"The Donald" Rev. G. H. Caldwell

Subject: "Donald' place in the election is a good thing, it may not be good for America, but..."

I have been told that my writings are too lengthy for Facebook. I understand and accept
that. But here are two quotations that all of you may consider "Facebooking", followed
by your comments about their relevance for this moment in America. I have not yet,
deliberately, learned how to Facebook.

"For years I thought what's good for the country is good for General Motors, and vice
versa."

(Charles Wilson, nominated for Secretary of Defense in 1953 by President Dwight Eisenhower. Spoken during his nomination hearing).

AND,

"Donald's place in this election is a good thing...it may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS."

(Les Moonves, CEO of CBS, during the 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign).

What is the definition of GOOD, and for whom?

Gil Caldwell

The Negro Speaks of Rivers - Rev. G. H. Caldwell

Subject: "The Negro speaks of rivers" (Langston Hughes); Rivers and much, much more.... I've known rivers: Ancient dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. We who have been, Colored, Negro, Black, and now African American, have a history, experience and a less-than-positive expectation of America, as no other people do. That, I believe, is what Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967) sought to convey in his, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." "There is trouble in (not) River City" but in America today. Trouble is what we have seen and endured, and transcended. But, "We still Rise" (Maya Angelou).  The Black Lives Matter Movement and the Women's March "all over this land", indicate that if we persevere, the nation's better Angels will in time prevail, What have we who are African American "seen" in America?: 1. Slavery, Destruction of Reconstruction, Segregation, Lynchings, Voter Repression. 2. A racially Segregated Military, Public School System, and Segregation in Government(NASA) 3. The Election of Racially Insensitive/Racist Presidents Before Donald Trump, (Woodrow Wilson, and others). 4. A Consistent Economic, Educational, Jobs, etc. Gap Between African Americans and Whites. 5. Disrespect and Double Standard Judgement of the Nation's First Black President. We have wanted to be for America a people who who know first hand violations of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights and thereby warn others of what can happen to them. Today, we are seeing, "What goes around, comes around". May we as sisters and brothers in the experiment called the USA, know as we have not known before; "When any of us suffer, all of us suffer." Or, as Martin Luther King said; "Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere." Gil Caldwell

What has happened?

What do you think about this? Cousin Sharon sent it to me.

Warren Buffett is asking everyone to forward this email to a minimum of 20 people, and to ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in the United States will have the message. This is an idea that should be passed around.




The BUFFETT Rule

Let's see if these idiots understand what people pressure is all about.

Salary of retired US Presidents .. . . . .. . . . . .. . $180,000 FOR LIFE.

Salary of House/Senate members .. . . . .. . . . $174,000 FOR LIFE. This is stupid

Salary of Speaker of the House .. . . . .. . . . . $223,500 FOR LIFE. This is really stupid

Salary of Majority / Minority Leaders . . .. . . . . $193,400 FOR LIFE. Stupid

Average Salary of a teacher . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. .$40,065

Average Salary of a deployed Soldier . . .. . . .. $38,000

Here’s where the cuts should be made!

Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:

"I could end the deficit in five minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election".

The 26th Amendment ( granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds ) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land - all because of public pressure.

Warren Buffett is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2017

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman / woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 3/1/17. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.

Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people, then it will only take three days for most people in the U.S. to receive the message. It's time!

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!

If you agree, pass it on.

Prayer for our Nation - Pastors Resources Daily - Carrie Dedrick

We must pray for our new leader and our country as a whole.Crosswalk.com contributing writer Debbie McDaniel wroter this beautiful and powerful prayer for Inauguration Day. May you ponder these words in your heart as you pray for renewed hope in our country: 

Dear God, we’re aware, more than ever, that our times are in your hands. We need your Presence and your power to be displayed in our nation. We need your unity and your love to stir our hearts and give direction to our days. We need your wisdom to guide us, we need your Spirit to lead us, to live out godly lives that would bring honor first to you.

We pray for all those in authority, for every leader of our nation, that you would give them your wisdom and discernment as they lead. We pray that their hearts would be directed first to you, that they would recognize where their true help and strength come from. We ask that you would guard their coming and going, that you would be their refuge and their peace. We pray that you would surround every leader with wise counsel, that they would be humble and kind, patient and loving through their actions and words. We pray that their faith in you would be unwavering, strong, resolute, and firm.

We pray for your protection as one nation under God. We ask that you would surround this country and cover us with your Mighty hand. We pray for unity in our land, that in spite of our differences, we would be willing to stand strong together and live out our days with compassion and grace. We ask that no weapon formed against us will prosper, and that you would thwart the attacks of the enemy hurled our way.

We pray for your great healing on our land. Shine your face on us dear Lord. Give us courage to go into all the world and take the message of the Gospel of peace. We need you now, more than ever before. Our times are in your hands.

Wake us up Lord! Remind us to live aware, to redeem the time, listen to your words, and be willing to make a difference in this land. Give us courage to speak out. Help us not to stay silent but to do all things through your wisdom and love. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen. 

Carrie Dedrick is an editor of Crosswalk.com. When she is not writing or editing, she can usually be found teaching dance classes, running marathons, or reading with at least one adopted dog on her lap. 

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: January 13, 2017

The role of the church in this administration - Carrie Dedrick, Pastor Resources Daily

One week from today, Donald J. Trump will be sworn into office as the 45th President of the United States. For the next four years (and up to eight), our nation will be under his leadership. 

The road getting to this point has been filled with mudslinging, hate, and anger. The division in our country is just as palpable today as it was on election night. Mr. Trump will be entering the Oval Office with a torn nation on his hands. 

In the Moody Church Media blog The Role of the Church in a Trump Administration, Pastor Emeritus of the Church Moody Church, Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer, asks this necessary question: 

How should the church respond in this time of division?

Lutzer says that the church will be needed more than ever after Trump becomes president. The role of the church is to be a place of reconciliation. We can pursue that reconciliation by doing three things: 

1. Listen without Judging

Lutzer suggests talking to someone who voted differently than you. Seek to understand their position without shaming them. 

Remember that many citizens felt obligated to “vote for the lesser evil.” Others couldn’t vote for Trump or Clinton in good conscience and selected a third party candidate. Right and wrong were not black and white in this election. Both candidates were flawed. 

Lutzer writes, “Don’t tell people that they are upset about the wrong issues; after all, they may think the same about you. Let people own their disappointment and anger. Seek to understand them, not to correct them.”

2. Find Common Ground

Look for the things you can agree on, despite party lines. Whether or not you voted for our president-elect, the good of the country is what we should focus on now. 

“Surely we can agree on matters that relate to human rights, freedom of religion, racial equality, and helping the poor. Let the two political streams that developed during the campaign push us toward a more unified and Christ-honoring center,” Lutzer says. 

3. Pursue Unity

Be the church by actively seeking reconciliation through unity. We are not just the United States, but we are united in Christ. 

Lutzer writes, “Let our unity in Christ overshadow divisions about race, gender, economic status, or strident political positions. Let those who name the name of Christ be welcome in our churches regardless of who they voted for, and may that welcome not merely be shown with words, but with deeds and attitudes.”

The Immorality of North Carolina's racist history hovers over its "Moral Mondays" and over the Inauguration of Donald Trump; Gil Caldwell

This years Martin Luther King holiday caused me as an African American born 83 years ago
in Greensboro, North Carolina to remember Senator Jesse Helms and Dr. Josephine Boyd
Bradley, the niece of my wife, Grace Dungee Caldwell.

JESSE HELMS: "Senator Jesse Helms, (R. N.C.) charging that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
espoused 'action-oriented Marxism' and often 'radical political' views, yesterday temporarily
blocked Senate action on a House-passed bill to create a new national holiday in memory of
the slain civil rights leader...'King used nonviolence as a provocative act to disturb the peace
of the state and to trigger, in many cases, overreaction by authorities...King's very name itself
remains a troubling symbol of divided society.'"

                   "Helms Stalls King Day in Senate" - Washington Post, October 4, 1963

JOSEPHINE BOYD BRADLEY: "The petite brown-skinned girl had tightly grasped her mothers
hand...'It was during this walk, which never seemed to end that I wondered, 'why do these
people hate me?', Josephine Boyd Bradley once said about walking through the doors of all-white Senior High School nearly six decades ago...Josephine Ophelia Boyd Bradley, 75, died
in Atlanta last week..Bradley was the first black student to integrate a high school in North
Carolina from Virginia to Louisiana. And she did it alone in a school of nearly 2000...She had
been met with jeers of 'Nigger, nigger, go home!' She remembers an administrator telling her
that he didn't want her to be there, but the law said she had a right to be there. Throughout
the school year she was spat upon and objects, including rocks rolled up in spitballs, thrown
at her. Tacks were put on her seat. The threats lasted almost the entire day - and even came
via calls over the family's telephone."

 "Josephine Boyd Bradley, who integrated Grimsley High dies" - Greensboro News and Record
                                                    September 23, 2015

Why do I, the day before the inauguration of Donald Trump as President, dredge up these articles from a 1963 newspaper and a 2015 newspaper? And how are Jesse Helms and
Josephine Boyd Bradley, both deceased, related to this moment in history?

I SUGGEST THE INTOLERANCE THAT TODAY EXISTS IN NORTH CAROLINA AND IS EMBEDDED
IN THE ELECTION VICTORY OF DONALD TRUMP, IS PRESENT BECAUSE WE DO NOT REMEMBER JESSE HELMS OR JOSEPHINE BRADLEY, AS DIFFERENT AS THEY ARE. JESSE HELMS IS NOT REMEMBERED BECAUSE HE EXPRESSED OPENLY THE INTOLERANCE THAT TODAY IS STILL PRESENT, BUT IS NOW EXPRESSED IN ACTIONS RATHER THAN WORDS. AND JOSEPHINE BRADLEY IS NOT REMEMBERED BECAUSE HER EXPERIENCE of INTOLERANCE REPRESENTS THE "GREATNESS" OF THE PAST, THE PRESIDENT-ELECT WOULD HAVE US RESTORE, BUT NOT ADMIT.

"The more things change, the more they remain the same."

But, my hope is rooted in my belief that the Saturday after the Friday Inauguration, will
INAUGURATE a "We the People" Movement unlike any seen before!

(Permission granted to share the above, excerpts, and/or re-written in your words)


Gil Caldwell

1/20/2009/The Inauguration of Barack Obama - 1/20/2017/The Inauguration of Donald Trump

Eight years ago, the USA embraced, elected and inaugurated Barack H. Obama
> because it sought to live up to its hopes, desire to change, and bury "America's
> Original Sin; Racism". Historians in time will celebrate the successes of Barack
> Obama, and uncover how the nation had not yet dealt with its anti-black DNA.
> Despite, the support of a majority of the voters in 2008 for Obama, from the very
> beginnings of his presidency the subtle and not-so-subtle expressions of racism
> responded to the nation's first black President, and his family who "lived in a
> House built by slaves." Those of us of all races who have overcome our racist
> DNA, thought our support of Obama would relegate the anti-black racism to the
> sidelines. We therefore ignored it, sought to deny or minimize it, or were silent
> about its presence. We were like the people whom theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
> described as 'good people who do not know that (on race) they are not good.'"
>
> Today, the nation inaugurates Donald Trump as our President. He becomes my
> President, and I cannot condone non-cooperation with him as was the non-cooperation with President Obama by Republicans. I am an 83 year old African American "Segregation Survivor", born in North Carolina who "grew up" in Texas
> and South Carolina. Despite the racial segregation of hospitals, neighborhoods,
> schools, churches, rest rooms and waiting rooms, the military, lunch counters,
> restaurants, seating on busses and trains, Doctor's and Dentist's office, Colleges
> and Seminaries, Methodist Retreat Centers and Pennsylvania Honeymoon Lodges, etc. that I have known first hand, I, and the African Americans of my generation have sought, when in the presence of racism; when the racially insensitive or racists, "Go low, we go High."
>
> May we resist the manifestations of Donald Trump's lesser Angels, without resisting him personally. He too, like Barack Obama is an "Agent of Change".
> The difference; Barack Obama sought to re-shape and change the future. Donald
> Trump seems to believe that re-shaping and change is achieved by retreating to
> the past. This, the nation must resist with ever fiber of its being.
>
> Peter Wehner in an article titled; "The (Republican) Party's Over", TIME, March 21,
> 2016, describes some voters past and present; "Voters are complicit...many of them have come to confuse cruelty, vulgarity and bluster with strength and straight
> talk." May, "We the People" regardless of our politics, resist this kind of confusion.
>
> May we because of the Obama presidency, and the prospects of the Trump presidency be able to say of ourselves what Langston Hughes says in his poem;
>
> I've known rivers;
> Ancient, dusky rivers.
> My soul has grown
> deep like the rivers.
>
> May we insert WE, instead of I, and OUR instead of my.
>
> Gil Caldwell

"We Wear the Mask" - Rev. G. H. Caldwell

African American poetry has relevance beyond the African American experience. "America First"
suggests isolation, and isolation suggests masks, and then I think of, "We Wear the Mask", by
Paul Laurence Dunbar. What does the USA have to hide as we isolate ourselves from the rest
of the world?

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, -
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

        We wear the mask!

Gil Caldwell

Maintaining the integrity of our disagreement - Rev. G. H. Caldwell

One of the things that happens to us is that when we are in profound disagreement with
someone, we are fearful that if there is something that is positive about them, or related
to them, we dare not publicly acknowledge it. Because, we or others, may feel that we are
compromising the integrity of our disagreements with the person.

My disagreements with Donald Trump, are profound. But in time, if there are positives, I do not want to suppress my acknowledgement of the positives. I will seek not to allow my .disagreements to curb my capacity to affirm that I can affirm. But, it would be premature for me to do so now.

Gil Caldwell

Prayers for the women's march - Rev. G.H. Caldwell

I have been asked to say a few words at the Women's March in Asbury Park, NJ, today. I will be
remembering the impact my grandmother, mother, 3 sisters, wife and granddaughter had/have
on my life. Also, I will be remembering, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, Ella Baker,
Coretta Scott King, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Viola Liuzzo.

Viola Liuzzo? I never met Viola Liuzzo, but she and I were together on March 24, 1965 at the
Catholic City of Jude just outside of Montgomery, Alabama the night before we marched into
Montgomery to end the Selma to Montgomery March. We were at St. Jude for a "Night of
Stars", hosted by Harry Belafonte.

On March 25th as Viola Liuzzo was assisting in transporting Marchers from Selma to the
Montgomery airport she was shot and killed by a member of the Ku Klux Klan. She was a mother
of 5 and was 39 when she was murdered. A member of the Unitarian Universalist Church,
from Detroit. She was white.

May we prayerfully remember women of all races, religions, political perspectives, sexual orientations, gender identities, regions, places of birth, educational and economic circumstances, faith or no religious faith, etc. as we gather in different places re; the Women's
March. "Women (and men) United, can never be defeated!"

Gil Caldwell
Asbury Park, NJ

women's march - Rev. G. H. Caldwell

The 2010 census reported that that the population of Asbury Park is 16,116. It is estimated
that there were 6,000 plus persons who participated in the March in Asbury Park. Some observations and comments.

1. It was good to be present on the platform and in the crowd with friends and colleagues;
Members of the Asbury Park Dialogue group, members of the AP City Council, a former City
Councilman with whom I had numerous contacts, residents of the North Beach condominium
where we live, members of the Church we attend, and the United Methodist Bishop of the
Greater New Jersey Conference.

2. I said that the gathering reminded me of the March on Washington, the Selma to Montgomery
March, and the Martin Luther King-led March to Boston Common. The crowd, enthusiasm, music, signs, laughter, candor, and hope etched on the faces of those present, countered the
collective depression caused by the presidential campaign and results of the election of 2016.

3. I suggested that now there are 4 words that begin with S that should shape the
Justice struggles of the 21st century; Seneca Falls, NY, the place of the first women's rights
gathering, Selma, the launching place for voting rights, Stonewall, the New York bar that was
the location that energized the gay rights movement, And SATURDAY, January 21, 2017, the
Women's March when women (and men) made "We the People" a reality, rather than rhetoric.

4. May the Organizers of ALL of the Women's Marches in every place, communicate, network,
plan, to create the Women's March of 2018 on the 3rd Saturday in January. And begin now, registration and education for the elections of 2018 and 2020.

"The People United Will Never Be Defeated".

Gil Caldwell
Asbury Park, NJ

Rev. G. H. Caldwell - Emancipation Proclamation

(Sent to our son Dale, and my long time friend Don Messer, with the hope that they, and
you who receive blind copies of this will through Facebook, etc. use all are portions of
this, for the women-led organizing that will follow the history making "Women's March"
of 1 - 21  - 2017.  All of you use social media in ways beyond my understanding. Use this
as you encourage and empower your friends/followers, to Organize, Organize, Organize!)
                                                    .....................................

Only one person asked about the tie I was wearing. She thought the words on it were the
Constitution. I said, "No, years ago I visited the New York Historical Society, and while
there, purchased a tie with the Emancipation Proclamation printed on it in script."

I suggest thousands/millions of women in Washington, DC, all over the nation and the world in their "Women's March"(es) issued a women's and human rights EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, if expressed through solidarity, communication, political, educational, and economic activism, can turn the USA and the world upside down, so that they become right
side up.

I invite those who read this to allow these words to encourage you to help shape a 21st century
Women's influenced Emancipation Proclamation that if followed, will keep ALL of us from
going to hell. (A young African Methodist Episcopal Zion/AMEZ clergy woman at the Asbury
Park March told us to "Love the hell out of everybody".)

"The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential and executive order issued by Abraham
Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It purported to change the federal legal status of more than 3
million enslaved people in the designated areas of the south from 'slave to free', although
the immediate effect was less. IT HAD THE PRACTICAL EFFECT THAT AS SOON AS A SLAVE
ESCAPED THE CONTROL OF THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT, BY RUNNING AWAY OR
THROUGH ADVANCES OF FEDERAL TROOPS, THE SLAVE BECAME FREE."

                                    Emancipation Proclamation, from Wikipedia

(My underling. I believe on January 21, 2017 women all over the world were "running away"
and thereby eradicating; sexism, racism, heterosexism, classism, and militarism! And, we men who joined them, are ready to follow their lead).