THE LIGHT GROWS BRIGHTER UNTIL THE PERFECT DAY - OR NOT
Take Your Pick
Yesterday I had lunch with an old friend from high school who is an LDS coreligionist. He is also a life-long Democrat. We had an animated discussion of current affairs that lasted nearly four hours. Not surprisingly we had different perspectives on many issues but were both deeply concerned about what seems to be the looming chaos in our country. Here below is my follow-up note to him this morning:
Thanks for taking time for lunch yesterday. What a good time! The fun just didn't want to stop. By the time we left the restaurant it was almost time for dinner.
As I tried to express in our discussion, in the midst of all the turmoil unfolding in our country, I do not consider myself a political partisan mindlessly serving the cause of one political party or candidate. I am not a fawning Trump sycophant. Instead, within the limits of my experience and understanding, I try always to be focused on the truth - things as they really are and really work - and the disciplined, honest processes of mind and spirit that can be employed to get at it.
My theory of life is that the more one can recognize truth - hard, cold, immutable reality - and embrace it, the better things go, and vice versa. One can build on the rock of truth or break oneself against it. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free". I want to be free - and that means I have to know the truth. Accordingly, my philosophy is to seek truth, embrace and defend the truth wherever I can find it, and to be offended by and oppose those who seek to hide or distort the truth and have agendas other than truth.
Accordingly, see below a post-Trump/Harris debate article from The Federalist documenting a long list of what that publication labels "lies" Kamala Harris shoveled up during the recent debate. It is important to note here the difference - the critical dispositive difference - between bombast/exaggeration and deliberate deceit/lies. Trump - not the most articulate and stylistically pleasing public speaker one could hope for - is invariably imprecise and bombastic in his language, but never deceitful. He exaggerates but he doesn't lie. What you see is what you get. There is always a root of truth in what he says. Harris, on the other hand, knowingly and deliberately outright lied repeatedly during the debate, as precisely documented in the Federalist piece linked to and reproduced below. I have inserted here and there in the Federalist article links to video clips where Harris is making clear statements that are exactly contrary to what she said in the debate. She's simply lying in the hope of getting elected.
You began our discussion by saying you've been a life-long Democrat and commented that your good wife thought our discussion over lunch would be like trying to "mix oil and water". Though we spoke for nearly four hours, I did not feel we were in any sort of fundamental disagreement or ideological conflict. True, we obviously were coming at our discussion from different perspectives, and, for the time being, had different positions on some issues, but, because we are both truth-oriented, we were in fundamental principled agreement that the answer to such differences is not to dig in and lock ourselves down in our differing opinions but to examine the pertinent evidence and thereby get at the truth of the issues at hand. As the saying goes, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Facts stand independent of opinion.
What is necessary here is a willingness, first, to grasp the limits of one's own understanding, then, of necessity, to be open to new information, and finally an attendant willingness to revise one's previous understanding based on that new and better information - or, as scripture says:
"For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have." - 2 Nephi 28:30
This is a door we absolutely do not want to close. If we do, the light goes out. Obviously, we want to be among those who receive "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little", and not find ourselves in company with those who slam closed their minds, declare "We have enough!" and risk the loss of what little understanding they have.
I believe there is a fundamental intellectual, moral and spiritual difference - a qualitative difference - between these two types of individuals. Down at the bedrock level, it is this difference that is currently driving the course of events in our society like never before and will dictate the future or our nation.
As I have repeatedly suggested, what is really happening among us is not a political contest between two glaringly different candidates but the weighing in a cosmic balance of the intellectual, moral and spiritual substance of the American people - their ability and willingness to determine right from wrong, truth from lies, reality from fantasy, order from chaos, justice from injustice, light from darkness, good from evil, misery from happiness, Godliness from Godlessness...
Inspired wise men whom God “raised up to this very purpose”, our Founding Fathers knew and declared the principles - virtue, morality, religion, knowledge - that would determine the fate of their new nation:
“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of right and order which Heaven itself has ordained. … Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports… In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. … reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles. It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.”
- George Washington
“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. The more vicious nations become, the more they have need of masters.”
- Ben Franklin
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is entirely inadequate to the government of any other.”
- John Adams
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
- Thomas Jefferson
The aforesaid fundamental principle of human progress - being constantly open to new information and continually revising and upgrading one's understanding in response - never ends:
“That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day”. - D&C 50:24
Accordingly, in my view, this is the critical distinction, the grand chasm that separates the people in our society today. Those on one side of it are more or less truth-oriented and to varying degrees can be persuaded by truth and reality - while those on the other side are not and cannot.
Those who are fundamentally on the right side of this great rift will not at a moment in time be in agreement on many subjects, but, because of their respect for objective truth and their commitment to get at it, they are all headed in the right direction. Those on the other side, willfully closed off from the truth, are dead in the water. In this grand separation - moving us ever closer to the day foretold in scripture - "at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked" (D&C 63:54) - you and I are definitely not "oil and water" but are fundamentally on the same page, brothers in pursuit of truth.
Best,
Ron
25 Lies Kamala Harris Told In Her Debate Against Trump (thefederalist.com)
25 Lies Kamala Harris Told In Her Debate Against Trump
By: Shawn Fleetwood
September 11, 2024
9 min read
Image CreditABC News/YouTube
Here are some of the biggest falsehoods Harris told during her debate with Trump.
Shawn Fleetwood
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Taking a page out of her boss’s playbook, Vice President Kamala Harris told major whoppers during her Tuesday night debate against Donald Trump. With help from left-wing activists masquerading as debate moderators, Harris whitewashed her extreme record, lied about Trump’s policy positions, and more.
Here are some of the biggest falsehoods she told throughout the evening.
1. ‘Middle-Class Kid’
Harris claimed that she grew up a “middle-class kid.” That is not true. As previously noted by journalist Megyn Kelly, Harris’ father was a professor at Stanford University, while her mother was a biomedical scientist at UC Berkley.
2. Trump’s Tax Cuts
Harris falsely insinuated that the 2017 tax cuts approved by the Trump administration disproportionately benefited America’s billionaires and corporations.
That is not true. Data produced by the IRS has shown that “on average all income brackets benefited substantially from the Republicans’ tax reform law, with the biggest beneficiaries being working and middle-income filers, not the top 1 percent,” according to Justin Haskins, writing in The Hill.
3. Trump ‘Sales Tax’
Harris claimed Trump will implement a “sales tax.” Trump has not pledged to do such a thing if elected president.
4. Jan. 6
Harris contended that the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was the “worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”
Contrary to Harris’ claim, the J6 events did not put American self-governance in jeopardy, nor did it expose Americans to risks like those experienced during World War I, the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, or World War II, to name a few.
[Jan. 6 was not an "insurrection": Jan. 6 wasn't an insurrection. Stop calling it what it isn’t. (news-leader.com
5. Project 2025
Harris claimed Trump will implement Project 2025 if elected. Trump has repeatedly said he has nothing to do with Project 2025.
6. Just Restoring Roe
When asked whether she supports any restrictions on abortion, Harris dodged the question, instead claiming that she “absolutely support[s] reinstating the protections of Roe v Wade.”
Moments before that, however, Harris pledged to sign legislation such as the ill-named “Women’s Health Protection Act,” which would codify abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. In addition to her history of co-sponsoring the original version of that legislation, Harris also voted against protections for babies born alive after botched abortions.
7. Pro-Life Laws Criminalize Miscarriages, Ectopic Pregnancies
Harris claimed that several states have “Trump abortion bans” that “make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide health care,” threaten women with prison time, and “make no exception, even for rape or incest.”
The lifesaving laws designed to protect thousands of innocents every year from elective abortions, however, do not criminalize treatments for spontaneous loss or complications. In fact, every single pro-life policy on the books includes exceptions for abortion when it is deemed necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.
8. Trump’s Abortion Stance
Trump, Harris told Americans on Tuesday night, will sign a national abortion ban and hire a national “abortion … monitor that would be monitoring your pregnancies, your miscarriages” if he is elected.
The Republican’s 2024 abortion platform, however, explicitly states decisions about ending life in the womb should be left “up to the states” and mentions nothing about crowning a national pro-life coordinator. The GOP presidential nominee has also sworn multiple times that he would not sign federal legislation curbing abortion.
9. Ninth Month Abortions Don’t Exist
Harris also used her time on the debate stage to assert that “nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion.”
“That is not happening. It’s insulting to the women of America,” Harris claimed.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, shows that thousands of abortions are performed after 21 weeks gestation. The CDC’s findings do not include reporting from at least four abortion-friendly states (California, Maryland, New Hampshire, and New Jersey), which suggests the number of late-term abortions in the U.S. is likely much higher.
10. Border Bill
[further to a point in our discussion yesterday - RTJ]
Harris claimed a congressional border bill proposed earlier this year would have stemmed illegal immigration and fentanyl at the U.S. southern border.
That statement is categorically false. The bipartisan measure would have enshrined the existing invasion into federal law.
11. SCOTUS Immunity Ruling
Harris mischaracterized the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, claiming the decision would mean that Trump “would essentially be immune from any misconduct if he were to enter the White House again.”
The vice president’s claim is misleading at best. While a majority of justices determined that a U.S. president possesses “absolute immunity” for “actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority” and “at least presumptive immunity” for “official acts,” they separately noted that “[t]here is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
The justices further remanded the Biden-Harris Justice Department’s get-Trump lawfare back to the lower courts to determine whether the actions alleged by Special Counsel Jack Smith constitute “official acts.”
12. Fracking Ban
Kamala Harris claimed she made herself “very clear in 2020.”
“I will not ban fracking,” she said.
But her position was clearly against fracking as she ran for her party’s 2020 presidential nomination when she said, “There is no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.”
[check this link for video of here promising to ban fracking: Bing Videos
13. Minnesota Rioters Bail Fund
Harris seemingly denied that she undertook efforts to bail out left-wing rioters following the 2020 death of George Floyd.
“She went out in Minnesota and wanted to let criminals that killed people, that burned down Minneapolis — she went out and raised money to get them out of jail,” Trump said, as Harris shook her head.
As The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd previously noted, “Accused rapists, repeat offenders, and rioters alike benefitted in June 2020 when Harris encouraged her social media followers to donate to a bail fund dedicated to those arrested for their months-long, $2 billion siege of cities like Minneapolis.”
14. Trump’s Role in J6
Harris claimed that Trump “incited” the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
That is false. Trump specifically told protestors to “peacefully and patriotically make [their] voices heard” and sought to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the Capitol ahead of Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results.
15. J6 Deaths
Harris claimed that “some” police officers died as a result of the demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
That is false. For example, medical examiners determined that Officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes — not from the violence perpetrated on Jan. 6.
16. ‘Fine People’ Hoax
Harris repeated the debunked lie that Trump praised white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 when he said there were “fine people on both sides.”
This is false, as Trump was referring to both sides of the debate on whether to allow historic monuments to remain standing.
17. ‘Bloodbath’ Hoax
Harris regurgitated the false narrative that Trump claimed there would be a “bloodbath” if he loses this November.
The vice president took Trump out of context. The 45th president was not calling for violence but was discussing the economic disaster that awaits Americans if Democrats win the election.
18. Trump’s NATO Comments
Harris distorted the former president’s remarks by claiming he told Russia it could “do whatever the hell [it] wants” regarding Ukraine.
Harris took the former president out of context. Trump’s remarks came during a South Carolina rally, during which he recounted a story from when he was president and speaking with a NATO member. Trump purportedly indicated that he would withhold U.S. support if the member didn’t pay its minimum defense spending obligations.
“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recalled telling the unidentified NATO member. “‘No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”
19. Autocrats’ Preferences for President
Harris claimed that the world’s autocratic leaders are pulling for Trump to win. While there is no definitive way for Harris to know this for most leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin did publicly throw his support behind Harris’ presidential bid last week.
20. Combat Zones
Harris claimed that “there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world [for] the first time this century.”
That isn’t true. As noted by former U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., the United States has “troops in Syria and Iraq who are routinely attacked by Iran-backed militias.”
“Three soldiers were killed in Jordan earlier this year!” he wrote on X.
21. Blaming Trump for Biden’s Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal
Harris attempted to pin the Biden-Harris administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal, which got 13 U.S.service members killed, on Trump.
“Donald Trump, when he was president, negotiated one of the weakest deals you can imagine,” Harris claimed.
That isn’t true. According to a report recently released by Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, “The evidence proves President Biden’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops was not based on the security situation, the Doha Agreement, or the advice of his senior national security advisors or our allies. Rather, it was premised on his longstanding and unyielding opinion that the United States should no longer be in Afghanistan.”
22. Gun Confiscation
Harris claimed that she doesn’t support mandatory gun confiscation.
That is false. She has openly expressed support for such a policy.
"It is time to renew the assault weapons ban" - VP Harris | Watch (msn.com)
VP Harris: Follow Australia's example, confiscate American's guns (msn.com)
23. Trump’s Foreign Policy Record
Harris claimed, “Donald Trump is weak and wrong on national security and foreign policy.”
That is false. Under Trump’s administration the U.S. southern border was secure, and America facilitated multiple peace agreements between Israel and Arab states. Under the Biden-Harris administration, Russia invaded Ukraine, Iran-backed Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel, and China has ramped up its threats toward Taiwan, the Philippines, and Japan.
24. Defunding the Police
Harris shook her head and claimed, “That’s not true,” when confronted by Trump over her past support for defunding the police.
As noted by ABC News, however, Harris previously expressed support for “reimagin[ing]” policing and “redirect[ing] resources” from police toward what the outlet described as “other areas of government [such as] schools and small businesses.”
Kamala Harris praised ‘defund the police’ movement in June 2020 radio interview | CNN Politics
25. IVF
In an attempt to link Democrats’ abortion goals with in vitro fertilization, Harris claimed that “under Donald Trump’s abortion bans … couples who pray and dream of having a family are being denied IVF treatments.”
Trump, however, has openly touted IVF and even promised that he would make taxpayers fund it.
The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd, Logan Washburn, and Tristan Justice contributed to this report.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood