Gohmert is Completely Correct

"He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer."
Proverbs 18:9

Good for him:

A U.S. House-passed package intended to deal with the coronavirus faced serious jeopardy, including a potential delay caused by a Texan, as the Senate anticipated addressing the legislation Monday.

The bill faced trouble in several directions, but U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, is putting up an initial roadblock. House leaders are sorting out what they describe as "technical corrections" on the bill. Gohmert is demanding the revised legislation be read on the floor, per multiple reports.

Most House members returned to their districts over the weekend. The changes could glide through that chamber without their return if no present members object to a motion to unanimously consent to passing the bill. But if there is an objection, all House members must return to Washington to pass the bill — a process that could take days.

"We still do not have a final draft of the negotiated changes being called 'technical corrections' and some of us believe that the newly worded laws should be finished before we pass them. #CoronaVirus," Gohmert tweeted Monday afternoon.

Honesty, this isn't difficult.

Bottom Line: Having a final draft of legislation ready, so that members actually know what they're voting on...what a novel concept!

Grandstanding Gohmert's Political Theatrics

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."
Phillipians 4:8

We finally got a chance to watch the Louie Gohmert clip from yesterday's Congressional hearing:



Having now watched the exchange, we're struck by its phoniness.

Everyone's being insincere.  The Democrats are being insincere.  Strzok is being insincere.  But, unfortunately, Louie Gohmert is being obviously insincere.

This is not to excuse Strzok's conduct.  Strzok's conduct is reprehensible on both personal and professional levels.  But Strzok's personal conduct wasn't relevant in the context in which Gohmert brought it up.  Gohmert's comment was a gratuitous personal swipe designed to pander to Fox News.

Gohmert's comment accomplished nothing.  It hardens existing tribal identities without putting forward anything of substance.  The only people who should welcome Gohmert's comments are Fox News' advertisers.

Bottom Line: Cheap emotional catharsis might generate ratings for Fox News, but it'll rot your brain over the long run.

For which Texas Conservatives should be THANKFUL....

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!"
1 Chronicles 16:8

While Texas Conservatives are justifiably livid with the lousy legislative results we've seen at both the state and federal level in 2015, it's worth taking today to consider how far we've come since 2010.  Five years ago, we had nothing; today, we've got footholds across all levels of government that we can reasonably expect to grow over the next few cycles.  Consider the following:

• Ted Cruz:
  
  
  
  We'll leave it to others to debate if he's the front-runner.  The fact remains, one of the strongest contenders for the Presidential nomination (who, if he were to secure the nod, would be the instant general election favorite as the Republican nominee) is someone grassroots Texans elevated to his current position against the wishes of both the Austin establishment AND the D.C. establishment.  By itself, that's something worth celebrating.
• Dan Patrick:
  
  
  
  Historically, the office of Texas Lt. Governor has been the most powerful position in state government.  Today, we have not only the most conservative Lt. Governor Texas has ever seen, we have someone who consistently punches above his weight in political negotiations.  Even better, he's someone who understands how to use the power his office grants him to advance conservative policy objectives.

• Ken Paxton:
  
  
  
  Over the past year, no one has done more to protect Texans from Washington D.C's ravenous appetite.  Closer to home, Ken has rebuked governmental lawlessness whether it comes from Travis County probate courts or the University of Texas.  No one has done more to protect our religious liberty.

• Wallace Hall:
  
  
  
  Over the past five years, no one has been subjected to more personal abuse for doing his job than University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall.  In doing that job, Wallace has turned up evidence that some of the most notorious RINO's in Texas have abused their offices to assist their cronies.  While the current days at the University of Texas are dark, patriots like by Wallace Hall make the long term future bright...#HookEmWallace!!!

• Louie Gohmert:
  
  
  
  While the rest of Texas' congressional delegation is mediocre at best, Louie Gohmert remains a consistent conservative superstar.  Most recently, Louie voted against Paul Ryan for Speaker; similarly he voted against the TARP bailout and every screwy fiscal "deal" we've seen since Obama was inaugurated.  If the other Republicans acted more like Louie Gohmert, the other Republicans would be in a lot less trouble.

• More Conservative U.S. House Challenger than we can count:
  
  
  
  Speaking of Congress, there are currently 25 Republicans in Texas' U.S. House delegation.  Of those 25, at least 9 have credible primary challengers.  Several of them will win in 2016 and those that fall short will set Texas conservatives up for another fantastic cycle in 2018.
  
  
  
  
  
• Konni Burton, Bob Hall, and Don Huffines:
  
  
  
   While the Texas Senate has been slowly trending conservative for a decade, last cycle these three kicked that transition into high gear.  All three knocked off notorious liberals, one of whom was a Democrat (honorable mention also goes to Donna Campbell, who accomplished something similar in 2012).  While other members of the Texas Senate are also more conservative than the person they replaced, none of these three had the luxury of running in a special election.
• David Simpson:
  
  
  
  While there are a couple dozen solid conservatives in the Texas Legislature, no one understands Christian grace quite like David Simpson.  David Simpson brings a level of humility about the effectiveness of government others would be well served to match.  As Simpson explains: "Even when we make a wrong choice, it's usually self-correcting if it's not subsidized by the government."
• Jonathan Stickland:
  
  
  
  "Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman yield for a question?!?"  Nothing strikes terror in the hearts of the criminals and reprobates that populate the Texas House of Representatives quite like that one.  For more reasons than we can count, Jonathan Stickland is a courageous voice for righteousness in a wicked legislative body.
• Matt Rinaldi:
  
  
  
  See everything we just said about Jonathan Stickland and add a more conservative voting record.  Prior to being sworn in, Matt Rinaldi danced circles around of the most intellectually feeble RINO's in the Texas House of Representatives.  Matt Rinaldi is on our short lists of legislators we'd like to see run statewide the next time we play musical chairs in 2022.
• The rest of the Scott Turner 19:
  
  
  
  It would take too long to personally thank each member of the Texas House who voted for Scott Turner for Speaker.  Suffice to say, this election season wouldn't look as promising as it does if we hadn't gotten that recorded vote on the first day of this past legislative session.  Kudos also to Scott personally for seeing that race through to the end.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• More Conservative #TXLEGE challengers than we can count:
  
  
  
  We're not sure how many dozens of Texas Legislative primaries have solid conservatives running either against incumbents or for open seats, but it's A LOT of them.  March 1st is GOING TO BE a good night.  The inevitable long-term trend will continue.
• Austin killing THREE BONDS IN THREE YEARS: 
  
  
  
  First the 2013 Austin ISD bond.  Then the 2014 rail bond.  Most recently, the 2015 Courthouse bond.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Don Zimmerman and Ellen Troxclair:
  
  
  
  Finally, we would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge our two spectacular conservatives on the Austin City Council.  Don and Ellen have stopped bad things, promoted good things where they could, and (even when unsuccessful in the final vote) forced the Council to discuss our agenda.  Don and Ellen are an example Republican elected officials across all levels of government would be well served to emulate.

Bottom Line: It's easy to become frustrated with the day to day nonsense, but that's a mistake.  Over the past five years, grassroots conservatives across the state of Texas have made head-spinning progress against a corrupt political class that has had decades to entrench itself.  While plenty of work remains, take today to appreciate how far we've already come.

What Louie Gohmert's last minute run means for Scott Turner

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

Louie Gohmert's last minute challenge to will end in one of three ways, which have have the following impact in Scott Turner's race:

1. Gohmert wins, thus proving it's possible (and making any Republicans who vote for Straus look really, REALLY bad).
2. Gohmert extracts meaningful concessions, thus proving it's possible to extract concessions.
3. Republicans stiff-arm their own voters, yet again, thus pissing off voters all over again less than one week before the Texas House speaker vote.

Any of these scenarios is a win.

Book Review: The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson

"And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets."
Joshua 6:2-4

"And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench."
1 Kings 18:36-38

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days."
Daniel 6:10

If you are reading this review at this moment in your life, there's a reason.  As Mark Batterson explains: "[W]e specifically prayed that God would get the book into the right hands at the right time" (58).  Given the circumstances under which we purchased and read the Circle Maker, we are confident the Lord has answered Mark Batterson's prayer.

We first heard of Mark Batterson when a member of his church posted this article to Facebook.  Having grown up in 1980's New York City, the Lord's specific power over a crack house always impressed.  Our pastor has plugged the book for a year.  We didn't read the book, however, until after the March 2014 primary.  Remember that detail.

The Circle Maker is a written sermon about prayer.  Batterson illustrates how bold, persistent, and specific prayer accomplishes miracles when accompanied by a tireless work ethic.  Batterson cites the March around Jericho, Elijah's prayer for rain, and Daniel's prayer for restoration as Biblical examples.  He recalls several episodes from his Church's testimony as examples.  The key is to mix prayer with action.

To summarize in five bullet points:

• Pray Boldly -- Nothing honors God like a prayer so big only He can fill it. (45)

• Pray Specifically -- A detailed prayer gives God greater opportunity to undeniably reveal Himself as the source of the blessing. 

• Pray Persistently -- This is what trips most people up.  God works on His timeline, not ours.  Unfortunately, most people give up instead of praying through.
• "God knows that if He provides too much too soon, we lose our spiritual hunger." (112)
• "Praying through is long and boring...but very few of us are willing to love that long or pray that hard." (140)
• "Prayer intensity is a product of prayer consistency." (151)
• "Every breakthrough has a Genesis and a Revelation." (168)
• Sometimes it's instant, sometimes it takes decades.
• "One step at a time." (195)

• Physical Location and Posture Matter -- We don't fully understand this one, but we concur with Batterson's Biblical examples and have experienced a similar phenomenon personally.

• "Pray like it depends on God while working like it depends on you" -- Besides persistence, action is the other area where many fall short.  Usually, we need to act first (118).  But if you mix persistent prayer with persistent action, there's no limit to the miracles God will use you to accomplish.

-----

A personal example: In 2012, the day after Barack Obama's re-election, we did major business with the Lord.  He was clear about where we were to stand.  One of those missions is to protect and strengthen Texas' economy.

Since then, our yearning for God to create an oasis of peace and prosperity in Texas amidst the coming global chaos has been our dominant prayer.  We've said countless prayers on this topic (including hundreds around Governor Perry alone).  We can only accomplish this objective with God.

That same desire for an oasis of peace and prosperity drives everything we do at the state level.  Due to our size, Texas has a unique potential to weather the coming global economic Cluster[REDACTED].  Unfortunately, big-ticket economic reforms don't pass themselves.  They require electing candidates to pass legislation.  Both the electoral and legislative processes are long and boring.

There have been plenty of setbacks.  The budget debacle of the 83rd legislature was heartbreaking.  John Cornyn stabbed Ted Cruz in the back.  But through it all, we persistently prayed and worked.  On primary day 2014, the Lord moved.

Like we stated above, we find it interesting that the Lord put a copy of The Circle Maker in our hand shortly after primary 2014.  Our experience in the trenches of Texas politics illustrates the principles Batterson discusses.  A prayer whose Genesis was November 7, 2012 had it's first Revelation on March 6, 2014.

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As Batterson explains: "God answers prayer to bring glory to His name....[t]here is nothing God loves more than proving His faithfulness" (197).  In order for the Lord to move, however, we first need to ask for Him to prove it.  The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson, is a robust presentation of the power of prayer mixed with action.

Another Good Vote from Congressman Roger Williams

Earlier today, the U.S. House voted on an atrocious farm bill; unfortunately, it passed, but there was one interesting tidbit:

---- NAYS 166 ---

....

Williams

Other noteworthy nay's include Justin Amash, Michelle Bachman, Louie Gohmert, and Steve Stockman; every other Republican in the Travis County delegation voted aye.

Credit where due: Texas Democrats, Joaquin Castro, Lloyd Doggett, and Shelia Jackson Lee also voted no.

How Miranda Lambert's Hometown Outsmarted Wisconsin Atheists

"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

Genesis 50:20

Last night, a friend told us about this story out of Lindale, TX; re-printed (with permission) in full from Seven Spheres news:

School District Defies Lawsuit Threats to Perform “In God We Trust” the Musical 

By Patrick Butler, Seven Spheres News 

710 Words 

LINDALE, Texas – In defiance of lawsuit threats from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an estimated 2,200 people turned out Wednesday night in Lindale, Texas, to view the Lindale Independent School District’s 5th Grade musical "In God We Trust." 

The Lindale High School's performing arts center was filled to its capacity of about 1,300 people said event organizers, and overflow rooms were set up in the school gymnasium and cafeteria. 

U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) attended the event to “show his support” as did civic representatives and staffers including Jason Wright of Senator Ted Cruz's office and Texas State Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Dist. 5). The mayor of Lindale, and other local elected officials, joined a standing-room-only capacity crowd to see the musical. 

“We also have an overflow room of 200 filled to capacity,” said the Rev. Tom Buck, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, to the cheering audience, “and another overflow room of 700 also filled to capacity. Those who can't fit in the rooms are out on the lawn, listening to an audio-only,” feed from the auditorium. 

Buck said he was “overwhelmed” by the community support for “In God We Trust,” as did the play's co-authors, Chris and Dian Machen of Plano, Texas, located on the outskirts of Dallas, about 90 miles west of Lindale. The couple came to Lindale when they heard the Freedom From Religion Foundation had threatened to sue the Lindale School District if the play was performed as a school function. 

“The number of people here tonight is far beyond what a play like this would normally attract,” said Machen. “Because of what they [Freedom From Religion Foundation] have done, more people than ever are seeing this play.” 

While the words of the songs originated with the Machens, the spoken elements of the play were, for the most part, direct quotes from America's Founding Fathers affirming the role of God in the formation of the country. 

The recitations by the Founding Fathers were re-enacted by fifth grade class members, often in period costume. Direct quotes affirming the role of religion in America from the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and William Bradford (governor of Plymouth Plantation in the 1600's), were recited without elaboration or interpretation, allowing the writers to speak for themselves. 

Fifth-grader Francisco Mata delivered Bradford's observation that, “A vessel, called the Mayflower, delivered us in pursuit of a new country. To declare our faith, we travelled under a sail inscribed with the words, 'In God We Trust.’” 

The “separation of church and state” controversy was met with Thomas Jefferson's own words taken from the letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, recited by fifth-grader Colton Beeler to heavy applause: “I believe with you,” wrote Jefferson, “that religion is a matter that lies only between man and God. The people have voted that no law controls the decisions of churches in America. It is not that the state should be separate from religion, but that religion should be separate from the state.” 

A consortium of churches in Lindale, including First Baptist Church of Lindale that spearheaded the event, rented the high school’s performing arts center for the evening and staffed the venue. That enabled the fifth grade class at E.J. Moss Elementary school to present their play, which had been stopped when the Freedom From Religion Foundation out of Wisconsin threatened a lawsuit just two days before the scheduled event. 

Gohmert spoke afterwards congratulating the children, parents and community supporters.
"Don't you just love Lindale, Texas?" Gohmert said, to a cheering crowd. 

To the class he said, “I've been in the presence of presidents of our country. I've been in the presence of prime ministers and queens. There is nowhere I'd rather be tonight than right here in Lindale with you.” 

Gohmert quoted Benjamin Franklin, too. 

“Franklin also said, 'God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground, is it possible an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that unless God builds the house, they labor in vain that build it.'” 

Turning to the class on stage he said, “You have shown this, exemplified this, to us tonight in such a wonderful way.”

 Kudos also to Congressman Louie Gohmert and Texas State Rep Bryan Hughes, two perennial favorites of Cahnman's Musings!!!

Suck it Up: An Open Letter to Congressman Louie Gohmert

 Dear Congressman Gohmert,

Thank you for taking the time to read this correspondence.  We've met previously.  I'm the guy with long blonde hair who made the incautious double entendre about Janet Napoletano last summer at Restoring Love.

I'm writing because John Cornyn just voted to fund Obamacare; you need to suck it up and run against him.

I know you don't want to do this; unfortunately, I also know that you are the strongest candidate we could run against Cornyn.

Freedomworks loves you, so fundraising won't be a problem.  You have more name recognition than Ted Cruz at this point in 2011.  Glenn Beck has already spoken favorably of your candidacy:

In 1975, at a similar ebb of American history, Ronald Reagan said:

As stated above, Congressman Gohmert, I know you don't want to run.  Guess what?!?  George Washington didn't want to run either.

Congressman Gohmert, with all due respect, suck it up and go to Ninevah before America ends up in the belly of the fish.

Sincerely,
Adam Cahn
Austin, TX

Does John Cornyn really think we're stupid?!?

Following Ted Cruz's heroic (literal) stand for liberty, Texas' senior senator released an op-ed:

Last week, thanks to the support of conservatives in the House of Representatives, that chamber passed a bill that funds the government while defunding Obamacare. I support this measure, and that is why I voted to bring it before the Senate for an up-or-down vote.

This isn't a show vote. This is a unique and rare opportunity to defund Obamacare with a simple majority - 51 votes. That means Harry Reid can lose, at most, four members of his caucus and still succeed in funding Obamacare. If he loses five, Obamacare is defunded. I want to have that vote.

In other words, Harry Ried can lose Mark Pryor, Mary Landrieu, Kay Hagan, and Mark Begich and maintain Obamacare.

Cornyn continues with wishful thinking

An up-or-down vote, on the other hand, forces vulnerable, red-state Democrats to either double-down on Obamacare or move to defund it. We need to convince five to take the latter approach.

And John Cornyn's plan to accomplish this is....?!?

Second chances in life are rare. For the Democratic senators who voted for Obamacare in 2009 - and those who were elected after it became law - this is their second chance.

With the benefit of hindsight and pressure from the American people, they now have the opportunity to recant their support with dignity.

And for those Democrats who insist on riding this train wreck of a law over the cliff, they will have to stand in front of their constituents and explain why it is worth spending more borrowed money on.

Because, as the head of the GOP campaign committee in 2010/12, John Cornyn did SUCH a great job making Democrats own the original Obamacare vote.

Bottom Line: John Cornyn undermined Ted Cruz when it mattered, now he's using a smokescreen to confuse Texans.

This is exactly what Ted Cruz warned us about.

Run, Louie, run....

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If Texans are sick of John Cornyn insulting their intelligence, here's where they can contact him:

Phone: (512) 494-8535

Twitter: @JohnCornyn

Could Pat Gray successfully challenge John Cornyn?!?

On tonight's television broadcast, Glenn Beck vowed to find a primary challenger to John Cornyn; this gives us an idea:

How about Pat?!?

One thing Glenn Beck will discover, if he's serious about finding a challenger to Cornyn, is that none of the obvious candidates wants to run:

• We asked Louie Gohmert last summer (at Restoring Love): he said no.

• We asked Rafael Cruz in April: he said he was too old.

• We asked Wayne Christian in June: he's running for the railroad commission.

• We asked Katrina Pierson in July: she's running against Pete Sessions, which is a good thing because she's got at least a 50/50 chance to win.

• We haven't personally spoken to Ron Paul, but a source who shall remain anonymous told us he wasn't interested in this race the same day we posted the blog linked above.

 All of the folk listed above have been asked, all have said no.

Which brings us back to Pat.

Pat would enter this race with instant credibility.  Freedomworks already sponsors the radio show and, knowing Freedomworks as we do, we strongly suspect they'd endorse him.  There's your fundraising.

If Glenn Beck is serious about finding a challenger to John Cornyn, he can do a lot worse than the guy sitting next to him during the radio show.

Would Ron Paul challenge Senator John Cornyn?!?

This is a blog post we never thought we'd write; how times change.

Following their defeat in the 2012 election, the Republican establishment has attempted a massive power-grab, despite the fact that they were the ones who lost back-to-back Presidential elections.

It's not a secret that we've been looking for a primary challenge for John Cornyn for months.  It's also not a secret that we've been working with Ron Paul supporters on local issues.  It might be time to put two and two together.

Cahnman's Musings doesn't agree with Ron Paul on every aspect of foreign policy, but we oppose the current war in Syria.  We also don't trust John Cornyn.  Under current circumstances, Ron Paul would be a substantial improvement over John Cornyn.

A successful primary challenge requires two things: money and name recognition.  Ron Paul would begin a campaign with both.  If he were to run, Ron Paul would instantly become the favorite.

Louie Gohmert remains our top choice to challenge Cornyn, but Cahnman's Musings doubts he will run; assuming Gohmert's out, Ron Paul becomes an acceptable alternative.

Cahnman's Musings is hardly an anti-war publication.  We are, however, anti-THIS-war.  In 2014, an anti-war Republican doesn't frighten us.  A three-issue campaign, based upon avoiding war in Syria, dismantling the Federal Reserve, and dismantling Obamacare would go a long way in Texas.  It would certainly beat whatever horse manure John Cornyn might offer.

Louie Gohmert Interrogates Eric Holder over Boston

Kudos to Congressman Gohmert's Press Secretary for posting this video to her Facebook page:



Highlights:

• Starts by following up on discovery material from the Holy Land Foundation trial.
• Holder claims Gohmert's staff never followed up.

• Holder doesn't know what questions the FBI asked re: Tsarnev.
• Gohmert wants to know about the FBI process.
• Holder plays the 'ongoing investigation' card.

• Holder claims he wasn't aware of the Boston or Cambridge mosques.

• That the FBI was warned about Tsarnev by Russia should have been sufficient. 

• "Because of political correctness, there was not a thorough enough investigation to determine whether this kid had been radicalized."

• "On the one hand, we go after Christian groups like Billy Graham's...but then we're hands off to possibly offending someone who has been radicalized as a terrorist."

• Holder's little 'you don't know' schpiel is one of the greatest acts of Chutzpah we've ever seen.

Update: Welcome Director Blue Readers.

Louie Gohmert: "We can't afford Business as usual."

Sadly, (my pal) Louie Gohmert nails it on Fox News a couple hours ago:



Highlights:

• We can't be about 'business as usual'

• It's time for something different.

Personally, I think it's time to cut up Washington's Credit Card.

Will Jon Stewart Apologize to Louie Gohmert?!?

Two years ago, Congressman Louie Gohmert spoke on the U.S. House floor, where he observed:

This elicited the predictable juvenile response from Jon Stewart:

The Daily Show

Yeah, well, fast forward two years and see what's happened; this past weekend, in New York City, the annual Muslim parade featured a number of questionable guests, including this gem (skip to 1:29):



Will Jon Stewart apologize and admit Louie Gohmert was right?!?

Don't hold your breath.