Month: May 2024

On this Memorial Day, please, do not thank a living veteran. Save those daily thanks for VETERANS DAY for those who are still alive and have either served or are currently serving in our Armed Forces. Memorial Day is a day to honor all those who have given their ALL in the defense of and preservation of our Union.

For those that have given their ALL, their very lives for our Nation, we must realize what was lost. What would have been. What could have been. Lines of heritage were not just altered, but in many cases were totally eliminated. Beginning with our Nation’s earlier wars, human flesh became the feast of the mechanisms of war. The ingenuity and depravity of man became the consumer of lives, where metal casings of tanks, bombs and bullets ripped through human flesh, like fingers through wet toilet paper. Poisonous gas like phosgene, chlorine, and mustard gas were indiscriminate, moving with the air causing paralysis followed by “a lingering and agonizing death”. (history.com; updated May 10, 2024; Dave Roos.) The brutality of the nature of war left not only human scars, but lost opportunities, hopes and dreams in graveyards and mausoleums.

It seems to be the nature of Americans to forget tragic events, as we are encouraged to move forward and forget. We are told that living a life in sorrow can create depression and can waste away a productive life. While true to a limited degree, it is often those experiences that forge the path forward. To forget what has happened before is an invitation to repeat the horror of the past. By failing to remember the human impact of the horrors of war, we have in a way desensitized ourselves to its lingering effects. Only those who have lost a part of their heritage through the violence of war can truly carry with them the scars left behind forever and can speak of the dangers of kinetic conflict forgotten by too many.

How many times in the last year have you viewed film of the attack on Pearl Harbor, or the falling twin towers in New York? We submit few if ever. Those in schools of education today have no remembrance of these events, and unfortunately few have learned and reviewed in classes of civics and National history these and other similar events. To many, they are of no significance to their daily lives, and will spend little if any effort to study, read, or hear of those personal accounts of those that have suffered the effects of conflict and war. Too many have lost sight of mortality and eternity. They have never held the dead in their passing and been confronted with their own mortality. They see little future beyond this life and only strive for whatever, whenever, wherever they can get their fix, their itch scratched, their desire for today met.

Our Nation is being filled with godless people who seek only personal gratification at the expense of anyone who gets in their way. They do not have the desire or want to spend the time to remember the honored dead. They see no value in the American flag, The Constitution of the United States of America, or in the Bill of Rights. They misunderstand the word FREEDOM, believing it to be FREE to do what you want to do, not FREE to do what you ought to do. The former is man’s moral corruption, the latter is God’s plan. Our prayer is that many will turn their lives around and live in the ever-after while walking in the present.

Spend some time tomorrow in reverence to our honored dead, to those who GAVE ALL. Remember what has been lost. Remember what lost it. Be thankful that you are the recipient of their sacrifice, for without it we would not enjoy in our great Nation our FREEDOM and LIBERTY.

Many in our Nation today are being careful about what they say or what they do. They are fearful of verbal attacks, threats, violence, or even arrests and imprisonment should their speech and or actions be deemed to be in conflict with those who currently hold the power of authority in our Nation today. In our current age, how does one stand strong, holding fast to our Creator’s truth and morality created in each of our own consciousnesses? Moreover, how does one move beyond developing COURAGE within, to manifesting COURAGE without. To have covert COURAGE is of little benefit to others. One must learn to express overt COURAGE in one’s daily life, if one’s COURAGE is to be an example to others, encouraging COURAGE in others. As it is in most things, this is easier to say than to do. It is easy to tell you what to do, but harder to tell you how to do it. So, we will rely upon the wisdom of others to kindle COURAGE within you. The following excerpts were taken from the Readers Digest, December 8, 2023, by Kelly Kuehn.

“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” Brene Brown

“Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.” Maya Angelou

“The secret to happiness is freedom . . . and the secret to freedom is courage.” Thucydides

“Courage is being scared to death . . . and saddling up anyway.” John Wayne

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” William Faulkner

“Courage results when one’s convictions are bigger than one’s fears.” Orrin Woodward

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” Mark Twain

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” Coco Chanel

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” Muhammad Ali

“The opposite of courage is not cowardice; it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.” Jim Hightower

“With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.” Margaret Mitchell

“Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength.” Harper Lee

“One man with courage is a majority.” Thomas Jefferson

“Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” George S. Patton

“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” Robert Louis Stevenson

“He is a man of courage who does not run away but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.” Socrates

“Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it buy use.” Ruth Gordon

“Physical bravery is an animal instinct; moral bravery is much higher and truer courage.” Wendell Phillips

“I beg you take courage; the brave soul can mend even disaster.” Catherine the Great

“Courage is just the honesty to recognize your own weakness and then do something about it.” From the MGM+ streaming series “Billy the Kid”.

Prior to the Battle at Trenton that changed the course of the Revolutionary War, patriots fighting for FREEDOM and LIBERTY used enormous amounts of courage. Check out some of the following excerpts from the book, “INDISPENSABLES”, by Patrick K. O’Donnell:

“Much time was spent waiting and freezing that night, on both the Pennsylvania and then the New Jersey side of the river. Fifer John Greenwood wrote, ‘I was with the first that crossed, we had to wait for the rest and so began to pull down the fences and to make fires to warm ourselves, for the storm was increasing rapidly.’ Before midnight, the storm became much worse, and the men began to fear the very real possibility that they could freeze. ‘After a while it rained, hailed, snowed, and froze, and at the same time blew a perfect hurricane; so much so that I perfectly recollect, after putting the rails on to burn, the wind and the fire would cut them in two in a moment, and when I turned my face toward the fire my back would be freezing,’ Greenwood recalled. ‘By turning round and round I kept myself from perishing before the large bonfire.”

Remember all of this took place December 25, 1776.

“With the storm continuing to rage, the nine-mile march to Trenton was nearly as hazardous as the crossing had been. ‘Many of our poor soldiers are quite barefoot and ill-clad,’ wrote one of the officers. ‘Their route was easily traced, as there was a little snow on the ground, which was tinged here and there with blood from the feet of the men who wore broken shoes.’ Greenwood remembered, ‘During the whole night it alternately hailed, rained, snowed, and blew tremendously. I recollect very well that at one time, when we halted on the road, I sat down on the stump of a tree and was so benumbed with cold that I wanted to go to sleep; had I been passed unnoticed I should have frozen to death without knowing it; but as good luck always attended me,[a sergeant] came and, rousing me up, made me walk about.”

They defined COURAGE!

In the Bible book of Ephesians, Chapter 5, the Apostle Paul gave this warning; “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” In the Old Testament book of Amos, one of the twelve minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible, he said the following: “They hate him who reproves in the gate, and the abhor him who speaks with integrity.” “Therefore, at such a time the prudent person keeps silent [listen for God’s quiet wisdom], for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and thus may the Lord God of hosts be with you, just as you have said! Hate evil, love good and establish justice in the gate [the place where court was held].”

It takes COURAGE to reprove the wicked and speak for the truth. Our Creator will reward those who exemplify COURAGE. If we are to fight for and retain our FREEDOM and LIBERTY within our Nation, then we must demonstrate COURAGE in our daily lives by how we act and by what we say. Have you demonstrated your COURAGE of late? Will your COURAGE be witnessed tomorrow?

Can you identify where the sill point on this earth picture above is located? You might guess the north and south poles. But you would need to be more specific. Are you talking geographical north, or magnetic north, because there is a difference. Currently the two differ by some 310 miles but the north magnetic pole has been found to be moving toward Siberia at about 34 miles per year (worldatlas.com). The geographic pole remains stationary, and our meridians, lines of longitude, are fixed. The magnetic poles vary based on the flows and surges of the earth’s interior hot liquid iron core. We do not mean to give a lecture on paleomagnetism (the study of earth’s past magnetic field) but intend to use this as an example maybe we can relate to in our own lives. So, we begin by asking this question. Can you identify the STILL POINT in your life today?

Like us, we believe there are times in your life today when finding a quiet, peaceful moment, where you find stability and equilibrium from opposing forces, may be a bit difficult to find. Do you find it hard to find A STILL POINT IN A TURNING WORLD. Maybe at times you may feel more like Stretch Armstrong, or Silly Putty, often stretched to and sometimes beyond your limit to bear. Maybe at times you feel bent and twisted by forces beyond your control, like Gumby and Pokey, those loveable and bendable toy creatures created in 1953 by Art Clokey. They never complained when bent and twisted, but they couldn’t speak either.

We live in a world today where we have little influence over major events. We have wars going on around us, costs of goods and services continue to increase, violence on our campuses and in the streets of our cities, inflation is consuming more and more of our ever-shrinking dollar, and there is the rising debt our Nation is incurring that will someday have to be paid off. These forces pulling at us and bending us often seem to leave us on the ragged edge. We get angry, lose our cool, say things we shouldn’t, and without thinking of ramifications, do things that are irrational, sometimes hurtful, not only to others but to ourselves as well. Finding A STILL POINT IN A TURNING WORLD takes awareness and effort.

Finding the “geographical pole” in our own lives is much easier than finding the “magnetic pole”. But even finding the “geographical pole” takes vigilance and constant care, as it is with the earth’s “geographical pole” as ice flows make planting a stake or sign there is difficult to do. The “magnetic pole” in our lives is always shifting, and we need to continually seek it in order to find our STILL POINT IN A TURNING WORLD. We would suggest a simple motto to help guide you in finding and keeping your STILL POINT IN A TURING WORLD. “Live in the present like you would like to be in the future.” Spend more time listening and less time talking. Compliments are ethereal roses to give, and do not steal another’s joy when they are given to you. Humility and kindness will always reap rewards. Hurtful words spoken cannot be unsaid. Remain true to your commitments. Honor those who are older, and do not shun those who are younger. Protect your character, which is who you are when no one is looking. Finally, give praise and thanksgiving to our Creator, before making supplications.

To find your STILL POINT IN A TURNING WORLD, listen for the quiet voice of conscience. The source of a STILL POINT is not found in the tumultuous turning world. Consider Elijah of the Old Testament. He had just won a huge victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, but a hit was put out on him, and Queen Jezebel wanted him dead. Elijah feared for his life and ran away to Horeb and hid in the mountain of God. “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” (1 Kings, chapter 19.) We don’t need an earth-moving event to calm our frayed nerves. We need to listen for the “gentle whisper” of our Creator. We are a fragile people and all we really need to find our STILL POINT IN A TURNING WORLD, is to listen for the still voice of His Spirit within us.

Our FREEDOM and LIBERTY are a gift from our Creator. Pick up your moral compass which will point you to your STILL POINT IN A TURNING WORLD. Be not dismayed at the events of our day, but put your hope, trust, and faith in the One who can center our lives to be able to live with peace in our hearts and minds.

It’s not often, if ever so far, that we have had more than one topic to satisfy our hunger for comment that needs to be addressed immediately. But this last week has been different. As a Nation, we are under attack on many fronts. We have lost our energy independence, our borders are breached daily by illegal aliens, we have rising interest rates, costs from energy to food to housing are increasing, FREEDOM of speech is being shuttered, Lady Justice has become unbalanced and unblindfolded, our National debt is surging daily, our children are being influenced by woke ideologies while our parents and those who are religious are under attack from within, violence on our streets is increasing, stores are being robbed daily, wars are breaking out on multiple Contenants, Communism, Marxism, and Islamism are on the rise in our Nation, Capitalism is under attack from Socialism, our police are under physical and verbal attack, our armed forces are spread thin and not meeting recruitment goals while reducing thresholds for entrance, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) are promoting incompetent people, and Caucasians are under constant attack from reverse racism. We could go on, but enough said. We’ve addressed all of these topics in previous blogs, but today we want to focus on two others that are “rearing their ugly heads” as of this posting. Thus, the “DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUN – Two-in-One Blog”.

First, we believe that the current Speaker of the House of Representatives has not held true to his words and commitments. He had previously stated multiple times during his selection for Speaker of the House, that he would hold the line on additional Ukraine funding until significant progress was made in securing our Nation’s borders. “House Speaker Mike Johnson told fellow Republicans on Tuesday that sweeping changes to U.S. border policy would be their ‘hill to die on’ in negotiations that have already grown tense as Congress considers [the current occupant of the White House’s] $110 billion package for the wars in Ukraine and Israel and other security needs.” (apnews.com; Updated December 5, 2023; Stephen Groves and Lisa Mascaro.) Multiple other news outlets reported the same thing. The recent foreign aid package signed into law by the current occupant of the White House included no significant progress to stem the tide of illegal aliens crossing our Nation’s borders. So, there is concern that the newly elected Speaker has failed to “walk his talk”, but the time to address this issue is not now. The votes have been made; the law has been signed. Spilled milk cannot be put back into the bottle, no matter how much we may regret its spilling. While the progressive left is collapsing under the weight of their support for antisemitism and Islamism exploding on many of our Nation’s campuses, those on the conservative right should do nothing to distract from the attention of the left’s implosion by throwing our House of Representatives into chaos over a Speakership fight. DO NOT throw the left a lifeline by distracting from their own ideological self-destruction! Deal with the current House Speakership problem later and in other ways. Throwing the House of Representatives into chaos now will hand the reigns of leadership over to the left when a couple more Republicans quit or switch sides. If that were to occur, there will be no longer any investigations, hearings and Sopenas over the left’s corruptions, lies, and deceptions. Instead, the persecution of the right will be expanded, and more and more will be prosecuted, arrested and jailed, and our Great Republic will be lost.

The second of our “DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUN – Two-in-One Blog”, has to do with the ineptitude exemplified by representatives of our current National government. The hubris expressed angered us deeply. It was just another demonstration of the current government’s leadership believing that nationalism should be squashed by globalism, where the “control” of one country should be given over to the “control” of another nation or entity. As an example, our current government leadership wants to turn over our FREEDOM and LIBERTY to global entities like the World Health Organization (WHO). Later this year the WHO will try to win over the rights to impose upon our Nation dictates, lockdowns, and penalties for non-compliance, much like the British Empire did that led to our Revolutionary War. What sometimes “goes around” doesn’t necessarily have to “come around” again. Only a FREEDOM and LIBERTY loving populace, engaged and defensive, can secure personal and national independence. There was a statement made recently that enflamed our ire. ‘”We cannot, will not support a major military operation in Rafah absent an effective plan to make sure that civilians are not harmed and no, we’ve not seen such a plan.’ Blinken told reporters.” (usnews.com; May 1, 2024; By Reuters.) Anthony J. Blinken is our Nation’s current Secretary of State. What nation has a right to dictate terms to another independent nation? Consider this hypothetical. Assume our Nation is attacked by either Canada to our north, or Mexico to our south. In the process, they continuously launch missile and rocket attacks, and then in their final act of terrorism, they cross our border and kill 40,000 of our citizens (numbers provided by realclearpolitics.com, April 3, 2024, Star Parker), and take a couple thousand hostages back to their country. What response do you suppose our Nation would take? Would our Nation go after our hostages? Would you want to continue living under constant missile attacks, or be forced to move permanently from all border areas? Would you want our Nation to share our plans for response to any other nation, especially if that other nation may not be supportive of our plight and may in fact share our plans for reprisal with our attacker.

Does Israel have an obligation to share their rescue plans with our Nation, especially if you suspect our Nation to have divergent views from Israel and is known to share intelligence with others who may be antisemitic? We say NO! Unless you live under a rock and have no outside communication, you cannot claim ignorance of Islamic terrorism. Under their Caliphate (government leadership), they suppress women, behead Koran unbelievers, and seek the destruction and death of Israel and the United States of America. Their children have been taught this by their parents and teachers all their lives. We have Representatives in our Congress whose speech often seems to support the terrorist activities of these fringe Muslim Islamic groups. Ever hear of “The Squad”? Democrats have voted against a resolution backing Israel, condemning Hamas (thehill.com; October 25, 2023; Olafimihan Oshin). We want to make this clear. In our Nation we have FREEDOM FOR religion, not FROM religion. Islamic faith doesn’t paint anyone automatically as a terrorist, however most terrorist organizations today are Muslims of the Islamic faith, like The Muslim Brotherhood. We must be aware that their influence is growing within our National government. Refer to the following articles: “Senate Confirms Highest Ranking Muslim in Government . . .” (usnews.com, June 8, 2023); “Since 9/11, US Muslims Gained Unprecedented Political, Cultural Influence” (newsweek.com, September 1, 2021); and “Record number of Muslims elected in US Midterms” (theguardian.com, November 26, 2022).

Israel should not share any plans with the current U.S. administration. If we want to see our relationship restored with the only true Democracy in the Middle East, we need to vote for a change in our government leadership. Our FREEDOM and LIBERTY are at stake in our Republic. Your vote counts! Be a voter. Be an observer at our elections. Get involved in your political party to have a say in the direction of your party. Speak the truth to your family, friends and neighbors. Hold all to a high moral standard. Speak boldly and fearlessly. All of us are responsible, to whatever degree, to help reestablish our Nation’s morality and justice.