Forgive but not forget, “This is the way?”

On the evening of September 10^th, 2001, the skyline of New York City sported its then familiar skyline.  It’s “Twin Towers” rising to touch the sky.  A Hub of international trade and financial interaction on an international scale.  People of literally of every religion, ethnicity, social and economic niche could be found working in and around this marvel of engineering. “The World Trade Center” (WTC) was a feather in the cap of the Big Apple. For 28 years, the WTC and the Statue of Liberty were the symbols of the United States.

For 15 years, it was the obsession of Osama bin Laden.

In 1993 bin Laden orchestrated the First bombing, Trying to collapse the towers by using a car bomb in the underground parking.  Though several parking floors were damaged, the structure remained sound.  The US did not respond. 

Nine years later, and several other Embassy attacks by al Qaeda, they orchestrated the Infamous 9/11 attacks.  Getting on to planes with box cutters and such and taking control of aircraft through terror and intimidation. These terrorists flew one plane into each tower, one into the most protected portion of the Pentagon, and another was brought down in a field by the passengers who fought for control and died in the effort.  

At 8:46 AM Eastern time (15:46 UT) the first plane crashes into the North Tower. Seventeen minutes later the South Tower is struck.

At 10:28 Eastern (17:28 UT) the skyline of New York City is changed forever as the Twin Towers fell. The Pentagon has been struct, and Flight 93 has crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Thousands are dead, and the country mourns.

This is where the “War on Terror” starts.

Never Forget! But can we heal if we never forgive? 

Forgiveness or “to forgive” is a noble trait. In Christianity, it is an integral part of our belief:

For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Mathew 6:14-15 (NASB 1995)

There are no conditions placed on why we forgive. It is just an expected duty. As the forgiven, that does not mean I do not suffer the consequences. Justice demands it. I think a study of the Book of Philemon is a great example of this. But I won’t bore you with those details here. If you want a blog on that let me know in the comments. Suffice it to say that Paul is clear that forgiveness is expected, but justice is not too much to ask. So forgive, but not forget, this is the way.

Islam also teaches forgiveness. They even break it down into two distinct types. One where you have no “power” This is more about a pardon, patience, or tolerance on your part, a personal journey. It is noble but not the important kind. Then there is the type where you have the opportunity to take revenge or exact a toll. Where you are in control and can extract justice. This forgiveness, the Prophet says is much better and something to be cherished by the person who does this. I will not risk an infidels insult to Islam by quoting the Holy Qur’an.

In doing some research for this I did a quick search on “Psychology
forgiveness” and found tons of articles dealing with self-forgiveness as well as forgiveness of others. The basic idea of all of them is that forgiveness is for the forgiver and not so much for the forgivee (Yes that is a new word, See definition).

Am I saying at this point we should trust our new “Friends” the Taliban?

No! I fully expect something awful to happen on September 11th, 2021. They will blame ISIS-K or ISIL or somebody else. And in the last 20 years, there have been few years where something was not either thwarted or did happen someplace in the world.

Yet I think forgiving is a major step in our recovery. I do not hate Islam, Muslims, Persians, Arabic, or Afghan peoples. I do not trust Radical Islamists who promote Sharia Law.  Why?  Because, by their own admittance, peace is obtained by world domination.  You will have 3 choices in a Sharia Afghanistan, Convert to Sharia/Suni Islam, be a slave or die.  It is not complicated.

Will we need to go back to Afghanistan?

I don’t know.  But I expect to.  We have left behind Americans and supporters.  We have abandoned our allies. Our President and State Department has committed Treason and Misdemeanors in arming our enemies and breaking the trust of the American People and her allies.  We have created the 26^th most powerful military in the world by abandoning some $85 Billion of advanced military equipment, who also thinks that they should rule under a medieval architecture of Sharia Law. And will probably gleefully sell our tech to both Russia and China, people whom we seem poised to fight in the near future.    We have broken trusts around the globe.  The only way you earn that back is to pay the price.

Let me be clear. 

For 20 years our service members fought, bled, and died to keep this country safe.  Their mission was to keep the wolves in the mountains of Afghanistan, and they were mostly successful.  Out fighting personnel.  Have nothing to be ashamed of.  They fought well and did their duty.  It is not their fault our ambiguous mission of “War on Terror” did not give them the direction they needed.  Next time we end up in a war, “We the People” must hold our leaders to a higher standard.  I don’t want a war on an idea.  We will look for and find an enemy.

Ideas can’t be destroyed, enemies can. And it all starts first with forgiveness.

First, we must stop fighting ourselves.  Come together under a principle of Liberty and Justice for all.  Not Equity or Social Justice that tries to guarantee outcomes that cannot be upheld. But the opportunity for each person

Remember first we are all human on this planet.  Homo Sapiens. If you are in a hospital and need a kidney, do you care if the person who gives you one is Afghan, African, Chinese, or Caucasian?  I know I don’t.

In the end Mr. President, I can forgive you for your mishandling of Afghanistan and its withdrawal.  But that does not mean I can forgo the consequences of your actions! The incompetence of your actions and that of the State Department you have appointed are criminal. The abandonment of US citizens and others for no other reason than to meet a political goal simply shows your lack of personal morals.

Just because I forgive, does not mean I forget.  If I forgive a doctor for a bad diagnosis, I do not allow them to continue as my doctor.  If my contractor builds a bad staircase, I forgive them and make sure the folks that build the bad staircase do not continue to work on my project. 

Mr. President, Secretary of State Blinker, Thank you for your service, I hereby accept your resignations.

Or we could do the whole perp walk thing out the West entrance in cuffs for Treason.  The choice is yours.

Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.

Does a war end just because you say so?

On September 10^th, 2001, if you asked Al Qaeda they would have told you they were at war with the Great Shatan, America. Suddenly on September 11^th of that year, America became educated as to our status in that conflict.  Though we had fought skirmishes since the 1980s, we always treated them as a punitive police action.  Play nice or we will throw bombs and missiles at you. We never viewed it as a war.

The last war that ended was World War II.  In that case, the enemies of the allies surrendered. There was no question the war had ended.   Later the enemies we defeated asked us, the allies to help them rebuild and we have had a presence there, to guarantee their freedom from the new communist enemy. Slightly different than in Korea.

In Korea, we got sucked into a 70-year occupation of territory to protect the southern half of a republic.  That was negotiated by the “peace.” A peace that has threatened to erupt into war the entire time. 

We retreated from Vietnam. Should we have been there?  Probably not. Again we fought for no real purpose and then withdrew under political pressure from home.  World War II had a cause.  Korea and Vietnam did not. 

In these 20 years of unfettered conflict, we have attacked countries all over the middle east. In that time, we have destabilized the entire region.  We have gifted $80 billion in advanced weapons to a group of tribal leaders who wish to establish a theocracy.  Who has a vision of global peace through making all of us either radical Islamists, slaves, or dead!  In their eyes, those are your choices. Now they are better armed than many nations. 

What was the purpose in Afghanistan?

I would love to be done with Afghanistan.  That has been a wish of mine for years.  My reason is I’ve seen no end in sight.  There has not been an exit strategy in any conflict we’ve been in for 70 years. But the answer to ending a war is to defeat an enemy.  Not negotiate a peace, nor simply walk away.  With Japan, Germany, and Italy, we defeated them and then offered the hand of friendship to help them rebuild. For many years we had a good relationship with our allies, and we could count those former enemies among that number.  Now we have broken the trust of our allies, but we have armed people who have sworn to destroy us. Forgive me if I think this is not a win, but an abject failure.

In a news conference today (08/31/2021) Representative Dan Crenshaw, who was injured in that Afghan war in 2012, made very clear how abandoning hundreds if not thousands of American Citizens, and even more, Afghan Citizens who helped us fight is a travesty that may never be resolved.  That breach of trust and violation of responsible behavior is yet another misdemeanor if not a High Crime that this President has committed in the name of his political agenda. So the list of impeachable offenses continues.   There was no sound reason to handle this in the way his administration has. President Biden exercised criminal intent by tying the hands of our military and forcing them to do what they did.  And our Military Command showed their true colors by capitulating and not fighting for a congressional review. Again, passion over principle in the politics of the Democrats.

Please note who is responsible!

If you really think it is President Biden you are wrong.  It was obvious what was going to happen if he came into power.  President Biden was going to be exactly the President he has become. A man with no principles.  Tossed to and fro by the whims of his party.  Paying no attention to the principles set in our constitution.  Ignoring the Supreme court.  If he is willing to ignore the Supreme Court on the Border and property rights, what is next?  Do you think any of your individual rights are safe here?  Like Maxine Waters Said “Just do it! What can they do?”

This is what you voted for America when you voted Personality over principle.  Congratulations.  The blood of our fellow citizens is on your hands.  And if you think it is not, then feel free to lie to yourself while the rest of your rights are taken away. 

Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.

#ImpeachBiden, #ImpeachBidenHarrisPelosiNOW

Dear Oregon, Being a Cop just got harder.

US Navy Traning Session

The Special Session of the Oregon legislature is trying to bring about major changes in the way Law enforcement is organized. The law of “unintended consequences” will increase crime and the number of people seriously injured or killed by law enforcement. With the new investigative power being proposed and the fact that Police Unions will have even more power – Who really thinks this is a good idea? Oh yes, the anarchists. The bills proposed look like an Anarchist dream.

 

HB4201 – Joint Committee to “investigate” police incidents.

For every incident, this pulls major law enforcement players from across the State of Oregon to investigate any incident of death or “qualifying” injury of a suspect.  On the surface, this does sound like a good idea.  The State Attorney General appoints a special investigator that can not be part of the department of the Officer(s) who had the incident against a suspect.  This part really does not sound too bad.  Though the power of the “Special Investigator,” an appointee is equal to that of a District Attorney. an elected position. This bypasses the ability for the public to have sway over who represents us.  People want a “democracy” and yet we elect officials who work to take our vote away.  It would have been better if the “Special Investigator” had to work with the District Attorney. Then at least “We the People” would be represented. But the legislature had to complicate things… A lot!   

This bill also establishes a “deadly physical force planning authority” that has the following members – The local Sheriff and the District Attorney of the jurisdiction where the incident occurred. Not office representatives of these parties, but the actual officeholder.  Also, a Peace Officer who should be (if available) a designated Union representative. One of the Police Chiefs In that county,  A “Public Representative” selected by the DA and The Sheriff, a member of the Oregon State Police, selected by the Superintendent of State Police. A tribal Law enforcement officer if desired by any tribes in the county.

That means every incident will be examined by not only the “Special Investigator”, but also the DA, Sherriff, a peace officer (Probably a Union Representative), a civilian, A state police officer for a total of 5 plus if needed a tribal enforcement officer.  Why the Special Investigator, The District Attorney, and if needed the local Grand Jury is not enough, I am not sure.  We are adding yet another layer that will cause more delays.  If an Officer is found justified, as will probably be the case in most incidents, we have just added several weeks to the resolution, for no real benefit. 

This is another crack for things to fall through, and your legislators are making it happen on purpose. 

SB1604 – Gives Unions more power in disciplinary hearings and arbitration.

This bill essentially means the Peace Officers unions can dictate what punishments are given to Police Officers.  When wrongdoing is seen by both the Police Department and the Union in arbitration.  This may have started as a way to keep officers from some form of double jeopardy, but the end result is that officer discipline is negotiated as part of the Union Deal.  That is what enabled Office Chauvin to abuse George Floyd.  If Officer Chauvin had been eliminated from the force after his previous repeated infractions, Mr. Floyd may be alive (Note; Floyd Autopsies).

To me, it seems the unions are part of the problem.  Officers need the legal protections a union offers.  That is true.  But as public employees, the better solution may be private legal counsel. Maybe there should be legal associations available to the Officers like USCCA  but for police.  Allowing them affordable council.  How much are Police dues, and do they get their money’s worth?  Collective bargaining for public employees has its own problems, raising the cost to “We the People.” Just look at Cal-PERS or any state where unions run everything.

HB4204 and HB4208 – No more Choke holds under any circumstances and no more non-lethal crowd control methods (Tear Gas and Sound Cannons).

I am grouping these two bills because they both have to do with non-lethal force.  The unintended consequences of this will be MORE deaths. Not fewer. 

Let that sink in for a second. Taking away non-lethal tools? That means the officers will need to accelerate to the use of lethal force.  It is a simple equation. 

When dealing with a crowd, the inability to use tear gas and sound will necessitate the use of clubs, rubber bullets and probably shotguns.  Or we let the crowds rampage.  How has that worked for Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis and New York City?

The death of George Floyd was tragic, but it was the abuse of the officer, not a chokehold or tear gas that killed him.  And I’m, sorry Sonic Cannons are a great way to disperse a violent group of people.  By reducing the number of choices you increase the odds for the legitimate need for lethal force.  It is that simple.  The law o unintended consequences.

Conclusion:

The police in the state of Oregon are generally well trained and professional.  The number of incidents in our state, per capita, are lower than most. 

What has happened in places that have tightened the cuffs on officers? New York and other cities “defunding” the police have crime skyrocketing.  Our police are Nobel people trying to do a job professionally.  The Women and men of law enforcement deserve our support, not our scorn. 

We have a chance to vote in November.  To find representatives that will solve the problem instead of reacting, badly to every whim. 

 

In November Vote for Freedom. Supporting the anarchists can only bring terror and fear.  Deimos and Phobos, the Children of Mars, God of War.  There was a meme going around of the State Farm commercial Character “Mayhem” (Played by Dean Winters) as "Person of the Year." Not something to be proud of. The best way to stop Mayhem is not to invite it in. 

I am considering a Run for the Oregon House Seat 29 In Hillsboro Oregon. 

Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.

A letter to the American People

Dear America,

On July 4^th, 1776, the first Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of independence.  It started the separation of the 13 colonies from the British Empire.  A separation that had been festering for years. People came to this continent in order to exercise freedoms.  And when those freedoms were threatened by “The Crown”, they declared the desire to separate themselves. And they gave reasons why.

In this time of turmoil, there are people within the borders of this country that seeks a drastic change.  We are now faced with a similar choice as we had in 1860.  A leader of the New York Chapter of Black Lives Matter (BLM) said:

“If this the country doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it. All right?”
- Hawk Newsome (06/24/2020 - Fox News "The Story" segment)

Mr. Newsome later tried to confuse what he said by “clarifying” his statement adding - “And I could be speaking figuratively. I could be speaking literally. It’s a matter of interpretation”?  Talk about Double Speak, George Orwell would be proud.  Am I to interpret what he said as either a threat or a threat?  Whether figurative or not, the meaning is clear.  If the Organization of BLM does not get what they want they will “burn down this system and replace it…” Is that unclear in any way?

I am not speaking figuratively.  Let me be clear. I am a supporter of the constitution of the United States of America.  I believe in a “Representative Republic” that is based on three branches of government set against each other, whose sole purpose is to protect the rights of the individual person.  Even ones I disagree with.

I can agree with the organization of Black Lives Matter (BLM) that this country is in trouble.  It is in trouble because we have ceded the path of knowledge to radicals who want to change the facts as they stand. 

I stand for the following values:

• All people are created equal, each person has a right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness granted them by the fact of their existence. 
• That the government’s sole job is to allow freedom and exercise of the rights of each person. Not collective rights or salvations.  Whatever qualifies as salvation is attained by the individual.
• There is a process to extract change in our government and that process is representative in nature.

 On June 24^th, 2020 Black Lives Matter declared war on the United States of America.

The war has been going on for years. Their allegiance with AntiFa and Resist Fascism sound like great ideas.  But if you use the tactics of the groups you abhor, and the principles you fight for are the same as those you say you are against, then I can only conclude you are the enemy.   If you want to establish socialism, please feel free to do it elsewhere.  There are choices where you can go.  Cuba would probably love to have your money and your labor.  Though you might not like the conditions….  Be careful what you wish for.

Destruction of property, private or public is against societal norms.  If you are oppressed by an inanimate object, you obviously are a blue pill liberal.  The “Blue Pill” allows you to see the world as it is filtered through the narrative of your misconceptions.  It encourages an emotional response.  James 3:16 “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing” (NASB).  Oddly enough every culture that has had any success has striven for less selfishness and more thought and service.  “Alcoholics Anonymous” speaks of “Selfishness – Self-centeredness! That we think is the root of our problem (Page 63 1^st Paragraph)> The Qur'an teaches selflessness is the path to salvation (Example Qur’an 76:7-11). Buddhist promote selfless-ness too:

The burden of Selfishness by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu:

Selfishness gives rise to love, greed, anger, hatred, fear, worry, frustration, envy, jealousy, possessiveness. All of these are aspects of selfishness. Love through fear and worry, are just different aspects of selfishness. All this is such a powerfully destructive burden upon the mind. It weighs the mind down. If we get outside of our little worlds and start to observe what is really happening around us and also within us, if we come out of our clouds, break free of our daydreams, and really look, we shall see all this selfishness and all the harm and pain that it causes, both to ourselves and to others, This is the burden of selfishness.

So America I ask you to return to the roots of our founding.  That the focus of Government is not the benefit specific individuals, but to promote equal opportunity for all.  In Government, less is more in all things. To understand that the contention between the House of Representatives and the Senate was on purpose.  So that the large States could not dictate to the smaller States and that the individual right to pursue happiness as they see fit can be preserved. 

Anyone that uses force on you has only one intent, to take what you have.  You are encouraged to share, but no group should take it. Destroying businesses, insured or not, is wrong.  It is selfish and that path leads to destruction. Defend yourselves to the fullest extent of your ability.

I am a Christian, a Husband, a Father, and an American. All of those balance together to give me the principles that guide me. I believe in freedom, choices are what proves you have freedom.  Though I do not agree with everybody, everybody has a right to believe what they want. But they do not get to tell me what I believe or how to believe it.  The Socialist agenda is just the opposite.

I do not want to start a fight.  Sadly, that has already been done.  But I am willing to end it.  

Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.

#ProudAmerican, #RepresentativeRepublic, #BurnYourOwnFlag