It's not progressive, it's creepy.

Kat Timpf

By Dr. Jim Ferguson

Biden is back from his family vacation in Ireland, but his cringe-worthy remarks in Dublin, on April 13th, confusing a rugby team and Irish paramilitary units, caused me to think of the decades-long conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Being a "colonial," interest in British Royals mystifies me, and English history often confuses me. I don't presume to understand "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, but if you saw the movie, "Braveheart," you get some inkling of how conquered people fared under English rule, and how The Troubles began.

England first conquered the western province/country of Wales in the 13th century, then Ireland in the 16th century. And after fighting two wars with England, Scotland finally merged with England in the 18th century.

The Irish so resented their English overlords that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) rebelled in The Irish War of Independence (1919-1921). This resulted in the separation of Northern Ireland from the now independent Irish Republic in the south. Historically, the north was more Protestant because England sent many settlers to the region in the 16th century, largely supplanting the local Catholic population. The enmity persists with Orangemen (after William of Orange) marching every year through Catholic neighborhoods in Ulster, Northern Ireland.

I recently complained to my wife Becky that I didn't have a topic for this week's column. And then Biden embarrasses America in Ireland, and my Methodist Holston Conference loses 30% of its congregations.

You may have read that 264 of the 842 Methodist churches/congregations of the Holston conference recently chose to leave the Church through "disaffiliation." The Troubles for Methodism began in 1972 and were less about Christianity and more about human sexuality.

Every four years The United Methodist Church convenes to address the tenets of Methodism. At this worldwide convocation, our beliefs are refined and an updated Book of Discipline is published. It was in 1972 that progressive activists first tried to redefine human sexuality for our Protestant discipline. They were defeated, but not deterred because, every four years since, they have advocated for openly gay ministers and non-Biblical same-sex marriages.

I am not a Biblical literalist, but "the Bible was designed to change men and now men are trying to change the Bible." I believe the Bible is a compendium of wisdom and full of timeless stories. We are meant to read and wrestle with these stories and seek the truth.

Becky and I are Protestants. If we were Catholic, she couldn't be the Pope. Every organization has tenets and rules. Frankly, I don't want to know about my minister's sexuality, nor do I want Church sanctioned gay marriages. I categorically support civil same-sex unions with equality under the law. But that's not good enough for the truly intolerant who demand I must agree with them. And although the progressive activists have been continually defeated, they have co-opted the "go along to get along crowd," and now my Church is in full schism. The same issues led to schism in the Lutheran, Episcopal and Presbyterian churches. Progressivism not only destroys secular institutions and civil society, but also damages the community of the faithful.

And the "troubles" continue. Last week we learned that the maverick Tucker Carlson is gone from Fox, and CNN canned Don Lemon.

Apparently, CNN and Lemon have different takes on who is at fault. I don't care. Speculation continues why Fox decided to part ways with its biggest star. Perhaps Fox was sensitive to Tucker's recent speech at the Heritage Foundation. Fox and the establishment couldn't control Tucker who challenged the January 6 committee charade and the Ukraine War. Perhaps Fox was sensitive after their recent settlement in the Dominion Voting machine lawsuit. I recently read that Blackrock Investments now holds the second-largest share of stock in the Fox corporation (after the Murdoch family). I don't know, but beware of what the media say; they "tell a story rather than the story." And you better learn about Blackrock.

We live in confusing and troubled times. Even my college freshman grandson was aware of the Tucker Carlson-Fox separation and texted me to ask what was going on. I complimented him on being aware of this important situation but told him I had no privileged information, only my own opinions. I did call Mr. Hunley to ask him if the progressive Democrats would be coming for us next. He assured me The Knoxville Focus will fight on.

These days I frequently hear people lament about America's Troubles. Often, they recall the brief period after 9/11 when Americans came together. I was recently discussing the American Troubles with an informed, intelligent, conservative woman. She said it beautifully, "We are long past coming together politically."

I think about what we need in a president and all the things Biden is not. His 2024 campaign slogan is, "Let's finish the job." Let's complete the destruction of America.

Recently, I again watched the old movie, "Patton." Patton was brash, but a warrior. He orchestrated a defeat of the vaunted German general Erwin Romel in North Africa. And although his mouth got him into trouble with General Eisenhower, he saved the day at the Battle of the Bulge, halting the German counter-offensive in Europe. Patton was what was needed in WWII and made me think of Trump in 2024.

The Dems say there will be no debates, and Trump says they are pointless. Hallerin Hill recently asked whether debates have any merit. I think they are currently not relevant because Biden is incapable of an articulate sentence, let alone a debate. And Trump will be attacked by any moderator. I would prefer a list of priorities and plans, such as Vivek Ramaswamy's 25-Point Plan to fix the mess Democrats have created.

I admit that I am often discouraged by the troubles, and sometimes think about running away. But there's nowhere to run. And I'm not going to compromise my integrity and accept creepy progressive policies.

So, the only option left is to fight the SOBs. And then if I lose and Americans reelect the impaired one and other destructive Democrats, so be it. I will know in my heart I have done my best for God and country and those I love.

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