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probinson · 2025-11-18T18:11:35-0600

essentialsaltes said:
I doubt it. Candidate filing starts in February, and they need to know what district they're filing for.

Trump and Texas missed the deadline to call this off. They wanted gerrymandering, they're gonna get it.

Our hands were tied! We didn't WANT gerrymandering, but we HAD to vote for gerrymandering!

Baloney.

I'm just not buying it. Democrats will gladly take this opportunity for a power grab, as would Republicans. Despite all of their claims to the contrary, what all politicians want is power, not "fair, independent, nonpartisan" voting.

Actions speak louder than words, and when you vote FOR something you claim you're against, I just do not believe that you are against it.

essentialsaltes · 2025-11-18T18:01:35-0600

probinson said:
Actually, no. That was just a childish social media post by Newsom in response to similar, childish social media posts by Trump.

The text of the proposition states:

First—This measure shall be known, and may be cited, as the “Election Rigging Response Act.”

Sure, that's its name, but that's not the effect of the constitutional change. As for its temporariness; the new maps will be replaced by the usual committee process in 2030. The text also notes the efforts in other Republican states.

probinson said:
Literally everything about this proposition was ostensibly in "response"

The political movement, yes, but not the text of what was ratified by we the people of California.

probinson said:
Therefore, one would expect that California would be quite pleased to be able to use the "fair, independent, and nonpartisan" maps that they claim to love so much if Texas' gerrymandering is disallowed.

We can't just ignore our own Constitution!

If SCOTUS and the lower courts truly slay the TX gerrymander, we'll see if there's enough time to call another special election. I doubt it. Candidate filing starts in February, and they need to know what district they're filing for.

Trump and Texas missed the deadline to call this off. They wanted gerrymandering, they're gonna get it.

WordSword · 2025-11-18T17:55:31-0600

SabbathBlessings said:
If everyone was keeping them the way Jesus explained Mat5:19-30 there would be no more sin in the world, just peace and harmony Isa48:18

Yes, that would be nice, but it's not the Decalogue that saves, it was used to show the Jews their wrongs and sins.

probinson · 2025-11-18T17:54:43-0600

essentialsaltes said:
Alas, the text of the proposition is what it is.

TRUMP "MISSED THE DEADLINE" TO CALL OFF TX GERRYMANDERING; CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE “BEAUTIFUL MAPS”

Actually, no. That was just a childish social media post by Newsom in response to similar, childish social media posts by Trump.

The text of the proposition states:

First—This measure shall be known, and may be cited, as the “Election Rigging Response Act.”

...

(n) It is the intent of the people that California’s temporary maps be designed to neutralize the partisan gerrymandering being threatened by Republican-led states without eroding fair representation for all communities.

Literally everything about this proposition was ostensibly in "response" to what Republicans were doing, right down to the title of the act. So it would follow that if it is found that Texas may not gerrymander their maps to benefit Republicans, the "response" to "neutralize" is no longer needed, because as the proposition also declares:

(i) California has long stood as a national leader for fair, independent, and nonpartisan redistricting

Therefore, one would expect that California would be quite pleased to be able to use the "fair, independent, and nonpartisan" maps that they claim to love so much if Texas' gerrymandering is disallowed.

Of course, you have to believe that Democrats actually want "fair, independent, and nonpartisan" maps to believe that's true. And that's why I said it will be interesting to see if Texas is not permitted to use their gerrymandered maps how California will "respond". If Texas is not permitted to use their gerrymandered maps, Democrats lose the weak cover of "Well, we really don't want to do this, but we HAVE to."

Fervent · 2025-11-18T17:51:56-0600

essentialsaltes said:
This is not public information, as it is for charities.

That's true, and at a certain size I see no reason to object to 990s but I'm not sure how many churches have the administrative capabilities of filing those kinds of forms. So perhaps if some threshold was established, or even only requiring it of denominations rather than local church bodies. Though I'm still not sure how it would fly with the free exercise clause.

essentialsaltes · 2025-11-18T17:46:15-0600

Fervent said:
Churches file W-4s and I-9s, so pay is documented.

This is not public information, as it is for charities.

essentialsaltes · 2025-11-18T17:42:23-0600

probinson said:
This raises an interesting question. If Texas is prohibited from using their new gerrymandered map, will California opt to stay with their original map also, since it was ostensibly only "in response to" what Texas did?

Enquiring minds...

Alas, the text of the proposition is what it is.

TRUMP "MISSED THE DEADLINE" TO CALL OFF TX GERRYMANDERING; CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE “BEAUTIFUL MAPS”

Douggg · 2025-11-18T17:36:20-0600

sovereigngrace said:
And?

I beg to disagree. You are just teaching what you have been taught.

Show us any Scripture that teaches a rapture of the Church, followed by a tribulation period of any length, followed by a third coming of the Lord?

The scripture references are on this chart I made...

PTW · 2025-11-18T17:30:43-0600

American Dragon: Jake Long

MotoToTheMax · 2025-11-18T17:30:02-0600

Vambram said:
Trump never abused any laws.

Donald J. Trump Foundation

Pommer · 2025-11-18T17:26:34-0600

CBP seems to be performing operations well beyond its operational jurisdiction, as Charlotte is about 125 miles from the nearest border.

Konnie King · 2025-11-18T17:26:27-0600

JuliiaW · 2025-11-18T17:25:09-0600

Delvianna said:
I hope I'm posting in the right spot, if I'm not, my apologies and please move it to where it needs to be.

I want to talk about video games, table top games, etc and look at it from a place of Christian moral ethics. To give an example, I play the game Medieval Dynasty, which is mostly just building a city and managing it with all the resources. But due to it being close to Halloween, they've updated it to give the main towns halloween decorations. This isn't standard decorations... This looks purely pagan witchcraft to me.

View attachment 371968

So when you run across instances like this, what do you do? I'm not required to engage with it. Like, there isn't quests or anything but how do you handle video games and following Christian ethical standards? (This is just an example as I mean this discussion to be more broad than just the example I'm showing).

On a related note, similar questions arise with other types of games, like online casino or slot games, where themes or visuals can be intense. I like such games, and I play them from time to time, especially pokies. A few days ago, I came across this link https://pokiesman1.net/free-pokies/dragon-link/ where I managed to try a free online pokie called Dragon Link. I liked that there is a free version, which helped me to understand more about the game. To be honest, I don't know if something like this is acceptable, but I know the limits, and I play for fun

If it doesn’t affect gameplay and you’re not being forced to take part in anything you’re uncomfortable with, I think it really comes down to your own comfort level. Some players just ignore the decorations and keep playing, some turn off seasonal events if the game allows it, and some skip the game for a bit until the update passes. I’ve had moments in other games where something didn’t sit right with me, and I just asked myself: “Is this actually affecting me, or is it just background art I can walk past?” Most of the time it’s the latter. So I’d say do what works for you. If it bothers you, take a break or switch the game off until the event ends. If it doesn’t impact your experience, just keep building your town and enjoying the game. No one handles these things the same way, and that’s fine.

PTW · 2025-11-18T17:25:07-0600

Yogi’s Space Race

Always in His Presence · 2025-11-18T17:17:21-0600

chevyontheriver said:
What's your explanation of why we Catholics and Orthodox and Jews pray for our dead?

You would have to ask them - I absolutely cannot speak definitely for over 1 billion people and why they believe what they believe.

The thread has answered my question - thanks to all who answered.

Always in His Presence · 2025-11-18T17:13:03-0600

narnia59 said:
So I stand by the statement -- Just because we do not have a preserved writing that directly speaks to a teaching prior to a certain point in time, that is not evidence that the belief was not in place prior to that.

and you are more than free to do so - It very adequately demonstrates the teaching is extra biblical.

Konnie King · 2025-11-18T17:12:09-0600

X=Men

PTW · 2025-11-18T17:11:16-0600

Wally Gator

Always in His Presence · 2025-11-18T17:10:38-0600

chevyontheriver said:
That's your WHOLE response? As if this is infallible teaching or something? Am I understanding you correctly here?

No - it is pointing out that the pope approved of the document - nothing to get apoplectic over. Obviously, if the good pope found error, as you have, he would not have agreed with the writing.

Fervent · 2025-11-18T17:08:55-0600

rambot said:
I kinda disagree. Even when someone developes their own source for grounding, their environment, their friend group and their parents/family/etc are still the primary influencers in creating that grounding. So it is STILL coming from an external source. It's just different than a set of religious principles.
We don't develope in a vaccuum.

I'm more thinking metaphysical grounding, rather than developmental.

rambot said:
Nope. That's exactly me too.

It only makes sense. Everything else can be at odds, but if we can agree to be peacemakers and show the love of God our allegiance will be clear.

mark46 · 2025-11-18T17:04:11-0600

DaisyDay said:
Yeah, I think that Khashoggi’s being a WaPo reporter was not an impediment to any business dealings with his murderer.

One would hope so.

Yup

Perhaps you think that Trump should have taken Biden's moral high ground and given up on peace in the Middle East, as Biden did.
============
Let's be very, very clear.

In both terms, Trump is doing more to bringing us closer to peace in Middle East than anyone since Jimmy Carter.

FIRST TERM
The Abraham Accords were a huge, huge move forward. Arab countries were finally accepting Israel's right to exist as a country. Also, as a side discussion the Arabs and Israel agreed that the enemy was Iran and the terrorists that they financed throughout the region. Trump made them see common cause. Trump also had them understand the business benefits from having peace between Israel and the Sunni Arabs.

IN BETWEEN
crickets from Biden
Hamas started a war
crickets from Biden

SECOND TERM
Trump again made peace in the Middle East his #1 priority. Trump supported all of Israel's efforts to remove the terrorist threats in the region and their efforts to greatly disable Iran. Trump then got the Arabs to look the other way as Israel continued to be aggressive in killing Arab terrorists and also so many Palestinian citizens in Gaza.

Trump finally bombed Iran! He then got Israel to agree to a peace deal and to implement the first steps.

probinson · 2025-11-18T17:04:06-0600

essentialsaltes said:
Court blocks new Texas congressional map, in severe blow to GOP
A panel of federal judges in Texas on Tuesday blocked the state’s new GOP-favored House map from being used ahead of the 2026 midterms by declaring it a likely racial gerrymander, dealing a blow to Republicans who have looked to net extra seats.

In a 2-1 vote, the panel ordered Texas Republicans to use the congressional lines they had in place before they redistricted earlier this year. The new map would have offered Republicans up to five pickup opportunities in the House in 2026.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote for the majority. Appointed to the bench by President Trump, Brown was joined by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, an appointee of former President Obama.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) quickly vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court, which is already considering wide-ranging questions about racial gerrymandering lawsuits in a long-running battle in Louisiana.

This raises an interesting question. If Texas is prohibited from using their new gerrymandered map, will California opt to stay with their original map also, since it was ostensibly only "in response to" what Texas did?

Enquiring minds...

Fervent · 2025-11-18T17:03:49-0600

essentialsaltes said:
We would then finally have some oversight over their finances. How much do they pay their officers? How much do they take in? How much do they spend on charitable programs? Just as we have Charity Navigator to help rate charities to avoid giving away to scams, we could have Church Navigator, to assess whether church donations were being spent wisely.

Churches file W-4s and I-9s, so pay is documented. Still not seeing what the benefit of requiring extra paperwork is supposed to be.

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TRUMP "MISSED THE DEADLINE" TO CALL OFF TX GERRYMANDERING; CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE “BEAUTIFUL MAPS”​

TRUMP "MISSED THE DEADLINE" TO CALL OFF TX GERRYMANDERING; CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE “BEAUTIFUL MAPS”​

Donald J. Trump Foundation​

Court blocks new Texas congressional map, in severe blow to GOP​

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TRUMP "MISSED THE DEADLINE" TO CALL OFF TX GERRYMANDERING; CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE “BEAUTIFUL MAPS”

TRUMP "MISSED THE DEADLINE" TO CALL OFF TX GERRYMANDERING; CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE “BEAUTIFUL MAPS”

Donald J. Trump Foundation

Court blocks new Texas congressional map, in severe blow to GOP