Snip>>Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) referred in a tweet to Trump’s attack in his speech on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as a “dumb son of a b***h.” Kinzinger noted sarcastically: “Classy as always.” He added: “I remember when my fellow Republicans would have condemned this stuff but, that was a whole four years ago.”

Conservatism is a regressive ideology and as soon as it got a toehold in the Republican party it drug it down to the depth that we find it today. Well at least it sucked all the conservative filth out of the Democrat party, I'm just sorry to see what it has done to what was once a Grand Ole Party...sad!

And what are we having trouble defending? GDP is predicted to hit 6 to 7% for the year and most, if not all, of the jobs lost will be regained and this because China Joe, I***t Joe, Sleepy Joe...wh**ever derogatory name you want to call him has done what Trump could never have done in a million years and that's dev**e himself to this country's common good. And yes, I know the border is a mess but considering Trump refused to work with Biden on the t***sition I think two out of three ain't bad. Your worry is what to do in two years because demeaning Biden will only work the i***ts of the right who think an ad hominem attack is a college-level "logical" argument.

You need the Senate back and if not the Senate you need the house and you won't be able to get it if the border is all you have to go on. Biden took over a country on the heels of an i**********n. Biden gave us back our country with an intact constitution. That's far and above what Trump and his cronies had to offer...

The Constitution is still severely bruised and has internal injuries, basically bed-ridden in serious condition after the mugging by Trump. And it seems he still has a den of thieves to rob us of democracy.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) called on her party Sunday to move on from former President Donald Trump, saying in an interview on “Face The Nation” on CBS that he’s peddling his old lies and continuing to wage “war on the Constitution.”

In an incendiary speech Saturday at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for the Republican National Committee, Trump yet again baselessly claimed the e******n had been illegally stolen from him. He attacked former Vice President Mike Pence for lacking “the courage” to block v**ers’ choice of Joe Biden as president. He expressed no regrets about, nor remorse for, the deadly Capitol r**t, The Washington Post reported.

“The former president is using the same language that he knows provoked violence on J****** 6th,” Cheney said of the speech. “As a party, we need to be focused on the future. We need to be focused on embracing the Constitution — not embracing i**********n.”


Mary Papenfuss·Trends Reporter, HuffPost
Sun, April 11, 2021, 5:51 PM

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) called on her party Sunday to move on from former President Donald Trump, saying in an interview on “Face The Nation” on CBS that he’s peddling his old lies and continuing to wage “war on the Constitution.”

In an incendiary speech Saturday at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for the Republican National Committee, Trump yet again baselessly claimed the e******n had been illegally stolen from him. He attacked former Vice President Mike Pence for lacking “the courage” to block v**ers’ choice of Joe Biden as president. He expressed no regrets about, nor remorse for, the deadly Capitol r**t, The Washington Post reported.

“The former president is using the same language that he knows provoked violence on J****** 6th,” Cheney said of the speech. “As a party, we need to be focused on the future. We need to be focused on embracing the Constitution — not embracing i**********n.”

The “e******n wasn’t stolen,” she flatly declared. “There was a judicial process in place. If you attack the judicial process and you attack the rule of law, you aren’t defending the Constitution. You’re at war with the Constitution,” the lawmaker added. “For us as a party going forward, we have to embrace the Constitution and we also have to put forward positive solutions.”

Cheney also spoke about fellow Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.), calling the sex trafficking allegations against him “sickening.”

Cheney said she would await the results of various investigations of his actions concerning possible sex trafficking of an underage girl, and concerns about possible ethics violations. But she added that as a mother of daughters, “the charges certainly are sickening.” Gaetz has denied all allegations against him.

Gaetz bashed Cheney early this year after she v**ed to impeach Trump for incitement of i**********n at the Capitol, and held a rally in her state calling for her ouster.

Cheney wasn’t the only Republican upset by Trump’s speech.

“Anything that’s d******e is a concern and is not helpful for us fighting the battles in Washington and at the state level,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) referred in a tweet to Trump’s attack in his speech on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as a “dumb son of a b***h.” Kinzinger noted sarcastically: “Classy as always.” He added: “I remember when my fellow Republicans would have condemned this stuff but, that was a whole four years ago.”
https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/liz-cheney-donald-trump-matt-gaetz-war-on-constitution-gop-235103174.html

Israel is a name used 2,431 times in the Bible. It is included in 34 out of the 39 books in the Old Testament. And in 13 of the 27 New Testament books as well. Clearly it is an important name. But who, or what, is Israel? How come it is the most significant name in the Bible apart from God?

The primary thread throughout the Bible is the redemption of humanity. The first three chapters recount the creation and fall of humanity. The remainder of the Scripture primarily deals with the story of our restoration. And Israel is at the center of that story.

Meaning of Israel

Israel is the Hebrew name Yisra'el, meaning God contends, or one who struggles with God.

God gives this name to Abraham’s grandson Jacob after he spends a night wrestling with God (Genesis 32:28). Later, Israel is the name given to Jacob’s offspring and to the nation that they eventually form.

Significance of Israel: The People of God

But Israel is not just an extended family that became a nation. That would not make them special in any way. Many other nations have specific ethnic identity. And many of them could recount similar stories of prosperity and oppression.

What made Israel unique is that God was using them to further his plan of redemption for the human race. This plan started with an individual, with Abraham. God did not call Abraham because he was stronger, or smarter, or richer than other people in his world. What set Abraham apart from other people was that he responded to God; he believed him and was faithful to obey.

God furthered his plan of redemption by calling a people, the descendants of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. When God called Israel, it was not because they were a strong people, or a wealthy people, or even a people that worshipped him. Israel was not even a nation. They were s***es in Egypt.

But God had a plan for Israel. He delivered them from Egyptian s***ery. He made a covenant with them at Mt Sinai. A covenant in which he promised to be their God if they would only obey him. God brought them into a land that was already populated and enabled them to claim it as their own. God instructed them in how to worship, how to live in community, how to be a holy people.

And God did this, not because they were in any way worthy of it. They were far from worthy, as they proved time and time again. But because he had a plan.

God’s Purpose for Israel

So God had a plan for Israel. But what was that plan? What was his purpose in taking this s***e people and making a nation out of them? And continuing to put up with their rebellious nature for hundreds of years?

I believe that if you go back to God’s encounter with Israel at Mt Sinai you will find an answer to that question. In Exodus 19:5-6 is found God’s invitation to Israel to join him: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’”

God’s purpose, if Israel agreed, was to make Israel into a kingdom of priests – a holy nation. As a kingdom of priests they would have the task of representing the nations to God. And God to the nations. They were a people that God intended to use to further his work in the redemption of humanity.

In general Israel failed as God’s representative to the world. They even failed in keeping God’s covenant. As a result God destroyed them as a nation, sending them into exile, before bringing some of them back to the land and seemingly starting over. Israel was a demonstration that no matter what God does for people, we will rebel against him.

What Israel Provided Us

While it might be tempting to see Israel as a failure, I do not believe that was the case. God knew their disobedience to the covenant and his purpose for them upfront. And through it all he worked to produce at least two important things out of Israel.

1. Jesus Christ

Most important was Jesus, who while fully divine, was also fully human. He was Jewish, and living under the covenant law of Israel. And he not only lived under it. He fulfilled it. After Jesus’ fulfilment of the law, believers could look back and see that the law pointed to Jesus all along.

All of Israel’s history was moving toward the coming of Jesus. The law and the prophets spoke of him (Acts 28:23), and he came to fulfill them (Luke 24:44). Jesus was the fulfilment of Israel’s purpose. Even though Israel as a nation would seem to have failed, God used them to bring Jesus into the world.

2. The Old Testament

Israel also produced what Christians today call the Old Testament. This record of Israel’s history, and God’s dealing with them is important for our understanding of God and redemption history.

It is a history with a few bright spots, but mostly it is a story of human failure. And, contrasted with the failure of humanity, we see God clearly portrayed as purposeful, patient, and just. Our understanding of who God is would be poorer if not for the messy history of Israel.

God’s Purpose for Israel Today

So if Jesus fulfilled Israel’s purpose, does God still have a further purpose for them? Or have they been set aside?

There is much heated debate over this issue. Clearly Israel still exists as a nation, and it would seem that God has been preserving some remnant of them over the past 2,000 years. The vast majority of the times the New Testament uses the name Israel is in regard to the physical descendants of Jacob.

But I believe there is more to Israel than that today. Looking at Ephesians 2:11-22 it is clear that Paul sees something more than just the status quo for Israel. Paul refers here to a new humanity that Christ has created via his death on the cross. Created out of both Jew and Gentile. Not containing both Jews and Gentiles. But one where that distinction does not exist.

Most commonly we call that new humanity the Church. But in Galatians 6:16 Paul seems to call them “the Israel of God.” I am convinced that the Church has not replaced Israel. I am also convinced that God does not have two distinct covenant people. Instead, Israel now includes people from all backgrounds. All united together in Christ; Israel fulfilled.

What Is the Meaning of Israel?

So what does Israel mean in the Bible? It really depends on the context.

It could refer to an individual; Abraham’s grandson.
It could mean the descendants of Israel; the children of Israel.
Frequently it refers to the nation of Israel; either the united kingdom or the northern kingdom.
Probably the most common usage is to refer to God’s people; those that he established a covenant with at Sinai and their descendants.
And, finally, we see it pointing toward the new humanity created in Christ; citizens of the kingdom of God.

But always the name points back to God and his purposes. Those identified with that name are God’s people, chosen for a purpose. And that is what Israel ultimately means: God’s people.
Ed Jarrett