CURRENT EVENTS July 31-Sept 27

[altmin]

Dallas ended downtown homelessness. Trump wants to change the rules.​

The new push from the Trump administration focuses on emergency shelters over permanent housing and would limit how long people could receive aid.

—> https://wapo.st/414asfq

“After years of homeless encampments spreading across downtown, officials here tried something new: They enforced a local law against sleeping on the streets. And instead of shuffling people to other neighborhoods, they offered wraparound social services — and a permanent place to live.

The approach worked. Even as homelessness nationwide surged to record levels, Dallas has emerged as a national model. The city declared an end to downtown homelessness in May after more than 270 people moved off the streets.

But in Washington, as President Donald Trump decries homelessness and pledges to clear out “slums” in big cities, the administration is looking to end the program that fueled Dallas’s success as part of a broader overhaul of federal homelessness funding.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner has blasted the program, known as Continuum of Care, as “a tool by the left to push a woke agenda at the expense of people in need.”

… the White House budget proposes ending Continuum of Care in fiscal 2026 by consolidating it with another initiative, the Emergency Solutions Grants Program. That program prioritizes shelters and transitional housing, street outreach, and services like substance abuse treatment and mental health services.

… Housing economists and advocates say the proposed changes will make it harder to address chronic homelessness. They note that places like San Bernardino, California, and Montgomery County, Maryland, also have made strides under Continuum of Care, which funded more than 1,000 recipients in 2024. Estimates from the National Alliance to End Homelessness predict that Trump’s budget proposal would end funding for more than 166,000 permanent supportive housing units and increase homelessness by 36 percent.…”

Salt Lake City did the same to good results I believe.

 

[Duke Mu]

I would argue these fascist manly men claim to be afraid for their families, Western Values and their Way of Life — I’m not scared for ME, I’m scared for the defenseless women and young children and for the future when I’m not here to protect it.

and I control their bodies now.

That is indeed just militant cowardice.

 

[heelinhell]

Indeed, as so often with MAGA, the cruelty is the point. Homeless people need to be punished for being homeless, not actually helped and given food and long-term shelter. And so what Dallas did doesn't suit that mindset at all. They just want them out of sight so they don't have to have their consciences and morals tweaked while they're on their way to Sunday morning church services, or have seeing the homeless remind them that maybe America isn't really all that great again. Like the LGBTQ community, they want these people out of sight and out of mind, and preferably punished in some way.

Maybe pastors and ministers should spend time reminding those good Christian churchgoers to read Matthew 25:31-46... or maybe even give an entire sermon beseeching their flocks that it is even more important than ever to heed the word of our dear Jesus given the context in which we find ourselves today.

 

[05C40]

I am a Christian and I am an unapologetic Christian. After I die, I believe that on Judgment Day I will appear before God and Christ. I believe that--in addition--my parents, my father-in-law, my stepfather-in-law, and my mother-in-law will be present. During the great crisis, WW2, that faced the people mentioned in the previous sentence, each served the US with distinction. The three men all served iin action and each returned home with a Purple Heart. My mother-in-law served as an Army nurse during WW2. My mother served out of uniform on the home front while her husband was in the South Pacific.

And when the great crisis to the United States arose during my life, all I will have to offer as to what I did will be: 1) I voted against those who promised to destroy the United States, 2) I occasionally and, without any financial sacrifice, contributed modestly to candidates who opposed the destruction of the United State, and 3) I wrote the occasional lame attempt at a snarky comment on an internet forum. It would be justice if God personally rose-up, physically seized me, and permanently hurled me down to Hell on Judgment Day.

I pray daily that I do not receive justice on Judgment Day.

 

[heelinhell]

I am a Christian and I am an unapologetic Christian. After I die, I believe that on Judgment Day I will appear before God and Christ. I believe that--in addition--my parents, my father-in-law, my stepfather-in-law, and my mother-in-law will be present. During the great crisis, WW2, that faced the people mentioned in the previous sentence, each served the US with distinction. The three men all served iin action and each returned home with a Purple Heart. My mother-in-law served as an Army nurse during WW2. My mother served out of uniform on the home front while her husband was in the South Pacific.

And when the great crisis to the United States arose during my life, all I will have to offer as to what I did will be: 1) I voted against those who promised to destroy the United States, 2) I occasionally and, without any financial sacrifice, contributed modestly to candidates who opposed the destruction of the United State, and 3) I wrote the occasional lame attempt at a snarky comment on an internet forum. It would be justice if God personally rose-up, physically seized me, and permanently hurled me down to Hell on Judgment Day.

I pray daily that I do not receive justice on Judgment Day.

According to Romans 10:9 all you have to do is believe that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.

I think you are probably good to go to heaven

I am an atheist so I suspect I'm going to hell if the admission price is believing that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

A few weeks after my dad died I had a dream and he came to me. I asked him, " So dad tell me what heaven is like " and he replied, " Well son, it's not all it's cracked up to me."

If were God, I would tell Saint Peter to let you in those pearly gates because you are a good person who did good things while on earth

 

[05C40]

According to Romans 10:9 all you have to do is believe that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.

I think you are probably good to go to heaven

I am an atheist so I suspect I'm going to hell if the admission price is believing that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

A few weeks after my dad died I had a dream and he came to me. I asked him, " So dad tell me what heaven is like " and he replied, " Well son, it's not all it's cracked up to me."

If were God, I would tell Saint Peter to let you in those pearly gates because you are a good person who did good things while on earth

That's a nice way of stating it. But if there is any substantive hurdle that must be met or exceeded during life on Earth, then I am well and truly a goner. I actually wrote down my thoughts on Judgment Day a number of years ago.

There will be no jewel laden Crown of Glory awaiting me at the End of Time. On Judgment Day, as I stand before the Throne of God, all will be laid bare. The pretexts, rationalizations, and excuses that were the frame and foundation of my life will be stripped away. The magnitude of my sins of commission and omission will be fully revealed. What I was given and the paltry nothing I did with it will be weighed on the scales of justice and will be found wanting.

And as I stand there, the enormity of my crimes against man and God fully exposed, a shape at the right hand of God, but of one substance with God, will start down the steps toward me. With every step, this shape will take on human form. Wounds will appear in His hands, feet, and side. As my sins are revisited, new wounds, numerous and grievous, will appear on this figure. The pain and weight of the blows created by my misdeeds and disobedience will drive Him to His knees, again and again.

But each time He will arise. And He will come and stand beside me, fully human and fully divine. He will place his hand on my shoulder, turn, and say, "May it please the Lord God Almighty, my name is Jesus Christ and I represent the condemned. For My sake, I beg You to forgive him."

My deepest and most profound belief is that in that moment, God's just and terrible wrath at how I had wasted and perverted what He had entrusted to me for the care of His children will be extinguished. My highest and best hope is that in that moment, God will be so overcome by His love for me that He will reach out and make me whole.

Notes on the above:

1. I don't have a paid-up retainer agreement with the law firm of Jesus Christ and Associates that I executed here on Earth and that will entitle me on Judgment Day to demand specific performance thereof. Jesus Christ will take me and the entire world on as pro bono clients.

2. On Judgment Day I will appear before the Throne of God not as a citizen of heaven, but as an illegal, an undocumented person with no rights, no privileges, and no entitlements. I will have neither a Heavenly passport nor a Heavenly visa that would entitle me entrance to Heaven. I will be a criminal fugitive seeking sanctuary in a better place than I have ever known. I pray that I will be received better in Heaven than I have received those here on Earth who are only seeking a better place than they have ever known.

3. Resurrection is not about the hereafter; it is about the here and now. Resurrection is about taking up the Cross and following the path of Christ. Following the path of Christ is not about rewards in the hereafter because there is NOTHING I can do to warrant heavenly rewards. Following the path of Christ is about the exercise of free will in the here and now. Grace is a gift freely given, unearned, and undeserved.

4. I think the reason that none of Jesus' followers recognized him after he arose is the same reason that I have never recognized Jesus all the times He has appeared to me either providing or requesting help.

 

[Bigs23]

That's a nice way of stating it. But if there is any substantive hurdle that must be met or exceeded during life on Earth, then I am well and truly a goner. I actually wrote down my thoughts on Judgment Day a number of years ago.

There will be no jewel laden Crown of Glory awaiting me at the End of Time. On Judgment Day, as I stand before the Throne of God, all will be laid bare. The pretexts, rationalizations, and excuses that were the frame and foundation of my life will be stripped away. The magnitude of my sins of commission and omission will be fully revealed. What I was given and the paltry nothing I did with it will be weighed on the scales of justice and will be found wanting.

And as I stand there, the enormity of my crimes against man and God fully exposed, a shape at the right hand of God, but of one substance with God, will start down the steps toward me. With every step, this shape will take on human form. Wounds will appear in His hands, feet, and side. As my sins are revisited, new wounds, numerous and grievous, will appear on this figure. The pain and weight of the blows created by my misdeeds and disobedience will drive Him to His knees, again and again.

But each time He will arise. And He will come and stand beside me, fully human and fully divine. He will place his hand on my shoulder, turn, and say, "May it please the Lord God Almighty, my name is Jesus Christ and I represent the condemned. For My sake, I beg You to forgive him."

My deepest and most profound belief is that in that moment, God's just and terrible wrath at how I had wasted and perverted what He had entrusted to me for the care of His children will be extinguished. My highest and best hope is that in that moment, God will be so overcome by His love for me that He will reach out and make me whole.

Notes on the above:

1. I don't have a paid-up retainer agreement with the law firm of Jesus Christ and Associates that I executed here on Earth and that will entitle me on Judgment Day to demand specific performance thereof. Jesus Christ will take me and the entire world on as pro bono clients.

2. On Judgment Day I will appear before the Throne of God not as a citizen of heaven, but as an illegal, an undocumented person with no rights, no privileges, and no entitlements. I will have neither a Heavenly passport nor a Heavenly visa that would entitle me entrance to Heaven. I will be a criminal fugitive seeking sanctuary in a better place than I have ever known. I pray that I will be received better in Heaven than I have received those here on Earth who are only seeking a better place than they have ever known.

3. Resurrection is not about the hereafter; it is about the here and now. Resurrection is about taking up the Cross and following the path of Christ. Following the path of Christ is not about rewards in the hereafter because there is NOTHING I can do to warrant heavenly rewards. Following the path of Christ is about the exercise of free will in the here and now. Grace is a gift freely given, unearned, and undeserved.

4. I think the reason that none of Jesus' followers recognized him after he arose is the same reason that I have never recognized Jesus all the times He has appeared to me either providing or requesting help.

If God is that much of an asshole…eff him!

 

[05C40]

If God is that much of an asshole…eff him!

I think that falls into the "takes one to know one" category. As I am an absolutely enormous asshole, then I am glad God can be, among other things, as you described.

 

[finesse]

Am I odd to think that any individual who thinks the maker of a universe this large and this old would pass individual judgment on them has been programmed into a state of monumental egomania? I can't believe any human that ever lived was ever significant enough in the universe to rate that.

 

[dukeman92]

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

—> Trump’s Selective Stance on Justice: Redemption for Some, Scorn for Others

“As President Trump made the case for militarizing the streets of Washington, he used pictures of “homegrown terrorists” to illustrate his point that crime in the nation’s capital was out of control.

“Look at these people here,” Mr. Trump said at a news conference last week, flipping through a handout from the White House containing five mug shots, all people of color.

“They will never be an asset to society,” he said. “I don’t care. I know we all want to say, ‘Oh, they’re going to be rehabbed.’ They’re not going to be rehabbed.”

The declaration provided a window into the president’s selective view of criminality and redemption. In his eyes, Capitol rioters, a triple murderer, two police officers involved in covering up the killing of a Black man, and an Israeli settler accused of extremist violence all deserve a second chance….”

 

[nycfan]

—> Trump’s Selective Stance on Justice: Redemption for Some, Scorn for Others

“As President Trump made the case for militarizing the streets of Washington, he used pictures of “homegrown terrorists” to illustrate his point that crime in the nation’s capital was out of control.

“Look at these people here,” Mr. Trump said at a news conference last week, flipping through a handout from the White House containing five mug shots, all people of color.

“They will never be an asset to society,” he said. “I don’t care. I know we all want to say, ‘Oh, they’re going to be rehabbed.’ They’re not going to be rehabbed.”

The declaration provided a window into the president’s selective view of criminality and redemption. In his eyes, Capitol rioters, a triple murderer, two police officers involved in covering up the killing of a Black man, and an Israeli settler accused of extremist violence all deserve a second chance….”

“…
Mr. Trump, himself a felon, has shown particular leniency to criminals he seems to identify with — people who are white or wealthy, or who he believes have been unfairly persecuted, or who rioted in his name on Jan. 6, 2021.

The White House defends the president’s actions, pointing to his criminal justice record from his first term, which included signing prison overhaul legislation aimed at rehabilitation and using his clemency powers to release many Black offenders who faced excessive punishments for nonviolent crimes.

But in his second term,Mr. Trump has seized on racial tensions to further his longstanding view that cities are hopelessly dirty, violent and menaced by criminals. In addition to the District of Columbia, Mr. Trump characterized other cities, which have Black, Democratic mayors, in incendiary terms.

Chicago, he said, was “very bad.” Baltimore and Oakland were “so far gone.”

“When you look at what he’s doing, it’s very much selective criminality,” said Carl W. Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. “A lot of this is the ongoing racialization of crime. It’s not an accident that all the cities he’s thinking about targeting have either immigrants or they have Black mayors. It’s just so obvious.”…”

 

[nycfan]

 

[Bobfripp]

How do these people, like Ed Martin, sleep at night?

 

[nycfan]

How do these people, like Ed Martin, sleep at night?

On a bed made of shredded Constitutions?

 

[korgguy1971]

How do these people, like Ed Martin, sleep at night?

Just fine. They don't care.

 

[HandsonFire]

That's a nice way of stating it. But if there is any substantive hurdle that must be met or exceeded during life on Earth, then I am well and truly a goner. I actually wrote down my thoughts on Judgment Day a number of years ago.

There will be no jewel laden Crown of Glory awaiting me at the End of Time. On Judgment Day, as I stand before the Throne of God, all will be laid bare. The pretexts, rationalizations, and excuses that were the frame and foundation of my life will be stripped away. The magnitude of my sins of commission and omission will be fully revealed. What I was given and the paltry nothing I did with it will be weighed on the scales of justice and will be found wanting.

And as I stand there, the enormity of my crimes against man and God fully exposed, a shape at the right hand of God, but of one substance with God, will start down the steps toward me. With every step, this shape will take on human form. Wounds will appear in His hands, feet, and side. As my sins are revisited, new wounds, numerous and grievous, will appear on this figure. The pain and weight of the blows created by my misdeeds and disobedience will drive Him to His knees, again and again.

But each time He will arise. And He will come and stand beside me, fully human and fully divine. He will place his hand on my shoulder, turn, and say, "May it please the Lord God Almighty, my name is Jesus Christ and I represent the condemned. For My sake, I beg You to forgive him."

My deepest and most profound belief is that in that moment, God's just and terrible wrath at how I had wasted and perverted what He had entrusted to me for the care of His children will be extinguished. My highest and best hope is that in that moment, God will be so overcome by His love for me that He will reach out and make me whole.

Notes on the above:

1. I don't have a paid-up retainer agreement with the law firm of Jesus Christ and Associates that I executed here on Earth and that will entitle me on Judgment Day to demand specific performance thereof. Jesus Christ will take me and the entire world on as pro bono clients.

2. On Judgment Day I will appear before the Throne of God not as a citizen of heaven, but as an illegal, an undocumented person with no rights, no privileges, and no entitlements. I will have neither a Heavenly passport nor a Heavenly visa that would entitle me entrance to Heaven. I will be a criminal fugitive seeking sanctuary in a better place than I have ever known. I pray that I will be received better in Heaven than I have received those here on Earth who are only seeking a better place than they have ever known.

3. Resurrection is not about the hereafter; it is about the here and now. Resurrection is about taking up the Cross and following the path of Christ. Following the path of Christ is not about rewards in the hereafter because there is NOTHING I can do to warrant heavenly rewards. Following the path of Christ is about the exercise of free will in the here and now. Grace is a gift freely given, unearned, and undeserved.

4. I think the reason that none of Jesus' followers recognized him after he arose is the same reason that I have never recognized Jesus all the times He has appeared to me either providing or requesting help.

I like the cut of your jib.

 

[nycfan]

 

[Zoo_View]

How do these people, like Ed Martin, sleep at night?

Happily.

Knowing they will be able to grift away in right-wing media.