a knack for sensing what is needed, what is wanted, and what is "right". He's been painfully right, politically, thus far. He has "called it" correctly, again and again, while Hillary's lies and double-dealings have been exposed. As Trump has stated, the Clintons have TERRIBLE judgment. 

I'll say even more in defense of Trump (all of which will be as "politically incorrect” as he is):

If a man walks up to a woman and kisses her -- even grabs her "by the pussy" -- AND SHE LETS HIM, THAT'S NOT SEXUAL ASSAULT! That's being "boorish", fresh", “forward”, “indecent”, “immoral”, even sexually "aggressive". But it's NOT -- I repeat NOT -- a crime. 

Unless she says it is. (And, even then, it may not be.)  

Millions of guys...even a few married ones…and a few gals, as well…grab women “by the pussy” EVERY SINGLE DAY! And NOT ONE of those acts is a crime! (Note the keywords Donald used: “AND THEY WILL LET YOU!”)  

Now, “acceptance” or “acquiescence” to indecent, immoral, even illegal behavior by no means excuses that behavior. The fact that one “lets” someone do something wrong -- such as walk out of a store unchallenged with items unpaid for -- doesn’t justify a perpetrator's misbehavior or make it any less criminal. 

But we’re not talking CRIMINAL behavior here. Trump wasn’t advocating RAPE…or even sexual assault! He was bragging about engaging in SHOCKING, even SCANDALOUS conduct with ANOTHER ADULT in a way that is NEARLY EVERY ADOLESCENT'S WET DREAM! 

(It's no large stretch to imagine that Donald J. Trump is a sexually arrested adult with an adolescent mindset. Still, even for a 59-year-old, that's NOT a crime!) 

My own grandmother was rather proud of the fact that world-famous actor CLARK GABLE (of “Gone With The Wind” fame) unexpectedly kissed her full on the mouth! (Believe me, by retelling that story, she wasn't complaining or bemoaning her "fate" as one "molested" by a much older, richer, famous and powerful man!) 

That Trump is fixated on sex, sexual appearances, the thrill of sexual “conquest”, etc., is beyond dispute. He is a PROUD man. (And his pride, no doubt, compensates for other perceived inadequacies he feels or senses. He is a "flawed" character, as are we all.)

Trump is, definitely, a “type A” personality, DRIVEN with determination and passion. (And those are GOOD qualities to have in a leader. I can see these traits, to some extent, in Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well.)

But, unlike Bill Clinton, I see NO EVIDENCE that Donald Trump is a rapist. A womanizer? MOST DEFINITELY! But Trump has also shown genuine respect for and great deference toward women. (He even marries them!) Whereas Bill is serial “user” of women...like so many cruise missiles...and cigars.

Too many "details" given by Trump's many accusers have proven to be false; too many witnesses (unassociated with Trump) have stepped forward to contradict his alleged victim’s claims; and too many of the alleged "victims" themselves have been shown to be surrogates, supporters, even EMPLOYEES of Hillary Clinton to allow me to accept their testimonies at face value. 

That being said, I’m sure Trump has groped his full share of bimbos, almost ALL of whom were no doubt GRATEFUL for the "privilege"! 

(Unfortunately, the differences between Donald Trump and Bill Clinton are not as great as I would like. But they ARE much greater between him and Hillary Clinton.)

The rape charge, I can only assume, is a COMPLETE fraud, a fabrication of political art instigated by the DNC or Clinton's campaign. I see no NO MERIT to it. The alleged "accuser" has provided NO EVIDENCE, not even revealing her own identity, for public perusal or scrutiny. Thus, the allegation (for now) is nothing more than base calumny.  

Evidence that Trump "refuses to honor contracts, foists his debts on others, lies whenever it is convenient, makes up facts when it suits him" is so prevalent as to be be almost incontestable. Guilty as charged. He has "wheeled and dealed” (and "double-dealed") again and again -- to his detriment. Trump is a "fallen" man and a "failure" on many levels. He has been, in some ways, a crook.

But sometimes it takes a thief to know one -- and to root out an even larger den of thieves! The fact that EVERYONE (in power) is VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED TO  DONALD TRUMP is almost CERTAIN PROOF that he represents a REAL THREAT to them.  

ANYONE who threatens the power structure strangling Washington, D.C., now preventing American peace and prosperity, DESERVES my support. Not only that, I PRAY for them! (This statement is not to be construed as "treason" on my part. I love my country and seek its preservation.) I believe Trump -- for all his flaws -- is a true patriot. A flawed patriot, but a patriot, nonetheless.

As for calling for war crimes, I'll stand by Trump. "If we have [nuclear weapons], why can't we use them?" he reportedly said. I WANT a president WILLING AND ABLE to use nuclear weapons, if necessary. (If not, what's the point of having them?) Our enemies should be SCARED SHITLESS that we'll use them...to the point that they'll chose NOT to be our "enemies" or do us any harm.

That being said, I don't think we deserve to be unilaterally trusted with such power. We are NO LONGER the great force for good in the world, but we have become a great force for EVIL — in no small part due to the criminals who now lead U.S. astray. 

I agree with Trump: other countries, if they choose to do so, ought to be free to join the collective of nuclear-armed nations, if only to PROTECT themselves! A LONE superpower -- or group of superpowers — possessing nuclear weapons could otherwise threaten even a peaceful country into submission. America has lately proven to be just such a tyrant! 

As for war crimes, I agree with the policy of the Israelis: when a terrorist is discovered (blowing himself/herself up), the Israelis find the terrorist's family, remove them from their home, and blow up THAT HOUSE! If a criminal knows that, by killing innocents, his/her WHOLE FAMILY will likewise be killed (or left homeless), MAYBE HE/SHE WON’T DO IT!  

Unlike his predecessors, Thomas Jefferson sent warships to the Barbary Coast to fight off, rather than to appease, Muslim kidnappers, terrorists and pirates. Predations against Americans ended. I would tell the head of Iran: “If you do (such and such) again or if you do not IMMEDIATELY release our hostages, we will KILL your second-in-command…and his family…and his friends. THEN WE'LL COME AFTER YOU!” Reagan did this, to some extent, with the Iranian Ayatolla and the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Iran released its American hostages and murderous Gaddaffi "shaped up". (When she had the chance, Hillary went after Gaddafi as an "easy target", probably to burnish her "secretary of state" and "potential commander-in-chief" credentials, gleefully having him killed (even as she laughed about getting that rapist off the hook), thereby leaving a power vacuum in the region and allowing radical, armed, anti-American factions to flourish. (Again, Trump observed, Hillary has terrible judgment!) 

America’s imbecilic and feckless response to evil worldwide -- following “time-tables” for withdrawal and “rules of engagement” -- has only emboldened our enemies and telegraphed how and when we can be defeated (or outlasted). 

A predictable military response of total annihilation when attacked is actually more CONDUCIVE to peace than weak and tepid begging for mercy.  

Peace is secured through STRENGTH. (Hence our 2nd amendment!) Inasmuch as we do not inflict the first, second or even third offense against an aggressor, retaliation in kind is justified. Bullies NEVER back down…until you KICK THE LIVING SHIT out of them!  

Virtually ALL of us are "racist and sexist". (If we say we're not, we're lying, stupid, ignorant or deceived.) Men and women are NOT equal. The races are NOT equal. We differ in almost EVERY conceivable way. Trying to make us all alike is an insult to our intelligence. To pretend otherwise is delusional, deleterious and dangerous.  

If I told you there was another mass brawl in a Denny's Restaurant this past Halloween, would you be able to predict the perpetrators' race?

If I told you another woman, strapped with bombs, blew herself up in a crowded restaurant or airport, would you be able to predict her religion?

If I said a weightlifter lifted the greatest weight ever lifted in human history, would you be able to predict the weightlifter's sex?  

If you are genuinely confused by these questions and cannot confidently answer, you are either lying to yourself, stupid, ignorant or deceived.

Being unable to recognize the brutal truth about a problem -- when it's staring you right in the face! -- is the first hurdle that must be overcome before any "solution" can be achieved. 

Donald J. Trump is a “problem solver”, not a “problem creator” (like we have in Washington, D.C.). The persistence of "problems" in Washington -- and our continuing "need" for over-weening government -- arises from our inability or unwillingness to recognize and acknowledge the truth. (Criminals and charlatans in Washington -- and in virtually every state capital --DEPEND on it!)

As for advocating for "violating the Constitution in dozens of ways", building a wall to keep criminals out of our country is NOT unconstitutional. Stopping people from entering our country is NOT unconstitutional. Limiting who can (and cannot) come into this country is NOT unconstitutional. Shipping people back whence they came illegally is NOT unconstitutional. 

What is "unconstitutional" about Trump's "contract with the American voter"? (Please enlighten me.)

You do realize that oilmen routinely snuff out fires with DYNAMITE, fighting fire with fire? 

A "dirty" cop is sometimes more useful than a "clean" one. (The "dirty" cops know where all the criminals are...and all the crimes they commit.) 

Trump acknowledges his hands are not entirely “clean”. (He's admitted to playing both sides of the fence: "going along to get along”.) 

Now it's time for the game to end. The jig is up! We’ve run out of time. It’s time to pay the piper…or the party will come to any end. 

Can Trump do it?  

I doubt it. I don't think so. 

But I KNOW Clinton can’t do it. She doesn't even want to.

End of debate (for me). 

Feel free to share your views.