Church to Purge George Washington

Why has the Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia embraced political correctness rather than Christian forgiveness and acceptance? Historically, haven't churches traditionally been sanctuaries from political persecution? Hence, how shameful to attack the memory of an original member—and most famous attendee: the George Washington! Undoubtedly, his family's pew, No. 5, still stands in mute protest of the leadership's plan to remove two memorial plaques framing the altar of his church. Regarding their wrongheaded decision, Scripture says, “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who [metaphorically] kills you will think they are offering a service to God” (John 16:2). Ironically, this organization publicly proclaims: “All are welcome—no exceptions”. Thus, in the name of “inclusiveness,” a Founding Father—and America's first president—will shortly be excluded.

A statement released to the congregation last week from church officials explains this highly controversial decision:

“The plaques [of Washington, and Lee] in our sanctuary make some in our presence feel unsafe or unwelcome. Some visitors and guests who worship with us choose not to return because they receive an unintended message from the prominent presence of the plaques.”

As the cherry tree myth tells us that George Washington could not tell a lie, one wonders if this narrative would meet that standard. Apparently, the witch hunt of symbols of the Confederacy has mutated to now generally include long-dead slaveholders. Speaking of truth-telling presidents, Donald Trump predicted this outcome back on August 15, 2017:

“But, many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. So this week, it is Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?”

That is the essential question. Another is how can a George Washington plaque reasonably give offense? It can't. Unfortunately, zealotry has migrated from tearing down statues in parks to the interior spaces of church walls. For example, liberal “do-gooders” have doggedly pursued Robert E. Lee wherever he's referenced. As a fellow parishioner of Christ Church, Gen. Lee's plaque will also be rooted out in a similar manner as the National Cathedral's stain glass window that featured him. Ah, these poor beleaguered generals! They survived brutal American wars, but are proving no match for the revisionist fervor fouling today's air.

It's unfair to punitively apply 21^st century sensibilities to great men from long gone eras. Like the rest of the human race, they're not perfect. They also don't have the benefit of hindsight. Flaws and all, their lives shaped our collective cultural heritage. Thus, their “mistakes” remain valuable because they're instructive. Indeed, the wise study, learn from, and remember history. That's precisely why it should be preserved: warts and all.

How is it not a barbaric act to destroy history, whatever the excuse? As food for thought, across the world there is another, more strident group doing a lot more than simply defacing ancient places of worship for jaded political purposes. With similar self-righteousness, they rationalize dynamiting churches, and wielding sledgehammers against priceless religious iconography. Undoubtedly, the decision-makers at Christ Church, like the rest of us, would see this as wrong. But the difference between the actions of both parties is ultimately only a matter of degree, isn't it?

Twitter: @DavidHunterblog

http://patriotpost.us/commentators/446

http://www.americanthinker.com/author/david_l_hunter/

http://canadafreepress.com/members/74987/DavidLHunter/976

http://newstex.aci.info/authors/15977720f5100100002

GOP Blood Flows On Patriotic Day

A historically pro-American day—June 14^th—has been marred by the leftist violence of a lone gunman with the blood of innocents spilled. Previously, this date was a celebratory one: the 100th anniversary of Flag Day, the 242^th year of the founding of the U.S. Army (motto: “This We'll Defend”)—and for good measure President Trump's 71^st birthday. Who will remember any of that after Wednesday's incident?

All these reasons for joy have been overshadowed by the wielder of a semi-automatic rifle—an outspoken campaign volunteer for (Democrat colleague and socialist) Bernie Sanders (I-VT)—who shot at some 25 Republican Congressman, and staffers, at Simpson Park in Alexandria, VA. Per law enforcement, the deceased suspect is identified as James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville, IL, 66, the former owner of a home inspection business. His reported 10 minute melee happened just after 7 AM EST in which some 60 rounds were fired. The attack disrupted the Republicans' baseball practice for an annual charity game with Democrats. Held Thursday night at Nationals Park, this 108 year tradition, started in 1909, was interrupted by the Great Depression, World War II, and a brief pause from 1958 to 1961 as the event was thought then to have become “too physical”. Speaking of risk to life and limb, eyewitness Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said to MSNBC, “Had they [Capitol Police] not been there, it would have been a massacre.” Ah, the obvious value of armed good guys when those present would have otherwise been sitting ducks.

The two-person protective detail would not have been there except for the fortunate attendance of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA). This circumstance prevented what very likely would have been a killing field. Unfortunately, Mr. Scalise was shot in the hip, has been hospitalized for surgery, and remains in critical condition. Likewise shot were police officer Crystal Griner, Congressional aide Zack Barth, and lobbyist Matt Mika, before Hodgkinson's threat was nullified.

On March 22^nd, this assailant wrote on Facebook, “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.” In retrospect, Hodgkinson apparently meant that statement literally. Instead of accepting the peaceful results of the ballot box, he picked up a weapon and specifically targeted a group of open-air Republicans. Per CNBC, Congressmen Jeff Duncan (R-SC) and Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) described an encounter with the perpetrator who asked them if those practicing were “Republicans or Democrats” before the shooting. DeSantis—when shown a photo of Hodgkinson—confirmed he was the man who approached them.

Connecting the dots, how can this carnage not be politically motivated? Moreover, how is this attitude not, for example, reflective of the The Washington Post's anti-Trump masthead motto: “Democracy Dies in Darkness”? Yet, the MSM is not the only element doing the ongoing agitation. For example, speaking at the LGBT for Hillary fundraising gala in New York City back on Sept. 9, 2016, Clinton said:

“You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic—you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given [them] voice.... He tweets and retweets their offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric. Now some of those folks—they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America.”

How's that not an incendiary and hate-filled call to arms, of sorts? An unfortunate hangover of the polarization that defined the Obama years. Frenzied Democratic sentiments—typified by Hillary's—have long sown the seeds of discontent and alienation. Clearly, they have fostered this antagonistic political environment; contributed mightily to Wednesday's horror directed at Republicans. Fast-forward to 2017—and cloying Hillary's divisive drumbeat continues. On May 2, 2017, this ultimate Washington insider stated, “I’m now back to being an activist citizen and part of the resistance.” Laughably, she's an “outsider” now? Progressives, as she, intentionally use fiery language in the same spraying, destructive manner as suspect Hodgkinson's projectiles.

As a rule, conservatives don't solve their political disagreements with firearms and bullets. Why do liberal political leaders universally blame the gun? Former Clinton fundraising bagman and current VA governor Terry McAuliffe knee-jerk reaction was:

“There are too many guns on the street. We lose 93 million Americans to gun violence a day.” (The flummoxed politician repeatedly misspoke, meaning only 93 victims per day.)

Why do Democrats en masse—entirely and perpetually—ignore the pivotal reality of the user? Make no mistake, in righteous hands guns make society safer. They deter criminality and limit human causalities. That was conclusively demonstrated here. To that end, two armed heroes saved many lives otherwise lost in that early morning ambush. The only person posing a danger was an unhinged supporter of Democrats. He was likely inspired to kill Republicans because of liberals' unrelenting, uncivilized rhetoric.

Twitter: @DavidHunterblog

http://patriotpost.us/commentators/446

http://www.americanthinker.com/author/david_l_hunter/

http://canadafreepress.com/members/74987/DavidLHunter/976

http://newstex.aci.info/authors/15977720f5100100002

June 12: A Love-Hate Date

Almost perfectly bisecting the most popular month for marriages (named after the domestic goddess Juno) is June 12^th. That date—defined by two notable circumstances (and geography)—now has diametrically opposed meanings. Herein, the love-hate contours of today's political divide are clearly illuminated.

In a nod to Juno, let's start with the good. In the commonwealth whose tourism slogan is “Virginia is for Lovers”. In Richmond, a new historical marker denotes a cultural milestone: a “loving” 50^th anniversary. Ironically, this sign stands outside the building that once housed the Virginia Court of Appeals that was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling: Loving v. Virginia, 1967. That decision ended Southern states’ bans on interracial marriage. Synchronistically named, Richard and Mildred Loving were a white man and a black woman. Their successful legal challenge facilitated today's commonplace marital experience. That means 11 million are wed to a person of another race. Per Pew Center statistics, that's 1 in 6, or 17 percent compared to 3 percent in 1967. Thus, how appropriate that for Virginia June 12^th is henceforth known as Loving Day. What could be more life-affirming than that?

By contrast, in Orlando, Florida, June 12^th marks an infamous one year anniversary. How unfortunate that the horror of mass murderer Omar Mateen—who killed 49 (and injured more than 50) innocents at the Pulse gay nightclub—should correspond on the same day. Yet, that it does is instructive. For both events demonstrate the deep-seeded influences that shape our ever-evolving society. Are we to once again embrace harmony: the shared melting pot experience of being Americans? Or do violent leftist protesters, name-calling, baseless Russian conspiracies and “headless” stunts continue to dominate our political discourse? Do we rise to a new day delivered by the 2016 election, or descend further into the polarization that epitomized the last administration?

As Richard and Mildred persisted, so we must embrace our collective goodness—despite these divisive signs of our time. This must happen for the continued well-being of the nation. That means honoring the past, not tearing down old monuments; or otherwise opening old wounds with spurious claims like certain lives matter, and others don't. We would be wise to heed the Lovings's quiet and dignified example over the ratings-garnering, destructive possibility. 

Twitter: @DavidHunterblog

http://patriotpost.us/commentators/446

http://www.americanthinker.com/author/david_l_hunter/

http://canadafreepress.com/members/74987/DavidLHunter/976

http://newstex.aci.info/authors/15977720f5100100002

Exorcising Democrats' Confederate History

Why are progressives clamoring to remove many of America's mementos dedicated to the Old South? Generations later, can remnants of Civil War Democrats cause active psychological “harm”? That seems highly unlikely. However, what's real is the targeting of Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart and Jefferson Davis. If that's the liberal standard for destroying their icons, who has caused more recent and lasting damage than Barack Obama? Therefore, isn't it logical for them to purge both ancient root and modern branch? Yet, fear not, President Obama's safe from their revisionist historical pruning. It's only his antebellum counterparts who find themselves on the chopping block.

Let's pull some contextual threads from this spidery progressive web, shall we? Reportedly, Democrats in Alexandria, Virginia want to rename a main thoroughfare, Jefferson Davis Highway. Also, they want to move a statue on State Route 400 of a Confederate soldier, “Appomattox,” to the comparable obscurity of a nearby museum. Erected in 1889, is the presence of this unarmed Southerner—like the street named for the Confederacy's president—suddenly noxious to the average commuter? Do they trigger so much daily trauma that they're right to nix them? Not to be outshone, Fairfax County is embroiled in a two-year debate to strip Confederate General Stuart's name from one of its most racially diverse high schools. Their dragnet is not local however, it's a monstrosity cast widely across state lines as far as Louisiana.

As the left's revisionist hysteria is never satisfied, Stuart's famous contemporary General Robert E. Lee is targeted in both places. Atop a pillar since 1884, his towering figure was removed from its New Orleans perch last Friday after 133 years. (His was not the first to fall. On May 11th, the powers that be removed a statue from the Jefferson Davis memorial there. On Saturday, a display—the word “LOVE”—was found on its vacated platform.) Only time will tell if his Virginia likeness—mutely astride his majestic horse in Lee Park since 1924—will suffer the same “loving” fate. As the land was specifically donated to showcase this Southern soldier, is it right to unseat him after 93 years? What's more horrible here, destroying the vestiges of progressives' 19^th century past or the wasteful expenditure to taxpayers of $300,000 to do it?

Doesn't all history have a worthy place simply because it happened? How can eradicating the lessons that shaped our collective cultural experience ever be the “right” thing to do? Isn't the mind-set to wipe clean the landscape—of old dignitaries' names and harmless inanimate objects—really a fascist desire to ban ideas themselves? (Will these safe space liberal “do-gooders” advocate “Fahrenheit 451”-style book burning next?) Obviously, their predecessors' dual stains of slavery and segregation—never acknowledged or owned by them hereafter—are of lasting shame. Well, frankly, they should be. Hence, their current self-serving agenda to simply airbrush monuments out of existence.

To this end, their go-to narrative is one of distraction and manipulation. To the muddleheaded, the dishonest proclaim often repeated nonsense: America is “secretly racist”! In the same vein as “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” liberals have kind of a politically-motivated hysterical blindness. What of the widespread advancements since the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights movements? A prominent trend—the “black is beautiful” paradigm shift of the '60s and '70s—doesn't matter? Heck, these naysayers don't even acknowledge the cultural significance of the former occupant of the White House! So, concrete facts of societal progression are meaningless to them. Only their deluded aim to erase transgenerational political sins.

Seriously, it's been 152 years since the end of the Civil War! Only misguided spendthrifts waste today's public funds to “purify” the past. Obviously, historical footnotes—like the name of a road or a school, or four statues—have no magical power to corrupt anything of the now. What relevance to the day-to-day life experience of Americans do they really have? Very little, if any. In fact, their only intrinsic value are as markers showing where America has been—and how truly tolerant she has become!

Despite these ridiculous assertions, racism is not infused in the bronze edifices resembling long-dead Southerners. Likewise, it's not found in the hearts of persons striving to preserve them either. Interestingly, only Democrats' self-hatred persists with the passage of time. That liberal malady is seen in their psychological projection of guilt upon the rest us whose ancestors never owned a slave. Clearly, that's a problem better suited to the analyst's couch then the political realm. (On a related note, can our country be correctly viewed as innately “sexist” as Hillary Clinton is the latest nominee of her party—and the winner of the popular vote?) All elements described above encapsulate the schizophrenic thinking pervading every level of the Democratic Party.

In truth, tangible proof of America's well-established—and ever-expanding—pattern of embracing and celebrating diversity is everywhere! What of commonplace interracial marriage or the recent legalization of gay marriage? So, is it fair to automatically demonize a Republican simply for expressing a history-protecting impulse? Virginia's firebrand GOP gubernatorial hopeful Corey Stewart recently said:

“There’s all kinds of things that offend people, but that [removal] doesn’t make it right. That doesn’t make it so [fix the past]. This [the statue of Robert E. Lee] is a part of our history; if you don’t like our history, that’s too damn bad.”

Well, precisely. What's crystal clear is the Democrats have a cringeworthy history. Understandably, they're desperate to annihilate any reminders of the irrefutable and indefensible. Chief among them is their sole ownership of two infamous institutions: Virginia's antebellum past (read: slaveholding) and white supremacy (read: creating the Ku Klux Klan). As Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union, his party has a duty to safeguard the other side's artifacts for posterity. Without them as silent witnesses, falsely tarring conservatives with their own ongoing record of misdeeds becomes easy. If successful, all that would remain is a nebulous war of words for progressives to dominate. As George Santayana wisely advised: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Ironically, destroying America's Confederate past also diminishes her freedom-loving future.

Twitter: @DavidHunterblog

http://patriotpost.us/commentators/446

http://www.americanthinker.com/author/david_l_hunter/

http://canadafreepress.com/members/74987/DavidLHunter/976

http://newstex.aci.info/authors/15977720f5100100002

No Home for Drunk Illegal

“We are devastated. My children are crying, but we know there's nothing more we can do.” – “victim” Giovani Jimenez of Fredericksburg, VA

Like her “devastated” hubby—Virginia squatter Wendy Uruchi Contreras, 33—is illegal. Apparently, this menace can't go from point 'A' to point 'B' without violating numerous American laws. For her misdeeds, this sauced Spaniard—ironically an immigrant rights activist for CASA—inadvertently turned the spotlight of hypocrisy on herself. Thus, her own undocumented status was exposed. She was arrested last year, pleaded guilty to DUI, and is subsequently being held in custody. Today, her deportation is imminent. Sorry Charlie: too bad, so sad! Welcome to Trump's America.

Is it any wonder why this lawbreaker couldn't get the laws of this land to suddenly work for her? After an overlong six-month process (including denied last-ditch appeals), Uruchi is to be repatriated to Madrid forthwith. (Symbolically, an appropriate capper to Donald Trump's rapid-fire first week as a newly minted law and order president. Happily, like Ronald Reagan, but on steroids!)

Oh, the wailing and gnashing of teeth in casa de Uruchi-Jimenez. One feels a measure of sympathy for their American-born children, Alex, 13, and Lucia, 7. Yet, overriding this consideration is the fact that both parents intentionally flouted our legal immigration process. The couple then chose to procreate. A ripple effect of poor choices, ultimately resulting in this family's geographic dissolution. Still, the cause—and the fault—remains squarely with them.

Knee-jerk liberals make the contrived argument that America's immigration laws are draconian: “anti-family unity” or somehow contrary to the “best interests of children”. Well, what if this lead-footed lush had killed someone else's child? Such an act would permanently—and irrevocably—end another person's God-given right to exist; shattering that family's unity. What of the rights of law-abiding citizens—our innocents and their loved ones?

For eight years, golfing ex-president Obama turned a blind eye. Even worse, he abetted the rising body count (exemplified by record-breaking Chicago: the nation's murder capitol for five years of his presidency). A cause of this disgrace was highlighted in Mr. Trump's August 2016 speech in Phoenix:

“Since 2013 alone, the Obama administration has allowed 300,000 criminal aliens to return back into United States communities. These are individuals encountered or identified by ICE, but who were not detained or processed for deportation because it wouldn’t have been politically correct.”

So much for longstanding progressive “sympathy” for actual victims of illegals' crimes like Kate Steinle. Cry baby ideologues make subject-changing excuses for them by demonizing the rest of us as “intolerant”. Therefore, these “do-gooders”—philosophically twisted like pretzels around their own axles—are not to be believed, or trusted. For they are destructive harbingers of leftist chaos: advocating the twin scourges of open borders and illegals' illusory rights. Indeed, the characteristic defining the polarized Obama years was their subversive efforts to aid the torrent of violence, drugs and lawlessness.

Our democratically-created laws are fair. They have one purpose: to preserve life. Within our sovereign boundaries, they protect men, women—and most of all—children. The heartbreaking number murdered at the hands of this invading underclass is unknown.

In 2002, Uruchi arrived on a 90-day visa waiver program. So, she's already been a de facto criminal for fifteen years. Moreover, by what right did this speeding drunkard endanger public safety in 2016? Someone with neither legal standing nor moral fiber has no automatic right to reside in our country. Naturally, her brood is exempt from her wrongdoing. They can return here when they reach maturity. As adults and legal citizens, America will graciously extend them the welcome mat.

Twitter: @DavidHunterblog

http://patriotpost.us/commentators/446

http://www.americanthinker.com/author/david_l_hunter/

http://canadafreepress.com/members/74987/DavidLHunter/976

http://newstex.aci.info/authors/15977720f5100100002

Halloween “Hillary” In High School Hoot

The purpose of education is to prepare students for the world. This is true at every level including high school. Like college, U.S. high schools are microcosms of American society. Therefore, it's singularly appropriate that Halloween caricatures of a highly contentious presidential election would make a comical appearance within schoolhouse walls.

That high school was Robert E. Lee in Staunton, Va., and the adults in question were look-alikes: principal Mark Rowicki as Trump and secretary Stephanie Corbett as Clinton. As wearing a suit is standard fare for any administrator, Trump's Reaganesque slogan “Make America Great Again” cap and campaign button were the tipoffs. Yet, the “controversy” involves Ms. Corbett's portrayal of the Democratic nominee back under FBI investigation for criminal wrongdoing (read: Server-gate and Charity-gate). She donned a short blond wig, an orange prison jumpsuit with a waist chain and padlock. For good measure, Ms. Corbett proudly wore a “Department of Justice” name tag reading Hillary R. Clinton.

Only deluded liberals—with eyes squeezed shut and hands petulantly pressed over ears—entirely ignore the reality of Hillary Clinton's lawbreaking and corruption. They are the ones who refuse to see truth (or the humor of a Halloween prank). Repressive progressives slickly conceal their fascist impulses in the fictional assertion that a “political agenda” has been pushed on impressionable teenagers. Their complaint is quite some Halloween trick!

Well, First Amendment expression be damned! As the next president's decisions (read: the selection of perhaps up to 3 future Supreme Court justices) will directly affect their generation the school has the duty to educate these future voters as to the “two characters” currently vying for the presidency. The best choice on Election Day is crystal clear: the one not represented in Halloween orange prisoner's garb.

Twitter: @DavidHunterblog

http://patriotpost.us/commentators/446

http://www.americanthinker.com/author/david_l_hunter/

http://canadafreepress.com/members/74987/DavidLHunter/976