From Instapundit
Money quote:
Endorsing Trump gets Palin back into the spotlight, increases Trump’s bona fides with lots of conservatives and blue collar voters, and as Glenn noted yesterday, is a way for her to stick it to the GOPe, who never had her back in the fall of 2008 and afterwards. And it’s possibly a ticket to a cabinet position as well. This doesn’t exactly require complex rocket surgery to parse out.
Bottom line, we get the government we deserve.
Stop the bus, I want to get off.
Other conservatives said that Ms. Palin serves as a particularly effective shield against Senator Ted Cruz, who is battling Mr. Trump for the lead in Iowa polls by courting the state’s evangelical voters.
“Palin’s brand among evangelicals is as gold as the faucets in Trump tower,” said Ralph Reed, the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
“Endorsements alone don’t guarantee victory, but Palin’s embrace of Trump may turn the fight over the evangelical vote into a war for the soul of the party,” he said.
Evangelicals See Donald Trump as Man of Conviction, if Not Faith
Strong support among conservative Christians could help Mr. Trump regain his lead in Iowa, where Mr. Cruz has pulled ahead in the polls. And Mr. Trump is making an effort to convert them. On Sunday, he assured CNN that he had “a great relationship with God.”
“I try and do nothing that’s bad,” he said. “I live a very different life than probably a lot of people would think.”
And on Monday, Mr. Trump spoke at Liberty University, the Lynchburg, Va., institution founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. Mr. Trump has been wooing Jerry Falwell Jr., and Mr. Falwell lavished praise on him, comparing Mr. Trump to Jesus and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for voicing unpopular thoughts.
Larry Ryman, a 74-year-old street preacher who lives near Findlay, Ohio, said he did not know whether Mr. Trump was a man of God. “I’ll tell you what,” said Mr. Ryman, a staunch supporter of Mr. Trump. “If he isn’t, he’s talking like it.”
Holy cow. . .
I’ve been wondering lately if the Lord is finally bringing some hot judgment down on us for the decades many of us in the American evangelical culture spent foolishly looking to political power and the pseudo-saviors of our political class to fix what ails us. I’m not sure what else can explain the Trump phenomenon. This is like a bad dream.
I began having second thoughts several years ago about the efficacy of trusting in the political process. Now I’m in full-on repentance-mode. Never again. I think it’s good to vote and take part in the civic process, but trusting in chariots and horses is dumb.
Regarding Trump: there’s no way I’m voting for him if he somehow wins the nomination. I may not vote for his opponent either but I’ll probably be silently rooting for whoever that is.
We need to step back from the cliff here.
The past month has been a tough one for show-biz deaths. Let’s hope the pace slows down a bit. But sadly, just as my dad was forced to come to grips with 40 years ago, we need to start getting used to the musical stars of our youth checking out on an unfortunately regular basis.
Yeah.
While I’m on this Eagles kick at the passing of Glenn Frey, here’s one more.
It’s hard to beat a band’s sound in its prime. And this band was prime, baby.
Had a crazy (good, but crazy) day at work. I found myself suddenly very understaffed. In addition I was also sick, and the price of the product we produce has gone over a cliff and down a very deep hole. I came home and spent the evening finishing up unfinished office work while sneezing like a banshee.
Then I heard that Glenn Frey has passed away. We’ve certainly lost a couple of classic rockers here in the past few days.
This song (footage below from a 1977 concert) was co-written by Frey, Don Henley (on the drums) and Randy Meisner (vocals and bass). Glenn is the guy on the keyboard with the excellent Fu-Manchu. The guys were all so young. And so, so good.
Take it to the limit may have been the first Eagles song I was aware of as a kid, and it’s always been my favorite. Such a sense of longing and searching in this one.
Rest in peace Glenn Frey.
I was never a huge David Bowie fan, but I liked some of his songs and can appreciate his artistry. I was saddened to hear this week that he had died of cancer at the age of sixty nine.
I’ve read some about Bowie this week and it’s clear that the man had a spiritual sense and hunger that led him to search out God in a variety of different religions and experiences. I don’t know enough about his personal faith, if any, at the time of his passing or the faith of his wife Iman, but I am always hopeful. I think this past year suffering through cancer and his impending death may have made a difference. I hope he is in Christ and with Christ now. Lord have mercy.
The last words Iman tweeted before his death: “The struggle is real, but so is God.”
Some favorite moments
Bowie saying the Lord’s Prayer at the Freddie Mercury memorial at Wembley stadium, 1992
Kristen Wiig singing A Space Oddity in the Sweet Life of Walter Mitty (this was my favorite scene from that excellent movie
I’m pretty sure I actually saw this one when it first aired when I was a kid. It was one of the most incongruous moments I’d ever seen, but it worked beautifully.
Bowie and Bing Crosby singing Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth
Andrew and I have started running together on Saturday mornings. It’s been great – we made eight miles today. The runs don’t seem so long and tiring because the conversation is so stimulating, and covers the gamut of subjects from history (especially war history) to current events, politics, poverty, etc.
Running with smart people (I’m referring to him, not me). I highly recommend it.
Update – I’m also getting used to my other Saturday tradition after these long runs: coming home and eating everything in sight, then crashing in bed as my legs and body realize that they’ve had all the energy sucked out of them.
Last night Jill and I, along with Jill’s parents, our daughter, her husband, and two of our grandkids, went to see Blake play soccer. It’s strange; we’ve been watching that kid play soccer since he was four. He’s now eighteen and in his senior year of high school. We don’t really know how many games we have left to cheer for him.
Blake is excellent at soccer. I don’t think I’m saying that just because I’m his dad. He is poetry in motion: finesse, skill, and a strategic sense of the field and the movements of teammates and the opposition that can’t be coached. Last night he had two assists and two goals in a win against the St. John XXIII Lions. It was a lot of fun.
I hope we’re still watching him play next year. Time will tell. It’s been a really, really fun ride.
No.
It’s still early in the election season (though it feels like this campaign has been going on for eons).
But, nope.
No.