☀️Hopping Sun
Friday, January 19 - 2024 Week 3
Good afternoon, Marysville! Things are hopping here in the third week of January, and here’s another Sun to help you keep step.
☀️Presidential Just Deserts
The Republicans in Iowa have spoken. Do we really need to listen? Well, do we ever need to listen to the music in the elevator? No, but it's hard to ignore when the decibel level reaches 200.
This is 2024. It is another presidential election year. Lord willing, we will make it to 2025, but in what shape is quite the question.
The Iowans caucused their way back to Donald Trump, and it wasn't really that close. Trump got 51%, DeSantis %21, Haley 19%, and Ramaswamy 8%. This author can barely believe that Nikki Haley was on the list at all. So there's Mr. Conservative-Boring, Mr. Conservative-Hindu, and then Mr. Makes-Others-Crazy at the top.
Back in the summer of 2016 I was an unswerving #NeverTrumper. This was not because I found Mrs. Clinton more appealing; both candidates were appalling. I planned to (and did) write in my vote that November.
Nothing tempted me to appreciate Mr. Trump. I believe that good leadership requires good character, and, at that time, there were as many reasons to trust Trump as there were reasons to keep watching reruns of "The Apprentice," meaning, ZERO. His brash, 3rd grade playground vocabulary, his boasting in immorality and adulteries, combined with his lack of understanding of various policies shown in the Republican debates and his willingness to mock and berate his competition gave me quite enough evidence to commit to not give him any support.
Somehow in the comedic mysteries of God's providence, he won that election and held office for four years.
I was very surprised by, and grateful for, God’s use of President Trump. While I think Trump has promoted noxious patterns of political discourse (and, at least formerly, tweeting) that are likely to be tolerated for generations, he also turned out to be (at the time) the most pro-life president we’ve had, in public and by policy. He rolled back more government regulations with his power and provided a little more breathing room for free-ish capitalism. He seemed to be in favor of school choice, and at times he even talked about churches as essential. Of course he did also give us lockdowns and rushed vaccines and further evidence of his erratic, selfish modus operandi.
But he’s also survived, if not thrived, through virtually every accusation thrown at him. It is not because he’s teflon.
A teflon coating makes it harder for the fried egg-guts to stick. A leader with integrity may be likened to a teflon pan; slander doesn’t cling, at least not as easily. Some accusations against some men are just hard to believe. Charges against them slide off into the draining dishwater.
But how many men who are trying to accomplish something—let alone who *actually* are making a difference—would be able to survive the relentless rotten scum that our modern media is committed to pitch? So called "reporters" write stories/lies that cause damage because they gain traction. The lede's gain traction because they are interesting, and they are interesting because men who care about not being canceled have to fight.
Trump is much more like a cast-iron skillet: the more grease the better. He seems to like the grease. He almost begs for it.
The media keep trying to make us care about his problems. It’s not because there aren’t any, Trump just doesn’t seem bothered, and where’s the fun in that? Fake news has upped their fiction levels to international intrigue, but Trump just thanks them for providing another reason for him to talk into the microphone. This is a guy who turns his mugshot into trading cards.
Here is a serious question for my Christian friends: what person in a “high position” (1 Timothy 2:2) has been used by God to bring about this many common grace blessings for a “Christian” nation, while appearing to turn more conservative amidst the accusations? Who do we know that could handle not just the scrutiny, but the slander of the liberal media, and still keep cooking the bacon?
That said, if Trump makes it to the ticket (and at least 16 States are trying desperately to keep him off of it), I will rejoice insofar as it’s a lesser judgment. It reminds me of King David’s seer, Gad, who gave David three options of judgment after David sinned in taking a census in Israel (see the story in 2 Samuel 24). All the options were just deserts. But maybe we can keep from making it worse.
☀️Around Town
First of all, the city’s website got a new look! Check it out here.
There is a Special Election Ballot for voters to “decide…whether to continue paying a 0.2% sales and use tax…to preserve, maintain and expand the City’s transportation infrastructure.” See more about the Transportation Benefit District here.
On Tuesday “the Washington State Department of Commerce presented the Governor’s Smart Communities Award to the City of Marysville,” namely for the planning and work that went into the development of the Cascade Industrial Center. Watch the short video recap here.
☀️Coming Events
State of the City with Mayor Jon Nehring - Wednesday, January 31, 6:30pm. See this page for more info.
Marysville Presents “You’re Out!” (ha, that’s just our editorial alternative title) - Tuesday, February 6, 6:30pm. See the city event page for more info and registration.
☀️Friday Fun
Bet you’ve never thought of it like that before.
The Marysville Sun provides news and perspective—with a little bit of fun—for Marysville's stakeholders about what's at stake.
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