The Gospel according to Luke

Tails they win, Heads we lose

The Gospel according to Luke

Godly change agent

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

            The breach of trust exhibited in CRomnibus and NDAA is historically profound.

            All of the gnashing of teeth, the jeering from the Republican sideline, and the brave, new rhetoric through the midterms can now be categorized for what it was … election day folderol.

            On a day when Americans demanded Constitutional integrity, the get along to go along underperformers prevailed. They heaped upon us not 3600 pages of legislation they heaped upon the American model perhaps as much as 45X that in layered measures that only their special interest goons were interested in sticking down our throats.

            If there is a single bamboozler among them who claims to have read the Acts, he is a liar. Nobody reads 50,000 pages in less than 72 hours.

            Nobody …

            Tails they win and heads we lose

            No brave new world leadership has emerged.

            We knew where the Democratic juggernaut would be.

With their vote, though, the Republicans have become the charlatans within a world gone mad. In what must be assumed to be gift of appeasement, the Republicans became the enablers of the nonsense they have condemned. They had become shrill vocal critics of presidential proclamations and massive land grabs without debate yet they turned around and voted for at least 67 land measures. There are now at least 11 national parks in the pipeline. Private property rights will only deteriorate with such added federalization.

They didn’t vote to serve notice that Obamacare would be targeted for major overhaul and Americans would not be forced to buy something they didn’t want. They voted to fund the debacle. In a nightmarish continuum of colors and chanting, we will see men forced to pay for visits to their gynecologists. We will address drug addiction by force feeding addictive drugs. We will abort babies and demand the provision of birth control measures so women can have the right to reproduce. The bill will advocate the killing of the undefended so the quality of life can be enhanced.

This is a nightmare.

Soon, the 50 million recipient mark will be surpassed in food stamp distributions, and, yet, the continued funding of the USDA will result in governmental recommendations to abolish natural red meat. Implicit in such tactics will be the stepwise elimination of historical industries with the customs and culture that have always been the foundation of character for the country. Free food is passed out in abundance, but what to eat is the result of the federal nexus.

What is equally revealing is the magnitude of the political brokering that was condoned. NDAA was the vehicle to expand the federal takings of private property through the auspices of defense spending. As for defense spending, it is certainly something we must have. This is especially true when executive actions are prioritized on the basis of aligning us with our enemies at the expense of our friends and allies.

The matter of climate change is so tedious even school children are starting to be skeptics. Is it now global warming or is it global cooling? In any case, it is full speed ahead with policy adaptation to alter our reliance on cheap energy and funding to continue to try to convince us we are the cause of climate change. The mantra remains that domestic oil production is a bad thing.

To make such a deal over the avalanche of children arriving on the southern border in the Rio Grande Valley, the vote funded the Obama amnesty program. There were no consequences for an administration that flaunts the requirement to enforce immigration laws.

Even the Endangered Species Act was the object of sidelong glances and a wink. The West is agonizingly in need of a more transparent and reasonable process to apply the law. The role of Tribes, states, and communities must be elevated in order to protect jobs, customs, and culture. Those that live and work closest to the land care deeply about their surroundings. They want to have a voice in the continued tumult that the law creates in the assault on rural America. The hypocrisy of hypocrisies is that so many western representatives who consistently join the chorus of its abuses also voted for its continued funding. They spearheaded no discussion even to the point of the consideration of a rider to revisit the rampage. When the vote counted, they were derelict.

Americans who thought the midterms would at least give Republicans brass knackers to step up and draw a line in the sand in order to start shaping reform rather than chattering from the end of the bench were again demoralized. Perhaps the more appropriate description is that they are outraged. These elected representatives were given a mandate and they shattered the first opportunity to honor the voters’ expectations. The Republicans were given a stunning victory in November only to concede a stunning fiscal victory back to the Democrats through 2015.

The question has been asked. Why should a single ‘yea’ voter among these quick-change artists be trusted again?

The federal agencies are in high gear.

            The fabrication of new policies and regulations are running at warp speed. The accumulation of regulations during this administration is a monstrous 21,000 with a known 2,375 more set for 2015. In one measure passed in 2011 that governs food handling in the presence of pathogens and now being implemented, the new regulations alone reached 500 pages. Within those regulations are triggers that could result in the condemnation of entire fields of vegetables. Those measures didn’t come from the Act’s mandates. They came from the World Health Organization.

            The call for public comments is another debacle. The intensity of calling for such comments on matters that affect local governments has literally become a full time job. The expectation of those comments altering any action by the agency, however, is suspect at best. This is especially true if the comments don’t reflect the environmental theme. A best case example is the recent deadline for comments for changes in the Mexican wolf recovery program. A brokered backroom agreement by the Center for Biological Diversity with US Fish and Wildlife dictated the steps of the process. A judge thereafter sided with the date of the implementation notwithstanding the demand by the public for their voices to be heard through an extended comment period.

            Clearly, the self supremacy of the courts and the influence of the environmentalists took precedent over the American citizenry.

            There is simply is no signal coming from anywhere that elevates the concern or the plight of the citizenry in the eye of this storm … we are left to defend ourselves.

The Gospel according to Luke

            In the end, perhaps the ingenuity and the commitment by individuals will be our salvation. West Texan Luke Shipp has consistently shown us a different way. His discipline to his priorities is worthy of high respect, and, whereas some of us tend to be short fused, Luke exemplifies patience.

            The most recent example is Luke’s research and rebuttal of the fictitious historical habitat overreach claimed by USFWS in the lesser prairie chicken discussions. Without a stable of experts, a staff of transcribers, or a committee of stakeholders, Luke structured a superbly crafted rebuttal to the claims of the southern reaches of the bird. He single handedly debunked misrepresented claims and cherry picked data. His work demonstrates the ability of the general public to review records and defend local customs and culture against meretricious science.

            He has done more.

            Luke believes we are in a spiritual war. Our government and the agencies consistently assume a polarizing position against local heritage, and he draws and shares scripture as a moderating and necessary defense.

            In private counsel, he references 2 Corinthians 10:3 (KJV) and reminds us that the power offered through Jesus is the only hope we can expect. He came not just as Savior but demonstrated how we are to overcome difficulties through the Holy Spirit.

            Luke believes those of us who choose to be are “Godly change agents”.

            “We must have faith that Jesus can enable us to restore the influence of His spiritual Kingdom,” he continues. “With faith and the Holy Spirit enabling, we can influence, and … see worthwhile change in our society.”

            Isaiah 9:6-7 and Matthew 16:19 give him and us passages that should reinforce the expectation that God’s Spiritual Kingdom, not earthly paradigms, will prevail.

            As a diligent researcher and faithful Christian, he has become the example to emulate. In adopting and following Luke’s lead, our approach must be tireless and respectful, but our work must be sound in logic and historically truthful.

            Spiritual courage is paramount …

Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “When Luke talks about the need for right and good to prevail, his actions don’t start and end with words. Clearly, he has become an earthly model for ‘Godly change agent’.”