Politics

         If you are feeling normal- whatever that is today - you must be avoiding politics.  Poly means many. Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals .  So politics must be the practice of many blood sucking parasites feeding on us and our resources. Does that sound familiar?

          For nearly eight years our governor has vetoed every conservative bill the state legislature has approved.  He has a record number of vetoes during his terms.  But then the legislature approved a possible constitutional amendment to allow the public to vote and have their say on abortion issues.  But the governor again decided to sue to stop their effort.  And he knows he will win because the majority of the state supreme judges are democrats. Good old politics.

          And then we have a president who solves problems like gasoline shortages by raiding the national reserves.  So, what do we do if we ever have an actual national emergency and need these supplies for what they were originally saved for?  And then he is giving away our stored military supplies which hopefully we will never need. Are there any plans to replace all these reserves or is it an easy way to influence voters?

          And then he adds to the national debt by canceling student debts.  I faithfully worked for ten years to pay off my college debt.  It was a sacrifice, but I did it.  Now I must help pay for thousands of others who can't work to pay off their debts.  They made bad choices. But the democrats are looking for support from voters before a crucial election.  Why not just buy the voters and that is what they are actually doing … with our money.

           Then there is the political candidate who is accusing his opponent of trying to buy a spot in the senate despite living in another state.  But he himself is trying to buy a place in the senate by pouring millions – most from democrats throughout the country – to buy his position. Ads are excessive and disgusting…  in my opinion.  Money and politicians – a terrible combination.

          Then there is the "investigation" run by the democrats for as long as the Ukraine War has lasted.  Now Trump might indeed be guilty but the witnesses and the "jury" are handpicked with those who are out to get him. The "evidence" is being televised and no challenges are allowed of any of the "proof" which they share.  No alternate views are allowed.  No cross examination is done. And if nothing else is done, they will string it out until after the November elections.  Not much difference than the trial in Russia of the basketball star who brought drugs into the country – slanted and biased. In America?  Yes, in America.

          Now whatever happened to the investigation of the Supreme Court leak concerning the abortion ruling? Somebody is going to get away with this serious violation.  I am guessing the investigation hasn't happened since it was probably done by someone who wanted to take the public's view off the bad economy before the elections.  What a way to influence and change impressions before the elections.  Politics at its worst.

            Then one political party takes on the past president for his stirring up protests – bad ones at that – for challenging the results of an election.  Meanwhile the current president stirs up protests over a Supreme Court decision which didn't go his way.  And protests resulted and even some members of Congress were arrested. But that is politics today.

               The crazy efforts can be found everywhere.  While I am writing this I am watching a newscast that is sharing that Los Angeles will be voting on a law that could require all motel and hotel owners to open to the homeless any rooms that are vacant by 2 pm.  So, would you want to visit LA and stay in a hotel with a hall full of homeless? Politics is certainly changing our country, and not for the good.

           Now I could go on and on with examples, but it would serve no purpose but to be more negative.  I never thought that democracy could be in danger.  But democracy depends upon honest people who can work with each other for positive results. That no longer exists. And, of course, it works when Biblical values are recognized and accepted.  And that is no longer the case.

          So, is there any hope? Without a revival, probably not.  Biblical prophecy warns us of a difficult future.  I would fear for my grandchildren and now my great grandson.  But, the Lord is coming back … hopefully soon.  That is the hope of all believers.

          As I often say, "Keep looking up!"

Land of Plenty?

          America – the land of plenty.  Is this still true?  Will it be true in the future?

          The pandemic has made a hit on our "plenty" that nobody could have predicted.  We are all struggling with shortages of many needs, inflated costs and problems caused by shortages of employees.

          Changes in weather are creating serious problems – floods and fires have been devastating and incredibly expensive. And many major parts of our country are experiencing serious droughts which are curtailing crops bringing on more shortages of food and water.

           We've all read of the shortages of baby formula.  What stress for parents of small children.  What does one do when formula is not available?.

          But one of the most serious shortages is the shortage of school teachers. Many teachers are leaving their profession.  Years ago such departures were usually the case of inadequate salaries.  Now salaries have increased but other pressures are more serious and are causing burn-out.  Discipline can be very difficult.  Pressures from the public detract from the ability to teach.  Social causes, required  gender-neutral pronouns, gender recognition, school shootings and political pressures add new stresses.

          So, what can schools do?  They can hire and use uncertified teachers – anybody can teach.  You require teachers to have larger classes, or they can be required to cover other classes, they can be forced to design internet lessons that can take extensive time and training to be done well.  None of these are great alternatives – in fact they are terrible strategies.

          I completed 39 years in the classroom and I enjoyed each year.  I miss my students and I miss the art of teaching.  But would I go back again, even if I was much younger and they offered me twice what I earned 20 years ago?  No way.

          Now this is a serious shortage which could affect America in so many years.  Dumb down and dilute the educational system and serious problems will result.

          But there is another major shortage – The shortage of doctors and medical staff.

          When the pandemic began, we were stunned to get a notice from our dentist that after many decades he was closing his practice.  He was a friend who had very fairly taken care of us since his practice opened.  I think he was concerned about his health and that of his clients with covid.  We miss him.

          Since our former family medical practice was bought out by Penn State Medical, seven of our former doctors have retired or gone into practice elsewhere.  Three of these were my wife's favorite female doctors.  This large practice has not been able to replace any of their female family doctors.  They claim they have not been able to hire any.  What does that tell you about the medical field?

          Several months ago both my wife and I needed physical therapy.  About 25 years ago we began to go to a therapist who was known by many doctors as being the best in the area.  And he was.  He especially helped me survive several knee, back and neck surgeries.  But we were stunned to know that he had sold his business and was not taking clients anymore.  This was another major disappointment.

          Then this week my wife's cardiac doctor hinted that he might soon be retiring.   Her surgeon who did her pacemaker also suddenly retired during the pandemic.   And her favorite gastro doctor for over 30 years has now limited his schedule and is hinting of retirement.

          And, of course, a few weeks ago when I needed to schedule a CT scan and an unlrasound for my wife it took almost four weeks to get one scheduled.  The reason given?  They said staff shortages.

          So, what does the future hold for this land of plenty?  Who knows, but I can't think it will ever get any better.  

          Land of plenty?  Maybe America is just getting what it deserves after many years of turning its back on God and His teaching.

Stretch Time

Did you learn anything new today?  We need to exercise our brain regularly and stretch it by learning new things regularly.  Well, here is a list of trivia facts, some important and most not too important. Enjoy!   ·       A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.   ·       A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.   ·        A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.   ·        A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.   ·        A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.   ·       A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.   ·        A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.   ·        A snail can sleep for three years.   ·       Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.   ·      All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.   ·      Almonds are a member of the peach family.   ·       An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.   ·      Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.   ·      Butterflies taste with their feet.   ·      Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.   ·      "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "MT".   ·      February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.   ·      In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.   ·      If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.   ·      If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.   ·      It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.   ·      Leonardo Da Vinci invented scissors.   ·      Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.   ·      No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.   ·      Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.   ·      Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.   ·      Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.   ·      "Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right.   ·      The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.   ·      The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.   ·      The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.   ·      The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.   ·      The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.   ·      The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).   ·      There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.   ·      There are more chickens than people in the world.   ·      There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous   ·      There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."   ·      There's no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewables Vitamins.   ·      Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.   ·      TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.   ·      Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.   ·      Women blink nearly twice as much as men.   There, that's enough brain stretching for this week.

 

 

A Shocking Solution (LB)

LOOKING BACK - a feature where I share a blog that I previously shared.  This was shared in 2012.

          For more than a year residents around us have been worried about a string of robberies in our neighborhood.  

          Within a mile or so of our house, over 20 homes have been broken into and money and jewelry have been taken.  The robberies have happened at all hours of the day.  Some have happened while folks were outside of their homes working in their yards.  Some have happened while they were sleeping.  Most happened when they had gone away for a few hours or a few days.  

          Several times the robber was almost caught, but he had always gotten away.  Many of our neighbors purchased security systems.  Some added new locks.  We generally left lights on as well as the television or stereo when we were gone.  

          And then one night the robber made a mistake.  Somebody heard glass breaking and they called the police.   The police found the robber but he again escaped when he told them that there were others in the house.  Fortunately the police had noticed a car parked in the area and apparently had recorded the license number.  And shortly they were able to find the address and take the robber prisoner at his home.  

          But that wasn't the end of the story.  His home is only about two blocks from ours.  He wasn't an unknown college kid or a teen druggie as many had suspected.  He was a 49 year old resident who was well known by most of the community.  In fact he was a former student of mine and he graduated and played athletics with one of my sons.  He had been a soccer coach at two area high schools and had won Coach of the Year four times.  

          People knew him as a friendly man who would often carry his three-legged Chihuahua, Buddy, and talk to the neighbors as they passed.  He lived with his mother.  Neighbors had confided in him their fears and asked him to watch their homes when they were aware.  People are shocked and that is putting it mildly.  

          Police took two truckloads of loot out of his home after finding thousands of items in his basement, bedroom and attic.  These included jewelry, coins, guns and sports memorabilia.  He had sterling silver pieces that had people's initials engraved on them.  He robbed so many houses that he does not remember specifically which ones he robbed.  

          Now the police did find some heroin and marijuana in his home but  they believe that this was just part of the problem.  He told the police that he was getting a thrill out of it.  He was surprised at how easy it was to get into these homes.   Like all of our neighbors, we are relived that the thief has finally been caught.  But we are shocked that it was somebody we knew. I guess we never know what is really in a person's heart. 

           I am reminded again that the scripture tells us that the heart is desperately wicked and who can know it.  The answer is that God is the one who knows our heart and our thoughts and our actions.  And we should not be deceived for God is not mocked and whatever a man sows that is what he will reap.  

          My hope is that somehow Laz will hear and accept the Gospel while he spends his future days in prison.