Temp Challenge...Lent...Free for All...Coronavirus...Politics

TEMP CHALLENGE RETURNSRatings based on weather.com @ 9:56a.

• Norfolk, NE, 15/feels like -2
• Ventura, IA, 22/5
• Lincoln, NE, 22/7
• Beatrice, NE, 24/11
• Eagan, MN, 22/22
• BALMIEST LECKBANDS, Garrison, IA, 31/18

LENT

For Lent, we typically give up some comfort or worldly pleasure for 40 days. This year, many of us are inadvertently giving up more than we ever imagined. Let us also relinquish something that stopped giving comfort a long time ago: Pretense. Old eyes. Old ideas. The false idea that our lives here are about maximizing happiness and that a lack of that happiness must correspond to a lack of either God’s love, goodness, or existence. Jesus did not just go without food for 40 days in the wilderness. He also put to death the devil’s temptations of a painless, exalted life. Our treasures are not here; they are with our Father.   Derek Caldwell, Slice of Infinity

FREE FOR ALL

• "Vegas strip club to offer drive-thru peep shows"  Drudge Report, 3/19
• "Professionals Work Tirelessly to Discover which Political Party Should Be Blamed for Virus"  Babylon Bee, 3/19
• "Lysol Introduces Shoulder-Mounted Turret That Automatically Blasts Anyone Who Coughs Within Six Feet Of You"  Babylon Bee, 3/20
• "God To Ignore Quarantine And Continue Being Everywhere"  ditto

CORONAVIRUS

Last night after visiting with Nathan & Laura we decided that the wisest course of action was to postpone our trip to Minnesota. Laura's daycare only had 4 kids yesterday & was expecting 9 kids today. Orphan Grain Train shut down its warehouse yesterday; the office is staying open at least for the time being. Lois & I are preparing ourselves to find out that future trips are in jeopardy, including our Alaskan cruise in July.

“'In many ways, this situation is unprecedented – we’re trying to take some actions to curb the spread and timing of this pandemic,' said Stephen Morse, a disease researcher at Columbia University in New York . . . 'I don’t think we can maintain social distancing as it is right now for the duration of the epidemic,' said Michael Levy, a University of Pennsylvania disease researcher.   Christina Larson & Michelle Smith, Drudge Report 3/19

"Well, like most animal-to-human viruses, this one did originate in China and then spread across the globe when Chinese tourists infected people in other countries."  Ann Coulter, 3/19

"So, what else can you do? What can you control? You can wash your hands. If you feel sick staying at home, and if you are diagnosed with COVID-19, whoever else lives with you should stay home as well."  Jackie Cushman, Townhall 3/19

"If nothing else is working and if politicians are incapable of guaranteeing our safety, why do so many of us continue to look to Washington for help? Leaders can do some things, but can they do what is most needed?

"Last question. When the virus is no longer a threat, will you return to your old ways? Will you again focus on money, things, status and work, or has this virus taught you a lesson, a lesson about what matters most for you, your family and the nation?"  Cal Thomas, Townhall, 3/19

POLITICAL POTPOURRI

"And even if you like Joe Biden, you have to wonder if Sanders has done a disservice to the eventual nominee. Part of the reason to hold a primary is to see whether the candidates can withstand tough scrutiny, whether they can answer the expected charges made against them. Sanders never did this for Clinton, and he hasn’t done it for Biden. He is like the sparring partner who fails to test the prizefighter’s weaknesses in the training camp before the big match. Donald Trump will not hold back on potential ethical issues. Because Bernie Sanders never did what was required to win, Democrats now go into a consequential general election not knowing if Joe Biden has a glass jaw."  Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review Online 3/19

"I find it ironic that the people most critical of President Trump for being "vulgar," "rude" and self-absorbed display those characteristics themselves as they wallow in their paralyzing hatred, unable to do their jobs because of their toxic obsession over President Trump. While some of these media critics are hellbent on disgracing Trump for neglecting the people's interests, they are disgracing themselves as they wail on Trump and themselves neglect the people's interests. Sadly, they are too bitter to see their hypocrisy. Happily, the American public is not."  David Limbaugh, Townhall 3/20

It's worth remembering that the media's coverage of infectious diseases resembles their coverage of every other potentially controversial topic. Verifiable facts are often secondary, and political spin dominates. Liberal media outlets find it boring to merely organize and recite facts. It's in their nature to nurture and protect the people they locate on "the right side of history."  Tim Graham, Townhall 3/20