YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

“Whenever a kings sees that his people are about to revolt, he starts a war.” —Napoleon Bonaparte 

SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC

 

I don't know why, but this song was on my mind all week:

A Champion MMA wrestler is now head of Homeland Security.

 

President Trump fired his embattled homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, on Thursday and announced plans to replace her with Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, after she was grilled by Republican lawmakers this week at congressional hearings on a variety of topics, including her knowledge of a lucrative advertising contract. 

Mr. Trump announced the change on social media, along with a new, and previously nonexistent, role for Ms. Noem: special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, which he said would be a new security initiative for the Western Hemisphere.

SENATOR MARK KELLY

 

"Takeaways from Hegseth’s press conference this morning: 

1. There is no strategic goal. He said this isn’t about 'regime change' despite the President saying otherwise, repeatedly. That means they can't explain how all of this makes Americans safer in the end. 

2. He said 'This will end on the President’s choosing,' and provided no real timeline. That reinforces that there is no plan and no strategic goal, just a 79 year old man who spends too much time in a ballroom in Florida deciding when to stop this. 

3. Hegseth suggested the Commander-in-Chief is setting the operational tempo — which is really high right now, putting a lot of stress on our troops and systems. Donald Trump, despite what he may believe, doesn’t have the capacity to make these types of operational decisions that have real consequences for commanders and servicemembers. 

 4. And finally, going into a conflict of this scale with no strategy and a wishy-washy end state often leads to a less than optimal outcome, starting with the potential for continued escalation and a long, bloody conflict. Americans want leaders who focus on improving their lives, not starting more wars. 

It’s clear to me and everyone else who is paying attention that this President needs to be reined in, but that’s not going to come from this Secretary of Defense, who has tough sounding talking points but little else to offer the American people or our servicemembers."

HOW MANY AMERICANS KNOW ABOUT THIS?

 

U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” 

Return of Jesus Advocacy group reports commanders giving similar messages at more than 30 installations in every branch of the military 

 

 A combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers at a briefing Monday that the Iran war is part of God’s plan and that Pres. Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,” according to a complaint by a non-commissioned officer.

 From Saturday morning through Monday night, more than 110 similar complaints about commanders in every branch of the military had been logged by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). 

 The complaints came from more than 40 different units spread across at least 30 military installations, the MRFF told me Monday night.8 The MRFF is keeping the complainants anonymous to prevent retribution by the Defense Department. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to my request for comment. 

 One complainant identified themselves as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in a unit currently outside the Iran combat zone but in Ready-Support status, deployable at any time. The NCO said they were Christian and emailed the MRFF on behalf of 15 troops, including at least 11 Christians, one Muslim, and one Jew.  

The NCO wrote to the MRFF that their commander “urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.

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This is wholly unAmerican, anti-Constitutional, and WRONG! This is another example of the Trump administration disregarding the Constitution and establishing a national religion.

Whether America is considered a Christian country is a subject of debate, as it has a historically Christian heritage and a majority Christian population (around 69% as of 2024), but it is not officially a Christian state. 

The U.S. Constitution establishes a secular government, prohibiting the establishment of an official religion and guaranteeing religious freedom for all. 

While many Americans identify as Christians and the nation’s founding was influenced by Protestant traditions, the government is officially neutral on religious matters, separating church and state. 

Debate exists regarding the founders' intentions; while many were Christians, others were deists, and the Constitution does not invoke God or Christianity, instead deriving authority from "We the People".

The Founding Fathers did not establish Christianity as America's official religion. While many founders were Christians, they designed a secular federal government through the Constitution, which prohibits religious tests for office (Article VI) and forbids Congress from establishing a state religion (First Amendment). 

The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli explicitly stated that the U.S. government was not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.