TCL Weekend Update – Remembering The Rebel Jesus

​The Week in Review. The Bad, the Ugly and the Good.

— Republicans are gunning for healthcare yet again. They slipped a provision into their tax bill that took the fine for the individual mandate down to zero. Then a group of Republican governors and AGs filed suit against it. They knew it would likely cause a judge to declare the ACA ‘unconstitutional.’ They undoubtedly planned and colluded with one another to come up with this strategy. That decision made by a Texas judge could easily land in the Supreme Court where two fresh, illegitimate, right-wing extremist justices (Federalist Society puppets) stand ready to strike it down. If the case lands on their bench they won’t let their puppet-masters down.

In the 2018 midterm elections healthcare was the number one area of concern among voters, even above the economy. If conservatives pull off this coup against the American people don’t be fooled by their empty promises about ‘protecting preexisting conditions.’ They’ll find a way to gut that provision. They’ll allow states to ‘set it up themselves,’ and the red states won’t. Or they’ll allow insurance companies to price ‘high-risk’ people out of the market. The ACA already protects people with preexisting conditions. Republican have sabotaged it from the beginning. It’s not perfect but it’s a big step in the right direction. Allowing Republicans to get rid of it will be a giant leap backwards. It will probably take decades to get back to this point.

If all the Republican governors had allowed the Medicaid expansion, and if traitor Joe Lieberman hadn’t stripped out the Medicare at age 55 provision, the coverage would have been even better and less expensive. Again, Republicans have been sabotaging the ACA from the beginning, because “Obama,” and because “abortion.”

— After the Blue Tsunami made the wishes of the American people clear lame-duck Republican state legislatures are carrying out relentless power grabs against the will of their citizens, crippling the power in incoming Democrats.

— Widespread Republican election fraud was uncovered in North Carolina following the mid-terms where it’s such a mess both parties are planning another campaign.

— In Florida voters passed a bill restoring the voting rights of released felons. Republicans are dragging their feet and throwing up roadblocks against the will of the people.

— The Republican dismantling of the Obama Recovery continues with the federal deficit and debt skyrocketing at record pace following massive Republican tax cuts. They claim ‘Entitlement Reform’ is the only way to fix the fiasco they’ve created which is code for unprecedented cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile the stock market continues its downward spiral.

Funny meme was but we didn't design it. No "white Jesus" chiding please.

​— Indictments, plea deals, prison sentences, and newly discovered Russian spy networks swirl around the most corrupt administration in US history. Every rock a reporter or investigator turns over reveals another level of seemingly unending corruption.

Girl gets around. Makes one wonder if she's a "Red Sparrow."

— Immigration reform is an ugly mess with immigrant children dying in US custody while Trump threatens to shut down the government over the wasteful and unnecessary political stunt known as ‘the wall.’

— Despite campaign promises to the contrary nothing is being done to relieve American college students of staggering and debilitating debt burying graduates so deep they’ll never get ahead. The problem is just being ignored and made worse by the incompetent and unqualified wife of an Amway (ScamWay) Billionaire donor, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Ms. Devos is the sister of Erik Prince, founder of the Blackwater private mercenary force.  The stink runs thick in that swamp.

— Our reputation worldwide couldn’t be worse as Trump coddles murdering dictators who chop up reporters. This while he tries to cover up a $50 million bribe he wanted to give Vladimir Putin in the form of a top floor penthouse in a proposed Moscow Trump Tower. Meanwhile he chides our European allies like France to the point where they tweet back at him to ‘leave our country alone.’

Have you heard enough yet because we could keep going?

The one positive aspect to our otherwise depressing national nightmare is the new congress! Thank God for the Blue Tsunami, the biggest mid-term gain for the house in US history! We will finally have some oversight and real congressional investigations!

We can propose the things we want to accomplish legislatively as well but we all know McConnell won’t go along with any of it. He’s already broken the Senate and the Supreme Court. He’s not about to stop now. Anything that would make Democrats look good in any way he’ll be against. It’s not about the country for him. It’s about personal ambition, power, greed, and the party. He’s a traitor in every sense of the word. He’s quite possibly the worst politician in our nation’s history as far as the damage he’s done. History will agree. We’ve had our finger on its pulse every day for a decade.

In the long-term, even though it’s sad to have to point out, this old, white, racist generation is dying off. There’s a young, vibrant, progressive generation of leaders bursting at the seams and waiting in the wings. They aren’t going to put up with any of this crap.

Reform is coming whether the old guard likes it or not. Young people are just up and walking away from the right-wing, cult religion the Republicans hijacked, distorted and ruined. Not to worry though, they aren’t walking away from Jesus or his teachings. They’re rejecting the apostasy known as The “Christian” Right. They know it’s a scam and a sham and they aren’t having it. The faith will evolve back to what it once was, a spiritual framework with Jesus at the center.

The next two years are going to be interesting to say the least. We’ll be here every day to keep you informed and plugged in to the largest gathering of Christian progressives (and their allies) in the world. The Christian Left admin team has been the hardest working admin team on Facebook for 10 years.

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​Rebel Jesus - Jackson Browne
Lyrics

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
While the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by 'the Prince of Peace'
And they call him by 'the Savior'
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

Well we guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

Now pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
There's a need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus

Christ in the Breadline, by artist Fritz Eichenberg (1901-1990)