Political Potpourri + California + "Humor" + Thought for Today

Political Potpourri

After Lois & I watched a few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation last night, we did some channel surfing & "found" the Democratic candidate debate. We watched just long enough to see & hear Kamala Harris spout illogical nonsense about several issues. She received a lot of applause from an audience that was undoubtedly screened for its political correctness. We lasted less than a minute before turning off the TV

There Is No Place Like . . . California

"ESCAPE FROM LA:  Many more moving out than moving in . . . " [Drudge Report 6/28]

Dept. of Shameless Joke-Stealing *

* courtesy of Reader's Digest, June 2019
"Toddler walks by with a hammer. ME: What are you going to make? TODDLER: Noise."

Unhindered

Though variant theologies and distorted gospels will abound, though the world will delight in yet another conspiracy theory that promises to be the downfall of Christianity, Christ will go forth unhindered. For the Christian, this means we need not live defeated by every emerging plot to undermine him. And for the one who has yet to take him at his word, it is continually and powerfully an invitation. Consider living into a victory like his, walking further up and farther into the great unhindered narration of the vicariously human Son of God.
--Jill Carattini, Slice of Infinity 6/28

Human Worth

"Yet in this drama of God in flesh, we are given nothing less than one to walk beside us on the harder road–one with the worth of the world in mind. Born of a peasant girl in a poor manger, Jesus became a human child, who would become a man, who would be put to death. It is strange to imagine a God who would concede to such a plan. God could have instead come down in glory and power for all to see, silencing crowds, forcing them to look. It would have proved that he was no mere human to look us eye to eye. And it would have made him a God to whom we could not say no, even if it was only to say yes out of fear or force. No instead, he was mindful of us; he became one of us. When we turn to him with nothing to give but love, we know why.

"Christ’s is a declaration of human worth that makes every other seem empty, narcissistic, or fleeting at best. And it is worth expending everything to consider what his humanity has to say of our own. What are mere mortals that you should think of them, human beings that you should care for them?"

--Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Humor(?) + Rants + Lament

Dept. of Shameless Joke-Stealing

Real headlines, courtesy of Reader's Digest, June 2019

• "Man Who Jumped Out of Freezer & Died Was Cold-Case Suspect"
• "Body Found at Base of Cliff Near Mount Rushmore. The Only Four Witnesses Remain Stone-Faced"

GOMER * Returns

• "Forgiving" all student debt is a bad idea & patently unfair. Not only would it add trillions to our national debt, but it would nullify all those students who have paid off their college debt.
• Reparations for slavery is a bad idea. It also would add trillions to our national debt. Should those Americans whose ancestors fought for the North in the Civil War be forced to help fund reparations? What about black Americans whose ancestors were both slaves & owned slaves themselves? Would they receive reparations? What about all the other "victims," like Native Americans? Don't they deserve reparations, as well?
• Abortion is evil. It ends the life of an unborn child. It's telling that the loudest politicians who support abortion rights are also the largest beneficiaries of the largesse of Planned Parenthood, the leading abortion provider.
• Fireworks are already legal in our community of Norfolk, Nebraska. That means that (1) our dog is already a neurotic mess; & (2) just as we're settling down to sleep we're victimized by explosions that would make artillery barrages look tame.
• I have no great love for Michigan U, which is a rival of the Cornhuskers in the Big 10. Having said that, I would love to see a member of the Big 10 win the College World Series. Enough domination by schools from the South, who enjoy an unfair advantage over schools from the North!
• We're looking forward to a family reunion in Omaha this weekend, which will include a trip to the world famous Henry Doorly Zoo on Saturday, BUT temperatures are supposed to be in the 90s!
• I just read that the snowpack in the Rockies is almost at unprecedented levels, but I know that this can't possibly be a refutation of global warming. We know that ALL extreme weather is caused by global warming.

* Grumpy Old Men & Their Elucidating Rants

Lament

Yet it has been said that “the cry of pain is our deepest acknowledgment that we are not home.” The author continues, “We are divided from our own body; our own deepest desires; our dearest relationships. We are separated and long for utter restoration. It is the cry of pain that initiates the search to ask God, ‘What are you doing?’ It is this element of a lament that has the potential to change the heart.”(2) If this is true, then the overwhelming sorrow or feelings of bitterness over having to deal with what feels like more than one’s share of the harsh yet inevitable realities of life are, in fact, the crucible for real change. The same waters of despair that seek to drown and overwhelm can become the waters of cleansing. And in the midst of lament, the writers of Scripture give witness to the overwhelming compassion of God: “For if [the LORD] causes grief, then He will have compassion according to his abundant lovingkindness.”(3) Perhaps in the one who was described as a man of sorrows, who was acquainted with grief, lament offers a crucible in which we might experience a broader compassion and care. Indeed, his way of sorrow may yet have its own way of transformation.
--Margaret Manning Shull, Slice of Infinity

A Good Laugh

MON 6/24

I'm always looking for a good laugh, which is a good counterpoint to depression. One source of humor is The Babylon Bee [babylonbee.com], which is a satirical news website. Here is a sampling of headlines. If you navigate to this site & follow the links, you have access to the brief articles that accompany these headlines.

• New Noah's Ark Playset Includes Heathen Action Figures You Can Actually Drown
• IRS Still Waiting for Liberals to Voluntarily Return Their Refund Checks Back
• Op-Ed:  If Global Warming Is Real, How Do You Explain Ice Cream?
• Ocasio-Cortez Compares Mandatory Math Classes to Concentration Camp
• Jesus Criticized for Lack of Diversity Among Disciples
• Elizabeth Warren Promises to Cure Smallpox
• NBA to Assign "Adversity Score" to Pudgy White Guys Who Want to Play Professional Basketball
• Chick-Fil-A Celebrates Pride Month by Serving Delicious Chicken Sandwiches to Everyone Just Like They Do all the Other Months
• Grizzly Bear Shatters All Pro Wrestling Records after Identifying as Human
• Pastors Weigh In:  Does Pineapple Belong on Pizza
• Scholars:  Lot's Wife Actually Died Trying to Take Selfie While Fleeing Sodom
• Walmart Self-Checkout Machine Wins Employee of the Month Again
• Nation's Progressive Christians Applaud Hell for Being so Inclusive

A Nation of Prophets

" . . . When God pours out His Spirit, He is not starting over with a new group of people, but--as Peter proclaims--He is fulfilling His promise (Joel 2:28-32). A single prophet may be able to call a nation to repentance, but to call the whole world to repentance, it will take a nation of prophets. And that is what God creates through the Spirit who fills the Church:  a nation of men & women, seniors & children, sons & daughters of the King, who proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name--with all boldness & without hindrance."
--Jeffrey Oschwald, The Lutheran Witness, May 2019

Drudge + Nudity + Cold Cuts + Liberal Media + God's Name + Hillary

Drudge

I check-out the Drudge Report every morning. Yes, it has a decidedly conservative bent, but it also includes many intriguing items that aren't political. For example:

• "Grandmother holds car thief suspect at gunpoint for deputies..." (Drudge Report 6/19)
• "Divorce rate at 40-year low, unless you're 55 or older..." (ditto)
• "New cruise ship to feature 40-mph roller coaster..." (ditto)
• "Horns growing on young people's skulls. Phone use to blame, research suggests..." (ditto)
• "People who spend more time outdoors lead more fulfilling lives..." (Drudge 6/22)

There Is No Place Like . . . Detroit

"Man strips naked in security line at Detroit Airport" (Drudge 6/22)

Food for Thought

"Cold cut:  America can't quit processed meat love affair..." (ditto)

Liberal Media

If they’d admit they have a problem and move on, lots of conservatives would just give up on the topic. It’s the infuriating denial that bugs many of us. It’s like the friend who swears he didn’t drink your last beer. You don’t care about the beer, but you just can’t stand him not admitting it. (You took my beer! Say it!! Say it!!!) By denying the obvious, so many pompous elite journalists drive us batty by acting as if we’re imagining things . . .

        Media polarization is both a driver -- and product -- of social polarization. The rise of Fox News should have been a wake-up call to the mainstream media. When millions of people rush to an alternative product to what you’re selling, that’s a sign of failure or obsolescence. That’s why McDonald’s changes its menus and Coca-Cola updates its product line. But rather than check itself, much of the mainstream media opted to wreck itself, doubling-down on precisely the behaviors that causes millions of Americans to reject it.                                                                                                                                  The mainstream media behaves more like a class or clerisy every day. The result is more groupthink not less. When Dan Rather got that forged memo, if there had been a single journalist in the room who didn’t want the story to be true, they probably would have done their due diligence if only to get the guy to shut up about it.  But everyone was bought-in to the too-good-to-check dynamic and now Dan Rather is an old man shouting at clouds on Facebook. Ideological bias is unavoidable, the trick is to use it productively, to fuel skepticism. Instead, vast swaths of the mainstream media work on the assumption that it is their job to protect, defend or rationalize liberal priorities in the culture war and there are precious few people inside these organizations to question basic assumption .  --Jonah Goldberg, 6/22 

God's Name

        Like many ancient names, Yahweh holds great meaning. But unlike any other name, it is boldly thought best translated, "I am that I am" or "I will be who I will be." Out of the same tradition of reverence held in Jewish nomenclature, most modern translations render the name of God, "LORD" in all capitals, bringing to mind the four Hebrew consonants that denote the special name given to the people of Israel. Today, wherever the word "Lord" is found in Bible, there is a rich heritage of meaning, though possibly obscured to the point of being lost, while yet uttered. Where contemporary attitudes toward God might persuade us to render a generic and distant being or title, the word itself leaves no room for this vision, for it is actually a proper name. In this rich etymology, in a word, God is LORD. God is who God is; there is no other like the one who has given us this name.
--Jill Carattini, Slice of Infinity 6/22

Political Potpourri

"Every time I see the latest economic news, I thank Hillary Clinton. Every time I see those record low unemployment numbers for blacks, Latinos & women, I thank Hillary. If she hadn't been such a horrible candidate in 2016, there's . no telling what sorry state American would be in right . now.                                       I don't really blame Hillary too much for refusing to accept her embarrassing defeat & deciding to spend the rest of her public life posing as a professional victim of a conspiracy that never happened. In the pretend world where she lives, the Trump-hating Democrats running the House of Representatives & the Trump-hating Democrats running the mainstream liberal media want to re-investigate the Russian collusion delusion from scratch.                                                                                                                   They're still deluding themselves about bringing down Trump & they know it. They know that even if the House impeaches Trump, the Senate won't impeach him in a million ways. In other words, the Democrats know their multiple hearings are nothing but partisan TV stunts designed to constantly smear Trump & his family & discredit Attorney General William Barr before he digs up the dirt about the FBI's rogue spying operation on the 2016 Trump campaign.
--Michael Reagan, Norfolk Daily News 6/20

"Supreme Court upholds cross on public land..." (Drudge 6/21)

Free-for-All Friday

Iran

The Iranian theocrats despise the Trump administration. They yearn for the good old days of the Obama administration, when the U.S. agreed to a nuclear deal that all but guaranteed future Iranian nuclear proliferation, ignored Iranian terrorism and sent hundreds of millions of dollars in shakedown payments to the Iranian regime.
--Victor Davis Hanson, National Review Online 6/20

The Human Heart

Indeed, but in a world of competing and combative claims, we are left confused and divided in the hope of any kind of shared diagnosis and solution. Some years ago I attended a consultation in Europe, which included many leaders, dignitaries, and guests all concerned at that time about the "new" Europe, and what was needed for a better life for all. Many well-considered ideas and scenarios were presented, and yet there was a deep sense that economics, democracy, and better management would not be enough. Almost with a sense of resignation, one voice said, "The problem at the heart of Europe is the problem of the human heart." There was a sudden quiet as many grasped the reality and depth of that statement. We can substitute Europe in the sentence with America or Asia or Africa and it still fits. It seems we all need heart surgery and some real internal work if external realities are to be impacted and changed.

The good news is that God has provided a solution for this very concern and the promise of a new heart. The hope of inner renewal which leads to outward change is part of what Christianity offers to the human dilemma. Truly, what we need is not more moralizing and polishing of externals, but deep altering of our imaginations and a new beginning. Indeed, we need the very gift of new creation in the one who makes all things new.

--Stuart McAllister, Slice of Infinity 6/21 

Planned Parenthood

On the Senate floor this afternoon, Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) knocked Democratic presidential candidates as they prepare to participate in a “women’s health” forum, hosted this weekend in South Carolina by abortion provider and political-activist group Planned Parenthood.

“Planned Parenthood is the country’s largest abortion business. That’s their main staple operation,” Sasse said in his remarks, noting that the group reported performing more than 330,000 abortions last year alone and that Planned Parenthood president Dr. Leana Wen admitted that “providing, protecting and expanding access to abortion” is part of the organization’s “core mission.”

Sasse criticized his Democratic colleagues for embracing Planned Parenthood’s hardline stance on abortion: that it ought to be available for any reason, at any stage of pregnancy, funded entirely by the U.S. taxpayer. “Today, the radical things that the nation’s largest abortion business wants are basically indistinguishable from the position of almost every Democrat running for president: Abortion — anytime, anywhere, for any reason, for free,” he said . . . 

He went on to note the historic connection between the abortion industry and the eugenics movement in the U.S. “It’s in part because of this ugly history that black women in America are three-and-a-half times more likely to have an abortion than white women,” he said. “In some parts of Senator Gillibrand’s home state, black children are actually more likely to be aborted than to be carried to term.”                                                                                              --Alexandra DeSanctis, National Review Online 6/21

Shalom

The promise of God's shalom is not a thin attempt to distract us from our own darkness or a flimsy pat on the back for the profound brokenness of the world. It is not an image campaign to make us feel better, but the promise of one who can somehow hold it all. It is the promise of one who, somehow, is already about the profound work of our restoration and healing, which also, will one day be complete. Hundreds of years after Isaiah gave us this glimpse of shalom, that child from Bethlehem, where the hopes and fears of all the years intersect, stands up in a local synagogue, reading these very words of Isaiah, and announces that he is the fulfillment of Isaiah's lyric. Jesus is the promise of shalom, the one who is somehow able to hold ashes and still offer us beauty, who both mourns beside us and who dries our very eyes, who embodies the good news to the oppressed and is even now about the work of restoration in the deepest sense of human flourishing we could never imagine. In the phrase of fifteenth century philosopher Nicholas of Cusa, Christ is the very embodiment of the moment of coincidentia oppositorum—the impossible moment when opposites meet. Might our hopes and fears of all the years rest in him tonight.

--Jill Carattini, Slice of Infinity, 6/20

Whatever Wednesday

Whatever...Food for Thought...Call of Christ...Climate Change...Reparations

Whatever

I'm not making it to cardiac maintenance very day; more like once/week; but I am walking with Lois just about every morning. First she takes a walk around Skyview Lake, which nets her about 8,000 steps. Then she picks me up & we do another 2,000 or so. The dog gets to accompany us, too, including the walk around the lake. So it won't take much for Sammy to be in better shape than me.
       In case you're wondering, I'm drinking Hy-Vee brand French Roast these days. I make it every other day. Otherwise I'm also making a pot of Lois' flavored coffee--fou fou coffee for the uninitiated.
       What's on tap for today? I'm having a molar extracted. I've never had a tooth extracted, so this will be a new experience for me.
       We're looking forward to a family reunion with the kids & grandkids the weekend after this. We'll be in Omaha, & the Henry Doorly Zoo will be on the agenda again.
       I've mentioned before that I voted for Trump. Given the alternative, he seemed to be the better of two choices. I can't say that I am personally enamored with him, but he has appointed conservative justices to the Supreme Court, & he has a pro-life agenda. Don't you wish the Democrats would focus their energies more on issues affecting the country. Impeaching the president isn't one of those issues.
       I attend a Men's Bible Study every other Tuesday morning. We're currently studying the minor prophets. Yesterday we studied Amos. Next time it's Obadiah.
       My quiet time in the morning includes scripture, prayer, & devotional readings. The books I'm using include Jesus Calling, Day by Day in Genesis (devotionals by Martin Luther), Daily Strength for Men, & The Word of the Lord Grows, which is taking me through the books of the New Testament. I'm currently on 2 Corinthians. Lois & I do a Lutheran Hour devotion every evening.

Food for Thought

• "Dairy cows fed coffee creamer for best milk results at award-winning farm." [Drudge Report 6/19]
• "Bracelet shocks wearer to break fast-food addiction." [ditto]

       

The Call of Christ

Yet, this dichotomy that is now readily accepted between matters of private faith and public life belies a betrayal of the very identity Jesus sets forth for his followers. The hope within the Christian is not something we are able to keep private—for if the very public act of Christ's resurrection from the dead was not real, then the very faith our culture would have us keep in private is futile. The events of Christ's life, death, and resurrection, and the faith that upholds them, do not allow for the dichotomies of public and private, spiritual and physical, sacred and secular. The call of Christ is one that encompasses every possible realm, thus making "private faith" an unintelligible distinction.
--Jill Carattini, Slice of Infinity, 6/19

Climate Change *

The fight against climate change is a marathon, not a sprint. The policies we craft today must fuel innovation and research for many decades to come. Public investment in clean-energy and carbon-capture technologies is laudable, but it’s not enough on its own to reduce global emissions, because of the “leakage” problem. Carbon taxes have, to be sure, been met with intense political resistance in many places where they’ve been proposed, including the U.S. But they are the most pragmatic solution and — importantly for conservatives — could be designed to be revenue-neutral and thus not result in an expansion of government. If Republicans hope to craft meaningful climate legislation in everyone’s long-term interests, a carbon tax is a necessary first step.
--John Sweeney, National Review Online 6/19

* The views expressed in this excerpt do not necessarily reflect the views of the blogger.

Reparations

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he is opposed to the idea of authorizing reparations for the descendants of slaves brought to the U.S. against their will.

“I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently living are responsible, is a good idea,” McConnell said, before going on to argue that the U.S. has taken other steps to atone for the “original sin of slavery.”

“We’ve tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, passing landmark civil-rights legislation,” he said. “We’ve elected an African American president. I think we are always a work in progress in this country, but no one alive currently was responsible for [slavery] and I don’t think we should be trying to figure out how to compensate for it.”                                  --Mairead McArdle, NRO 6/19

Climate Change

The real felt urgency of climate change will not, anytime soon, match the rhetoric of the advocates. There’s currently an effort to make every natural disaster in the U.S. a symptom of an alleged climate emergency. This approach may pay some dividends, since there’s always extreme weather, but it hardly reflects a careful accounting of the data.

 --Rich Lowry, National Review Online, 6/14/19

Father's Day + Criminals + Joke-Stealing

Yesterday was Father's Day, & I enjoyed it. Lois got me a Fitbit watch. Nathan & Sarah both called. Rachel brought me a coffee cup & pistachios [which I shared with Lois while we watched Star Trek The Next Generation on Netflix]. Lois also picked up some strip steaks, which I grilled for supper. We also enjoyed grilled vegetables [cherry tomatoes, onions, zuchini, mushrooms].

It was a day to reflect on my own father. He was a faithful servant, who served in Lutheran schools for over 40 years. He was a role model as a husband & father. He taught me how to fish. He was an honorable man. I miss him.

Criminal Minds

"Man, bit, swallowed grandpa's fingertip." [Norfolk Daily News 6/11]

"Woman in wheelchair uses taser on McDonald's worker over slow service." [Drudge Report, 6/17]

"Home intruder thwarted by 11-year-old with machete." [Ditto]

Dept. of Shameless Joke-Stealing *

* courtesy of Reader's Digest, 5/19]

"It is a proven fact that if your parents don't have kids, neither will you."

Road Trip + Praying for Trump? + Jokes

Road Trip News

We got back from our 2nd summer road trip yesterday, after taking 3 of our grand-kids "glamping" at Platte River State Park. I say "glamping," because we stayed in a cabin, which was a pleasant surprise. There were 4 bedrooms, a kitchen, & a common area; also a deck & a grill, where we cooked hot dogs, hamburgers, & made s'mores.
      On TUE we took the kids--Brianna (15), Hadley (9), & Bentley (5) to the Juvenile Overstimulation Facility (JOF) in Omaha. That would be the Children's Museum, where Bentley ran wild, spending an average of 1 minutes or less at each station. Since it was rainy for much of the day, the museum was a good choice. We had originally planned on going to the waterpark @ Mahoney State Park, but it was not only rainy but chilly.
      On WED we took the kids to the Henry Doorly Zoo. Highlights included a train ride, the Skyfari, carousel, Stingray Bay, & playground. Oh, yeah, we saw animals, too. On WED we took the kids to a melodrama at Mahoney State Park, where they had fun throwing popcorn at the villain.
     Yesterday morning the girls went horseback riding while Bentley & I fished. (He was too young to ride.) The one sunfish "we" caught cost me $4.25, which was what I paid for a container of nightcrawlers, of which I used maybe 3. [On TUE morning Bentley caught, with a little help from me, a 12" bass.]
      After we packed the SUV, we headed to Lincoln. After dropping off the girls at home, we took Sarah's SUV, which we had borrowed, to Sid Dillion's auto dealership, where Sarah had dropped off our vehicle for an oil change. They misplaced our car key, so we had to wait an hour-and-a-half while they made a new key & programmed it. That' right. You can't just have a key made. It has to be programmed. We got home around 5:30.
      Our next road trip is June 28-July 1, when we're getting together with Nathan, Laura, Calvin (3); Craig, Sarah, the girls; & Derek, Rachel, & Bentley for a mini-family reunion in Omaha. This will mean another visit to the Zoo, which can hardly be taken in all in one day.

Pray for Trump?

      "The Apostle Paul was unequivocal in his directions to Timothy. 'I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession & thanksgiving be made for all people--for kings & all those in authority, that we may live peaceful & quiet lives in all godliness & holiness.' Like it or not, Trump is a man in authority. This verse applies.
      "Make no mistake, the command to pray for leaders was not contingent on the virtue of the leader. The Roman Empire of Pau's day makes Trump's presidency look like a dimly imagined utopia. We lack perspective. We lack a sense of proportion.
      " . . . In other words, Christian virtue isn't a tactic for Christians to use only as long as it 'works.' Instead the counterintuitive Kingdom of God requires us to often deny our innate sense of outrage & do the very thing that so often feels wrong. Love our enemies? But they're terrible. Bless those who persecute you? They deserve nothing but ruin. Yet this love is modeled by a Savior on the cross who looked at the very men who were murdering Him, mocking Him, & casting lots for His clothes, & asked God, 'Father forgive them, for they know not what they do'"
--David French, National Review Online, 6/12

Dept. of Shameless Joke-Stealing *

* courtesy of Reader's Digest, May 2019

• Why do Communists drink herbal tea? Because proper tea is theft.
• How did we know communism was doomed from the beginning? All the red flags.
• What is the difference between capitalism & socialism? In a capitalist society, man exploits man, & in a socialist one, it's the other way around.

Two Prayers

CONFESSION

I confess, O Lord, that I have failed to recognize what a great blessing my pastors have been. I have thought little of the thousands upon thousands who teach our children & youth in the schools of the LCMS. I have been stingy in my support of my own congregation & have barely given a thought to suporting the church's seminaries & universities. I have failed to express my thanks & love to our congregations' pastors & teachers. I have failed to pray for them. I have even sinned by thinking ill of them or gossiping about them. And I have ignored Your very own words directed to me, 'Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.' I think little of the very reason Your Church exists: 'The harvest is plentiful' I deserve to have Your precious pastors & teachers taken from me.

PRAYER

O Merciful Savior! Look not upon my manifold & horrid sins! I plead Your precious sacrifice on the cross for me! I plead Your resurrection, absolving the world & me from sin! I plead my baptism! Lord, forgive me! Lord, strengthen my love for Your Word, & for Your faithful pastors & teachers! Cause me to be a joy to them in all I do! Help me to pray daily for them! Remind me that the gifts these workers bring me are to be shared with the harassed & helpless! Make me generous in my support for them! Lord, make me cognizant of Your words every day of my life: 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'

--Rev. Matthew Harrison, The Luthera Witness, March 2019

Free-for-All Friday

Millenials + Religion + Killing Children + Truth + Incivility + More

Millenials

"Millenial dads have pathetic DIY skills compared to baby boomers." [Drudge Report, 6/7]

There Is No Place Like . . . Florida

"Vultures take over FL neighborhood, damage roofs, block sidewalks." [ditto]

A Replacement for Religion

"More people now claim they would oppose their children marrying someone from a different political party than say they would oppose a spouse who practiced a different religion. This is not only evidence of the secularization of society. It shows that faith in a particular set of political attitudes--& disgust for those who have different views--has become a replacement for religion in the lives of many Americans." [Jonathan Tobin, National Review Online, 6/6]

Killing Children

"Look at every single method of abortion. Every single one. They are inhumane. They mete out cruel & unusual punishment to the most innocent, defenseless amongst us. Sometimes the children are killed through chemicals--human pesticides. Sometimes, their limbs are torn apart in utero. Sometimes they have their brains sucked out first & are then delivered (dead), breach style." [Jerry Newwcombe, Townhall, 6/6]

Truth

"We know from the 20th century--&, of course, all others--that truth matters. People who take your freedom away, first take the idea of truth away. In the 20th century the idea of truth was taken away & replaced by myths. Today it is liklier to be replaced by total cynicism. 'Nothing matters, nothing is true'--the spirit of 'whatever.'" [Jay Nordlinger, NRO, 6/7]

Strength

"The strength of a nation manifests itself in economics & military might, but ultimately depends on patriotic feeling, communal sensibilities, & religious belief . . . What makes the U.S. unique is our culture of public sovereignty & individual liberty." [Matthew Continetti, NRO, 6/6]

Incivility

"In our free country, people can treat President Trump as contemptuously as they want, but we should recognize their screaming hypocrisy when they treat him with the same level of incivility with which they condemn him." [David Limbaugh, Townhall, 6/7]

Decent Politicians

"What you can do is vote for decent politicians, if such things exist." [David Harsanyi, ditto]

Thanksgiving

O Christ, I thank You for my pastor. I thank You for the pastor who baptized me. I thank You for my confirmation pastor. I thank You for the seminaries. I thank You for all faithful pastors. I thank You for our dear Lutheran teachers. I thank You for our Concordias. I thank You for all the thousands of young women & men who are entering the sacred calling of teacher. I thank You for the thousands of selfless church workers who have chosen lives of modest means for the sake of serving Your sheep. *

* Rev. Matthew Harrison, The Lutheran Witness, March 2019

Whatever Wednesday

What's new at the Leckbands, you ask? I'm happy to fill you in.

• Road Trips. We've already taken one road trip & are preparing for the next. Next MON-THU we'll be "glamping" with the grandkids at Platte River State, which is located between Lincoln & Omaha. This will include sidetrips to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha--Lois purchased a grandparents' pass, which will save us beaucoup bucks--the Water Park at Mahoney State Park; the mellowdrama, also at Mahoney. Pray for good weather!
• Grilling. Since Memorial weekend I've grilled three times already w/o char-cooking any meat. We've enjoyed pork chops, brats, &, last night, hamburgers. Grilling, by the way, is extremely manly.
• Walking. Lois had made a plethora of "threats" that we were going to start walking regularly. So far it's been tolerable. We've taken Sammy, our somnolent hound, on average of one walk per day, including a hike on the Cowboy Trail last SUN. And Lois is walking in the morning's with a friend. This morning she & Shelby walked for 2 miles, after which she returned home, & we embarked on a walk with our poor, gasping pooch. I hate to admit it, but walking is good for me.
• Planning. Yesterday we met with a travel counselor at AAA, to discuss an Alaskan cruise, which we plan to take next year in celebration of our 45th anniversary. So many options! My head is still swimming. Next month when we'll visit David (Lois' brother) & Carmen, we'll get serious about the details, since we will be traveling with them. 
• Cleaning. Lois brought a horde of school supplies home with her, as she cleared out her classroom following her retirement. Now she gets to "process" all of these valuable keepsakes. We may be adding a storage room to our house.

Dept. of Shameless Joke Stealing *

*courtesy of Reader's Digest, May 2019

"Everybody wants to save the earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes."