Let the Little Children   

Following are excerpts from a column by Andree Seu Peterson,

troubled by what adults allow - intentionally or not - children to see.  

~ ~ ~

   "Here is what I know about the afterlife: There will be 'a severe beating' 

or 'a light beating' awaiting those who frolicked while the Master was away
 (Luke 12:47-48), depending on degree of sin. 

   "And the deepest darkness is reserved for those who 'cause one of these little ones to sin: It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea' (Luke 17:2). 

   "We are all about the children in this country. Except when we are not. We're about children except when we want a divorce, or when we want to have an abortion. 

   "Or except when we do whatever we want to do and call it art and say it's up to moms and dads to monitor their children's viewing habits."

   From Revelation 22:10-12, she quotes the Lord himself: 

   Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 
Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy. 

   Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. NIV 

~ ~ ~

   Why would Mrs. Peterson write about judgment? Maybe, because without her knowledge a relative took her young son to see The Silence of the Lambs. He didn't sleep well for a week, and the images are somewhere in his brain for life. 

   As for divorce and abortion, above, there is grace and forgiveness for those of us who repent of these and many other sins, and seek the Lord and Savior. Jesus' final words in the Book offer the "tree of life," while his stern warning to wrong doers needs to be heeded. 

      Jimmy 

   

   

   

   

If He is Right     

   Last week, we summarized the views of former National Security Council member Richard Higgins. He identified groups he says aim to control the U.S. Government. Yesterday, we imagined how the Higgins analysis might explain the Obama Administration.

   If he is right, if we doubt what the U.S. would look like, California here we come. This could be our future: sanctuary cities, defiance of federal laws, homeless people owning the streets, over-regulation, anything goes, and high taxes. 

   Many are leaving the Golden State for Utah. What happens when there is no more alternative? Washington already has us hooked on unsustainable Social Security and Medicare. Nice for seniors, but the statists are not done. 

   Portland, Oregon and Seattle are city examples of "progressive" policies. 

   Enemies attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 and finished the job on 9/11/01, while individuals did their part in Orlando, the Boston and other sites. Those are violent actions.

   Non-violent activities are more concerning for our future. According to Higgins, Black Lives Matter, Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas, ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center and the Islamic Society of North America conspire with our political left. Not to mention our media. 

   Certain bankers, businesses and establishment Republicans also cooperate, he said, apparently unconcerned with where this leads. 

   There is no debating Marxists. They adopted theories developed in Europe in the early 20th century and nourished in American universities. They who accuse us of intolerance are themselves intolerant. 

   Voting (we the people) is our privilege and our power. Not just next week but for decades to come. Opponents of the Bill of Rights and other foundations need only 51 percent of the vote, and they are close, if tight U.S. House races are any indication. Moderate Democrats simply are carried with the leftist tide.

      Jimmy



   
       

   

Memo Helps Connect Dots          

   If the Higgins memo is truth - and we don't claim to have his expertise or access to his information - it explains some things we've seen and heard. 

   Consider one man, Barack Obama. Was he raised from childhood to deconstruct constitution and culture, or was he chosen later by stealth?

• His college records and other details were hidden from public view.
• He went on an American apology tour, first to Egypt.
• He withdrew all troops from Iraq, exposing cities to ISIS and Iran.
• He all but begged Iran to accept $ billions to delay nuclear plans.
• He won the release of one American, an AWOL soldier, while setting free five key terrorists.

• He allowed Russia to claim it safeguarded Syria's WMD (gasses).
• He was caught on a hot mike, "colluding" with Putin's man.
• When the Muslim Brotherhood won election in Egypt, they flew straight to the White House - no need to check in at Customs. 
• He had six Muslims on staff in the White House. One wouldn't do? 
• He seemed uninterested in Christian refugees. 

• He told his daughters, they will be okay. Some of us will not be okay?
• His people in high places broke numerous laws and codes. 
• He dealt with major corporations and ignored small businesses.
• His administration piled on regulations, stifling the economy, making jobs hard to find and start-ups hard to start up, even for black Americans.
• He accounted for more national debt than all previous presidents combined.

• He told ISIS they could have their caliphate, just not that one. ???
• A 2005 photo: he & Louis Farrakhan Sr., friends(?) at Black Caucus meeting.
• He supplied the (non defense) bureaucracies with military weapons. Why?
• He wanted a national police force as powerful as the U.S. military. Did someone tell him, shhhhh! We'll get to that later? 
• He gave to Raul Castro with nothing in return. Did he need a victory that badly?  

         Jimmy   

 

   Our Mighty Fortress  

Here are words of hope from Scripture. These words predate the coming of Christ, but they still apply for Christian eyes. 

In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge.

Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness.

Be my rock of refuge,

for you are my rock and my fortress.

Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of evil and cruel men.

I will ever praise you.

For my enemies speak against me;

those who wait to kill me conspire together. 

They say, "God has forsaken him;

pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.

I will always have hope;

I will praise you more and more.

My mouth will tell of your righteousness,

of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you - 

I, whom you have redeemed.

My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long,

for those who wanted to harm me

have been put to shame and confusion.

Selected verses, Psalm 71

NIV

    Excerpts from Higgins memo, 3 of 3    

Roots of Opposition     

   Cultural Marxism. (Look up - Gramsci Marxism, Fabian Socialism and Frankfurt School.) The latter most directly influences our American left, a strategy to deconstruct societies by imposing unresolvable contradictions. 

   The result is nihilism, a belief in everything, which is belief in nothing. The Frankfort School in the 1920s was both anti-capitalism and anti-Communist Party. 

   Adherents use diversity/multiculturalism narratives. In 1965, theorist Herbert Marcuse defined tolerance as intolerance. He proposed implementing ideas by undemocratic means, to defeat chauvinism (xenophobia), racism and discrimination ... and said that tolerance should be extended to the left while denied to the right. (Get it? Free speech and freedom of assembly should be denied to opponents of cultural Marxism. Unapproved speech automatically becomes "hate speech.") 

   Key international players include the European Union, the UN and the International Muslim Brotherhood, in coordination with the media. 

BATTLESPACE: Attack narratives operate within social media, television, 24-hour news cycles, upper levels of bureaucracies, and the foreign policy establishment. Narratives inform the entertainment industry, from late-night monologues to situation comedies to television series memes to movie themes. 

   Benefactors include Urban Real Estate (dependent on immigrant tenants), International Banking (beneficiary of U.S. debt), and elements of the business sector (immigrant labor). The overall objective is forced urbanization, requiring a larger, more powerful government.

   Certain business cartels in league with cultural Marxists/corporatists/Islamists leverage terrorism threats to justify creation of a police state. 

   Warfare directed at President Trump includes PUBLICITY - facts without context, PROPAGANDA - directing thoughts, conditioning recipients, moving people incrementally over time, and INFILTRATION/SUBVERSION - to gather intelligence, obstruct legitimate action, leak sensitive information to undermine leadership, and to suppress morale. 

   Pseudo-publicity offered as "news" sustains pseudo-realities. The backdrop is to create a general loathing of President Trump and the America that elected him. 

Monday: Our conclusions, applying Higgins' insights.

    Excerpts from Higgins memo, 2 of 3   

Opponents of the American Experiment   

MAINSTREAM MEDIA. The principal mechanism for implementing unAmerican narratives. 

THE ACADEMY: Academia is a key conduit for creating future adherents to cultural Marxist narratives. 

DEEP STATE: Cultural Marxism, a bureaucratic state beholden to no one. No rule of law outside those laws that further deep-state power...god bestriding earth. 

GLOBAL CORPORATISTS & BANKERS: Exploitation of populations, regardless of national protections, personal morality and piety.

DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP: A counter-state enabler that executes, sustains and protects cultural Marxist programs and facilitates the relentless expansion of the deep state. 

REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP: More afraid of (being called names) than of failing to enforce their oath to "support and defend the Constitution." Lacking discernment, they work with others "in the destruction of the American ideal."

ISLAMISTS: As far back as the 1980s, Islamists adopted post-modern narratives. They deploy them to blind and control U.S. decision makers. 

"By their own hands!" has been the Muslim Brotherhood strategy since 1991. 

   They seek to divide America against itself, imposing Islamist objectives on half of society by the other half. Once the population loses faith in the old order, and detest those who reduced it, America will divide along narrative lines. 

CULTURAL MARXISM: "Political Warfare" is understood by the Maoist Insurgency model. It is one of five components. Methodologies include violent and non-violent actions to mobilize groups. 

   Formation of a counter-state is essential to seizing power ... a hostile competing state within an existing state. (Note: the Resistance - formed in response to Trump's election.) The counter state mobilizes and/or exhausts and demobilizes its target through disinformation and narratives.  

Tomorrow: Cultural Marxism, and Battlespace

     Excerpts from Higgins' 2017 memo, 1 of 3     

Summarized 

NSA Fired Him for This   

BACKGROUND: The Trump Administration endures withering information campaigns designed to undermine, then delegitimize and ultimately remove the president. 

   This political warfare targets a seated president through manipulation of the news cycle. These campaigns ... execute agendas that reflect cultural Marxist outcomes.

   The hard left is aligned with Islamist organizations at local, national and international levels. They seamlessly interoperate at the narrative level. In candidate Trump, they see a threat to the "politically correct" enforcement narratives they've laid over the past few decades. 

   Political correctness is a weapon against reason and critical thinking. Trump's rhetoric in the (2016) campaign cut through the Marxist narrative in ways that were comprehensible to a voting bloc that made him president. 

   Trump is an existential threat to cultural Marxist memes. (Memes: defined as ideas, behavior, style or usage spread within a culture.) 

THE OPPOSITION: Some benefit from the meme, while others are captured by it: deep-state actors, globalists, bankers, Islamists and establishment Republicans. Globalists and Islamists require that America, as an ideal and as a national and political identity, must be destroyed.

   Attacks on all levels of group and personal identity are directed at atomization of society. (Opponents) induce contradictions that reduce all thought, all faith, all loyalties to meaninglessness. 

   Group rights, based on sex or ethnicity, are a direct assault on the idea of individual human rights and natural law, around which the Constitution was framed. 

Tomorrow: Naming the opponents

    

   

About the Whistleblower     

   Yesterday, we provided a brief resume of Richard Higgins, Irish-born, an American bishop with 30 years as an Air Force chaplain. He then worked for the Pentagon, and finally with the National Security Council in the Trump Administration. 

   Higgins had a reputation as the "most knowledgeable, strategically savvy man inside the NSC regarding the Islamic movement and its ties to the hard-left Marxist movement." 

     He wrote a memo: POTUS and POLITICAL WARFARE, in May 2017.

   For this, he was fired, along with other like-minded NSC members, by National Security Agency Director H.R. McMaster, a decorated general who didn't see eye to eye with Secretary Mattis or Chief of Staff Kelley. Conservative thinkers didn't much agree with McMaster either. 

   When you read our excerpts from Higgins' memo, you can decide if his ouster was justified.

   In any case, President Trump replaced McMaster with John Bolton this past Spring. 

   Apparently, there is a sleeper cell inside the Trump Administration. An anonymous person admitted as much in the New York Times.

   We'll list some enemies later in the week, but first, establishment Republicans helped staff the new administration. They are said to have protected Obama holdovers and loyalists, while blocking people who would have been better suited for the Trump team.

   Tomorrow, we will summarize the Higgins memo. Other observations to follow.

      Jimmy

Shall the Brightest Rule?       

   The 2016 book, When Reason Goes on Holiday: Philosophers in Politics, has it right. Not only our bodies, but our brains are fallen and naturally sinful.

   So writes Marvin Olasky in the Books section of WORLD magazine. 

   Author Neven Sesardic, himself a philosopher, wrote about prominent philosophers who, "admired for their scholarly contributions, actually abandoned reason altogether once they turned to politics." 

   Examples include Jean-Paul Sartre, Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein who championed Communism. Martin Heidegger and Kurt Godel were cozy with Nazism. Michel Foucault cheered on Iran's Islamists. 

   Even Albert Einstein defended the murderous Josef Stalin at times, writes Olasky. He adds:

   "Sesardic asks how highly intelligent people could be so stupid and why 'it is precisely such very smart individuals who are especially prone to exhibit certain types of irrationality?'" 

~ ~ ~ 

It's a Question for Today

   We're working on a short series on political war in the U.S., and those in power or close to it who are cozy with our intelligent enemies. 

   This latest threat is scary. If you want a head start, look up Richard Higgins. There are several by that name. Find the Higgins who is a Catholic Bishop, former USAF chaplain, head of the Pentagon's Combating Terrorism & Technical Support Office, and finally, a member of the National Security team, from which he was fired by a misguided (?) NSA director. 

   Before you vote, consider what you are about to read. 

      Jimmy

The Iran Dilemma    

   Forty years ago, Iran was our ally. It is a Persian culture, not Arab. It's main language is Farsi, not Arabic. 

   The religious dictatorship now in power exports oil, revolution and terrorism. 

   Iran made up with its rival, Russia, and together they help Assad make a nightmare out of Syria. Iran's leaders claim that Israel and the U.S. are agents of Satan. (Sounds like propaganda to encourage citizens' loyalty.) 

   Their intelligence service worked with al-Qaeda leaders to provide cover for 9/11 planners and hijackers. They supplied agents and roadside bombs that killed members of our military in Iraq. They didn't want western democracy on their border. 

   All the while, they worked on becoming a nuclear power, while denying same. They test long-range missiles. 

What to do about Iran?
   President Obama's administration gave Iran a sweetheart deal, provided they agree not to develop nukes for a few years. President Trump's administration saw that deal as a no-brainer. Sanctions on oil exports begin in November.

   What about Iranian citizens? As far as we know, they don't hate Israel or America. They have protested their government off and on - daily for the past year. If Obama had supported them when they took to the streets a few years ago, we/they might be rid of this wicked regime.

   Ordinary Iranians could be an ally again. More people of Iranian descent live in the U.S. than any other country. While we take in illegals from Central America, we're turning a cold shoulder to Iranians, including about 100 stuck in Vienna asking for asylum. (?)

 Source: Mindy Belz, WORLD magazine

     Jimmy

God Knows How to Test   

   Are you having a bad day? 

   Consider Pastor Andrew Brunson, who led a Christian congregation in Muslim Turkey for about 23 years. He was arrested two years ago on false charges of terrorism and attempt to overthrow the government. How ridiculous! 

   We wrote of him briefly in this week's series on Perspectives. His ordeal reminds us of Joseph - God's man for a purpose in the Old Testament. Pharaoh's wife falsely accused Joseph of wrong behavior, so her husband considered him guilty without due process.  

   Sound familiar? 

   Pastor Brunson also went to prison, condemned to a cell for eight convicts, inhabited by 20. The other prisoners, Muslim, tried to convert the pastor. 

   He almost lost hope. For all he knew, he would be there for the rest of his life. Then, "I realized there was value in my suffering." With this perspective, he would cling to God, no matter what. 

   The pastor is back in the U.S., free, but unfortunately, Turkey closed his church. You and I can attend worship service today; what will our fellow believers in Turkey do?  

Achievement     

   Your Attitude, not your Aptitude, determines your Altitude.

            - Zig Ziegler  


   

A Way of His Own     

John Gagliardi

   While big-time college football teams clash today, some with coaches who make more than $7 million a year, people in Collegeville, Minnesota remember the winningest coach of them all.

   John Gagliardi died this month at 91, six years after retiring from St. John's all-male Catholic college. Mostly at NCAA Division III, non-scholarship St. John's, he set national records for seasons coached (64) and games won, (489). 

   Gagliardi passed Eddie Robinson and Joe Paterno with an unconventional approach that might be ideal for other student athletes. Of course, that train already left the station. 

   He had one rule for players, the Golden Rule. He emphasized education and character.

   No player was cut from the roster, which often exceeded 150 players. Gagliardi abhorred injuries, so contact in practice was limited. No tackling. 

   There were no grueling calisthenics, no hazing, screaming, whistles or practice in extreme weather. He said, "We get the right guys, the ones who don't need any rules...we just hope they can play football."

   His record, 489-138-11, includes four Division III national titles. 

   Might Gagliardi's approach work for all universities? Would revenues still pour in? Maybe...if everyone abides by the rules. But, they wouldn't. And what would become of the money-hungry NFL?    

     Jimmy

Perspectives, Part 4    
Peace at Last, No Matter What      

   King Zedekiah arrested the prophet Jeremiah, who was beaten, imprisoned and thrown in a dungeon. Jeremiah eventually was freed, only to be dropped into deep mud in a cistern. 

   The siege of Jerusalem resulted in starvation. Babylonians conquered Judah, taking 4,600 of the Jews to Babylon. Among them, Daniel, who excelled in service to King Darius, was thrown into a den of lions. 

~ ~ ~

   Centuries later: God himself came "in the likeness of man" to save the world, which had proven itself - and continues to be - unable to get its perspective right. Fulfilling scripture, He would lay down his life to satisfy his requirement of justice. Jesus was condemned by a mob organized by jealous religious leaders. 

   He - the sacrificial Lamb - was flogged, mocked, struck in the face, spit upon, nailed to a cross and crucified. 

   On the third morning He showed himself alive, to the astonishment of his closest followers and disciples. He had told them, and now they understood. 

   Peace be with you, He said. Receive the Holy Spirit. Follow me. 

   He, the Son, appeared to others, and some witnessed his ascension to the Father. Those who believe in, trust and obey him - even in suffering - have the Truth perspective, and peace in their hearts, no matter what. 

   While the Spirit provides power to obey and spread the "good news," Satan remains bound to his own perspective. Death and persecution continue, but escaping the "second death" is glory. 

   There are many accounts of victory in this life, including Joseph in ancient Egypt. Recently, we saw peace in Pastor Andrew Brunson, his perspective strengthened by two years in a Turkish prison, falsely accused, like Joseph. He knelt and prayed over the bowed head of the U.S. president. 

      Jimmy

Perspectives, Part 3     
Out of Slavery, Into Desert     

   God found Moses where he left him, and sent the humbled, old shepherd to lead "his people" out of Egypt for the Promised Land. God broke the hard-hearted Pharaoh with a series of plagues. The freed people with their animals set off toward the first of some 42 encampments, and an impassable body of water.

   Pharaoh's army pursued. Like habits, wrong perspectives are hard to break. 
   
   When the people found water, it was bitter. At the next desert, no food. 
At Rephidim, no water.

   They were attack by Amalekites. When they arrived at Mount Sinai (also called Horeb, where Moses had lived), God told him, I carried you on eagles' wings. Was Moses speechless?

   The Almighty re-introduced himself to the people with lightning, thunder, loud trumpet blasts, thick clouds, smoke and an earthquake..."acts of God." 

   Alas, despite much instruction, the former slaves never got their perspective right; they died in the desert. After 40 years, the next generation, presumably those born in the desert, would enter the Promised Land. 

   Even Moses, still in good health, was relieved of his duties. Joshua would lead them into Canaan. 

   God warned of strong inhabitants, large cities and high walls. But He would prepare the way and his people would drive out the nations, leaving no one to entice his people with false gods and ungodly customs. 

   Thirty one kings joined in the defense. The Israelites prevailed, but failed to cleanse the land of ungodliness. 

   Consider Job, a "blameless and righteous" man. God permitted Satan to destroy all his animals, servants, sons and daughters. A bad day? 

   King Saul threatened David's life. David's own son conspired against him. 

Conclusion tomorrow: True freedom at last

      Jimmy

   

Perspectives, Part 2     
Bad Things Happen     
 

   If you missed Tuesday's blog, go back. 

It previews today, tomorrow and Thursday. 

   Today begins our search for perspective on the trials of life - from incurable disease to man-made tragedy to "acts of God." 

   Right perspective can bring peace. Wrong viewpoints leave us with worry, anxiety, anger, depression...even hopelessness. 

   The first unhappy event: Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden. 
Okay, they deserved it. 

   Then their second son murdered their first born. In time, only Noah and his family were spared the flood that remains the "granddaddy" of them all. 

   Famine forced Abram and Sarai to flee to Egypt, on foot, of course. Jacob had to move far from his angry brother; later, he fled his angry father-in-law, heading back to the land where his brother was waiting. 

   These were God's chosen people. Are we having a bad day?

   Dad's favorite, innocent Joseph, was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Wrongly accused in Egypt, he spent two years in prison. 

   When a severe famine menaced the world, Jacob's other sons went to Egypt, twice, the second time never to return home. 

   Under a new Pharaoh, Jacob's descendants, the Israelites, endured oppression and slavery for 430 years! 

   Unnerved by the slaves' growing numbers, Pharaoh ordered all male babies killed at birth. When the mid-wives secretly defied his order, he demanded that male babies be thrown in the river.

   Baby Moses' mother put him in the river, in a basket. When Moses was older, he made a big mistake and had to flee into the wilderness where he stayed until age 80. 

Tomorrow: Free, but no picnic

      Jimmy

Perspectives    
An Act of God?     

   Where was God when Michael - not named for the archangel - grew into a
Category-4 hurricane, on short notice, devastating lives and possessions in Florida and beyond?   

   Paul wrote to the Colossians, 

Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 

   How do we do that when 155-mph sustained winds blow away our earthly possessions, such as food, clothing and shelter? 

   Jesus wasn't kidding - He never does - when He commanded, 

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you as well. 

   Then a 10-foot surge of water churns all our things like a giant washing machine.  

   James wrote, 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 

for the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

   O Lord! Can't we learn steadfastness without losing every thing? 

   This is not an academic exercise for us. In 1985, an E-5 tornado roared through our neighborhood along the Pennsylvania/Ohio border. Twenty-nine people died within a stretch of about four miles, or less. 

   This month, if not for high-pressure stationed over Florida's Gulf Coast, Michael might have churned our way. 

   So, what about it, Lord? 

   What is our perspective, our point of view? How do we square what the world imposes with our sense of fairness, and right, and good? 

   Click on Views By the Sea the next three days. Together we'll search for perspective on various kinds of trials, including acts of God.

       Jimmy

Sayings by Jimmy       

Treat your smart phone with respect;
Your phone is smarter than you are.

       Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
       Exhaust yourself to make entertainers rich.

   Do not speak to a fool;
   For he already knows everything.

 By wisdom a house is built,
 And by storm or flood it is ruined.

    Get your fields ready;
    The locusts are coming.

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands;
Your Social Security check is in the mail.

        What you have seen do not bring hastily to court,
        For he who studied law knows how to mock it.

    The end of it is. 

    For Those Who Fear Him    

You have rejected us, O God, 

and burst forth upon us;

you have been angry - now restore us!

You have shaken the land and torn it open;

mend its fractures, for it is quaking.

You have shown your people desperate times;

you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner

to be unfurled against the bow. 

Save us and help us with your right hand,

that those you love may be delivered.

Give us aid against the enemy,

for the help of man is worthless.

With God we will gain the victory,

and he will trample down our enemies.

Psalm 60:1-5, 11-12

      

An Overcomer      

   In the NFL, he played quarterback, running back, wide receiver, punter, kick returner, punt returner and defensive back. Who does that? 

   When Indiana faces Iowa today, players will have No. 44 on their helmets. Campus flags are at half-staff.

   George Taliaferro was the leading rusher on Indiana's undefeated team in 1945. Intense segregation in Bloomington caused him to call his dad. He wanted to go home and work with him at a Gary, Indiana steel plant. His dad wouldn't hear of it, and the kid realized he was in school for an education. He played four years. 

   In 1949, Taliaferro became the first black player drafted in the NFL, by the Chicago Bears, his favorite team. A week earlier he had signed to play in Los Angeles in the All America Football Conference. 

   He wondered if returning his $4,000 signing bonus would clear him to join the Bears. His mother reminded him, he had to be a man of his word. 

   When the leagues merged in 1950, Taliaferro began a five-year career in the NFL, first in New York, then Dallas, Baltimore and Philadelphia. He was good at running, passing and receiving, scoring 37 touchdowns. We never saw him play, but we can't imagine him beating his chest before the fans, as some players now do.  

   He earned a master's degree, taught, served as dean of students, and finally as IUPUI chancellor and dean of the School of Social Work. 

   Taliaferro, 91, died this week in Mason, Ohio, between Cincinnati and Dayton. He is survived by his wife of 67 years - another accomplishment - and two daughters. 

       Jimmy

Why Not  
      a Popular Vote?   

   Disgruntled Democrats, seeing that Hillary Clinton received 3 million more votes than Donald Trump, call for elimination of the Electoral College. Sounds nice, but they forget that Bill Clinton lost the popular vote in 1992. 
He won by the Electoral College, served eight years, and laid a foundation for his wife to build her ambitions upon.

   The Constitutional Convention compromised between a popular vote and a vote by Congress only. To avoid potential corruption, rule by larger states, and political bargaining, they settled on the Electoral College: Article II, Section I. 

   Each state has one elector for each senator and representative in Congress, based on population. An amendment provides three votes for the District of Columbia, considered a state for this purpose only. Government employees are not eligible to be electors.

   So, what's the big deal?

   There are a total of 538 electoral votes. Half of that is 269; therefore, 270 or more votes decides the winner. 

   Only 11 states - from California, 55, to North Carolina, 15 - account for 268 votes. With one more state, any state, they could carry the day. Since these top 11 don't all lean the same direction, other states come into play, as happened in 2016.

   Suppose we go to a popular vote. Again, the population of the largest 11 would carry the most weight. But unlike today, candidates would campaign and spend money in all those largest states, because there would be no "winner takes all." 

   Presidential candidates don't bother with California or New York, because Democrats are the heavy majority and all electoral votes always go to their candidate. In a popular vote, both parties - and their promises - would be all over California and other biggies with their enormous population, to the disadvantage of your state, perhaps. 

   California, New York, Texas, Florida and the other seven populous states would dominate the campaign. Further, there are more registered Democrat voters than Republican. That's why they want a popular vote. 

   Think your votes - and your issues - don't count now? Consider the alternative. 

       Jimmy



  

The Collusion Illusion

Part 4

   "The first job of the Dept. of Justice is justice, not conviction. No violations of the law are enforced 100 percent." - Gregg Jarrett

   Prosecutors on the other hand have a zeal to win at all cost. Fairness is secondary.

   Law professors and the Wall Street Journal editorial board have called for Robert Mueller to recuse himself. He spent months hiding the truth about why the FBI's Strzok and Page were removed from his team. (Their bias ultimately was revealed.)

   How can Rod Rosenstein be an investigator, witness, prosecutor and judge all in the same case? He also approved the team of partisans working for Mueller. 

   Can we assume Mueller is impartial when he selected a staff of 13 Democratic loyalists and three independents? The most curious is Andrew Weissman, a pit-bull lawyer who has put companies and their employees out of business, only to have courts overturn his work. 

Andrew Weissman, truth is not with him.

No respect for rule of law,

simple decency, the facts.

- Sidney Powell, The Hill

   Democrats follow the script, pouncing on the Washington Post's word: Trump's victory: "...clearly collusion...reeks of collusion...could guarantee it...acts of collusion." James Clapper said he "confirmed collusion" through his contacts in the NSA, FBI and CIA. 

   Hillary Clinton charged Trump with "collusion." Collusion is not a crime, y'all.

Note: This series was not a plug for the president or Republicans. It was and is out of concern for our democracy, and respect for fairness and justice. We will all be losers if liars and those who play loose with the law continue to flourish.

      Jimmy

Man of Few Words       

   Considering America's love/hate relationship with capitalism, we thought of a German economics professor for an unbiased perspective. During a recent Views By the Sea radio hour, we called professor Johannes Fastenachrichten, in Munich. 

   He studied American policy for his Make Germany Great Again course at the university. We finally reached him after Munich's Oktoberfest celebration ended. Our conversation follows:

Good morning, sir. If it's okay, I'll just call you "professor." 

          Guten morgen, Jimmy

Yes, well, I'm sure you had a fine time at the folk festival. 

          ja

I suppose you enjoyed sauerbraten, schnitzel, strudel and bratwurst...

          ja ja ja ... bratwurst? nein 

Well, let's get down to business. You know, professor, we have politicians in America promoting socialism, and we value your opinion on this subject. 
Let me pose this: In the beginning, God created two people. Right? 

          ja

And that was neither capitalism nor socialism. God provided.

          ja

Now, suppose God made seven billion people all over the earth in a single day. 
Would they be wealthy on day one?

          nein 

I agree. Because wealth doesn't appear out of thin air. Isn't that so?

          ja 

Now, if those people were free to discover, explore, invent, create, build, share, cooperate and so forth, they would create wealth. Yes?

          ja 

But if they were highly regulated by their governments, unable to flourish, and highly taxed, there wouldn't be nearly as much wealth, and the poorest would suffer most.

          ja ... kaputt! 

Professor, we appreciate your perspective. Perhaps some other time we can join you in Munich for Oktoberfest. Oom-pah-pah! 

          Auf wiedersehen, Jimmy

😎