By Marc Nuttle
 
In 336 AD, the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, declared December 25th as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. There is no reference in the Bible of the exact date Jesus was born. Constantine chose the date because it aligned with a popular pagan secular holiday of the Empire supported by the citizens of Rome. Pope JuliusI designated it as the official Catholic celebration of Jesus’ birth a few years later. The word Christmas comes from the phrase “Mass for Christ.” One could argue that the controversy today about “Happy Holidays” denigrating the greeting of “Merry Christmas” is an effort by the secular world just reclaiming their original celebration. 
 
What then does one mean when one says “Merry Christmas?"
 
The true meaning of the term Merry Christmas to a Christian embraces the spiritual hope that the essence of the peace of Christ enriches your life. To receive this gift of grace, one must believe that God is in control of the universe, all circumstances, and the purpose of life. Christ, as the Father’s son, came to die for the sins of the world. 
 
If God the Father is in control of all things, seen and unseen, why would he create a world for which His Son had to be sacrificed? Because we are in this system of things to learn the lessons of righteousness and the consequences of evil so that we may live in harmony with God in His Kingdom eternally. The solutions of societal problems will never be achieved in this system of things because the undeniable, self-serving lessons of the instincts of mankind will dominate. The grace of God is necessary for righteousness to rule.
 
Secularists or atheists believe that life has no original purpose. We simply exist by the random acts of nature which were generated by a cold, dark universe. The earth is a speck in the cosmos. We are no more relevant as a life-giving system than an interesting happenstance of cosmic forces.  Therefore, any holiday is just that, a day off from morerandom activity. To some, not all but some the term "Happy Holidays" becomes a statement and world view. Certainly, other religions like Judaism celebrate their traditions during the holidays.  However, many  Intellectuals like to elevate themselves by stating that any appreciation for the life of Christ should be held strictly in the context of a human being who stood for philosophical enlightenment. In other words, one of their own. A mortal man who professed an opinion. Recognizing the possibility of God incarnate challenges their intellectual superiority. 
 
It is interesting that even the great Stephen Hawking had no explanation or theory of how the universe began in the first place. We exist today. And, to exist, something always had to exist before us. Therefore, something always had to exist as “the great uncaused cause.” This reality is beyond the grasp of human intellect. Yes, astrophysicists now believe that there are as many as thirteen dimensions. This still does not explain how something always was.
 
A Christian’s faith in an all-knowing purposeful God is no greater a penumbra than the atheist’s faith that someday science and the ultimate intellect of man will determine all truth.
 
In this week before Christmas, if one looks only at the current events of the world, there is little anticipation of joy. In Yemen, babies are starving because of the actions of governments geopolitically fighting over the Muslim definition of religious dictum. A seven-year-old girl died of dehydration last week as part of a migrant caravan seeking asylum in the United States. No child should ever suffer, let alone face death, as a result of unnatural circumstances. All children and their safety are the obligations of all of us. The United States did not know of the child’s condition on the border. A church or the Mexican government should have ensured the basic needs of the refugees. It is their responsibility once the migrants breached the border of Mexico in the first place. Once there, they cannot ignore them.
 
Yemen is a different case. Starving babies is a humanitarian crisis. The world led by the United States should demand a ceasefire until necessary relief supplies can be provided to hospitals and isolated towns in Yemen. The rules of war can be somewhat dictated by outside world powers. Power should be used for benevolent purposes. 
 
This past week, President Trump, to the glee of the national press, appears to have been involved in campaign law violations. The Mueller investigation trudges on. Bitter partisanship in Congress deepens. If the secular intellects are so sure that life, beginning in randomness, can achieve righteousness in this system of things from within the origins of a cold, dark universe that they cannot define, what then is their evidence?
 
The question becomes, what can one do about the state of the world? First, decide what you believe. Express it to those you love. Stand on your belief, whatever you commit the basis of your existence to be. Just making a decision will impact more lives than you will ever know.
 
This week of Christmas, it is not just that I wish you material blessings. I do. It is not that I just wish you good health. I do. It is not that I believe for one to be happy the world has to be a perfect place, I do not. 
 
It is that I wish for your relationships with each other as meant by the purity of the Love of God. In this Christmas season, I wish for you the grace and the peace manifested and realized by the presence of Jesus Christ.
 
I wish you a Merry Christmas.
 
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
 
What do you believe?
 
 
P.S.This is the last Nuttle Report of the year given that Christmas and New Year’s fall on a Tuesday. The next report will be published on January 8, 2019. ​

By Marc Nuttle
 
As a nation, we mourn the passing of George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States of America. His career included serving as a Congressman, Director of the CIA, Ambassador to China, and Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He is being praised as a moderate president of gracious purpose for the use of power. His restraint of aggressive attitude is not to be confused with a lack of commitment to a strong moral code. He believed in a cause, but it did not dominate his personality. Why?
 
Because George H.W. Bush was relational.
 
The most important things to “41,” as he was fondly called later in life, was first his family and then his friends. He did expect loyalty if you were part of his team. But he had respect for the views and values of others. He was gentle, soft-spoken, and had a knack for expressing thoughts in short sentences. Some who dealt with him politically questioned his level of intensity. The President would rather leave a room than engage in acrimonious discourse. He was the quintessential gentleman.
 
He served our country in extraordinary times as President from 1988 through 1992. In 1989, Bulgaria declared its independence from the Communist Party of the USSR. Few knew at the time that this was the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union. In 1991, Ukraine declared itself a sovereign state and independent of Soviet influence. At the same time, China was emerging from behind the Great Wall. The Tiananmen Square massacre was a resulting tragedy of the turbulent transition. 
 
What commentators and historians are primarily discussing during this week of national mourning is the U.S. rescue of Kuwait from the invasion by Iraq and Saddam Hussein. This military operation, commonly referred to as Desert Storm, was a measured response to the violation of rule of law between sovereign states. President Bush was criticized at the time for driving Hussein out of Kuwait but leaving him in power of Iraq. History may treat this decision more favorably as conflict in the region continues. 
 
What is not being given enough attention and accord is President Bush’s handling of the Ukrainian effort to become independent of the Soviet Union. Ukraine, up until 1991, was an area of Russia. It was not a sovereign state. The Ukrainian people had a distinct history, culture, and language. But they could only claim a seat of government for two years from 1919 to 1921. They were, in effect, a historical principality. 
 
There were nuclear missile silos on Ukrainian territory. A major network of gas pipelines crossed Ukraine. Ukraine successfully becoming an independent state was complicated both politically and structurally. Soviet generals advised to bring Ukraine back in line with military force. Why?
 
Because they were primarily cause-driven.
 
To the Soviet generals, relationships have little value, only objectives matter. You either agree with the national policy or you are forced into compliance.  The word on the street in Kiev during the crisis was, “remember Czechoslovakia in 1956.” Then a rebellion was put down in a bloody confrontation.
 
I had been dispatched to Kiev to aid in the elections for the independence of Ukraine. My sponsor was the National Endowment for Democracy, a U.S. quasi-government foundation. I reported in part to the U.S. State Department. During the conduct of the elections, Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, sent tanks into the streets of Kiev to intimidate the citizens to abandon the electoral process. 
 
There were no diplomatic offices in Kiev. It was considered an outpost. I traveled to Moscow to meet with the U.S. attaché for Ukraine to inquire of U.S. foreign policy on the Ukrainian crisis. I informed the United States that I did not believe the Ukrainian people would stand down. If the Soviets fired on the population, revolutionwould erupt. 
 
President Bush’s response was to openly defy President Gorbachev. He informed his Soviet counterpart that he would lead a coalition of Western countries to isolate the Soviet Union from the community of nations. Any attempt to suppress democracy would be met with protracted diplomatic protocol to recognize the Ukrainian people’s right to declare independence. President Gorbachev decided not to engage the tanks against peaceful citizens. Why?
 
He was more relational in purpose than cause-driven.
 
After the successful elections for independence and the fall of the Soviet Union, records of internal Soviet leaders’ discussions and debate have been published to reveal that the generals were ready to go to war. This was their advice even if the U.S. threatened military action. There were State Department leaders in the U.S. who advised President Bush to abandon the Ukrainian plebiscite. This advice was offered not because they feared war, but because they were cause-driven to maintain the world order as it currently existed at that time.
 
President Bush made his decision not to abandon the Ukrainians in their time of need on the basis that all people deserve to be free. However, he did not threaten to go to war. 
 
Two relational leaders, who believed in causes and creeds, but were not willing to force such causes upon another people at the price of bloodshed, resolved the conflict without major loss of life. It is interesting to consider the pressure that both men were under. President Gorbachev survived a military coup. President Bush survived for only one term. Both men should be lauded for putting people first.
 
The passing of a person’s life is always a time for reflection and mourning. The timing of George Bush’s passing during the beginning of Advent season is particularly impacting. 
 
Jesus Christ was a man who believed in relations first as a way to express the cause of His Father’s Word. He loved all people the same. Yet, He never compromised the cause, the purpose, and the commandments of His Father’s creation. His relationship with individuals and his cause were not separate but unified in the purpose of His message.
 
In this season of Christmas, we must be reminded that we are all in this system of things together. It is not only appropriate but critical for diversityof thought. In respect for each other’s moral values, we seek the application of eternal principles that bind us by generations.
 
In respecting each other and honestly developing relationships, we aspire to establish societal peace through the process of relationalcause. 
 
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
 
What do you believe? ​

​Donald Trump’s first trip overseas as President of the United States has produced a surprising reaction. He has been met with great respect from the leaders of the countries he is visiting. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia met the President at Air Force One. This is something King Salman never did for President Obama. The greeting by the Saudi government was one of the most elaborate in their history.
 
Why?
 
Because the world is uncoiling. Current structures and alliances have reached their maximum points of acceptable pressure and stress. The appeasement strategy towards Iran, instituted by the principal sovereigns of the world, has allowed Iran to exploit points of weakness in global society, resulting in the development of structural stress fractures. Saudi Arabia now realizes that an unchecked Iran puts the House of Saud in peril. Saudi Arabia purchased $110 billion of sophisticated weapons from the United States because they need them. Further, they want the United States as an ally against Iran.
 
Realignment is occurring right before our eyes.
 
We would expect Israel to lay out the red carpet for President Trump. The United States has historically been Israel’s one, true friend. The President prayed at the Western Wall. Again, a first. No sitting U.S. President has appeared at the Temple Mount. The President executed this sincere ceremonial gesture with great diplomatic acumen. No Israeli government leader accompanied him to the wall. This was for the purpose of reserving the discussion for whether the Temple Mount is in Israeli territory. This holy area was captured by Israel in the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War of 1967. The Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital. Israel claims Jerusalem as their historic capital dating back to King David. Neither President Trump nor Secretary of State Rex Tillerson addressed the issue of sovereignty over Jerusalem.
 
The President then met with Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Palestine and the Palestine Liberation Organization. They embraced each other in a symbol of friendship. This gesture, immediately following a trip to the Western Wall, is most significant and extraordinary. President Abbas has recognized President Trump as a hope for future resolution in the Middle East. This hope surpasses his hatred of Israel.
 
The incredible thing is that President Trump’s diplomacy was accepted without question by all leaders.
 
In flying directly from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel, President Trump further demonstrated that he is determined to reset the protocol of the region. Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. No Israeli citizen can fly in and out of Saudi Arabia on an Israeli passport. There was no criticism or discussion whatsoever about the President’s itinerary. Further, President Trump posed for photo ops with King Salman and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt at the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology. Egypt recognizes Israel and accepts passports with an Israeli stamp. The symbolism of this meeting, and President Trump’s departure from Saudi Arabia directly to Israel, establishes a new immediacy of purpose as a priority for Middle Eastern leaders.
 
In other words, President Trump plays by his own rules and intends to enforce them. Arab leaders of the Middle East are showing respect for his initiative. Iran is now faced with the proposition of being isolated as a Shiite nation.
 
Who will realign with Iran?
 
Not China. China has its own economic problems and internal political strife. President Xi is consolidating power. Over 1,000 communist leaders have been purged in recent months. The fight is over whether to double-down on communistic economic controls. President Xi believes in moderation and more cooperation with the West for banking and financial reform. Communist hardliners would close the borders, and by government dictate, demand that Chinese citizens trade only in yuan (the Chinese currency). This would result in an economic catastrophe for China. President Xi is opposed to such government controls. He has asked President Trump for help and is being given some economic cooperation. In return, the Chinese have agreed to open their markets to certain U.S. businesses. Also, China has agreed to pressure North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to stand down. China needs the United States more than the United States needs China.
 
Not Russia. Vladimir Putin’s strategy is based on regional control. The Russian economy is mid-sized at approximately $2 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By comparison, Germany is almost $4 trillion GDP, and the United States is approximately $18 trillion GDP. More importantly, Russia’s main export is oil, and oil is denominated in U.S. dollars. They may not be our friend. They may have meddled in our elections. But this is not the Cold War, winner-take-all strategy of the 1950s and 1960s.
 
Following a trip to the Vatican tomorrow, President Trump is on to Europe to attend a NATO Summit and a meeting of the G-7. This completes a full loop of all economic entities that can impact the world financial structure today. Every other country in the world is economically reliant upon actions taken by the United States, Europe and China. The U.S. has its differences with Europe on a few economic and social issues. But each is committed to the other, absolutely, on the issues of democracy, liberty and freedom.
 
President Trump may have struck a brilliant, strategic mission by weaving a cultural necessity, and therefore an alliance, with China, the Middle East and Europe. Iran and Russia may continue to exacerbate the situation in Syria. But there is no global strategic alliance between them going forward. Certainly, on the issue of extreme terrorism, Russia and Iran have different priorities.
 
It is important to recognize that the basic difference between Sunnis and Shiites is not religious theology. Rather, it is political conferment. A sovereign that attempts to use Islam as the basis for government purpose is blurred in comparison, by definition, to other less theological sovereigns with Muslim majority populations. This is why the rebellion of the Arab Spring did not result in more theocratic government rule. Instead, government accountability became more critical.
 
What the world is looking for is consistent leadership on issues that provide a hope and future for the world not controlled by despots or theological, religious dictators. What is at stake now is this. If leadership for which the world hopes is not provided, a strong man or dictator could rise to force compliance around a single decree of perceived justice. Such a consequence, even on a regional basis, will ultimately intensify world conflicts.
 
The world is uncoiling because the current structure of world alliances has not allowed for the free flow of people, ideas, and free enterprise. The coil has been maintained under pressure by anti-freedom forces. We have reached a point in history wherein world systems cannot be maintained by such forces and therefore will unravel. Whether this occurs without turmoil will depend upon leadership from the United States. We are the only country with the military, the banking, the wealth, the currency, and the Constitution to help the world reorganize and realign under the auspices and aegis of respect for the comprehensive, individual right to the pursuit of happiness.
 
The United States of America is the only sovereign country, in the history of the world, dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, and that the government is established to facilitate individual freedom. We are one of only a few countries that is not threatened by the unrestrained fluidity of ideals, free enterprise, acceptance of diversity, and individual pursuits of happiness. In fact, America prospers because of these principles.
 
The answer to the uncertainty of the world’s uncoiling and realignment is simply the advancement of God-given rights. And it is a trust in the acceptance, impartiality, and receptiveness that, in the protection of freedom, the basis for solutions to all iniquities will emerge.
 
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
 
What do you believe?

​One year ago today, very few Americans thought their choices in voting for President of the United States would be Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Gary Johnson, or Jill Stein. The Republican and Democratic nominees are disliked by 60% of the American public. Gary Johnson and Jill Stein represent third parties which each garner less than 5% of the electorate’s votes. Some Americans are so disappointed in their options that they are considering casting a protest vote or not voting at all.
 
All current options available for choosing by the American people fail in affirmatively appealing to over 50% of the electorate. To date, all campaigns have spent their energies denouncing the other candidates as unfit. Hillary Clinton is attempting to label Don Trump as crazy and unstable. Donald Trump is attempting to define Hillary Clinton as too corrupt to be President. The Libertarian Party led by Gary Johnson is defined by a philosophy to reduce the size of the military, legalize marijuana, and limit government restrictions on most social behavior. Mr. Johnson fails to point this out in his quest to be an alternative to the two major parties. Jill Stein, as the head of the Green Party, operates under the aegis of the political theory that all politics revolves around the environment. She disregards any analysis of economic cost of such policy to the dismay of the American public.

​Wisconsin was last Tuesday but it already seems like last year. Presidential primary season has moved on to New York and has already changed the dialogue. Donald Trump needs 56% of the remaining delegates to capture the nomination. But he only needs 51% of the popular Republican vote to achieve that goal. The latest polls out this morning have Donald Trump at 52% in New York, Kasich in second place at 25% and Cruz in third at 17%. Each time Trump exceeds 58% of the delegates in a particular primary it reduces the requirement in each succeeding primary.
 
It is ironic that today both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton led rallies citing New York values. No one saw that theme 6 months ago. An important thing to watch for is a statement from former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. It has been rumored that he has been providing advice to the Trump campaign. Mayor Giuliani is still a hero in New York City based upon his 9/11 leadership. If he were to endorse Donald Trump, to put it in Trumps terms, it would be HUGE.
 
The Presidential campaign takes another unpredicted turn as we find ourselves in a New York state of mind. 

​Today in Wisconsin both parties conduct primaries for the office of President of the United States. For the Republicans, the number of delegates at stake is 42; for the Democrats it’s 86. Six months ago, no pundit predicted that either party’s primary process would continue this long without a perceived nominee. Don’t count on Wisconsin to clarify the situation today.
 
Only Donald Trump still has a chance to capture 1,237 delegates, the number needed to secure the nomination. Both Ted Cruz and John Kasich are still running to keep him from reaching that magic number. If they can’t win, why do they continue stay in the race? The answer lies in the party process of the conventions... (Continued)

Today's primaries could be the deciding factor the GOP nomination. Republicans will vote in 6 contests tomorrow. Donald Trump is poised to win a majority of the states and delegates. March 15this also the last stand for Marco Rubio and John Kasich. Ted Cruz is hoping that after today he will be in a two-man primary for the nomination.
 
Because of the level of importance that these elections have on the overall nomination process, we need to look at them one by one. ​

• 99 Delegates
• Winner-take-all

Florida is arguably the most important state in today's swath of contests. Marco Rubio needs to win his home state for him to remain a viable candidate. Yet, despite Rubio’s home field advantage, Donald Trump looks like he is going to win it. Trump has led in every poll taken in Florida this year. Polling this week has Trump up an average of 19%. ​

• 72 Delegates
• Proportional

North Carolina is the only true proportional delegate state in today's contests. Because of this, each of the candidates will win delegates in this state. Donald Trump is leading Ted Cruz in the polls by an average of 12%.  However, keep in mind that this state is all about delegates, and winning the state doesn’t give the candidate any extra. ​

• 52 delegates (40 district, 12 statewide)
• Winner-take-all on the district and statewide level

Trump will most likely win this state. However, this is Ted Cruz’s best chance at winning some delegates on Tuesday. Although there has been very little polling, so it is a bit difficult to see what is going on in Missouri. ​

​The Michigan primary election is today. As the polls close the main thing to look for will be if the results end up similar to those in Louisiana on Saturday. Polling in Louisiana showed that Donald Trump was going to beat Ted Cruz by an average of 15%. However, Trump underperformed on Election Day compared to the polls only beating Cruz by 3.6%. If Trump underperforms the polls again it means that the establishment attacks are working and it is softening Donald Trumps support.
 
Currently Donald Trump is leading by an average of about 13% in Michigan. Tonight as the results come in, watch for Trump’s margin to shrink.

The polls indicate that Donald Trump is leading in South Carolina. Yet, something happened yesterday that in unprecedented in American Politics. His Holiness, the Pope, interjected himself in the Presidential debate. Tomorrow watch for what effect this may have on the ideologies of the American electorate.

American citizens feel very strongly that American Presidential politics, security, along with federal and state policy are issues solely for the American people. It would be appropriate to explain your position on an issue. However, no person should question a person’s faith as a Christian – only God can do that.
 
By such action, his Holiness may have galvanized the ideologies of American politics. No matter your political leaning, many are united in the conclusion that the Pope overstepped his bounds.
 
No current polls are reflective of the Pope’s intervention yesterday. What we need to watch for is the blending of ideologies. Who will win the evangelical vote, between Trump, Cruz and Carson? Also, with Governor Nikki Haley’s endorsement of Marco Rubio, who will win the establishment vote between him, Bush, and Kasich?
 
The election tomorrow will reveal the true impact of the Pope’s actions. In the next Nuttle Report I will explore the profound meaning the answers to these questions have on the political landscape of America.