Some wonder where I came up with my screen name. Among other sports I grew up playing baseball from childhood into college and have followed the game all of my life, which is where the name originates. Professional baseball has been all about teams trading players for over a century. Some of those players have been called trade bait to attract other teams to do deals with them. The players they offer, the trade bait, are usually good or have upside that might fit another team’s needs. However, they are not considered key players on their current rosters. So the clubs use them to attract the talent they believe they need from rosters of other clubs.

Such was also life in my business career. Hence, TradeBait.

Today’s scripture is from Matthew 16:13-18;

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”

All of life hinges upon your response to these questions of Jesus, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” If you answer as Simon, God the Father has informed you. Be thankful, have peace in your soul and tell others. It is worth noting that Jesus asked these questions at what was believed to be the gate of Hades itself at Mt. Hermon in Caesarea Philippi, the center of Greek paganism and debauchery that is said to have included human sacrifices and sexual perversion in the cave beyond its entrance. Which is why he went on to say in verse 18;

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” 

These scriptures lead in well to today’s subject, which is also a major worldwide culture and character divider in America that has a constructionism dividing line – Christianity.

I will be spending more time in this and future threads discussing the applications of these terms. Reminder:

Strict Constructionist – Literal and narrow reading (interpretation) of the document that limits the powers of the federal government to what it provides.

Loose Constructionist – Views it as a “living document” that is interpreted broadly that adapts to society as it evolves and its needs change..

For this subject, please ignore the federal government related documents and powers aspect in the definitions. Insert the Bible and its authority instead. Consider which Christian denominations, groupings, and individual belief systems would have strict versus loose constructionists today. Remember that strict is a literal or narrow as written view while loose views it as a “living document” that adjusts with an evolving society and world.

All sorts of descriptive words have been used with the two. Fundamentalists, traditionalists, Bible thumpers, holy rollers, snake handlers, Jesus Freaks and such would come to mind with some folks to represent the strict constructionists. Ecumenical, whiskapalians, Gracelanders, cultural Christians, liberation theologists, Christ progs, social gospelers and so on represent the loose constructionists.

If we go back to the Revolutionary War period we could say that most Christians were strict. That would mean they had a more narrow interpretation of the Bible and operated more rigidly in the churches. The loose interpretation would go to the enlightenment influenced folks who trusted reason and experience as they would view the Bible more philosophically. That was a smaller, but growing group in those days. Over time it led to the social gospel and social justice to take root during that period. Some may have called themselves Christian in a cultural sense. That would make them more acceptable to society.

The same applies today. It would seem obvious that perhaps the majority of Christians have a loose constructionist view of Christianity. Even some members of the Catholic Church have been looking the other way and supporting social gospel and justice positions. Many ignore church tenets about abortion, homosexuality, divorce and so on. This attitude is especially true in blue states where the Catholic Church dominates Christian culture, yet, is still losing membership who walk away, per their own statistics provided by the Catholic News Agency. These are clearly cultural Christians who are loose constructionists of the faith who have influenced the priesthood to lighten up on the old dogmatic approach if they want their attendance and donations.

Catholicism may have been THE most conservative, strict constructionist faith in Christianity at one time. But it really never has translated that way in the election booth in America as the blue states continue voting lockstep for the political party that endorses the activities the Bible has warned against for many decades. For example the majority there refuse to vote for GOP candidates; a political party that openly supports Christianity, is pro life and has conservative societal views.

But a similar aversion to the written word has also been happening with Protestants. This “we all have sinned so how can I judge them” argument is accepted as the gospel in many churches. They sing their beautiful contemporary songs and listen to pastors who never mention the reality of sin, discipline, Hell, or the judgment that is a significant part of Christianity. They sell cheap faith – get saved, baptized and go do your thing. You have your fire insurance. This type faith is a million miles wide and less than an inch deep.

Starting at America’s founding, in what direction has the majority of Christianity moved over the 260+ years since Jonathon Edwards, George Whitefield and the Great Awakening of strict constructionists led hundreds and even thousands of attendees at each service to fall to the ground as if dead from fear for the state of their souls due to the realization they had fallen short of Holy God’s desire for their lives? The answer for the Christian version of leading up to more recent times is obvious – the wrong direction away from truth. It is also the opposite direction of the 50+ founding fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence and risked everything for our freedom.

This has led to songs such as these from artists who sense we have been in trouble as a people.

As well as from others who sensed and discovered there was more to life and found it in the red letters…

Add in some direction for finding what we truly seek. Yeah, it’s a Christmas special. So what, it’s truth!

Observation

What direction has #47, cabinet and patriots been pushing the SCOTUS and government in general? Yup. Clearly he is pushing it all back toward our founding and a strict constructionist understanding and administration of the Constitution. With all of the deep state and liberal pushback, how will he and the patriots get it done?

Us.

We the People of MAGA are his real military. This war has nothing to do with us taking up arms, although we are certainly willing to do so if the fist of criminal oppression rises against us. But in this situation there is a war for the hearts, minds and SOULS that involves the education of the masses in opposition. Many of the oppressors have no idea they have been manipulated by the globalist cabal who have used loose constructionism as their weapon in government as well as being in collusion with some faith leaders going back nearly two centuries.

Which is why it is so encouraging to see TPUSA on fire with young people all over this nation. They know the world they have been raised in is filled with bull crap activists that are as misguided as the educators trying to brainwash them. They were already thinking things through and none of it added up. Evil did not win the day it killed Charlie Kirk. It birthed a response that will engulf and devour the demons like a lion. For those who have not been keeping up TPUSA reported on 1/12/26 that there have been 1,371 new chapters opened on college campuses with a total of 4,221 new chapters nationwide in only FOUR MONTHS.

They remember Charlie just as we do. The reason they remember Charlie is he spoke with them and encouraged dialog instead of speaking at or down to them like leftists do.

The full benefit of this commitment by America’s young people will be felt for decades and it is only beginning.

The Constitution with related laws and rights are not “living documents” to be viewed loosely with the prevailing attitudes and understanding of the times any more than that view applies to the Holy Bible. They contain universal truths. The Declaration of Independence even states, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator…” and so on. They establish a foundation for law and governance that comes from an understanding of Christian faith. The two fit hand in glove.

The Creator of all and everything does not change. He made that perfectly clear in Malachi 3:6. Hebrews 13:8 gives the same message about Jesus. The Lord had mankind write what He wanted written. He gave of Himself with His Son on that Cross at Calvary. He left Himself in the lives of believers through the Holy Spirit (Ghost). He also inspired the words that were written and approved by the founding fathers of our country in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights – the latter two documents that resulted from the Declaration and its submission to the providence of God.

The purpose of the Holy Word that He gave us as well as the founding documents of America are what they are. They do not change – we do. We conform to them to live in harmony with God as well as one another.

There can be no amendments to the former. It is written with the blood of Christ and He said, “It is finished.” That eliminates the living document aspect of loose constructionism from consideration with the Bible. The latter acknowledges Divine Providence, Creator, Supreme Being, the Lord, etc. You can not have Divine Providence without God, as it is a Christian term.

When our nation gets in trouble it is because we fail to live up to that covenant. Our founding fathers stated they wanted that covenant when they stated the nation sought to be under the Divine Providence in the documents. The diaries and personal correspondence of nearly all of them are even more effusive and convincing, there is no legitimate alternative conclusion of their intent. When we turn from that relationship and start doing what the world does individually and corporately, which is supported by the backers of loose constructionists in the Christian church as well government, our world gets turned upside down. Cause and effect go on full display.

The globalist cabal who have loosened the law over that time have made it increasingly difficult to have justice served throughout the corrupted system. They have used the method to do the same to Christian faith based institutions. And as always we can follow the money that helped them do so.

To counter and enter the Golden Age prepared, MAGA needs to strengthen and resolve to stay in sync with the Lord. The good news is the next Great Awakening has clearly begun. The churches are filling. Young people are strengthening their faiths in large numbers. Faith based community ministries are reaching out to help others. Older adults are teaching and mentoring again. More folks are openly talking about their faith and extending the hand of friendship. More are standing up to the crazies. People sense there is more to life than they have been led to believe. Truth is sought and fear is evaporating. Something is coming. The battle has been joined…

Doubt it? Ask the criminal leaders of Venezuela, Iran, Cuba with more to come.

Conclusion

Next week will bring more strict and loose. Until then…

Remember Wolf’s site rules. Note and label all AI. Please be kind to one another, we are all in this together. May God richly bless America and all of you.

Trust Trump and the plan.

It is time to kick off the next American series with a name change and an off ramp from pure American history. There are too many “American Stories” out there now with far better authors than me to keep that in play. We have closed out the Declaration signers and discussed the Articles of Confederation while lightly touching on the Constitution previously. Each one of the posts of this series is intended to be less than a 10 minute read. The attached videos may add to that total time allocated.

The series image at the top is my personal vision of America. More folks ought to try hiking in the Smokies or their favorite national and state parks. Their perspectives about life in America might change for the better.

Today’s scripture is from Matthew 7:24-27;

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Take that to the bank.

Series Intent

Unfortunately, YT will continue to play a part in this series due to their command of music and movie videos that Rumble cannot seem to duplicate yet. Since we are in a simulation anyway, who cares?! 😂

I will never stray far from the theme of AMERICA FIRST with the serious stuff.

These short stories will not be overly complicated. They will be based simply on observations, personal experiences, and publicly available evidence and documentation as in the past. To be sure I will continue with parallels, interconnections and inflection points that are baked into our American Experience. I seek to lighten these stories up to help readers have fun as well as inform. The heavy lifting was done with the Declaration of Independence series.

So let the fun begin.

My series title is a steal from the great, or insane, or pysop (your choice) movie from Robin Williams, The World According to Garp. Here is the trailer for those too young or did not see it. Note the year of release – 1982.

Also note the obvious CIA psyops in the movie that have surfaced (imagine that), have increased in scope and are ingrained into society today. Which brings us to who was Director of that renegade organization during those years? This guy – William “Bill” Casey from 1981-1987 during the Reagan years when all of us were focused on The Cold War and its end as well as recovery from the horrible economy and Iran hostages fiasco of the peanut farmer.

Fine, happy lookin’ feller. 😀 He also brought us a mixed bag of the Iran-Contra affair. Dude was CIA through and through for decades even without official titles. He was in the OSS after WW II before it became the CIA. So what was going on in Central and South America during his time in the saddle besides the Contras? Well, coke up the nose in America became king and the nation of Columbia was its capital for production and distribution. He was a practicing attorney who spent time as SEC Chair, under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, and Chair of the Exim Bank in the 1970’s. However, he also served on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board at the end of President Ford’s term.

For those who want a snapshot of Casey, there is a short read from a 1987 Time article below.

https://time.com/archive/6709197/death-of-an-expert-witness-william-joseph-casey-1913-1987

This one made my eyes bleed, but was interesting perspective on him in spots. He was very hard to pin down.

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000807500037-5

But this February 1981 quote was his most famous, “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”

So, Bill, you said the government does disinformation programs to deceive the American public? I am so disappointed to read that. 😂 Notice it was said in 1981 and had obviously been done as a normal CIA practice for many years before that.

Again, no wonder the current DS corruptocrats hate POTUS so much. We know his agenda matches what We the People want, not what the DS wants you to believe.

Remember the Casey name, he reappears in the Conclusion today.

So back to this story, yes, in my opinion Robin and the movie about Garp was clearly a psyop of epic proportions and a precursor for more to come.

I promise not to be quite that insane in my own psyop versions, but being that my alter ego is Goober Gump, the fictitious brother of this guy, well…

Welcome to my world…

Your View Matters

For this first series and story we will stay with American history to set the stage and it is a really important concept if you seriously want to understand your life and government in America. When it comes to how you read and understand the Constitution, assuming you have, your viewpoint of its intent and content matters. As an example, if you were a Federalist back in those days you thought differently about it than an Anti-Federalist. So, let’s establish the two primary ways to interpret it that are still used today. I am going to keep this short and simple as I promised.

The two primary legal, political, and moral approaches to the Constitution are:

Strict Constructionist – Literal and narrow reading (interpretation) of the document that limits the powers of the federal government to what it provides.

Loose Constructionist – Views it as a “living document” that is interpreted broadly that adapts to society as it evolves and its needs change.

Then there are the true rebels who use whichever is expedient to their cause of the moment.

Note the immediate stress and contention between the two. Strict supporters point to the 10th amendment; that powers not delegated to the U. S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. Seems rather straight forward, doesn’t it? If the issue is not covered under the powers of the feds or specifically prohibited; it was up to the states and We the People to handle.

Au contraire.

The Loose folks said the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article 1, Section 8) supported their theory that feds had powers not listed, including any powers needed to accomplish the powers that are listed through Congressional action. They do not call it the Elastic Clause without good reasons.

You decide for yourself if that stress on Constitutional interpretation was intentionally introduced or a consequence of disagreement of the parties involved in the Constitution’s creation. I have my own opinion and will not influence yours – yet.

Then There Is The Judiciary

The judiciary is designed in the Constitution and subsequent case law to be the arbiters of truth and justice of that document and related laws. How can the judiciary truly be that non-partial when their justices and judges are nominated, confirmed, and appointed in political processes? Human nature tends to influence how one sees the world and performs one’s role in it. You are not going to appoint or confirm a sworn enemy or ideologue you oppose if you have the power. In understanding the subject Constitution and laws along with their application; it all eventually leads us back to had control of Club Senate back in their day (BITD) as well as today because that is where the judiciary confirmation process exists.

Which is why it was of monumental importance when Harry Reid nuked the filibuster for non-SCOTUS judicial confirmations with Turtle answering when the GOP took over by nuking them on SCOTUS nominations. Harry got his leftist, loose constructionist federal judges. Turtle got the conservative, strict constructionist justices.

The historical political battle in our nation has always been between strict and loose constructionism. The rules of the game are set, then one group or another starts trying to change or reinterpret them to fit their goals. It has seesawed back and forth over the entire time period. The one consistency is that the Federalists of the past and Democrats after Jackson have tended to be loose constructionists while the Jeffersonian Republicans and GOP from Lincoln on have tended to be strict constructionists. This has polarized the general population over the years as one group or another became dominant.

Historically, it started as the post Revolutionary War patriots dealt with the process of isolating the loyalists and Tories along with building a country that could stand on its own accord. It took time and great effort to put down insurrections and mischief their enemies initiated to protect their personal interests. Over time the patriots rooted out their opponents, at least enough to insure America’s survival and progress. Many of those losers returned to Great Britain. Others converted and assimilated into society. It took a couple of generations and some funerals. This led to the Federalist Party’s demise as the Jeffersonian Republicans represented the vast majority of commoner patriots who actually fought in both wars.

However, even with the success there remained embedded operatives indebted and working for the ruling class and the Crown of Great Britain. As an example the southern plantation class along with the northern mercantilist and banker class sold “Cotton is King” to the nation to continue national slavery operations despite prohibiting the foreign slave trade operations decades before. They wanted to keep the money flowing from trade relations in Europe going, primarily with Great Britain, as they were becoming wealthier by the day.

Enter the Civil War.

If any of that intrigue sounds like it may still be going on today, you may be paying attention.

With this understanding you may be able to better understand why all of this current day retribution demanded by We the People seems to be taking so long. Every day it seems a loose constructionist and/or corrupt federal judge oversteps their authority. The depth of corruption and depravity in America has been breathtaking as well as disconcerting to discover. The amount of work that has to be done to fix things is daunting. The war rages on. Just always remember the definitions of strict and loose constructionists because there is a constant struggle within our government and people based on which interpretation rules on every issue.

There will be more applications of these two principles to consider that will be the focus of future threads, however, they will not always reference government related activities and conditions.

Conclusion

I cannot leave without a blast from the past. Does anybody remember the UPI press service of yore? It was formerly AP and UP at the forefront of what we now affectionately call the fake news. UP hit the skids long ago having gone through bankruptcy a couple of times and currently exists as a small disseminator of quirky stuff. But while they were still trying to remain a viable news source, they did political hit pieces. The fun in looking back on the declarations of idgits from the past is really, really hard to pass up. So below you will see a pre 2016 election article from UP.

Need a teaser? How about,

“With Hillary Clinton threatening to rack up the biggest electoral victory since George H. W. Bush obliterated Michael Dukakis in 1988, the scenarios for a comeback by the bilious billionaire are becoming increasingly far-fetched.“

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Opinion/2016/08/17/From-Russia-with-love-an-October-surprise/7531471424582

Another mention of ole Happy, Bill Casey, above. Notice the article writer’s name? Walter Shapiro. He was a Dem operative. He was good at being wrong, a lot. Including about COVID from which he developed complications and cancer before dying last summer without getting a chance to see the “bilious billionaire” win his second election against a female Democrat candidate from hell. It was either that or TDS that caused his demise, not sure which.

So let’s look at the bio of the not so dearly departed who uttered that phrase.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Shapiro

Actually that was the first time I have ever seen the word “bilious” written or said. Seems it relates to a colorful fluid in the liver. I think it would make a good Wheatie word for Wolf to use in a daily.

😀

Oh, the irony. The Trump curse struck yet again.

Remember Wolf’s site rules. Note and label all AI. Please be kind to one another, we are all in this together. May God richly bless America and all of you.