#A.R. Thomson

[shy-fairy-levele3]

2024 Book List

This was a great reading year, another 55 books read!

T.Kingfisher was my most read author at 10 books, with Alexis Hall in at 4. I look forward to reading more from both of these authors in the new year, as well as many others.

Vengeance of the Pirate Queen Tricia Levenseller 

Ducks: Two years in the Oil Sands Kate Beaton  

10 Things That Never Happened Alexis Hall

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love Lex Croucher  

Prairie Fire: The Story of Owen #2 Emily Kate Johnston  

The Cloisters Katy Hays

Gods Behaving Badly Marie Phillips

The Storm of Life: The Brilliant Death #2 A.R. Capetta

Iron & Velvet: Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator #1 Alexis Hall

Cursed: An Anthology

Just Stab Me Now Jill Bearup

Lost in the Moment and Found: Wayward Children #8 Seanan McGuire  

Something Fabulous Alexis Hall

The Immortals: Olympus Bound #1Jordanna Max Brodsky

The Queen and the Knave: Dread Penny Society #5 Sarah M. Eden

Winter of the Gods: Olympus Bound #2 Jordanna Max Brodsky

Divine Rivals: Letters of Enchantment #1Rebecca Ross

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known: Wayward Children #9 Seanan McGuire

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands: Emily Wilde #2 Heather Fawcett

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking T. Kingfisher

Our Hideous Progeny C.E. McGill

A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch: Glimmer Falls #2 Sarah Hawley

The Gentleman's Book of Vices: Lucky Lovers of London #1 Jess Everlee

Olympus Bound: Olympus Bound #3 Jordanna Max Brodsky

A Rulebook for Restless Rogues: Lucky Lovers of London #2 Jess Everlee

Don't Want You Like a Best Friend: Mischief & Matchmaking #1Emma R. Alban

Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune Keith Thomson

A Spindle Splintered: Fractured Fables #1 Alix E. Harrow

The Briar Book of the Dead A.G. Slatter

A Mirror Mended: Fractured Fables #2 Alix E. Harrow

 Ruthless Vows: Letters of Enchantment #2 Rebecca Ross

Atalanta Jennifer Saint  

Paladin's Grace: Saint of Steel #1 T. Kingfisher

Paladin's Strength: Saint of Steel #2 T. Kingfisher

Legends & Lattes Travis Baldree

Paladin's Hope: Saint of Steel #3 T. Kingfisher

Clockwork Boys: Clocktaur War #1 T. Kingfisher

Kith & Kin Marieke Nijkamp

Paladin's Faith: Saint of Steel #4 T. Kingfisher

The Wonder Engine: Clocktaur War #2 T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead: Sworn Soldier #1T. Kingfisher

Bride Ali Hazelwood

Bookshops & Bonedust Travis Baldree

Mountains Made of Glass Scarlett St. Clair  

Swordheart T. Kingfisher

Dreadful Caitlin Rozakis

What Feasts at Night: Sworn Soldier #2 T. Kingfisher

You're the Problem, It's You: Mischief & Matchmaking #2 Emma R. Alban

Confounding Oaths: Mortal Follies #2 Alexis Hall

A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence: Lucky Lovers of London #3 Jess Everlee

Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins: Caduceus Clay

The Nightmare Before Kissmas: Royals and Romance #1 Sara Raasch  My Roommate Is a Vampire Jenna Levine

The Kaiju Preservation Society John Scalzi

What Doesn't Break Cassandra Khaw

Please take them as recommendations, or if you have read any of the same books come talk about them with me! Reminder you can also follow me on The Storygraph to see what I am reading in real time, where I am simply shy_fairy

Previous Years Reading lists can be found here: 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018

[ulkaralakbarova]

When Queen Elizabeth’s reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain’s invading army, she and her shrewd adviser must act to safeguard the lives of her people. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Elizabeth I, Queen of England: Cate Blanchett Sir Walter Raleigh: Clive Owen Sir Francis Walsingham: Geoffrey Rush Sir Christopher Hatton: Laurence Fox Amyas Paulet: Tom Hollander Elizabeth Throckmorton: Abbie Cornish Robert Reston: Rhys Ifans King Philip II of Spain: Jordi Mollà Mary, Queen of Scots: Samantha Morton Anthony Babington: Eddie Redmayne Calley: Adrian Scarborough William Walsingham: Adam Godley Archduke Charles: Christian Brassington Count Georg von Helfenstein: Robert Cambrinus Dr. John Dee: David Threlfall Spanish Minister: Vidal Sancho Ursula Walsingham: Kelly Hunter Lord Howard: John Shrapnel Torturer: Sam Spruell Cellarman: David Sterne Admiral Sir William Winter: David Robb Courtier: Jonathan Bailey Walsingham’s Servant: Steve Lately Woman with Baby: Kate Fleetwood Infanta Isabel of Spain: Aimee King Annette: Susan Lynch Mary Walsingham: Kristin Coulter Smith Queen Elizabeth’s Waiting Lady #1: Hayley Burroughs Queen Elizabeth’s Waiting Lady #2: Kirsty McKay Queen Elizabeth’s Waiting Lady #3: Lucia Ruck Keene Queen Elizabeth’s Waiting Lady #4: Lucienne Venisse-Back Laundry Woman: Elise McCave Margaret: Penelope McGhie First Court Lady: Coral Beed Second Court Lady: Rosalind Halstead Manteo: Steven Loton Wanchese: Martin Baron Walsingham’s Agent: David Armand Sir Francis Throckmorton: Steven Robertson Ramsey: Jeremy Barker Burton: George Innes Mary Walsingham: Kirstin Smith Old Throckmorton: Tim Preece Dance Master: Benjamin May Royal Servant: Glenn Doherty Dean of Peterborough: Chris Brailsford Executioner: Dave Legeno Spanish Archbishop: Antony Carrick Marriage Priest: John Atterbury First Spanish Officer: Alex Giannini Second Spanish Officer: Joe Ferrara Courtier: Alexander Barnes Courtier: Charles Bruce Courtier: Jeremy Cracknell Courtier: Benedict Green Courtier: Adam Smith Courtier: Simon Stratton Courtier: Crispin Swayne Mary Stuart’s Lady in Waiting: Kitty Fox Mary Stuart’s Lady in Waiting: Kate Lindesay Mary Stuart’s Lady in Waiting: Katherine Templar Courtier (uncredited): Morne Botes Young Boy (uncredited): Finn Morrell Tyger Salior (uncredited): Shane Nolan Film Crew: Screenplay: William Nicholson Director of Photography: Remi Adefarasin Editor: Jill Bilcock Original Music Composer: A.R. Rahman Original Music Composer: Craig Armstrong Set Decoration: Richard Roberts Stunts: Peter Pedrero Stunt Coordinator: Greg Powell Casting: Fiona Weir Stunts: Rob Inch Stunts: Andy Smart Additional Camera: David Worley Costume Design: Alexandra Byrne Supervising Sound Editor: Mark Auguste Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas Supervising Art Director: Frank Walsh Director: Shekhar Kapur Screenplay: Michael Hirst Editor: Andrew Haddock Art Direction: David Allday Set Costumer: Martin Chitty Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Steve Single Scenic Artist: Rohan Harris Stunts: Ray Nicholas Art Direction: Andy Thomson Art Direction: Jason Knox-Johnston Production Manager: Mark Mostyn Stunts: George Cottle Stunts: David Anders Stunts: Peter Miles Visual Effects Supervisor: John Lockwood Stunts: John Kearney Stunts: Paul Kennington Stunts: Nick Chopping Costume Supervisor: Suzi Turnbull Hairstylist: Morag Ross Art Direction: Phil Sims Music Editor: Tony Lewis ADR Recordist: Robert Edwards Stunt Double: Abbi Collins Script Supervisor: Angela Wharton ADR Editor: Tim Hands Art Direction: Christian Huband Visual Effects Supervisor: Richard Stammers Stunts: Rowley Irlam Assistant Art Director: Helen Xenopoulos Foley Artist: Mario Vaccaro Visual Effects Supervisor: Steve Street Property Master: David Balfour Greensman: Ian Whiteford Foley Editor: Andrew Neil Stunts: Gordon Seed Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Tim Cavagin Dialogue Editor: Sam Auguste Scenic Artist: James Gemmill Unit Publicist: Stacy Mann Camera Operator: Ben Wilson Visual Effects Editor: Aled Robinson Stunts: Paul Herbert Hairstylist: Do...

[arthomson08]

A.R. Thomson Group Inc.

We are a Canadian manufacturer of gaskets,With the rapid growth of oil and gas production, petrochemical, oil refining and pulp and paper industries, our manufacturing facilities expanded to meet increased demand for these products. Since 1967, we have developed our expertise and know-how to become the leader in solving fluid containment problems.

Gaskets

[movieposteroftheday]

1951 British Double Crown poster for THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT (Alexander Mackendrick, UK, 1951)

Artist: A.R. Thomson; Designer: S. John Woods

Poster source: Posteritati

CATCH IT ON MUBI (three days to go)

[thelastwalkingsoul]

Just finished reading Rebel Robin (by A.R Capetta) and I have so many thoughtssss.

I’m gonna re-listen to the podcast and give my thoughts on that soon.

Sooooo spoilers :)

This’ll be a long boy of me just rambling

Loved seeing Robin’s dislike of Steve throughout the whole book. He basically encompassed everything she stood against. Douchey guys, high school popularity, being ‘perfect’ and ‘normal’. It makes all her comments about Steve in the book so ironic with their later friendship and I love it.

I was hoping the book would focus on her gay journey and lord did it provide. We get to see her unknowingly liking Tammy Thomson and her realisation when something she wrote about Tammy gets misinterpreted as written by a guy about another girl. Robin goes through the thought process of ‘oh I wrote those words and someone else thinks it’s romantic. Oh shit’ It’s amazing.

Robin then experiences the overwhelming feeling of loneliness that often comes with realising you’re queer in some way and not having anyone to share that with. She truly gets it when Mr. Hauser says he’s leaving because people are homophobic and he didn’t want to be outed and for it to ruin his career. Robin’s overall journey felt so real to someone to had similar emotions when going through my own ‘gay realisation journey’.

When I first started reading, I didn’t recognise Robin as she described herself. I found myself wondering if the book was gonna be bad, despite the positive things I’d heard about it. But no! Robin goes through this whole ‘fuck everyone I’m going to truly be myself’ moment, cuts her hair, her prom dress and crashes prom which is so Robin and I love it. I can absolutely see her giving herself an insane makeover and just saying fuck everything. It feels like a really natural transition to the mostly unbothered Robin we meet in S3.

Despite her uncaring attitude, there are times Robin still craves the comfort of having friends that understand you and are there for you no matter what. She says as much in the last chapter of the book:

“As it turns out, being a loner suits me beautifully. But there are times when I crash hard into the hope of finding my people. Friends who would stick with me through anything.”

I love to think that she surprisingly found that in Steve Harrington, the guy she almost hated all through high school, only to find out he’s a great guy when you get to know him. He supported her about the one thing she thought no one in Hawkins ever would, the one part of herself she could never be honest about. She doesn’t feel nearly as lost anymore, doesn’t have that hope of needing friends that understand because she has Steve.

[scotianostra]

On December 22nd 1715 James Francis Stewart,  landed in Peterhead from France.

If you read through this you might wonder, with this amount of support, how the '15 uprising failed. It's a pity the rest of Scotland didn't have the enthusiasm as this small corner of North East Scotland. 

Unfortunately it was all too late as the uprising had fizzled out after Mar’s inability to press forward after Sherrifmuir, so we shall take a look at where James Stuart came ashore, the loyal town of Peterhead. Much of this is taken directly from testimony taken around the time of the Uprising.

The people of Peterhead were in the main loyal to the Sturts, and were involved in the Jacobite uprisings from beginning to end. The town proudly remembers the numbers involved and the names of some…..

In total the number of Peterhead folk called to arms in defence of the town were 138 men and 10 women – yes Peterhead women prepared to take up arms to fight for the King – Janet Dickie, Margaret Greig, Geills Scott, Margaret Dun, Elspat Mitchell, Janet Cruickshank, Mrs Walker, Elisa Bruce and Widow Bodie and Widow Brown. They were ordered to arm themselves with “ane sufficient gun charged with powder and bullets, and four spare shots besides, and ane sufficient sword” and to meet at the Cross on the appointed day, where they marched and took part in military drills. 7 Spanish cannons, salvaged from the St Michael in 1588 were taken from their position on the Battery at Keith Inch, pulled across the sand bank at the Quinzie (Queenie), and mounted on the Tolbooth Green, looking down Broad Street for the defence of the interior of the town.

On 9th September 1715 the Earl of Mar, appointed Commander-in-Chief by the exiled ‘Pretender’ King James, issued a Proclamation at Braemar signalling the start of the 1715 uprising:

“Now is the time for all good men to show their zeal for His Majesty’s service, whose cause is so deeply concerned, and the relief of our native country from oppression, and a foreign yoke too heavy for us and our posterity to bear; and to endeavour the restoring, not only of our rightful and native king, but also our country to its ancient, free and independent constitution under him whose ancestors have reigned over us for so many generations.”

On 25th October the exiled King James wrote to his supporters in Scotland: “We have not been able to look upon the present condition of our kingdoms, or to consider their future prospect without all the horror and indignation which ought to fill the breast of every Scotsman. We have beheld a foreign family, aliens to our country, distant in blood, and strangers even to our language, ascend to the throne.

“We are come to take our part in all the dangers and difficulties to which any of our subjects from the greatest down to the meanest may be exposed on this important occasion, to relieve our subjects of Scotland from the hardships they groan under and to restore the kingdom to its ancient, free and independent state.

“But we hope for better things. We hope to see our just rights and those of the church and people of Scotland, once more settled in a free and independent Scots Parliament on their ancient foundation.”

On 31st October (Hallowe’en), the Magistrates and Town Council of Peterhead met at the Tolbooth (near the present Tolbooth Wynd), under the direction of the Secretary to the Earl of Erroll (from Slains Castle), George Leith, who was also Major General of Horses under the command of the Earl Marischal, with an order from the Earl of Mar, Chief Commander of King James’s forces in Scotland, which he read – ordering twelve of their number “to be ready mounted on horseback with sword and sufficient firelock, tomorrow precisely at six of the clock, to be witnesses to the said Mr Leith, his requiring the Lord Saltoun (of Fraserburgh) to give all due obedience to the foresaid orders.”

On 1st November (All Saints’ Day), 16 mounted “fenceable men” rode to Fraserburgh to proclaim the King. They were George Leith (Secretary to the Earl of Erroll), Bailie Cruickshank, Bailie Arbuthnot, Thomas Forbes, James Whyte, James Park, John Thomson, George Cruickshank, Alex. Smith (merchant), Robert Smith, John Logan, John Taylor, William Jollie, Alex. Forbes, James Blair & William Ramsay. The band of armed Jacobites rode off north towards Fraserburgh to “require” the Lord Saltoun to obey the orders from the Earl of Mar in support of King James.

About half a mile short of Fraserburgh the Peterhead band met Lord Saltoun and “obliged him to stop until the General’s orders were read to him. ”It was demanded of him “what Party he inclined to join with” and that he “appear at His Majesty’s Royal Standard”. Lord Saltoun answered that “he regarded neither Mr Leith nor his orders more than a footman” and further said that “at a whistle, he could raise a hundred men and cause them to fight all there present.”

Bailie Cruickshank answered that he believed they wouldn’t see them at Fraserburgh, where they immediately went and “proclaimed the King with all the solemnity we could, which we found did oblige the most of the inhabitants of that town.”

A party from the group went in search of arms, which they found in the chamber of the Clerk’s house. They broke open the door of the chamber with “ane big hammer” and found 24 new firelocks, proof marked, and all with A.R. (Anna Regina) on them, all charged with balls and gunpowder. The arms were taken back to Peterhead and handed to George Leith for the General’s use.

Later, a party of Jacobites, led by Irvine of Crimond, captured Lord Saltoun and forced him to go south to join the Jacobite army at Perth. Fraserburgh was then occupied by a Jacobite garrison, which compelled the inhabitants to contribute towards the payment of the soldiers.

On 13th November both the Earl Marischal and James Keith fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir near Stirling. The Earl Marischal was 22 years old, and his brother 19 at the time of the Battle. James suffered a musket ball wound in his shoulder and spent the night in agony at Castle Drummond.

James Francis Edward Stuart (King James VIII) landed at Peterhead late on the night of 22nd December 1715, suffering from seasickness and fevers after having travelled 7 days (5 or 6 days according to other sources) by sea from Dunkirk in a well-armed vessel laden with a cargo of brandy. He arrived with six other gentlemen, including James Francis Fitzjames Stuart, grandson of King James VII, and Lieutenant Allan Cameron (a son of Lochiel), whom he sent immediately to Perth with the news of their arrival.

James Stuart was 27 years old, and this was the first time he had set foot in Britain since his father was driven into exile in 1688 (when James was six months old). He had lived at the Scots Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris under the protection of the French King Louis XIV.

At first the small boat crept along the shore and attempted to enter the River Ugie, presumably to get as near as possible to Inverugie Castle, but “the night was wet and late the tide”, so they instead landed at the old pier of Port Henry Haven. The unexpected visitors were graciously received at the harbour by the Earl Marischal’s representative – the Baron Bailie Thomas Arbuthnot.

According to contemporary accounts they were “all habited like sea-officers, and passed for friends of the Pretender, going to Perth for his Service”. The vessel was despatched back to France with the news of James’s safe arrival.

They stayed the night at what is now Park Lane, near the Longate – at the house of the Baron Bailie’s brother-in-law, Captain James Park, merchant and ship owner. Here James wrote a short letter, dated “Peterhead, December 22nd, 1715” to say “I am, at last, thank God, in my own ancient kingdom as the bearer will tell you with all the particulars of my passage. I am weary and won’t delay a moment the bearer.”

A local song which commemorated the landing of the King at Peterhead was sung for many years after this event.

“King James is land’t at Peterhead, an honour great to us indeed.The night was wet and late the tide, he couldna unto Ugie ride.He slept a night in our good town, upon a good saft bed o’ down.In the morning when he raise, the Marischal’s bailie brushed his claithes. He’s come to set auld Scotland free from cursed Hanover tyranny.”

On the morning of 23rd December King James left by horseback, past Buchanhaven and then west by the old turnpike that skirted the south bank of the Ugie, to Inverugie Castle to visit the widowed Lady Mary Keith, mother of the Earl Marischal.

He passed the next night at Newburgh before carrying on to Aberdeen, accompanied only by a handful of horsemen, in ill health and in disguise. A contemporary account reports “’Tis said the Pretender is very much indisposed since his arrival, which is imputed to the great fatigue he has suffered at sea, and otherwise of late.”

The Earl Marischal and James Keith met King James for the first time at Fetteresso on 27th December, making their way to Dundee on 6th January, James Stuart entering the town with the Earl of Mar riding at his right hand and the Marischal at his left.

On 7th January 1716, they briefly set up court at Scone and arrived at Perth on 8th January.

On 30th January, the King, along with the two Keith brothers, the Earl of Mar and other main supporters, made for Montrose, where the King sailed back to France on 4th February 1716 on the ‘Maria Teresa of St Malo’. James Stuart had been only 43 days on Scottish soil. The Earl of Mar accompanied him back to France and served as his Secretary of State until 1722.

The first picture is a contemporary (if fanciful) illustration which appeared in a news sheet at the time. Clearly drawn by someone who had never visited Peterhead, it shows James Francis Stuart’s arrival the second at Proclamation Pend in the town of Peterhead celebrates arguably one of the most most historic event in the towns history

[mikemortgage]

Greene Tweed Partners with Canadian Firm for Distribution of Energy Industry Materials and Products

KULPSVILLE, Pa. -- Greene Tweed has announced that they will partner with A.R. Thomson Group for the sale and distribution of their Seal-Connect® electrical connectors, elastomeric seals, advanced engineering plastics, and composite materials and finished components for the Energy market. Read More from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2MpCj47 via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[anchorarcade]

Pastors stand firm as Trump's U.S. evangelical base weakens

http://ryanguillory.com/pastors-stand-firm-as-trumps-u-s-evangelical-base-weakens/

Pastors stand firm as Trump's U.S. evangelical base weakens

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As President Donald Trump bowed his head in the Oval Office earlier this month, Texas Southern Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress and other U.S. religious leaders laid their hands on Trump’s back and prayed for Hurricane Harvey’s victims.

With TV cameras and reporters watching, the scene was a powerful reminder of one of Trump’s most reliable and improbable political assets – his close ties with conservative Christians.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, however, that Trump’s popularity among white evangelicals has weakened, suggesting his grassroots support may not be as unconditional as religious leaders’ public displays of allegiance would suggest.

That may pose a problem for Trump and his allies as the 2018 midterm congressional election season nears. Trump’s strong links to conservative Christians played a key part in his stunning victory in the 2016 presidential election.

Though disenchanted evangelicals were unlikely to switch their votes to Democrats, they could stay home next year when U.S. voters elect senators and representatives.

“When your base is starting to even slowly move away from you, that should be a sign of concern,” said Justin Vaughn, director of the Center for Idaho History and Politics at Boise State University in Idaho, a state Trump won handily last year.

In a country that is more religious than most other western democracies and where a president’s spiritual life is closely examined, the twice-divorced New York billionaire socialite, who has attended church just twice since his Jan. 20 inauguration, is an unlikely torchbearer for conservative Christians.

He has labored to build and preserve this unlikely alliance, embracing social issues, such as commitment to anti-abortion and religious liberty policies, and picking staunch conservative Neil Gorsuch, for the Supreme Court.

Trump also mentions God far more often in public remarks than his two predecessors, a Reuters review showed.(Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2y3HxbV)

WEAKENING BASE

But data from the nationwide online Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from Jan. 22 to Aug. 25 suggest Trump has been unable to prevent his evangelical support from sliding in line with his overall ratings. The majority of those polled last month who described themselves as both “white” and a “born-again or evangelical Christian” said they approved of Trump, but considerably fewer than when he took office almost eight months ago.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the poll.

During a four-week period in August, 62 percent of white evangelicals said they approved of Trump, while 33 percent disapproved of the president and 5 percent said they had “mixed feelings.”

That is a drop from the first four weeks of Trump’s presidency, from late January to mid February, when 73 percent of white evangelicals said they approved of his performance while 23 percent disapproved and 5 percent had mixed feelings.

The poll was divided into eight four-week periods, with each including about 2,000 people and a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of about 2 percentage points.

FILE PHOTO: Faith leaders place their hands on the shoulders of U.S. President Donald Trump as he takes part in a prayer for those affected by Hurricane Harvey in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files

The declines are broadly in line with those recorded among all adult Americans.

In interviews, 10 of the surveyed conservative Christians said they were not concerned about Trump’s religion. Rather, they questioned whether he was doing enough to help average Americans and the frequent chaos in the White House.

“We can’t go a week without someone leaving his administration. There is no stability in our government,” said Robert Waldram, a 52-year-old Baptist churchgoer from Williamsburg, Virginia, in a telephone interview.

He said he voted for Trump as a better option than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But Waldram said he was tired of Trump’s “childlike tantrums on Twitter.”

MENTIONING GOD

FILE PHOTO: Faith leaders place their hands on the shoulders of U.S. President Donald Trump as he takes part in a prayer for those affected by Hurricane Harvey in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files

In his first 200 days in office, Trump mentioned God about 100 times in public remarks, excluding the standard “God bless America” that presidents routinely end speeches with, something his ardent supporters welcome as readiness to eschew political correctness.

By this point in their presidencies, Democrat Barack Obama had mentioned God 43 times, while Republican George W. Bush had referred to God in 60 instances.

Jeffress, one of the first prominent evangelical pastors to back Trump for president, said his God talk was apolitical.

“I understand that cynical people would say this is just for political expediency, but … I believe this comes out of some deep beliefs that he has personally,” Jeffress said.

Trump, who describes himself as Presbyterian, was not known to be an avid churchgoer before becoming president and critics have said his blunders on basic biblical knowledge, harsh attacks on political adversaries, and his demeaning comments about women clash with Christian principles.

“He, himself, doesn’t have the most sterling track record in terms of either church attendance or professed or displayed knowledge of scripture,” Gary Scott Smith, a historian and author of “Religion in the Oval Office: The Religious Lives of American Presidents,” said of Trump.

The pastors involved with Trump’s evangelical advisory board describe him, though, as very inquisitive about faith and more thoughtful on religion than he might appear in public and conservative pastors have continued to support him through various firestorms.

Evangelicals have had “unprecedented” White House access in this administration, said Richard Land, a board member and president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary, a Christian college.

After Trump’s response to violence between white nationalists and left-wing protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, led to two of his business advisory councils disbanding, there were questions about the evangelical board’s future.

Brooklyn, New York, megachurch pastor A.R. Bernard resigned, but others remained, saying it was their job to provide advice and counsel to Trump, even when they disagree with him, and to press the president on Christian issues.

Johnnie Moore, a board member and former official at Liberty University, a religious school, said: “We have a deep personal relationship with him … He has prioritized issues that are important to us and we appreciate that.”

Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Additional reporting by Chris Kahn and Fatima Bhojani; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Tomasz Janowski

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source link

[awesomefelicitylewis-blog]

Pastors stand firm as Trump's U.S. evangelical base weakens

http://ryanguillory.com/pastors-stand-firm-as-trumps-u-s-evangelical-base-weakens/

Pastors stand firm as Trump's U.S. evangelical base weakens

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As President Donald Trump bowed his head in the Oval Office earlier this month, Texas Southern Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress and other U.S. religious leaders laid their hands on Trump’s back and prayed for Hurricane Harvey’s victims.

With TV cameras and reporters watching, the scene was a powerful reminder of one of Trump’s most reliable and improbable political assets – his close ties with conservative Christians.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, however, that Trump’s popularity among white evangelicals has weakened, suggesting his grassroots support may not be as unconditional as religious leaders’ public displays of allegiance would suggest.

That may pose a problem for Trump and his allies as the 2018 midterm congressional election season nears. Trump’s strong links to conservative Christians played a key part in his stunning victory in the 2016 presidential election.

Though disenchanted evangelicals were unlikely to switch their votes to Democrats, they could stay home next year when U.S. voters elect senators and representatives.

“When your base is starting to even slowly move away from you, that should be a sign of concern,” said Justin Vaughn, director of the Center for Idaho History and Politics at Boise State University in Idaho, a state Trump won handily last year.

In a country that is more religious than most other western democracies and where a president’s spiritual life is closely examined, the twice-divorced New York billionaire socialite, who has attended church just twice since his Jan. 20 inauguration, is an unlikely torchbearer for conservative Christians.

He has labored to build and preserve this unlikely alliance, embracing social issues, such as commitment to anti-abortion and religious liberty policies, and picking staunch conservative Neil Gorsuch, for the Supreme Court.

Trump also mentions God far more often in public remarks than his two predecessors, a Reuters review showed.(Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2y3HxbV)

WEAKENING BASE

But data from the nationwide online Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from Jan. 22 to Aug. 25 suggest Trump has been unable to prevent his evangelical support from sliding in line with his overall ratings. The majority of those polled last month who described themselves as both “white” and a “born-again or evangelical Christian” said they approved of Trump, but considerably fewer than when he took office almost eight months ago.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the poll.

During a four-week period in August, 62 percent of white evangelicals said they approved of Trump, while 33 percent disapproved of the president and 5 percent said they had “mixed feelings.”

That is a drop from the first four weeks of Trump’s presidency, from late January to mid February, when 73 percent of white evangelicals said they approved of his performance while 23 percent disapproved and 5 percent had mixed feelings.

The poll was divided into eight four-week periods, with each including about 2,000 people and a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of about 2 percentage points.

FILE PHOTO: Faith leaders place their hands on the shoulders of U.S. President Donald Trump as he takes part in a prayer for those affected by Hurricane Harvey in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files

The declines are broadly in line with those recorded among all adult Americans.

In interviews, 10 of the surveyed conservative Christians said they were not concerned about Trump’s religion. Rather, they questioned whether he was doing enough to help average Americans and the frequent chaos in the White House.

“We can’t go a week without someone leaving his administration. There is no stability in our government,” said Robert Waldram, a 52-year-old Baptist churchgoer from Williamsburg, Virginia, in a telephone interview.

He said he voted for Trump as a better option than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But Waldram said he was tired of Trump’s “childlike tantrums on Twitter.”

MENTIONING GOD

FILE PHOTO: Faith leaders place their hands on the shoulders of U.S. President Donald Trump as he takes part in a prayer for those affected by Hurricane Harvey in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files

In his first 200 days in office, Trump mentioned God about 100 times in public remarks, excluding the standard “God bless America” that presidents routinely end speeches with, something his ardent supporters welcome as readiness to eschew political correctness.

By this point in their presidencies, Democrat Barack Obama had mentioned God 43 times, while Republican George W. Bush had referred to God in 60 instances.

Jeffress, one of the first prominent evangelical pastors to back Trump for president, said his God talk was apolitical.

“I understand that cynical people would say this is just for political expediency, but … I believe this comes out of some deep beliefs that he has personally,” Jeffress said.

Trump, who describes himself as Presbyterian, was not known to be an avid churchgoer before becoming president and critics have said his blunders on basic biblical knowledge, harsh attacks on political adversaries, and his demeaning comments about women clash with Christian principles.

“He, himself, doesn’t have the most sterling track record in terms of either church attendance or professed or displayed knowledge of scripture,” Gary Scott Smith, a historian and author of “Religion in the Oval Office: The Religious Lives of American Presidents,” said of Trump.

The pastors involved with Trump’s evangelical advisory board describe him, though, as very inquisitive about faith and more thoughtful on religion than he might appear in public and conservative pastors have continued to support him through various firestorms.

Evangelicals have had “unprecedented” White House access in this administration, said Richard Land, a board member and president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary, a Christian college.

After Trump’s response to violence between white nationalists and left-wing protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, led to two of his business advisory councils disbanding, there were questions about the evangelical board’s future.

Brooklyn, New York, megachurch pastor A.R. Bernard resigned, but others remained, saying it was their job to provide advice and counsel to Trump, even when they disagree with him, and to press the president on Christian issues.

Johnnie Moore, a board member and former official at Liberty University, a religious school, said: “We have a deep personal relationship with him … He has prioritized issues that are important to us and we appreciate that.”

Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Additional reporting by Chris Kahn and Fatima Bhojani; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Tomasz Janowski

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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[scotianostra]

On December 22nd 1715 James Francis Stewart, "The Old Pretender", landed in Peterhead from France.

Unfortunately it was all too late as the uprising had fizzled out after Mar's inability to press forward after Sherrifmuir, so we shall take a look at where James Stuart cane ashore, the loyal town of Peterhead. Much of this is taken directly from testimony taken around the time of the Uprising.

The people of Peterhead were in the main loyal to the Sturts, and were involved in the Jacobite uprisings from beginning to end. The town proudly remembers the numbers involved and the names of some.....

In total the number of Peterhead folk called to arms in defence of the town were 138 men and 10 women – yes Peterhead women prepared to take up arms to fight for the King – Janet Dickie, Margaret Greig, Geills Scott, Margaret Dun, Elspat Mitchell, Janet Cruickshank, Mrs Walker, Elisa Bruce and Widow Bodie and Widow Brown. They were ordered to arm themselves with “ane sufficient gun charged with powder and bullets, and four spare shots besides, and ane sufficient sword” and to meet at the Cross on the appointed day, where they marched and took part in military drills. 7 Spanish cannons, salvaged from the St Michael in 1588 were taken from their position on the Battery at Keith Inch, pulled across the sand bank at the Quinzie (Queenie), and mounted on the Tolbooth Green, looking down Broad Street for the defence of the interior of the town.

On 9th September 1715 the Earl of Mar, appointed Commander-in-Chief by the exiled ‘Pretender’ King James, issued a Proclamation at Braemar signalling the start of the 1715 uprising:

“Now is the time for all good men to show their zeal for His Majesty’s service, whose cause is so deeply concerned, and the relief of our native country from oppression, and a foreign yoke too heavy for us and our posterity to bear; and to endeavour the restoring, not only of our rightful and native king, but also our country to its ancient, free and independent constitution under him whose ancestors have reigned over us for so many generations.”

On 25th October the exiled King James wrote to his supporters in Scotland: “We have not been able to look upon the present condition of our kingdoms, or to consider their future prospect without all the horror and indignation which ought to fill the breast of every Scotsman. We have beheld a foreign family, aliens to our country, distant in blood, and strangers even to our language, ascend to the throne.

“We are come to take our part in all the dangers and difficulties to which any of our subjects from the greatest down to the meanest may be exposed on this important occasion, to relieve our subjects of Scotland from the hardships they groan under and to restore the kingdom to its ancient, free and independent state.

"But we hope for better things. We hope to see our just rights and those of the church and people of Scotland, once more settled in a free and independent Scots Parliament on their ancient foundation.”

On 31st October (Hallowe’en), the Magistrates and Town Council of Peterhead met at the Tolbooth (near the present Tolbooth Wynd), under the direction of the Secretary to the Earl of Erroll (from Slains Castle), George Leith, who was also Major General of Horses under the command of the Earl Marischal, with an order from the Earl of Mar, Chief Commander of King James’s forces in Scotland, which he read – ordering twelve of their number “to be ready mounted on horseback with sword and sufficient firelock, tomorrow precisely at six of the clock, to be witnesses to the said Mr Leith, his requiring the Lord Saltoun (of Fraserburgh) to give all due obedience to the foresaid orders.”

On 1st November (All Saints’ Day), 16 mounted “fenceable men” rode to Fraserburgh to proclaim the king. They were George Leith (Secretary to the Earl of Erroll), Bailie Cruickshank, Bailie Arbuthnot, Thomas Forbes, James Whyte, James Park, John Thomson, George Cruickshank, Alex. Smith (merchant), Robert Smith, John Logan, John Taylor, William Jollie, Alex. Forbes, James Blair & William Ramsay. The band of armed Jacobites rode off north towards Fraserburgh to “require” the Lord Saltoun to obey the orders from the Earl of Mar in support of King James.

About half a mile short of Fraserburgh the Peterhead band met Lord Saltoun and “obliged him to stop until the General’s orders were read to him.”It was demanded of him “what Party he inclined to join with” and that he “appear at His Majesty’s Royal Standard”. Lord Saltoun answered that “he regarded neither Mr Leith nor his orders more than a footman” and further said that “at a whistle, he could raise a hundred men and cause them to fight all there present.” Bailie Cruickshank answered that he believed they wouldn’t see them at Fraserburgh, where they immediately went and “proclaimed the King with all the solemnity we could, which we found did oblige the most of the inhabitants of that town.”

A party from the group went in search of arms, which they found in the chamber of the Clerk’s house. They broke open the door of the chamber with “ane big hammer” and found 24 new firelocks, proof marked, and all with A.R. (Anna Regina) on them, all charged with balls and gunpowder. The arms were taken back to Peterhead and handed to George Leith for the General’s use.

Later, a party of Jacobites, led by Irvine of Crimond, captured Lord Saltoun and forced him to go south to join the Jacobite army at Perth. Fraserburgh was then occupied by a Jacobite garrison, which compelled the inhabitants to contribute towards the payment of the soldiers.

On 13th November both the Earl Marischal and James Keith fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir near Stirling. The Earl Marischal was 22 years old, and his brother 19 at the time of the Battle. James suffered a musket ball wound in his shoulder and spent the night in agony at Castle Drummond.

James Francis Edward Stuart (King James VIII) landed at Peterhead late on the night of 22nd December 1715 (O.S.), suffering from seasickness and fevers after having travelled 7 days (5 or 6 days according to other sources) by sea from Dunkirk in a well-armed vessel laden with a cargo of brandy. He arrived with six other gentlemen, including James Francis Fitzjames Stuart, grandson of King James VII, and Lieutenant Allan Cameron (a son of Lochiel), whom he sent immediately to Perth with the news of their arrival.

James Stuart was 27 years old, and this was the first time he had set foot in Britain since his father was driven into exile in 1688 (when James was six months old). He had lived at the Scots Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris under the protection of the French King Louis XIV.

At first the small boat crept along the shore and attempted to enter the River Ugie, presumably to get as near as possible to Inverugie Castle, but “the night was wet and late the tide”, so they instead landed at the old pier of Port Henry Haven. The unexpected visitors were graciously received at the harbour by the Earl Marischal’s representative – the Baron Bailie Thomas Arbuthnot.

According to contemporary accounts they were “all habited like sea-officers, and passed for friends of the Pretender, going to Perth for his Service”. The vessel was despatched back to France with the news of James’s safe arrival.

They stayed the night at what is now Park Lane, near the Longate – at the house of the Baron Bailie’s brother-in-law, Captain James Park, merchant and ship owner. Here James wrote a short letter, dated “Peterhead, December 22nd, 1715” to say “I am, at last, thank God, in my own ancient kingdom as the bearer will tell you with all the particulars of my passage. I am weary and won’t delay a moment the bearer.”

A local song which commemorated the landing of the King at Peterhead was sung for many years after this event.

“King James is land’t at Peterhead, an honour great to us indeed. The night was wet and late the tide, he couldna unto Ugie ride. He slept a night in our good town, upon a good saft bed o’ down. In the morning when he raise, the Marischal’s bailie brushed his claithes. He’s come to set auld Scotland free from cursed Hanover tyranny.”

On the morning of 23rd December King James left by horseback, past Buchanhaven and then west by the old turnpike that skirted the south bank of the Ugie, to Inverugie Castle to visit the widowed Lady Mary Keith, mother of the Earl Marischal.

He passed the next night at Newburgh before carrying on to Aberdeen, accompanied only by a handful of horsemen, in ill health and in disguise. A contemporary account reports “’Tis said the Pretender is very much indisposed since his arrival, which is imputed to the great fatigue he has suffered at sea, and otherwise of late.”

The Earl Marischal and James Keith met King James for the first time at Fetteresso on 27th December, making their way to Dundee on 6th January, James Stuart entering the town with the Earl of Mar riding at his right hand and the Marischal at his left.

On 7th January 1716, they briefly set up court at Scone and arrived at Perth on 8th January.

On 30th January, the King, along with the two Keith brothers, the Earl of Mar and other main supporters, made for Montrose, where the King sailed back to France on 4th February 1716 on the ‘Maria Teresa of St Malo’. James Stuart had been only 43 days on Scottish soil. The Earl of Mar accompanied him back to France and served as his Secretary of State until 1722.

The first picture is a contemporary (if fanciful) illustration which appeared in a news sheet at the time. Clearly drawn by someone who had never visited Peterhead, it shows James Francis Stuart’s arrival the second at Proclamation Pend in the town of Peterhead celebrates arguably one of the most most historic event in the towns history

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