Where Are We Going?     

   Following up on yesterday's blog, "How We Got Here," and our recent series on Russia's Bolshevik years, we wonder, where is America going? 

   We certainly are blessed to live under our system. Still, with imperfect voters and imperfect leaders, are we always a credit to our fine Constitution? 

   The Lenin story, coupled with this year's obsession on Russian collusion, begs for a blog. Therefore...

   With Lenin's goal of communizing the world, Russians began messing in other nation's affairs. This led to communist revolutions or takeovers in many places. 

   The demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 didn't curb Russia's taste for mischief, especially with today's ability to intrude while sitting at a desk. Well, why does any sane American outside the State Dept. do political business with those folks? Oh, right ... Americans up to mischief. 

   We're told Lenin saw the world as allies and enemies. Saul Alinsky had a similar outlook, as did (does?) Donald Trump. 

   We're told Lenin's crowd compromised with no one. Our Democrats especially are known for speaking with one voice...to what end?

   We're told the Bolsheviks operated by stealth, lies, coercion, subterfuge and violence. Those words are not unique to any one country. In 2016, Russia wasn't for Trump or Clinton. They sowed confusion and stoked our political discord. They keep Russian people from thinking there is a political system worth another 1917 uprising. 

   Bolsheviks craftily told the people what they wanted to hear, and our politicians practice that art very well.

   Common threads - 1917 and 2017 - so where do we go from here?

       Jimmy

 Tomorrow: No back row in heaven 

   

How We Got Here       

   Unrest simmered on two fronts.

   Thomas More (see Sunday's blog) was distressed by Europe's long history of egotistic kings. In 1516, he published Utopia, a novel based on an "ideal" political system governed by reason. 

   His fictional island was ruled by pagans. He used the word "communists." 

   More's novel (we haven't read it) dealt with state controlled education, a multi-religion society, divorce, euthanasia and women's rights. (500 years ago!)

   His bio lists him as a humanist. It would be several years before King Henry VIII "discovered" More and brought him into his inner circle.   

The other front
   A year after Utopia, Martin Luther in Germany argued against what he saw as unbiblical conduct and doctrine at high levels in the church. Luther's thesis was sent to the Pope. We don't know how he reacted, but turmoil eventually led to a religious war - the universal church vs. the protesters. 

   Meanwhile, King Henry VIII asserted himself into church politics, and continued his monarchical rule over England's people. In all, he had six wives, two of whom he divorced and two were beheaded. One of his daughters we know as Queen (Bloody) Mary. 
  
In the 1700's  
   Educated people in the American colonies were taking notes. Revolution was necessary, but eventually they developed - not utopia - but historic reformation of government. 

   We have freedom of speech, religion, assembly and the press. We have justice, balance of powers, general welfare, and the right to speedy trial by peers without cruel and unusual punishment. We have the right to petition government for redress of grievances, and to be secure in our homes without unlawful searches.

   We don't practice all this perfectly, for sure, but let's remember the alternatives, and be thankful.

      Jimmy

From Fame to Martyrdom to Saint    

   Thomas More was an author, educator, lawyer, judge and adviser to King Henry VIII. A Christian, he was born in 1478, before the Reformation. 

   Search Henry VIII for more details about a king who considered himself above both church and state...and woe to the person who displeased him.  

   More's first no-no was advising the king that he could not divorce his first wife, who bore no sons. Henry ultimately had had six wives, two of them divorced and two beheaded. 

   More resigned from the House of Commons in 1532, apparently in protest of Henry's attempt to become head of the Church of England. In 1534 he refused to swear to Henry's Act of Succession and Oath of Supremacy. Off to the Tower of London he went. 

Which brings us to today's message. 

More wrote to his daughter, explaining why he was willing to be executed. 

He looked at his earthly duties through the lens of eternal consequence. 

"I die the king's good servant, but God first." 

As for his disloyal friends, he told her, 

"Bear no malice or evil will to any man living. For either the man is good 

or wicked. If he is good and I hate him, then I am wicked. 

If he is wicked, either he will amend and die good and go to God, 

or live and die wickedly and go to the devil.

"Why should I hate one for this while he shall hereafter love me forevermore, and with whom I shall in time be coupled in eternal friendship?

"If he will continue to be wicked and be damned ... then 

I may well think myself a cruel wretch if I would not now 

rather pity his pain than malign his person?"

    From Bella's Gift        

   More was beheaded in 1534 and canonized in 1935. 

             Tomorrow: More about More, and the U.S. Constitution

Upon Further Review      

   Here we go, another exciting Saturday of Big-Time college football. What you need to know.

   This is a day of rest for No. 1 Alabama and their coach, Mike Saban, who is also No. 1 in rankings by salary, by the nose of a football over $11 million. Including post-season games, his team will play 14 times this year, paying him $785,000 per game.

   We know. He works hard all year. But he is hired for wins. Root for Alabama on Nov. 18 when they play the Mercer Bears. That's not fake news. 

   By comparison, Alabama's governor earns $119,000. 

   No. 2 in salary is Dabo Sweeney, $8.5 million. This is a $607,000 payday for the Clemson coach (assuming 14 games). 

   Millionaires Urban Meyer and James Franklin square off today in a pretty big game, but they're not as interesting as a couple Southern tycoons with unhappy stockholders. Florida and Florida State shockingly are in danger of not qualifying for bowl games. 

   Frustrated Jimbo Fisher challenged a fan to repeat something to his face. Injury-plagued FSU lost again last night. 

   Jim McElwain's Florida Gators lost while wearing faux gator-skin jerseys, and with nine players suspended for credit card, felony fraud. He groused about death threats to players, families and coaches. This week he offered no details to administrators, only saying there were "one or two"...somethings. 

   Be glad, coach, you're not at football-powerhouse Citadel. A few years ago, students beat up the field-goal kicker after he let them down. 

   Not to be left out, Washington State millionaire coach Mike Leach hired a private investigator to help him collect another $2.5 million he says his former employer, Texas Tech, owes him from the 2009 season. 2009! 

   So remarkable is coach Gary Anderson, who waived off $12 million Oregon State owed him in a buyout.

   Enjoy the games. 

       Jimmy


   

Get Rich With Creative Writing      

   Your website can make money with absurd posts and other fake news, through advertising revenue. One man makes about $1,000 a month. Two others say they made up to $40,000 a month during the 2016 election season.

   You need common online services and the tech savvy to set up a website. Advertising networks are third parties that connect advertisers with website publishers. When someone clicks on their ad, advertisers pay, often fractions of a cent per click.

   Another method is sponsored content companies, using roughly the same principles, with ads resembling news stories that aren't. A grid of boxes are designed to attract attention.

   It doesn't matter if the content is real or not. The publisher will end up with $ based on the number of certain clicks. 

   Attempts to curb fake news from making money are only partially successful.

Go For the Gold

   Two death stars have collided in our solar system, spewing out tons of gold, most of which rained on our county. Come and get it while it lasts. 
   Click here for directions.    ⛝

Aviatrix Lives!!!   

   Amazing. Amelia Earhart survived her flight over the Pacific after all. Read her unbelievable story on the next page, and learn where she plans to fly next.
   Double click here.      ⛝

"United" States at Last   

   Our two political parties have seen the light and agreed to unite in one great American force for good. All politicians have sworn off smearing one another in a pledge titled, Love Your Opponent as Yourself. 
   Put your right hand over your heart; with your left hand, click here.    ⛝
   
      Jimmy

Your support is appreciated

Conclusion    
Exporting Mischief    

by Ian Frazier 

   Fifty years after the Russian Revolution, one-third of the world's population lived under some version of Communism. Then, one state after another converted to a market-based economy. Today, even Cuba welcomes capitalist enterprises from America.

   But Russia has not stopped involving itself in other countries' internal affairs. Which is not to suggest that other countries, including us, don't sometimes do the same. 

   By turning the state's secret and coercive forces actively outward, the Bolsheviks invented something new under the sun for Russia. It has found exporting mischief to be a great relief - and, evidently a point of strategy, and of pride. 

   In June, James Comey, former director of the FBI, told Congress, "We're talking about a foreign government that...tried to shape the way we think, we vote, we act." That habit began at the revolution. 

   Today, Lenin might feel discouraged to see the failure of his Marxist utopia. But his political methods may be his real legacy. 

   Lenin's tactics enjoy excellent health today. In capitalist Russia, Putin favors his friends, holds power closely and doesn't compromise with rivals. In America too, the strictest partisanship rules. 

   Lenin's methods have a powerfully modern appeal. He showed the world how well not compromising can work. A response to that revolutionary innovation of his has yet to be figured out. 

Smithsonian

   Our final thoughts, next week.   Jimmy

Czars Out; Tyrants In  

by Ian Frazier

   When you have a few leaders to choose from, you get sick of them, eventually. And when you have just one leader of ultimate importance - in Russia, the czar - the irritation becomes acute. 

   So, let's think about ordinary folks. That was the message of Lenin's (ill-fitting) pants, of the Bolsheviks' leather chauffeur coats and workers' caps, and of all socialist Realist paintings.

~

   As Stalin supposedly said, "One person's death is a tragedy, but the death of a million people is a statistic." Czar Nicholas II was sainted not for being a martyr, but for being an individual, suffering person you can relate to.

~

   The worldwide Socialist revolution that the Bolsheviks predicted proved a disappointment. No other country immediately followed Russia's lead. During Stalin's time, the goal changed to "Building Socialism in One Country." 

   Other countries eventually did go through their own revolutions, and of those, China's made by far the largest addition to the number of people under Communist rule. This remains the most significant long-term result of Lenin's dream of proletarian uprising. 

Smithsonian

Tomorrow: Lenin's methods live on...here?

     

Mysterious Spirit of Russia    
 

 -First of three final segments- 

Ian Frazier's view of Russia

   An ancient enchantment holds Russia under its spell. Here all kinds of things and creatures are seen to be sentient (conscious of sense impressions). 

   Russia, the country itself, inhabits a spirit as well. The visible location of this spirit's existence in the world used to be the czar. The U.S. is a concept. Russia is an animate being. 

   Nicholas II not only ruled Russia, he was Russia. Shortly after the ex-czar's murder, an assassin shot Lenin twice, almost killing him. When he recovered, many Russians started to regard him with mystical devotion. (See Revelation 13:3 - JD.) 

   The person of Lenin had become interchangeable with revolutionary Russia. In a way, Lenin's death in 1924 made no difference, because his body could be preserved indefinitely in a glass tomb in Red Square for all to see.

   As an autocrat whose self coincides with Russia, Vladimir Putin has grown into the job. Taking off his shirt for photographers was a good move: Here is the very torso of Russia, in all its buff physicality. 

   But Putin also impersonates a Russia for an ironic age, and lets us know he gets the joke, playing James Bond villain and the real-life villain simultaneously.

   One simple lesson of the revolution might be that if a situation looks as if it can't go on, it won't. Imbalance seeks balance. And a world in which the richest eight people control as much wealth as half the human race will probably see a readjustment. 

Tomorrow: Out With Czars; In With Tyrants

Keeping Up With the Gates Bunch     

   Can't say Donald Trump ran for office to get rich. His fortune fell by $600 million since last autumn, although at $3.1 billion he still makes the Forbes 400 list of richest people in America. 

   A few others lost wealth also, despite the spike in stock values.

   Bill Gates remains on top at $89 billion. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is next at $81.5 billion. 

   Some people dropped off the list only because the "price of admission" to the club rose nearly 18 percent to $2 billion. In all, 129 billionaires were too "poor" to make the cut.

No. 1 Job in Congress - Fundraising   
   There outta be a law. 

   Former congressman David Jolly (R) says fundraising is the No. 1 job, eating up 20-30 hours a week. He lost reelection last year after alienating party leaders by publicly denouncing the emphasis on fundraising. 

   He said GOP leaders told him his first responsibility was to raise money, not to learn about issues.

   Patrick Murphy (D), a congressman, lost the 2016 Senate race to incumbent Marco Rubio. He said freshmen are subject to "brainwashing" to raise money, and make holding or gaining majority control for their party their top priority. 

   Because about 90 percent of congressional districts are all but (fixed?) for one party or the other, he said, "There's only one election that matters. You've to win a primary." Murphy said, "You've got to go to the far left or far right."   

   Jolly added, "It will take a scandal to change anything on campaign financing."

   There outta be a law. But, what? 

Tampa Bay Times                        

          Jimmy

   Her Same Adorable Self   

Two weeks ago today, you read here an excerpt from Bella's Gift, 

written by Karen Santorum about her daughter Isabella,

born nine years ago with a genetic condition, Trisomy 18, 

Edward's Syndrome. The secular world considers such 

children unworthy of life. This family passionately disagrees. 

Today - former Senator Rick Santorum, just her Daddy: 

"Bella lights up like a Christmas tree when she sees me,

as well as the others who love and care for her.

I become overwhelmed with gratitude that God gave her

the ability to know us and clearly express her love for us.

"As I thanked God for giving Bella that gift, 

it suddenly dawned on me that my relationship with Bella is like

the Father's relationship with me. Like Bella, in the eyes of the Lord

I am totally disabled. And like Bella, all I can really do for him, 

all he really wants from me, is to love him.

"Am I as excited to be with our Lord as Bella is to be with me? 

Am I most content when I am close to our Lord?

"It's as simple as it can get. I love her and she loves me.

There are no expectations, no disappointments, no drama,

no bad days, and no arguments.

Bella is just her same adorable self every day." 

Seeing the Other Side    

   Three "police officers" pulled over a vehicle without a tag. They got out of the car. Then...

Boom, Boom, Boom

   Ambush! But it's okay. They were role playing at Tampa's Citizens Academy. 

   Interim police Chief Brian Dugan had seen J.T. Brown, who is black, raise his right fist during the national anthem at an October 7 hockey game. The chief, a former hockey security rep, wanted Brown to see the other side.

   "We as a police department, we've always been supporting of people protesting peacefully. Not trying to change his mind; just wanted to educate him," Dugan said.

   After a three hour visit, Brown said, "You see what they go through. I have a better understanding. I can guarantee you that."

   A fellow player added, "You realize every time you leave the (police) car it could be the last time."

   Brown said he put much thought and prayer into becoming the first NHL player to do a protest. Knowing there would be backlash, he consulted with members of the military, family members, and especially his wife. 

   Sure enough. He received racist comments and death threats on social media. 

   Three players experienced mock traffic stops, reports of domestic violence, and drunk and disorderly. They participated in computer simulations that teach shoot and no-shoot scenarios.

   Brown said it wasn't always easy to tell what was an active threat. "It was stressful," he told the Tampa Bay Times. 

   He has mentored at-risk kids, and he supports a hockey program that fosters positive social change and more inclusive communities.

   Update: On Wednesday, Brown said, no more anthem protests. He calls on others to look for ways to make a difference in the community. He will do ride-alongs with police, and is donating 600 hockey tickets to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and a police department outreach for at-risk youth. 

   Meanwhile, NFL player Chris Long is donating all 16 pay checks this season for scholarships and programs to increase educational opportunity for under-served youths. 
   

      Jimmy

   

The Pursuit of Happiness    
     Our "unalienable right" to pursue happiness has not been equally honored.  

   In the 1950's, this sheltered teenager was loyal to the Cleveland Indians. I can still name position players and at least five pitchers. Before players unionized, many stayed - happy or not - with the same team throughout their careers. Salaries ranged from $4,000 to - rarely - $40,000 a year.

   Larry Doby played center field. Rooted for him. He wore the right uniform; that's all that mattered. In 1954, when the Tribe won 111 of 154 games, Doby was an All-Star, and made $25,000. He is in the baseball Hall of Fame. 

   Only decades later did I learn he was the first black (I would have said, Negro) player in the American League, in July 1947. Only this week did I learn that he received death threats, ala Jackie Robinson of the Dodgers. The owner promised he would make history. Doby said, "I just want to play baseball."  

   Along came pitcher Jim "Mudcat" Grant, who recalls "difficult times." In September 1960, while singing the national anthem, he finished: "...and this land is not so free; I can't even go to Mississippi."   

   His bullpen coach overheard him; there were words, and Grant was suspended without pay. 

   "Mudcat" pitched in Cleveland four more years, then finished his 14-year career as a two-time All-Star. He was the first black pitcher in the league to win 20 games (with the Minnesota Twins in 1965). 

   Now 82, Grant doesn't regret his little protest, saying, if he was still in the game, he would be kneeling along with the others.  

Tomorrow: Wearing the other shoes

      Jimmy

PS. Yesterday we mailed letters to Major League Baseball and to the Indians suggesting that American League players wear Doby's No. 14 the day National Leaguers wear Robinson's No. 42, as both leagues currently do. 

Revolution Now a Bad Word      

   This fall, instead of glorifying the Great October Revolution of 1917, Russia will observe a holiday called National Unity Day. It commemorates an uprising that drove Polish occupiers from Moscow in 1613. That victory led to the founding of the Romanov dynasty (the czars.) 
 

(So, 100 years after dumping the last czar, Russians celebrate 

an event that led to the czars' 300-year reign. Hm.  - JD)  

   Putin has good reason not to be crazy about the idea of revolution. The example of civil unrest may not appeal to a leader who faced widespread protests against his own autocratic rule in 2011, as well as earlier this year. 

~

Author Ian Frazier visited an acquaintance in Moscow last March. 

She is Lyudmila Borisovna Chyernaya, who will be 100 this December. 

She was a journalist, author, and German-language, counter-propagandist 

during World War II. She monitored broadcasts from Germany and refuted them in broadcasts of her own. Goebbels himself called her "the Witch of the Kremlin." 

   Frazier: I asked her what she considered the single highest point of the last 100 years. Through a translator, she answered, "March 5, 1953. The happiest day of my life - the day Stalin died. All the Stalin years were bad." 

   "People may complain, but I tell you from experience that it can get much worse than this," she said.

Next week: Three final excerpts from Ian Frazier's article, 

focusing on today's Russia and why it matters.

If Hitler Was Evil, What Was Stalin?     

by Ian Frazier, Smithsonian

   Historians estimate that before the end of the Soviet Union, the Bolshevik revolution resulted in the deaths of perhaps 60 million (not including war) civilians. 

Hitler remains evil man No. 1. 

How does Stalin escape similar condemnation? - JD 

   What could be said about such horrors? The United States had never known what to make of its cruel, sly, opaque World War II ally turned Cold War enemy. Stalin appeared on the cover of Time magazine 12 times. 

   (President Roosevelt considered him a trusted partner, favored above Churchill. We listened to the car radio with Dad in 1953. The newsman repeated that Stalin was dying, adding, "The only question is, why doesn't he hurry?"- JD) 

   Lenin (who sought worldwide socialism) died of strokes in 1924. Russia would involve itself aggressively in the affairs of countries all over the world. That sense of global mission, soon corrupted to strategic meddling and plain trouble making, is why America (but not former President Obama -JD) still worries about Russia today.

   (It's why we went to Vietnam, unpopular as that decision may be today. - JD)

   Russia's 1967 half-centennial was a huge deal. Celebrations in Moscow and Leningrad (St. Petersburg) rated front-page coverage in the U.S. 

   

   Other communist nations sent representatives - with the exception of Albania and China, which did not approve of Brezhnev's policies of peaceful coexistence.  

   Cuba sent only low-level officials because Castro wanted to overthrow some Latin American governments and Brezhnev wouldn't let him. Ho Chi Minh, worried about offending either China or Russia, stayed away, but he did contribute a special gift, a piece of a shot-down American jet. 

   In 1991, hard-line Communist Party leaders opposed reforms, but Boris Yeltsin stood strong, and it was over. Life in Russia remained miserable. Tired and weak after governing, and a heart attack in 1996, Yeltsin resigned in favor of Vladimir Putin, his then mild-seeming protege, in 1999.  

Compromise With No One    
We return to our excerpts from Smithsonian magazine.
How Lenin gained power; what power wrought, and
what legacy may be with us still.

   By 1917, both Trotsky and Lenin had won fame. Lenin's Bolshevik Party kept its membership to a small group of followers. Lenin believed that the party must compromise with nobody. (Keep that thought.)  

   Since 1900, he had lived all over Europe, and emphasized the international aspect of proletariat revolution. Lenin wrote articles and published books.

   Trotsky also wrote, but he was flashier and kept a higher public profile. Born Lev Davidovich Bronstein in the Ukraine, he had starred in the 1905 Revolution. 

   Lenin saw the world as divided between allies and enemies. (Keep that thought.) For him, the latter had to be suppressed or killed.

   Under Lenin's direction, Bolsheviks advanced through the confusion (after abdication of the czar) by stealth, lies, coercion, subterfuge and finally violence. (Keep that thought.) All they had was a hard-fixed conviction and a leader who had never been elected or appointed to any public office. None of his promises would be fulfilled, but the party knew what the people wanted to hear. (Keep that thought.)

   When civil war broke out (with pro-czar forces rising up), Lenin decided that ex-czar Nicholas and his family, now under house arrest, must be killed. In July 1918, an execution squad slaughtered them all.  

   The pattern was set. Secret police would kill whom they chose. Bolshevik power would be absolute, and violence would be used to terrify. The murder (of the czar's family) upped the anti for the new government; there could be no return. 

   The ghastly way forward led through the bloody suppression of the sailors' rebellion of 1921, and the war on peasants, and the forced mass starvation, and the rise of Joseph Stalin's terror in the 30's, and the one million who died in labor camps in 1937-38 alone. 

       - Ian Frazier

Diagnosing, Doctor to Doctor     

   Dr. Robert Berry, a reader of WORLD magazine, and medical correspondent Dr. Charles Horton, offer ways to lower healthcare costs. 

   Dr. Berry: A tax credit for health savings accounts would

make healthcare fairer. Putting more dollars into the hands
of consumers will enable us to choose our own way of
sharing catastrophic risk, while purchasing elective medical care directly from providers we select.

   In my own direct-pay primary care practice, my fees are
one-third to one-half of those charged by insurance-based practices.

   Dr. Horton: Dr. Berry's argument is most applicable in primary-care fields like internal medicine and pediatrics, and in services like lab testing. Entrepreneurs are charging a cash price lower than insurance "co-pays." 

   Anti-competitive behavior among hospitals and insurers needs to end. Each facility should charge one price for a given procedure, regardless.  Patients should be free to choose any facility without penalty, and any given insurance product should be for sale to anyone. 

   Dr. Berry: Obamacare (practically created a cartel) where hospitals can get away with charging patients $502 for a B12 test, which costs the patient $25 at mine. 
     Perhaps a better and fairer way would be to allow Americans to deduct from their income any "legitimate" healthcare expense (including out-of-pocket expenses to doctors, pharmacies, hospitals, etc.) instead of starting at 10 percent of AGI.

   Dr. Horton: Prices should be public. President Trump should mandate that all hospitals publish that information online and keep it current. In what other business is it considered optional to tell customers what they'll pay?

   We've already seen the benefit that internet-based, price-comparison services bring to prescriptions. There should also be one price per specific procedure at each hospital, with no discounts for anyone - including insurers. Self-pay patients will get the same effective price as the insurers do.

      Jimmy




   

   Views By Luther   

We approach the 500th anniversary of the start

of the Protestant Reformation, October 31.

What did Martin Luther believe?

God revealed himself in the broken flesh of Christ on the cross.

Prosperity?

The Lord Jesus was most blessed of all, yet his pathway took him to the cross.

 Christian blessing is spiritual, not material.

Positive Thinking?

Luther would say, positive thinking is deceptive.

For Luther, the way to heaven (life) paradoxically is through hell (death).

That's what baptism is about: dying and rising.

Comforting Words?

Stories of our basic goodness are enslaving lies.

We are dead in our trespasses and sins. Our rebellion cuts us off from God.

Unless we understand that, we miss the important need of a Savior.

Grace?

Luther is known for saved by grace alone theology. 

But he called for balance. 

We only understand God's grace by first understanding the problem.

That requires preaching of the law.

Reason?

Vertically, Luther had limited use for reason. 

Horizontally, some things might "stand to reason."

But reason is captive to our sinful desires, 

bending our thinking to justify our actions. 

Source: WORLD magazine interviewed professor Carl Trueman of Westminster Theological Seminary. He says, the Holy Spirit takes the proclaimed Word and works miracles in people's hearts. He stresses a strong pulpit ministry, along with vibrant worship, times of confession, forgiveness and intercession, with a benediction. 

One-Sixth of the Economy   
Operating on Healthcare    

   Now that Congress has failed to cure dysfunctional Obamacare, President Trump is taking the end-around path of his predecessor: Executive Orders. 

   This may be better than nothing, but Congress needs to legislate whatever sensible ideas emerge, or the next administration could reverse it all...especially if the next leadership is Big Government oriented. 

   Association plans will be encouraged for people who need coverage, or better coverage and lower premiums. At least one such plan - involving Christians - has been successful for years. Members pay in; those with needs, benefit. 

   Free market approaches, like insurance competition across state lines, would lower premiums. Trump calls for more choices, allowing people to opt for a plan that best suits them, rather than paying for broad plans they may not need.

   Insurance companies and other players oppose changes that affect their wallets, like the unconstitutional subsidies they've been receiving. Elected officials have a choice between serving special interests or answering to "we the people." Lobbyists have an advantage; they contribute more to re-election campaigns. So, game on! 

   Monday, we plan to include ideas put forward by two doctors who identify cost drivers, and ways to do things better and fairer for all Americans. 

      Jimmy

All-American Buyouts    

   Yesterday, in Views, you thought a $12.4 million buyout for a fired football coach was ridiculous. What would you call Jimbo Fisher's $39 million buyout clause at Florida State? That's 3, 9 and six zeros! 

   Florida's Jim McElwain, UCLA's Jim Mora and LSU's Ed Orgeron are all in the $12 million neighborhood. Those three have yet to prove they're championship coaches. So much cash is pouring into big-time programs, some coaches and their agents can name their price. 

   Poor Barry Odom at Missouri, who negotiated a measly $1.8 million buyout should the school ever let him go. But, there's a cause for his little clause. 

   A few short years ago, outsiders tried sponsoring political protests, at football games. Hmmm. School authorities caved. 

   Alumni and other donors punted; enrollment, especially minorities, declined, and the team went from national power to last place in its own conference. At least, Coach Odom can teach character. 

Can We Reach Biblical Ages?  
              Do We Really Want To?
   Average life span in the U.S. is increasing, but not good health. Scientists - after animal trials - want to try a new class of drugs to treat aging and prolong health. 

   As we age, some of our cells stop replicating due to chromosome damage. The new drug may kill these useless cells, alleviating conditions such as cardiac and vascular disease, diabetes, fatty liver, osteoporosis, degenerating spinal disks, and pulmonary fibrosis. 

   Count me in. I want to hold off glory for as long as possible. Or not. 

Outsmarting Bullies  
    Finally, we discovered a way to outfox bullies who hog exercise machines at the fitness center. We sat on one that had a sign: TEMPORARILY OUT OF ORDER. One lout pinned the sign on my back, but at least I could hog my own seat. 

      Jimmy



   

A Coach's Great Win    

Gary Anderson

   We grumbled a few weeks ago about the enormous influence money has in college football, from players' amusements to coaches' salaries to apparel deals. Today, we are cheering this story from Oregon.


   Gary Anderson lost his job at Oregon State, halfway through the season. He had $12.4 million remaining on his contract through 2021. Who wouldn't mind losing a job like that? 

   What did Anderson do? He waived all future payments and contractual obligations. "Coaching is not about the mighty dollar," he said. 

Who Takes a Knee for Officers?
   Some pro athletes continue to skip tribute to the flag during the national anthem. No doubt there are problems in law enforcement. Who among us is perfect? 

   Even if protests have merit, employees don't do this on company time. Of course, that's where the audience is. Players want us to understand something.

   Now, who is concerned about the police? In Afghanistan, 2001-2014, 1,832 U.S. service members died. During that same period, 2,181 American police officers were killed in the line of duty.

   In Fallen, a documentary, several officers agree their jobs are 90 percent social work, and 10 percent sheer terror. 

   Maybe certain pro football players need to understand what it's like going to work each day, over a career, not knowing if you'll ever come home. 

   Not to excuse anything, but when troubled people and nervous cops meet on the streets, bad things can happen. 

       Jimmy

The Real and Original Revolution   

   By Ian Frazier, continued   

   Regiments in St. Petersburg mutiny and join throngs on the streets. The czar's government can find no loyal troops willing to move against the demonstrators.  

   Taking stock, Nicholas's ministers and generals inform him that he has no choice but to abdicate for the good of the country. On March 2, 1917, he complies. 

   Near-chaos ensues. Power is split between the Provisional Government and the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (a collection of socialist affiliations). (In Russian, "soviet" is "council," an essentially political entity.) 

   The February Revolution, as it's called, is the real and original Russian Revolution. February supplied the raw energy for the rest of 1917 - energy that Lenin and the Bolsheviks would co-opt as justification for their coup in October.

   Many classic images of the people's struggle in Russia derive from February. In that month, red became the color of revolution. Sympathetic onlookers wore red lapel ribbons, and marchers...used the red stripe for their long, narrow banner. 

   Even jaded artistic types wept when they heard self-led multitudes break into "The Marseillaise," France's revolutionary anthem, recast with fierce Russian lyrics. 

   Unlike the coup of October 1917, the February uprising had a spontaneous, popular quality. Of the many uprisings in Russia, only the events of February 1917 seemed to partake of joy.

   Lenin was living in Zurich. He kept company with other expatriate socialists and directed the Petrograd (non-German name for St. Petersburg) Bolsheviks by mail and telegram. 

   Leon Trotsky, who would become the other major Bolshevik of the revolution, was living in the Bronx. (Bolshevik is a word for "one of the majority," although the party was never a majority.) Not many Russians, or a majority of socialists, or even all Bolsheviks, shared Lenin's extreme views.

Next week: Seeking world, socialist revolution