This Election is Going to Go Bad and Why That is OK

Spending time writing on this blog on the election is the last thing I want to do. You can imagine the responses I get on my bloviations on religion....why add politics to the soup of my misery!?


My favorite posts to write are about Coach Bryant, football, or fishing- I actually feel popular!

But it is too hot a topic and too close to a reality- and knowing my little voice is a drop in a sea of insanity..... why not?

Our candidates for president are our fault.

Let me be more truthful.... our choices are my fault and yours too.

You may love your candidate, go vote and good luck. Now back to the rest of the sane people, let's be honest, you are going to cast a vote in a few weeks based on who you hate more or less than the other one.

In Alabama, I'm considering NOT voting for president. I could write in Nick Saban or Jumangi... it won't matter... In Alabama- a red,red, red state.... NINE electoral college votes will all go to Trump and you can take that to the bank.

The same can be said for Vermont on the blue side. If I were living in Vermont (now, Coach Woody McCorvey told me never to live in a town where they don't sell Sunbeam Bread)....coaching football..... I would at least consider not pulling the lever in this mess because no matter what I did, Vermont will cast all THREE votes for Clinton.

I will cast my vote for the down ballot candidates.. but as of this second- I just can't do it for President. There ain't a choice among any of them, Gary Johnson included that I feel can lead our nation. If I were in a swing state- yeah I probably would have to pick the less to two bad options. So my leaning right now is I'm not going to...but it no moral stance...if I am honest.....it is a cop out.

(NOTE: I WROTE SOME OF THIS BEFORE THE 3RD DEBATE- I WILL SAY THAT THE ABORTION ANSWER MAY HAVE FINALLY TIPPED IT FOR ME AND PROBABLY SHOULD)

If there is a disadvantage to the electoral college- it is that it looks like my vote doesn't count...I know, I know... it does... but the way I see it voters in Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida are picking him or her.

Back to our fault. And I will add one more controversial notion.... our fault and God's judgment. Before you get too hung up on this.... God's largest category of consequences, wrath, judgments, penalties.... is simply letting us go our own way. The penalty is contained IN the results of the choices.

BUT- He is not a "I told you so person at all"- but He told us what would happen and we do it anyway. He is ready to forgive me and you right now...

NOT ME... if I were God I would be much meaner about it.

Israel is living history about what happens when a nation forsakes God and His righteousness as their guide and truth.

For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water; the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms.
And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them.

 and the result?.......
And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable. For a man will take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying: “You have a cloak; you shall be our leader, and this heap of ruins shall be under your rule”;
in that day he will speak out, saying: “I will not be a healer; in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; you shall not make me leader of the people.”
For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.
(Isaiah 3:1-8 ESV)

 Now, I can hear the Joker frown at me and say "WHY..... SO..... SERIOUS?"

I can hear the media elites moan... "Another fool with a dystopian view"

And if you know me at all you know I will never give up hope.

But the best way to get on the right road is a real, honest evaluation of painful truth.

I hope you hang with me just a bit (might get worse before it gets better... but it is going to be OK).

OK- so WHY is this our fault? Because, as a whole... in our society:

• SCREENS TELL US OUR TRUTH NOW.... NOT READING/MEDITATING/ ATTEMPTING TO APPLY GOD'S WORD TO OUR LIVES AND COMMUNITIES

• OUR PERSONAL OPINIONS WILL NOT CHANGE IN THE LIGHT OF FACTS

• OUR PERSONAL OPINIONS MATTER MORE THAN ANY OTHER AUTHORITY

• FACTS ARE LOST IN A VAST OCEAN OF UNSUPPORTED TRUTH CLAIMS RETWEETED AD NAUSEUM OVER OUR SCREENS

• LEISURE/CONVENIENCE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SOCIAL JUSTICE

• ENTERTAINMENT HAS REPLACED WORSHIP AS OUR DEEPEST LONGING 

let me illustrate just one of these.....

WHY WIKI LEAKS BECAME WIKI FIREHOSE AND IN THE END, WAS LIKE POURING DASANI INTO A CESSPOOL.

I'm no fan of wikileaks... but wikileaks is what happens when elites decide that they can have two lives...personal and private.

I posted about this before.... right after Jesus condemns hypocrisy IN LUKE 12 he says:



I don't know Assange, Snowden, definitely don't know ANONYMOUS...  but I just can't help thinking their motives are just to upset the applecart... maybe anti-globalists... who knows?

I can't justify their morals... at the same time..what we have seen over the last few months and weeks is beyond disturbing... the attitudes and actions and deceit is shameful.

Now, before you go and call me a sour grapes republican who is just crying in my cheerios because Mrs. Clinton is going to win.... I'm just as disgusted with attitudes and actions in Trump.

No moral high ground here....... on either side... and I will say again.... in me as well.

BUT---- in the long run...does wiki-leaks matter?

If your Newsfeed is anything like mine it goes like this:

table for sale- 25 likes 2 comments

Meme with a crying' Michael- 600 likes and re-tweets

400 million cast sent to Iran- 1.5 k likes

fainting goats video- 3.8 K likes

a nasty virus disguised as my best friend' request for money who is trapped in Sri Lanka (skip)

my liberal friends latest- "I hate Trump" article from of 35 pro-liberal news feeds - 4 likes- 500 nasty replies

my conservative friends latest 'Lock up Hillary" rant from 45 pro-conservative news sites- 100 likes- 300 nasty replies written by 10 people (I am in Alabama)

Chuck Norris meme- 7.5 k likes

Bible verse- 35 likes

And I can go on and on

The counter to the Wiki-Leaks e-mails has been interesting to watch:

1) You get underlings to fall on their sword
2) You attack the illegal acquisition of such material
3) You question the accuracy
4) You just let it go away... as all social media posts do... lost in a sea of meme's and media

Regardless...... we have some mess here- the private opinions and actions of our elites do not match their public reality TV personas. And there is NO MORAL RESPONSE. We seem to have lost our ability to blush or act rightly from moral outrage.

OK- One more dark point before I turn on all the lights I can.....

The Federal Government looks nothing like the Constitution that it is supposed to be ruled under.
The Church looks nothing like the Bible that it is supposed to ruled under.

And my biggest fear is that we have a significant electorate that is unwilling to be ruled at all.

This is a net result of federal mandates that attempt to force what the federal government sees as universal imperatives for a very diverse people.

When I look at our massive, over regulating, over reaching over taxing, over spending Federal government - I get VERY CONCERNED.

My view of Government looks like this-  BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS:

POTUS- picking some laws to enforce and some to ignore- and writing his (or her) rules along the way

SCOTUS- a laboratory to experiment with societal ethics based on legal philosophy, not law.

CONGRESS (I call VOTE-US) - the group that runs for power and raises money 365 days of the year but does NOTHING ELSE 

This next election will be the most challenging attack on the American Constitution that has ever happened. The problem is that the fundamentals of the Constituition rest on the amazing balance of power that is prescribed therein.

We are all mixed up.

Can any candidate we have now fix it? Is it fixable?

Quick election analysis and comment then some good news... I promise!

TRUMP- He might win. I know that sounds absolutely insane from some of you pro and against. If he does, it will be because social media has replaced traditional media as the primary info source of the American people. The only example you need to see the possibility is the Brexit vote. If he does win, he will look like a genius...tapping into populist anger and pulling in record ratings as a Jerry Springer gunslinger ready to 'drain the swamp'.

If he does.... the legitimacy of the election will be fought on every level imaginable. I have found it quite humorous regarding the outrage of the left because Trump has hinted to casting doubt of the election if he loses. Really? Outrage? It will be played by BOTH sides...I promise. My fear is that the Trump blowback has a big probability of being violent in some places. My guess is that he will have to call out martial law to settle the thing down which will only play into his negative reputation.

CLINTON- Likely winner in my opinion. The machine is wide spread and powerful. But she will have a hard time leading as well. I see potential, terrible acts of rebellion against her as well.

Wiki-leaks and Comey ended up damaging her as a leader (of course her actions as well).

Can I mention something about Comey?... he really hurt us.

I am in charge of discipline at my high school.

Let's say I walk through my lunchroom one day and right out in the middle of that crowded lunchroom a student stands up and says, in front of his peers, "Hey Jay, bring that bald head of yours over here and talk some football."

I am immediately facing a very difficult issue-

Had he kidded with me privately (or in a very small group)... I might have a chance to correct him... I might know that he really didn't mean to be disrespectful... I might say, "Hey Jimmy- I like you, but when you call me by my first name, it convey's disrespect...whether you meant it or not. Also, I am fine being bald, but to use a teacher or administrator as the butt of a joke can seem disrespectful as well. If you do it again, I might have to give you some tough consequences... I could do so now.. but this is me giving you some mercy, knowing that you likely won't do that again...let's talk some football...OK?" Let me be clear here... some would tell me that even then, I was not wise in holding back consequences, because it may NOT have helped Jimmy...it might enable him to do it again after he has forgotten that this is a big deal (respect for authority is a BIG deal). If he does it again, I have no choice but to give him MORE punishment because he has directly disobeyed a very clear instruction. Sometimes a little mercy can unintentionally lead to a worse consequence.

But, I have a problem.... he didn't do it privately... he did it in front of everybody. And now I have an unfortunate situation... to go 'light' on him now could send an unintended message that does not adequately dissuade that behavior in the future. (This is where I usually get two negative reactions... "You're making an example out of him" AND "A deterrent isn't as effective as you think it is"- my response is to the first - NO the vicarious experience of others is a secondary motivation.. not primary and to the second, deterrence beats no deterrence for most normal humans)

Back to Jimmy- as much as I don't want to, I'm going to have to have him come in my office, explain why he has to be punished whether he intended to be disrespectful or not. The rule of law has very sharp and sometimes cruel teeth.

When Comey gave Clinton a break, he made a judgment... but he is not a judge. He took it up, criticized her (and I think damaged her) and gave her a pass. I do worry about her intent anyway..not to break the law, but to keep her actions in secret.

Jimmy got a suspension, he will come back and we can talk football and there is still some control of the rule of law in my lunchroom.

Clinton got a pass.... And I think we will suffer for that one for years.

Both parties after this election will have to re-think how they ended up with such poor candidates.

In my opinion, had the no shows in the republican primaries stepped out earlier and whittled the field, there might be a better candidate.

And on the democratic side, someone had to at least try to derail the machine, like Obama did in '08, you would have a more legit leader.

In my opinion- Joe Webb would have beaten Trump in the largest landslide in U.S. history.
Rubio would equal that versus Clinton.


Ok- so this was way too long... here is the light....

God is good and He is in control. Period

Politics will never save us.... but Jesus has already made that possible.

I still love our country and will pray for her.

I will yield to my government... but I will be more active than ever in the things I believe. I have been way too passive. The constitution is a good document and the American experiment is worth fighting for.

I am also going to work hard to keep promoting 'Whatever is Worthy' campaigns... we have to throw off our bickering and strive for unity.

IMPORTANT HERE: I hope I show love, compassion, and true patience..hearing to ALL my social media 'friends' who completely disagree with me. You know who you are!

When the Apostle Paul wrote the following words... the world was in worse shape... believe me..

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:1-8 ESV)

I still believe... how about you?

Third Saturday- Orange and Crimson Memories

There is something really special about the Alabama-Tennessee football game, traditionally known as the 3rd Saturday of October ( yes, I know it isn’t ALWAYS that). This game fits into the pageantry of the fall- when the leaves turn color, they seem to display orange and crimson as decorations on this great event. A cool crisp autumn day with an azure sky helps make this as good as it gets in college football.

Now that the broadcast colors are so good- I think it would be cool to have both teams wear their home colors in a game one day.

I wanted to reflect on why this game is special to me.

Special History- Coach Bryant’s and David Cutcliffe’s Influence

Weren't these pictures corny?

When I got to Alabama in the Fall of ’82, I discovered quickly that Tennessee week was very important to Coach Bryant. Back then, it was a very classy rivalry. Coach Bryant had great reverence for General Neyland and spoke fondly of him on many occasions. Coach Bryant’s emphasis on special teams had a lot to do with General Neyland. I also came to learn that a football catch-phrase “Riverside” (used to tell the offense and defense to change directions and begin going the other way) came from Coach Neyland and was in reference to the Tennessee river that flowed next to the practice fields.




It was also in the Fall of ’82 that my connections to Tennessee began. As I went to Alabama, my high school coach, David Cutcliffe, took advantage of a risky opportunity to join Coach Fulmer’s staff in Knoxville. It wasn’t surprising to me when I learned that Coach Cutcliffe had been instrumental in helping with a game plan that allowed Tennessee to upset Alabama in Birmingham the next season.

This was a note Coach Cut sent me during his time at Tenn

When I started coaching in the fall of 1991, it was Coach Cutcliffe who took great interest and time to help me. From 1993 until 1998, I spent at least a week in Knoxville during either spring practice or summer camp and had the privilege of attending coaches meetings and watching hours of game film. Coach Cutcliffe began teaching me pass concepts and his staff helped me improve our offensive system and pass protections.

This is an awkward picture for my Bama fans

The staff and atmosphere in Knoxville during those years was full of energy and personal warmth. When you consider Coach Fulmer's and his staff in those days.. It is a true ‘who’s who’ in college coaching: John Chavis, David Cutcliffe, Randy Sanders, Woody McCorvey, Trooper Taylor, Dan Brooks, Pat Washington, and I also loved talking to Condredge Holloway.


It wasn’t long before my friends and family weren’t real happy with my appreciation of UT orange. I was working their camps, showing their cut-up videos to teach our offense, and was telling folks about being in meetings with Coach Cut and Peyton Manning.

And Tennessee was having its way with Alabama during that time.


I always found it interesting that we won our 1st state championship at Briarwood(1998 and 1999) about the time that UT won the National Championship in 1999. Coach Cut left for Ole Miss and my time in Knoxville was ending.


t wasn’t long after that that the rivalry turned bitter. I know some inside information about the Eric Locke recruiting saga that was the seeds of that anger. It was unfortunate that fans and talk shows spun that up and for a time, it was harder to tell who Alabama fans hated more… Auburn or UT.

Thrilling Games and Long Streaks

Any research on the series shows long streaks:

1971-1981- 11 straight by Alabama

1986-1994- 9 straight by the Tide

1995-2001- 7 straight by Tennessee

and currently, Alabama holds a 9 game streak going into this Saturday.

Who could ever forget the 1990 game in Knoxville when Tennessee was set to win it with a FG. It was a 6-6 tie with only 1:45 left. Alabama blocked the kick and the ball bounced in such a way, that it was Philip Doyle kicking Bama to the 9-6 win on a 48 yard FG as time expired.

Another memorable FG block in 2009 when Mt Cody saved the unbeaten Tide against the Vols coached by Lane Kiffin.

THE VICTORY CIGAR TRIVIA

In the 1950's, Coach Jim Goostree began the after game cigar.

It was not spoken about a lot during the early years because the NCAA has a ban on tobacco products

 Since, 2005, Alabama self-reports a violation to the NCAA of their tobacco ban if the Tide wins the game.

ANALYSIS OF THIS YEAR'S GAME

I have watched both teams as close as a TV fan can. I was really concerned about this game because of how tough Tennessee played in Tuscaloosa last year.

For some reason , UT hasn't been dominant- though their 'will to win' in unquestioned. They have fought back from big deficits all year.

I think the weakness in UT is their offensive line. And while the opponent's defensive line is fresh, UT struggles to move the ball.

I think the big comebacks are a result of good scheme adjustments, and the defenses getting fatigued as the games move on. I'm also still convinced that signal stealing is an unrecognized factor in SEC games.

For Tennessee to win, the Alabama offense will have to turn the ball over. Is there a game in the future where Jalen Hurts looks like a freshman QB? If it were to happen this week, the crowd noise and momentum could be huge.

WHY I PICK BAMA

I think Tennessee is a beat up team right now. I think their injuries and lack of depth puts them at a big disadvantage.

WHY I THINK IT DOESN'T MATTER

My boldest prediction is that this game is meaningless... I expect both of these teams to play again on December 3rd in Atlanta with the winner getting a bid to the playoffs.

As a fan, I'm hoping Alabama has to self-report TWO NCAA violations this year.