Vote for Joe

I was just interviewing a history professor at Ohio Northern University. He teaches a class on Public History and said that, more and more, contemporary America is developing a marked protest climate. He said, for an amalgam of reasons, that more and more people are speaking their mind demonstrably. He said that in class, one of the examples he uses, is that of the Enola Gay. That is, to mark the 50th year anniversary of the ending of World War II, the Smithsonian was doing an installation of World War II memorabilia, and wanted to include the Enola Gay airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima to help end the war. However, pacifists, Japanese Americans, even some veterans groups… protested. And under pressure, the Smithsonian nixed the Enola Gay idea. Note: In our travels, we stopped at a once secret Wendover Air Force Base in the Utah desert where the Enola Gay had been stationed before going overseas. It had been housed in “Hanger 5.” And although the hanger is empty and rusting now, the gravity of seeing the sight was stirring, even eerie. Our military position paper reflects a paradigm intended to tremendously minimize the possibility another Hiroshima (or Nagasaki) ever happened again.

In the past couple weeks, I’ve written about multiple topics for a couple newspapers… I, for instance, interviewed a man who goes all over the world with Mennonite Disaster Service to help with rebuilds after natural disasters. He’s 78, retired, but not. That is, he said he hasn’t ‘retired’ in doing stuff for God. Rebuild, yes. But more, he and the other MDS volunteers, want people they are helping to see: the hand of Christ swinging the hammer… I also interviewed a local Crime Task Force commander who heads up a group of area detectives fighting: child pornography, illegal drugs, theft, scams, and so on. In regard to child pornography, he said it is fairly prevalent in his jurisdiction. And what’s more, he said society in general seems to be helping fuel it. That is, as an example, he pointed to child Beauty/Fashion Shows that started up several years ago. The commander said pedophiles don’t just have hard core child porn on their hard drives, they also have a good deal of child “erotica” photos, and such, in their files as well… I also did a feature piece on a local councilmember who died suddenly last week from a fall. He was 77. He served on council for a phenomenal 39 years. Faith was number one in his life and he carried his Christianity into the public square through “serving,” his wife told me. Note: It’s my belief there’s too much federal over reach into our states and local communities these days. And more power/decision making should revert back to a local sphere (i.e., these local councils, and such). For more on my take on this, see…

On a Buckeye Back Road Tour stop in Kalida, Ohio, I came across an actual pay phone. (For those of you under, say, 35, Google: pay phone.) When you were out and about “…back in the day,” you actually had to find one of these babies in order to make a phone call to someone. Now it’s an I-phone 12 with 5G. But is the latter the ultimate “smart phone,” or, well, the ultimate “dumb phone”? You see, these phones call, text, stream, Google… In turn, many people have become hopelessly addicted to their I-phones. Quality time with God, with family members, with friends, with community volunteering, with work… all get shorted, more, and more, and more… The Book of Revelation talks about a “false idol” that evolves, and that practically everyone worships. Uh, wouldn’t take an Old Testament prophet on his game, so to speak, to figure out that that’s (worshipping) what many of us are doing with these phones (personal computers, television sets…). Note: I’m a former addictions counselor and know how insidious, and destructive, addictions can be — both emotionally and spiritually.

I was watching some of the Amy Coney Barrett Confirmation Hearings today. And, I must say, the senators, almost all of them, came across as highly intelligent, polished individuals. It was all quite impressive, except for one thing(s). The highly intelligent, polished, Democrats in the room were for the wholesale killing of babies and a LGBTQ agenda that will, as with abortion, be a path to Hell for eternity for many. And the Republicans, well, most are for turning desperate refugees away at our borders, and being tremendously poor environmental stewards — to name a couple. In my spiritual meditation reading today, one part read that it “…is hard to think straight among worldly people… Their false reasoning seems so logical at times. Yet how can they be right, if You [God] disagree with them?” These senators, on both sides of the aisle, no matter how good they sound, or look… sometimes represent things that are totally antithetical to God’s gospel message. And we, all of us, need to be able to see through this.

During the VP Presidential Candidate Debate last night, the subject of China came up. China is replete with forced abortions, and it jails, tortures and kills those who they deem political of religious “dissidents”. To trade with China, which, bottom line, helps keep them economically buoyant, is nothing short of accepting: “blood money.” For a short talk (1 min. 30 sec.) I gave on this, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0lLIBZsAAs&feature=emb_logo