Bubble Wrap + School Re-openings + Never-Republicans + Masks + NBA

Theological Thursday

POPULAR SCHOLARSHIP

C.S. Lewis once wrote about the value of Christian involvement in popular scholarship. When understood broadly, Lewis’s words are instructive for Christian engagement in the arts or in any other discipline. Flannery O'Connor, like C.S. Lewis, believed that any Christian who can make good art or write good stories or teach mathematics well will do much more by that than by setting out to make Christian art or to write Christian stories. What we need isn't more books about Christianity, but more artists and writers and scientists and mathematicians who with excellence approach their work in any and every subject—with their Christianity latent. Perhaps building such subtle cathedrals on the landscape of culture is indeed more winsome than making ruins.  Margaret Manning, Slice of Infinity

CHRISTIAN WORK

"Much of what is called Christian work is veneered spiritual disease; it is Christian activity that counts--dominating life from God, & every moment is filled with an energy that is not our own, a super-abounding life that nothing can stand before." Oswald Chambers, Men' Devotional Bible

Michael Jordan + Road Trips + Cigarette Smoking + Wine + More

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

We're watching Without a Trace on Roku. I just finished watching The Last Dance on Netflix. As one who idolized Larry Bird it pains me to say, Michael Jordan was the greatest.

ROAD TRIPS

This weekend is our family reunion in Omaha. Our kids & grandkids will be joining us, except for our son-in-law-Craig who is in Texas for Nebraska Air National Guard officers' training.

Next week we'll be visiting David (Lois' brother) & Carmen (his wife & my first cousin) at their vacation chalet on Little Island Lake, close to Nevis & Park Rapids, MN.

TRENDING

• "Americans aren't making babies" Drudge Report
• "Cigarette smoking makes comeback during pandemic"  Ditto

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Reader's Digest, July/Aug 2020

"A couple is sitting in the living room sipping wine. Out of the blue, the wife says, 'I love you.' "Is that you or the wine talking?' asks the husband. 'It's me,' says the wife. 'Talking to the wine.'"

DEMOCRATS

In Portland, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Atlanta and elsewhere, children are not merely being blocked from the schoolhouse door — they’re being killed. They’re being maimed. Citizens are having their property looted and their public spaces destroyed, all with the connivance of local Democratic officials.  Ann Coulter, Drudge Report

Abortion + Neo-Jacobins + Cal Thomas + More

ABORTION & ELECTION 2020

"Presidential hopeful Joe Biden, who argues that his near-50 years in public life uniquely qualifies him to be president, has done more “evolving” than perhaps any candidate in modern history. And no issue better exemplifies his lack of moral conviction than his about-face on abortion. This week, NARAL, the powerful abortion trade association, endorsed Biden for the presidency . . . 

"Today: Biden has dropped all moderation, miraculously resolved all those deep struggleswith the Catholic faith, and aligned himself NARAL’s position — abortion on demand until crowning, paid for by the state.

"Thoughtful people change their minds all the time.  No thoughtful person changes his mind about everything exactly when it benefits him most."  David Harsanyi, NRO

NEO-JACOBINS

"But the neo-Jacobins among us are not satisfied with being “the change”; they are not reformers. They are destroyers, and proud ones at that. Any doubter need only reflect on the prevalence of the “defund the police” movement that grew in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. Or the less important, but equally symbolic, assaults on public monuments that are under attack in cities across the nation. For these people, the institutions of our democracy are a waste of time. The police cannot be reformed; they must be destroyed. Same for the “patriarchy,” naysayers, and anyone else deemed afoul of the mob."  Danielle Plettka, NRO

THE WIT & WISDOM OF CAL THOMAS

"Perhaps the media should ask people whose jobs have been disrupted, their businesses destroyed, their work suspended -- or ended -- if they are OK with allowing the rioting to continue. Pundits and activists can pontificate all they want from the safety of their basements and the security of uninterrupted paychecks, but what about the victims? Have they no right to be safe and secure? . . . 

"That sounds clear to me, and it should be clear to everyone else, that there are forces that wish to destroy not only the presidency of Donald Trump and prevent his re-election, but who hate the country. These protesters, who appear to be mostly spoiled, mostly white, and mostly young, have likely been radicalized in their universities and on social media. They are destroyers, not builders. Elected leaders who refuse to stop them are as guilty of abetting a crime as the driver of the getaway car after a bank robbery."  Cal Thomas, Townhall

NEIGHBORLINESS

"There’s an art to neighborliness. It is simultaneously libertarian and communitarian. If we would be good citizens, we should first be good neighbors."  Kevin Williamson, National Review Online

GUNS

"With the possible exception of religion, there is no issue in American political life that is as poorly covered as guns. At RealClearPolitics, John Lott reports that legacy media outlets often quite literally allow anti–Second Amendment activists to write their news stories on gun policy. Politico hasn’t quite done that today, but . . . well, I’m not sure having reporters dutifully repackaging Everytown USA press releases is any better."  David Harsanyi, NRO

Sunday Meditation

JESUS' MINISTRY

"In the early days of Jesus’s ministry, he walked around calling the Twelve to follow him. This rabbi was asking some odd characters to surround him. One such person, Nathanael, in the span of what may have been mere minutes went from trashing Jesus because of his hometown to calling him the Son of God and King of Israel. But even these lofty phrases did not fully encapsulate what Nathanael and the others were witnessing. Jesus invokes a divine title from Daniel 7:13 and Jacob’s ladder when he lifts up the veil and says, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”(5) Derek Caldwell, Slice of Infinity

FAILING

"How significant, then, are Christ’s words to his despairing disciples, and to those of us who have ever felt the sting of regret. To those who had fallen asleep, Jesus returned and said, “Rise, let us be going” (Matthew 26:46). To Peter who had denied him three times, Jesus took him aside and said, “Feed my lambs” (John 21:17). To his once scattered disciples, Jesus offered two commands, neither asking them to sit in a corner and think about what they’d done, nor asking them to carry their sense of guilt for a time before thoroughly moving on. He simply said, “Go” and asked for their obedience.

"For the disciples in Gethsemane, it was a day of failings. For God, it was the fullness of time, the moment in history when the floodgates of heaven were opened, and failed days, missed moments, and broken lives were forever offered a hope that does not let us down. There are days that we can never get back, words we can’t erase, opportunities missed, and times when we have certainly failed. Yet in Christ, all is never lost. But somehow all is gained. In him alone we are accepted, transformed by his death, changed by his life. In him alone we are adopted, received as children of God, and loved as heirs of the promise. Do not despair. Go and follow."  Jill Carattini 

SHAME

"Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that shame “is overcome only [...] through the restoration of a fellowship with God and men. [...] In shame man is reminded of his disunion with God and with other men.”(5) Peter and Paul—each using a version for the word for peace—both thought enough of the topic as to exhort different church bodies regarding it. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”(6) For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days [...] let him seek peace and pursue it.”(7) The Biblical mandate is clear, and we are without excuse when it comes to extending the olive branch, no matter how hard."  Lowe Finney, Slice of Infinity

REST

"If Jesus thought it necessary for Him & His disciples to rest from time to time, who are we to think we can get by without it?"  Archibald Hart, Men's Devotional Bible

Warning: Political Content!

TRENDING *

* Drudge Report, 7/25

• "STUDY:  USA ranked among worst countries to raise family"
• "Companies start to think remote work isn't so great after all"

TWEETING

"I love Trump’s tweeting, from his eccentric grammar to his wacky capitalization, from his occasional hilarious typos to his caustic venom when he’s in full effect mode. I love how he uses his tweets to seize and set the narrative, and I love watching the debate suddenly become not, say, if gropey Grandpa Badfinger is senile but just how demented he is. And if Trump didn’t tweet, we wouldn’t have “covfefe,” and western civilization would be less grand for it."  Kurt Schlichter, Townhall, 7/23

DEMOCRATS

"Laws against rioting, looting, and assault exist for a reason – because the people, through their representatives in government, have decided those actions are unacceptable and should be punished. Now, the people whose job it is to follow through on those laws, to enforce them and punish the guilty, are choosing not to.

"There has been no change in the law, rioting isn’t suddenly legal, but you’d never know it by the blanket dismissals of charges against those arrested. This isn’t discretion, it’s abuse.

"A similar abuse of power is taking place in Democratic cities as mayors order police to stand down in the face of riots. Commanding police officers to take a physical pummeling and suffer injuries because the mob is viewed by elected Democrats as an asset is unacceptable; it’s an abuse of power. Yet this has happened from coast to coast.

"If the law doesn’t apply to everyone, if some people are above it, there really is no law. We will have transformed from a free people to a people living at the whims of local dictators. Run afoul of the politics of those in power and face their wrath. Think wrongly on a sliding, situational scale and you might find yourself with the entire power of the state coming after you."  Derek Hunter, Townhall, 7/23

RACISM

"The notion that America is systemically racist bodes ill for the future. It's also a dramatic lie. American history is replete with racism; racism was indeed the root of systems ranging from slavery to Jim Crow. But the story of America is the story of the cashing of Martin Luther King Jr.'s promissory note: fulfilling the pledge of the Declaration of Independence to treat all men equally and to grant them the protection of their unalienable natural rights. America has worked to extirpate the nearly universal sin of bigotry in pursuit of the fulfillment of the declaration. The story of America is 1776, not 1619; it's Abraham Lincoln, not John C. Calhoun; it's Martin Luther King Jr., not Robin DiAngelo."  Ben Shapiro, Townhall, 7/23

ALL LIVES MATTER

"All told, more than 20 million black children have been aborted since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973 -- more than the entire number of people brought from Africa during 350 years of the Atlantic slave trade.

"Why do these numbers not engender the same outrage as the deaths of George Floyd or Trayvon Martin? One answer is so unpleasant and painful that we rarely hear it explicitly stated: It's because those responsible want those lives extinguished. Indeed, that is the rallying cry of so many feminists who say, "Shout your abortion," "Abortion is health care" and "Free abortion on demand and without apology."

"In other words, those lives don't matter because someone wants them gone . . . 

"We will never achieve a truly compassionate and egalitarian society unless we abandon the selfishness that got us here. Abortion is proof. In a society where unborn lives do not matter, no lives matter."  Laura Hollis, Townhall, 7/23

GUNS

"In March, while the COVID-19 virus was beginning to overtake us, Biden said this about Beto O'Rourke after O'Rourke dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Biden: "You're going to take care of the gun problem with me. You're going to be the one who leads this effort. I'm counting on you. I'm counting on you." He then added, "We need you badly, the state needs you, the country needs you. You're the best."  Cal Thomas, Townhall, 7/23

PLANNED PARENTHOOD

"Planned Parenthood is condemning its founder, Margaret Sanger, for her “eugenic ideology” and “racist legacy.” But if the nation’s largest abortion provider really wants to erase her legacy, it will also have to erase itself. 

"On July 21, Planned Parenthood’s largest affiliate, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY), announced the removal of Sanger’s name from its Manhattan Health Center. The name change, supported by the national organization, came “as a public commitment to reckon with its founder’s harmful connections to the eugenics movement.” But to fight against the notion that some lives are more worthy or valuable than others, Planned Parenthood should do something else too: halt its abortion procedures . . . 

"Today, as the largest U.S. abortion provider, Planned Parenthood still encourages the destruction of the unwanted human person. And while Margaret Sanger opposed abortion, others have used her to promote it. As Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in Box v. Planned Parenthood last year, “Although Sanger was undoubtedly correct in recognizing a moral difference between birth control and abortion, the eugenic arguments that she made in support of birth control apply with even greater force to abortion.”

"That’s because abortion targets the unwanted unborn, from little girls to those diagnosed with Down syndrome. It also destroys the unborn within African-American communities."  Katie Yoder, Townhall, 7/24

BASEBALL

"It is the abnormality of this season that makes it worth opining on. Baseball arrives at the very moment when America most needs a pick-me-up. A resurgent pandemic, economic depression, lawlessness in Portland and Chicago, widespread school closures, a bitter election, and increased tensions with China contribute to the sense that things are out of control. What a relief to spend a few hours each day in blissful ignorance of world events, consumed instead by a perfectly delivered change-up, a risky late-innings pitching change, or a walk-off home run. With the days of Tiger King and The Last Dance long past, and the release of summer blockbusters such as Tenet and Black Widow delayed until the future, only sports can leaven our national life with entertainment and novelty."  Matthew Continetti, NRO, 7/25

NBA

"As Vice President Mike Pence recently said, “Some of the NBA’s biggest players and owners, who routinely exercise their freedom to criticize this country, lose their voices when it comes to the freedom and rights of other peoples. In siding with the Chinese Communist Party and silencing free speech, the NBA is acting like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the authoritarian regime.”  Susan Brown, Townhall, 7/25

ELECTION 2020

"Biden is obviously cognitively impaired, he's morphed into a Bernie Sanders lefty and he's been making wrong decisions about race and foreign policy for half a century in Washington."  Michael Reagan, Townhall, 7/25

KNEELING

"The only baseball player who refused to kneel during a moment honoring Black Lives Matter in Dodger Stadium on Thursday claimed he did so because of his Christian faith. Sam Coonrod, a 27-year-old reliever for the San Francisco Giants, explained his act by saying he only kneels before God, according to TMZ Sports.

"Coonrod also said that his faith kept him from endorsing the Black Lives Matter movement because of its Marxist political platform. “I just can’t get on board with a couple things I’ve read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean towards Marxism. And … they said some negative things about the nuclear family. I just can’t get on board with that.”  Drudge Report, 7/25

Lucifer + Robots + More

TRENDING

• Kids' mobile screen time up 500% during pandemic . . . Excessive use linked to stunted development" Drudge Report, 7/22
• "People who never took test--being told they're covid positive" Ditto
• "Maine man saws neighbor's garage in half amid boundary dispute" Ditto
• "Couple wins battle to name son Lucifer" Drudge, 7/23
• "Mother says she got pregnant at 19 without EVER having sex"  Drudge, 7/24

HEALTH NEWS *

* Drudge Report, 7/23

• Eating chocolate 'wards off heart disease'" 
• "Diets rich in beans, lentils, nuts linked to lower risk of early death"

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Reader's Digest, July/Aug 2020

"A new prisoner is in his cell when a voice from across the cellblock cries out, 'Twenty-two!' Suddenly, all the prisoner crack up. Another voice calls out, 'Forty-one!' sending the prisoners into greater peals of laughter. 'What's going on?' the newbie asks his cellmate. 'We've been in prison so long, we've memorized each other's jokes. So rather than retell the same jokes, we've assigned them numbers. The new prisoner decides to give it a shot & shouts out for all to hear, 'Eighteen!' There's no response, not even a snicker. 'What happened?' he asks. His cellmate shrugs. 'You didn't tell it well.'"

AMERICA

"Government and debt have grown. Social activism is already institutionalized in hundreds of newer federal programs. The Great Society inaugurated a multi-trillion-dollar investment in the welfare state. Divorce rates soared. The nuclear family waned. Immigration, both legal and illegal, skyrocketed.

"Thus, America is far less resilient, and a far more divided, indebted, and vulnerable target than it was in 1965."  Victor Davis Hanson, National Review Online, 7/23

ELECTION 2020

"Trump has occasionally referred to the former vice president as “Sleepy Joe.” But that may ultimately be to Biden’s benefit. While Trump embarks on tweet tirades and engages in puzzling interviews, Biden has remained relatively quiet. Many Americans don’t even know his stance on coronavirus. Biden has presented himself as a studiously moderate figure, a run-of-the-mill Democratic persona, promising both change and normality amid today’s chaos. And while many see the looming November election as a referendum on Trump, it is also a test of image — and Biden’s “sleepy” performance may be just what he needs to clear 270."  Carrine Hajjar, NRO, 7/23

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"Robots that can cook--from flipping burgers to baking bread--are in growing demand as virus-wary kitchens try to put some distance between workers & customers. Starting this fall, the White Castle burger chain will test a robot arm that an cook french friends & other foods. The robot, dubbed Flippy, is made by Pasadena, California-based Miso Robotics."  Omaha World Herald, 7/23  When we lived in Chicago, White Castle was our go-to if we had an attack of munchies late at night.

Theological Thursday

GOD REVEALS HIMSELF

"But God does not reveal His plan, He reveals Himself. He comes to us as warmth when we are cold, fellowship when we are alone, strength when we are weak, peace when we are troubled, courage when we are afraid, songs when we are sad, & bread when we are hungry."  Bob Benson, Men's Devotional Bible

JESUS HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD

"Hours before he was arrested, Jesus spoke to his disciples about the time ahead of them, days they would face without his physical presence. "In a little while," he said, "you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me." Reasonably, at his words the disciples were confused. "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying." They grumbled in anxious fear. Jesus answered with something more than reassurance. To borrow a phrase from Madeleine L'Engle, it was a truth they could "hang their hat on." To their confusion and uncertainty, perhaps also to their fears of the worst and visions of the best, Jesus responded: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." It was the last conversation he had with them before going to the cross."  Jill Carattini, Slice of Infinity

THE FOUNDATION OF OUR FAITH

"The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith. It proves that Jesus is the Son of God. It proves that His message is true. Jesus 'was delivered up for our trespasses & raised for our justification,' as St. Paul put it (Rom. 4:25). I believe it because I recognize that I am a sinner, & I hear in the Gospels & the rest of the Bible the voice of my Savior. I take great comfort in realizing that His witnesses did exactly as He wished: 'This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, & who has written these things, & we know that his testimony is true' (John 21:24)."  Matthew Harrison, The Lutheran Witness, April 2020

Whatever Wednesday

TRENDING

• St. Louis couple who aimed guns at protestors charged with felony weapons count" Drudge Report, 7/21
• "Minneapolis police experience surge of departures" Ditto
• "China orders Christians to take down images of Jesus from homes" Ditto

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE . . . PORTLAND

"It would be one thing if municipal authorities in Portland could legitimately claim that they have things under control. They don’t. The mobs have been clashing with the local cops for months. This longstanding riot is a stark commentary on the misgovernance of Mayor Wheeler, who is better at insulting federal law enforcement than doing his job."  Rich Lowry, National Review Online, 7/21

FAKE NEWS

"Fake news will become more sophisticated, and fake, ambiguous, and spun-up stories will spread widely. Hoaxes will have higher production value. It is, for instance, getting easier and easier to create video of someone saying something he or she never said — a tool both for fake news and false denials . . . 

"A lot of news is like this now, especially on points of political contention or embarrassment relating to the coronavirus pandemic. News outlets have uncritically accepted stories that the early warnings not to wear masks, given by public-health officials, were a “noble lie” to preserve available masks for medical personnel during a shortage. Of course, this isn’t really believable, as those early warnings came buttressed by dubious, preexisting studies assuming improbable things about human nature. But journalists have participated in the retcon anyway.

"At the end of the day, that may be the most troubling thing of all: The journalists themselves don’t seem bothered by the obvious double-standards and shoddy practices that have infected their own work and the wider information environment. They look zealously for evidence of a COVID spike after a single Donald Trump re-election rally. They shrug as New York City’s contact tracers are instructed not to ask COVID-carriers whether they’ve attended the massive “largely peaceful” protests."  Michael Brendan Doughterty, NRO, 7/21

MASK WEARING'The CDC already recommends that everyone “should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public” — though the agency recommended the opposite when the outbreak began — as a way of mitigating the spread of the coronavirus. The media can’t stop talking about wearing masks. Lots of people do. Some people don’t. Businesses are free to force customers to wear them on their private property. As far as I can tell, most do. State governments are free to mandate mask wearing, or strongly suggest it, or not.

"Mask wearing has become just another stupid front in our partisan war. The fact is that whenever Donald Trump fails to engage the federal government in ways that Democrats demand, they claim he is negligent; and whenever he uses the federal government in ways they oppose, they rediscover the Tenth Amendment and accuse him of being a dictator. Trump could no more declare a no-mask mandate than Biden could force the entire country to wear masks. It’s all just political theater."  David Harsanyi, NRO, 7/21

THE GOP

"Bottom line: The pool of Democratic voters is growing inexorably while the largest pool of potential GOP voters is aging, stagnating, and shrinking.

"For the GOP, this is an existential crisis. If demography is destiny, and the party does not either increase its share of the white vote or attract millions more Black, Asian or Hispanic voters, then its national fate and future are sealed."  Patrick Buchanan, Townhall, 7/21

ELECTION 2020

"Several prominent Muslim American elected officials endorsed Joe Biden for president in a letter organized by Emgage Action ahead of an online summit that started MON & featured the presumptive Democratic nominee. Among those signing the letter . . . are MN Rep. Ilhan Omar, MN Attorney General Keith Ellison & IN Rep. Andre Carson, all Democrats."  Omaha World Herald, 7/21

Mental Health Monday

It's July 20, when I was a principal, I used to feel as if the summer was over on the 4th of July. Here's what I don't miss.

• Determining department budgets
• Determining financial aid amounts
• Preparing for mtgs
• Board mtgs

What I do miss.

• Working with students on their schedules
• Interacting with (most) students, (most) parents, & faculty & staff

I'm very happy writing for Orphan Grain Train.

TRENDING

• "Questions raised after fatal motorcycle crash listed as covid death" Drudge Report
• "Freeway project unearths a time when camels roamed San Diego"  Ditto

COLLEGE EDUCATION

"The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally restructured higher education for at least the next semester. Come fall, many college students are yet again facing a life off-campus, sitting in front of a screen. Despite the obvious differences between online and in-person education, colleges and universities are largely set on maintaining — if not raising — tuitions. This raises the question: Is an online education worth the same as one in person? It also raises a broader, more important question: What is the value of a college education?"  Corrine Hajjar, National Review Online

CORONAVIRUS

"We’re confronting some really bad news, and we’ve seen our leaders at multiple levels make some bad decisions. We get used to certain problems in life and usually have the choice to tune them out — natural disasters far away, crime in places we don’t live, scandals involving politicians representing somewhere else. The coronavirus is the first story in a long time that affects just about every person on the planet and can’t be tuned out or ignored. Glasgow, Mont., has a case of the coronavirus; that small town is arguably the most isolated in the United States, roughly four and a half hours away from any community with more than 75,000 people."  Jim Geraghty, NRO

Pronouns + Walmart + The Revolution + Re-opening Schools + More

TRENDING

• "Poor not worrying about pronoun usage" Drudge Report, 7/18
• "Walmart now requires all shoppers to wear pants" Babylon Bee

SUNSCREEN

"Sunscreen chemicals accumulate in body at high levels"  Drudge Report, 7/17

THE REVOLUTION

"The goals of the revolution have never changed. It has simply airbrushed its terrorist leaders into prominent public scholars and “activists” with a passion for “change” and “justice.” The revolution has lots of money, organization, control of the schools, support from one of the nation’s two major political parties, and the media megaphone. That is why the revolution is winning. The 1960s never ended, they just paved the way for today."  Andrew McCarthy, National Review Online, 7/18

CORONAVIRUS

In theory, more cases of infection do not necessarily mean more deaths, if the newly infected are young and healthy enough and treatment methods continue to improve. But realistically, those young and healthy infected patients will sooner or later interact with older and less healthy people and spread the virus to them, causing the death toll to creep back up. Doctors and medical experts have been warning about this for weeks, and the daily data are now proving them right.  Jim Geraghty, National Review Online, 7/17

"For many Americans, the most painful consequence of the coronavirus lockdowns is the closing of church services. The grace and peace of Sunday makes it easier to make it through the week. But our media and political elites are indifferent to that pain, or openly hostile . . . 

"In short, our media elites don't care when religious believers of all colors and creeds are demoted to second-class citizens in a dizzying display of "affirmative discrimination." Go complain about it to your God, they might say. This is a call to action, even that mysterious action called prayer."  Tim Graham, Townhall, 7/17

RE-OPENING SCHOOLS

"Despite evidence from Germany and elsewhere in Europe that children are virtually immune to COVID-19 and rarely if ever spread the virus to adults, some teachers and administrators say they want to skip school this fall because they're worried about the health of "their" kids . . .

"Besides showing how little some teachers actually care about their students, the debate over reopening schools has proved what hypocrites and fakes liberal Democrats are. They tell us over and over they care deeply about the poor, the working class and Black and brown people - their party's core votership.

"Well, whose children do they think are going to be hurt by keeping the public schools closed?"  Michael Reagan, Townhall, 7/18

FEAR

"To conquer fear, it is ideal that one should train one’s body in such a way as to accustom it to sustaining some measure of trauma: weightlifting, martial arts—these activities impact your body like few others and which people can continue to partake into old age. 

"Given present circumstances in society, more conservative Americans are beginning to learn, or relearn, that “personal responsibility” entails the obligation to assume responsibility for their own defense; a look at a combat art may not be a bad idea."  Jack Kerwick, Townhall, 7/18

ELECTION 2020

"Newsflash: The overwhelming majority of Trump supporters doesn't give a rip about his so-called presidentiality. They don't care about the proverbial crease in his pants, or many other characteristics the pseudo-sophisticated beltway elite cherish. They don't want someone like Mitt Romney, who let Barack Obama walk all over him in a presidential debate instead of fighting for what he purported to believe in.

"Trump supporters don't want Trump to moderate his positions in the hopes that the committed radicals will morph into moderates and the crisis will pass. It won't, because leftist agitators won't let it. Trump supporters realize we're in a war for the survival of the country -- a war we didn't start and one we'll lose if we don't fight back with every fiber of our being. We want him to counter the violent, revolutionary left at every turn."  David Limbaugh, Townhall, 7/17

"The Biden team certainly isn’t going to rewrite any campaign playbooks or dazzle anyone with its brilliance, but it has avoided serious mistakes and demonstrated an understanding of the basic political terrain and its candidate’s strengths. It hasn’t asked Biden to do anything out of his comfort zone or beyond his capabilities and has been content for President Donald Trump to dominate all the attention, so long as Trump is not advancing his cause, and often setting it back, with all the airtime and headlines . . . 

"Still, nothing is decided in July. Events took a hand earlier this year in turning a political tail wind for Trump into a stiff head wind. Something unforeseeable could change the dynamic yet again, and better economic conditions could improve the overall atmosphere. Biden’s record and agenda give Trump targets to shoot at, and he should obviously take every opportunity to make the election, to the extent he can, about the radicalism of the Democratic Party.

"Finally, there’s the fact that Biden is an unsteady performer at best. The strictures around COVID-19 have relieved him of the rigors of the typical presidential campaign, but he’s going to have to emerge to participate in a debate or debates in the fall, and no one can rule out some catastrophic failure.

46

So, Trump can’t be counted out. But the Biden campaign is canny enough that it isn’t going to make it easy for him.  Rich Lowry, National Review Online, 7/17

Cows + NFL + Pedophiles + Civil War + More

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Reader's Digest, July/Aug 2020
"A man was driving on the highway when all of a sudden he had to swerve to avoid a box falling off the truck that was in front of him. Seconds later, a police officer pulled him over for reckless driving. As the officer was writing the ticket the driver noticed the box he'd avoided had been full of nails & tacks. "I have to swerve or I'd have run over those & blown my tires!" he protested. "OK," replied the officer, ripping up the ticket, but I'm still bringing you in." "What for?" "Tacks evasion."

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"Burger King is staging an intervention with its cows. The chain has rebalanced the diet of some of the cows by adding lemon grass in a bid to limit bovines' contributions to climate change. By tweaking their diet, Burger King said Tuesday that it believes it can reduce a cow's daily methane emissions by about 33%. On Tuesday, Burger King introduced its Reduced Methane Emissions Beef Whopper, made with beef sourced from cows that emit reduced methane . . . "  Norfolk Daily News, 7/14

NFL

"Kaepernick’s rejection of “The Star-Spangled Banner” eventually spread throughout the NFL. Even though he was a backup quarterback, Kaepernick became a #Resistance idol. Soon he was a corporate ad man, pitching Nike sneakers.

"Then game attendance fell. So did television viewership. Apparently, lots of fans had no desire to spend their Sundays watching 20-something multimillionaires lecture them that the American flag was not worth honoring."  Victor Davis Hanson, National Review Online, 7/16

ELECTION 2020

Joe Biden served in the Senate from 1973 to 2009 and then spent eight years as vice president. Only a small handful of Americans have had more influence over the way the federal government operates over the past 45 years than Joe Biden. The Democratic nominee cannot realistically be painted as an outsider, a reformer, an agent of change, or a breath of fresh air. Biden is the living, breathing embodiment of the Washington status quo, right up to January 20, 2017. I’m not sure Biden campaign staffers are high-fiving each other upon learning that a disgraced former senator [Al Franken] is stepping forward to argue that only Biden can save Americans from a federal government rife with corruption.  Jim Geraghty, NRO, 7/16

CORONAVIRUS & PEDOPHILES

"There is an underreported impact from keeping kids away from schools, as scores of local districts mull whether to re-open in the fall. Coronavirus is on the mind of everyone, especially parents with children. Will it be sources of super spread? Is it safe? With parents, the one percent doctrine applies to anything regarding their kids’ safety, especially with a pandemic going on. The good news is that it seems that kids don’t get it and don’t spread it. The number of cases regarding children getting this virus is very low. They’re now two percent of all cases in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal editorial board took a blowtorch to the panic porn being peddled by the liberal media over this subject. Just two kids have died from COVID in Chicago. Statistically speaking - and they mentioned this - a child is more likely to be shot and killed than die of this virus. And sadly, that projection has already come true as crime has spiked in major cities . . . 

"Ballard told Townhall, “the COVID-19 science is on the side of the kids. They are safe in school. The only dangerous thing for kids at this point is to keep them locked up and at home and thus vulnerable to pedophiles online. Millions of pedophiles want schools to remain in lockdown. Think about that.”  Matt Vespa, Townhall, 7/16

THE ABORTION INDUSTRY

"Five years ago the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released undercover videos that revealed evidence of criminal activity by America’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood. The tapes showed senior Planned Parenthood officials talking about selling aborted babies’ body parts for profit and how Planned Parenthood manipulated its abortion techniques to procure fresh, intact organs from children killed in late-term abortions . . . 

"When the videos were first released, then-candidate Donald Trump's promised to fight for the unborn and end similar abuses, which helped propel him to the White House. He has kept his word. From the day he assumed office, President Trump has worked to protect unborn children and their mothers and stood up to the abortion industry. The Trump administration reinforced Title X funding guidelines to prevent taxpayer money from being funneled to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood. President Trump also reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, ensuring that American taxpayer dollars aren't used to promote abortions overseas as part of America's global health policy. His administration canceled a research contract that included the use of aborted baby parts. And if we re-elect President Trump, we will have the chance to achieve more and greater victories . . . 

"If pro-abortion Joe Biden wins in November, on the other hand, we can expect a massive setback in terms of pro-life policy. The abortion lobby backs candidates who will rubber-stamp their agenda and turn a blind eye to their wrongdoing, which explains why Planned Parenthood is investing $45 million to elect Biden and other extremist Democrats  – but a president who believes in a person's inherent dignity and worth at every stage of human development is the only kind of president that belongs in the Oval Office."  Marjorie Dannenfelser, Townhall, 7/16

RE-OPENING SCHOOLS

"Back to the pandemic. We are currently debating whether to reopen schools, and the press is reporting the number of cases and deaths every day but telling us little about who is catching the disease, who is dying from it and why. In April, the Science Museum Group Science Director Roger Highfield interviewed Kari Stefansson, the CEO of deCODE genetics, which is based in Reykjavik, Iceland. Stefansson studied the causes of COVID-19's spread in Iceland. The interview was posted on the Science Museum Group website on April 27.

"Children under 10 are less likely to get infected than adults and if they get infected, they are less likely to get seriously ill," said Stefansson. "What is interesting is that, even if children do get infected, they are less likely to transmit the disease to others than adults. We have not found a single instance of a child infecting parents."  Jackie Gingrich Cushman, Townhall, 7/16

CIVIL WAR

"Since President Trump was sworn into office, America’s current insurrection by the progressives has been slightly more measured than our last civil war. Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November 6, 1860; it took three months before the Confederate States of America was formed. Two months later the Battle of Fort Sumter became the first battle of the American Civil War. Our new civil war, while taking longer to develop, is equally acrimonious and contested and is once again led by Democrats in a minority of states against a Republican president and all conservatives."  Lloyd Pettegrew, Townhall, 7/16

THE WIT & WISDOM OF CALL THOMAS

"Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), an eye doctor who contracted COVID-19 in March and recovered after self-quarantining, recently said at a Senate hearing: "It is a fatal conceit to believe any one person or small group of people has the knowledge necessary to direct an economy or dictate public health behavior. I think government health experts during this pandemic need to show caution in their prognostications. It's important to realize that if society meekly submits to an expert, and that expert is wrong, a great deal of harm may occur ... when we allow one man's policy or one group of small men or women to be foisted on an entire nation."  Cal Thomas, Townhall, 7/16