The Garrett Ashley Mullet Show

The phrase "err on the side of caution" annoys me. Subtly baked into it is the foreknowledge that a course of action is error, and we are accepting that. Given the fact that a double negative makes a positive, I make a concerted effort to push back on cautious errors. We should err on the side of caution when it comes to erring on the side of caution.  That is to say, why err at all if it can...

The idiots need to be told what to do says the arrogant rich man brought on as a guest by Joe Scarborough. "You don't have a choice." But of course not. And I suppose you do, Mr. Hubristic Know-it-all. But let us all celebrate our fearless leaders in the Senate sub-committee voting this week that our daughters must sign up for selective service - also known as "the draft." Here is that much vaunte...

A fault line in American evangelical Christianity is increasingly apparent. As Exhibit A and B, consider two articles of the past three months: one ‘Reparations: A Critical Theological Review’ published by Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition on April 22, 2021 dealing with the book ‘Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Renewal’ by Duke Kwon and Greg Thompson; the other, ‘Sanctifying t...

In our last episode, 'An Interesting Back and Forth About Reparations,' I introduced a pair of links regarding the book 'Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Renewal' by Duke Kwon and Greg Thompson. The first link is a review of that book at TGC by Pastor Kevin DeYoung. In this episode, I want to talk about DeYoung's review.  To give a review of a review may seem like an odd thing...

Today my neighbor JP Chavez shared with me "an interesting back and forth," as he put it, in the form of two links. One 'Reparations: A Critical Theological Review' published by Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition on April 22, 2021 dealing with the book 'Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Renewal' by Duke Kwon and Greg Thompson. The other, 'Sanctifying the Status Quo: A Response to...

In Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life , Dr. Jordan B. Peterson delivers the follow-up to his 2018 best-seller, '12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.' And liking most of what Peterson has to say though I sincerely do, there are points of concern which bear mentioning. But first let us talk about the good in this book. Ecclesiastes 7:16 comes readily to mind. "Be not overly righteous, and do n...

Our third son Solomon is only 11 years old, but already has demonstrated a remarkable artistic talent. If it were up to him, I think he would work on art all day for the rest of his days. The trouble comes where he still has math to finish up from last year. As he tells us often, "I just get so distracted. I can't focus." Though we try to be patient and work with him in this, I tell Solomon that h...

Fox News reported yesterday, July 15th 2021, that the Biden administration is consulting with Facebook to flag and censor user content critical of, or contrary to the official government talking points on, COVID vaccination. Critics are in a tizzy, and rightly so. There is no freedom left in this country if we are not free to talk openly and critically about the government's handling of a crisis -...

Cuba rejecting communism at the same time the United States of America increasingly embraces it is surreal to say the least. Oh, the irony.  For several generations, Cubans have fled their communist dictatorship off our coast to come to America, yearning to be free. Happily, many of these Cubans have been the most outspoken voices for conserving American ideals in the face of an onslaught in...

Jocko Willink's 'Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual' (2020) is a helpful follow-up to his other co-authored works - 'Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win' (2015), and 'The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win' (2018). In it, he drives home and further explains concepts which bear repeating and emphasis. For instance, consi...

Continuing our discussion from Episode # 97 of Season 3 - 'War Crimes and Genocide in the Old Testament,' I eluded in that episode to Deuteronomy 20 and the laws concerning warfare which God gave to Israel. It is entirely too easy in our present context as Americans living in the 21st century, to see this passage and hear what it says, and to come away with a kind of latent disgust at the brutalit...

What does the Bible say about the rules of war? Or can we say there are any rules for war in the Bible when God not only permits but commands the total annihilation of certain of Israel's enemies? An anonymous reader of my works published at On The Rocks Blog contacted me back in January to ask these and related questions. A Chinese university student in America, he came to faith in Christ about 2...

Let's talk about contentment. As the Scriptures say, "godliness with contentment is great gain." And that promise has been very much in my thoughts in recent weeks as I grapple with when and how and why I am not always so contented in the midst of trials or setbacks. This line of thought intersects so many others that it's hard to know where to begin. But developing perseverance and resilience req...

Sometimes the meaning of one synonym is given a positive connotation while a negative association is ascribed to another word which means the same thing, or near enough. And when that happens, those discriminating persons who can still be found in society will find themselves puzzled. Take for instance the prominent case of the word ‘Critical’. Cropping up in news piece after scandalous news piece...

An article by National Review senior writer Michael Brendan Dougherty titled 'Critical Race Theory as Metaphysics' was sent to me yesterday by my cousin, Micah Hershberger. In it, Dougherty makes the tepid statement that "It might be time to admit that education is an induction into a metaphysical and moral worldview."  Ya think? If even National Review is starting to wake its readers up to t...

As Hank Berrien at The Daily Wire reported July 6, 2021 - 'Internet Erupts After Biden, Psaki Push ‘Door-To-Door’ Plan Targeting Unvaccinated People' - President Biden and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki both announced that a strike force is in the works to make up for the Biden administration having missed its own benchmarked goal for vaccinating Americans by the Fourth of July. Funny how t...

“The science of government it is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the arts of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take the place of, indeed exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval...

As my oldest sons begin high school this coming fall, I need to begin talking with them about their plans for after high school. What do they want to do with their lives? Depending on the possible answers to that question, a college degree may be necessary. But it also may not be. Is college worth it anymore, if you don't already have a set direction you know will require a post-secondary diploma?...

July 4, 1776 - on this day 245-years ago, the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, thereby officially separating the thirteen colonies from Great Britain, and instituting The United States of America as a separate and self-governing Republic. To read the text of the Declaration of Independence in its entirety, you can find its transcription at the National Archives website...

An odd phrase I frequently tell my children on their birthdays is "I'm glad you were born." That sentiment really is what we are communicating when we celebrate birthdays, isn't it? Just so, when in the United States of America we celebrate the 4th of July, or Independence Day if you prefer, we ought to do more than go through the motions and check the box of what is expected of us. Or perhaps a g...

Micah Hershberger recently reached out to me to ask my opinion on a question he is pondering.  What do I believe are the three greatest struggles facing men and women in American churches today? That is, what are the three greatest struggles facing men? Just so for the ladies also, what are the three greatest struggles facing women? Believing as I do Solomon when he says in Ecclesiastes 1:9,...

Why do we read the books we do? And when we read a book more than once, why is that? Having just finished Colin Woodward's 'The Republic of Pirates' for the second time in less than a year, and now closing in on a third read-through of Charles C. Mann's '1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus,' I am trying to figure out what the common denominator is for me. Then I consider this pie...

Yesterday afternoon, I had a follow-up appointment with a dentist in Greeley. At a minimum, he would be giving me a dental crown. However, he might also get into the procedure and find that he needed to perform a root canal. On the way home, I called my brother who was moving his earthly belongings from his old house to his new house, and he sounded out of breath and tired. Joking, we discussed tr...

My neighbor two houses down, JP Chavez wrote to me yesterday afternoon with the following: "I was listening to a podcast on Carl Trueman's 'Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.' They pick up some aspects that Trueman himself doesn’t go into in the book - namely... the idea, “I think therefore I am,” and how that kind of introspection influenced the church. I am curious to get your thoughts on how...

Back after my vacation last week, capped off with a busy and breathtaking trip to New Mexico for my son Eli's 13th birthday, I want to talk about comments made by President Joe Biden last week concerning the 2nd Amendment.  For those unfamiliar, you can listen to his remarks for yourself here . Needless to say, I remain unconvinced. And vaguely threatening to use F-15's and nuclear weapons ag...