Musical Chairs
June 15, 2026 Leave a comment
The calls come when I’m in the shower or in a dream. Tonight, a call interrupted someone with a buzzsaw chasing me down a dark alley.
“Roy, if you pick that up it stops making noise.”
“Huh? I love you, too, Laci. Put the buzzsaw down.”
“Roy, pick up that hum-buzzing thing.”
“Huh . . . Oh . . .Hello?”
My sister-in-law Diane was on the phone. She was in a state.
“Roy, it’s Dutch.”
“What’s happened?”
“Dutch hasn’t come home from yesterday’s rehearsal,” her voice broke. “I called and called and when he finally picked up, he sounded drunk, incoherent.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don’t . . .wait . . .he’s walking in the door right now . . . Oh no! I see why he sounded like that. You should see for yourself.”
I told her I would come right over.
“Roy, what is it?”
“Diane says something happened to Dutch.”
I kiss Laci, get dressed, and head over to my brother’s place.
My older brother Dutch plays trumpet for Center City Symphony Orchestra. He auditioned for the group fifteen years ago and was appointed Principal Trumpet chair. I went in a different musical direction. I blow the whistle on the bad guys as lead detective for Center City.
I arrive at my brother’s house and go inside. Diane, teary eyed, runs up to me.
“Look what they did to him, Roy.”
“Who?” I walk into the living room.
“Someone . . . someone did this to him.”
Dutch was sitting in an arm chair holding an ice pack on his face. His eyes were glazed over. I ask to look at the damage.
His nose and mouth were bloodied. He had a fat lip and two front teeth had been knocked out. Not good for someone who makes a living with serious chops.
“You won’t need stitches, Dutch, but you’ll a need couple of teeth.
“And, he’ll need months to recover his embouchure!” Diane sobbed.
Dutch coughed spitting out blood. “I wasssupposed to play the Haydn Trumpet Concerto homorrow night.”
“Who did this to you, Dutch?”
“Hats just it,” Dutch moaned, “I dunnooo. I wasss backssstage with my horn and sssomeone called my name. I turned and whhaamm ha stage curtain hit me. I fell back and hit my hhhead.”
“Stage curtain?”
“Like a cannonbawll.”
“Did anyone see what happened?”
“I dunnooo,” he gulped. “Whhhen I came to my hhhead hurrd my mouth hurrd and my trumpet bell was smashed.
Diane brought another bag of ice and a shot of bourbon.
“Roy, they took him to the emergency room and kept him there for observation. They were worried about a concussion. Dutch said that the orchestra manager was there fretting about him not being able to play and the Center manager was there fretting about liability. I should have been there fretting over Dutch.”
I told them that I would go to the Arts Center later that morning to investigate. Before I left, I almost told Dutch to keep a stiff upper lip. But he was in no mood for kidding.
“Roy, find out wahhappened. Will ya?”
I promised I would.
~~~
After a couple of hours of sleep and a cup of black coffee with my best girl, I drive over to Central City Performing Arts Center to meet with the orchestra manager. It looked to be a long wet Friday. I needed something to offset the feeling I had in my gut. I stop and buy a couple of boxes of Good and Plenty.
Over at the Center, I introduce myself to the bowtied Mr. Caldecott. I ask about yesterday’s rehearsal.
“Well Detective, I arrived at noon yesterday to set up the chairs, stands, and music for the afternoon rehearsal. But the stage curtain was still down from the previous theater performance, so nothing could be placed. I went and asked the Center’s custodian to raise the curtain. An hour later the curtain was raised and then someone told me that our Principal Trumpet had been injured.”
“When exactly did the curtain go up?”
“The curtain didn’t go up until two. So, rehearsal started at three-thirty, not the usual three.”
“When do the orchestra members show up”
“Usually, it’s an hour before rehearsal begins. They warm up and review the music.”
Mr. Caldecott then informed me that only the sound technician and the custodian were around when he arrived yesterday. He walked me over to the sound booth at the back of the auditorium.
The sound tech said that he had been waiting for the stage curtain to go up and the chairs and stands to be in place so he could set up the microphones for the rehearsal. He said he spent his time waiting in the sound booth and was too far away to see anything going on off stage.
Mr. Caldecott then walked me backstage so I could talk to the custodian.
The custodian was a short bald-headed old guy with a pasty face, red nose, and scraps of hair for a mustache. His uniform name patch said “Charlie.”
“Charlie, I’m a detective investigating what happened yesterday before rehearsal.” I didn’t mention my name. I didn’t want my relationship with Dutch brought into the matter.
“A detective, heh? Say, don’t you guys wear trench coats and fedoras?”
“Yeah, when we’re playing a part. But I’m not playing anything right now. Someone received a serious blow to the face.”
I ask them to show me where it happened.” I follow them to stage left.
“Mr. Caldecott said the curtain was down yesterday. He asked you to raise it. He also said that it took an hour before it was raised. Isn’t that right Mr. Caldecott?”
“Yes, detective.”
“Well, Charlie, what took so long?”
“The curtain was down and that pulley you’re looking at had broken loose from the floor boards. So, I had to bolt it down to lift the curtain for the rehearsal. You can see the new bolts.”
I tell Mr. Caldecott that I need the curtain lowered to inspect it. He goes to move some things on stage before the curtain can be lowered.
The stage curtain down, I find graze marks in the fabric. And specks of blood. On the other side of the location of the scuff marks are more scuff marks. Directly below is the remounted curtain pulley.
“Was the pulley loose when the guy got clobbered?”
“Yes, detective.”
“So, anyone could have come along and swung it into Mr. Winder’s face?”
“I suppose that’s possible.”
“Don’t touch the pulley.”
I call the station and ask Ted to come right over. I want him to dust the pulley for fingerprints and to swab the blood on the curtain.
“Where were you when the trumpet player got clobbered?”
“Well, let’s see . . . I . . . I was looking for wood screws to tie down the pulley. Is that all detective?”
“Yeah, for now.” There were some loose ends that needed tying up.
“Mr. Caldecott, you said someone came and told you what had happened to the Principal Trumpet. Who was that?”
He gives me Nelia Swan’s phone number and address. I call her and tell her that I’m on my way over to talk.
I arrive at Ms. Swan’s flat and she invites me in. She offers me some Mariage Frères tea. I tell her a cup of café noir would be great.
“What?”
“A cup of joe.”
“Sorry detective. I don’t have coffee.”
“I’ll live.”
I move the cat from the arm chair and sit down.
I ask Nelia about what happened at the rehearsal.
“Dutch and I arrived early. We were off stage warming up. We were waiting for the stage curtain to go up so chairs could be set up on the stage.”
“Where was Dutch?”
“Dutch was standing near the stage entrance playing intervals.”
“Where were you?”
“I was further off stage warming up.”
“Did you see what happened?”
“One minute Dutch was standing there and the next he was on the floor. I didn’t see him get hit in the mouth. I don’t know how that could happen.”
“Did you see anyone behind the curtain? Did you hear someone call his name?”
“No. I put my horn down to help Dutch.”
“Is there anyone who has a grudge against Dutch?”
“No. I can’t think of anyone. He’s liked by everyone.”
“He was hit right in the kisser. Anyone want him out as Principal Trumpet?”
“We’re all professionals here, detective. If a person wanted to move up in the orchestra, he or she would have to audition for that spot, but only if it is vacated by a musician who leaves the orchestra.”
“So, if Dutch was out another trumpet player could audition for his spot?”
“Yes.”
“Who is second chair trumpet?’
“His name is Mark . . . Mark Jacobson.”
I thank Nelia and make my way back to the station to do some paperwork and call the orchestra manager. I ask for Mark Jacobson’s phone number. I need to talk to him.
I call Mr. Jacobson and ask him to come to the station. He was more than a little flustered. He was practicing for the Haydn and didn’t want be bothered. I told him I’d come over.
I drove over to Jacobson’s place.
“Mr. Jacobson, I’m a detective investigating what happened yesterday before rehearsal.”
“What the hell! I shouldn’t be bothered right now. I have to play the Haydn tomorrow night!”
I reminded him why he was playing the Haydn. He softened a bit. “That’s too bad. Dutch didn’t deserve that.” Then, he whiplashed back. “I deserve a chance to be Principal Trumpet. Tomorrow is my chance. If it goes well, I’ll be the Principal Trumpet of the Center City Symphony!”
“Where were you when Dutch was assaulted, Mr. Jacobson?”
“Assaulted? What? How do you figure?”
“I figure that stage curtains don’t attack people.”
“The man had a habit of annoying people.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“Well, you didn’t sit next to him for ten years.”
“Dutch is my brother. He annoyed me alright and I annoyed him back. That’s what brothers do. Did Dutch annoy you and you wanted to punch him in the face?”
“C’mon. I’m a professional. I need to get back to my performance.”
“Where were you when Dutch was assaulted, Mr. Jacobson?”
“I was on my way to the rehearsal.”
I left Mr. Jacobson to his Haydn.
Driving back to the station I thought about our conversation. Mr. Jacobson was certainly annoyed by me. He had a short fuse. Was it due to stress about playing the Haydn? Did he have anger issues? Did he resent Dutch being Principal Trumpet and decide to take the chair out from under him?
I would question him again, after his performance. In the meantime, I would check on Dutch.
Diane met me at the door.
“He’s sleeping now, Roy. He’s scheduled for dental implants next week. The conductor was here about an hour ago. He said he would tell the subscribers that Dutch had taken ill and needed some time off.”
I asked Diane if she knew the second trumpet Mr. Jacobson.
“I know Mark. He was in the high school band and orchestra with me and Dutch.”
“The three of you have known each other since high school?”
“Yes. And after high school the three of us played in the civic orchestra before being accepted in the symphony orchestra.”
“If I recall, you played the French horn?”
“Yes. But with three kids I had to leave the orchestra and stay home.”
“Did Mark have any issues with Dutch back then?
“Dutch was first chair trumpet during high school. Mark challenged him a few times for the chair. But he was never able to get it. Dutch was too good.”
“Challenged?”
“In high school band and orchestra, a player could challenge a higher ranked player for their chair. The director would set up a music test, listen to both and decide who gets what chair. That doesn’t happen in professional orchestras. You audition when you first come in and then sit where you are told to sit.”
“So, Mark might have resented Dutch’s ability?
“He really wanted first chair. But then he became first chair trumpet when Dutch and I had to leave high school. I became pregnant with Celeste.”
“I see. Anything else about Mr. Jacobson?”
“I was told at the time that Mark had a crush on me. Maybe he thought I was looking at him when I was looking over at Dutch. Do you think Mark did this to Dutch?
“I think I need to have another conversation with Mr. Jacobson.”
~~~
Sunday morning, around nine, I drive over to Mr. Jacobson’s place.
He invites me in. I ask about the Haydn.
“It went very well. My improvised cadenza would have been better if I had more time to prepare, but the audience liked my performance.”
“Say, Mr. Jacobson. How badly do you want first chair?”
“I don’t like your manner.”
“Yeah. I get that a lot in this business. Listen Mr. Jacobson, I know you were in competition with Dutch in high school.”
“Yeah. So what. I have ambition like the next guy.”
“I’ve been a copper long enough to see ambition and improvisation go together like Bonnie & Clyde.”
“Oh, c’mon. Sure. I was a bit jealous of Dutch, his talent, but I would never harm him. I wanted the chair honestly. I have another performance this afternoon, so I really must ask you to leave.”
I left Mr. Jacobson to his Haydn. I didn’t tell him that I had attended Saturday night’s performance.
As I sat in the balcony waiting for the conductor to walk on stage, I read the program notes. I learned about concertos.
A concerto, the program said, features a soloist engaged in an elaborate conversation with an orchestra. A solo instrument is set off against an orchestral ensemble by alternation, competition, and combination. Concertos typically contain three movements, the first and last of which are usually quick-paced, with a slower tempo for the middle movement.
This case has the elements of a concerto. Someone was set off against the orchestral ensemble that included Dutch as Principal Trumpet. The case has moved past the first movement – Allegro – when Dutch was clobbered to the second movement – Andante – which now is slowly unwinding the whodunnit. I’m looking forward to the final movement – Allegro – when everything comes rushing together and I blow the whistle on someone.
After the Saturday evening performance, I learned even more.
I stuck around to see Mark and Nelia get very chummy. They left the Arts Center together. I followed them to a wine bar over on Third Street. They shared some drinks, kissed, and talked for two hours. They left around eleven and drove to Nelia’s place. Mark stayed overnight and left around eight in the morning.
I didn’t press Mr. Jacobson on his relationship with Ms. Swan this morning. I wanted to talk to Ms. Swan first.
After leaving Jacobson’s place, I drove over to Ms. Swan’s flat. I knocked and she invited me in.
“Oh, detective. If I knew you were coming I would’ve bought some coffee. I was just making some tea.”
“You might need something stronger.” I cleared my throat.
“Huh?”
“No thanks on the tea.”
I walk into her living room, move the cat out of the chair, and sit down. On the lamp table was a framed photo.
“Say, this photo wasn’t here yesterday.”
“Mark gave it to me last night. That was taken in the Bahamas last summer. That’s where Mark proposed to me.” She showed me the engagement ring.
“You didn’t mention your relationship with Mark the last time I was here. Why?”
“I didn’t think it had anything to do with what happened to Dutch. Besides, Mark wouldn’t hurt a flea.”
“He comes across as a bit on edge.”
“Yeah, lately he’s been pushing himself. Trying out with different orchestra for the Principal Trumpet chair. He wants to make more so we have enough to pay for a traditional wedding. My parents are divorced and they don’t have money and we’re both still paying off student loans.”
I got up to look at the photos on the side table.
“This guy looks familiar.”
“That’s my father.”
“Isn’t he the custodian at the arts center?”
“Yes.”
The third movement was about to begin. I left Ms. Swan and drove over to the Arts Center to have a talk with the custodian. No doubt his fingerprints are all over that pulley.
~~~
Over at the Arts Center I meet with the building’s manager Mr. Fairmont. I have him show me to the custodian’s office.
Inside the cramped room is a small desk with chair, two file cabinets, a bulletin board with the orchestra’s schedule, a sleeping bag, a hotplate, cans of soup and baked beans, a bag of tools, and a duffel bag stuffed with clothes.
A bottle of Mad Dog is in the top drawer of the file cabinet with some Dime Detective Magazines and a dog-eared copy of Mickey Spillane’s Kiss Me, Deadly.
On the desk is a photo of Mr. Swan and his daughter Nelia.
“What’s all this?” The custodian came in.
“Well, look what crawled out from behind the curtain.”
“Hey, this is for employees only, detective.”
“I am employed, Charlie. Have a seat.”
“Now Mr. Swan, I want you to help me sort out a few things.”
“Yes. How can I help?”
“The day of the attack on Mr. Winder, the pulley was loose from the floor, wasn’t it Mr. Swan?”
“Attack? Why do you say he was attacked? Who would do such a thing?”
“Someone playing musical chairs.”
“What? The pulley had come loose from the floor boards. I had to get the curtain raised.”
“Your daughter is planning on marrying Mr. Mark Jacobson, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Are you all in on that marriage.”
“Why yes, I am. Where you going with all this?”
“I did some digging and found out that the pay scale is the same for all section players and that principals make more. Stands to reason that with Principal Trumpet Mr. Winder out of the way, your daughter’s fiancé would get the chair, get more pay, and then marry your daughter”
“If you say so.”
“I do and so does the logic.”
“I did some more digging and found out that you like to drink and gamble and that’s how you lost your wife and your house. You are now living here. Isn’t that so, Mr. Swan?”
I looked over at the manager of the Arts Center.
“I had no idea that you were living here, Charlie.”
“I . . . I. “
“Did you daughter know that you lost your house and were living here?”
“No. No. No. I don’t want her to find out and worry about me. She doesn’t know about the house. We see each other here every time the orchestra plays.”
“With Mr. Jacobson coming into more pay and your daughter’s marriage you planned on living with them. Didn’t you Mr. Swan? You knew you couldn’t keep living here. Someone would find out.”
“Are you suggesting that I attacked Mr. Winder? Look. There were plenty of people around who could have socked the guy.”
“You had motive and opportunity. You were working on the pulley when this happened.”
“Oh, c’mon detective. I’m just an old guy down on my luck trying to get by.”
“I had a conversation with another old guy down on his so-called luck. You see, I lead AA meetings at a church two blocks from here. One of the men at the meeting told the group that he messed up and went back to his old hangout – Blake’s tavern a couple of blocks from here. He had a few with some old friends. One old friend, he told the group, was pounding drinks and talking crazy, saying that sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands and eliminate the competition to improve your situation. The guy saying all this to the group is your bar mate Sam.”
“Sam?”
“I talked to Sam this morning, Charlie. He agreed to tell the judge what you said, nothing more and nothing less. And, I talked to my forensics tech. He said that there is only one set of fingerprints on the pulley. If their yours, well . . .”
“Alright. Alright. I . . .I just wanted to sideline the guy for a bit to give Mark a chance in the spotlight. I thought the curtain would cushion the impact. And I figured the guy had disability insurance to cushion his income.”
You had all this figured out, didn’t you Mr. Swan?”
“I figured I was helping my daughter.”
“By swinging a pulley into some guy’s mouth, busting his chops and taking the chair out from under his livelihood to leverage a better living situation for yourself? Does your daughter know that you . . . pulleyed this off?
“No. No. No. She doesn’t and I don’t want her to know.”
“Too late for that Mr. Swan. It’s curtains for you. Come with me down to the station. I’m booking you for aggravated assault on Mr. Winder. You can call your daughter to have her bail you out.”
~~~
After Mr. Swan was booked into custody, I went over to see Dutch and Diane.
Dutch’s mug looked like he’d been in a hockey fight. I told them that it was the custodian Mr. Swan who swung the pulley. No one else was involved. I told them Swan’s motive. They were both shocked by the account.
Then I told Dutch what the orchestra manager told me: they’re passing the hat around so you can buy a new trumpet and some new teeth. I give Dutch a box of Good and Plenty and he gives me a smile that hurt both of us. I tell them that I have to take off.
“There’s a blue-eyed blond waiting for me with a steak covered in onions and Farewell, My Lovely.”
~~
©J.A. Johnson, Kingdom Venturers, 2026, All Rights Reserved
Cindy Wity 
No Country for Old Men Without Borders
June 1, 2026 Leave a comment
No Country for Old Men refers to a world that has become increasingly violent and chaotic, where traditional values and the moral compass of older generations are no longer effective or relevant. The title reflects the struggles of the aging sheriff, Ed Tom Bell, as he confronts the senseless violence and lawlessness that he feels ill-equipped to handle . . .
In the past six months I’ve come across two pastoral letters imploring Christians to think kindly toward the millions of foreign invaders that crossed our borders illegally.
The first (AI generated?) letter was posted “By A Country Pastor.” (Quaint, eh?) The second, from a Hispanic Anglican bishop out of California. (Surprise, surprise!). The document below is the latest missive. Like with my response to the first letter, I do not consider the current pastoral letter authoritative.
It’s not that an Anglican bishop doesn’t have authority to speak about such things. It’s just that there is nothing in the letter that compels me to change my understanding or my actions. I seek to love my neighbor as myself, I ascribe image-of-God dignity to all humans, and I hold myself and others accountable for what is done.
~~~
Here’s the letter’s opening and my comments:
“As bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin within the Anglican Church in North America, I write pastorally to address the subject of refugees and immigration. I recognize that immigration is a complex matter involving legal, social, and economic concerns. Yet for the Church, it is first and foremost a biblical and pastoral issue, shaped by our allegiance to Christ and our calling to make disciples of all nations (Philippians 3:20; Matthew 28:19–20).”
What brought about the need “to address the subject of refugees and immigration?”
Did narrative-edited videos on CNN and MS NOW showing ICE rounding up the bishop’s would-be disciples provoke clerical stole clutching? Was it something preachy Morning Joe Scarbourough said?
Was it some attribution of unchristian behavior onto the millions of legal citizens never wanting their neighborhoods and their country overrun with and terrorized by the worst of worst criminal aliens, international criminal gangs, drugs, and scammers?
Was it Progressivism’s predatory foray into the church? (See video below.)
“After years of global elites lecturing us about compassion, diversity, open borders, asylum, labor flows, and all the buzzwords they love to force-feed us, The Economist is suddenly admitting that voters are right to think the system has been gamed to screw us over.”
The Economist suddenly changes its immigration tune…
Is it because “The globalist machine is sputtering and losing speed. And they can hear the America First engine coming up fast right behind them”?
Was it concern that Federal grant money to NGOs was drying up?
Was it Trump derangement syndrome?
Is it because Democrats need to keep their animus toward America, its Constitution and laws, always before us, so deportation resistance has to be revved up again?
What brought about the need “to address the subject of refugees and immigration?”
After giving lip service to the complex matters immigration invokes “involving legal, social, and economic concerns” – matters established by our country’s founders for the common good that include the principle of subsidiarity, protections both physical and civil, fiscal soundness, and a legitimate process for the integration and assimilation of legal immigrants leading to citizenship – the bishop, without saying any more about the very real down-to-earth “legal, social, and economic concerns” of not dealing with the complex matters that (illegal) immigration brings down upon our families, our neighbors, our communities and our nation, goes on to place the matter of (illegal) immigration into his safe space – his otherworld jurisdiction.
The bishop, you see, has a “first and foremost” trump card: entitlement of citizenship for (illegal) immigrants – citizenship in heaven – that overrides legal citizenship status and subjugates the concerns of legal citizens to a ‘scriptural’ utility of making disciples.
I wonder. Does the bishop assume that illegal immigrants will want to assimilate and willingly accept being discipled because of compassion extended toward them? Do Islamists assimilate and become disciples of Jesus? Do gang members assimilate and become disciples of Jesus? Will the Chinese from the CCP? Will the Somalians? If a comfortable living situation is the basis for entering illegally, the immigrant will be discipled by Democrats willing to give them all kinds comfortable living on welfare in exchange for their vote.
How convenient that the San Joaquin valley is inundated with Hispanic illegal immigrants! Now they can easily be colonized as citizens of heaven and as low-cost farm workers!
You tell me. Have you read anywhere in the gospels that before Jesus ascended into heaven, he said “Go. Open your borders. Let everyone in, even your enemies. This will facilitate making disciples.”?
The two letters are the same in their “pastoral” plea to be welcoming and hospitable to the invaders, the opportunists violating the law for access to another’s property and wealth. (See The Dark Side of the Immigration Debate and The Ungrateful Immigrant below.)
The letter goes on . . .
“Holy Scripture teaches that every human being is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Therefore, all people—regardless of legal status, nationality, or ethnicity—possess inherent dignity. The Bible repeatedly calls God’s people to welcome the stranger, care for the vulnerable, and extend hospitality to those in need (Leviticus 19:33–34; Matthew 25:35; Hebrews 13:2). Our Lord Himself knew the life of a refugee when the Holy Family fled to Egypt (Matthew 2:13–23).”
Here, the bishop pulls out all the “social justice” stops. His words are coded in Biblical jargon to supply the naïve reader justification for open borders. We are to trade the real-world deleterious effects of illegal immigration for a high-minded other-world compassion that unleashes chaos with the senseless violence and lawlessness that we are ill-equipped to handle.
My understanding of image-of-God “inherent dignity” involves personal accountability and responsibility for one’s human agency. It’s not a badge we put on someone to give them a ‘social justice’ pass.
Tell me. When Jesus said “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10) did he point out the inherent dignity of the thief so that we would take a compassionate view of him and his ways? Did he do this with the Pharisees or the woman caught in adultery? No. Jesus spoke of what they did against their image-of-God “inherent dignity.”
The application of “dignity,” like with applying “love,” can be used to Ok of all kinds of inordinate things, such as same-sex marriages: [IN Senator Todd} Young Op-Ed: Marriage Bill Ensures Dignity and Respect for All Hoosiers. S.J. James Martin uses “inherent dignity” to justify all kinds of unholy things
Both pastoral letters imply that foreign invaders should be treated as possessing human dignity. But do the illegal immigrants respect the inherent dignity of the ICE officers and their lawful task?
ICE has its hands full with those who resist – you know, the “strangers” who crossed the border illegally and are now putting up a fight with law enforcement. And with those “strangers” financed and deployed by Democrat NGOs to put up violent resistance. Where’s the dignity in that?
Why doesn’t the bishop publicly denounce and admonish the ICE protestors and the chaos they bring? His higher law says to speak the truth in love. Maybe he agrees with the NYT’s op-ed columnist David Brooks who says “It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising.”
“I’ll kill your whole f-cking family! Your whole f-cking family is dead!” the agitator yawped. “Your children, your wife—all dead!”
Acting AG Blanche: Anti-ICE Agitator Will Be Arrested for Threatening Agent During NJ Riot
At some point, ordinary, law-abiding people are going to get sick of the disorder protected and excused by their degenerate liberal governing elites. I will continue to ask the question “Where are the adults?”
Saying that Jesus was a refugee – is that said to invoke empathy for the refugee? How so? Mary, Joseph, and the baby traveled to Egypt under God’s protection and direction. They also remigrated home under God’s protection and direction. The Illegal immigrants can do the same.
The letter goes on . . .
“At the same time, Scripture affirms the legitimacy of nations and civil authority (Romans 13:1). A faithful Christian response must therefore hold together two truths: the responsibility of governments to uphold the rule of law and protect their borders, and the obligation to treat immigrants and refugees with justice, mercy, and compassion, in accordance with God’s law (Matthew 22:21).”
Let’s be clear. U.S. immigration laws are not unwelcoming or imposing hate. They are not anti-human anti-dignity. They, in fact, affirm human dignity by holding the people who placed themselves in the lawless positions accountable.
“Justice, mercy, and compassion” have been extended toward illegal immigrants and “refugees”:
USCIS Supports “Project Homecoming” Self-Deportation:
If you are here illegally and you want to go home, the Department of Homeland Security now offers use of the CBP Home Mobile App so that you can voluntarily self-deport. Through the CBP Home Mobile App, you receive a complimentary plane ticket home, receive a $2,600 exit bonus upon your return, and will have any unpaid fines for failing to timely depart forgiven.
But the opposite is portrayed by left-wing media. Such have a financial and political stake in promoting open borders. The opposite is also portrayed by church leadership that has accepted the media’s lies.
I agree. We are to treat all people with “justice, mercy, and compassion” in accordance with God’s will. That would include our neighbors who are having to deal with the invasion of millions of illegal aliens. There is nothing merciful, just or compassionate about an invasion of millions of foreigners into our communities.
The letter goes on . . .
“In my episcopal ordination vows, I pledged to be “gentle and merciful for Christ’s sake, to poor and needy people and to all strangers destitute of help” (BCP 2019, p. 504). Guided by that promise, I call the Church to bear faithful witness by loving our neighbors, advocating for the vulnerable, speaking the truth in love, and offering practical care to those entrusted to us (Luke 10:25–37; Matthew 5:13–16).
Who are the vulnerable? Children. Trafficked children. Exposed children.
“These children are vulnerable; they’re actually the ones who need the help,” Rivera said. “They’re brought against their will, and they have no say in where they’re going, whether it’s mom or dad, aunt or uncle, or some stranger getting something out of it.”
Border Crisis: CBP Fights Child Exploitation: Without a choice, thousands of children are forced to make a perilous journey
Open borders have been a gateway for the exploitation and oppression of human trafficking.
Open borders have been a gateway for the child trafficking.
Biden admin failed to probe more than 7,300 reports of migrant child trafficking, startling HHS findings show
Biden-Harris admin loses track of 320,000 migrant children — with untold numbers at risk of sex trafficking and forced labor
Open borders have been a gateway to make billions:
US Govt. Paid Catholic Charities $3 Billion to Traffic People across the US/Mexico Border – Public Intelligence Blog (phibetaiota.net)
Our children are now exposed to the flood of unvetted pedophiles entering the country during Biden’s (and the bishop’s watch). Arrested: Worst of the Worst
Our children are exposed to the flood of sickness entering the country during Biden’s (and the bishop’s) watch.
Open borders import disease.
New York City’s health commissioner announced last week that the influx of migrants from the southern border — more than 50,000 to New York City alone in the past year — is delivering contagious diseases, including tuberculosis and polio, to our neighborhoods.
Per the CDC: While still abroad, immigrants, refugees, and others who apply for admission to live permanently in the United States must undergo a medical examination.
Did this happen during the Biden open borders invasion? No.
Biden’s open borders are bringing contagious diseases to your neighborhood
The letter goes on . . .
“ Our Anglican tradition has long affirmed the Church’s responsibility to care for refugees and immigrants while engaging society with moral clarity and charity. Respect for civil law must always be informed and corrected by God’s higher law, which calls us to justice, dignity, and mercy.”
Again, I wonder what brought about this letter? Who is NOT engaging society with moral clarity and charity? Who is NOT “informed and corrected by God’s higher law, which calls us to justice, dignity, and mercy?” “Is it the “basket of deplorables”?
I view the deportation of the millions of foreign invaders as respect for civil law, as respect for my neighbors, as respect for “God’s higher law.”
I understand God’s higher law as that which holds people accountable with “justice, dignity, and mercy.”
The letter ends . . .
“I encourage the faithful of this diocese to live into these convictions: welcoming the stranger, discipling those within our care, and assisting immigrants and refugees to live responsibly and faithfully within our communities. I pledge to engage our diocesan leadership and civil authorities with these biblical values, and I pray for the nations of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, that we may act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
Signed,
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Eric Vawter Menees, SSC”
If I see a stranger in my neighborhood, I say “Hi.” I try to connect.
I will continue to insist that all illegal “immigrants and refugees” be deported or remigrate home and then apply to come into the country legally.
Otherwise, our land becomes increasingly violent and chaotic, where traditional values and the moral compass of older generations are no longer effective or relevant. We will be confronted by senseless violence and lawlessness that we are ill-equipped to handle . . .
~~~
Some Thoughts
-During COVID there was a lot of Karen-like shaming going on. Not wearing a mask, not social distancing, and not vaxxing meant ridicule for not submitting to “We’re all in this together.” I get the same “get with the program” vibe from the two pastoral letters.
-There are those who think they know all about me even though they never write, call or visit. They “know” me from a distance, from what the media and church leaders present about people “like” me, as in CT’s Russel Moore (See below.) I get the same vibe from the two pastoral letters.
-That we should help the “vulnerable among us” sets up understanding illegal immigration in terms of the “oppressed” and the “oppressors.” Stay away from Marxist narratives.
-Out of context verses can be used to endorse all kinds of unscriptural church policies – from saying women should not be pastors/teachers to open borders to anything goes sexuality. Out of context, out of bounds.
-Much of what comes out of the church today about Jesus, comes from the TV. That is how some came to see Jesus as the docile, friendly, welcoming, and unwaveringly accepting Mr. Rogers. Being nice his emotional landscape and children’s. Do these same people think that ICE should take off their LE gear, put on a sweater, and say “Won’t you be my neighbor?” I will continue to ask the question “Where are the adults?”
-I once knew a female assistant rector. She saw herself as the PBS version of a female rector in an Anglican church in England – as the Vicar of Dibley. It came across in her PBS-like sermons.
-One cannot read the gospels and come away with Jesus being docile or unwaveringly accepting. Jesus didn’t accept whatever people did with their “inherent dignity” or “love.” He held people accountable. The gospel according to Progressivism doesn’t hold people accountable except for those who don’t go along with their narratives. See letter above.
Very reliable social media sources tell me that Jesus was a Progressive: he helped the vulnerable, the oppressed, and the foreigner. Why, they say that Jesus was down with socialism, abortion, LGBT-ism, social justice, DEI. Jesus was down with anything man came up with in the last five minutes to make the world a fairer and more equitable place, i.e. to make the world less God-saturated and more man-saturated.
Higher Law Bigotry
Two Judean religious leaders see a half-dead man lying on the side of the road as they walk along. A Judean had been beaten and robbed. But the two principled men stay away from “lesser” concerns to stay true to a higher law.
Someone the two religious leaders consider of low estate, as without their higher-law pedigree, comes along and helps their assaulted neighbor.
Turns out that the neighbor in Jesus’ parable is the one who sees what is going on around him and helps his neighbor. It is not the high-minded principled. And so it is with Christian leaders who ignore broken boundaries and their broken neighbors so as to observe a higher law.
~~~
https://www.dioceseofsanjoaquin.net/news–events
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33324911
~~~
Victor Davis Hanson:
“I live on a farm beside a rural avenue in central California, the fifth generation to reside in the same house. And after years of thefts, home break-ins, and dangerous encounters, I have concluded that it is no longer safe to live where I was born. I stay because I am sixty-five years old and either too old to move or too worried about selling the final family parcel of what was homesteaded in the 1870s.”
The Diversity of Illegal Immigration
~~~
From my post Two Visions Three Questions:
What hard evidence do you have that an open borders policy is a good decision? Your feelings? Your empathy? Any talk about “welcoming the stranger” in the abstract is not hard evidence in support of an open borders policy. Is the evidence your need for cheap labor? Democrats Once Again Concerned About Who Will Pick Their Crops
And . . .
Lest anyone think that I am an “ignorant hillbilly” and can be known by my smell (Peter Strzok), lest anyone think that I am a rube and an uncaring Christian xenophobe nativist, and lest anyone think that I haven’t traveled outside my shire and am not cosmopolitan, know that I have traveled to many parts of the world and have met and worked with many different people during my 70+ years. I am not a misanthrope.
My travel, mostly for engineering work, included a trip to Seoul South Korea and within five miles of the DMZ, to Dhahran and Jubail Saudi Arabia and the oil fields worked by Saudi Aramco, to Warsaw and Bialystok Poland, to England during the Queen’s silver jubilee, to Rio De Janeiro, to Mexico – Tuxpan and Tampico, Mexico City, and Sonora state, to many of the provinces of Canada, including Saskatchewan when it was 40 degrees below zero, and to most of the U.S.
I did love coming home to the U.S. after each trip to some distant place.
~~~
Podcasts:
“American Citizenship and Its Decline: Illegal Immigration and the Loss of National Sovereignty” from The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast by The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast.
Citizenship is rare in human history but essential to free government. Today, the constitutional rule of citizens in America is threatened by a new form of government, unaccountable to the people, in which power is held by a ruling class that seeks to transform our society. In this eight-lecture course, students will examine the origins and history of citizenship in the West and the grave challenges American citizenship faces today.
America’s founding principle of equality created an opportunity for people from all over the world—regardless of race or birth—to immigrate to the United States and become full citizens. This led to a system of immigration that proceeded according to established laws and required a willingness and ability to assimilate into American society. These criteria have been abandoned in favor of a system of widespread illegal immigration that erodes the rights of citizens. (Emphasis mine.)
https://podcast.hillsdale.edu/american-citizenship-and-its-decline-illegal-immigration-and-the-loss-of-national-sovereignty
https://podcast.hillsdale.edu/american-citizenship-and-its-decline-introduction
~~
Influence Campaigns Inside Evangelical Institutions Podcast:
https://cis.org/Parsing-Immigration-Policy/Influence-Campaigns-Inside-Evangelical-Institutions
~~~
Eric Metaxas: Christianity Today Had an Easter Message: We’re Just … Better Than You
“Lord, I Thank Thee That I Am Not Like These Deplorables”
[CT’s Russel] Moore quotes the evangelical sociologist James Davison Hunter, who in a previous patronizing essay made the case that it is the begrudging resentment of groups who once had power that fuels our societal woes. Hunter doesn’t actually say “working-class white Christians” so much as dog-whistle it. Everything such knuckle-dragging relics do is actually only so that they might cling to what power they still have — or mebbe to yank it back from them’s what took it. . .
Cheap Amateur Psychoanalysis
Moore explains, for example, the real reason that some people want secure borders:
“In Hunter’s view, a ressentiment posture is heightened when the group holds a sense of entitlement — to greater respect, to greater power, to a place of majority status. This posture, he warned, is a political psychology that expresses itself with “’the condemnation and denigration of enemies in the effort to subjugate and dominate those who are culpable.’”
Here Moore might very well die in the irony mines, as he condemns and denigrates his own cultural enemies for … condemning and denigrating their cultural enemies. Because the rules are apparently different for the right sort of people. . .
Damn the Kulaks, Full Speed Ahead!
But buckle thy seatbelts, pilgrims, for the condescension will soar yet higher. Moore continues:
“Often, the most contentious aspects of American life center on the question ‘Who is trying to take America away from us?’— whether that be immigrant caravans overwhelming the border, the concept of American elites developing a global pandemic to control the population with vaccines, or the rhetoric of Satan-worshiping pedophile rings at the highest levels of government.”
Moore confidently assures that his critics are driven by sheer resentment — pardon me, ressentiment — and are clinging to some America in which they were top-dogs. But the positively Himalayan irony is that it is Moore and his friends in subsidized, institutional Christianity who are losing cultural power. So they’re lashing out, in essays such as this.
~~~
Christian leaders shouldn’t be more concerned about protecting illegal aliens from ICE than protecting the religious freedom of their congregants.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/01/20/if-your-pastor-values-illegal-immigration-more-than-your-right-to-worship-find-a-new-church
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Here’s what the media does to people: James Woods: On Memorial Day, a veteran dies from being beaten to death for the way he voted – in America… – Revolver News
Where are the pastoral statements about this murder? None I suspect. This is a lesser concern and not the business of following the “higher law.”
~~~
We are to be the Welcome Mat:
Texas state representative James Talarico compared the nation’s southern border to a “front porch,” saying it should function like a “giant welcome mat.”
~~~
J.B. Shurk, writing at American Thinker:
Globalism Seeks to Kill the Nation-State: International government threatens the whole planet.
People are beginning to understand that those who rule in their name have long been working to eliminate the nation-state….
. . .That’s another part of internationalism’s linguistic magic trick: The same global corporate news machine that has spent the last eighty-plus years conditioning people to understand the word “nationalism” as something evil, militant, and barbaric has simultaneously conditioned the world to see anything “international” as inherently good, peaceful, and progressive. The “national / international” dichotomy didn’t happen by accident; it’s been shoved down our throats all our lives. But once again, if a rational person takes a moment to consider the semantic manipulation, it is quite absurd.
. . . internationalism’s true intent: Internationalists are building a global empire. This empire is authoritarian (because it demands global compliance at the expense of personal freedom) and totalitarian (because it requires complete subservience to a centralized and dictatorial global government). There is nothing “democratic” or “representative” about this international system of governance. It has no interest in protecting an individual’s rights and freedoms. It has no interest in respecting a nation’s sovereignty. It will permit both individuals and nations to be raped in the name of “global peace.”
Therefore, it makes perfect sense why the United Nations encourages mass illegal immigration into the United States and Europe. When you are in the business of destroying nations, you do not care if murderers and rapists destroy local families. You do not care if Islamic terrorists burn down Christian churches. You do not care if the “newcomers” to Europe and America have pledged to conquer the West. (Emphasis mine.)
~~~
E. Jeffrey Ludwig, writing at American Thinker:
Illegal Is Legal, Immoral Is Moral – American Thinker
[American society is] also are contending with millions of foreign nationals who were admitted illegally during President Joe Biden’s administration, whom Democrats defend against being rounded up and deported. This expulsion of illegals is an affirmation of our legal system, which has set up rules for legal entry into the USA. The rules were approved by our legislative system, but now and for the four years of the previous administration, those laws are being denied and repudiated by one of our two major parties. The Democrats are doing what they can to defund the offices of government responsible for rounding up those illegals. They are encouraging illegal behavior yet do not believe that a stigma is attached to that intention.
They are sentimentalizing immigration laws as though our already generous laws were overly strict and against the pro-immigration traditions of the USA. Illegal entry by “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” is being propagandized as being more “moral” than obedience to the legitimately passed laws. (Emphasis mine.)
Suicidal Empathy is Killing the West
In the new book Suicidal Empathy, evolutionary behavioral scientist and professor Gad Saad makes the case that the West’s most celebrated virtue has been weaponized, mis calibrated, and taken to a place that is actively destroying the societies it claims to protect.
“ . . . the “West’s elitist progressive political class is infected by a mind parasite that causes its empathy module to misfire in every conceivable manner. Many of the policy decisions that are wreaking havoc in the West stem from this poor calibration of empathy, resulting in a society that is galloping toward the abyss of infinite lunacy.”
The Road To Hell Is Being Paved With Suicidal Empathy
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This Is NOT what Jesus would do:
New York City shouldn’t be flooded with filthy water, garbage, or aggressive illegal foreigners.
“When you first watch the video, you’d think this was some filthy, chaotic scene from Bangladesh.
“But sadly, this isn’t Bangladesh.
“It’s Canal Street in New York City.
“Yep, the Big Apple looks downright rotten, folks. And the kicker is that this is basically a no-go zone for Americans.
“And before the “refugee welcome” crowd starts screaming about how America was a nation shaped by immigrants. We know about the olden days. But the Ellis Island era worked because there was an expectation of assimilation. People came here, brought parts of their culture with them, and still understood they were joining something that already existed.
“That’s not what this clip looks like.
“This looks like a city that has stopped enforcing any American standards whatsoever. It looks like an illegal street economy operating out in the open, and it also looks like counterfeit goods, sidewalk chaos, territorial vendor control, illegals, foreigners, and Americans citizens being chased away from streets in their own country.” (Emphasis mine.)
Look at this horrific street in a popular US city. American citizens aren’t welcome… – Revolver News
~~~
The wolves – Globalism and Progressivism – have snuck into the church dressed in sheep’s clothing.
When Progressivism snuck into the Anglican church I was attending in Illinois via a female Wheaton college professor who became an assistant rector, I left. I knew the woke virus was already overtaking the congregation.
Progressive Christians believe “God is bigger than our borders, bigger than our language, bigger than our certainty.”
Megan Basham: How Progressivism Creeped into Evangelical Churches
Megan Basham: When Progressive Foundations Fund Evangelism
The political projects men like Christianity Today editor Russell Moore and New York Times columnist David French undertake involve a contradiction. While lamenting how partisan American Christianity has become (frequentlyaccusing other evangelicals of shilling for “Christian Nationalism”), they continue to launch and participate in programs designed, albeit covertly, to inject progressive politics into the church. (Emphasis mine.)
Progressive Powerbrokers & Corruption in the American Church | with Megan Basham
How Naivety Is Allowing Unbiblical Progressivism Into Evangelical Churches
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Filed under 2026 Current Events, Christianity, Culture, Globalism, human trafficking, Immigration, Political Commentary, Progressivism, The Church Tagged with American Values Coalition, Christianity, church, culture, Globalism, God, Immigration, J29 Coalition, Jesus, progressivism, The Anglican Church in North America