As I write this, Donald Trump is at 51% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses, with almost all of the precincts reporting. Trump hit his majority and won with a record margin -- for Iowa, for any contested primary. Yes, he's the presumptive nominee. But it's more than that.
First: the voters have sent a message to Democrats that none of the stuff they have tried against Trump has worked. He is bigger than ever before, and it's not because of some "cult"; it's because the Democrats suck at governing, and now they're behaving like tyrants.
Second: the voters have sent a message to the judiciary. Judge Chutkan in DC made the point that Trump can't evade "justice" just because he's running for president. But now he's not just a candidate; he has massive support. Can you jail that man for trifles?
Third: this is a message for Trump. He lost Iowa in 2016; he won in 2024 by big margins. What changed? History, yes, but also -- Trump didn't do too much stupid stuff this rime.. He didn't snub voters or tweet nonsense. He was disciplined. He shook hands. He rallied.
If Trump can carry that discipline with him through the rest of the campaign, then he will be our president-elect, this time next year. Because nothing they have thrown at him has worked. Or will work. He is his own worst enemy and best opponent. Good luck to him.
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.
The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.
The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.
On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.
On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...
